Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 I 
 
 https://archive.org/details/authenticnarrati01rile_0 
 
0 AN 
 
 AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE 
 
 OF THE LOSS OF TIIE 
 
 AMERICAN BRIG COMMERCE, 
 
 WRECKED ON THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA, IN THE MONTH 
 OF AUGUST, 1815. 
 
 •* 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE SUFFERINGS 
 
 OF HER 
 
 SURVIVING OFFICERS AND CREW, 
 
 WHO WERE ENSLAVED BY THE WANDERING ARABS ON THE GREAT 
 
 AFRICAN DESERT, OR ZAHAHRAH ; 
 
 AND 
 
 OBSERVATIONS HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, &c. 
 
 NADS DURING THE TRAVELS OF THE AUTHOR, WHILE A SLAVE TO THE 
 ARABS, AND IN THE EMPIRE OF MOROCCO. 
 
 BY JAMES RILEY, 
 
 HER LATE MASTER AND SUPERCARGO, AND A MEMBER OF THE 
 NEW-TORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Preceded by a brief sketch of the Author’s life: and containing a description of the famous c'/. • 
 of Tombuctoo, on the rivet Niirer, and of another large city, far south of it, on the same rive; . 
 called W assanah ; narrated to the Author at Mogadore, by Sidi Harriet , the Arabian mere' air 
 
 WITH A NEW, VALUABLE, AND INTERESTING APPEND! Y. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED AND EMBELLISHED WITH ELEVEN 
 COPPERPLATE ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 THIRD EDITION . 
 
 NEW-YORK . 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 1818 ., 
 
 104330 
 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-tfORK, SSV 
 
 Be it remembered, That on the third day of October, iu the forty -first year 
 of the Independence of the United States of America, [AD- 1816,] James Ri- 
 '.ey, of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right 
 whereof he claims as author and proprietor, in the words and figures following, 
 to wit: 
 
 “An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American brig Commerce, wrecked 
 on the Western Coast of Africa, in the month of August, 1815. With an ac- 
 count of the sufferings of her surviving Officers and Crew, who were enslaved 
 by the wandering Arabs on the great African Desert, or Zahahrah ; and obser- 
 vations Historical, Geographical, &c. made during the travels of the Author, 
 while a slave to the Arabs, and in the Empire of Morocco. By James Riley, 
 late master and supercargo ; preceded by a brief sketch of the Author’s life, and 
 concluded by a description of the famous city of Tombuctoo, on the river Niger, 
 and of another large city, far south of it, on the same river, called Wassanah, 
 narrated to the Author at Mogadore, by Sidi Hamet, the Arabian merchant , 
 with an Arabic and English Vocabulary ; Illustrated and Embellished with ten 
 handsome copperplate Engravings.” 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled “ An 
 Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, 
 and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times there- 
 in mentioned.” And also to an Act, entitled “ An Act supplementary to an Act, 
 entitled, an Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of 
 Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during 
 the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of de- 
 signing, engraving, and etching, historical and other prints.” 
 
 TIIERON RUDD, Clerk of the 
 
 Southern District of New-York. 
 
 J. &. E. Sanderson, Printers^ 
 Elizabeth-Town, N. J. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 The following Narrative of my misfortunes and suf- 
 ferings, and my consequent travels and observations in 
 Africa, is submitted to the perusal of a candid and an 
 enlightened public, with much diffidence, particularly 
 as I write without having had the advantages that may 
 be derived from an academic education, and being quite 
 unskilled in the art of composing for the press. My 
 aim has been merely to record, in plain and unvarnished 
 language, scenes in which I was a principal actor, of real 
 and heart-appalling distresses. The very deep and in- 
 delible impression made on my mind by the extraordi- 
 nary circumstances attending my late shipwreck, and the 
 miserable captivity of myself and my surviving ship- 
 mates, and believing that a knowledge of many of these 
 incidents might prove useful and interesting to the 
 world, as well as peculiarly instructive to my seafaring 
 brethren ; together with the strong and repeated solicita- 
 tions of many of my valuable friends, among whom was 
 the honourable James Munroe, Secretary of State, and 
 several distinguished members of Congress : these con- 
 siderations, together with a view of being enabled by 
 my labours to afford some relief to the surviving suf- 
 ferers, and the destitute families of that part of my late 
 crew, whose lot it was to perish in Africa, or who are 
 still groaning out the little remains of their existence in 
 the cruel bonds of barbarian slavery, have induced me 
 to undertake the very arduous and difficult task of pre- 
 paring and publishing a work so large and expensive,, 
 
 104330 
 
IV 
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 
 The Narrative up to the time of my redemption, was 
 written entirely from memory, unaided by notes or any 
 journal ; but I committed the principal facts to writing 
 in Mogadore, when every circumstance was fresh in my 
 memory, (which is naturally a retentive one,) and I then 
 compared my own recollections with those of my ran- 
 somed companions : this was done with a view of show- 
 ing to my friends the unparalleled sufferings I had en- | 
 dured, and not for the particular purpose of making 
 them public by means of the press. It should be re- 
 membered by the reader, that the occurrences here 
 recorded, took place out of the common course of a 
 sailor’s life ; and that each particular event was of a na- 
 ture calculated to impress itself so powerfully on the 
 mind, as not easily to be effaced. Having previously, 
 in the course of my life, visited and travelled through 
 several foreign countries, my mind was by no means 
 unaccustomed to pay attention to, and make observations 
 on whatever came within the reach of my notice, and 
 for this reason, the strange events of the desert, and the 
 novel objects and scenes which I had an opportunity of 
 witnessing in the country of the Moors, were not suffer- 
 ed to pass without awakening and exercising my curios- 
 ity as well as interest, and becoming the subject of care- 
 ful and habitual reflections. 
 
 Respecting my conversations with the Arabs, I have 
 put down what I knew at the time to be their exact 
 meaning, as nearly as I could translate their words and 
 signs combined. I had, previously, learned the French 
 and Spanish languages, both by grammar and practice, 
 and had also been accustomed to hear spoken the Rus- 
 sian and different dialects of the German, as well as the 
 Portuguese, Italian., and several other languages, so that 
 my ear had become familiar with their sounds and pro- 
 nunciation. Perceiving an affinity between the Arabian 
 and Spanish, I soon began to learn the names of com- 
 mon things, in Arabic, and to compare them in my 
 mind with those I had met with in Turkish and other 
 Oriental history. I had no hope of ever being redeem- 
 ed, unless I could make myself understood, and I there- 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 V 
 
 fore took the utmost care to treasure up every word and 
 sentence I heard spoken by the Arabs, to reflect on their 
 bearing, and to find out their true meaning, by which 
 means, in the course of a very few days, I was enabled 
 to comprehend the general tenor and drift of their ordi- 
 nary conversation, and to find out the whole meaning of 
 their signs and gestures. My four companions, howev- 
 er, could scarcely comprehend a single word of Arabic, 
 even after they were redeemed. 
 
 In regard to the route, and various courses of our 
 travel, I would observe, that after I was purchased by 
 the Arabian merchants, and taken off across the desert, 
 I was suffering under the most excruciating bodily pains, 
 as well as the most cruel privations ; it will not, therefore, 
 be a matter of wonder, if on this vast, smooth, and 
 trackless desert, I should have mistaken one eastern 
 course for another, or have erred in computing the dis- 
 tances travelled over ; for I was frequently in such agony 
 and so weighed down with weariness and despair, that a 
 day seemed to me of endless duration. A long experi- 
 ence on the ocean had before taught me to ascertain the 
 latitude by the apparent height of the polar star above the 
 horizon, so that in this particular, I could not be much 
 mistaken ; and the tending of the coast where our boat 
 was driven on shore, proves it must have been near 
 Cape Barbas. After we approached the seacoast again, 
 I became more attentive to the surrounding objects, as 
 my hopes of being ransomed increased, so that not only 
 the courses, but the distances as I have given them, will 
 agree in all their essential points. 
 
 The designs for the engravings were drawn from my 
 own original sketches ; (and they were merely rough 
 sketches, for I have no skill in drawing ;) they have, 
 however, been executed by artists of considerable re- 
 pute, and under my own inspection. 
 
 In compiling the map, particular care has been taken 
 to consult the best authorities, but I considered, at the 
 same time, that the information I received from my old 
 Arabian master was sufficiently correct, and would war- 
 r ant me in giving full scope to my consequent geographi- 
 
y 1 TO THE READER. 
 
 cal impressions, in tracing the river Niger to the Atlantic 
 ocean. Admitting that my idea prove hereafter to be 
 i'ust, and that this river actually discharges its waters 
 with those of the Congo, into the gulf of Guinea, I am 
 of opinion, that not less than one- fourth of the whole 
 distance in a straight line, should be added for its bends 
 and windings, in order to calculate its real length. 
 
 While I was at Mogadore, a number of singular and 
 interesting transactions took place, such as do not often 
 occur even in that country ; and a person might reside 
 there for many years, without having an opportunity of 
 witnessing a repetition of them ; yet their authenticity, 
 as well as that of the other circumstances I have related, 
 can be substantiated by many living witnesses, — men of 
 respectability and unquestionable veracity. 
 
 My observations on the currents which have hereto- 
 fore proved fatal to a vast number of vessels, and their 
 crews on the western coast of Africa, are made with a 
 view to promote the further investigation of this subject, 
 as well as to caution the unwary mariner against their 
 too often disastrous effects. 
 
 It gives me sincere pleasure, to acknowledge the ser- 
 vices rendered me by my respectable friend, Anthony 
 Bleeker, Esquire, of New- York, who has, at my re- 
 quest, revised the whole of my manuscript, and sug- 
 gested some very important explanations. I have been 
 .governed, in my corrections, by his advice throughout, 
 which was of a character that can only flow from the most 
 pure and disinterested motives ; — his talents, judgment 
 and erudition, have contributed in a considerable degree 
 to smooth down the asperities of my unlearned style, and 
 he is pre-eminently entitled to my warmest thanks. 
 
 To my very intimate friend, Mr. Josiah Shippey, Jun. 
 of New-York, I am under many obligations — he has 
 separately perused my whole manuscript, with great care 
 and interest, and has suggested improvements, both in 
 point of diction and grammar ; — his highly classical 
 learning, together with his pious adherence to the true 
 principles of sound morality, and his friendly advice, 
 have been of essential utility, and are highly appreciated. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 vii 
 
 With respect to the extraordinary circumstance men- 
 tioned in the Narrative, of the sudden subsiding of the 
 surf when we were about committing ourselves to the 
 open sea, in our shattered boat, I am aware that it will 
 be the subject of much comment, and, probably, of 
 some- raillery. I was advised by a friend, to suppress 
 this fact, lest those who are not disposed to believe in the 
 particular interposition of Divine Providence, should 
 make use of it as an argument against the correctness of 
 the othen parts of my Narrative. This, probably, would 
 have been good policy in me, as a mex'e author, for I am 
 pretty sure that previous to this signal mercy, I myself 
 would have entertained a suspicion of the veracity of a 
 writer who should have related what to me would have 
 appeared such an improbable occurrence. Sentiments 
 and feelings, however, of a very different kind from any 
 that mere worldly interest can excite, forbid me to sup- 
 press or deny what so clearly appeared to me and my 
 companions at the time, as the immediate and merciful' 
 act. of the Almighty, listening to our prayers, and grant- 
 ing our petition at the awful moment when dismay, 
 despair, and death, were pressing close upon us with all 
 their accumulated horrors. My heart still glows with 
 holy gratitude for this mercy, and I will never be ashamed 
 nor afraid to acknowledge and make known to the world, 
 the infinite goodness of my divine Creator and Pre- 
 server. “ The waters of the sea had well-nigh covered 
 us : the proud waves had well-nigh gone over our soul. 
 Then cried we unto thee, O Lord, and thou didst 
 deliver us out of our distresses. Thou didst send forth 
 thy commandment ; and the windy storm ceased, and 
 turned into a calm.” 
 
 JAMES RILEY. 
 
 FOR THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 In preparing this edition for the press, care has been 
 taken to correct some errors which had crept into the 
 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 viii 
 
 former ones, and I have now the satisfaction of em- 
 bodying with my book, a new and interesting Narrative 
 of a shipwreck, and the sufferings of her crew, on the 
 coast of South- Barbary, for which 1 am indebted to its 
 respectable author, my higly esteemed friend ; and I 
 cherish a hope that the public will be both gratified and 
 instructed by perusing so much additional, important, 
 and useful testimony respecting that part of Africa, and 
 its inhabitants, so little known to the civilized world ; 
 and that mariners, particularly, being thus apprized, will 
 guard against the constant currents which have caused 
 such frequent and dreadful disasters as death, slavery, 
 and other almost incredible sufferings. Notwithstanding 
 the bulk of the additional matter, and the great expense 
 incurred by its publication ; having been bestowed by 
 its benevolent author, I have given it to the world with- 
 out enhancing the price of my Narrative, to which it is 
 affixed. 
 
 JAMES RILEY, 
 
 New- York, June, 1818. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 chap. I. 
 
 , ... . . Page 
 
 A brief sketch of the Author’s Life and Education up to the 
 month of May, 1815, - - - - - - 17 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Voyage in the Commerce from Connecticut River to New- 
 Orleans, ...,22 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Voyage from Gibraltar towards the Cape de Verd Islands, in- 
 cluding the shipwreck of the brig Commerce, on the coast 
 of Africa, ---26 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Description of the natives — they make war upon the crew, and 
 drive them off to the wreck, 30 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 The natives seize the author by perfidy, and then get possession 
 of the money — the author’s critical situation on shore — he 
 escapes to the wreck — Antonio Michel is massacred, - 37 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Providential preservation through the surf to the open ocean- 
 sufferings in their shattered boat fiine days at sea — landing 
 again on the frightful coast of the African Desert, - 44 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Sufferings of the crew, and manner of climbing over the rocks 
 along the sea-shore, under high cliffs — reaching the surface 
 of the desert — meeting with a company of wandering Arabs, 
 by whom they are seized as slaves, and stripped naked, - 
 
 2 
 
 52 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 , . , . . P: ‘S° 
 
 The author and his crew are carried ou camels into the interior 
 of the Desert of Zahahrah— the Arabs hold a council — the 
 crew are sold and distributed— the author’s remarkable dream 
 — the skin and flesh are literally roasted oft" from his body, 
 and from the bones of his companions — their dreadful suffer- 
 ings while naked aud wandering about the Desert with their 
 masters, subsisting only on a little camel’s milk — two Arab 
 traders arrive, ....-..-67 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Two Arabian merchants are persuaded by the author to purchase 
 him and four of his suffering companions — they kill a camel 
 aud prepare to set out for Morocco across the Desert, - 8* 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 The author and four of his companions set out to cross the De- 
 sert — their sufferings— they come to a spring of fresh water — 
 description of its singular situation, 9® 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Journeying on the Desert — they are hospitably entertained by 
 Arabs, aud come to a well of fresh water, ... 108 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 They arrive amongst immense mountains of driving sand — their 
 extreme sufferings — their masters find and steal some barley, 
 and restore it again, ....... 112 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Continuation of the journey on the Desert — several singular 
 occurrences — they come within sight of the ocean, - 119 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 They travel along the sea-coast under the high banks — fall in 
 with aud join a company of Arabs —travel in the night for 
 fear of robbers — Mr. Savage faints — is near being massacred, 
 and is rescued by the author, ..... 131 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Black mountains appear in the east- — they come to a river of salt 
 water, and to wells of fresh water, where they find many 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 Xi 
 
 Page 
 
 iiorses— -description of a singular plant — come to cultivated 
 land ; to a fresh water river, and a few stone huts, - 137 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 The company is divided— r they set off to the eastward — their 
 masters are attacked by a baud of robbers, - - - 144 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Some fresh fish are procured — they pass several small walled 
 villages, and meet with robbers on horseback, - - 149 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Their masters commit an error, which they are compelled to 
 redress — Sidi Hamet and his brother Seid fight-— Horace’s 
 critical situation— -they come to villages, - - - 153 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 The author writes a letter— Sidi Hamet sets out with it for Swea- 
 rah — the arrival of Sheick Ali, an extraordinary character, 161 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 A Moor arrives from Mogadore, bringing a letter— the letter — 
 they set out for that city, - - - - - - 170 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 They come near the ruins of a city where two battering machines 
 are standing— description of them — story of its destruction — 
 they cross a river, and a fruitful country— lodge in a city, and 
 are afterwards stopped by Sheick Ali and the prince of an- 
 other city, - « - - - - - 178 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Rais hel Cossim gains the friendship of the prince — good provis- 
 ions are procured — Sheick Alps plans miscarry — they set off 
 for, and arrive at Santa Cruz, in the empire of Morocco, 194 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Sheick Ali out-manoeuvred again by Rais bel Cossim — they set 
 off in the night — meet with Sidi Hamet and his brother, ac- 
 companied by some Moors with mules sent by Mr. Wiltshire 
 for the sufferers to ride on-=occurrences on the road— meet- 
 
• xn 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 ing with Mr. Wiltshire near S we a rah or Mogadore — they go 
 into that city — are ordered before the the Bashaw, * 209 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 The author and his companions are cleansed, clothed, and fed — 
 he becomes delirious, but is again restored to reason— the 
 kindness of Mr. Willshire — letter from Horatio Sprague, Esq. 
 of Gibraltar — author’s reflections on his past sufferings, and 
 od the providential chaiD of events that had fitted him for 
 enduring them, and miraculously supported and restored him 
 and his four companions to their liberty, ... 229 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 The author’s motives for requesting of, and writing down, his 
 former master’s narrative of Travels on the Desert when in 
 Mogadore, together with Sidi Hamet’s narrative of a journey 
 across the great Desert to Tombuctoo, and back again to 
 WidnooD, with a caravan, ...... 238 
 
 Section I. Sidi Hamet’s narrative of a journey from Widnooo 
 across the great Desert to Tombuctoo, and back again to 
 Widnoon, ........ 239 
 
 Section II. Sidi Hamet sets out on another journey for Tom- 
 buctoo — the caravan is mostly destroyed for want of water, 
 by drifting sand, and by mutiny, &c. — the few that escape 
 • get to the south of the Desert, ..... 244 
 
 Section III. Sidi Haraet’s journeyings. His arrival on the banks 
 of the river called by the natives Gozen-Zair, and atTombuctoo 
 — description of that city — its commerce, wealth and inhabitants 24S 
 
 Section IV. Sidi Hamet sets out for Wassanah — his arrival there, 
 and description of that city, the country, and its inhabitants — 
 of the great river which runs near it, and of his return to 
 Tombuctoo — containing also the author’s geographical opin- 
 ions, founded on the narrative, on the sources of the river 
 Niger — its length and outlet into the Atlantic oceau, - 253 
 
 Section V. Sidi Hamet’s journey from Tombuctoo to Morocco 
 by the eastern route — big description of the Desert, and of 
 the country on both sides of it— of a dreadful battle with the 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xiii . 
 
 Pagc- 
 
 waDdering Arabs — Sidi Hamel takes his leave and sets out 
 to join his family, 261 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 An account of the face of the great African Desert, or Zahah* 
 rah — of its inhabitants, their customs, manners, dress, &c. — 
 a description of the Arabian camel or dromedary, - 266 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Some account of Suse, or South-Barbary, and of its inhabi- 
 tants, cities, &c. — the primitive plough, and mode of using 
 it— primitive chum, and method of making butter, - 290 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 Some account of an insurrection in Morocco — the Bashaw of 
 Swearah is seized and pul in irons — change of Governors — the 
 Jews are forced to pay their tribute or turn Mohammedans — 
 their treatment by the Moors- — a Jew burial — a circumcision 
 — a Jewish priest arrives from Jerusalem — the author obtains 
 from him some account of the present Jerusalem and its inhab- 
 itants, and of the method pursued by the priests for getting 
 money from the Jews in Europe and Barbary — a Moorish 
 execution and maiming — of the Jews in West Barbary - 295 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 New orders arrive from the Emperor — Mr. Willshire is grossly 
 insulted by the Moors — a description of the city and port of 
 Swearah, or Mogadore, its inhabitants, commerce, manufac- 
 tures, &c. - - 313 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Of the Moors and Moorish Arabs — feast of expiation-— A 
 Moorish review and sham-fight— horsemanship — of the Ara- 
 bian horse and his furniture ..... 322 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 The present Arabs and ancient Jews compared - - 333 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 The author ships his companions on board a vessel for Gibral- 
 tar, and sets out himself to travel by land for Tangier— 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 villany of his Jew companion — account of a great Moorish 
 saint — description of the country — of the towns — of El 
 Ksebbah anil Saffy 33* 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 Continuation of the journey— description of Ashed re— of a 
 flight of locusts— of the destroying locust of Africa — Maza- 
 gan — Azamore — Darlbeda — Fidallah — -arrival at Rhabat — of 
 Rhabat 351 
 
 CHAP. XXX I Y. 
 
 Description of a horrid show of two venomous serpents — sets 
 out from Rhabat — of Sallee, Mamora, Laresch — Spanish mis- 
 sionaries — Moorish navy — arrival at Tangier - - 368 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 Moorish captives — of Tangier and Christian Consuls — passage 
 to Gibraltar, reception there — embarks for America— obser- 
 vations on Gibraltar — passage in the ship Rapid — arrival at 
 New-York— visits his family — goes to Washington city, the 
 seat of government, and concludes with brief remarks on 
 slavery - - - - - - - ^ - - 382 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Observations on the winds, currents, &c. in some parts of the 
 Atlantic ocean, developing the causes of so many shipwrecks 
 on the western coast of Africa — mode pointed out for visiting 
 the famous city of Tombuctoo, on the river Niger, &c. 
 
CERTIFICATE. 
 
 Captain James Rieey has submitted his Narrative to my perusal, and I have 
 read it over with great care and attention. J was his second mate on board the 
 Commerce, and one of his unfortunate companions through, and a sharer in his 
 dreadful sufferings and captivity, on the inhospitable shores and deserts of Africa, 
 and 1 am astonished to find with what precision the whole of those incidents are 
 related — it recalls to my memory all those dismal occurrences and distresses, and 
 1 do hereby certify, that the Narrative up to the time of our separation in Moga= 
 dore, contains nothing more than a plain statement of facts, and that myself, as 
 well as others of the crew, owe our lives, liberties, and restoration to our country, 
 under God , to his uncommon exertions, fortitude, intelligence, and perseverance,, 
 and 1 hereby request him, as roy friend, to publish this my certificate. 
 
 AARON R. SAVAGE 
 
 Done at New-York, this 1st day i 
 February-, JL I), 1817. 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR PLACING THE PLATES. 
 
 Portrait to face title page. 
 
 Map • - ' " " " ' * * 
 
 Wreck of the brig Commerce oil the coast of Africa— The Author s 
 
 escape from the Arabs - - - - * 
 
 Captuile of the Author and teu of his crew by a tribe of wandering 
 Arabs, near Cape Barbas -------- 
 
 Arab tents in the Desert of Sahara - . - - - 
 
 The Arabic Letter (not before published) - 
 View of a town or city in Suse, (South Barbary,) on the point of 
 being sacked by the Arabs 
 
 The Author and his men’s first interview with Mr. Wiltshire — with 
 a distant view of Mogadore - ■ 
 
 The original Plough, and mode of using it. View of Camels, and 
 
 primitive method of making butter 
 
 A Jewish circumcision witnessed by the Author in Mogadore 
 
 Destructive Locust of Africa - - 
 
 to face page 17 
 43 
 
 63 
 
 80 
 
 171 
 
 181 
 
 227 
 
 293 
 
 ■312 
 
 352 
 
NARRATIVE, &c. 
 
 CHAPTEU I. 
 
 { brief sketch of the Author's Life and Education , up to 
 the month of Map , 1815. 
 
 I was born in the town of Middletown, in the state of 
 Connecticut, on the 27th of October, in the year 1777, 
 during the war between England and America, which ter- 
 minated in 1783, with the acknowledgment by the mother 
 country of the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of 
 the thirteen United States. My father, Asher Riley, who 
 still lives in the same place, was bred to the farming busi- 
 ness, and at an early age married my mother, Rebecca Sage, 
 who is also yet living. I was their fourth child. Owing 
 to an attack of that dangerous disorder, the liver complaint, 
 my father was rendered incapable of attending to his usual 
 employment for several years, during which time, his 
 property, very small, at first, was entirely expended ; but 
 after his recovery, in 1786, he was enabled, by industry 
 and strict economy, to support his increasing family in a 
 decent manner. 
 
 It may not be improper here, before I speak of my 
 education, to give a general idea of what was then termed 
 a common education in Connecticut. This state is divided 
 into counties and towns, and the towns into societies ; in 
 each of which societies, the inhabitants, by common con- 
 sent, and at their common expense, erect a school-house, 
 in which to educate their children. If the society is too 
 large for only one school, it is again subdivided into dis- 
 tricts, and each district erects a school- house for its own 
 accommodation. This is generally done by a tax levied by 
 themselves, and apportioned according to the pmpertv or 
 
18 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE 
 
 capacity of each individual. It being for the general good, 
 all cheerfully pay their apportionment. Thus prepared, 
 they hire a teacher to instruct their children in reading and 
 writing, and some of them are taught the fundamental rules 
 of arithmetic. They, for the most part, hire a male teacher 
 for four months in the year, say from October to March, 
 and his compensation (at the time I am speaking of) was 
 from six to ten dollars a month, with his board. In order 
 to obtain his board, he was under the necessity of going 
 to each of his employers’ houses in rotation, making his 
 time in each family as equal as possible and in proportion 
 to the number of children therein. In this way all the 
 parents became acquainted with the master or mistress. In 
 the summer one of the best informed girls in the neigh- 
 bourhood was selected to teach the youngest children. To 
 defray the expense arising from this system, a tax was laid,, 
 and every man, whether married or unmarried, with chil- 
 dren or without them, was obliged to pay the sum at which 
 he was rated, and in this manner every one contributed for 
 the good of the whole. In each society one or more meet- 
 ing-houses were established, whose congregations were 
 either Presbyterians or Congregationalists, and a minister 
 (as he is called) regularly ordained and located for a yearly 
 stipend or salary, and generally during life. This was an 
 old and steady habit „ The minister was considered as the 
 head of the school, as well as of the meeting, and his like 
 or dislike was equivalent to a law. All the children in each 
 district, whether rich or poor, went to this school : all had 
 an equal right to this kind of country education. To one 
 of these district schools I was sent at the age of four years, 
 where I continued, learning to spell and read, until I was 
 eight years old, when my father’s family had increased to 
 seven or eight children, with a fair prospect of more, (it 
 afterwards amounted to thirteen in number.) 
 
 Finding it difficult to support us all as he wished, and I 
 having become a stout boy of my age, he placed me with 
 a neighbouring farmer to earn my living, by assisting him 
 in his work. From the age of eight to fourteen years I 
 worked on the land with different farmers in our neigh- 
 bourhood, who having received but a very scanty educa- 
 tion themselves, conceited, nevertheless, that they were 
 
OF ms OWN LIFE. 
 
 19 
 
 overstocked with learning, as is generally the case with the 
 most ignorant, and in this, their fancied wisdom, con- 
 cluded that much less than they themselves possessed would 
 answer my purpose, as I was but a poor bov ! ! Finding 
 therefore that they would lose my labour during school 
 hours, (for they had always taken great care to keep me 
 fully employed in hard drudgery every moment I was out 
 of school, scarcely allowing me the usual hours of refresh- 
 ment and sleep, ) they kept me from school, merely because, 
 as they stated, they could not get along with their work 
 without my help. When my parents remonstrated against 
 such conduct in those who had come under a most solemn 
 agreement to give me a plenty of schooling , they were 
 assured “ that I was a very forward boy ; that I could spell 
 and read as well as any of the boys of my age ; that I 
 could repeat whole chapters in the Bible by heart, and knew 
 all the Catechism and Creed, viz. the Presbyterian, which 
 then was, and still is considered, all important in that sec- 
 tion of the union called New- England : that I could sing- 
 psalms in the separate meetings full as well as those who had 
 learned to sing by note, “ though indeed he cannot write, 
 (said they) because he has no turn for writing.” These 
 representations tended in some measure to allay the anxiety 
 of my parents, who wished me above ail things to have a 
 good common country education, as they at that time had 
 no prospect of being able to give me any thing better. 
 They had taught me, both by precept and practice, that to 
 be honest, industrious, and prudent ; to govern my pas- 
 sions, (which were violent,) to feel for and relieve the dis- 
 tresses of others when in my power ; to be mild and affable 
 in my manners, and virtuous in all my actions, was to be 
 happy ; and they, generally, had instilled into my youthful 
 mind every good principle. 
 
 I had now attained my fifteenth year.; was tall and stout 
 for my age ; and having become tired of hard work on the 
 land, I concluded that the best way to get rid of it, was to 
 go to sea and visit foreign countries. My parents endea- 
 voured to dissuade me from this project, and wished me 
 to learn some mechanical trade ; but finding that I could 
 not fix -my mind upon any other business, they, with great 
 reluctance, consented to my choice ; and I, accordingly, 
 
 
20 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE 
 
 shipped on board a sloop bound to the West-Indies, 
 Having no friend to push me forward, no dependence but 
 on my own good conduct and exertions, and being ambi- 
 tious to gain some distinction in the , profession I had 
 chosen, I contrived to acquire some knowledge in the art 
 of navigation, theoretically as well as practically, and at 
 the age of twenty years had passed through the grades of 
 cabin boy, cook, ordinary seaman, seaman, second mate, 
 and chief mate, on board different vessels. I was now 
 six feet and one inch in height, and proportionably strong 
 and athletic, when finding the sphere I then moved in to be 
 too limited for my views and wishes, (it extending only 
 from Connecticut river or New-Londou to the West- Indies, 
 and back again,) I went to New-York, where I was soon 
 appointed to the command of a good vessel, and since that 
 time have continued in similar employment ; making- 
 voyages in all climates usually visited by American ships ; 
 traversing almost every sea, and travelling by land through 
 many of the principal states and empires of the world. 
 For several years I had charge of the cargoes as well as of 
 the vessels I sailed in, and had a fair share of prosperity, 
 until the month of January, 1308, when my ship, the 
 Two Marys of New-York, was seized by the French, as 
 I took shelter in Belle Isle, in the Bay of Biscay, from 
 some English men of war, being bound for Nantz ; and 
 the ship, with her valuable cargo, was confiscated, under 
 the memorable Milan Decree of the 17th December, 1807, 
 founded on the well known Orders in Council, of the 11th 
 November, of the same year. I remained in France until 
 the ship and cargo were condemned, and did not return to 
 my native country and family, till the latter part of the 
 year 1809, with the loss, it is true, of nearly all the pro- 
 perty I had before acquired, but wiser than I went out ; 
 for I had learned to read, write, and speak both the French 
 and Spanish languages ; had travelled pretty much all over 
 France, where I had opportunities of witnessing many 
 important operations in the science of war, calculated to 
 attract my attention to the principles upon which they were 
 founded ; and I, at the same time, took lessons in the 
 school of adversity, which tended to prepare and discipline 
 my mind for the future hardships I was destined to under- 
 
OF HIS OWN LIFE. 
 
 21 
 
 go. I now strove with all my power to stem the tide of 
 misfortune, which began to set in against me with impetu- 
 ous force. I had become a husband, and the father of four 
 children, who looked up to me for support, and I strained 
 every nerve to retrieve my lost fortune, by trading to sea : 
 but it was of no avail ; every thing proved adverse, and 
 after an absence of two years to Spain, Portugal, the Bra- 
 zils, Rio de la Plata, or River of Silver, in South- Ameri- 
 ca, the West-Indies, New-Orleans, &c. I returned home 
 at the commencement of the late war (1812) pennyless. 
 Unarmed commerce on the ocean, my element, was at an 
 end in an honourable way, and I could not obtain a station 
 I wished for in the navy, nor could I obtain the command 
 of a private armed vessel that suited my views, owing to 
 the want of funds ; nor would I accept of the command of 
 a vessel and the consignment of a cargo navigated contrary 
 to the laws of war, under foreign licenses : this I con- 
 sidered would derogate from the character I always 'wished 
 to support, that of a true friend to my country, (whether 
 in prosperity or adversity,) and a firm supporter of its laws 
 i and institutions, which I had proved by long experience in 
 j: the ways of the world to be as good (at least) as those of 
 any country under heaven. Though the offers that were 
 made me were great and tempting, so that my acceptance 
 of them could scarcely have failed of producing me a 
 handsome fortune, and that in a very short period, yet I 
 remained at home during the whole war, making use of all 
 my faculties to gain a decent subsistence for my family. 
 Soon after the burning of the Capitol and other public 
 and private buildings at the seat of government, by the 
 enemy, in August, 1814, when their commanders loudly 
 threatened to destroy every assailable place on the seaboard, 
 I believed that the time was near when every arm would 
 be required for the general defence, particularly at the ex- 
 posed seaport towns ; and having enrolled myself in a 
 volunteer company of military exempt artillerists, composed 
 chiefly of masters and mates of vessels, and seamen, I had 
 the honour of being chosen their captain. But our services 
 I were not needed in the field = 
 
CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 OO 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 VoT/age in the Commerce from Connecticut River to 
 New- Orleans. 
 
 After the close of the war, in April, 1815, being then 
 in my native state, I was employed as master ancl super- 
 cargo of the brig Commerce of Hartford, in Connecticut ; 
 a vessel nearly new, and well fitted, of about two hundred 
 and twenty tons burden, belonging to Messrs. Riley & 
 Brown, Josiah Savage & Co. and Luther Savage, of that 
 city. A light cargo was taken on board, and 1 shipped a 
 crew, consisting of the following persons, namely ; George 
 Williams, chief mate, Aaron R. Savage, second mate, 
 William Porter, Archibald Robbins, Thomas Burns, and 
 James Clark, seamen ; James Carrington and Francis Bliss, 
 ordinary seamen ; Horace Savage, cabin boy, and Richard 
 Deslisle, (a black man) cook. This man had been a ser- 
 vant during the late war to Captain Daniel Ketchum, .of the 
 25th regiment of United States’ infantry, who distinguished 
 himself by taking prisoner the English Major-General Rial, 
 at the dreadful battle of Bridgewater in Upper Canada, and 
 by several other heroic achievements. 
 
 With this crew I proceeded to sea from the mouth of 
 Connecticut river, on the sixth day of May, 1815, bound 
 for New-Orleans. We continued to steer for the Bahama 
 Islands, as winds and weather permitted, until the twentieth j 
 of the same month, when we saw the southernmost part of 
 the-island of Abaco, and passing the Hole in the Wall, on 
 the twenty-first, entered on the Grand Bahama Bank to the 
 leeward of the northernmost Berri Islands ; from thence, 
 with a fair wind and good breeze, we steered W. S. W. 
 twelve leagues ; then S. S. W. about forty leagues, crossing 
 the Bank, in from three to four fathoms water. On the 
 morning of the twenty-second we saw the Orange Key on 
 our starboard beam ; altered our course, and ran off the 
 Bank, leaving them on our starboard hand distant one 
 league. The water on this Great Bank, in most places, 
 appears as white as milk, owing to the white sand at the 
 bottom gleaming through it, and is so clear that an object, 
 
VOYAGE IN THE COMMERCE. 
 
 2 ; 
 
 CD 
 
 f. 
 
 ) 
 
 d 
 
 Sc 
 
 at 
 
 a 
 
 '5 
 
 A 
 
 d 
 
 f. 
 
 ie 
 
 i, 
 
 d 
 
 f 
 
 d 
 
 a 
 
 li 
 
 f 
 
 !1 
 
 e 
 
 ) 
 
 1 
 
 the size of a dollar, can be easily seen lying on the bottom 
 in four fathom water, in a still time. Having got off the 
 Bank, we steered W. S W. for the Double-headed Shot 
 Bank, and at meridian found ourselves, by good observa- 
 tions, in the latitude of 24. 30. being nearly that of the 
 Orange Keys. In the afternoon it became nearly calm, but 
 a good breeze springing up, we continued our course all 
 night W. S. W. I remained on deck myself, on a sharp 
 look out for the Double-headed Shot Bank, or Keys, until 
 four o’clock A. M. when judging by our distance we must 
 be far past them, and consequently clear of that danger, I 
 ordered the chief mate, who had charge of the watch, to 
 keep a good look out, on all sides, for land, white water 
 and breakers ; and after repeating the same to the people, I 
 went below to take a nap. At about five (then fair day- 
 light) I was awakened by a shock, and. thought I felt the 
 vessel touch bottom. I sprang on deck, put the helm to 
 starboard, had all hands called in an instant, and saw 
 breakers ahead and to southward, close on board ; apparently 
 a sound on our right, and land to the northward, at about 
 two leSteues distance. The vessel’s head was towards the 
 S. W. and she running at the rate of ten miles the hour. I 
 instantly seized the helm, put it hard to port, ordered all 
 sails to be let run, and the anchors cleared away. The 
 vessel touched lightly, three or four times : when I found 
 she was over the reef, let go an anchor, which brought her 
 up in two and a half fathoms, or fifteen feet of water, which 
 was quite smooth. We now handed all the sails, and 
 lowered down the boat. I went in her with four hands, and 
 sounded out a passage ; found plenty of water to leeward of 
 the reef; returned and got under way, and -at seven, 
 o’clock, A. M. was in the open sea again, with a fresh 
 breeze. 
 
 This being the first time, in the course of my navigating, 
 that any vessel which I was in had struck the bottom unex- 
 pectedly, I own I was so much surprised and shocked, that 
 my whole frame trembled, and I couid scarcely believe that 
 what had happened was really true, until by comparing the 
 causes and effects of the currents of the Gulf Stream, I 
 was convinced that during the light winds, the day before, 
 when in the Santarem Channel, the vessel had been drifted 
 
 
24 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 by the current that runs N. N. W. (and at that time very 
 strong) so far north of the Double-headed Shot Bank ; tha 
 my course in the night, though the only proper one I coulc 
 have steered, was such as kept the current on the larboarc 
 bow of the vessel, which had horsed her across it sixty 
 miles out of her course in sixteen hours, and would have 
 landed her on the S. W. part of the Carysford Reef in twc 
 minutes more, where she must have been totally lost. As 
 so many vessels of all nations who navigate this stream 
 have perished with their cargoes, and oftentimes their, 
 crews, I mention this incident to warn the navigator of the 
 danger he is in when his vessel is acted upon by these cur- 
 rents, where no calculation can be depended upon, and 
 where nothing but very frequent castings of the lead, and 
 a good look out, can secure him from their too often fatal 
 consequences. <j 
 
 Having settled this point in my own mind, I became 
 tranquil, and we continued to run along the Florida Keys 
 from W. S. W. to West by South, in from thirty to forty 
 fathoms water, about four leagues distant, seeing from one 
 to two leagues within us many rocks and little sandy isl- 
 ands, just above the water’s edge, with a good depth of 
 water all around them, until noon on the 24th, when we j 
 doubled the dry Tortugas Islands in ten fathoms, and on 
 the 26th arrived in the Mississippi river, passed Fort St. 
 Philip at Pluquemines the same night, having shown my 
 papers to the commanding officer of that post (as is cus- 
 tomary.) | 
 
 My previous knowledge of the river and the manner of 
 getting up it, enabled me to pass nearly one hundred sail 
 of vessels that were in before me, and by dint of great and 
 continued exertions, to arrive with my vessel before the 
 city of New- Orleans, on the first day of June. Here we 
 discharged our cargo, and took another on board, princi- 
 pally on freight, in which I was assisted by Messrs. Tal- j 
 cott fk. Bowers, respectable merchants in that city. This j 
 cargo consisted of tobacco and flour. The two ordinary 
 seamen, Francis Bliss and James Carrington, now wished 
 for a discharge, and received it. 1 then shipped in their 
 stead John Hogan and James Barrett, both seamen and na-. 
 lives of the state of Massachusetts. 
 
VOYAGE IN THE COMMERCE. 
 
 25 
 
 I With this crew and cargo we sailed from New-Orleans 
 J: on the twenty-fourth of June ; left the river on the twenty - 
 ‘I sixth, and proceeded for Gibraltar, where we arrived on 
 fthe ninth of August following, and landed our cargo. 
 ? About the thirteenth the schooner Louisa, Capt. Price, of 
 land from New-York, in a short passage, came into the 
 c Bay, and the captain on his landing told me he was bound 
 l ' up to Barcelona, and that if I would go on board his vessel, 
 } which was then standing off and on in the Bay, he would 
 
 II give me a late New-York Price Current, and some news- 
 l( papers. I was in great want of a Price Current for my guide 
 r - in making purchases, and accordingly went on board. The 
 d wind blowing strong in, and the vessel far out, I had to 
 ^ take four men with me, namely, James Clark, James Bar- 
 - rett, William Porter, and John Hogan. Having received 
 
 the Price Current, &c. I left the schooner about sunset, 
 e when they immediately filled her sails and stood on. As 
 's we were busied in stepping the boat’s mast to sail back, a 
 y :oppling sea struck her, and nearly filled her with water ; 
 e we all jumped instantly overboard, in the hope of pre- 
 • renting her from filling, but she filled immediately. 
 )f Providentially the captain of the schooner heard me halloo, 
 e hough at least a mile from us ; put his vessel about, came 
 i tear us, sent his boat, and saved our lives and our boat, 
 vhich being cleared of water, and it being after dark, we 
 eturned safe alongside of the brig by ten o’clock at night, 
 
 ■ Ahen the boat filled, we were more than three miles from 
 he Rock, in the Gut, where the current would have set 
 
 I is into the Mediterranean, and we must have inevitably 
 it lerished before morning ; but we were spared, in order to 
 1 uffer a severer doom, and miseries worse than death, on 
 
 ■ he barbarous shores of Africa. 
 
 ( We now took on board part of a cargo of brandies and 
 rines, and some dollars, say about two thousand, and an 
 Id man named Antonio Michel, a native of New-Orleans, 
 s' i’ho had previously been wrecked on the island of Tene- 
 1 iffe, and was recommended to my charity by Mr. Gavino, 
 v 7 ho at that time exercised the functions of American 
 ' Consul at Gibraltar. 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Voijage from Gibraltar towards the Cape de Verd Islands. 
 
 including the shipwreck of the brig Commerce on the 
 
 coast of Africa. 
 
 We set sail from the bay of Gibraltar on the 23d of 
 August, 1815, intending to go by way of the Cape de 
 Verd Islands, to complete the lading of the vessel with 
 salt. We passed Cape Spartel on the morning of the! 
 24th, giving it a birth of from ten to twelve leagues, and 
 steered off to the W. S. W. I intended to make the 
 Canary Islands, and pass between Teneriffe and Palma,! 
 having a fair wind j but it being very thick and foggy 
 weather, though we got two observations at noon, neither 
 could be much depended upon. On account of the fog, 
 we saw no land, and found, by good meridian altitudes 1 
 on the twenty-eighth, that we were in the latitude of 
 27. 30. N. having differed our latitude by the force of 
 current, one hundred and twenty miles ; thus passing the 
 Canaries without seeing any of them. I concluded we 
 must have passed through the intended passage without 
 discovering the land on either side, particularly as it was: 
 in the night, which was very dark, and black as pitch ;! 
 nor could I believe otherwise from having had a fair wind 
 all the way, and having steered one course ever since we 
 took our departure from Cape Spartel. Soon after we 
 got an observation on the 28th, it became as thick as 
 ever, and the darkness seemed (if possible) to increase. 
 Towards evening I got up my reckoning, and examined 
 it all over, to be sure that I had committed no error, and 
 caused the mates to do the same with theirs. Having 
 thus ascertained that I was correct in calculation, I altered 
 our course to S. W. which ought to have carried us 
 nearly on the course I wished to steer, that is, for the 
 easternmost of the Cape de Verds ; but finding the weath« 
 er becoming more foggy towards night, it being so thick 
 that we could scarcely see the end of the jib-boom, I 
 rounded the vessel to, and sounded with one hundred and 
 twenty fathoms of line, but found no bottom, and con- ; 
 
VOYAGE IN THE COMMERCE. 
 
 27 
 
 tinned on our course, still reflecting on what should be 
 the cause of our not seeing land, (as I never had passed 
 near the Canaries before without seeing them, even in 
 thick weather or in the night.) I came to a determina- 
 tion to haul off to the N. W. by the wind at ten P. M. 
 as I should then be by the log only thirty miles north of 
 Cape Bajador. I concluded on this at nine, and thought 
 oi my fears had never before so much prevailed over my 
 d< judgment and my reckoning. I ordered the light sails to 
 •t! be handed, and the steering sail booms to be rigged in 
 a snug, which was done as fast as it could be by one watch, 
 in under the immediate direction of Mr. Savage, 
 hi We had just got the men stationed at the braces for 
 ia hauling off, as the man at helm cried “ ten o’clock.” 
 3 Our try-sail boom was on the starboard side, but ready 
 0! for jibing; the helm was put to port, dreaming of no 
 ^danger near. I had been on deck all the evening myself ; 
 
 « the vessel was running at the rate of nine or ten knots, 
 o with a very strong breeze, and high sea, ’when the main 
 o boom was jibed over, and I at that instant heard a roaring ; 
 in the yards were braced up — all hands were called. I ima- 
 vi gined at first it was a squall, and was near ordering the 
 u sails to be lowered down ; but I then discovered breakers 
 a foaming at a most dreadful rate under our lee. Hope for 
 a moment flattered me that we could fetch off still, as there 
 were no breakers in view ahead : the anchors were made 
 ready ; but these hopes vanished in an instant, as the vessel 
 was carried by a current and a sea directly towards the 
 breakers, and she struck ! We let go the best bower an- 
 chor ; all sails were taken in as fast as possible : surge 
 after surge came thundering on, and drove her in spite of 
 anchors, partly with her head on shore. She struck with 
 such violence as to start every man from the deck. Know- 
 ing there was no possibility of saving her, and that she 
 must very soon bilge and All with water, I ordered ail the 
 provisions we could get at to be brought on deck, in hopes 
 of saving some, and as much water to be drawn from the 
 large casks as possible. We started several quarter casks 
 of wine, and filled them with water. Every man worked 
 as if his life depended upon his present exertions ; all were 
 obedient to every order I gave, and seemed perfectly 
 
28 
 
 CAPTAIN' RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 calm. The vessel was stout and high, as she was only in 
 ballast trim : the sea combed over her stern and swept her 
 decks ; but we managed to get the small boat in on deck, 
 to sling her and keep her from staving. We cut away the 
 bulwark on the larboard side so as to prevent the boats from 
 staving when we should get them out ; cleared away the 
 long boat and hung her in tackles, the vessel continuing to 
 strike very heavy, and filling fast. W e however, had se- 
 cured five or six barrels of water, and as many of wine, — 
 three barrels of bread, and three or four of salted provisions. 
 
 I had as yet been so busily employed, that no pains had 
 been taken to ascertain what distance we were from the 
 land, nor had any of us yet seen it ; and in the mean time 
 all the clothing, chests, trunks, &c. were got up, and the 
 books, charts, and sea instruments, were stowed in them,, 
 in the hope of their being useful to us in future. 
 
 The vessel being now nearly full of water, the surf 
 making a fair breach over her, and fearing she would go 
 to pieces, I prepared a rope, and put it in the small boat, 
 having got a glimpse of the shore, at no great distance, 
 and taking Porter with me, we were lowered down on the 
 larboard or lee side of the vessel, where she broke the vi- 
 olence of the sea, and made it comparatively smooth ; we 
 shoved off, but on clearing away from the bow of the ves- 
 sel, the boat was overwhelmed with a surf, and we were 
 plunged into the foaming surges : we were driven along ; 
 by the current, aided by what seamen call the undertow, 
 (or recoil of the sea) to the distance of three hundred yards 
 to the westward, covered nearly all the time by the billows, j 
 which, following each other in quick succession, scarcely 
 gave us time to catch a breath before we were again literally 
 swallowed by them, till at length we were thrown, together i 
 with our boat, upon a sandy beach. After taking breath 
 a little, and ridding our stomachs of the salt water that had ; 
 forced its way into them, my first care was to turn the water i 
 out of the boat, and haul her up out of the reach of the 
 surf. We found the rope that was made fast to her still 
 remaining ; this we carried up along the beach, directly to 
 leeward of the wreck, where we fastened it to sticks about 
 the thickness of handspikes, that had drifted on the shore 
 from the vessel, and which we drove into the sand by the 
 
VOYAGE IN THE COMMERCE. 29 
 
 li help of other pieces of wood. Before leaving the vessel, 
 r I had directed that all the chests, trunks, and every thing 
 that would float, should be hove overboard : this all hands 
 e; were busied in doing. The vessel lay about one hundred 
 n fathoms from the beach, at high tide. In order to save 
 e the crew, a hawser was made fast to the rope we had on 
 oj shore, one end of which we hauled to us, and made it 
 fast to a number of sticks we had driven into the sand for 
 - the purpose. It was then tautened on board the wreck, 
 
 ), and made fast. This being done, the long boat (in order 
 d | to save the provisions already in her) was lowered down, 
 e and two hands steadied her by ropes fastened to the rings 
 e in her stem and stern posts over the hawser, so as to slide, 
 e keeping her bow to the surf. In this manner they, reached 
 i, the beach, carried on the top of a heavy wave. The boat 
 was stove by the violence of the shock against the beach ; 
 f but by great exertions we saved the three barrels of bread 
 
 0 I in her before they were much damaged ; and two barrels 
 
 of salted provisions were also saved. We were now, four 
 , of us, on shore, and busied in picking up the clothing 
 and other things which drifted from the vessel, and parry- 
 ing them up out of the surf. It was by this time day- 
 e light, and high water ; the vessel careened deep off shore, 
 and I made signs to have the masts cut away, in the hope 
 e of easing her, that she might not go to pieces. They 
 j were accordingly cut away, and fell on her starboard side, 
 making a better lee for a boat alongside the .wreck, as 
 s they projected considerably beyond her bows. The masts 
 and rigging being gone, the sea breaking very high over 
 f the wreck, and nothing left to hold on by, the mates 'and 
 six men still on board, though secured, as well as they 
 could be, on the bowsprit and in the larboard fore-chan- 
 li | nels, were yet in imminent danger of being washed off by 
 
 1 every surge. The long boat was stove, and it being im- 
 r possible for the small one to live, my great object was 
 e now to save the lives of the crew by means of the hawser. 
 
 1 I therefore made signs to them to come, one by one, on 
 o | the hawser, which had been stretched taut for that pur- 
 
 t pose. John Hogan ventured first, and having pulled ofi' 
 e his jacket, took to the hawser, and made for the shore. 
 "When he had got clear of the immediate lee of the wreck, 
 
30 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 every surf buried him, combing many feet above his 
 head ; but he still held fast to the rope with a death-like 
 grasp, and as soon as the surf was passed, proceeded on 
 towards the shore, until another surf, more powerful than 
 the former, unclenched his hands, and threw him within 
 our reach ; when we laid hold of him and dragged him 
 to the beach ; we then rolled him on the sand, until he 
 discharged the salt water from his stomach, and revived. 
 I kept in the water up to my chin, steadying myself by the 
 hawser, while the surf passed over me, to catch the others 
 as they approached, and thus, with the assistance of those 
 already on shore, was enabled to save all the rest from a 
 xvatery grave. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Description of the natives. — They make war upon the 
 crew, and drive them off to the wreck. 
 
 All hands being now landed, our first care was to se- 
 cure the provisions and water which we had so far saved, 
 knowing it was a barren thirsty land ; and we carried the 
 provisions up fifty yards from the water’s edge, where we 
 placed them, and then formed a kind of a tent by means of 
 our oars and two steering sails. I had fondly hoped we 
 should not be discovered by any human beings on this 
 inhospitable shore, but that we should be able to repair 
 our boats, with the materials we might get from the wreck, 
 and by taking advantage of a smooth time, (if we should 
 be favoured with one,) put to sea, where by the help of a 
 compass and other instruments which we had saved, we 
 might possibly find some friendly vessel to save our lives, 
 or reach some of the European settlements down the coast, 
 or the Cape de Verd Islands. 
 
 Being thus employed, we saw a human figure approach 
 our stuff) such as clothing, which lay scattered along the 
 beach for a mile westward of us. It was a man ! He be- 
 gan plundering our clothing. I went towards him with 
 all the signs of peace and friendship I could make, but he 
 
WRECK OF TIIE COMMERCE. 
 
 51 
 
 was extremely shy, and made signs to me to keep my 
 distance, while he all the time seemed intent on plunder. 
 He was unarmed, and I continued to approach him until 
 Avithin ten yards. 
 
 He appeared to be about five feet seven or eight inches 
 high, and of a complexion between that of an American 
 Indian and negro. He had about him, to cover his na- 
 kedness, a piece of coarse woolen cloth, that reached from 
 below his breast nearly to his knees ; his hair was long and 
 bushy, resembling a pitch mop , sticking out every Avay 
 six or eight inches from his head ; his face resembled that 
 of an ourang-outang more than a human being ; his eyes 
 were red and fiery ; his mouth, which stretched nearly 
 from ear to ear, was well lined with sound teeth ; and a 
 long curling beard, which depended from his upper lip and 
 chin down upon his breast, gave him altogether a most 
 horrid appearance, and I could not but imagine that those 
 well set teeth Avere sharpened for the purpose of devouring 
 human flesh ! ! particularly as I conceived I had before 
 seen in different parts of the Avorld, the human face and 
 form in its most hideous and terrific shape. He appeared 
 to be very old, yet fierce and vigorous ; he Avas soon 
 joined by tAvo old women of similar appearance, Avhom I 
 took to be his Avives. These looked a little less frightful, 
 though their tAvo eye-teeth stuck out like hogs’ tusks, and 
 their tanned skins hung in loose plaits on their faces and 
 breasts ; but their hair Avas long and braided. A girl of 
 from eighteen to twenty, Avho was not ugly, and five or 
 six children of different ages and sexes, from six to six- 
 teen years, Avere also in company. These Avere entirely 
 naked. They brought Avith them a good English ham- 
 mer, Avith a rope-laniard through a hole in its handle. It 
 had, no doubt, belonged to some vessel wrecked on that 
 coast. They had also a kind of axe Avith them, and some 
 long knives slung on their right sides, in a sheath sus- 
 pended by their necks. They noAv felt themselves strong, 
 and commenced a bold and indiscriminate plundering of 
 every thing they Avanted. They broke open trunks, 
 chests, and boxes, and emptied them of their contents, 
 carrying the clothing on their backs upon the sand hills, 
 where they spread them out to dry. They emptied the 
 
32 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 beds of their contents, wanting only the cloth, and were 
 much amused with the flying of the feathers before the ! 
 wind from my bed. It appeared as though they had never i 
 before seen such things. 
 
 I had an adventure of silk laced veils and silk handker- 
 chiefs, the former of which the man, women, and chil- 
 dren tied round their heads in the form of turbans ; the 
 latter round their legs and arms, though only for a short 
 time, when they took them off again, and stowed them 
 away among the other clothing on the sand hills. They 
 all seemed highly delighted with their good fortune, and 
 even the old man’s features began to relax a little, as he 
 met with no resistance. W e had no fire or side arms, but 
 we could easily have driven these creatures off with hand- 
 spikes, had I not considered that we had no possible 
 means of escaping either by land or water, and had no s 
 reason to doubt but they would call others to their assist- 
 ance, and in revenge destroy us. I used all the arguments 
 in my power to induce my men to endeavour to conciliate 
 the friendship of these natives, but it was with the greatest 
 difficulty I could restrain some of them from rushing on the 
 savages and putting them to death, if they could have come 
 up with them ; but I found they could run like the wind, 
 whilst we could with difficulty move in the deep sand. Such 
 an act I conceived would cost us our lives, as soon as we 
 should be overpowered by numbers, and I therefore per- 
 mitted them to take what pleased them best, without 
 making any resistance ; except our bread and provisions, 
 which, as we could not subsist without them, I was de- 
 termined to defend to the last extremity. On our first 
 reaching the shore I allowed my mates and people to share 
 among themselves one thousand Spanish dollars, for I had 
 hauled my trunk on shore by a rope, with my money in it. 
 which I was induced to do in the hope of its being useful 
 to them in procuring a release from this country in case 
 we should be separated, and in aiding them to reach their 
 homes. We had rolled up the casks of water and wine 
 which had been thrown overboard and drifted ashore. I 
 was now determined to mend the long boat, as soon and 
 as well as possible, in order to have a retreat in my power, 
 ■'or at least the hope of one,) in case of the last necessity. 
 
I 
 
 WRECK OF THE COMMERCE, 22 
 
 i The wind lulled a little in the afternoon, at low water., 
 I when William Porter succeeded in reaching the wreck, and 
 procured a few nails and a marline spike ; with these he got 
 safe back to the shore. I found the timbers of the boat in 
 so crazy a state, and the nails which held them together, so 
 eaten off by the rust, that she would not hold together, nor 
 support her weight in turning her up in order to get at her 
 bottom. I tacked her timbers together, however, as well 
 as I could, which was very imperfectly, as I had bad tools 
 to work with, and my crew, now unrestrained by my au- 
 thority, having broached a cask of wine, and taken copi- 
 ous draughts of it, in order to dispel their sorrows, were 
 most of them in such a state, that instead of assisting me, 
 they tended to increase my embarrassment. We, however, 
 at last, got the boat turned up, and found that one whole 
 plank was out on each side, and very much split. I 
 tacked the pieces in, assisted by Mr. Savage, Horace, and 
 one or two more. We chinced a little oakum into the 
 ■ seams and splits with our knives, as well as we could, 
 and worked upon her until it was quite dark. I had kept 
 sentinels walking with handspikes, to guard the tent and 
 provisions during this time, but the Arabs had managed 
 to rob us of one of our sails from the tent, and to carry 
 it off, and not content with this, they tried to get the other 
 in the same way. This I would not permit them to do. 
 They then showed their hatchets and their arms, but find- 
 ing it of no effect, they retired for the night, after promising, 
 as near as I could understand them, that they would not 
 molest us further till morning, when they would bring 
 camels down with them. We had previously seen a great 
 many camel tracks in the sand, and I of course believed 
 there were some near. One of the children had furnished 
 us with fire, which enabled us to roast a fowl that had 
 been drowned, and driven on shore from the wreck, on 
 
 ■ which, with some salt pork, and a little bread and butter, 
 we made a hearty meal, little thinking that this was to be 
 
 ■ the last of our provisions we should be permitted to enjoy. 
 A watch was set of two men, who were to walk guard at. 
 a distance from the tent, to give an alarm in case of the 
 approach of the natives, and keep burning a guard fire. 
 This we were enabled to do by cutting up some spars we 
 
34 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE* 
 
 found on the beach, and which must have belonged te 
 some vessel wrecked there before us. 
 
 Night had now spread her sable mantle over the face of 
 nature, the savages had retired, and all was still, except 
 the restless and unwearied waves, which dashed against 
 the deserted wreck, and tumbled among the broken rocks' 
 a little to the eastward of us, where the high perpendicular 
 cliffs, jutting out into the sea, opposed a barrier to their 
 violence, and threatened, at the same time, inevitable and 
 certain destruction to every ill fated vessel and her crew 
 that should, unfortunately, approach too near their im- 
 moveable foundations : these we had escaped only by a few 
 rods. From the time the vessel struck to this moment, I 
 had been so entirely engaged by the laborious exertions 
 which our critical situation demanded, that I had no time 
 for reflection ; but it now rushed like a torrent over my 
 mind, and banished from my eyes that sleep which my 
 fatigued frame so much required. I knew I was on a 
 barren and inhospitable coast ; a tempestuous ocean lay 
 before me, whose -bosom was continually tossed and agi- 
 tated by wild and furious winds, blowing directly on 
 shore ; no vessel or boat sufficient for our escape, as I 
 thought it impossible for our shattered long boat to live 
 at sea, even if we should succeed in urging her through 
 the tremendous surges that broke upon the shore with 
 such violence as to make the whole coast tremble ; be- 
 hind us were savage beings, bearing the human form 
 indeed, but in its most terrific appearance, whose object 
 I knew, from what had already passed, would be to rob 
 us of our last resource, our provisions ; and I did not 
 doubt, but they would be sufficiently strong in the morn- 
 ing, not only to accomplish what they meditated, but to 
 take our lives also,- or to seize upon our persons, and 
 doom us to slavery, till death should rid us of our mis- 
 eries. 
 
 This was the first time I had ever suffered shipwreck. 
 I had left a wife and five young children behind me, on 
 whom I doated, and w r ho depended on me entirely for their 
 subsistence. My children would have no father’s, and per- 
 haps no mother’s care, to direct them in the paths of virtue, 
 to instruct their ripening years, or to watch over them, and 
 
WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 
 
 35 
 
 ^administer the balm of comfort in time of sickness ; no 
 .generous friend to relieve their distresses, and save them 
 J from indigence, degradation, and ruin. These reflections 
 harrowed up my soul, nor could 1 cease to shudder at 
 51 these imaginary evils, added to my real ones, until I was 
 b forced mentally to exclaim, “ Thy ways, great Father of 
 ! r the universe, are wise and just, and what am I ! an atom 
 11 of dust, that dares to murmur at thy dispensations.” 
 
 1 ' I next considered, that eleven of my fellow sufferers, 
 
 ' j who had entrusted themselves to my care, were still alive 
 
 and with me, and all but two of them (who were on the 
 j watch) lying on the ground, and wrapped in the most 
 profound* and apparently pleasing sleep ; and as I surveyed 
 1S them with tears of compassion, I felt it was a sacred duty 
 e assigned me by Providence, to protect and preserve their 
 • lives to my very utmost. The night passed slowly and 
 ■ tediously away ; when daylight at length began to dawn in 
 
 2 the eastern horizon, and chased darkness before it, not to 
 ) I usher to our view the cheering prospect of approaching 
 ’ relief, but to unfold new scenes of suffering, wretchedness, 
 “ and distress. So soon as it was fairly light, the old man. 
 
 came down accompanied by his wives and two young men 
 of the same family — he was armed with a spear of iron, 
 having a handle made with two pieces of wood spliced 
 together, and tied with cords : the handle was about 
 twelve feet long. This he held balanced in his right 
 hand, above his head, making motions as if to throw it 
 at us ; he ordered us off to the wreck, pointing, at the 
 same time to a large drove of camels that were descend- 
 ing the heights to the eastward of us, his women running 
 off at the same time whooping and yelliiig horribly, 
 throwing up sand in the air, and beckoning to those who 
 had charge of the camels to approach. I ran towards the 
 1 beach, and seized a small spar that lay there, to parry 
 off the old man’s lance, as a handspike was not long 
 enough. He in the mean time came to the tent like a 
 fury, where the people still were, and by slightly pricking- 
 one or two of them, and pointing at the same time to- 
 wards the camels, he succeeded in frightening them, 
 which was his object, as he did not wish to call help, lest 
 he should be obliged to divide the spoil. The crew all 
 
Captain riley’s narrative. 
 
 made the best of their way to the small boat, while ] 
 parried ofF his spear with my spar, and kept him at a 
 distance. He would doubtless have hurled it at me, but 
 for the fear of losing it. 
 
 The small boat was dragged to the water, alongside 
 our hawser, but the people huddling into her in a con- 
 fused manner, she was filled by the first sea, and bilged. 
 
 I now thought we had no resource, except trying to get 
 eastward or westward. Abandoning, therefore, our boats, * 
 provisions, See. we tried to retreat eastward, but were 
 opposed by this formidable spear, and could not make 
 much progress ; for the old man was very active. He 
 would fly from us like the wind, and return with the same 
 speed. The camels were approaching very fast, and he 
 made signs to inform us, that the people who were with | 
 them had fire arms, and would put us instantly to death ? 
 at the same time opposing us every way with his young 
 men, with all their weapons, insisting on our going to- 
 wards the wreck, and refusing to receive our submission, 
 while the women and children still kept up their yelling. 
 We then laid hold of the long boat, turned her over, and 
 got her into the water ; and as I would suffer only one at 
 a time to get on board, and that too over her stern, we 
 succeeded at length, and all got off safe alongside the 
 wreck, which made a tolerable lee for the boat, though 
 she was by this time half filled with water. 
 
 All hands got on board the wreck except myself and 
 another, we kept bailing the boat and were able to keep 
 her from entirely filling, having one bucket and a keg to 
 work with. The moment we were out of the way, all 
 the family* ran together where our tent was ; here they 
 were joined by the camels and two young men, which 
 we had not before seen, apparently about the ages of 
 twenty and twenty-six. They were armed with scimi- 
 tars, and came running on foot from the eastward. The 
 old man and women ran to meet them, hallooing to us, 
 brandishing their naked weapons and bidding us defiance. 
 They loaded the barrels of bread on their camels, which 
 kneeled down to receive them ; the beef, and all the other 
 provisions, with the sail that the tent was made of, &q. &c„ 
 and sent them off with the children, who drove them 
 
WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 
 
 37 
 
 down. The old man nest came to the beach ; with 
 < his axe stove in all the heads of our water casks and 
 Hi! casks of wines, emptying their contents into the sand. 
 
 They then gathered up all the trunks, chests, sea instru- 
 df ments, books and charts, and consumed them by fire in 
 n. one pile. Our provisions and water being gone, we saw 
 d. no other alternative but to try to get to sea in our leaky 
 etj boat, or stay and be washed off the wreck the next night, 
 s, or to perish by the hands of these barbarians, who we 
 re expected would appear in great force, and bring fire 
 :e arms with them, and they would besides soon be enabled 
 le to walk to the wreck, on a sand bar that was fast forming 
 ie inside of the vessel, and now nearly dry at low water. The 
 tide seemed to ebb and flow about twelve feet. We had 
 
 i now made all the preparations in our power for our de- 
 ; : parture, which amounted to nothing more than getting 
 g from the wreck a few bottles of wine and a few pieces of 
 ). salt pork. No water could be procured, and the bread 
 i, was completely spoiled by being soaked in salt water. 
 
 Our oars were all lost except two that were on shore in the 
 ; power of the natives. We had split a couple of plank 
 it for oars, and attempted to shove off, but a surf striking 
 e the boat, came over her bow, and nearly filling her with 
 e water, drifted her again alongside the wreck. We now 
 
 ii made shift to get on board the wreck again, and bail out 
 the boat ; which when done, two hands were able to 
 
 ! keep her free, while two others held her steady by ropes, 
 i so as to prevent her from dashing to pieces against the 
 > wreck. 
 
 1 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The natives seize the author by perfidy , and then get pos- 
 session of the money — The author's critical situation on 
 shore — He escapes to the wreck — Antonio Michel is 
 massacred. 
 
 The sight of our deplorable situation seemed to excite 
 pity in the breasts of the savages who had driven us from 
 
ii8 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY : r S NARRATIVE. 
 
 the shore. They came down to the water’s edge, bowed 
 themselves to the ground, beckoning us, and particularly 
 me, whom they knew to be the captain, to come on shore ; 
 making at the same time all the signs of peace and friend- 
 ship they could. They carried all their arms up over the 
 sand hills, and returned without them. Finding I would 
 not come on shore, one of them ran and fetched a small 
 goat or dog skin, which by signs, they made me under- 1 
 stand was filled with water, and all retiring to a considera- 
 ble distance from the beach, except tire old man who had 
 it : he came into the water with it up to his armpits, 
 beckoning me to come and fetch it and drink. He was 
 nearly naked, and had no weapons about him. Being 
 very thirsty, and finding we could not get at any water, 
 and no hope remaining of our being able to get out 
 through the surf to sea, I let myself down by the hawser, 
 and w ent by means of it to the beach, where the old man. 
 met me and gave me the skin of water, which I carried 
 off to the wreck, and the people hauled it up on board. 
 This done, he made me understand that he wished to 
 go on board, and me to remain on the beach until his 
 return. 
 
 Seeing no possible chance of escaping or of preserving 
 our lives in any other way but by their assistance, and i 
 that that was only to be obtained by conciliating them — • 
 telling my men my mind, I went again to the shore. The '■ 
 young men, women, and children w r ere now 7 seated un- 
 armed on the beach, near the water — the grown people 
 nearly, and the children entirely naked. They made all 
 the signs of peace they knew of, looking upwards, as if 
 invoking heaven to w-itness their sincerity. The old 
 man advancing, took me by the hand, and looking up 
 to heaven, said, “ Allah K Beery I knew that Allah 
 was the Arabic name for the Supreme Being, and sup- 
 posed K. Beer meant “ our friend or father.” I let him 
 pass to the wreck, and went and seated myself on the 
 beach with the others, who seemed very friendly, inter- 
 lacing their fingers with mine ; putting my 7 hat on one 
 another’s head and returning it to me again ; stroking 
 down my trowsers, feeling my head and hands, examin- 
 ing my shoes, and feeling into my pockets, &c. 
 
WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 
 
 3 $ 
 
 When the people had hauled the old man on board, i 
 [endeavoured to make them understand that they must 
 keep him until I was released, but they did not compre- 
 hend my meaning, owing to the noise of the surf ; and 
 after he had satisfied his curiosity by looking attentively 
 at every thing he could see, which was nothing more than 
 the wreck of the contents of the hold floating in her, in- 
 quiring for baftas, for fire-arms, and for money, as I 
 afterwards learnt, and finding none, he came on shore. 
 When he was near the beach, and I about to rise to meet 
 him, I was seized by both arms by the two stoutest 
 of the young men, who had placed themselves on each 
 side of me for the purpose of safe-keeping. They grasp- 
 ed my arms like lions, and at that instant the women and 
 children presented their daggers, knives and spears to- 
 my head and breast. To strive against them was instant 
 death ; I was therefore obliged to remain quiet, and de- 
 termined to show no concern for my life or any signs of 
 fear. The countenance of every one around me now 
 assumed the most horrid and malignant expressions ; 
 they gnashed their teeth at me, and struck their daggers 
 within an inch of every part of my head and body. The 
 young men still held me fast, while the old one, seizing 
 a sharp scimitar, laid hold of my hair at the same instant, 
 as if to cut my throat, or my head off. I concluded my 
 last moments had come, and that my body was doomed 
 to be devoured by these beings, whom I now considered 
 to be none other than cannibals, that w r ouid soon glut 
 their hungry stomachs with my flesh. I could only say. 
 
 Thy wifi be done,” mentally, and felt resigned to my 
 fate, for I thought it could not be prevented. But this 
 conduct on their part, it soon appeared, was only for the 
 purpose of frightening me, and as I had not changed 
 countenance, the old man, after drawing his scimitar 
 lightly across the collar of my shirt, which he cut a little 
 released my head, bidding me by signs to order all the 
 money we had on board to be brought directly on shore. 
 
 My mates and people then on the wreck, had wit- 
 nessed this scene, and had agreed, as they afterwards 
 informed me, that if I was massacred, which they did 
 not doubt from appearances would soon be the case, to 
 
40 . 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 rush on shore in the boat, armed in the best manner they 
 were able, and revenge my death by selling their lives 
 as dearly as possible. 
 
 When the old man had quit his hold, and I hailed my 
 people, their hopes began to revive, and one of them 
 came on the hawser to know what they should do. I told 
 him all the money which they had on board must be in- 
 stantly brought on shore He was in the water at some 
 distance from me, and could not hear, on account of 
 the noise occasioned by the surf, what I added, which 
 was for them not to part with the money until I should 
 be fairly released. He went on board, and all hands 
 hoping to procure my release, put their money which 
 they still had about them, to the amount of about one 
 thousand dollars into a bucket, and slinging it on the 
 hawser, Porter shoved it along before him near the beach, 
 and was about to bring it up to the place where I sat. 
 With considerable difficulty, however I prevented him, 
 as the surf made such a roaring, that he could not hear 
 me, though he was only a few yards distant ; but he at 
 last understood my signs, and staid in the water until one 
 of the young men went and received it from him. The 
 old man had taken his seat alongside of me, and held his 
 scimitar pointed at my breast. 
 
 The bucket ol dollars was brought and poured into 
 one end of the old man’s blanket, when he bid me rise 
 and go along with them, he and the young men urging 
 me along by both arms, with their daggers drawn before, 
 and the women and children behind with the spear, and 
 their knives near my back. In this manner they made me 
 go with them over the sand drifts to the distance of three 
 or four hundred yards, where they seated themselves and 
 me on the ground. The old man then proceeded to 
 count and divide the money. He made three heaps of it, 
 counting into each heap by tens, and so dividing it ex- 
 actly, gave to the two young men one-third or heap — to 
 his two wives one-third, and kept the other to himself. 
 Each secured his and their own part, by wrapping and 
 tting it up in some of our clothing. During this pro- 
 cess, they had let go of my arms, though they were all 
 around me. I thought my fate was now decided, if I 
 
WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 
 
 41 
 
 * 
 
 V 
 
 nr 
 
 Id 
 
 ti. 
 
 le 
 
 of 
 
 :h 
 
 d 
 
 is! 
 
 h 
 
 ie 
 
 ,e 
 
 'r 
 
 f 
 
 it 
 
 e 
 
 $ 
 
 ) 
 
 could not by some means effect my escape. I knew they 
 could outrun me, if I should leap from them, and would 
 undoubtedly plunge their weapons to my heart if I at- 
 tempted, and failed in the attempt. However, I resolved 
 to risk it, and made a slight movement with that view at a 
 moment when I thought all eyes were turned from me ; 
 but one of the young men perceiving my manoeuvre, 
 made a lounge at me with his scimitar. I eluded the 
 force of his blow, by falling backwards on the ground ; it 
 however pierced my waistcoat. He was about to repeat 
 it, when the old man bade him desist. 
 
 The money being now distributed and tied up, they 
 made me rise with them, and were all going together from 
 the beach, holding me by the arms, with naked daggers all 
 around me. There appeared now no possible means of 
 escape, when the thought suddenly occurred to me, to 
 tempt their avarice. I then, by signs, made them under- 
 stand that there was more money in the possession of the 
 crew. This seemed to please them, and they instantly 
 turned themselves and me about for the beach, sending the. 
 money off by one of the young men and a boy. When 
 they approached to within one hundred yards of the beach, 
 they made me seat myself on the sand between two of 
 them, who held me by the arms, bidding me order the 
 money on shore. I knew there was none on board the 
 wreck, or in the boat, but I imagined if I could get 
 Antonio Michel on shore, I should be able to make my 
 escape. I hailed accordingly, and made signs to my 
 people to have one of them come near the shore ; but as 
 they saw, by every movement of the natives, that my sit- 
 uation was dreadfully critical, none of them were inclined 
 to venture, and I waited more than an hour, was often 
 threatened with death, and made to halloo with all my 
 might, until I became so hoarse as scarcely to make my- 
 self heard by those around me. The pity of Mr. Savage 
 at last overcame his fears. He ventured on the hawser, 
 and reaching the beach in safety was about to come up to 
 me, where he would have been certainly seized on as I 
 was, when I endeavoured to make him understand, by 
 signs, that he must stay in the water, and keep clear of the 
 natives, if he valued his life ; but not being able to hear 
 
 6 
 
42 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 ■me, my guards, who supposed I was giving him orders to 
 fetch the money, obliged me to get up and approach him 
 a little, until I made him understand what 1 Wanted.: he 
 then returned on board the wreck, and I was taken back 
 to my former station. 
 
 Antonio came to the shore, as soon as he knew it was 
 my wish, and made directly towards me. The natives, 
 expecting he would bring more money, flocked about 
 him to receive it, but finding he had none, struck him 
 with their fists, and the handles of their daggers, and 
 stripped oft' all his clothing : the children at the same time, 
 pricking him with their sharp knives, and all seemed de- 
 termined to torment him with a slow and cruel death. He 
 begged for his life upon his knees, but they paid no re- 
 gard to his entreaties. In hopes of saving him from the 
 fury of these wretches, I told him to let them know by 
 signs that there were dollars and other things buried in the 
 sand, near where our tent had stood, and to endeavour to 
 find them by digging. A new spy-glass, a hand saw, and 
 several other things had been buried there, and a bag con- 
 taining about four hundred dollars at a short distance from 
 them. He soon made them understand that something 
 was buried, and they hurried him to the spot he had pointed 
 out, and he began to dig. I had imagined that if this 
 man would come on shore, I should be enabled to make 
 my escape ; yet I knew not how, nor had I formed any 
 plan for effecting it. 
 
 I was seated on the sand, facing the sea, between the 
 old man on my left, with his spear uplifted in his left 
 hand, pointing to my breast, and the stoutest young man 
 on my right, with a naked scimitar in his right hand, 
 pointing to my head-— both weapons were within six 
 inches of me, and my guards within a foot on each side. 
 I considered at this time, that so soon as any thing should 
 be found by those who were digging, they would naturally 
 speak and inform those who guarded me of it ; (these 
 had let go of my arms sometime before) and as I was 
 pretty certain that both of them would look round as soon 
 as the discovery of any treasure should be announced, I 
 carefully drew up my legs under me, but without excit 
 ing' suspicion, in order to be ready for. a start. The place 
 
W’reok,- of / he Jlri> / Comf/mrctz 071 the Coast of jLfvira _ The ^Luther's escape from this Arots . 
 
WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 
 
 4S 
 
 where they were digging, was partly behind us on out 
 right, and upon their making a noise, both my guards 
 turned their heads and eyes from me towards them, when 
 I instantly sprang out from beneath their weapons, and 
 flew to the beach. I was running for my life, and soon 
 reached the water’s edge. Knowing I was pursued, and 
 > nearly overtaken, I plunged into the sea, with all my 
 ; force, head foremost, and swam under water as long as I 
 could hold my breath ; then rising to the surface, I looked 
 round on my pursuers. The old man was within ten feet 
 of me, up to Ids chin in water, and was in the act of dart 
 ing his spear through my body, when a surf rolling over 
 me, saved my life, and dashed him and his comrades on 
 the beach. I was some distance westward of the wreck ; 
 but swimming as fast as possible towards her, whilst surf 
 after surf broke in towering heights over me, I was ena- 
 bled, by almost superhuman exertion, to reach the lee of 
 the wreck, when I was taken into the boat over the stem 
 by the mates and people. 
 
 I was so far exhausted that I could not immediately 
 witness what passed on shore, but was informed by those 
 who did, that my pursuers stood motionless on the beach, 
 at the edge of the water, until I was safe in the boat 
 that they then ran towards poor Antonio, and plunging a 
 spear into his body near his left breast downwards, laid 
 him dead at their feet. They then picked up what things 
 remained, and made off all together. I saw them dragging 
 Antonio’s lifeless trunk across the sand hills, and felt an 
 inexpressible pang, that bereft me for a moment of all 
 sensation, occasioned by a suggestion that to me alone his 
 massacre was imputable ; but on my recovery, when I 
 reflected there were no other means whereby my own life 
 could have been preserved, and, under Providence, the 
 lives of ten men, who had been committed to my charge, 
 I concluded I had not done wrong, nor have I since had 
 occasion to reproach myself for being the innocent cause 
 of his destruction ; nor did any of my surviving ship- 
 mates, though perfectly at liberty so to do, ever accuse 
 me on this point ; from which I think I have an undoubted 
 right to infer, that their feelings perfectly coincided with 
 mine on this melancholy occasion- 
 
44 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEV’S NARRATIVE 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Providential preservation through the surf to the open 
 ocean — Sufferings in their shattered boat nine days at 
 sea — Landing again on the frightful coast of the Afri- 
 can Desert. 
 
 Hostilities had now commenced, and we could not 
 doubt but these merciless ruffians would soon return in 
 force, and, when able to overpower us, would massacre 
 us all as they had already done Antonio. The wind blow- 
 ing strong, and the surf breaking outside and on the 
 wreck twenty or thirty feet high, the hope of getting to 
 sea in our crazy long boat was indeed but faint. She had 
 been thumping alongside the wreck, and on a sand bank 
 all day, and writhed like an old basket, taking in as much 
 water as two men constantly employed with buckets could 
 throw out. The deck and outside of the wreck were fast 
 going to pieces, and the other parts could not hold to- 
 gether long. The tide, (by being low,) together with the 
 sand bar that had been formed by the washing of the sea 
 from the bow of the wreck to the beach, had very much 
 lessened the danger of communicating with the shore during 
 this day ; but it was now returning to sweep every thing 
 from the wreck, aided by the wind, which blew a gale on 
 shore every night. To remain on the wreck, or go on 
 shore, was almost certain death ; the boat could no longer 
 be kept afloat alongside, and being without provisions or 
 water, if we should put to sea, we must soon perish. We 
 liad neither oars nor a rudder to the boat ; no compass nor 
 a quadrant to direct our course ; but as it was our only 
 chance, I resolved to try and get to sea ; expecting, never- 
 theless, we should be swallowed up by the first surf, and 
 launched into eternity all together. 
 
 I, in the first place, sent Porter on shore to get the two 
 broken oars that were still lying there, while 1 made my 
 way through the water into the hold of the wreck, to try 
 once more if any fresh water could be found. I dove in 
 at the hatchway, which was covered with water, and found, 
 after coming up under the deck on the larboard side, as $ 
 
WRECK OF THE COMMERCE, 
 
 45 
 
 expected, just room enough to breathe, and to work 
 among the floating casks, planks, and wreck of the hold. 
 After much labour I found a water cask, partly full, and 
 
 I turning it over,, discovered that its bung was tight. This 
 gave me new courage, and after lipheading it, I came up 
 and communicated the circumstance to my shipmates, and 
 we then made search for some smaller vessel to fill from 
 the cask. After much trouble, a small keg was found in 
 the after hold ; it might probably hold four gallons — the 
 head of the water cask was stove in, and with the help of 
 Mr. Savage and Clark, I got the keg full of water, and a 
 good drink for all hands besides, which was very much 
 needed. The others were in the mean time employed in 
 rigging out spars which we had lashed together over the 
 stern of the wreck with a rope made fast to their outer 
 ends, in order to give the boat head way, and clear her 
 from the wreck, when we should finally shove off. Porter 
 had returned with the oars, and also brought the bag of 
 money that had been buried, containing about four hun- 
 dred dollars : this he did of his own accord. 
 
 We had got the small boat’s sails, consisting of a jib 
 and mainsail, into the boat, with a spar that would do for 
 a mast, and the brig’s fore-topmast staysail ; the keg of 
 water, a few pieces of salt pork, a live pig, weighing 
 about twenty pounds, which had escaped to the shore 
 when the vessel struck, and which had swam back to us 
 again when we were driven from the shore ; about four 
 pounds of figs, that had been soaking in salt tvater ever 
 since the brig was wrecked, and had been fished out of her 
 cabin ; this was all our stock of provisions. 
 
 Every thing being now ready, I endeavoured to encour- 
 age the crew as well as I could ; representing to them that 
 it was better to be swallowed up all together, than to suffer 
 ourselves to be massacred by the ferocious savages ; adding, 
 that the Almighty was able to save, even when the last 
 ray of hope was vanishing ; that we should never despair, 
 but exert ourselves to the last extremity, and still hope for 
 his merciful protection. 
 
 As we surveyed the dangers that surrounded us, wave 
 following wave, breaking with a dreadful crash just out- 
 ride of us, at every instant, our hearts indeed failed us, 
 
46 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 unci there appeared no possibility of getting safely beyond 
 the breakers, without a particular interference of Provi- 
 dence in our favour. The particular interference of Provi- 
 dence in any case I had always before doubted. Every 
 one trembled with dreadful apprehensions, and each ima- 
 gined that the moment we ventured past the vessel’s stern, 
 would be his last. I then said, “ Let us pull off our hats, 
 my shipmates and companions in distress.” This was 
 done in an instant ; when lifting my eyes and my soul to- 
 wards heaven, I exclaimed, “ Great Creator and preserver 
 of the universe, who now seest our distresses ; we pray 
 thee to spare our lives, and permit us to pass through this 
 overwhelming surf to the open sea ; but if we are doomed 
 to perish, thy will be done ; we commit our souls to the 
 mercy of thee our God, who gave them : and Oh ! uni- 
 versal Father, protect and preserve our widows and chil- 
 dren.” 
 
 The wind, as if by’ divine command, at this very mo- 
 ment ceased to blow. We hauled the boat out ; the 
 dreadful surges that were nearly bursting upon us, sud- 
 denly subsided, making a path for our boat about twenty 
 yards wide, through which we rowed her out as smoothly 
 as if she had been on a river in a calm, whilst on each side 
 of us, and not more than ten yards distant, the surf con- 
 tinued to break twenty feet high, and with unabated fury, j 
 We had to row nearly a mile in this manner : all were 
 fully convinced that we were saved by the immediate in- 
 terposition of Divine Providence in this particular in- 
 stance, and all joined in returning thanks to the Supreme 
 Being for this mercy. As soon as we reached the open 
 sea, and had gained some distance from the wreck, we 
 observed the surf rolling behind us with the same force as 
 it had on each side the boat. We next fitted the mast, 
 and set the small boat’s mainsail. The wind norv veered 
 four points to the eastward, so that we were enabled to fetch 
 past the point of the Cape, though the boat had neither 
 keel nor rudder. It was sunset when we got out, and night 
 coming on, the wind as usual increased to a gale before 
 morning, and we kept the boat to the wind by the help of 
 an oar, expecting every moment to be swallowed up by 
 the waves. We were eleven in number on board ; two 
 
SUFFERINGS IN TIIE BOAT. 
 
 47 
 
 •1 constantly bailing were scarcely able to keep her free,, 
 . changing hands every half hour. The night was very 
 . dark and foggy, and we could not be sure of fetching clear 
 , of the land, having nothing to guide us but the wind. In 
 . the morning we sailed back again for the land, and had ap- 
 , proached it almost within reach of the breakers without 
 , seeing it, when we put about again. It had been my in- 
 ; tention after we had got to sea, to run down the coast in 
 the hope of finding some vessel, or to discover the mouth 
 of some river, in order to obtain a supply of water. But 
 now the dangers and difficulties we should have to encoun- 
 ter in doing this, were taken into consideration. If we 
 tried to navigate along the coast, it was necessary to know 
 : our course, or we should be in imminent danger of being 
 dashed to pieces on it every dark day, and every night. 
 The thick foggy weather would prevent our seeing the 
 land in the day time ; whilst the wind, blowing almost 
 directly on the land, would force ns towards it, and en- 
 e danger the safety of both the boat and our lives, at every 
 turn or point. W e had no compass to guide us either by 
 day or night ; no instrument by which to find our latitude ; 
 no rudder to steer our boat with ; nor were we in possess- 
 e ion of materials wherewith it was possible to make one ; 
 she had no keel to steady her, nor was there a steering, 
 place in her stern, where an oar could be fixed by any 
 other means than by lashing to the stern ring, which af- 
 forded a very unsteady hold. On the one hand, we con- 
 sidered that if we escaped the danger of being driven on 
 shore or foundering at sea, and should succeed in reach- 
 ing the cultivated country south of the desert, vve should 
 have to encounter the ferocious inhabitants, who would not 
 fail, n the hope of plunder, to massacre us, or doom us 
 to slavery. On the other hand, we reflected that we had 
 escaped from savages w ho had already killed one of our 
 shipmates, had gained the open sea through divine mercy 
 and could stand off to the westward without fear of being 
 driven on shore. In this direction we might meet with 
 some friendly vessel to save us, which was our only hope 
 in that way ; and the worst that could happen to us was to 
 sink ail together in the sea. or gradually perish through want 
 of sustenance. 
 
48 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Having considered, and represented to my companions 
 the dangers that beset us on every side, I asked their 
 opinions one by one, and found they were unanimously in 
 favour of committing themselves to the open sea in prefer- 
 ence to keeping along the coast. The dangers appeared 
 to be fewer, and all agreed that it was better to perish on 
 the ocean, if it was God’s will, than by the hands of the 
 natives. There being a strong breeze, we stood off by 
 the wind and rigged our jib. We now agreed to put our- 
 selves upon allowance of one bottle of water and half a 
 bottle of wine among eleven of us, and a scrap of pork 
 and two soaked and salted figs for each man. During this 
 day, which was the 30th August, 1815, we fitted waist 
 cloths to go round above the gunwale of the boat, to pre- 
 vent the sea from dashing over ; they were from eight to 
 ten inches broad, made from the brig’s fore-staysail, and 
 were kept up by small pieces of a board which we formed 
 in the boat, so that they helped in some measure to keep 
 oft' the spray. It had been cloudy all day, and the boat 
 leaked faster than she had done before. As night came on 
 the wind blew hard and raised the sea very high, but the 
 boat was kept near the wind by her sails, and drifted broad- 
 side before it, smoothing the sea to the windward, and did 
 not ship a great deal of water. On the 31st it became 
 more moderate, but the weather was very thick and hazy. 
 Our pig being nearly dead for the want of water, we 
 killed it, taking care, however, to save his blood ; which 
 we divided amongst us and drank, our thirst having be- 
 come almost insupportable. W e also divided the pig’s 
 liver, intestines, See. between us, and ate some of them, 
 (as they were fresh,) to satisfy, in some degree, our thirst. 
 Thus this day passed away ; no vessel was yet seen to 
 relieve us ; we had determined to save our urine for drink, 
 which we accordingly did in some empty bottles, and 
 found great relief from the use of it ; for being obliged to 
 labour hard by turns to keep the boat above water, our 
 thirst was much more severely felt than if we had remain- 
 ed still. The night came on very dark and lowering; 
 the sky seemed big with an impending tempest ; the 
 wind blew hard from the N. E. and before midnight the 
 sea dashed into the boat in such quantities as several times . 
 
SUFFERINGS IN THE BOAT. 
 
 49 
 
 to fill her more than half full. All hands were employed 
 In throwing out the water with hats and other things, 
 each believing his final hour had at length arrived, and 
 expecting that every approaching surge would bury him 
 for ever in a watery grave. 
 
 The boat racked like an old basket, letting in water 
 at every seam and split ; her timbers working out or 
 breaking off ; the nails I had put in while last on shore 
 were kept from entirely drawing out, merely by the pres- 
 sure of the water acting on the outside of the boat. Sharp 
 flashes of lightning, caused by heat and vapour, shot 
 across the gloom, rendering the scene doubly horrid. In 
 this situation, some of the men thought it was no longer 
 of use to try to keep the boat afloat, as they said she 
 must soon fill in spite of all their exertions. Having 
 prayed to the Almighty, and implored pardon for our 
 transgressions, each one seemed perfectly resigned to his 
 fate : this was a trying moment, however, and my ex- 
 ample and advice could scarcely induce them to continue 
 bailing ; whilst some of them, by thrusting their heads 
 into the water, endeavoured to ascertain what the pains 
 of death were, by feeling the effects the water would pro- 
 duce on their organs. Thus passed this night ; all my 
 exertions were necessary to encourage the men to assist 
 me in bailing the boat, by reminding them of our mi- 
 raculous escape from the savages, and through the surf 
 to the open sea, and enforcing on their minds the con - 
 sideration that we were stiff in the hands of the same 
 disposing power, and that we ought not to suppose we 
 were aided in escaping from the v shore by a miracle, to 
 be abandoned here and swallowed up by the ocearr ; and 
 that for my own part I stiff entertained hopes of our pre- 
 servation ; at any rate, that it was a duty we owed to God 
 md ourselves to strive to the latest breath to prevent our 
 awn destruction. Day came on amidst these accumu- 
 lated horrors ; it was the first of September : thirst press- 
 ed upon us, which we could only ailay by wetting our 
 mouths twice a day with a few drops of wine and water, 
 md as many times with our urine. 
 
 The wind continued to blow hard all this day, and the 
 succeeding night with great violence, and the boat t© 
 
 7 
 
50 
 
 Captain eiley’s narrative. 
 
 work and leak in the same manner as before. Won, 
 down with fatigues and long continued hunger and thirst, 
 scorched by the burning rays of the sun, and no vessel 
 appearing to save us, our water fast diminishing, as well 
 as our strength, every hope of succour by meeting with 
 a vessel entirely failed me, so that in the afternoon of the 
 2d of September, I represented to my companions, that 
 as we were still alive, after enduring so many trials, it was 
 my advice to put about, and make towards the coast} 
 again ; that if we continued at sea we must inevitably ! 
 perish, and that we could but perish in returning to- 
 wards the land ; that we might still exist four or five days 
 longer, by means of the water and provisions that re- 
 mained, and that it might be the will of Providence to 
 send us on the coast where our vessel had been wrecked, 
 and where means were perhaps prepared to bring about 
 our deliverance and restoration to our country and our 
 families. All seemed convinced that it was so, and we 
 immediately put about with a kind of cheerfulness I 
 had not observed in any countenance since our first 
 disaster. 
 
 From this time all submitted to their fate with tolerable 
 patience, and kept the boat free, though we had contin- 
 ual bad weather, without murmuring. We wetted our 
 lips with wine and water twice every day, and ate the 
 bones and some of the raw flesh of our pig, with its skin ; 
 but at length we became so faint as to be unable to take 
 our turns in bailing, whilst the boat laboured so much as 
 to work ofi' nearly all the nails that kept the planks to her 
 timbers above water. 
 
 By the 6th of September, at night, we had not made 
 the land, and could not hope to make the boat hold to- '! 
 gether in any manner above another day. I expected we 
 should have found the land that day, but was disappointed, 
 and some of the people began again to despair. Impelled 
 by thirst, they forgot what they owed to their shipmates, 
 and in the night got at, and drank oft' one of the two 
 bottles of wine we had remaining. When I mentioned 
 the loss of the v ine on the morning of the 7th, all denied 
 having taken or drank it, adding that it was an unpardon-t- 
 abie crime, and that those who did it ought to be thrown 
 
SUFFERINGS IN THE BOAT. 
 
 SI 
 
 ; overboard instantly. From the heat observable in their 
 i conversation, I guessed the offenders ; but the wine was 
 t gone, and no remedy remained but patience, and stricter 
 I vigilance for the future. 
 
 1 In a short time we discovered land at a great distance 
 i; ahead, and to leeward. This gave all hands new spirits ; 
 
 hope again revived for a moment. The land appeared 
 v perfectly smooth in the distant horizon ; not the smallest 
 v rising or hill was to be seen, and I concluded we must 
 : be near a desert coast, where our sufferings would find no 
 relief but in death. We continued to approach the land, 
 
 : driving along to the southward by a swift current, roaring 
 : like a strong tide in a narrow rocky passage, until near 
 tt sunset. 
 
 The coast now appeared to be formed of perpendicular 
 id and overhanging cliffs, rising to a great height,, with no 
 ji shelving Shore to land on, or way by which we might 
 rt mount to the top of the precipices. My opinion was, 
 1 that we should endeavour to keep to sea this night also, 
 : and steer along down the coast, until by the help of day- 
 light, we might find a better place to land, and where we 
 should not be in such danger of being overwhelmed by 
 the surf; but in this I was opposed by the united voice 
 of the mates and all the people. 
 
 The surf was breaking high among the rocks, near the 
 shore : we were now very near the land, and seeing a 
 small spot that bore the appearance of a sand beach, we 
 made for it, and approaching it with the heip of our oars, 
 we were carried on the top of a tremendous wave, so as 
 to be high and dry when the surf retired, on a little piece 
 of sand beach, just large enough for the boat to lie on. 
 Without us, and in the track we came, numerous frag- 
 ments of rocks showed their craggy heads, over which 
 the surf foamed as it retired, with a dreadful roaring, 
 which made us feel we had once more escaped instant de- 
 struction, by what appeared a miraculous interference of 
 Providence. 
 
 We got out of the boat, and carried up the little re- 
 mains of our water and pork among the rocks, beyond 
 the reach of the surf : the remains of the pig had been 
 previously consumed. Our boat was now stove in reality » 
 
CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 over our heads pended huge masses of broken and shat- 
 tered rocks, extending both ways as for as the eye could 
 reach : our limbs had become still' for the want of exer- 
 cise ; our flesh had wasted away for the want of suste- 
 nance, and through fatigue our tongues were so stiff in 
 our parched mouths, that we could with great difficulty 
 speak so as to be understood by each other, though we 
 had finished our last bottle of wine between us, for fear 
 of losing it, just before we ventured to the shore through 
 the surf. 
 
 Being thus placed on dry land, we had yet to discover 
 how we were to reach the surface above us ; so taking 
 Mr. Savage with me, we clambered over the rocks to 
 the westward, (for the coast running here from E. N. E. 
 to W. S. W. induced me to think we were near Cape 
 Blanco, which indeed afterwards proved to be the case,) 
 but we searclied in vain, and as there appeared to be no 
 access to the summit in that direction, we returned (it be- 
 ing then dark) to our shipmates, who had been busied in 
 preparing a place on the sand, between the rocks, to sleep 
 on. We now wet our mouths with water, ate a small 
 slice of the fat of salt pork, and after pouring out our 
 souls before the universal Benefactor, in prayers and 
 thanksgiving for Ins mercy and his long continued good- 
 ness, (as had constantly been our custom,) we laid down 
 io rest, and, notwithstanding our dreadful situation, slept 
 soundly till daylight. 
 
 CHAPTER VIE 
 
 bufferings of the Crew , and manner of climbing over the. 
 rocks along the sea shore, under high cliffs — Reaching 
 the surface of the Desert — Meeting with a company of 
 wandering Arabs , by whom they are seized as slaves , 
 and stripped naked . 
 
 On the morning of September the 8th, as soon as it 
 was light, being much refreshed by our undisturbed sleep, 
 we asrreed to leave all we had that was cumbrous or 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 53 
 
 heavy, and try to make our way to the eastward, in hopes 
 of finding a place, whilst we had yet strength remaining, 
 to dig for water, or to get to the surface of the land above 
 us, where we hoped to find some herbage or vegetable 
 juice to allay, in some degree, our burning thirst, which 
 was now rendered more grievous than ever, by our eating 
 a few muscles that were found on the rocks, and extreme- 
 ly salt. Having agreed to keep together, and to render 
 each other mutual assistance, we divided amongst us the 
 little water we had, every one receiving his share in a 
 bottle, in order to preserve it as long as possible : then 
 taking a small piece or two of pork, which we slung on 
 our backs, either in a spare shirt or a piece of canvass, 
 leaving all our clothes but those we had on, and our jack- 
 ets, we bent our way towards the east. I had, before 
 starting, buried the bag of dollars, and induced each man 
 to throw away every one he had about him, as I was con- 
 vinced that money had been the cause of our former ill 
 •treatment, by tempting the natives to practise treacherous 
 and cruel means, in order to extort it from us. 
 
 We proceeded now, as well as we were able, along 
 close to the water side. The land was either nearly per- 
 pendicular, or jutting over our heads, rising to the height 
 of from five to six hundred feet, and we were forced to 
 climb over masses of sharp and craggy rocks, from two 
 to three hundred feet in height ; then to descend again 
 by letting ourselves down from rock to rock, until we 
 reached the water’s edge ; now waiting for a surf to re- 
 tire, while we rushed one by one past a steep point, up 
 to our necks in the water, to the rocks more favourable 
 on the other side, where by clinging fast hold, we kept 
 ourselves from being washed away by the next surf, until, 
 with each other’s assistance, we clambered up beyondthe 
 reach of the greedy billows. The beating of the ocean, 
 and the force of the currents against this coast, had un- 
 dermined the precipices in such a manner, that vast mass- 
 es of rocks, gravel, and sand, had given way, and tum- 
 bled to the shore. Rocks falling on rocks, had formed 
 chasms, through which we were forced to pass at times, 
 for a long distance ; and surmounting one obstacle, seem- 
 ed only to open to our view another, and a more danger- 
 
54 
 
 CAPTAIN El LEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 ous one. At one place, we were obliged to climb along 
 on a narrow ledge of rocks, between forty and fifty fee' 
 high, and not more than eight inches broad ; those at out 
 backs were perpendicular, and a little higher up, huge 
 pieces that had been broken off from near the surface, 
 and stopped on their way down by other fragments, seem- 
 ed to totter as if on a pivot, directly over our heads ; 
 while the least slip must have plunged us into the fright- 
 ful almss below, where the foaming surges would instantly 
 have dashed us to pieces against the rocks. Our shoes 
 Mere nearly all worn off ; our feet were lacerated and 
 bleeding ; the rays of the sun, beating on our emaciated 
 bodies, heated them, we thought, nearly to dissolution ; 
 and under these towering cliffs, there was not a breath of 
 air to fan our almost boiling blood. I had, in crawling 
 through one of the holes between the rocks, broke my 
 bottle, and spilled the little water it contained ; and my 
 tongue, cleaving to the roof of my mouth, was as useless 
 as a dry stick, until I was enabled to loosen it by the 
 expedient before mentioned. 
 
 Thus passed this day with us, and when night came 
 on, it brought with it new distresses. We had advanced 
 along the coast not more than about four miles this day, 
 with all the exertion we were capable of, without finding 
 any change for the better in our local situation, whilst 
 our strength was continually diminishing, and no circum- 
 stance occurred to revive our hopes. We had seen this 
 day, however, on the broken rocks, several locusts, 
 which ive took to be grasshoppers, and concluded, if we 
 could once reach the surface, we should find herbage, at 
 least, to feed on. These locusts were dead, and crum- 
 bled to dust on the slightest touch. 
 
 We now found a good place in the sand, about one 
 hundred feet from the sea, under a high cliff, to sleep on ; j 
 here we greased our mouths by eating a small piece of 
 salt pork, and wet them, as usual, with a sip of urine. 
 All hands, except myself, had a little fresh water left ; 
 my comrades knew 1 had not one drop, and two of them 
 offered to let me taste of theirs, with which I just moist- 
 ened my tongue, and after sending up our prayers to 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 55 
 
 '| : heaven, for mercy and relief in our forlorn and desolate 
 e condition, we laid ourselves down to sleep. 
 f'Ui; I had, on setting out from home, received Horace 
 ;t Savage under my particular charge, from his widowed 
 e, mother : his father, when living, having been my inti- 
 ni- mate friend, I promised her to take care of him, as if he 
 •, was my own son, and this promise I had endeavoured to 
 lit fulfil. He was now in deep distress, and I determined 
 I) within myself that I would adopt him as my son, for his 
 s mother was poor ; that I would watch over his ripening 
 '(i years, in case we both lived, and if fortune should favour 
 i me in future, that he should share it in common with my 
 ; children. I now took him in my arms, and we all slept 
 soundly till morning, though the change was so great in 
 the night, from extreme heat to a damp cold air, that we 
 awoke in the morning (September 9th) with benumbed 
 ij and trembling limbs. Sleep, however, had refreshed us, 
 ? and though our feet were torn, and our frames nearly 
 it exhausted, yet we chased away despair, and set forward 
 on our journey. 
 
 i We soon discovered, at no great distance ahead, a 
 sand beach that appeared large, and from which the shore 
 upward seemed more sloping, as if opening a way to the 
 ; surface above it ; we also thought we should be able, in 
 i case we could reach the beach, to o-et water that would be 
 ■ drinkable, by digging in the sand down to a level with 
 > i the water in the sea, and letting it filter into the hole ; 
 this I had done on the Little Keys of the Bahama bank 
 with success, and expected it would be the same here ; — » 
 so we made our way slowly along, as we had done the 
 day before, until we got within a short distance of this 
 j beach, where we met with a promontory of rocks, which 
 ’ rose in height even with the surface above us ; jutting far 
 ; into the sea, whose waves had worn in under its base to 
 i the distance of lift}- or one hundred feet, and now dashed 
 m a wild and frightful manner against the projecting' 
 points, which its washings for ages had formed under- 
 : neath. To climb over this formidable obstruction, was 
 impossible ; to get around it through the water, appeared 
 equally so, as there was not sufficient time, by the great- 
 est exertion, to pass before the return of the surf, which 
 
I I 
 
 56 CAPTAIN RILEY : S NARRATIVE. 
 
 would inevitably hurl the adventurer into the cavities un 
 der the cliff', among the sharp rocks, where he must! 
 immediately perish. 
 
 Thus far Ave had all got safe ; to advance by what ap- 
 peared to be the only possible way, seemed like seeking 
 instant death ; to remain in our present situation, was 
 merely to die a lingering one ; and to return, was still 
 worse, by increasing our pains, without leading to any 
 chance of relief. Before us was a prospect of getting I 
 water, and arriving at the summit of the land, if we could I 
 only get round the promontory alive ; and fortunately, at I 
 this moment Ave observed a rock about half way across 
 this point, that had tumbled down from above, and had 
 been washed full of holes ; it was covered by every surf, 
 and its top left bare as the wave receded. I imagined I 
 could reach it before the wave came in ; and after making 
 known my intentions to my companions, I followed the 
 surf out, and laid hold of the rock just as the returning 
 swell ovenvhelmed me. I clung to it for my life, the 
 surf passing over me, and spending its fury among the 
 crags : the instant it retired I hurried on to the steep 
 rocks beyond the point, Avhere I again held on, while an- 
 other surf swept over me, and then left me to clamber up, 
 as quick as I Avas able, on the flat surface of the rock, be- 
 yond the reach of the waves. The tide Avas not yet 
 entirely out, though I had judged it was ; and as it con- 
 tinued to fall, my people, following the same course and 
 embracing the same means, all got safe to the first rock, 
 and from thence to the place Avhere 1 lay prostrate to re- 
 ceive and assist them in getting up. Though our limbs 
 and bodies Avere very much bruised in this severe en- 
 counter, yet Ave felt someAvhat encouraged, and made for 
 the sand beach as fast as we were abie. We soon reached 
 it, and began digging in the sand for water, at different 
 distances from the sea, but found it to be as salt as the 
 ocean. 
 
 After digging several holes farther off, and meeting 
 with dry rock instead of water, I pitched upon a spot for 
 our lust effort ; and while the others Avere digging, I told 
 them I would go and see if I could get up the bank, and 
 if 1 succeeded that I would return in, a short time with the 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 57 
 
 - ! news : the bank here rose abruptly, leaving, however, in 
 s some places sufficient slope for a man to ascend it by 
 climbing. Through one of these slopes I made my way 
 up, in the hope of finding some green thing that might- 
 help to allay our burning thirst, and some tree to shelter 
 us from the scorching blaze of the sun ; but what was 
 my surprise when I came to the spot so long desired, and 
 found it to be a barren plain, extending as far as the eye 
 could reach each way, without a tree, shrub, or spear of 
 grass, that might give the smallest relief to expiring na- 
 ture ? I had exerted myself to the utmost to get there ; 
 the dreary sight was more than I could bear;' my spirits 
 fainted within me, and I fell to the earth deprived of every 
 I sensation. When I recovered, it was some time before 
 I could recollect where I was : my intolerable thirst how- 
 ever at length convinced me, and I was enabled to admin- 
 , 1 ! ister the same wretched and disgusting relief to which I 
 , had so frequently before been compelled to resort. 
 
 Despair now seized on me, and I resolved to cast my- 
 c self into the sea as soon as I could reach it, and put an end 
 , to my life and miseries together. But when 1 the next 
 moment reflected that I had left ten of my fellow creatures 
 on the shore, who looked up to me for an example of 
 courage and fortitude, and for whom I still felt myself 
 bound to continue my exertions, which might yet be 
 blessed with success ; and that at the moment when I 
 supposed the hand of relief far from me, it might be very 
 near ; and when I next thought of my wife and children, 
 I felt a kind of conviction within me, that we should not 
 all perish after such signal deliverances. I then made for 
 the sea side about a mile eastward of my men, and finding 
 a good place between some rocks, I bathed myself for 
 half an hour in the sea water, which refreshed and revived 
 me very much, and then returned to my men with a heart 
 lighter than I expected. I was very much fatigued, and 
 threw myself down on the sand. They huddled around 
 me, to know what success I had met with ; but to waive 
 the subject of my sad discovery, I told them we could go 
 along the beach for two miles before meeting again with 
 the perpendicular cliffs, and would find great relief by 
 bathing our bodies in the salt water ; inquiring, at the 
 
 3 
 
58 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 same time, if they had found any fresh in the last place 
 they had been digging. I thus diverted their minds, in 
 some measure, from the object they wished to inquire af- 
 ter ; and as I found they had dug down six or eight feet, 
 and had found no water, having come to a rock which 
 frustrated all their attempts ; with heavy hearts and totter- 
 ing limbs we staggered along the shore together. 
 
 It was about mid-day when we got to the end of the 
 sand beach ; my people thought it would be impossible 
 for them to climb the craggy steep ; so with common con- 
 sent we laid ourselves down under the shade formed by a 
 shelving rock, to rest, and to screen ourselves from the 
 rays of the sun, which had heated the air to such a de- 
 gree, that it was with the greatest difficulty we could 
 fetch our breath. There was no wind or air stirring at 
 this time, except the hot steam rising from the sandy 
 beach, which had been wet by the sea at the last tide. 
 
 Having lain down in our exhausted state, neither thirst ; 
 nor our reflections, had power to keep our eyes open ; we 
 sunk into a lethargic sleep, which continued about two 
 hours, during which time a light breeze from the sea had 
 set in, and gently fanned and refreshed our debilitated bo- 
 dies. We then ascended the steep bank, crawling fre- 
 quently on our hands and knees. Though I had previ- 
 ously prepared all their minds for a barren prospect, yet 
 the sight of it, when they reached its level, had such an 
 effect on their senses that they sunk to the earth involun- 
 tarily ; and as they surveyed the dry and dreary waste, 
 stretching out to an immeasurable extent before them, 
 they exclaimed, “ ’Tis enough ; here we must breathe our | 
 last ; we have no hope before us of finding either water 
 or provisions, or human beings, or even wild beasts ; 
 nothing can live here.” The little moisture yet left in us 
 overflowed at our eyes ; but as the salt tears rolled down 
 our woe- worn and haggard cheeks, we were fain to catch 
 them with our fingers and carry them to our mouths, that 
 they might not be lost, and serve to moisten our tongues, 
 that were now nearly as dry as parched leather, and so stiff, 
 that with difficulty we could articulate a sentence so as to 
 be understood by each other. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 59 
 
 I began how to exhort and press them to go forward ; 
 telling them that we still might find relief, and in this effort 
 I was assisted by Hogan, who thought with me that it was 
 time enough to lie down and die, when we could not walk. 
 Mr. Williams and Mr. Savage were also willing, and we 
 moved on slowly, with scarcely a hope, however, of meet- 
 ing with the least relief. We continued along on the edge 
 of the cliffs, which could not be less than from five to six 
 hundred feet in perpendicular height : the surface of the 
 ground was baked down almost as hard as flint ; it was 
 composed of small ragged stones, gravel, and reddish 
 earth. We observed a small dry stalk of a plant, resem- 
 bling that of a parsnip, though very low ; and some dry 
 remains of locusts were also scattered on the surface as we 
 proceeded. Near night we saw some small holes dug on 
 the surface, and on examination found they had been made 
 in order to get at the root of the dry weed we had just 
 before seen : this we conceived had been done by some 
 wild beasts ; but finding no tracks of any kind near them 
 nor on the dirt dug up, I concluded it was done by man, 
 and declared my hopes to my desponding companions of 
 soon meeting with human beings. 
 
 We procured, after great labour in digging with sticks 
 we had brought from the boat and the help of stones, a 
 few small pieces of a root as large as a man's finger ; it 
 was very dry, but in taste resembled smellage or celery. 
 We could not get enough to be of any material service to 
 us, owing to the scarcity of the plant, and the hardness of 
 the ground ; but about sunset we discovered, on a small 
 spot of sand, the imperfect track of a camel, and thought 
 we saw that of a man, which we took to be a very old 
 track. 
 
 Believing from our present feelings that we could not 
 possibly survive a day longer without drink, and no signs 
 of finding any appearing, the last ray of hope faded away, 
 and the gloom of despair, which had at length settled on 
 our hearts, now became visible in every countenance. A 
 little after sunset we saw at a considerable distance in ad- 
 vance, perhaps three or four miles, another sand beach, 
 and I urged myself forwards towards it as fast as I could 
 in hopes of getting some rest by sleeping on the sand for 
 
60 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 the night, as the ground we were now on was as hard as 
 rock, and covered with small sharp stones. I was encour- 
 aging the men to follow on, when Clark, being near me, 
 begged me to look towards the beach, saying, “ I think I 
 see a light !” It was the light of a fire ! 
 
 Joy thrilled through my veins like the electric spark : 
 hope again revived within me, and while I showed it to 
 my sinking and despairing crew, I found it communicated 
 to them the same feelings. I told them we must approach 
 the natives, who I could not doubt were encamped for the 
 night, with the greatest caution, for fear of alarming them, 
 and falling a sacrifice to their fury, in the confusion we 
 might occasion by our sudden approach in the dark. 
 New life and spirits were infused into all the crew, and 
 we soon reached a broken place in the bank, through 
 which we descended carefully over the broken rocks, from 
 three to four hundred feet, to a sandy spot near its base, 
 where we laid ourselves down for the night, after imploring 
 the protection of Almighty God, and wetting our mouths 
 with a few drops of water still remaining in the bottles. 
 
 The sand on which we lay was heated by the sun’s rays 
 sufficiently to have roasted eggs, and as we were on the 
 side of a sand hill, we scraped off the top of it for a foot 
 or two deep ; when finding the heat more supportable, 
 and the cool breeze of the night setting in, all hands being 
 excessively fatigued, soon forgot their sufferings in the 
 arms of sleep, excepting myself ; for my mind had be- 
 come so excited by alternate hopes, and fears, and reflec- 
 tions, that I was kept awake through the whole of this 
 long and dismal night. I had determined, as soon as day- 
 light appeared, to show ourselves to the natives, and sub- 
 mit either to death or life from their hands. I had no doubt 
 of their being Arabs who would take and hold us as slaves, 
 and though I did not expect myself to live but a short 
 time in that condition, I presumed some of my fellow 
 sufferers might, and that it was a decree of Providence 
 which had set this alternative before us. 
 
 I no longer felt any fear of death, for that would put a 
 period to my long sufferings : my thirst had become so 
 insupportable, that 1 could with difficulty breathe, and 
 thought I would be willing to sell my life for one gill of 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 61 
 
 i fresh water. My distresses had been so excessive, and 
 my cares and anxieties for my shipmates so great, that all 
 thoughts of my family had been driven almost entirely 
 1 1 from my mind. I could not sleep — why was i denied 
 what all around me were enjoying ? I shut my eyes, and 
 prayed to be permitted to sleep, if only for one hour, but 
 (fall in vain. 1 imagined that the savages, who were near 
 1 : us, would not take our lives immediately, as it was con- 
 h trary to the nature of man to slay his fellow creatures, 
 e ; merely from a thirst for blood. 
 
 i, We had now no arms to defend ourselves, nor any pro- 
 e perty to excite their jealousy, revenge, or avarice ; we 
 were as miserable, I conceived, as human beings could 
 i be, and I hoped we should excite pity, even in the breasts 
 i of the savage Arabs. I could hardly yet think, that we 
 a were to fall a sacrifice to these people, after the providen- 
 , tial escapes we had already experienced : next the remem- 
 < brance of my wife and children flitted across my mind, 
 
 > and I was forced to acknowledge, that however bad their 
 situation might be, their real distress could in no wise 
 equal mine, and that I had no right to repine at the dis- 
 : pensations of Providence, since every mortal has his circle 
 wisely marked out by heaven ; and nothing but blindness 
 to the future, occasions us to complain of the ways of 
 j our Creator. If it was the will of the Supreme Being 
 that I should again see and embrace my beloved family, it 
 ■ would certainly take place ; if not, that power who or- 
 dered all things for the general good, would not forsake 
 s them. 
 
 Thus passed away the night, which had seemed to me 
 an endless one. I was impatient to know my fate, and 
 chid the slowness of the sun ; my great anxiety and wake- 
 , fulness, rendered my thirst doubly painful, and having 
 t expended all the urine I had so carefully saved, I had re- 
 ' course before morning to robbery, and actually stole a sip 
 of the cook’s water, which he had made and saved in a 
 bottle ; but the only taste it had for me was a salt one, 
 i and it seemed (if possible) to increase my burning thirst. 
 
 The day at last arrived that was to decide our fate. It 
 i was the 10th of September. I awakened my compan- 
 ions, and told them we must now go forward and show 
 
62 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 ourselves to the natives — that I expected they would seize 
 upon us as slaves, but had strong hopes that some of us 
 would escape with our lives. I also mentioned to them 
 the name of the American Consul General at Tangier, 
 and that if it ever was in their power, they must write to 
 him, and inform him of the fate of our vessel and her 
 crew : to write, if possible, to any Christian merchant in 
 Mogadore, Gibraltar, or elsewhere, or to the Consul at 
 Algiers, Tunis, or Tripoli, if they should hear those 
 places mentioned, and exhorted all to submit to their fate 
 like men, and be obedient, as policy required, to their 
 future masters. I reminded them again of the former in- 
 terpositions of Providence in our favour, and said all I 
 could to encourage and persuade them, that mildness and 
 submission might save our lives — that resistance and stub- 
 bornness would certainly tend to make them more misera- 
 ble while alive, and probably prompt the natives to mur- 
 der them out of resentment. 
 
 All agreed to go forward, and on rising the little sand 
 lulls near us, we discovered a very large drove of camels 
 at about half a mile to the eastward of us, with a large 
 company of people, in a kind of valley formed by a ridge 
 of sand hills on the north next the sea, and by the high 
 land to the south, rising from live to six hundred feet in 
 upright and overhanging cliffs — through which, a little 
 farther on, we saw a deep hollow that appeared to have 
 been formed by some convulsive shock of the earth, 
 which had thus made a sort of passage, through which 
 camels were enabled to pass up and down, but with great 
 difficulty. The Arabs seemed busied in giving water to 
 their camels ; they saw us, and in an instant one man and 
 two women ran towards us with great speed. As they 
 came forward, many others of them who saw us, also 
 began to advance : so taking Mr. Williams and Mr. Sav- 
 age with me, I went forward to meet them, bowed myself 
 to the ground before them, and with signs implored their 
 compassion. 
 
 The man was armed with a scimitar, which he held 
 naked in his hand. He ran up to me as if to cut me 
 to the earth : I bowed again in token of submission, and 
 he began without further ceremony to strip off my cloth- 
 
r r rfi 
 
M. 3 1 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 63 
 
 ing, while the women were doing the same to Mr. Wil- 
 liams and Mr. Savage. Thirty or forty more were ar- 
 I, riving — some running on foot, with muskets or naked 
 scimitars in their hands ; others riding on swift camels, 
 came quickly up : — by the time they arrived, however, 
 we were all stripped naked to the skin. Those Arabs near 
 us threw up sand into the air, as the others approached, 
 yelling loudly, which I now learned was a sign of hostili- 
 ty. The one who stript me had also taken the cook, and 
 had put all the clothing he had stript from us into a blanket, 
 which he had taken from off his own back for that pur- 
 pose, leaving himself entirely naked. This bundle he laid 
 on the negro’s shoulders, making me understand that 
 myself and the black man belonged to him, and that we 
 . must not let the others take the clothes in the bundle under 
 pain of death. 
 
 As soon as those on the camels were near, they made 
 them lie down, and jumping off, ran to us with their scim- 
 itars naked and ready for action ; those on foot now joined 
 these, and a great noise and scuffle ensued. Six or eight 
 of them were about me, one hauling me one way and one 
 another : poor Dick, the black man, partook of the haul 
 ing, and each man seemed to insist most strenuously that 
 we belonged of right to him. The one who stript us, 
 stuck to us as his lawful property, signifying, “ you may 
 have the others, these are mine.” They cut at each other 
 | over my head, and on every side of me, with their bright 
 weapons, which fairly whizzed through the air within an 
 ' inch of my naked body, and on every side of me, now 
 hacking each other’s arms apparently to the bone, then lay- 
 l ing their ribs bare with gashes, while their heads, hands, 
 and thighs, received a full share of cuts and w ounds. The 
 i blood, streaming from every gash, ran down their bodies, 
 colouring and heightening the natural hideousness of their 
 appearance. I had expected to be cut to pieces in this 
 dreadful affray, but was not injured. 
 
 Those w'ho were not actually engaged in combat, seizect 
 the occasion, and snatched away the clothing in Dick’s 
 bundle, so that when the fight was over, he had nothing 
 left but his master’s blanket. This battle and contest last 
 ed for nearly an hour — brother cutting brother, friend 
 
64 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 slashing friend. Happily for them, their scimitars were 
 not very sharp, so that when they rubbed off the dried 
 blood from their bodies afterwards with sand, their wounds i 
 were not so great or deep as I expected they would be, , 
 and they did not pay the least apparent attention to them. 
 
 I had no time to see what they were doing with my ship- ; 
 mates ; only myself and the cook were near each other. 
 
 The battle over, I saw my distressed companions di- 
 vided among the Arabs, and all going towards the drove 
 of camels, though they were at some distance from me. 
 We two were delivered into the hands of two old women, 
 who urged us on with sticks towards the camels. Naked 
 and barefoot, I could not go very fast, and showed the 
 women my mouth, which was parched white as frost, and 
 without a sign of moisture. W hen we got near the well, 
 one of the women called for another, who came to us with 
 a wooden bowl, that held, I should guess, about a gallon 
 of water, and setting it on the ground, made myself and 
 Dick kneel down and put our heads into it like camels. I 
 drank I suppose half a gallon, though I had been very- 
 particular in cautioning the men against drinking too much 
 at a time, in case they ever came to water. They then led 
 us to the well, the water of which was nearly as black 
 and disgusting as stale bilge water. A large bowl was 
 now filled with it, and a little sour camel’s milk poured 
 from a goat skin into it ; this tasted to me delicious, and 
 we all drank of it till our stomachs were literally filled. 
 But this intemperance very soon produced a violent diar- 
 rhoea ; the consequences of which, however, were not 
 very troublesome, and as our situation was similar to that 
 of a beast, being totally divested of clothing, all we cared 
 about was to slake our unabating thirst, and replenish our 1 
 stomachs by repeated draughts of this washy and unwhole- 
 some swill. 
 
 We now begged for something to eat, but these Arabs 
 had nothing for themselves, and seemed very sorry it was 
 not in their power to give us some food. There were at 
 and about the well, I should reckon, about one hundred 
 persons, men, women, and children, and from four to 
 five hundred camels, large and small. The sun beat very 
 fiercely upon us, and our skins seemed actually to fry like 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 meat before the fire. These people continued to draw 
 water for their camels, of which the animals drank enor- 
 mous quantities. It was about 10 o’clock A. M. as I 
 , judged by the sun, when one company of the Arabs, 
 T having finished watering, separated their camels from 
 , among the others, took Mr. Williams, Robins, Porter, 
 Hogan, Barrett, and Burns, mounted them on the bare 
 jj i backs of the camels behind the hump, by the hair of 
 . which they were obliged to steady themselves and hold 
 on, without knowing whither they were going, or if I 
 should ever see them again. I took an affectionate leave 
 of them. This their Arab masters permitted me to do 
 l : . Without interruption, and could not help showing at this 
 scene, that the feelings of humanity were not totally ex- 
 U tinguished in their bosoms. They then hurried them 
 j, off, and ascending through the hollow or crevice towards 
 ■, the face of the desert, they were ali soon out of sight, 
 d There remained with the party to which I belonged, 
 
 [ Mr. Savage, Clark, Horace, and Dick the cook. Mr. 
 ■y Savage was permitted to retain an old Guernsey hock, 
 i, and part of a pah' of trowsers about his middle, which 
 j they had not pulled off ; but the rest of us were entirely 
 stripped. Mr. Savage, Clark, and Horace were forced 
 to assist in drawing water for the camels, until all had 
 j drank their fill : then having filled with water a consid- 
 d erable number of goat skins, which had been cut round 
 ■ the neck and stripped off these animals over the tail, 
 leaving them otherwise as whole as when on their backs, 
 
 . they slung them by the skin of their legs on each side of 
 the camels, after tying up the neck to prevent the water 
 escaping, by means of a small rope which they fastened 
 to the fore legs of the skin to keep it up. They next put 
 on their baskets for the women and children to ride in : 
 these were made of camel’s skin, and fixed in such a 
 manner, with a wooden rim around them, over which 
 the skin was sewed, that three or four couid sit in them 
 with perfect safety and ease, only taking care to preserve 
 their balance.’ These baskets were fastened under the 
 camels’ bellies with a strong rope : I was obliged to assist 
 in putting them on, and was in hopes of being permitted 
 to ride in one of them ; but that was not the intention of 
 
 9 
 
GO 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 my master. I, as well as those who were with me, ha*! 
 drank a great deal of water, while we were at the well, 
 which had passed oft', as before observed, without doing 
 us any injury. We had been furnished also with a little 
 milk in our water two or three times, which gave some 
 relief to our hunger. The men had saddles just large 
 enough for their seat : the pads are made of flat pieces 
 of wood ; a piece of the same rises in front, being about 
 the length, breadth, and thickness of a man’s hand ; an 
 iron rim, or a strong wooden one, goes round on each 
 side, forming a circle ; covered with a piece of skin 
 stretched and sewed tight over it. The saddle is then 
 placed on the camel’s back before the hump, and fastened 
 tight by a rope under his belly. Thus prepared, we 
 began to mount the sand hills and to get up through the 
 guiley. We were forced to walk and to drive the camels 
 and keep them together, whilst the sand was so soft and 
 yielding, that we sunk into it every step nearly to our 
 knees. The blazing heat of the sun’s rays ‘darting on our 
 naked bodies, and reflected from the sand we waded 
 through ; the sharp pointed craggy rocks and stones that 
 cut our feet and legs to the bone, in addition to our ex- 
 cessive weakness, which the dysentary had increased, ren- 
 dered our passage up through this chasm or hollow much 
 more severe than any thing of the kind we had before 
 undergone, and nearly deprived us of life. For my own 
 part, i thought I must have died before I could reach 
 the summit, and was obliged to stop in the sand, until 
 by the application of a stick to my sore back by our 
 drivers, I was forced up to its level ; and there they. made 
 the camels lie down and rest. 
 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA 
 
 67 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 The author and his crew are carried on camels into the 
 interior of the Desert of Zahahrah — The Arabs hold a 
 council — ■ The crew are sold and distributed — The au- 
 thor’’ s remarkable dream — The skin and fiesh are lite- 
 rally roasted off from his body and from the bones of 
 his companions — Their dreadfid sufferings while naked 
 and wandering about the desert with their masters, sub- 
 sisting only on a little camel’s milk— Two Arab traders 
 arrive . 
 
 The Arabs had been much amused in observing our 
 difficulty in ascending the height, and kept up a laugh 
 while they were whipping us forward. Their women 
 and children were on foot as well as themselves, and went 
 up without .the smallest difficulty or inconvenience, 
 though it was extremely hard for the camels to mount, 
 and before they got to the top they were covered with 
 sweat and froth. Having now selected five camels for 
 the purpose, -one for each of us, they put us on behind 
 the humps, to which we were obliged to cling by grasp- 
 ing its long hair with both hands. The back bone of 
 the one I was set on was only covered with skin, and as 
 sharp as the edge of an oar’s blade ; his belly, distended 
 tvith water, made him perfectly smooth, leaving no pro- 
 jection of the hips to keep me from sliding off behind ; 
 and his back or rump being as steep as the roof of a 
 house, and so broad across as to keep my legs extended 
 to their utmost stretch, I was in this manner slipping 
 down to his tail every moment. I was forced, however, 
 to keep on, while the camel, rendered extremely restive 
 at the sight of his strange rider, was all the time running 
 about among the drove, and making a most tvoful bel- 
 lowing ; and as they have neither bridle, halter, or any 
 other thing tvhereby to guide or govern them, all I had to 
 do was to stick on as well as I could. 
 
 The Arabs, both men and women, were very anxious 
 to knoAV where we had been thrown on shore, whether to 
 thp eastward or westward ; and being satisfied by me on 
 
68 
 
 CAPTAIN RILF,V : S NARRATIVE, 
 
 that point, so soon as they had placed us on the camels, 
 and given the women directions how to steer, they mounted 
 each his camel, seated themselves on the small round 
 saddle, and then crossing their legs on the animal’s shoul- 
 ders, set off to the westward at a great trot, leaving us 
 under the care of the women, some of whom were on 
 foot, and urged the camels forward as fast as they could 
 run, to the S. E. The heavy motions of the camel, not 
 unlike that of a small vessel in a heavy head-beat sea, were 
 so violent, aided by the sharp back bone, as soon to ex- 
 coriate certain parts of my naked body ; the inside of my 
 thighs and legs were also dreadfully chafed, so that the 
 blood dripped from my heels, while the intense heat of 
 the sun had scorched and blistered our bodies and the 
 outside of our legs, so that we were covered with sores, 
 and without any thing to administer relief. Thus bleed- 
 ing and smarting under the most excruciating pain, we 
 continued to advance in a S, E. direction, on a plain, flat, 
 hard surface of sand, gravel, and rock, covered with 
 small sharp stones. It seemed as if our bones would be 
 dislocated at every step. Hungry and thirsty, the night 
 came on, and no indication of stopping ; the cold night 
 wind began to blow, chilling our blood, which ceased to 
 trickle down our lacerated legs ; but although it saved our 
 blood, yet acting on our blistered skins, it increased our 
 pains beyond description. We begged to be permitted 
 to get off, but the women paid no attention to our distress 
 nor intreaties, intent only, on getting forward. We de- 
 signedly slipped oft' the camels, when going at a full trot, 
 risking to break our necks by the fall, and tried to excite 
 their compassion and get a drink of water, (which they 
 call sherub,) but they paid no attention to our prayers, 
 and kept the camels running faster than before. 
 
 This was the first time I had attempted to walk bare- 
 footed since I was a schoolboy ; we were obliged to keep 
 up with the camels, running over the stones, which were 
 nearly as sharp as gun flints, and cutting our feet nearly 
 to the bone at every step. It was here that my fortitude 
 and reason failed to support me ; I cursed my fate aloud, 
 and' wished I had rushed into the sea before I gave my- 
 $elf up to these merciless beings in human forms— -it w|ts 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 69 
 
 now too late. I would have put an immediate end to my 
 existence, but had neither knife nor any other weapon 
 with which to perform the deed. I searched for a stone, 
 intending if I could find a loose one sufficiently large, to 
 knock out my own brains with it ; but searched in vain. 
 This paroxysm passed off in a minute or two, when 
 reason returned, and I recollected that my life was in the 
 hand of the power that gave it, and that “ the Judge of 
 all the earth would do right.” Then running with ail my 
 remaining might, I soon came up with the camels, re- 
 gardless of my feet and of pain, and felt perfectly re- 
 signed and willing to submit to the will of Providence, 
 and the fate that awaited me. 
 
 From that time forward, through all mv succeeding 
 trials and sufferings, I never once murmured in my heart, 
 but at all times kept my spirits up, doing the utmost to 
 obey and please those whom fortune, fate, or an over- 
 ruling Providence had placed over me, and to persuade, 
 both by precept and practice, my unhappy comrades to 
 do the same. I had, with my companions, cried aloud 
 with pain, and begged our savage drivers for mercy, and 
 when we had ceased to make a noise, fearing, as it were, 
 to lose us in the dark, they stopped the camels, and again 
 placing us on them as before, drove them on at full speed 
 until about midnight, when we entered a small dell or 
 valley, excavated by the hand of nature, a little below 
 the surface of the desert, about from fifteen to twenty 
 feet deep. Here they stopped the camels, and made them 
 lie down, bidding us to do the same. I judge we must 
 have travelled forty miles this day to the S. E. : the place 
 was hard and rocky, not even sand to lie on, nor any 
 covering to shelter us or keep off the cold damp wind 
 that blew strong from the sea. 
 
 They soon set about milking, and then gave us each 
 about a pint of pure milk, warm from the camels, taking 
 great care to divide it for us ; it warmed our stomachs, 
 quenched our thirst in some measure, and allayed in a 
 small degree the cravings of hunger. Mr. Savage had 
 been separated from us, and I learned from him after- 
 wards that he fared better than we did, having had a 
 larger allowance of milk, Clark, Horace, and JJick the 
 
70 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 cook were still with me. We lay down on the ground 
 as close to each other as we could, on the sharp stones, 
 without any lee to fend off the wind from us ; our bodies 
 all over blistered and mangled, the stones piercing through 
 the sore naked flesh almost to the ribs and other bones. 
 These distresses, and our sad and desponding reflections, 
 rendered this one of the longest and most dismal nights 
 ever passed by any human beings. We kept shifting 
 births, striving to keep off some of the cold during the 
 night, while sleep, that had hitherto relieved our distress- 
 es and fatigues, fled from us in spite of all our efforts 
 and solicitude to embrace it ; nor were we able to close 
 our eyes. 
 
 The morning of the 11th came on at last, and our in- 
 dustrious mistresses, having milked a little from the cam- 
 els, and allowed the young ones to suck, gave us about 
 half a pint of milk among four of us, being just enough 
 to wet our mouths, and then made us go forward on foot 
 and drive the camels. The situation of our feet was hor- 
 rible beyond description, and the very recollection of it, 
 even at this moment, makes my nerves thrill and quiver. 
 We proceeded forward, having gained the level desert, 
 for a considerable time, when entering a small valley, we 
 discovered three or four tents made of coarse cloth, near 
 which we were met by our masters, and a number of men 
 whom we had not before seen, all armed with either a 
 double barrelled musket, a scimitar, or dagger. They 
 were all of the same nation and tribe, for they shook hands 
 at meeting, and seemed very friendly to each other, 
 though they stopped and examined us, as if disposed to 
 question the right of property. 
 
 It now appeared there was still some difficulty in de- 
 ciding to whom each one of us belonged ; for seizing 
 hold of us, some dragged one way and some another, dis- 
 puting very loudly, and frequently drawing their weapons. 
 It was, however, decided at last, after making us go dif- 
 ferent ways for the space of two or three hours with differ- 
 ent men, that myself and the cook should remain, for 
 the present, in the hands of our first master. They gave 
 Clark to another, and Horace to a third. We had come 
 near a couple of tents, and were certainly disgusting ob- 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 71 
 
 jects, being nak>d and almost skinless ; this was some- 
 time about noon, when three women came out who had 
 not before seen us, and having satisfied their curiosity by 
 gazing at us, they expressed their disgust and contempt 
 by spitting on us as we went along, making their faces 
 still more horrid by every possible contortion of their 
 frightful features ; this we afterwards found to be their 
 constant practice wherever we went, until after we got off 
 the desert. 
 
 Towards evening, a great number of the men having 
 collected in a little valley'-, we were made to stop, and as 
 our bodies were blistered and burnt to such a degree as 
 to excite pity in the breasts of some of the men, they - 
 used means to have a tent cleared out for 11s to sit under. 
 They then allowed all those of our crew present to sit 
 under it, and, as may well be supposed, we were glad to 
 meet one another again, miserable as we all were. Por- 
 ter and Burns, who had been separated from me shortly 
 after our capture, were still absent. A council was now 
 held by the natives near the tent ; they w ere about one 
 hundred and fifty men, some very old, some middle aged, 
 and some quite young. I soon found they were Moham- 
 medans, and the proper names by which they frequently- 
 called each other were Mohammed , Harnet , Seid, Si - 
 deullah, Abdallah , &c. so that by these and the female 
 names Fatima , Ezimah , Sarah , &c. I knew them to be 
 Arabs or Moors. 
 
 The council were deliberating about us ; and having 
 talked the matter over a long time, seated on the ground 
 with their legs crossed under them, in circles of from ten 
 to twenty each, they afterwards arose and came to us. 
 One of the old men then addressed me ; he seemed to be 
 very intelligent, and though he spoke a language I was 
 unacquainted with, yet he explained himself in such a 
 plain and distinct manner, sounding every letter full like 
 the Spaniards, that with the help of signs i was able to 
 understand his meaning. He wanted to know what coun- 
 try we belonged to ; I told him we were English ; and 
 as I perceived the Spanish language was in sound more 
 like that which they spoke than any other I knew, I used 
 the phraze Inglesis ; this seemed to please him, and he 
 
72 
 
 CAPTMN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 said “ O Fransah, O Spaniah meaning, u or French 
 men, or Spaniards I repeated we were English. He i 
 nex, wanted to know which point of the horizon weeamt 
 from, and I pointed to the north. 
 
 They had seen our boat, which they called Zooerga, 
 and wanted to know if we had come all the way in that 
 boat : I told them no, and making a kind of coast, by 
 heaping up sand, and forming the shape of a vessel, into 
 which I stuck sticks for masts and bowsprit, &.c. I gave 
 him to understand that we had been in a large vessel, and 
 wrecked on the coast by a strong wind ; then by tearing 
 down the masts and covering the vessel’s form with sand, 
 I signified to him that she was totally lost. Thirty or 
 forty of the other Arabs were sitting around us, paying! 
 the strictest attention to every one .of my words and ges- 
 tures, and assisting the old man to comprehend me. He 
 wished to know where we were going, and what cargo 
 the vessel (which I now found they called Sfenah) had 
 on board. I satisfied them in the best way I could on 
 this point, telling them that I had on board, among other 
 things, dollars : they wanted to know how many, and 
 gave me a bowl to imitate the measure of them ; this I 
 did by filling it with stones and emptying it three times. ! 
 They were much surprised at the quantity, and seemed 
 to be dissatisfied that they had not got a share of them. 
 They then wanted to know which way the vessel lay from 
 us, and if we had seen any of the natives, whom they 
 called Moslemin. 
 
 This 1 took to be what we call Mussulmen, or followers 
 of the Mohammedan doctrine, and in this I was not mis- 
 taken. I then explained to them in what manner we had 
 been treated by the inhabitants ; that they had got all our 
 clothing, except what we had on when they found us ; 
 all our money and provisions ; massacred one of our num- 
 ber, and drove us out to sea. They then told me that 
 they heard of the shipwreck of a vessel a great way north, 
 and of the money, &c. but that the crew were drowned 
 in el M Bahar ; this was so near the Spanish (La Mar) 
 for the sea, that I could not misunderstand it. Thus 
 having obtained what information they wanted on those 
 points, they next desired to know if 1 knew any thing 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 73 
 
 . about Marocksh ; this sounded something like Morocco : 
 I answered yes; next of the Sooltaan , (the Sultan,) to 
 
 i which instead of saying yes, I made signs of assent, for 
 I found they did no more themselves, except by a cluck 
 with the tongue. 
 
 They wanted me to tell his name, Soo Mook , but I 
 could not understand them until they mentioned Moolay 
 Solimaan ; this I remembered to be the name of the 
 f present emperor of Morocco, as pronounced in Spanish, 
 nearly. I gave them to understand that 1 knew him ; had 
 seen him with my eyes, and that he was a friend to me 
 and to my nation. They next made me point out the 
 1 direction towards his dominions, and having satisfied them 
 ? that I knew which way his dominions lay from us, I tried 
 to intimate to them, that if they would carry me there, I 
 c should be able to pay them for my ransom, and that of 
 my crew. They shook their heads ; it was a great dis- 
 tance, and nothing lor camels to eat or drink on the way. 
 
 1 My shipmates, who were with me, could not understand 
 one syllable of what they said, or of their signs, and did 
 not believe that I was able to communicate at all with 
 them. Having finished their council, and talked the mat- 
 ter over among themselves, they separated, and our mas- 
 ters, taking each his slave, made off, every one his own 
 way. Although from the conference I derived hopes of 
 our getting ransomed, and imparted the same to my mates 
 and crew, yet they all seemed to think 1 was deluding 
 them with false expectations ; nor could I convince them 
 of the contrary. We took anotlier leave of each other, 
 when we parted for the night, having travelled this day, I 
 should guess, about fifteen miles S. £. 
 
 I had been so fully occupied since noon, that no thoughts 
 of victuals or drink had occurred to my mind. We had 
 none of us ate or drank any thing this day, except about 
 half a gill of milk each in the morning at daylight, and 
 about half a pint of black beach water near the middle of 
 the day. I was delivered over to an Arab named Bickri , 
 and went with him near his tent, where he made me lie 
 down on the ground like a camel. Near midnight he 
 brought me a bowl containing about a quart of milk and 
 water ; its taste was delicious, and as my stomach had 
 
 10 
 
74 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 become contracted by long hunger and thirst, I consider, 
 ed it quite a plentiful draught. I had been shivering with 
 cold for a long time, as I had no covering nor skreen, and 
 not even one of my shipmates to lie near me to keep one 
 side warm at a time. I was so far exhausted by fatigues, 
 privations, &c. that my misery could no longer keep me 
 awake. I sank into a deep sleep, and during this sleep 
 I was troubled in the first place with the most frightful 
 dreams. 
 
 I thought I was naked and a slave, and dreamed over 
 the principal incidents which had already actually passed. 
 I then thought I was driven by Arabs with redhot iron 
 spears pointed at me on every side, through the most 
 dreadful fire I had ever imagined, for near a mile, naked 
 and barefoot ; the flames up to my eyes, scorched every 
 part of my skin off, and wasted away my flesh by roast- 
 ing, burning, and drying it off to the bones ; my torments 
 were inconceivable. I now thought I looked up towards 
 heaven, and prayed to the Almighty to receive my spirit, 
 and end my sufferings ; I was still in the midst of the 
 flames ; a bright spot like an eye with rays around it, ap- 
 peared above me in the firmament, with a point below it, 
 reaching towards the N. E. — I thought if I went that way 
 I should go right, and turned from the S. to the N. E. ; 
 the fire soon subsided and I went on, still urged by them 
 about me, with their spears pricking me from time to time, 
 over high sand hills and rocky steeps, my flesh dropping 
 off in pieces as I went ; then descending a deep valley, I 
 thought I saw green trees— -flowering shrubs in blossom — 
 cows feeding on green grass, with horses, sheep, and asses 
 near me ; and as I moved on, I discovered a brook of 
 clear running water : my thirst being excessive, I dragged 
 my mangled limbs to the brook, threw myself down, and 
 drank my fill of the most delicious water. When my thirst 
 was quenched, I rolled in the brook to cool my body, which 
 seemed still consuming with heat ; then thanked my God 
 In my heart for his mercies. 
 
 My masters, in the mean time, kept hurrying me on in 
 the way pointed out by the All-seeing eye, which was 
 still visible in the heavens above my head, through crook- 
 ed, thorny, and narrow paths— over high mountains and 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 75 
 
 deep valleys — past hosts of armed men on horseback and 
 
 I on foot, and walled cities, until we met a tall young man 
 dressed in the European and American manner, by the 
 :side of a brook, riding on a stately horse, who upon 
 1 seeing me aiighted, and rushing forward, wild with joy, 
 raj caught me in his arms, and pressed me to his breast, call- 
 ing me by the endearing name of brother, in my own lan- 
 . guage — I thought I fainted in his arms from excess of joy, 
 and when I revived, found myself in a neat room, with a 
 table set in the best manner before me, covered with the 
 choicest meats, fruits, and wines, and my deliverer press- 
 ing me to eat and drink ; but finding me too much over- 
 j come to partake of this refreshment, he said, “ take cour- 
 3 age, my dear friend, God has decreed that you shall again 
 embrace your beloved wife and children.” At this in- 
 stant I was called by my master— I awoke, and found it 
 was a dream. 
 
 Being daylight, (Sept. 12th) he ordered me to drive 
 forward the camels ; this I did for about an hour, but my 
 feet were so much swelled, being lacerated by the cutting 
 of the stones, which seemed as if they would penetrate to 
 my heart at every step — -I could not help stooping and 
 crouching down nearly to the ground. In this situation, 
 my first master Hamet observed me ; he was going on 
 the same course, S. E. riding on his camel ; he came near 
 my present master, and after talking with him a good 
 while, he took off the blanket from his back and gave it 
 to Bickri — then coming close to me, made signs for me 
 to stop. He next made his camel lie down ; then fixing 
 a piece of skin over his back behind the saddle, and mak - 
 ing its two ends fast to the girths to keep it from slipping 
 off, he bade me mount on it, while he got on his saddle 
 and steadied me with his hand until the camel rose. He 
 then went on the same course as before, in company with 
 three or four other men, well armed and mounted. The 
 sun beat dreadfully hot upon my bare head and body, and 
 it appeared to me that my head must soon split to pieces, 
 as it was racking and cracking with excruciating pain. 
 Though in this horrible distress, yet I still thought of my 
 dream of the last night — “ a drowning man will catch at a 
 straw,” says the proverb, and I can verily add, that the 
 
76 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 very faintest gleam of hope will keep alive the declining 
 spirits of a man in the deepest distress and misery ; for ! 
 from the moment I began to reflect on what had passed 
 through my mind when sleeping, I felt convinced that 
 though this was nothing more than a dream, yet still re- 
 membering how narrowly and often I had escaped imme- 
 diate apparent death, and believing it was through the pe- 
 culiar interposition of Divine Providence, I could not but 
 believe that the All-seeing eye was watching over my steps, 
 and would in due time conduct me by his unerring wis- 
 dom, into paths that would lead to my deliverance, and 
 restoration to my family. 
 
 I was never superstitious, nor ever did I believe ill 
 dreams or visions, as they are termed, or even remember- 
 ed them, so as to relate any I may have had ; but this 
 dream made such an impression on my mind, that it was not 
 possible for me to remove it from my memory — being now 
 as fresh as at the moment I awoke after dreaming it, and 
 1 must add, that when I afterwards saw Mr. Wiltshire, I 
 knew him to be the same man I had seen in my sleep : he 
 had a particular mark on his chin — wore a light coloured 
 frock coat, had on a white hat, and rode the same horse. 
 From that time I thought if I could once get to the em- 
 pire of Morocco, I should be sure to find a friend to re- 
 lieve me and my companions, whose heart was already 
 prepared for it by superior Power. My mind was thus 
 employed until we came to a little valley where half a 
 dozen tents were pitched ; as soon as we saw them, Hamet 
 made his camel kneel down, and me to dismount : he was 
 met by several women and children, who seemed very 
 glad to see him,' and I soon found that they were his re- 
 lations. He beckoned me to come towards his tent, for 
 he lived there apparently with his mother, and brothers 
 and sisters, but the woman and girls would not suffer me 
 to approach them, driving me off with sticks, and throw- 
 ing stones at me ; but Hamet brought me a little sour 
 milk and water in a bowl, which refreshed me consider- 
 ably. 
 
 It was about two o’clock in the day, and I was forced 
 to re ain broiling in the sun without either tree, shrub, or 
 any other shade to shield me from its scorching rays, until 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA; 
 
 77 
 
 * night, when Dick (the cook) came in with the camels, 
 i Hamet had kept Dick from the beginning, and made him 
 i drive the camels, but allowed him to sleep in one corner of 
 the tent, and gave him for the few first days, as much 
 milk as he could drink, once a day ; and as he was a do- 
 : mestic slave, he managed to steal water, and sometimes 
 : sour milk when he was dry. 
 
 In the evening of this day I was joined by Hogan, and 
 now found that he and myself had been purchased by 
 Hamet that day, and that Horace belonged to an ill-looking 
 , old man, whose tent was pitched in company. This old 
 villain came near me, and saluted me by the name of Rais, 
 asking me the name of his boy, (Horace) ; I told him it 
 was Horace, which after repeating a few times he learned 
 so perfectly, that at every instant he was yelling out 
 “ Hoh Rais ” for something or other. Hamet was of a 
 much lighter colour than the other Arabs we were with, 
 and I thought he was less cruel, but in this respect 1 
 found I was mistaken, for he made myself and Hogan iie 
 on the ground in a place he chose, where the stones were 
 very thick and baked into the ground so tight that we 
 could not pull them out with our fingers, and we were 
 forced to lie on their sharp points, though at a small dis- 
 tance, not more than fifty yards, was a spot of sand. This 
 I made him understand, pointing at the same time to my 
 skinless flesh, but he signified to us that if we did not 
 remain where he had ordered, we should get no milk 
 when he milked the camels. I calculate we travelled this 
 day about thirty miles. 
 
 Here then w 7 e staid, but not to sleep, until about the 
 midnight hour, when Hamet came to us with our milk ; 
 it was pure and warm from the camels, and about a pint 
 for each. The wind hlew as is usual in the night, and 
 on that part of the desert the air was extremely cold and 
 damp ; but its moisture on our bodies was as salt as the 
 ocean. Having received our share of milk, when all was 
 i; still in the tent, we stole to the sandy place, where we get 
 a little sleep during the remaining part of the night, 
 Horace’s master would not permit him to come near mo, 
 nor pie to approach him, making use of a stick, as well. 
 
78 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 to enforce his commands in this particular, as to teach us 
 to understand him in other respects. 
 
 At daylight (Sept. 13th) we were called on to proceed. ! 
 The families struck their tents, and packed them on cam- 
 els, together with all their stuff. They made us walk 
 and keep up with the camels, though we were so stiff and 
 sore all over that we could scarcely refrain from crying out 
 at every step : such tvas our agony ; still pursuing our 
 route to the S. E. In the course of the morning, I saw 
 Mr. Williams ; he was mounted on a camel, as we had all 
 been the first day, and had been riding with the drove j 
 about three hours : I hobbled along towards him ; his 
 camel stopped, and I was enabled to take him by the : 
 hand. He was still entirely naked ; his skin had been 
 burned off ; his whole body was so excessively inflamed 
 and swelled, as well as his face, that I only knew him by 
 his voice, which was very feeble. He told me he had been 
 obliged to sleep naked in the open air every night ; that his 
 life was fast wasting away amidst the most dreadful tor- 
 ments ; that he could not live one day more in such mis- 
 ery ; that his mistress had taken pity on him, and anointed 
 his body that morning with butter or grease ; but, said 
 he, “ I cannot live should you ever get clear from this 
 dreadful place, and be restored to your country, tell my 
 dear wife that my last breath was spent in prayers for her 
 happiness. He could say no more ; tears and sobs choked 
 his utterance. 
 
 His master arrived at this time, and drove on his camel, 
 and I could only say to him, “ God Almighty bless you,” J 
 as I took a last look at him, and forgot, for a moment, 1 
 while contemplating his extreme distress, my own misery, i 
 His camel was large, and moved forward with very heavy 
 motions ; as he went from me, I could see the inside of 
 his legs and thighs — they hung in strings of torn and , 
 chafed flesh — the blood was trickling down the sides of the 
 camel, and off his feet. “My God!” I cried, “suffer 
 us not to live longer in such tortures.” 
 
 I had stopped about fifteen minutes, and my master’s 
 camels had gained a great distance from me, so that I was 
 obliged to run that I might come up with them. My 
 mind was so shocked with the distresses of Mr. Williams, 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA: 
 
 79 
 
 : that I thought it would be impious for me to complain, 
 though the sharp stones continued to enter my sore feet at 
 1, every step. My master saw me and stopped the drove for 
 ii. me to come up ; when I got near him he threatened me, 
 t shaking his stick over my head, to let me know what I 
 i had to expect if I dared to commit another fault. He 
 it then rode off, ordering me and Hogan to drive the camels 
 mt on as fast as we could. About an hour afterwards he 
 iv came near us, and beckoned to me to come to him, which 
 ill I did. A tall old man, nearly as black as a negro, one of 
 e the most ill-looking and disgusting I had yet seen, soon 
 lis joined my master, with two young men, whom I found 
 lie afterwards were his sons : they were also joined by a num- 
 :n ber more on camels and well armed, 
 i After some time bartering about me, I was given to 
 > the old man, whose features showed every sign of the 
 i deepest rooted malignity in his disposition. And is this 
 ' my master ? thought I ; Great God ! defend me from his 
 cruelty ! He began to go on : he was on foot ; so were 
 his two sons; but they walked faster than camels, and 
 J the old man kept snarling at me in the most surly manner, 
 
 ! to make me keep up. i tried my very best, as I was 
 i extremely anxious to please him, if such a thing was pos- 
 sible, knowing the old adage of “ the devil is good when 
 f he is pleased,” was correct, when applied to human be- 
 1 ings ; but I could not go fast enough tor him ; so after he 
 had growled and kept on a considerable time, finding I 
 could not keep up with him, he came behind me and 
 thrust me forward with hard blows repeatedly applied to 
 my exposed back, with a stout stick he had in his hand. 
 Smarting and staggering under my wounds, I made the 
 greatest efforts to get on, but one of his still more inhu- 
 man sons, (as I then thought him,) gave me a double 
 barrelled gun to carry, with his powder horn and other 
 accoutre men's : they felt very heavy, yet after I had taken 
 them, the old man did not again strike me, but went on 
 towards the place where he meant to pitch his tent, leaving 
 me to follow on as well as I could. 
 
 The face of the desert now appeared as smooth as the 
 surface of the ocean, when unruffled by winds or tempests 
 Camels could be seen on every direction, as soon as the> 
 
so 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE* 
 
 came above the horizon, so that there was no difficulty u 
 knowing which way to go, and I took care to keep sigh 
 of my new master’s drove, until 1 reached the valley, ir 
 which he had pitched his tent. I was broiling under the 
 sun and tugging along, with my load, which weighed me 
 down to the earth, and should have lain down despairing, 
 had I not seen Mr. Williams in a still worse plight thar 
 myself. 
 
 Having come near the tent about four P. M. they took 
 the load from me, and bid me lie down in the shade oil 
 the tent. 1 then begged for water, but could get none. 
 The time now came on for prayers, and after the old mar 
 and his sons had performed this ceremony very devoutly, 
 they went away. I was in so much pain, I could scarcely 
 contain myself, and my thirst was more painful than if 
 had yet been. I tried to soften the hearts of the women to 
 get me a little water, but they only laughed and spit at me 
 and to increase my distresses as much as they could, drove 
 me away from the shade of the tent, so that I was forced 
 to remain in the scorching sun for the remainder of this 
 long day. 
 
 A little after sunset my old and young masters returned? 
 they were joined by all the men that were near, to the 
 number of from twenty to thirty, and went through their 
 religious ceremonies in a very solemn manner, in which 
 the women and little children did not join them. Soon 
 after this was over, Clark came in with the camels and 
 joined me; it would have been pleasant to be together,' 
 but his situation was such that it made my heart ache still 
 worse than it did before ; he was nearly without a skin ; 
 every part of his body exposed ; his flesh excessively 
 mangled, burnt, and inflamed. “ I am glad to see you 
 once more, sir,” said Clark, “ for I cannot live through 
 the approaching night, and now beg of you, if you ever) 
 get to our country again, to tell my brothers and sisters j 
 how I perished.” I comforted him all 1 could, and as 
 sured him he would not die immediately ; that the nourish- 
 ment we now had, though very little, was sufficient to 
 keep us alive for a considerable time, and that though our 
 skins were roasted off and our flesh inflamed, we were 
 vet alive without any signs of putrefaction on our bodies ; 
 
BUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 81 
 
 that I had great hopes we should all be carried in a few 
 days from this desert to where we might: get some food 
 to nourish us, and as I had learned a little of the lan- 
 guage of these people, (or savages,) I would keep trying 
 to persuade them that if they would carry us up to the 
 Moorish dominions, I should be able to pay them a great 
 ransom for all the crew ; for an old man had told me that 
 is soon as it should rain they would journey to the N. E* 
 ind sell us. 
 
 The night came on ; cold damp winds succeeded to 
 ;he heat of the day, and I begged of my old master to be 
 permitted to go under the corner of his tent, (for it was 
 i large one,) and he seemed willing, pointing out a place 
 for us to lie down in, but the women would not consent, 
 md we remained outside until the men had milked the 
 lamels. They then gave us a good drink of milk, near 
 
 I i quart each, and after the women were asleep, one of my 
 mung masters, named Omai'> (the same that made me 
 :arry his gun the preceding day to keep his father from 
 leating me,) took pity on our distresses, and came and 
 nade us creep under one corner of the tent, without 
 vaking the women, where some soft sand served us for a 
 >ed, and the tent kept off the cold air from us ; and here 
 ve slept soundly until morning. As soon as the women 
 .woke, and found us under the tent, they were for thrust- 
 ng us out with blows, but I pretended to be asleep, and 
 he old man looking on us, seemed somewhat concerned, 
 earing (as I thought) he might lose his property. He 
 old his women to let us alone, and as he was absolute, 
 hey were forced to obey him, though with every appear- 
 j.ncfc of reluctance. 
 
 | After they had milked die camels, and taken a drink 
 |hef$selves, they gave us what remained, that is to say, 
 leaiia pint between us. The)' did not move forward this 
 layf 1 %nd suffered us to remain under the corner of the 
 ent in the shade all the while, and the next night, and 
 veij gave us a piece of a skin to cover us with in part, 
 nd keep off the night wind. They gave us a good 
 Irink of milk when they drank themselves on the ; .cond 
 light, and Omar had given us about a pint of warn, each. 
 In ’the middle of the day ; so that the inflammation 
 
82 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEV’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 seemed to have subsided in a great degree from our ties 
 and feet. 
 
 This attention, together with the two good nights’ rest 
 revived us very much — these were the 14th and 15th day 
 of September. I had not seen any of my unfortunat 
 shipmates except Clark, and did not know where the 
 were during the clay we remained still. The camels wer 
 driven off early in the morning by a negro slave and tw 
 of the small boys, and did not return until in the night— 
 they went out to the east to find shrubs for them to feet 
 on. Clark was obliged, near night, to go out and pu 
 up some dry thorn bush shrubs and roots to make a fir 
 with. At the return of the camels, the negro slave (wh 
 was a stout fellow, named Boireck) seated himself by tb 
 fire, stretching out his legs on each side of it, and seein 
 us under the tent, thought to drive us out ; but as h 
 was not permitted by our old master, he contented him 
 self by pointing at us and making comparisons : the 
 sneeringly addressing me by the name of Rais, or chie: 
 would set up a loud laugh, which, with the waggery h 
 displayed in his remarks on us, kept the whole famil 
 and several strangers who had assembled on the occasior 
 in a constant roar of laughter until midnight, the hour fc 
 milking the camels. He would poke our sore flesh wit 
 a sharp stick, to make sport, and show the Arabs wh; 
 miserable beings we were, who could not even bear th 
 rays of the sun (the image of God, as they term it) t 
 shine upon us. 
 
 Being tormented in this manner, my companion Clar' 
 could scarcely contain his wrath : It was bad enougl 
 
 (he said,) to be reduced to slavery by the savage Ar|bs 
 to be stripped, and skinned alive, and mangled, witnoi: 
 being obliged to bear the scoffs and derision of a d-*y- 
 negro slave.” I told him I was very glad to find hb>sti 
 had so much spirits left, and could feel as if he tffthe^ 
 to revenge an insult — it proved to me that he felt Jbette 
 than he did the preceding night, and as I was so njuc 
 relieved myself, my hopes of being able to endure ou 
 tortures and privations increased, adding, “ let the negr 
 laugh if he can take any pleasure in it ; I am willing, h 
 should do so, even at my r expense : he is a poor slav 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 iimself, naked and destitute, far from his family and 
 riends, and is only trying to gain the favour of his mas- 
 ers and mistresses, by making sport of us, whom he 
 Considers as much inferior to him as he is to them.’ 
 Idark, however, could not be reconciled to this mode of 
 nockery and sport ; but the negro kept it up as long as 
 ! ye remained with his master, every night, and always had 
 nany spectators to admire his wit, and laugh at his tricks 
 ' tnd buffoonery. This reminded me of the story of Sam- 
 son, when the Philistines wished to make sport with him ; 
 le was blind, and they supposed him harmless ; but lie 
 jecame so indignant, that he was willing to suffer death 
 o be revenged of them ; the difference was, he had 
 jitrength to execute his will, — we had not. 
 
 From the 15th to the 18 th, we journeyed everyday to 
 he S. E. about thirty miles a day, merely to find a few 
 ;hrubs in the small scattered valleys for the camels, and 
 consequently for the inhabitants to subsist on. As we 
 vent on in that direction, the valleys became less frequent 
 ind very shallow ; the few thorn bushes they produced 
 vere very dry, and no other shrubs to be found ; the 
 :amels could not fill their stomachs with the leaves and 
 shrubs, nor with all that they could crop off, though 
 hey pulled away the branches as thick as a man’s finger. 
 The milk began to fail, and consequently we had to be 
 scanted, so that our allowance was reduced to half a pint 
 t day, and as all the water they had taken from the well 
 vas expended, they could give us no more of that pre- 
 cious article. There were belonging to this tribe four 
 nares that were the general property ; they were clean 
 imbed, and very lean ; they fed them on milk every 
 day, and every one took his turn in giving them as much 
 water every two days as they would drink. These mares 
 frank up the last of our water on the 19th, nor would my 
 ; naster allow me to drink what little was left in the bowk 
 lot exceeding half a pint, and it was poured out as a 
 t Irink offering before the Lord, while they prayed for rain, 
 
 ' which indeed they had reason to expect, as the season 
 hey knew was approaching, when some rain generally 
 
 I iappens. I supposed our distance from the sea, or the 
 veil that we ha.d left, to be three hundred miles in a direct 
 
 |r " ' • 
 
84 
 
 ■CAPTAIN" RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 line, and feared very much that we should not find wate 
 at any other place. The sustenance we received was jus 
 sufficient to keep the breath of life in us, but our fles a 
 was less inflamed than in the first days, for we had con 
 tinned to lie under a part of the tent at night, and also i 
 the day-time when it was pitched, which was generally 
 the case about two o’clock in the afternoon. We had 
 however, become so emaciated, that we could scarce! 
 stand, and they did not attempt to make me nor Clark dc 
 any kind of work, except gather a few dry sticks, to 
 wards evening, to light a fire. The swellings had alsf ; 
 gone down in some measure from our feet, as there wa: 
 not substance enough in us to keep up a running sore 
 all the moisture in them seemed to dry away, and w» 
 could support the prickings and cutting of the stones bet 
 ter, as we became lighter and more inured to it. Wi 
 had endeavoured to find some of the kind of root tha 
 was met with near the sea coast, but none could be pro 
 cured. In every valley we came to, the natives woulc 
 run about and search under every thorn bush, in hope: 
 to find some herb, for they were nearly as hungry as! 
 ourselves. In some places a small plant was found, re 
 sembling what we call shepherd’s sprout ; they were ton 
 up by them and devoured in an instant. I got one oi 
 two, but they proved very bitter, and were impregnated 
 in a considerable degree, with salt : these plants were sc 
 rare as to be scarcely of any benefit. There were alsc 
 found by the natives, in particular places, a small ground 
 root, whose top showed itself like a single short spear oi 
 grass, about three inches above the ground ; they dug ii 
 up with a stick ; it was of the size of a small walnut, 
 and in shape very much like an onion ; its taste fresh, 
 without any strong flavour ; but it was very difficult tc 
 find, and afforded us very little relief, as we could nol 
 get more than half a dozen in a whole day’s search, and 
 some days none at all. 
 
 On tire 19th of September, in the morning, the tribe 
 having held a council the night before, at which I could 
 observe my old master was looked up to as a man of su- 
 perior judgment and influence, they began a route back 
 again towards tire sea, and the well near which we were 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA.- 
 
 85 
 
 first made slaves ; — this convinced me that no fresh water 
 could be procured nearer, and as the camels were almost 
 dry, I much feared that myself and my companions must 
 perish before we could reach it. I had been in the habit 
 every day since I was on the desert, of relieving my ex- 
 cessive thirst by the disagreeable expedient before men- 
 tioned ; but that resource now failed me for the want of 
 moisture, nor had any thing passed through my body 
 since the day I left the well. We had journeyed for seven 
 and a half days S. E. and I concluded it would require 
 the same time to return ; but on the 18th we had steered 
 N. E. and on the 19th we took a N. W. direction, and 
 in the course of the day we entered a very small valley, 
 where we found a few dwarf thorn bushes, not more than 
 two feet high ; on these we found some snails, most of 
 which were dead and dry, but I got about a handful that 
 were alive, and when a fire was kindled, roasted and ate 
 them : Clark did the same, and as we did not receive 
 more than a gill of milk each in twenty-four hours, this 
 nourishment was very serviceable. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th we started as soon as it 
 was light, and drove very fast all the day. We had no 
 other drink than the camels’ urine, which we caught in 
 our hands as they voided it ; its taste was bitter, but not 
 salt, and it relieved our fainting spirits. We were forced 
 to keep up with the drove, but in the course of the day 
 found a handful of snails each, which we at night roasted 
 and ate. Our feet, though not much swollen, were ex- 
 tremely sore ; our bodies and limbs were nearly deprived 
 of skin and flesh, for we continually wasted away, and 
 the little we had on our bones was dried hard, and stuck 
 fast to them. My head had now become accustomed to 
 the heat of the sun, and though it remained uncovered, 
 it did not pain me. Hunger, that had preyed upon my 
 companions to such a degree as to cause them to bite off 
 the flesh from their arms, had not the same effect on me. 
 I was forced in one instance to tie the arms of one of my 
 men behind him, in order to prevent his gnawing his 
 own flesh ; and in another instance, two of them having 
 caught one of the boys, a lad about four years old, out 
 of sight of the tents, were about dashing his brains out 
 
86 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 i 
 
 with a stone, for the purpose of devouring his flesh, when 
 luckily at that instant I came up and rescued the child, 
 with some difficulty, from their voracity. They were so 
 frantic with hunger, as to insist upon having one meal of 
 his flesh, and then they said they would be willing to die ; 
 for they knew that not only themselves, but all the crew 
 would be instantly massacred as soon as the murder should 
 be discovered. I convinced them that it would be more 
 manly to die with hunger than to become cannibals and 
 eat their own or other human flesh, telling them, at the 
 same time, I did not doubt but our masters would give 
 us sufficient nourishment to keep us alive, until they could 
 sell us. 
 
 On the 20th we had proceeded with much speed to- 
 wards the N. W. or sea shore ; but on the 21st we did 
 not go forward. This day I met with Mr. Savage, 
 Horace, Hogan, and the cook ; their masters’ tents were 
 pitched near ours ; they were so weak, emaciated and sore, 
 that they could scarcely stand, and had been carried on 
 the camels for the last few days. I was extremely glad to 
 see them, and spoke to all but Horace, whose master 
 drove me off with a stick one way, and Horace another, 
 3 'elling most horribly at the same time, and laying it on 
 Horace’s back with great fury. I soon returned to our 
 tent, and felt very much dejected ; they all thought they 
 could not live another day : there were no snails to be 
 found here, and we had not one drop of milk or water to 
 drink. Horace, Hogan, and the cook were employed in 
 attending their masters’ camels, in company with one or 
 two Arabs, who kept flogging them nearly the whole of 
 the time. 
 
 My old master did not employ me or Clark in the same 
 way, because he had two negro slaves to do that work ; 
 lie was a rich man among them, and owned from sixty 
 to seventy camels ; he was also a kind of priest, for every 
 evening he was joined, in his devotions, by all the old 
 and most of the young men near his tent. They all first 
 washed themselves with sand, in place of water ; then 
 wrapping themselves up with their strip of cloth and turn- 
 ing their faces to the east, my old master stepped out be- 
 fore them, and commenced by bowing twice, repeating 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 87 
 
 a£ each time “ Allah Houakibar then 
 
 kneelihg 
 
 and 
 
 j bowing his head to the ground twice ; then raising him- 
 5 j self up on his feet, and repeating, “ Hi el Allah Sheda 
 , Mohammed JRahsool Allah ,” bowing himself twice ; and 
 again prostrating himself on the earth as many times, then 
 - “ Allah Houakibar ” was three times repeated. He was- 
 d always accompanied in his motions and words by all 
 rj present who could see him distinctly, as he stood before 
 them. He would then make a ' long prayer, and they 
 recited all together what I afterwards found to be a chap- 
 ter in the Koran ; and then all joined in chanting or sing- 
 ing some hymn or sacred poetry for a considerable time. 
 This ceremony being finished, they again prostrated 
 themselves with their faces to the earth, and the service 
 concluded. 
 
 About the middle of this day two strangers arrived, 
 riding two camels loaded with goods : they came in front 
 of my master’s tent, and having made the camels lie down, 
 they dismounted, and seated themselves on the ground 
 opposite the tent, with their faces turned the other way. 
 There were in this valley six tents, besides that of my 
 masters. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Two Arabian merchants are persuaded by the author to 
 purchase him and four of his suffering companions — - 
 They kill a camel , and prepare to set out for Morocco- 
 aero ss the Desert. 
 
 All the meD.had gone out a hunting on their camels, 
 carrying their arms with them ; that is to say, seeking for 
 plunder as I concluded. My old and young mistresses . 
 went to see the strangers ; they had no water to carry, as 
 is customary, but took with them a large skin, with a roll 
 of tent cloth, to make them a shelter. The strangers rose 
 as the women drew near, and saluted them by the words 
 “ Labez, Labez-Salem , Labez-Alikom peace, peace be 
 with you, &c. and the women returned these salutations 
 
88 CAPTAIN- RILEY'S NAllRATiVE, 
 
 in similar words. They next ran to our tent, and took i 
 coupie of sticks, with the help of which, and the skir 
 and tent cloth, they soon made an awning for the strain 
 gers. This done, they took the bundles which were on 
 the camels, and placed them in this tent, with the saddles 
 and all the other things the strangers had brought. The 
 two strangers had a couple of skins that contained water, 
 which the women hungup on a frame they carried from out 
 tent. 
 
 During the whole time the women w'ere thus employed, 
 the strangers remained seated on the ground beside their 
 guns, for they had each a double barrelled musket, and 
 so bright that they glittered in the sun like silver. The 
 women having finished their attentions, seated themselves 
 near the strangers, and made inquiries, as near as I could 
 comprehend, by- saying, “where did you come from? 
 what goods have you got ? how long have you been on 
 your journey ?” &c. Having satisfied their curiosity on 
 these points, they next came to me, and the old woman 
 (in whom as yet I had not discovered one spark of pity) 
 told me that Sidi Hamet had come with blankets and blue 
 cloth to sell ; that he came from the Sultan’s dominions, 
 and that he could buy me and carry me there, if he chose, 
 where I might find my friends, and kiss my wife and 
 children. 
 
 Before my master returned I went to the tent of Sidi 
 Hamet, with a wooden bow l, and begged for some water ; 
 showing my mouth, which w-as extremely parched and 
 stiff, so much so, that I could with difficulty speak. He 
 looked at me, and asked if I ivas el liais , (the captain.) 
 I nodded assent. He told his brother, who was with him, 
 to give me some water, but this his benevolent brother 
 would not condescend to do ; so taking.^he bowl himself, 
 he poured into it near a quart of clear water, saying, 
 “ Sherub Rais that is, drink, captain, or chief. I drank 
 about half of it, and after thanking him and imploring 
 the blessing of heaven upon him for his humanity, I was 
 going to take the rest of it to our tent, where Clark lay 
 stretched out on his back, a perfect wreck of almost naked 
 bones ; his belly and back nearly collapsed, and breathing 
 Tike a persoq in the last agonies of death ; but Sidi Hamet 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, gg 
 
 ) would not permit me to carry the water away, bidding me 
 
 ! drink it myself. I pointed out to him my distressed com- 
 panion ; this excited his pity, and he suffered me to give 
 Clark the remainder. 
 
 The water was perfectly fresh, and revived him exceed- 
 ingly ; it was a cordial to his desponding soul, being the 
 first fresh water either of us had tasted since we led the 
 boat : his eyes, that were sunk deep in their sockets, 
 brightened up — “ This is good water (said he) and must 
 have come from a better country than this ; if we were 
 once there, (added he,) and I could get one good drink 
 of such water, I could die with pleasure, but now I can- 
 not live another day.” Our masters soon returned, and 
 began, with others of the tribe who had received the news 
 - of the arrival of strangers, to form circles and chat with 
 them and each other : this continued till night, and I pre- 
 sume there were at least two hundred men present. After 
 lark they began to separate, and by 10 o’clock at night 
 none remained but my old master’s family, and three or 
 four of their relations, at our tent. On this occasion we 
 e were turned out into the open air, and were obliged to pass 
 . :he night without any shelter or covering. It was a long 
 i ind tedious night ; but at the time of milking the camels, 
 3ur old master coming to us, as if afraid of losing his 
 property by our death, and anxious we should live, dealt 
 but about a pint of milk to each : this milk tasted better 
 :han any I had yet drank ; it was a sweet and seasonable 
 ■elief, and saved poor Clark from dissolution. 
 
 This was the first nourishment of any kind our master 
 lad given us in three days, and I concluded from this cir- 
 mmstance that he had hopes of selling us to the strangers. 
 The next morning Sidi Hamet came towards the tent, and 
 oeckoned me to come there ; he was at a considerable dis- 
 ance, and I made the best of my way to him, where he 
 )ade me sit down on the ground. I had by this time 
 earned many words in their language, which is ancient 
 Arabic, and could understand the general current of their 
 Conversation, by paying strict attention to it. 
 
 He now began to question me about my country, and 
 he manner in which i had come here. I made him un- 
 Herstand that I was an Englishman, and that my vessel 
 
 *2 
 
90 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 and crew were of the same nation. I found he had heard 
 of that country, and I stated as well as I could the man- 
 ner of my shipwreck — told him we were reduced to the 
 lowest depth of misery ; that I had a wife and five children 
 in my own country, besides Horace, whom I called my 
 eldest son, mingling with my story sighs and tears, and 
 all the signs of affection and despair which these recollec- 
 tions and my present situation naturally called forth. 
 
 I found him to be a very intelligent and feeling man ; 
 for although he knew no language but the Arabic, he 
 comprehended so well what I wished to communicate ; 
 that he actually shed tears at the recital of my distresses, 
 notwithstanding that, among the Arabs, weeping is re- 
 garded as a womanish weakness. He seemed to be 
 ashamed of his own want of fortitude, and said that men 
 who had beards like him ought not to shed tears ; and he 
 retired, wiping his eyes. 
 
 Finding I had awakened his sympathy, I thought if I 
 could rouse his interest by large offers of money, he might 
 buy me and my companions, and carry us up from the 
 desert — so accordingly the first time I saw him alone, 1 
 went to him, and begged him to buy me, and carry me 
 to the Sultan of Morocco or Marocksh, where I could 
 find a friend to redeem me. He said no, but he would 
 carry me to Swearah, describing it as a walled town and 
 seaport. I told him I had seen the Sultan, and that he 
 was a friend to my nation. He then asked me many other 
 questions about Mohammed Rahsool : I bowed, and 
 pointed to the east, then towards heaven, as if I thought 
 he had ascended there. This seemed to please him, and 
 he asked me how much money I would give him to carry 
 me up ; upon which I counted over fifty pieces of stones, 
 signifying I would give as many dollars for myself and 
 each of my men. “ I will not buy the others,’ ’ said he. 
 “ but how much more than fifty dollars will you give me 
 for yourself, if I buy you and carry you to your friends ?” 
 I told him one hundred dollars. “ Have you any money 
 in Swearah , ” asked he by signs and words, “ or do you 
 mean to make me wait till you get it from your country ?” 
 I replied that my friend in Swearah would give him the 
 money so soon as he brought me there. “You are dc 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 91 
 
 \ ceiving me,” said he. I made the most solemn protesta- 
 tions of my sincerity. “ I will buy you then,” said he, 
 <e but remember, if you deceive me, I will cut your 
 throat,” (making a motion to that effect.) This I assented 
 to, and begged of him to buy my son Horace also ; but 
 he would not hear a word about any of my companions, 
 as it would be impossible, he said, to get them up off the 
 desert, which was a great distance. “ Say nothing about 
 it to your old master,” signified he to me, “ nor to my 
 brother, or any of the others.” He tlien left me, and I 
 went out to seek for snails to relieve my hunger. I saw 
 Mr. Savage and Hogan, and brought them with Clark 
 near Sidi Hamet 3 s tent, where we sat down on the ground. 
 He came out to see us, miserable objects as we were, and 
 seemed very much shocked at the sight. I told ray com- 
 panions I had great hopes we should be bought by this 
 man and carried up to the cultivated country ; but they 
 expressed great fears that they would be left behind. Sidi 
 Hamet asked me many questions about my men — wished 
 to know if any of them had died, and if they had wives 
 and children. I tried all I could to interest him in their 
 behalf, as well as my own, and mentioned to him my son, 
 whom he had not yet seen. I found my companions had 
 ; been very much stinted in milk as well as myself, and that 
 they had no water : they had found a few snails, which 
 kept them alive ; but even these now failed. 
 
 The 24th, we journeyed on towards the N. W. all day, 
 the whole tribe, or nearly so, in company, and the stran- 
 gers also kept in company with us. When my mistress 
 pitched her tent near night, she made up one for Sidi 
 Hamet also. I begged of him on my knees, every time I 
 had an opportunity, for him to buy me and my compan- 
 ions, and on the 25th I had the happiness to see him pay 
 my old master for me : he gave him two blankets or coarse 
 haicks, one blue cotton covering, and a bundle of ostrich 
 feathers, with which the old man seemed much pleased, 
 as he had now three suits of clothing. They were a long 
 ( time in making the bargain. 
 
 This day Horace came with his master to fetch some- 
 i thing to our tent : at his approach, I went to meet him. 
 
 ' and embraced him with tears. Sidi Hamet was then fully 
 
9ss 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 convinced that he was my son. I had found a few snails 
 this morning, and divided them between Mr. Savage and 
 Horace before Sidi Hamet, who signified to me in the; 
 afternoon that he intended to set out with me in two days 
 for Swearah ; that he had tried to buy my son, but could 
 not succeed, for his master would not sell him at any 
 price : then said I, “ let me stay in his place ; I will be a 
 faithful slave to his master as long as I live ; carry him up 
 to Swearah ; my friend will pay you for him, and send 
 him home to his mother, whom I cannot see unless I 
 bring her son with me.” “ You shall have your son, by 
 Allah,” said Sidi Hamet. The whole tribe was gathered 
 in council, and I supposed relative to this business. In 
 the course of the afternoon they debated the matter over, 
 and seemed to turn it every way ; — they fought, besides, 
 three or four battles with fists and scimitars, in their warm 
 and loud discussions in settling individual disputes ; but 
 in the evening I was told that Horace was bought, as the 
 tribe in council had forced his master to sell him, though 
 at a great price. I now redoubled my entreaties with my 
 new master to buy Mr. Savage and Clark, telling him that 
 I would give him a large sum of money if he got us up 
 safe ; but he told me he should be obliged to carry us 
 through bands of robbers, who would kill him for our 
 sakes, and that his company was not strong enough to re 
 sist them by force of arms — I fell down on my knees, and 
 implored him to buy Mr. Savage and Clark, at any rate, 
 thinking if he should buy them, he might be induced to 
 purchase the remaining part of the crew. 
 
 My mind had been so busily employed in schemes of 
 redemption, as almost to forget my sufferings since Sidi 
 Hamet had bought me. He had given me two or three 
 drinks of water, and had begged milk for me of my for- 
 mer master. On the morning of the 26th, I renewed my 
 entreaties for him to purchase Mr. Savage, Clark, and 
 Hogan-— the others I had not seen since the second or 
 third day after we were- in the hands of the Arabs. I did 
 not know where they were, and consequently could not 
 designate them to my master Hamet, though I told him all 
 their names. Mr. Savage and Hogan looked much more 
 healthy and likely to live than Clark, and Sidi Hamet in 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 93 
 
 is jxsted that it was impossible that Clark could live more 
 »han three days, and that if he bought him, he should 
 ■if (lose his money. I told him no, he should not lose his 
 money, for whether he lived or died, I would pay him 
 ilfihe same amount. 
 
 ■' Clark was afflicted with the scalded head, rendered a 
 ;3w sore in consequence of his sufferings, and his hair, 
 p which was very long, was, of course, in a very filthy con- 
 3 lition : this attracted the attention of Sidi Hamet and his 
 brother, the latter of whom was a very surly and cross- 
 ooking fellow. They pushed the hair open with their 
 d sticks, and demanded to know what was the occasion of 
 i jhat filthy appearance. Clark assured them that it was in 
 consequence of his exposure to the sun ; and as that was 
 he reason I had assigned for the horrible sores and blisters 
 mihat covered our scorched bodies and half-roasted flesh, 
 a hey said, it might possibly be so, but asked why the 
 ie leads of the rest of us were not in the same state. They 
 li next found fault with my shins, which had been a long 
 ime very sore, and they examined every bone to see if all 
 vas right in its place, with the same cautious circumspec- 
 ion that a jockey would use, who was about buying a 
 i iorse ; while we, poor trembling wretches, strove with 
 ill possible care and anxiety to hide every fault and in- 
 irmity in us, occasioned by our dreadful calamities and 
 I :ruel sufferings. 
 
 Sidi Hamet informed me this day, that he had bought 
 Mr. Savage and Clark, and had bargained for Hogan, and 
 ;hat he was going to kill a camel that night for provisions 
 m our journey. Our water had been expended for two 
 lays, and all the families around us were also destitute. I 
 lid not get more than a gill of milk in twenty-four hours, 
 tnd a small handful of snails — these served in a little de- 
 cree to support nature, and I waited with the greatest 
 impatience for the killing of the camel which had been, 
 promised, hoping to have a meal of meat once more before 
 [ died. Clark and I had been busy all the afternoon in 
 gathering dry sticks to make a fire, and a little after mid- 
 night my master came to me and showed me where to 
 carry the wood we had collected ; it was in a little guliey 
 that it might not be seen by our neighbours, whilst our 
 
94 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 former master and two present ones were leading a cam* 
 up to the same place. This camel, on its arrival, the 
 made lie down in the usual manner: it was a very ol 
 one, and so poor, that he had not been able to keep pac 
 with the drove during the journey, and Sidi Hamet tol 
 me he had bought him for one blanket. 
 
 The camel being down, they put a rope round his ur 
 der jaw, with a noose in it ; then hauling his head roun 
 on the left side, made the rope fast to his tail, close up t 
 his body ; his neck was so long, that the under jaw reach 
 ed within six inches of the tail : they then brought a cop 1 
 per kettle that would contain probably three gallons. Thu 
 prepared, Sidi Hamet cut open a vein on the right side c 
 the camel’s neck, close to his breast ; the blood streams 
 out into the kettle, and soon filled it half full ; this the 
 set over the fire and boiled, stirring it all the time with 
 stick, until it became thick, and of the consistence of 
 beef’s liver ; then taking it off the fire, they passed it t' 
 me, saying, “ coole, Riley,” (eat, Riley.) I did not wai! 
 for a second bidding, but fell to, together with Clark : ou 
 appetites were voracious, and we soon filled our stomach 
 with this, to us, delicious food. 
 
 Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, and the priva 
 cy observed in killing this meagre camel, many of ou 
 hungry neighbours had found it out, and came to assist ii 
 the dressing and eating of the animal. They insisted oi 
 having some of the blood, and would snatch out a handfu 
 in spite of all our masters could do to hinder them ; they 
 were then very officious in assisting to take off the hide 
 which was soon done, and the entrails were rolled out 
 they next proceeded to put all the small entrails into the 
 kettle, without cleaning them of their contents, togethei 
 with what remained of the liver and lights ; but they had 
 no water to boil them in. Then one of them went tc 
 the camel’s paunch, which was very large, and cutting a 
 slit in the top of it, dipped out some of the filthy water in 
 a bowl : this they poured into the kettle, and set it a boil- 
 ing, stirring it round, and now and then taking out a piece, 
 and biting off” an end, to ascertain whether it was cooked 
 enough. During this time, half a dozen hungry wretches 
 were at work on the camel, which they would not leave 
 
SUFFERINGS ift AFRICA, 
 
 95 
 
 :V under pretence of friendship for our masters, for they 
 Jivould not suffer strangers to work, when in their company, 
 /And it being dark, they managed to steal and convey away, 
 Jaefore morning, more than one-half of the camel’s bones 
 5md meat, with half his skin. Our masters were as hun- 
 gry as any of the Arabs, yet though they had bought the 
 lr :amel, they could scarcely get a bite of the intestines 
 Jvitfiout fighting for it ; for what title or argument can 
 prevail against the ravenous appetite of a half-starved man ? 
 Though our masters saw the natives in the very act of 
 )p pealing and carrying off their meat, they could not pre- 
 rent them, fearing worse consequences than losing it ; it 
 ( )eing a standing maxim among the Arabs to feed the 
 lungry if in their power, and give them drink, even if 
 he owner of the provisions be obliged to rob himself and 
 lis own family to do it. 
 
 Notwithstanding the boiled blood we had eaten was per- 
 , ectly fresh, yet our thirst seemed to increase in conse- 
 quence of it. As soon as daylight appeared, a boy of 
 , rom fourteen to sixteen years old came running up to the 
 ! lamel’s paunch, and thrusting his head into it up to his 
 shoulders, began to drink of its contents ; my master ob~ 
 serving him, and seeing that my mouth was very dry, 
 nade signs for me to go and pull the boy away, and drink 
 nyself ; this I soon did, putting my head in like manner 
 nto the paunch ; the liquid was very thick, but though 
 ts taste was exceedingly strong, yet it was not salt, and 
 illayed my thirst : Clark next took a drink of the same 
 luid. 
 
 This morning, we were busied in cutting off the little 
 flesh that remained on the bones of our camel, spreading 
 t out to dry, and roasting the bones on the fire for our 
 masters, who cracking them between two stones, then 
 | sucked out the marrow and juices. Near noon, Horace 
 was brought where I was.; he was very hungry and thirsty, 
 and said he had not ate any thing of consequence for the 
 last three days. Our common master said to me, “ this 
 is your son Rais,” and seemed extremely glad that he had 
 been able to purchase him, giving him some of the entrails 
 and meat he had boiled and saved for the purpose. I in 
 my turn gave him some of our thick camel’s water, which 
 
96 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 
 he found to be delicious; so true it is, that hunger an 
 thirst give a zest to every thing. Burns was brought u 
 soon after, and my master asked me if he was one of m 
 men ; I told him he was : “ his master wants to sell him, 
 said Sidi Hamet, “ but he is old and good for nothing,^ 
 added he ; “ yet I can buy him for this blanket,” showinl 
 me a very poor old one. I said, “ buy him, he is nr 
 countryman, I will repay you as much for him as for th 
 others so he went out, and bought him from his master 
 and then gave him something to eat. Poor Burns wa 
 much rejoiced to find there was a prospect of recovering 
 his liberty, or at least of getting where he might procuri 
 something to eat and drink. During this day, the native: 
 flocked round in great numbers, men, women, and chil 1 
 dren, and what with begging and stealing reduced our stocl 
 of meat to less than fifteen pounds before night. 
 
 Sidi Hamet now told me that he had bought Hogan 
 this was in the afternoon, and he came to us. I congratu 
 lated him on our favourable prospects, and our master gave 
 him something to eat ; but his former master, Hamet, now 
 demanded one blanket more for him than had been agreed 1 
 on, as he was a stout fellow : my master would not be ■ 
 imposed upon, nor had he indeed a blanket left. I beg-!| 
 ged very hard for poor Hogan, but it was to no purpose,! 
 and his old master drove him off, laying on his back 
 with a stick most unmercifully. Hamet’s eyes seemed 
 fairly to flash fire as he went from us. Hogan’s hopes had 
 been raised to a high pitch — they were now blasted, and 
 he driven back like a criminal before his brutal owner, to 
 his former miserable abode. He informed me that he had 
 never as yet, since our captivity, known what it was to 
 sleep under the cover of a tent ; that his allowance of milk 
 had been so scant, that he did not doubt but he must have 
 died with hunger in a day or two : he was extremely wast- 
 ed and sore on every side. My heart bled for him when I 
 saw the blows fall on his emaciated and mangled frame ; 
 but I could not assist him, and all I could do was to turn 
 round and hide my face, so as not to witness his further 
 tortures. 
 
 This day was employed in preparing for our departure : 
 our masters made me a pair of sandais with two thickness 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 97 
 
 r of the camel’s skin ; they also made Horace a pair in the 
 I, .same manner ; but Clark and Burns were fitted with sin- 
 5 gle ones. They had in the morning given me a small 
 knife, which I hung to my neck in a case: this they 
 meant as a mark of confidence ; and they also gave me 
 f charge of their stuff, the camels, and the slaves. I soon 
 u perceived, however, that although I had this kind of 
 | command, yet I was obliged to do all the, work. My 
 nen were so far exhausted, that even the hope of soon 
 obtaining their liberty, could scarcely animate them to the 
 east exertion. 
 
 In the evening Sidi Hamet told me Aaron (Mr. Savage) 
 would be with us bv and by: — that we should start in the 
 norning for Swearah , — and that he hoped, through the 
 ilessing of God, I should once more embrace my family: 
 le then told me how much he had paid for each one of 
 is — that he had expended all his property, and that if I 
 lad not told him the truth he was a ruined man— that his 
 irother was a bad man, and had done alt he could to pre- 
 sent his buying us, but that he had at last consented to it, 
 nd taken a share. 
 
 He next made me repeat, before his brother, my 
 iromises to him when we should arrive at Swearah, and 
 ny agreement to have my throat cut if my words did not 
 •rove true. Late in the evening Mr. Savage joined us : 
 ie knew before that I was going to set out, and thought 
 ie should be left behind : he was very thankful to be un- 
 leceived in this particular, and to get, at the same time, 
 omething to eat ; for Sidi Hamet had saved some of the 
 amel’s intestines, which he immediately gave him. 
 
 After having satisfied his hunger in some measure, he 
 iegan to express his doubts as to where we were going ; 
 eclaring, that he did not believe a word these wretches 
 aid : — he could not understand them, and said he did not 
 elieve I could ; and suggested a hundred doubts and dif- 
 culties on the subject that his ill-boding imagination sup- 
 lied him with. He did not like the price I had agreed 
 lo give for our liberty, — it was too much, and I should 
 nd no body willing to advance it for me, as I was poor. 
 
 I We had started what water remained in the paunch of 
 i ie camel, thick as it was, into a goat skin, straining it 
 
 13 
 
98 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 through our fingers to keep out the thickest of the filth, 
 The night of the 27th, as near as we could keep couni' 
 by marking the day of the month on our legs with a thorn, 
 we passed in the open air, five of us together. 
 
 At daylight on the morning of the 28th, we were called 
 up and made to load our camels. I had strong hopes we 
 were going to ride, but it now appeared not to be the 
 case. All the Arabs in the valley set out in the morning 
 with their camels, to drive them to water : they had not 
 been watered since the 10th, having gone without any for 
 eighteen days. They were now at least two days’ jour- 
 ney from the well where we had first been seized, towards 
 which they then steered in a N. W. direction. I mention 
 this circumstance, to show the time these wonderful ani- 
 mals can live without drink, and supply their masters with 
 milk, even when nearly destitute of vegetable substances ; 
 and with water from their paunches after death. 
 
 Soon after sunrise, our masters bade us drive the cam- 
 els up the bank : at this moment Archibald Robbins came 
 with his master to see us, and I supposed his master had 
 brought him with the view of selling him. 1 had not be- 
 fore seen him for fourteen days, and he had only arrived 
 soon enough to witness our departure : I now on my knees 
 begged, as I had done before of Sidi Hamet, to purchase 
 him ; but he said he could not, and so hurried us on. 
 
 I told Robbins what my present hopes were, and that 
 if I should succeed in getting clear, I would use my ut- 
 most endeavours to procure his and the rest of the crew’s 
 redemption. I begged him to continue as long as he 
 could with his present master, who, for an Arab, appeared 
 to be a very good man ; and to encourage Mr. Williams 
 and all the others to bear up with fortitude, and support 
 life as long as it was possible, in the hope, that through 
 my help or some other means, they might obtain their 
 redemption in a short time ; and having taken my leave 
 of him in the most affectionate manner, (in which my 
 companions followed the example,) we set out on our 
 journey, but with heavy hearts, occasioned by the bitter 
 regret we felt at leaving our fellow sufferers behind, al- 
 though I had done all in my power to make them par 
 takers of our better fortune. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA 
 
 99 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The author and four of his companions set out to cross the 
 ' Desert — Their sufferings — They come to a spring of 
 
 f fresh water — Description of its singular situation. 
 
 3 From the time I was sold to Sidi Hamet, my old 
 i master and his family shunned me as they would a pesti- 
 lence ; and the old villain actually stole one piece of our 
 meat from me, or rather robbed me of it, just as we 
 were setting out ; for he cut it off the string by which it 
 was tied to the camel, in spite of my efforts to prevent 
 him* Our masters were accompanied for a considerable 
 distance by several men and women, who were talking 
 and taking leave, going on very slowly. We were or- 
 dered to keep their camels together, which I thought I 
 did ; yet when they were finally ready to depart, they 
 found their big camel had marched off a great distance, 
 probably two miles from us, following a drove of camels 
 going to the N. W. ; Sidi Hamet bade me fetch him 
 back, pointing him out : notwithstanding my weak and 
 exhausted state, I was obliged to run a great way to come 
 up with him ; but my rising spirits supported me, and I 
 succeeded in bringing him back, where the other camels 
 were collected by my shipmates. 
 
 Sidi Hamet and Seid had two old camels on which they 
 had rode, and they had bought also a young one that had 
 not been broke for riding. We were joined here by a 
 poung Arab named Abdallah : he had been Mr. Savage’s 
 master, and owned a camel and a couple of goat skins 
 to carry water in ; but these, as well as those of our mas- 
 ters, were entirely empty. Sidi Hamet had a kind of a 
 f pack saddle for each of his old camels ; but nothing to 
 cover the bones of his young one. Having fitted them 
 is well as he could, (for he seemed to be humane,) he 
 placed Mr. Savage, Burns, and Horace, on the big one, 
 ind myself and Clark on the other old one. Seid and 
 Abdallah took their seats on the one which belonged to 
 Abdallah, and Sidi Hamet mounted the young one him- 
 >elf to break him, sitting behind the hump on his bare 
 
100 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 back ; and thus arranged and equipped, we set off on ; 
 full and long striding trot. It was about nine A. M ; 
 when we had mounted ; and this trot had continued fo: 
 about three hours, wlvn we stopped a few minutes in ; 
 little valley to adjust our saddles. Here Sidi Hamet pull 
 ed out a check shirt from one of his bags and gave it me ; 
 declaring he had stolen it, and had tried to get another 
 for Horace, but had not been able : “ put it on,” said 
 he, “ your poor back needs a covering (it being ther 
 one entire sore.) I kissed his hand in gratitude, anq 
 thanked him and my Heavenly Father for this mercy. 
 Clark, a day or two before, had got a piece of an old 
 sail, that partly covered him ; Burns had an old jacket, 
 and Horace and Mr. Savage, a small goat skin added tc 
 their dress — so that we were all, comparatively, comfort- 
 ably clad. We did not stop here long, but mounted! 
 again, and proceeded on our course to the eastward on a 1 
 full trot, which was continued till night ; when coming 
 to a little valley/ we found some thorn bushes and halted 
 for the night. 
 
 Here we kindled a fire, and our masters gave us a few 
 mouthfuls of the camel’s meat, which we roasted and 
 ate. As we had drank no water for the last three days, 
 except a very little of what we had taken from the camel’s 
 paunch, and which was now reduced to about four quarts, 
 we. as well as our masters, suffered exceedingly for the 
 want of it. and it was thereupon determined to make ant 
 equal distribution of it among the whole party ; which 
 was accordingly done with an impartial hanch This we 
 poor sufferers made out to swallow, foul and ropy as it 
 was, and it considerably relieved our parched throats ; 
 and then, finding a good shelter under a thorn bush, not- 
 withstanding our unabated pains, we got a tolerable 
 night’s sleep. We had travelled this day steady at a long 
 trot, at the rate, I judged, of between seven and eight 
 miles an hour : making a distance of sixty-three miles at 
 the lowest computation. 
 
 Before daylight in the morning of the 28th, we were 
 called up and mounted on the camels as before, and we 
 set off on the long trot, on the same course, i. e. about 
 east, as on the preceding day. The same smooth hard 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 101 
 
 I ! surface continued, with now and then a little break, oc- 
 casioned by the naked heads of rocks just rising above 
 he plain, and forming in some places small ledges. Near 
 >ne of these, we alighted a few minutes about noon, for 
 )ur masters to perform their devotions ; and we allayed 
 mr thirst by drinking some of the camels’ urine, which 
 ve caught in our hands : our masters did the same, and 
 old me it was good for our stomachs. The camels took 
 r ery long steps, and their motions being heavy, our legs, 
 msupported by stirrups or any thing else, would % 
 >ackwards and forwards, chafing across their hard ribs at 
 :very step ; nor was it possible for us to prevent it, so 
 hat the remaining flesh on our posteriors, and inside of 
 >ur thighs and legs, was so beat, and literally pounded 
 o pieces, that scarcely any remained on our bones ; 
 ehich felt as if they had been thrown out of their sock- 
 :ts, by the continual and sudden jerks they experienced 
 luring this longest of days. It seemed to me as though 
 he sun would never go down, and when at last it did, 
 tur masters had not yet found a place to lodge in ; for 
 hey wished, if possible, to find a spot where a few shrubs 
 vere growing, in order that the camels might browse a 
 ittle during the night. They stopped at last after dark 
 n a very small valley, for they could find no better 
 dace ; here they kindled a little fire, and gave us about 
 i pound of meat between us, which we greedily devour- 
 ed, and then allayed our thirst in a similar manner as be- 
 ore mentioned. 
 
 We had started before daylight this morning, and had 
 nade but one stop of about fifteen minutes in the course 
 >f the whole day until dark night, having travelled at least 
 ifteen hours, and at the rate of seven miles the hour, 
 naking one hundred and five miles. Here in our bare- 
 )one and mangled state, we were forced to lie on the 
 raked ground, without the smallest shelter from the wind, 
 vhich blew a violent gale all night from the north — suf- 
 fering in addition to the cold, the cravings of hunger and 
 : hirst, and the most excruciating pains in our limbs and 
 mmerous sores ; nor could either of us close our eyes to 
 leep ; and I cannot imagine that the tortures of the rack 
 pn exceed those we then experienced. Sidi Hamet and 
 
102 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Ins two companions, who had been accustomed to rid 
 in tiiis manner, thought nothing of it; nor did they eve 
 appear to be fatigued ; but when I showed him my sore 
 in the morning, and the situation of my shipmates, h 
 was much distressed, and feared we would not live. H 
 told me we should come to good water soon, when w 
 might drink as much as we wanted of it, and after th; 
 he would not travel so fast. 
 
 We were placed on our camels soon after daylight 
 (this was the 29th,) having nothing to eat, and drinkinj! 
 a little camel’s water, which we preferred to our own 
 its taste, as I before observed, though bitter, was nc 
 salt ; and they void it but seldom in this dry and thirst 
 country. Proceeding on our journey at a long trot, abou 
 nine o’clock in the morning, we discovered before u 
 what seemed like high land, as we were seated on th 
 camels ; but on our approach, it proved to be the oppo 
 site bank of what appeared once to have been a river o 
 arm of the sea, though its bed was now dry. At abou 
 10 o’clock, we came to the bank nearest us ; it was ven 
 steep, and four or five hundred feet deep, and in mos 
 places perpendicular or overhanging. These banks mus 
 have been washed, at some former period, either by th< 
 sea or a river ; which river, if it was one, does not non 
 exist. After considerable search, our masters found 2 
 place where our camels could descend into it, and having 
 first dismounted, and made us do the same, we drove 
 them down. When we had descended the most difficult 
 part, of the bank, Seid and Abdallah went forward (with 
 heir guns) to search for a spring of fresh water, which, 
 Sidi Hamet told me was not very far distant. He now 
 made me walk along with him, and let the others drive 
 on the camels slowly after us ; for they, as well as our- 
 selves, were nearly exhausted. He then asked me a great ' 
 many questions respecting my country, myself and fami- 
 ly ; and whether I had any property at home ; if I had 
 been at Swcarah, and if I told him the truth concerning 
 my having a friend there who would pay money for me ? 
 He said also, that both himself and his brother had part- 
 ed with ail their property to purchase us, and wished me 
 to be candid with him. for he was “ my friend.” “ God 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 103 
 
 said he) will deal with you, as you deal with me.” I 
 •ersisted in asserting that I had a friend at Swearah, who 
 would advance any sum of money I needed, and answer- 
 d his other questions as well as I was able ; evading some 
 1 did not choose to answer, pretending 1 did not under- 
 tand them. “Will you buy Clark and Burns? (said 
 be,) they are good for nothing.” They certainly cid 
 :>ok worse, if possible, than the rest of us. 1 told him 
 ley were my countrymen, and my brothers, and that he 
 light depend upon it 1 would ransom them, if he would 
 nrry us to the empire of Morocco and to the Sultan, 
 No, (said he,) the Sultan will not pay for you, but I 
 /ill carry you to Swearah to j our friend : what is his 
 1 ante ?” “ Consul,” said I. It seemed to please him to 
 near me name my friend so readily; and after teaching 
 le to count in Arabic, and by my fingers up to twenty, 
 which was ashreen ,) he told me I must give him two 
 hundred dollars for myself, two hundred dollars for 
 lorace, and for the others I must pay one hundred dol- 
 r .rs each — showing me seven dollars he had about him, to 
 :s e certain that we understood each other perfectly ; and 
 ]< e next made me understand that I must pay for our 
 revisions on the road, over and above this sum. He 
 len made me point out the way to Swearah, which I 
 r as enabled to do by the sun and trade wind, making it 
 bout N. E. “ Now, (said he,) if you w ill agree before 
 iod the most High, to pat what I have stated, in money, 
 ad give me a double-barrelled gun, I will take you up 
 ) Swearah ; if not, I will carry you off that way,” point- 
 ig to the S. E. “ and sell you for as much as I can get, 
 loner than carry you up across this long desert, where 
 e must risk our lives every day for your sakes ; and if 
 i ou cannot comply with your agreement and we get there 
 ife, we must cut your throat and sell your comrades fox 
 llrhat they will bring.” I assured him that I had told him 
 ie truth, and called God to witness the sincerity of my 
 pientions, not in the least doubting if I could once ar- 
 ve there, I should find some one able and willing to pay 
 te sum they demanded. “ You shall go to Swearah, 
 said he, taking me by the hand,) if God please.” Hq 
 xen showed me the broken pieces of my watch, and a 
 
104 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 plated candlestick, which he said he had bought fror 
 some person who had come from the wreck of my vesse 
 The candlestick had belonged to Mr. Williams. He sai 
 he bought the articles before he saw me, and wished t 
 know what they were worth in Swearah : I satisfied hir 
 as well as I could on this point. During this conversatio 
 we kept walking on about east, as the bed of the river ra; 
 near the northern bank, which was very high, and Sid 
 Hamet looked at me as if his eye would pierce my ver 
 soul, to ascertain the secrets of my heart, and discove 
 whether I was deceiving him or not ; and he became sat 
 isfied that I was sincere. 
 
 By this time we had arrived nearly opposite the plao 
 where he calculated the spring was, and his brother am 
 Abdallah being not far off, he hailed them to know if the} 
 had found it ; to which they answered in the negative 
 After searching about an hour in the bank, he discoverer 
 it, and calling to me, for I was below, bade me come uj 
 to where he was, at the foot of a perpendicular cliff, jl 
 clambered up over the fragments of great rocks that hat 
 fallen down from above, as fast as my strength would per 
 mit, and having reached the spot, and seeing no signs o 
 water, the tears flowed fast down my cheeks, for I con 
 eluded the spring was dried up, and that we must now in 
 evitably perish. Sidi Hamet looked at me, and saw my 
 tears of despair — “ Look down there,” said he, (pointing 
 through a fissure in the rock.) I looked and saw water, 
 but the cleft was too narrow to admit of a passage to it : 
 then showing me another place, about ten or fifteen yards 
 distant, where I could get down to another small spring — 
 “ Sherub Riley, (said he,) it is sweet.” I soon reached 
 it, and found it sweet indeed ; and taking a copious 
 draught, I called my companions, who scrambled along 
 on their way up, exclaiming with great eagerness, “ Where 
 is the water ? for God’s sake ! where is it ? Oh, is it 
 sweet ?” I showed it to them, and they were soon con- 
 vinced of the joyful fact. This water was as clear and as 
 sweet as any I had ever tasted. 
 
 Sidi Hamet now allow ed us to drink our fill, while Seid 
 and Abdallah were driving the four camels up the bank by 
 a zig-zag kind of a foot way, from which the stones and 
 
165 
 
 BUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 sither impediments had been before removed, apparently 
 ivith great trouble and labour. This spring, the most sin- 
 gular perhaps in nature, was covered with large rocks, fif- 
 :eeti to twenty feet high, only leaving a narrow crooked 
 , oassage next the high bank behind it, by which a common 
 sized man might descend to get at it. It might contain, I 
 should calculate, not more than fifty gallons of water ; 
 mol, clear, fresh, and sweet, and I presume it commu- 
 ticated with the one that was first shown me between the 
 •ocks, which was much smaller. The camels had been 
 Iriven to within fifty yards below the spring ; our masters 
 hen took off the large bowl which they carried for the 
 purpose of watering the camels : then bringing a goat 
 >kin near the spring, made me fill it with the water, my 
 hree shipmates passing it up to me in the bowl. I kept 
 tdmonishing my companions to drink with moderation, 
 )ut at the same time 1 myself continued to take in large 
 lraughts of this delicious water, without knowing when 
 o stop ; in consequence of which I was seized with vio- 
 ent pains in my bowels, but soon found relief. 
 
 It was here that I had an opportunity of ascertaining the 
 quantity of water which a camel could drink at one 
 lraught. We filled a large goat skin fifteen times, con- 
 aining at least four gallons, and every drop of this water 
 vas swallowed down by our largest camel, amounting to 
 he enormous quantity of sixty gallons, or two barrels. 
 The men kept crying out, “ Has not that camel done yet ? 
 ie alone will drink the spring dry.’’'' It was in effect 
 Irained very low ; but still held out, as the water kept 
 Continually running in, thou gif slowly. This camel was a 
 f 'ery large and old one, about nine feet high, stout in pro- 
 portion, and had not drank any water for twenty days, as I 
 vas informed by Sidi Hamet : but the other camels did 
 » lot drink as much in proportion. 
 
 Having finished watering them, we filled two goat skins 
 vith the water, which had now become thick and whitish ; 
 is the rock in which the bason was formed for holding it, 
 ippeared to be chalky, soft, and yielding. We descended 
 his bank, and after preparing the camels, we were mounted 
 hereon, and proceeded as before, but along to the east- 
 \ vard. in this arm of the sea’s bed. I cal! it an arm of the 
 
 1 4 - 
 
1' 06 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRA'nvE, 
 
 sea, because there could be no doubt in the mind of an ! 
 one who should view it, that these high banks were wor 
 and washed by water ; they were from six to eight or te 
 miles distant from each other, and the level bottom wa 
 incrusted with marine salt. The bank rises four or fiv| 
 hundred feet, and nearly perpendicular, in most placesj 
 The broken fragments of rock, gravel, and sand, that hai 
 been undermined by the water, and tumbled down, fillet 
 a considerable space near the cliffs, and did not appear t< 
 have been washed by the water for a great number of years 
 I could not account for the incrustation of salt (as we mus 
 have been at least three hundred miles from the sea ; thi:j 
 bottom or bed running from east northwardly, to the wes| 
 or S. W.) in any other way, than by supposing the se;| 
 water had once overflowed this level ; that it had since 
 either retired from that part of the coast, or formed a baij 
 across its mouth, or outlet, and thus excluded itself en- 
 tirely ; and that the sea air combining with the saline de- 
 posit or sediment, continued this incrustation. 
 
 The curious and interesting springs, before mentioned 
 are situated on the right or north side of this dry bay or 
 river, about one hundred feet below the surface of the 
 desert, and from three hundred and fifty to four hundred- 
 feet from the bed or bottom. There was not the smallest 
 sign of their ever having overflowed their basins ; thereby^ 
 leaving it a mystery how they ever should have been dis- , 
 covered, as there was no rill to serve as a clue. 
 
 Our masters now hurried on to the eastward, to find a 
 place to emerge from this dreary abyss, still more gloomy, i 
 if possible, than the face of the desert. As we passed i 
 along, the salt crust crumbled under the feet of our cam- 
 els, like the thin crust of snow. We came at length to a-j 
 spot in the bank at a kind of point, where we ascended 
 gradually from one point to another, until within, probably, 
 two hundred feet of the top ; here we were obliged to dis- 
 mount, and drive, coax, and encourage the camels to go 
 up. The ascent was very steep, though in zig-zag direc- 
 tions, and the flat rock over which the camels were forced 
 to climb, threw them down several times, when our mas- 
 ters would encourage them to get up again, by singing 
 and making repeated trials ; helping them over the bad. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 SO? 
 
 places ’by a partial lifting, and begging the assistance of 
 God and his prophet most fervently, as well as of all the 
 ] saints. 
 
 Having at length reached the surface of the desert, they 
 stopped a few minutes to let the camels breathe, and also 
 hat we might come up, for Mr. Savage and Clark could 
 lot keep pace with the rest of us, on account of their 
 
 i ievere pains in consequence of overcharging their stom- 
 lchs with water. The desert here had the same smooth 
 tppearance we had before observed : no rising of the 
 : ground, nor any rock, tree, or shrub, to arrest the view 
 vithin the horizon — all was a dreary, solitary waste, and 
 re could not but admire and wonder at the goodness of 
 Providence in providing a reservoir of pure fresh water, 
 o quench the thirst of the traveller and his camel, in this 
 Iry, salt, and torrid region, and we felt an inexpressible 
 ratitude to the Author of our being, for having directed 
 >ur masters to this spot, where our lives had been pre- 
 erved and refreshed by the cool delicious spring, which 
 eemed to be kept there by a continual miracle. 
 
 We had not gone more than eight miles from the bank, 
 in a N. W. direction,) before we stopped for the night : 
 lere we found no lee to screen us from the strong winds, 
 or bush for the camels to browse on. I reckon we had 
 ravelled live hours this morning, at the rate of seven 
 ailes an hour, before reaching the bank, and five miles 
 fter getting down it, before we came to the spring ; 
 aaking it forty miles to, and ten miles from the spring to 
 /here we halted for the night, so that this day’s march 
 was all together at least fifty miles. 
 
 The dry bed or bottom before mentioned, had proba- 
 bly been an inlet or arm of the sea that never was explor- 
 d by Europeans, or any other civilized men ; yet it must 
 lave had an outlet .; and that outlet must be to the south- 
 ward of us, and if so, its mouth must have been at least 
 bree hundred miles distant. 
 
 Here we ate the remainder of our camel’s meat : — we 
 ad no milk ; for neither of our masters’ camels yielded 
 ny, and our share of meat was not more than about an 
 nnce each. 
 
 I judged by the height of the north star above the horn 
 
108 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 
 zon that wc were about in the latitude of twenty degree; 
 north. I now experienced that to have only one wan 
 supplied, made us feel the others as less supportable thar 
 before ; for although we had drank as much fresh water a; 
 we could contain, and our thirst was in a great measure 
 allayed, still w’e were rendered extremely uneasy by the 
 gnawings of hunger, which, together with our suffering; 
 from the cold and piercing winds, made this a long air? 
 restless night*. 
 
 CHAPTER Xi. 
 
 Journeying on the Desert— -they are hospitably entertainer 
 by Arabs , and come to a well of fresh water . 
 
 of the 30th we started very early ; 
 
 taking out 
 
 On the 
 
 three of us rode, while the other two walked ; 
 turns every three hours, or thereabouts. They let the 
 camels walk all this day, but their long legs, and the re- 
 freshment they had enjoyed at the spring, enabled them to 
 fifp.n aloncr gn fnst rmrl hriKklv. that those of ns who were 
 
 step along so fast and briskly, that those of us who were 
 on foot, were obliged to be on a continual small trot in 
 order to keep up with them : the wind at the same time 
 blowing very strong directly against us, and our course 
 being nearly N. W. 
 
 About two o’clock, P. M. Sidi Iiamet said to me, 
 “ Riley, shift Gemel (I see a camel ;) he was very much 
 rejoiced at it, and so were his companions ; but neither I 
 nor my companions could perceive any thing of the kind 
 above the horizon for two hours after this. Our masters 
 had altered their course to about east, and at length we 
 all saw a camel, appearing like a speck in the horizon, but 
 we did not reach the travellers, who were with a large 
 drove of camels, until sunset. Having come up with the 
 men, they invited our masters to go home with them ; the 
 invitation was accepted, and we drove our camels along, 
 following them as they went towards their tents : — it was 
 dark and quite late before we reached them, which were 
 four in number. 
 
BUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 109 
 
 We stopped at a small distance from the tents, and 
 vere obliged to pluck up a few scattered shrubs, not 
 hicker than a straw, to make a fire with. Our masters 
 lad given us neither meat nor drink this day. I begged 
 or some water, and they gave us each a very scanty 
 
 I lrink. We had travelled full fourteen hours this day, and 
 it the rate of about three miles an hour, making a dis- 
 ance of about forty miles. We were now in a most pit- 
 ■ous situation, extremely chafed and worn down with our 
 various and complicated sufferings, and were now to lie 
 >n the hard ground without the smallest screen — not even 
 jt spot of sand on which to rest our wearied limbs ; we 
 lad been promised, however, something to eat by our 
 lost, and about 11 o’clock at night Sidi Hamet called 
 ne and gave me a bowl containing some boiled meat, 
 
 ' vhich I divided into five heaps, and we cast lots for them. 
 This meat was very tender, and there was just enough of 
 t to fill our stomachs : after eating this, we had scarcely 
 ain down when they brought us a large bowl filled with 
 nilk and water. This was indeed sumptuous living, not- 
 vithstanding our pains and the severely cold night wind. 
 
 On the morning of the 1st of October we were roused 
 jp early to pursue our journey. Sidi Hamet then called 
 ne aside, and gave me to understand that this man had 
 *ot my spy- glass, and wanted to know what it was worth. 
 1 requested him to show it to me, which he did : it was 
 i new one I had bought in Gibraltar, and it had not been 
 njured. The Arab owner, though he did not know the 
 jse of it, yet as the brass on it glittered, he thought it 
 tvas worth a vast sum of money. Sidi Hamet had only 
 seven dollars in money, having invested the rest of his 
 Droperty in the purchasing of us, and was not able to buy 
 :he glass ; — -his fancy was as much taken with it, however, 
 f as was that of the owner. They had also several articles 
 > of clothing in their possession, which gave me reason to 
 infer that we could not be a great distance from the place 
 ' where our vessel was wrecked ; but there was no method 
 t of calculating to any degree of certainty, as they all move 
 l with such rapidity in their excursions, that they seem not 
 1 to know whither, or what distances they go, nor could I 
 |nd out any thing from this mail concerning the wreck. 
 
no 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Taking our leave from this truly hospitable man, we pur 
 sued our course N. W. on the level desert. 
 
 Our masters had been very uneasy all the preceding 
 day, on account of meeting with no land marks to direc 1 
 their course : they were in the same dilemma this day 
 directing their camels by the winds and bearing of the 
 sun ; frequently stopping and smelling the sand, whenevei 
 they came to a small sandy spot, which now and then oc- 
 curred, but we did not come across any loose drifting 
 sand. We took turns in riding and walking, or rather , 
 trotting, as we had done the day before, until the after- 
 noon, when our masters walked, (or rather ran,) and per- 
 mitted us to ride. 
 
 About four o’clock P. M. we saw, and soon fell in 
 with a drove of camels, that had been to the northward 
 for water, and were then going in a S. W. direction with 
 skins full of water, and buckets for drawing and watering 
 the camels : their owners very civilly invited our masters 
 to take up their lodgings with them that night, and we 
 went in company with them about two hours to the south, 
 where falling in with a very extensive but shallow valley, 
 we saw about fifty tents pitched, and going into the largest 
 dear place, unloaded and fettered our camels, to let them 1 
 browse on the leaves and twigs of the small shrubs that 
 grew there, or on the little low moss, with which the ! 
 ground was, in many places, covered. As we went along 1 
 near the tents, the men and women called me el Rais , and 
 soon gathered around with their children to look at us, and 
 to wonder. Some inquired about my country, my vessel, 
 my family, &c. Having satisfied their curiosity, they 
 left us to gather sticks to kindle our masters’ fire ; this 
 done, we found, after considerable search, a soft spot of 
 sand to lie down upon, where we slept soundly until about 
 midnight, when we were aroused, and each of us pre- 
 sented with a good drink of milk : this refreshed us, and 
 we slept the remainder of the night, forgetting our sores 
 and our pains. I reckon we had travelled this last day 
 about forty miles, on a course of about N. W. 
 
 On the 2d of October we set out, in company with all 
 these families, and went north fifteen or twenty miles, 
 when they pitched their tents, and made up a kind of a 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Ill 
 
 shelter for our masters with two pieces of tent cloth joined 
 together by thorns, and supported by some sticks. Our 
 , masters gave us a good drink of water about noon, and at 
 r midnight milk was brought from all quarters, and each of 
 ; us had as much as he could swallow, and actually swallow- 
 ed more than our poor stomachs could retain, 
 r The tribe did not move, as is customary, on the 2d of 
 October, waiting, as Sidi Hamet said, for the purpose of 
 : easting us. They gave us as much milk as we could 
 Irink on the night of the second. Here our masters bought 
 r i sheep, of which animals this tribe had about fifty, and 
 hey were the first we had seen ; but they were so poor, 
 hat they could with difficulty stand and feed upon the 
 irown moss which covered part of the face of the valleys 
 lereabouts, and which moss was not more than one inch 
 ligh. This tribe, not unlike all the others we had seen, 
 ock no nourishment, except one good drink of milk at 
 . nidnight, and a drink of sour milk and water at mid-day, 
 
 ■( vhen they could get it. 
 
 On the morning of the 3d of October, our masters 
 ook leave of this hospitable tribe of Arabs, who not only 
 : ed them, but seemed desirous that we, them slaves, should 
 ii lave sufficient nourishment also, and gave us liberally of 
 he best they had. Our masters had made a trade with 
 t hem, and exchanged our youngest camel for an old one 
 > hat was lame in his right fore foot, and one that was not 
 nore than half grown. The old one they called Coho, (or 
 he lame,) and the young one Goyette , (or the little child.) 
 The sheep our masters purchased was tied about the neck 
 i pith a rope, and 1 was obliged to lead it until about noon, 
 ii) phen we came to a low valley, with some small bushes 
 a it : in the midst there was a well of tolerable good wa- 
 -r. Here we watered the camels, and as the sheep could 
 ;o no farther, they killed it, and put its lean carcass on a 
 amel, after placing its entrails (which they would not 
 llow me time to cleanse) into the carcass. This well 
 pas about forty feet deep, and dug out among the big 
 urrounding roots. 
 
CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE 
 
 112 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 They arrive amongst immense mountains of driving sand- 
 
 Their extreme sufferings — Their masters find and ste< 
 
 some barley , and restore it again. 
 
 Having watered our camels, and filled two skins wit 
 water, and drank as much as we needed, they mounte 
 Horace on the young camel, and all the others being als 
 mounted, we proceeded on towards the N. W. at a Ion 
 walk, and sometimes a trot, driving the old lame cam< 
 before us until dark night, and I think we travelled thirty 
 five miles this day. The entrails of the sheep tvere noi 
 given us for our supper ; these we roasted on a fire w 
 made for the purpose, and ate them, while our master 
 finished two of the quarters. 
 
 We lay this night without any screen or shelter, am 
 early in the morning of the 4th, we set off on our journey 
 all on foot, driving our camels before us, on the sam 
 kind of flat surface we had hitherto travelled over : bu 
 about 10 A. M. it began to assume a new aspect, an< 
 become sandy. The sand where we first entered it, la; 
 in small loose heaps, through which it was very difficuf 
 to walk, as we sank in nearly to our knees at each step 
 this sand was scorching hot. The camels were now stop 
 ped, and all of us mounted on them, when on their rising 
 up, we saw before us vast numbers of immense sand hills 
 stretching as far as the eye could reach eastward, and from 
 the north to the south, heaped up in a most terrific man. 
 ner ; we soon arrived among them, and were struck with 
 horror at the sight : — huge mountains of loose sand, piled 
 up like drifted snow, towered two hundred feet above out 
 heads on every side, and seemed to threaten destruction tc 
 our whole party : not a green or even a dry bush or shrub 
 of any kind in view to relieve the eye ; here was no path 
 to guide our footsteps, nor had we a compass to direct our 
 course, obstructed by these dreadful barriers. The trade 
 winds, which had hitherto given us so much relief on our 
 journey, by refreshing our bodies when heated by the 
 rays of an almost perpendicular sun, and which had served. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 113 
 
 in some measure, to direct our course — even these winds, 
 which now blew like a tempest, became our formidable 
 enemy : — the loose sand flew before its blasts, cutting 
 . our flesh like hail stones, and very often covering us from 
 , each other’s sight, while the gusts (which followed each 
 other in quick succession) were rushing by. 
 
 We were here obliged to dismount, and drive the camels 
 ; up the sandy steeps after our masters, who went on be- 
 t 'ore to look out a practicable passage. The camels, as 
 .veil as ourselves, trod deep in the sand, and with great 
 lifliculty ascended the hills ; but they went down them 
 2 /ery easily, and frequently on a long trot, following our 
 masters Sidi Hamet, Seid, and Abdallah, seemed full 
 >f apprehensions for their own and our safety, and were 
 , /ery careful of their camels. 
 
 Thus we drove on until dark, when coming to a space 
 vhere the sand was not so much heaped up, being like a 
 ake surrounded by mountains, we saw a few shrubs : 
 lere we stopped for the night, unloaded and fettered our 
 :amels, whose appetites were as keen, apparently, as ours, 
 or they devoured the few leaves, together with the shrubs, 
 ivhich were as thick as a. man’s finger. We next pre- 
 pared a kind of shelter with the saddles and some sand 
 or our masters and ourselves, to keep oft' in some meas- 
 ure the fierce and chilling blasts of wind, and the driving 
 and which pierced our sores and caused us much pain, 
 flaving kindled a fire, our masters divided the meat that 
 emained of the sheep : — It was sweet to our taste, 
 lough but a morsel, and we pounded, chewed, and 
 wallowed all the bones, and afterwards got a drink of 
 /ater : — then lying down on the sand, we had a comfort 
 ble night’s sleep, considering our situation. I reckon 
 /e had made thirty- five miles this day, having travelled 
 bout eight hours before we got among the heavy sand 
 ills, at the rate of three miles an hour, and five hours 
 mong the sand hills, at the rate of two miles an hour. 
 V e were all afflicted with a most violent diarrhoea, brought 
 n, no doubt, by excessive drinking and fatigue. 
 
 At daylight on the morning of the 5 th, I was ordered 
 i fetch the camels, and took Mr. Savage and Clark with 
 le ; and the two old ones being fettered, that is, their 
 
 15 
 
114 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 two fore legs being tied within twelve inches of eacl 
 other, they could not wander far ; we soon found them 
 and I made the one I found kneel down, and havins 
 taken off its fetters, mounted it with a good stick in mi 
 hand for its government, as the Arabs of the desert us< 
 neither bridle nor halter, but guide and drive them alto 
 gether with a stick, and by words. Mr. Savage having 
 found the big camel, took off his fetters, intending tej 
 make him kneel down in order to get on his back ; but the 
 old lame camel, which had hitherto carried no load, ant 
 which had occasioned us much trouble, in forcing him t< 
 keep up with the others, when on our march, now set ol 
 on a great trot to the south : — the young one followed hi 
 example, so did Abdallah’s, and the big one started also 
 running at their greatest speed. Seeing the panic of tin 
 other camels, I endeavoured to stop them by riding be 
 fore them with my camel, which was the most active ant 
 fleet ; but they would not stop — dodging me every way 
 my camel also tried to get rid of its load by running 
 jumping, lying down, rolling over, and striving to bit< 
 my legs ; but 1 made shift to get on again before he couk 
 rise, and had got some miles Irom where 1 had started 
 keeping near, and frequently before the other camels 
 which appeared to be very much frightened. Our mas 
 ters had watched us, and when the camels set off, hac 
 started on a full run after them ; but had been hid fron 
 my view by the numerous sand hills, over and among 
 which we passed. — Finding I could not stop the others 
 and fearing I should be lost myself, I stopped the one i; 
 was on, and Sidi Hamet soon coming in sight, called t( 
 me to make my camel lie down. He mounted it, ant 
 after enquiring which way the other camels went, (whicl 
 were now out of sight,) and telling me to follow his track: 
 back to our stuff, he set off after them on full speed 
 Seidand Abdallah followed him on foot, running as fas 
 as possible. I returned ; and picking up a few skins tha 
 had jolted off from the little camel, I joined Mr. Savage 
 and Clark, and we reached the place where we had slept 
 but much fatigued ; and here we remained for two oi 
 three hours before our masters returned with the cam 
 els. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 115 
 
 We bad during this interval tasted the bark of the roots 
 I of the shrubs which grew on the sand near us — it was 
 bitter, but not ill flavoured, and we continued to eat of it 
 until the runaway camels were brought back ; it entirely 
 cured our diarrhoea. They had overtaken the camels 
 with much difficulty, and the creatures were covered with 
 sweat and sand. I expected we should receive a flog- 
 ging as an atonement for our carelessness in letting the 
 big camel go, that had been fettered, and in particular, 
 that Mr. Savage would be punished, whom I did not 
 doubt they had seen, when he let his camel escape. So 
 as soon as they got nigh, I began to plead for him ; but 
 it was all to no purpose, for they whipped him with a 
 thick stick (or goad) most unmercifully. Mr. Savage 
 did not beg as I should have done in our situation, and in 
 ;a similar case, and they believed he bad done it expressly 
 to give them trouble, and continued to call him Font/, 
 fi. e. a bad fellow,) all the remaining part of the journey. 
 Having settled this affair, and put what stuff they had on 
 the camels, we mounted them and proceeded, — shaping 
 our course as before, to the N. N. W. as near as the 
 mountains of sand would permit. It was as late as nine 
 o’clock when we started, and at eleven, having made 
 iabout three leagues, winding round the sand hills on a 
 trot, we were obliged to dismount. The hills now stood 
 so thick, that great care was necessary to prevent getting 
 the camels into an inextricable situation between them, 
 and our masters went on ahead, two of them at a con- 
 fsiderable distance, to pick the way, and one to direct us 
 
 I how to go : — -the latter keeping all the time in sight. 
 The sand was heated (as it had been the preceding day) 
 by the rays of the sun, to such a degree that it burned 
 our feet and legs, so that the smart was more severe than 
 the pain we had before experienced, from our blisters 
 ! and chafing : — it was like wading through glowing em- 
 bers. 
 
 During the whole of this day, we had looked for 
 shrubs, or some green thing to relieve the eye ; but not 
 a speck of verdure was to be seen. We had no food ; 
 our water was nearly exhausted, and we saw no sign of 
 finding an end to these horrid heaps of drifting sands, or 
 
116 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 of procuring any thing to relieve our fatigues and suffer! 
 ings, which were now really intolerable. We continue! 
 on our route, however, as near as circumstances woulc 
 permit, N. N. W. until about nine o’clock in the eve 
 ning, and stopped to rest among the high and dreary sam 
 heaps, without a shrub for our camels to eat. I calcu * 
 fated we had gone this day from 9 to 1 1 o’clock, twelv 
 miles, and from that time till we stopped, about twc 
 miles an hour, making in all thirty-two miles. We had 
 nothing to eat ; our masters however gave us a drink o; 
 water, and being fatigued beyond description, we soor 
 sank down and fell asleep. I happened to awake in the I 
 night, and hearing a heavy roaring to the northward ol 
 us, concluded it must be a violent gust of wind, or si 
 hurricane, that would soon bury us in the sand for ever.! 
 I therefore immediately awakened my companions, who 
 were more terrified at the noise even than myself, fora! 
 few moments ; but when we perceived that the sound! 
 came no nearer, I was convinced (as the wind did not! 
 increase) that it must be the roaring of the sea against the 1 
 coast not far off. This was the first time we had heard' 1 
 the sea roar since the 10th of September ; and it proved! 
 to us that our masters were going towards the empire of '! 
 Morocco, as they had promised. -My comrades were! 
 much rejoiced at being undeceived on that subject, for 1 
 they had all along continued to suspect the contrary, not- 1 
 withstanding I had constantly told them that the courses ! 
 we steered could not fail of bringing us to the coast. On ' 
 the sixth, early in the morning, we started, and I found, 
 by inquiring of Sidi Hamet, that our conjectures were 1 
 true; that we were near the sea, and that the roaring we 
 heard (and which still continued) was that of the surf : 
 he added, “ you will get no more milk,” which I 
 thought he regretted very much. We continued on our 
 course, labouring among the sand hills until noon, when 
 we found, that on our right, and ahead, they became less 
 frequent, but on our left there was a string of them, and 
 very high ones, stretching out as far as the eye could 
 reach. The sand hills through which we had passed 
 rested on the same hard and flat surface I have before men- 
 tioned, without being attached to it ; for in many places 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 117 
 
 was blown off, leaving naked the rocks and baked soil 
 iijjetween the towering drifts. 
 
 )iif About noon we left these high sands, and mounting on 
 ■(he camels, proceeded along southward of them, where 
 at ie sand was still deep, but not high, on about an east 
 ci ourse. Near this line of sand hills, our masters dis- 
 i overed two camels — they bore about N. E. and we made 
 in irectly for them as fast as possible. On a near approach 
 ie observed they were loaded, and our masters now took 
 ff the sheaths from their guns and primed them anew ; 
 nd upon coming near the camels, they dismounted and 
 5 hade us do the same. We saw no human being. 
 
 The camels had large sacks on their backs, made of 
 ':nt cloth, and well filled with something ; there was also 
 i large earthen pot lashed on one of them, and two or 
 siree small skin bags. Seid and Abdallah drove these 
 iamels on with ours, observing strict silence, while Sidi 
 lamet was searching for the owner of them with his 
 ouble barrelled gun, cocked and primed. Mr. Savage 
 ras on the young camel, and not being able to keep up, 
 'as a mile or more behind ; when Sidi Haniet found the 
 wiier of the camels asleep on the sand near where Mr. 
 avage was. He went towards him, keeping his gun in 
 padiness to fire, until he saw the other had no firearms, 
 nd was fast asleep ; when stepping carefully up, he 
 latched a small bag from near the sleeper’s head, and 
 rent slowly away with it until past the fear of waking 
 
 I im. He then assisted in driving Mr. Savage’s camel 
 Long, and they soon came up with us, where Seid and 
 ibdallah had made the two loaded camels lie down be- 
 ,veen some small hillocks of sand. They untied the 
 louth of one of the sacks, and behold its contents were 
 > arley ! This was the first bread stuff we had seen, and it 
 ave us new hopes. They poured out about fifty pounds 
 f it, I should guess, and put into a large leather bag of 
 teir own ; then tying up the neck of the sack again, 
 pey made the camels get up with their loads. They now 
 iegan to examine the contents of the small bags, and 
 lund them to consist of a number of small articles : but 
 be one that was taken from near the Arab’s head was part- 
 7 filled with barley meal. They were all overjoyed at 
 
118 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 this discovery, and immediately poured out some of 
 into a bowl, mixed it with water, and ate it ; then givir 
 us about a quart of water between us, with a handful 
 this meal in it, making a most delicious gruel, they hu 
 ried us on to our camels, and set off to the S. E. on a lor 
 trot, leaving the strange camels to themselves. 
 
 We had not proceeded more than half an hour, befo 
 we saw a man running swiftly in chase of us, and hallo* 
 ing to make our masters stop ; they knew he must be tl 
 owner of the camels they had robbed, and paid no oth< 
 attention to him than to push on the camels faster. Siij 
 Hamet now told me that that fellow was a “ poor devil- 
 he has not even a musket,” said he, “ and he let me tal 
 this bag while he was asleep.” The man gained on i 
 very fast. I Avas afraid he would get back what had bee 
 taken from him by our masters, especially the barley- 
 so were my shipmates ; one of whom wished he had 
 loaded musket — saying, “ I would soon stop him if I ha 
 one, and thus save the barley.” Our masters made the 
 signs for this man to go back, but he continued to ac 
 vance, while our Arab masters, finding he would com 
 up, kept their guns cocked in their hands, and ready t 
 fire on him, though he had no other arms than a scimitar 
 and drawing near they halted ; upon which the strangei 
 making an appeal to God, and boiving himself down an 
 worshipping, declared that he had lost a part of his prc 
 perty, and that he knew they must have taken it ; that hi 
 Was their brother, and would rather die than commit 
 bad action, or suffer others to do it with impunity : “ yoi 
 have firearms” ( Celibeatahs ) said he, “and believe yoi 
 can kill me in an instant ; but the God of justice is m 
 shield, and will protect the innocent ; I do not fear you. 1 
 Sidi Hamet then told him to leave his scimitar where h 
 was, and approach without fear, and then making ou 
 camels kneel down, Ave all dismounted. The strange 
 upon this came forward and asked — “ Is it peace ?” “ I 
 is,” was the reply of Sidi Hamet : they then saluted eacl 
 other with — “ Peace be wuth you — peace be to you: 
 house — to all your friends,” &c. &c. and shaking on< 
 another in a most cordial manner by the hand, seatec 
 themselves in a circle on the ground. After a long de- 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 219 
 
 >ate, in which our masters justified themselves for having 
 
 i aken the provision without leave, because we, their 
 ,1 ;laves, were in a state of starvation, which was very true, 
 Jhey added— “ you would not have refused them a mor- 
 , ;el, if you had been awake !’ ? and it was thereupon finally 
 
 igreed, to restore all that they had taken : so they made 
 fills clear a place on the ground that was hard, and pour 
 ,. )ut the barley from our bag. They also gave him up his 
 , >ag of meal, which had been much lightened, and a very 
 , mall bag, which i supposed to contain opium ; this they 
 aid was all they had taken ; then alter they had prayed 
 |. ogether, we all mounted our camels and proceeded on 
 al mr journey. Religion and honour even among thieves? 
 
 hought I ! 
 a 
 
 >'■ ■ 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ii 
 
 - Continuation of the Journeij on the Desert — Several singu- 
 i, lar occurrences — 1 'hey come within sight of the Ocean . 
 
 5 ; This had detained us about an hour ; Mr. Savage was 
 f put on the old camel, which still continued very lame, 
 i and Horace on the smallest. These camels could not 
 eeep pace with the others, and both Mr. Savage and. 
 Horace were severely flogged for what our masters called 
 ; iad management : though the true reason I suspected was 
 :he loss of the stolen barley, which had put them in a 
 oad humour. We kept on to the east as fast as the camels 
 could go, until late in the evening; when hearing the 
 voices of men hallooing to each other at a short distance 
 on our left, our masters seemed much frightened; kept 
 ill still ; and finding a deep hollow, we silently descended 
 its steep bank, leaving our little camel with his legs tied 
 on the level above, as he was so far worn down by fa- 
 tigue that he could scarcely walk. When we got to the 
 bottom of it, we found a considerable number of small 
 bushes, and having taken the saddles from off the camels 
 and fettered their fore legs together, as usual, we let them 
 go to feed. I calculate we travelled seven hours this day. 
 
120 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 at two miles an hour, among the sand hills; then tv! 
 hours on camels, until we came to the strange ones, ; 
 the rate of six miles an hour including two stops, s; 
 two hours ; then from four until about ten P. M. s 
 hours, at five miles an hour — total this day, fifty-s: 
 miles. 
 
 As soon as the camels were fettered, our masters e: 
 amined their guns, and having ascertained that they we ! 
 well primed, ascended the sand hills in this valley, (fi 
 there was much drifted sand about it in scattering heap 
 and it appeared to have once been a river, whose bed w; 
 now dry.) They bade us all follow them, and went fir 
 to the lowest part of the valley ; then ascending the steej 
 sides of the sand drifts, made us crawl after them on ot 
 hands and knees. After they had gained the top, an 
 waiting for us to climb up, they set up the most tremer 
 dous howling I had ever before heard — one counterfeitinj 
 the tone of a tiger, the other the roar of a lion, and thi 
 third the sharp frightful yell of a famished wolf. Ha vim 
 kept up this concert for some time, they again proceeded 
 mounting and descending, and searching for tracks, &c. 
 
 I was much terrified, 1 confess, and expected the 
 were hunting for the people we had heard halloo when w 
 entered the valley, to rob and murder them, and that w 
 were to share their danger and carry their spoil. But afte 
 they had kept us mounting and descending about twt 
 hours, they found a snug retreat surrounded on all side 
 by high sand drifts, where however a few small bush© 
 were growing : they made us lie down in the deep sand 
 and after continuing their howlings lor about half an hour 
 bade us go to sleep, which we much needed, as our la 
 tigues were excessive ; they had not suffered us to make 
 the least noise since we reached the valley, nor did they 
 themselves make any, except in imitation of wild fero- 
 cious beasts. I was now fully persuaded that they were 
 actuated by feelings of fear and not views of pmnder in 
 these manoeuvres ; and taking a station with their guns 
 in their hands around us, as if afraid they shomd lose their 
 slaves, we soon forgot our troubles in the arms of sleep, 
 and did not awake until the morning of die 7th, when we: 
 repaired to our camels and found every thing safe. There 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 121 
 
 were more camels, which we saw in the open valley, 
 browsing upon the bushes, which grew higher here than 
 uny we had hitherto seen ; they were of a different species, 
 ind not clothed with long thorns. 
 
 Just as we were ready to set off on cur journey, an old 
 woman and a boy came where we were ; the woman ap- 
 peared very friendly, made enquiries respecting our situa- 
 ion, and if our masters as well as ourselves were not hun- 
 gry ; and finding that we were indeed in want of food, she 
 ;ent off her boy, who soon returned with the boiled re- 
 nains of what I conceived to have been a sheep or goat, 
 consisting of the entrails and a few bones ; of these our 
 nasters ate the greatest part, but gave us the remainder 
 —that is to say, the bones, which we were very glad to 
 jet, bare as they were, for our hunger was extreme. 
 
 ■ Having gnawed and swallowed this hard food, and drank 
 bout half a pint of water each, coloured with sour milk, 
 vhich the old woman kindly gave us, we proceeded on 
 nr journey, mounting this dry river’s bed or gully, which 
 iad been acted upon by water at no very remote period. 
 .Ve here saw the first bushes that deserved that name, 
 
 ) ince we had been on this continent. They appeared to be 
 i f the wallow kind, some of them as large as a man’s leg, 
 find about fifteen feet in height. It was vdth much diffi- 
 uity the camels could ascend this bank, but when we did 
 : each its summit we found ourselves on the same level 
 lesert as we had before travelled on : our view on eveiy 
 ide was bounded only by the distant horizon, except on 
 ur left, where a long string of sand drifts of great height 
 
 ■ itercepted it. Near these sand hills we discovered a man 
 lounted on a camel ; he rode swiftly towards us, which 
 ur masters observing, while he was yet a great way off, 
 ismounted from their camels to wait his approach. My- 
 2lf and Mr. Savage were on foot, making the best of our 
 'ay along. We saw our masters dig holes in the sand, 
 nd bury two small bags which they had stolen from the 
 ranger the day before, at the time they helped themselves 
 > the barley. The man on his camel soon came up, and 
 r e recognized him as the same our masters had plundered - 
 
 ' e had followed us on, and now told them thev had stolen 
 is goods and deceived him besides. 
 
 16 
 
122 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Our masters denied the charge, and after showing hir 
 that they had nothing about them of the kind he describee 
 told him to satisfy himself fully and to go and search thei 
 stuff on the camels ; protesting, at the same time, the 
 he accused them wrongfully, and calling God to witnes 
 that they had nothing of his in their possession. Th 
 man seemed satisfied with their protestations, and rode o 
 without further examination. We were going on durin 
 this time, and they remained on the spot to dig up th 
 treasure after its owner had left them. When they cam 
 up with us, Sidi Hamet said to me, “ That fellow wantel 
 his bags and things, but he has not got them yet h 
 then showed me the bags and their contents. There wai 
 a small box in one of the bags, containing opium am 
 several hollow sticks of the thickness of a man’s finger 
 and six or eight inches long ; these were filled with what 
 supposed to be gold dust. The other bag contained to 
 bacco stalks, and the roots of an herb, which I afterward 
 understood to be a specific remedy for evil eyes, or witch 
 craft ; this they esteemed as of great value, even mor 
 than the gold dust and opium : the natives smoke thi 
 root through the leg or thigh bone of a sheep or goat, the’ 
 having no other pipes, and then conceit themselves invul 
 nerable. I confess I was not pleased at the discovery o 
 our masters’ propensity to thieving, and could not hel] 
 being apprehensive of the consequences that might resul 
 from such licentiousness, affecting our safety and pros! 
 pects of release. We travelled fast most of this day, ant; 
 must have made thirty-five miles on about an E. N. E 
 course. It was late when we stopped for the night : we 
 were on a hard surface, and had neither shrub, nor indeet 
 any other thing to fend off the cold night wind, whicl 
 blew extremely fierce from the N. N. E. 
 
 October the 8th, we started very early and rode on rap 
 idly until the afternoon, when some camels’ tracks wertj 
 discovered, at which our masters seemed very much re 
 joiced, for they were extremely hungry and thirsty. W< 
 followed these tracks until about four P. IVL (they being 
 nearly on our course,) when we came in sight of a large 
 drove oi camels feeding on the scattered shrubbery in t 
 small shallow valley, with a few sheep and goats, which 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 123 
 
 | were nibbling a short brown moss, not more than an inch 
 in height, that grew round about in spots. After clue 
 salutations, which were very long and tedious, the owners 
 of the flocks and herds invited our masters to remain with 
 them for the night, which may well be supposed was 
 readily accepted ; we having travelled this day about forty - 
 five miles. They showed our masters the way to their 
 tents, who, after bidding us to follow, set off for them 
 on a full trot. We readied them in about half an hours 
 there were about twenty in number — pitched in a little 
 valley, near a small thicket of thorn trees. 1 call them 
 trees, because they Mere much larger than any vegetable 
 productions we had yet seen in this country — a few of 
 them might be eight inches in diameter. Our masters 
 had already killed a kid they had bought, and were em- 
 ployed in dressing it ; which being prepared and boiled 
 isoon after dark, our masters gave us the entrails, which 
 we immediately devoured, though not cleaned, and nearly 
 raw, as we had not patience to wait till they were roasted 
 sufficiently : they then offered some of the meat to the 
 Arabs, who were sitting around them on the ground ; but 
 as they only came to gratify their curiosity in viewing us, 
 they did not accept of any. This w 7 as the first time I had 
 known any of them refuse so tempting an offer ; and I 
 could not but consider it as a favourable omen, and that 
 the land was becoming more fertile and productive as we 
 advanced on our journey, and that we must shortly escape 
 from this horrible desert. 
 
 After Ave had swallowed our morsel, these people gave 
 each of us a good drink of water, and at midnight (the 
 hour set apart by the Arabs for taking their refreshment) 
 they awaked me and gave me a bowl, containing proba- 
 bly four or five pounds of a kind of stirabout, or hasty 
 pudding, in the centre of which, in a hole made for the 
 purpose, there was poured a pint or more of good sweet 
 milk : we quickly seated ourselves in a circle around the 
 bowl, and though it was quite hot, we swallowed it in a 
 moment. This was the most delicious food I ever tasted ; 
 the effect it produced on my palate has never since been 
 effaced from my memory, and my companions agreed 
 with me, that nothing half so sweet had ever before eiy 
 
124 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 terecl their mouths ; and as we all took it up with oui 
 hands, each one accused the other of eating like a hog 
 and of devouring more than his equal share. I endeav- 
 oured to convince them that it could not be more equally 
 divided, as each put his hand to his mouth as fast as he 
 could. Notwithstanding every one, by the irresistible 1 
 impatience of hunger, burnt his mouth and throat, yel 
 this dish was unspeakably grateful; for hunger, sufferings j 
 and fatigue had absolutely reduced us to skeletons : it 
 warmed our stomachs, and checked the dysentery, which 
 had been extremely distressing for several days past. This 
 was the first kind of bread we had tasted since we left 
 the wreck. ! 
 
 Our masters had been very much out of humour (pro- 
 bably owing to hunger) for several days, and beat my 
 shipmates oftentimes most unmercifully, who, in their 
 turn, smarting under the lash, and suffering incredibly 
 from their sores, fatigues and privations, became as cross 
 as wild bears, notwithstanding I did all in my power to 
 lighten their burdens, relieve their fatigues, and intercede 
 for and beg them off when our masters were about to beat 
 them, and frequently walking that they might ride ; yet 
 one of them would often curse me to my face, and load 
 me with the most opprobrious epithets. My kindness 
 seemed but to inflame his petulance, and to excite in him | 
 a strange animosity, so that in the ravings of his distem- 1 
 pered imagination, he declared that he hated the sight of 
 me, and that my very smiles were more cutting to him 
 than daggers presented to his naked breast: he seemed 
 indeed to be transformed into a perfect savage in disposi- 
 tion, nor did this rankling humour forsake him until I 
 showed him in Suze the letter l there received from Mr. 
 Wiltshire, assuring me he would shortly redeem us from 
 slavery. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 9th, we set forward in a 
 northeasterly direction, and having travelled about ten 
 hours on the camels, at the rate of four miles an hour, 
 rve came to a deep well, situated in the midst of a cluster 
 of high bushes ; here was a large company of men wa- 
 tering many droves of camels that were round about. 
 These people saluted our masters in a friendly manner, 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 125 
 
 vhen they came up. I was preparing to assist in drawing 
 vater for our camels, but Sidi Hamet would not permit 
 ne or my companions to work ; indeed we were so ex- 
 remely reduced and weak, that we could not without 
 lifficulty stand steady on our feet, though (from what 
 ause I know not) our sores were fast healing, and our 
 : kins uniting in all parts over our bodies. 
 
 While Seid and Abdallah were busied in drawing water 
 ar our camels, an Arab came up with one, and led him 
 o our masters’ watering tub or bowl, which Seid ob- 
 i erving, bade him desist ; but the strange Arab swore his 
 ; amel should drink there, and he (Seid) should draw 
 rater for him. This kindled the resentment of Seid ; he 
 eft his bucket, ran up to the Arab, and gave him a heavy 
 >low on his face with his fist, which staggered him near 
 o falling ; but recovering himself, he drew his scimitar, 
 nd made a powerful thrust at Seid, who saved his life 
 >y springing suddenly from him, and the scimitar but 
 lightly pricked his breast. Sidi Hamet had by this time 
 eized and unsheathed his gun, and presented it to the 
 Arab’s breast within a yard’s distance, ready to blow him 
 hrough. When he was about to fire, his hand was seized 
 >y one of the bystanders, and others of them rushing 
 uetween the combatants to prevent bloodshed, laid hold 
 
 ! >f Seid and his antagonist, and having separated them by 
 nain force, they removed the Arab to the other side of 
 he well, where some of the company drew water for his 
 l:amel, which having drank its fill, they sent the fellow 
 iff, muttering curses as he went away. Our masters, 
 luring all this time, were so exasperated at the conduct 
 I )f this man, that nothing less than the strength of supe- 
 ior numbers would have prevented them from putting 
 fim to death ; and all the company agreed that they had 
 teen grossly insulted, especially as they were strangers. 
 
 When our camels had finished drinking at this well, 
 he water of which was very brackish, we were mounted, 
 md proceeded further east for about one hour’s ride, 
 -vhere we found two more wells, which appeared to have 
 teen lately dug, and the water they contained was very 
 salt. Here was a large drove of camels (probably one 
 lundred) to be watered, and they obliged me to assist in 
 
126 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 drawing water until they had all finished ; my master er. 
 couraging me, by saying, “ their owner was a very goo 
 man, and would give us food.” It was about sunset whe 
 we had finished drawing water, and we followed the valle 
 in which we were for about three miles east, when w 
 came to the tent we had been in quest of : here was no le 
 to keep off the cold wind, nor did we get any thing to eaij 
 notwithstanding our masters had praised the liberality c 
 our host, and tried by every means to obtain some pro 
 visions from him. I soon found his goodness was lik| 
 that of many others ; (i. e.) he was no longer liberal tha 
 while there was a prospect of profit. I presume we travel 
 led forty-five miles this day. 
 
 As soon as daylight appeared on the morning of th 
 10th, we set forward, all mounted on the camels, an< 
 kept on steadily until night over this most dreary desert 
 and came to a halt long after dark, without any thing ti 
 keep off the wind, which was blowing a strong gale. W 
 travelled this day about thirteen hours, at four miles at 
 hour ; as the camels went all day on a quick walk, w, 
 must have made at least fifty-two miles E. N. E. 
 
 Oct. the 11th, we set off very early on a full trot, an< 
 went on until about noon, seven hours, at six miles ai! 
 hour, when the land before us appeared broken, and wc 
 descended gradually into a deep valley, whose bottorr 
 was covered with sand; and on both sides of us, at i\ 
 great distance, we saw very high and steep banks lik< 
 those of a fiver, and followed the tongue of land that sep 
 arated them. Our course was nearly east. At abou 
 two P. M. our masters said they saw camels ahead, bu 
 we could not perceive them for a long time after, wher 
 keeping on a great trot, we came up with a drove abou 
 six P. M. We could however find no owners, nor ir. 
 fact any human being ; for all had fled and hid themselves 
 probably from fear of being robbed, or that contributions 
 might be levied on their charity for some provisions. We 
 searched some time for the owners of these camels, but 
 not finding them, we continued on, and having come to 
 the abrupt end of the tongue of land on which we had 
 been travelling, we descended into the river’s bed, which 
 was dry and soft. Pushing forward, we reached a large 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 127 
 
 cluster of bushes, which appeared like an island in a lake 
 fcvhen seen at a distance, and I suppose it was ten o’clock 
 it night before we arrived at the spot, though we saw it 
 n the distant horizon long before dark. As we entered 
 imong the bushes, our masters preserved a profound si- 
 ence ; and having found a clear spot of about twenty 
 j'ards in diameter, encircled by high bushes, which kept 
 iff the wind, we stopped there for the night ; having 
 ravelled that day for the space of about fourteen hours, 
 
 ■ t the rate of five miles an hour, making a distance of 
 * eventy miles. We had nothing this night wherewith to 
 ' llay our hunger : our fatigues and sufferings may be more 
 lasily conceived than expressed ; yet as we were sheltered 
 rom the night winds, we slept very soundly until we were 
 oused up to continue our journey. 
 
 On the 12th of October, as soon as daylight appeared, 
 re watered the camels at a well of brackish water near the 
 iushes before mentioned. Our masters had been careful 
 tot to make the least noise during the night, nor to kindle 
 fire, fearing they should be discovered and surprised by 
 ome more powerful party ; but neither foe nor friend ap- 
 >eared ; and having filled a skin with some of this brackish 
 rater, we descended a second steep bank to the bottom 
 >r lowest part of this river’s bed, which was then dry, 
 •andy, and incrusted with salt ; it appeared very white, 
 nd crumbled under the feet of our camels, making a 
 oud crackling noise. The reasons of this bed being then 
 rithout water, appeared to be the recess of the tide : its 
 eft bank rose very high in perpendicular cliffs, while its 
 ight was sloping and covered with sand, evidently blown 
 >y the winds from the sea beach, and which lay in drifts 
 : ip to its very summit. This bay (for it can be nothing 
 :lse) ran into the land from near a S. W. to a W. direction, 
 md was not more than eight or ten miles wide here, which 
 1 1 afterwards found was near its mouth, but was very broad 
 vithin, and extended a great distance into the country ; for 
 iince we entered its former bed we had travelled twelve 
 tours, at the rate of five miles an hour, making sixty 
 niles, and it then extended farther than the eye could 
 •each to the S. W. 
 
128 
 
 CAPTAIN' RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 The steep banks on both sides, which were four or fiv 
 hundred feet high, showed most evident signs of the 
 having been washed by sea water from their base to nei 
 their summits, (but at a very remote period,) and that th 
 sea had gradually retired from them. Our masters bein 
 in a state of starvation, their ill humour increased exceed 
 ingly ; when about nine o’clock in the forenoon we sai 
 two men, driving two camels, come down the sand hill 
 on our right. Our masters rode off to meet them, aw 
 having made the necessary inquiries, returned to us, wh 
 had continued going forward, accompanied by Abdallah 
 Sidi Hamet informed us that there were goats in an E. S. E 
 direction not far distant, and that we should soon hav 
 some meat ; so we commenced climbing over the higl i 
 hills of sand, in order that we might fall in with them, if 
 ascending these hills, which were extremely difficult an( 
 long, our old lame camel gave out, having fallen dowi 
 several times, which caused much delay ; so finding hirf 
 nearly expiring, we abandoned him and proceeded on 
 though this circumstance of losing the camel, also helped 
 to increase the rage of our masters, who now behaved like 
 madmen. As we were climbing up, we perceived a hole 
 dug in the sand, and we were told that the entrails of i 
 camel had been roasted there, which Seid discovered by 
 applying his nose to the surrounding earth. Sidi Hamet' 
 having gone on before us with his gun, we had already 1 
 ascended several miles of this steep and sandy bank ; and’ 
 on arriving near the level ol the surrounding country, we'j 
 heard the report of a musket fired, at no great distance) 
 from where we were, and soon perceived Sidi Hamet, ac-[ 
 companied by another Arab, driving a fiock of goats be- 
 fore them. This Arab was much intimidated at the sight 
 and report of a gun, for my master had fired oft' one of the 
 barrels to frighten him. When the goats came near us, 
 our masters, who considered possession as a very important 
 preliminary, ran in among the flock, and seized lour of 
 them, which they gave into our charge, until they should 
 settle about the price with their owner, who was alone and 
 unarmed, but at this moment he was joined by his wife : — 
 she had not been at all frightened, and commenced scold- 
 ing at our masters most immoderately and loudly she 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 129 
 
 laid, she would not consent to part with the goats, even 
 f her husband did, and insisted on knowing Sidi Hamet’s 
 lame : this he told her, and she then began to abuse him 
 or being so cowardly as to rob an unarmed man ; said the 
 vhole country should ring with his name and actions, and 
 he did not doubt but she could find some man who 
 vould revenge this injury. Her husband all this time strove 
 o stop her tongue, but to no purpose ; nor did she cease 
 t colding until Seid presented his gun to her breast, and 
 , ireatened her if she spoke another word, to blow her to 
 ieces. This compelled her to pause a moment, while 
 ur master (taking advantage of her silence) informed 
 tern that he had left a good camel a little distance be- 
 ind, which being only tired, could not proceed with 
 tern, and that he would give them this camel in ex- 
 change for these four goats, I could plainly discover, 
 pwever, that these people did not believe him* Sidi 
 tamet nevertheless spoke the truth in part ; a camel was 
 ideed left behind, but not a good one ; yet as there was 
 p alternative, they were necessitated to submit : the wo- 
 lan however insisted on exchanging one goat we had for 
 lother, which our masters assented to, merely to gratify 
 ;r caprice. 
 
 This business being thus settled, which had taken up 
 
 I iariy an hour’s time, our goats were tied fast to each 
 :her by their necks, and given into my charge ; leaving 
 Ir. Savage and Horace to assist in driving them. Clark 
 id Burns were ordered to drive the camels, whilst our 
 asters, a little less fretful than before, went forward to 
 ck out a practicable passage for them and the goats, 
 hile my party brought up the rear. The goats were 
 flicult to manage, but we continued to drive them along, 
 id generally within sight of the camels, though with 
 •eat fatigue and exertion. Our hunger and thirst were 
 ccessive : the direct heat of the sun, as well as that re- 
 fitted from the deep and yielding sands, was intense,, 
 Ir. Savage found here a very short green weed, which 
 h pulled and ate, telling me it was most delicious and 
 t sweet as honey ; but I begged him not to swallow any 
 < it until I should ask our masters what was the nature 
 ( it, for it might be poison ; and I refused to touch it 
 
 17 
 
150 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 myself, though it looked tempting. In our distresse 
 condition, however, he thought a green thing that taste 
 so well could do him no harm, and continued to e: 
 whatever he could find of it, which (happily for him) w; 
 not much : but in a short time he was convinced of tl 
 contrary, for he soon began to vomit violently : — th 
 alarmed me for his safety, and I examined the weed 1 
 had been so delighted with, and after a close investigatioi ; 
 I was convinced it was no other than what is called i 
 America the Indian tobacco, ( Nicotiana .) Its effec 
 
 were also similar ; but how these plants came to grow c 1 
 those sands I cannot conceive. 
 
 Mr. Savage continued to vomit by spells for two hour 
 or more, which, as he had very little in his stomacl 
 strained it so excessively as to bring forth blood. I couf 
 not wait for him, because both our masters, their camel 
 and our shipmates, were already out of sight. When! 
 could proceed no further, he would stop and vomit, an 1 
 then by running (though in great distress) as fast as 1 
 was able, come up with us again. I encouraged him s 
 I could — told him what the herb was, and that its effect 
 need not be dreaded. 
 
 Ever since we had been coming near the summit of tl 
 land, we had discerned the sea, though at a great distanc 
 ahead and on our left ; but as it appeared dark and smoot 
 in the distant horizon, I supposed it to be an extensiv 
 ridge of high woodland, and hoped we should soon reac 
 it, as our course bent that way, and that this would prov 
 to be the termination of the desert. Horace, howeve 
 thought it appeared too dark and smooth for land, an 
 regarding it again attentively, I discovered it was in fa( 
 the ocean, and I could plainly distinguish its mountainoi 
 waves as they rolled along, for it was greatly agitated b 
 fierce winds. This was the first view we had of the st 
 since we were made slaves : it was a highly gratifyin 
 sight to us all, and particularly so, as it was quite unex 
 pected ; and it very much revived the spirits of myse 
 and desponding companions. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 231 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 They travel along the sea-coast under high banks — ; fall in 
 ■with and join a company of Arabs — travel in the night 
 for fear of robbers — Mr. Savage faints — is near being 
 j massacred , and rescued by the author. 
 
 Di scerning the tracks of our camels, which we had 
 jst sight of for a time, as they had crossed over rocks, 
 /here they had descended through a rent or chasm, part- 
 j t covered with high drifts of loose sand, towards the sea- 
 aore, we followed them down immensely steep sand hills, 
 > a tolerably inclined plane, between the first and second 
 anks of the sea; which, from appearances, had once 
 cashed the upper bank, but had long since retired : — the 
 iclined plane had also been a beach for ages, where the 
 •'ones, that now covered its surface, had been tossed, and 
 imnded by striking against one another. 
 j.i From this beach the ocean had also retired, and now 
 f ashed other perpendicular cliffs of one hundred feet or 
 lore in height, at a distance of six or eight miles to the 
 Ibrthward of the former ones, which appeared to rise in 
 
 J irupt, and in many places overhanging cliffs of rocks to 
 e height of three hundred feet. We had made our way 
 firough these cliffs, by means of a hollow, seemingly 
 irmed on purpose for a passage, as it was the only one 
 i view ; and as I did not know which way our masters 
 'ent, I had stopped to view the surrounding prospect, 
 ad now give what was then my impression. I was at a 
 Iss which way to steer my course, but our masters, who 
 'ere concealed behind a small hillock on our left, dis- 
 overing my embarrassment, now called to me, where I 
 non joined them. It was then nearly dark, and there 
 'ere three or four families of Arabs near, sitting under a 
 i elter made of skins extended by poles ; here our cam- 
 <3 were turned up to browse, and we were ordered to 
 ollect brush, which grew on the steep side of the banks, 
 t make a fire, and to keep off the wind during the night, 
 hr. Savage was entirely exhausted, and I requested him 
 t lie down on the ground, whilst the rest of us gathered 
 
132 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 the bushes required ; but when I came in with my han 
 ful, Seid was beating 1 him with a stick to make him i 
 sist. I begged he would permit Mr. Savage to rema 
 where he was ; told him he was sick, and that I woui 
 perform his share of the labour. Sidi Hamet now retur 
 ed and killed one of the goats, of which they gave us t 
 entrails — a seasonable relief indeed, and we were allow 
 to drink a little of the soup they were boiled in, and 
 small piece of meat was divided between us ; and ea< 
 received a drink of water : I had before stolen a drink f 
 Mr. Savage, whose bloody vomit continued. In t 
 course of the night they gave us a small quantity of f 
 same kind of pudding ive had before tasted, but as IV] 
 Savage was sick, they refused to give him any, sayin 
 4 ‘ he has already eaten too much of something, but th< 
 did not know what.” Sidi Hamet, however, saved i 
 little of the pudding in a bowl for him, and as he seenid 
 unwilling to die with hunger, I gave him part of tli 
 pudding I had, and saved my share of meat for him uni 
 the morning. Our hunger and thirst being somewhj 
 appeased, we slept this night pretty soundly. We h; 
 travelled this day about thirty miles. I 
 
 October the 14th, early in the morning, we took lead 
 of these Arabs ; but while we were busied in getting o 
 Abdallah seized on Mr. Savage’s pudding in the bowl ;l !i 
 a good prize, and swallowed it in an instant ; so th 
 nothing but my care of Mr. Savage saved him from fain! 
 ing and consequent death on this day. Our masters ha 
 purchased two more goats from those Arabs, which irj 
 creased our number to five ; these we were forced if 
 drive, and we kept along the sea-shore the whole of th i 
 day. On our right the original sea-shore (or bank) ros 
 nearly three hundred feet perpendicularly, and in man 
 places in overhanging cliffs. The inclined plane on whic 
 we travelled was from three to six or eight miles wide 
 and very regular ; covered with pebbles and many rounJ 
 stones; among which grew here and there a few dwai 
 bushes of different kinds from what I had seen before i 
 various parts of the world. A little to our left the plan 
 broke off abruptly, and the ocean appeared. The banl 
 was from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet higi 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 133 
 
 ndbove the level of the sea, and mostly perpendicular, 
 against which the heavy surges dashed with great fury, 
 
 S ounding like loud peals of distant thunder. Our course 
 nd that of the shore was about east, and near dark we 
 rell in with four families of Arabs who were about pitch- 
 ing their tents near the sea-shore. Our masters went and 
 if atroduced themselves to the one who appeared to be their 
 idhief, or the principal character among them, and whose 
 aame was Hassar. They soon became acquainted, and 
 i ; was ascertained that Hassar and his wife, together with 
 1 3 ur men that were witli him, and their families were go- 
 t lg the same route that we were ; upon which our masters 
 greed to join company. 
 
 Hassar’s wife, whose name was Tamar, and who ap- 
 eared to be an uncommonly intelligent woman, addressed 
 le in broken Spanish and Arabic mixed : — she said she 
 ad saved the lives of some Spaniards who had been 
 wrecked on that coast a great many years ago ; that a 
 essel came for them, and that she went to Lanzarote 
 one of the Canary islands) to get some goods which the 
 Spanish captain promised to deliver to her father, who 
 etained three of the men until the Spaniard should have 
 ulfilled his contract, and brought her back. She repre- 
 ented to me the manner in which the houses in Lanzarote 
 vere built, and described the forts and batteries with their 
 ;annon, &c. so very clearly and accurately, that I had no 
 loubt she must have seen them, and I gave her to un- 
 lerstand I had been there also. She said Lanzarote was 
 . bad country, and assured us, we should not die with 
 lunger while we remained in her company. 
 
 We travelled on the 14th about twenty miles. In the 
 light our masters killed a goat, and gave us a part of the 
 neat as well as of the entrails : Hassar’s wife also gave us 
 i small quantity of the pudding before mentioned, which 
 he Arabs call Lhash ; and here we had a good night’s 
 deep. October the 15th, early in the morning, Hassar 
 md his company struck their tents, and all these families 
 proceeded on with us until near night ; when we came to 
 i very deep gully, which we could not pass in anv other 
 way than by going down the bank on to the sea beach, and 
 at low tide ; there was a kind of pathway where camels 
 
134 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 had gone down before us. We descended, ahd then 
 found a tent with an Arab family in it, just below thi 
 high bank ; so sending on the camels, Sidi Harriet mad 
 us stop here a few moments. The owner of the ten 
 pretended to speak Spanish, but in fact knew only a fev 
 detached words of that language: he mentioned to mi 
 that he knew I had promised Sidi Hamet that my frieno 
 in Swearah would pay him the amount I had bargainee 
 for, stating the sum : now, said this Arab, “ IJave yoi 
 a friend in Swearah?” I answered I had. “ Do not lie 
 (said he,) for if you do you will have your throat cut 
 but if you have told him so merely that you might ge : , 
 off of the desert, so as to procure something to eat, h< 
 will pardon that pretext and deception so far as only tc 
 sell you and your comrades to the highest bidder, the first 
 opportunity, provided, however, that you confess the de- 
 ceit now. In a few days (added he) you will find houses 
 and a river of running water, and should you persist in 
 deceiving him, you will certainly lose your life.” I made 
 him understand that I was incapable of lying to Sidi 
 Hamet ; that all I told him was true ; that he was the man 
 who had saved my life, and he should be well rewardedj 
 for his goodness by my friend, and by our Almighty Fa- 
 ther. This seemed to satisfy Sidi Hamet, who was 
 present and understood me better than the other did, and 
 he told me I should see Swearah in a few days. We now 
 went forward, accompanied by the Arab, who piloted us 
 across a small arm of the sea that entered the before 
 mentioned gully. We here found a pair of kerseymere 
 pantaloons that had belonged to Mr. Savage, in the pos- 
 session of one of this man’s little sons : — I pointed them 
 out to my masters, and begged them to buy them, which 
 after a long barter with the boy, Seid effected, by giving 
 him in exchange a piece of blue cotton cloth which he had 
 worn as a kind of shirt : they wished me to give the 
 pantaloons to Clark or Horace, but I gave them to Mr. 
 Savage, although they insisted he was fonte , or a bad 
 ellow. 
 
 Having got up the steep bank again, after wading 
 through the salt water, which was nearly up to our hips, 
 ?.nd one hundred yards broad, we encamped for the night 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 135 ' 
 
 on high dry land ; and at dark our masters, taking Horace 
 md myself with them, went near a few tents close by the 
 sea, where we w r ere presented with a quantity of dried 
 muscles, which, though very salt, we found excellent : 
 :hese we divided among our shipmates. I conjecture we 
 lad made twenty-five miles this day. Here our masters 
 • 'tilled their remaining goats, boiled and ate their entrails 
 md most of their meat, as all present were hungry, and 
 iwould have some in spite of every opposition ; so that 
 )ur share was seized and swallowed by others. 
 
 October the 16th, we made ready and started very 
 early, but went on slowly, keeping near the sea-shore, 
 md mostly in the broken grounds, caused by its former 
 washings. Our masters seemed very fearful all this day, 
 md told me there were many robbers and bad men here- 
 abouts, who would endeavour to seize and carry us off, 
 md that they could throw large stones with great force 
 and precision. We had not travelled more than fifteen 
 1 miles before sunset, and night coming on, our masters, 
 who had mounted Mr. Savage, Clark, and Burns on the 
 tcamels, drove them on at a great rate, while myself and 
 Horace were obliged to keep up with them by running 
 an foot. All this time they had their guns in their hands 
 unsheathed, and when Horace and myself were obliged 
 occasionally to stop, one of them always stayed with us, 
 and then hurried us on as fast as possible. In this manner 
 we proceeded until about midnight, when coming to a 
 deep gully, Mr. Savage and Clark were dismounted, and 
 Horace and myself placed on the camels. Descending 
 the valley, we found it full of high sand drifts, and pro- 
 ceeded without making the least noise : the valley was 
 wide, and the sand lying in it had, no doubt, been driven 
 from the sea beach by the wind. All the women and 
 children at this time were running on foot. After reach- 
 ing, with much labour, the other side of the valley, and 
 the summit beyond it, we found the whole surface of the 
 ground making an even inclined plane, covered with 
 deep drifts of loose sand. I had been riding, I think, 
 about two hours, when Clark, who was a considerable 
 distance behind, called to me, and said, “ Mr. Savage 
 has fainted away, and they are flogging him with sticks.’' 
 
136 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 
 I instantly slipped off my camel, and ran to relieve hit 
 as fast as my legs could carry me. Seid was striking h; 
 apparent lifeless body, which lay stretched on the grounc i 
 with a heavy stick : Hassar had seized him by the bear 
 with one hand, and with the other held a sharp scimitar 
 with which he was in the act of cutting his throat, 
 laid hold of Hassar, jerked him away, and clasping th 
 body of Mr. Savage in my arms, raised him up, an 
 called for water. Hassar would have run me througi 
 with his scimitar, but Sidi Hamet arrested and prevente! 
 him. I expected to lose my life, but had determined t ! 
 save Mr. Savage’s at all hazards. Our masters and th 
 whole company of men, women, and children, were aroun 
 me : they were possessed with the belief that he was per 
 verse and obstinate, and that he would not exert himseil 
 to proceed at a time when they were in haste to go or 
 lest they should fall into the hands of robbers ; for whic 
 reason they had determined to kill him. I made Sid 
 Hamet, however, and the others understand, that he ha< 
 fainted through hunger and excessive fatigue, and that h< 
 was not perverse in this instance. This surprised thtn 1 
 exceedingly : they had never before heard of such a thing 
 as fainting. Sidi Hamet ordered a camel to be brought 
 and a drink of water to be given him, and when he re 
 vived, this Arab shed tears ; then putting him and Clark) 
 on a camel, one to steady the other, they proceeded. Sid 
 Hamet desired me to get on with Horace and ride, saying, 
 with a sneer — “ the English are good for nothing — you 
 see even our women and children can walk and run.” 1 
 told him 1 could walk, that I was not a bad fellow and 
 began to run about and drive up the camels : this pleased 
 him excessively, and he bade me come and walk with 
 him, leaving the camels to the care of others, calling 
 me “ good Riley — you shall again see your children, if 
 God please.” 
 
 We continued our journey eastward along the south 
 side of a high string of sand hills, when hearing a dog 
 bark before us, we turned the camels suddenly off to the 
 north, setting them off on a lull trot, but passing over 
 the sand hills without noise : we kept this course tor ebout 
 an hour, until having got near the sea bank, and nordi of 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 137 
 
 he sand hills, we resumed our former course. Near day- 
 ght we lost our way, and fearing to go amiss, as it was 
 ery dark, they made the camels lie down in a circle, 
 .lacing us within it — when they kept guard over us with 
 ieir muskets in their hands, while we took a nap. I 
 jhould guess we travelled fifty miles this last day and 
 ight. 
 
 October the 17th, early in the morning, we set forward 
 gain, still on the same inclined plane, between the first 
 id second banks of the sea. The high banks on our 
 ght, whose pointed rocks, where they had been washed 
 y the ocean, were still visible all the way, began to be 
 vertopped with high hills rising far into the country, and 
 resenting to our view a new aspect ; so that I was com 
 meed we had left the level desert. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 lack mountains appear in the east — They come to a river 
 of salt water , and to wells of fresh water , where they 
 find many horses — Description of a singular plant — 
 ! Come to cidtivated land ; to a fresh water river , and a 
 few stone huts. 
 
 The black tops of high mountains appeared in the dis- 
 lilt horizon to the eastward about noon, and the camel 
 Piths were very much trodden. We kept on until near 
 )ght, when meeting with a deep valley, we wound our 
 nurse through it to the southward, and then went down 
 auth-eastwardly through another deep valley, where there 
 'as a good path. The black bare mountains on both 
 :des of us gave us great hopes that we should soon come 
 * running water and cultivated lands ; and in reality near 
 ight we came to a stream of water, with high grass and 
 lishes growing on its margin. The water, however, was 
 ry brackish, and could not be drank ; but on its oppo- 
 se bank we saw a company of men at some wells, water- 
 ig about forty fine looking horses and some camels. Our 
 masters saluted those men, and crossing the stream, which 
 
 18 
 
138 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 in this part was about two feet deep and thirty feet wicf 
 we watered our camels also at the same place. This rive 
 whose water was clear as crystal, was literally filled wil 
 beautiful large fish, which were jumping above the surfac 
 every moment ; but the Arabs did not seem to want then 
 for they could have been caught very easily. The con 
 pany with horses and camels left the wells, and went c 
 to the south, riding at a full trot along the river’s side : the 
 were armed only with scimitars. Our company then wei 
 towards the sea, and Hassar’s women pitched their ten 
 for the night ; here they cooked a goat, which they divide 
 among all the party, and what fell to our share cannot t! 
 supposed to have been much. I believe we made thirty 
 six miles this day, as we rode nearly all the time. 
 
 October the 18th, we ascended the hill, climbing upi 
 a zig-zag path on the steep side of the east bank of th 
 river ; and having gained the surface, we found it to be i 
 continuation of the same inclined plane on which we ha 
 before been travelling. The bank on our right, to th 
 south, still continued to give indubitable proofs of it 
 having been washed by the ocean ; whose surges ha 
 worn in under the shelving- rocks, which hung in immens 
 masses of from two to three hundred feet high over th 
 surface of the inclined plane below, while the plane itsej 
 adjoining the cliffs was covered with fragments that ha r 
 fallen from above, and with other stones that bad bee 
 washed and worn round by the ocean’s waves, leaving th; 
 most positive marks of its having retired to its preser 
 bed. These observations, with those I had made befon 
 and was enabled to make afterwards, fully satisfied m 
 mind, that the sea had gradually retired from this conti 
 nent ; — I must leave it to philosophers to account for th 
 cause. The only green thing we had seen for seven 
 days past, except what grew immediately on the bank o 
 the river, (which were some bushes resembling dwarf at 
 ders and bulrushes,) was a shrub that rose in a small bunc) 
 at the bottom, having frequently but one stalk, from thre 
 to twelve inches in thickness ; the limbs spreading out ii 
 every direction, like an umbrella, into innumerable branch 
 es, making a diameter of from fifteen to twenty feet, anc 
 not more than six feet in height : its leaves very green 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 139 
 
 smooth, pointed, and about four inches long, by one and 
 i half broad ; its bark resembled that of the hard or sugar 
 naple tree ; its branches terminated abruptly, the point of 
 ach twig being nearly as thick as the end of a man’s 
 inger : this shrub, or weed, was very tender, and as we 
 aroke off the twigs, a great many drops of glutinous liquid, 
 lesembling milk, flowed from them, but its odour and 
 aste were of the most disagreeable kind, and the camels 
 vould not feed on it. W e saw a good deal that had grown 
 ip before, and had died and become dry : on breaking it 
 iff, I found it was hollow, and almost as light as a com- 
 non dry weed. Neither our mastery nor the other Arabs 
 would light a fire with it, on account of its disagreeable 
 ,mell when burning ; the taste of the milk issuing from 
 his plant was the most nauseous and disgusting in nature, 
 hough very white and beautiful to behold. ' About noon 
 re canTe to the foot of the high mountains we had seen 
 he day before, and turned in between two of them to the 
 outheast, leaving the sea entirely. We went up through 
 chasm in the bank, ever rocks and through a narrow 
 ootway, formed by the treading of camels and horses ; for 
 re had seen many horse tracks, and also the tracks of one 
 nimal of the kind called neat cattle. 
 
 I As we proceeded on foot, winding upwards, we dis- 
 overed on our left a few stones piled up in the form of a 
 rail, round a pit of ten or twelve feet across, and six feet 
 Beep, dug in the earth by art. There were lying on the 
 ;round around the wall, several earthen pots that would 
 ontain from three to four gallons each, and which appear- 
 d to have been made for and used as boilers. One of em- 
 oting men directly took up one of them, and w r as lashing 
 t on his camel as a good prize, when Hassar and Sidi 
 famet, observing the circumstance, made him untie and 
 arry it back again to the spot where he had found it. As 
 already knew the propensity all had for plundering, I 
 ould not but imagine that they now restrained themselves 
 hrough fear. About sunset we came to a small spot of 
 and that had been cultivated, and fell in with a heap of 
 •arley straw. Here was the first sign of cultivation we 
 iad seen on this continent, and we hailed it as the harbin- 
 ger of happier days. We had travelled full thirty mile: 
 
140 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 this day, and our masters now gave us the putrid remain 
 of the goat which had hung on one of the camels for fou 
 days : this we roasted, and found it a delicious morsel 
 it was tender, and needed no seasoning. Some of m 
 comrades, as if their taste had become depraved by th i 
 rage of hunger, declared that putrid meat was far prefers 
 ble to fresh ; that it wanted neither salt nor pepper to giv 
 it a relish, and that if ever they got home again, the 
 should prefer such food to any other. Having finished ou 
 savoury supper, we lay down on the straw, and enjoyed 
 most charming, sound, and refreshing sleep. To us, wh 
 for so long a time hapl been obliged to repose our wearie< 
 limbs and wasted frames on the hard- baked bosom of th 
 desert, or the dead sides of the barren sand drifts, thi 
 solitary heap of fresh straw seemed softer and sweeter thai 
 a bed of down strewn over with, the most odoriferou 
 flowers. * 
 
 October the 19th, we resumed our journey very earlj 
 in the morning, and travelled on foot, all except Burns 
 who was so far exhausted as to be unable to walk. Ou 
 course rounded from S, E. to E. N. E. keeping the bot 
 tom of the valleys, most of which had been cultivated b 1 
 the plough at no very remote period, but only in a narrov 
 strip. The sides of the mountains were entirely barrel 
 and naked of foliage, and we kept on winding as the val 
 leys permitted, until about two o’clock P. M. when, sud 
 denly through a deep valley before us, a few rough stom 
 huts broke upon our view, and a moment afterwards w< 
 beheld a stream of clear water purling over a pebbly bot 
 torn, and meandering through banks covered with greet 
 bushes and shrubs in full blossom. On the farther side 
 cows, asses, and sheep, were feeding on green grass, ancj 
 a number of date trees adorning and shading the margin 
 of the rivulet. This was a sight none of us expected tc 
 behold, and I poured out my soul in rapturous effusions 
 of thankfulness to the Supreme Being. Excess of joy 
 had so far overpowered our faculties, that it was with dif- 
 ficulty we reached the water’s edge ; but urging forward 
 to the brink with headlong steps, and fearlessly plunging 
 in our mouths, like thirsty camels, we swallowed down 
 large draughts, until satiated nature bade us stop. The 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 141 
 
 rivulet was fresh, and fortunately not so cold as to occa- 
 sion any injurious effects : it was quite shallow, and not 
 more than about five yards in width ; it appeared, how- 
 ever, very evidently, that when the rain falls in the sur- 
 rounding country, it flows with a much deeper and broader 
 current. It is called by the Arabs, el IVod noon, or the 
 river Nun ; comes from the southeast, and runs from 
 | this place to the sea in a northerly direction. We had ar- 
 rived on its right bank, where some barren date trees 
 
 i grew, and which offered us nothing but their shade : 
 hungry, however, as we were, our fatigue got the better 
 af every other want, and as these were the first trees we 
 had met with during our distressing pilgrimage, we em- 
 braced the kindly offer, and enjoyed about two hours of 
 refreshing sleep : I was then awakened by Sidi Hamet, 
 who directed me to come with my companions and follow 
 him : this we instantly did, and going near one of the 
 small houses, he divided amongst us, to our inexpressi- 
 ble joy, about four pounds of honey in the comb. This 
 was indeed a dainty treat; and with the hungriness of 
 greedy bears, we devoured it, comb and all, together 
 with a host of young bees just ready for hatching, that 
 filled two-thirds of the cells ; our hearts at the same time 
 swelling with gratitude to God, and tears of joy trick- 
 ling down our fleshless cheeks. 
 
 Hassar’s men pressed around, and endeavoured to snatch 
 from us this delicious food, of which they had no share ; 
 but Sidi Hamet placing the bowl on his kness, passed the 
 
 ( honey-comb to us piece by piece in one hand, while he 
 held his gun in the other, ready to fire on any one who 
 should attempt to deprive us of our meal. The eyes of 
 s these fellows seemed to flash fire at the preference we en- 
 joyed, and we dreaded the effects of their malicious envy ; 
 for the Arabs set no bounds to their anger and resentment, 
 and regard no law but that of superior force. Having 
 finished our luscious repast, we were told by our masters 
 to go to rest, which we did, and soon fell asleep in the 
 shade formed by a beautiful umbrella palm-tree. 
 
 About dark we were called up and ordered to gather 
 fuel, and were afterwards presented with some pudding of 
 the same kind we had before eaten, though mixed with 
 
142 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 oik that I afterwards ascertained was the argan oil, which 
 though fresh, had a very strong smell, and my stomacl 
 being cloyed with honey, I declined eating any. Mj 
 companions, however, relished this oil very rfiuch, anc 
 preferred it afterwards to butter during our stay in Africa 
 We found a good shelter this night near a burying place 
 with a small square stone building in the centre, white- 1 
 washed and covered with a dome ; and I afterwards learn- 
 ed that this was a sanctuary or saint house : it was fenced 
 in with thorn bushes, and was the first burying place we 
 had seen in this country. I computed we had travelled 
 this day (Oct. 19th) about eighteen miles. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th we did not go forward, and 
 a number of Arabs and Moors came to see our masters 
 and us. This place appeared to be a great thoroughfare : 
 large droves of unloaded camels were passing up to the 
 eastward from the way we had come, as well as from the 
 southward, and also great numbers of loaded camels going 
 towards the desert. Their loading consisted principally oi 
 sacks of barley, some salt and iron, together with other! 
 merchandise. ■ 
 
 During the fore part of tins day, several parties of men, 
 in all from sixty to eighty, passed us ; all mounted on 
 handsome horses of the Arabian breed, well-bred and 
 high-spirited : their riders were covered with cloaks or 
 Eularns, and every one had a single barrelled musket in 
 his hand, the stocks of which were curiously wrought and: 
 inlaid with small pieces of various coloured wood and" 
 ivory, arranged and fitted in a very particular manner. 
 The locks of these muskets were of the Moorish kind, 
 and very unhandy, though substantial, and they seldom 
 miss fire, although their powder is bad and coarse grained. 
 This and a good scimitar slung on their right side consti- 
 tute the whole of their weapons : they depend more upon 
 the scimitar for close quarters in battle than upon their 
 musket, for, say they, this will never miss fire ; being 
 similar to the practice which it is said the Russian General 
 (Suwarrow) used to inculcate on his- soldiers — The ball 
 will lose its way, the bayonet never: the ball is a fool — 
 the bayonet a hero.” A Moor is ashamed to be without 
 his scimitar ; their scabbards are made of brass, and plated 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 143 
 
 on the outside with silver, but those worn by the Arabs 
 are made of leather : these weapons both of the Moors 
 and Arabs, are suspended from the neck by cords made 
 af woollen yarn died red, or a strong braided leather thong. 
 They call a scimitar or long knife el skine. 
 
 These natives were of a different race of men from any 
 ive had hitherto seen : they wear a haick or piece of wool- 
 en cloth wrapped about their bodies, which covering 
 I hem, falls down below their knees ; or else a cloak called 
 tf; zlabbia, made in a similar manner, cut with short sleeves, 
 i md one fold of the haick generally covered the head ; but 
 hose who had not their heads covered with their haick, 
 3r the hood of their gzlabbia or sulam, wore a kind of 
 turban : the cloak or sulam is made of coarse black cloth, 
 very shaggy, and much in the form of the European 
 :loak, with a hood or head-piece to it ; it is, however, 
 sewed together part of the way down in front, so that to 
 *et it on, they slip it over their heads, and it covers their 
 arms. They are generally stout men, of five feet eight 
 ar ten inches in height, and well set ; their complexion a 
 light olive. They wear their beards as long as they will 
 ^row, and consider a man without a great bushy beard an 
 effeminate being, and hold him in great contempt. Their 
 saddles were well made and very high, at least eight or 
 [ten inches, fitted before and behind so as almost to make 
 > it impossible for the horse to throw his rider ; their bridles 
 are of the most powerful Arabian kind ; their stirrups are 
 made of broad sheets of iron that cover almost the whole 
 foot — many of them are plated with silver. All the men 
 wore slippers and spurs, and had their stirrups tied up 
 very short. 
 
 While we remained here, a very respectable looking old 
 man, who spoke a few words of Spanish, after learning 
 from our masters who we were, came to me and inquired 
 about my country and my friends in Swearah ; said he 
 knew all the consuls there, and told me their names were 
 Renshaw, Josef Estevan, and Corte. He said he was 
 going to Swearah, and should be there in ten days, and 
 would carry a letter for me if my master would let me 
 write : but we had no paper. I informed him that my 
 friend was named Renshaxv , guessing him to be the 
 
144 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 English consul. This old man told my master he be 
 lieved I spoke the truth, and that I had been at Swearar 
 which from his discourse I understood to be the same a 
 Mogadore. He then set off eastward on his mule, whic 
 was a very large and handsome one. All the people tha 
 passed here appeared very friendly to our masters ; the’ 
 wished to know our story, and requested my opinion c 
 their horses, saddles and bridles, muskets, scimitars, an< 
 accoutrements in general, &c. all of which I declared t< 
 be of the best possible kind. This morning Sidi Hame 
 bought a hive of honey, and undertook to give some of 
 to us, but was not able to carry his kind intentions int< 
 effect, for at the moment he was handing some to me 
 Hassar’s men rushed on him and got possession of th( 
 whole, which they devoured in a minute : there was nc 
 getting it back, and after a long and violent dispute witl 
 Hassar and his company respecting it, he procured anothei 
 hive, and being assisted by the man from whom he bought 
 it, and a number of strangers, he succeeded in distri- 
 buting amongst us about three pounds of the poorest pari 
 of the comb. 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 The company is divided — They set off to the eastward — 
 Their masters are attacked by a band of robbers. 
 
 After we had eaten this, our masters prepared the 
 camels, and Hassar’s company divided, that is to say, 
 two men and all the women and children took the plain 
 great route which led east in a deep valley, driving off 
 about one-half of the camels ; Hassar and the others drove 
 off the rest (including ours) in a N. E. direction, and we 
 with our masters, accompanied by two other men, pro- 
 ceeded along the river’s eastern bank to the northward for 
 a short distance, and then ascended the high, steep, and 
 craggy mountains eastward of us. The labour in clam- 
 bering up these steep precipices is indescribable ; we con- 
 tin :ed mounting them as fast as possible for about four 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 14-5 
 
 hours, and I was fully convinced our masters took that 
 i: route for fear they should be followed and surprised in the 
 night by some who had seen us, and thus be robbed of 
 their slaves and other property. After climbing over the 
 highest peaks of these mountains, we saw Hassar and part 
 of his company who had driven the camels, and had got- 
 ten up by another and more practicable path. It was now 
 near night, and we travelled along the craggy steeps, as- 
 sisting one another over the most difficult parts, while 
 Hassar sought out the easiest places for the ascent of the 
 camels. Coming at length to a small level spot of ground, 
 we saw some tents, and directed our course towards them : 
 the tents were twelve in number, and placed in a semi- 
 circle. Having approached to within one hundred yards 
 in front of the largest one, our masters seated themselves 
 on the ground with their backs towards the tents, and a 
 woman soon came out bringing a bowl of tvater, which 
 she presented to them after the usual salutations of La - 
 bez, &c, &c. 
 
 Our masters drank of the water, and Sidi Hamet was 
 soon after presented with a bowl filled w ith dates lately 
 ducked from the trees and not fully ripe : these he gave 
 :o us ; though Seid, Abdallah, and Hassar snatched each 
 it handful, to which we were forced to submit : w r e found 
 hem excellent, but did not know at that time what sort 
 if fruit they were. Here we remained during the night, 
 md rested our emaciated bodies, which were, if possible, 
 more fatigued than they ever were before. 
 
 October the 21st, we set off to the northward very 
 parly, and made down towards the sea through numerous 
 ,teep gullies, and got on to the inclined plane below the 
 ormer sea-shore, about mid-day ; here were the same 
 .ort of marks in this bank that we had before observed, 
 md the same signs of its having been laved by the ocean, 
 vVe w r ent along through the same kind of thick bushes as 
 hose I have before described, near to the cliffs that at 
 iresent formed a barrier to the mighty waters, where we 
 liscovered a number of tents, and soon reached them, 
 iere our masters Sidi Hamet and Hassar, were recog- 
 fized by some of the men, who w r ere in all about twenty, 
 vith their familes ; these people had large sacks of barley 
 
 * 19 
 
14b 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 with them, which they had procured far eastward up the 
 country. Sidi Harnet was now sick with violent pains inU 
 his head and in all his limbs. These people (who were 
 Arabs, as all are who live in tents in the country) took 
 compassion on him, and cleared a tent for him to lie un- 
 der, where having made up a large fire, he kept his head 
 towards it, turning about and almost roasting his brains, 
 but obtained no relief from this manner of treating his! 
 disorder. He next had recourse to another singular reme- 
 dy : he had a large knife put into the fire and heated red 
 hot ; then made his brother draw the back of it, hot as it 
 was, several times across the top of his head, making it 
 hiss (as may well be supposed) in all directions : — when 
 it had in some measure cooled, he would again heat it as (, 
 before, then making bare his legs and arms, he went 
 through with the process of striking its back along them 
 at the distance of three or four inches, scorching off the 
 skin ; and though it made him twitch and jump at every: 
 touch, he continued to do it for the space of an hour or 
 more. Burns had been very ill for some time, and was so 
 weak that he scarcely was able to stand, and could not: 
 walk — he was, therefore, always placed on a camel, and 
 as Sidi Hamet was now applying to himself a remedy for 
 what he thought a stroke of the moon, he undertook to 
 administer the red hot knife to the limbs of poor Burns, 
 who from mere want of bodily strength was not able,j 
 poor fellow, to jump, but would at every touch cry out,; 
 “ God have mercy upon me.” As I was hungry, 1 beg- 
 ged of my masters to let me go and search for muscles 
 on the sea beach, (for there was a hollow at a little dis- 
 tance, through which we might gain it,) but they refused, 
 saying, “to-morrow, if God please, we shall be on the! 
 sea beach ; there are no muscles on this part of the coast 
 here, however, we received a good supper of /hash, or 
 pudding, and rested our wearied limbs under the tent 
 with our masters. | 
 
 October the 22d, we went forward, driving our own 
 camels only : as Hassar had taken the young one, we had 
 but three remaining ; so we rode by turns, crossing the 
 deep hollows which had been worn down by the rains or 
 other causes, until afternoon, when we were forced to 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 147 
 
 have recourse to the sea beach to get past one of these 
 deep places, whose sides were so steep as to render a 
 passage down it impracticable. When we gained the 
 beach, we found ourselves on a narrow strip of land, 
 which was then dry, the tide being out ; this extended 
 in length eight or ten miles, but from the water’s edge 
 to the perpendicular cliffs on our right, not more than 
 ten yards : these cliffs appeared to be one hundred and 
 fifty feet in height. When we came to the sea water, I 
 went into it, and let a surf wash over me, that I might 
 once more feel its refreshing effects ; but my master, 
 fearing I should be carried away by the receding waves, 
 told me not to go near them again. As we proceeded 
 along this narrow beach, and had passed over half its 
 length, the huge cliffs overhanging us on our right, with 
 i the ocean on our left — -just as we were turning a point, 
 
 ! we observed four men, armed each with a musket and 
 scimitar, spring from beneath the jutting rocks, to inter- 
 cept our march. Our masters were at this time on the 
 ' camels, but they instantly leaped off, at the same time 
 unsheathing their guns: to retreat would betray fear, and 
 lead to inevitable destruction — so they determined to ad- 
 vance, two against four, and Sidi Hamet, though still in 
 so weak a state as to be thought incapable of walking 
 before he saw these men, now ran towards them with his 
 i musket in his hand, while Seid, that cruel coward, lag- 
 ged behind — so true it is, that the most generous and 
 [ humane men are always the most courageous. The foe 
 ; was but a few paces from us, and stood in a line across 
 the beach. Sidi Hamet, holding his gun ready to fire, 
 demanded if it was peace ? while he eyed their counte- 
 nances to see if they were deceitful : one of them answer- 
 ed, “ it is peace,” and extended his hand to receive that 
 of Sidi Hamet, who gave him his right hand, suspecting 
 no treachery ; but the fellow grasped it fast, and would 
 have shot him and Seid in a moment, but at that critical 
 juncture, two of Hassar’s men came in sight, running 
 like the wind towards us, with each a double barrelled gun 
 in his hand, all ready to fire ; the robbers saw them as 
 they turned the point, and the fellow who had seized Sidi 
 Harriet’s hand, instantly let it go, turning the affair off 
 
148 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 with a loud laugh, and saying he only did it to frightei 
 him : this excuse was deemed satisfactory, merely be 
 cause our men did not now feel themselves sufficiently 
 strong to resent this insult, and we proceeded on : bu 
 these fellows, who were very stout and active, hoveret 
 around us, slaves, endeavouring to separate us from oui 
 masters, as it appeared, in the hope of seizing on us a* 
 their own, which Sidi Hamet observing, ordered me wit! 
 my men to keep close to the camels’ heels, while he and 
 his company (now strong, though none of them armed 
 with scimitars) kept between us and the banditti. When 
 they found that our masters were too vigilant for them, 
 they took French leave of us, and ran along the beach 
 with incredible swiftness, chasing each other, and taking 
 up and throwing stones, that I should’ suppose would 
 weigh from six to eight pounds, with a jerk that made; 
 them whiz through the air like cannon balls : they threw 
 them against the cliffs of rocks, which resounded with! 
 the blow, and many of the stones were dashed to pieces 
 as they struck. I could see the marks they aimed at, and 
 that the stones went with great precision, as well as force., 
 I had before no idea that it was possible for men to ac- 
 quire by practice such enormous power of arm ; for they 
 threw these stones with such velocity, that I am con- 1 
 vinced they would have killed a man at the distance of 
 fifty yards at least. 
 
 Having come to the end of the beach, we ascended the 
 bank again, leaving these formidable ruffians masters of 
 the shore, where they, no doubt, got some plunder be- 
 fore they left it. After we had mounted the bank and 
 were clear, Sidi Hamet told me that the fellows we had 
 met were very bad men, and would have killed him and 
 Seid, aqd would have taken us away where I could never 
 have hoped to see my wife and children again, if the 
 great God had not at that time sent to our relief the two 
 men : he then asked if I would fight to save his life ? I 
 told him I would, and that no one should kill him while 
 I was alive, if it was in my power to prevent it : “ Good 
 Riley, (said he,) you are worth fighting for ; God is with 
 yon, or I must have lost my life there,” 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 149 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 I ^ome fresh fish are procured — They pass several small 
 walled villages , and meet with robbers on horseback. 
 
 Near evening we met and passed a man driving an 
 5S laden with fish, probably of from ten to twelve pounds 
 /eight each : they had much the shape and appearance 
 if f salmon, and our masters endeavoured to procure one 
 •om the owner for me, as I gave them to understand I 
 n /as very fond of fish, and that it would be good for 
 lurns, but the man would not part with one of them on 
 ay terms. At evening we found Hassar’s and his fami- 
 ps tents already pitched on a little hill near the cliffs, and 
 i /e joined this company. Soon after, Seid, Abdallah, 
 nd two of Hassar’s men, went out with their guns : — 
 1 about two hours, those with us, namely, Sidi Harriet, 
 lassar, and two others, hearing footsteps approaching, 
 Jeized their muskets, and springing forward from their 
 :e ;nts, demanded, who came there ? It was Seid and his 
 : ompany, who came towards me, and unfolding a blanket, 
 eii jrned out four large fish of the same kind we had seen 
 itlefore. “ Riley, (said Sidi Hamet,) are these good to 
 Jat?” I answered in the affirmative — “ take them and 
 at them, then, (said he,) but be careful not to choke 
 ii/ourselves with the bones.” I took three of them, cut 
 hem into pieces, and put them into an earthen pot that 
 telonged to Hassar, (this pot the Arabs call giderah ,} 
 dded some water, and boiled them directly, and we ate 
 ill we were satisfied. We drank the soup, which was 
 xtremely grateful and invigorating, and helped to check 
 he dysentery, with which we were all much troubled 
 ince eating the honey-comb. We had travelled this day, 
 think, about forty miles, and slept at night within a 
 ;ircle formed by our masters and their camels, out of 
 vhich we were not suffered to go, as Sidi Hamet told' 
 ne there were many robbers in this place, who would 
 eize on us, and carry us off in a minute, without the 
 jossibility of my ever being restored to my family. 
 
150 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 October 21st, at day break, we set forward on oi 
 journey, all in company, (except Hassar and the worm 
 and children.) The fresh fish we had eaten the night bi 
 fore, had made us very thirsty ; and about noon we can 
 to a kind of cistern, or reservoir of water, on the pathw; 
 side : this reservoir was built of stone and lime ; its tc 
 was arched like a vault, rising about four feet from tl 
 ground, and the cistern was at least eighty feet in lengt 
 eight or ten feet in breadth in the inside, and appeared 
 be twenty feet deep. It was now nearly full of wate 
 which had been led into it by means of gutters, forme 
 and arranged so as to receive and conduct the rain wat 
 when it descends from the neighbouring hills, and is cc 
 lected in a stream in this valley. I understood this wat 1 
 was the common property of all travellers along this rout i 
 and that the cistern was built by a very rich and pioi 1 
 man, solely for the purpose of refreshing the weary travel 
 ler, and that it contained water the whole year rouni 
 even though there should be a continued drought for s 
 twelvemonth ; but no person of our party ventured! 
 water his camel from it, considering it as sacred for tl 
 use of man alone. We were still travelling on the slop 
 between the first and second banks of the sea, which it 
 these parts was much cut up, occasioned by the watei 
 which had from time to time poured down from the neigl 
 bouring mountains, and formed steep and very deep gu 
 lies, across which we were obliged to climb. The pat! 
 on this inclined plane >vas not much frequented, and tl 
 margin of the bank on our right hand had been newll 
 ploughed in many places here and there, in the nooks cl 
 fertile hollows. On the high lands we saw two sma 
 walled towns, with prickly-pear bushes planted aroun 
 them. Near these towns or walled villages, some me 
 were employed in ploughing with a pair of beasts, gene 
 rally a cow and an ass yoked together in a very singula 
 manner, which I shall hereafter describe, and others wer 
 watching flocks of sheep and goats on the surroundin: 
 eminences, while the women were seen lugging dow: 
 w r ood on their backs from the tops of the lofty hills, an< 
 large jars or pitchers of water from a distant valley. The; 
 generally had a child on their backs, clinging with its arm 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 151 
 
 :mnd the neck of the mother, and the jar or pitcher rest- 
 d on their shoulders in a manner that reminded me of 
 ie story of the beautiful Rebekah, in holy writ, coming 
 i the well with her pitcher. 
 
 About noon, we came near a considerable walled vil- 
 jge, that stood close by the road ; it had gardens close 
 1/ the walls on all sides, and there was one near the gate- 
 ay planted with prickly-pear. These gardens were de- 
 nded by heaps of dry thorn bushes, which served as an 
 itward defence to the town : these heaps were about six 
 et high, and the walls fifteen feet. Our masters stopped 
 ;ar the gate for some moments, and no one seemed dis- 
 used to give them a drink of water, contenting them- 
 Ives with gazing at them over the walls ; so on they 
 ent, cursing the inhospitality of these villagers. Near 
 ght we descended into a delightful valley, whose bottom 
 as level and well disposed into handsome gardens, fenced 
 I: with thorn bushes and stone walls, and divided into 
 jmerous separate plots. Round about them, and at their 
 arners, stood many fine fig-trees, which looked healthy, 
 
 1i lOugh they were leafless, owing to the lateness of the 
 ason : we saw also a few pomegranate-trees. These 
 ardens or plots were planted with different kinds of vege- 
 bles, such as turnips, cabbage, onions, &c. ; they were 
 atered by a small stream that flowed from the hills at a 
 lort distance above, and was conducted round and through 
 ie whole of them by gutters dug for that purpose. 
 
 The owners of these gardens lived in two little walled 
 illages, near the top of the bank on the east side, but 
 ley offered us no refreshment. We passed in the course 
 ? the day, three beds of streams or rivers, which were 
 aw dry, and one whose mouth was filled with sand, so 
 ; to stop its communication with the sea, though there 
 as some water in it, where people from all quarters were 
 atering their cows, sheep, goats, asses, and camels, and 
 irrying it off in skins and pitchers. In the afternoon, a 
 ampany of ten men on horseback, and well armed, rode 
 wards us on the plain, making a loud jingling with their 
 aurs against their stirrups, and crying out, Hah ! hah ! 
 ah ! hah ! Our company consisted of our two masters, 
 ad two of Hassar’s men, Abdallah, and one stranger, 
 
152 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 who had joined us that day ; and being armed with fi: 
 double barrelled muskets, and some scimitars, they 
 spuang from their camels on the approach of the strange 
 drew their guns from their sheaths, primed them ane 
 and took a station in front of their property, -in a li 
 ready for action. 
 
 The horsemen rode up to within five yards of our m 
 at full speed, and then stopped their horses short. I e 
 pected now to see a battle, though I rather feared our m 
 would be trampled to death by the horses ; for their arr 
 could not have saved them from the shock of this impeti 
 ous onset, yet they were on the point of firing the mome 
 the horses stopped. The chief of the horsemen then d 
 manded, in a very imperious tone, who our masters wen 
 where they came from ? if they knew Sidi Ishem ? wh 
 countrymen we, their slaves, were ? and where they h; 
 found us ? Sidi Hamet replied to all their questions in 
 sharp quick manner, and as briefly as possible, and in li 
 turn demanded, “ who are you ? where do you con 
 from ? and, what right have you to ride up to me in su< 
 a manner, and stop me and my slaves on the road ?” Th 
 is as near as I could understand what they said. A Ion 
 dispute was kept up on both sides for half an hour, wh( 
 it ceased, and we were allowed to proceed ; while tlj 
 others rode off to the southward among the mountain 
 The force on both sides was so nearly equal, that I hay 
 little doubt this was the only circumstance that prevente 
 a battle. 
 
 We travelled on till long after dark, when we came to 
 number of tents, and stopped for the night, and here \\ 
 were treated with some dried muscles and barley puddim 
 Hassar and his family had not travelled with us the la: 
 day, but the two men who had assisted in relieving i j 
 from our critical situation on the beach, were in companj 
 and we had also been joined by one more Arab, and tw 
 camels. Ever since we had come to the cultivated cour 
 try off the desert, we had found the people sickly ; man 
 of them were afflicted with swelled legs, and some wit 
 what I took to be the leprosy ; and also with pains in dii 
 ferent parts of their bodies and limbs ; though when o 
 the desert we did not see the smallest sign of sickness o 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 153 
 
 tisorder among its inhabitants. They now considered us 
 |s skilled in medicine, and consulted me wherever I came; 
 lie of the women here had a swelled breast, which was 
 stonishingly large, and very much inflamed : she was in 
 uch pain as to cry out at every breath. They wished me 
 o examine it, and prescribe a remedy, which I did by 
 
 i ecommending a poultice of the barley /hash , or pudding, 
 a be applied, and renewed often until the swelling should 
 
 ■ubside or burst. The woman was very thankful, gave 
 :i he a drink of water and a handful of muscles, and re- 
 uested I would examine a swelled leg of her brother ; 
 n his was also inflamed, and very painful : — perceiving no 
 kin broken, I directed a thick plaster of coarse salt to be 
 a iound round it, so as fully to cover the afflicted part ; this 
 iev did immediately, and the man thought he felt instan- 
 tneous relief. 
 
 ii From the great expedition we had used, I think we 
 
 i iust have travelled this day about fifty miles, as we were 
 Imost continually on the camels, and they going a great 
 art of the time on a trot. In the afternoon of this day, 
 we discovered land that was very high, a good way east- 
 ward of us, stretching about north as far as the eye could 
 -ach. We saw it when on a high hill and at an immense 
 istance ; looking over the ocean, which was near us, it 
 ppeared like a high and distant island : “ There is Swea- 
 
 I th, Riley,” said Sidi Hamet, pointing to the northern- 
 lost land in view : it was a great way off. I asked him 
 ow many days it would take us to get there ? He answer- 
 d, “ Ten, at our slow pace.” 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 Vheir masters commit an error , which they are compelled 
 to redress— Sidi Hamet and his brother Seid Jhght— 
 Horace"' s critical situation — They come to villages. 
 
 October the 23d, we were awakened without making 
 ny noise, two hours before daylight, and went on out 
 ourney. I suspected there was some roguery goine on, 
 
 20 ' ‘ ' 
 
154 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 because we had never before started in the night ; and v 
 had not travelled more than two leagues, when, just at tl 
 dawn of day, we heard the sound of horses’ feet comir; 
 up at full speed behind us : the clanking of the arms 
 their riders against each other, and spurs against their sti 
 rups, made a great noise. Our masters stripped the cove 
 from their guns, and gave them to me to carry. Tl 
 horsemen, four in number, came up by this time, ar 
 passing us at a short distance on our right, rode rour 
 before our camels and stopped them. Our men were fit 
 in number, with four double barrelled guns ; and biddin 
 me to keep as close to them as possible with my mei 
 they ran at their greatest spepd to the encounter, whil 
 we followed on as fast as we could, fearing to be separate 
 from them, (as it was still quite dark,) and falling into tl 
 hands of the banditti. They approached each other wii 
 loud cries ; the voices of those on horseback sounded lit 
 trumpets, and those of our masters were very little lowe 
 so that the mountains near rang again with the sound, 
 expected every moment a slaughter would commence 
 each one strained his throat to speak, or rather to ye 
 louder than his opponents. I had approached near m 
 master, and could distinctly hear one of the horsemen a< 
 cuse him of a breach of hospitality, and reproach him i 
 the most opprobrious terms, for some wrong which 1: 
 alleged had been done to him ; the others were at the sarr 
 time wrangling with our other men. This war of wore 
 having subsided a little, one of them asked my mast< 
 his name, and after considerable delay on account < 
 punctillio, (each insisting that the other should tell h 
 name first,) my master told him his name was Sidi Harriet 
 the other then said his name was All Mohammed : — the 
 ensued a long dispute between them, they mutuall 
 charging each other with perfidy, &c. During this intei 
 val, and as daylight appeared, our adversaries gaine 
 strength, for they were joined by many armed and unanr 
 ed men, running on foot, and according as they increase 
 in force, our party lowered their tone ; but the clamou 
 was still so loud that I frequently could understand nothin; 
 of what was said. The Arab who had joined our com 
 panv with two camels the day before, did not set out wit 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 155 
 
 ills this morning, but he now came running up : our mas- 
 ers had driven off his camels, and this was the cause of 
 he uproar that was now raging. The purloined camels 
 vere then in our drove, and while the others were quar- 
 elling about the matter, the owner ran round and drove 
 - lis camels back. When our honest masters found they 
 :ould not keep what they had feloniously taken, they began 
 o lower their voices. By this time the sun had made its 
 
 I ippearance, and for two hours prior I had every moment 
 , ixpected a bloody scuffle. 1 knew our masters were 
 J orave, but I had no doubt they would be overpowered by 
 
 lumbers, in which event we should fall to the lot of the 
 
 II ;onquerors, who were strangers to us ; and it was not 
 irobable that these men would be as humane to us as Sidi 
 Hamet had been ; nor was I indeed certain that we our- 
 selves should not be killed in the contest, both parties 
 aeing much enraged. I felt our situation to be dreadful 
 ndeed ; but at length Sidi Hamet spoke to Ali Moham- 
 med in a low tone of voice, and requested he would ride 
 apart from the others with him, with which he complied 
 and they came near where I sat, trembling with apprehen- 
 sion. Sidi Hamet now told Ali that his party had not the 
 least intention of driving off any camels but their own, 
 
 w and that the mistake had been occasioned entirely by the 
 
 ( darkness of the night. He then went on protesting that 
 he was incapable of committing an unworthy action ; that 
 he abhorred a robber and a thief, and that as he was entire - 
 : ly innocent of intentionally driving off the man’s camels, 
 he would not acknowledge he had done wrong designedly, 
 but would rather lose his life in maintaining his character, 
 and would sell it as dearly as possible. Ali Mohammed 
 on this appeared to be satisfied, and said to him, “ I am 
 el Rais, (the chief,) and am your friend, because you are 
 a brave man so making Sidi Hamet’s excuse to those 
 about him, and the lost camels being recovered, they left 
 us to pursue our journey. 
 
 We had gone up from the sea-board, and were passing 
 between high mountains towards the southeast, Avhen the 
 late affray happened, but about noon we reached a plain, 
 and took an eastern direction. Hassar’s men with their 
 camels, and Abdallah with his camel, now filed oft' to the 
 
i56 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 left, leaving us with our masters and their own camel 
 only, and were soon out of sight among the bushes. Th 
 mortifying result of the morning’s enterprise, had renderei 
 Seid uncommonly ill natured: he had claimed Horace a 
 his slave from the very beginning, and Mr. Savage als< 
 belonged to him. He had always doubted my word to hi s 
 brother, and would not believe that a miserable wretcl 
 like me could find a friend to advance money for my ran 
 som, though both he, Hassar, and -all the company, hat; 
 a high opinion of mv courage, since I put my own life ii 
 jeopardy to save that of Mr. Savage, at the time he faint 
 cd : — Seid had endeavoured to sell his slaves at evert 
 place we came to, after leaving the desert. Hassar, a: 
 well as others, took a particular fancy to Horace, and hac 
 offered a large sum for him in camels and other merchant 
 dise, but the interference of Sidi Hamet, who had sworri 
 that Horace should not be separated from me, aided by 
 my often renewed entreaties and my tears, whenever 1 
 heard it suggested, had saved him thus far. As we wen 
 now approaching the Moorish dominions, powerful chiefs 
 with large bodies of armed men intent on plunder, wen 
 riding about and scouring the country in every direction, 
 and Seid had come to a determination to take his slaves 
 and make the most of them. Seid was a younger brothei 
 of Sidi Hamet, and had, until now, submitted in some 
 degree to his counsel, though they had many slight quar- 
 rels at different periods of the journey. Where we stopped! 
 the preceding, night, the Arabs strove hard to get pos- 
 session of Horace. Seid had, to my knowledge, made 
 a bargain to sell him in the morning, but was dissuaded 
 from fulfilling it by his brother. 
 
 We, slaves, were now five in all, travelling on foot, 
 but moving forward very slowly, for we were worn to the 
 bones by our various and complicated sufferings. It 
 seemed that the breath of hope alone had kept the vital 
 spark from being totally extinguished. Sidi Hamet was 
 riding on his big camel before us, when Seid ordered us 
 to halt, but the other desired us to come on ; upon which 
 Seid laid hold of Mr. Savage and Horace, and stopped 
 them. It was now that Sidi Hamet’s wrath was kindled — * 
 he leaped from his camel, and darting like lightning up to 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 157 
 
 Jeid, laid hold of him and disengaged Mr. Savage and 
 ■ Iorace from his grasp. They clinched each other like 
 . ons, and with fury in their looks, each strove to throw 
 he other to the ground. Seid was the largest and stoutest 
 a an ; they writhed and twined in every shape until both 
 fell, but Sidi Hamet was undermost : fire seemed to flash 
 rom their eyes, whilst they twisted around each other 
 ke a couple of serpents, until at length Sidi Hamet, by 
 j uperior activity or skill, disengaged himself from his 
 : mother’s grasp, and both sprang up on their feet. In- 
 m tantly they snatched their muskets at the same moment, 
 nd each retiring a few paces with great rapidity and indig- 
 
 J iation, tore the cloth covers from their guns, and pre- 
 ented them at each other’s breast with dreadful fury : — 
 hey were not more than ten yards asunder, and both 
 nust have fallen dead, had they fired. Horror had seized 
 
 I .nd chilled my blood, so that I could neither get from 
 hem, nor move, indeed, in any direction. My mind 
 fvas filled with inexpressible apprehensions — “ My God, 
 :i|I cried aloud,) have mercy on these unfortunate brothers, 
 eif. pray thee, for our sakes, and suffer them not to spill 
 |:aclt other’s blood.” In the midst of this ejaculation, I 
 was started by the report of two muskets, and imagined 
 hat both the brothers had fallen ; but on turning my eyes 
 
 I igain to this direful scene, I perceived that Sidi Hamet 
 lad fired the contents of both his barrels into the air, 
 having had a moment’s reflection, whilst priming and 
 locking his piece. He now threw it on the ground, then 
 making bare his bosom, he advanced with a firm step to- 
 wards Seid, and with an energetic voice exclaimed, “ I 
 am now unarmed, fire ! your brother’s heart is ready to 
 receive your balls ; glut your vengeance on your bene- 
 factor.” He stopped short : Seid hesitated. Mr. Savage 
 and Horace were near Seid, who threatened them with 
 instant death if they moved. Sidi Hamet, finding his 
 brother’s mind wavered, ran to Horace, and sent him to- 
 wards me, telling his brother, he should have Clark in 
 Horace’s stead, whom he ordered to come near ; but Seid 
 would not consent to the exchange, whereupon my master 
 added Burns ; that is, two for one. Seid had made Mr. 
 Savage sit down, and had placed one of his feet on his 
 
158 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 thigh, to keep him there ; while his brother ordered m 
 to go with Horace, first to the south and then to the east 
 ward, following the camels ; still resolving that we shoul< 
 not be separated, and bade Mr. Savage follow us ; bu 
 Seid, presenting his gun, told him if he offered to go, h 
 would blow his brains out. As Sidi Hamet, however 
 bade him run, he obeyed, and when he came near me w 
 were all ordered to stop, and our masters seated themselve 
 on the ground to settle the dispute by figuring on the san< 
 with their fingers. Here they calculated it every way 
 Clark and Burns were again offered for Horace, but Sei( 
 would not take them ; he would keep the slave he hac 
 bought with his money. “ You shall not separate hin 
 from his father, (said my master,) I have sworn it.’ 
 
 “ Then I will destroy him,” exclaimed Seid furiously 1 
 and springing up, he seized Horace by the breast ant 
 dashed him on the ground with all his might. The forc< 
 of the blow beat the breath from his body, and he lay 
 stretched out apparently dead. Overwhelmed with tht 
 most heart-rending emotions, I sank to the earth in ar 
 agony of despair. My master, observing my anguish, 
 said, “ Go, Riley,” pointing to the east. With tears and 
 sobs, I told him I could go, for Horace, my son, wa; 
 dead. After a flood of tears had relieved my swelling 
 heart, I reflected that it was useless to bewail the fate of my 
 adopted child, as I did not know how soon it might be 
 my turn to suffer a similar, or perhaps a more cruel death. 
 Seid’s passion now began to subside a little, and my mas-; 
 ter then went to Horace, and taking him by the hands, 
 raised him upon his seat : his breath returned, and he re- 
 vived. Sidi Hamet melted into tears at the sight : I saw 
 the big drops roll down his cheeks, while in a tender tone 
 he said to Horace, “ Go to Riley.” The spot where his 
 head fell happened to be clear of stones, which entirely i 
 covered the ground on every side, otherwise his brains 
 must have been dashed out. I went up to him as quick as 1 
 I could, and folding him in my arms, asked him if he 
 was much hurt ; but being in great pain, and his breath- 
 ing being not yet perfectly restored, he was incapable of 
 answering me : his heart, however, was in, unison with 
 mine, in thanking the Author of our being that his life 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 159 
 
 ,vas spared, and in imploring his future protection. Our 
 masters again seated themselves, in order to discuss this 
 tffair thoroughly, and began to speak very loud, when, 
 ortunately for us, some strangers came in sight, which 
 eminded them that their united force was necessary for 
 he defence of themselves and their property ; so they 
 greed to seek a village, and take counsel as to what was 
 >est to be done. 
 
 Then turning to our left up a hill, we soon came in 
 ight of a village, and entered it by passing between high 
 vails. Having come to its farther extremity, an old, but 
 , very respectable locking man, (a Moor,) of a light olive 
 olour, came out of his gate, and welcomed our masters, 
 aluting them, (as is customary,) and seeing us behind, 
 old us to sit down in a shade formed by his wall, and 
 est ourselves ; adding, “ I will give you some food.” 
 ■Ye accordingly all seated ourselves, and while the food 
 vas preparing, our host inquired much about me and my 
 , nen, and wished to know how I could make myself un- 
 derstood, (being a Christian.) Our owners told him all 
 >ur stories, together with my promises, which they made 
 
 S ue repeat in his presence. They wanted again to know 
 a what my property consisted ; if I had any money in my 
 >wn country, or a house ; how much money, how many 
 lorses, cows, sheep, goats, asses, camels, &c. ; and last- 
 y, what number of wives and children I had. Having 
 nswered all these interrogations to their satisfaction, they 
 nade me tell what Mr. Savage, Horace, Clark, and Bums, 
 rere worth to me ; how much property I thought they had 
 a their own country ; and our host, who spoke a few 
 vords of broken Spanish, asked me if Swearah was not 
 :alled Mogdola by the English ? I answered in the aflirma- 
 ive : — this was the first time I had heard this name men- 
 ioned on this continent, though I had endeavoured, by 
 nquiring of all the people I had spoken with, to ascertain 
 he point ; but it appeared they had never heard of the 
 lame. One bowl of boiled barley unhulled, was brought 
 >ut to our masters, and one for us — this last was a very 
 arge one, and the old host told us to eat, saying, “ Coole , 
 few,” (eat, captain.) We had now before us, for the 
 irst time, enough of this food, and falling too with keen 
 
160 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 appetites, we filled our stomachs, and were satisfies 
 leaving some in the bowl, which they tried hard to mall 
 us finish, but we could not. Sidi Hamet would not tru: 
 himself again with his brother, without having some pei 
 son in company to take his part ; so he hired a stout youn 
 fellow, named Bo-Mohammed, to go along with us t 
 another place or village, not far distant, and we set off fc ; 
 it, travelling at first down towards the sea-coast, and pass 
 ing along a kind of sandy beach where the salt water flowe 
 in at high tides: we saw there, under the side of a shelvin' 
 rock, two boiling springs of fresh water, which formed 
 considerable stream. This was the first spring I had see 
 in this country, and having taken a good drink and watei; 
 ed our camels, we proceeded toward the southeast amon 
 sands that had drifted from the sea- beach ; there we rt 
 mainecl until it was nearly dark, our masters fearing, as i 
 were, to go forward. About dark we resumed our course | 
 and soon afterwards arrived at a village, where, while th 
 barking of numerous dogs announced to their owners th 
 arrival of strangers, a grave looking man came out, an 
 silencing the curs, bade our masters welcome, and invite 
 both them and us to sit down near his walls, until h 
 should prepare some supper. We had no desire, liowev 
 er, for food, some of us having oppressed our stomach' 
 to such a degree with the boiled barley, as to be rack© 
 with pain, and scarce able to breathe, particularly Mi 
 Savage. Our present host, (whose name I soon learn© 
 was Sidi Mohammed,,) after causing a mat to be spreat 
 near his wall, seated himself and our masters thereon, ant 
 desired me to come and do the same. He now mad 
 similar enquiries to those made by the former persons w 
 had met, and I satisfied his curiosity as well as I could 
 He then informed me he had been many times in Swearah 
 and had seen the consuls, and wished me to repeat mi 
 promise to Sidi Hamet, which I did. He had a lamp fo 
 a light, so that he could see every motion that 1 made wel 
 enough to comprehend me entirely. By this time somt 
 cakes had been baked, which were presented to our mas 
 ters, and of which they gave us some : these cakes wen 
 made of barley meal, ground coarse ; yet it was bread 
 and it being the first we had seen, we ate a little of it 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 161 
 
 i hough our stomachs were not yet prepared to enjoy the 
 , reat. After they had eaten and washed their hands and 
 bet, and talked over their affairs, Sidi Hamet anain called 
 le to him, and told me he should set out in the morning 
 )r Swearah, in company with our host, Sidi Mohammed, 
 ■here he hoped, with God’s blessing, to arrive in three 
 ays, for he should travel on a mule, ( bugelah ,) and push 
 b night and day : that I must write a letter to my friend, 
 hich he would carry ; and, said he, “ if your friend will 
 ilfil your engagements, and pay the money for you and 
 our men, you shall be free — if not, you must die for 
 iving deceived me, and your men shall be sold for what 
 ey will bring. I have fought for you, (added he,) have 
 tffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue, to restore you to your 
 imily, for I believe God is with you. I have paid away 
 my money on your word alone. Seid and Bo-Moham- 
 ed will stay and guard you during my absence : they 
 ill give you as much khobs (bread) and /hash (pudding) 
 you can eat ; so go and sleep till morning.” This 
 ght was spent on my part in a state of anxiety not easy 
 conceive : — to whom should I write ? I knew nobody 
 Mogadore, and yet I must take my chance. I remem - 
 red my remarkable dream — it had literally come to pass 
 us far — why should I doubt its whole accomplishment ; 
 1 1 could not rest. 
 
 ; 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 me author -writes a letter — Sidi Hamet sets out with it 
 'll for Swearah — The arrival of Sheick AH, an extraor- 
 dinary character. 
 
 Early the next morning we were called up, and di- 
 nted to go within the gates. My master said to me, 
 f Ilome, Riley, write a letter,” giving me at the same 
 t re a scrap of paper, not so wide as my hand, and about 
 e ;ht inches long ; he had also got a little black staining 
 iiuid and a reed to write with. I now begged hard to 
 t taken along with him, but he would not consent, 
 
 21 
 
162 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 though I told him I would leave my son, whom I love 
 more than myself, behind me as an hostage, and thrc 
 men ; but all Would not do, the thing was determined oi 
 He then told me, that what I had agreed to give him w; 
 not sufficient; that I must tell my friend, in the letter, 
 pay two hundred dollars for myself, two hundred f< 
 Horace, two hundred for Aaron, one hundred and sixl 
 for Clark, and the same for Burns, adding, that I hs I 
 promised him a good double barrelled gun, and 1 ml! 
 give him that, and one to Seid also. “ Seid is a bad ma j 
 (said he,) but helped to save your life, and must have 1 
 gun.” So I took the reed, and wrote on the slip of pape 
 as near as I can recollect, the following letter. 
 
 u SIR, 
 
 “The brig Commerce, from Gibraltar for Americ|| 
 was wrecked on Cape Bajador, on the 28th August las 
 myself and four of my crew are here nearly naked, 
 barbarian slavery ; I conjure you by all the ties that bit 
 man to man, by those of kindred blood, and every thii 
 you hold most dear, and by as much as liberty is dear 
 than life, to advance the money required for our redem! 
 tion, which is nine hundred and twenty dollars, and ti 
 double barrelled guns. I can draw for . any amount, t 
 moment I am at liberty, on Batard, Sampson & Shar 
 London — Cropper & Benson, Liverpool — Munro & Bv 
 ton, Lisbon, or on Horatio Sprague, Gibraltar. Shou 
 you not relieve me, my life must instantly pay the forfe; 
 I leave a wife and five helpless children to deplore n 
 death. My companions are Aaron R. Savage, Hora 
 Savage, James Clark, and Thomas Burns. I left s 
 more in slavery on the desert. My present master, S:| 
 Hamet, will hand you this, and tell you where we are 
 he is a worthy man. Worn down to the bones by t; 
 most dreadful of all sufferings' — naked and a slave, I i> 
 plore your pity, and trust that such distress will not : 
 suffered to plead in vain. For God’s sake, send an inti' 
 preter and a guard for us, if that is possible. I spe: 
 French and Spanish. 
 
 James Riley, late Master and 
 Supercargo of the brig Commerce 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 163 
 
 While I was writing the above, they procured an ad- 
 ditional scrap of paper, being a part of a Spanish bill of 
 
 I ading, on which I wrote a part of my letter, that could 
 iot be written legibly on the first scrap. Having folded 
 hem up, I directed them to the “ English, French, Spam 
 Ish, or American consuls, or any Christian merchants in 
 . dogadore or Swearah.” I purposely omitted mentioning 
 hat we were Americans, because I did not know that 
 here was an American agent there, and I had no doubt of 
 ‘ here being an English consul or agent in that place. My 
 naster was hurrying me while I was writing, and both 
 ie and my host, Seid, and the young man, and many 
 ithers who stood bv, were surprised to see me make the 
 Arabic numerals ; for the characters we use in arithmetic 
 re no other than the real ancient Arabic figures, which 
 ave served them for thousands of years ; they remarked 
 o each other that I must have been a slave before to some 
 Arabian, who had taught me the use of them, contrary 
 o their law, because he had found me to be a smart ac- 
 tive fellow. ■ My master taking my letter, then mounted 
 :>ne mule, and Sidi Mohammed another, and rode of: 
 pgether very fast to the east. 
 
 I We remained here seven days, during which time they 
 :ept us shut up in the yard in the day time, where the 
 ows, sheep, and asses rested, and at night they locked 
 is up in a dreary cellar. Seid and Bo- Mohammed guard- 
 d us all the day, not because they feared we would at- 
 tempt to escape, but because some of the neighbouring 
 People might steal and run off with us, and in the night 
 ime they lay on their arms outside the door, to prevent 
 surprise. We had as much barley bread twice a da}' 
 
 I s we wanted, lhash once a day, and plenty of water. 
 
 Phis food, though palatable, produced and kept up a 
 jontinual dysentery ; our bowels seemed to ferment like 
 >eeip and we were tortured with cholics. Our numerous 
 ■ores had now time to heal, and our bodies became most- 
 y skinned over before our masters returned ; but the 
 lemorrhoids distressed us extremely. All the inhabitants 
 vho lived near, and all those who heard that Christians 
 vere in the place, (for they call all Europeans Christians,) 
 :ame to see us. Some were very familiar, and all wished 
 
164 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 to know if we were mechanics: from that circumstano 
 I concluded that mechanics were very much wanted, am 
 of great importance among these people, and that ther 
 would be no possibility of getting clear of them, if one 
 they should find out our usefulness in that way. I there 
 fore told them that we were all brought up sailors fron 
 our childhood, and knew no other business. One trie 
 to make me lay out and hew a pair of posts for a door ti 
 a house that was building within the walls of the village 
 and gave me a line to measure the length of them, am 
 tried to teach me to span it off; but I would not under; 
 stand him. They next put a kind of adze into my hand 
 and bade me fit the posts in. I took the tool, and bega; 
 to cut at random, gouging out apiece here, and splittin 
 it there, doing more hurt than good ; and, at the sam 
 time, by my awkward and clumsy manner, taking car 
 to make them believe that I could do no better. Som 
 were satisfied that I had done my very best, but by far th 
 greater part of them were of opinion that a smart applica 
 tion of the whip would put my mechanical powers int 
 complete operation, and I really expected they would ap 
 ply this stimulus ; for one of them ran and fetched a ston 
 stick, and was about to lay it on, when Bo-Mohammed 
 who represented Sidi Hamet, interfered and saved m 
 from a cudgelling. Mr. Savage, Clark, Burns, and Horace 
 were each tried in their turns, who, following my instruc 
 tions, were soon relieved from all further requisition 
 From this circumstance it is evident, that the less usefn 
 a Christian makes himself when a slave to the Arabs, es 
 pecially in a mechanical way, the less value they will se 
 upon him, and he will not only have a chance of gettins 
 ransomed, but it may be effected on easier terms that 
 otherwise ; for I am fully convinced, that if we had showi 
 ourselves capable in those arts which the Arabs highfi 
 prize, such as carpenters, smiths, shoemakers, 8tc. &c 
 we should have been sold at high prices, and soon carrier 
 away beyond the possibility of redemption. 
 
 Four days after Sidi Hamet’s departure, some paper; 
 were shown to me by one of the men who lived in th< 
 neighbourhood, which I found, on examination, to be, 
 first, the register of the Spanish schooner Maria , issuet 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 165 
 
 |y the custom-house at Cadiz, in May 1814 ; second, a 
 1 ill of sale of the same schooner, made out at the island 
 F Grand Canary in 1812, of the same date with the regis- 
 r. Many articles of clothing that had belonged to her 
 *ew were also shown me ; and the topmast, jib-boom, 
 id other small spars of a vessel, served to support the 
 oor over our nightly prison. I made enquiries as far as 
 was possible, in order to find out something respecting 
 . lis vessel, which I presumed must have been wrecked 
 ear this place; and was informed that the preceding 
 ear a schooner anchored on this part of the coast to 
 itch fish, and to trade ; that these people found means 
 i get alongside of her in the night in boats, and after 
 illing the captain and three men, got possession of her ; 
 'hen having taken out the money and other valuables, 
 ley cut her cables, and ran her on shore : that they then 
 lade the surviving part of the crew assist in tearing the 
 /reck to pieces, and in carrying it up to build houses 
 nth. I asked how many people were on board her, and 
 /here the remainder of the crew were ; and was informed 
 y a serious looking old man, that it consisted of seven- 
 sen souls at first ; that four were slain in the conflict 
 /hen she was captured; that five more had died since, 
 ind that the remaining eight were a great way off to the 
 outheast, where they were employed in working on the 
 md and making houses. Others said, they had gone to 
 iwearah, and from thence to their own country ; but I 
 ould easily perceive by their looks that those poor fel- 
 ows had either been massacred, or were now held in 
 slavery, where neither the voice of liberty, nor the hand of 
 riendship, was ever likely to reach them. The people 
 lere, both old and young, could speak many words of 
 Spanish, though they did not know their meaning, but 
 nade use of them at a venture at all times — these were a 
 set of the very coarsest and most vulgar words the Span- 
 sh language affords, and had been uttered, no doubt, by 
 :>oor unfortunate slaves, natives of Spain, when they were 
 suffering the greatest misery, and when execrating these 
 savages. One young fellow spoke several words of Eng- 
 ish, such as “ good morning — good night,” &c. and was 
 Raster of a considerable list of curses. He one day 
 
166 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 came up to Mr. Savage, and said — “ button, cut it .wit 
 nif,” and at the same time laid hold of a button on h 
 pantaloons. Mr. Savage was very much surprised to hes 
 a language he could understand ; but these Avords and th 
 oaths and curses, constituted the Avhole of his Englis 
 education. Every person here had either a long knife c 
 a scimitar ahyays slung by his side. Among the resi 
 several negroes came to look at us, some of whom Aver, 
 slaves and some free, and they Avere all Mohammedans 
 these were allowed to sit on a mat beside our masters, an 
 make remarks on us as tve Avere placed among the fres 
 manure at a short distance. Seid desired to know Avh; 
 Ave called black men : I told him negroes ; at which narn 
 the negroes seemed very indignant, and much enraged. 
 
 On the sixth day of my master’s absence, a man ai 
 rived and took up his lodging with our guards : he wa 
 about six feet in height, and proportionably stout ; hi 
 colour was something betiveen that of a negro and a 
 Arab : when he came in he Avas saluted by Seid and th 
 others in company by the name of Sheick All, (or AS 
 the chief.) This man possessed talents of that superio 
 cast Avhich never fail to command the greatest respect, am 
 at the same time to inspire dread, atve, and reverence; 
 He appeared to be only a guest or visitor. In his deport 
 ment he was grave and dignified : he raised his voice 01 
 occasions terribly, and spoke in tones almost of thunder 
 yet when he Avished to please by condescension and court 
 esy, it thrilled on the ear like sounds of softest music 
 his manner and air were very commanding, and his Avholi 
 aspect and demeanour bore the stamp of the most daring 
 courage and unflinching firmness. He Avas the most elo- 
 quent man I had ever heard speak ; persuasion dwelt upoi 
 his tongue ; Avhile he spoke, all the company observer 
 the most profound silence, and Avith open mouths seemec 
 to inhale his honied sentences. He pronounced with the 
 most perfect emphasis ; the elegant cadence, so rnucli 
 admired in eastern oratory, seemed to have acquired netv 
 beauties from his manner of delivery : his articulation 
 Avas so clear and distinct, and his countenance and actions 
 so intelligent and expressive, that I could understand him 
 perfectly, though he spoke in the Arabic language. He 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA," 
 
 167 
 
 [Lvould settle all controverted points among the disputants 
 jtvhen applied to, in an instant, and yet with the utmost 
 >racefulness and dignity. This extraordinary chief was 
 ■ often conversing in a low tone of voice with Seid respect- 
 ing me and my men : he said he believed me to be a very 
 irtful fellow, and capable of any action either good or 
 Dad ; and said he did not doubt but my friends would 
 raise any sum of money that might be demanded for my 
 ansom. He regretted very much that he had not seen 
 3idi Hamet before he set out for Swearah, and concluded 
 :o remain with us until his return. He questioned me 
 very particularly as to my country, my friends, family, 
 aroperty, &c. ; he also wished to know all the story of 
 'jmy shipwreck, and was very curious to find out what 
 . quantity of money and what other property fell into the 
 hands of those who first met with us after the vessel was 
 wrecked, and what crime was committed to induce these 
 : Moslemin to kill Antonio. He next examined our bodies 
 til over, and on one of Clark’s arms his attention was ar- 
 rested by a cross, and several other marks of Christian 
 i insignia that had been pricked in with Indian ink, in the 
 manner of the Spanish and other sailors: the stain re- 
 mained entire, though the skin had many times been 
 ( changed, and now seemed drawn tight over the bone, 
 i This being a conclusive proof in the Sheick’s mind of 
 Christianity, he pronounced him “a Spaniard,” and said 
 he should not be redeemed, but must go to the mountains 
 and work with him. Every tiling that this man said, 
 seemed to carry with it a weight that bore down all oppb- 
 ■ sition. > N 
 
 We had, during Sidi Mamet’s absence, (after the fifth 
 day,) been in constant expectation of receiving news from 
 him, or that he himself would return, and our keepers 
 inquired of every stranger who came from the eastward, 
 if they had seen him, but obtained no news until the se- 
 venth day, when one of the most fierce and ill-looking 
 men I had ever beheld, approached the wall, and hailed 
 Seid by name, ordering him in an imperious tone to open 
 the gate directly. Seid demanded to know who he was : 
 he replied, Ullah Omar ; that he came from Swearah, and 
 had met Sidi Hamet near that place, who requested him 
 
163 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 to call and tell Seid where he was, and that God ha 
 prospered his journey so far. The gate was now opene< 
 and the stranger entered : he was of a dark complexioi 
 nearly six feet in height, and extremely muscular ; had : 
 long musket in his hand, a pair of horse pistols hangin 
 in his belt, and a scimitar and two long knives slung b 
 his sides, with the haick or blanket for a dress, and a larg 
 white turban on his head ; he had a pair of long iron spur: 
 which were fastened to his slippers of yellow Morocc 
 leather ; he rode a beautiful horse, which seemed fleet am 
 vigorous, and he appeared to be about forty years of age 
 This was the first man I had seen harnessed in this way 
 Sheick Ali knew him, and shook him most cordially b 
 tL hand, and after exchanging salutations all round, heat 
 ing I was the captain, he addressed me and told me h 
 had seen my friend, Sidi Hamet ; that he met him withii 
 one day’s ride of Swearah ; that he would no doubt h 
 here on the morrow, for that God had prospered his jour 
 ney on account of me ; and added, that he hoped mi 
 friend in Swearah or Mogdola would be as true to me a: 
 Sidi Hamet was : he then spoke to all my men, who 
 though they did not understand him, yet were rejoiced tc 
 hear through me, that there was a prospect of my master’s | 
 returning soon. This man had two powder horns slung 
 from his neck, and a pouch in which he carried a wooden 
 pipe and some tobacco, besides a plentiful supply of leaden 
 balls and slugs. My shipmates wanted some tobaccoi 
 very much, and I asked him for a little, upon which he 
 gave me a handful of very good tobacco, and seemed ex- 
 ceedingly pleased to have it in his power to administer 
 comfort to such miserable beings. I imagined from his 
 whole deportment that he resembled one of those high- i 
 spirited, heroic, and generous robbers, that are so admira- 
 bly described in ancient history. Seid furnished him with 
 some food, which I now learned they called cous-koo-soo, 
 with some slices of pumpion or squash spread over it in 
 the bowl, and well peppered. This dish, which is made 
 of small balls of flour, boiled with a fowl and vegetables, 
 looked (for I had not the pleasure of tasting it) like a 
 very nice dish. After they had washed, drank water, eaten, 
 washed again, and prayed together, Ullah Omay took his 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 169 
 
 ♦ leave. During the whole of the time we remained here, 
 our keepers washed themselves all over with water twice a 
 day, before mid-day and evening prayers, and always 
 washed their hands before and after eating. 
 
 The state of my mind, in the mean time, can be more 
 : [ easily conceived than described : during this day and the 
 next, which was the eighth, I longed to know my fate ; 
 ll |and yet I must own, I trembled at the thoughts of what 
 it might be, and at the conditions I had myself proposed 
 Hat my last purchase, and had so often since confirmed. If 
 jmy master should find no one who should be willing to 
 pay the money for my redemption, my fate was sealed. I 
 lliad already agreed to have my throat cut ! this could not 
 be prevented ; yet when I made this agreement I was 
 ! jaaked and on a vast and dreary desert, literally without a 
 skin ; my remaining flesh was roasted on my body ; not a 
 drop of fresh water to quench my burning thirst, nor even 
 in herb nor any other thing to satisfy the cravings of hun- 
 ger : my life was fast wasting away, and there was not 
 ' i iven a hope remaining, or a possibility of existing long in 
 my then forlorn condition : both myself and my compani- 
 ons would have sold our lives for a drink of fresh water 
 nr a morsel of bread. In that most dismal and desperate 
 
 I situation, I imagined that if I could once get to the culti- 
 vated country beyond the desert. I should find some food 
 :o support nature, and fresh water to allay our thirst. My 
 •emarkable dream had also given me courage to hope for 
 •edemption ; but if I was not redeemed myself, I felt it 
 my duty to exert myself to the utmost to preserve the 
 ives of my shipmates ; they might some of them, I fan- 
 ned, possibly survive, even though I should not, and be 
 it length restored to their country and friends, in conse- 
 quence of my exertions, and convey to my distressed fam- 
 ; ily the sad tidings of my wretched fate. Circumstances 
 were now changed ; I had passed the dangers of the desert, 
 uid arrived in the cultivated country ; we had now plenty 
 if good water, and some food and shelter ; and though 
 my flesh was nearly all wasted away, yet a new skin had 
 succeeded and nearly covered my bones. My desire to 
 ive kept pace with the increase of my comforts ; I longed 
 hr the return of my master, and yet I anticipated it with 
 
170 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 the most fearful and dreadful apprehensions. I could no 
 sleep ; alternate hope and fear kept me in a state of con 
 tinual agitation. I calculated on the moment of his arriva 
 as decisive of my fate ; it would either restore me to liber 
 ty, or doom me to instant death : I trembled at even 
 noise occasioned by the opening of the gate on any nev 
 arrival. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A Moor arrives from Mogadore , bringing a letter — Tin 
 letter— -They set out for that city. 
 
 The eighth day of my master’s absence passed tediouslj 
 away ; when, after dark, we heard a trampling outside 
 the walls. Seid went forth to learn its cause, and soot t 
 returned with Sidi Mohammed, followed by a well looking 
 Moor. They came directly to that part of the yard where 
 we were sitting on- the ground, trembling with apprehen- 
 sion and with cold. When they came near me, the Moon 
 called out and said in English, “ How de-do, Capetan.’ 1 
 This raised me and all my men from the ground ; I felt as; 
 if my heart was forcing its way up into my throat, and it 
 entirely obstructed my breath. I eagerly seized his hand, 
 and begged to .know who he was, and what was my doom, 
 and if Sidi Hamet had come back : he then asked me in 
 Spanish if I spoke that language, and being answered in 
 the affirmative, he informed me in Spanish that he came 
 if cm Mogadore ; that my letter had been received by one 
 of the best of men, an Englishman, who was his friend, 
 and who had shed tears on reading my letter ; that he had 
 paid the money to my master immediately, and had sent 
 him (the Moor) off, without giving him scarcely a mo- 
 ment’s time to take leave of his wife, and that he had been 
 on his mule ever since he left Swearah, travelling on as 
 fast as possible, night and day. The anxiety of my com- 
 panions by this time had risen to such a pitch that they 
 broke in upon his story, on which I communicated to 
 them, the thrice welcome and happy intelligence, that we 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 171 
 
 Iiacl a friend who would redeem us from slavery. Our 
 
 I souls were overwhelmed with joy, and yet we trembled 
 with apprehension lest it might not be true : alas ! perhaps 
 it was only a delusive dream, or some cruel trick to turn 
 our miseries into mockery. At this moment, however, 
 the Moor handed me a letter : I broke it open ; but my 
 emotions were such, that it was impossible for me to read 
 its contents, and I handed it to Mr. Savage ; for my frame 
 trembled to such a degree, that I could not stand, and I 
 isank to the earth, but, thank God, not senseless ; while 
 by means of the light of a fire, he read as follows : — - 
 
 Mogadore , October 25, 1815. 
 
 i MY DEAR AND AFFLICTED SIR, 
 
 I have this moment received your two notes by Side 
 Hamet, the contents of which, I hope you will be per- 
 fectly assured, have called forth my most sincere pity for 
 your sufferings, and those of your companions in captivity 
 By a Gibraltar paper I discover, under the arrivals from 
 the 5th to the 11th August, the name of your vessel, and 
 that she was American, from which I conclude both you 
 and your crew must be subjects of the United States : 
 had it not been for the paper adverted to, some delay 
 would have occurred, as you do not state in your notes 
 to what nation you belong. 
 
 I congratulate you most sincerely on the good fortune 
 you and your fellow sufferers have met, by being in the 
 hands of a man who seems to be guided by some degree 
 of commiseration. 
 
 I can in some measure participate in the severe and dan- 
 gerous sufferings and hardships you must have undergone ; 
 but, my dear Sir, console yourself, for, thanks be to God, 
 I hope they will soon have a happy issue ; for which pur- 
 pose I devoutly pray the great Disposer of all things will 
 give you and your unfortunate companions health and 
 strength once more to visit your native land. 
 
 This letter will be delivered you by Rais bel Cossim , in 
 whom you may place the fullest faith : he speaks Spanish, 
 and has directions to pay attention to your orders, and 
 render you every care your severe misfortunes may re- 
 h quire. Be pleased to write me an immediate answer, 
 
172 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 stating every particular relating to yourself, your crew, 
 and vessel, as I have given orders to the Moor to forward 
 it to me without delay. 
 
 I have agreed to pay the sum of nine hundred and 
 twenty hard dollars to Sidi Hamet, on your safe arrival in 
 this town with your fellow sufferers : he remains here as a 
 hind of hostage for your safe appearance. 
 
 I have been induced to trust implicitly to your word, 
 and the respectable references you have given, in confi- 
 dence that those gentlemen, or yourself, will readily reim- 
 burse me the whole of the expenses that may be incurred 
 in obtaining your redemption. 
 
 I have the most sincere pleasure to acquaint you, you 
 will be at liberty to commence your journey for this town 
 on the receipt of this letter, and make what stages you 
 please on the road, as I do not advise you, in the eager- 
 ness all of you must feel, to run into danger by over- 
 exertion and fatigue : I would, therefore, recommend the 
 greatest precaution on this point. I have sent under charge 
 of Rais bel Cossim, shoes and cloaks, which I have no 
 doubt you will find very useful in preserving you from 
 vain or cold on the road. I have also forwarded you some 
 provisions and spirits, that you may enjoy a foretaste of 
 returning liberty. 
 
 I beg to recommend the greatest secrecy of your cir- 
 cumstances until your arrival here, for should the Moors 
 suppose you able to pay more, they would throw difficul- 
 ties in the way, and thereby much retard your redemption. 
 
 • I shall send off an express to-morrow to the United 
 States’ Consul General at Tangier, and a letter to Mr. 
 Horatio Sprague of Gibraltar, informing them of your 
 loss, and of the favourable hopes I entertain of your im- 
 mediate release. 
 
 I have appointed with Rais bel Cossim , on your arrival 
 at a short distance from Mogadore, to wait at the garden 
 of a friend of mine, and send me notice of the same, when 
 I shall immediately set out to meet you, 
 
 I trust there is no occasion for me to say how truly I 
 commiserate and enter into all your misfortunes : when 
 God grants me the pleasure to embrace you, it will be to 
 me a day of true rejoicing. I beg you will assure every 
 
"SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 173 
 
 me with you of my truest regard ; and with sentiments 
 i mbittered by the thoughts of the miseries you have un- 
 lergone, but with the most sanguine hope of a happy 
 c nd to all your sufferings, I subscribe myself, with the 
 3 ’reate st esteem, my dear Sir, vour friend, 
 is | , Will I AM Wi LLSHIRE. 
 
 P. S. I willingly agree to advance the money, consider- 
 A ig a month or more must elapse before I could receive 
 1 n answer from Mr. Sprague. I therefore concluded you 
 ■n-i /ould prefer being at liberty in this town, to experiencing 
 1 prolongation of your sufferings during that period. I 
 hall be happy in rendering you every comfort that my 
 Mijhouse and this country can afford. W. W. 
 
 My feelings, during the reading of this letter, may 
 erhaps be conceived, but I cannot attempt to describe 
 hem ; to form an idea of my emotions at that time, it is 
 ecessary for the reader to transport himself in imagina- 
 ton to the country where I then was, a wretched slave, 
 nd to fancy himself as having passed through all the 
 angers and distresses that I had experienced : reduced 
 d the lowest pitch of human wretchedness, degradation, 
 of nd despair, a skinless skeleton, expecting death at every 
 istant : then let him fancy himself receiving such a letter 
 'om a perfect stranger, whose name he had never before 
 eard, and from a place where there was not an individual 
 reature that had ever before heard of his existence, and 
 i one of the most barbarous regions of the habitable 
 lobe : let him receive at the same time clothes to cover 
 fr] nd. defend his naked, emaciated and trembling frame, 
 01 hoes for his mangled feet, and such provisions as he had 
 ijieen accustomed to in his happier days — let him find a 
 oothing and sympathising friend in a barbarian, and one 
 rho spoke perfectly well the language of a Christian na- 
 ion ; and with all this, let him behold a prospect of a 
 peedy liberation and restoration to his beloved family : — - 
 iere let him pause, and his heart must, like mine, expand 
 tear to bursting with gratitude to his all-wise and benefi- 
 ent Creator, who had upheld his tottering frame and pre- 
 erved in his bosom the vital spark, while he conducted 
 
 •im, with 
 
 unerring 
 
 wisdom and goodness, through the 
 
174 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 greatest perils and sufferings, by a continued miracle, an 
 now prepared the heart of a stranger to accomplish wh< 
 Lad been before determined. 
 
 The letter being finished, we could only raise our eye 
 and hearts to heaven in adoration and silent thankfulness 
 while tears of joy trickled down our haggard cheeks.- 
 Amidst these joyful and heart-thrilling sensations, my al 
 tention was aroused by the thundering voice of Sheick Al 
 who stormed away most furiously on being informed the! 
 Sidi Hamet had given up me and my companions fcl 
 such a paltry sum : — he said, Sidi Hamet must be a foe 
 and a madman to put himself in the power of a villainou 
 Christian, who would undoubtedly murder him and takj 
 back his money so soon as we should arrive in Swearal 
 The Moor, who had hitherto remained silent, now spok 
 out in a very spirited manner, and told the Sheick in 
 very firm, but eloquent and persuasive tone, that he ha 
 I ought me and my companions with his own money, whic 
 he had paid to Sidi Hamet before he left Swearah ; an I 
 that he (Sidi Hamet) remained there voluntarily as 
 hostage for his {Rais bel Cassini's) safety, as well as sc 
 eurity for the delivery of the slaves. 
 
 “ We are of the same religion, (added Rais,) and ow 
 these Christian dogs nothing; we have an undoubte! 
 right to make merchandise of them, and oblige them t’ 
 carry our burdens like camels. That fellow (said hi 
 pointing to me) calls himself the captain of a vessel , — h 
 has deceived his master and you ; for he was nothing mot i 
 than cook on board, and the captain has long been dead. 
 This the Sheick would not believe ; if it was so, ho 1 
 couid I write a note to induce a stranger to pay so nine 
 money for me and my men ? “It was only a short on< 
 (added he,) and its writer must be a man of much const 
 quence, as well as knowledge. I fear you (though 
 Moslemin) have leagued with a Christian against Sit 
 Hamet, first to rob him of his slaves, and then to take h 
 life.” “No, by Allah ! I am incapable of such an act t 
 treachery,” retorted Rais, and told the Sheick I was ir, 
 deed the cook, but being a stout fellow, had been able t 
 endure fatigues better than the others : “ but (added he 
 give them paper, pen, and ink, and they will soon cor 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 175 
 
 nice you they can all write, and much better than Riley.” 
 This controversy continued a long time, and I found that 
 iais bel Cossim was a man of great courage, as well as 
 knowledge and eloquence ; and he certainly displayed great 
 cldress and management in checking the avaricious calcu- 
 , itions of the Sheick, by insisting on my not being a cap- 
 lin, and thus depreciating my value as a slave. Seid 
 eemed to have sunken into a kind of sullen silence : it 
 vas now late, and Sidi Mohammed conducted the whole 
 i ompany into an apartment that had served, from appear - 
 nces, as a stable for mules. They had loudly insisted 
 hat we should lodge in the same place where we had been 
 iefore confined, but Rais would not consent, and declared 
 r; hat his slaves should stay by his side, both night and day. 
 They had cost him a great deal of money, (he said,) and 
 e was determined not to lose them. Having thus got 
 ito comfortable quarters, our cloaks were produced from 
 i basket, and we put them on. Our friend had sent us 
 ome hard biscuits and boiled neats’ tongues — he had also 
 3r warded tea, coffee, and sugar, and a few bottles of rum, 
 vith a tea-kettle, tea-pot, cups and saucers, all nicely 
 lacked up in a small box. Rais then procured a lighted 
 imp, and I gave each of my men a slice of tongue, some 
 •iscuit, and a drink of rum : this revived their spirits ex- 
 eedingly, and we all felt as if new life was infused into 
 l>ur hearts, which at the same time swelled with gratitude 
 o God for his infinite mercy and goodness. We were 
 iext regaled with a very fine watermelon ; and having put 
 »n our new shoes to make our feet warm, and wrapped 
 lurselves up in large cloaks or gzlabbias , we stretched 
 •urselves on the ground to sleep, whilst Rais, Seid, and 
 ‘is companion, Bo-Mohammed, and Sheick Ali, laid 
 hemselves down on a platform made of boards that must 
 lave been brought from the wreck of some vessel, and 
 vas raised two feet from the ground. The food which I 
 nd my companions had eaten, together with the melon 
 'id liquor, caused us such violent griping pains in our 
 tomachs and intestines, that we could with great diffi - 
 ulty forbear screaming out with agony, and we found 
 , relief till morning, after having passed a sleepless 
 
176 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 Early in the morning, Rais desired me, in Arabic, 
 make some tea : so I took out the kettle, had it filled wi 
 water, made a fire with a few sticks, and soon had the t 
 ready for drinking. The men and boys in and near th 
 village, hearing of Sidi Mohammed’s return to his famil 
 came now to congratulate him, and to see the Moor, wl 
 directed me to pour out a cup of tea for each of the me: 
 which he made thick with sugar. None of the people he 
 ever before seen such a thing as a tea-cup, nor knew wh 
 the taste of tea was, and it was with difficulty that sever 
 of them could be persuaded to drink it, and they appeare 
 to be reconciled to it only on account of the sugar, 
 waited on them all until they had finished ; when Rai 
 turning to Sheick Ali, said, “ I told you before that RikJ 
 was the cook, and now you see with your own eyes th 
 he is tine only one that can wait upon us.” I next made 
 strong cup of tea for ourselves, which had a most remarlj 
 able effect in composing and restoring the tone of 01 
 stomachs. 
 
 All our things being soon packed up and loaded c 
 mules, we set forward at about eight o’clock. The Moi 
 had tried to procure mules for us to ride on ; but the 
 could not be had in this part of the country at any pric 
 Our company consisted of Sheick Ali , Sidi Mohammed 
 (who had been to Swearah on our account,) Seicl, oi 
 master, Bo-Mohammed , (who had assisted in guardin 
 us,) and Rais bel Cossim , all well armed. Though 1 
 could procure no beasts exclusively for our use, yet Rai 
 managed in such a manner as to let us ride by turns, an 
 Burns all the time, for he was so feeble as not to be abi 
 to walk. So soon as we were on the road, Rais bel Cot 
 sim begged me to give him an account of my misfortune 
 and sufferings, and by what miracle my life and the live 
 of those who were with me had been preserved. I sati: 
 lied his curiosity as well as I could, by a short narration 
 the most prominent occurrences. When I had finishec 
 he raised his eyes towards heaven with an air and exprej 
 sion of true devotion, and exclaimed, in Spanish, “ Praise 
 be God, the most high and holy ! for his goodness the 
 addressing himself to me, he remarked, “ You have ir 
 deed been preserved most wonderfully by the peculis 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA? 
 
 177 
 
 fotectiou and assistance of an overruling Providence, 
 nd must be a particular favourite of heaven : there never 
 w as an instance (added he) of a Christian’s passing the 
 feat desert for such a distance before, and you are no - 
 nubt destined to do some great good in the world ; and 
 ay the Almighty continue to preserve you, and restore 
 >u to your distressed family. Sidi Hamet (added he) 
 mired your conduct, courage, and intelligence, and says 
 ey are more than human — that God is with you in all 
 iur transactions, and has blessed him for your sake.” I 
 jsntion this conversation to show the light in which my 
 ister had viewed me ; and this will account for the in- 
 •est he took in my restoration to liberty, over and above 
 > motives of gain. 
 
 I now inquired who Sheick Ali was, and why lie was 
 ing on in company ; and said, I much feared him. Rais 
 ormed me that all he knew about him he had learned 
 m Sidi Mohammed, which was, that he is the chief of 
 jery large and powerful tribe of Arabs, who inhabit the 
 Is south of us, and near the borders of the great desert ; 
 t Sidi Hamet had married one of his daughters, but 
 1 since been at war with him, and that in the contest 
 ! father-in-law had destroyed Sidi Hamet’s town, and 
 en back his daughter, but afterwards restored her again 
 making peace ; that this Sheick could bring ten or fif- 
 n thousand men into the field whenever he pleased, and 
 t he was a man of the greatest talents and capacity in 
 1 jr, as well as in peace ; but why he was going on in our 
 npany in this manner, he could not tell, and agreed 
 vh me in suspecting that it could be for no good pur- 
 se ; yet he observed, “ God could turn his evil intern 
 is to our good, and that that power which had protect- 
 cme thus far, would not forsake me until his will was 
 Komplished.” 
 
178 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 They come near the mins of a city , xvhere two batterir, 
 machines are standing — Description of them — Story 
 its destruction — They cross a river and a fruitful vc 
 ley — Lodge in a city , and are afterwards stopped i 
 Sheick Ali and the prince of another city. 
 
 We travelled on in a southeast direction through 
 very sandy country, with however here and there a sm 
 rising, and a few cultivated spots, for about five hours, 
 the rate of five miles an hour, when we came oppos 
 the shattered walls of a desolate town or city that sto 
 not far from our path on the right. These walls appear! 
 to inclose a square spot of about three hundred yards j 
 extent on each side, and they seemed to be at least fifte 
 feet in height. They were built of rough stones, laid 
 clay or mud, and partly daubed over with the same n 
 terial. On tire north side there was a gateway handson 
 ly arched over with stone, and furnished with a strc 
 heavy-looking wooden gate that was now shut. Over i 
 gate there appeared to be a platform for the purpose 
 defending the gate, for the wall was not quite so high 
 that part as elsewhere. Two battering machines w 
 standing against the western angle of the wall, oppo: 
 to which a large practicable breach had been made 
 means of one of those machines. They were both v 
 simple in their structure, but calculated to be very pc 
 erful in their effects. I could distinctly see and exam 
 with my eyes the one nearest to us. It was formed, a 
 appeared to me, in the first place, by laying down tj 
 large logs of wood at right angles with the wall, and ab : 
 fifteen feet apart, the ends of the logs butting against , 
 wall. (See plate, figure 4.) Into the upper side of e; 
 of these logs a nitch or mortise was cut, to receive ( 
 thick ends of two uprights, consisting of two roil 
 trunks of trees, of about twelve inches in diameter attli 
 base, of equal lengths, and rising to the height of abi 
 twenty-five or thirty feet. Each upright had a crotcli 
 its upper end, formed by the natural branching of the 1< 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 179 
 
 principal limbs of the tree, like a common country well- 
 »ost in America. These crotches being rounded out by 
 rt, a stout piece of knotty timber, of about from twelve 
 
 ! o eighteen inches in thickness, was placed horizontally in 
 hem. To the tentre of the cross-piece a pole of ten or 
 welve inches in circumference was lashed with a strong 
 ope, and to the lower end of this pole a huge rough rock 
 ras fastened, weighing from appearances several tons. 
 The rock was slung and fastened to the pole by means of 
 hick ropes, formed by braiding many thongs of camels’ 
 i kins together. After the machine had been fitted to- 
 gether on the ground, it had been raised all in a body by 
 he help of long shores or sticks of timber, not so thick 
 s the uprights, but nearly twice as long ; these shores 
 /ere tied fast to the uprights, near their crotches, by ropes, 
 nd served to raise and lower the machine at pleasure, and 
 Iso acted as braces to support it when in action. Two 
 hort props or braces were fixed between the uprights and 
 te wall, with one end resting against its base, and the 
 ther in a notch cut on the inner side of the uprights, to 
 elp to keep them steady, and prevent them from falling 
 gainst the walls. The rock hung within two or three 
 eet of the ground, like a huge pendulum ; and having a 
 >ng rope fastened to its slings, stretching oflT from the 
 rail at least one hundred and fifty feet. The manner of 
 pplying it, was by the assailants laying hold of this rope 
 t great numbers, and then hauling off the rock to its 
 reatest extent ; all let go at the same instant, and the 
 lack swung back with such impetuosity against those ili- 
 onstructed walls, that its repeated strokes soon opened a 
 reach, through which the besiegers entered, sword in 
 ‘ and. The other machine was made of four rough sticks 
 f timber, of nearly equal lengths, lashed together at their 
 mallest ends, and raised in form of a common triangle, 
 r rather a quadrangle ; from the point of juncture, a large 
 ock was suspended by a rope of camel’s skin, braided to 
 te thickness of a man’s leg, and slung in such a manner 
 3 to be struck against the wall in the same way as the one 
 rst described. My companion, Rais bel Cossim, gave 
 ie all the information I desired relative to these machines, 
 "he ground about the breach and near the gate was 
 
180 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 strewed over with dry human bones ; and my curiosit 
 being much excited to know the history of this melar 
 choly scene of carnage and desolation, I requested Rai 
 to communicate to me the particulars ; but not being, 
 seems, acquainted with them himself, he applied to Sic 
 Mohammed on the subject, who thereupon gave the fol 
 lowing relation, while Rais translated into Spanish for m 
 such parts as I did not perfectly understand in Arabic' 
 by which means I was enabled thoroughly to comprehen 
 the whole narrative. 
 
 “ That city (said Sidi Mohammed, pointing towards : 
 with his staff) was built bv Omar Raschid, about fort 
 years ago ; he named it JFidnah. He was a very brav 
 and pious man ; and the number of his family and friend: 
 consisting at first of no more than five hundred soul: 
 when the city was built, increased so rapidly, that in 
 few years they amounted to several thousands : the 
 planted those fig, date, pomegranate, olive, and othc 
 trees which you now see near the walls ; they cultivate 
 the fields round about, and made gardens ; had abundanc 
 of bread, beasts, and cattle of every kind, and becam 
 exceedingly rich and great, for God was with them in a 
 their transactions. They were respected, loved, and feai 
 ed by all their neighbours, because they were wise an 
 just. This man was called Omar el Milliah, (or Orm 
 the good ;) he was my best friend when living, (said Sidi. 
 and helped me when I was very low in the world ; but th 
 best men have enemies — so it was with Omar ; he had a 
 inveterate enemy from his youth, who lived among th 
 mountains to the southward of his city, whose name wa; 
 Sheick Sulmin. This Sheick, about twenty years age 
 came down with a great host and invested the city c 
 Omar ; but Omar, taking advantage of the darkness c 
 the night, sallied out of his city at a private passage, wit 
 all his forces, and falling upon his besiegers unaware: 
 killed a great number, and put the remainder to a shame 
 ful flight : from that time until the time of his deatl 
 (which happened two years ago,) he enjoyed a profoun 
 peace on every side. After Omar’s death, his eldest sor 
 Muley Ismael , (for he caused himself to be called 
 prince,) took upon him the government of the city. H 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 181 
 
 vas a very effeminate man, entirely devoted to sensual 
 j Measure, and had a great number of wives and concu- 
 g pines. The people had long enjoyed a profound peace, 
 ind confided in their strength ; when, about a year ago, 
 me of the brothers of Ismael, named Kesh-bcih , who was 
 /ery ambitious, and being fired with resentment at the 
 ;onduct of Muley Ismael, in taking away from him his 
 aetrothed wife, left the city and repaired to the mountains, 
 tvhere having found his father’s old enemy still living, he 
 stirred him up to war against the city. The old Sheick 
 soon collected a powerful army of hungry and rapacious 
 Arabs on the borders of the desert, and came down the 
 mountains, bringing on their camels the battering ma- 
 chines you now see standing there. When this host ap- 
 proached the city, it was in the dead of the night, and all ' 
 i within were asleep, for they dwelt carelessly and dreamed 
 of no danger, and felt so secure, that they did not even 
 keep a watch. The Shieck and his host drew near the 
 Avails in perfect silence, and raised their battering machines 
 (undiscovered : it was now nearly daylight, when both 
 machines were put in operation at the same instant, and 
 »the gate was also attacked by means of large stones hung 
 (from the upper extremities of long poles by ropes, which 
 poles stood up on end, and were managed by the hands of 
 the Arabs. The first strokes against the walls and gate, 
 shook them to their very foundations, and awakened the 
 slothful inhabitants, who flew to the walls in order to 
 make a, defence ; but it was too late ; the enemy were 
 thundering against them ; all was confusion within ; 
 those who attacked the gate were repulsed with great 
 l> slaughter by those who mounted the platform over it, but 
 the walls were already shattered to pieces, and the assail- 
 ants entered the breaches over heaps of their dead and 
 dying enemies. 
 
 “It was now daylight, and an indiscriminate slaughter of 
 the inhabitants ensued ; all was blood and carnage ; every 
 male was put to death, except two, who escaped over the 
 ■ wall to carry tidings of the fate of the town to their 
 friends and neighbours. All the women and children 
 shared the same fate, except two hundred virgins, who 
 were spared for the use of the conquerors. They next 
 
182 
 
 tiAPT AIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 plundered the slain of their clothing and ornaments ; gath- 
 ered up all the spoil, and drove off the oxen, sheep, 
 camels, and asses, and departed, leaving the city before 
 mid-day a heap of ruins, covered with the mangled car- 
 casses of its once highly favoured inhabitants : they were i 
 in such haste as to leave the battering machines standing, 
 and made off by way of the plain southward. The in- 
 habitants of the neighbouring towns soon collected, and 
 pursuing them with great vigour, came up with them on 
 the side of the mountain the next morning, while the 
 invaders sending forward their spoil, took a station in a 
 steep narrow pass, and prepared for battle. It was a very 
 long and bloody fight, but Sulmin’s men rolled down i 
 great stones from the precipices upon their pursuers, who i 
 were at last forced to retreat, leaving about half their 
 number dead and wounded on the ground.” 
 
 Sidi Mohammed was one of the pursuers, and now 1 
 showed me a very large scar from a wound he then re - 1 
 oeived on his breast by a musket ball. Sidi Ishem, a very 
 powerful prince, had in the mean time heard the news, ' 
 and assembled a very large army, and pursued the ene- 
 my by another way ; but they had fled to the desert and 
 could not be overtaken. The dead bodies in and about i 
 the city had become so putrid before the pursuit was 
 over, that none could approach to bury them, and they 
 were devoured by dogs, and wild beasts, and birds of 
 prey. “ They had offended the Almighty by their pride, 
 (observed Sidi Mohammed,) and none could be found to 
 save them. Thus perished Widnah and its haughty in- 
 habitants.” 
 
 I was at that time riding along on a mule next to Rais 
 bel Cossim and Sidi Mohammed, whilst the latter re- 
 counted the transaction in a most solemn tone. My sen- 
 sations at beholding the desolate ruins of a once populous 
 town, whose inhabitants had all been cut. off in a few 
 hours by the unexpected irruption of a ferocious and un- 
 sparing foe, may easily be conceived. I was at first 
 induced to consider the story as fictitious, but my eyes 
 warranted the belief of it, and the sight of the battering 
 machines, together w r ith the breaches in the wall, and the 
 dry human bones scattered around, afforded conclusive 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 183 
 
 .evidence even to the minds of my fellow prisoners, who 
 did not understand the narrative, that here had once stood 
 i a town, which had been sacked and destroyed. 
 
 After leaving these ruins, we continued on about an 
 sast course for three hours, when we came to the bank of 
 a stream, or fresh water river, which was now no larger 
 than a brook, owing to the dryness of the season. It 
 flowed from the southeast, and bent its course through a 
 broad valley in a crooked channel, nearly north, towards 
 the sea-shore. On its left bank, which was very high 
 land, stood two considerable walled villages, and a great 
 number of small square- walled enclosures on the same 
 bank southward, some in ruins and some apparently in 
 good repair. The walls were made of rough stones laid 
 in clay, and the houses had flat roofs. On the margin of 
 the brook were a great number of gardens fenced in with 
 dry thorn bushes, placed on the ground, and planted 
 chiefly with the prickly-pear ; but some with squashes, 
 cabbages, &c. At a distance on both sides of this stream, 
 we saw a number of square stone sanctuaries, or saint 
 houses, with round domes : they did not appear to be 
 more than ten or fifteen feet square, and were all nicely 
 whitewashed. This bank of the river bore strong marks 
 r of having been washed to a very great height from the 
 I place where the stream then flowed ; and on inquiring of 
 Sidi Mohammed, I was informed that the whole of the 
 valley between the two high banks (which from appear- 
 ances must be five or six miles wide) was entirely covered 
 with water during some part of the season, or when great 
 rains fall 
 
 the banks three days’ journey to a 
 cross it 
 
 the last five years the land had been so cursed with droughts 
 that it had not once overflowed its present bed where we 
 crossed it, and where it was not more than twenty yards 
 wide and one foot in depth. 
 
 As we passed along close to the prickly-pears, which 
 hung over the thorn bushes, bearing yellow fruit, some 
 of my men plucked them and put them in their mouths, 
 without regarding the sharp prickles with which these 
 pears were covered, so that their tongues and the roofr of 
 
 at which times travellers were obliged to go up 
 
 fall before they could 
 
 that he himself had once been that way, but for 
 
184 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 their mouths were literally filled with them : on the firs 
 touch, they were extremely painful, and were extractec 
 afterwards with much difficulty. There were also 01 
 both sides of this river near where we crossed it, nume 
 rous herds, and many inhabitants. We travelled alons; 
 the right bank of the river for several miles, until it be- 
 came both wide and deep, for it met the tide water from 
 the sea ; when coming within sight of a city on the high 
 right bank, we made towards it. On our approaching 
 within two miles of its walls, we passed large fields of 
 Indian corn and barley, and gardens filled with most kinds 
 of common vegetables. The borders of these fields and 
 gardens were planted with date, fig, pomegranate, orange, i 
 and other fruit trees in great numbers, and many clumps 
 of grape vines : the soil of this spot appeared to be of the 
 richest black mould. As we passed along in a high foot- 
 way, formed by throwing up the turf from the enclosures, 
 (apparently to make them perfectly level, or all of a gentle 
 descent,) we saw hundreds of the inhabitants busily em- 
 ployed in gathering the Indian corn and barley into heaps, ! 
 for it was now their harvest time, while others (men and 
 boys) were loading it in sacks and baskets on camels, 
 mules and asses, and driving them, thus loaded with the 
 rich products of the soil, into their city. These several 
 enclosures contained, I should judge, one hundred acres 
 of land, divided from each other by mud walls, strewed 
 with dry thorn bushes ; the whole were watered by means 1 
 of a considerable stream, brought from the heights near 
 the city in a large ditch, and carried round each enclosure 
 in small gutters dug for the purpose ; so that any one of 
 the owners could either water the whole or any part of his 
 field or garden, at pleasure. Hundreds of oxen and cows, 
 sheep and goats, were feeding in the newly cleared fields, 
 whose thin and famished appearance proved they had been 
 forced to feed on scanty and dried up herbage during the 
 summer months, and that on account of the long and ex- 
 cessive droughts, they had merely been able to exist. Rais 
 also informed me, that the locusts had nipped off and 
 destroyed nearly every verdant thing in the whole country ; 
 and that for the last five years they had laid waste whole 
 provinces in the empire of Morocco. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 185 
 
 We now arrived at the city, and entered it at a very 
 large gateway, with our camels and mules, and took up 
 3ur quarters in a smith’s shop, near the gate. It was after 
 sunset when we entered this town, and I could observe 
 me broad street that appeared to run its whole length. 
 The houses were built of rough stones, principally laid in 
 day, but some in lime — all of one story high, and flat 
 •oofed : there were no windows next the street, except a 
 
 I imall aperture in each one not a foot square, for the pur- 
 jose probably of admitting light. They had each a stout 
 flank door strongly made, and furnished with a big clumsy 
 ron lock. The corn continued to pass into the city till 
 lark ; all the camels, oxen, cows, sheep, goats and asses, 
 lelonging to the inhabitants, and which were very nume- 
 ous, were also driven into the city, and the gate shut 
 ind barred with four large pieces of timber : this was about 
 ■ight o’clock, and a watch was then stationed on the wall. 
 3n entering the city, Rais bei Cossim and Sheick Ali 
 vaited on the governor or chief, and obtained permission 
 o remain in his town over night ; and a few dates were 
 irought by Rais for our suppers. The shop in which we 
 vere permitted to stay was about twenty feet square ; a 
 dnd of forge was fixed in one corner ; two skins were cu- 
 iously applied, so as to form a bellows to blow this fire 
 vith, which was of charcoal ; a man stood between them 
 vith a hand on each skin, which he raised and depressed 
 /alternately, and thus kept up a small and irregular stream 
 >f air. They had a large piece of iron for an anvil, which 
 ' ay so low on the ground, that when they worked on it 
 vith the hammer, which was a very clumsy sort of one, 
 hey were obliged to squat down. I believe every man 
 ind boy in this town came to look at us by turns, and ask 
 questions concerning ourselves, our country, &c. so that 
 ve were surrounded with people during the whole night, 
 flatting with each other, and asking our Arab guides an 
 ■ndless string of questions. 
 
 These people were of the same nation we had been in 
 he habit of seeing since we came to the river Nun, yet 
 hey appeared to be more civilized. Several of them ask- 
 ’d me in Spanish how I did, and uttered many other 
 ■vords in that language, the meaning of which they did 
 
 24 
 
186 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 not seem to understand, the most of them being’ vile oath: 
 and execrations; which proved satisfactorily to me tha 
 they had frequent communications in some way or othei 
 with people of that nation. Sheick Ali had all the da) 
 after we left Sidi Mohammed’s house been lost in a seem 
 ing reverie : he would seldom speak, and when he did, i 
 was in a low voice apart with Seid, and I strongly sus 
 pected that some plot was in preparation between them 
 We had travelled the last day about five hours, at the rah 
 of four miles an hour, before we came abreast of the ruin! 
 of the city, I have described, and we had proceeded five 
 hours afterward at the same rate, making together fort) 
 miles. 
 
 On the 30th of October, we made ready to start before 
 daylight, and as soon as it dawned the gate was opened i 
 and we proceeded on our journey. The walls of this city 
 or town, were built of rough stone laid in clay, and were 
 four feet thick at their base in the gateway, and about 
 twenty feet high, but had no outer ditch to defend them, 
 nor any cannon mounted. It appeared to cover a space! 
 of about three hundred yards in length along the river’s 
 bank, north and south, and one hundred and fifty yards 
 in breadth from east to west. The channel of the rivet 
 at low stages of the water is about one mile west of the 
 town : this river is called by the natives Woed Sehlem , 01 
 river Sehlem , and the town, Rais told me, bore the name, 
 i. e. Sehlemah: it is, I should judge from its appearance, 
 fifty yards in width opposite the town at high water, and 
 proportionably deep. I was now informed by Rais bel 
 Cossim and Sidi Mohammed, that there was once a large 
 and -flourishing Christian town and settlement near the 
 mouth of this river, and only thirty miles from us ; that 
 the town was taken by storm about eight centuries ago, 
 and all the Christians massacred. An Arabian century 
 contains forty lunar years, and is called Zille , and they 
 reckon twelve moons to the year. Both Rais bel Cossim 
 and Sidi Mohammed said they had been to the spot, and 
 seen some of the remains of the walls, which were still 
 standing, though nearly all buried up in sand drifted from 
 the sea-shore. They further stated, that there was now a 
 village at a little distance from the ancient ruin, inhabited 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 187 
 
 by fishermen ; that the old Christian town was situated on 
 a bay or arm of the sea, and five or six miles broad at its 
 entrance, and that it is an excellent harbour both for large 
 and small vessels ; that there was no bar across its mouth, 
 but that the usual bar was formed of sand a few miles be- 
 low the town we had left. From my own observations on 
 the increasing breadth of the river, I am inclined to think 
 that this bay may contain a fine harbour, particularly as 
 Rais and his companion could have no motive for deceiving 
 me. Rais bel Cossim had been many times in Europe as 
 captain under the Moorish flag, in the grain trade, and 
 insisted that this was a better harbour than Cadiz : if so, 
 it is the only one on that coast, from Cape Spartel, in lati- 
 tude 34. 30. to the latitude of 19. north. 
 
 Travelling on at a great rate, we entered on a vast plain, 
 over whose surface a few shrubs, and weeds, and clumps 
 of trees were thinly scattered : the boughs of these trees 
 were bending under the weight of a bright yellow fruit, 
 i and I learned from Rais that it was the arga tree, from 
 the nut of which is extracted the argan oil, very much 
 i esteemed by the natives ; and it was also highly relished 
 by my companions. This nut, when ripe, much resem- 
 ■ bles the ripe date in appearance ; so much so, indeed, that 
 f seeing some of them scattered on the ground, I took one 
 up and bit it, when I found out my mistake, as its bark 
 was extremely bitter. The trees generally grew in clus- 
 ters of from three to ten trunks, that seemed to spring 
 from the same seed ; these rise in a shaft of from ten to 
 fifteen feet in height, and then branch off in all directions, 
 forming a diameter of at least one hundred feet ; the trunks 
 are from one to three feet in diameter ; the branches are 
 covered with thorns, which fall and lie so thick on the 
 ground, as to make it almost impossible to approach them 
 near enough to shake or knock off the nuts, and they are 
 consequently left to ripen and drop off spontaneously. 
 
 We were now going on at a small trot, mostly ail 
 mounted on the camels, mules, and two asses that were 
 in company. The Atlas mountains were now full in view, 
 stretching as far as the eye could reach from northeast to 
 southwest, at some distance on our right. We had seen 
 these mountains for several days past, in the distant hori- 
 
188 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 zon, when we were on the high ridges, which we wen 
 obliged to pass ; but we now beheld them from this wide 
 spreading plain in all their awful magnitude : their loft} 
 summits, towering high above the clouds in sharp peaks 
 appeared to be covered with never-melting snows. Thi: 
 sight was calculated to fill the mind of the beholder witl 
 wonder and astonishment. The cold and chilling blast: 
 of wind which blew directly from the Atlas, almost con 
 gealed our impoverished blood, and made our feeble 
 frames shake almost to dissolution, notwithstanding the 
 good cloaks and shoes with which we were provided 
 Seid and the other Arabs were also shivering with cold 
 and ran on foot to make themselves warm, for the sky wa: 
 overcast and obscured by thick and heavy clouds, por 
 tending torrents of rain. I was now sure we were verj 
 near the emperor of Morocco’s dominions, and began tc 
 imagine myself a free man — I felt myself at peace witl 
 all mankind ; my mind expanded with gratitude toward: 
 the great Author of my being, and I viewed this stupen 
 dous ridge of mountains as one of the strongest proofs o 
 Divine goodness to his creatures ; for I considered that al 
 the rivers, and streams, and springs, that water and refresl 
 the northern part of Africa, from the borders of that im 
 mense and thirsty desert over which I had travelled, tc 
 the streights of Gibraltar, and which empty into the At 
 lantic ocean, or into the Mediterranean sea, westward o 
 Tripoli, and from the 26th to the 35th degree of nortl' 
 latitude, must either take their rise or have their source? 
 in this vast chain of Atlas. On these burning coasts, sel- 
 dom refreshed by rains, (and that only in small quantities 
 and during the winter season,) the great bodies of accu- 
 mulated snow on these mountains, tend in the summei 
 season to cool the atmosphere in their vicinity, as well as 
 to supply water for the use of the animal and vegetable 
 creation. 
 
 In the course of this morning, Thomas Burns became 
 so w r eak (being benumbed with cold) that he could no 
 longer hold on the camel, and tumbled oft' over the beast’s 
 tail with great violence, falling on his head and back, 
 which deprived him for a considerable time of all sensa- 
 tion : — with much exertion, however, on our part, he at 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRIGA. 
 
 189 
 
 iength revived, and was again placed on his camel. Pro- 
 ceeding on the plain, we saw a large number of cities, or 
 trailed towns, I should reckon at least fifty, some on one 
 side of our path, and some on the other ; but mostly on 
 cur right, and extending as far as the eye could reach to- 
 wards the mountains. Those near the path appeared to be 
 :hree or four hundred yards square : the walls were built 
 cf rough stones laid in clay, and with only one gate ; they 
 were from twenty to thirty feet in height, and crowned with 
 short turrets about three yards apart all around : at each 
 corner on the top was built a kind of circular sentry box, 
 fiso of stone, something in the manner of old European 
 castles. Most of the land, at some distance from the vi- 
 cinity of these towns, was prepared for sowing, and many 
 
 I of the inhabitants were engaged in ploughing. A little 
 nearer, were numerous orchards of fig, date, and other 
 fruit trees ; and close to the walls, many gardens of fine 
 iriregetables, such as onions, cabbages, turnips, squashes, 
 See. Round about these gardens, we saw many dung- 
 : hill fowls, and at a distance, herds of neat cattle, asses, 
 and flocks of sheep and goats, were feeding upon the 
 scanty and dried up herbage, under the eye of their re- 
 n spective keepers or herdsmen. These beasts were very 
 poor, yet the whole seemed to promise abundance of 
 food to the apparently industrious inhabitants, and brought 
 to my mind the ancient Jewish history. 
 
 Sheick Ali had been very attentive to me all this morn- 
 ing : he had in imitation of Rais bel Cossim, called me 
 captain, and endeavoured to convince me that I had bet- 
 ter go with him to the mountains southward, where he had 
 large possessions, and would give me one of his daugh- 
 ters for a wife, and make me a chief in his nation. He 
 had stopped the whole company two or three times to talk 
 over his own affairs, and I now supposed that Seid was 
 leagued with him, and bent on doing me and my men 
 some mischief. We had travelled on thus for ten hours, 
 (say from four in the morning till two in the afternoon,) at 
 the rate of five miles an hour, making a distance of fifty 
 miles, when turning aside from our path, as if by choice, 
 we approached the gate of a city. We were both hun- 
 gry and thirsty, and we seated ourselves down by a very 
 
190 - 
 
 captain RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 deep well, within one hundred yards of the city gate 
 Seid and Sheick Ali went immediately into the town, as ' 
 supposed, to get some provisions — Sidi Mohammed an 
 Rais bel Cossim were soon invited in also, to partake wit 
 them, leaving us on the outside, and under charge cj 
 Bo-Mohammed, who stood in Sidi Harnct’s stead, an 
 two others. A great many men, and 1 believe all the boy 
 belonging to the place, now came out to look at and mak 
 remarks on the slaves ; most of them, no doubt, fror 
 mere curiosity. The boys, by way of amusement, begai 
 to throw stones and dirt at, and to spit on us, expressing! 
 by that means, their utter contempt and abhorrence of u ; 
 and of our nation. Burns and Clark were so far exhaust 
 ed as to be unable to support themselves sitting, and wer 
 obliged to lie down on the ground ; but one man brougli 
 a bucket from the town, and drew water, that we migh 
 allay our thirst ; this revived us in some measure. Mrl 
 Savage, Horace, and myself, were in so weak a state, thal 
 I much feared we should not be able to keep on for tin 
 remainder of this day. Burns’ fall had proved him to b 
 too weak to hold on the camel, and had besides bruised 
 him very much. I tried my utmost to encourage then* 
 and keep up their spirits, by representing to them that w< 
 were now free, and would soon be in the emperor’s do 
 minions, where I presumed we should be out of the read 
 of the rapacious Arabs ; for I had been informed by Rail 
 bel Cossim, that in the space of one day’s journey w< 
 should be within the territories of the emperor. 
 
 Whilst Rais bel Cossim and the rest of his companj 
 remained within the walls, the winds from the mountains 
 driving before them thick masses of dark clouds, loaded 
 with vapour, brought on a copious discharge of rain, and 
 we were directed to enter under the gateway for shelter, 
 which - we did, supporting each other in our weakness, and 
 seated ourselves in the gate. This was the first rain I had 
 witnessed in this country ; and it continued to fall for 
 about an hour. I had for a long time looked for Rais bel 
 Cossim and his companions to come out, and began to 
 apprehend some disaster or treachery on the part of Sheick 
 Ali, whose harsh and loud voice I now heard roaring with- 
 in. This tremendous clamour between the Sheick and 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 191 
 
 ither persons, continued for about two hours, when Rais 
 oel Cossim made his appearance, escorted by a number of 
 nen : his intelligent countenance bespoke fear, grief, and 
 indignation — he called me aside from my companions, and 
 old me that Sheick All was the intimate friend of Mulct/ 
 
 ' bra him , (or prince Abraham,) the king or governor of 
 he city ; that Sheick All had claimed us as his property, 
 lleging that Sidi Hamet was his son-in-law, and owed him 
 great deal of money, and that he (Sidi Hamet) was now 
 eld as a hostage or slave to a Christian in Swearah ; that 
 e had insisted we should not proceed one step further un- 
 til fifteen hundred dollars were produced, together with 
 Jiidi Hamet, the husband of his daughter; and that in 
 onjunction with Seid, he had contrived to stop us here 
 jJ y the power of the prince. This news was to me like a 
 lap of thunder ; it bereft me of all my fortitude : the fair 
 V rospects I had entertained of a speedy liberation from 
 lavery, particularly for the last two days, were now sud- 
 
 I enly darkened. Rais hel Cossim further informed me 
 iat he had argued the matter every way, but all to no 
 urpose — that he had promised the money required, narne- 
 /, six hundred dollars, as soon as we should get to Santa, 
 Iruz, in the emperor’s dominions, and that he would 
 gree to have the prince and Sheick go along w ith him and 
 
 I xeive it there, and there wait for the . return of Sidi 
 lamet ; “ but they will not listen to me, (added he,) and 
 must set off immediately and carry this discouraging 
 l ews to Mr. Willshire, leaving you here until I return, 
 /hich will be in six days ; and may God preserve you in 
 ie mean time from their evil machinations.” This was 
 aore than I could bear : — tears of anguish, which 1 had 
 ot the power to control, now gushed from my eyes, and 
 ay almost bursting heart vented itself in bitter groans of 
 espair. My companions heard my distress, though at a 
 onsiderable distance from me, and turning l'eariully on 
 ae their almost extinguished eyes, begged for an explana- 
 ion of the cause. 
 
 Rais bel Cossim was just in the act of mounting his 
 aule to ride off, when Sidi Mohammed, who went in the 
 rst place with my master to Swearah, came near him and 
 aid, “ Rais, — Mu. ley Ibrahim and Sheick Ah have de- 
 
192 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE* 
 
 termined you shall not go to Swearah ; they fear you wil 
 cause a war to break out between them and the Sultan.’ 
 Observing me in tears and in great affliction, he took mi ! 
 by the hand, and said, “ Don’t be cast down, Riley, ' 
 will go to Swearah, and carry a letter from Rais, and on 
 from you to Wiltshire ; and if he wants a hostage, I wil 
 stay with him. 1 have two wives and seven children t< 
 leave, and houses, and lands, and herds of cattle ; anc 
 shall be a more valuable hostage than Sidi Hamet — he i: 
 your friend, and will come immediately down and relievi 
 you. God is great and good, (added he,) and will restori 
 you to your family.” I kissed his hand in gratitude, an( 
 called him father, and hoped the Almighty would rewarc 
 him for his benevolence. Rais now joined Sheick A1 
 and the prince, who with many attendants were seated oil 
 the ground in a circle, outside of the city gate — here the] 
 debated the matter over again. Rais insisted we were hi: 
 slaves ; that neither the prince nor Sheick had a right t< 
 detain what he had bought with his own money, mucl 
 less to stop him like a criminal; that it was contrary t< 
 their religion (which made them all brothers) to commii 
 such an outrage on hospitality. Sheick Ali, on the othe: 
 hand, contended, that Sidi Hamet and Seid owed hire | 
 money to a large amount ; that we were their joint proper 
 ty, and that consequently he had an undoubted right t( 
 detain and to carry us off into his own tribe or family, anc 
 there to keep us until Sidi Hamet should return and pay, 
 his debt. Rais insisted he had paid his money for us, anci 
 had nothing to do with Sheick Ali’s claim ; however, afteil 
 extolling the justice and virtue of the prince to the highest 
 pitch, they both at last agreed to leave it to Muley Ibra- 
 him to decide what should be done. Muley Ibrahim now 
 asked Sidi Mohammed and Bo-Mohammed what they 
 knew concerning this business, and they gave testimony 
 in favour of Raisbel Cossim’s previous claim : thus pre- 
 pared, Muley Ibrahim said — “ You, Sheick Ali, my old 
 friend, and Rais bel Cossim, both of you claim these live 
 Christian slaves as your own property, and each of you 
 has some reason on your side — yet, as it is not in my 
 power to decide whose claim is the best founded, I am 
 resolved, with a strict regard to justice, and without going 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA.- 
 
 193 
 
 ato further evidence, to keep the slaves in my own city, 
 trefully guarded, until messengers can be sent to Swea- 
 ih, who shall bring down Sidi Hamet, when you three 
 liing confronted, may settle your claims as shall be found 
 :ost consistent with justice.” He then proposed that 
 ais should remain with him, like a friend, and without 
 living any thing to fear. This plan was agreed to by all 
 jirties, and they shook hands upon it like friends. 
 
 This done, we were conducted into the city, and into 
 :house adjoining that where the prince lived. A mat 
 iis spread for the Sheick and Rais, and their companions 
 sit on, while we were placed in a narrow corner on the 
 ound, among the saddles and other stuffs : sentinels 
 vth muskets and scimitars were stationed at the door of 
 r apartment and the other doors, and at the city gate. 
 J was after dark when the dispute was settled, and soon 
 erwards a dish of cous-koo-soo was brought in, of which 
 partook after due ablutions ; and they then performed 
 sir evening prayers most devoutly. My companions 
 ire very much cast down, and their bodies and minds 
 ;re so much exhausted and debilitated by their suffer- 
 gs, that they had become like children, and wept aloud, 
 vas certain that it would have been impossible for Clark 
 ad Burns to have proceeded further on that day, and I 
 ted to persuade themr all that it was better for us to be 
 ctained a little, as it would give us an opportunity of 
 tting some rest, without which we should be in danger 
 c fainting on our route. Muley Ibrahim, the Sheick, 
 ad Rais, were conversing during the whole night, and 
 vien daylight appeared, (the 2d of November,) Rais fur- 
 rshed me with pen, ink, and paper, and told me to write 
 t Mr. Willshire, stating our present situation as near as 
 Lvas able : this I accordingly did, while a talb or scrive- 
 rr was employed in writing a letter for him, as he could 
 it write himself. At an early hour Seid, Sidi Moham- 
 ad,. and Bo-Mohammed set out for Swearah, taking our 
 1 ters, and promising to return as soon as possible, 
 heick Ali also, soon afterwards left us, promising to re- 
 trn in four days. 
 
 25 
 
194 
 
 CAPTAIN KILEV’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Rais bel Cossim gains the friendship of the prince — Goo 
 provisions are procured — Sheick All’s plans miscarry— 
 They set off for , and arrive at Santa Cruz , in the en 
 pire of Morocco. 
 
 Being now left alone with Rais bel Cossim, I que; 
 tioned him concerning our detention : he said it would b 
 but for a few days, and that we needed a little tinje to re 
 fresh ourselves, in order to enable us to bear the fatigue | 
 of the remainder of our journey ; that he trusted w 
 should make a friend of the prince, in whose power w 
 all now were, and that he hoped to be able to effect thii 
 by making him a small present. I told him I almos 
 despaired of living to regain my liberty, as I was extreme! 
 ly feeble, and must soon perish. “ What ! (said he, 
 dare you distrust the power of that God who has preserve 
 you so long by miracles ? No, my friend, (added he. i 
 the God of heaveii and of earth is your friend, and win 
 not forsake you, but in his own good time restore you t|| 
 your liberty and to the embraces of your family ; we mm | 
 say, ‘ his will be done,’ and be contented with our lot, fc 
 God knows best what is for our good.” 
 
 To hear such sentiments from the mouth of a Mooi 
 whose nation I had been taught to consider the worst c| 
 barbarians, I confess, filled my mind with awe and rever 
 ence, and I looked up to him as a kind of superior being 
 when he added, “ We are all children of the same heaven 
 ly Father, who watches over all our actions, whether w 
 be Moor, or Christian, or Pagan, or of any other religion 
 we must perform his will.” Rais then called Muley Ibra 
 him, and had a long conference with him. This princ 
 Ibrahim was a man of a very mild aspect, of a light com 
 plexion, about five feet ten inches in height, and rathe 
 thin : his countenance was intelligent, and he was verj 
 active, though apparently sixty or seventy years of age 
 By the tenor of the conversation, I could understand tha 
 Rais was flattering him highly, but in a delicate way : h< 
 asked very affectionately about the prince’s wives ; and un 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 195 
 
 erstanding he had but one, he inquired if she had any 
 hildren ; and was answered, she had none : he next 
 ashed to know if she had any tea or sugar, and was an- 
 wered in the negative. 
 
 We had not seen the faces of any of the women since 
 'e arrived at the town where Sidi Mohammed dwelt. 
 Lais now managed to get a little wood and some water, 
 id we made a fire and boiled some coffee ; this was done 
 y the help of a small negro girl who was a slave to Muley 
 arahim, and during the absence of the prince. Rais, 
 y giving the girl a small lump of loaf sugar, persuaded 
 er to carry a large lump to her mistress, and also a cup 
 f coffee thick with sugar. The prince had gone out 
 efore Rais attempted to bribe the girl. After carrying 
 i the coffee and the sugar, the girl returned and told Rais 
 lat her mistress was much obliged to him, and would 
 eep the cup and saucer, for she had never seen one be- 
 •re, and thought them very pretty, and begged to know 
 bw she might serve him in return. Rais sent back word 
 tat she could serve him most essentially by striving to 
 
 I iakenhe prince his friend. About one hour after this, 
 fuley Ibrahim entered our apartment, and asked Rais 
 hat he had been doing with his wife ? saying, at the 
 
 t .me time, “ You had no need of gaining my friendship 
 trough her influence, for you had it already but I 
 auld perceive a very great difference in his manner. He 
 ' ished to know if Rais did not want to go to the mosque, 
 hich he said was not far distant. Rais accompanied him 
 hither, and I discovered at his return, about two hours 
 •'ter, that all was right between him and the prince, and 
 ' at he had all the liberty he required. I had in the mean 
 me made some coffee, of which my companions and 
 yself drank as much as we wanted, and nibbled our 
 scuits ; for our Arab friends had before taken care to eat 
 a all our boiled tongue. We were all of us so exces- 
 vely weak, that we were not able to fetch water for our- 
 elves, and our diarrhoea also continued with the most 
 ' Stressing hemorrhoids ; this day, however, had passed 
 way more smoothly than I had expected. In the eve- 
 ; ng the prince came, and prayed in company with Rais, 
 ad appeared very friendly. After the prince retired. 
 
196 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 Rais informed me that he (Rais) had sent off to a ric ; 
 man, an old acquaintance of his, who lived about oij 
 day’s journey south of us, for money to pay Sheick Ali 
 demand, and that he expected his friend would come 
 him the next day — “ but (said Rais) God has made Mr 
 ley Ibrahim my firm friend ; and he has given his princelj 
 word that he will protect both me and my slaves, and i 
 case force is necessary, he will provide a sufficient escoj 
 for us into the emperor’s dominions ; he will also provic 
 some fowls and eggs for you in the morning, and ycj 
 may tell your shipmates they have nothing to fear, for t 
 morrow M. Shaikh, (i. e. if it is God’s will) they six 
 have plenty of good food.” This news cheered the 
 spirits, and as our apprehensions had in some measu;! 
 subsided, we rested comfortably. 
 
 Early in the morning of November the 3d, Mull 
 Ibrahim brought in some eggs, which we boiled for oi j 
 breakfast : he gave us salt to season them with, and soc 
 after brought half a dozen fowls, and Rais taking tl 
 fowls’ wings in his left hand, and turning his face towari 
 the east, after saying aloud, Besmillah , (in the name 'of tl 
 most holy God) he cut their throats, and we soon dresse* 
 them after our fashion, and put them into an earthen pi 
 with water, and set it a boiling. The prince had fu 
 wished us with wood, and brought us vyater with his o\v 
 hands ; he next went into his garden, and pulled soir 
 onions, turnips, and small squashes, with which we ei 
 riched our soup ; and he also gave us salt and green pej 
 pers to season it with. We put in four fowls, and th 
 soup would have been thought good in any country. . 
 more grateful and wholesome dish could not possib! 
 have been prepared for our poor disordered stomachs, th; 
 had been so long harassed with the most cruel gripin 
 pains, and felt as if they had lost all power of digestioi 
 The prince and Rais had a bowl of the soup, with a pai 
 of the fowls, and seemed to relish it exceedingly. Th 
 prince insisted on my eating from the same dish wit 
 them : inquired concerning my wife and children, wishe 
 to know their sex : and continued from that time durin 
 our stay in his city to administer all the relief and comfo; 
 in his power, both to me and my desponding and wretch 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 197 
 
 id companions, ivhose last ray of hope had faded away on 
 ur being stopped here ; although in fact they were not in 
 condition to continue their journey, particularly Burns 
 nd Clark, for they had sunken into a lethargic state, bor- 
 ering on dissolution. Yet, when I was enabled to ex- 
 Iain the causes of our detention, and to inform them 
 lat the prince was our friend, and gave them nourishing 
 oups, their spirits came again, and hope raised them 
 •om the ground. To the circumstance of this stoppage 
 lone, and the friendship and protection of this good 
 j hief, I attribute, under providence, the salvation of our 
 < ves. On the second day of our detention, in the after- 
 noon, the old man, Rais bel Cossim’s friend, to whom he 
 ad written for assistance, came to see him ; he had been 
 iding all night to be with Rais in time. Their meeting 
 /as a friendly one ; the old man had two mules, on one 
 f which were two baskets, containing a dozen of fowls, 
 i nd some dry cous-koo-soo ; these he presented to Rais, 
 nd said he had brought five hundred dollars for his use, 
 s he requested, and that he would bring it in : but Rais 
 |iad now become the friend of Muley Ibrahim, and there- 
 : are did not need the money ; yet this old friend insisted 
 in his taking the fowls as a present, with some eggs he 
 lad also brought with him ; these Rais accepted, for he 
 ) laid they were meant as a present to me. I had some 
 owls cooked already, and the old man sat down and ate 
 vith Rais, and would have me to be one of the company . 
 ie told Rais that if he would but say the word, he would 
 £0 and collect his friends and take the slaves by force of 
 trrhs, and in spite of Sheick Ali’s opposition, would 
 tarry us safe to Santa Cruz, and beyond his power : but 
 is Muley Ibrahim had given his word, on which Rais 
 said he could depend, to see us all safe to Santa Cruz, 
 tnd to use all his force and influence, if that should be ne- 
 cessary, the old man, whose name I am sorry to say 1 
 have forgotten, left us and returned to his home. We 
 now lived for three days as well as we could wish. 
 
 On the fourth day after Seid’s departure, a kind of fair 
 was held at a short distance from our city, and Rais told 
 me he was going to it, and would try by some manoeuvre 
 to liberate us, and to get us on towards the sultan’s do- 
 
198 
 
 CAPTATN UTLEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 minions. — A n^an of great influence lived about fiv 
 leagues distance from that city. He was called a son <i 
 the holy prophet, or Shariff; had been to Morocco, an 
 was also called el ajjh ; (the pilgrim:) he was looke 
 upon by all, far and near, as possessing supernatural pov 
 ers, and was obeyed and almost worshipped as a super'u 
 being ; and his word or dictate was equivalent to a lav 
 Rais went to the fair and from thence to the place of Wo: 
 ship, and did not return until the afternoon, when k: 
 informed me he had bought a bullock at the fair, the be:i 
 and fattest he could find, though it v/as but a small on<! 
 He had sent one half of it to the son of the prophet (cl 
 Shariff) by the hand of a messenger, on a mule, saying 
 “ when you deliver the flesh to the el ajjh, and he ask 
 you who sent it to him, tell him a pious man, who ha! 
 lately come from Swearah, and is now a guest with Mule I 
 Ibrahim, and wishes to be remembered in your prayers. 1 
 This, Rais said, was all the message he sent, but he wa j 
 sure that if the Shariff accepted the present he should se 
 him before the sun went down. Rais had given the othei 
 half to Muley Ibrahim, and remarked, that it was not sill 
 much the real value of a present that was taken into con 
 sideration by the Moors, but the manner of giving it 3 
 which laid the receiver under such an obligation as t( 
 make him your friend for ever. This notion I was at ;! 
 loss to understand, and therefore supposed it to be some 
 peculiarity in the customs of these singular people. Rai:» 
 went out to prayers about sunset, and returned in a short 
 time, when he mentioned that he had been waited upon 
 by the Shariff, who had asked him what favour he wanted, 
 that made him send such a present to a stranger. Rais 
 told him our story, and that he had paid his money for 
 myself and my companions, and begged his assistance to 
 force Sheick Ali (whose power all dreaded) to consent to 
 have us removed quietly to Santa Cruz, where Rais 
 thought his property would be safe : this the Shariff 
 promised to do, and even to exert all his power and influ- 
 ence, if necessary, to remove and protect Rais and his 
 property by force of arms, and requested to be informed 
 without delay when Sheick Ali returned. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 199 
 
 On the following day (November 4th) the Sheick did 
 jsturn ; and, relying on the friendship of Muley Ibrahim, 
 id only one attendant : the Shariff was immediately in- 
 armed of his arrival by express, and came to see him as 
 1 old friend; then taking him aside, he advised the 
 heick to remove his slaves to Santa Cruz as soon as pos- 
 :ble, asserting, at the same time, that he was certain that 
 idi Ishem , whom the Sheick well knew and dreaded, would 
 i j :t out from his city on the morrow with a force, in order 
 
 > seize upon the slaves, whom he had before strove hard 
 
 > purchase for money without success, and if they were 
 cot in the dominions of the emperor before he came, an- 
 :her day would place them in his hands, when the Sheick 
 ould not only lose them, but it must also kindle a war 
 
 . etween him and that powerful chief, which would set 
 ' le whole country in a blaze, and after all it would be 
 rlnpossible to deliver them from his grasp by force. When 
 le Sheick heard the advice of the Shariff, he returned to 
 ur prison, and Rais contrived to find out what had pass- 
 I between them, by again meeting the Shariff at the city 
 ate alone, as had been before agreed upon. Rais being 
 ius fully informed and let into the secret, came into the 
 fpartment and informed me how matters stood. Sheick 
 di, in the mean time, was unfolding his plan to Muley 
 | brahim, and trying to gain his consent to let the slaves 
 e carried off in the night by surprise, but the prince 
 rould not consent ; they were now within his walls, and 
 e had given his word they should not be removed until 
 be disputed right of property was settled by all parties 
 ice to face : this he should insist on. Finding that plan 
 t'ould not answer any good purpose, and fearing Sidi 
 shem’s expected arrival, and wishing to make a merit of 
 ecessity, this crafty chief addressing Rais bel Cossim, 
 old him, in a flattering way, that he had found him to be 
 good and an honourable man, and wished to be called 
 iis friend ; that he did not doubt Rais’s word, since he 
 :new his character, and would therefore consent to go on 
 vith the slaves on the morrow morning, as far as Santa 
 -ruz, where they would wait for the arrival of Sidi Mamet, 
 nd settle the right of property amicably. Rais, on the 
 >ther hand, as crafty as the Sheick, took Gare not to evince 
 
200 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 any desire of going ; and being in the whole secret, no 
 told Sheick Ali, that he had stopped him and his Chri< 
 tian slaves at first contrary to the laws of justice and ho: 
 pitality, and that as he had kept them so long a time, 1 
 had no wish to remove them at present, but would wa 
 with patience until Sidi Hamet should come down an 
 convince the Sheick that he had done wrong in detainin 
 him. At last, however, he suffered himself to be pei 
 suaded by the united voices of Sheick Ali and Mule 
 Ibrahim, but on the express condition of being escorte 
 to Santa Cruz by the prince, who was a party in the who! 
 secret. He was also to procure camels for us to ride or 
 and went forth to engage and have them ready for a stall 
 at daylight the next morning. Rais bel Cossim now in 
 formed me that Muley Ibrahim had previously agreed t 
 accompany us ; that we were to ride on camels, and tha 
 two hundred horsemen were to guard us on the road, i 
 order to prevent any treachery on the part of Sheick Ali 
 who might already have troops stationed on the way t 
 seize and carry us off to the mountains : he had also give: 
 private orders to his friends and his vassals, to hold them 
 selves in readiness in case of an alarm. The two hun 
 dred horsemen were to take stations, so as to keep us ii 
 continual view without exciting suspicion, and to be read] 
 to carry intelligence. Rais then bade me kill and boi 
 what fowls and eggs remained, which I did, with the as 
 s-istance of my men, who had very much recovered. 
 
 CHARACTER OP SIDI ISHEM. 
 
 While the fowls and eggs were cooking, I asked Raiss 
 who this Sidi Ishem was, as his name alone had seemed 
 capable of inspiring such dread. “ This Sidi Ishem ,” 
 said Rais, “ is a descendant of the former kings of Suse, 
 before it was conquered by the Moors ; — he is a man of 
 between fifty and sixty years of age, possessed of great 
 wealth and power ; is very crafty, and very brave, but 1 
 rapacious and cruel ; he has under his command fifteen 
 thousand horsemen, well armed : they are of the race of 
 the ancient inhabitants of the country, from whom the 
 whole country derives the name of Berberia , corrupted' 1 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 201 
 
 y the Europeans into Barbary ; — these Berberians are 
 xtremely fierce and warlike, and are joined by all the 
 i negado Moors, who escape from the emperor’s domin- 
 n, to evade punishment for crimes they had committed, 
 hese men are always ready to join him in any of his en- 
 irprises, for they always get a share of the spoil. He 
 ]/es in the gorge of a mountain, near the town of Wid- 
 non, on the great route from Morocco across the great 
 esert, to Soudain, the country beyond the desert, and the 
 tty of Tombuctoo. All the caravans that travel either to 
 it from the desert, are obliged to go close to \V id noon, 
 i d as the Atlas mountains are on the one side, and the 
 llge next the sea on the other, they find it highly neces- 
 try to secure his friendship and protection by presents, 
 cjptween this chief and the emperor of Morocco there 
 l ists the most implacable hatred, and a continual jealousy, 
 Mich a few years ago broke out into an open war. The 
 nperor sent a powerful army against him, (said to be 
 |),000 strong,) but Sidi Ishem was apprized of its ap- 
 joach in time, and sent off all the women, children, and 
 d men, with all their substance, to the south foot of the 
 r. itlas mountains, and on the great desert. The emperor’s 
 enay entered his territory, where they found nothing to 
 sbsist upon : yet as they met with no resistance, they 
 crried on their work of destruction, by burning all the 
 tivns and every thing that was combustible, tearing down 
 t; houses and walls of their cities, so that nothing es- 
 cped their violence and rapacity. They continued pur- 
 sing Sidi Ishem (who hovered about them with most of 
 b men) until they were exhausted by fatigue and hunger , 
 Men this chief fell upon them by surprise with his infu- 
 r.ted followers, who had been rendered doubly desperate 
 
 I the sight of their ruined cities. They slew more than 
 
 I I thousand on the spot ; those who escaped this dreadful 
 (rnage, and fled, were hunted down, and nearly all de- 
 coyed, before they could reach the city of Tarudant , (the 
 suthern and westernmost town in the emperor of Moroc- 
 (.’s dominions,) where the few that were left found shelter, 
 i d spread such terror and dismay throughout that part of 
 tp empire, by the horrid accounts they gave of their dis-> 
 a:ers, as to render it impracticable to raise another armv 
 
 26 
 
202 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 for the purpose of reducing Sidi Ishem and his men 1 
 submission. All the inhabitants were soon recalled b 
 their chief from the mountains and deserts — took posses 
 sion of their country anew, rebuilt their cities and dwel 
 ings, and are at this time more powerful, more feared an 
 respected, than they were previous to that event.” Th 
 is the account Rais bel Cossim gave me in Spanish, jj 
 nearly as my memory served me, when I took it down j 
 Mogadore : — he also said that we had escaped falling int 
 his hands only by groping our way along a private path o 
 the sea-shore. The substance of this account of Sic 
 Ishem was confirmed, after my arrival at Mogadore, b 
 Mr. Willshire and others. 
 
 Our food being prepared, and every thing packed u 
 tight for a start, we took a short nap, and at daylight o 
 the morning of the 4th of November, we were placed o 
 five camels, which were saddled much better than any w 
 had hitherto rode : they had on them also bags of barley 
 and empty sacks, made of tent cloth, that would hold, 
 should suppose, ten or twelve bushels ; these all togethe 
 made quite a comfortable seat, though rather a wide one' 
 and we could hold ourselves on by the ropes that securer 
 the lading. They placed me on the largest camel I hacj 
 yet seen, which was nine or ten feet in height. Thi 
 camels were now all kneeling or lying down, and mini 
 among the rest. I thought I had taken a good hold t( ' 
 steady myself while he was rising, yet his motion was sc 
 heavy, and my strength so far exhausted, that I could no j 
 possibly hold on, and tumbled off over his tail, turning 
 entirely over. I came down upon my feet, which pre 
 vented my receiving any material injury, though the shod 
 to my frame was very severe. The owner of the came 
 helped me up, and asked me if I was injured ? I told hirr 
 no : “ God be praised,” said he, “ for turning you over 
 had you fallen upon your head, these stones must have 
 dashed out your brains; but the camel,” added he, “ is 2 
 sacred animal, and heaven protects those who ride on him 
 had you fallen from an ass, though he is only two cubits 
 and a half high, it would have killed you ; for the ass is 
 not so noble a creature as the camel and the horse.” 1 
 afterwards found this to be the prevailing opinion among 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 203 
 
 ill classes of the Moors and the Arabs. — When they put 
 ne on again, two of the men steadied me by the legs until 
 he camel was fairly up, and then told me to be careful, 
 nd to hold on fast : they also took great care to assist my 
 ompanions in the same way. 
 
 Being now all mounted, we set off to the northeast, 
 saving Stuka, (for that was the name of the place where 
 ve had been confined,) accompanied by Rais bel Cossim, 
 vluley Ibrahim, and his two servants, and Sheick Ali, 
 vith his attendant, all riding on mules and asses : the five 
 owners of the camels went on foot, each driving his own 
 :amel, and taking care of its rider. Stuka is built in a 
 [uadrangular form ; its walls would measure about thre'e 
 mndred yards on each angle ; they are built of rough 
 tone, laid in clay, and appeared to be four or five feet 
 hick at their base, and twenty feet in height, tapering off 
 o two feet thick at the top, and were crowned with turrets 
 .11 around. It has but one gate, which is at its north angle, 
 very strongly made, and swinging on the ends of its back 
 oosts, which are let into large stone sockets at the bottom 
 :nd at the top : the gate consisted of two folding leaves, 
 md at night was secured by four heavy wooden bars. 
 The town was divided within into as many compartments 
 f is there were families in it, which I should think might 
 imount to three hundred, probably containing in all five 
 housand souls. The houses are built of the same mate- 
 ials as the walls — only one story high, and flat roofed : 
 f excepting the door, they looked like heaps of mud and 
 stone : even that of the prince bore the same appearance, 
 1 vithout any other distinction or ornament than being closer 
 ointed, and more bedaubed with mud. All the flocks 
 ind herds were driven within the walls every night, and 
 ;ach owner makes those that belong to him lie down in 
 tis own yard or enclosure. 
 
 As we travelled on, we passed between a great number 
 3f cities or towns, similar in appearance to Stuka, with 
 ivhich this truly vast plain is chequered. The whole 
 plain seemed very fertile, was planted with numerous 
 groves and orchards of fig and other fruit trees, with here 
 tnd there a clump of the arga tree, yellow with fruit. The 
 inhabitants were busied in ploughing up the soil, with a 
 
204 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 kind of plough which I shall hereafter describe. We pr< 
 ceeded on very rapidly, keeping those on foot runnin 
 constantly, and had been travelling about six hours, whe 
 we came to the ruins of many towns on our left, simili 
 in appearance to Stuka ; near the shattered walls of sorri 
 of which stood several battering machines, but they wei 
 at the distance of a mile or more from us. These place 
 appeared to have been recently inhabited ; for the garden 
 near the walls were still green with vegetation. Wishin 
 to know what had been the cause of such desolation, 
 was informed by Muley Ibrahim and Sheick Ali, throug 
 Rais bel Cossim, that a family quarrel happened about on 
 year ago between the chiefs of two of these towns, whic 
 soon broke out into the most dreadful kind of warfare 
 each party engaged their friends to assist them in fightin; 
 what each termed their righteous battles : the neighbour 
 ing towns joined, some on one side, and some on tb 
 other, and the plain was deluged with blood. This quar 
 rel being only of a family nature, Sidi Ishem did not in ' 
 terfere, and it was finally settled by the destruction of sevei 
 of those small cities, and most of their inhabitants 
 These ruins were now entirely abandoned, and their envi- 
 rons laid desolate, though the war continued only ont 
 month. I could scarcely believe it possible for such de- 
 vastation to have been committed in so short a time or oiij 
 such trivial grounds ; but Rais bel Cossim (who was bori]; 
 near Santa Cruz) assured me that nothing was more com- 
 mon than such feuds between families in those parts ; that 
 he had known many himself, with every circumstance at-; 
 tending them, and that they were very seldom finished 
 until one family or the other was exterminated, and their 
 names blotted out from the face of the earth. 
 
 We continued our journey until about mid-day, still on 
 the plain, when Santa Cruz or Agader was distinctly seen, 
 and pointed out to me. It is situated on the summit of a 
 high mountain ; its walls are white, and can be descried 
 at a great distance. The plain on which we travelled was 
 nearly level ; not a brook or stream of water had we pass- 
 ed since leaving the last mentioned river, but the towns 
 and villages had many deep wells near their walls, from 
 which the inhabitants drew water for themselves and their 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA, 
 
 205 
 
 .imerous cattle. — Innumerable clumps of the ever-green 
 jga tree, loaded with the rich oil nut, were scattered over 
 e plain in every direction. Vast numbers of leafless fig 
 ^ pes, and enclosures of grape vines with date, pome- 
 1 anate, almond, orange, and other fruit trees, promised 
 mndance in their seasons, and delightfully variegated the 
 ene. Hundreds of the inhabitants were busied in plough - 
 the soil (which appeared rich, though dry) and sow- 
 g their barley ; while their herds were browsing on the 
 rubs round about, for the want of grass. Many un- 
 imed men, with droves of camels and asses loaded with 
 It and other merchandize, were meeting and passing us 
 M imost continually. We saw also from time to time, 
 inds of armed men on horseback, of about fifty in each 
 ind, most of whom I learned from Rais were the friends 
 'Muley Ibrahim, whom he had requested to ride guard, 
 I before mentioned, and to be ready to act in our be- 
 ilf in case of treachery, or of any emergency whatever, 
 ur path led us in a N. E. direction, and the camels 
 ere kept most of the time on a great trot, while their 
 'ivers were running on foot, and kept up with us, seem- 
 gly, with great ease ; though I compute we rode at the 
 
 
 ,te of seven or eight miles an hour. 
 
 About two P. M. approaching the coast, we fell in 
 ith huge drifts of loose sand on our left, which extended 
 fit the sea shore. This sand had been driven from the 
 
 | :a beach by the constant trade winds, and as the sea had 
 bred, (for it was clean coarse beach sand,) it had un- 
 oubtedly for ages been making its way gradually from, 
 te coast, (which was now about twenty miles distant,) 
 id had buried, as I was informed, several flourishing 
 illages, towns, and cities, the tops of whose walls were 
 ill visible ; the circular domes of a considerable number 
 f saint-houses, or sanctuaries, whose bodies were en- 
 rely enveloped, were yet to be seen among these barren 
 eaps of overwhelming sands ; for the inhabitants take 
 reat care to clear away around them, and to give them a 
 whitewashing every year. Muley Ibrahim informed me 
 lat a large town called Rabeah, whose ruins we had 
 assed in mounting over the sand hills, was a flourishing 
 lace within his remembrance ; (probably fifty years ago ;) 
 
206 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE; 
 
 that he himself was born in it — but that large bodies 
 sand had already encroached upon its northern wall ; tl 
 as soon as it was overtopped it fell in, and the whole ci 
 was filled with sand in the course of one year after, ai 
 its inhabitants forced to seek a new shelter. These dri; 
 extended as far as we could distinguish sand on our rigl 
 Having got past the high heaps, which filled a space 
 
 eight or ten miles in width, we came to the high banks 
 
 an apparently once large river, now called by the nativ 
 el JVoecl Sta. This river’s ancient bed, and the high bank 
 which are still perfectly distinct, bear the strongest marl 
 of having been once laved by a stream of four or ft 
 
 miles in breadth, and nearly one hundred feet in depth, 
 
 by a part of the ocean. The steep, barren, and crags 
 mountains, rising before us to the eastward and southwar 
 though very high, appeared to serve only as a base to tl 
 mighty range of Atlas, whose towering height and grai 
 deur filled my mind with awe and astonishment. No 
 
 withstanding my frame was literally exhausted, yet m 
 
 imagination transported me back to a time when this r 
 gion might have been inhabited by men in a higher stai 
 of civilization, and when it was probably one of the faire: 
 portions of the African continent. My reasons for im; 
 
 gining this are, first, that it is well known by historian: 
 tLnt the Romans had settlements ^lnno- tin's nc ft 
 
 that the Romans had settlements along this coast as ft 
 south as Salee at least, and no doubt much further. Se 
 cond, that the Portusruese and Spaniards had possessei 
 the settlements of Mamora , Mazagan, Asbedre , Sant 
 Cruz, &c. Third, by the traditional information obtainei 
 from Rais bel Cossirn and Sidi Mohammed, I have n< 
 doubt that a large city and settlement of civilized mei 
 existed at a former period near the mouth of the rive: 
 Schelem , from sixty to one hundred miles west of Sant; 
 Cruz, and I am firmly of opinion that the convenience o 
 these harbours, the luxuriancy of the surrounding soil 
 and the commercial advantages this part of the countrj 
 offers, were a sufficient inducement for colonization. 
 
 We had now approached to within two miles of Sank 
 Cruz or Agader, (the lower town or port,) when rising an 
 eminence, the ocean opened to our view at a distance, and 
 near by appeared Santa Cruz bay, which was then quit* 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 207 
 
 jnooth. Nearly one hundred good looking fishing boats 
 iere hauled up on the beach out of the reach of the surf, 
 nd numbers of long fishing nets were spread out to dry 
 <1 the sand and over the boats. This view gave a most 
 vourable idea of the importance ol this bay as a fishery. 
 
 ■ The sun had not yet set, and Rais informed me he did 
 
 ■ >t wish to enter the lower town till dark, and did not 
 | ! ean to go nearer the fortress than he could help, for fear 
 
 insult and detention ; so we stopped about a mile short 
 1 it, to the southward, where 1 had an opportunity of 
 :amining this bay with a seaman’s eye. It is spacious 
 ^td perfectly well defended from the common trade winds, 
 y from N. N. VV. all round the compass by the east, 
 d as far as S. YV.; thence to N. N. W. it is entirely open, 
 d of course is a very dangerous anchorage in the winter 
 onths, when westerly winds prevail on these coasts, at 
 hich times, as there is no possibility of getting to sea, 
 ssels at anchor in this bay must remain where they are ; 
 >t, however, without the greatest risk of being driven on 
 ore in spite of the best of anchors and cables, and large 
 :ssels must ride too far out to make it a good harbour for 
 em at any season of the year. The port of Santa Cruz, 
 
 , as it is called by the natives, Agacler , has been shut 
 r order of the Sultan for many years ; yet there are parts 
 ' the wrecks of vessels still visible, sticking up through 
 e sand on the beach. 
 
 A little while after sunset we entered the lower town, or 
 >rt, as it is called : this village is situated on the steep 
 .xlivity of the mountain’s base, on which the upper town 
 built, and near the sea, which washes the south end of 
 
 f e principal street. The steep side of the mountain on 
 hich this village is erected, has been apparently sloped 
 own by art, so as to make it practicable to build on it ; 
 as one principal street and several small alleys : the houses 
 ;e built of rough stone laid in lime mortar, and are but 
 ne story in height, with flat roofs terraced with lime and 
 ebbles. We could see the tops of many houses below 
 >, and the whole made but a miserable appearance. It 
 as not quite dark when we entered the village. The 
 reet was soon filled with Moors, (men and boys,) and 
 : ev saluted us by spitting on us, and pelting us with 
 
208 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 stones and sticks, accompanied with the Spanish wor 1 
 “ Carajo a la Mierda le Sara , perro y bestias ,” and mat 
 other chosen phrases, equally delicate and polite ; b 
 some of the old men now and then uttered a “ How < 
 do, Christianos ?” in broken English and Spanish. W 
 were conducted through the street to its further extremr 
 towards the north, where we took up our quarters for tl 
 night in the open air, alongside a smith’s shop ; our can 
 els and asses were then fed with barley. Some of the ii 
 habitants kindled a fire for our company, whilst othe: 
 were preparing a rich repast for them of boiled and bake 
 fish, and cous-koo-soo , of which, after they had eater 
 they gave us the remains, and we found it excellent foot 
 Numbers of men, driving asses before them, loaded wit 
 fish, had passed us going into the country, the day befon 
 and they were of the same kind as those we had taste 
 soon after our entrance into Suse, and we had also see 
 the same kind of fish at Stuka : they carry them froi 
 Santa Cruz, or Agader, about the country in every direr 
 tion, where they sell them for a good price, being muc 
 in request. This fish very much resembles the salmon! 
 both in size, shape, and flavour — weighing, from appear 
 ance, from eight to sixteen or twenty pounds ; and is ex 
 tremely fat and delicate. I then recollected to have seei 
 in my several voyages to the Canary Islands, numbers o 
 small vessels arrive from the coast of Africa, laden witl 
 this species of fish, and to have been told they were caugh 
 near that coast : they are highly esteemed in the Canaries 
 where they call them Bacalao Africano , or the African cod' 
 fish, and are sold at from five to ten dollars per quintal, oi 
 at least one- third higher than the best of American cod- 
 fish : they are dried, without salting, on the vessels’ decks, 
 and their scent is so strong as nearly to suffocate the crews 
 of merchant vessels that lie near them while discharging. 
 I have been told that no less than one hundred barks, ol 
 from fifteen to fifty tons burden, are continually employed 
 in this fishery near the African coast, from the Canary 
 Islands, and that scarcely a year passes without more or 
 less of them being driven on shore by tempests or other 
 accidents, when the crews either perish with the vessel, or 
 upon their reaching the shore are massacred by the natives, 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 209 
 
 l>s* else carried off into the interior as slaves, where they are 
 lever after heard from. After my arrival in Mogadore, 
 r Swearah, I was informed that the crew of a bark of this 
 
 I nscription landed imprudently on the beach not far from. 
 
 lanta Cruz, about two years since, where they were sur- 
 prised by a sudden attack, but all escaped into the boat 
 l xcept one man, who was seized and carried off. On the 
 c pturn of the bark to Teneriffe, the wife of the man who 
 ad been left, upon inquiring for her husband, was inform- 
 t), d that he was made a slave : distracted by this shocking 
 j| vent, she ran, raving as she was, to the archbishop, and 
 ltj egged of him either to take her life, or restore to her arms 
 er lost husband, the father of five helpless children : she 
 'as poor, but her case excited general pity — a subscription 
 'as opened, and the sum of about five hundred dollars 
 non raised. The archbishop in the mean time wrote to 
 Llexander W. Court, then Spanish agent at Mogadore, to 
 ’ r , insomthis unfortunate man, which he effected with much 
 ifficulty ; but as the money did not come on in time, or 
 )om some other cause, this poor Spaniard, whose name was 
 ? ermin , remained in Mogadore for nearly a year without 
 eing permitted to go home, when Mr. William Wiltshire 
 ad Don Plabo Riva, of Mogadore, and Mr. John O’Sulli- 
 tn, of New- York, interfered in his favour ; furnished him 
 ith clothing ; procured for him a passage, and sent him to 
 is disconsolate family. This is said to be the only Span- 
 rd who has been redeemed in that part of Barbary for 
 lany years past. 
 
 - 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 heick Ali out-manoeuvred again by Rais bel Cossim—They 
 set off in the night — Meet with Sidi Hamet and his broth- 
 er , accompanied by some Moors with mules sent by Mr. 
 Wiltshire for the sufferers to ride on — Occurrences on the 
 road — Meeting with Mr. Wiltshire near Swearah or 
 Mogadore — They go into that city — are ordered before the 
 Bashaw — are cleansed , clothed , and fed by their deliverer . 
 
 After supper, Rais bel Cossim told me to keep a 
 aod look out ; that he would watch the motions of Sheick 
 
 27 
 
210 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY ! S NARRATIVE, 
 
 Ali, who he still feared was plotting against our libertj 
 After I had informed my enfeebled and desponding con 
 panions that we were now out of danger from the Arab; 
 (having come about fifty miles from Stuka,) and in th 
 emperor of Morocco’s dominions, and, consequently, sui 
 of being liberated, and that too in a very few days ; an 
 after telling them that we must bear up under our fatiguej 
 with fortitude, and exert our remaining strength and spii 
 its, in order to reach Mogadore ; we all laid ourselvt 
 down to rest ; and my companions, though they had t$ 
 bare ground for their bed, yet as they were wrapped u 
 in cloaks, and had their stomachs well filled with gooj 
 and nourishing food, soon fell asleep. As for myself, fea: 
 hope, and various other sensations, kept me awake, an 
 I could not close my eyes, but waited with extreme ans 
 iety for the appearance of Rais bel Cossim. Soon aftei 
 midnight Rais came, and finding me awake, he rouse 
 me and the owners of the camels, and requested them t 
 get ready to go on speedily, and then told me that on en 
 tering this place, while he was busied in feeding his muk 
 Sheick Ali had stolen oft’ privately to the town, and visit 
 eel the governor,, who had agreed, on his representation 
 to take us into custody in the morning at day-break, an 
 assist in extorting what money the Sheick demanded ; c 
 to connive at our being stolen and carried back by Sheic 
 Ali’s men to Suse. “ I have learned this (said he) fron 
 an Old friend of mine, whom I met and commissioned t 
 watch Sheick Ali’s motions when we were coming into thi 
 place : awaken your shipmates : you must depart this in 
 stant : the drivers know the road ; it is very rocky : yoi 
 must tell your men to hold on as tight as possible ; am 
 remember, if you are four leagues from this town befor 
 daylight, your liberty is secured, if not, you will be agai 
 the most miserable of slaves. Encourage your men t< 
 use their utmost exertions, and I hope, with God’s bless 
 ing, in three days more you will be in Swearah with you 
 friend. I will join you as soon as possible.” The camel 
 were by this time ready : we were placed on them, am 
 proceeded up the rocky steeps as fast as possible, but wit! 
 ihe most profound silence. Sleep seemed to have literallj 
 sealed the eyes of all the Moors in the lower town, aw 
 
211 
 
 SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA.-' 
 
 n the batteries near the path through which we passed ; 
 hese batteries rose one above another like an amphitheatre 
 owards the fortress. The quadrangular walls of the town 
 nd fortress of Santa Cruz, or Agader, crowned the sum- 
 nit of this mountain on our right, and stand, from ap- 
 pearance, not less than fifteen hundred feet above the level 
 >f the sea. We went fast forward, in profound silence, 
 vhich was not in the least disturbed by the tread of the 
 . amels, because their feet are as soft as sponge or leather : 
 i Inly the hoarse roaring of the surf breaking among the 
 locks below us, startled the ear, and excited in my mind 
 rightful images of direful shipwrecks, and the consequent 
 miseries of the poor mariner driven on this inhospitable 
 
 J oast - 
 
 We had been hurrying on as fast as possible for about 
 wo hours, and had gained the distance of probably three 
 pagues from Santa Cruz, when our ears were struck with 
 he clinking sound of iron against the stones, which an- 
 ounced the approach of horses or mules that were shod ; 
 nd in an instant, though dark, we discovered close by us 
 m our right, a considerable number of men riding on 
 lilies, and passing the other way. Not a word was ut- 
 ^red on either side, nor could the faces of any be distin- 
 ;uished, though we were not more than three or four yards 
 sunder. A thought darting across my mind, suggested 
 b me that it was my old master : I instantly called out, 
 udi Hamet / and was quickly answered, Ascoon Riley ? 
 who is it, Riley?) The whole company stopped in an 
 istant, and the next moment I had the joy of kissing the 
 iand of my old master and benefactor. Sidi Mohammed, 
 >eid, and Bo- Mohammed, were in his company, together 
 pith three or four Moors, whom our kind friend had sent 
 [own, charged with the money and mules for our ransom 
 nd conveyance. The principal Moor, and who had charge 
 if the money until we were delivered over according to 
 he wish of Sidi Hamet, spoke Spanish fluently ; he want- 
 d to inquire of me where Rais bel Cossim was : I told 
 lirn at Santa Cruz. Sidi Hamet wished to question me 
 limself, and asked me “Where is Sheick Ali ?” and 
 vhen I informed him that I had left him in Santa Cruz, in 
 ompany with Rais bel Cossim and Muley Ibrahim, he 
 
212 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 was satisfied ; and said Sheick Ali was a bad man, an { 
 did not fear God. Seid also pretended to be much r< j 
 joiced at our being on the road to Mogadore, and yet 
 thought I could discover that he was trying to play a dee: 
 game of artful duplicity : but old Sidi Mohammed was ij 
 truth rejoiced to find us in the emperor’s dominions.- 
 Having now been absolutely delivered over to Bel Mooder\ 
 the Moor who had charge of the money, he paid it ov< 
 to Sidi Hamet, and three of us were mounted on mule: 
 and proceeded on, while all those whom we met went tc i 
 wards Santa Cruz, except the three Moors who owne 
 and brought the mules down for us to ride on, and wh 
 remained and proceeded northward w 7 ith us. 
 
 All the time we had stopped to make the necessary ai 
 rangements above mentioned, the owners of the camel i 
 were urging us to go forward, thereby showing a dispcj 
 sition to obey the orders of Rais bel Cossim, and wouL, 
 not for a long time believe that those who stopped u 
 were not our enemies. The backs of the mules wer 
 covered with large saddles made of coarse cloth, stuffeii 
 with straw, and formed very broad, so as to fit their shape 
 and reached almost from their heads to their tails : thi 
 kind of saddle is too broad for a man to attempt to stride 
 Over the saddles were placed what the Moors and Arab 
 call a shwerry, which is made like a double basket, an< 
 formed of palm leaves woven together like mat work 
 each of these baskets might contain about two bushels 
 they are attached together by a mat woven in with anc 
 like the rest, of about a foot and a half in width, suffi 
 ciently strong to bear a burden, and long enough to le 
 them hang down easily on the sides of the mules : tin 
 outer part of this shwerry is held up by means of a rope 
 passing through the handle on one side, and tied Jo thai 
 on the other, passing over the mule’s back. In thi; 
 shwerry, they carry their provisions, merchandise, and 
 spare clothing, (if any they have,) when on their jour- 
 neys. The rider sits on the saddle above the shwerry, 
 with both legs on one side, balancing his body exactly, 
 and rides extremely easy, as he can shift his position ai 
 pleasure, and the mule’s gait is an easy, fast ambling walk, 
 which they are taught when very young ; their motion u 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA .' 1 
 
 213 
 
 vry slight, and was a seasonable relief to our almost dis- 
 Icated limbs: the change, with respect to jolting, was 
 v great from the camel to the mule, that we could not 
 l:ep our eyes open from mere drowsiness, and Burns 
 Sitting asleep, dropped off his mule, and was so badly 
 jirtasto be from that time incapable of supporting him- 
 4 If ; so that a Moor was obliged to sit before or behind 
 Jm, and keep him on, driving the mule at the same 
 Ju |me : and this was continued during the remainder of 
 nt iur journey. 
 
 We had proceeded in this way until about ten o’clock, 
 lihen we were joined by Rais bel Cossim, Sidi Hamet, 
 teid, Sidi Mohammed, and Bel Mooden. I now inquired 
 S' Rais what had become of Muley Ibrahim and Sheick 
 ®|.Ii, with their attendants, and he told me they had set 
 is Jilt for their respective homes. I wanted to know all the 
 jirticulars of their proceedings, and Rais promised to 
 Itisfy me after breakfast, which we now stopped to eat 
 I iz. biscuit and butter) near a well that afforded us good 
 sater, though nearly on a level with the sea. After we 
 'ere again mounted, he began to relate as follows : — - 
 (' When my friend told me of Sheick Ali’s plan, I stole 
 way softly, and came and sent you off without the 
 Iheick ’s knowledge ; but Muley Ibrahim was in the se- 
 ret, and remained with the Sheick to prevent alarm if he 
 lould awake during my absence.” Rais bel Cossim 
 irther told me in substance, that as soon as we were on 
 ar journey, he returned and laid himself down to sleep 
 r iross the door- way, where Sheick Ali slept, and in such 
 manner as to make it impossible for the Sheick to go out 
 ithout alarming him ; the Sheick awoke at the dawn of 
 ay, and finding himself blockaded in the house, awakened 
 Lais, and told him that they had better wait on the gov- 
 rnor this morning, to which Rais consented, but wanted 
 ) see the slaves first, so as to have some coffee made : 
 fis was agreed on ; but when they came where we had 
 lept, and found none of us there, nor the camels, nor 
 aeir drivers, Rais broke out into the most violent passion 
 pparently ; accused the Sheick of having robbed him of 
 iis slaves during the night, and said he would instantly 
 tave him seized and delivered up to the governor, to be 
 
f 
 
 214 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 punished according to the Moorish law. Muley Ibrahii 
 who knew the whole affair, joined with Rais, protesti ? 
 he could no longer hold friendship with a man who v\ 
 capable of committing such an act, which he consider 
 to be one of the worst breaches of faith that ever d 1 
 graced a»man of his (the Sheick’s) high character. Shei J 
 AH was thunderstruck by this unexpected event — c 
 dared, in the most solemn manner, that he knew nothii 
 about our escape ; begged he might not be delivered i ! 
 to the governor ; acknowledged he had laid a plan the pr 
 ceding evening for our detention ; wished Rais to lea 
 the governor a small present, and proceed on the ro; 
 towards Mogadore in the hope of finding us, saying, V 
 must have gone that way, as the gates were shut on ti 
 other side, and there was no possibility of turning bat 
 by any other route. The Sheick added, “ I am in yo 
 power, and will go on with you and my friend Mule; 
 Ibrahim, without any attendants, to prove to you that 
 am innocent, and that I place the greatest confidence 
 your friendship.” Thus they agreed to pursue and ei' 
 deavour to overtake the supposed runaway slaves ; bi j 
 soon after they had mounted the hills north of Santa Cru: I 
 meeting our former masters, with Bel Mooden and Sid 
 Mohammed, who had seen us, (as I before mentioned 
 they stopped and talked over their several affairs. Sheic 
 Ali insisted that Sidi Hamet had treated him very ill : th;| 
 he and Seid owed him four hundred dollars, which the! 
 were to pay him on their return from the desert, but th; 
 they had passed by his lands three days’ journey with thei 
 slaves, without even calling on him to eat bread : he add 
 ed, he would have gone with them himself, and with a 
 armed force through Sidi Ishem’s country, to preven 
 that chief from taking their properly — “ but you wishei 
 to cheat me of my money, as you did of my daughter,’ 
 said he, addressing himself to Sidi Hamet. Sidi Hamet 
 whose voice had been very high before, now lowering hi: 
 tone, said, it was better to settle their disputes than tc 
 quarrel ; so he acknowledged he owed his father-in- lav 
 three hundred and sixty dollars for goods, but assertec 
 that they were not worth half the money : he would, how 
 ever, pay the principal, but no interest, which would have 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 215 
 
 s elled the amount of debt to more than five hundred 
 Jjlars : the Sheick agreed to take the principal, which 
 ks counted out in silver, as he would not take gold 
 ^Jubloons in payment, because he did not know their 
 ml value. He then delivered up Sidi Hamet’s bond, and 
 s d he would return to his tribe. Rais bel Cossim gave 
 J uley Ibrahim a present in cash, and they separated, hav- 
 jilg' first vow ed everlasting friendship, and joined in prayer 
 J the success of their several journeys. 
 
 Our company now consisted of Rais bel Cossim, Bel 
 ooden, Sidi Hamet, Seid, Sidi Mohammed, and three 
 uleteers, all armed with muskets, swords, or daggers — - 
 2 five Bereberies with their camels, who had brought 
 on from Stuka, and myself and four shipmates. We 
 ioceeded along the coast, sometimes on a sand beach, 
 •w climbing an almost perpendicular mountain of great 
 ight, by a winding kind of zig-zag road that seemed to 
 ' ve been cut in the rock in many places by art ; then de- 
 ending into deep valleys by this kind of natural steps ; 
 te rocks on our right for a great distance, rising nearly 
 rpendicularly. The path we were now oblige d to follow, 
 as not more than two feet wide in one place, and on our 
 ft it broke off in a precipice of some hundred feet deep 
 
 ( the sea — the smallest slip of the mule or camel would 
 ive plunged it and its rider down the rocks to inevitable 
 id instant death, as there was no bush or other thing to 
 .y hold of by which a man might save his life. Very 
 trtunately for us, there had been no rain for a considera- 
 te time previous, so that the road was now dry. Rais 
 >ld me when it was wet it was never attempted, and that 
 tany ratal accidents had happened there within his remem- 
 rance ; though there was another road that led round 
 rer the mountains far within the country. 
 
 One of these accidents he said he would mention. “A 
 ampany ol Jews, six in number, from Santa Cruz for 
 lorocco, came to this place with their loaded mules in 
 ie twilight, after sunset ; being very anxious to get past 
 before dark, and supposing no other travellers would 
 pnture to meet them, or dare to pass it in the night, they 
 id not take the precaution to look out, and call aloud 
 efore they entered on it ; for there is a place built out or; 
 
216 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 each end of this dangerous piece of road, from wher 
 one may see if there are others on it : not being qu 
 half a mile in length, a person by hallooing out can 
 heard from one end to the other, and it is the practice 
 all who go that way, to give the signal. A company 
 Moors had entered at the other end, and going to war. 
 Santa Cruz at the same time, and they also supposi 
 that no others would dare to pass it at that hour, came 
 without the usual precaution. About half way over, a' 
 in the most difficult place, the two parties met : there w 
 no possibility of passing each other, nor of turning ab'c 
 to go back either way : the Moors were mounted as w 
 as the Jews : neither party could retire, nor could a 
 one, except the foremost, get off of his mule. The Mot 
 soon became outrageous, and threatened to throw the Je 
 down headlong : the Jews, though they had always be, 
 treated like slaves, and forced to submit to every insi 
 and indignity, yet finding themselves in this perilous sit 
 ation, without the possibility of retiring, and being u i 
 willing to break their necks merely to accommodate t 
 Moors, the foremost Jew dismounted carefully over t 
 head of his mule, with a stout stick in his hand : the Mo, 
 nearest him did the same, and came forward to atta< 
 him with his scimitar : both were fighting for their live 
 as neither could retreat — the Jew’s mule was first pitch 
 down the craggy steep, and dashed to atoms by the fall- 
 the Jew’s stick was next hacked to pieces by the scimitai 
 when finding it was impossible for him to save his life, 1 
 seized the Moor in his arms, and springing off the prec 
 pice, both were instantly hurled to destruction : two mo 
 of the Jews and one Moor lost their lives in the same wa 
 together with eight mules ; and the three Jews who mac 
 out to escape, were hunted down and killed by the rtl; 
 tions of the Moors who had lost their lives on the pas 
 and the place has ever since been called “ the Jew’s leap. 
 It is, indeed, enough to produce dizziness, even in tl 
 head of a sailor, and if I had been told the story beloi 
 getting on this frightful ridge, I am not certain but th; 
 my imagination might have disturbed my faculties, an 
 rendered me incapable of proceeding with safety alon 
 this perilous path. The danger over, however, and tli 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 217 
 
 Dry finished, vve found ourselves mounting the first bank 
 fbm the sea on Cape Geer. When we came on the height, 
 the pitch of the Cape, I rode up to the edge of the pre- 
 )ice to look down upon the tumultuous ocean. The 
 esent Cape is about one hundred feet in height, and ap- 
 ;ared to have been much shattered and rent by the waves 
 id tempests : huge masses of rocks had been under - 
 ned, broken off, and tumbled down one upon another, 
 (ruing very wild and disorderly heaps in the water all 
 iund it. I could not help shuddering at the sight artd 
 ind of the surf as it came thundering on, and burst 
 linst the trembling sides of this rocky Cape, which is 
 iut a mile in length, and is already undermined in such 
 manner, that the whole road along which we passed will 
 ■y probably soon tumble down among the assailing bil- 
 rs. On our right, the land rose gradually like an in- 
 led plane, and was covered with pebbles and other round 
 moth stones that bore strong marks of having been 
 csed about and worn by the surf on the sea beach : it 
 me thus for about two miles, when it was interrupted by 
 
 I pendicular and overhanging cliffs of craggy and broken 
 ks, three or four hundred feet in height : these rocks, 
 l the whole face of the upper Cape, bore as strong 
 crks of having once been washed and beat upon by the 
 f:an, as did the cliff below us, against which it was now 
 §>hing with dreadful violence. Along most parts of the 
 r lined plane, and particularly near the upper cliff', were 
 aje mounts of loose sand in form of snow drifts. This 
 *d was now flying up from the beach below, being 
 iivvn out from among the rocks by the strong trade winds 
 itwery low tide, and almost as soon as the dashings of 
 1 waves among them had prepared it : this sand, and in 
 at all we had seen since we came to the cultivated coun- 
 ■r, was the same in appearance as that which we saw and 
 csed through on the desert, and must have been pro- 
 ved and heaped up by the same causes. After passing 
 1 Cape about one hour’s ride, vve came to the high bank 
 )ia river, and descending to its left shore, we found its 
 r. uth was filled up with sand that had been washed in by 
 fi sea, though the river was about half a mile wide at its 
 
 28 
 
218 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 end, and appeared quite deep : here we stopped to t; ; 
 some food, namely, biscuit and butter. 
 
 Bel Mooden had also brought some dried figs, dal 
 and nuts. Having finished our repast, we were ag 
 placed on our beasts, and proceeded round the mouthf 
 the river on a sandy beach, about one hundred yards wi 
 and twenty feet above the level of the fresh water wit! 
 and thirty feet above the sea water on the beach at h: 
 tide. Our guides informed me that this river was cal 
 “ el woed Tensha that it had formerly been a very w 
 and deep one, and used to empty itself into the sea ; t 
 in the rainy season it was impossible to pass it without i 
 ing twenty miles up the country ; but for the last few ye 
 there had not been rain enough in this part of the coun 
 to force open its mouth. 
 
 Having left the margin of the river, we entered 01 
 plain, and struck off to our right in a direction nearly e; 
 and we went forward as fast as possible towards the hi 
 land. We had passed many sanctuaries, but had not ( 
 served a single dwelling house, nor even a tent, since 
 left Santa Cruz. We now beheld several square wal 
 places, which answer the double purpose of dwelling hoi 
 and castle, crowning the top of the high mountain, wh 
 appeared very dry and sterile, mostly composed of lay 
 of huge rocks and very steep, with a few dry shrubs sc! 
 tered thinly about the crevices and small flat spots 
 spaces. Approaching the foot of the mountain, we caijl 
 to a very deep hollow, apparently formed by the washii 
 of a small stream of water, assisted by rains that hi 
 poured through it from time immemorial. Our w 
 wound up through this steep hollow, and alongside of t 
 little brook before mentioned. As we entered it, the e 
 was delighted with the beauty of the scene. The bott( 
 of the hollow had been made level by art, and was covr 
 ed from its base with gardens, which rose one above a| 
 other in the form of an amphitheatre : they were kept * 
 to a level by means of solid stone walls laid in lime, alt 
 had been filled in with rich soil : the longest was i : 
 greater in extent than twenty yards by ten. The sides “ 
 the hollow were so steep, that the upright walls were r : 
 less than ten or fifteen feet in height between each garde 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 219 
 
 <ney were well stocked with most kinds of vegetables cul- 
 wated in kitchen gardens, and with melons : gutters were 
 ariously disposed around these gardens, to convey water 
 Vi every part, at the pleasure of the proprietor : they had 
 Hit rowing on their sides an abundance of fig and date trees, 
 id grape vines running up the sides of the rocks ; and a 
 'it | tie higher up, hundreds of the dwarf arga tree, whose 
 t dlo.w fruit contributed to enliven the prospect. We 
 ci (ere at least two hours in gaining the summit, when it 
 
 * f id become dark, and we had to pass down the mountain 
 
 1 its east side through another hollow, though not a fertile 
 tit ue ; for here was no running water. The narrow path 
 j e travelled in, had been worn into the limestone rock, 
 in { the feet of mules and horses that had passed along it, 
 ) doubt, during the course of many centuries ; and, as- 
 kSted by the rain water streaming through it from above, 
 
 ) i was in some places channelled out to the depth of ten or 
 teen feet, and just wide enough for a camel or mule to 
 at tss. In one place it became necessary, for the want of 
 fficient room to get through, to take the lading from tire 
 ules and carry it down by hand. After descending about 
 In ree hours we came to a plain, and kept on in an eastern 
 11 jrection until about midnight, when we approached the 
 falls of a small city, or dwelling-place, and took up our 
 idgings near it on the flat top of a long cistern, which 
 ■corded plenty of water. The chief men of the city, 
 iarmed by the barking of their dogs, soon came out and 
 welcomed their visitors by the well known Arabic saluta- 
 Dn, “ Salerno Alilcom , Labez, &c. 
 
 • They furnished our company with a supper of cous- 
 bo-soo, while I and my men ate some dates and dry figs. 
 
 he night was damp and cold, and this, with my fatigues, 
 mdered it impossible for me to sleep. We stayed here 
 :r about three hours, when daylight appearing, (October 
 e 6th,) w r e were again mounted, and proceeded on our 
 urney. My companions, as well as myself, were so 
 eak, being really worn out, and completely exhausted, 
 ijat it was with the greatest difficulty they could be sup- 
 wted on the mules. As daylight increased, we saw a 
 limber of towns or dwellings handsomely enclosed with 
 igh walls of stone, cemented with lime : the land on the 
 
220 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 plain was divided off and fenced in with rough stone wa 
 made with great labour : numerous flocks of goats w< 
 feeding on the oil nut : some herds of cattle, with a f 
 old horses, asses, and camels, were nibbling off the gre 
 leaves and branches of small shrubs, for the want of gras 
 we also saw many regularly planted orchards of fig tree 
 and the land was in many places ploughed and ready 
 receive the seed barley so soon as rain should fall sufficit 
 to ensure its vegetation. 
 
 We went forward to the northeastward, and on rising 
 hill, we saw two mountains before us to the north, o\ 
 which I was informed we must pass : the farthest one noi 
 appeared to be twenty miles distant. We soon began 
 climb the nearest, and when we reached its summit, loo 
 ing to the east, the Atlas was fairly in view, and all 
 lofty peaks covered with snow. Descending this mou 
 tain, we met large droves of camels, mules, and assi 
 laden with salt and other merchandise, and driven bj 
 considerable number of Moors and Arabs. The Mot 
 were easily distinguished by their dress : they had eac 
 besides his haick, a caftan or close jacket next his ski 
 and the most of them had turbans on their heads. Th 
 were armed with daggers, or scimitars, suspended fro 
 their necks by a cord of red woollen yarn thrown over t 
 left shoulder : the scabbards were such as I have befo 
 described. The dagger is worn outside of the haick ; 
 handle is made of wood, handsomely wrought. The poi 
 of the dagger hooks inward like a pruning knife : whi 
 they have occasion to use it, they seize it with their rig 
 hand, the lower side of the hand being next to the blad 
 and strike after raising it above their heads, ripping op< 
 their adversary : they never attempt to parry a stroke wii 
 their daggers. 
 
 The valley between these two mountains had been wt 
 cultivated, and would be very productive with seasonab 
 rains, but at this time those dreadful scourges, sevei 
 droughts, and myriads of locusts, had destroyed almo 
 every green thing : even the leaves of the trees and shrul 
 had not escaped their devastations. I was informed b 
 Kais bel Cossim that we were now in the province of Ha 
 hah , and that the locusts had utterly laid waste the countr 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 221 
 
 br the last six years, so that the land now groaned under 
 most grievous famine ; nor could our company procure 
 ny barley or other food for their beasts. This province 
 lust be naturally a very strong military country ; it is 
 ery mountainous, and rendered almost inaccessible by 
 le craggy steeps and narrow roads, or defiles, through 
 . i'hich an army would be under the necessity of marching. 
 M rhe cities, or rather castles, in which the inhabitants re- 
 ide, are built strong with stone and lime, and are fifteen 
 sin r twenty feet in height, generally of a quadrangular form 
 f from fifty to two hundred yards square, and the tops 
 no rowned with turrets : within these walls all the flocks 
 ts ad herds are driven every night for safe keeping. All 
 le men in these parts are well armed with long Moorish 
 tuskets, and with sabres, or daggers, by their sides : 
 mi lere are no Arabs dwelling in this part of the country, as 
 Mliey always live in tents, and will not be confined within 
 trails ; nor had we seen a tent since our arrival at the 
 welling of Sidi Mohammed. 
 
 The valley now spread out to the right, and might be 
 ermed a considerably extensive plain, on which but few 
 astles or dwellings appeared, and we saw no river or 
 tream of water, though there were high mountains on 
 |oth sides. The little herbage that had sprung up, in 
 onsequence of the recent rains, was destroyed by the 
 icusts, which were to be seen thinly scattered over the 
 round, and rose in considerable numbers on our ap- 
 proach, skipping like grasshoppers. Rais bel Cossim in- 
 armed me that the flights of locusts, from which these 
 ew had strayed, had gone to some hitherto more favoured 
 •art of the country to continue their ravages. 
 
 While we were tranquilly travelling along, I asked Rais 
 a what manner the oil was extracted from the nuts that 
 ;rew in such quantities on the arga tree, which entirely 
 overed the sides of the hills. He told me that in the 
 :ountry these nuts were swallowed by the goats, (and in 
 act we saw these animals picking them up under the 
 rees ;) that the nut passes through, after being deprived 
 >f its bark, which, though very bitter, was highly relished 
 )y the goats, and when voided, the women and children, 
 vho tend them, pick up the nuts and put them into a 
 
'222 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 bag, slung about them for the purpose, and carry thei j 
 home, where they crack them between stones, get out tl 
 kernel, and expressing the oily juice from them, they be 
 it down in a jar until it becomes of a proper consistenc i 
 when it is poured off and is fit for use. The appearanc 
 of this fruit growing thickly on the trees, different in sizi 
 and variegated in colour from green to red, and from thj 
 to bright vellow, had a pleasing effect : the ground b< 
 neath the trees was also covered with them. 
 
 Having come to the foot of the high mountain, we a: 
 cended it, winding up its steep side in a zig-zag path ver 
 difficult of ascent, and indeed almost impracticable. O 
 our left was a deep gully, with a considerable stream ( 
 water running down through it, like a small mill-stream 
 it poured over the precipices, making a loud roaring, tht 
 might be heard at a great distance ; though the whol 
 stream seemed to lose itself entirely in the sand before 
 reached the bottom of the mountain. The sides of thi 
 gully were shaded by the arga and bean tree, and man 
 other bushes ; and near the water I discovered a few yet 
 or hemlock bushes, that reminded me of scenes I ha 
 been familiar with in my own country. As we rode nea 
 the top of the mountain, this gully assumed the appear 
 ance of a rich valley, filled with gardens one above an! 
 other, supported by strong stone walls in the same manne 
 as those I have already described, though much larger 
 and they were apparently well watered by the stream tha 
 was carried around them in gutters fitted for that purpose 
 These gardens looked as if they were well cultivated, ant 
 stored with vegetables ; and numbers of men and boy; 
 were at work tilling and dressing them. 
 
 On the highest part of the mountain that we reached, ] 
 was much surprised to find a considerable plain spot, near- 
 ly covered with stacks of salt, which stood very thick, 
 and must, I think, have amounted to several hundreds, 
 To see marine salt in such quantities on the top of a moun- 
 tain, which I computed to stand at least fifteen hundred 
 feet above the surface of the ocean, excited my wonder 
 and curiosity ; but we stopped short of them, for the cam- 
 els we had started with from Stuka, were to carry loads ol 
 this salt back ; so that after Rais had paid the owners of 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 223 
 
 lem for their trouble and assistance, they went towards 
 he salt heaps, wishing us a prosperous journey. While 
 Le were stopped to settle with them, we were taken from 
 le mules and seated on the ground, when many of the 
 nhabitants came near to have a look at us, Christian slaves . 
 if hey brought with them a few raw turnips, which they 
 istributed among us : they were the sweetest I had ever 
 > isted, and very refreshing. We were soon placed upon 
 lie mules again, and I rode a little to the left, in order to 
 nd out in what way this great quantity of salt had been 
 rocured and deposited in this singular situation ; and on 
 near approach, I saw a great number of salt pans formed 
 f clay, and very shallow, into which water was conduct- 
 d by means of small gutters cut for the purpose in the 
 lay. The water issues in considerable quantities from 
 le side of the mountain, in the northwest part of the 
 lain, (which has been levelled down, and regulated with 
 ,reat labour,) and is very strongly impregnated with salt : 
 le pans or basins being very shallow, the water is soon 
 vaporated by the heat of the sun, and a crystallization of 
 Nceilent salt is the result. It is small grained, and tinged 
 y the reddish colour of the clay of which the pans are 
 irmed. The highest peak of the mountain did not ap- 
 pear to rise above the salt spring more than about one hun- 
 red feet. A great number of men and boys were em- 
 loyed in raking and heaping up the salt, and numbers 
 i lore in selling and measuring it out, and loading it on 
 amels, mules, and asses. Rais bel Cossim informed me 
 i at this spring furnished the greatest proportion of the salt 
 tat is made use of in the Moorish dominions, and in 
 •use ; and I should estimate the number of camels, mules, 
 nd asses that were there at that time waiting for loads, at 
 ! com four to live hundred. We had met hundreds on the 
 oute since we left Stuka, loaded with this article, and I 
 fterwards saw many loads of the same kind of salt enter 
 Wogadore, Saffy , and Rabat. 
 
 We proceeded to the northward down the mountain, 
 which is not so steep on its north as on its south side. 
 Hie country, after descending it, was tolerably smooth, 
 v T ith much of the arga wood flourishing on every side. 
 
 . >oon after dark we came to a wall that enclosed a space 
 
224 
 
 CART AIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 of ground forty or fifty yards square : it was built of sto: 
 and lime, six or eight feet in height, with an open spa' 
 like a gateway on its northern side, through which \ 
 entered, and took up our lodgings on the ground, whi< 
 was very smooth. A walled village was near this yard c 
 the west, and on the north, outside of both walls, stood 
 mosque, or house of worship : the inhabitants were chan 
 ing their evening or eight o’clock prayers when we ente 
 ed the yard ; yet none of them came out to look at u 
 their attention being wholly confined to their religious dr 
 ties. We were taken from the mules and placed neartl 
 wall, which kept off the night wind, and after we hr 
 nibbled a little biscuit and drank some water, we thankt 
 God for his goodness, and tried to get a little sltep. T1 
 wind did not molest us, and we rested until about mic 
 night, when we were awakened by the noise occasione 
 by a company of men with loaded camels and mules 
 they had already entered the yard without ceremony, ti 
 the number probably of thirty men, with three times r 
 many camels, mules, and asses. .1 was awakened by tli 
 bellowing of the camels, as they were forced to lie dow 
 with their heavy loads. The men did not speak to our; 
 and as soon as they had tethered their mutes by tyni. 
 ropes round their footlock joints, and fastening them t- 
 pegs driven into the ground for that purpose, they laii 
 themselves down to sleep, wrapped up in their haicks. 
 
 Our whole company being awake, they saddled thei 
 mules, put us thereon, and we proceeded on our journey 
 It was very dark, and the path lay through a rough stow 
 country. We were so weak, that we couid not sit on the 
 mules without one being behind to steady our totterins. 
 frames : at daylight we found ourselves near some substan 
 iial buildings, and I begged of Rais to buy some milk i 
 it was possible he rode near the gates and asked some o 
 the inhabitants for milk ; but they would not sc.l any. 
 This to me was a sore disappointment, as I was benumbed 
 with cold, and so much fatigued that I thought n wouic 
 be impossible for me to ride much further ; which Rais 
 observing, said to me, “ Keep up your spirits, Captain, 
 only a few hours longer, and you will be in Swearah, if 
 God Almighty continues his protection.” I was so re- 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 225 
 
 iUced and debilitated, that I could not support even good 
 jews with any degree of firmness, and such was my agi- 
 ition, that it was with the utmost difficulty I could keep 
 n my mule for some moments afterwards. We had been 
 irdj onstantly travelling for three days and most of three 
 oJights, and though I concluded we must be near Swea- 
 ts ih, I did not think we should reach it before late in the 
 najrening. Passing along a narrow footway between high 
 ushes, we came to a long string of sand hills on our left, 
 s dj rifted up like the sand heaps on the desert, and along the 
 jrljoast : it was then about eight o’clock in the morning, 
 liji’hen mounting the side of one of those hills, the city of 
 
 i wearah broke suddenly upon our view, with the island 
 F Mogadore forming a harbour, in which was a brig 
 ding at anchor with English colours flying — “ Take 
 lurage, Captain,” said the good Rais'; “ there is Swea- 
 h,” pointing towards the town ; “ and there is a vessel 
 o carry you to your country and family : if God please 
 pu will soon see the noble Wiltshire, who will relieve 
 bu from ail your miseries. I thank my God your suffer- 
 Igs are nearly at an end, and that I have been found wor- 
 ld ny to be an instrument in the hands of the Omnipotent 
 l redeem you from slavery.” lie next returned thanks 
 > the Almighty in Arabic, with all that fervour and devo- 
 on, so peculiar to Mohammedans, and then he ejaculated 
 Spanish, “ May it have pleased Almighty God to have' 
 reserved the lives of my wife and children.” 
 
 We now proceeded down the sand hills towards the 
 ty— but very slowly. Sidi Hamet had been for some 
 me missing : he had gone privately forward, to be first 
 > carry the news to our deliverer of our approach ; and 
 dw Bel Mooden and Sidi Mohammed left us for a similar 
 arpose, and made the best of their way towards the city, 
 would be idle ior me to attempt to describe the various 
 notions of my mind at this exquisitely interesting mo- 
 ient : I must leave that to be conceived by the reader. 
 Ve soon approached the walls of an imperial palace, 
 hich is situated about two miles southeast of Swearah, 
 
 • Mogadore. The walls are built in a square of proba- 
 y one hundred yards at each side, and about twenty 
 :et in height— they enclose four small square houses, 
 
 29 
 
226 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 built at the four corners within, and which rise one stor 
 above the walls : the houses have square roofs, coming 1 
 a point in the centre, and handsomely covered with gree 
 tiles — they, as well as the other walls, are built with roug 
 stone, cemented with lime, plastered over and white 
 washed. 
 
 Near the western angle of the walls we stopped, an 
 were taken olf our mules and seated on the green gras; : 
 A small stream of fresh water, running from the eas 
 was spreading over the sand near its northern wall, flowin 
 and meandering slowly towards the bay over the bead 
 in a number of small rills. The water in the bay wa 
 quite smooth; small boats were moving gently on it 
 glassy surface, or were anchored near its entrance, proba 
 bly for the purpose of fishing: this, together with th 
 sight of great numbers of men driving camels, cows, asse: 
 and sheep, and riding on horses, all at a distance, an 
 going different ways, together with the view of the hig 
 steeples in Mogadore, infused into my soul a kind c 
 sublime delight and a heavenly serenity that is indescriba 
 ble, and to which it had ever before been a stranger 
 The next moment I discovered the American flag floatin; 
 over a part of the distant city : at this blessed and trans 
 porting sight, the little blood remaining in my vein 
 gushed through my glowing heart with wild impetuosity 
 and seemed to pour a flood of new life through every par 
 of my exhausted frame. We were still seated on th 
 green sward near the western Avail, and the mules tha 
 brought us there were feeding carelessly before us at i 
 little distance. Our deliverer, who had received news o 
 our coming from Sidi Harriet, having first directed th 
 flag of our country to be hoisted as a signal, had mount 
 cd his horse, ridden out of the city, and came to th 
 eastern side of the palace walls, where Rais bel Cossin 
 met him — unknown to me. I expected him soon, bu 
 did not think he was so near. He had dismounted, anc 
 was prepared to behold some of the most miserable ob 
 jects his imagination could paint. He led his horse alone 
 the south angle and near the wall : Rais v T as by his side 
 when opening past the corner, I heard Rais exclaim, ir 
 Spanish, “ Alla estan” — “ there they are — at this sounc 
 
rid 
 
BUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 227 
 
 lye looked up and beheld our deliverer, who had at that 
 Instant turned his eyes upon us. He started back one 
 tep with surprise. His blood seemed to fly from his 
 isage for a moment, but recovering himself a little, ho 
 lushed forward, and clasping me to his breast, he ejacu- 
 :ed, “ Welcome to my arms, my dear Sir; this is truly 
 happy moment.” He next took each of my compan- 
 ns by the hand, and welcomed them to their liberty, 
 diile tears. trickled down his manly cheeks, and the sud- 
 en rush of all the generous and sympathetic feelings of 
 is heart nearly choked his utterance : then raising his eyes 
 b wards heaven, he said, “ I thank thee, great Author of 
 ay being, for thy mercy to these my brothers.” He could 
 dd no more ; his whole frame was so agitated that his 
 trength failed him, and he sunk to the ground. We, on 
 ur part, could only look up towards heaven in silent ado- 
 ption, while our hearts swelled with indescribable sensa- 
 ions of gratitude and love to the all wise, all powerful, 
 ,nd ever merciful God of the universe, who had con- 
 ucted us through so many dreadful scenes of danger and 
 offering ; had controlled the passions and disposed the 
 earts of the barbarous Arabs in our favour, and had 
 nally brought us to the arms of such a friend. Tears of 
 iy streamed from our eyes, and Rais bel Cossim was so 
 huch affected at this interview, that in order to conceal his 
 r eeping, he hid himself behind the wall; for the Moors 
 i well as the Arabs, hold the shedding of tears to be a 
 omanish and degrading weakness. After a short pause., 
 /hen Mr. Wiltshire load in some measure recovered, he 
 aid, “ Come, my friends, let us go to the city ; my house 
 ; already prepared for your reception.” — The mules were 
 ' I :d up, and we were again placed on them, and rode off 
 < I :owly towards Mogadore. Mr. Savage and Clark were 
 n one mule, and Burns and Horace on another, for the 
 ■jurpose of mutually supporting each other; but their de- 
 ility was such, that they fell off on the beach two oi 
 tree times before they reached the city — however, it was 
 n the soft sand, and as they were very light, they seemed 
 1 b have received no material injury : they were again 
 laced on the mules, and steadied until our arrival at the 
 ates of Swearah, by Moors walking beside them. The 
 
228 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 gateway was crowded with Moors, Jews, and negroes- 
 the news of our coming having spread through the city 
 and a curiosity to see Christian slaves, had brought thei 
 together in great numbers ; and the men and boys of th 
 rabble were only restrained from committing violence o 
 us, by the gate-keepers and a few soldiers, who voluntaril 
 escorted us to Mr. Willshire’s house, and in some mea; 
 ure kept off the crowd ; there we were taken from or 
 mules ; but some soldiers coming in at that instant, sai 
 it was the Bashaw’s orders that we should appear befor 
 him immediately, and we were constrained to obey : 
 was but a few steps, and we were enabled to walk thei 
 by supporting one another. When we came to the doo: 
 we were ushered into a kind of entry-way, which serve 
 as an audience chamber, by Mr. Willshire’s Jew intei 
 preter, who, in token of submission, was obliged to pu 
 off his cap and slippers before he could enter. We wer 
 ordered to sit down on the floor, and we then saw befor 
 us a very respectable looking Moor, of about sixty year 
 of age: he was sitting cross-legged on a mat or carpe 
 that lay on the floor, which was terrace work, drinkin 
 tea from a small cup — his dress was the haick. After hi 
 had finished his cup of tea and looked at us a momen 
 he asked me, through the interpreter, what countryman 
 was ? where my vessel was wrecked ? how many men 
 had in all, and if the remainder were alive? how Ion: i 
 I had been a slave, and if the Arab, my last master, hai! 
 treated me kindly ? He wanted, further, to know hoi 
 much money from my vessel fell into the hands of th 
 Arabs, and what other cargo she had on board. Havinj 
 satisfied his inquiries in the best manner I was able, h 
 said we were now free, and he would write to the empe 
 ror respecting me and my men, and hoped he would giv 
 us leave to go home to our country : he then dismisse< 
 us. Mr. Wiltshire was with us, and answered all th 
 questions the Bashaw chose to put to him, and then assist 
 ed us in returning to his house. 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 229 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 he author and his companions are cleansed , clothed, and 
 fed — He becomes delirious , but is again restored to reason 
 — The kindness of Mr. Wiltshire — Letter from Horatio 
 Sprague, Esq. of Gibraltar — Author's refections on 
 his past sufferings and on the providential chain of events 
 that had ftted him for enduring them, and miraculously 
 supported and restored him and his four companions to 
 their liberty. 
 
 Upon our arrival at Mr. Willshire’s house, some 
 jws were ready to shave off our beards ; and as the hair 
 ini f our heads was also in a very unpleasant condition, 
 icing literally filled with vermin, that, as well as our 
 feards, underwent the operation of the scissors and ra- 
 ar : the hair was cut off at least as close as the horrible 
 ate of our skin and flesh would admit of : this may be 
 nagined, but it is absolutely too shocking for descrip- 
 an. Our squalid and emaciated frames were then pu- 
 ;fied with soap and water, and our humane and generous 
 :iend furnished us with some of his own clothing, after 
 or bodies, which were still covered with sores, had been 
 lbbed with sweet oil. Mr. Willshire’s cook had by this 
 me prepared a repast, which consisted of beef cut into 
 juare pieces, just large enough for a mouthful before it 
 as cooked ; these were then rolled in onions, cut up 
 ae, and mixed with salt and pepper ; they were in the 
 ;xt place put on iron skewers and laid horizontally across 
 pot of burning charcoal, and turned over occasionally, 
 ntil perfectly roasted : this dish is called Cubbub, and in 
 ly opinion far surpasses in flavour the so much admired 
 eef-steak ; as it is eaten hot from the skewers, and is 
 ideed an excellent mode of cooking beef. — We ate 
 Daringly of this delicious food, which was accompanied 
 nth some good wheaten bread and butter, and followed 
 y a quantity of exquisite pomegranates ; for our stom- 
 chs were contracted to such a degree by long fastings, 
 aat they had lost their tone, and could not receive the usual 
 llowance for a healthy man. — A doctor then appeared and 
 
230 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 administered to each of us a dose of physic, which he sa 
 was to prepare our stomachs for eating. He was a Je' 
 who had been bred at Moscow in Russia, had studit 
 medicine there, and had since travelled through German 
 Italy, and Spain ; he spoke the Spanish language fluent! 
 and I was convinced, before I left Mogadore, that he po 
 sessed much medical as well as surgical skill. He h; 
 only been in Mogadore two months, and there was i 
 other physician in that city, or in that part of the countr 
 except jugglers or quacks. Good beds had been fitt 
 up for myself and Mr. Savage in the same room, and ; 
 ter being welcomed by Mr. John Foxcroftand Don Pat 
 Riva, who had heard of our arrival, we retired to rest, j 
 
 My mind, which (though my body was worn down 
 a skeleton) had been hitherto strong, and supported n 
 through all my trials, distresses, and sufferings, and enj 
 bled me to encourage and keep up the spirits of my fr 
 quently despairing fellow- sufferers, could no longer susta 
 me : my sudden change of situation seemed to have r 
 laxed the very springs of my soul, and all my faeulti 
 fell into the wildest confusion. The unbounded kindnes 
 the goodness, and whole attention of Mr. Wiltshire, wl 
 made use of all the soothing language of which the mo 
 affectionate brother ‘or friend is capable, tended but i 
 ferment the tempest that was gathering in my brain. 1 
 became delirious— was bereft of my senses — and for tl 
 space of dtree days knew not where I was. When nr 
 reason returned, I found I had been constantly attended b 
 Mr. Wiltshire, and generally kept in my room, thoug 
 he would sometimes persuade me to walk in the galler 
 with him, and used every means in his power to restoi 
 and compose my bewildered senses: that I had remaine 
 continually bathed in tears, and shuddering at the sight c 
 every human being, fearing I should again be carried int 
 slavery. I had slunk into the darkest corner of my room 
 but though insensible, I seemed to know the worth of nr 
 friend and deliverer, and would agree to, and compl; 
 with his advice and directions. 
 
 In the mean time, this most estimable and noble mind 
 ed young man, had neither spared pains nor expense ii 
 procuring for us every comfort, and in administering, witl 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 231 
 
 b own hands, night and day, such relief and refresh- 
 rent as our late severe sufferings and present debility 
 iquired. He had sent off persons on mules to the vicinity 
 c the city of Morocco, more than one hundred miles, 
 rd procured some of the most delicious fruits that coun- 
 ts can produce, such as dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates, 
 b. He gave us for drirje the best of wines, and I again 
 ! gan to have an appetite for my food, which was prepared 
 \th the greatest care. My men were furnished with 
 sirts, trowsers, and jackets, and being fed with the most 
 rurishing soups and other kinds of fo # od, gained a com 
 slerable degree of strength. Captain Wallace, of the 
 liglish brig Pilot, then being in the port, furnished us 
 vth some pork, split peas, and potatoes, and seemed very 
 fiendly. Clark and Burns were but the skeletons of men : 
 Hr. Savage and Horace were nearly as much reduced, 
 tt not having been diseased in so great a degree, they 
 v re consequently stronger. Many of my bones as well 
 a my ribs, had been divested entirely, not only of flesh, 
 nit of skin, except the peri-ostrum, and had appeared 
 viite and transparent through their thin and gristly cover- 
 ig, like dry bones, when on the desert ; but they were 
 ovv nearly covered again, though we still might with some 
 mson be termed the dry skeletons of Moorish slaves. 
 L the instance of Mr. Willshire I was weighed, and fell 
 sort of ninety pounds, though my usual weight for the 
 lit ten years had been over two hundred and forty pounds : 
 t2 weight of my companions was less than I dare to men- 
 t n, for I apprehend it would not be believed that the 
 l dies of men retaining the vital spark, should not weigh 
 f'ty pounds. 
 
 The sight of my face in a glass called to my recollec- 
 tin all the trying scenes I had passed through since my 
 iipwreck. I could contemplate with pleasure and grati- 
 tde the power, and wisdom, and foreknowledge of the 
 apreme Being, as well as his mercy and unbounded 
 s odness. I could plainly discover that the train of events 
 uich, in my former life, I had always considered as great 
 iisfortunes, had been directed by unerring wisdom, and 
 Id fitted me for running the circle marked out by the 
 Omnipotent. When I studied the French and Spanish 
 
232 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 languages, I did it from expectations of future gain ir 
 commercial point of view. All the exertions 1 had hi 
 erto made to become acquainted with foreign languag 
 and to store my mind with learning and a knowledge 
 mankind, had procured for me no wealth ; without whi 
 acquirement a man is generally considered on the stage 
 the world as a very insignificant creature, that may 
 kicked off or trampled upon by the pampered worms 
 his species, who sport around him with all the upst 
 pride of (in many instances) ill-gotten treasure. I h 
 been cheated and swindled out of property by those whc 
 I considered my friends ; yet my mind was formed j 
 friendship ; — 1 do not speak of this in the way of boa 
 ing. My hand had never been slack in relieving the d 
 tresses of my fellow men whenever I had the power, 
 the different countries where I had been ; but I had almr 
 become a stoic, and had very nearly concluded, that d| 
 interested friendship and benevolence, out of the circle ! 
 a man’s own family, was not to be found ; that the virt 
 ous man, if poor, was not only despised, by his me 
 fortunate fellow creatures, but forsaken almost by Pro't 
 dence itself. I now, however, had positive proof to til 
 contrary of some of those hasty and ill-founded opinion 
 and I clearly saw that I had only been tutored in the schc ! 
 of adversity, in order that I might be prepared for fulfi 
 ing the purpose for which I had been created. 
 
 In the midst of those reflections I received, by a courij 
 from Consul General Simpson, at Tangier, to Mr. Wi 
 shire, the following letter : — it speaks the soul of the wi 
 ter and needs no comment. 
 
 Gibraltar , 1 3th November, 1815. 
 
 MY DEAR RILEY, 
 
 1 will not waste a moment by unnecessary preambl 
 I have wrote to Mr. Willshire, that your draft on me f" 
 twelve hundred dollars, or more, shall be duly paid f 
 the obtainment of your liberty, and those with you. ! 
 have sent him two double barrelled guns to meet his pron 
 ise to the Moor. — In a short time after the receipt ol thi 
 I hope to have the happiness to take you by the hand u' 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 233 
 
 er my roof again. You will come here by the way of 
 "angier. Your assured friend, 
 
 Horatio Sprague. 
 
 My sensations on reading this letter, and on seeing that 
 xitten by Mr. Sprague to Mr. Willshire, I must leave to 
 ie reader to imagine, and only observe that my acquaint- 
 lce with that gentleman was but very slight, (of about 
 n days,) while I remained at Gibraltar, immediately be- 
 ire my disaster — it was sufficient for him to know his 
 jllow creatures were in distress, and that it was in his 
 ovver to relieve them. Mr. Sprague is a native of Bos- 
 in, the capital of the state of Massachusetts, and had 
 itablished himself as a respectable merchant in Gibraltar 
 5 little before the breaking out of the late war. In the 
 irly part of that war a number of American vessels were 
 .uspatched by individuals with cargoes of provisions, &c. 
 r Spain and Portugal — these vessels were navigated un- 
 utr enemies’ licenses, but from some cause or other, many 
 t them were seized on the ocean by British ships of war, 
 ad conducted to Gibraltar, where both the vessels and 
 leir cargoes were condemned, and their crews turned 
 drift in the streets without a cent of money in their pock- 
 »s, and left to the mercy of the elements. Mr. Gavino, 
 p.e American consul, would not act in their behalf, be- 
 •jiuse (as he stated) his functions had ceased by reason of 
 lie war ; — when this humane and generous gentleman took 
 |em under his protection, hired the hulk of an old vessel 
 or them to live in, furnished them with provisions and 
 her necessaries and comforts for the term of one whole 
 ear or upwards, and in this manner supported for the 
 reater part of that time as many as one hundred and fifty 
 len : tins he did from his own purse, and out of pure 
 lihanthropy : of this I was informed by Mr. Charles 
 loore, of Philadelphia, and other gentlemen of respecta- 
 ility and veracity. He also furnished and sent a conskU 
 •abie sum of money to Algiers, which bought from hard 
 bour our unfortunate countrymen, comprising the offi- 
 ;rs and crew of the brig — ■ — , Captain Smith, of Boston, 
 iio were made slaves by that regency ; in this he was 
 listed by Messrs. Charles H. Hali & Co. merchants at 
 ladiz, and several other worthy and respectable Arneri- 
 
 30 
 
234 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 cans ; but the loss of the United States’ sloop of war tlij 
 Epcrvier, when homeward bound, having on board all tl 
 redeemed slaves after the peace with Algiers, rendered 
 impossible for them to communicate their sense of grat 
 tude for Mr. Sprague’s humanity. These facts were state 
 to me by several respectable individuals in Gibraltar, an 
 can be fully authenticated. 
 
 After my mind had been again tranquillized by a r< 
 freshing night’s sleep, my reflections returned to my prov 
 dential preservation. When my vessel was wrecked, 
 was endued with presence of mind, judgment, and pri 
 dence, whereby my whole crew was saved in the first it 
 stance, and safely landed. When I was seized on aftei 
 wards by the Arabs, a superior intelligence suddenly sut 
 gested to my mind a stratagem by which my life wr 
 saved, though one of my unfortunate companions wf 
 sacrificed to glut the brutal rage of the natives, whilst I wa 
 conducted to the wreck in safety through a tremendoii| 
 surf that rolled over me every instant. The ways of Prc 
 vidence were next traced out to my wondering eyes in th 
 smoothing down of the sea, so that we were enabled t 
 row our shattered boat out with safety to the ocean, an 
 in our preservation in an open boat amidst violent gales c 
 wind, though her timbers and planks seemed only to hoi 
 together by the pressure of the sea acting upon their oute 
 side. When destitute of provisions and water, worn dow 
 with privations and fatigues, we were again landed on th 
 coast, carried on the top of a dreadful wave over the head 
 of craggy rocks that must have dashed us and our boat t 
 atoms without a particular divine protection. We werl 
 next forced to climb over the most formidable precipice 
 and obstructions, before it was possible to arrive on th 
 dreary desert above us : these delays were necessary t< 
 bring us, at a proper time, within sight of fires kindlei 
 by Arabs, who had arrived there that day, (and who wen 
 the first, as 1 was afterwards informed, who had been then 
 to water their camels within the last thirty days,) and whc 
 were providentially sent to save our lives, as we could no 
 have existed a day longer without drink. Though mj 
 skin was burned off by the sun’s rays, and myself giver 
 as a slave to those wandering wretches-— the same AJmight\ 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 235 
 
 power still preserved my life, endowed me with intelli- 
 gence to comprehend a language I had never before heard 
 spoken, and enabled me to make myself understood by 
 :hat people, and in some degree respected. Sidi Hamet 
 'though a thievish Arab) had been sent from the confines 
 of the Moorish empire before I left Gibraltar : he was 
 conducted by the same unerring wisdom to my master’s 
 :ent ; his heart was softened at the recital of my distresses, 
 find instead of trading in the article of ostrich feathers, 
 eij] ['which was his whole business there, as he believed,) he 
 r|was persuaded by a wretched naked skeleton of a slave, 
 st I merely retaining the glimmering of the vital spark, against 
 aljpis own judgment, and whilst directly and strenuously 
 s apposed by his brother and partner, who insisted that if 
 :ven I told the truth, and had a friend in Morocco to pur- 
 chase me on my arrival there, yet my death must certainly 
 [, lappen long before it was possible to get me to that place c 
 Ad yet this same brother, one of the most barbarous of men, 
 p. .vas forced, though against his will, to agree, and to lend 
 he aid of his property in effecting the purchase, and to 
 ■ pxert himself to support and to defend myself and four 
 :ompanions, through the desert, whilst all his schemes for 
 l [selling and separating ns had constantly proved abortive. 
 A Spanish barque had been destroyed by the natives on 
 :he coast of Suse, north of Cape Nun, and nineteen men 
 lad been either massacred by the natives, or were then 
 
 I groaning out a miserable existence in the worst kind of 
 aarbarian slaver}' — this event alone had furnished a piece 
 af paper on which I wrote the note, at a venture, to Mog- 
 idore : my note fell into the hands of a perfect stranger, 
 whose name I had never even heard of, and who was as 
 ignorant of mine. This excellent young man was touched 
 by the same power who had hitherto protected me : he 
 igreed to pay the sum demanded without reflection, though 
 his utter ruin might have been the consequence, trusting 
 implicitly to the written word of a wretched naked slave ; 
 ?. person of whom he had no knowledge, and who was then 
 three hundred miles distant, and even out of the power of 
 the government that protected him ; and his impatience to 
 relieve my distresses was so great, that he instantly paid 
 the money demanded by my master, on his simply agreeing 
 
236 CAPTAIN RILEY’S ITARR^TIVE. 
 
 A 
 
 to stay in Swearah (Mogadore) until vve came up, bi 
 without the power to keep him one instant if he chose t i 
 go away ; nor would he allow time to the magnanimoi 
 Moor, who kindly volunteered to go down after us, at th 
 imminent risk of his life, scarcely to take leave of h 
 family : mounting him on his own mule, and beggini 
 him to hurry on, day and night, until he reached us, an 
 to spare neither pains or expense in fetching us to Mogei 
 dore. 
 
 I cannot here omit mentioning the manner in which Mi! 
 Willshire got my first note. Sidi Hamet (the bearer of it 
 was one of those Arabs belonging to a tribe, surname 
 by the Moors sons of lions, on account of their uncor 
 querable spirit ; when he came to the gate of Swearah, c 
 Mogadore, he providentially was met by Rais bel Cossim 
 who, though a perfect stranger, asked him, “ From whenc 
 come you, son of a lion ?” Upon which Sidi Harnc 
 stopped, and made known his business. This Moor ws 
 the only one which Mr. Willshire placed confidence in, c 
 treated as a friend : he conducted Sidi Hamet to Mr. Will 
 shire’s house, and offered to leave his family, who w'er 
 then sick, and to do his utmost to restore me and my me: 
 to liberty. Providence had also caused us to be stoppet 
 at Stuka, where we had time to recover, in part, from on 
 illness, and to gain strength enough to support us throug 
 the remainder of our journey; had turned the contrivance 
 of Sheick Ali into nothingness, and finally provided fo 
 us such a friend as Mr. Sprague of Gibraltar, one of th 
 most feeling and best of men. 
 
 This providential chain of events, thus planned and exe 
 cuted, even against the will of the principal agents em 
 ployed, filled my mind with unutterable thankfulness am 
 wonder at the wisdom, the goodness, and the mercy o 
 God towards me ; and the emotions which these reflec 
 lions excited, kept me almost constantly bathed in tear; 
 for the greatest part of a month. When I retired to rest 
 and sleep had closed my eyes, my mind still retaining the 
 strong impression of my past sufferings, made them the 
 subjects of my dreams. I used to rise in my sleep, and 
 think I was driving camels up and down the sandy hills 
 near the desert, or along the craggy steeps of Morocco 
 
SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 
 
 237 
 
 beying my master’s orders in putting on the fetters, or 
 eckets, on the legs and knees of his camels, and in the 
 tidst of my agonizing toils and heart-sickening anxieties, 
 hile groping about my room, I would hit my head against 
 imething, which would startle and aw T aken me : then I 
 ould throw myself on my bed again to sleep, and dream, 
 bid act over similar scenes. Fearing I should get out of 
 1 by chamber and injure myself in my sleep, I always lock- 
 <1 the door, and hid the key before I went to bed. There 
 i. :as a grating to the windows of the apartments I slept in, 
 of fid I often awoke and found myself trying to get out. My 
 am fiind at length became more composed and serene as my 
 icc Irength increased, and by the first of December I was 
 fi, ole to ride out, and to walk about the city. Mr. Will- 
 lire, whose whole attention had been shown to me and 
 y companions, tried every means to divert my mind from 
 e subject of my reflections, and would ride out with me 
 > a garden two miles out of the city, accompanied by a 
 id, loor, where we passed away many pleasant hours, which 
 fere endeared by every feeling and sentiment of gratitude 
 id esteem on the one part, and of generous sympathy and 
 ffi bd-like benevolence on the other, 
 i In this garden stood a venerable fig tree, whose body 
 bid boughs were covered with the names, and initials of 
 |ie names, of almost all the Europeans and Americans 
 :ho had visited Mogadore, carved out with knives in the 
 lick bark, accompanied with the dates of their several 
 ■ isits, &c. This was a kind of monument I delighted to 
 Ixamine ; it seemed to say that Mogadore was once a flour- 
 hing city, when its commerce was fostered by the Moor- 
 h government ; but now, that superstition, fanaticism, 
 id tyranny bear sway, they have swept away, with their 
 Jernicious breath, the whole wealth of its once industri- 
 us and highly favoured inhabitants ; — have driven the for- 
 igner from their shores, and it seems as if the curse of 
 leaven had fallen on the whole land, for in spite of all the 
 xertions of its cultivators and the fertility of the soil, se~ 
 ere droughts, and the ravages of the locusts, have fre- 
 uently caused a famine in that country, from whence 
 'heat was exported in immense quantities but a few years 
 ast for Spain and Portugal, at half a dollar per bushel. 
 
238 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Not a single bushel had been shipped for some years pa l, 
 and at this time none was to be had at any price, exec 
 now and then a few bags, brought from the province ’ 
 Duquella, which could only be purchased by the m< ;| 
 wealthy : the others were provided with scanty portions | 
 barley, of which they made their cous-koo-soo. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The author ' 1 s motives for requesting of and writing dou 
 his former master'' s narrative of Travels on the Test 
 ivheji in Mogadore, together with Sidi Hamel’s narrati 
 of a journey across the great Desert to Tombuctoo, a 1 
 back again to IVidnoon , with a caravan. 
 
 From the time I had a prospect of being redeemed fro! 
 slavery, I had determined (if that should ever happen) 
 write an account of our sufferings, which I considers 
 greater than had ever fallen to the lot of man, and also 
 embody such observations as I had been enabled to mail 
 while a slave, in travelling the great desert, &c. &c. f 
 the satisfaction of my family and the friends of my fello 
 sufferers. My late master was yet in Mogadore, for ] 
 remained in the house of my deliverer about two wee)!: 
 after our arrival, and he now mentioned to me that he arj 
 his brother had been three times to Tombuctoo (as he hd; 
 before informed Mr. Willshire) with caravans, and h; 
 crossed the desert in almost every direction. I felt inte 
 ested in making every inquiry that could suggest itself 
 my mind respecting the face and the extent of the dese 
 and the countries south of it ; and although I was convii 
 ced, by my own observations, that both he and his brothe 
 probably in common with the Arabs of the desert, kne 
 the courses they steered, notwithstanding they had r 
 compass or any other instrument to direct them in the 
 journeys, yet wishing to be fully satisfied in this partici 
 lar, I took them up upon the roof of the house (whic 
 was flat and terraced with stones laid in lime cement, an 
 smooth like a floor) one clear evening, and then told thei 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 239 
 
 tat I wanted to know by what means they were enabled 
 i find their way across the trackless desert. Sidi Hamet 
 iimediately pointed out to me the north or polar star, 
 ad the great bear, and told me the Arabic names of the 
 j incipal fixed stars, as well as of the planets, then visible 
 i the firmament, and his manner of steering and reckon - 
 ig time by the means of them. His correct observations 
 pi the stars, perfectly astonished me : he appeared to be 
 inch better acquainted with the motions of the heavenly 
 >dies than I was, who had made it my study for a great 
 lany years, and navigated to many parts of the globe by 
 leir assistance. To convince me that he knew the cardi- 
 il points, he laid two small sticks across at right angles, 
 « ie pointing directly towards the polar star— he next placed 
 7 o others across, dividing the circle into eighths, and 
 en in like manner into sixteenths, so that I was satisfied 
 : knew the requisite divisions of the compass : and on 
 e next day I requested him to give me a narrative of his 
 urneyings on, and across the desert, with which he very 
 iadily complied, and related as follows ; — while I sat in 
 fy room with pen, ink, and paper, and noted it down, 
 
 1 ’iving the Moor Bel Mooclen to interpret and explain to 
 e in Spanish such parts of the narrative as I did not per- 
 ctly comprehend in Arabic. I give it to the reader as 
 :arly as possible in the words of the narrator, and do not 
 )ld myself responsible for Sidi Hamet’s correctness, or 
 is veracity, though for my own part 1 have no doubt he 
 leant to, and did tell the truth as near as his recollection 
 rved him ; and as he had a retentive memory, and the 
 icidents related were calculated to impress themselves 
 rongly on his intelligent mind, I have no doubt that his 
 hole narrative is substantially true. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 di Hamet’s narrative of a journey from Widnoon across the great. 
 Desert to Tombuctoo, and back again to Widnoon. 
 
 “The first time I set out to cross the great desert, was 
 ■veral years ago, (about nine or ten,) being in the vicirsi- 
 of Widnoon, where I had the year before been married 
 > the daughter of Sheick Ali, (a beautiful woman, who 
 now my wife, and has two fine boys and one girl.) I 
 
240 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 with my brother Seid, joined the caravan at Widnoon, 1 
 the advice of Sheick Aii : we had four camels loaded wi 
 haicks and some other goods. The whole caravan cos 
 sisted of about three thousand camels and eight hundr 
 men, with goods of almost every kind that are sold | 
 Morocco. The men were all armed with good muske 
 and scimitars, and the whole under the command of Shei j 
 ben Soleyman of Waldeleim, ( Woled Deleim on the maj 
 with four competent guides. We set out from Widnoi 
 in Suse, which is a great place of trade, late in the fall 
 the year, and travelled six days to the west, when we car 
 to the last mountain — there we stopped ten days, and j! 
 our camels feed on the bushes, while half the men we! 
 employed in getting wood from the mountain, and burnii 
 it into charcoal, which we put into bags, as it was ligl 
 and laid it on the camels over the other goods ; then settii 
 off for the desert, we mounted upon its level, which is 
 great deal higher than the country near it to the north, ai 
 travelled four days on the hard level ; we then pass* 
 amongst the high sand hills, which you saw when weave 
 coming up, in order that we might keep along by the gre 
 sea, so as to be sure of finding water : #e travelled thruus 
 and among these great mountains of sand, which we! 
 then very bad to pass, because the wind blew so hard v 
 could scarcely keep together, being almost covered up l 
 the flying sand : it took us six days to get through then 1 
 after which the ground was smooth, anti almost as hard 
 the floor of a house, for ten days more, when we came 
 a watering place, called Biblah; there we watered 01 
 camels, for they were very thirsty, and eight of them hi 
 died and served us for food. We stopped at that great w< 
 seven days, and afterwards kept on our journey to the S.V 
 twenty days, to another well, called Kibir Jibl, but the 
 was no water in it, and we were obliged to go six day 
 journey to the sea coast, where there was a weil close 
 the sea, the water of which well was very black and sail 
 here we were forced to unload the camels, and get the ! 
 down the bank to the water, and after drinking, they yitli 
 ed us some milk, which had been almost dried up before 
 we found, however, nothing for them to feed on, and he 
 been obliged to give them of the coals to eat once a ck 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 241 
 
 or many days : this kept them alive, but it made their 
 lilk almost as black as the coals themselves ; yet it was 
 ood, and we were glad to get it. It took up six days to 
 rater the whole of them, when we set out again and 
 avelled near the sea, where we found wells about every 
 n days, like the one we had already visited, but very few 
 been leaves on the little bushes, in the few small valleys 
 e saw ; for no rain had fallen for a great while on that 
 jirt of the desert. 
 
 | “ After a journey of four moons, we came to the south 
 flirt of the desert, and went down into the country of 
 , budan, where we found a little stream of good running 
 >ater, and some bushes, and grass, and a very large tribe 
 t Bessebes Arabs, (Libdessebas on the map,) who had 
 mty of barley and maize or Indian corn, of which we 
 i ught some and made bread, and stopped here one moon. 
 
 e lost on the desert more than three hundred camels, 
 yiich died of fatigue, and the want of water and food, 
 t not one man. All the tribes of Arabs we came near, 
 fe)k their stuff on their camels, and rode away as fast as 
 ny could, so as not to be robbed, and we did not find 
 ay party strong enough to attack us, although we saw a 
 bat many tribes, but they were very poor on the Zaha- 
 F f i, or great desert.” I then asked him how the face of 
 tl: desert looked in general, as he passed over it, taking 
 
 E ! whole together, or if there was any material difference 
 different parts of it, near the sea coast ? to which he 
 iwered : — 
 
 The whole extent of the desert near the sea coast, is 
 lie that we came over in bringing you up here, except 
 none place, where we travelled for nearly one moon with- 
 at meeting with so much as a valley with green bushes 
 u it for the camels to feed on : the whole is a trackless 
 r.ste. Close by the sea we were obliged to pass moun- 
 * is of sand that was blown up from the shore before the 
 ud, but the guides always went before us, to show' 
 
 •\ ich way the caravan must go, and to find a place to stop 
 a Our camels had eaten up all the coals we had laid up* 
 o them before we got off the desert, and two of them 
 id died, so that my brother and I had only two remain- 
 ir , but we kept all our goods. After we had rested one 
 
 31 
 
242 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 moon, and got our camels recruited, we set oft' to the ea 
 on the border of the desert, close by the low country, wil 
 mountains in sight to the south, most of the way, and 3 
 two moons more we came near Tombuctoo, where vi 
 stopped in a deep valley with the caravan, and went evei 
 day close to the strong walls of the city with our gooc 
 (but without our guns) to trade them off with the negroe 
 who had gum, and gold rings, and gold powder, ar 
 great teeth, such as are sold in Swearah, (i. e. elephant 
 teeth,) and slaves, and fine turbans : they had plenty 
 cows, and asses, and a few sheep, and barley, corn, ai 
 rice : but the little river that runs close to the wall on tl 
 west, was quite dry, and all the people in the city we 
 obliged to fetch water for themselves to drink, with asse 
 from the great river south of the city, (about one horn 
 ride on a camel,) and we were forced to go there to wat 
 our camels, and get our drink. 
 
 “ After staying near Tombuctoo one moon and a ha 
 the season being far advanced, we set out again for Wi 
 noon. I had not been in the city all the time we stopp< 
 here, because I was chosen captain of two hundred m 
 that kept guard all the time about the caravan, to keep < 
 the thievish Arabs and the bands of negroes that we 
 hovering around us to carry oft' our camels, if any of the 
 strayed away : but we lost only twenty during our whc 
 stay at Tombuctoo, and the Sheick gave me for my tro 1 
 ble a fine young negro girl slave, which I carried hor 
 with me, and she now lives with my wife. We set o 
 for home from Tombuctoo, in the month of Rhamada 
 after the feast, and went back by the same route we h 1 
 come — that is to say, we went first to the west one moc . 
 along the border of the desert. We durst not take ai 
 thing without paying for it, because we were afraid of t 
 inhabitants, who were a mixture of Arabs and negroe 
 and all of them Mohammedans, but very bad men : th 
 had also many white men slaves. I saw sixteen or eighte 
 myself, and a great many blacks. These true believe 
 have very fine horses, and they go south to the country 
 the rivers, and there they attack and take towns, and brii; 
 away all the negroes for slaves, if they will not believe < 
 the prophet of God ; and carry oft - all their cattle, rio 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 243 
 
 nd corn, and burn their houses ; but if they will adopt 
 le true faith, they are then exempt from slavery, and 
 leir houses are spared, upon their surrendering up one 
 alf of their cattle, and half of their rice and corn ; be- 
 ause, they say, God has delivered their enemies into their 
 ands. The negroes live in small towns, fenced in with 
 ;eds or bushes, and sometimes with stones, but the Arabs 
 ve only in tents, and can move off in a minute on their 
 arses, whilst their wives and children ride on camels and 
 ;ses. Before we struck off N. W. on the desert for the 
 pa coast, we stopped in the hill country and fatted our 
 imels, and burned wood to make charcoal to carry with 
 5 : we were encamped on the bank of a little river, one 
 uy’s journey from a large town of negroes, named Jathroiu* 
 did not go to it, but the Sheick went and bought some 
 orn and barley, and forty oxen for our provisions. 
 
 “ After wc had prepared our coals, and laid in our pro- 
 ,, Tsions, we went up on to the level desert, and set off to 
 te N. W. and in three moons and a half more we reached 
 ffidnoon again, having been gone almost a year and a 
 Ilf. We had lost about five hundred camels, that either 
 led, or were killed to give us meat ; and while we stay- 
 « Tombuctoo, and were coming home, thirty-four of 
 c r men had died, and we lost eighty slaves.” I asked 
 ha what were the goods they carried down at that time ? 
 I answered 
 
 “ We had about one hundred camels loaded with iron 
 ad knives, and two hundred with salt ; all the others 
 cvied haicks, and blue and white cloth, and amber, and 
 toacco, and silk handkerchiefs, and chilly weed , and 
 dees, and a great many other articles. Seid and myself 
 fed lost two of our camels, but had got two negro slaves, 
 ad some gold dust, worth six camels, and ornaments for 
 c r wives ; but Sheick Ali was not satisfied because I did 
 nt give him two slaves ; so that he made war against me, 
 ad battered down my town which I built, (it was but a 
 s all one,) and took away all I had, together with my 
 we, because he said I was a bad man, and he was stronger 
 ti n me : I myself, however, escaped, and after one year 
 fsked him for my wife again, and he gave her to me 
 c :h all he had taken, for he loved his daughter : but I 
 
244 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 had no house, so I removed into the sultan’s dominion 
 near the city of Morocco, close by the Atlas mountain j 
 and lived there with my father and brothers two year j 
 without going forth to trade.” 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Sidi Hamel sets out on another journey for Tombuctoo — The carav, i 
 is mostly destroyed for want of mater , by drifting sand , and 
 mutiny , &c. — The few that escape get to the south of the Desert. 
 
 u About that time one of our party, when we first we ;i 
 to Tombuctoo, named bel Moese, came to see me — 1 
 was going to join the caravan at Widnoon again, and pe 
 suaded Seid and me to go with him ; so we bought eig i 
 camels between us, and sold off our cattle and sheep, ai 
 bought goods and powder, and went with him to Wi 
 noon, and joined the caravan. Sheick Ali came to me 
 me like a friend, and gave me two camels laden with ba 
 ley, and wished me a safe journey. The Sheick who w ' 
 chosen by all the people to command the caravan, w 
 named Sidi Ishrel ; he was the friend of Sidi Ishem, \vl 
 owned almost one-half of the whole caravan, and we s 
 out from Widnoon with about four thousand camels, ai 
 more than one thousand men, all well armed. We la \ 
 in an abundant store of barley, and had a great man 
 milch camels, and it was determined to go south acroi 
 the desert, nearly on a straight course for Tombuctoo, 1 1 
 the way the great caravans generally travelled : thous ■ 
 there had been several of them destroyed on that rout; 
 that is to say, one within every ten or twelve years. \1 
 went to the south, around the bottom of the great At! 
 mountains, six days’ journey ; then we stopped close b 
 it, and cut wood and burned coals for the camels, for tl 
 caravans never attempt to cross the desert without this an 
 cle : four hundred camels out of the number were load< 
 with provisions and water for the journey, and after havii 
 rested ten days, and given the camels plenty of drink, v 
 went up on the desert and steered off southeasterly.- 
 We travelled along, and met with no sand for fifteen day; 
 it was all a smooth surface, baked together so hard that 
 loaded camel could not make a track on it to be seen : v 
 saw no tracks to guide us, and kept our course by t! 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 245 
 
 ars, and sun, and moon. We found only one spot in 
 1 that time where our camels could satisfy their appetites 
 
 ! y eating the shrubs in a shallow valley, but the great 
 ell in it was filled up with stones and sand, so we could 
 rocure no water there ; at the end of fifteen days, how- 
 ver, we came to a very fine deep valley, with twenty 
 ells in it ; but we found water in only six of them, be- 
 iiuse the desert was very dry : here we watered all our 
 tmels, and replenished our bottles or skins, and having 
 ;tii listed seven days, we departed for the southeastward, 
 ieJ jur camels being well filled with leaves and thorn bushes, 
 id! “ We travelled along three days on the hard sand, and 
 len arrived among innumerable drifts of fine loose sand ; 
 ot such coarse sand as you saw near the sea ; it was as 
 ne as the dust on a path, or in a house, and the camels’ 
 et sunk in it every step up to their knees: after travelling 
 nongst this sand (which in the day-time was almost as 
 ot as coals of fire) six days, there began to blow a fierce 
 find from the southeast, called the wind of the desert, 
 ringing death and destruction with it : we could not ad- 
 ance nor retreat, so we took the loading from oft our 
 amels, and piled it in one great heap, and made the 
 amels lie down. The dust flew so thick that we could 
 ot see each other nor our camels, and were scarcely able 
 p breathe — so we laid down with our faces in the dust, 
 ad cried aloud with one voice to God — ‘ Great and mer- 
 iful God, spare our lives !’ but the wind blew dreadfully 
 ir the space of two days, and we were obliged to move 
 urselves whenever the sand got so heavy on us that it shut 
 ut all the air, and prevented us from breathing ; but at 
 :ngth it pleased the most High to hear our supplications : 
 ae wind ceased to blow ; all was still again, and we 
 rawled out of the sand that had buried us for so long a 
 ime, but not all, for when the company was numbered, 
 hree hundred were missing — all that were left having join- 
 d in thanks to God for his mercy in sparing our lives; — 
 re then proceeded to dig out the camels from the sand 
 hat had buried their bodies, which, together with the re- 
 oading of them, took us two days. About two hundred 
 >f them were dead — there was no green thing to be seen, 
 tnd we were obliged to give the camels a little water from 
 
246 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 the skins, to wash their parched throats with, and soro 
 charcoal to eat : then we kept on twenty-four days as fa: 
 as we could through the dry, deep, and hot sand, withoi 
 finding any green bushes worth noticing for our camels t 
 eat, when we came to a famous valley and watering place 
 called Haherah. All our camels were almost expiring 
 and could not carry the whole of their loads ; so we thre' 
 away a great deal of the salt before we got to Halieral 
 where we intended to stop twenty days to recruit our beast: 
 but who can conceive our disappointment and distres; 
 when we found there was no water in any of the wells < 
 this great valley : not one drop of rain had fallen there fc 
 the last year. The caravan, that amounted to upwards c 
 one thousand men and four thousand camels when we sc 
 out, was already reduced to about six hundred men, am 
 thirty-five hundred camels. The authority of Sheick Ishrt 
 could now scarcely restrain those almost desperate men 
 every one was eager to save his own life and property, am 
 separately sought the means of relief by running about th 
 valley in a desultory manner, looking for water ; this dis 
 order continued for two days, when being convinced tha 
 nothing could be done without union, they became obe I 
 dient, and joined together in great numbers in digging ou 
 the different wells. After digging five days without tht 
 smallest sign of water, all subordination was entirely at ar 
 end. The Sheick, who was a wise and a prudent man, 
 advised and insisted that all the camels should be killed 
 but three hundred, so that the little water found in them, 
 together with their blood might keep the rest alive, as well 
 as all the men, until, by the aid of Providence, they should 
 reach some place where they could find water; but the 
 company would not hearken to this advice, though the best 
 that could possibly be given ; no one being willing to have 
 his own property sacrificed. Sheick Ishrel, however, di- 
 rected thirty of the oldest and most judicious men to pick 
 out the three hundred camels that were to be spared, who 
 accordingly selected the most vigorous ; but when they 
 began to kill the others, a most furious quarrel and horrible 
 battle commenced. The Sheick, though a man of God, 
 was killed in a moment — two or three hundred more were 
 butchered by each other in the course of that dreadful 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AERICA.- 
 
 247 
 
 cy ; and the blood of the slain was drank to allay the thirst 
 c those who shed it. Seid was badly wounded with a 
 dgger in his arm. About five hundred camels were killed 
 tjis day ; and the others drank the water from their bodies 
 j d also their blood. 
 
 “ Fearing there would be no end to this bloody conflict 
 util all had perished, and as I had been a captain in the 
 (her caravan, and knew how to steer a course on the 
 esert ; and as both Seid and myself were very strong men, 
 
 , Ip killed four out of six of our own camels that remained, 
 
 S; the first part of the night, and gave their water and blood 
 t the other two : we saved a small package of goods, and 
 smc barley, and some meat, and persuaded thirty of our 
 lends privately to do as we had done, and join us, for we 
 leant to set off that night. This was agreed on, for to 
 say there was certain death, and to go back was no less 
 s. We were all ready about midnight, and without making 
 'i.y noise, we moved off with our company of thirty men 
 £ d thirty-two camels. The night was very cloudy and 
 <rk, and it thundered at a distance, as if the Almighty 
 tas angry with us for fighting together ; but there was no 
 i in. We went towards the southwest, in the hope of 
 iaching Tish/ah, another watering place, before our camels 
 <ed : the desert was dry and hard, and as we went along, 
 'e found only now and then a little hollow, with a few 
 ] ickly shrubs in it : these the camels devoured as we 
 used among them ; but many died, so that on the twelfth 
 uy we had only eighteen camels left ; when the great God 
 :.ved our lives by sending a tempest of rain, but he thun- 
 ered so as to make the whole earth tremble, because of 
 ar sins, and we all fell upon our faces and implored his 
 irgiveness. The rain that fell upon the ground gave 
 lenty of water to our camels, and we filled thirty skins 
 ith it ; when we steered to the south towards the borders 
 f the desert. Nine of our company had died, and many 
 f our camels, before we went down from the desert to 
 le cultivated land, and we then made to the south towards 
 little river of fresh water, to which some Arabs whom 
 r e met with directed us, after they had first given us some 
 ce and some milk, for all our milch camels had died on 
 le desert. 
 
248 
 
 CAPTAIN PILE VS NARRATIVE. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Sidi HamcVsjoitrneyings — His arrival on the hanks of the river ci 
 ed by the natives Gozen-Zair, and at Tomhucloo — Description 
 that city — Its commerce , wealth, and inhabitants. 
 
 ' 
 
 “ Those of us who had escaped with our lives from t 
 desert, only twenty-one in number, with twelve came 
 out of a caravan of one thousand men and four thousai] 
 camels, stopped near a small town, called TVabilt , on t 
 bank of a river about half as broad as from the city 
 Mogadore to the island, that is to say, fifty yards. We h; 
 no provisions, but the negroes seeing us in distress, cari 
 out and gave us some meat, and bread made of barle 
 corn : here we remained ten days to recruit ourselves at 
 our camels, which were just alive. The river on who 
 bank we remained, was called by those who spoke in Arl 
 bic, el Woed Tenij, and by the negroes, Gozen-Zair. 
 very high ridge of mountains, great like Atlas seen fro i 
 Suse, (but not capped with snow,) lie to the southwesl 
 ward, and at a distance. After resting ourselves and 01 
 camels for ten days, we set forward for Tombuctoo. W 
 travelled for four days to the eastward through Soudan, 
 hilly country, but of a very rich soil, and much of it cu! 
 tivated with the hoe.” I then asked him what he meant fc 
 Soudan ? and he said, “ The whole country south of tl 
 great desert from the great ocean, a great way east, an 
 including the district of Tombuctoo, is called by tl 
 Arabs and Moors, Soudan ; of which Tombuctoo is tli 
 capital. Having watered our camels again, and findin 
 the hill country tedious to get through, by reason of tli 
 trees, we bought some barley-corn, and killed two difow: I 
 and went northward to the border of the desert, and travel 
 led on to the eastward for eight days, when we fell in wit 
 the great path used by the caravans, and in two days mor 
 came near to the walls of Tombuctoo. We had seen 
 great many negroes near the river : they live in small towis 
 lenced in with large reeds, to keep off enemies and th 
 wild beasts in the night : they dwell in small round hut 
 made with cane standing upright, are covered with the sami 
 materials, and daubed with mud, to fill up the opening: 
 between them. The negroes were afraid of us when w< 
 came near their little towns, and those who were outsidf 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 249 
 
 in in and blocked up the passage in a minute ; but find- 
 ig we did not come to rob them, as the large companies 
 f Arabs often do, but that we were poor and hungry, 
 iey were willing to exchange barley-corn and meat for 
 :ime of our goods. Nearly all the few things we had were 
 upended to keep us alive until we came near Tombuctoo. 
 
 ' he king and the people of that city had been looking out 
 ir the cafavan from Widnoon for two moons, but not one 
 Mil had arrived before us, and we were permitted to go 
 ito the city after delivering up our guns, powder, and lead, 
 1 the king’s officers to keep until we should wish to de- 
 prt. Tombuctoo is a very large city, five times as great 
 
 i Swearah : it is built on a level plain, surrounded on all 
 f les by hills, except on the south, where the plain coatin- 
 gs to the bank of the same river tve had been to before,- 
 inch is wide and deep, and runs to the east ; for we W'ere 
 ffiged to go to it to water our cameis, and here tve saw 
 ■any boats made of great trees, some with negroes in them 
 pddling across the river. The city is strongly walled in 
 vth stone laid in clay, like the towns and houses in Suse, 
 ciy a great deal thicker : the house of the king is very' 
 jge and high, like the largest house in Mogadore, but 
 : iit of the same materials as the walls : there are a great 
 liny more houses in that city built of stone, with shops on 
 ce side, where they sell salt, and knives, and blue cloth, 
 ad haicks, and an abundance of other things, with many 
 pid ornaments. The inhabitants are blacks, and the chief 
 i: a very large and gray-headed old black man, who is calk 
 c Shegar , which means sultan, or king. The principal 
 prt of the houses are made with large reeds, as thick as a 
 tin’s arm, and stand upon their ends, and are covered with 
 stall reeds first, and then w ith the leaves of the date trees : 
 t ty are round, and the tops come to a point like a heap 
 c stones. Neither the Shegar nor his people are Mosle- 
 ms, but there is a town divided off Irom the principal 
 ce, in one corner, by a strong partition wall, and one 
 gteto it, which leads from the main town, like the Jews’ 
 t vn, or Millah in Mogadore : all the Moors or Arabs who 
 fee liberty to come into Tombuctoo, are obliged to sleep 
 
 ii that part of it every night, or go out of the city entirely, 
 ad no stranger is allowed to enter that Millah without 
 
 32 
 
250 ' 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 leaving his knife with the gate-keeper : but when he come 
 out in the morning it is restored to him. The people wh 
 live in that part are all Moslemin. The negroes, ba 
 Arabs, and Moors, are all mixed together, and marry wit 
 each other, as if they were all of one colour : they have n 
 property of consequence, except a few asses: their gat ; 
 is shut and fastened every night at dark, and very strongl 
 guarded both in the night and in the day-time. The She 
 gar or king is always guarded by one hundred men o 
 mules, armed with good guns, and one hundred men o 
 foot with guns and long knives. He would not go into th 
 Millah, and we only saw him four or five times in the twjj 
 moons we stayed atTombuctoo, waiting for the caravan 
 but it had perished on the desert— neither did the yearl 
 caravan from Tunis and Tripoli arrive, for it had also bee 
 destroyed. The city of Tombuctoo is very rich as wejj 
 as very large ; it has four gates to it ; all of them are opei 
 ed in the day-time, but very strongly guarded and shut; 
 night. The negro women are very fat and handsome, an 
 wear large round gold rings in their noses, and flat ones i 
 their ears, and gold chains and amber beads about the 
 necks, with images and white fish-bones, bent round, anj 
 the ends fastened together, hanging down between the 
 breasts; they have bracelets on their wrists and on the 
 ankles, and go barefoot. I had bought a small snuff-bcj 
 filled with snuff in Morocco, and showed it to the wome 
 in the principal street of Tombuctoo, which is very wides 
 there were a great many about me in a few minutes, an 
 they insisted on buying my snuff’ and box ; one made ir s 
 one offer, and another made me another, until one, whit 
 wore richer ornaments than the rest, told me, in broke 
 Arabic, that she would take oft’ all she had about her an 
 give them to me for the box and its contents. I agreed l 
 accept them, and she pulled off her nose-rings and ea: 
 rings, all her neck chains with their ornaments, and tf 
 bracelets from her wrists and ankles, and gave them t 
 me in exchange for it : these ornaments would weigh moi 
 than a pound, and were made of solid gold at Tombucto 
 and I kept them through my whole journey afterward 
 and carried them to my wife, who now wears a part of then 
 Tombuctoo carries on a great trade with all the caravai 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 251 
 
 hat come from Morocco and the shores of the Mediterra- 
 lean sea. From Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, &c. are brought 
 iill kinds of cloths, iron, salt, muskets, powder, and lead* 
 words or scimitars, tobacco, opium, spices, and perfumes, 
 imber beads and other trinkets, with a few other articles ; 
 hey carry back in return elephants’ teeth, gold dust, and 
 wrought gold, gum Senegal, ostrich feathers, very curiously 
 vorked turbans, and slaves ; a great many of the latter, 
 
 ( nd many other articles of less importance : the slaves are 
 wrought in from the southwest, all strongly ironed, and are 
 old very cheap ; so that a good stout man may be bought 
 or a haick, which costs in the empire of Morocco about 
 wo dollars. The caravans stop and encamp about two 
 riles from the city, in a deep valley, and the negroes do 
 ot molest them : they bring their merchandise near the 
 /alls of the city, where the inhabitants purchase all their 
 oods in exchange for the above mentioned articles ; not 
 •oore than fifty men from any one caravan being allowed to 
 nter the city at a time, and they must go out before others 
 ( re permitted to enter. This city also carries on a great 
 'ade with Wassanah (a city far to the southeast) in all the 
 rticles that are brought to it by caravans, and get returns 
 1 slaves, elephants’ teeth, gold, &c. The principal male 
 lhabitants are clothed with blue cloth shirts, that reach 
 ■ om their shoulders down to their knees, and are very wide, 
 nd girt about their loins with a red and brown cotton sash 
 r girdle : they also hang about their bodies pieces of dif- 
 crent coloured cloth and silk handkerchiefs : the king is 
 ressed in a white robe of a similar fashion, but covered 
 dth white and yellow gold and silver plates, that glitter in 
 ie sun ; he also has many other shining ornaments of shells 
 nd stones hanging about him, and wears a pair of breeches 
 ,ke the Moors and Barbary Jews, and has a kind of white 
 jrban on his head, pointing up, and strung with different 
 inds of ornaments ; his feet are covered with red Moroc- 
 o shoes : he has no other weapon about him than a large 
 write staff or sceptre, with a golden lion on the head of 
 which he carries in his hand : his whole countenance is 
 rild, and he seems to govern his subjects more like a fil- 
 ter than a king. The whole of his officers and guards 
 year breeches that are .generally dyed red, but sometimes 
 
25-2 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 they are white or blue ; all but the king go bareheade< 
 The poor people have only a single piece of blue or oth< ! 
 cloth about them, and the slaves a breech cloth. T1 
 inhabitants in Tombuctoo are very numerous ; I think si I 
 times as many as in Svvearah, besides the Arabs and otht 
 Moslemin or Mohammedans, in their Millah, or separai" 
 town ; which must contain nearly as many people as thei j 
 are all together in Svvearah.” 
 
 NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Svvearah or Mogadore contains about thirty-six thou sari 
 souls ; that is, thirty thousand Moors and six thousan 
 Jews: this may be a high estimation for Tombuctoi 
 making it two hundred and sixteen thousand inhabitants! 
 yet considering the commercial importance of the plao 
 and the fertility of the country around it, there can be a 
 doubt but it contains a vast number of inhabitants ; and 1 
 must also observe, that if it was a small town, and contaii I 
 eel the riches attributed to it, they would require a verl 
 strong force to prevent the Arabs from the desert, togeth' 
 with the caravans, from taking it by surprise or by storm. 
 
 “ The women are clothed in a light shirt or under- dres: 
 and over it a green, red, or blue covering, from the 
 breasts to below their knees — the whole girt about the 
 waists with a red girdle : they stain their cheeks and for( 
 heads red or yellow on some occasions, and the marrie' t 
 women wear a kind of hood on their heads, made of blu 
 cloth or silk, and cotton handkerchiefs of different kind 
 and colours, and go barefooted. The king and people c 
 Tombuctoo do not fear and worship God, like the Mosle 
 rains, but like the people of Soudan they only pray on 
 time in twenty-four hours, when they see the moon, an 
 when she is not seen they do not pray at all : they cannc 
 read or write, but are honest, and they circumcise thei 
 children like the Arabs : they have no mosques, but danc 
 every night, as the Moors and Arabs pray. The Shega 
 or king had collected about one thousand slaves, som 
 gums, elephants’ teeth, gold dust, &c. to be ready for th 
 yearly caravans ; but as three moons had passed awa; 
 since the time they ought to have arrived, he gave ther 
 up for lost, and concluded to send a caravan with part c 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 253 
 
 Is goods that came across the desert; viz. some salt, 
 on, cloths, &c. to a large city at a great distance from 
 'ombuctoo : and having formed a body of about three 
 tiousand men, well armed with muskets, long knives, 
 .id spears, and three thousand asses, and about two hun- 
 red camels, which were all loaded with heavy goods, 
 
 ; ich as iron, salt, tobacco, &c., he hired my brother Seid 
 Slid myself, (with ten more of our companions,) to carry 
 rads on our two camels to Wassanah, for which he was 
 i> give us, when we came back, two haicks each and 
 lime gold. As we were completely in his power, we did 
 jot dare to refuse to go, and he put us under the care of 
 Its brother, whose name was Shelbaa, who had command 
 
 f the whole caravan. It was in the month of Shual ( ) 
 
 hen we departed from Tombuctoo for a place we had 
 ever before heard of. We had in the company about two 
 undared Moslemin, but the master of the caravan would 
 
 r at permit us Moslemin to keep our guns, for fear we 
 lould turn against him, if he was obliged to fight, 
 
 SECTION iv. 
 
 ! UU Hamet sets cut for Wassanah — His arival there, and description 
 of that city, the country , and its inhabitants ; of the great river 
 rvhich runs near it, and of his return to Tombuctoo-— Containing 
 also the author's geographical opinions, founded on this narrative 
 on the sources cf the river Niger; its length, course, and outlet, 
 into the Atlantic ocean. 
 
 “ All being prepared, we went from Tombuctoo about 
 vo hours’ ride, towards the south, to the bank of the 
 iver which is called at that place Zolibib, and was wider 
 nan from Mogadore to the island ; (i. e. about five hum 
 ded yards ;) here w T as a miserable village built with canes, 
 nd mudded over : it had about two hundred small houses 
 n it, but no walls. We then set off near the side of the 
 iver, and travelled on in a plain even country for six days, 
 very day within sight of the river, which was on our right 
 land, and running the same way we travelled, and our 
 course was a little to the south of east ; when we came to 
 i small town called Bimbinah , walled in with canes and 
 horn bushes, and stopped two days near it, to get pro- 
 visions and rest our beasts : here the river turned more to 
 the southeastward, because there was a very high mountain 
 
254 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 in sight to the eastward : we then went from the river sic 
 and pursued our journey more southwardly, through 1 
 hilly and woody country, for fifteen days, when we car 
 to the same river again. Every night we were obliged 
 make up large fires all around the caravan, to keep olf ti| 
 wild beasts, such as lions, tigers, and other animals, wht 
 made a dreadful howling. Here was a small town of bla< 
 people belonging to another nation, who were enemies i 
 the king of Tombuctoo, but were friendly to the king 
 Wassanah ; and not being strong, they did not molest n 
 but furnished us with what corn we wanted, and twen 
 oxen. We saw a large number of armed black men, nea 
 ly naked, on the other side of the river, who seemed to 1 
 hostile, but they could not get across to attack us : v 
 also saw two very large towns, but walled in like the othe 1 
 we had passed. We stopped here and rested our came 1 
 and asses five days, and then went onward again in aboi 1 
 a S. E. direction, winding as the river ran, for three days' 
 and then had to climb over a very high ridge of mountain 1 
 which took up six days, and when we were on the top ij 
 them, we could see a large chain of high mountains to tr| 
 westward ; those we passed were thickly covered with ver 
 large trees, and it was extremely difficult to get up an 
 down them ; but we could not go any other way, for thj 
 river ran against the steep side of the mountain ; so havin 
 gotten over them we came to the river’s bank again, wher ! 
 it was very narrow and full of rocks, that dashed the wate 
 dreadfully ; then finding a good path, we kept on to th 
 S. E. winding a little every day, sometimes more to tlr 
 east, then to the south again. We kept travelling this wa; 
 for twelve days after leaving the mountains, during whicl 
 time we had seen the river nearly every day on our rigli 
 hand, and had passed a great many small streams that emptj 
 into it : it was now very wide and looked deep — here wt 
 saw many trees dug out hollow, like the boats at Tombuc 
 too, and they were used to carry negroes across the river, 
 and were pushed along with flat pieces of wood : we alsc 
 saw the high mountains on the west side of the great river, 
 very plainly. Having rested seven days at the ferrying 
 place, we then travelled on for fifteen days, most of the time 
 in sight of the river. When we came close to the walls of 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA; 
 
 255 
 
 te city of Wassanah, the king came out with a great army, 
 c nsisting of all his soldiers, to meet us, but finding we had 
 e ly come to trade by the orders of, and with the goods of, 
 b friend Shegar of Tombuctoo, he invited the chief, and 
 tb whole of the caravan, to abide within a square enclosure 
 iar the walls of the city : here we remained two moons* 
 e changing our goods for slaves, gold, elephants’ teeth, &c, 
 ||“ The city of Wassanah is built near the bank of the 
 r er, which runs past it nearly south, between high moun- 
 t ns on both sides, though not very close to the river, 
 viich is so wide there that we could hardly see a man 
 aross it on the other side : the people of Tombuctoo call 
 kZolibib, and those of Wassanah call it Zadi. The walls 
 c the city are very large, and made of great stones, laid up 
 
 E .e the stone fences in the province of Hah Hah, in Moroc- 
 , but without any clay or mud amongst them i they are 
 ry thick and strong, and much higher than the walls of 
 ombuctoo. I was permitted to walk round them in com- 
 fcny with six negroes, and it took me one whole day : the 
 tills are built square, and have one large gate on each 
 sle. The country all around the city is dug up, and has 
 irley, corn, and other vegetables planted on it : and close 
 t" the side of the river all the land is covered with rice, and 
 tare are a great many oxen, and cows, and asses, belong- 
 igto the city, but no camels, nor horses, mules, sheep, 
 nr goats ; but all about and in the city, speckled fowls 
 nound, and there are plenty of eggs. The people of the 
 ( ravan were allowed to enter the city, but only twenty at a 
 ine, and they were all obliged to go out again before night, 
 “We had been there more than a moon, when it came 
 1 my turn to go in. I found almost the whole of the 
 ■ound inside of the w r alls w r as covered with huts made of 
 ones piled up without clay, and some reeds, laid across 
 e tops, covered over with the large leaves of the date or 
 dm tree, or of another tree W'hich looks very much like a 
 ite tree, and bears a fruit as large as my head, which has 
 white juice in it sweeter than milk ; the inside is hard, 
 id very good to eat : the trees that bear this big fruit grow 
 i abundance in this country, and their fruit is very plenty ; 
 leir huts have narrow passages between them. The king 
 r chief is called Oleeboo, which means, in the negro talk, 
 
256 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 good sultan : he is a very tall, and quite a young man; If 
 house is very large, square, and high, made of stone, ar 
 the chinks filled up with something white like lime, b; 
 not so hard : they would not let me go into his house, ai 
 told me he had one hundred and fifty wives, or more, ai 
 ten thousand slaves : he dresses in a white shirt, that loo 1 
 like the one worn by Mr. Wiltshire, and long trowK 
 made like them you have on, and coloured like an orange : 
 Those I then had on were common wide sailor trowsei 
 “ He has over his shirt a caftan or robe with sleeves to , 
 made of red cloth, tied about with a girdle that goes fro 1 
 his breast to his hips, made of silk handkerchiefs of ; ] 
 colours, and has slips of fine coloured silk tied round 1: 
 arms and legs : his hair is also tied in small bunches, ar 
 he wears on his head a very high hat made of canes, colou 
 ed very handsomely, and adorned with fine feathers : 1 
 has sandals on his feet, bound up with gold chains, and 
 great gold chain over his shoulder, with a bunch of orn; 
 merits made of bright stones and shells, that dazzle tl 
 eyes, hanging on his breast, and wears a large dagger b 
 his side in a gold case. He rides on the back of a hur; 
 beast, called Ilfement , three times as thick as my gre: 
 camel, and a great deal higher, with a very long nose an 
 great teeth, and almost as black as the negroes : he is s 
 strong, that he can kill an hundred men in a minute whe 
 he is mad ; this is the animal that the teeth grow in whic 
 we bring from Tombuctoo to Widnoon, which you ca 
 elephants’ teeth, and this was the only one of the animal 
 1 ever saw, but they told me these creatures W'ere ver 
 plenty down the river from Wassanah.” This answers t 
 the description of, and no doubt is, the elephant. 
 
 “ The king of Wassanah has a guard of two hundre 
 negroes on foot, one hundred of them armed with muskets, 
 fifty with long spears, and fifty with great bows and arrows 
 with long knives by their sides : they always attend bin 
 when he goes out on his beast ; he has also a very largi 
 army : they fight with guns, spears, and bows and arrows 
 The city has twice as many inhabitants in it as Tombuctoo 
 and we saw a great many towns near it on the other sid< 
 of the river, as well as several small settlements on th< 
 same side below. The king nor the people do not prat 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA- 
 
 257 
 
 1 ) e the Moslemins, but they jump about, fall dowh, tear 
 tbir faces as if they were mad when any of their friends die, 
 ml every time they see the new moon they make a great 
 it st, and dance all night to music made by singing and 
 siting on skins tied across a hollow stick, and shaking 
 lie stones in a bag or shell ; but they do not read nor 
 
 S ite, and are heathens. Though the free people in this 
 ce do not steal, and are very hospitable, yet I hope the 
 e is near when the faithful, and they that fear God and 
 prophet, will turn them to the true belief, or drive 
 m away from this goodly land. 
 
 ‘ The principal inhabitants of Wassanah are dressed in 
 ij ts of white or blue cloth, with short trowsers, and some 
 21 a long robe over the whole, tied about with a girdle 
 jlifferent colours : the free females are generally very fat, 
 dress in blue or white coverings tied about their waists 
 h girdles of all colours : they w ear a great many orna- 
 tits ol gold, and beads, and shells, hanging to their ears 
 noses, necks, arms, ankles, and all over their hair ; 
 the poorer sort are only covered about their loins by a 
 which grows on the tree that bears the big fruit I have 
 you about before.” This fruit, I imagine, must be 
 [cocoa-nut, and I have often in the West-Indies, and 
 vhere, observed the outer bark of this singular palm- 
 : it is woven by nature like cloth, each thread being 
 ed exactly over and under the others. It appears iike 
 iilar wove coarse bagging, and is quite strong : it loo- 
 and drops from the trunk of the tree of its own accord, 
 le tree increases in size and age, I had long before 
 tidered that this most singular bark must have suggest- 
 o man the first idea of cloth, and taught him how to 
 *!, and place the threads so as to form it of other mate- 
 tfj that have since been used for that purpose, and this 
 s hint from nature has been improved into our present 
 eiods of spinning and weaving. 
 
 ' The male slaves go entirely naked, but the women are 
 ■Wed a piece of this cloth to cover their nakedness with : 
 e' are very numerous, and many of them kept chained : 
 ie are obliged to work the earth round about the city. 
 h| inhabitants catch a great many fish : they have boats 
 wo of great trees, cut off and hollowed out, that will 
 
 33 
 
258 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 hold ten, fifteen, or twenty negroes ; and the brother ! 
 the king told one of my Moslemin companions who cou 
 understand him, (for I could not,) that he was going 
 set out in a few days with sixty boats, and to carry fi 
 hundred slaves down the river, first to the southward, a 
 then to the westward, where they should come to the gn 
 water, and sell them to pale people, who came there 
 large boats, and brought muskets, and powder, and ! 
 bacco, and blue cloth, and knives, fkc. : he said it wail 
 long way, and would take him three moons to get the 
 and he should be gone twenty moons before he could ;J 
 back by land, but should be very rich.” I then asked h 
 how many boats he supposed there were in the river I 
 Wassanah ? he said, “ A great many, three or four hi I 
 dred, I should think ; but some of them are very sma ! 
 we saw a great many of these people who had been do ( 
 the river to see the great water, with slaves and teeth, a I 
 came back again : they said the pale people lived in gr ( 
 boats, and had guns as big as their bodies, that mad i 
 noise like thunder, and would kill all the people in a hi ] 
 dred negro boats, if they went too near them. Wes 
 in the river and on the bank a great number of fish vv 
 legs and large mouths, and these would run into the w? 
 in a minute, if any man went near them, but they told i 
 they would catch children, and sometimes men, when > 
 the boats : (these are, no doubt, crocodiles or hippopc 
 mus’.) The negroes are very kind, and would always gj 
 us barley, corn, or rice, milk or meat, if we were hung 
 though we could not speak a language they understo 
 While we stopped at Wassanah, it rained almost every d 
 Having traded away all the goods we carried there, Si 
 bar took three hundred slaves and a great many tee . 
 dazzling stones, and shells, and gold-— with these we l 
 off again, and went the same way back to Tombuch 
 which took us three moons, and we were gone from £ 
 time we left it, to the time we returned, eight moons, t. 
 my arrival at Tombuctoo, we were paid by the chief ii 
 the caravan according to promise, and a few days afi • 
 wards a caravan arrived there from Tunis, which we jc. 
 ed, to return by that way to our own country.” 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 2 59 
 
 I must here beg the reader’s indulgence for a moment, 
 ,i order to make some remarks, and a few geographical 
 oservations that this part of the narrative has suggested, 
 'his narrative I, for my own part, consider strictly true 
 ;id correct, as far as the memory and judgment of Sidi 
 Jamet were concerned, whose veracity and intelligence I 
 lid before tested : he had not the least inducement held out 
 1 him for giving this account, further than my own and 
 ,[r. Willshire’s curiosity ; and his description of Tombuc- 
 to agrees in substance with that given by several Moors, 
 •{’ez merchants,) who came to Mr. Willshire’s house to 
 by goods while Sidi Hamet was there, and who said they 
 . id known him in Tombuctoo several years ago. From 
 tese considerations combined, and after examining the 
 : l st maps extant, I conclude that I have strong grounds on 
 Riich to found the following geographical opinions, viz. 
 j 1st, That the great Desert is much higher land on its 
 i fjuthern side (as I had proved it to be on the north by my 
 e/n observations) than the surrounding country, and con- 
 squently that its whole surface is much higher than the 
 l id near it that is susceptible of cultivation. 2dly, That 
 12 river which Sidi Hamet and his companions came to 
 \thin fourteen days’ ride, and west of Tombuctoo, called 
 t the Arabs el JVoed Tenij, and by the negroes Gozen- 
 mr, takes its rise in the mountains south of, and border - 
 ig on, the great desert, being probably the northern 
 tanch of that extensive ridge in which the Senegal, Gam- 
 ta, and Niger rivers have their sources ; and that this river 
 i a branch of the Niger, which runs eastwardly for several 
 i ndred miles to Tombuctoo, near which city, many 
 Ranches uniting in one great stream, it takes the name of 
 f dibib, and continues to run nearly east, about two hun- 
 ted and fifty miles from Tombuctoo ; when meeting with 
 tgh land, it is turned more southeastward!)", and running 
 i that direction in a winding course, about five hundred 
 riles, it has met with some obstructions, through which 
 i has forced its way, and formed a considerable fall : for 
 vdi Hamet, having spent six days in passing the moun- 
 t ns, came again near the river, which was then filled with 
 token rocks, and the water was foaming and roaring 
 mong them, as he observed, “ most dreadfully/’ This 
 
260 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 must be a fall or rapid. 3dly, That from these falls, t 
 runs first to the southeastward, and then more to the sou , 
 till it reaches Wassanah, about six hundred miles, wh ; 
 it is by some called Zolibib , and by others Zadi. 4th , 
 That as the inhabitants of Wassanah say they go first ) 
 the southward, and then to the westward, in boats to : 
 great water ; this I conceive must be the Atlantic oce , 
 where they have seen pale men and great boats, &c. Tin ,i 
 I should naturally conclude were Europeans, with vesse 
 and that it takes three moons to get there, (about eigh i 
 five days,) at the rate of thirty miles a day, which is i 
 least we can give them with so strong a current ; it mal i 
 a distance from thence to the sea of about two thousE; 
 five hundred miles : in computing this distance, one-thi 
 or more should be allowed for its windings, so that ; 
 whole length of the river is about four thousand mil , 
 and is probably the longest and largest on the African ce 
 tinent 5thly, That the waters of this river in their p 
 sage towards the east, have been obstructed in their cou i 
 by high mountains in the central regions of this unexpl 
 ed continent, and turned southwardly; that they are bon 
 along to the southward, between the ridges of mounta ij 
 that are known to extend all along the western coast, frc 
 Senegal to the gulf of Guinea, and to round with that g ‘ 
 to the south of the equator ; that they are continua l 
 narrowed in and straightened by that immense ridge 
 which the great river Nile is known to have its souro 
 and which mountains lie in the equatorial region ; tl 
 this central river receives, in its lengthened course, all t 
 streams that water and fertilize the whole country betwe 
 the two before-mentioned ridges of mountains : the vvat( 
 thus accumulated and pent up, at length broke over tin 
 western and most feeble barrier, tore it down to its ba; 
 and thence found and forced their way to the Atlani 
 ocean, forming what is now known as the river Cong 
 In corroboration of this opinion, some men of my a 
 quaintance, who have visited the Congo, and traded 
 along the coast between it and the Senegal, affirm, that t 
 Congo discharges more water into the Atlantic, taking t 
 whole year together, than all the streams to the northwa 
 of it, between its mouth and Cape de Yerd, 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 261 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 i \idi Harriet's journey from Tombuctoo to Morocco by the eastern route 
 
 — His description of the Desert , and of the country on both sides of 
 
 it — Of a dreadful battle with the wandering Arabs — S idi Hamel 
 i takes his leave, and sets oid to join his family. 
 
 “ The caravan we joined at Tombuctoo, was a very 
 trge one, belonging to Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Fez, 
 our united together. They remained near that city two 
 toons, and bought two thousand slaves, besides a great 
 eal of gold dust, and teeth, and turbans, and gold rings, 
 nd chains, and gum ; but Seid and I had only our two 
 amels, and they were but partly loaded with gum, for 
 ccount of Ben Nassar , the Sheick of the Tunissian part 
 f the caravan, for there were three Sheicks in it. When 
 very thing was ready, we set off from Tombuctoo, and 
 avelled east- northerly twenty days through the hilly coun- 
 ty, crossing a great many little streams of water that ran to 
 ae south and west towards the great river, it having rained 
 ery hard almost every night whilst we were at Tombuctoo. 
 
 I When we were going amongst the hills and trees, we 
 iw a great many small towns or cities, most of them 
 bnced in with good stone walls, but some with cane and 
 torn bushes. The land of that country is very good, and 
 lenty of corn grows on it, and some rice and dates, and 
 r e saw some oxen, sheep, and asses, and a few horses, 
 'he inhabitants are Moors and Arabs mixed with the ne- 
 roes, and almost as black as the latter ; all of our own 
 bligion : they are very stout fierce men, but they did not 
 :tempt to molest us, and sold us every thing we wanted at 
 cheap rate : they wear no clothing but a strip of cloth 
 oout their middles, and a ring of bone or ivory round the 
 'omen’s ankles and wrists, and some beads in their hair ; 
 tey are peaceable people, and never attack the caravans 
 nless the latter attempt to rob them : they are armed with 
 mskets, and with long knives, and with bows and arrows. 
 Vhen they are forced to fight, they do it with the greatest 
 try, and never take prisoners or receive quarter, and only 
 efend their rights. Some of the people in our caravan 
 old us, that a few years ago a caravan, going from Tom- 
 uctoo to Tunis, Algiers, &c. in passing through this 
 ountry, surprised and stole about four hundred of the 
 
262 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 inhabitants for slaves, and a great number of cattle ant 
 much corn, and went towards the desert ; but these peo 
 pie assembled a large host, and came up with them in th( 
 night near the edge of the desert, and cut the whole oil 
 them to pieces, though they were more than two thousanc 
 men strong, and well armed ; only about fifty of the peo 
 pie of the caravan escaped and got back to Tunis to tel 
 the news, and they only by riding on the swiftest camel: 
 without any loads. After having refreshed our camels fo 
 ten days in a beautiful valley, where there was a goo< 
 stream of water for them to drink, and filled the sacks witl 
 coals, we mounted up to the desert, and steered on thi 
 fiat level away to the north. As we went along we cami 
 to some small valleys, where the Arabs feed their camel: 
 and live on their milk, and think themselves the mos 
 learned, virtuous, and religious people in the world, anc 
 the most happy too, though they have neither bread, not 
 meat, nor honey, nor any clothing but a rag tied rounc 
 their waists, and live in tents, wandering about. W e steer 
 ed about north for eighteen days, when we came to th( 
 usual watering place, called Weydlah; here was a grea 
 deal of water in a pond, but it was black and quite salt 
 like the water in the wells close by the great sea : it was 
 very dead and stinking, and tasted of sulphur ; it is in ; 
 very deep pit and difficult to get at, there being only one 
 place by which we could lead the camels down to the wa- 
 ter : it is said to be very deep in the middle, and was nevei 
 known to be dry : it was almost covered over by a thick 
 green scum : we could see the tracks of wild beasts, sucf 
 as tigers and lions, near the water. We had seen a greal 
 many of these animals in our travels to Wassanah, and 
 when we were coming from Tombuctoo to the eastward, 
 Our caravan consisted of about fifteen hundred men, most 
 of us well armed with double barrelled guns and scimitarsj 
 and we had about four thousand camels. It was a long 
 |Otirney to the next well ; so we stopped here six days 
 peaceably, having encamped in a valley a little distance 
 evest of the pond or lake. We had always made the cam- 
 els lie down in a circle, placing the goods in the centre, 
 and the men between the camels and the goods : we had 
 two hundred men on guard, and always ready for any 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 263 
 
 nergency. In the night of the sixth day, about two 
 ours after midnight, we were attacked by a very large 
 ody of wandering Arabs : they had got to within a few 
 ards of us before they were discovered, and poured in a 
 aost destructive fire of musketry, at the same time Tun- 
 ing in like hungry tigers, with spears and scimitars in 
 leir hands, with dreadful yellings : they threw the whole 
 aravan into confusion for a moment ; but we were in a 
 ight circle, formed by the camels, which with the guards 
 ept them off for a short time, till the whole of our men 
 eized their arms and rallied. The battle now raged most 
 Liriously : it was cloudy and very dark ; the blaze of the 
 towder making only a faint light, whilst the cracking of 
 ausketry, the clashing of swords, the shouts of the com- 
 -atants, and the bellowiags of the wounded and frightened 
 amels, together with the groans of the wounded and dying 
 nen, made the most dreadful and horrid uproar that can 
 »e conceived. The fight continued for about two hours, 
 land to hand and breast to breast, when the assailants gave 
 vay and ran off, leaving their dead and wounded on the 
 ield of battle. We remained with our arms in our hands 
 ill night. I was wounded with a ball in my thigh, and 
 1 kid with a dagger on his breast.” They then showed me 
 heir scars. “ In the morning we numbered our men, and 
 Found that two hundred and thirty were killed, and about 
 ane hundred wounded : three hundred of the camels were 
 either slain or so badly wounded that they could not walk, 
 and so we killed them. We found seven hundred of our 
 enemies lying on the ground, either dead or wounded ; 
 those that were badly wounded, we killed, to put them out 
 of pain, and carried the others that could walk along with 
 us for slaves ; of these there were about one hundred. As 
 the enemy fled, they took all their good camels with them, 
 for they had left them at a distance, so that we only found 
 about fifty poor ones, which we killed ; but we picked up 
 two hundred and twenty good double barrelled guns from 
 the ground : the gun which Seid now uses is one of them ; 
 we got also about four hundred scimitars or long knives. 
 We were told by the prisoners that the company who at- 
 tacked us was upwards of four thousand strong, and that, 
 they had been preparing for it three moons. We were 
 
264 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 afraid of another attack, and went off the same day, an 
 travelled all the night, steering to the N. E. (out of tf 
 course the caravans commonly take) twenty-three day: 
 journey, when we came to a place called the Eight Well: 
 where we found plenty of good water. Fifty of our me 
 had died, and twenty- one of the slaves. We remaine 
 near these good wells for eleven days ; our camels feedin 
 on the bushes in the valleys near them, when we agai 
 travelled to the northwestward ten days to Twati, a goo 
 watering place. For the last three days we waded throug J 
 deep sands, like those we passed among while going fror j 
 Widnoon. We rested here two days, and then went dow;' 
 north, into the country of dates, and came to the town c 
 Gujelah , a little strong place belonging to Tunis — ther 
 we found plenty of fruit and good water, and meat an<j 
 milk : we stopped there ten days, and then the part of th 
 caravan going to Tripoli left us and went towards the east l 
 by the mountains, and the rest went on northeaster!] 
 twelve days to Tuggurtah , close by a mountain near the 
 river Tegsah , that is said to go to the sea near Tunis ; hen' 
 we stopped twenty-five days, and the caravan for Tunis lefi 
 us. Tuggurtah is a very large city, with high and thick 
 walls, made tight, and has a great many people in it, all 
 of the true religion, and a vast number of black slaves, 
 and a few white ones. After stopping here twenty-five 
 days, we set oft’ to the northwestward through a very fine 
 country, full of date and fig trees, and cattle, and goats, 
 camels, sheep, and asses ; we then travelled ten days to 
 the high mountains, where the caravan for Algiers parted 
 from us, and we remained with about two hundred camels 
 and eighty men going to Fez. We then travelled over 
 the great mountain, which we were told belongs to the 
 same ridge we see close to Morocco and in Suse; (the 
 Atlas ; ) and in two moons more we passed through Fez, 
 where what remained of the caravan stopped, and we re- 
 turned to our father’s house, and our families, on the side 
 of the Atlas mountains, near the city of Morocco, having 
 been gone more than two years. We brought back only 
 one camel, and a small load of merchandise, out of the 
 eight camels richly loaded when we set out ; yet we thank- 
 ed God for having preserved our lives; for the whole 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 2 65 
 
 nravan with which w T e started had perished on the desert, 
 ad out of the twenty-eight men who left it with us, only 
 : ur reached their homes, and they on foot, and entirely 
 estitute of property. I found my wife and all my chii- 
 cen and my father’s family in good health. Sheick Ali 
 (lime to see me as soon as he got the news of my arrival, 
 
 I d after staying with me one moon, he invited me and 
 id to go with him to his place, which invitation we ac- 
 pted, and he furnished us with one camel and some haicks 
 d blue cloth, and advised us to go up on the desert and 
 ide them away for ostrich feathers, to sell in Morocco or 
 gvearah ; so, being poor, we accepted his offer, bought 
 Is goods and his camel, and he was to have been paid 
 pen we came back. We set off for the desert, and had 
 j.ssed a great many tribes of Arabs without finding any 
 fithers of consequence, when the great God directed our 
 lips to your master’s tent, and I saw vou. I was once as 
 Id a man as Seid, but I had been in distress and in a 
 range land, and had found friends to keep me and restore 
 m to my family; and when I saw you naked and a slave, 
 pith your skin and flesh burnt from your bones by the sun, 
 sd heard you say you had a wife and children, I thought of 
 iy own former distresses, and God softened my heart, and 
 3>ecame your friend. I did all I could to lighten the burden 
 < your afflictions : I have endured hunger, thirst, and fa- 
 ques, and have fought for your sake, and have now the high 
 jsasure of knowing 1 have done some good in the world ; 
 id may the great and universal Father still protect you : 
 yu have been true and kind to me, and your friend has fed 
 i ; with milk and honey ; and 1 will always in future do 
 nat is in my power to redeem Christians from slavery.’ 5 
 Here Sidi Hamet finished his narration : he then said he 
 wished to go and see his wife and children, and that as 
 ; on as he had rested for a few days, he would set oft' again 
 ith a large company to seek after the rest of my men. 
 he next morning I made him a small present, and Mr. 
 hllshire also gave him some fine powder, and many other 
 tail articles. After he was prepared to go, he swore by 
 Is right hand, he would bring up the remainder of my 
 > 2 \v if they were to be found alive, and God spared his 
 ?• he then took his leave of me by shaking hands, and 
 
266 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 of all my companions, wishing us a happy sight of 01 
 friends, and set off for his home. I did not part with hi 
 without feelings of regret and shedding tears ; for he h; 
 been a kind master to me, and to him 1 owed, under Go 
 my life and deliverance from slavery; nor could I avo 
 reflecting on the wonderful means employed by Providen 
 to bring about my redemption, and that of a part o£ n 
 late unfortunate crew. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVL 
 
 An account of the face of the great African Desert , or Z 
 hahrah ; of its inhabitants , their customs , manners-, drei 
 <sc. — A description of the Arabian camel or dromedar 
 
 In giving an account of the great western desert, 
 Zahahrah, and of its inhabitants, &c. it must be remet 
 bered, that in journeying across, or on the desert when 
 slave, I did not go over but a very small part, compat 
 lively speaking, of that extensive region ; I cannot ther 
 fore undertake to describe what did not come under n 
 own observation. I can, however, state, without fear 
 future contradiction, the following facts, viz. that the fa 
 of this desert, from about the latitude of 20 to 22 degre 
 north, where we were forced ashore in our boat, to near t 
 latitude of 28 degrees north, and from the longitude of Ca l 
 Barbas , about 1 9 to 11 degrees west, is a smooth surfac 
 consisting partly of solid rocks, of gravel, sand, and ston 
 mixed, and in some places of what is commonly calf 
 soil : this mass is baked down together in most places, 1 
 the extreme heat of the sun, nearly as hard as marble, i 
 that no tracks of man or beast are discoverable ; for t: 
 footstep leaves no impression. The whole surface is 
 smooth, when viewed on every side, as the plain of t! 
 ocean unruffled by winds or tempests, stretching out 
 far as the eye can reach ; not a break that might serve 
 a landmark, or guide to the traveller ; not a tree, shru 
 or any other object, to interrupt the view within the hojj 
 son ; the whole is in appearance a dreary waste t the st! 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 267 
 
 ; in colour of a light reddish brown : not a stream of water 
 at least for many centuries past) has refreshed this region, 
 •hich is doomed to eternal barrenness ; but as we went 
 brward on this flat hard surface, we met from distance to 
 istance with small valleys or dells, scooped out, in appear - 
 nce, by the hand of nature, from five to thirty feet below 
 le plain — those we saw and stopped in were ten, fifteen, 
 ad twenty miles apart, and contained from one to four or 
 ve acres each — they seem to serve as receptacles for the 
 ttle rain water which falls on the desert ; for the inhabi- 
 ints always expect some in the winter months, though 
 ley are frequently disappointed ; and none had fallen on 
 lose parts on which we were thrown for the last two years. 
 
 It was already September, and they were offering up 
 
 f rayers to the Almighty every day, and most fervently im- 
 loring him to send them refreshing rains. These little 
 illeys appear mostly in the form of a bowl, though in 
 )tne the sides are steep, and bottoms nearly level, and 
 te whole irregular. Here grows a dwarf thorn bush, from 
 vo to five feet in height ; it is generally scattered thinly 
 rer the valley. The leaves of this shrub, which is almost 
 le only one that is to be found on that part of the desert, 
 ■e a fourth of an inch in thickness, one and a half inches 
 i width, and from two to two and a half inches in length, 
 Itpering to a sharp point, and are strongly impregnated 
 ith salt, so much so, that neither myself nor my com- 
 . anions could eat them, though nearly perishing with hun- 
 ger and thirst, and a green fresh leaf would have been a 
 reat relief to us, when neither meat nor drink was to be 
 rocured. Such is the face of the desert over which we 
 Classed, until we came within a short distance of Cape 
 iajador, where we fell in with immense heaps of loose sand, 
 irming mountains of from one to three or four hundred 
 ret in height, blown and whirled about by every wind, 
 ad dreadful to the traveller, should a strong gale arise from 
 le southward whilst in the midst of them ; for be and his 
 easts must then inevitably perish, overwhelmed by flying 
 arges of suffocating sand. 
 
 The face of this part of the desert is still the same as 
 lat before described, when laid bare and seen between the 
 and hills, by reason of the sand being blown off This 
 
2 68 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 sand has evidently been driven from the sea-shore, and : 
 the same degree as the ocean has retired, by means of til! 
 trade wind blowing constantly on to the desert, and that tc 
 very strongly in the night-time, through a long successic 
 of ages. The heavy surf dashing perpetually among tl 
 rocks, gradually reduces them to grit, which then rnixil 
 with the sand that is washed up upon the shore,, where 
 is left by the tides that rise on .this coast to the height I 
 twelve or fourteen feet, and only once in twenty-four hour; 
 this becomes dried by the excessive heat of the sun, ar 
 is whirled about and driven before this constant gale, upc 
 the surface, and then into the interior of the desei 
 Such have unquestionably been the causes which have pri 
 duced such astonishing accumulations of sand on that pa 
 of the desert ; and I am further confirmed in this beli 
 by the enormous strings of sand hills to be found all alon 
 the coast of Suse and Morocco, near the sea-shore. The: 
 accumulations are in many parts so great, as to have raise 
 new bounds to the ocean some miles beyond its origin 
 limits, which have evidently been washed by the sea at 
 former period, and the intermediate spaces are filled u 
 with loose sand hills ; which circumstances all togethi 
 amount, in my opinion, to a demonstration of the origi 
 of the sand on this part of the desert. 
 
 Some authors have supposed that there were many fei 
 tile spots on the great western desert which were cult 
 vated, &c. &c. but this is, I think, an impossibility : tl 
 whole desert being a level plain, it can produce neitht 
 spring or stream of water, and no herbage can const 
 quently grow unless by means of rain, and this falls on tli 
 desert so seldom, and is so soon evaporated, as to rendt 
 even a passage across it with a caravan of Arabs and cant 
 els, at all times dangerous in the extreme, as is proved b 
 Sidi Hamet’s narrative of his journeys, connected wit 
 my own observations. That there are more shrubs grow 
 ing in some parts than in others, is true, from natur; 
 causes. This smooth dry surface can produce no vapoui 
 and if it did, there are no breaks or mountains to arrest i 
 and it flies off to the north or south, where more is prc 
 duced : the neighbourhood of mountains condenses th 
 atmosphere and produces the rain, which is driven som« 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 269 
 
 mes only from thence on to the desert by strong gales, 
 nd even then in scanty quantities. The small valleys or 
 ells which now furnish a scanty subsistence for the hardy 
 amel, and that only by feeding on the coarsest shrubs and 
 .'aves, serve as basins to catch the little water that some- 
 mes falls there : this is immediately dried away by the 
 itense heat of the sun, which beats down upon the sur- 
 ice in all parts most violently, and scorches like actual 
 re ; — yet that moisture, little as it is, causes the growth 
 |f the dwarf thorn bush, and of two or three other prickly 
 hints, resembling weeds ; these grow only among sand, 
 nd there are spots on the desert which produce a shrub 
 lat grows up in a bunch at the bottom as thick as a man’s 
 >g, and then branches off in every direction to the height 
 f two feet, with a diameter of four or five feet. Each 
 ranch is two or three inches in circumference, and they 
 re fluted like pillars or columns in architecture, and al- 
 iost square at their tops : these are armed with small sharp 
 rickles all over, two or three inches long, and yield, 
 /hen broken off, a whitish liquid that is very nauseous, 
 nd bites the tongue like aqua-fortis, so that the camels 
 /ill nip it off only when they can find nothing else : they 
 re so numerous in some places, that it is difficult for the 
 amels to get along amongst them, and they are obliged to 
 .odge about between these bunches. This plant resem- 
 iles a chandelier in appearance : the barren mountains of 
 iuse are nearly covered with it : I believe it is a species 
 if euphorbium, and each of the branches were surmount- 
 d at that time with a red blossom of three or four leaves, 
 lalf an inch long, resembling in some degree the blaze of 
 . candle ; from this flower the bees that are found in such 
 juantities in Suse extract their honey. 
 
 In many valleys the thorn bushes furnish a few snails. 
 \ few ground nuts are also to be found, resembling in 
 ihape and size small onions; and there are also to be seen 
 inder the shade of the thorn bushes, an herb known by 
 he name of shepherds’ sprouts in America ; but like the 
 )ther things before mentioned, they are very rarely to be 
 net with. These are, as far as came within my knowledge, 
 he whole of the productions of the desert. 
 
 It has been imagined by many, that the desert abound- 
 
270 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 ed in noxious animals, serpents, and other reptiles ; b 
 we saw none, nor is it possible for any animal that requir 
 water to exist on the desert of Zahahrah, unless it is und 
 the care of, and assisted by man in procuring that nece 
 sarv article. I saw no animal that was wild, except tl 
 ostrich, nor can I conceive how that animal exists witho 
 fresh water, which it is certain he cannot procure, n 
 what kind of nourishment he subsists on. There are ne 
 iher beasts, nor birds, nor reptiles, to be seen on th| 
 dreary waste on which we travelled, and it is certain th! 
 there are other districts still worse, bearing not the smalle 
 herb nor bush wherewith the camel can fill his stomacl 
 but near the borders of the desert, where more shrubs a 
 produced, sheep and goats are fed in considerable nun 
 bers, and we saw many of those light-footed and beautif 
 animals called the Gazelle , tripping across the sand hill 
 and near watering places ; some tigers also now and the 
 made their appearance. Such is the great western deserr 
 or Zahahrah, which can only afford a description as dt 
 and as barren as its dreary surface. For its extent, sc i 
 the map. 
 
 Nearly all parts of this vast desert are inhabited by di| 
 ferent tribes of Arabs, who live entirely on the milk c , 
 their camels, and wander from valley to valley, travellin 
 nearly every day for the sake of finding food for their can 
 els, and consequently food for themselves : they live i 
 tents formed of cloth made of camels’ hair, which the 
 pull off by hand, and spin with a hand spindle ; this the 
 twist round with the fore- finger and thumb of the righ 
 hand, after they have pulled out the thread sufficiently Ion 
 from a bunch of camels’ hair, which they hold in their le 
 hand, whilst the spindle descends to the ground, whe 
 they take it up in their hand again, and wind off the yar 
 in a ball, and then spin another length in like manner : the 
 afterwards double and twist it by hand, making a threai 
 as thick as a goose quill. When they have spun a suffi 
 cient quantity, and have agreed to stop for two or threi 
 clays in one place, (which they always do when they cai 
 find sufficient food for their camels,) they drive into the 
 ground two rows of pegs, in parallel lines, sufficiently 
 wide for a tent cloth, that is, about two and a half fee 
 
OBSERVATION'S ON AFRICA. 
 
 271 
 
 :>art : they then warp the yarn round the pegs, and eom- 
 j ence weaving it by running a kind of wooden sword 
 1 rough the yarn under one thread and over another, in 
 tie manner of darning : this sword they carry with them, 
 
 ; cl it appears to have been used for ages : they then tuck 
 rough the filling by hand, after turning up the sword 
 dgeways, haul it tight, and beat it up with the sword, as 
 3 presented in plate No. 6 . They weave it the whole 
 Jhgth which they intend the tent to be, and then roll up 
 tie pieces or length, until they have made enough to finish 
 atent. This, in my opinion, must have been the very 
 fjrst method of weaving practised in the world, and the 
 iea, I imagine, was taken from a view of the outer bark 
 ( the cocoa-nut tree, as I have before observed. The 
 tint is then sewed together with the same kind of twine, 
 
 ( rough holes made with an iron bodkin. After it is sewed 
 gether to a proper width, from six to ten breadths, they 
 iake four loops on its ends, by fastening short crooked 
 neks to the cloth, and two on each side. When they are 
 nout to pitch the tent, they spread it out, stretching the 
 ords by which it is fastened, and driving a stout peg into 
 le ground for each cord ; this is done with a hard smooth 
 :one, which they always carry with them, in place of a 
 limmer ; then getting under the tent and raising it, they 
 ace a block, whose top is rounded like a wooden bowl, 
 ader its centre, and set the tent pole into a hole made for 
 lat purpose, and set the pole upright, which keeps the 
 nt steady in its place. After the tent is raised, all the 
 >pes that hold and steady it (ten in number) are tauten- 
 1 : these ropes are made of skins partly dressed, or of 
 imels’ hair, so that the tent is suspended in form of an 
 along umbrella, and the lower edge is about two feet 
 om the ground. In the day-time they raise up the south 
 art of their tents (as those on the desert are always pitch- 
 I facing the south) with two small stanchions fixed un- 
 er the cords that hold it in front, so that they can go 
 nder the tent by stooping : this tent serves all the family 
 >r a shelter. Each family has a mat, which serves as a 
 ed for the whole : they lie clown on it promiscuously, only 
 'rapped up in their haick or blanket, if they have one’; 
 not, in the skin that covers their loins only, and lie close 
 
272 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 together, to keep off the cold winds which blow under t 
 tents in the night : the children lie between the grown pe 
 sons ; their heads are as low, and frequently lower th; 
 their feet, and their long bushy hair, which is never com 
 ed, and resembles a woollen thrumb mop, serves the 
 instead of a pillow. The families consist of the fath( 
 and one or more wives, and the children that are unma 
 ried, (generally about four to a family, but sometimes s 
 or eight,) and their slaves, who are blacks. 
 
 The rich Arabs have one, two, or three slaves, mal 
 and female ; these are allowed to sleep on the same m 
 with their masters and mistresses, and are treated in ; 
 respects like the children of the family in regard to appan 
 &c. ; they are not, however, permitted to marry or cohal 
 with the Arab women, under pain of death, and are oblige 
 to take care of the camels and follow them, and to do oth 
 drudgery, such as getting fuel, &c. but they will n 
 obey the women, and raise their voices higher than the 
 master or any of his children in a dispute, and cons 
 quently are considered smart fellows. They marry amor 
 their own colour while they are slaves, with the consent 
 their masters, but the children remain slaves. After 
 slave has served his master faithfully for a long time, or h; 
 done him some essential service, he is made free : he tilt 
 enters into all the privileges that the free Arabs enjoy, an 
 can marry into any of their families, which he or she nev< 
 fails to do, and thus become identified with the familitj 
 of the tribe in which they were slaves, and may rise to tl 
 very head of it. The negroes are generally active an 
 brave, are seldom punished with stripes, and those wl 
 drive the camels do not scruple to milk them when they ai 
 thirsty, but take care not to be discovered : they are e> 
 tremely cunning, and will steal any thing they can get at < 
 eat or drink, from their masters, or indeed any one els< 
 If they are caught in the act of stealing, they are onl 
 threatened, and promised a flogging the next time, (th 
 being the common practice of their masters.) The fatht 
 of the family is its absolute chief in all respects, thoug 
 he seldom inflicts punishment : his wives and daughters ai 
 considered as mere slaves, subject to his will or caprice 
 yet they take every opportunity to deceive or steal fror 
 
273 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 im : he deals out the milk to each with his own hand, nor 
 are any one touch it until it is thus divided : he always 
 ssists in milking the camels, then puts the milk into a 
 rge wooden bowl, which has probably been in the fami- 
 for ages : some of the largest bowls will contain five 
 illons : they are frequently split in every direction, and 
 le split parts are fastened together with small iron plates, 
 ith a rivet at each end, made of the same metal. All 
 
 ( e milk is thrown into the great bowl; then, if in the old 
 an’s opinion, there is a sufficient quantity for a good 
 ink round, he takes a small bowl, (of which sort they 
 nerally have two or three,) and after washing or rubbing 
 i with dry sand, he begins to distribute the milk, by 
 ving to each grown person an equal share, and to the 
 lildren in proportion to their size, measuring it very 
 cactly, and taking a proportionate quantity to himself, 
 there is any left, (which was very seldom the case with 
 ose I lived among,) he has it put into a skin, to serve 
 
 { r a drink at noon the next day : if there is not a sufficient 
 lantity of milk for a good drink all round, the old man 
 Is it up with water (if they have any) to a certain mark 
 1 the bowl, and then proceeds to divide it as before re- 
 lied. 
 
 The camels are driven out early in the morning, and 
 bme about dark, when they are made to lie down before 
 te tent of their owner, very near, with their tails towards 
 i: a doubled rope with a large knot in one end is then 
 pt round the knee joint when the leg is doubled in, and 
 te knot being thrust through the doubled part at the 
 (her end, effectually fastens the knee bent as it is, so that 
 ie camel cannot get up to walk off, having but the use 
 < three of his legs. This kind of becket is also fixed 
 <t the knees of the old camels that lead the drove; and 
 le others remain quiet when their leaders are fast : in this 
 mnner they are suffered to lie until about midnight, when 
 'ey have had time to cool and the milk to collect in their 
 Kgs — the becket is then taken off, and as soon as they 
 s t up, the net which covers the bag to prevent the young 
 nes irom consuming the mnk, is loosened : this is fasten - 
 <i on by two cords, that go over the back of the camel, 
 
 : d are knotted together. As each camel is milked, the 
 
 35 
 
274 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 net is carefully replaced, and she is made to lie down i 
 the same place again : here they lie until daylight, whe 
 all the camels are made to get up ; a little milk is the 
 drawn from each, and the young ones are suffered to sue 
 out the remainder, when the net is put in its place agaii 
 not to be removed until the following midnight. Whi 
 the head of the family is busied milking the camels an 
 suckling the young ones, assisted by all the males, tl 
 wife and females are striking and folding up the tent, s 
 lecting the camels to carry the stuff, and bringing the] 
 near, where they make them lie down and pack on the: 
 the tent and all their other materials. This being don 
 they fasten a leather or skin basket, about four feet wid 
 fitted with a kind of tree, like a saddle, on the back of or 
 of the tamest camels, in which the women place the o 
 men and women that cannot walk, and young childrei 
 and frequently themselves, and proceed forward accon 
 ing to their daily custom. The women take care of tl 
 stuff' and the camels that carry it, and of the children: tl 
 other camels are driven off by slaves, if they have any, 
 not, by some of the boys, and kept where there are son 
 shrubs to be found, until night. The old man, or her 
 of the family, generally precedes the women and stuff, a 
 ter having described to them the course they are to stee l 
 He sets off on his camel, with his gun in his hand, at a fu 
 trot, and goes on until he finds a fit place in which to pitc 
 the tent, when he gives the information to his wife, wo 
 then proceeds with all possible despatch to the spot, in 
 loads her camels, and lets them go ; then she spreads lv 
 tent, puts all the stuff under it, clears away the sms 
 stones, and spreads her mat, arranges her bowls, hant 
 up the skins containing water, (if they have any,) on a kiitj 
 of horse or frame that folds together, &c. &cc. They sta 
 long before sun-rising in the morning, and calculate t 
 pitch their tents at about four o’clock in the afternoon, 
 they can find a convenient spot ; otherwise a little soom 
 or later. When one family sets off, the whole of that pa: 
 of the tribe dwelling near travel on with them ; and I hav 
 frequently seen from five hundred to one thousand came 
 in one drove, all going the same way, and I was greatl 
 surprised to see with what facility they could distinguis 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 275 
 
 nd separate them ; each knowing his own camels, even 
 d the smallest : they would sometimes march together for 
 alf a day ; then in a few minutes they would separate, 
 nd each take his own course, and would generally pitch 
 'ithin a few miles of each other. As soon as the place 
 ; agreed on, the men go out on their camels, with their 
 uns, different ways, to reconnoitre and see if they have 
 nemies near. 
 
 When they rise in the morning, after having first milked 
 teir camels, and suckled the young ones, they next attend 
 o prayers, which is done in the following manner : they 
 rst find a sandy spot, then unwrap themselves, and take 
 p sand in both their hands ; with this they rub their 
 ices, necks, arms, legs, and every part of their bodies, 
 xcept their backs, which they cannot reach : this done, 
 3 if they washed with water, they stand erect, facing 
 Wards the east ; wrap themselves up as neatly as they 
 an in their blankets or skins ; they look up towards hea- 
 en, and then bow their heads, bending their bodies half 
 r ay to the ground, twice, crying aloud at each time, Al- 
 ih Hooakibar. They next kneel down, and supporting 
 lemselves with their hands, they worship, bowing their 
 ices in the dust, twice successively ; then, being still on 
 leir knees, they bend themselves forward, nearly to the 
 round, repeating, Hi el Allah- Sheda Mohammed — Rah- 
 iol Allah ; then rising, they again repeat, Allah Hooaki- 
 zr, two or three times ; and this is the common mode 
 f worshipping four times a day. In addition to this, at 
 an-setting, they implore the Almighty to send rain to 
 loisten the parched earth ; to cause the food to grow for 
 leir camels ; to keep them under his special care, with 
 icir families and tribes ; to enrich them with the spoils of 
 teir enemies, and to confound and destroy them that seek 
 leir hurt : they thank the Almighty for his past mercies, 
 ir food, raiment, and his protection, &c. See. ; they then 
 jepeat part of a chapter from the Koran, in which God’s 
 retended promises to the faithful are made known by 
 leir prophet ; and repeating at all times the Hi el Allah , 
 r, “ Great is the Almighty God, and Mohammed is his 
 oly prophet.” Their times of prayer are, before sun- 
 ising in the morning, about noon, the middle of the 
 
276 
 
 CAPTAIN RILE P’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 afternoon, about sun-setting, and again two or three hod; 
 after the sun has set : this makes five times a day, was 
 ing themselves (at least their faces and hands, when th 
 have water) before praying ; when they cannot get wat< j 
 (which is always the case with those on the desert,) th i 
 perform their ablutions by substituting sand. Mohan, 
 med, their prophet, when he arrived with an army on t 
 deserts of Arabia, found that there was no water either 1 
 himself or his followers to wash in; yet by the laws i 
 had already promulgated, ablutions could not be dispensi 
 with ; a new chapter, however, of revelation, soon i 
 lieved him from this dilemma, and he directed his follo\ 
 ers to use sand, when no water was to be had. In t 
 ninth chapter of the Book of Numbers, it appears th 
 Moses, in a similar dilemma, found it necessary to app i 
 for a new command from the Lord on a particular su i 
 
 j ect - 
 
 The Arabs always wash when it is in their power, b i 
 fore they eat, nor does any business divert them from tl 
 strict observance of their religious ceremonies : and wi 
 respect to particular stated times, while pursuing the 
 journies, and going on in the greatest haste, when tl| 
 time for prayers arrives, all stop, make the camels 1 
 down, and perform what they conceive to be their indi 
 pensable duty ; praying, in addition to the usual forms, 
 be directed in the right course, and that God will lee 
 them to wells of living water, and to hospitable brethrei 
 who will feed them, and not suffer them to perish f 
 from the face of man ; that he will enrich them wil 
 spoils, and deliver them from all who lie in wait to d 
 them mischief : this done, they mount again cheerfulh 
 and proceed, encouraging their camels by a song, a ver 
 lively one, if they wish them to go on a trot ; if only t 
 walk, something more slow and solemn. 
 
 The Arabs who inhabit the great westeril desert, are i, 
 their persons about five feet seven or eight inches i 
 height ; and tolerably well set in their frames, though lean 
 their complexion is of a dark olive : they have high chee 
 bones, and aquiline noses, rather prominent ; lank cheeks 
 thin lips, and rounded chins : their eyes are black, spark 
 ling, and intelligent ; they have long black hair, coarse! 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 277 
 
 h! 1 very thick ; and the men cut their’s off with their 
 {jives, to the length of about six or eight inches, and 
 eve it sticking out in every direction from their heads 
 ly all wear long beards : their limbs are straight, and 
 ly can endure hunger, thirst, hardships, and fatigues, 
 j ibably better than any other people under heaven : their 
 r ‘lthing in general is nothing more than a piece of coarse 
 ffi'th, made of camels 1 hair, tied round their waists, hang- 
 
 I nearly down to their knees ; or a goat-skin so fasten- 
 on, as to cover their nakedness ; but some of the rich 
 s wear a covering of linen or cotton cloth over their 
 ulders, to their knees, hanging something like a shift 
 hirt, without sleeves ; and some have, besdies, a haick 
 woollen blanket, about four feet wide, and four yards 
 which they wrap about them ; but this is the case 
 t with the rich, and their number is very small. These 
 :ks and blue shirts they get from the empire of Mo- 
 10 , in exchange for camels’ hair and ostrich feathers ; 
 
 5 only commodities in which they can trade. The 
 ib women are short and meager, and their features 
 ch harder and more ugly than those of the men ; but 
 i y have long black hair, which they braid and tuck up 
 a bunch on their heads, and fasten it there by means 
 thorns. They generally wear strings of black beads 
 nd their necks, and a white circular bone, of three 
 nhes in diameter, in their hair, with bands of beads or 
 er ornaments around their wrists and ankles. Their 
 ek bones are high and prominent ; their visages and 
 > are thin, and the upper lip is kept up by means of 
 1 two eye-teeth. They take great pains to make these 
 eth project forward, and turn up quite in front of the 
 tale of their other fore-teeth, which are as white and sound 
 \: ivory'-. Their eyes are round, black, and sparkling, 
 
 • ■y expressive, and extremely beautiful, particularly in 
 th young women, who are generally plump and lascivi- 
 3 3. The women wear a dress of coarse camels’ hair 
 c th, which they manufacture in the same way they make 
 thir tent cloth : it covers their shoulders, leaving their 
 a ns and breasts naked ; it is sewed up on each side, and 
 f;ls down nearly to their knees ; they have a fold in this, 
 lie a sack, next their skin on their shoulders, in which 
 
278 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 they carry their little children ; and the breasts of [ 
 middle aged women become so extremely long, lank, ji 
 pendulous, (being in appearance not unlike a wrinkl 
 stocking with a small bunch at the bottom,) that they h; 
 no other trouble in nursing the child which is on tlj 
 backs, when walking about, than to throw up their brea i 
 over the top of their shoulders, so that the child may J 
 ply its lips. 
 
 All the Arabs go barefoot; the children, both nfl 
 and female, before they come to the age of puberty, j 
 about entirely naked, and this exposure to the sun is i 
 great cause of their black colour. The males are all i 
 cumcised at the age of eight years, not as a religious r 
 but because it is found necessary as a preventive of a <j 
 ease incident to the climate, (the venereal.) The men 
 very quick, active, and intelligent — more so, taken c 
 lectively, than any other set of men I had ever coj 
 across in the different parts of the world I had bef i 
 visited. They are the lords and masters in their famil: 
 and are very severe and cruel to their wives, whom tl 
 treat as mere necessary slaves, and they do not alls 
 them even as much liberty as they grant to their negre 
 either in speech or action : they are considered by 
 men as beings without souls, and consequently, they 
 not permitted to join in their devotions, but are kept c< 
 stantly drudging at something or other, and are seld 
 allowed to speak when men are conversing togetb 
 They are very filthy in their persons, not even cleans! 
 themselves with sand, and are covered with vermin. 1 
 continual harsh treatment, and hard drudgery to whil 
 they are subject, have worn off that fine edge of delicai, 
 sensibility, and compassion, so natural to their sex, a 
 transformed them into unfeeling and unpitying beings; 
 much so, that their conduct towards me and my comp; 
 ions in distress, was brutal in the extreme, and betray 
 the extinction of every humane and generous feeling. 
 
 The Arab is high-spirited, brave, avaricious, rapacioi 
 revengeful ; and, strange as it may appear, is at the sat 
 time hospitable and compassionate : he is proud of bei 
 able to maintain his independence, though on a drea 
 desert, and despises those who are so mean and degrad 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 279 
 
 s to submit to any government but that of the Most 
 i^h. He struts about sole master of what wealth he 
 k sesses, always ready to defend it, and believes himself 
 h happiest of men, and the most learned also ; handing 
 uvn the tradition of his ancestors, as he is persuaded, 
 
 : many thousands of years. He looks upon all other 
 n to be vile, and beneath his notice, except as mer- 
 ndise : he is content to live on the milk of his camels, 
 ich he takes great care to rear, and thanks his God 
 y for his continual mercies. They considered them- 
 es as much above me and my companions, both in 
 dlect and acquired knowledge, as the proud and pam- 
 ed West- India planter (long accustomed to rule over 
 /es) fancies himself above the meanest new negro, just 
 light in chains from the coast of Africa. They never 
 rect their male children, but the females are beat 
 hout mercy. The men were not cruel to us farther 
 i they thought we were obstinate, and always gave 
 i small share of what they themselves had to subsist 
 
 ■ 
 
 never witnessed a marriage among them, but was 
 1 that when a young man sees a girl that pleases him, 
 asks her of her father, and she becomes his wife with- 
 
 ceremony. Polygamy is allowed, but the Arabs of 
 f desert have but very seldom more than one wife, 
 less amongst some of the rich ones, who have need 
 »i servants, when they take another wife, and sometimes 
 lird. 
 
 They all learn to read and write : in every family or 
 liision of a tribe, they have one man who acts as teacher 
 c the children : they have boards of from one foot square 
 i|two feet long, and about an inch thick by eighteen 
 tikes wide : on these boards the children learn to write 
 a h a piece of pointed reed ; they have the secret of 
 1 king ink, and that of a very black dye : when a family 
 -> wandering Arabs pitch their tents, they set apart a 
 i ce for a school : this they surround with broken shrubs 
 Jfhe desert to keep off the wind ; here all the boys who 
 u;e been circumcised of from eight to eighteen ortwen- 
 » T ears old, attend, and are taught to read and to write 
 '(ses from the Koran, which is kept in manuscript by 
 
280 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 every family on skins : they write their characters fi 
 right to left — are particular in the formation of them, 
 make their lines very straight : all the children attend fr i 
 choice or for amusement. The teacher, I was told, nt 
 punishes a child, but explains the meaning of things, 
 amuses him by telling tales that are both entertaining ; 
 instructive ; he reads or rehearses chapters from the Kc 
 or some other book, for they have a great many poe: 
 &c. written also on skins : when the board is full of ^ 
 ling, they rub it oft' with sand, and begin again : t 
 enumerate with the nine figures now in use among all ] 
 ropean nations, and in America, and were extrerr 
 astonished to find that I could make them, and underst 
 their meaning, saying one to another, “ This man m 
 have been a slave before to some Arabian merchant, \ 
 has taught him the manner of using the Arabic figu 
 and contrary to his law, unless indeed he is a good n 
 and a believer.” The boards on which they wrote set 
 ed to have lasted for ages — they had been split in mi 
 places, and were kept together by small iron plates 
 each side, fixed by iron rivets : these plates, as well 
 their rude axes, of which each family has one, are m; 
 of tempered iron by the smiths which belong to and jo 
 ney with the tribe : I saw several of them at w'ork : tl 
 burn small wood into charcoal, and carry it with them 
 camels : their anvil is made of a piece of iron a foot loi 
 and pointed at the end — this they drive into the ground 
 work on ; the head of the anvil is about six inches owl 
 they make their fire in a small hole dug in the ground ' 
 that purpose, and blow it up by means of two skins (j 
 riously fixed : so that w-hile one is filling with air, til 
 blow wdth the other, standing between them — with a ha 
 placed on each, they raise and depress them at pleasu . 
 .By means of a clumsy 7 hammer, an anvil, and hot ire; 
 to bore with, they manage to fix the saddles for themsehi 
 to ride on, and to make knives and a kind of needles, a 
 small rough bladed axes. This forge is carried abet 
 without the smallest inconvenience, so that the Arabs evi 
 of the desert are better provided in this respect than t: 
 Israelites were in the days of Saul their king, Samuel, the 
 xiii. verses 19 to 23—“ Now 7 there w 7 as no smith in all tl 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 281 
 
 S d of Israel ; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews 
 ke them swords or spears.” 
 
 There appeared to be no kind of sickness or disease 
 t iong the Arabs of the desert during the time I was with 
 :j m : I did not hear of, nor see the smallest symptom 
 r complaint, and they appear to live to a vast age: there 
 ure three people I saw belonging to the tribe in which I 
 s a slave, namely, two old men and one woman, who 
 m appearance were much older than any I had ever 
 n : these men and the woman had lost all the hair from 
 ir heads, beards, and every part of their bodies ; the 
 h on them had entirely wasted away, and their skins 
 >eared to be dried and drawn tight over the sinews and 
 [ bones, like Egyptian mummies : their eyes were ex- 
 it, having totally wasted away in their sockets, the bones 
 which were only covered by their eye- lids : they had 
 : the use of all their limbs, and appeared to be deprived 
 
 ! every sense, so that when their breath should be spent 
 l their entrails extracted, they would in my opinion be 
 feet mummies without further preparation ; for from 
 r appearance there was not sufficient moisture in their 
 nes to promote corruption, and I felt convinced that 
 
 I ght of such beings (probably on the deserts of Arabia) 
 *ht have given the Egyptians their first idea of drying 
 preserving the dead bodies of their relations and 
 inds. An undutiful child of civilized parents might 
 ib learn a lesson of filial piety and benevolence from 
 bse barbarians : the old people always received the first 
 Ink of milk, and a larger share than even the acting 
 kd of the family when they were scanted in quantity : 
 lenever the family moved forward, a camel was first 
 >1 pared for the old man, by fixing a kind of basket on 
 h animal’s back ; they then put skins or other soft things 
 n> it, to make it easy, and next lifting up the old man, 
 fy place him carefully into the basket, with a child or 
 v > on each side, to take care of and steady him during 
 i: march, while he seems to sit and hold on, more from 
 Gig habit than from choice. As soon as they stopped 
 pitch the tents, the old man was taken from his camel, 
 a! a drink of water or milk given him, for they take 
 : e to save some for that particular purpose. When the 
 
 36 
 
282 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVE. 
 
 tent was pitched, he was carefully taken up and plac ! 
 under it on their mat, where he could go to sleep : — 1 1 
 man’s voice was very feeble, squeaking, and hollo, 
 The remarkably old man I am speaking of belonged j 
 a family that always pitched their tent near ours, so t) : 
 I had an opportunity of witnessing the manner of , 
 treatment for several days together, which was uniform 
 the same. 
 
 After I was redeemed in Mogadore I asked my mas 
 Sidi Hamet of what age he supposed this old man to hr 
 been, and he said about eight Zille, or Arabic centuri 
 Now an Arabic century, or Zille, is forty lunar years ' 
 twelve moons in each year, so that by this computation 
 must have been nearly three hundred years old : he a 
 told me that it was very common to find Arabs on differ 
 parts of the great desert, five Zille old, retaining all th 
 faculties, and that he had seen a great many of the asi 
 of from seven to eight Zille. He further said, that r 
 old master from whom he bought me had lived nearly fi 
 Zille or centuries, though he was very strong and activ 
 and from the appearance of a great many others in i 
 same tribe, I could have no doubt but they were mu 
 older. I then asked him how they knew their own ag 
 and he answered, “ Every family keeps a record of i| 
 ages and names of its children, which they always presei 
 and pack up in the same bag in which they carry i 
 Koran.” Each family had a bag as large as a came 
 skin, full of manuscripts, written on skins prepared 
 the purpose, resembling parchment, but not stiff ; tf 
 were whole goat or sheep skins, covered on all sides 
 writing: one skin, I understood, contained the win 
 Koran. I told him that few people in other parts of l: 
 world lived to the age of two Zille and a half, and I ! 
 people of those countries would not believe such a sto . 
 
 “ The Arabs who live on the desert (said he) subr 
 entirely on the milk of their camels ; it is the milk of i 
 animal that we call sacred, and it causes long life : the 
 who live on nothing else, have no sickness nor disorde , 
 and are particularly favoured by heaven; but only car 
 the same people off' from the desert, and let them live i 
 meat, and bread, and fruits, they then become subject: 
 
283 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 iery kind of pain and sickness when they are young, and 
 .ily live to the age of about two Zille and a half at the 
 ; ost, while a great many die very young, and not one 
 i nth part of the men or women live to the age of one 
 . ille. I myself (added he) always feel well when I live 
 i the milk of the camel alone, even though I do not get 
 Ilf as much as I want, for then I am strong and can 
 l ar heat, and cold, and fatigue, much better than when 
 Jlive on flesh, and bread, and fruit, and have plenty of 
 |)od fresh water to drink, and if I could always have as 
 vuch camels’ milk as I could drink, I would never taste 
 meat again ; but I love bread and honey very much.” 
 his account from an Arab who was my friend and the 
 feserver of my life, and one who had traversed the desert 
 
 1 many directions, and who was also a good scholar for 
 i. Arab, and on whose veracity I could rely, together 
 kith what fell under my own observation, has removed all 
 oubt from my mind on that subject, and I am fully of 
 oinion, that a great many Arabs on this vast expanse of 
 rsert, actually live to the age of two hundred years and 
 
 2 ore of our calendar. My reasons for this belief, in ad 
 <tion to those already given, are, 
 
 1st. That their lives are regular, from the day of their 
 1 rth to the day of their death. 
 
 2d. That there is no variation in their food, which is 
 *' the most pure and nutritive kind, and cannot cause in 
 fern disorders originating from indigestion, &c. &c. 
 
 3d. That the climate they inhabit, though hot, is per- 
 ctly dry, and consequently must be healthy for those 
 brn there; and, 
 
 4th. That in their wandering life they are never sub- 
 cted to hard bodily labour, and their daily movements 
 Ford them sufficient exercise to promote a due circula- 
 on of the fluids ; nor do they ever taste wine or any ar- 
 ent spirits, being entirely out of the way of those articles, 
 id are besides strictly forbidden by their religion. I am 
 o physician, and cannot therefore enter into any learned 
 isquisition on this subject, but merely give my own irn- 
 ressions respecting it, without pretending to be less liable 
 ) err in judgment than others. It cannot be doubted but 
 lat the Arabs existed as a wandering race long before the 
 
284 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 time of the Greeks, and it is possible that they possess I 
 in those early ages the art of writing, and reckoned ti j 
 by the same method they do at this day ; say forty lu r 
 years for a Zille or century, and that in translating r 
 quoting from their writings, a Zille may have been tal i 
 for a hundred of our years. 
 
 The tribe of Arabs to which I belonged owned ft r 
 horses, or rather mares : they were the general proper 
 and were fed on milk, and watered every two days : w 
 these animals they hunt the ostrich, and with this vk 
 having agreed on the time and place, the whole of 1 
 men assemble before day-light on their camels, and si 
 round a certain spot of ground where they calculate j 
 finding ostriches, with the horses to windward, and til 
 riders with loaded muskets in their hands : they then 't 
 proach each other until they start the ostriches, who s< 
 ing themselves surrounded on all sides but one, run 
 the southward before the wind, followed by the hors 
 which it is said run extremely swift, and pressing on t 
 ostrich very hard, the bird runs himself out of breath j 
 about three hours, when the men on horseback come i 
 and shoot him : but let these birds run against the win 
 and no horse can overtake them, for then they do not lc 
 their breath. 
 
 After my arrival at Mogadore, I heard of the Heir 
 or small swift camel of the desert, but I never saw ai 
 camel that differed from the common one either in size 
 shape, and can only suppose that it may be a camel 
 the same race trained for running swift, and fed on mi 
 like the horses. The common camel can easily travel or 
 hundred miles in a day. A good new milch camel give 
 at one milking when on the desert about one quart, whic 
 is very rich and good : this is besides what suffices 1 
 sustain the young camel, and is drawn at midnight — the 
 only draw about a gill in the morning. 
 
 Most of the Arabs are well armed with good doubi 
 barrelled French fowling pieces, (which have exceller 
 locks,) and with good scimitars and knives : each has 
 kind of bag to carry his slugs, &c. in, slung by his nec 
 and hanging down to his waist on the left side : their bi 
 powder-horn is suspended in like manner : this contain 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 285 
 
 warse powder, and is used for loading the muskets, but 
 ley all have a little horn in which to carry their fine pow- 
 er for priming. Many of the gun barrels that I saw 
 icre worn through, and the holes were stopped up by 
 l azing : — they have procured many of their guns, no 
 oubt, by shipwrecks on the coast of the desert ; many 
 lore from caravans that they have overpowered, and oth- 
 (5 in the way of trade from the French settlements of 
 feme gal, and from Tunis, Tripoli, and other ports on the 
 Mediterranean sea, and Morocco. I did not see a single 
 boorish musket or lock during the time I was among the 
 ^rabs of the desert : they were all made in Europe, and 
 c nerally in Paris, with the maker’s name on the locks, 
 'hey have tolerably good powder, which they say they 
 bow how to manufacture, but do not make it fine, so 
 tit the first rate English or French musket powder is 
 ruch in request, and looked upon as invaluable for 
 jiming. Their swords or scimitars they most probably 
 otain by the same means as their muskets : they are ever 
 lady to attack an inferior, or even an equal force, and 
 %ht for the sake of plunder. 
 
 Their language is the ancient Arabic ; is spoken with 
 seat fluency, and is distinguished for its powerful em- 
 jiasis, and elegant cadence. When they converse peace- 
 nly, (and they are much given to talking with each 
 cher,) it thrills on the ear like the breathings of soft wind- 
 lusic, and excites in the soul the most soothing sensa- 
 tins ; but when they speak in anger, it sounds as hoarse 
 ; the roarings of irritated lions, or the most furious beasts 
 < prey. They attack the small towns in the vicinity of 
 i e desert, on all sides ; which are walled in to ward oft' 
 
 ' eir incursions : if they are successful, they put all to 
 'e sword, burn the towns, and retire again to the desert 
 ith their spoil. Such is the wandering Arab of the 
 ■eat African desert : his hand is against every man, and 
 msequently every man’s hand is against him. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF AN ARABIAN CAMEL OR DROMEDARY, 
 
 < 
 
 The Arabian camel, called by the ancients and by 
 aturalists the dromedary, is, perhaps, the most singular. 
 
286 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 and at the same time one of the most useful animals 
 nature. He is, when full grown, from eight to nine f< 
 in height, and about twelve or fourteen feet in leng 
 from the end of his nose to the root of his tail : his bo 
 is small, compared with his height: his neck resemb: 
 in shape that of a goose more than any other animal, hei 
 long and slender, and it seems to grow out of the Iom 
 part of his body, between his fore legs : he raises 1 \ 
 head to the height of his back, poking his nose out ho 
 zontally, so that his face looks directly upwards, and ll 
 nose bone so high as to be on a line with the top of i\ 
 bunch on his back : his head is small, his ears short : 1 
 eyes are of various colours, from a black to almost 
 white ; bright, and sparkling with instinctive intelligent 
 and placed on the sides of his head in such a manner tl 
 he can see before, behind, and on every side at the sar 
 time. His tail is short, and hangs like that of a co 
 with a small bunch of hair at the end : his legs are lot 
 and slender, though their joints are stout and strong : 1 
 feet are divided something like those of an ox, but he h 
 no hoof except on the extreme points of the toes— 
 other parts they are only covered with skin, and are sc 
 and yielding : the soles of his feet are not thicker th; 
 stout sole leather : he is generally of a light ash color 
 but varying from that to a dark brown, and sometimes 
 reddish brown : many of them are also marked with whi 
 spots or stripes on their foreheads, and on different par 
 of their bodies : the hair on his body is short and fin 
 like the finest of wool, and serves the Arabs instead • 
 that necessary article, with which they make their tei 
 doth and coarse covering : it is pulled or else falls o 
 once a year : the hair about the throat and on the hum 
 is eight or ten inches in length, and hangs down : he hf 
 a high bunch on his back, which rises from his shoulder 
 and comes to a blunt point at about the centre of h. 
 back, and tapers off to his hips : this bunch is from on 
 to two feet high above the back bone, and not attache 
 to it nor to the frame of the camel, so that in skinnin 
 him the Arabs take off the bunch with it, which is large 
 or smaller, as the camel is fat or lean. He who rides oi 
 a camel without a saddle (which saddle is peculiarly con 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 287 
 
 acted, so as not to touch the bunch) is forced to get on 
 i hind it, wheie the breadth of the body keeps the rider’s 
 lbs extended very wide, while he is obliged to keep him- 
 jjlf from slipping off over the beast’s tail, by clenching 
 bth hands into the long hair that covers the bunch. 
 
 The camel is a very tractable animal ; he lies down on 
 b belly at the command of his master, folding his legs 
 uder him something like a sheep ; there he remains to 
 raeive his rider or his burthen, when he rises at a word, 
 ad proceeds in the way he is driven or directed, with the 
 i most docility and readiness, while his master encourages 
 1 m by singing. The Arabs use neither bridle nor halter, 
 i it guide and manage the camel (whose head is quite at 
 berty) by means of a stick, assisted by words and sounds 
 ( the tongue ; having one sound to urge him on faster ; 
 c.e to make him go slower ; and a third, which is a kind 
 ( cluck with the tongue, to make him ston. He chews 
 I) cud like an ox, and has no fore teeth in nis upper jaw ; 
 lit his lips are long and rough, so that he nips oft' the 
 igged shrubs without difficulty, on which he is obliged 
 t feed. The camel seems to have been formed by nature 
 t live on deserts : he is patient, fleet, strong, and hardy ; 
 
 < n endure hunger and thirst better than any other animal i 
 
 < n travel through deep and dead sands with great ease, 
 od over the flinty parts of the desert without difficulty, 
 lough it is hard for him to go up or down steep hills and 
 
 ountains, and to travel on muddy roads, as he slips 
 oout and strains himself ; but he is sure-footed, and walks 
 mly on a hard dry surface, or on sand. I have never 
 iade the natural history of animals my study, and it can- 
 fit be expected that I should be acquainted with the par- 
 cular formation of their interior parts ; but I will venture 
 ) say a few words in regard to those of the camel, without 
 ar of contradiction from any one who shall see and ex- 
 nine for himself, having assisted in butchering three 
 arnels while a slave. 
 
 The camel is described by naturalists as having, besides 
 le four stomachs common to ruminating animals, a fifth 
 ag, exclusively as a reservoir for water, where it remains 
 without corrupting or mixing with the other aliments : this 
 5 a mistake — for the bag that holds the water contains 
 
288 
 
 CAP!' AIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 also the chewed herbage, and is in the camel what 
 paunch is in an ox. Into this bag all the rough chew 
 herbage enters, where it is softened by the water, thro\ 
 again into the mouth, chewed over, and passes off by a / 
 other canal, and the fceces are so dry that the day afi 
 they are voided, the Arabs strike fire on them instead 
 touchwood or punk. Having to draw water for these a) ! 
 mals, I am certain that the largest sized ones drink at le; 
 two barrels of water at one time, when they have been lo; 
 without it, and that the whole of the camels belonging 
 the tribe by whom I was made a slave, which were th 
 at a well, did not again get a drop of water within twen 
 days : these camels were at least two thousand in numb 
 and w r ere then on one of the hottest and dryest parts of t 
 great western desert, where there was scarcely a green It 
 or shrub to be found, and their owners knew how far 
 was back to the same watering place at which myself ai 
 crew were seized, and to which they drove them again , 
 the end of that period — and even that water was almost 
 black as ink, owing probably to its stagnant state in t 
 well, and very brackish, because it filtered through t 
 sand beach from the ocean, which was not more than thr 
 hundred yards from the well ; and these camels we 
 twenty days without water under such circumstances ; ai 
 I have not the smallest doubt that they can go thirty or fc 
 ty days without water before they would die with thin 
 At the end of fifteen days after watering the camels, rr 
 old master, Mohammed Bessa, killed an old and very po 
 camel, and I was obliged to assist in dressing, though n 
 in eating it, for its flesh, bones, and intestines, were d 
 vided among the whole tribe ; a small piece to each fam 
 ly : they cut open the paunch of this camel, (for he hi 
 no other bag to contain water,) and dipped out the coi 
 tents, though thick with foeces, in order to boil the inte 
 tines in it, as well as to drink. When my master, Sii 
 Hamet, killed a camel to give me and my companion 
 some meat, and procure something to sustain us on oi 
 journey across the desert, the paunch was rolled out i 
 the camel, and the water taken from it, thick as it was 
 to boil the uncleansed intestines. After drinking th| 
 stuff, we put the remainder (about two gallons) with th 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 289 
 
 1th it contained, into one of our bottles, or goat skins, 
 ad it served to sustain life, though the most rank and 
 auseous both to the smell and taste that can be imagined, 
 'hese bottles sufficiently explain why Christ said, “ Put 
 ;w wine into new bottles,” in order to preserve both, as 
 1 old skin bag, being in scripture termed a bottle, is evi- 
 ently weaker than a new one, and more liable to burst 
 aring the fermentation of its contents. 
 
 The camel is considered by the Arab as a sacred ani- 
 ial: with him he can transport a load of merchandise of 
 cveral hundred weight with certainty and celerity through 
 cserts utterly impassable with any other animal : on him 
 ’e wandering Arab can flee with his family from any 
 eeiny, across the trackless waste, one hundred miles or 
 lore in a single day if he wishes, and out of the reach of 
 Is pursuers, for the desert, like the ocean, neither re- 
 tins nor discloses any trace of the traveller. Its milk is 
 bth food and drink for the whole family, and when they 
 Ive a sufficiency of that article, they are contented, and 
 c sire nothing more : with his camel the Arab is perfectly 
 i dependent, and can bid defiance to all the forces that 
 mlized or uncivilized foes can send against him : with 
 1m they collect in strong bands, all well armed, and fall 
 Don the caravans, slaying without mercy all they can 
 c erpower, and divide their spoil : should they meet with 
 irepulse, they can flee and soon be out of sight : they 
 cio attack the settlements and small walled towns in the 
 c ltivated country near the desert, and if strong enough, 
 
 ( stroy all the inhabitants, and drive off the cattle : all the 
 ods of the slain they carry away on their camels, and 
 i turn to the desert, where no force can pursue them 
 Mthout meeting with certain destruction. 
 
 The camel’s motions are extremely heavy and jolting s 
 1.3 legs being long, he steps a great distance, and though 
 appears to go slowly when on a walk, yet he proceeds 
 i about the rate of four miles an hour, and it is difficult 
 Ir a man to keep pace with him without running. When 
 te camel trots, he goes very fast ; the small troi being 
 iiout six, and the great one about eight miles an hour — - 
 t is they can do with great ease with light loads for a whole 
 < y together, and will replenish their stomachs ai night 
 
 37 
 
290 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 with the leaves and twigs of the sullen thorn-bush, tf 
 is barely permitted by nature to vegetate in that me 
 dreary and desolate of all regions. The flesh of t 
 camel is good for food ; and that of the young ones 
 esteemed preferable to that of the ox : they bring forth 
 single young one at a time, and generally once in abo 
 two years, their time of gestation being about one yei 
 When the camel is in heat, he is extremely vicious, 
 that none dare come near him : they are said to pair li 
 doves, and not to have promiscuous intercourse like hors< 
 neat cattle, &c. The formation of the camel, in one p 
 ticular, resembles that of a horse, but it has a contrary < 
 rection, so that the water is voided behind ; and wh 
 obeying one of the most important instincts of nature, 
 is obliged to make his approach in a retrograde mann 
 In the year 1804, I was in the island of Lanzarote, one 
 the Canaries, and loaded my vessel (the brig Eliza a 
 Mary, of New-York) with barilla, which I carried 
 Belfast, m Ireland ; — the barilla is brought from the in 
 rior of the island to the port, on camels, from whe 
 backs I received and weighed it. Their common los 
 were from nine to twelve quintals of one hundred pound 
 but many loads overran that weight, and one load in p 
 ticular weighed over fifteen hundred pounds. The 
 were the same kind of camels used in Barbary, and 
 the desert, and indeed I never saw any other kind : th 
 are said to come to their full growth in six or eight yea 
 and to live in many instances, to the age of fifty or six 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI L 
 
 Some account of Suse, or South Barbary , and of its 
 habitants , cities , &c. — the primitive plough and mode 
 using it — primitive churn , and method of making bi 
 ter. 
 
 The country of Suse, or South Barbary, is bound 
 by the Moorish province of Hah- Hah, on the east, 
 the Atlas mountains and the great desert, south, and 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 291 
 
 •„e Atlantic ocean on the north and west : its length from 
 st to west is about two hundred and fifty miles ; its 
 lleadth from north to south one to two hundred miles. 
 }i coming from the desert, its principal towns are, TFal- 
 cleim, which is said to be very large and strong, and to 
 cintain ten thousand inhabitants. Akka is much tire 
 l:gest town in Suse, and its inhabitants are computed by 
 te Arabs at thirty thousand. Widnoon is said to contain 
 venty thousand. Scheie m contains four thousand. Stuka, 
 'here I was shut up a slave, does not appear to be a prin- 
 <fpal town, but is made up of a cluster of small ones, nor 
 >uld I learn the names of the many little towns or cas- 
 tj?s, in sight of which I passed coming up. Suse was 
 irmerly a kingdom, and was afterwards united to those 
 (' Morocco and Fez, which now forms the Moorish em- 
 ]re : it has, however, become entirely independent, for 
 lough the emperor of Morocco claims jurisdiction over 
 1e whole of Suse, and indeed of the whole desert as far 
 nuth as Soudan, yet all those countries are in fact inde- 
 jmdent, and the emperor’s power extends only a few 
 lagues south and west, from a line drawn through Santa 
 'ruz or Adager, and Tarudant, southeast to the Atlas. 
 The soil of this country is very rich and fruitful : here 
 heat, barley, and indian corn, or maize, are cultivated, 
 ;iid most kinds of kitchen garden vegetables thrive with 
 'eat luxuriance ; the date, fig, pomegranate, olive, orange, 
 mon, sweet and bitter almond, arga, and many other 
 uit and forest trees, thrive exceedingly well, and pro- 
 uce, it is said, great abundance in their seasons : the 
 um arabic and sanderach are also produced there in great 
 uantities. The country being speckled over with small 
 ities, towns, and castles, all strongly walled in with stone, 
 lid in clay, is calculated to remind one of the times of 
 te feudal system ; each place is under the government of 
 :s own chief, who is by common consent the head of the 
 tmily : they are under a kind of patriarchal government, 
 nd each individual feels himself perfectly free and inde- 
 lendent. In case of attack or danger, all unite for the 
 ;eneral defence, under such leaders as shall have proved 
 hemselves brave, enterprising, and worthy of command : 
 nd by this means they are enabled to secure themselves, 
 
292 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 in some measure, against the frequent inroads and insul 
 of the wandering Arabs, who inhabit the great desert 
 their vicinity, and to repel the more formidable attacks 
 the forces of the Moorish emperor. They raise gre 
 numbers of camels, horses, asses, mules, oxen, goat 
 and sheep, which are guarded by their negro slaves, ( 
 whom they have many) or by the young boys, and the 
 are driven into their towns or castles every night, to pr 
 vent their being surprised and carried off by the Arabs, ■ 
 other predatory neighbours : their horses are very hane 
 some, strong, and fleet, of the real Arabian kind, ar 
 very high spirited. 
 
 The inhabitants are of a tawny colour, like the Moor 
 though not quite so dark, and I was informed they wei 
 principally descendants of the ancient inhabitants of tl 
 country before it was overrun by the Arabs or Sar; 
 cens : they are in their persons about five feet eight t 
 nine inches in height, stout built, robust, and athleti 
 and are very straight limbed : they have rather a rour 
 visage, with prominent features, black hair, sharp poinl 
 noses, and great bushy beards: their eyes are black, bt 
 not so lively, expressive, or intelligent, as those of tl 
 Arabs : their mouths are wide, and their, lips plum] 
 Their dress consists of a kind of shirt made of bln 
 Guinea or linen cloth, or coarse white muslin, that passi 
 , over their shoulders, and falls down near their knees, bt 
 without sleeves : over this, they wear a haick or blankf 
 made of woollen cloth, of about five yards in length, an 
 an ell in width : this they wrap round them ; some ( 
 them also wear the cloak, or sulam, and Moorish trow 
 sers ; and have on their heads either turbans of whit 
 cotton cloth, or a fold of their haick. The heads of th 
 men are generally shaved smooth, at least once a month 
 their women, like those of the Moors, are not to be see 
 by the men, except their husbands or fathers : the me; 
 are very industrious, and work their land by ploughing i 
 up with a plough formed out of the trunk of a tree, hewi 
 sharp to a point that projects about two feet forward, fron 
 a stout crooked limb, that serves as a beam to the plough 
 while a smaller, and particularly formed limb, is used a 
 a handle to steady and govern it. In order to fix thei 
 
t 
 
 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 ! 
 
 
 t 
 
IV. 7. 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 293 
 
 c mals to the plough, they first attach them together, say 
 a!:ow and an* ass, (for this seemed to make a favourite 
 p r, and I observed a great many such pairs, yoked to- 
 gther) by fastening a rope round the horns of the cow, 
 id about the nose of the ass, in form of a halter : they 
 ixt place a short piece or stick of wood, hollowed out 
 lie one end of an ox yoke across the neck of each ani- 
 njl, and fasten it by means of a rope tied to one end of 
 tlf stick ; this going round under their necks, is made 
 t to the other end of the short yoke ; they then run a 
 g pole through under their bellies, just behind their 
 teje legs, and fasten it there by means of two ropes, like 
 ft draw ropes or traces of a horse’s harness: these are 
 ^ II fed to the rope that goes round the animal’s neck at one 
 lerl, and the pole under their bellies serves for a yoke, and 
 injects out a foot or two on each side : to the centre of 
 b pole, the end of the plough beam is lashed fast. The 
 imt which enters the ground, is hewn in a triangular 
 ilpe, but the edges soon wear off, so that it becomes 
 inrly round. In loamy and sandy soils they plough 
 Afh the naked wood, but in stony places they point it 
 wjh a round piece of iron, tapering to a sharp point that 
 *4 on with a socket : it turns up the earth on both sides, 
 
 K goes into the ground about eight inches deep. The 
 pie of Suse, and those of Morocco, use only one pair 
 d beasts, whatever they may be, and have lines leading 
 fijm the heads of the animals into the hands of him who 
 studies the plough, by means of which he directs and 
 gverns them : he also carries a thick stick sufficiently 
 iog to reach them with a sharp-pointed iron like a spear 
 n its end ; by the help of which he pricks and goads his 
 fasts along at pleasure. This instrument is an ox goad, 
 ad no doubt is similar to those spoken of in Sacred 
 rit — 1st Samuel iii. 1. But these Moors do not obey 
 'at part of the law of Moses; “ Thou shalt not plough 
 vth an ox and an ass together.” See 22d chapter of * 
 Jeuteronomy, 10th verse, except by sometimes substi- 
 tting a cow instead of an ox. This, I imagine, was the 
 jimitive plough, or something very near it, and the first 
 lethod hit upon for using it. 
 
 I have also promised to treat of the prirfiitive churn, 
 
294 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE 
 
 and manner of making butter, which is simply this. T 
 Arabs, or people who inhabited the country near t 
 river Euphrates, as long ago as the time of Abrahai 
 the father of the Jews, and probably much earlier, kne 
 the use of the camel, and actually kept him in a domes’ 
 state: they would very naturally feed on its milk, a 
 they, no doubt, in those days, made use of the sar 
 means to carry their milk about with them, that the wa 
 dering Arabs do at present — that is, whatever milk is L 
 of what the family has been using over night or in t 
 morning, is put into a goat skin, or some other skin, a 
 slung on a camel to serve for drink in the heat of the da 
 thus equipped, they set off together : and when they st 
 to take refreshment, or to pitch their tent, they find 
 lump of butter in the milk ; for the violent and continu 
 agitation, occasioned by the heavy motions of the cam 
 has churned, or forced it to produce butter : this sim] 
 method was suggested to my mind by seeing a lump 
 butter in my old master’s milk bag, when we were w; 
 dering on the desert, and this must, without doubt, ha 
 been the first mode found out by chance of making bi 
 ter ; for what reason would he have, who had never se 
 such a thing as butter, for supposing milk could be cc 
 verted into that substance, more than any other fhik 
 For a further illustration of this subject, and a view 
 the camel, see plate, figure 7, 'copied from an origii 
 drawing by the author. 
 
 The country of Suse, altogether, resembles the narrc 
 country as described in Holy Writ, called the land 
 Canaan : its vast number of small cities, or rather castk 
 with high and strong walls, with gates and bars, ea> 
 under its own sovereign, must be similar to the citi 
 there described, as taken and destroyed by the Jews, (t 
 gether with their kings) soon after they emerged from t! 
 deserts of Arabia, under the command of their chiefta 
 and prophet, Joshua, and have, doubtless, been co 
 structed for the same purpose ; i. e. to guard against tl 
 irruptions of the wandering inhabitants of the contiguoi 
 deserts, &c. The inhabitants are brave and warlike : 
 well armed with single-barrelled muskets, stocked ai 
 mounted in the Moorish manner, and with Moorish lock; 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 295 
 
 by have also knives, daggers, scimitars, and swords, 
 i i are the best of horsemen : they seldom or ever go 
 ot of their little cities unarmed ; but like the wandering 
 Aab on the desert, they are completely equipped either 
 ( offence or defence, even when they go to visit their 
 nrest friends. They are said to be, like the Arabs, 
 arm and sincere in their friendship; in their enmities 
 ii placable, cruel, and revengeful ; and in trade, cunning 
 ad deceitful. 
 
 The whole number of inhabitants in Suse, including 
 jTnite and black slaves, is estimated at more than one 
 i ' lion : they are all strict observers of the Mohammedan 
 -latrine and ceremonies, and appear to be enthusiasts in 
 igion, though like the Moors they are not generally 
 1 ght the arts of reading and writing, and are in conse- 
 ence considered by the wandering Arabs much beneath 
 :m in acquirements, as well as in point of natural abili- 
 Their language is the corrupt Arabic, not easily un- 
 •stood by the Arabs of the desert, who pretend to speak. 
 
 ' me account of an insurrection in Morocco — the Bashaw 
 of Swearah is seized and put in irons — change of Gov- 
 ernors — the Jews are forced to pay their tribute or turn 
 Mohammedans — their treatment by the Moors — a Jew 
 burial — a circumcision — a Jewish Priest arrives from 
 Jerusalem — the author obtains from him some account of 
 the present Jerusalem , and its inhabitants , and of the 
 method pursued by the priests for getting money from 
 the Jexvs in Europe and in Barbary — a Moorish execu- 
 tion and maiming — of the Jexvs in West 
 
 There had been an insurrection in the province of 
 uquella the last year, (1815) which had spread itself 
 to the province of Abdah and Siedmah, and was said to 
 l.ve originated from a false report of the emperor’s death. 
 
 1 write that ancient and beautiful language in its great- 
 purity. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 
296 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 The governor or Bashaw of these provinces, whose n; t 
 was Mohammed ben Absedik, resided in Swearah, \ 
 had been a Bashaw and a man of great power dui j 
 nearly the whole reign of Muley Soliman, the pre; ] 
 emperor — he was the officer before whom I was earn 
 on my arrival at Swearah, or Mogadore. I was inforr 
 that he had used all the means in his power to quell 
 insurrection, but could not succeed until the emp< 
 joined him with an army of thirty thousand men, whe 
 most desperate battle was fought, which terminated in 
 destruction of more than fifteen thousand of the refc 
 and the remainder were reduced to unconditional subr . 
 sion. The whole of their flocks, herds, and substai , 
 fell into the hands of the Sultan, or rather his black tro< 
 W'ho show r ed them not the least mercy, but seized on 
 w retched fugitives wherever they could be found, ma; 
 cred many thousands, and carried those that remained 
 the revolters, with their families, into the provinces i 
 had not rebelled,’ where they were distributed as slave: 
 This war being thus terminated, Mohammed ben All 
 dik had returned in triumph to Mogadore, or Swearal i 
 few days previous to my arrival there, when he cau ! 
 presents to be made to him, as if he had taken posse 
 ion of a new government. In the mean time the death 
 the Sultan’s first minister, named Ben Sloxvy, was • 
 nounced : he had been the firm friend of Mohammed i 
 Absedik, and with the aid of Muley a Tea , (the Suita i 
 princely tea maker,) who was always about his pers , 
 managed the whole affairs of the Moorish empire. Ij 
 Slowy being dead, and Muley a Tea sent to Fez to tra • 
 act the imperial business in that quarter, the Empe: 
 then at Morocco, the enemies of Mohammed ben Ab ■ 
 dik, (for he had been long in powder, and had a host 1 
 them) found means to transmit heavy complaints to ij 
 Sultan against him, (Ben Absedik) and his administ :: 
 tion, who perceiving the cloud lowering upon him, 1 
 out for Morocco about the 20th of November, l8h 
 hoping by an early interview with the emperor, to disjl 
 the impending storm — he had only been gone from Mop 
 dore, or Swearah four days, w r hen late in the evening 
 new governor arrived, accompanied by six hundred hor 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 297 
 
 sen. The gates had been shut for the night ; the brother 
 : the Bashaw was civil governor of the city and port : 
 tb emperor’s order was sent to him over the wall ; — the 
 stes were soon opened, and the new governor, or alcayd, 
 etered amidst the general and joyful acclamations of the 
 habitants, both Moors and Jews. These ignorant and 
 dicontented people (ever fond of change) flattered them- 
 s ves that this arrangement would be for the better, and 
 a the morning all were ready to prefer complaints against 
 Jar former governor, when they waited on the new one, 
 i.|i made their customary presents. This governor took 
 : arge of the civil affairs of the city and the custom-house, 
 ithe room of Ajjh Hamet, (or Hamet the pilgrim,) the 
 -shaw’s brother, who was ordered to repair with his 
 tjiily to Morocco, and set out for that city the next day, 
 icompanied by a strong guard of black troops. 
 
 In the evening of the same day, a commander of the 
 rops, or military governor, arrived : he was a black man, 
 itl had three hundred horsemen for an escort, all of the 
 ae colour : he was received with considerable pomp, 
 til took on himself the immediate command. We now 
 emed that Mohammed ben Absedik had been put in 
 ins on his arrival at Morocco, and sent off to Fez, and 
 tfjt all his property was seized by order of the Sultan, as 
 son as it could be found. “ New lords, new laws,” says 
 k old adage : — a small vessel had arrived from Gibral- 
 ' a. — no goods could be landed — new duties were an- 
 lunced, and new regulations, by which no vessel was 
 .lnved to be supplied with provisions except for daily 
 aisumption : the duties and impositions to be paid every 
 k r amounted to more than the first cost of the articles 
 :usumed. 
 
 The Moors who had rejoiced at the fall of the old Ba- 
 il w and civil governor, or Alcayd, soon changed their 
 c e, and began to wish them back again : all the Moors 
 i the town, up to that time, were considered as imperial 
 [kdiers or sailors, and accordingly received a monthly 
 lowance out of the Beetle mell , or treasury — this was 
 n.v ordered to be stopped from the white Moors, but 
 It all the black Moors, or negro troops, should be paid 
 3 able : new officers were appointed, and many of the 
 
298 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE; 
 
 old ones confined and sent to Morocco, or despoiled ; 
 their property. The Christian merchants residing the 
 four in number, were obliged to make costly presents > 
 the new governor. The Christians are, YVilliam W , 
 shire, Escp my deliverer, of the house of Dupiiy a jl 
 Wiltshire, the most respectable there in point of proper , 
 as well as on every other account, being connected in t . 
 siness with James Renshaw Co. of London, and Geo? i 
 ■Allardyce C Co. of Gibraltar, both houses of long star 
 ing a,;d great respectability ; — Don Estevan Leonardi, a| 
 his nephew, Don Antonio, French, Portuguese, and C 
 noese consular agents Don Pablo Riva, a respecta' } 
 Genoese, and Alexander W. Court, and Mr. John Ft 
 croft, formerly respectable. The Jews that were ov 
 joyed at the recent change, soon turned their joy in 
 mourning, when they received, a day or two after, 1 
 order to pay their Gazier , or yearly tribute, to the Suite 
 the order was for about three thousand five hundred d> 
 lars, including expenses, (for the Moor who brought ) 
 order must be paid,) in a gross sum to be raised direct I: 
 the gates of the Jews’ town, or Miliah, were immediate 
 dosed upon them, nor were any suffered to go out u. I 
 the money was forth coming. 
 
 The whole number of Jews here does not probably o 
 ceed six thousand souls, and they are very poor : 'f 
 priests or rabbies soon convened them in their synagogu , 
 and apportioned the tax according to their iaw ; they vte: 
 classed thus : the four Jew merchants, Ben Guidall, 
 Macnin, Abilbol, and Zagury, formed the first class, d 
 I was toid their share was two thousand dollars or moi ; 
 the few petty traders the second, the mechanics the thi . 
 and the lowest order of miserable labourers the four 
 class : the priests and Levites (who are a great proport : 
 of their number) were of course exempted, as the oti 
 classes support them at ali times : not a Jew, either m 
 woman, or child, was allowed to go out of their tor 
 for three days, except they were wanted by the Moors! 
 Christians to work, and not then without an order frr 
 the Alcayd. 
 
 During this period I visited the Jews’ town sevu 
 times, but never without seeing more or less of the 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 299 
 
 hserable wretches knocked down like bullocks by the 
 afe-keepers, with their large canes, as they attempted to 
 hsh past them, when the gates were opened, to procure 
 little water or food for their hungry and thirsty families. 
 >n the fourth day, when the arrangements had been made 
 y the priests and elders, they sent W'ord to the governor, 
 id the three first classes were ordered before him to pay 
 :ieir apportionment. I knew of it, because I w^as inform- 
 d by Mr. Wil'shire’s interpreter and broker, who was a 
 ^ y:w of considerable understanding, named Ben Nahory— 
 fe was one of the committee of arrangement to wait on 
 le governor. I wished to see the operation, and went 
 ear the house of the Alcayd for that purpose. The Jews 
 C| j.)on appeared by classes; as they approached, they put 
 T their slippers, took their money in both their hands, 
 ftjnd holding them alongside each other, as high as the 
 ' beast, came slowly forward to the talb, or Mohammedan 
 : rivener, appointed to receive it; he took it from them, 
 Itting each one a smart blow with his fist on his bare fore- 
 bad, by w r av of a receipt for his money, at which the 
 Iws said, Nahma Sidi , and retired to give place to his 
 ompanion. 
 
 Thus they proceeded through the three first classes 
 ithout much difficulty, when the fourth class was forced 
 p with big sticks : this class was very numerous, as well 
 ; : miserable : they approached very unwillingly, and were 
 ,ked, one by one, if they were ready to pay their gazier ; 
 'hen one said, yes, he approached as the others had done, 
 aid his money, took a similar receipt, and then went 
 oout his business; he that said, no, he could not, or was 
 Jpt ready, w r as seized instantly by the Moors, who throw' - 
 g him flat on his face to the ground, gave him about 
 tty blows with a thick stick upon his back and posteri- 
 "s, and conducted him away, 1 was told, into a dungeon, 
 ader a bomb proof battery , next the western city w ? all, 
 cing the ocean : there were many served in this way-— 
 ie Jews’ town was all this time strongly guarded and 
 rictly watched. At the end of three days more, I was 
 Formed that those who were confined in the dungeon 1 
 ere brought forth, but I did not see them ; the friends 
 F some of these poor creatures had made up the money. 
 
3Q0 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 and they were dismissed ; whilst the others, after receivii 
 more stripes, were remanded and put in irons. Befci 
 the next three days had expired, many of them chang 
 their religion, were received by the Moors as brothe: 
 and were taken to the mosque, and highly feasted, b 
 were held responsible for the last tax notwithstanding 
 The four above-named Jew merchants, in Swearah 
 Mogadore, live in high style; are absolute in the Jew 
 town, and manage nearly all the English trade at Mop 
 dore : at present, their stores are allowed to be kept 
 the fortress part of the town, or el Ksebbah, where Gi 
 dallas and Macnin are permitted to reside and stay at nig! 
 by paying a handsome sum to government : Guidal! 
 wears European cut clothing, the others the Jew dress. 
 
 I had the pleasure to see two brigs arrive from Englan 
 and to receive a letter from Mr. Simpson at Tangier, an 
 a kind letter from Mr. Sprague at Gibraltar, which t 
 before mentioned and inserted. Two days after the ( 
 rival of these vessels from London, the one command 
 by captain Mackay, and the other by captain Hendersc 
 I went down to the water port to see these gentlem 
 when they should land in the morning : on my arriv 
 there, I saw a great concourse of soldiers, and on e 
 quiring the cause, found that an execution was about 
 take place, and some malefactors were at the same tin 
 to be maimed. The governor arrived at this momei 
 and the prisoners were driven in with their hands tier 
 the order for punishment was read by the Cadi or Judg 
 and the culprits told to prepare themselves, which they d 
 by saying, Hi el Allah Sheda Mohammed Rahsool Alla; 
 and worshipping. They were then made to sit down 
 a line upon their legs on the ground : a butcher next can 
 forward with a sharp knife in his hand ; he seized the fir 
 in the line on the left, by the beard, with his left hanc 
 two men were at the same time holding the prisoner 
 hands : the butcher began cutting very leisurely with h 
 knife round the neck, (which was a very thick one,) ar 
 kept cutting to the bones until the flesh was separated ; 1 
 then shoved the head violently from side to side, cuttin 
 in with the point of the knife to divide the sinews, whic 
 he seemed to search out among the streams of blood, or 
 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 301 
 
 ; one : he finally got the head off, and threw it on a 
 nt that was spread to receive the mutilated limbs of the 
 ;uers. There were eight more who were sentenced to 
 ce a leg and an arm each, and nine to lose only one arm. 
 lie butcher began to amputate the legs at the knee joint, 
 i cutting the flesh and sinews round with his knife, which 
 i sharpened from time to time on a stone : he would 
 ;rn part the joint by breaking it short over his knee, as a 
 itcher would part the joint in the leg of an ox. Having 
 ir this manner got off the leg, and thrown it on the mat, 
 i proceeded to take off the arm at the elbow, in the same 
 Purely and clumsy manner ; he seemed, however, to 
 u 4riprove by practice, so that he carved off the hands of 
 i last eight at their wrists, in a very short time — this 
 n ?d te, they next proceeded to take up the arteries, and 
 it fly a plaister, which was soon accomplished by dipping 
 i stumps into a kettle of boiling pitch that stood near, 
 y. something that had the same appearance and smell. Is 
 i: this last circumstance an improvement in surgery ? 
 Ley then carried the lifeless trunk and mutilated bodies, 
 vh the head and other limbs, to the market: the head 
 id limbs were carried on a mat by six men, who were 
 iking as much sport as possible, for the spectators : the 
 a dies were thrown across jackasses, and they were ex- 
 psed in the most public part of the market place, nearly 
 th whole day. The two governors, and other officers 
 vio were present during the execution of the sentence, 
 . re sitting on the ground next to a wall, appearing quite 
 u concerned, and were conversing gaily on other subjects, 
 '.he Moors, who came from mere curiosity, did not shew 
 te least mark of disapprobation, or any signs of horror : 
 itjey jested with the butcher, who seemed highly gratified 
 Uh the part he was acting. 
 
 I now asked Rais bel Cossim, who attended me, con- 
 ■. rning the mode of procuring an executioner, &c. &c. 
 3b told me, that when an order came to execute or maim 
 zy culprits, it generally embraced several at the same 
 tne, so as to make but one job of it : that the butchers 
 tere called on by the Alcayd or governor, and forced to 
 ad one out of their number to do this work : that they 
 ien made up a purse agreeably to a rule, made among 
 
302 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 themselves in such cases ; that is, two and a half dui ; 
 per man for cutting off heads, and two ducats per rjii 
 for maiming ; (two and a half ducats make one dollar L 
 forty cents per ducat;) they then question eachotheil 
 know who will accept of the money, and do the job I 
 no one appears willing, they cast lots, and the one : 
 whom it falls, is obliged to undertake it : this man is p 
 tected by the governor for twenty-four hours after the 
 edition, when he is left to take care of himself, brave 
 public odium, and the revenge of the friends of the b 
 ferer ; or else to fly : he generally goes off the first ni i 
 afterwards to some other place, and never returns : ; 
 wife, if he has one, can be divorced from him by app 
 ing to the Cadi or Judge, and swearing, that as her li . 
 band has served as an executioner, she is afraid to 1 
 with him, lest he should be tempted to commit some 
 olence on her, in a similar way. 
 
 The butcher who acted on the present occasion, wa 
 voluntary executioner for forty-eight ducats, and he 
 camped the next night, leaving, as I was informed, a | 
 and seven children to shift for themselves ; he was pc 1 
 and carried away his wages of death with him. Mr. W 
 shire and Don Pablo Riva, confirmed this statement, si 
 stantially. 
 
 Taking a walk round the walls of the city one day, i 
 make observations on it at low water, in company wi 
 Mr. Savage, and being escorted by a Moor, in order 
 protect us from insults, we came to the Jews’ burial plac 
 it is situated a little without the walls, and on the noi 
 side of the city, near the ruins of a couple of wind-mii 
 which I was informed, used to do all the grinding for t 
 city ; but this work is now performed in the town 
 horse-mills. On our approach, we observed a great cc 
 course of Jew women, and heard a great outcry : cu 
 osity led us to the spot where they were collected : he 
 was a newly dug grave, and the dead body of a man Iyii 
 on the ground near it, enveloped in a cotton wrapper, wi 
 his face partly covered : some men were busied in clear!) 
 out and preparing the grave ; others had brought and we 
 bringing lime, mortar, and stones, to fill it up with 
 whilst upwards of one hundred women were standing 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 503 
 
 a ;ircle eastward of the grave, howling in an extraordb 
 i;y manner. On a nearer approach, I observed about 
 . ozen women in tattered garments, who formed an inner 
 ;ide. As I gazed with pity on this spectacle, these 
 vlve women, who were before quiet, seemed to be 
 eied with a sudden paroxysm of grief, and they began 
 c approach each other with their hands uplifted above 
 fair heads ; stretching the palms towards each other’s 
 •ia.?s, and commenced howling, at first moderately, but 
 rich soon increased to wailings the most violent, and 
 alings that it is impossible to describe ; they tore their 
 aes with their long finger-nails, and made the most 
 li eous contortions of their features : the mania was now 
 xnmunicated to all the women present, who joined in 
 f lamentation, but the others did not tear their faces 
 ib the twelve, who kept it up, stamping with their feet, 
 il going round in their circle ; their blood and perspira- 
 i i mixing together, and streaming from their faces, ran 
 Q over their filthy garments, and dyed them red in streaks 
 ;rm head to foot : this paroxysm lasted fifteen or twenty 
 anutes, when they were so much exhausted as to be 
 ider the necessity of ceasing for a few moments, to take 
 );ath, when they commenced again, and went over the 
 ssne ceremony, seemingly with redoubled vigour. The 
 ^ive being at last ready, the body w r as put in by the men, 
 vuo then built up over it a wall of mason work, even with 
 tb surface of the ground. The grave rvas dug in a di- 
 ction north and south ; the head was placed towards the 
 suth, and space enough left on one side of the body to 
 spport the weight of the mason-work, without bearing 
 vion the corpse : they next rolled a stone on it, formed 
 t lime and small pebbles about two feet square, and as 
 lag as the grave ; this they placed level on a bed of lime 
 mrtar, and then retired without speaking, except as much 
 ; was necessary to prompt mutual assistance : the women 
 U this time keeping up their howlings. After the men 
 I id retired, the women ceased their wailings, and seating 
 '.emselves alongside the wind-mill, were refreshed by 
 .ting cakes, and drinking copious draughts of anniseed, 
 :w brandy, which had been previously prepared for the 
 urpose, and they soon became as merry in reality, as they 
 
304 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 had before appeared to be sad. While these women w ■ 
 regaling themselves in this manner, I observed an !< 
 woman washing the corpse of a child of about two ye 
 old, in the surf : she then wrapped it up in a dirty pi 
 of woollen cloth, and carried it to a man who had b i 
 digging a hole for it in the side of another grave, wit 
 he shoved it in ; put a flat stone before it ; filled up l|< 
 hole with stone and lime, and went away : one worn 
 only attended the burial of the child, besides her v| 
 wrapped it up ; and this must have been its mother, t 
 judged from her emotions : she sobbed aloud, while 
 abundance of tears trickled down her wo- worn, and 1 . 
 rowed cheeks. I concluded she was poor and a wido : 
 not a soul seemed to join her, or pay the least attentior ) 
 her grief : after a short pause, she kissed passionately > 
 stone that covered, I presume, the remains of both 
 husband and child ; wet it with her tears ; wiped it wit i 
 clean white cloth she had in her hand, and returned wei 
 ing, amid the brutal scoff's of the Moorish boys, as : : 
 dragged herself along towards her cheerless abode. 1 : 
 women who had assisted at the other burial, had by 1 > 
 time ended their repast, and they went round amongst : 
 graves : many kissed their hands and laid them on 
 grave-stones of their deceased relations, while othj 
 kissed the rude resemblance of a face carved on the stor 
 others plucked up the weeds and grass that encroached i 
 the grave, or replaced the earth and small stones whi | 
 had been dug out by the rats, or broken off' by the ci 
 roding tooth of time. v 
 
 On my way home to Mr. Wiltshire’s house, I learn 
 that the corpse of the man that was buried, was that of 
 Levite, who was poor, and had not been able for a lo 
 time to perform the duties of his office, and was burii 
 by charity ; I also learned from Ben Nahory, Mr. Wi 
 shire’s interpreter, that a priest, or rabbi, had arrived fro 
 Jerusalem, to gather the tribute paid yearly by all t 
 Jews in Barbary, towards the support of the few Jevvi 
 priests, or Levites, who are permitted to reside in Jerus 
 lem, by paying a tribute to the Grand Seignior, or Suit; 
 of the Turkish empire, and for purposes of traffic : this 
 called a voluntary contribution for the support of Jerus 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 505 
 
 i n. All the Jews in these countries believe that their 
 , tion is one day to sway the sceptre of universal domin- 
 io, and that Jerusalem must be kept as a kind of pos- 
 s >sion until the time arrives predicted by their prophets, 
 men the little stone is to be cut out without hands from 
 tl: mountain of Jerusalem, and is to fill the whole earth. 
 Lis and other predictions, constantly and adroitly handled 
 
 together with the miseries in- 
 arbary by the merciless Moors, 
 
 the will of those who are con- 
 
 des, and who rob them without 
 rrcy, under the pretext of applying the money to good 
 nt T eposes. 
 
 \ schooner arrived from Gibraltar under the English 
 lr, though a Genoese vessel, as the Barbary powers 
 t ve at war with Genoa: she brought a cargo of dry 
 
 * ds, iron, steel, cotton, &c. to Ben Zagury, a Jew : 
 of his sons came passenger in the vessel ; his name 
 i. Elio Zagury ; he was a young Jew, was dressed in 
 European fashion, had been educated in England, and 
 Jfke the English language fluently. As soon as he had 
 ea his father, he called on Mr. Willshire, and to see 
 a ; expressed great joy at my deliverance, and invited 
 vl Willshire, myself, and Mr. Savage, to dine with him 
 tais father’s the next Saturday : the invitation was ac- 
 eted, because I wanted to learn some of the Jewish 
 titoms, and get acquainted with the priest from Jerusa- 
 ; , who was a guest in his father’s house. On our ar- 
 id there, I was presented to the priest : he was a man 
 i middling stature, dark complexion, short hair, and a 
 ast venerable, manly beard, that reached down nearly 
 pais ceinture, or girdle : his dress was a brown striped 
 mtle, that buttoned close round his neck, and fell 
 0[>ely to his feet, on which he had a pair' of black slip- 
 >cs, down at the heel, as is the custom of Moorish 
 j e r s : his head was covered with a camblet coloured 
 u aan, very high : in his hand he held a string of very 
 r ;e beads, which he was continually counting or telling 
 nr : his mantle was girt above his hips with a brown 
 i. girdle that took several turns round him; and was 
 
 superstitions, and render them 
 
 39 
 
306 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 about six inches wide. I accosted him in Spanish, wh ji 
 he spoke very fluently — and made enquiries of him 
 specting the present city of Jerusalem and its inhabitat 
 From his answers (as he was very intelligent) I lean; 
 that Jerusalem now contains thirty thousand Turks, ;] 
 twenty thousand Jews, Armenians, and Greeks : tha 
 very brisk trade is carried on there, principally by Je l 
 between it, Persia, Constantinople, and Jaffa, which Jt 5 
 are permitted to reside there and trade, on paying a trib : 
 to the Grand Seignior : that the language mostly spol 1 
 by the Jews and Christians at Jerusalem is the Spanf j: 
 that there is a convent of Christian monks near it, c. 
 taininga number of St. Francisco’s order, &c. 
 
 The walls of Jerusalem are strong and well built: 
 religious denominations are there tolerated by paying c 
 tributions,. and protected by order of the Grand Seign 
 provided they pay the soldiers well for their trouble. 1 
 name of this priest was Abraham ben Nassar : he <said i 
 should get about twenty thousand dollars from the Ji 
 in the Moorish dominions, and carry the amount of c 
 tributions in gold, embarking again at Tangier for C 
 raltar, where he should deposit the money while he w 
 to England, France, Holland and Germany, for the saj 
 purpose : that there were six more associated with 1 1 
 on the collecting expeditions : one of them had gone ] 
 Alexandria and other parts of Egypt, to collect from ! 
 Jews there, from whence he would return by way of : 
 different islands in the Archipelago : one had sailed t 
 Tripoli, who would take money from the Jews there e] 
 at Malta ; thence to Italy and back : one had gone : 
 Tunis and its various towns, and would go from thei 
 to Sicily and Sardinia, and back : one had gone to Algi 
 and the towns in that regency, and would go from thei 
 to ancient Greece, including Venice, and that part 
 Germany bordering on the Venetian gulf : one had go 
 over land to Russia, and would meet him in Germa- 
 after passing through Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Pri 
 sia, &c. I wished to have an estimate of the sums lik 
 to be collected in all those places, and then he began 
 be a little reserved. However, after considerable conv 
 sation and solicitation, he one day gave me what he stall 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 SOT 
 
 ■ be the amount of collections as per the last returns of 
 1 13, which he had with him in Hebrew, and I set it 
 dwn as he interpreted, after he had first brought the 
 s acral sums into Spanish dollars ; it made up in the coun- 
 ts already mentioned, five hundred and eighty thousand 
 j liars ; this was exclusive of the expenses of collecting, 
 af travelling out and returning again to Jerusalem. Ma- 
 il individuals of the priests also came from Jerusalem to 
 Erbary, begging on their own account. Out of this 
 fid a yearly tribute is paid to the Grand Seignior, be- 
 5 es impositions in the form of presents to the Turkish 
 bfcers ; and the remainder serves to support the rabbies, 
 ,mo are very numerous in Jerusalem, and for commercial 
 prposes : thus the superstition and credulity of the igno- 
 ■; it Jews in all Europe and Africa, as well as in Asia, 
 ai made subservient to the purposes of the elders of that 
 o gular people, who still reside, by permission, at Jeru- 
 slern. 
 
 The city of Jerusalem lies from thirty to forty miles 
 e it of Jaffy, a small port on the Mediterranean sea : from 
 mice to Jerusalem the road is good, and the priest told 
 re he had walked the distance in two days. Jaffy is the 
 prt anciently called Joppa : it has a small town and fort- 
 r;s, and considerable trade with Jerusalem, the islands in 
 ? fcfe Archipelago, and with Egypt, and some with Malta 
 ad Italy ; here the Jewish priests, who are sent out ori 
 Egging expeditions, embark, and return by way of the 
 <me place, generally in Greek vessels of small burthen, 
 fit very well built and manned. 
 
 The priest asked me many questions respecting Ameri- 
 ■ ]4 of w hich he knew but very little, and thought it was 
 avilderness or a desert. After I had put him right in 
 igard to those points, and informed him we had many 
 . ws in America, where they enjoyed every kind of privi- 
 ]ge in common with people of other religions ; that they 
 >uld hold landed estates, &c. and that many of them 
 ere very rich, he declared that as soon as he should 
 tve finished his present tour, which would still detain 
 m more than a year, he would try to obtain leave to 
 sit America, and collect the dues there. I informed him 
 tat our Jews were not so superstitious, nor in such bad 
 
308 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 repute, as those in Africa or Europe, where they wt ■ 
 looked upon as a set of sharpers and villains : “ That tin 
 be, (said he,) but if they are Jews, they must confoi 
 to the laws of Moses, and must contribute towards t 
 support of those of their nation who reside in the H< 
 Land, in order to be ready for the future conquest of . 
 rusalem, which would be the fulfilment of God’s pro, 
 ises to his people.” I asked him in what manner tli 
 collected this contribution? and he told me, that “ havi 
 letters from the chief priest and elders at Jerusalem, 1 ; 
 collectors (who are always priests) were kindly receiv 
 and well treated by all Jews wherever they came ; tl 
 soon after their arrival in any place where synagogues s 
 established, they convene all the Jews together, and havi 
 laid before them the authority by which they make t 
 demand, they then proceed, with the assistance of t 
 priests and chief Jews of the place, to class them, a 
 apportion the sum to be raised amongst them accordi 
 to their ability: when this is done, the tax must be pa 
 without delay: it takes up six or eight months time 
 make up the sums and finish the collections in the emp 
 of Morocco. 
 
 The Jews in West Barbary are as completely unc 
 the control of the Moors, as if they were slaves, thou; 
 they fancy themselves in some measure free : even thi 
 dress is regulated by a Moorish law ; that of the mi 
 consists of a shirt, without a collar, and wide petticc 
 drawers that come tight below the knees ; the sleeves 
 the shirt, which are of the full breadth, of coarse musl 
 cloth, fall a little below their elbows, and are not plaite 
 in any way, but hang flowing : they wear above the shii 
 a jacket with short sleeves to their elbows — the jacket 
 generally made of green woollen cloth, with a small cc 
 lar, buttoned tight round the lower part of the neck ; 
 is sometimes wrought with needle- work from the collar 
 the waist in front, with which, and small round button 
 made from the same materials, it is almost covered : the 
 hook this together with wire hooks ; and again over thi 
 those who can afford it have a black cotton mantle, whic 
 comes over their shoulders, and falls down to the calv< 
 of their legs—this is so contrived, that one end can 1 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 309 
 
 .-own over the left shoulder in such a manner as to dis- 
 cver the drawers : they are girded with sashes of various 
 clours over the mantle round about their loins : they 
 war long beards, and black woollen caps on the back 
 ret of their heads, leaving the forehead uncovered, which 
 j shaved often, and kept smooth. The four merchants 
 tat lived in Mogadore, wore coloured silk handkerchiefs 
 c their heads, covering their caps, and tied loosely under 
 tsir chins: they also go bare legged, and wear black 
 sppers on their feet, as the luxury of coloured slippers 
 ff'-ae forbidden them. In riding, they were formerly re- 
 dsdeted to the ass alone, but now they use mules, which 
 tby are not, however, allowed to mount or ride within 
 tje gates of the city. When Jews or Jewesses ai"e about 
 t pass a mosque, or place of worship, they must take off 
 t.ir slippers, and carry them in their hands, going bare- 
 c fot past it, and that too, until they enter another street. 
 The dress here described, is that of the wealthy who 
 cn afford it, but the greater part of the Jews in West 
 Lrbary, are poor, miserable, and covered with rags and 
 yrmin, A Jewess of the first class, is clad with a shirt 
 ndc of muslin, that is very wide; the sleeves, not less 
 tan a yard, hang loosely down to the elbow, when the 
 t o hinder parts are doubled and fastened together be- 
 1 id their backs ; the bosom of this shirt is wrought 
 vth fine needle- work on both sides ; it laps over before, 
 c d covers part of the breasts : a white waistcoat, wrought 
 i like manner, is superadded : the lower extremity of 
 t is is covered by a wrapper, in form of short petticoats, 
 trapped round above the hips, and just laps over in front ; 
 is is commonly made of green broad cloth, and falls 
 own below the knees : the two lower corners in front, 
 :e covered with a fancifully cut piece of red broad cloth — 
 ie whole is fastened together by a girdle round the hips, 
 
 > which are suspended behind a number of red woollen 
 irds of different lengths, hanging down with a piece of 
 fated silver, or other metal, bent round each at its lowest 
 |nd ; these make a kind of tinkling when they walk by, 
 rfriking against each other. Their hair is long, coarse, 
 id black, and the principal part turned up, and fastened 
 n the top of the head, while two small braids from be- 
 
310 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 hind each ear, are attached together at their extremiti 
 and fall down to their girdles. 
 
 Married women of the first class, cover their hea 
 with a flowing silk handkerchief. Both married and sins 
 women, are extremely fond of ornaments, and are ger 
 rally corpulent : they wear amber and pearl necklac< 
 with golden hearts, set about with fine diamonds ai 
 other precious stones : many other ornaments are al 
 hung to their necklaces, which are frequently connect 
 by golden chains : they wear silver or gold bracelp 
 around their wrists and ankles, from one to two inch 
 wide, enriched with enamel and precious stones. I e 
 amined several of these ornaments : they are made of t 
 finest gold, silver, and stones, and the best amber : t 
 weight of the four bracelets on the wrists and ankles of 
 young girl, (a broker’s daughter,) was fourteen ounct 
 and they cost, together with her necklaces, ear and fing( 
 rings, and other ornaments, about two thousand dollai 
 Those of the Jews who can get money, are excessive 
 fond of ornamenting their wives and daughters, and settii 
 off their charms to the very best advantage ; for it is thi 
 interest to do so : but there are very few of them tli 
 have the ability : not more than twenty Jews in Mogado 
 can afford this expense ; and but few of the rest can fu 
 nish their wives and daughters with bracelets of even ba 
 metal, washed over with silver or gold ; yet every worn; 
 feels as if she were naked, without some ornaments 
 this description. 
 
 The Jews are forced to live in a town by themselve 
 called el Millah, but the Moors enter it whenever the 
 choose, without the smallest restraint, and go into the 
 houses without any ceremony, where they take whatevi 
 liberties they please with them, their wives and daugh 
 ters. The Moor compliments the women, and no Bai 
 bary Jew thinks it a disgrace to wear antlers, provide 
 they are gilded. Should a Jew attempt to resist a Moo 
 on any occasion, he is sure of getting a sound drubbing 
 and as his testimony cannot be taken against a Moor, atr 
 more than that of a negro slave in the West Indies an< 
 the southern states of America, can be given against ; 
 white man ; he is forced to pocket every affront, and coil 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 311 
 
 tat himself therewith : so that to a Jew, a handsome 
 vie or daughter, in Barbary, while young, ensures to 
 I r husband or father a competence, and of course a con- 
 science among his brethren. 
 
 The Jews’ Sunday begins on Friday evening at sunset, 
 ;ier which time no Jew can even light a candle or lamp, 
 c kindle a fire, or cook any thing until Saturday night, at 
 same hour ; so that they heat their ovens on Friday ; 
 
 ] t in their provisions before night, for their next day’s 
 Ifcals, and let it stand in the ovens until Saturday noon, 
 rien it is taken out, and set on the table, or on the floor, 
 t Moors, whom they contrive to hire for that purpose. 
 Jyery Jew who can afford it, has brass or silver lamps 
 inging up in his house, which are lighted on Friday and 
 r t extinguished until Sunday morning : they burn either 
 c:ve or argan oil. Their principal and standing Sunday 
 timer, is called skanah ; it is made of peas baked in an 
 cen for nearly tw f enty-four hours, with a quantity of 
 teves’ marrow bones, (having very little meat on them) 
 1 oken to pieces over them : it is a very luscious and fat- 
 tening dish, and by no means a bad one : this, with a few 
 t'getables, and sometimes a plum-pudding, good bread, 
 ad Jews’ brandy, distilled from figs and anniseed, and 
 Ittered with wormwood, makes up the repast of the Jews 
 iho call themselves rich. The poor can only afford 
 kanah and barley-bread on their Sunday, and live the 
 ist of the week as they can. They make no scruple of 
 ffering for money their wives and daughters, who are vo- 
 Iptuous in the extreme. The men and boys attend their 
 j nagogues, (on their Sundays,) of which there are twelve 
 i Mogadore ; but these are no more than small rooms, 
 here all join in jabbering over prayers in Hebrew, as fast 
 ; i they can speak, every one in his own natural tone of 
 )ice, making altogether a most barbarous kind of jargon. 
 The Jewish women are considered by the men as hav- 
 ig no souls, nor are they allowed generally to enter the 
 magogues, nor do the women partake of their sacra- 
 lents. The sacraments consist of bread and wine, and 
 f circumcision. While in Mogadore, I attended a 
 :wish circumcision. The child being ready, and the 
 iends present, the priest took him on his left arm, having 
 
312 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 a pair of silver tongs in his left hand, with which ; 
 gauged and prepared the parts, and performed the ope . 
 tion with a sharp knife he had in his right hand, cuttij 
 off a piece of the flesh, as well as all the foreskin: t| 
 appeared to me to be a painful and cruel operation, 'and 
 made the infant scream out most piteously. The Jel 
 circumcise at the age of eight days, and the Moors ai 
 Arabs at the age of eight years ; the Arabs cut the fo 
 skin and flesh olf square, as well as the Jews; but with 1 1 
 Arabs, as I have before observed, it is a preventive i 
 disease, and not a religious rite. For a view of the Jew J 
 costume, and manner of performing this ceremony 
 West Barbary, see plate No. 8. 
 
 During my journey towards Tangier, when we put 
 at Saflfy, during the Jews’ Sabbath, having two Jews 
 company, who had friends or relations in that place tl 
 entertained them, and furnished a supper. Before eatir; 
 they brought forward a cup in the form of a tankard, aij 
 some white bread, in which some green herbs had be 
 chopped up, and mixed with it before baking : they 
 arose at once, formed a circle round the supper dish, co' 
 sisting of boiled fowls, which was set on the floor, ai ; 
 when standing, all began to chant over their prayers : 
 Hebrew, as fast as they could speak : there were abo 
 twenty in all, relations and visitors. As I tvas ignorant > 
 the Hebrew language, which they spoke, and which I ai 
 old, differs materially from that taught in the schools ar 
 colleges of our country, I could not join with them. Th 
 chant, discordant enough to be sure, to my ear, took u 
 at least a quarter of an hour. When they were about t 
 finish, they passed round the bread, of which each or 
 took a piece, and not to be singular, I took one also an 
 ate it. After saying over a few more words, they hande 
 round the cup to all, and each took a drink, keeping u 
 their chant all the time — when it came round to me, 
 took it and drank a little : it was wine, made by stcepin: 
 dry raisins in water, and to me not very palatable, bein| 
 somewhat sour and bitter. After the cup had gone round; 
 all. turned their faces to the east, bowed thrice, bendim 
 their bodies more than half way to the ground, stili going 
 on with their chant. As soon as they had done worship} 
 

 OBSERVATIONS OX AFRICA. 
 
 ng, they resumed their places round the dish, seized 
 «.ch other by the hand, giving it a convulsive grasp, and 
 amping at the same time with their feet : this terminated 
 e ceremony* The chant being finished, all took their 
 ats around the dish as near as they could get, on their 
 ^s and on the floor, having first washed their hands : 
 me vigorously seized the boiled fowls, which they soon 
 irved, by pulling them to pieces, and then passed those 
 |eces round to the company. Their bread was made of 
 ® irley-meal ; this they dipped in the dish, after each bite, 
 Id c lied it a sop : the gravy in which they dipped their 
 ® 'ead, was the liquor in which the fowls had been boiled, 
 ixed with vinegar. This was on Friday evening, Janu- 
 P® y the 6th, 1816, about 9 o’clock, P. M. On the next 
 to ening, they repeated the same ceremonies. After sup- 
 r, they amused themselves by singing songs in Arabic, 
 d telling stories, which they kept up with great glee 
 1 ttil near midnight, when, at my intreaty, they retired 
 r the night, as I wished to get some rest. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ’ew orders arrive from the Emperor — Mr. Wiltshire is 
 grossly insulted by Moors — A description of the city and 
 port of Swearah, or Mogadore — its inhabitants, 
 mem , manufactures , Idc. 
 
 com - 
 
 About the last of November, a courier came to Moga- 
 ore from the emperor to the governor, ordering him not 
 i suffer a Moor to serve either a Christian or Jew, under 
 ay pretence whatever, or to live in their houses, under 
 ’e severest penalty: this letter was ‘no sooner read, than 
 ' e news flew to every part of the town. In consequence 
 ’ this order, Rais Bel Cossim, Bel Mooden, and a Moor 
 ' the name of Soliman, who had been constantly in and- 
 >out Mr. Willshire’s house, durst not return even to 
 ke their leave : the life of a Christian previous to this 
 as haigly safe, even in the city, without a Moor in 
 ampam to ward off the insults of the bovs and those of 
 
 40 
 
314 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 the Moors who were vicious or fanatical. New order 
 had also been given to the guards of the water-port, nc 
 to allow any one to go on board vessels, except the caj 
 tains and crews, without a special order from the govei ; 
 nor. 
 
 On new-year’s day, captains Mackay and Henderson, < 
 whom I have before spoken, dined with Mr. Wiltshire 
 when they went down to go on board their vessels, Mi 
 Wiltshire and myself went to take a walk round the watei 
 port, it being low tide : the guards ran after us, seize 
 hold of Mr. Wiltshire, and turning him round, bid hin 
 in an insulting tone, to go back, uttering the most abt 
 sive language ; and drawing their scimitars, they threa 
 ened to cut him down. We had no Moor with us 1 
 witness this insult, but Mr. Willshire’s spirit could n< 
 brook this indignity, and he rebuked these fellows in 
 very resolute manner, bidding defiance to them and tl 
 Aicayd, and told them that if they offered to touch hii 
 again, he would revenge himself instantly, and at any ran 
 would complain to the emperor, and would cause then 
 to lose their heads for insulting a consul and a merchan 
 I advised him to return to the port, which he did ; bi 
 die Moors were so enraged, that they ran with all speed i 
 the Aicayd, and told him that Mr. Wiltshire had be; 
 them ; that he called them hard names, and defied tl 
 power of the Sultan. Immediately soldiers were sei 
 after him, who came up with us before we got to h 
 house : they insisted on taking him before the Alcay 
 forthwith by force, if he would not go without ; he toi 
 them, however, that he must and would wait for his Je 
 interpreter, Nahory, and that then lie would come : th 
 answer was carried to the Aicayd, and in a few momen 
 Ben Nahory made his appearance, and they went befoi 
 the Aicayd together. The Aicayd reprimanded M 
 Wiltshire for having cursed the Sultan, and advised hii 
 to settle the business, by giving a present to the guard 
 as they would depose against him before the Cadi, whic 
 if they should do, he would be obliged to go up to M( 
 
 , rocco to the emperor, and he (the governor) said 1 
 could not be answerable for the result. Mr. Willshii 
 defended himself so well by the help of his interprete 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 315 
 
 5ho was a cunning Jew, that his accusers began to lower 
 leir tone a little : he stated that he had the Sultan’s letter, 
 r hich ordered the governors and Alcayds to see his person 
 rotected from insult, as well as his property, and that the 
 te order had deprived him of the aid and evidence of a 
 loor, to which he was entitled by that letter : he added, 
 lat he would write the Sultan an account of the insult 
 iimediately, and of the villainy of the port guards, but 
 •ould not pay a blanquille, (i. e. a farthing) to any one. 
 "he Alcayd said he was ordered to protect him and the 
 :her Christians in the port, and wished them to be re- 
 jected, but they must respect themselves, and by way 
 5 an excuse, remarked that the consuls at Tangier did 
 ot go down with the captains that have the honour of 
 < ning with them, to their boats after dinner ; that this was 
 fcrogatory to the etiquette due to their office ; but, at the 
 i me time, calling the guards, he told them that Mr. 
 Villshire was the Sultan’s consul ; that they must never 
 ly a finger on him ; but if he should wish to go off in 
 oe of the boats of the vessels in port, they must permit 
 im to get into the boat, but prevent it from going off 
 mil they sent him information, in order that he might 
 ive a permit for him to go on board. He further told 
 le guards that they had done very wrong, and if they 
 ’ere not careful in future he should dismiss them. The 
 uards were very angry, and said it was intolerable for a 
 .loor to be insulted with impunity by a Christian dog ; 
 'tat they would swear against him before the Cadi that 
 : stant ; that they did not fear his (the governor’s) power, 
 id they would appeal to the Sultan and abide his deci- 
 on. As they were going to the Cadi, the Alcayd told 
 em if they did contrary to his orders it would cost them 
 eir heads, and bid them return to their duty immediately ; 
 id in order that there might be no further complaint on 
 eir part, he would make inquiry, and have justice done 
 • them as well as to the consul : thus ended the affair, 
 hich I at first was apprehensive would be attended with 
 lore serious consequences. Mr. Willshire, however, 
 10 k care to send presents to the Addals, or four assistants 
 ? the Alcayd, who took occasion to convince the Alcayd, 
 tat the guards were in the wrong— however, we durs£ 
 
S16 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 not go out walking or riding as formerly, but were obligi 
 to restrict ourselves to the city, and I had time to examii 
 it within and round about. 
 
 The city of Mogadore, called Swearah by the Moo 
 and Arabs, or the beautiful picture, is situated on tl 
 Atlantic ocean, in latitude 31. 15. (thirty-one degree 
 fifteen minutes) north, and longitude 9 — (nine degree 
 west from London. It is built somewhat in form of i I 
 oblong square : its length from north to south is aboi 
 three fourths of a mile, and its greatest breadth is n 
 more than half a mile : it stands on a peninsula that hi 
 been recovered from the sea, which washes its walls ( 
 the W. N. W. and south sides every tide, and is sonn 
 times completely surrounded by water at high springtide 
 The walls are built of stone and lime, generally six fe 
 thick at their base, and about twenty feet in height, su 
 mounted with small turrets ; and have batteries of cannc 
 on them at every angle : the walls generally are made i 
 rough stone and small sea pebbles, mixed and cementi 
 together by liquid lime-mortar, filling up every crac 
 solid ; they are plastered over . with this kind of stuct 
 within and without, and are thick, solid, very firm ar 
 hard. On the eastern angle, as you approach the gate 
 there is a round tower built of hewn stone, thirty fe 
 high, mounted with about forty pieces of brass and ire 
 cannon, that command the approaches of the city on tl 
 east side, assisted by the four batteries on the N, E. angl 
 and a heavy battery on the water-port. It is divided int 
 three ports — clKsebah , or the strong and lion-like fortres 
 is the southernmost, and is surrounded by a double wa 
 on the east and south sides ; a single wall, but very thicl 
 next the sea, where there is a strong bomb-proof batten 
 mounting about forty pieces of cannon of different cal 
 bers, and most of them are of brass : this is its whole dc 
 fence on the seaboard. Vessels of war might anchor, il 
 smooth weather, within half cannon shot of the town, i 
 thirty fathoms water, rocky bottom. This town is sept 
 rated from the main town by a strong wall, whose gate 
 are regularly shut at 8 o’clock every evening, and nc 
 opened until broad daylight the next morning. Th 
 Christian merchants reside in the fortress, and the fou 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 O 1 W 
 
 31 / 
 
 e/ merchants keep their goods in it. The next is the 
 run town, where the market is held, and where the Br- 
 ibers live : there is a very handsome square set apart in 
 hjc section of the town for a grain market, surrounded 
 n small shops, kept by Moors and Jews : these shops 
 r on the ground floor, have a door, but no window to 
 hm, and are so very small that the keeper can sit at his - 
 RUxje in the centre and reach every article in them. They, 
 apng other things, manufacture at Mogadore large quali- 
 fies of haicks, which are made of woollen yarn, spun by 
 lpd with a common iron spindle, and wove in common 
 val'Cigh looms similar to such as we made use of, even in 
 isaAnerica, not more than fifty years ago — they throw the 
 gtsl ttle by hand, and weave their pieces about five yards 
 iisicg and six feet wide, and they are sold from the looms 
 it, sit;bout two dollars each, but are not allowed to be ex- 
 caw'ted by sea : they also make axes and many other iron 
 els, such as adzes, scimitars, knives, 8tc. East of the 
 tin town is the town occupied by the blacks, in a corner 
 i) kind of a triangle made by the outer wall : it is said to 
 
 i tain two thousand free blacks : this part is also walled 
 >y itself, and has its gates shut every night. Tire ne- 
 ss that are free enjoy nearly all the privileges of the 
 ors, being of the same religion ; still they are not 
 wed to live together promiscuously. 
 
 The fourth division is the Jews’ town, or Millah : it is 
 vry confined, and occupies the northwest angle of the 
 cy : the sea washes its outer wall every tide, and has 
 rarly beat it through on the west side : it is divided from 
 tfe principal town by a high strong wall. The Millah 
 is but one gate, which is on its eastern side, near the 
 nrth city gate ; this is always strongly guarded, and has 
 ^governor or alcayd to adjust and settle disputes between 
 1e Jews, and between them and the Moors. The water- 
 prt is two hundred yards south of the city, within the 
 iter wall — this is a wall built of hewn stone, with several 
 iches, through which the tide flows and ebbs : the wall 
 about twenty feet thick, and has a strong battery of 
 lavy cannon well mounted on it, for the defence of the 
 irbour : it is extremely well built ; its arches are well 
 irned, and the whole work would bear a comparison 
 
318 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 with an European fortress. The harbour spreads it: { 
 before the town to the south, and is shielded from the \ 
 by an island about two miles long, and half a mile bro , 
 only distant from the water-port point about five hundi 
 yards. Between the island and the water-port, the vessi 
 enter, keeping the island side close on board, until tl 
 run down half the length of it, when they may anchor 
 two and a half fathoms at low water, within a cable’s len^ 
 of the island, and with good cables and anchors ride s; 
 during three quarters of the year; but vessels drawi 
 over fourteen feet water cannot ride secure on account 
 the shallowness of the harbour. In the months of L 
 cember, January, and February, strong gales prevail frc 
 the westward, which heave in such heavy swells rou 
 the two ends of this island, that what seamen call 1 
 send or swing of the sea, breaks the strongest cables, a 
 forces all the vessels in this port on shore. In the wint 
 of 1815, an English brig was driven on shore with a fi 
 cargo, and totally lost ; another parted her cables, at 
 was driven fast towards the water-port, when the mas! 
 and crew deserted her in their boat, in hopes of savii 
 their lives ; but the boat was upset, and all hands we 
 either drowned or dashed to pieces against the rocks ; ti 
 brig’s cables, however, caught round some craggy rock 
 which held her through the remainder of the gale, thout 
 within a few feet of the rocks astern. An Americ; 
 schooner’s crew were also lost in this port a few yeai 
 ago, together with her supercargo, in consequence < 
 quitting the vessel, and taking to their boat, while tl: 
 captain, who was soliciting assistance from the oth( 
 vessels in port, was saved, and the schooner was als 
 finally saved, though she had been totally abandoned : 
 is in the winter a very dangerous port, and any vesst 
 entering it should have three good cables and anchors, t 
 moor her head and stern by, and should strike her yard 
 and topmasts immediately. 
 
 The island is called Mogadore by the Europeans, am 
 was thus named by the Portuguese or Spaniards, whei 
 they first partially surveyed this coast, and thence th< 
 European name of Mogadore, is derived for the town 
 and not from the sanctuary or saint-house near it, whicl 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA; 
 
 319 
 
 Arabic is called Milliah. This island serves as a State 
 son lor the Moorish empire : it is fortified and strongly 
 irded, commonly containing not less than one thousand 
 itte prisoners, who have mostly been Alcavds and mili- 
 ar men, and who are frequently pardoned and restored 
 jheir former posts again, after a few years’ trial of their 
 a itude and patience there in irons. Provisions are sent 
 he island twice a week in good weather. All commu- 
 irtion with the island is forbidden to strangers, under 
 (j r Jai of death. On a rocky point, without the water- port, 
 -.Brest to the island, stands a circular battery, to defend 
 0 [P entrance of the harbour, and protect the island : on 
 jjjh east side of the harbour, near the Sultan’s palace,, 
 re is also a circular battery, well built of stone, calcu- 
 itd to mount twenty guns, but the guns that had been 
 a anted on it were taken away, under an impression that 
 If might fall into the hands of the Arabs, who attacked 
 j, w-arah during the quarrel for the succession, which was 
 aminated in the elevation of the present Sultan, Muley 
 Mman, to the Moorish throne. 
 
 ivvearah or Mogadore was built by Sidi Mohammed, 
 n father of Muley Soliman, who spared no pains or ex- 
 it se in making it correspond with its name : it is the 
 Jy tolerable seaport in the Moorish dominions, except 
 
 t igier, and the only one in which foreign vessels are 
 wed a kind of free trade, or one without special li- 
 ses : the houses are built of rough stone and lime j 
 u Irom one to three stories high, and nearly all have flat 
 faced roofs : the streets are narrow, and some of them 
 ihost entirely covered with houses arched or projecting 
 o|r them, particularly in the fortress part : the buildings 
 r first, it is said, were erected under the inspection of 
 ■pans, who were brought from Europe for the purpose : 
 it s by far the neatest town in the empire, and is com- 
 f ted to contain about thirty thousand Moors and blacks, 
 ai six thousand Jews. During the contest for the suc- 
 cssion, at the death of Muley Eitzid, who reigned a short 
 trie after the death of Sidi Mohammed, Swearah was 
 sacked by surprise in the night, and about three thou- 
 5 id of the assailants entered the fortress part over the 
 ^ dls, and actually got possession of the streets ; but they 
 
320 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 were soon destroyed by the garrison and town’s peel 
 from the roofs of their houses ; and the army befor j 
 consisting of field-Moors and Arabs, were put to fli'i 
 It has been since visited and nearly depopulated twice 
 the plague, which spread terror and devastation in all I 
 western part of the empire. Mercantile trade was 1 
 encouraged by its founder, and flourished to a great 
 tent ; large quantities of wheat were sent from henc 
 Spain and Portugal ; sheep’s wool and the gums were !( 
 shipped in great abundance; namely, gum-sandar;i 
 arabic, &c. &c. — almonds, olives, dates, dried figs, : 
 large quantities of olive-oil, bees- wax, and honey — an i 
 cummin, worm, and other medicinal seeds — pomej . 
 nate peel, and many other drugs — goat, calf, and a \ 
 camels’ skins, and camels’ hair — haicks for the Gu ; 
 trade, and many other articles. Their imports were 1 
 iron and steel, knives, and other cutlery, raw cotton, 
 many kinds of manufactured cotton goods, woollen clo : 
 silks, and silk handkerchiefs, teas, sugars, spices, g 
 and silver ornaments, pearls, amber beads, small Di 
 looking-glasses, German goods, platillas, nankeens, It 
 ber, See. &c. There were at one time no less than thl 
 Christian mercantile houses established there: the did 
 on imports are ten per centum, taken in kind when 
 goods are landed, except on the articles of iron, steel, ; 
 cotton, on which the duties are paid in cash at the sai 
 rate : (the government allowing the importer a short crcl 
 on the duties :) this is the duty the Sultan is entitled to 
 the Koran as tithes, or tenths, according to their sac: I 
 code, for he is the religious, as well as the temporal so ■ 
 reign. The duties on exports are regulated by an imp 
 rial order, and are not steady. 
 
 Trade has been depressed of late years by enorme 
 duties on exports, and by prohibitions, so much so, t) 
 there are now only two or three respectable Christian esta 
 lishments in Mogadore, and those who conduct them i 
 forced to put up with frequent insult and impositio 
 they do no business to a profit, and must, if it does r 
 soon alter for the better, quit the place altogether. It 
 the policy of the present emperor, who is absolute, 
 keep the people as poor as possible, that they may n 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA* 
 
 321 
 
 hve it in their power to rebel ; for a rebellious army can- 
 nt be supported there without money, or kept together 
 vthout an immediate hope of plunder, and the Moorish 
 gvernment has very little to fear from a partial and ill or- 
 giized insurrection, the chiefs of which must have 
 nney as well as bravery, and display good conduct, or 
 .1 y will soon be forsaken. The Sultan commenced his 
 ftg'tem by shutting the ports of Santa Cruz, Saffy, Rha- 
 T, Azamore, Darlbeida, &c. and ordering the foreign 
 irrchants residing in them to go to Mogadore or Swea- 
 fipj, where he said they should be protected. Soon af- 
 -ewards they began to prohibit the introduction of some 
 roucles, then the exportation of many — such as wool, 
 sat, olive oil, &c. and laid a duty that amounted to a 
 hibition on several other articles of exportation ; when 
 people murmured, they were told it was a sin to trade 
 h men who did not follow the true and only holy reli- 
 on earth : that their prophet had strictly forbidden 
 uh traffic as would be liable to corrupt their morals and 
 jejle them in the sight of God : that this sin had been 
 camitted, and that God was now taking vengeance of 
 a people by sending the locusts and the plague that fol- 
 aed them, laying waste the country, and unpeopling 
 anany fine cities. These were arguments which had 
 rit weight with the superstitious Moors, aided by the 
 l;;ue which at that time raged with dreadful fury and 
 vpt oft' three-fourths of the inhabitants of Mogadore, 
 |y, and several other towns ; the whole garrison of el 
 bbah, on Tensift river, &c. &c. Several of the Chris- 
 k merchants died also of the plague, and many of the 
 Bit respectable mercantile Moors : this caused an almost 
 ol stagnation of business, which stagnation has been 
 1 easing, if possible, ever since, owing to these causes 
 n other heavy commercial restraints imposed by the 
 >nent emperor. 
 
 ihould any of the maritime nations declare war against 
 Moors, Mogadore might be easily taken and de- 
 byed, though the place could not be retained any length 
 «t:ime : a few sloops of war of a light draught of water 
 n;ht enter the harbour and sail down near the south end 
 ■1 the island, where they might land troops and take nog- 
 
 41 
 
 h 
 
322 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 session of it, which being high, commands the tow ; 
 here they might construct batteries and beat down ; 
 walls at their leisure. The country near it is covered w| 
 nothing but drifts of sand for a distance beyond canul 
 shot. The Moors are very awkward gunners, though; 
 brave as men can be, believing that if they venture ev ; 
 up to the very mouth' of a cannon, they cannot die < « 
 moment before the time appointed by fate, nor in j|j 
 other manner than that which was predestined by the .. 
 mighty before they were created, and even from ■ 
 foundation of the world. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Of the Moors and Moorish Arabs — Feast of expiatioi ■ 
 
 A Moorish review and sham-fight — Horsemanship- 1 
 
 the Arabian horse and his furniture. 
 
 . 
 
 The- Moors are a stout athletic race of men, and : 
 generally of about five feet ten inches in height. T| 
 sprung from the Bereberies, or old inhabitants of i 
 north and western parts of northern Africa, together wt 
 the descendants of the Carthagenians, and various Gr<; 
 and Roman colonies on those coasts, conquered by; j 
 commixed with the Arabs or Saracens who passed : 
 isthmus of Suez, and subjugated the north of Aft) 
 under the caliphs of the pretended prophet Mohamm , 
 Fez is at present the great capital of the empire and ell 
 residence of the emperor, who is styled by the Moors;; 
 Arabs el Sultan , (the Sultan,) or as they pronounce 
 Sooltan. Suse has become independent of the Moo 
 The Moors are all strict followers of the Mohammed 
 doctrine, and firm predestinarians. I call the docti< 
 Mohammedan instead of Mahometan , because the na< 
 of their prophet is pronounced, both by the Moors d 
 Arabs, Mohammed , and both of them pronounce tl J 
 letters very distinctly, and with their mouths open like < 
 Spaniards, giving to every letter its full sound ; for thoif 
 they write with characters, and do not know how to fed 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 323 
 
 a Ionian letter with a pen, yet a person understanding 
 I ters, who hears them speak, would say they were per- 
 fidy familiar with the Roman alphabet, and laid more 
 eiphasis and stress on the letters, by means of which 
 thy speak their language better than any other people on 
 e th. 
 
 The Moors, in general, do not learn to read and write, 
 bt their Talbs are learned men, who take great pains co 
 bcomc acquainted with the principles of their own and 
 0(p? ancient Arabic language, and with the laws of the 
 Bran, which is held by them to be a sacred book, and 
 t( contain nothing but divine revelation. The Talbs 
 :nsact all the business that requires writing, and serve 
 aprnately as scriveners, lawyers, and priests. The 
 jN^ors use no bells for their places of worship, but in 
 :h towns and cities, their religious houses have high 
 p carets or steeples, with fiat tops and a kind of balus- 
 iirde round them : to the tops of these the Talbs ascend 
 ;c call the people at stated times to prayers, and as the 
 sieples are very high, and the Talbs are accustomed to 
 oil aloud, they are heard at a great distance, particularly 
 wen all is still in the city. Their times of prayer are 
 bore daylight in the morning, at about mid-day, about 
 th middle of the afternoon, at sunset, and again before 
 tj):y retire to rest, about 8 or 9 o’clook in the evening, 
 lie Talbs , who are on the steeples before daylight in the 
 aiming, commence by calling all the faithful to prayers : 
 tkir voices sound most harmoniously, and thrill through 
 ti; air in a singular manner. I was always awakened by 
 t m myself while I staid at Mogadore, and often went 
 t< the window to hear them ; their call reminded me of 
 ry duty also. After they summoned all the faithful to 
 lend prayers, they either rehearsed particular passages 
 fun the Bible or Koran, or sang some sacred poetry 
 vth a loud and piercing, but at the same time a very 
 ldodious and pleasing tone of voice. The Moors who 
 lie near the places of worship go in, join with the Talbs, 
 Ed pray together ; but by far the greatest number per- 
 I'm their devotions in their own rooms. The Talbs, I 
 informed, perform their religious duties, which are 
 try fatiguing, merely from motives of piety — they do 
 
324 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 not receive the smallest remuneration either from l| 
 prince, or people, in any shape or way whatever, i 
 worship by turning their faces to the east, and bow th- 
 heads in the dust like the wandering Arabs : they ws i 
 their bodies all over with water before prayers, as well ; 
 their hands and faces, for which purposes, within the w; 
 of their mosques or churches, they have walls or foi 
 tains of water, and large stone basins in which to bat 
 When they appear before God (as they call it) in th 
 places of worship, they divest themselves of all superf 
 ous ornaments and clothing, and even of their breecht 
 after purifying with water, they wrap themselves decen 
 up in their haick or blanket only, and go through th 
 ceremonies with signs of the most profound devotion, 
 a Christian enters a Mohammedan place of worship, 
 must either change his religion, by having his head shav 
 undergoing the operation of circumcision, and confessf 
 there is but one God, and that Mohammed is his h 
 prophet, &c. or suffer instant death — but I have ventur 
 to look into them from the street. The court leading! 
 the mosque was paved with tiles, and kept very cle 
 with stone basins filled with pure water on each side p 
 the purposes of purification ; though I durst not appro; \ 
 so near as to see in what manner the interior part was • 
 ranged, but I was informed they were entirely free fro 
 ornaments. The women are not generally permitted i 
 enter their houses of religious worship, nor even to ; 
 pear in the streets, unless they are completely covered 
 their clothing, which going over their heads, is held i 
 such a manner by their hands on the inside, as only 
 permit them to peep out with one eye, to discover a 
 pick their way ; so that no Moor or Christian can : 
 their faces. In the streets, they are very seldom seen, a 
 are so extremely fleshy, that they waddle, rather than w 
 along, like fat and clumsy ducks. No Moor will marr 
 wife until she is well fatted by her father ; and if it is 1 1 
 in the husband’s power afterwards to keep her in the sa : 
 good case and condition, or rather, to improve upon 
 he is dissatisfied, and endeavours to get clear of her, whi 
 he very often effects, for he will not keep a wife uni 
 she is very fleshy, or bed with what he calls “ a de^' 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 325 
 
 irfeton.” The women visit each other, and walk to- 
 2 . her on the tops of their houses, but even the husband 
 : mot enter the room they are in when uncovered, or get 
 right of his neighbour’s wife or daughter, being strictly 
 (bidden by his religion to look on any other woman than 
 a own wife or wives : — thus the Moors, when they re- 
 - ve company, sit down with them on the ground outside 
 oi their houses, where they converse together; but not- 
 tvhstanding all these precautions, as the women are very 
 vorous, they manage to introduce their gallants by 
 mans of the female covering, and the privilege they en= 
 ju of visiting each other, and get their lovers off by the 
 sne means undiscovered. 
 
 The Moors go off in large numbers every year, form- 
 ig a great caravan, on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and return 
 ii three or four years ; every Moslemin being by law 
 diged to visit the tomb of his prophet once in his life- 
 ale, if he can afford to pay the expenses of his journey, 
 he men who have been to Mecca and returned, are dig- 
 raied by the name of el ajjh, (or the pilgrim,) and the 
 ramen who go and return, (for there are a few who ven- 
 tre,) are allowed the privilege of wearing the haick, or 
 rim’s blanket ; of walking the streets uncovered, like 
 ■fen, and of conversing with them promiscuously, as they 
 ray deem fit, being considered holy women, and as pos- 
 sising souls by special grace and favour. Every Moor 
 \io is born an idiot, or becomes delirious, is considered 
 .saint, and is treated with the greatest attention and re- 
 -ect by every one ; is clothed, and fed, and taken the 
 •eatest care of by the whole community; and, do what 
 !■ will, he cannot commit a crime in the eye of their law. 
 Soon after my arrival at Mogaaore, about the 15th of 
 ovember, 1815 , the feast of expiation was celebrated by 
 e Moors, at which every Mohammedan is by law obliged 
 kill a sheep, if it is possible for him to procure one ; 
 not, each kills such other animal as he can obtain : the 
 ch (if liberal) kill a number proportioned to their wealth 
 id inclination, and distribute them amongst their rela- 
 ons, or the poor who have none to kill. Rais bel Cos- 
 m (i. e. Captain bel Cossim) killed seven sheep : they 
 ad been bought long before, and were well fatted for the 
 
326 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 purpose. The first day of the feast was spent in visitii i 
 and in giving and receiving presents or gifts ; and the . 
 cond in military parade. On the morning of that day. ' 
 accompanied Mr. Willshire to the top of a house, ft 
 merly occupied by a Mr. Chiappi, deceased, who wast ,: 
 Portuguese Consul at Mogadore for many years: till 
 house was, before it went to decay, the largest and nr 
 elegant in that city ; it stood near, and overlooked If 
 eastern wall. From that place, we saw from thirteen 
 fifteen hundred Arabian horses, fleet as the wind, and f 
 of fire, mounted by Moors and Arabs, who sat on stro 
 Moorish saddles that came up high before and behii 
 covered with rich quilted scarlet broadcloth. They \vi| 
 paraded between the outer and main walls of the city : 
 the horsemen were dressed with red caftans or vests, i 
 generally worn by them, except on great occasions : tin 
 were covered with worsted haicks, wove transparent li 
 bunting for ships’ flags : each rider was armed with a lo 
 Moorish musket, and had a knife or scimitar hangi 
 loosely by his side : they wore on their heads either whj 
 turbans, twisted and wound many times around, or a i 
 cap, in token of their being regular imperial soldiers, I 
 else a fold of their haick : their bridle- bits were the nv 
 powerful of the Arabian kind. 'Fhe horses were all stuc 
 and wore their whole natural quantity of main and t 
 unmijtilated in any part, and consequently retained 
 their natural fire, beauty, strength, and pride : each hor 
 was furnished with a head-piece, resembling the stall of 
 bridle at top, and a halter below — this stall or head-piec 
 was made of the richest scarlet cord and velvet, with frins 
 hanging down over, and nearly covering his eyes, and 
 large pendulous pad of scarlet velvet cloth under cat 
 car : the neck of each was adorned with a very elegai 
 scarlet cord, having a handsome knob and tassal unde 
 neath : these trappings were solely for ornament, and n< 
 for use, and put on before the bridle. Each had beside; 
 a small red cord about his neck, to which was fastened 
 number of little bags, made of fine red Morocco leather- 
 these bags, I learned on inquiry, were stuffed with scrap 
 of paper, covered with Arabic writing, furnished to th 
 owner of the horse by jugglers ; and, as they pretenc 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 327 
 
 s;ve as a charm to ward off the effects of te evil eyes,” 
 c witchcraft, in which they all believe : the Moors and 
 ,/rabs are so firmly attached to this superstitious opinion, 
 tit they believe both themselves and their horses are in 
 eminent danger without this favourite charm. 
 
 The Moorish and Arabian saddle, which I consider to 
 i the very best that can be invented by man to keep the 
 Her steady in his seat, is fastened on by a strong girth 
 ider the horse’s belly, and by one round his breast, but 
 jthout any crupper: the stirrups are made of broad 
 ?ces of sheet iron or brass, and for the most part plated 
 vth silver— the bottom of them is as long as a man’s foot, 
 
 ' j.-a 
 i > <■ 
 
 that 
 
 he can shift the position of his feet in them at 
 asure : they are kept exceedingly bright, and are taken 
 it short and tied to the saddle by braided leather thongs, 
 s that in order to support himself firmly in his saddle, the 
 tier has only to press his feet to the horse’s sides, near 
 h flanks, his knees on the lower part of the saddle ; thus 
 listing at five points at one and the same time. The bri- 
 <je is of that kind which will either stop the fiercest horse 
 i an instant, or snap off' his lower jaw — so that the rider 
 Is his horse under the most perfect command possible, 
 his body of horsemen, thus mounted and equipped, 
 Here reviewed by the Bashaw and Alcayd, or military and 
 wil governors. There were also five or six thousand foot 
 sldiers assembled for the same purpose : these were 
 cessed in haicks and red caps, and armed with muskets 
 ad daggers. After the review, the exercises began by a 
 scharge of twenty-four pieces of cannon, mounted on 
 e different batteries about the city, and then followed a 
 ind of sham fight, which was begun near the northern 
 ate, between two bodies of infantry : they marched for- 
 ard to the attack, and each poured in an irregular fire, 
 hich was supported and kept up in almost one continual 
 laze by successive advancing lines, until it seemed ne- 
 essary to bring forward the heavy cavalry, in order to 
 rrest the progress of a solid column of men, that kept 
 lowly and constantly advancing upon the opposing troops, 
 he expected signal was at length given : the whole of 
 ie cavalry was instantly in motion : it advanced in squad- 
 °n.s of about one hundred, in close order, l and at ful? 
 
328 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 speed, and seemed to fly like the wind : the distance j 
 tween the opposing forces was near one fourth of a mi • 
 the horsemen shouting loudly, “ hah- hah ! hah- hah 1 
 raised themselves on their stirrups, took a deliberate rj 
 ith their long muskets, when within five yards of ;l 
 nemy’s lines, and poured in their fire while going at tip 
 ■;reatest speed. I expected they would inevitably clash i 
 nongst the infantry, and trample many of them to deat 
 ut the moment the men had fired, they brought th 
 orses down upon their haunches, and stopping th< 
 short, reined them instantly round, to make room fort 
 next approaching squadron, while the horses of the fi 
 squadron walked steadily and leisurely back, giving tii 
 for the riders to re-load their muskets at their ease : tl 
 furiously attacked by numerous squadrons, in quick si 
 cession, and so closely, the infantry were soon brok 
 and dispersed, by which means the cavalry remained a 
 parent masters of the field. 
 
 Nothing of the kind could exceed the ardour, activi 
 and intelligence, displayed by those noble looking a 
 well trained horses ; they seemed almost to fly to the i 
 tack, and looked as if determined to rush through t 
 opposing host, and trample it to atoms ; but when tl 
 riders had fired their muskets, and the horses were turni 
 about the other way, they were perfectly calm in an i 
 stant, and walked on leisurely until they were again faci ( 
 round towards the enemy ; then their eyes seemed I 
 kindle with fire ; they pawed up the dust, which the 
 seemed to snuff up into their wide- stretched nostrils, ar 
 into which one might see, as they then appeared, near! 
 up to their eyes : they snorted and pranced about in sue 
 a manner, that nothing short of the heavy and true Ar; 
 bian bridle could have been capable of checking or keep 
 ing them in subjection, and nothing short of the Mooris 
 or Arabian saddle, could have prevented their riders frorj 
 being dashed against the ground. The long spurs of th 
 horsemen had gored their flanks, so as to make the bioo 
 stream out, which, uniting with their sweat, formed [ 
 kind of streaked froth, that nearly covering their sides 
 dropped fast upon the ground, whilst the severe workin; 
 of the bit upon their mouths, caused them to bleed pro 
 
OBSERVATION'S ON AFRICA. 
 
 529 
 
 ,ely. The dazzling of their stirrups and arms in the 
 so, the rattling of their spurs against their stirrups, and 
 1 clashing of their arms against each other ; the beauti- 
 :i appearance of the squadrons of horses ; the cracking 
 m musketry, and continual shouting of the mock com- 
 jiants, produced an effect truly imposing, and I was of 
 )tnion that no lines of infantry, of equal numbers, how- 
 »r well formed and commanded, would be capable of 
 r hstanding their impetuous and repeated shocks, when 
 t aally attacked : this was truly a superb school foe 
 icsemanship. 
 
 >idi Hamet, my old master, had borrowed and mount- 
 cMr. Willshire’s fine horse, and seemed to be in all his 
 fry while exercising him like the others. After they 
 E nearly finished the sham- fight, he, together with a 
 a: of Moors, consisting of about fifteen or twenty, com- 
 apced their last career towards the enemy : they had a 
 i rter of a mile to ride, and all with long muskets in 
 fair hands : they set off their horses at full speed, in a 
 r when on their seats ; then turning over, they placed 
 Mr heads upon their saddles, and rode with their feet in 
 bj air, and their backs towards the horses’ heads, for a 
 c siderable part of the distance ; then regaining their 
 eh by a sudden movement, they rose in their stirrups, 
 iid off their pieces close to the wall, reined their horses 
 aund, and returned again to their post. Many of these 
 icses were extremely fleet and beautiful, and seemed as 
 mch to exceed in spirit, strength, and courage, the first - 
 a: race horses I had ever seen in Europe or America, as 
 hse fine animals excel the common plough horse. 
 
 The Moors soon wear their horses down by hard ser- 
 fs, and then put them into mills to grind their grain, as 
 I re is scarcely such a thing as a wind or water-mill, 
 verewith to grind their breadstuff, to be found in the 
 \)orish empire. The mares are never rode or worked, 
 dl are kept solely for the purpose of breeding, and I 
 c nd that what I had considered as an exaggerated co- 
 unt of the good qualities attributed to the Arabian 
 ise, fell far short of his real merits; for though the 
 nst proud, fierce, and fiery of the horse kind, he is, at 
 d same time, the most docile of those noble animals 
 
 42 
 
330 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 The true Arabian horse is about fourteen to sixteen hatj|; 
 in height ; his body is long, round, and slender ; 3 
 limbs small, clean, and straight ; he is square-breas 1 
 and round- quartered ; his neck well set and slim, wit 1 
 beautiful natural curve ; his head small, with a face , 
 dining to a curve, from the top of the head to the n . 
 trils, with eves full, bright, quick, and intelligent — nujjr 
 of them are of a beautiful cream colour, and frequen • 
 spotted with black, and vary in colour from a light son , 
 through all the shades of bay and chesnut, to the deep; 
 jet black : they are strong-jointed, and full of sinew , 
 naturally docile, and very active ; but if they become , 
 the least vicious, they are doomed to the mill for the 
 mainder of their days. It was with much regret I lean . 
 that these beautiful and serviceable animals could not 
 exported from either the Moorish dominions, or any ot 
 of the Barbary states, without a special permission, a, 
 private favour from the reigning prince, which is vi 
 seldom granted, and only on particular and import ; 
 occasions. 
 
 The Arabs inhabiting Morocco, live in tents, in a wi 
 dering state; for the true Arabs will not be confined wi 
 in walls, and are a distinct race of men from the Moc. 
 They keep large herds of cattle, horses, camels, she, 
 goats, and asses, making use of the milk of all the 
 males for butter and for drink : they supply the cities wli 
 butter, which they make by the simple process of putti; 
 the milk into a goat-skin, the hair side in, hanging it > 
 by the legs, and shaking it by the help of a rope, ' 
 which it is fastened : when the butter is made, they pa 
 it, hair and all, into earthen jars that hold from two 
 four pounds each, and in that state, carry it to marl 
 without salting, selling the butter, jar, and all, for am: 
 trifle : they cultivate nearly all the plain land that is cur 
 vated in the empire of Morocco, (as the Bereberies till t: 
 hilly country and sides of mountains,) except the grouri 
 in the immediate vicinity of the cities, which they do ill 
 approach for the purposes of agriculture, those being cl 
 tivated and dressed by the Moors and their slaves. Th 
 live m families or sections of tribes, and pitch their ter 
 in companies of from twenty to one hundred and fi 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA, 
 
 331 
 
 1 nts, each tent containing one family : these tents when 
 j tched, are called a Douhar ; they eject a chief to each 
 f these douhars, whom thpy dignify with the title of 
 Jcayd or Sheick, for the time being ; their authority, 
 liwever, is rather of an advisory than mandatory kind. 
 }ear seed time, they remove and pitch their douhar (or 
 ■ campment) near the spot they mean to cultivate, and 
 jjough and sow the land with wheat, barley, corn, or peas : 
 fcey fence in some parcels of land with good high stone 
 faces, particularly orchards of fig-trees, but for the most 
 rrt they are entirely open : the sowing being finished, 
 y remove again, for the sake of pasture, to other parts 
 : the same province, in which they continue to reside, 
 they cannot move out of a province without leave be- 
 first obtained from the emperor : thus they wander 
 pm place to place, until near harvest time, when they 
 r:urn and gather in their crops which they have sowed, 
 eld which are considered safe from the flocks, herds, and 
 finds of other tribes, by common consent or interest, as 
 a rove about in a similar way, having no fixed habita- 
 t»ns ; yet sometimes one tribe sows, and another reaps 
 te fruit of its labour, but that is only done by force of 
 ams. 
 
 The Moorish Arabs are rather below the middle stature ; 
 c a dark complexion, resembling that between the mu- 
 1 to and a white man, with long black hair and black 
 ces : they are strong and healthy : they wear round their 
 belies a woollen haick, which does not cover their heads, 
 i d go without any other clothing : their legs and feet are 
 fnerally bare; their beards long; their cheek-bones 
 lgh ; their noses regularly hooked ; their lips thin ; and 
 ley are as hardy a race of men as exists ; perhaps, bl- 
 eed, with the exception of the wandering Arabs. The 
 ■omen wear a kind of a garment made of a haick, through 
 ’hich they thrust their arms to keep it up— -it hangs down 
 ' their knees, and nearly covers their breasts ; they have 
 fold behind, like those living on the desert, in which 
 ey carry their young children ; they all stoop forward 
 1 ry much ; are treated by their husbands as mere neces- 
 :ry slaves ; are obliged to milk the cows, camels, mares, 
 aats, sheep, and asses ; make the butter, and spin and 
 
332 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 weave the tent- cloth and clothing by hand for themself 
 and families. They both spin and weave in the sai : 
 manner as the Arab women of the desert, and bring [ 
 the water they use in large pitchers on their shoulders, | 
 the distance be ever so great : they take care of, and to ; 
 to draw the water for the flocks of sheep, and goats, a 
 herds of cattle ; but the men manage the camels a 
 horses. They grind their wheat and barley in their har 
 mills, which are the same as on the desert and in Suse, 
 already described, and they make cakes, which they ro 
 in the fire. The women are, in fact, complete slave 
 they are obliged to strike their tents when they remo 
 and pack them on camels, with all the other stuff that 
 possessed by the family — -to pitch the tent again, and pa i 
 away the stuff, &c. &c. while the men take upon the 
 selves to lord it over them, and drive them about at pie 
 lire, only looking after the flocks and herds, and puni: 
 ing the women and girls, if any are lost : the men a 
 plough and sow the land, and attend to the reaping a 
 threshing out the corn. The sickle they reap with is r 
 thing more than a knife with a blade of about a foot loi 
 with the point bent inwards : the principal part of the 
 bour in this business, they also oblige the women to p> 
 form. 
 
 Their law permits them to have seven wives, but it 
 recommended to them by their prophet to have only 01 
 in order to prevent contention in the family. When th 
 increase, however, in wealth or substance, they need me 
 Iielp, and instead of hiring or buying slaves, they ta 
 more wives ; and on this economical and agreeable pis 
 they make out to manage the affairs of their househol 
 They are the same race of people in appearance and ma 
 Tiers, as the Arabs of the desert, and have bartered tto 
 liberty for the comforts afforded by a country susceptib 
 of cultivation. The Arabs are said to have continue 
 migrating gradually from the deserts and other parts 
 Arabia into Africa, ever since the irruptions of the fit 
 Saracens, by joining themselves in small numbers to t! 
 returning caravans which go yearly from Morocco, A 
 giers, Tunis, Tripoli, &c. on a pilgrimage to visit tl 
 tomb of their prophet at Mecca. These caravans can 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA 
 
 a?e quantities of goods with them, and make a trading 
 r> of it, as well as a religious duty ; and many of the 
 jgrims return home very rich for Moors, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 The present Arabs and ancient Jews compared. 
 
 Soon after I was seized on as a slave by the wander- 
 r Arabs of the great Western Desert, I was struck with 
 h simplicity of their lives and manners, and contrasted 
 i circumstances of their keeping camels, living in tents, 
 ill wandering about from day to day, with the simplicity 
 >ithe lives of the old Jewish patriarchs, who also lived 
 n:ents, had camels, and wandered about from place to 
 ilce ; possessed men-servants and maid-servants — that is, 
 iy owned slaves ; but as they for the most part lived in 
 entries where the soil was capable of culture, they also 
 Sjl flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of cattle, and 
 lies ; yet the patriarchs lived in a thirsty land for a part 
 a the time, and were often in want of water, as well as 
 a bread. My mind was also strongly impressed with 
 t| similarity between the patriarchal form of government, 
 ad that prevailing among the Arabs at the present day, 
 vjiich is, in the strictest sense of the word, paternal ; the 
 filter of each family being its supreme and absolute head : 
 t i wandering Arabs will submit to no other control, and 
 tey actually reverence their fathers and the old men of 
 leir tribe next to the Deity himself, and pay, without 
 fe least apparent compulsion, the most cheerful and 
 lplicit obedience to their orders and wishes. When I 
 :came more acquainted with the Arabs, I observed that 
 e manner of salutation between strangers was very much 
 ee that of the Jewish fathers, as recorded in Holy Writ, 
 ?.d which also prevailed among the inhabitants of the 
 juntry where they sojourned. When a stranger approach- 
 1 an Arab’s tent, he first finds out which way it is pitch- 
 1 ; then, going round until he gets directly in front, he 
 raws near slowly, until within about one hundred yards, 
 
334 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 and stops, but always with his weapon in his hand, rdj 
 for defence, and then turns his back towards the te 
 when he is perceived by those in and about the tent, (v { 
 are always upon the look-out,) and they come forth, | 
 bows himself nearly to the earth twice, and worship 
 upon which one from the tent takes some water in a bo 
 and advances towards him; this is done by the head) 
 the family, if he be at home, or by his eldest son : if nt j 
 of the males are present, one of the women goes forw 1 
 with her bowl of water, or something else, either to j; 
 or drink, if they have any ; if not, they take a skin, ; 
 roll of tent-cloth, to make a shelter with for the strang 
 As they come within a few yards of the stranger, tl 
 ask, “ Is it peace ?” and being answered in the affirr . 
 tive, they mutually say, “ Peace be with you, with yif 
 father’s house, your family, and all you possess;” tit 
 touching the fingers of the right hands together, they sn 
 them, and carrying them to their lips, kiss them, win 
 is the same with them as to kiss each other’s hand ; i\ 
 thence, I presume, is derived the compliment now 
 such general use among the polite Spaniards, which is 
 say, in saluting a gentleman, “ Beso de usted las mane ' 
 - — I kiss your hands ; if a lady, “ I kiss your feet.” 
 The Arab manner of worshipping the Deity, as I hr 
 already described, is by bowing themselves to the ear , 
 and touching their faces to the ground : after bowing 
 the ground six times, they say, “ God is great and goc 
 and Mohammed is his holy prophet:” this is their cc 
 fession of faith. After that, they offer up their petitioi 
 that God will keep them under his special protectio; 
 that he will direct them in the right way; that he will lc 
 them to fountains or wells of living water ; that God w 
 scatter their enemies, and deliver them from all those wl 
 lie in wait to do them mischief ; that he will prosper th< 
 journies, and enrich them with the spoil qf their enemic 
 &c. and they afterwards recite some poetry, which th< 
 call sacred. Since my being redeemed, I have been to 
 that the form of worship now in practice among tho; 
 people, was taught them by Mohammed ; but as the; 
 forms do not differ materially from the forms of worsh 
 practised by Abraham and the other old patriarchs, ar 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 335 
 
 lise of the people among whom they dwelt in the land 
 y Canaan and elsewhere, I am inclined to believe that 
 1 artful prophet did not change their ancient mode of 
 vrshipping the Deity, but on the contrary, sanctioned 
 iir long established custom, which had continued among 
 it singular race of men ever since the time of Abraham; 
 ul that the only innovations or alterations he ventured to 
 nke in that respect, were in appointing set times lor per- 
 cjining those religious duties ; enjoining, besides, ire- 
 pi'nt purifications, by washing themselves with water, 
 il thus inculcating cleanliness, so indispensably neces- 
 izy to preserve health in hot countries, as a religious 
 
 \ ft- 
 
 When travelling along the great desert, near its north- 
 i border, we fell in with flocks of sheep and goats, 
 ■vich were kept by the women and children, who were 
 tb obliged to water them ; and when, after our arrival in 
 ^ se, while we were travelling on its immense plain, and 
 i:ny small cities or towns were in sight at the same time 
 Mievery side, with high stone walls, gates, and bars, and 
 | earned that each one was independent, and under the 
 sdnmand or government of its own chief, who generally 
 .tied himself a prince ; and when I heard the story of 
 if destruction of JFidnah, and other devastations com- 
 atted by the wandering Arabs in their vicinity, I could 
 a: avoid figuring to myself, and observing to my corn- 
 ppions at the same time, that the country of Suse must 
 mv resemble in appearance the land of Canaan in the 
 tihe of Joshua, both in regard to its numerous little wall- 
 e cities ; its fertile soil ; and in many other respects ; and 
 Ut the frequent irruptions of the hordes of wild Arabs 
 l>m the desert, destroying and laying waste the country, 
 cd the cities they are able to overpower, bore a strong 
 rsemblance to the conduct of the ancient Israelites, when 
 11 from the deserts of Arabia into the cultivated country 
 i:ar them ; with this difference, however, that the Israel- 
 is were then particularly guided, supported, and protect- 
 <•1 by Divine power, and consequently were enabled to 
 ;t in unison, and with decisive effect against those small, 
 eble, and ill- constructed cities. 
 
 In travelling from Mogadore to Tangier, in the empire 
 
CAPTAIN RILEV’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 n n 
 
 ajb 
 
 of Morocco, and coming to those parts of the provim |; 
 of Abdah and Duquella, which are entirely peopled • 
 Arabs living in tents, and in a primitive or wandering sta , 
 (their tents being formed of the same materials, and pit( , 
 ed in the same manner as those of the Arabs on the desei 
 I observed that these people were of a much lighter co 
 plexion than those on the desert; but that circumstam 
 in all probability, was owing to the climate’s being me 
 temperate ; to their being less exposed to the rays of t j 
 sun, and better clothed ; yet their features were nearly t 
 same, and those of both bear a strong resemblance 
 those of the Barbary Jews, who also have black eyes a 
 Arab noses, lips, hair, and stature, and whose complei 
 ion is but a shade or two lighter than that of the Moori 
 Arabs, which is chiefly occasioned by their different moc 
 of life, the Jews all living in cities, and the Arabs in t 
 fields : the Jews, however, are stouter men than the Aral 
 owing, most likely, to the unrestrained intercourse 1 
 tween the lusty Moors and Jewesses, &c. That the 
 Arabs and those who live on the desert, are the same ra 
 of men, I have not the smallest doubt : their height, shafll 
 eyes, noses, and other features, together with their ci 
 toms, manners, and habits, being essentially the sarc 
 Between the Barbary Jews and the present Arabs, there 
 only a slight difference in their religious ceremonies ai 
 belief, and both very much resemble those forms whi< 
 were followed by the old Jewish patriarchs, and their f 
 thers and brethren, as recorded in the Book of Genesi 
 There is one more singular coincidence between the cu 
 toms of the old Israelites and present Arabs, whio 
 though seemingly unimportant, I shall, nevertheless, mej 
 tion. The Arabs, both on the desert and in Moroco 
 when they have occasion to go abroad from their tent, i 
 order to obey one of tlje most pressing calls of natun 
 always carry a stick or paddle with them, in the mamu 
 and for the same purpose as is mentioned of the anciei 
 Israelites in the twenty-third chapter of Deuteronomy, th 
 twelfth and thirteenth verses. The men always .sit clo£ 
 to the ground to urinate, and compelled us, while slave; 
 to do the same. 
 
 In journeying through the province of Duquella, 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 
 
 337 
 
 ej'ned from occular demonstration what was meant when 
 etain personages are described in Holy Writ as having 
 abundance of flocks and herds, &c. We stopped and 
 >i:hed our tent one night within a Douhar, which I found 
 nthe morning to consist of one hundred and fifty - 
 ojr tents : they were pitched in form of a hollow square, 
 n about fifty yards apart, occupying a large space of 
 rund, and all of them facing inwards : before each of 
 hie tents, the owner had made his beasts lie down for 
 v night. I felt a desire to know the number of animals 
 all man possessed, and in order to make an estimate of 
 i<i whole with correctness, I stopped, counted, and set 
 
 0 n the whole number that lay in separate flocks before 
 si y of the tents nearest to where I was, and then made 
 
 1 average of their numbers for each tent, which were 
 i teen camels, eleven head of neat cattle, six asses, 
 t-five sheep, and fifty-two goats : the whole of the 
 ales within the douhar, I counted separately ; they 
 minted to one hundred and eighty-six. I think the 
 xj;s I counted were a fair average, of the whole, and 
 cmpute them accordingly ; that is, two thousand nine 
 anred and twenty-six camels ; one hundred and eighty- 
 xjhorse s ; eight thousand seven hundred and seventy 
 dp ; eight thousand and eight goats ; and nine hun- 
 e and twenty asses -they had besides a considerable 
 i; ber of dung-hill fowls, and a great plenty of dogs. . 
 ao counted the number of inhabitants occupying fifty 
 n;, which averaged, including slaves and children, nine 
 
 tent, or one thousand three hundred and eighty-six 
 
 1. These Arabs lead a pastoral life, and though the 
 nunt of their flocks, at first sight, appears great, yet 
 hjn it is taken into view that their only employment is 
 N eed cattle, in which consists their whole riches or 
 eth, and their daily support, the number will not be 
 iridered as unreasonably great. This douhar was said 
 > ielong to the Sheick Mohammed hen Abdehla , a very 
 cman, (whom I saw,) and to consist of his family on- 
 
 if so, this Arab must have been very rich and pow-*- 
 t , even like Abraham the patriarch, who had three 
 Ailred and eighteen servants born in his own house, 
 
 >i to go forth to war, (Genesis xiv. 14,) or like pious 
 
 43 
 
338 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 Job, who was pre-eminently blessed with flocks and hei 5 
 and was also, most probably, an Arab, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 The author ships his companions on board a vessel 1 
 Gibraltar , and sets out himself to travel by land 1 
 Tangier — Villany of his Jew companion — Account u 
 great Moorish saint — Description of the country - j 
 the town of el Ksebbah and Stiff y. 
 
 Having recovered .my strength, so as to beablt 
 undertake a journey by land, and being desirous of vi! 
 ing that part of the empire of Morocco which lies : 
 tween Mogadore and Tangier, and also to visit the An' 
 lean Consul General residing at that place, in orde < 
 make effectual arrangements for the redemption of 1 
 remainder of my unfortunate crew, should they be : 
 alive, I shipped my companions on board a Gem 
 schooner that navigated under the English flag, bounn 
 Gibraltar, where I intended to meet them. I drew 1 " 
 on my friend, Mr. Horatio Sprague, of Gibraltar, for t 
 amount of cash actually expended by Mr. Willshir 1 
 obtaining our redemption, and in furnishing us tl 
 clothing, though he had given, both to me and my m 
 many articles of his own clothing, for which he would ! 
 receive payment, nor would he accept of any compel) 
 tion for his trouble, for our board, nor for the extrao i 
 nary expenses incurred in consequence of his exertii 
 to render us every assistance, as well as every service 1 
 comfort in his power, during the whole of our stay \l 
 him for about two months. 
 
 Elio Zagury, the Jew whom I have before mentiori 
 was also going to set out for Tangier by land, and as . 
 friend did not wish me to be troubled with the arran 
 ments for provisions, Sec. on the road, he agreed \ : 
 Zagury, for him to furnish me with every thing necesj * 
 during the journey, except a bed, and paid him the amc: 
 agreed on beforehand, which was a handsome sum. 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 339 
 
 On the 4th day of January, 1816, all being previously 
 spared, the schooner sailed with Mr. Savage, Burns, 
 Cark, and Horace on board. After seeing her safe out 
 i the harbour, I went, accompanied by Mr. Wiltshire, 
 sro the Jews’ town, to the house of old Zagury, where 
 Look my leave of the Jew priest before mentioned, and 
 w proceeded without the northern city gate, where the 
 hvs are permitted to mount their mules or asses. I then 
 e nd that the mule on which I was to travel, was already 
 c ded with two large trunks, one mattress, and provis- 
 os in proportion, and was told by Zagury that I must 
 on the top of this cargo, and ride the best way I 
 ; lid, as he should procure no other mule on my account. 
 [ /as not at all pleased at this plan, but my friend told me 
 it.vas only a Jew’s trick, and such an one as every man 
 My expect to be served who has any dealings with those 
 /lains : he then ordered his own mule to be brought for 
 iv, which was ready saddled in the gateway, and kept 
 :lre, I believe, for the purpose, anticipating deceit on 
 :!• part of the Jew ; though in this," as in every other in- 
 stnee, he endeavoured to lighten as much as possible, 
 th weight of the obligations he had laid me under. His 
 aide was one of the handsomest and finest I had ever 
 sen : to have refused riding it at that time, would have 
 ten to doubt his friendship ; so I mounted the mule, and 
 paceeded northward in company with Mr. Willshire and 
 hj. trusty friend, Rais bel Cossim, on horseback. We 
 rjie on, conversing together, for about two hours, along 
 tv sand beach, when vye stopped a few moments, and 
 tik some refreshments. It was there I took my leave of 
 ry benefactor. This painful parting I shall not attempt 
 t describe : a last look was at length taken, and a final 
 i-ieu uttered, when he rode back towards the city, and I 
 loceeded on my journey. We went silently along, and 
 lounted up the bank. Our company consisted of young 
 . igury; an old Jew named David; a' Jew servant ; two 
 doors, who were the muleteers, and an imperial soldier 
 ;r our guide, well mounted on a high-spirited horse, and 
 illy armed: he was a fine-looking fellow, though half 
 ■gro, and possessed all that suavity of manners so con- 
 acuous in a first-rate Moor or Arab. » From these sqL 
 
340 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 diers the emperor chooses his Alcayds and officers tor j 
 army ; if they only possess talents and bravery, their cl 
 our is disregarded. The Jews called him Alcayd, ,/ 
 way of making themselves appear more respectable, i 1 
 me they styled el Tibib del Sultan, or the Sultan’s doct 
 
 We proceeded on till near dark through a dreary cor. 
 try, when we came to the Omlays, or three spring 
 there we found a number of travellers watering their ca 
 els, mules, and asses. Having let our beasts drink, : 
 turned aside a little to the south, in a ploughed fie 
 near a few stone houses, and pitched for the night. ^ : 
 had a bell tent, which was a very good one, made of t . 
 thicknesses of canvass ; it was large enough to coot 
 two beds spread out, and very tight, and left plenty 
 room besides for our other things. We had with u t 
 box containing tea, coffee, sugar, &c. coals to mak 
 fire, and all the utensils necessary for cooking : so 
 had a cup of tea, and ate some coos-coo-soo for our si 
 per, and went to sleep very comfortably. The sold' 
 and the muleteers slept outside the tent on the groui 
 wrapped up only in their haicks : this is the const ; 
 practice of the Moors and Arabs when travelling, @| 
 they wonder that people of other nations do not pro 
 that method to any other; they carry this custom so f 
 that many of the male inhabitants of the cities sleep 
 the tops of their houses (which are flat) in preference 
 sleeping on their mattresses under cover. 
 
 At daylight on the morning of the 5th, all our co; 
 pany were in a bustle, being busily engaged in striki 
 our tent, and loading the mules, while a cup of cof 
 was preparing, and some eggs boiling for our breakfas 
 and we set off on our journey long before sunrise. V 
 travelled along this day on uneven ground, throw 
 groves of arga trees, which grew thereabouts spontan 
 ously, and were then loaded with the oil-nut of vario 
 sizes and colours, from a deep green through, to a live 
 yellow. The very shrubs and bushes among which o 
 path lay, were in blossom, and diffused a most delight! 
 fragrance. We still heard the roaring of the trouble 
 ocean dashing against this inhospitable coast, and whit 
 had been constantly dinning my ears for more than tv 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 341 
 
 i ith s ; for it being urged towards this coast by the 
 ctinual trade-winds, it never ceases its loud roarings, 
 v ch may generally be heard at the distance of from 
 flinty to thirty miles from the sea. The Atlas mountains 
 v e still in view, whose pointed tops, now covered with 
 mv, seemed to glitter in the sun, though at a very great 
 liiance. About sunset we came near a village consist- 
 ‘ 1; !B of about twenty stone houses, flat roofed, one story 
 ajh, and as many more built with reeds or sticks, in 
 om of a sugar-loaf, "with a small mosque or place of 
 vrship in the midst. Near this village, which was not 
 v led in, the first I had seen of the kind, we pitched 
 )i!' tent, and soon after this was done, a great number 
 ; unarmed Moors, probably four or five hundred, came 
 r turns to look at us, and inquire who I was. At the 
 she time the owner of the village sent to tell us we were 
 vjlcome, and that he was sorry it was not in his power 
 cfurnish barley for our mules, for his whole crops had 
 )( n cut off by the locusts for the last three years : that 
 vhad bought twenty ducats worth that day, but it was 
 ilgone, as an unusual number of travellers had called 
 ) him ; however, he sent us a loin of good mutton, 
 vich I was pressed to accept, and about two dozen of 
 ' gs ; our Moors were also supplied with coos-coo-soo. 
 Learned from Zagury, that this man was esteemed a 
 gpat saint by all the Moors,; that his name was Moham- 
 n id Ilfactesba ; that he taught all pious Moors who wish- 
 e it, to read in the Koran, and the Mohammedan laws : 
 t it he generally had from one to three hundred scholars 
 c students, who came from every part of the empire ; 
 tat he taught all who came, and supplied them with pro- 
 wions gratis ; that his wife and one daughter prepared 
 s victuals and cooked for all those people without any 
 distance whatever, which was considered by the Moors 
 continual miracle, and this, Zagury assured me, he for 
 s own part firmly believed ; that he entertained all trav- 
 elers who chose to call on him, free of expense; but, 
 lded he, where all his property comes from to enable 
 m to pay these enormous expenses, nobody knows. 
 
 It was soon reported about that an English doctor was 
 i the tent, and. the old saint sent and begged me to call 
 
342 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 and see him : so taking Zagury with me to act as in [ 
 preter, I was conducted by some Moors to his preser : 
 where I was welcomed by a withered old man, who y 
 seated on a mat on the outside, and leaning against \ 
 wall of his house — it was the saint : he requested mo 
 sit down near him, and then inquired of Zagury wh,[ 
 was : Zagury satisfied him on that point, and gave f 
 besides a short sketch of my late disasters : the saint s | 
 he was a friend to Christians, and men of every other rt . 
 gion; that we were all children of the same heavenly 1, 
 ther, and ought to treat each other like brothers : he 1 
 remarked that God was great and good, and had b( 
 very merciful to me, for which I ought to be thankful a 
 remainder of my life. He next informed me, that he v 
 very lame in his legs, occasioned in the first place b 
 stone falling on one of his feet, that had lamed and 1 
 him up for three or four months, and when he had so 
 recovered as to be able to ride out on his mule, the a 
 mal fell down with him, and injured his lame foot andl 
 so much that he had not since been able to use it : th 
 he said, happened about a year ago, and within the 1 
 few months, his other leg had become affected, and 
 had now lost the use of both of them, which was e 
 tremely painful : he said he did not murmur at his larr 
 ness, because he knew it came from God, and was a pu 
 ishment for some of his sins ; yet he hoped the Almigli 
 would be merciful, and pardon his offences, and pern 
 him to walk again, so that he might take care of his guest 
 and do more good in the world ; he also told me that tl 
 number who were then studying the Sacred Writings wi 
 him, amounted to about three hundred. I examined h 
 legs; they were very thin, and yet seemed to be coi 
 suming with a feverish heat ; no skin was broken, and 
 concluded that he laboured under an inveterate chroni 
 disorder, particularly as the joints were much swellec 
 I asked him if he had ever applied any thing as a retried} 
 or taken any medicine for this disorder : he said, no, ex 
 cept that he had bound some Arabic writing round their 
 furnished by a man eminently skilled in the science o 
 witchcraft ; that he had also kept them wet with oil, bu 
 had received no benefit whatever from either of thoa 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 34S 
 
 plications: he further said, he knew some men were 
 ■ lowed with the gift of healing, and hoped that I could 
 * scribe something that would ease his pains. I told 
 ui that I felt disposed to render him all the service in 
 r power ; that I would see what medicine I had, and 
 vuld consider of his case : then assuming the air of a 
 ] ick doctor, I retired to my tent with a very thoughtful 
 mntenance. Our conversation was carried on by the 
 h'P of Zagury as an interpreter. I really wished to ad- 
 rriiiister some relief to this good man, who was afflicted 
 ■a h such a painful disorder, and accordingly prepared 
 spie soap pills, which was the only medicine I had with 
 rx , and sent them to him, with directions how to take 
 i m. I also advised him to discontinue the use of oil ; 
 ftfrub his limbs frequently with flannel cloths, in order to 
 pbmote the circulation of the fluids ; to endeavour to 
 w lk every day with the assistance of two men, using his 
 k;s as much as possible, even if they did pain him, and 
 t<j bind them up in fine salt every night, while the heat 
 ehtinued : this, I fancied, might allay the fever. I also 
 Erected a drink to be made for him, by boiling the roots 
 c some particular herbs in water, and thus forming a 
 kid of decoction. Having explained the nature of his 
 dsorder to him, in the best manner I was able, which 
 tve him some encouragement, I retired to my tent. 
 
 I any of the Moors came and wanted me to prescribe 
 nnething for their various disorders, which I did ac- 
 cording to the best of my judgment, and the medicines I 
 lid within my power. Among the rest, was a poor old 
 ray-headed man ; he came near, and thrusting his head 
 ader the tent, cried out — Tibib, Tibib : (doctor, doctor:) 
 iy guard was going to drive him away, but I told him to 
 t him alone, that I might find out what ailed him, lor he 
 
 Kerned to be in great distress — -so I told Zagury to ask 
 im what his disorder was : this he made known without 
 eremony — he said, he had been a husband to three 
 fives ; that two of them, who had died, loved him ex- 
 eedingly ; that his present wife was very young, fat, and 
 andsome, and yet she was so cold, that notwithstanding 
 
 II his caresses, she could not return his love : his case 
 vas, indeed, a very plain one, but to prescribe a remedy 
 
344 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 needed some reflection — so the Jew told him to go av \ 
 and return in half an hour. When he returned, I 5 
 tended to sympathize with him in his afflictions, and 1 ; 
 commended that he should set her about no kind of wo 
 that he should entreat her kindly ; feed her on the c , 
 called shanah ; i. e. peas baked in an oven, and sw 
 ming in beef’s marrow, with a plenty of soft boiled e, 
 and rich spices in her coos- coo- soo, &c. &c. — that 
 should join with her in all her repasts, and chew opi i 
 himself, if he could procure any, and by no means » 
 lodge in the same room with her oftener than once in 1, 
 weeks. He promised very faithfully to obey my dir 
 tions, though he did not seem to relish the last item ' 
 advice ; but I assured him, with much affected gravi 
 that I had done my very best ; so he left me with a shot 
 of blessings for my kindness, after having bestowed t 
 dozen of fresh eggs on my Jew interpreter for his troub 
 The Moors who were the pupils of the saint, joined 
 prayer, and chanted over sacred poetry for about an hot 
 on account of his disorder, begging of God to heal th 
 benefactor, &c. 
 
 January the 6th, we started early in the morning, after 
 had taken leave of the good old man. We proceeded 1 
 our journey, descending the hills to the north about h; 
 an hour, when we saw one of the Moors who waited c' 
 the old man the night before, running after 11s, and halloi 
 ing very loudly to make us stop, which we did, andlj 
 soon came up, bringing Zagury’s gold watch, which! 
 had put under his head the night before on the groun 
 where our tent was pitched, and had left it through foi 
 getfulness and haste : this watch, together with an elegas 
 gold seal, chain, and trinkets, was worth at least thre 
 hundred dollars. The Moor generously refused' any com 
 pensation for his trouble, and I told Zagury it was well fo 
 him that the people where he left it were not Jews : to thi 
 he assented, and said that he believed that the saint vva: 
 the most honest man in the world. 
 
 After travelling about two hours in a northerly direction 
 we came near the ruins, or rather the walls of an old town 
 or fortress — it was situated on the left bank of the river 
 Tensift : the walls were built in a square form ; were 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 345 
 
 U ut one mile in circuit, and flanked with thirty small 
 
 0 ers, with embrazures, where cannon might have been 
 
 1 inted. A part of the southern wall had fallen down ; 
 as very thick, and within was nothing but a heap of 
 
 ;nes and ruins. On enquiry, I was told by my guard 
 i;j this town was built by the former Sultan, Sidi Mo- 
 aumed, in order to secure a passage across the river, 
 i n the people of the province of Abdah rebelled against 
 ill ; that it was well garrisoned and mounted with a great 
 lay cannon, and called el Ksebbah , or the strong lion- 
 kl fortress ; that it was dismantled by the present em- 
 siur, who took away the cannon ; and that the garrison, 
 i< all the inhabitants were destroyed a few years ago by 
 id plague, since which no soul has ventured to live in it. 
 > ? rode on, and crossed this stream, dignified by the 
 ue of river, but which, in fact, is no more in the dry 
 ajan than an American brook. The country, in its 
 iky, which is very wide, is rich and level ; is said to 
 overflowed in a rainy season, and was at this time cul- 
 led in many parts. W e went along its right bank, and 
 \ the site or ruins of what is called old Swearah, on its 
 ft bank, near its entrance into the sea: there are now 
 i! a few huts and four saint-houses to be seen ; all the. 
 hr parts of the town are buried in sand, blown from 
 esea-shore. The river, near its mouth, is both deep 
 it wide, and the soldier said, it was once a considerable 
 or, where vessels could enter, but its mouth is now en- 
 :iw dammed up with sand ; only leaving a small passage 
 r:he water, which runs off in a shallow stream to the 
 over a beach of two hundred yards in breadth, and 
 i igh that the tide cannot enter the river’s mouth. From 
 f banks of this river, we proceeded towards the sea- 
 ue, and descending the high steep bank, we entered 
 : ^een it and the first bank from the ocean, and travelled 
 .g a delightful inclined plane, about four miles in 
 • dth : the surface of this plane was covered with ver- 
 uL and flowers of all the variegated colours of the 
 libow, resembling in appearance the richest Turkey 
 net. 
 
 .bout the middle of the afternoon, we met a courier 
 fteen days from Tangier : having an inkhorn and paper 
 
 44 
 
346 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 with me, I wrote by him a few lines to m.y friend V ' 
 shire, and we proceeded along towards Saffy, pronour ; 
 by the natives S’fee. This inclined plane was the r * 
 beautiful that can be imagined ; speckled over with hi 1 
 of cattle and numerous flocks of sheep, which were qi t 
 ly grazing on its rich herbage. As it was the sixth | 
 of the week, and the Jews with me were obliged by t i 
 religion to stop the seventh, during their Sabbath, I i 
 a mind to pitch our tent on this delightful plane, and 
 the Sabbath of rest, by reposing on its downy bos 
 and inhaling its delicious fragrance ; but Zagury assi 
 me it was not safe to lodge there, and that he must e 
 S’fee in order to recruit his stock of provisions, for tl: 
 Jew could eat no kind of meat except it was killed I 
 priest of his nation. He was exceedingly superstiti ; 
 though educated in England, and we kept on tow i 
 Saffy. When in sight of the walls of that city, we c i 
 near a large saint-house, on a cliff near the sea’s brin ■ 
 here our soldier and muleteers made the Jews dismo i 
 and pass this house barefooted, though at half a m 1 
 distance from our path : he told me that the house i 
 built over the remains of a great saint ; that every j 
 who was not a Moslemin must walk past it barefoot 
 that people came to visit it from all quarters to be ci ( 
 of their diseases ; but, added he, as you are- a good m 
 and very weak, you may ride past, but must pay the s i 
 one dollar towards keeping his house in repair. I did ) 
 much relish this mode of giving away my money, and < 
 the soldier so ; but he replied, that no Christian musty 
 it without this tribute, and that it would be deman < 
 from him on his entrance into S’fee. I was convince i 
 was only a trick of his to extort money ; but there i 
 no getting off, and so I paid him the dollar, telling 1 
 at the same time 1 should set it down as a debt due to i 
 saint’s account, and presumed he would have no objec i 
 to repay me in another world : “ No, (said he,) that si 
 was very liberal in this world, and will, no doubt, ; 
 you both principal and interest in the other, and intercl 
 for your admission into paradise in the bargain he i 
 a shrewd fellow, and understood my feelings on the s ) 
 ject perfectly. 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 347 
 
 After the Jews had walked about a mile, they were 
 gain permitted to ride. We approached the city on its 
 utheast or fortress side : some ruins of its ancient walls 
 ere still visible, which proved it to have formerly been, 
 i least, four times larger than at present. It was near 
 ght, and we went round the fortress, which appeared to 
 1: very strong, and was defended by a double wall : it is 
 i uated on an eminence, which not only commands the 
 tasty that is attached to it below, but is also well situated 
 fir defending all the entrances into the town, and has a 
 viod number of cannon mounted on it : the whole ap- 
 jqpars extremely well calculated for defence, and I imagine 
 j must originally have been constructed by some eminent 
 juropean engineer. A small brook of water runs from 
 te east near the northern wall of the city. We entered 
 i at the eastern gate, and proceeded through a crowd of 
 Sectators to the house of Zagury’s Jew friend. The 
 hvs were obliged to dismount, and walk into the city, 
 lit they allowed me to ride. Having entered the court, 
 for the building was very spacious, but had very much 
 f caved, and was fast crumbling to the ground,) we as- 
 ended a broken staircase to the gallery of the first story, 
 ad were conducted to a small room that had been shut 
 T), apparently, for a long time : the unhinged door and 
 nattered window-shutter were, however, removed to ac- 
 ommodate our company, and I took a peep into the 
 oartment : it was about ten feet square, and nearly filled 
 ith filth of almost every description ; the whole ferment- 
 g in rancid argan oil, which far exceeded in scent the 
 post stinking fish or blubber oil. The effluvia arising 
 om this newly opened bed of nastiness entering my ol- 
 ctory nerves, was immediately transmitted to my stomach, 
 id brought on an instantaneous vomiting, which confin- 
 ed for about two hours without intermission, until my 
 omach was completely empty, and it threw up besides a 
 ansiderable quantity of fresh blood : this abominable 
 :ench caused a nausea even in the Jews’ stomachs ; how- 
 ver, as there was no other place to lodge in, and the 
 weather looked likely for rain, they cleared out this chain- 
 er, washed it with hot water, and fumigated it after- 
 wards with burning charcoal and brimstone : Zagury 
 
348 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 taking care to observe, by way of recommendation, i| 
 this house was built by a Christian, and that its occupa | 
 who were his father’s friends, were the most respect; i 
 Jews in S’fee. The house was, indeed, large, and | 
 been very commodious ; but its Jewish tenants, consists 
 of about twenty miserable dirty families, did not chc 
 to lend nor let to us a better apartment, and after refn 
 ing myself with a cup of strong tea, my stomach beet s 
 composed, and I went through, in the course of the e 
 ning, with their religious ceremonies, in company v 
 the Jews, as I have before described. 
 
 In Saffy the Jews live in company with, i. e. promis 
 ously among, the Moors in adjoining houses. On tl i 
 Sabbath, all the men belonging to the house went 
 the synagogues, and the women, in the mean time, de 
 ed themselves in their best attire ; they had already staii 
 the insides of their hands and lingers, between every jo 
 and their finger-nails, yellow ; had borrowed and put i 
 fine ear-rings and necklaces of pearl and amber, tj 
 golden chains, golden hearts, and other trinkets ; th 
 hung down upon their naked bosoms ; they wore bra 
 lets on their ankles and wrists, and had put on clean lin , 
 or rather, cotton chemises, which was to them a real li 
 ury. Their hair, which was long and black, was nev 
 braided, and greased over smoothly with argan oil : tl 
 had painted their eyes and eyebrows black, and the nr 
 of them wore slippers ; thus tricked up in all their finei 
 two of the most handsome and stylishly dressed damse 
 with a number of the second-rate, came round to that si 
 of die gallery where I sat quietly and alone, writing do\ 
 notes for my journal : they first expressed their wont 
 at my manner of writing from left to right ; then at t 
 letters I formed, &c. — and having, by this method, su 
 ceedecl in diverting my attention from what I was aboi 
 the two smartest looking girls, who were about sixte< 
 and eighteen years of age, with quite pretty faces, ai 
 richly dressed, invited me to go with them, and see the 
 father’s room : my curiosity prompted me to comply, ar 
 I suffered them to lead me along into their chamber, vvhe 
 their mother, a very fleshy middle aged woman, was sittir 
 a mattress ; and as they had no other seat, they invite 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 o4& 
 
 : ;j to sit down on the same bed beside her. After due 
 5 utations, the old lady left the room, shutting the door 
 ler her. The object of these sirens was to get money 
 fim me ; but finding I was able to withstand all their 
 t nptations, they at last permitted me to retire, but not 
 tfore they had tried every indelicate art and enticement, 
 a which they were complete mistresses, to effect their 
 prpose. After I had withdrawn from the room, I was 
 1 sown into all the other apartments on that floor, in sue- 
 ession, and their artifices were still played oft' to win me, 
 c rather my cash, until, at length, finding that all their 
 vies proved abortive, they next had recourse to begging 
 money, but I had none to spare them. 
 
 The Jews in Safly are very poor and miserable ; they 
 ■ re generally about half clothed, and that with filthy 
 r^s. Safly is a small place, and has no trade ; so that 
 " Jews are hard put to it, and are obliged to resort to 
 eery base expedient in order to gain a mere subsistence. 
 Icould not but pity their condition, and lament the de- 
 :avity to which they all seemed to be prone, though, per- 
 flps, oftentimes plunging into guilt from sheer necessity. 
 
 This day I went in company with my guard to view 
 tie town and port of S’fee : the town is small, and strong- 
 1 walled in on all sides : the walls, for the most part, are 
 lade of rough stone and lime, like those of Mogadore 
 ( Swearah, except that part next the sea, which is laid 
 ib with large hewn stone, and appears very strong : the 
 alls are flanked with four towers, besides the el Ksebbah „ 
 di which cannon are mounted, and a battery at the water- 
 >rt. The town lies very low, and is surrounded on all 
 ies by hills, and appears to be the resceptacle of all the 
 th of the country near it. Its streets are very narrow, 
 ooked, irregular, and not paved : the houses are built 
 ' rough stone and lime ; have few windows next the 
 reets ; are from one to three stories high, and flat roofed ; 
 ut, like the houses in the cities in Spain, have a court, 
 ie interior of which serves for a stable. The public 
 uilding.s are three mosques, with high square towers, 
 id a large hewn stone building, formerly occupied as a 
 ustom-house, but now uninhabited and falling to pieces, 
 "he Jews have also twelve small rooms, for the purpose 
 
350 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 of worshipping, which they call synagogues. The m i 
 her of inhabitants in Saffy is computed at twenty th 
 sand, that is, sixteen thousand Moors and four thous ( 
 Jews. The walls of the present town, including the f j» 
 ress, are about one mile in circumference. The inh; 
 tants of the city are supplied with good water, brough 
 kegs on asses from the brook that washes its north : 
 walls. All the cattle, sheep, See. that are owned in ; 
 feed near S’fee, are driven within the walls every nit , 
 and from its appearance, no dirt is ever carried out of : 
 city : the filth in the streets was in many parts two 1 i 
 deep at the least, so that it was quite impossible for me i 
 get along through the mire without being besmeared v i 
 it up to my knees. Passing along one street as well a 
 could pick my way, I lost both my shoes in the mud, 1 
 some Jew boys recovered them again ; for which servic 
 had to pay them half a dollar. 
 
 The bay of Saffy is formed by the projection of C; : 
 Cantin ; is very spacious, and well defended by that c: 
 from the common trade winds. Vessels visiting that pi; 
 are obliged to anchor very broad in the offing, and wh 
 the ground is said to be very foul : the landing-place 
 either on a sand beach, upon which the surf breaks w 
 considerable violence, or else in among some rocks, wh< 
 there was formerly a kind of basin, which is now neat 
 filled up with sand. There were about twenty fishi 
 boats on this beach, which were in a bad state of repa 
 The port of Saffy has been shut, by order of the Suita 
 for several years. A circular fort stands on a hill to t 
 north, and within half cannon shot of the town, and whit 
 completely commands it : it had been lately dismantle 
 and the cannon carried into the city, for fear it would 1 
 taken possession of by the field Moors and Arabs durii 
 the late rebellion. The land in the vicinity of this city 
 for the most part uncultivated. 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 351 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 > intimation of the journey — Description of Asbedre— 
 Of a flight of locusts— Of the destroying locust of Af- 
 rica — Mazagan , Azamore, Darlbeda , Fidallah — Arrival 
 at Rhabat ■ — Of Rhabat. 
 
 We left Saffy early on the morning of the 7th of Jan- 
 i ry, and found the country, as we proceeded northward, 
 iore open, but not much cultivated : the ground was 
 vered with flowers of different kinds, and every shrub 
 us also in full blossom, and seemed to vie in beauty with 
 i, neighbour, while their blended fragrance rising, with 
 te exhaling dews, and wafted along by a gentle land 
 l eeze, conveyed to the soul sensations of the most ex- 
 ciisite delight. We travelled along during this whole day 
 a uneven ground, frequently meeting large droves of 
 laded camels and mules, and passing many groups of 
 ;nts, some formed of woollen cloth, and pitched in the 
 : me manner as the Arab tents on the desert, and others 
 ith reeds; regaling ourselves occasionally with milk, 
 hich we found to be excellent, and in great abundance, 
 iid at night pitched our tent near one of those flying camps 
 hich are here called Douhars. 
 
 On the morning of the 8th, we started very early, and 
 ter riding about three hours, came to the walls of an old 
 ortuguese town and fortress, now called Asbedre, but in 
 ains and deserted. It is situated on the second bank 
 •om the sea, one hundred feet above a beautiful harbour 
 r small port and sound, formed by an opening through 
 he first bank, which resemble^ the entrance of a dock : 
 
 : appeared shallow, and one vf ssel only can enter at a 
 ime. This port seems to be capable of containing a vast 
 lumber of small vessels, where they might ride in perfect 
 afety in all seasons of the year : here is also, near the 
 ■vails of the ruin, a small Moorish settlement of badly 
 ouilt houses and tents. Passing this, we entered into one 
 of the richest valleys ever formed by nature : the face of 
 the earth here was smiling with cultivation, and speckled 
 over with flocks and herds ; here thousands of oxen, sheep, 
 
352 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 goats, and camels, horses and asses, were peaceably fei j. 
 ing in concert, while hundreds of the inhabitants w : 
 busied in tilling the rich soil, in sowing wheat and barl , 
 and cutting down, with a common sword, the weeds tj 
 grew where they had reaped their last crops, higher tl 
 their heads, and some of them more than an inch 
 thickness, in order to admit the plough. This valley i; 
 bounded on the west by a long sound or narrow arm , 
 the sea, in which the tide ebbs and flows many feet : 1 
 sea water enters it near Asbedre, and on its right : the v 
 ley is bounded by a hill of easy ascent : its mean breac 
 is about four miles, and its length about twenty mill 
 The valley contains hundreds of wells of excellent wat< 
 fitted with solid stone basins around their mouths, whi 
 were covered with large stones ; these serve to give drii 
 to their flocks, and to quench the thirst of the weary 1 
 bourer and traveller. Some of these wells were immens 
 ly deep, and a windlass was rigged to them to draw tl 
 water. 
 
 Near the middle of this valley we stopped to take o' 
 dinner : my mind was absorbed in contemplating tl 
 riches and beauties of bountiful nature, when I observe 
 something that appeared like a cloud of thick smoke risir 
 over the hill at the northeast, and with the wind approacl 
 ing us rapidly. I remarked’ to my Jew, that there mu 
 be a monstrous fire in that quarter ; no, said he, they ai 
 only locusts. In the mean time the flight was fast aj 
 proaching, and soon came within a short distance, an 
 directly towards us. Every labourer’s attention was in 
 stantly turned from his plough and other employment 
 the oxen were stopped, and every one stood aghast will 
 apprehension and dismay painted in strong colours on hi 
 anxious countenance, fearing his field was to become thi 
 prey of this devouring plague. The locusts began to de 
 scend, and alighted to the northward of us ; very fev 
 passing where we sat : we soon mounted and rode on, anc 
 as we proceeded we found the whole surface of the grounc 
 covered with them as thick as they could stand, and a! 
 busy in the work of destruction. As it was necessary foi 
 them to clear our road to avoid being crushed to death by 
 the trampling of our mules, those in and near the pat! 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO 
 
 353 
 
 )se as we passed along, filling the air around us like one 
 mtinutd' swarm of bees ; whilst thousands came in con- 
 ct with e r faces and bodies. In this situation, fearin 
 iy eyes ould be injured, I covered my face with 
 unsparent silk handkerchief, and pushed on my mule as 
 1st as I could ; we were about two hours in passing this 
 1st of destroyers, which when on the wing made a sound, 
 finely described in Holy Writ, “ like the rushing of 
 Irses into battle.” The space covered by this flight ex- 
 uded in length for about eight miles along the road and 
 t ree miles in breadth. After they had fairly alighted, the 
 Boors, each resuming his labour, left the locusts in the 
 f'l enjoyment of their repast, assuring us, that when 
 l y had filled themselves, which would be in the course 
 o! that day and the night, they would move off in a body 
 vpf the wind, probably one day’s march further, where 
 ;l!y would again repeat their ravages, leaving the remain- 
 1 ■ for other successive flights ; but which they hoped, by 
 1 blessing of God, would not destroy the whole of their 
 nps and all the herbage, as they had done some years 
 ;> bin the last seven, during which space they had con- 
 ipfed to lay waste the country. To see such fair pros- 
 afcts of crops thus blasted in a moment, would fill the 
 irjabitants of more refined countries with feelings of des- 
 4% and their fields would be left untilled ; while the 
 M)hammedan considers it either as a just chastisement 
 r m heaven for his own or his nation’s sins, or as directed 
 that fatality in which they all believe ; — thus when one 
 ap is destroyed, if of wheat, they sow the same ground 
 orr again with barley, or plant it with Indian corn or peas, 
 cas to have every possible chance for subsisting. These 
 ftabs, while at their labour, are entirely naked, except a 
 nail piece of woollen cloth about their loins — they 
 rke use of the same plough and harness as the people 
 iSuse, already described, but in this part of the country 
 by plough with a pair of oxen : — and here let me beg 
 b reader’s indulgence for a few moments, while 1 under- 
 ae to give him a description of that wonderful insect, 
 h destroying locust, that so often lays waste the fertile 
 >tns of Asia and the northern regions of Africa. 1 call 
 
 45 
 
 ^ crq 
 
354 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 him the destroying locust of Africa, because, as far 
 my memory serves me, he is first described in Holy W 
 as a destroyer in the land of Egypt. 
 
 DESCRIPTION. 
 
 The locust of Africa is a winged insect, which resei 
 bles both in size and appearance at the first view, t 
 largest sized grasshopper of America ; but on a close i 
 spection, differs from him very materially : the shape 
 his head and face is similar to that of a common shec 
 being crowned with two long and tapering protuberance 
 which turn backwards like the horns of a goat. He 1 
 attached to his muzzle a pair of smellers or feelers, by t 
 help of which he feels and gathers up the herbage abc 
 him, which he nips off, making a champing noise like 
 sheep when eating : he has four wings, and the hint 
 pair are quite transparent : he has six legs, with two cla 
 to each foot, which are divided something like the h( 
 of a sheep, but are more spread in proportion to th 
 size, and pointed: he is stout about the neck, breai 
 and body ; the hinder part of which is forked, and arrr ; 
 with a hard bony substance, by the help of which he c 
 make a hole in the ground. 
 
 The largest African locust is above three inches 
 length, and nearly one inch in diameter : he has the me 
 voracious appetite of any insect in the world, and devot 
 grass, grain, the leaves of trees, and every green thii 
 with indiscriminate and merciless avidity. They go foi 
 by bands or flights, and each flight is said to have a kit 
 which directs its movements with great regularity. L 
 custs can only fly when their wings are perfectly dry ; a. 
 when they rise they always fly oft' before the wind, a. 
 fill the air like an immense cloud of thick smoke : wifi 
 the leader alights upon the ground, all the flight folio t 
 his example as fast as possible. They are at times so n 
 merous, that they may be said to cover the whole face j 
 the country ; then they devour every spear of grass al 
 grain, even eating it into the ground, dislodging it ret 
 and branch, cutting off all the leaves from the shrubs a l 
 trees, and sometimes all the bark from tender trees ii * 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 355 
 
 /hole province, and that too. in a very short space of 
 me. 
 
 The present African locusts are of the same race of in- 
 lets that are mentioned in the Bible, as one of the plagues 
 int upon the land of Egypt, by the Almighty : they have 
 wavs been considered in the countries where they usually 
 ommit ravages as a scourge from heaven, and as a pun- 
 ihment for the sins of the people. The locust has been 
 escribed as being produced by some unknown physical 
 tuse, different from the ordinary mode of animal pro- 
 uction : this is a mistake : when I was in Mogadore, Mr. 
 Villshire told me that the locusts were produced by a 
 4ry well known and natural cause ; that the female, a 
 tie before the flights disappear for the season, thrusts her 
 inder parts into the surface of the ground up to her 
 ings, first having found a suitable spot of earth for that 
 prpose : here she forms a cell in shape like that made by 
 tie bee, but from one to three inches in depth, and one to 
 tl'o inches in diameter. Having made the sides of the 
 dl strong by means of a glutinous matter, which she has 
 lie power of producing, she deposits her eggs, which are 
 iackish, and so small as scarcely to be distinguishable 
 uth the naked eye : each cell is filled full, and contains 
 ;i immense number of eggs : she then seals it over care- 
 fjlly with the same kind of glutinous matter of which the 
 i side of the cell is formed, and covering it over with 
 :.rth, she leaves it to be hatched out by the heat of the 
 an in due time, which generally happens in the month of 
 inuary : the eggs in one cell alone produce a host of lo- 
 jists, amounting to near a million. I opened and ex- 
 mined several cells in and near a garden, two miles from 
 logadore, and w 7 as much surprised to see the eggs lie 
 lick together in one mass, like the spawn of fishes. I 
 iok up some of it on the tip of a sharp-pointed pen- 
 tife, and separating and counting the eggs, by means of 
 
 microscope, as accurately as possible, I enumerated 
 wen hundred and forty- one. Admitting that every egg 
 ould produce a locust, and that the number contained in 
 te small portion on the point of the penknife was the one 
 tousandth part of the whole mass, (which is a low esti- 
 tate,) it proves that a single locust could, produce in one 
 
356 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 season, even if she fills but one cell, upwards of half 
 million of her species. When the locust is hatched, j[ 
 crawls out of the earth a little worm, of a light brov 
 colour, and the whole cell of them are said to hat 
 about the same time. This host of worms creep foi 
 from the ground, and commence their march, all goi 
 one course, generally towards the north or west, devourij 
 every thing green that comes in their way, and leavi j 
 behind them a dismal scene of desolation. These repti 
 grow so rapidly, that within the space of one week tb 
 are prepared for their transformation, when they climb j 
 a stout spear of grass or a twig, attach their skin fast to 
 and by a sudden effort, burst the skin asunder at its he: 
 and come forth a four- winged insect, with six legs ; tb 
 remain a short time in the sun to dry themselves and th 
 wings before they attempt flying, which they comraer 
 by trying separately to fly a short distance at a time, s 
 continue fluttering and skipping like grasshoppers for t 
 or three days ; next they set off in a body on the wii 
 and fly from five miles to one hundred, without stoppii 
 just as the country seems to please their taste, and tl 
 then go on, as I have before described. 
 
 Dry warm seasons are favourable to the breeding 
 locusts, and a very wet cold one is sure to destroy thi 
 in the empire of Morocco until the flights come again fn 
 other parts. I do not know precisely the months 
 which the female locust makes her deposit of eggs, oi;f 
 that it is in the latter part of the summer, or first of p 
 fall months. The old locusts having done their share s 
 mischief, are either driven off by the winds into the s 
 or die a natural death ; thus making room for a new a 
 more hungry swarm. When all have disappeared in tl: 
 Moorish empire, a few flights are seen to come from i 
 borders of the desert, or from the coasts of Egypt, whi i 
 again lay waste the whole country, until they are in tb' 
 turn destroyed by frequent rains and cold damps, 
 strong gales from the land, which sweeps them intoi: 
 ocean. It is said at Mogadore, and believed bv 1 
 Moors, Christians, and Jews, that the Bereberies inbu ■ 
 iting the Atlas mountains, have the power to destr 
 every flight ' of locusts that comes from the south a ! 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 357 
 
 'oi the east, and thus ward off this dreadful scourge 
 ci all the countries north and west of this stupendous 
 ■ic;e, merely by building large fires on those parts of the 
 ce over which the locusts are known always to pass, 
 i in the season when they are likely to appear, which is 
 r . definite period, within a certain number of days, in 
 lost every year. The Atlas being high, and the peaks 
 o(?red with snow, these insects become chilled in passing 
 vr them, when seeing the fires, they are attracted by the 
 lie, and plunge into the flames. I do not know what 
 tree of credit ought to be attached to this opinion, but 
 . i certain that the Moorish Sultan used to pay a consid- 
 rnle sum of money yearly to certain inhabitants of the 
 c s of the Atlas in order to keep the locusts out of his 
 c unions. The Moors and Jews further affirm, that 
 ling the time in which the Sultan paid the aforesaid 
 erly stipend punctually, not a locust was to be seen in 
 ijdominions north and west of the Atlas, but that about 
 i: years ago the emperor refused to pay the stipulated 
 uu, because no locusts troubled his country, and he 
 jpght he had been imposed upon ; but it so happened 
 i the very same year the locusts again made their ap- 
 erance, and have continued to lay Avaste the country 
 vr since. 
 
 Locusts are esteemed very good food by the Moors, 
 Ubs, and Jews, in Barbary, who catch large numbers 
 if them in their season, and throw them, while jumping 
 lie, into a pan of boiling argan oil : here they hiss and 
 rj until their wings are burned off, and their bodies are 
 >t Hciently cooked, when they are poured out and eaten. 
 
 I ave seen many thousands cooked in this manner, and 
 re had the curiosity to taste them : they resemble in 
 insistence and flavour, the yolks of hard boiled hens’ 
 ;gs. After my arrival at Tangier, on conversing with 
 or Consul General, Mr. Simpson, respecting the locusts, 
 h confirmed the substance of what I had before heard 
 ad observed myself in Barbary concerning them. This 
 ryenous insect had actually caused a famine in that part 
 o the country, so that Mr. Simpson, and the other Chris- 
 tn Consuls at Tangier, were obliged to send to Gibral- 
 and buy American flour for the ordinary consumption 
 
358 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 of their families ; inferior American flour was then se i 
 at Tangier for fifteen dollars per barrel, although bill 
 the scarcity occasioned by the locusts, the finest Bar i 
 wheat used to be sold for one dollar and a half per be ; 
 
 Mr. Simpson further stated, that in tire year 18141 
 the best of my recollection as to the time,) being wit! 
 family at his house on Mount Washington, near ( 
 Spartel, and where the locusts covered the whole fad 
 the ground at night, when he arose the next morning 
 could not perceive a single one, and observed to his !| 
 that all the locusts which had remained with them i| 
 long time, and destroyed most of the herbage about '■ 
 country, had disappeared ; he wondered at first what i 
 become of them ; but after the fog in the strait was i 
 sipated, looking at a vessel through his glass, that’ 
 passing out, he observed that the whole surface ol 
 water was covered with something that appeared li 
 reddish scum, and on reflection, it struck him, than 
 locusts had attempted at night to migrate across the st t 
 into Spain, flying before the wind, which was fair, I 
 blowing from the southward; but that they were es 
 lost in the fog, or checked on their passage by coni] 
 winds, (which generally prevail at night, particular^ 
 the summer time,) in the middle of the strait ; and d 
 thus forced by fatigue and the humidity of the atmosph ■ 
 to settle upon the surface of the water, from whence I 
 could not rise, and were, consequently, all drowi 
 That two days afterwards, a vessel arrived at Tan 
 from Gibraltar, the captain of which confirmed his ( 
 jecture, by assuring him that vast numbers of dead 
 custs had been driven ashore on the rock of Gibraltar, 
 along the coast of Spain, from Algeciras to Tarijji 
 distance of nearly twenty miles, and that there were 
 greater numbers of their carcasses floating in the str; 
 near the Spanish shore. I was also informed, that sev 
 years ago, nearly all the locusts in the empire, wl 
 were at that time very numerous, and had laid waste 
 country, were carried oflf in one night, and drownei 
 the Atlantic ocean ; that their dead carcasses a few cl 
 afterwards were driven by winds and currents on sh( 
 all along the western coast extending from near C 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 359 
 
 prtel to beyond Mogadore, forming, in many places, 
 raense piles on the sand beach : that the stench arising 
 ci their remains was intolerable, and was supposed to 
 tap produced the plague which broke out about that 
 m in various parts of the Moorish do’minionsi I have 
 n, faithfully embodied what information I could obtain 
 a rding the locusts, from living authority, which I deem 
 icibitable, and to which I have added such facts and 
 itumstances as fell under my own observation, unas- 
 vd by books ; and I trust the whole will be found es- 
 ially correct. As I do not profess to be a naturalist, 
 jmnot be expected that I should undertake to give a 
 epription of his interior formation, &c. — but for a side 
 wv of this famous and formidable animal, see plate 
 9. To return to my Journal: 
 
 Leaving this beautiful valley, embellished and enriched 
 ymany thousands of fig and other fruit trees, as well as 
 my clumps of grape vines that seem to thrive exceed- 
 uy well, we ascended the hill on our right, and about 
 ac approached a douhar or encampment that was sur- 
 > tided by a stone wall : the chief of the douhar was not 
 / ing to let us enter within the walls, but our soldier 
 ilng him that I was the Sultan’s doctor, and must go 
 :'he reluctantly consented, telling my guard, however, 
 vi must take care of our baggage ourselves, as the whole 
 ffithe people in the douhar, both men and women, were 
 iliof the venereal disease. They offered us milk and 
 ffs, and asked my advice in regard to their disorder. 1 
 ca them, I had no medicine with me- — I, however, re- 
 jpmended a milk or light diet, and a drink to be made 
 31 steeping a certain root, having an affinity, in appear- 
 itle, to sarsaparilla, that is common in this part of the 
 cuntry ; and to let all drink plentifully of this decoction, 
 
 : ten weeks, not doubting but it would prove benefi- 
 e 1. We slept litre without molestation, started early on 
 tl: morning of the 9th, and passed, in the course of the 
 dy, many doutiars of tents in the open fields ; many or- 
 cards regularly planted, consisting of several hundred 
 f -trees, fenced in with stone walls very thick, and from 
 le to six feet in height : the land on both sides of the 
 ath was principally cultivated, Zagury had despatched 
 
360 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 our guide on to Azamore before us, to a Jew in 
 town, in order to engage him to prepare some provi: 
 against our arrival ; for they are so superstitious, that < 
 would not even eat bread that had been baked in any cj 
 but a Jew’s oven, and received the priest’s blessing ! 
 which, of course, he has his tithe. Proceeding forwarj 
 about ten, A. M. we saw at some distance on our 
 what David and Elio told me was the famous old totv 
 Mazagan : stopping here to take refreshment, a 1 
 
 number of Arab women came from some neighbou j 
 douhars, to stare at me and my dress : some of them ' 
 quite young, and Zagury began to rally them in a 
 coarse and rude manner, asking them if they loved Cl 
 tians, &c. upon which one very old woman said to 1 
 “ there is Mazagan ; (pointing towards the distant tov 
 when that place was taken from the Christians, I helpe 
 cut off one of their heads, and yet I love Christians b< 
 than the mean, cheating, infidel Jews.” Zagury, not 
 ishing this retort, dropped the conversation. 
 
 Riding on briskly, we arrived at Azamore abot 
 o’clock, P. M. On our approach, our Jews were obli 
 to dismount, and walk for about two miles to pass a sa 
 house, which the Moors hold in high veneration : this 
 the fiftieth saint-house 1 had seen since I left Swta 
 Azamore is a town strongly walled in : it lies on the 
 bank of the river Ormorbear, one league from its mou 
 it is built in the form of an irregular quadrangle, ant 
 about one mile in circumference : the river washes 
 eastern wall, while the other sides are defended by a di 
 ditch. We did not enter it, but from its appearance, 
 is an old-fashioned Portuguese town, badly built, ; 
 within and about the walls, very dirty. This stream \ 
 the only one 1 had yet passed on this continent, that 
 served the name of river : it has a dangerous bar at 
 mouth, which is said to be navigable only for vessi 
 drawing six feet water at high tides and in smooth weatht; 
 these may come alongside the walls ol Azamore, wll 
 there is a very neat water-port for the reception of th 
 cargoes, but it has now no external commerce whateve : 
 there are, however, some large manufactories of Moroc ) 
 leather, and coarse earthen ware, in the suburbs outsi: 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 361 
 
 n walls. We passed this river, which is here about two 
 aidred yards wide, in a good boat, built after the Span- 
 sj manner, large and well managed by expert hands. 
 
 found here a good shad fishery : there were ten large 
 les, and about one hundred and fifty stout Moors em- 
 >1 yed in this business at that time, and in the proper 
 eson, which is from the first of January to April : they 
 each large quantities of shad, which are much esteemed 
 a his country, and are sold at the landing for about six 
 cts apiece: they are carried from hence to Fez, Me- 
 jtnez, Morocco, Mogadore, and all the adjoining coun- 
 r We remained on the bank of this river until dark, 
 ting for our provisions, which came at last, and we 
 >i:hed our tent under three date trees, about one mile 
 r n the bank. We had bought some shad, which, when 
 anted, afforded us an excellent supper, as they were 
 ey fat and delicious. 
 
 3n the 10th, at two o’clock in the morning, we started 
 r< n this place, and owing to the darkness, lost our path, 
 ri wandered about for two hours before it was found : 
 v rode all the day through a fine even country, passing 
 any douhars, and travelling as usual ; and at night pitch- 
 tour tent in the midst of one of the douhars, which I 
 111 here describe, (having made mention of them fre- 
 ipntly before,) and this description will answer for the 
 vole of them, with little variation. On our approach to 
 whin fifty yards, we halted, and were soon met by the 
 lief, for they all have one head man, whom they honour 
 ) the title of Sheick : he welcomed us in very handsome 
 ams ; invited us to advance ; pointed out a place which 
 vs the safest within the douhar for our tent ; and fur- 
 c hed us with milk and eggs gratis, while the Moors 
 tlit accompanied us were plentifully regaled with bread, 
 
 ' ter, and coos-coo-soo. This douhar was composed of 
 oe hundred and fifty-four tents, pitched in the form of a 
 llow square ; the tents being placed about fifty yards 
 art ; an equal number occupying each side, and at equal 
 (stances — all made of very coarse strong woollen cloth, 
 
 < the same colour, and set up in the same manner as 
 nse on the desert, and all facing inward. Before each 
 tat, and at a very short distance from it, all the camels. 
 
 46 
 
f 
 
 362 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 cattle, goats, and asses, are made to lie down, where !; 
 are taught to remain until they are roused up to be ini ; 
 in the morning, when the shepherds or herdsmen c y 
 them out into the open country to feed, and return it 
 them again at night-fall. They milk the mares, can < 
 cows, asses, goats, and sheep ; and in order to effect 
 with the two last mentioned animals, which are very ta e 
 they divide the sheep and goats into two rows, facing e 
 other ; as soon as they approach so as to interlock t i 
 necks, they are caught by two ropes which are re 
 strung for the purpose, and by this means they are!) 
 close together, while the women and girls go behind t 
 milk them between their hind legs ; the lambs having |fc 
 previously tied or secured in a similar way. A good A 
 will yield a pint of milk in a morning, and a goat me 
 sheep’s milk is reckoned the richest by the natives, bi ' 
 preferred that of the goat or the camel to any of the oth i 
 though asses’ and mare’s milk is very rich and go 
 They make butter by putting the new milk into a g< 
 skin, the hair on the inside ; the butter is of cours : 
 little hairy, but they can pick it clean with their fingA 
 and they generally have white-haired goat-skins for chui , 
 The Arabs who inhabit exclusively these douhars, are i 
 tremely hospitable, and not only furnish the traveller \u 
 the best they have to eat and drink, but also set a wa 
 over his tent and baggage, which they strictly take c 
 of : the Sheieks themselves are responsible for every ai 
 cle that may be missing in the morning, and which if i 
 immediately found, they pay the stranger his own price 
 it in money without hesitation. Thus the Moorish a 
 Arab travellers can pass from one end of the empire to t 
 other without expense, and at their leisure, and trans: 
 their commercial business in a cheap way, only buyi 
 the barley for their beasts which carry their burdens wh 
 they travel on mules or horses, being obliged to feed the 
 on barley and straw ; but when they use camels, which 
 by far the most common method, these hardy beasts li 
 on the herbage and shrubbery which they nip passii 
 along the road, taking a bite now and then as they co: 
 tinue walking, and as soon as they stop, their two fo 
 legs are tied within a foot of each other, and they a 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 36S 
 
 med out to feed. Without this precaution, the camel 
 : such a wandering creature, not unlike his Arab master 
 ii that respect, that be the herbage ever so good and 
 p ntiful where he is turned out, he is continually restless, 
 ii keeps moving on, so that in the course of an hour or 
 ; o he will stray many miles from the place where he was 
 a;t turned loose. 
 
 On the 11th, at daybreak, we left this douhar, and 
 a^ceeded over a smooth beautiful plain, every where 
 Aered with fields of grain or grass and flowering shrubs, 
 with numerous herds of cattle, camels, asses, and flocks 
 j sheep and goats; while the .road, or rather foot-path, 
 'Jr such they all are in this country,) was covered with 
 ded camels travelling each way to and from Darlbeda, 
 1 at about 8 o’clock, A. M. we reached that city. Dari- 
 b|da is a walled town of about two miles in circumfer- 
 epe, situated at the bottom of a broad bay ; its port is 
 tcerably good for landing cargoes, although the bay where 
 VBsels lie is very rocky, and can only be approached with 
 32 ‘ety in the summer months and in mild weather. Large 
 qlantities of wheat were formerly shipped at this port for 
 bain and Portugal. 1 peeped into it for a few minutes ; 
 tis much on the decay ; the houses, which are built 
 efiefly of stone and clay, as well as the walls, are falling 
 it'wn in every direction, and even the gateway is iju a tot* 
 t<ing condition : it is a very dirty place : the houses are 
 flm one to three stories high, and the street? very nar- 
 rw there still remains an open aopueduct, that used to 
 cjnvey water for a distance of several miles into this town ; 
 is in good repair, being built of stone and lime ; the 
 \:iter runs in it to within two hundred yards of the wall, 
 •here it has been cut off for the convenience of roads : 
 tlis the destructive hands of the Moors are employed in 
 1 irring and spoiling even their own town, which mu St 
 •on become no better than a heap of ruins. 
 
 i We passed Darlbeda, and came to Afldallah, a town 
 ilt by Sidi Mohammed : this town is enclosed by a tol- 
 able mud and stone wall, and is situated about one mile 
 bm the sea. The whole coast from Darlbeda to far be- 
 >nd Afldallah, is lined with huge heaps of beach sand 
 
364 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 hove up by the almost constant trade winds, blowing j 
 rect on shore. 
 
 Afidallah stands on a beautiful plain : it was built » 
 the purpose of receiving and storing the large quanti : 
 of wheat and barley that usually grew near its site ; | 
 its harbour, only one mile distant from it, is sheltered j 
 a long and narrow island, within which vessels of a sr I 
 size can anchor, and be tolerably safe. This is said, | 
 Mohammed, one of our muleteers, and an old sailor, ) 
 be by far the safest open harbour in the empire during s 
 winter months ; but the landing is bad, and can only 
 effected in light winds and good weather. Large qua 
 ties of wheat, barley, big acorns, fruit, &c. were ship 
 from Afidallah during the reign of Sidi Mohammed, ] 
 a part of the present reign ; but Muley Soliman, : 
 present Sultan, has of late become so bigoted, that : 
 thinks, or pretends it is a sin for his subjects to trade \b 
 •the Christians ; he has, therefore, forbid the exportat i 
 of almost all the articles of commerce, and rendered, 
 this means, his people poor; ruined most of his tow, 
 and involved himself in many broils with his subjei, 
 while he is straining every nerve to take away the li 
 remains of their property, in contributions and prese , 
 extorted from them by rapacious officers appointed for : 
 purpose. The goods for shipping were carried from A 
 dallah on camels, across the sand hills that shelter the to i 
 from the violent sea-gales. This place is about six ht 
 dred yards square, flanked by four square forts joined 
 each corner, and so constructed as to be able to rake f 
 whole length of the wall on the outside, with cannon a 
 musketry. 
 
 We passed on, and pitched our tent at night witl 
 the walls of an old town called Sebilah ; there is 
 house standing in it, except a part of a large mosque, a 
 a tall well-built tower, though it was once a consideral 
 place. Within these walls, in one corner, was a lar 
 garden, well stocked with vegetables, and about a hu 
 dred tents were pitched, as if in the open field ; so ’ 
 pitched our tent near the walls of the mosque. The 
 were several women here that wanted medicines, a 
 though I had none to give them, yet my mere advit 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 365 
 
 midi was thought important, procured milk and eggs 
 i ficient for our suppers. Soon after sunset, all the flocks 
 ul cattle belonging to the inhabitants were driven within 
 1 walls, and disposed of as in the common douhars, 
 a en the stout gate was shut and strongly barred. Many 
 rvellers arrived in the evening, and wished to enter, but 
 and no admittance, and they took up their lodgings 
 Djtside of the walls. 
 
 January the 12th, at daylight, our soldier had the gate 
 jlened, and we went forward : there were outside of the 
 gjte several large droves of camels with their owners, 
 tiich had put up there in the night — they were princi- 
 j ly loaded with sacks of salt or barley, and going to- 
 . rds Rhabat. We rode on fast, and passed three con- 
 verable streams, which the Moors call rivers, and say 
 i y are not fordable in the rainy season ; but we got over 
 'thout difficulty, being then only brooks : the country 
 ivs level and well cultivated, and we passed innumerable 
 dpves of light and loaded camels, mules, and asses. 
 
 At about eight o’clock, A. M. we saw a high tower east 
 : us, which stands at the head of the aqueduct that con- 
 • vs water to Rhabat ; and at about three, P. M. we came 
 t the outer wall of that city, which stands half a mile 
 fj>m the main wall, and encloses a great number of fine 
 erdens of fruit and vegetables, besides some wheat fields : 
 ijextends from the palace (which is spacious, and situ- 
 ed on the left upon the bank of the sea between the 
 iter and main walls) round to the river eastward of the 
 ty : here the Jews were obliged to dismount before they 
 >ulcl enter the town, and there I left them, and proceeded 
 ith my guard, followed by my muleteer into the city, 
 iy friend Mr. Willshire, had given me an introductory 
 tter to Mr. Abouderham, the English Vice Consul at 
 habat, and we proceeded directly to his house, which is 
 tuatecl in the principal town. On my arrival, I was re- 
 vived by that gentleman with every mark of politeness 
 id respect I could wish : he furnished me with a room 
 id every thing I needed for my comfort. The next day 
 ;eing the Jews’ Sabbath, I had time to visit different 
 arts of the city, and the Jews’ town, or Millah. 
 
 Rhabat is situated at the mouth of the river Beregreb — 
 
366 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 on its left bank, within a mile of the sea ; it is defen • 
 on the south by a double wall and some batteries of i 
 non ; on the west, facing the sea, by a very strong < 
 tress, and along the river on the north, by very high 
 steep cliffs, a wall, and a number of strong batteries, 
 should compute the circumference of the outer walls at 
 miles, but the inner one not more than three. 
 
 The city is situated on uneven ground ; is very ' 
 built for a Moorish town, though the streets are narr 
 crooked and dirty ; yet the houses in general are in g 
 repair, and two stories high, built of stone and lime mj 
 tar, and flat roofed, with an inner court ; a few wiod< 
 next the streets, which are only air holes, and secu 
 with wooden shutters and grates, without glass. Th : 
 are in this city ten mosques of different heights and shapi : 
 it is the largest sea-port town in the Moorish dominio, 
 though at present the bar at the river’s mouths is 
 heaped up with sand, as only to admit of vessels drawi 
 six feet water, and yet the tide rises within it about 
 feet, and runs very rapidly. The Millah, or Jews’ tov 
 is walled in separately, to prevent the Jews from mixir 
 with and defiling the Moors, and that they may me 
 easily be kept in subjection with the aid of the bastinac 
 This Millah has been built only about six years ; has i> 
 one gate, which is guarded and kept by Moors ; and th< 
 are some very good houses in it. It is said to conta 
 eight thousand Jews, who are (for the most part) ve 
 poor, miserable,' and depraved, and live in the most d 
 graded condition: they worship in twelve rooms calf 
 synagogues, and I was told that nearly one half of tl 
 male inhabitants were priests. 
 
 Rnabat is very well peopled : the whole number of : 
 inhabitants is computed by Mr. Abouderham to exce< 
 sixty thousand. Many of the Moors here are rich, ai 
 live in great luxury, keeping large seraglios of womc 
 and having beautiful gardens. Vast quantities of baick 
 and other woollen and cotton cloths, are here fabricate! 
 and great quantities of sole and Morocco leather, an 
 coarse earthen ware, such as pots, bowls, jars, &c- ar 
 also manufactured in this city. It carries on a brisk inlan 
 trade, and the Moorish inhabitants seem to be more ciy. 
 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO* 
 
 367 
 
 isd than in any other town I passed through. Here is 
 I principal navy-yard of the emperor, where his ships 
 ti, built ; for the Moors have none for commerce. Here 
 vs one new frigate lying by the walls, partly fitted ; she 
 neared to be about five hundred tons burden ; was 
 nrced for 32 guns, and the Moors said she would be 
 rejdy to go round to Laresch, where their ships of war 
 r fitted out, in two or three months : to get them over 
 h bar at the mouth of the river, they are obliged to go 
 >i perfectly light ; to buoy them up as much as possi- 
 »ii, and lay them sideways on the bar, at high tide, and 
 n mild weather, where they are steadied by means of 
 ties and anchors, until the yielding sand is washed 
 v.y, and they are forced over by the power of the ebb 
 ic, which runs like a mill-race, 
 lhabat is supplied with water by a considerable stream 
 into the city by means of an old fashioned aqueduct 
 ci the south, that is four or five leagues in length : the 
 ijeduct was either built or thoroughly repaired by the 
 k and liberal emperor Sidi Mohammed. I wished to 
 ii the town of Sallee, so famous in history for its pira~ 
 k on the ocean, situated on the other side of the river, 
 i directly opposite Rhabat, but I was dissuaded from 
 ining the attempt, by Mr. Abouderham and my guide, 
 i» said that the whole people of Sallee still retained 
 »r ancient pride, prejudices, and natural ferocity : that 
 oChristian, or even a Barbary Jew in a Christian dress, 
 old enter their walls if he was ever so well guarded by 
 erial soldiers, without being in imminent danger of 
 )aig his life. Mr. Abouderham said he had visited it 
 v;e ; that it contained about forty thousand fierce and 
 Eighty Moors, and four thousand miserable Jews, 
 
368 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Description of a horrid show of two venomous serpent - 
 
 Sets out from Rhabat — Of Sallee , Marmora , Laresc . 
 
 Spanish Missionaries — Moorish Navy — Arrival at r l t 
 
 gier. 
 
 On Sunday, the 14th January, 1816, being anxiou i 
 get forward on my journey, I went into the Jews’ towi ( 
 make the necessary preparations ; for I intended to p 
 ceed without my Jew’s company, whom I had found |i 
 to be deceitful and dishonest, having already manoeuvc 
 me out of most of my money. The soldier and mule i 
 went along with me : this muleteer, as I before obseri I 
 had been a sailor ; had visited Spain and Portugal, j 
 spoke the Spanish language so that I could understi 
 him ; his name was Mohammed. Soon after our enteS 
 into the Millah, we saw a concourse of people, consis } 
 of Moors and Jews, crowding about one of the sin ■ 
 storied houses, which stood alone. Going near it, I , 
 quired the cause of this assemblage, and was inforr ; 
 that a couple of that kind of Moors, called serpent eat i 
 were about to amuse the Moors and Jews with a sigh ) 
 two of the most venomous serpents on earth ; toget; 
 with their manner of attacking the human species: ; ! jt 
 that each one who chose to see the exhibition through j< 
 windows, (for it was to take place in that room,) must ; 
 half a dollar. Being desirous of having a look, I offec 
 a dollar for a station at a window ; but all the winch : 
 were already occupied, and the places paid for. 1 
 guard, observing my disappointment, asked me i 
 wished for a birth ? which 1 answered by putting two d • 
 lars into his hand : whereupon he called out to the Je s 
 at one of the windows to clear a place for elTibib del Suit' 
 (The Sultan’s doctor.) Those, however, who had p: 
 their money, not liking to lose their places, were unwill l 
 to move : upon which my guard brushed them away v t 
 his big cane without ceremony ; giving me a whole w 
 dow to myself, saying he would keep guard ; and I look J 
 into the room without interruption : it was about tvve:f 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 365 
 
 visit long, and fifteen feet broad, paved with tiles, and 
 ilstered within. The windows had also been secured by 
 i additional grating made of wire, in such a manner as 
 tcbender it impossible for the serpents to escape from the 
 cm : it had but one door, and that had a hole cut through 
 t,jsix or eight inches square ; this hole was also secured 
 }x grating. In the room stood two men who appeared 
 me Arabs, with long bushy hair and beards ; and I 
 /; told they were a particular race of men that could 
 rm serpents. A wooden box, about four feet long 
 n two feet wide, was placed near the door, with a string 
 usned to a slide at one end of it : this string went 
 < 'Ugh a hole in the door. The two serpent- eaters were 
 r .sed in haicks only, and those very small ones. After 
 ic had gone through with their religious ceremonies 
 net devoutly, they appeared to take an eternal farewell 
 ach other : this done, one of them retired from the 
 jcjti, and shut the door tight after him. The Arab 
 n in seemed to be in dreadful distress : I could observe 
 sieart throb and his bosom heave most violently ; and 
 ried out very loudly, “ Allah houakibar 1” three times, 
 1th is, as 1 understood it, “ God have mercy upon 
 te” The Arab was at the farthest end of the room : 
 jiat instant the cage was opened, and a serpent crept 
 a slowly ; he was about four feet long, and eight inches 
 circumference; his colours were the most beautiful in 
 lire, being bright, and variegated with deep yellow, a 
 ole, a cream colour, black and brown spotted, &c„ 
 >oon as he saw the Arab in the room, his eyes, which 
 e; small and green, kindled as with fire : he erected 
 i self in a second, his head two feet high, and darting 
 ihe defenceless Arab, seized him between the folds of 
 laick, just above his right hip bone, hissing most hor- 
 br: the Arab gave a horrid shriek, when another ser- 
 : came out of the cage. This last was black, very 
 ring, and appeared to be seven or eight feet long, but 
 rmore than tw r o inches in diameter : as soon as he had 
 tred the cage, he cast his red fiery eyes on his intended 
 c m, thrust out his forked tongue, threw himself into 
 mnd coil, erected his head, which was in the centre of 
 a coil, three feet from the floor, flattening out the skin. 
 
 47 
 
370 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 above his head and eyes in the form and nearly of the « < 
 of a human heart ; and, springing like lightning on < 
 Arab, struck its fangs into his neck, , near the jugij 
 vein, while his tail and body flew round his neck c 
 arms in two or three folds. The Arab set up the n j 
 hideous and piteous yelling, foamed and frothed at 
 mouth, grasping the folds of the serpent, which w< 
 round his arms, with his right hand, and seemed to b : 
 the greatest agony — striving to tear the reptile from aro j( 
 his neck, while with his left he seized hold of it near 
 head, but could not break its hold : by this time, the o 
 had twined itself around his legs, and kept biting 
 around the other parts of his body, making appare 
 deep incisions : the blood, issuing from every woi : 
 both in his neck and body, streamed all over his h; 
 and skin. My blood was chilled in my veins with hoi 
 at this sight, and it was with difficulty my legs would ;i 
 port my frame. Notwithstanding the Arab’s greatest ; 
 ertions to tear away the serpents with his hands, i 
 twined themselves still tighter, stopped his breath, ant! 
 fell to the floor, where he continued for a moment, 
 in the most inconceivable agony, rolling over, and co i 
 ing every part of his body with his own blood and fi! 
 until he ceased to move, and appeared to have expif 
 In his last struggle he had wounded the black serpent t 
 his teeth, as it was striving, as it were, to force its li 
 into his mouth ; which wound seemed to increase its r it 
 At this instant, I heard the shrill sound of a whistle ; i 
 looking towards the door, saw the other Arab applyir 
 call to his mouth : the serpents listened to the mu f 
 their Jury seemed to forsake them by degrees; they ■ 
 engaged the mselves leisurely from the apparently lift f 
 carcass ; and creeping towards the cage, they soon enti t 
 it, and were immediately fastened in. The door of 
 apartment was now opened, and he without ran to a: 
 his companion : lie had a phial of blackish liquor in 
 hand, and an iron chisel in the other : finding the teet 
 his companion set, he thrust in the chisel, pried tl 
 open, and then poured a little of the liquor into 
 mouth ; and holding the lips together, applied his me 
 to the dead man’s nose, and filled his lungs with air :1 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 O / i 
 
 xt anointed his numerous wounds with a little of the 
 5,-ne liquid ; and yet no sign of life appeared. I thought 
 h was dead in earnest ; his neck and veins were exceed- 
 ig]y swollen ; when his comrade, taking up the lifeless 
 ti'.nk in his arms, brought it out into the open air, and 
 ntinued the operation of blowing for several minutes, 
 biore a sign of life appeared : at length he gasped, and 
 aer a time recovered so far as to be able to speak. The 
 s ellings on his neck, body, and legs, gradually subsided, 
 they continued washing the wounds with clear cold 
 v.ter, and a sponge, and applying the black liquor occa- 
 -iinallv : a clean haick was wrapped about him, but his 
 sjength seemed so far exhausted, that he could not sup- 
 rt himself standing; so his comrade laid him on the 
 ound by a Avail, where he sunk into a sleep. This 
 ehibition lasted for about a quarter of an hour from the 
 the the serpents Avere let loose, until they Avere called 
 and it Avas more than an hour from that time before 
 h could speak. I thought that I could discover that the 
 I isonous kings had been pulled out of these formidable 
 ■pents’ jaws, and mentioned that circumstance to the 
 smvman, Avho said that they had indeed been extracted ; 
 ad Avhen I wished to know how swellings on his neck 
 id other parts could be assumed, he assured me, that 
 t augh their deadly fangs were out, yet that the poisonous 
 c.ality of their breath and spittle would cause the death 
 c those they attack : that after a bite from either of these 
 srpents, no man could exist longer than fifteen minutes, 
 ; d that there was no remedy for any but those Avho were 
 . dowed by the Almighty Avith power to charm and to 
 lanage them, and that he and his associate were of that 
 woured number. The Moors and Arabs call the thick 
 ; d beautiful serpent El Ejfah , and the long black and 
 hart-headed one El Buschkah. I afterwards saw en- 
 ;avings of. these two serpents in Jackson's Morocco , 
 'hich are very correct resemblances : they are said to be 
 ry numerous on and about the south foot of the Atlas 
 ountains, and border of the desert, where these were 
 ught when young, and where they often attack and de- 
 :roy both men and beasts. The Effah’s bite is said to be 
 ; curable, and its poison so subtile as to cause a man’s 
 
372 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 death in fifteen minutes. When I saw the Effah, it brou i 
 to my mind the story of the fiery serpents that bit ; 
 children of Israel in the deserts of Arabia, near Mo i 
 Hor, as recorded in the 21st chapter of the Book of Nu . 
 bers ; merely because the Effah resembled in appeara t 
 a brazen serpent ; the two serpent-eaters said they cal 
 from Egypt about three years ago. 
 
 This exhibition of serpents, (the first, I was told, I 
 the kind that had ever taken place at Rhabat,) and <: 
 preparations, detained us the whole day ; however, I ! 1 
 made all the necessary arrangements, got the tent, pj. 
 visions, &c. in order to be ready for a start the next me ■ 
 ing, and on January the 15th, very early, I took ■ 
 leave of Mr. Abouderham, who, though a Jew, was in. 
 ertheless a man of feeling, and much of a gentleman : j 
 is a native of Leghorn, had received a good education, ;| 
 spoke the French language fluently. 
 
 We crossed the river, which is here about half a nil 
 wide, and proceeded towards the walls of Sallee : 
 river has entirely left the Sallee side, which is now fil 
 up with sand and mud, leaving the town nearly a n : 
 from the water : there were still to be seen some remc 
 of its ancient docks, and wrecks of vessels. I looked 1 
 tentively at Sallee, in passing its walls, which are h i 
 and strong, built of stone, and well cemented ; they If 
 been repaired lately, and are flanked by many circi 1 
 and square towers, on which about two hundred pieil 
 of cannon are still mounted, of all calibers ; and it jjl 
 peared that it must have formerly been mounted w 
 several hundred pieces more. Near its walls, on the et 
 north, and west sides, are beautiful gardens that app< 
 to be extremely fertile, well laid out, and cultivate 
 great numbers of orange, lemon and sweet lemon tre 
 were bending under their loads of rich yellow fruit : hi 
 dreds of fig, pomegranate, almond, and other fruit-tre 
 were now leafless, but budding forth, and thus promisi 
 abundance in their season. Many of the gardens are 
 great extent, and planted with the cotton-tree, which 
 small, and produces cotton inferior to the American, call 
 Georgia Upland, and only in small quantities. 
 
 As we proceeded on our road, we came to the aqt 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 373 
 
 aft which supplies Sallee with fresh water : this aque- 
 it serves as an outer wall to the city on the north ; it 
 s fearly a mile from it, and about thirty feet high where 
 classed through it : here are three large arches resem- 
 ig gateways, and marks are still to be seen, where gates 
 eb once hung : the wall is eight or ten feet in thick- 
 £:, and the aqueduct appears to be about four miles in 
 nth. The canal for conducting the water is near the 
 j but uncovered ; this aqueduct is said to have been 
 u|it by the Romans ; it is formed of large hewn stones, 
 i is extremely solid. 
 
 Ve travelled on through a fine champaign country, 
 tjy where cultivated, until two, P. M. when we saw on 
 i left, and passed a lake of fresh water, about two 
 i s in length, and half a mile in breadth : this was the 
 . lake, or indeed pond, I had ever seen in this country ; 
 Kjsoon afterwards we arrived on the bank of the river 
 tyiah. On the left bank of this river, near its mouth, 
 ads, though mostly in ruins, the ancient Portuguese 
 wn and fortress of Mamora ; the fortress is situated on 
 Ugh hill that overlooks the surrounding country, com- 
 x ds the ruins of the town, and is now garrisoned by 
 iut three hundred black troops. The town was built 
 de along the brink of the river, and its northern wall 
 's washed by every tide ; and though very old, has not 
 ©sustained much injury. The river enters the sea over 
 hr in a N. W. direction : the lower wall has an excel- 
 ] circular battery, built of large hewn stone, and was 
 ajulated for mounting thirty heavy guns for the defence 
 fhe harbour; though now dismantled. This town 
 /;l is about half a mile in length along the river, and the 
 .us two hundred yards in breadth ; the place was once 
 r ty strongly walled in on the land side, but this wall is 
 w in ruins : not a soul inhabits this town at present, 
 ife some of my former opinions were confirmed ; for it 
 s ertain that the sea has receded from this coast : the evi- 
 kt marks of the water high on this wall, and on the 
 -ait of land near which the town stands, that must from 
 pearance have been worn in by the dashing of the sea, 
 c ether with the situation of the present bar, prove to an 
 Vlierver, without any possibility of doubt, that the ocean 
 
374 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 has receded since this place was built, for more thill 
 mile distance, and that its perpendicular height has \ 
 creased at least fifteen feet since that period. I do ; 
 pretend to account for this fact, but leave it to be ; 
 plained by philosophers. 
 
 We were to cross this river in a good boat that i 
 over fifteen camels with their loads at a trip ; but t • 
 were on the bank, waiting for their turns to cross, at 1 ■ 
 five hundred loaded camels, besides mules and at ; 
 chiefly with burdens of wheat and barley, going 01 
 Tangier and Tetuan, 'where all kinds of bread-stuffs \ 
 said to be very scarce and dear. I told my soldier i 
 it was necessary to inform the boatman that as I was jj| 
 emperor’s surgeon, and himself an Alcayd, that we c< 
 not wait, but must pass over immediately, for the v 
 blew fresh from the S. W. and they had but one L 
 which could not make above six trips in a day ; an i 
 would not be our turn, from the then appearances, in , 
 than a week : this, with an .offer of two dollars to i 
 boatman, had the desired effect, and we were ferried < 
 with the second boat-load, though not without muefi 
 position and dispute between my guard and those 
 were waiting before us, and which was only settled by i 
 interference of the black garrison ; for my guide had 
 address to persuade them that he was indeed an AlcJ 
 and I the Sultan’s doctor. After crossing the river, < 
 mounted the sand hills, and at 10, P. M. pitched our i 
 in the midst of a douhar, where we got some milk I 
 eggs for our money. 
 
 Tuesday, the 16th, we started very early : it had rai : 
 very hard with heavy squalls of wind most part of 
 preceding night, but my tent, being sound, kept oft' i 
 storm : it was now clear and serene ; nearly the vvl i 
 face of the ground was covered with violet and p 
 coloured flowers, not more than an inch or two in heit 
 which seemed to have sprung up during the night, anc 
 the sun exhaled the dews from around them, the fresh 
 of the morning was filled with the most delightful 1 
 grance.' The country on our right was a low morass, pas 
 covered with water, which soon grew into a lake of c 
 siderable breadth. W e travelled, during the whole d 
 
TRAVFXS IN MOROCCO- 
 
 375 
 
 eg its left margin : its surface was spotted over with 
 mmerable wild ducks and other aquatic birds, which 
 ) e of the inhabitants were shooting at. In lieu of boats 
 k use a kind of catamaran , which is made by lashing 
 ue small palm tree logs together by means of cords 
 nale of the bark of this useful tree ; they have a crotched 
 i c set up near one end of their float for a rest to their 
 u's, and instead of oars, use long poles to force it along : 
 
 I n the gunner gets on his raft, he leaves his haick be- 
 lli him for fear of wetting it, and shoves out entirety 
 sued : their guns are very long and clumsy, with Moor- 
 1 locks ; so that mode of fowling supplies them witlr 
 i little game, though the lake is nearly covered with it. 
 ffe sight of this catamaran brought to my mind those 
 t ie use of in the Atlantic ocean along the coast of Bra- 
 i and in some other parts of the world : the fishermen 
 r those coasts form a raft by laying three rough logs 
 ngside of one another, thirty feet in length, and pin- 
 tig them together with wooden tree nails; they then 
 >lbe two more logs partly on the upper side of the exte- 
 k logs, and pin them on fast ; sharpen the two ends of 
 1 the logs, and the float is finished. To make it man- 
 gable, they raise a four-legged bench , in it, near the 
 /Are, which serves to steady a mast, on which they hoist 
 >houlder-of-mutton sail, and go out to sea. 1 have 
 ;qn them twentv leagues from land. These boats are 
 vfectly safe, for they can neither leak, upset, nor foun- 
 f , and sail remarkably fast; and are steered with a stout 
 ); . 
 
 There are several islands in this lake, on one of which 
 ire is a very spacious sanctuary, many fruit-trees, and 
 sferal apparently good gardens. Since leaving Darlbeda, 
 V: had seen no high land, only moderate acclivities, no 
 rare than to make it agreeable to the cultivator. This 
 aernoon we discovered the ridge of mountains which lie 
 ! hind Fez and Miquinez, stretching from the Atlas to 
 t : p straits of Gibraltar, and forming one of the far-famed 
 1 lars of Hercules. At first they were scarcely visible in 
 ty distant horizon, and appeared like the tops of high 
 l ands, when approaching them on the ocean : not a tree 
 ■ bush of any magnitude had we seen for several days, 
 
376 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 except the fig, palm, or other fruit-trees, which ; 
 generally planted in clusters, or in gardens near the to' i 
 at night we pitched our tent at a douhar near the borcj 
 the lake. 
 
 Wednesday, January the 17th, we started early,] 
 Went down the bank near the sea, to pass round the fo i 
 outlet of this lake, which was now dammed with sea- 
 very high ; and on the sides of the bank which for j 
 the outlet, stood four saint- houses, nearly covered up 
 sand-drifts. Continuing our journey until about n 
 we began to come among trees of considerable size ; t 
 looked like a species of oak with a thick shaggy bark, 
 are an ever- green : this wood is very brittle, and the i 
 produce a kind of acorn of a very large size, whicl 
 Spaniards and Portuguese used to carry away in 1 
 quantities from this country : they were as highly estee 
 as the chesnut, and used for food by the people of t 
 nations : they also fed their swine on them. 
 
 Passing through a large forest, we came to a small j; 
 on our right, and, at sunset, approached the walls of I 
 resch. Having heard that some Spanish friars res | 
 here, 1 enquired for them, and was soon conduetel 
 their dwelling, a very good house of European consti: 
 tion. The principal friar came out to meet me ; ;| 
 after I had given a short account of myself in Span- 
 said he would lodge me for charity’s sake ; and thenci 
 ducted me into a tolerably well furnished room : and,i 
 he had lived in Mogadore, he asked me many quest! 
 concerning that city, and his old acquaintances tin: 
 some of whom I happened to know. He treated me v I 
 some wine, which he said was of his own manufactu 
 it was none of the best, however : and, at 10 o’clock 
 night, an excellent supper of fowls and sallads, dressec 
 the Spanish style, was served up. This Padre, wh 
 name is Juan Tinaones , told me that he had lived in B 
 bary for ten years, four of which he had spent at Mos 
 dore, three at Rhabat, and three here, secluded from i 
 civilized world ; that the court of Spain allowed a lar 
 premium to those Padres, or Fathers, of good characi 
 to be approved of by the Archbishop, who are willing 
 spend ten years in Barbary as missionaries, and a stipe 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 377 
 
 .hree thousand dollars a year for the remainder of their 
 vjs. I asked him of what use he could be in Barbary 
 xie cause of Christianity, since he dare not even attempt 
 onvert a Moor or an Arab, or mention the name of the 
 iour as one of the Godhead to either, or even to a 
 ? “ None at all,” said he, “ but still we bear the 
 a;e of missionaries at home, to convert the heathen : 
 a allowance of money is ample : we live well, as you 
 tt (he was indeed fat and in fine order,) laugh at the 
 of our countrymen, and enjoy the present as well as 
 ecan.” (The circumstance of there being two young 
 pretty Jewesses in the house, and plenty of good 
 j r, did not tend, in any great degree, to discredit his 
 resentation.) “ When this ten years expire,” continued 
 i pious Padre, “ we get leave to return to our country, 
 
 : re we are received as patterns of piety, that have ren- 
 -j d vast services to the Christian world : every respecta- 
 ishouse is open to receive us : otir company is much 
 rtjjht after : our yearly salary of three thousand dollars 
 feds us many gratifications ; and, for these ten years 
 Kit in such privations and severe gospel labours, we are 
 lived absolution for the remainder of our lives, which, 
 a will readily believe, we try to make as comfortable as 
 Bible.” Padre (i. e. father) Tinaones wanted to know 
 was a Catholic? To this I answered in the negative, 
 .tsaid it was a pity ; and that, unless I came within the 
 a' of the Church, he feared my precious soul would be 
 ntver miserable. Our conversation next turned upon 
 iJews : he said, “ there were about two hundred mise- 
 il e families of them in Laresch, who, though they are, 
 i manner, slaves to the Mohammedans, will not believe 
 1 mr holy religion : there u 7 ere two Jews who applied to 
 i and said they were converted to the true Catholic 
 n, and believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, and 
 i Saviour of mankind : they were accordingly baptized 
 s Christians ; yet, as soon as they had obtained a loan of 
 .of hundred dollars from me, in small sums, and found 
 ny could get no more, they turned back to Judaism 
 an, and left me no means of redress ; which fully con- 
 iced me that their pretended conversion to Christianity 
 a 5 nothing more than a premeditated scheme to rob me 
 
 48 
 
378 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 of my money; and that, whenever a Jew professes tc < 
 come a Christian, it is but a false pretence, and he is 3 1 
 ated entirely by mercenary motives. The Jews,” ac|: 
 he, “ hold Christ and his followers in the greatest p| 
 ble contempt, and pretend to believe that all men, i 
 are not Israelites, will be doomed, at the day of judgn , 
 to eternal punishment.” This night was principally s i 
 in conversation with the Padre, on various subjects. 
 
 Thursday, January 18th, I made ready to go on e: , 
 but the tide ran so rapidly at that time, that it was im s 
 sible to pass the river without the risk of being driven ; 
 the sea ; so I had time to make observations. 
 
 Laresch is handsomely situated on the left bank ot i 
 river Saboo, near its entrance into the sea : the town ' 
 along the river’s bank, and is half a mile in length, 
 very narrow : it is strongly walled in all around, and) 
 two gates, one on the east, and the other on the south s | 
 the fortress is on a hill south of the town, from whin 
 is only separated by a wall ; it is strongly built, and ft 
 ed by eight towers ; has about one hundred pieces of 
 non mounted on its battlements, and stands too high t 
 battered down by the shipping, even if they could 
 into the river. This town is said to have been buil j 
 the Portuguese originally, and only occupies the s i 
 space it did formerly, that is to say, about one mil l 
 circumference : it contains about eighteen thousand i 
 habitants, i. e. sixteen thousand Moors, and two thousjti 
 Jews, who are all very poor, as no trade is carried onll 
 by sea or by land : they are obliged to work hard in 
 adjacent gardens, and till the impoverished fields, in or 
 to gain a scanty subsistence. This is the only safe]' 
 the Emperor of Morocco has for fitting out his la 
 cruisers, from whence they can get to sea with their an 
 ment : the river here is very narrow, runs close along 
 walls of Laresch, and is very deep opposite the tov 
 there is said to be on the bar at its mouth eighteen fee 
 water at high spring tides. The river within the towi 
 both broad and deep ; the tides run very rapidly botl 
 flood and ebb, so much so, that we were obliged to v 
 until it was nearly spent before it was deemed safe to cro 
 directly in the ferrying place, an old brig lay sunk, wh 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 379 
 
 rl been captured under the Russian flag, and the crew 
 ot as slaves or prisoners for about a year. The Empe- 
 c’s navy was now lying alongside of the opposite bank, 
 insisting of one frigate-built ship, coppered to the bends, 
 xabout 700 tons burden, and mounting 32 guns, ap- 
 .',-ently 18 pounders, on the main deck ; and a brig, 
 oaed the Swearah, also coppered — a beautiful vessel, 
 r unting 18 guns, said to sail, and from her appearance, 
 vukl sail very fast : she was built in England, and there 
 iid in the best possible manner, and presented to the 
 •iperor by a Jew of Mogadore, named Macnin, a most 
 liorious character, but called a very rich merchant: this 
 u has a brother in London, who, it is said, has hereto- 
 ce managed to get goods on credit to very large amounts, 
 i he then sends them to Mogadore, where his brother 
 ails back the ships with less, generally, than half the 
 aie of the outward cargo, and thus continues to gull 
 h English merchants in the true Barbary style : the 
 rjicipal in London fails — his creditors compound with 
 ii : Jie begins anew; obtains, from some quarter or an- 
 ter, all the credit he wishes ; sends out the goods to 
 libary ; gets no returns ; fails again, and again com- 
 jrjmises, and commences the old business. The empe- 
 a some time ago, attempted to give this worthy Jew 
 n, ‘chant a gentle squeeze, and seized his goods, houses, 
 ai, and every thing valuable that his officers could lay 
 hur hands on ; upon which Macnin , to conciliate his 
 a esty, and to get a part of his ill-gotten property back 
 gin, made him a present of this fine brig, which could 
 k have cost him much, for “ los Inglesis lo pagan,” (the 
 ijglish pay for it,) is his motto. These two vessels and 
 b new frigate at Rhabat, now constitute the whole of the 
 iperor’s naval force : his maxim is to be at war with 
 ary nation who has not made a treaty with him, or which 
 u not a Consul General residing at Tangier, to make 
 ui the customary presents on his annual holidays, or pay 
 m tribute agreeably to the terms of his treaties. Ac~ 
 ding to this system, he sends out his cruisers from 
 i e to time, who, if they find a vessel bearing a flag, 
 vose nation has not made a treaty of peace with him, 
 ty capture her, bring her in as a good prize, and retain 
 
380 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 the crew as slaves or prisoners. About eighteen moi i 
 ago, this brig Mogadore, then on a cruise, captured i 
 Russian brig before mentioned, and carried her into j 
 resch : now the emperor of Russia had not stipulated 1 
 peace with his Moorish majesty, and had no Consul : 
 siding at Tangier ; so the vessel’s cargo was soon dispc 
 of as a prize, and her officers and crew, ten in num i 
 were thrown into prison, and frequently compellec < 
 work on board the vessels of war. After about a ye 
 captivity in this manner, finding no Christian power chi 
 ed the men, and having no use for them, the empli 
 ordered them to be removed to the prison at Tang! 
 Padre Tinaones told me these facts, and said he had c 
 all he could for the Christians while they were in Lare 
 prison, and that their brig had sunk in the ferrying-p 
 for want of care. 
 
 Proceeding on our journey, we soon mounted the II 
 hills on the right bank of this river, where we found m 
 huts constructed of stones and mud, with steep r 
 thatched with straw, after the manner of the Scotch J 
 Irish hovels : these were the first buildings of the kii I 
 had seen in Africa, and contrary to the Moorish cust i 
 they were quite defenceless. Continuing our jour 
 through a long wood, and over a hilly, sandy soil, ail ; 
 day as fast as possible, we pitched our tent at night ; 
 deep valley, near a small douhar, where we obtained sc ( 
 milk for our suppers. It commenced raining in the ev 
 ing, and continued to pour without intermission, attew 
 with strong gales and squalls, until daylight, but as 
 tent was tight and strong, 1 experienced from it no m; 
 rial inconvenience. 
 
 Friday the 19th, soon after daylight, it ceased to r; 
 and we proceeded on our journey. After passing m; 
 douhars and some huts of the construction mentioned a 
 Laresch, we entered a deep valley, the breadth of wh 
 was about six miles : the rain had soaked the soil so mu 
 as to render it almost impassable, so that the mules sui 
 into the mud nearly up to their bellies, and we were oblic 
 to dismount and wade through it on foot. This val 
 contains two small rivers, which are not fordable at hi 
 tides: the little town of Azila stands at their mouth, t 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, 
 
 381 
 
 a about ten miles to our left : the quantity of rain that 
 r! fallen the preceding night, had rendered them quite 
 <p even at low water, so that in attempting to ford one 
 them on my mule, he was carried away by the current, 
 i. I was forced to swim; however, I held the mule by 
 h bridle, and landed safely. My soldier and muleteer 
 eing I had got safe across, at length ventured in different 
 jibes, and also succeeded in getting over. Our way 
 uiy became very mountainous and woody, and the deep 
 'leys, through which a number of brooks ran winding 
 j lg in very serpentine courses, rendered our path muddy 
 nl slippery. 
 
 At 3, P. M. we gained the summit of a mountain, 
 ;n I saw distinctly the bay of Tangier, part of the 
 t its of Gibraltar, and, to my great joy, the coast of 
 ijiin ; it was the hospitable shore of civilized Europe ! 
 Tie crowd of sensations that rushed upon my mind at 
 h[. grateful sight, can be more easily conceived than de- 
 c bed. It brought to my recollection the trials and dis- 
 uses I had undergone since leaving it, as well as my 
 rat deliverances : all these sensations together so over- 
 te my faculties, and agitated me in such a manner, that 
 ad not power to keep myself steady, and I actually fell 
 cm my mule no less than three times in travelling from 
 mice to Tangier ; a distance of five or six miles. As I 
 a not before fallen from my mule during my whole 
 crney from Mogadore, the soldier who guarded me 
 1 light it very extraordinary, nor could I persuade him 
 It I was not too ill to ride : he, therefore, after helping 
 r on again the third time, gave his horse to the muleteer, 
 nl walked by my side, holding me on for some time: 
 r head, however, became so dizzy from the state of my 
 filings, that I was obliged to qlight and walk with his 
 distance for about a mile, until we came near the walls 
 a Tangier, when he again, at my request, placed me on 
 r mule. 
 
 It was in the dusk of the evening when we arrived at 
 tl gate, and the soldier having announced me to the 
 ards, I was conducted directly into the city, and before 
 tfc governor, who ordered me to be escorted to the Amec- 
 in Consul’s house, where I soon arrived, and was re- 
 
382 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 ceived most hospitably by James Simpson , Esquire , i 
 American Consul General, who immediately introdi 
 me to his amiable lady and family, and requested nv: 
 consider his house my home. I accordingly took up 
 day-quarters with him, and remained under his truly ]j 
 pitable roof during my stay at Tangier. Having mat 
 present to my guard and muleteer for their attention i 
 fidelity to me on the journey, and made up a packet i 
 my friend Willshire, I despatched them with his mule, : 
 on the 22d of January, 1816, back for Mogadore. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Moorish captives — of Tangier, and Christian Consul ■ 
 
 • — passage to Gibraltar — reception there — embarks • 
 America — observations on Gibraltar — passage in the it 
 Rapid — arrival at JVeiv York — visits his family — i ! j 
 to Washington City , ( the seat of government ,J and i • 
 dudes with brief remarks on slavery. 
 
 During my stay at Tangier, I was made acquaint 
 with Mr. Green, the English Consul General, a gen 
 man of talents, high respectability, and worth ; and wfi 
 Mr. Agrill, the Swedish Consul General, who had lat 
 arrived there from Sweden. On his arrival, he found I 
 crew of the before- mentioned Russian brig, in Tang 1 
 prison, and finding there was no one to claim or redet 
 them, and that they were natives of what once was Su 
 dish Pomerania, he purchased them from the Sultan i 
 about two thousand dollars, which he paid out of his o\ 
 private funds, and set them at liberty. I saw and co 
 versed with the master and most of the crew of that vess 
 who told me they had been imprisoned at Laresch aboui 
 year ; had been robbed of most of their clothing, ai 
 then brought to Tangier, where Mr. Agrill had the cha 
 ity and humanity to redeem them, though they were ca 
 tured under the Russian flag, and did not owe allegiaw 
 to the Swedish government. Mr. Agrill kept them 
 his own house, waiting for a Swedish vessel of war, whi( 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 383 
 
 as daily expected, and by which he meant to send them 
 ctheir country. The captain mentioned to me that his 
 /risei was in fact English property covered by the Rus- 
 ,i a flag, in order to avoid capture by the American cruis- 
 if. I had before known Mr. Agrill in St. Petersburg, 
 Ussi. — then in a public character : he is a man of much 
 na worth. 
 
 Tangier bay is said to be the best harbour in the Moor- 
 s dominions : its bottom is clear, and it might contain 
 one time one thousand sail of large vessels, which 
 vuld ride in safety, being sheltered from all but the 
 ctherly winds, which have only the rake of the breadth 
 i the strait, and the holding ground is excellent : the 
 ■ t anchorage is in seven and a half fathoms water ; 
 vtre the Portuguese flag-staff (which is the westernmost 
 r near the water) is on a line with the American flag- 
 t F, which latter is high, and can always be known by 
 laing its flag hoisted when an American vessel approaches 
 h bay. The city of Tangier is built on the west side 
 r. near the mouth of the bay, on the declivity of a hill, 
 W miles east of Cape Spartel, rising like an amphithea- 
 r ; the houses are built of stone, and whitewashed, and 
 ch town, when seen from the bay or strait, has a very 
 xdsome appearance ; but it is badly built ; the houses 
 >ng generally small, and but one story high, with flat 
 eraced roofs : the streets are narrow, crooked, badly 
 xed, and commonly very dirty. There are, however, 
 me handsome buildings in Tangier ; among which are 
 f Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, French, Danish, and Por- 
 uuese consular houses: the old English consular house 
 i; been lately abandoned on account of its bad construe- 
 in, but they are now building a very elegant one, that 
 ssaid to have already cost the British government ten 
 l usand pounds sterling, and will cost nearly as much 
 i re by the time it is finished and furnished. The Amer- 
 en government has no consular house at Tangier; the 
 : isul general resides in a house that was formerly at- 
 ihed to that of the Swedish consulate : it was purchased 
 i Mr. Simpson, on his own private account, for his own. 
 a 1 , and for an office for the use of the United States, in 
 ler to save the expense of house-rent ; and the dwelling 
 
384 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 part is so small and inconvenient, that when his own c . 
 dren visit him from abroad, he is forced to hire lodgi > 
 for them in Jews’ or other houses. I believe every g . 
 eminent having a consul residing at Tangier, except ij{ 
 of my own country, has either built or purchased a mans; 
 for the accommodation of that officer. Mr. Simpsc i 
 eldest son, with his lady, were now on a visit to their . 
 rents ; and the consul had to hire apartments in a Je [ 
 house for a few days to accommodate them : he was ; \ 
 under the necessity of procuring lodgings for mei i 
 Jew’s house during a few nights of my stay there. 
 
 Tangier is an irregularly built walled town of ab [ 
 one mile in circuit, including the fortress which overtax 
 and commands it : it is well supplied with water by a c . 
 ered aqueduct, and generally well furnished with prc , 
 sions : the several batteries are lined with many piece; j 
 ordnance, among which are two pieces of long brass c. 
 non of about fourteen inches caliber; they are mounl 
 on carriages, and stand in a battery near the landing \vi j 
 out the city-gate : these two enormous brass pieces \vi 
 made by the Portuguese, and are (judging by the e 
 about eighteen feet in length. 
 
 Tangier was taken from the Moors in the year 1441, 
 the Portuguese, who gave it to King Charles the II. 
 England, in a dowry for Catharine of Portugal, his que 
 The English kept possession of it for about twenty yeai 
 but, finding it subject to the continual attacks of the fe 
 cious Moors, from whom it was with great difficulty < 
 fended, they blew up its fine mole or basin, (which 1 
 T>efore rendered it a safe harbour for small vessels,) to lo 
 water mark, together with some of the fortifications, a 
 abandoned the place : the mole has not since been rebu 
 1 walked over it at low water : a great quantity of 1 
 large blocks of hewn stone are now to be seen lying on I 
 solid foundations, which still remain almost entire. ( 
 the east side of, and near the bottom of the bay, are to 
 seen the ruins of an old town, which is said to have be 
 built by the Romans. It must formerly have been ve 
 extensive, from the present appearance of its ruins, ai 
 was watered by a small river that runs into the bay near : 
 site. There are several forts and batteries on the easte 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO' 385 
 
 bre of the bay, and on Cape Malibat, but they are so 
 aJy garrisoned as not to be formidable to their enemies, 
 ny should chance to take shelter in the bay during 
 a weather : they have only to keep out of the reach of 
 llshot from Tangier. All the Christian consuls near 
 itEmperor of Morocco reside at Tangier, where their 
 e.ons are protected by order of the Sultan. Those at 
 agier are — for the United States of America, James 
 i pson, Esq. ; Great-Britain, Mr. Green ; France, Mr. 
 ordian; Sweden, Mr. Agrill ; Spain, Don Orne, vice- 
 >’;ul; Denmark, Mr. Scornboe ; Holland, Mr. Nijsoin; 
 a Portugal, Mr. Coloso. The consuls at Tangier keep 
 a a sort of etiquette, in celebrating the memorable 
 )i[:hs in the history of their respective countries, and 
 E' particular national holidays, which custom is peculiar 
 angier. They also keep up the long established cus- 
 n of giving consular dinners all in turn round on the 
 rial of any new consul, or when an old one is recalled, 
 These customs are extremely expensive, but have 
 a become absolutely necessary in order to impress the 
 njls of the Moors with respect for the dignity of the 
 s active nations which those consuls represent. The 
 hjstian consuls general, near the Emperor of Morocco, 
 e generally speaking, men eminent on account of cha- 
 cr, talents, and learning, and have a large salary ; for, 
 .(foreign ministers plenipotentiary, they are not allowed 
 erive any emolument whatever from commerce. By 
 opting of this appointment, they exclude themselves 
 a! the society and comforts of the civilized world, and 
 ^besides in exile, and in continual jeopardy, being 
 Wys in the power of real barbarians. They are under 
 tiecessity of sending to Europe for all their clothing, 
 
 1 ors, stores, furniture, <kc. except a few articles of 
 cisions, and those who have families are obliged to 
 r their children to other countries for their education, 
 cgh at a very heavy expense. Mr. Simpson left a lu- 
 ave commercial establishment at Gibraltar, in 1798, 
 ic went to Tangier, merely to serve our government, at 
 t ie when war was intended by the Moorish Sultan 
 list our commerce. He succeeded in averting the 
 ntened blow', and in establishing our present treaty 
 
 49 
 
386 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 with that sovereign. He is a gentleman of unblemisU 
 character and pleasing manners, and has expended a ha 
 some fortune in the service of the United States, over ; j 
 above his consular salary. He has passed the best of g 
 days in the service of his adopted country, and, in j 
 opinion, deserves a handsome maintenance from govt 
 ment during the remainder of his life, free from the cai 
 vexations, and anxieties that are always attached to a o', 
 sulate in such barbarous countries. Mr, Simpson i: i 
 native of Scotland, but a firm American in principle, ; 
 an enthusiastic admirer of our excellent institutions. 
 
 The whole sea force of the Emperor of Morocco, j 
 before observed, consists of two frigates of 32 guns ea , 
 and the brig Mogadore of 18 guns : the only port he < 
 which can shelter and secure them from the reach ol : 
 enemy, is Laresch, which they can neither enter nor i 
 from when equipped, except at high-water spring ti< 
 There are no corsairs or small vessels belonging to ir . 
 viduals as formerly, nor is there even a merchant ve 
 belonging to the Moors. In order to show how m 
 value the present Sultan sets on his ships of war, I it 
 relate in what manner he sometimes disposes of th 
 About two years since, the Bashaw of Tripoli sent 22 
 present to the Emperor of Morocco, a beautiful Cir< . 
 siau girl : she was a virgin, and possessed charms vd 
 which the old Sultan was so enraptured, that he asked 
 ambassador who escorted her from Tripoli, what he co: 
 send to his friend, the Bashaw, in return for this jew i 
 I have nothing but wheat, said he, of which the Basil 
 your master, can always have as much as he pleases, j 
 B ashaw, my master, said the ambassador, is always i 
 want of wheat : but, replied the Emperor, I would sj 
 him something more valuable ; he has made me a n, 
 superb present, and I wish to return the compliment ii 
 handsome manner. Your majesty has frigates, said ' 
 ambassador: — so I have, indeed, answered the Still i 
 and that gives me much pleasure ; go to Laresch, 
 make choice of one from among my navy : I will h 
 her fitted out in the best manner, and sent round to y 
 master directly : the ambassador did not wait a sect 
 bidding, but went in haste to Laresch, for fear the sc 
 
TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 
 
 S87 
 
 might change his mind ; chose a fine new frigate of 
 : guns that had but a short time previous been coppered 
 :cthe bends, which was immediately fitted according to 
 , >mise, and sent to Tripoli, with the ambassador on 
 urd, and where she arrived in safety, being escorted by 
 English vessel of war. Both Mr. Simpson and Mr. 
 Ten assured me, that this statement was in substance 
 ;Jrect. The Emperor’s squadron might be blockaded, 
 
 ; all times, by a very small force ; his large ships are, 
 
 : refore, not at all to be dreaded by any maritime power 
 vfo has timely notice of his hostile intentions, as they are 
 .■illy equipped and manned, having now no maritime 
 :< amerce, and consequently no nursery for seamen. The 
 )tjy port from which he could do any mischief of im- 
 Ktance to Christian commerce, is Tangier. Should this 
 mny future Sultan, think proper to declare war against 
 ; maritime state, he has only to send money over to 
 SHiz, Algeciras, or Gibraltar, and purchase fast sailing 
 ajeen rigged boats ; fit and man them in Tangier imme- 
 litely, and send them to cruize in the mouth of the 
 tj.its : thus they might seize on the unsuspecting and 
 ■ armed merchant ships, as they pass along — conduct 
 hm into Tangier bay, or to any place along the coast, 
 vere they would soon unload and run the vessels on 
 I re, keeping their crews as slaves. In this light alone 
 it the Emperor of Morocco be reckoned formidable to 
 immercial states, and this game could only be played for 
 tort time, until the nation thus attacked could send a 
 c:e sufficient to destroy the marauders. It would be 
 od policy, however, to keep at peace with the Moorish 
 icrereign, as his rovers, lying at the door of the Medi- 
 ejranean, might do much mischief ; and to be a slave to 
 1 Moors, is, indeed, dreadful to a Christian. 
 
 Tangier has but little commerce with Europe, and this 
 sbhiefiy carried on by the Jews ; but the English govern- 
 rnt get their supplies of cattle and other fresh provis- 
 os for the garrison of Gibraltar, from that place and 
 ijtuan : this and the other trifling trade is carried on in 
 'jpraltar boats and Spanish small craft. There is a con- 
 -ierable coral fishery along the Moorish coast, about 
 -pe Spartel ; and while I remained at Tangier, two 
 
383 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Spanish boats came into the port with what coral they \ 
 been able to procure for the last six months : it was 
 beautiful colour, and of an excellent quality ; I wa: r 
 formed by one of the boatmen, that in order to get] 
 coral, they anchor in deep water, amongst the rocks, i 
 let down their nets, which soon become entangled amo < 
 the coral, and they then draw it on board : this man | 
 that they came over from Tariffa, and obtained leave 1 r 
 the Alcayd of Tangier to fish on the coast, by agre : j 
 to give him one -third of the coral they should obtain; \ 
 he put two Moors on board their boats (one each) t(| 
 sist them in procuring provisions, water, &c. and s / 
 as safeguards : he said, the whole of the coral they j; 
 had was to be divided the next day, when they sh 1 
 sell their share at public sale to the highest bidder ; a 
 afterwards understood from Mr. Simpson, that the Fr : 
 Consul purchased it for twelve hundred dollars , and Ip 
 were twelve fishermen to share the money. 
 
 On the 29th of January, 1816, a small schooner bp 
 ready to sail for Gibraltar, I took my leave of Mr. S' | 
 son and family, and proceeded on to the mole, in o 
 to embark. This vessel had been hired by a certain 1 
 named Torrel, to carry his family across to Gibra 
 which, with two or three other families of European J 
 who would not conform to the dress in which all Jewlji 
 Moorish Barbary had been ordered to appear, non 
 the tribute lately levied on them by the Sultan, weru 
 dered to depart forthwith from his dominions. T 4 
 families came out of the gates of the city, in ordct 
 embark together, and proceeded with their baggagt 
 the ruins of the old mole, to go off in the boat, it bji 
 low water : they were accompanied by a consider \ 
 number of Jews and Jewesses : a few of the latter, r 
 decently dressed, wished to escort them to the boat, ) 
 there to take their leave, &c. ; but the Moorish cap) t 
 of the port, without ceremony, began to brush them 1 : 
 with big staffs they carried for the purpose : these st 1 
 were about five feet in length, and one inch in dianr 
 and they applied them so unmercifully, and with sb 
 singular dexterity, peculiar to the Moors, as to lay irp 
 decent-looking Jewish females, as well as males, pros 1 ! 
 
^ TRAVELS. 
 
 389 
 
 ipn the beach ; when they renewed their blows, in order 
 raise them on their feet again, and drive them into the 
 r-gate, like so many of the brute creation. 
 
 It about 8 o’clock, A. M. I got on board this vessel, 
 company with Mr. John Simpson and his lady, who 
 re on their return from a visit to their parents ; and after 
 v ting nearly three hours for a letter which the Governor 
 v hed to send to Gibraltar, we set sail and left the bay 
 vfh a fair but a light breeze. The scene of inhumanity 
 l oppression I had just witnessed, prompted me to 
 hjik my God again that I was not a Jew, and that I was 
 i e more free from a country inhabited by the worst of 
 rbarians. 
 
 ^ssing up the strait, which in one place is only eight 
 lies broad, we arrived safe in Gibraltar bay in the even- 
 ni ; but as we did not get up before the town until the 
 -j:s of the garrison were closed, we were obliged to re- 
 un (forty in number) on board the vessel during the 
 ilit. On the 30th we were visited very early by a boat 
 rm the health office, and permitted to land. I went on 
 hjre immediately, and was received by my friend Sprague 
 > h demonstrations of unfeigned joy, and heartily wel- 
 cjned to that portion of the civilized world, and treated 
 vh all the attention that flows from the warmest friend- 
 dp, and the tenderest commisseration. The American 
 dnsul was also attentive to me, and he had previously 
 -) d attention to the wants of my companions in distress, 
 o had arrived there from Mogadore by sea a few days 
 lore me. An acquaintance told me that Mr. Sprague 
 vl received Mr. Willshire’s letter, informing him of my 
 cptivity, on one Monday morning at the moment of his 
 urn from Algeciras, a famous Spanish town on the op- 
 psite side of the bay, about ten miles from Gibraltar, 
 were he generally spent the Sabbath ; that he opened the 
 t ter in the presence of, and read its contents to Mr. 
 hnry, United States Consul, a Mr. Kennedy of Balti- 
 x are, and some other American gentlemen : that Mr. 
 hnry suggested that a subscription should be opened 
 ad sent up to all the Consuls in the Mediterranean, in 
 ler to raise money as soon as possible, and transmit it 
 Mogadore to release us : that Mr. Sprague made no 
 
390 
 
 CAPTAIN fclLEY’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 answer whatever to this proposition, but sent a tn 
 young man out with orders to purchase two double-] ; 
 relied guns, while he hastily wrote a few lines to 1 
 Willshire and myself, as before mentioned : that there ( 
 but one double-barrelled fowling-piece to be procured 
 the garrison ; this was bought at the price of eighty doll ,■ 
 and taking it, together with his own, which was a \ ^ 
 highly finished, and favourite piece, he mounted his hr = 
 and proceeded as fast as possible to Algeciras, carry! 
 the guns along with him ; from whence he immedia j 
 despatched a courier to Tariffa with the guns and his !(, 
 ters, ordering them to be sent by an express boat to 1 
 gier, and to the care of Mr. Simpson, to be again , 
 warded by express to Mogadore. Such disintere;; 
 goodness, and such prompt and animated exertions: 
 relieve a fellow- creature in distress, have seldom bl 
 recorded, and are above all praise : they are example 
 pure benevolence, that do honour to human nature ; 
 ever honoured and beloved shall he be, who has the h 
 and the spirit to imitate them. 
 
 Mr. Sprague had already paid the bills I had drawn i 
 him in Mogadore for my ransom, &c. and he now!- 
 nished me with provisions and stores for my voyage ho , 
 I having determined to go by the first vessel for : 
 United States. The ship Rapid, of New- York, CapM 
 Robert Williams, being in readiness to sail for that pi, 
 I embarked in her, accompanied by Mr. Savage ;1 
 Horace; Clark, and Burns, having been previously - 
 commodated on board the ship Rolla, Captain Brown, I 
 Newburyport, that was to proceed to the United Stas 
 by way of Cadiz. We set sail for our native country i 
 the 2d of February, 1816, with a fair breeze, and on . 
 3d were safe without the straits. 
 
 As Gibraltar has been so frequently mentioned in r 
 narrative, a few descriptive observations respecting it m ' 
 not be uninteresting to some of my readers. Gibraltar \ 
 situated at the entrance of the Mediterranean sea, and: 
 attached to the continent of Europe by a low and narrc 
 neck of sandy land, which, as it lies neither in Spain n 
 Gibraltar, is called the neutral ground. The rock &• 
 pears to me to have been originally an island, and t: 
 
 i 
 
TRAVELS. 
 
 391 
 
 r :b or neutral ground to have been formed by the 
 'ing up of sand and gravel from tire Mediterranean 
 con the one side, and from tire bay of Gibraltar on the 
 
 :ir. 
 
 The rock is about two miles in length from north 
 
 1 luth, and one mile in breadth from east to west. It 
 si; from the south point in abrupt cliffs, one above an- 
 tjjr, for about half a mile, when it comes to its extreme 
 e ht, which is said by some to measure fourteen hun- 
 ;| feet, and by others, seventeen hundred feet from the 
 i ace of the water : the top extends, in uneven craggy 
 ■Ofits, for about one mile to the northward, when it 
 r Iks off in one sudden cliff, which is nearly perpendicu- 
 rlo the neutral ground, forming a face nearly as wide as 
 k rock itself, and completely inaccessible. This rock 
 ns probably the strongest fortress in Europe : it has 
 e 1 long in the hands of the English ; and is surmount- 
 with batteries of heavy cannon in every direction, and 
 p’ongly walled in at every accessible point, so as to be 
 osidered impregnable. The western side of the rock, 
 
 • its base, is more flatted and less inaccessible : here 
 Kit own is built, which consists of about two thousand 
 :c[e houses, and it is said now to contain thirty thousand 
 ikbitants, who may be said to compose a very hetero- 
 ejeous mass ; for, as it is a free port, where the vessels 
 n subjects of all nations who are at peace with England, 
 n r with their goods, traffic and depart at pleasure, and 
 i wholly free from governmental duties and impositions, 
 eple of all nations, tongues, and kindred, are there to 
 itfound. The bay is very spacious, and is capable of 
 c taining a vast number of shipping, which may ride in 
 arty, except in heavy gales from the east or south. This 
 oress is held by the English government as a key, or 
 aier a lock and key to the Mediterranean sea, the door 
 )i which the Moors and Spaniards consider as their pro- 
 )' ty. Its garrison is composed of native English troops, 
 vich, in time of war, ought to be seven thousand strong : 
 tis commanded by a military governor, and is always 
 i ler martial law. The British, with indefatigable indus- 
 :r, and immense labour, have formed roads up its steep 
 astern side, and constructed batteries, which are mount - 
 '' with heavy artillery, on its very summit. Its eastern 
 
3 92 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 side is steep and inaccessible. In its northern side, ijj 
 the neutral ground, but some hundred feet above it, i 
 cavations have been formed in the massy rock, in w : 
 heavy artillery is placed, and pointed through port-M 
 penetrating the solid front : these batteries compl<|| 
 command the land side, and are of course bomb proc 
 they are called the upper and lower galleries, and ar<: 
 great extent. Among its natural curiosities, St. i 
 chael’s cave is the most remarkable : — this commei : 
 near the top of the rock, and no bottom to it has ; 
 yet been found by the English, though it has been ; 
 plored (such is the popular story) for many miles, and I 
 Moors . have a notion that it forms a passage under i 
 strait to the coast of Morocco. Thousands of monl i 
 also inhabit the summit and recesses of this singular 
 barren rock, but which in time of war is the empon 
 of the Mediterranean trade. 
 
 After beating about for several days, near Cape t 
 Vincent, with heavy gales of wind from the westw i 
 we steered to the southward into the latitude of Made 1 
 and I found that the reckonings of the officers on be 
 were up fifty miles before we saw that island, tho t 
 they had good opportunities to get meridian and ot i 
 altitudes, which further confirmed me in the opinion I 
 had already formed respecting the Gulf Stream, as elf 
 dated in the slppendix. After passing Madeira, we m; 
 the best of our way into the latitude of the constant tr; 
 winds, say from 25 to 28 degrees, and ran down as 
 as about the longitude of 70°: then steered northvva 
 and arrived in New- York on the 20th of March, 18 
 where I was received by my friends and fellow- citizt 
 with demonstrations of joy and commiseration. I h 
 tened to Middletown, Connecticut, to visit my fami 
 whom I found in good health. Our meeting was one 
 those that language is inadequate to describe. I sp( 
 only a week with them, our hearts beating in unison, a 
 swelling with gratitude to God for his mercies ; wli 
 what I owed to my friend Sprague, and the remainder 
 my fellow-sufferers, called me to the seat of governmei 
 On my arrival in Washington, I was introduced by t 
 Hon. Samuel W. Dana, Senator in Congress, to the Hr 
 
TRAVELS. 
 
 393 
 
 n:s Monroe, Secretary of State, who received me in 
 ; nost kind and feeling manner. The Administration 
 i from the Treasury my own and my crew’s ransom, 
 j far, amounting to one thousand eight hundred and 
 h two dollars and forty -jive cents , and assured me that 
 ) sion should be immediately made to meet the amount 
 it might be demanded for the remainder of the crew, 
 
 ' d they ever be found alive. The Secretary, together 
 many distinguished members of both houses of 
 ;ress, advised me to publish a Narrative of my late 
 s:ers, which I have faithfully performed, and shall now 
 s my labours with a few brief remarks. 
 
 ■ lave spent my days, thus far, amidst the bustle and 
 c ties incident to the life of a seaman and a merchant, 
 eing now fully persuaded that the real wants of hu- 
 r. nature are very few, and easily satisfied, I shall hence- 
 d remain, if it is God’s will, in my native country. I 
 been taught in the school of adversity to be contented 
 h my lot, whatever future adversities I may have to 
 (inter, and shall endeavour to cultivate the virtues of 
 rjy and universal benevolence. I have drank deep of 
 tter cup of sufferings and wo ; have been dragged 
 v to the lowest depths of human degradation and 
 ihedness ; my naked frame exposed without shelter 
 t; scorching skies and chilling night winds of the 
 e, enduring the most excruciating torments, and 
 aing, a wretched slave , under the stripes inflicted by 
 l.nds of barbarous monsters, bearing indeed the hu- 
 iform, but unfeeling, merciless, and malignant as 
 nns ; yet when near expiring with my various and in- 
 nssibie sufferings ; when black despair had seized on 
 ^parting soul, amid the agonies of the most cruel of 
 Iiths, 1 cried to the Omnipotent for mercy, and the 
 s etched hand of Providence snatched me from the 
 sff destruction. Unerring wisdom and goodness has 
 ^restored me to the comforts of civilized life, to the 
 ci of my family, and to the blessings of my native 
 i; whose political and moral institutions are in them- 
 the very best of any that prevail in the civilized 
 t ns of the globe, and ensure to her citizens the 
 50 
 
394 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY’S NARRATIVE, 
 
 greatest share of personal liberty, protection, and happii 
 and yet, strange as it must appear to the philanthn 
 my proud-spirited and free countrymen still hold a m 
 and a half, nearly, of the human species, in the 
 cruel bonds of slavery, who are kept at hard laboui 
 smarting under the savage lash of inhuman merce 
 drivers, and in many instances enduring besides the 
 cries of hunger, thirst, imprisonment, cold, naked 
 and even tortures. This is no picture of the imagina 
 for the honour of human nature 1 wish its likeness 
 indeed no where to be found ; but I myself have 
 nessed such scenes in different parts of my own cou 
 and the bare recollection now chills my blood with 
 ror. Adversity has taught me some noble lesson 
 have now learned to look with compassion on my ens 
 and oppressed fellow- creatures, and my future life 
 be devoted to their cause : — I will exert ail my rema 
 faculties to redeem dae enslaved, and to shiver in \ ; 
 the rod of oppression ; and I trust I shali be aided ii 
 holy work by every good and every pious, free, and ; 
 minded citizen in the community, and by the frien 
 mankind throughout the civilized world. 
 
 The present situation of the slaves in our country t ; 
 to attract an uncommon degree of commiseration, 
 might be essentially ameliorated without endangerin 
 public safety, or even causing the least injury to indi 
 al interest. I am far from being of opinion that 
 should all be emancipated immediately, and at one 
 am aware that such a measure would not only prove 
 ous to great numbers of my fellow-citizens, who ; 
 present slave holders, and to whom this species of pro 
 ty descended as an inheritance ; but that it would alsoi 
 loose upon the face of a free and happy country, ai 
 of men incapable of exercising the necessary occupy) 
 of civilized life, in such a manner as to ensure to tli 
 selves an honest and comfortable subsistence ; yet it i 
 earnest desire that such a plan should be devised, foil 
 on the firm basis and the eternal principles of justice 
 humanity, and developed and enforced by the ge 
 government, as wiil gradually, but not less effecti! 
 
TRAVELS. 
 
 395 
 
 /: ler and extirpate the accursed tree of slavery, that has 
 en suffered to take such deep root in our otherwise 
 ihly-favoured soil : while, at the same time, it shall put 
 nit of the power of either the bond or the released 
 Ires, or their posterity, ever to endanger our present or 
 fire domestic peace or political tranquillity. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 jkrvations on the minds, currents, &c. in some parts of the Atlan- 
 ta ocean, developing the causes of so many shipwrecks on the 
 •estern coast of Africa — A mode pointed out for visiting the famous 
 dy of Tombucioot, on the river Niger, &c. 
 
 eing safely at sea on board a good ship, and on my way to join 
 ■family, my mind was more tranquillized than it had before been 
 xe my redemption, and I turned my thoughts to the natural causes 
 ch had produced my late disaster. Upon taking a full view of 
 ii| subject, according to the best of my capacity, I felt convinced 
 i not only my own vessel was driven on shore by a common current, 
 u that most of the others that are known to have been wrecked from 
 it: to time on the same coast, have been operated upon by the same 
 airal causes. In order briefly to illustrate my position, I shall be«? 
 n by stating, that to men who are conversant with maritime affairs, 
 n particularly practical navigators who have for a number of years 
 •versed the Atlantic ocean to Madeira and the Canary Islands, the 
 Yt-Indies, or Cape de Yerds; who have sailed along the African 
 of — from thence southeastward towards the negro or Guinea settle- 
 nts, and to those who have been accustomed to navigate towards 
 h continent of South-America, sailing along the coast of Brazil, and 
 ereen that coast and the west coast of Africa, and north of the Cape 
 flood Hope to the equator, it is well known that when sailing 
 
 0 hwardly from Europe near the coast of Africa, and in fact nearly 
 oss the northern Atlantic ocean, the trade winds, as they are call- 
 c set in and generally prevail, blowing from north to northeast or 
 :z, from about latitude 32. N. on the African coast; — that farther 
 v tward, they only begin in the latitudes from 30. to 26. — in the last 
 rationed latitude near the coast of America, they generally blow 
 r a the northeast to the parallel of 23. of north latitude, when they 
 in more to the eastward as you gain the offing from the African con- 
 
 1 nt. The coast of Africa from Cape Spartel, in latitude 34. 40. to 
 Ae Blanco, in about latitude 33. tends about southwest, thence 
 Out south-southwest to Santa Cruz de Berberia, or Agader, the 
 ( them and westernmost port in the empire of Morocco, in about 
 ■1 latitude 30. north, and longitude 10. west, from London — it then 
 vas abruptly off to the west-southwestward to Cape T4un, and con- 
 i ies nearly the same course, about west- southwest, with little varia- 
 i i to Cape Bajador, about latitude 26. north, longitude 1 6. west.— 
 I 3 whole length of this coast the winds blow either diagonally, or 
 Actly on shore perpetually ; the reason of this I take to be, that the 
 
398 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 empire of Morocco west of the Atlas ridge of mountains is veryif 
 and very hot, having few rivers, and those very small durin" | 
 greatest part of the year. There are no lakes of consequence, exc! 
 one near Laresch, to cool the atmosphere, nor any showers of ri 
 except in winter, to refresh the thirsty earth. From Santa C: 
 west, through what was formerly the kingdom of Suse, it blows ri J 
 on shore, from the same ciuses operating in a stronger degree togetli 
 with a variation in the tending of the coast, and thence to Bajador, ; , 
 fdong the coast of the great desert to the latitude of 17. north, J 
 the trade wind continues to haul round, and actually near the 1;| 
 blows eastward into the gulf of Guinea. This desert is scorched' 
 about one half of the year by the rays of a vertical sun : here natijj 
 denies the refreshing rains that fall in other regions ; the smoothest 
 surface strongly reflecting the rapid sun’s beams, while there are ■ 
 trees or other objects to intercept the rays and prevent the most pi 
 erful accumulation of solar heat, which consequently becomes sou 
 cessive during the day-time that it scorches like fire, and the air y|J 
 breathe seems like the dry and suffocating vapour from glowing t 
 bers : here the wind ceases in the day time, being literally consult! 
 by the sun; the whole surface thus becomes heated and baked in |j 
 day-time, and when the sun disappears from above the horizon, t| 
 cooling wind rashes on to the desert from the ocean to restore the eqjj 
 librium of the atmosphere. 
 
 The sea breeze begins about siv o’clock in the evening, and coni' 
 ues to increase gradually all along this coast until four o’clock in ill 
 morning, at which period it has risen to a strong gale, so that vessjj 
 navigating near the land are frequently forced to take in all their lif| 
 sails by midnight, and to reef down snug before morning, when it! 
 gins to lull a little, and about mid day becomes very moderate, a 
 sometimes quite calm. Every practical man knows that the win 
 drive a current before them on thp bosom of the ocean, as well as alo j 
 its shores, that becomes more or less strong in proportion as the galej 
 light or heavy, and of long or short duration. On this coast the ctij 
 rent sets before the wind against the shore — it there meets with unco 
 querable resistance, and is turned southward : it is always felt fre I 
 about Cape Blanco, (lat. 33.) southward, and grows stronger aij 
 stronger until it passes Cape Bapid>r, because it is more and mo! 
 compressed — thence it strikes off, one part to the southwest towar 
 the Cape deYerd Islands, and the remainder keeps along the coast 
 CapedeYerd, whence it spreads itself towards the equator, and son 
 part follows the windings of the coast round the gulf of Guinea. 
 
 The southeast trade winds, which blow almost continually from tl 
 latitude of 30. south in the Atlantic ocean to the equator, and ofen 
 the 5th degree of northern latitude — <hese southeast trades assist tho 
 from the northeast in heaping up the water in the equatorial regio 
 when both the northeast and southeast winds uniting, blow from the eas 
 ward, bearing the whole mass of water on this surface towards the Ame 
 ican continent : it strikes that continent to the northward of Cape l 
 Roque , between the parallels of 6 degrees south latitude and the equ; 
 tor, on the coast of Brazil, where the coast turns to the westward;- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 399 
 
 . bg much compressed, it runs strongly along this coast to the month 
 oj’ihe mighty river Amazon, with whose current it is uuited and borne 
 djyn along the coast of Cayenne, Surinam, and Guy anna, receiving 
 hits way ail the waters brought against those coasts by the constant 
 tilde winas from the east and uortheast, and all the great rivers which 
 ilW in from the southward; amoDg which is the Oronoko, one oi the 
 Jcjgest ou the continent of South America, and that rolls, iu the 
 rjuy season, an initnense body of water to the ocean : I have as- 
 elded that river five hundred miles. The current runs so strong at 
 titles towards the west along this whole line ol coast, (which is mostly 
 i r land, and has principally been made on the sea-board by the 
 mvial qualities of the waters in the rivers, brought down by freshes, 
 v ich are then thick with mud, like those of the Missisippi,) as to 
 rider it impossible for any vessel to get to the windward or eastw rd 
 b beating against the wind. Its velocity has bteu known to exceed 
 . ee miles an hour. This great current is driven westward along the 
 «st between it and the West-India Islands, a great part of it entering 
 tji Gult of Paria, south of the Island of Trinidad, where it receives 
 ad is strengthened by the waters cf the western branch of the 
 Conoko river; — here the high land, that evidently joined this island 
 tdhe continent formerly, has been burst asunder, perhaps indeed as- 
 s ted by an earthquake, or some other convulsion of nature : there 
 ale here several passages for the current, I think four, (for I write 
 ejirely from memory,) through the same mountain, which is of e.u 
 f ral height on the islands and on the continent, and the fragments of 
 rlks which have been torn out and roiled away by this tremendous 
 sick or current leave no doubt iu the mind of the beholder of the 
 l ility of such an event. The widest passage is not more than two 
 »les over; the narrowest not more than one fourth of a mile : these 
 psages are called by the Spaniards, who fust explored and settled 
 at part of the country, (as well as the Island of Trinidad, i. e. 
 '. inity,) Las Bocas del Dragon , or the Dragon’s Mouths. This 
 lily of water rushes through these passages with such force, that it 
 i next to impossible, at times, for a fast-sailing vessel to enter against 
 le current, with a strong trade wind in her favour, and I have 
 1-own many vessels bound to Trinidad, obliged to bear up aod try 
 Tr the Leeward Islands, and scarcely able to fetch Hispaniola or 
 maica. This, with what passes northward of Trinidad, is pent iu 
 d forced against the Spanish coast of Terra Pinna, following its 
 indings round the Bay of Honduras to Cape Caloche: by the con- 
 hut trade winds which blow from the N. E. to east, they are then 
 ivea through between that Cape and Cape St. Antonio, or the west- 
 n part cf the Island of Cuba, into the Gulf of Mexico. From the 
 milarny in the appearance of Cape Catoche and Cape St. Antonio, 
 Se lowness of the land on both sides, the strait that divides them being 
 ily about sixty miles wide, and the fact of soundings beiDg found 
 :arly or quite across the channel, it has been thought, and with 
 ery probability of truth in its favour, that the Island of Cuba was 
 ice attached to this poiut of the continent, and the waters heaped up 
 f the foregoing causes in that great hay south of Cuba, at some re.-- 
 
400 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 mote period broke over the low sandy land, tore it down, and fora 1 
 tor themselves a free passage into the great gulf of Mexico. 
 
 The circumstance of the Island of Cuba stretching nearly east jj 
 west about seven hundred miles in leugth, and in many places v<[ 
 high, with the well known fact of the powerful currents already m! 
 tioned setting in upon the coast south and west of it, and the coastj; 
 easterly winds that prevail on its southern side, leaves very little rot 
 to doubt that these strong trade winds, opposing the passage of || 
 current up the south side of that once vast peninsula, have rais 
 them to such a pitch that they have formed a channel for themselv 
 This immense mass of water, thus forced into the Bay of Mexii 
 runs to the -N. W. to its northern border, and strikes that shore a |i| 
 leagues west of the Mississippi river’s mouth — thence taking a circu; 
 direction round south towards Vera Cruz and along the south coast 
 the golf, seems to lose itself near where it entered at Cape Catoc 
 In sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, you meet with whirlpools and v< 
 strong currents in every part of it, sometimes setting one way, ; 
 sometimes another; the gulf being of a circular form, there is noc 
 tainty in the currents. During the summer months it is visited 
 the most dreadful squalls of thunder and lightning, and by wat 
 spouts that have often destroyed vessels. Storms or hurricanes i 
 also very frequent, and calms of a mouth or two often occur : hi 
 that astonishing body of water is joined by that of all the rivers tl 
 empty into the gulf, particularly those borne down by that father 
 rivers, the Missisippi ; — thus accumulated and become much hig! 
 in the Bay of Mexico than in any other part of the Atlantic oceaD, 
 forces its way eastward between Cape Florida and the northern side 
 the Island of Cuba, until meeting the great bank of Bahama in j 
 front, with its numerous keys and rocks, it is turned northward]] 
 along the coast of Florida. Its velocity there in the narrowest paj 1 
 where it is only about forty miles wide, has been ascertained (and, ijj 
 deed, I have known it myself) to exceed five miles an hour at sot® 
 particular seasons. After leaving this narrow passage, it keeps i|! 
 course northwardly, spreading a little as it proceeds, until it strik 
 souudiugs off Savannah and Charleston — the coast then narrows in i 
 western edge again until it approaches Cape Hatteras, where the strea 
 is not more than fifty miles broad, and frequently runs with almost ; 
 great rapidity as between the Bahama Bank and Florida shor 
 From Cape Hatteras its course is N. E. to the shoals off Nantucki] 
 Island and George’s Bank, where its velocity is about two miles dj 
 hour; these obstructions give it a more easterly direction, until j 
 strikes the Great Bank of Newfoundland in the latitude of 42. N. (j 
 thereabouts : here it meets with the resistance of the bank, and 
 turned by it to the E. S. E. There is in this part of the ocean 
 current which perpetually sets from the northward, south-eastward!; 
 along the coast of Newfoundland ; it is this current which bring! 
 from the coast of Labrador and Hudson’s Straits the islands of ic| 
 that are so often met with by ships on and about the grand Newfound] 
 land Bank in the first part of the summer, and which have proved fat'd 
 to so many ships and their crews : the appearance of these island 1 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 401 
 
 ujves beyond a possibility of doubt the existence of that current, 
 fich pressing upoo, is joined to that of the Gulf Stream and the 
 y ile sets away together towards the Azores, or Western Islands, at 
 h rate of from one to two and a half miles an hour : — this current is 
 e by all vessels bound from the United States to the Western Islands 
 r Madeira, or the Canaries, that sail in the parallels of the Azores, 
 dich all those vessels bound to Madeira, the Canaries, or the coast 
 f Spain and Portugal, and the Mediterranean sea, generally do. 
 I'^se vessels that make the Western Islands, when bound to Europe, 
 e irally feel it until they lose sight of those islands ; when in staud- 
 n away for the northern or central ports of Europe, they feel it no 
 lie, and it has therefore generally been thought to lose itself near 
 3 Azores, in the ocean. This is a mistake — for it continues its 
 orse for the coast of Africa, making no account of the island of 
 lleira, though the most of it passes northward of that island in a 
 o heasterly direction, and strikes the African continent from Cape 
 lllico to the latitude of 29° north. When it comes near this coast, 
 again contracted as it feels the effects of the trade winds near 
 iffioast, and rushes forward at times with great velocity against the 
 oft between Cape Blanco and the islands of Lanzarote, the north- 
 en and easternmost of the Canary Islands, being attracted, as it 
 
 S , by the vacuum occasioned by the trade winds and currents 
 h have been before noticed, and which have in a measure drained 
 Avaters from the coast, and the continuation of the Gulf Stream 
 neasing in velocity, restores the waters nearly to their former level, 
 fch still are kept rolling along before the wind, against and along 
 !i coast towards the equator, and are again driven by the same 
 a es to the coast of America into the Gulf of Mexico and back 
 gin, in what is usually termed the Gulf Stream, to the coast of 
 Vist and South Barbary, making their continual round. Ships 
 njd from Europe, say England, France, Holland, &c. to the West- 
 nies, the Cape de Yerd Islands, the coast of Guinea, Brazils, or 
 cia voyages, or to the west coast of America, generally steer south- 
 ed along the coast of Portugal, until they cross the mouth of the 
 its of Gibraltar, where if they meet with southerly winds they 
 indrawn towards the coast of Africa by a small indraught setting to- 
 vds the strait, where a current always runs in; for the waters of 
 b rivers which empty into the Mediterranean sea are not sufficient 
 c supply the loss from evaporations rendered necessary in order to 
 listen in some measure the parched earth and sand on its southern 
 Hler, and to cool the heated atmosphere, and support by dews the 
 city vegetation on the coast, during the greater part of the year, 
 v:re no rain falls except a little in winter ; so that the surface of the 
 i’iiterranean sea is always lower than that of the adjoining Atlantic. 
 Ie same causes, viz. great evaporations, tend also to reduce the 
 q jintity of water in the open ocean near the west coast of Africa, and 
 xticularly that part bordering on the desert, where very little or no 
 ".i ever falls, and the smooth surface of which, baked almost as hard 
 * done by the heat of a vertical sun, is during the night in some de- 
 
 51 
 
402 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 gree refreshed by the strong winds and vapours which come from | 
 sea, as before noticed, These reasons, together with the tacts wh| 
 
 I have before stated, demonstrate to my u derstanding, satisfactcrr! 
 that iu the offing all along this coast, the water must incline towa| 
 it, contrary to any general principle ot currents; and this is prov . 
 if any doubt did exist, by the vast number of vessels that have f( 1 
 time to time been wrecked on these wild and inhospitable shores, g*j 
 rally near Cape Nun, aud from thence to Cape Bajador, and as | 
 south as Cape de Yerd. Ships from Europe, bound round the soi l 
 ern capes of Africa aud America, generally stop at Madeira or Til 
 riffe for refreshments, and are not uulrequently obliged to run lot [}! 
 deira a!Dr they get in its latitude, and their reckoning by account 
 up one, and sometimes two degrees westward beiore they find 1 1 
 island; when,- had they kept on the courses wnich they would natui 
 ly have steered to reach Teneriffe, they would have been sucked lit 
 eirawu in by the current between Lauzarote and Cape Cantin, |t 
 driven ashore near Cape Nud, before they could suspect they ll 
 reached the latitude ot that island, and iu the firm belief that il 
 were near the longitude ot Teneriffe, and consequently two huud j 
 and fifty miles from .the coast where they in fact are, and where i 
 human effort can save them from either perishing in the sea, or 
 coming slaves to the Bereberies, Moors, or Arabs, who inhabit i i 
 country. Most merchant vessels steer courses that, ought to ca 
 them within sight of the Canary Islands when bound to the south w. I 
 or from the strait of Gibraltar ; they generally experience a soulhel 
 current after passing the latitude of Cape Blanco, and have a fair wjji 
 when near the coast, with thick hazy weather, so that they can| 
 get an altitude of the sun : this is a sure sign tiiey are iu the south* 
 current, over which hangs a vapour similar to that observed over !| 
 Gulf Stream near the American continent, and when these porteudji 
 signs occur, they should stand directly off W. N. W. or N. W ui|| 
 they 7 reach (he longitude of Madeira, aod never pass the latitude 
 Teneriffe or Palma, without seeing oue of them. Near these islal 
 the atmosphere is more clear, and they can be seen from sixty tori' 
 hundred miles distant in clear weather. I am particular in advis! 
 those ship-masters who are bound that w T ay, by ail means to make 
 island of Madeira; it takes them but a little out of their route, a 
 from whence they will be sure of making Teneriffe or Palma, in ste 
 ing the regular courses, when by 7 due precaution against indrattg 
 southward of those islands, they avoid the dangers of this tenii 
 coast, and the dreadful sufferings or deaths which aw'ait all that 
 so unfortunate as to be wrecked on them : I have learned from a lc| 
 experience in trading aud navigating from Europe as well as Anieriij 
 to the Madeira and Canary Islands, to the coast of Brazil and Sou] 
 America in general, thence northward across the southern A) Sant 
 ail along thp coast of Guyanna and Terra Firroa, from the river An| 
 zon to the Bay of Honduras, through the passages between Timid 
 and f he Main, Cape Catocbe and the island of Cuba — in the gull I 
 Mexico, and iu the Missisippi river, to Cuba; — through the G 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 403 
 
 tieam backwards and forwards— -along the coasts of Florida to and 
 jin different ports in the United States, thence to and from all the West- 
 I lia islands, and to and from almost every part of Europe, aud 1 can 
 afert, without fear of contradiction from any practical man, that the 
 p ticular currents I have here mentioned do in -reality exist in all 
 tise parts of the ocean. I have endeavoured to find out their causes, 
 at now give the reader those I judge to be the correct oues. I pre- 
 side no man ever took more pains to examine and ascertain the facts 
 onwhich this theory is founded ; having tried the currents whenever 
 i i'ad an opportunity, in different parts of the Atlantic, and very few 
 np .nave had better opportunities : how far T have succeeded, must 
 nr after be determined. 
 
 Then I took my departure from Cape Spartei, bound to the Caps 
 i v’erd Islands, on my last voyage, I steered W. N. W. by compass, 
 ujd that Cape bore E. S. E. distant ten or twelve leagues, to give 
 tr, coast a good birth ; then I shaped my course W. S. W. and took 
 :& to have the vessel always steered a little westward of her course 
 -ire was a very fast sailer, and steered extremely easy, and what 
 its she did vary from her course was to the westward : we had a 
 ojtant fair wiod, and generally a good breeze, and were only three 
 las northward of the Canary Islands. I Siad frequently tried tire 
 -ojpasses on the outward bound passage, and found them to be cor- 
 ref, their variation being uo more than is generally calculated, i. e. 
 aej’ly two points about the straits of Gibraltar; I therefore made all 
 h allowance I could suppose necessary, and im courses steered 
 ujit to have carried my vessel to the west r ai d of Teoeriffe; but I 
 v: near the coast, and the indraught so strong, setting at the rate of 
 it past two miles an hour E. S- E. or two and a half S. E. that my 
 eel was carried by it out of her course in three days nearly two 
 u dred miles directly east broad-side towards Africa, and she must 
 in? entered the passage between Lanzarote and Fuertaventura fthe 
 a:°rnmost of the Canaries) and the coast of Africa, and so far from 
 tro islands that we could not discover them, though the island of 
 hVrtaventura is very high. The current here ran more to the south, 
 avjeping my vessel along with great rapidhy towards Cape Nun and 
 n coast — but my course being so far westward, I was carried by the 
 if> of the current, which is turned by the coast to S. W. near to the 
 till of Cape Bajador, before I could suppose it was possible that we 
 ve near it. 
 
 )f the great number of vessels wrecked on this part of the coast, 
 7ty few get as far down ; ‘'almost all go on shore near Cape Nun, and 
 k ire they believe themselves in the latitude of Lanzarote, being 
 Invn in by this fatal current and indraught, when they think they 
 u far to the westward, and are many times on the look-nut for Ten- 
 ;iFe. The weather is always extremely thick and foggy along this 
 :ist within the vortex of this current. If the crews of vessels, even 
 d he day time discover land Jo leeward, westward of Santa Cruz 
 S'Berberia, as it tends in some places nearly east and west, having 
 i] ays a strong wind, swell, and current, right on shore, and a tret 
 
404 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 mendous sea rolling on, it is next to impossible for the fastest saile . 
 escape total destruction by running on shore, where the crew nj;, 
 either miserably perish iu the sea, starve to death after landing, » 
 massacred by, or become slaves to the ferocious inhabitants, then*; 
 savage race of men, perhaps, to be found iu the universe. Til; 
 barbarians know and obey no law but their own will; their avail 
 alone sometimes prompts them to save the lives of their fellow marl 
 when in the deepest distress, in the hope of gaining by the sale, \\ 
 labour, or the future ransom of their captives, whom, they say, (|| 
 has placed in their hands as a reward for some of their virtues or g 
 actions ; and as it is a sacred duty they owe to themselves, as we! 
 to the Supreme Being, to make the most they can by them. Not 
 than six American vessels are known to have been lost on this par \ 
 the coast since the year 1800, besides numbers of English, Freni; 
 Spanish, Portuguese, &c. which are also known to have been tvre 1 
 ed there, and no doubt many other vessels that never have been he|j! 
 from — but it is only Americans and Englishmen that are ever he;; 
 from after the first news of the shipwreck. The French, Span;, 
 Portuguese, and Italian governments, it is said, seldom ransom tl 
 unfortunate shipwrecked subjects, and they are thus doomed to || 
 petual slavery and misery — no friendly hand is ever stretched fortl I 
 relieve their distresses and to heal their bleeding wounds, nor i' 
 voice of humanity to soothe their bitter pangs; till worn out v 
 sufferings indescribable, they resign their souls to the God who gi 
 them, and launch into the eternal world with pleasure, as deatl 
 the only relief from their sufferings. 
 
 I cannot omit to inform my readers, that on the 1st of Januaj 
 1816, when iu Mogadore, I went in company with Mr. Willshire, 
 pay a complimentary visit to Don Estevan Leonardi, an old man|| 
 Genoese by birth, who had lived a long time in Mogadore — he if, 
 I was informed, exercised the functions of French Vice-Consul th 
 for a number of years — he received us with the compliments of i 
 season ; congratulating me coldly on my redemption from slaver ; 
 inquired some particulars, &c. <fec. after which, and when we t" 
 refresher} ourselves with a glass of wine, he told me, that “ about llj 
 years 1810, 11, he received a long letter from Suse, brought toll 
 by an Arab, written by a Frenchman : this stated that the writer aji 
 another Frenchman, whom he named, had escaped from a prison | 
 Teneriffe a few weeks previously, where they had been long confinj 
 as prisoners of war ; that they stole an open boat in the night, a 
 set sail in the hope of escaping from the Spaniards, who had treat 
 them with great harshness and cruelty ; that they steered to the eaf 
 ward, expecting to land on the coast of Morocco, where they trust 
 they might regain their liberty, and get home through the aid of til 
 French Consuls ; that they made the coast of Suse, and landed a f«|i 
 leagues below Santa Cruz or Agader, after great sufferings and bar 
 ships, where they were seized on as slaves, and stripped naked ; ai 
 the letter concluded by begging of him to ransom them, and thus sa'jj 
 the lives of two unfortunate men, who must otherwise soon peris 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 405 
 
 toi, fee.— but said Leonardi, I had no orders from the Consul-Gene- 
 ■al j. expend money on account of his government, and accordingly 
 r aded the Arab who brought the letter to stop with me a few days 
 l price was two hundred dollars for the two, and he was their sole 
 
 0 ietor. In the mean time I sent off a courier express to Tangier, 
 
 1 rders from the Consul-General, who returned at the end of thirty- 
 delays, with leave to pay one hundred dollars a man for them, but 
 
 ‘her expenses. The Arab stayed fifteen days with me, and then 
 u led home in disgust; he could not believe I would ransom them, 
 jlid not do it immediately ; but rvhen my express returned from 
 a ier, giving me leave to buy them, I sent a Jew down with the 
 3 y to pay their ransom, but when he came to their master, he 
 jii not sell them at his former price, for he said he had found 
 ^ to be mechanics, and demanded three hundred dollars for the 
 
 0 or one hundred and fifty dollars each. The Jew said he saw 
 sien; they were naked, hard at work, aud appeared to be much 
 
 1 usted, very miserable, and dejected : — he might have bought one 
 r ae hundred and fifty dollars, but would not, as he had no orders 
 < so. When the Jew was about to return, their master told him if 
 
 ie efit away without the men, and the Consul wanted them, he must 
 your hundred dollars for them: — now on the Jew’s arrival at 
 oidore with this news, (continued Leonardi,) I sent off another 
 {ness to Tangier, who brought back leave to pay the four hundred 
 >l|rs, at the same time cautioned me not to make any further ex- 
 irfes on their account. I sent down the four hundred dollars to Suse 
 ;aji, and ordered the messenger to buy one, if he could not get 
 it; but their master said he had been played with and deceived 
 that time ; that if I wanted them, I must pa y Jive hundred dollars, 
 juhat he would then escort them up to Swearah, and be answerable 
 ■their safety until they arrived there, but he would not take the 
 w hundred dollars, nor would he separate them ; and so the mes- 
 arjer returned without them. I have expended (said he) about two 
 aired dollars that I shall never get again, and I suppose the men 
 reiead, as I have not heard from them since.” This, if not in the 
 r ise words, was the substance of what he said, and I could scarcely 
 j >ress the indignation I felt at this recital, nor avoid contrasting 
 ubehaviour of this man with that of my noble friend Willshire. 
 
 . 5 old man is very rich ; has no family but himself, and is one of 
 i most zealous Christians, in professions at least, in Barbary; but a 
 
 0 id wretch, who never knew the pleasure arising from the con- 
 c usness of having done a good deed. 
 
 f bile I remained at Mogadore, a schooner arrived there, as 1 have 
 'ore observed, from Gibraltar : she was a Genoese vessel, but 
 H’d under English colours, as the king of Sardinia was at war 
 r ? all the Barbary powers, or at least they were at war with him : 
 
 1 captain, officers, and crew, were Genoese and Spaniards. She 
 i; been more than twenty days on her passage from Gibraltar, 
 ring been carried by the current down the coast below Santa Cruz 
 ^Agader. The captain told me he must inevitably have gone ashore 
 
406 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 near Cape Nun, had not Godin Ids mercy favoured him with a si 
 wind, out of the usual course of nature, on that coast, when he 
 close to the laud : he had been beating for three days against the i| 
 wind, nearing the coast every day, and could not fetch off either ] 
 though his vessel was a fast sailer, and only in ballast trim, 
 arrived at Mo£adore about the 1 st of December, alter the win(l» 
 been blowing strong, with some rain froth the south, for four dayifj 
 is only in December and January that these winds occur, and al l/ 
 bring a storm with them, either of wind or rain: this schooner |t 
 the vessel in which my second mate and three men went round 'i[ 
 Mogadore to Gibraltar. 
 
 As the geography of that part of Africa lying in the equatorial 
 gions eastward of that extensive ridge of mountains which horde | 
 western coast from the latitude 18 N. to the Congo river, and tit 
 ward of the Mountains of the Moon, in which the Nile has its sou |s 
 has excited much speculation and interest in the learned world, (thi || 
 it does not come strictly within my province,) I will, nevertht i 
 make a few brief observations on the practicability of explcii 
 those hitherto unknown countries, in the hope that they may here j 
 be useful. And first, it is my decided opinion, that no Europe: i 
 civilized armed force, however large or well appointed, can 
 penetrate far mto the interior of these wild and dismal recessed 
 land, either from the shores of the Atlantic ocean, or the Mediterra i 
 sea; because an army on such an expedition, would not only hav [ 
 encounter powerful hosts of savage enemies at every turn, and und i 
 the severest privations, fatigues, and hardships, but would bes 3 
 have to encounter the raging heat of this scorching climate, surpasli 
 anything they may ever have experienced, and the pestilential - 
 orders incident thereto : — tlmse circumstances taken together, ci| 
 scarcely fail to produce its total annihilation in a short period, jj 
 thus frustrate the boldest and best planned military attempt. — Indi ]- 
 mat bravery, enterprise, skill, and prudence, in the ordinary w , 
 by travelling unprotected, are; also, in mv opinion, entirely unecjjl 
 to the task, and such enterprises must, I think, always prove aborti ; 
 Something might, perhaps, be done by black travellers, native* ! 
 that country, tutored expressly for that purpose, and sent off sin| 
 from different stations and on different routes ; but owing to their cl 
 fined education, and particular train of ideas, nothing very value : 
 could be expected from their researches. Steam Boats, strong! vbii) 
 and of a suitable construction, well armed and appointed, might ascf 
 the river Congo, (which I am induced from many considerations 
 believe is the outlet of the river Niger,) and traffic up that rivjj 
 making important discoveries ; but the whole of their officers, as w| 
 as all the men employed on board them, should first be inured to sn 
 climates, and be persons accustomed to fatigues, privations, hardshi 
 and sufferings; arid, above all, should be guided by the greatest <! 
 gree of human prudence. A plain arid very simple method for visiti 
 Tombuctoo in safety, arid returning again, might be pointed out lj| 
 either the American or English Consuls residing at Tangier, Algie 
 
 — — ~ 
 
appp:ndix. 
 
 407 
 
 ujs, or Tripoli ; — to accomplish this journey, the traveller, after 
 ir duly qualified, has only to become a slave by his own consent, 
 d secret understanding with his hired master; beiBg bargained 
 f by the Consul to one of the principal merchants trading to. that 
 iin the yearly caravans, and ivho might be induced to enter into 
 3 [roject for an ample remuneration. 
 
A 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 I 
 
 ^ •’ >• 
 
 OF THE 
 
 I 
 
 Hirawmsro ©3“ ®ns n ®§w@©©» 
 
 gw 
 
 PX TEE 
 
 COAST OF SOUTH BARBARY, 
 
 AND OF TEE 
 
 i SUFFERINGS OF THE MASTER AND THE CREW 
 
 WHILE IN BONDAGE AMONG THE ARABS; 
 
 INTERSPERSED WITH 
 
 V AEROUS REMARKS UPON THE COUNTRY AND ITS INHABITANTS, 
 
 AND CONCERNING TnE 
 
 PECULIAR PERILS OF THAT COAST. 
 
 BY JUDAH PADDOCK. 
 
 HER LATE MASTER. 
 
 MEW- YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY COLLINS & CO. 189 PEART,- STREET 
 
 J. Seymour, printer. 
 
 5 818 , 
 
Southern District of New-York, ss, 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, Thai on the twenty-fifth day of April, it 
 forty-Fpeond year of the Independence of the United States of Ame:i 
 / \ Judah Paddock , of the said District, hath deposited in this office the t 
 
 •/ of a Book, the right whereof he claims as author and proprietor, ii t 
 words following, to wit : 
 
 ‘■'•A Narrative of the Shipwreck of the Ship Oswego, on the Coast of South Bart\ t 
 and of the Sufferings of the Master and the Crew while in bondage among the A) 
 interspersed with numerous remarks upon the country and its inhabitants, and 
 rerning the peculiar perils of that coast. By Judah Paddock , her late Master 
 
 In conformity to the Act of (he Congress of the United States, entitled “ An Ar t 
 the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Booh 
 the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned i 
 also to an Act, entitled “ An Act supplementary to an Act entitled an Act for the r 
 couragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to: 
 authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and i 
 tending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching histo ; 
 and other prints,” 
 
 JAMES DILL, 
 
 Clerk of the Southern. District of New-Yon 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 am so far from ever wishing to appear before the pub- 
 fin the character of an author, that l had all along re- 
 ifsd the importunities of very many of my friends, who, 
 i|ft time to time, earnestly requested me to write, and 
 i dish a narrative of the wreck of the Ship Oswego, and 
 the subsequent sufferings of myself and crew among the 
 |1 Arabs. At last I have been prevailed upon to do it ; 
 r am encouraged with the hope that my narrative will 
 id with candour, and be of some benefit to mankind 
 eerally, and more especially to sea-faring men exposed 
 »he like awful calamities. 
 
 laving had but merely a common education, and being 
 accustomed to composition, I could tell my story only 
 u plain way, without any of the ornaments of flowery 
 apiage: or, had I procured any one to dress it up for 
 a in a fashionable style, it would be imposing upon the 
 tolic as my own, a thing not mine in reality, 
 knother disadvantage I am under, and a great one ; the 
 a,t important of my notes, and all the letters on the oc- 
 :;ion, are lost; so that from memory chiefly must this 
 lirative appear: a circumstance that will be full likely 
 occasion doubts of its correctness in the minds of some 
 fthe readers. But I entreat such to consider that the 
 stressful and terrible scenes 1 passed through, made a 
 ay deep impression upon my memory, and that scarcely 
 \ /eek, or even a single day, has since gone by, in which 
 \ ave not been revolving some or other of their parts in 
 l mind : by which means they are, for the most part, still 
 far and distinct to my recollection, like the things of 
 f ;terday. 
 
 have only to add : it is no part of my object to enrich 
 a: self by means of this publication ; the clear profits from 
 st (should there be any,) are to go otherwise than to my 
 on private emolument. 
 
 JUDAH PADDOCK. 
 
 Hudson , July 23, 1 81 8. 
 

 
LETTERS 
 
 and 
 
 New-York, 29th October, 1317, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 The Narrative of Capt. James Riley has' excited uncommon in, 
 test; and as there are some persons, who, ignorant of his excel- 
 kt character, doubt the general correctness of his story, and others 
 no disbelieve the authenticity of particular parts, I have been- 
 u eel by several respectable gentlemen, who, together with myself, 
 nose the utmost confidence in your candour and veracity, and who 
 ire been a long time acquainted with the respectability of your 
 lading in society, to solicit from you a statement of your sufferings 
 a 1 adventures in a similar situation; and ! am persuaded, that, 
 iiependently of the gratification which it will afford, and the in- 
 flation which it will convey, there will be a sufficient inducement, 
 ven you understand that a compliance with this request may ren- 
 essential service to a deserving fellow-citizen, and greatly pro- 
 lie the cause of truth. 
 
 1 am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON. 
 
 Captain Judah Paddock , 
 
 Hudson, 25th November, 1817- 
 To De Witt Clinton. Esq. Governor of the State of New-York . 
 
 ESTEEMED FRIEND, 
 
 Thy favour of 29th ult. came to my hands a few days since, by a 
 i vate conveyance. Its contents I notice. It gave me great sa- 
 nction to find Capt. Riley has such friends as the Governor of 
 
VI 
 
 the State, as also many of its most respectable citizens, to aid a 
 assist him in his great and worthy undertaking, so far as to gi 
 currency to it after diligent examination as to its facts. His N: • 
 rative of Shipwreck I have carefully perused the third time throuj, 
 and am ready to say every part of that which came within my kno 
 ledge is correct, or substantially so. Were I to have told my ste- 
 in my own way, we might have differed in some points, which woi 
 not have gone to discredit his assertions. I was wrecked on 
 same coast, and drank of the same bitter cup of affliction. All < • 
 sufferings were nearly of the same kind. Perhaps no one in our ble 
 ed land has it in his power to say so much in behalf of this injured ir i 
 as I have ; therefore I should tax myself with ingratitude to be ■ 
 lent, more particularly when solicited by so many respectable p • 
 sonages that have written me to give an opinion of his work. I s , 
 injured man, as doubting the authenticity of the work is an injury wh i 
 he must feel sensibly, being to a great expense, without funds, and t 
 likely to be very well remunerated for all his expenses and troul, 
 f have but little personal acquaintance with Capt. Riley; from tt 
 little, and from what I learn from those who have long known hirll 
 believe him to be a man of strict integrity, and worthy of pub 
 confidence. Thee solicits a statement of my sufferings in that inffl 
 pitable clime. I would most readily comply with that request, lil 
 I confidence in my own ability to do justice to the public in the ili 
 hibition of it. It is a long time since the occurrence took pla. 
 Having made at the time but few minutes of the important facts, s 
 body of it must be from recollection. As Capt. Riley took his nos 
 at the moment, and being better qualified for the task than mys 
 I dare not venture to write a book on the same ground; bul 
 would permit him to affix some observations of mine to his work, 3 
 an Appendix, could I think it so important for the public good as t 
 friends have generally thought, since Riley’s Narrative made its :|- 
 pearance. Should thee wish further information from me, I hd 
 myself read}'- to reply to any communication thee wishes to make. 
 
 Thy friend, 
 
 JUDAH PADDOCK 
 
VII 
 
 New-York, 11th mo. IS, 1817. 
 
 ESTEEMED FRIEND, 
 
 Recollecting the lively impressions which a verbal narrative of 
 ft sufferings and hardship experienced by thyself and crew on the 
 ci. st of Africa, produced on my feelings during a visit at Hudson 
 k: summer, and reflecting also on the information thy story em- 
 b ced relative to the nature and state of the country, and of the 
 c toms and manners of the Arabs, I have wished sincerely that an 
 a ount of those events, and the general results of observations made 
 :rA.frica, drawn up by thyself from thy own notes, might be sub- 
 trted to the public. The civilized world is now looking towards 
 'It country with increasing intei*est, and any genuine information 
 : . hardly fail to be favourably received. I can assure thee that a 
 o dication of thy Narrative would exceedingly gratify me, as well 
 a i number of thy other friends in this city. I have been for some 
 he well acquainted with Capt. Riley, and believe him to be a man 
 ^strict integrity, and fully deserving the confidence of the public ; 
 b as there are some in every community who are more or less im 
 odulous, with respect to circumstances out of the road of common 
 eoerience, a publication of the occurrences which befel thyself and 
 C w on the same soil, and among the same people, would, from the 
 1.1-known respectability of thy character, add strength to the testi- 
 any of Capt. Riley, and tend to the removal of doubts which some 
 ire entertained of the credibility of certain parts of his Narrative, 
 
 I am; with great regard and esteem, 
 
 Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 THOMAS EDDY, 
 
 Hudson, 25lh November, 1317. 
 
 ESTEEMED FRIEND THOMAS EDDY, 
 
 Thy favour of 18th inst. was handed to me on the 22d, by a 
 gitleman travelling northward : the contents noticed. On the sub- 
 let of my shipwreck on the coast of Barbary, I do not think myself 
 equate to the task of writing a Narrative of it, to say, such an one 
 a the the public might anticipate after knowing 1 had commenced 
 i It is not a gift I am endowed with, taking into view my inability 
 
Vlll 
 
 to do justice to the tiling, and that Capt. Riley, to whom, in my « 
 nion, implicit confidence can be given relative to his Narrative, 
 far as has come within my knowledge, (being both wrecked on 
 same coast, and our sufferings nearly the same,) and from what li 
 opportunity I have had with him personally, and the corresponde 
 with him while writing his first edition, I think the public may : 
 assured full confidence may be given to his Narrative genera 
 Many parts could not be expected to have come within my not 
 which of course 1 must be silent on. While he was writing I 
 Narrative, which interested me very much, I cautioned him to 
 very circumspect on every point ; at the same time giving hin 
 understand, if injustice was done the thing, he might expect s< 
 observations on it that might be disagreeable to him. His ansv 
 were prompt and gentlemanly. In the mean time, before the b 
 rative was made public, I took every opportunity to learn his c 
 racter, and always found what I now believe him to be, a man of 
 racity and strict integrity. If thee and others of my friends she 
 think that what I could say more than Capt. Riley has said on 
 subject would be advantageous to the human race, I think I wc 
 endeavour to gratify those friends and the public, in a brief accci 
 of our shipwreck and sufferings, &c. to be attached as an Apj t 
 dix to another edition of Capt. Riley’s, should another be prim 
 which he may have gratuitously if he will accept it ; but if the ab 
 will answer as a confirmation (as far as I know) of his Narrative 
 will afford me the greater pleasure: otherwise, I will exert myjl 
 and tell the tale just as it transpired, according to the best of j 
 ability, as painful as the task will be. Any communication fif 
 thee on this or on any outer subject, shmi be attended to, oy 
 
 Thy real friend, 
 
 JUDAH PADDOCK 
 
IX 
 
 have been acquainted with Captain Judah Paddock for about 
 vnty-five years, and for a considerable portion of that period, we 
 use resided in the same town. 
 
 , lapt. Paddock’s character as a man of high probity and excel- 
 e morals, has ever been unimpeached; and I have no hesitation 
 raying, that he is entitled to full faith in any facts which he may 
 
 fte. 
 
 AMBROSE SPENCER, 
 
 ! A Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of New- York. 
 Lpril 13th, 1318. 
 
 ■ . * 
 
 > 
 
 rom a personal acquaintance with Captain Judah Paddock, of 
 ire than thirty 3 -ears standing, I am enabled to state, without fear 
 )1 ontradiction, that he has uniformly sustained a high character 
 
 0 probity and veracity, and that any statement made by him of 
 as coming within his personal knowledge, is entitled to the most 
 eire credit. 
 
 ELISHA JENKINS, 
 
 Mayor of the City of Albany, 
 
 1 Lpril 14th, 1318. 
 
 ’rom an acquaintance with the author of the following pages for 
 my years, together with an opportunity afforded me of knowing 
 2 character while in the capacity of a ship-master in my employ, 
 1 ive no hesitation in saying that his character, as a man of vera» 
 • ' and strict integrity, is unimpeachable. 
 
 ROBERT JENKINS, 
 Mayor of the City of Hux^sgn, 
 
 .v 
 
Since to me alone did Captain Judah Paddock commit the chaji 
 of revising the original draught of his Narrative, and preparing t 
 for publication, it is due to justice to say, I account him no less - 
 ally and substantially the author of the Narrative as now to be ofj 
 ed to the press, than if none but himself should ever have see! j 
 previously to its going into the hands of the printer. Whatej 
 emendations I have attempted, they have been such as never jg 
 change the sense, and but seldom even the diction, which I she ! 
 have been disinclined to change materially if full licence had b 
 granted me, — well persuaded as I am that a tale of such deep 
 .lively interest would be more acceptable if told in the identji 
 phrase and very words of the respectable man who had person: d 
 borne so large and distressing a part in the whole subject ma) 
 of it. 
 
 EZRA SAMPSOh 
 
 Hudson, (N. Y.) May 2, 1818. 
 
 This is to certify, that I was second mate of the ship Oswci 
 when she was wrecked on the coast of Barbary ; that I have el 
 mined the manuscript of Capt. Paddock’s Narrative, and have t 
 hesitation in saying that it is strictly correct, according to the l, 
 of my recollection. 
 
 JOHN CLARK 
 
 Brooklyn, 26th April, 1818. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 • ioyage from New-York to Cork — Occurrences there — Account of Pat, orPa- 
 k, the breeder of our troubles — Occurrences on our voyage from Cork to the 
 ]pe de Verds — Our shipwreck on the Coast of Barbary — Evil advice listened to — 
 .r difficulties and peiils in getting ashore — The ghastly scenery there, and our dis- 
 jsful apprehensions - - - - - - - - - ....... Page 17 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 wevices and efforts for getting back to the ship — Numerous fragments of a re- 
 ctly wrecked frigate — The construction of a raft from them, and its ill suceess — 
 C' several abortive attempts to swim to the ship — Our successful recourse to the 
 ftuguese method of swimming — The landing of our necessaries — Preparations for 
 miring the long boat — The mission of two of our men to make discoveries, the 
 o for the mountains, and the other for the Cape — The return, and the frightful 
 si y, of the latter— Particulars concerning the fragments of the wreck, that were 
 fflg far along the shore — Intoxication of Pat and his watchmate, while they were 
 o he watch — A nocturnal visit from two barefooted Arabs— Our alarm and coa- 
 st nation upon the discovery of this by their tracks — preparations for our departure 
 feist. Cruez — The man for the mountain returns, and makes report — Remarkable in- 
 s-ice of gratitude and kindheartedness in Jack, my black man ----- 26 . 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 i powerful emotions on taking our leave of the ship — My counsel to the crew — 
 
 0 alarming discovery of numerous tracks of travellers — Our first night spent in 
 a markable cave — The painfulness of our journey over sand hills and sharp peint- 
 eitocks — A vast bed of salt mistaken by us for a pond — A groupe of untenanted 
 lines discovered by us — Description of them, and our conjecture concerning their 
 o in — Description of a fine bay in which we bathed ourselves — Appalling disco- 
 # of a quantity of human hair in a cask, and a heap of human bones- — Our annoy - 
 ai; in the night time by the near approach and dismal howlings of wild beasts — 
 
 P the second time drunk on his watch — The mystery unravelled as to how he 
 one by his liquor — The inclination of the crew to stone him — My remonstrance 
 a inst it — A horrid tale of his life from his own mouth — Marks of discontent and 
 nrness among the crew — Disclosure of a settled purpose to return back — My in- 
 ti, dual reasonings and entreaties to the contrary — Our affectionate parting ; my- 
 st and three of my men proceeding towards St. Cruez, and my mate and the eight 
 3 ; rs going back for the ship - -..-..----.----34 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ure of six of the other ten 
 
 1 ferociousness of their attack. 
 
 ■ strip- 
 -Their 
 
 —The 
 
 -We are hurried back to the wreck, where we find 
 
3.11 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 a large assemblage of the natives — The capture of the remaining four of our mei . 
 Leaving these four at the wreck, they travel off with the remaining ten — The . 
 tremity of our hunger and thirst, the latter being the most intolerable — In our . 
 treme hunger and thirst, we feed deliciously on the raw moist guts of an animal - ; 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Our half burial, in our sleep, under the drifting sand — My Arab master springs itf 
 ously upon me, and strips me of my body-clothes — Our power of swallowing L 
 pended by our parching thirst — The kindly efforts of black Sam in my behalf—!} 
 thirst slaked at, a pond of putrid water — Its description — The bloated appear; e 
 of theireamel after his drinking — The dismalness of our night-lodging — A pate |( 
 barley in the milk ravenously devoured by us — The punctiliousness of the Araljii 
 their devotions, as well as constancy in their villanies, regularly praying, cheat , 
 robbing, and murdering, by turns — Instance of the incomparable worth of cool !• 
 ter to the thirsty — Our rencontre with hundreds of Arabian horsemen and food , 
 who search us for money, and conduct us in triumph to a tented tribe — Our intol t 
 ble sufferings there, from the heat, from the throng, and from thirst — Our introij. 
 tion to George, an English youth in slavery — Hi? joy at seeing us — His hagga « 
 appearance— -His affectionate behaviour to us — His interesting story — A sutnn j 
 of our sufferings incur five days’ travel - - - - - ------- 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Our discoverv among this tribe of two enslaved boys belonging to England, nanjs 
 Jack and Laura, the latter a mulatto of excellent sense and disposition — 'IM 
 great use to us as interpreters — The ill character given me of Jack, by George jii 
 Laura — My ineffectual efforts to find out where lay Swearah, the Arabic naim| 
 Mogadore — Arrival of Ahamed, the chief of the tribe — Our exposure to sale- < 
 men of the tribe throng around and appraise us — Ahamed interceded with, | 
 prevailed upon to buy us — The cutting taunt upon the Christians for their negro se 
 trade — A ferocious dispute and scuffle for my coat — Our old masters depart, cs'i 
 ing away with them our two black men — Description of the number, the van: 
 complexion, and the featuies of that, tribe — The number of their flocks, and |jj 
 managed — The process of their milkingjand butter making— A piece of quack vf 
 allotted me, much against my grain — Reasons for the decrease of our cravings | 
 water — Surpassing beauty of the Arabian horses — Preparations of the tribe foil 
 moving their quarters — The articles of their baggage 
 
 CHAP. VII; 
 
 Arrival oftbe tribe at’ their new quarters — A smoking bout — Description of th'etrpis 
 their manner of smoking, and their custom of story telling — The commission s 
 murder, by an Arab, upon the body of his wife — His (rial for it, and the penall i 
 suffered — His re-marriage — The wedding scene — A. feat of horsemanship— Desc i. 
 tion of the horses, their trappings, and the dexterity of the horsemen — The form i 
 shape of an Arabian horse shoe — Their shooting at a mark — Our clouded prosp 1: 
 respecting our ransom — Our employ at needle work — Our journey to AbanO 
 grain field— Our arrival atthe tents of another tribe of Arabs — Their manner o’- 
 ceiving strangers — Their customary salutations— Their boastful pride— How 1 j 
 educate their boys — Their utter contempt, of their females — Their regular praye- 
 The form of prayer commonly used by Jack’s mistress — The inestimable blessirji) 
 a good appetite — The reproachful and contemptuous remarks of the Arabs betvjj 
 themselves, upon the Christian nations ------------- 1 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Progress in our journey — A reservoir on our way— A description of i(— An accou 
 the heaps of stones, and the custom of the Arabs of throwing each a stone tjju 
 every heap they pass by — The supposed cause of these piles— Our distressful su r 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 X1U 
 
 its with thirst and hunger- — We see, for the first time, an inhabited dwelling in the 
 m of a house, and a large field of barley— Our entry upon the borders of a fertile 
 untry, and our arrival at last to a vast barley-field, owned by Ahamed — The set- 
 d resolution with us not to work in it, and our reasons for this — How we managed 
 with the Ishmaelites, and obtained our end — The expedient of Pat to get clear of 
 irk, and to fill his belly — The attempt to starve us to a compliance — We march off 
 a body, and are overtaken bjr the Arabs with loaded muskets, and threatened 
 th instant death — We are conducted by them to a house owned by Ahamed, where 
 f sister boards us by the week — A description of that tenement and its two princi- 
 1 tenants — The employments we were there put to — We are Lodged in a goat-pen, 
 ;ved with filth, and swarming with fleas — Description of a vault filled with barley 
 ; the sheaf— An Arabian corn-mill described — My interview with a venerably look- 
 d and kindly seeming pld Arab - - 84 
 
 CHAP. IX, 
 
 ■orderly manner of the Arabs’ herds and flocks — The wretched dress and disgust- 
 fc; manners of our female visiters — Our affliction by the plague of lice — Ahamed 
 rives, and brings with him Bob, the other English boy — The joyful meeting of the 
 lys — Price of tobacco — Ahamed’s remark on chewing it— Adventure in the wheat- 
 fid — Remarkable tallness of the wheat there — Instance of the power of habit — The 
 newal of Ahamed’s invectives and reproaches upon the Christians, for their injus- 
 :e and cruelty to the negroes — Alarming conference between our masters and cer- 
 n strangers, on the subject of marketing us — Preparations for our journey io 
 .rearah or Mogadore — My last farewell to the never-to-be-forgotten Salear — The 
 mmencement of our journey — We behold, for the first time, real trees — Descrip- 
 n of ail Arabian cloak — Numerous herds and flocks seen by us, as well as dwell- 
 ;s — The prices of live stock — Ahamed's invective against the shipwrecked 
 Biristians for hiding their treasure from the true believers, to whom God had given 
 -His horrid tale of a numerous crew of a large ship, murdered to a raan by him- 
 . if and the other Arabs - - - - 95 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 trher reservoir on our road — Raw meal of more lasting nourishment than meal boil- 
 — Our arriv al at the sea — The terrific appearance of its margin — The Foulahs, a 
 cific sect of Arabs, resembling the shaking quakers — Our passage through a vast 
 arm of locusts — The manner of their array — The tents, and the craft, of Arabian 
 oermen — The desolate tents of a tribe destroyed by the plague — An assemblage 
 women taunt and dismount us — The ruins of a town, whose inhabitants bad been 
 i massacred on a religious pretence — Our visit to the tribe of Ahamed’s brother — 
 ie mutual salutations of the two brothers, and the ceremonious observances be- 
 /een them — The murder committed by Ahamed’s brother, on his own wife, for 
 anting our food — His indifference about her while she lay a dying — A speculator 
 imes to buy us for re-sale — His singular looks and garb — The pictorial beauty of 
 s horse — The manner of his chaffering for us — Our extreme agitation - - 105 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 3 adieu to Ahamed’s brother — The fertility of the country increases as we advance' 
 -The vastness of its grain, and of the number of reapers — A sight of St. Cruez from 
 
 * -e top of a hill — A gang of women hurl stones at us as we pass by them — Their re- 
 arkable force of muscle, as well as gift of tongue — Tumult among our owners, 
 icasioned by their missing boy Jack — The debate between the two opposite 
 aimers of him, and the manner of their settlement — Their way of eating their pud 
 ng — My conversation with one of the reapers— his inquisitiveness after information 
 bout the English manufactures— How the Arabs take leave of their entertainers — 
 he contrast here of fat and lean between wives and husbands — Dismaying re-ap- 
 aarance of the speculator— Our unspeakable distress at seeing him again, and 
 leaving his plausible tale — He fails of his object, and goes off in a rage — Our unstic- 
 
 • essful attempts to escape to St. Cruez — The greedy speculator comes again — Buys 
 
 vie of the mates — Is again defeated — We arrive at St. Cruez— The manner of Con- 
 locting us into the town - - - - - - ... - . . . . . - - w 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 My examination at St. Cruez— Our hospitable treatment there— The huge met 
 food set before us- — I he personal appearance of the Moorish governor — His kii 
 attentions to me- His remarks upon the rascality of the Arabs — His orders to A 
 '1 Te cringing sycophancy of the latter — The circumstances of our departui 
 Description of the battery — A view of the stupendous Atlas — The wonderful 
 nagement of the camels in climbing it — The difficulty and peril the rider is a 
 keeping his hold — 1 he adventures at our lodging place — Sublime prospect of 
 Atlas as the sun was rising' — The amusing spectacle of our Arabs buttering tl 
 beards Description ot the country— Ahamed swears by his beard to carry us 
 further, and imprisons us in a yard — The resemblance of our condition to tha 
 the newly imported negroes yarded up for sale —A visit in our yard from a Moo 
 great respectability — The discovery by us of the scheme of our masters to earn 
 hack Another visit Irom the respectable Moor — The awe the other Moors, and 
 Arabs, were struck with by his presence — His inquiries of and about us — Ado! 
 successful attempt of Tat to get his fill by amusing the women — The jealousy 
 (ury it occasioned among the men — Our narrow escape ------ 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Our third visit from the venerable Moor-— My enlrealy for his protection — His pro 
 sal lor my writing a letter to Mogadore — -The purport of my letter — A courier hi 
 to carry it — Our joyful hopes turned into distracting fears, by the courier’s presi 
 ly returning with the letter broken open, and denounced as a cheat — A new, 
 unpromising plan, agreed upon — Our benignant guest steps in and defeats it, 
 proposes to the Arabs to send me to Mogadore — My setting out on my journey 
 ther, in company with Ahamed and the Moor that was to have carried my lette 
 Heavy discouragements od the way — Condition of the surrounding country- — Dr 
 ged by the heels from my bed of st raw — My confinement in a dark and loathsc 
 room, under circumstances, and with forebodings, that rendered me nearly frantii 
 My escape from that filthy prison — After an altercation with Ahamed and the Mo 
 my journey progresses — A view of the top of the Atlas, and the adjacent count 
 at the moment of sunrise — A stifling progress through drifted and drifting sani 
 Enrapturing sight of Mogadore, and of the British flag waving in its harbour — ( 
 currences at the little village where we take up our lodgings for the night — My 
 cape from my keepers to a fresh river near by — A feat at scouring and rins 
 there ] 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 The rapid race of my two keepers inquest of me— Near Mogadore I am met, and i 
 luted, by two Frenchmen---My entrance into this city of refuge— The courtesy o 
 Jew toward me — My arrival at the house of the British consul —My 7 joyful iut< 
 view there with certain British sailors, who had lately been slaves among the Ara 
 — The cordial welcome given me by the aged consul — His character for extraori 
 nary philanthropy — He orders Ahamed back, to bring up my men — A laborious j 
 at shaving— The ghastliness of my appearance to myself in the glass — My vis 
 with the consul, to the two Courts— Their engaging friendship — My application 
 the American agent, a foreigner — The difficulty of our correspondence, from n 
 knowing one another’s language — How the spur of necessity quickens one’s pr 
 gress in learning a foreign language — My rest disturbed and broken by means of ti 
 softness of my bed — My conversation with the sailors that had belonged to the sh 
 Martin Hall — T heir story of the murder of one of their crew by the Arabs — Ti 
 ■"omul’s remarks on the unusually short time of our captivity, and the number 
 shipwrecks on that coast during the term of his consulate — My interview with 01 
 agent — His strange advice — Our ransom promised to be advanced by the two Cour 
 — My application to the American Consul General at Tangier — His exceeding 
 sy mpathetic ?.nd benevolent answer — The arrival of my men at Mogadore - If 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 r opinion of William Court and Consul Gwyn respecting the ransoming of Chris- 
 I.n slaves — Ahamed’s jealousy on his finding me an American — The aid given trie 
 a friendly Jew in quieting him— -The payment of our ransom by the two Courts 
 the upshot of the keg of dollars hidden by me in the barrel of beef — Regulations 
 ■ the market at Mogadore— Unusual cheapness of cattle, occasioned by the plague 
 
 S The regulations at Mogadore with respect to imports and exports-— The law 
 ainst any but Mahometans riding on horseback — The degraded condition of the 
 Jivs there — The uncommonness of Christians and Jews turning Mahometans-— The 
 jostaey of boy Jack— -Exultation of the Moors on that occasion— -Fairness of sales 
 ,d cheapness of living— My conversation with the consul, concerning Ahamed’s 
 >ry of the massacre of a ship’s crew of Christians, and about the harbour I had 
 ;n— The manner of trade between the Spanish fishermen and the wild Arabs — 
 sketch of the peculiar perils of the coast we were wrecked upon— Reasons for 
 lieving tnat many crews, supposed to have been foundered at sea, had perished 
 that coast— My last interview with Ahamed - -- -- -- -- 164 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 mperrnit from the emperor to return home— A visit from a frigate of his Britannic 
 . ijesty— The consternation occasioned by it to the governor of Mogadore— The 
 Vppled condition of the fortifications of that town— The way and manner of my 
 iitaining the tabinet, which my poor black man Jack had packed away for his mis- 
 ■;ss to wear-— Account of the commerce— Garden at Mogadore, and of the com- 
 ijoy that resorted to it— A description of the terrace-roofs there, and of the step- 
 mes for their mosques— Curious trials for criminal offences-— singular manner of 
 P city watchmen— the briskness of business, occasioned by a permit from the em- 
 ror to export grain— Our passage for Portugal engaged— -Pat’s refusal to embark 
 
 i th us— Our voyage to Lisbon— Our quarantine there— The kind attentions, and 
 suspecting confidence of Buckley, the American consul-general at Lisbon— The 
 ble generosity of captain Norman, of Baltimore— Our voyage from Lisbon to that 
 y, and arrival there— Remarkable supply of my pecuniary needs— My journey 
 : the seat of government, and interview with the Secretary of State — My gladsome 
 : urn to my wife, and to all my relations and friends in Hudson - - - - 174 
 

 
 ■ »,* • 
 
 
 , •* 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' ... 
 
 
 
 *v? 
 
 
 
 
PADDOCK’S NARRATIVE* 
 
 <3 0 <*> (©> ■ (2) ® © ©■ ■ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 |> voyage from New-York to Cork — Occurrences there — Account of Pat, or Pa- 
 ick, the breeder of our troubles — Occurrences on our voyage from Cork to the 
 
 1 i ape de Verds — Our shipwreck on the Coast of Barbary — Evil advice listened to- 
 ur difficulties and perils in getting ashore — The ghastly scenery there, and ourdis- 
 essful apprehensions. 
 
 Dn the 8th of January, 1800, I left New-York in the Ship Oswe- 
 gof Hudson, with a cargo of flaxseed and staves on freight, bound 
 ■Cork. She was a very good ship of 260 tons, 4 years old, a fast 
 ft er, well found in every respect, navigated by 13 hands, including 
 Iks. Some of our crew were foreigners, and having no list of their 
 .roes, I cannot recollect them all, so long a time having elapsed 
 n:e the voyage. My chief mate was Daniel Hussey of Nantucket ; 
 2 mate, John Clark of Hudson ; one man by the name of Wilbor, 
 O' by the name of John Hill, Gorham Paddock, a boy, a black man 
 J:k of Hudson, a black man Sam of Philadelphia, Johnson of the 
 ri thern part of the state of New-York, two Danes and two Swedes ; 
 flse constituted our ship’s company. 
 
 Jur passage out was very rough ; we arrived there in 24 days, 
 le third day after sailing, one of our men broke out with the small- 
 pi ; on examination I found two others that had never had it ; and 
 a >oon as the pock was full I inoculated those two, who had it very 
 fourably, some little attention being paid to their diet. On our 
 aival they were well, having never been off duty one day. Rut 
 ti man who took it the natural way had it very severely ; a com- 
 pte mange covered his whole body, and he was blind several days 
 'ore our arrival. When the health officer came along side and 
 
 I nd sickness on board, so fearful were he and the boat’s crew, of 
 yellow fever, which had proved very mortal the summer before 
 New-York, that they left the ship immediately. I got a line to 
 friends Harvey and Lecky in Cork, who came along side in a 
 it. I then informed John Lecky that we were all in health ex- 
 it the man with the small pox ; and he sent a doctor off, who would 
 h. come on board until he was informed that the sick man really had 
 t* t disease. The poor creature lay in the steerage unable to stir. 
 
 1 'presented to the doctor the situation he was in, and the danger 
 o exposing him to the cold N. E. damp wind, and that there was 
 n way to exhibit him to his view, but by rolling him up in a blanket 
 til passing him over water casks, and that he must be passed out 
 o 1-ways for want of room. His reply was, If the man has the 
 ; all pox the air will not hurt him, and you must get him out the 
 
TADDOCk’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 best way you can. Seeing no alternative, we passed him up, ; 
 raised him on his feet, at the ship’s side, for a moment only, for 
 doctor was soon satisfied ; a worse figure in human shape I had ne 
 seen. We then put him below and laid him straight again, and 
 harm followed as we could discover; to say the least, he recove 
 •and got quite well again before worse troubles overtook him. 
 
 We were soon relieved from our quarantine, and discharged 
 •cargo. After laying a few days and finding nothing better to < 
 jaloy the ship in, I concluded to ballast her and go to the Capel 
 Verd Islands, and take a load of salt, skins, &c. for New-Yc 
 While the ship was preparing for the voyage, 1 was able to coll 
 about 1200 Spanish dollars ; they not being current money ihereij: 
 scarce, I was obliged to take the value of 600 dollars in Spanish ; 
 Portuguese gold. While in Cork we had heard of several inst 
 ces of vessels being robbed on the coast of Spain by vessels beai 
 the French flag. The truth of these reports I will leave, but thou 
 if they were to rob me of the 1200 dollars it should require sc 
 time to find them. Accordingly I took a small keg, just la 
 enough to contain the money, at my lodgings, and packed it sr 
 At a late hour in the evening, every thing being prepared, 1 ti 
 the keg on board while all were asleep but my officers ; unhea 
 a barrel of beef, took one half out, put the keg in the middle of 
 barrel, filled it up again, stowed it away along side the keelson, 
 put the other provisions over it as they were before. None of 
 crew knew any thing of this transaction till some time after we \\ 
 wrecked. 
 
 On the 22d of March, a fine breeze at N. N. W. and fair weatlj 
 we put to sea. When out of the harbour and the pilot discharj 
 my mate asked me, as is customary or very common, how the s 
 vms to be steered ? I told him, as the run was short, ive would sh| 
 our course for Madeira, and run for it on a meridian ; and accordi! 
 ly that course was ordered. We had good helsmen, the ship ’ 
 light and steered like a pilot boat ; so that we had no doubt of m 
 ing it exactly as we steered, provided the weather should be sucl 
 we had good reason to expect on that coast at that season of 
 year. In the afternoon, while arranging my papers, it occurre<j) 
 my mind that we had a man on board who had not signed the sl| 
 ping articles, and sending for him doivn and presenting them* 
 signing, he, to my astonishment, refused, by saying he did not belijj 
 to the ship, and knew better than to sign any such articles. I orij 
 ed him out of the cabin, and sending for the mate, I told him 
 man, as I called him, refused signing the shipping articles, 'j 
 mate was exceedingly provoked at it. We sent for the man agj 
 and he making use of the same language, I threatened to put 
 ashore on the first place we should stop at, and as he still persis j 
 we sent him out of the cabin the second time, declaring he should 
 put on board the first British ship of war that we should falil 
 with. 
 
 I will now relate the story of that man’s being in our ship. A 1 
 days before sailing from Cork, I went on board the ship, and | 
 
paddock’s NARRATIVE* 
 
 to 
 
 nanger at the caboose ; on asking the mate who he was, he in- 
 xied me he came on board the day before, as ragged and dirty as 
 .ever saw a man, and begged to work his passage home ; that he 
 tied his condition, gave him some pieces of cloathing and put him 
 d re caboose, and had found him a good cook. 1 suspected he 
 K some runaway sailor, and told the mate to put him ashore, and 
 Kt myself below. As soon as the fellow found he was to be la’nd- 
 dhe came below, .and begged very hard to go to America, saying 
 liras very poor, that the times were so hard he could not get a 
 Tig in the country he came from, and that he had no family nor 
 aids : he really appeared an object of pity. I told him I suspect- 
 die was some runaway sailor or soldier; he denied that he had 
 v been either. I then concluded to let him remain a day or two 
 aioard, more especially as the mate pleaded so hard for him. 
 bn I went on shore, I mentioned the circumstance to some of my 
 ids who had seen him on board, and thought he was to be pitied, 
 that I had better take him. 1 desired my landlord to mention 
 ricase to the press-master, and let him examine him : he did so ; 
 u whether the press-master examined him or not I never knew. 
 
 i ve been more particular in stating this thing, in order to prepare 
 ;eader for what will be related concerning that fellow hereafter, 
 othing material happened from the time of our leaving Ireland 
 e 28th, being then six days from land ; and having had moderate 
 ivariable gales with fine weather, and also several opportunities 
 Iscertain the exact variation of the compass, we had every reason 
 ► slieve our reckoning was right. On this morning of the sixth 
 of our voyage, the wind from the W. N. W. had hauled round 
 r. W. with hazy weather. About 9 o’clock we saw a large ship 
 nur lee bow standing toward us, and about 10 she passed under 
 tlee ; she appeared very light, under close reef topsails, and from 
 appearance I supposed she was Danish. It excited some little 
 me to see a large ship under so snug a sail standing westward; 
 jshe been loaded we should have concluded she was from Spain 
 ortugal, bound westward. We were at the time under single 
 i topsails with a main top gallant set. About 1 1 o’clock the 
 1 veered suddenly to N. N. W. which brought this ship on our 
 'tiher beam, three or four miles off*. At the same time we saw a 
 i a little on our lee quarter under a press of sail, heading for us 
 bout four miles distance ; we soon perceived she was a frigate ; 
 oout an hour she fired a bow gun. She being at some distance 
 we having nothing to fear, we hove to. By this time the light 
 1 being leewardly, had fallen down near us ; the frigate’s boat 
 oded that ship first, and then came on board us, when the board- 
 l'ttfficer told me the other ship was from Copenhagen, bound into 
 uitraits of Gibraltar. I asked him if they were a stationed ship ? 
 kreplied they were cruising off Cape Finistere. I asked how far 
 e apposed they were from the land ? He mentioned the distance, 
 hh I do not now recollect, but well remember we had supposed 
 Uielves further westward. As they had not seen the land in four 
 and were in a cruising ship, and we had had a fresh departure 
 
20 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 only sis days before, we had as much reason to put confidence in o 
 account, as he in his ; yet we were not wide apart in our reckoninj 
 I asked him the cause of the other ship being on the other tack, if f 
 were so wide of Cape Finistere? He smiled, and said, such hea 
 ieewardly hulks were obliged to make great allowance for lee waj 
 3 mention this occurrence to show what my thoughts were at tl 
 moment, and (he weight it had on my mind afterwards. During 
 this time I never once thought of Patrick, or Pat, as our sailors call 
 the cook ; and so he escaped the punishment he richly deserved. | 
 Soon after we made sail, the wind having hauled to the N. N. 
 a fine breeze, wc shaped our course again for Madeira. While givi; 
 directions for that course, my mate observed he thought we vvtj 
 steering too far westward, and that, according to his account, [[ 
 should pass to the westward of the island. In reply, I told hin| 
 was of no consequence, as to which side we left it, but that I Ihotl 
 prefer making it ahead, because then we should have a choice win 
 to leave it. This conversation caused us to take up the whole,! 
 our calculation, from Cork harbour to the then supposed place 
 the ship; in doing which, as we frequently had noticed before, |i 
 ship’s dead reckoning was always northward of our meridian lq 
 rude, that is to say, the ship was always ahead of her reckoning ; ;| 
 this circumstance led us often to measure our log line and glass! 
 which, in every case, were found correct. Upon comparing 
 calculations with the then supposed place of the ship, we both for 
 that no errors had been made in the calculation of either of us ; St 
 still we differed from each other a little. Now to explain this 3 
 persons unacquainted with navigation, I will remark that two cjti 
 working by the same rule in theory, may differ in opinion as to j| 
 heave of the sea, and the ship’s craving the wind, for which alh 
 ances are made from the judgment of the officer of the deck ; :!;j 
 these are the only reasons why navigators aboard the same s|j 
 don’t all agree together as to the latitude and longitude. As fail! 
 I can remember, the only difference in our ideas of the bearin' i 
 Madeira was this, he was running for the west end, and 1 for ( 
 east; as that was not our port of destination it was of no cox : 
 quence, and so our course was continued, and with a fair wind. 
 
 We got in the latitude of the island early in the morning, the q 
 of the month I don’t recollect ; and we bore away westward to k j 
 that latitude, running all day at the rate of 9 1 knots. By our nti 
 dian observation we were a few miles southward of the middle ot j 
 island, the weather clear, and a good horizon. After meridian, j 
 mate observed that we must be to the westward of that island ; I < 
 pressed the same belief, yet, as our running till night could be oi 
 essential inconvenience to us, I told him we would continue on.j 
 At sun setting, I sent one man to the fore topmast head, and tp 
 ther to the main, to look out for land ; they continued till dark of i 
 evening, saw nothing, and came down. We continued the co p 
 till some time in the evening, and then hauled to the S. westwf 
 Having been acquainted with that island, I was confident that iip 
 were to the eastward of it, we must be distant from it upward f 
 
paddock’s narrative,. 
 
 21 
 
 #jy-five miles ; and being so much disappointed in not seeing the 
 ail, we had reason to distrust our reckoning, and to be in some 
 Upon which we went below, and traced our course and dis- 
 a -e back to Cape Finistere, and it appeared from the result, that if 
 mad been on shore at Madeira at sun-set, we could not have found 
 Ijance enough between it and Cape Finistere itself for our run 
 ire we parted with the British frigate- on that coast. Wherefore, 
 my opinion, it certainly ought to have been conclusive with every 
 ir. that we were to the westward of the island : nor could our local 
 Ration have been otherwise, without a very strong current east- 
 ?;d, and our log had been proved often enough to have put away 
 g doubt on that score. If I remember rightly, we steered S. W. 
 v 1 a moderate breeze from the eastward. On the following day, 
 f ril 2 ,) we saw no appearance of land, being then between the 
 alludes of Madeira and Tenneriffe, and we continued that course, 
 linear it, all the day. The night following we split the fore top 
 •a;, and sprung the bowsprit. In the morning of the 3d, we unbent 
 hfore top sail, and bent a new one, fished the bowsprit, hove the 
 ip to, and set up the lower rigging, which had become very slack. 
 
 ?he weather was uncommmonly warm for those latitudes. Soon 
 dr day light this morning the weather was smoky, nothing in sight. 
 
 ! meridian we observed we were in the latitude 29° 00' which was 
 her southward than to agree with a calculation by dead reckoning, 
 b horizon was pretty clear, but the state of the atmosphere was 
 fth that land could not have been seen at a great distance. I very 
 w 1 remember the observation of my mate, after we got our latitude 
 T day : By our reckoning, said he, in any shape you please to put 
 live cannot expect to see the Canaries 5 we shall pass them all too 
 fc westward, and if we do not haul further southward soon, we shall 
 k to leeward- of the Cape de Verd islands. The coast of Barbary 
 rs not mentioned by either of us, nor did it enter my mind ; but 
 k, opinion of our being too far westward accorded with mine. 
 Tis afternoon the wind was far to the eastward, and fresh. As 
 fell as I can remember, we hauled more southerly, going at the 
 fee of from 7 to 8 knots. Somewhile about 4 or 5 o’clock, our 
 oversation about the Canaries, was, as I recollect, that we were 
 nv in the latitude of the body of them, and nothing in sight, and 
 a to the coast of Barbary, that we were in no danger of it, being- 
 tin past the latitude of Cape Nun, laid down 28° 40'. During 
 fij.t conversation we were looking at the map, and 1 pointed out 
 t him the passage I once had made through the Canaries, between 
 lima and Gomera, for the Cape de Verd islands, observing that 
 cr course then was S. S. W. and that we got in the latitude of 
 Inavista 30 miles eastward of it. 
 
 This was the first time that Barbary was mentioned or thought of 
 I me, nor was it afterwards, till a quarter past ten that night. To- 
 vrds night, as I w r as sitting in the cabin, and reflecting on our situ- 
 i on as to our passage track, &c, I was led to look over my reckon- 
 fe again,- feeling some uneasiness that I cannot easily describe. 
 Tien the boy brought our tea down I took up my books and papers. 
 
22 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 and gave him the table, and as soon as his things were arrangei 
 sent him to call the mates ; it was now near dark ; he returned, a 
 said the mates were forward at work, and could not come yet. 
 drank some tea, and laid down with my clothes on, thinking to 
 on deck at 8 o’clock, which was near at hand. Having been hf 
 at work all the day I was somewhat fatigued, and unexpectedly 1 
 asleep. I awoke at the sound from striking four bells ; was on i 
 leet leeling tor my hat, and with no light burning when I heard 
 unusually loud noise. The first thought that struck me, was o 
 man being overboard. Before getting out of the gang way I d 
 tinctly heard those forward crying out, Breakers ! Breakers ri; 
 ahead! and several of the crew were running aft. I saw nothin 
 nor did I look forward, but ran to the helm to put it up ; too la 
 for it was hard down, or nearly so. I put my hand on the til 
 head, and bore it hard to the rail, when, in a moment, the ship 11 
 to, head to the wind, our yards being a little pointed or braci 
 By this time all hands were on deck, and a number aft, to haul rou 
 the after yards. We were on the point of hauling, when I discov 
 ed her to fall off. At that moment we hauled up the mizzen, s 
 having such quick stern way with the helm yet down, the main 
 mizzen topsail kept shivering or edging to the wind; the jib a 
 fore staysail sheets being hauled flat, she fell off remarkably quii 
 every man using his greatest exertions. When she began to gatl 
 head way, the helm righted with the wind at least two points on I 
 starboard quarter, wanting not more than once her length of comi 
 round, heading off shore ; at that moment she struck tremendou: 
 heavy, all the cabin windows came in, and part of the sea came op 
 the taffle rail. She struck twice more in the hollow of the two no 
 seas, and floated, running perhaps three or four times her leng 
 and struck again, and stopt with every sea breaking over us, $j 
 land in sight, and we seemingly swallowing up by the raging oce^ 
 foaming terribly around us. Her stern soon drove round, so 
 to bring the sea on our beam, and at every thump she rolled off, w 
 her gunwale near to the water. By this time we saw the land at 
 great distance from us. 
 
 We had now recovered a little from our fright, when I desired til 
 men to go into the hold and shovel the ballast in shore, to prevt 
 her rolling off * in the mean time those of us left on deck brac ! | 
 our yards as hard aback as could be done, to keep her on. In h;i 
 an hour, with the assistance of the sails and by shifting the ballai 
 she had beat up so high on the rocks as to lay pretty still ; y 
 every sea rolled some part of it on deck. Before as much of tjl 
 ballast was shifted as I wished, one of our men came on deck jj 
 great haste, and informed me that the ship was sinking, the wat 
 coming in amain : it was some time before I could convince hi:j 
 that though she might be filling, she could not sink any lower, beii 
 already on the rocks. He returned, however, and staid long enou 
 with his companions to effect the purpose intended ; and all car 
 on deck, and went forward. In justice to every man and boy in t 
 ship, I can say with propriety, they all behaved well thus far. 
 
SUVDDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 2-3 
 
 ause a moment, reader, and reflect upon our condition, sur- 
 oided with foaming billows, every surge threatening us with de- 
 letion, the roaring of the surf and the noise of the cracking ship, 
 o oud that we could scarcely hear any thing else ; there seemed 
 ciing but death before us. 
 
 Ve were in this situation some short time, saying very little to 
 other, standing by the mizzen mast and holding to the rigging 
 \y was hanging all around us, when two or three of our men came 
 land asked me on what coast we were stranded ? I told them my 
 3 ;s were that we were on the coast of Barbary, but 1 had a faint 
 e that it was one of the Canary islands ; that day light only 
 Id determine it, and we must be patient for its approach. It 
 now about midnight. One of them told me that those forward 
 ight the ship would go to pieces before morning. I used every 
 iment in my power to convince him of their error, telling him the 
 i was sound, and as strong as wood and iron could make her ; 
 she never had a cargo in her before the last ; that she had been 
 iloyecl in the whale fishery from the time she was new, and had 
 3 r been overstrained. He returned forward only for a short 
 ■, when several of them came aft, and proposed to go ashore : 
 proposal made me shudder. I told them it would, from every 
 earance, be present death to attempt it, as we now had a consi- 
 ible view of the hideous rocks within, and could plainly see the 
 iracticablcness of ascending them, and that another important 
 cit to be considered was, in case they should land in safety, the 
 c: would be dashed to pieces ; that she was a very large long- 
 ic:, new, and never afloat ; that in her, with a temporary deck, 
 fch could be made in a few hours, we all might either land there, 
 r o to any other place we should choose ; and that if we were on 
 acoast of Barbary, it would be absolutely necessary for us to have- 
 aft to get to the Canaries or some other place, having no reason 
 expect much mercy from the natives of that country. 
 
 'his reasoning I thought would have a good effect, and so it 
 eaed at first, for all was quiet. But very soon a new proposition 
 a e, and that was to cut away the masts, as by their standing there 
 r> Id be danger of the ship coming to pieces ; and they told me if 
 nuld consent to have them cut away, they would stay till morning. 
 
 1 objection was, that in case the masts were goije, there would be 
 fejgerof the ship heeling oft’, in which event we should lose the long 
 tet by the sea washing over us, as it was even now in danger. 
 Fly replied, the ballast shovelled to leeward, would be sufficient. 
 S essity obliged me to consent, on condition they would cut away 
 a mizzen mast first, and wait a little while to see the effect, and if 
 h ship should lay as still as before, they might cut the fore masi 
 test ; calculating as I did, that it would draw towards day light be- 
 j the whole would be accomplished, by means of my retarding 
 ftti as much as might be prudent in such a gloomy situation. 
 
 >ne of the stoutest of the men, I believe a Swede, took the car- 
 Kf-er’s axe from the tool-chest on deck, and began cutting away. 
 %n I saw the mast tvas about half cut oft} I told one of them to 
 
24 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 get into the mizzen chains and cut the lanyards and let it go. 
 got into the chains and cut one lanyard, and raised himself up 
 
 deliberately and said, It is all d d nonsense, we will go as! 
 
 As grating as that expression was, prudence forbade my maki 
 reply, or noticing it. They all assembled again under the lee oj 
 long-boat, the officers excepted, and held a council. We soon 
 them getting up the boat-takles to the fore and main yards. I b 
 then to reason with them upon the impropriety of that measure, \ 
 the only reply 1 heard, was, “ We are in duty bound to take ca 
 ourselves, and not stay here and drown.” I went aft to my m 
 who had said but very little during the time we had been in 
 situation, and asked them their opinion of the measure that 
 about to be pursued. If I recollect aright, my second mate, 
 was a good young man, said he should prefer staying by the i 
 On the contrary, the chief mate, without hesitation, said it was 
 opinion that we should take the boat, and land ; that he had 
 been shipwrecked in the West Indies, when choosing to stay b 
 wreck rather than to leave it, he very narrowly escaped death, 
 had then made up his mind, that, in a like situation, he woul< 
 ways leave the wreck the first opportunity : yet that, in the pr< 
 case, seeing how anxious I was to stay by the wreck, he, alth 
 of the contrary opinion himself, would have been silent if I had 
 vailed on the crew to have staid. He was an excellent seami 
 firm determined man, and had kept our men under the best c 
 pline. 
 
 Matters, by this time, were all settled. Go ashore, was 
 word ; the takles were soon on the yards, and the boat ho 
 out. So great was the haste on leaving the ship, that neither p 
 sions nor water were put in : I hove in one trunk, and took my j 
 which had been always under my pillow. So, oil' we pushed, 
 rowed toward the land, and the nearer it we gained, the more hid 
 was the appearance. We succeeded at last to reach the rc 
 when two men jumping out, without the boat’s rope, the under 
 was so strong that it carried the boat half way back to the j 
 where she was placed broadside to the sea, and was near fil 
 Our oars were so well plied the second time, that we soon reai 
 the rocks again, when two men having the rope, jumped on th 
 and were assisted by the first two, who had acted before out of a 
 rather than from any unfeelingness towards their shipmates ; t 
 now assisted to hold the boat in a situation for us all to get salt 
 the rocks ; which done, every one, with all his strength, hat 
 the boat as far up as possible. 
 
 We then crawled over those slippery rocks, perhaps from 1 
 1 2 feet high, to a sand bed a little beyond, which appeared a 
 hill, upwards of 100 feet in altitude. There we wrung the w 
 from our clothes, and walked the sands some time, when my n i 
 and myself ascended this sand hill ^ it being dark we could ( 
 nothing, nor did we expect to see any thing except lights of 1 
 After walking a little while on this mountain of sand, urn desccu 
 again to the place where our men had remained, who had forget 
 
25 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 i r cares in sound sleep. As to ourselves, we walked the sand all 
 i night, bemoaning our condition, being pretty well assured that 
 were in no other place than the coast of Barbary. The ship was 
 l ight, with all sails standing ; the wind blew very fresh about 4 
 cits on shore, and we thought it probable that her masts would 
 oy the board before morning ; a light was burning in the cabin, 
 low we wished ourselves back, and the boat safe on deck — alas 
 date ! and also too late to cast any reflections upon those who 
 looted the measure so unfortunate to us. It could have done no 
 id. Only to hint at the thing, might likely have had the effect to 
 • the tempers of the stubborn. Wherefore, in our night-walk, it 
 agreed upon by us to harmonize as much as possible, and en- 
 jv’our to make our burthen as light as we could, and that when 
 jmen should awake out of their sleep, w r e would have with them 
 ■ear understanding about our future progress, wdth a view, on 
 Ty occasion, to keep them from splitting into parties, and to pre- 
 a division in sentiment ; for we well knew that our future safety 
 i welfare could not be attained otherwise. 
 
 efore morning, our conversation was much confined to the ship- 
 :k and sufferings of our fellow countryman, Captain H. Delano, 
 had been wrecked on that coast several years before. I had 
 :;d with a man who had sailed with Capt. Delano since that event, 
 who told me many stories which he heard related by him. In- 
 1 we had no cause to doubt Delano’s account ; yet as the sufler- 
 
 i te experienced was so long ago, we flattered ourselves that the 
 Jbitants of that country had become more humanized, by means 
 f leir great intercourse with Christians in the trading towns. 
 
 n the morning of the 4th of April, as soon as the day began to 
 an, I ascended the high mountain of sand, and there remained till 
 e- sunrise. What could I see? A barren sand, without either 
 f or shrub, or the least appeai’ance of vegetation, dreary in every 
 fcect ; and at a distance back, a long range of mountains extend- 
 iseast and west. Turning my view towards the ocean, and be- 
 o ing the ship lying in the surf with her sails aloft, while thirteen, 
 fiy shipmates were standing together before my eyes ; the sight 
 too distressing for me to bear. I laid myself down on the sand, 
 n gave vent to my grief by a flow of tears. 
 
fADDOClTs NARRATIVE. 
 
 So 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Our devices and efforts for getting back to the ship— Numerous fragments of all 
 cently wrecked frigate — The construction of a raft from them, and its ill suecel 
 Our several abortive attempts to swim to the ship — Our successful recourse toji 
 Portuguese method of swimming — The landing of our necessaries — Preparation!! 
 repairing the long boat — The mission of two of our men to make discoveries, j 
 one for the mountains, and the other for the Cape — The return, and the frig! 
 story, of the latter — Particulars concerning the fragments of the wreck, that tj 
 lying far along the shore — Intoxication of Pat and his watchmate, while they f 
 on the watch — A nocturnal visit from two barefooted Arabs — Our alarm and i| 
 sternation upon the discovery of this by their tracks— preparations for ourdepar 
 for St. Cruez— The man for the mountain returns, and makes report — Remarkahl j 
 stance of gratitude and kindheartedness in Jack, my black man. 
 
 As soon as I had composed myself a little I descended, and joii 
 my crew, who were waiting with the greatest anxiety to know w| 
 I had seen. When I had related my tale, and given my opinioi 
 to our hopes of the future, we began to devise means to get bacif 
 our ship. Upon examining our long boat, we found her garbo, 
 streak was stove and shattered for several feet, and that a hob 
 another plank had been broken through by the sharp corner c ! 
 rock, and that she lay from ten to fifteen feet below where it i| 
 possible to repair her ; while a fine yawl of 16 feet was hanging 
 the takles over the stern of the ship. The poor fellow who, ] 
 night before, was the ringleader in the project for landing at 
 events, was now the first to exclaim, Had we done as the cap! 
 advised us, we should now have been in a situation to go any wh 
 in so fine a boat as this ! Upon which, I took occasion to caution 1 
 and all the others against disobedience ; there being then no gret I 
 proof necessary than that before their eyes to convince them all of' 
 error they had committed. Although the prospect of a happy 
 mination of our anticipated sufferings was small, they all agreec 
 consider themselves as much under my command as they ever !| ! 
 been, and that they would strictly obey me and my officers in 
 matters concerning the general good. 
 
 Our first object was to get back to the ship for a supply of pr< • 
 sions and water, and also of spars and takles to raise the long bj 
 for repairs, we feeling in hopes that ail could be effected before 
 discovery of us should be made by the natives. Marks of hoi! 
 and asses were visible on the beach, but, from appearances, it it 
 been some considerable time since they had been there. Onejt 
 our sailors said he could swim to the ship, which was at a dislaSi 
 oT not more than a hundred yards. Fie made many attempts, | 
 failed ; the difficulty was in getting beyond the breakers. 11 
 next attempt was made by black Sam, who after two or three h ( 
 efforts, succeeded in getting through the breakers, but his strenji 
 was so much exhausted that he sunk. Next, two or three of 'J 
 men went in, following the undertow, or recession of the surf ; 1 1 
 they plunged in and seized hold of Sam, and found no difficulty i 
 returning, as the first surf hove them all up together, and those j 
 the shore helped them out. He was. entirely helpless and apparei |j 
 
haddock’s narrative* 
 
 ■u.1 
 
 feist gone : we laid him on the rocks, face down, and By mode- 
 lily rolling and moving him he was made to discharge much wa- 
 •ifrom his mouth, and in a few hours recovered so far as to walk 
 J tie-- Several others attempted it, but all their attempts proved 
 fehive. * 
 
 he next plan was to make a raft, in order to pole off to the outer 
 of the breakers. Timber for that purpose was not lacking, as 
 |y parts of a wreck were lying along shore as far each way as the 
 could discern. We took part of the lower yard of a heavy 
 I, along with some pieces of small spars, enough for our purpose, 
 lashed them together with the boat’s rope ; when the second 
 , a very strong man, and two good sailors, with each an oar for 
 lie, launched them off. However, after a fair trial, we found it 
 jissible to gain the ship. I was then about taking my turn to 
 |q, and try to gain the shin by a method I had seen practised by 
 dortuguese at Madeira when they went offshore merely for their 
 isement ; that was, to follow the receding water as low r as possi- 
 and dive or dart through the breaker, and when once got with- 
 the difficulty was surmounted. But my mate, after observing 
 ie that we were all so weak with fatigue and the want of water, 
 if we did not board the ship very soon we never should at all ; 
 iroposed trying himself the experiment first, and in case of 
 re, that I should make the last trial. Accordinglj r he stript, and 
 wed down, and in less than five minutes from the time of start- 
 le was at the ship. 
 
 was now late in the afternoon, and a general rejoicing took 
 
 I e. The rudder was unhung, which served very well as a bridge 
 urn to pass on to the cabin windows, where he entered her. As 
 i as he had quenched his burning thirst he came on deck, made 
 (deep sea-line fast to an oar, and darted it ashore ; and that served 
 hauling-line for others to get off by ; three went off by it, with 
 jetions how to pass our goods on shore. Having a cask of whale 
 on deck, I ordered a single block to be made fast to the mizzen 
 *nast head, and through it rove this line, sending the end ashore, 
 keeping the bite on deck. 
 
 hey scuttled the water casks in the hatchway, which were found 
 t ing in the hold, filled all the jugs and kegs, and put what bread 
 : found between decks in bags, and run them aloft by this line; 
 Bjhey veered we hauled : by keeping a taut line our goods w r ere 
 l ied dry. The whole of the provisions saved by us consisted of 
 tut 40 pounds of bread, a small quantity of potatoes and onions, 
 n a bag of Indian corn ; our other dry provisions were in the 
 Der hold and destroyed by the salt water. Being placed high on 
 a rocks, we succeeded in landing every thing perfectly dry which 
 t' ld be injured by the wet. In the same manner we landed our 
 1 hes, beds, &c. together with a spare foresail for a tent, 
 p that affair of landing our goods we committed an act of impru- 
 fee which I cannot forbear mentioning as a caution to others who 
 i r be unfortunately placed in the like circumstances. The mate 
 e , among other things, my case, containing 6 gallons of equal 
 vs of rum, gin, and brandy, and a hamper of port wine and por- 
 
28 TADDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 ter. At the moment I did not think it any harm to have this liq 
 sent ashore : but more of this matter in its place. 
 
 A little after sunset our men landed in the yawl, leaving a rc 
 fast to the ship with one end to the shore. In the mean time, h: 
 ing erected our tent, we boiled*some meat, and had a good sup] 
 prepared. At 8 o’clock we divided ourselves into watches, and 
 the watch, who were to sit or stand outside of the tent, and be 
 lieved every two hours, with orders in case of any person orpersi 
 approaching, to wake us up in the tent, and, if possible, to see 
 them without noise. All things being arranged, my mates and n 
 self concluded to begin early in the morning, and to land evi 
 article that should be necessary for repairing the boat, which 
 thought might be repaired in two days so as to be ready for our 
 parture ; as we had new canvass sufficient for putting on her a c 
 vass deck supported by carlings or beams. It was late before 
 went to sleep. At daylight, on the 5th, the watch called all han 
 and we went to work. Our line getting foul among the rocks at 
 bottom, and some other difficulties happening, we did not get a p 
 sage to the ship till after breakfast, or 8 o’clock. A little bef 
 breakfast I took a turn on the hill with my glass. The sun shone j 
 the mountains, which made a very handsome appearance, I ha 
 strong desire to know whether there were any inhabitants there 
 there were any, the chance I thought was very much against our g 
 ting off before being discovered. I mentioned this thing to my mai 
 who, with me, thought well of sending a man on that errand. C 
 soon volunteered to go ; and as soon as breakfast was over he t<( 
 a bottle of water and two cakes of bread, and started, with order: 
 keep a bright look out, and in case he discovered any persons 
 conceal himself from their view, and return as soon as he cou 
 We had a compass on shore, by which we found that the shore 
 due east and west ; and 10 or 12 miles westward of us a Cape p 
 jected into the sea in a very square bluff. Not knowing where 
 were, I proposed for one man to walk westward and survey t 
 Cape, intending to get the altitude of the sun at noon, to ascert 
 our latitude, and if from where we saw the bluff the land shaj 
 southerly, follow it along as far as only to give time to return 
 night. I thought if that Cape was Nun, he would find Nun river.] 
 
 I must here go a little out of my way: upon every opportun 
 since the ship was wrecked, we talked together of the place wh< 
 we were so unfortunately cast, making calculations from our supp - 
 ed situation on the 3d at 10 P. M. when we supposed ourselves I 
 clear of Cape Nun, both westward and southward. When the sb 
 struck we thought we were on a Cape southward of it. Upon ft 
 chart no such Cape was laid down ; but in the latitude 27° 50', win i 
 was near our latitude at 1 0 P. M. on the 3d, there appeared a sum 
 projection into the sea, but forming such a Cape as the one now i 
 sight. As we had observed a constant current setting along ship 
 eastward, of at least two knots, during both the ebb and flood, j? 
 were of the opinion that we had been currented as many miles nor j- 
 ward since our meridian observation on that day, as to have cast !> 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 i 'ape Nun. Having no authority of an actual survey on that coast, 
 e vere doubtful as to the place or situation we were in, and being 
 c tat doubt we still called the Cape within our view Cape Nun. 
 ire that time I have taken much pains to examine all the charts 
 fc'iat coast which have come withirf my knowledge, and am rather 
 (le opinion that we were wrecked on a Cape that I have seen 
 Eted Cape Saber, lying near the latitude 27° 50'. If that was the 
 it, the current which set along the coast where our ship lay was 
 a ddy current, and my belief of its being such has been strengtli- 
 a 1 from the consideration that we travelled more than a hundred 
 i;s further eastward than the distance could be from Nun to St. 
 Idz. In either case, Nun, or Saber, we must have been current- 
 ftastward more than 200 miles since speaking the English frigate. 
 
 o return : our other man was soon ready to start, with the same 
 ick of provisions and water, and bearing the same orders as the 
 r? one. By this time we had commenced landing the carpenter’s 
 *5, and the materials for raising the boat, <Lc. Every man seemed 
 iiosed to do his duty freely, but so many little accidents happened 
 K we got along very slow : what was done before dinner did not 
 aunt to much, nor did we think of a quadrant, our minds being 
 cipied about things of more importance. In the afternoon we 
 pressed considerably well, and by night we were prepared to 
 omence on repairing the boat, which was to be begun the next 
 tining. Some time before night, with the glass, I saw a person 
 n he beach, a long way to the westward, and soon made him out to 
 eiur man ; it being then at least three hours sooner than I had ex- 
 e.edhim. As he approached nearer, I discovered that he walked 
 u k ; and fearing some bad news, I went on to meet him. As soon 
 s/e were near enough to speak to each other I asked him what 
 ft the matter with him, for he really looked frightened. He asked 
 iif I knew what kind of people inhabited this country. I told 
 
 ii I did not, but was apprehensive they were the Arabs. He said 
 T r are man-eaters! Upon asking him how he knew it, he replied, 
 but 12 miles from us is that Cape you see there : I went on it, and 
 hie I saw a heap of human bones, and near them a fire had been 
 ■le within a few days ; and adding, the Lord have mercy on us ! 
 .t >egan to weep. In a short time he collected himself, when 1 told 
 i I did not believe these people were man-eaters, though the fire 
 *!• human bones certainly indicated something like it, and that if 
 f old that story in the tent I should despair of getting away ; that 
 # people would fall into a state of despair, and nothing would be 
 ; ce. He made me a solemn promise not to mention anything of 
 n kind, and 1 believe he was true to that promise. 
 
 Ve returned to the tent, where he was welcomed by his shipmates, 
 i ' made many inquiries of him relative to what he had seen ; but 
 itbad not seen Nun river, nor would he if it had not been a mile 
 ra the human bones. It being now about sun setting, and our 
 a i much latigued, we quitted work, and supper not being ready, 
 a mate and myself tvalked a little way from the tent, to a place 
 v re lay several parts of the wreck J mentioned when speaking oi 
 
30 
 
 PADDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 our raft. Some topmast cross-trees we had the curiosity to measull 
 what they measured I now don’t recollect, but remember we agrl 
 that, from the size of the head of the topmast and of the heel of 
 top gallant mast, they must have belonged to a small frigate, o 
 large ship of another denominafion. In a part of one cf thequai 
 galleries w r e noticed that the carved work was not of the best wo 
 manship, and that the yellow paint was not all chafed off, althoi 
 lying iu the edge of the water at high tide, which we observed r 
 and fell about six feet. 
 
 After making these observations were turned to the tent, where i 
 people were all assembled, waiting for supper. We observed t! 
 Pat had as much to say as the rest of them, and that, ever since j 
 landed, he had taken some liberties unbecoming a man in his staff 
 and unsuitable to the gloomy condition we were in. I examined j 
 case, and found it had not been opened since noon, when each n, 
 had a small allowance of rum. After supper, and near dark, 
 went upon the hill, to look out for the man w'ho had been dispatcl | 
 to the mountains, and staid about the place till quite dark ; but 1 
 no sight of him. We became very uneasy about him ; some wer<| 
 the opinion that he had been devoured by wild beasts, and oth 
 that he had found inhabitants on the mountains who detained In 
 This talk lasted half an hour, and we then returned to the tent, wh(| 
 we all joined in conversation on the subject of our departure ; evi 
 one agreeing that the long-boat might be near ready in one day mcj 
 if every exertion were made ; and of that I had no reason to douj 
 The next topic of discourse was concerning the parts of the wre 
 which we had noticed to be lying along shore. The man from 
 Cape said he had seen almost every part of a ship, in his way tot 
 from the Cape, and had observed particularly that the iron had b( 
 taken from the wood ; that circumstance we also had noticed 
 viewing the yards, cross-trees, &c. which lay within our ship. 1 
 all concluded that the event of that shipwreck could not have bee: 
 long time past, as the blacking on the yards was not entirely cha: 
 off. The watch being set, tve went to sleep. I have no doubt <1 
 last thoughts of every one were about the man that went, to l i 
 mountains ; there had been so much anxiety expressed for his w 
 fare, which our own, in part, depended on. 
 
 At dawn of day on the 6th we found no person on the watq; 
 when, upon examining into this matter, it was found that Pat andcj: 
 of the Danes had been called at twelve to watch till two; and tilt 
 those appointed to watch from two to four, had not been calid! 
 This discovery immediately led us to the two most unfeeling of mu 
 tals, Pat and the Dane, who were found behind the tent, and in suji 
 a condition as to be unfit to be talked to. Upon which, without tj> 
 least hesitation, I took my case out of the tent, and turned each bi- 
 de up-end down : then 1 opened the hamper and destroyed evt r 
 bottle of wine and porter ; doing this in the presence of all, win 
 only one dissented, and he a very sober man. Thus was ended, > 
 I thought, every opportunity for intoxication in our company. U 
 all, excepting the two sleepers, commenced our labour, rigging takk 
 
paddock’s narrative. 31 
 
 rating shears, &c. in order to raise the boat. In the mean time, I 
 d: a look out on the hill, for our absent man, but saw nothing of 
 li, and returned to the tent, and called all hands to breakfast, which 
 r. prepared without the assistance of Pat, who had risen, and taken 
 •pious draught of water; after which he joined the party, decla- 
 n; most solemnly that neither he nor his watchmate had tasted a 
 to of liquor that night. All the reply was, a round of such vulgar 
 par’s blessings as are commonly bestowed on such occasions, 
 finking that a thing of the kind could not happen with us again, 
 dged it most prudent to quiet the men, by telling them that al- 
 h.igh a great crime, it was not an unpardonable one; that our situ- 
 1 n demanding all our strength, we had none to wmste in alterca- 
 ks, and so must make the best of it. 
 
 found, during the morning, that most of the crew thought it ad- 
 i able to give the two delinquents a little corporal punishment; 
 nin a moment as it were, our attention was called to viewing a 
 fcnge track of man. When we retired from breakfast, the person 
 
 I i had been at the Cape the day before, discovered the track of a 
 t without shoes, and calling to one of our men, he asked him if 
 of them had been barefooted yesterday ; and was answered in 
 negative. Upon hearing that question and the answer, I went 
 im, and soon was convinced that tve had been visited the night 
 >re. We followed the tracks of two men ; they had come down 
 hill from the south-west, and had walked round to the mouth of 
 tent, and, after going around the tent, had returned by the way 
 k/’came, walking back over the hill nearly in the same line they- 
 ff come in. I followed them beyond the hill near a quarter of a 
 ■i, conjecturing r likely that they were in ambush, but found it 
 k so, from the shape of the track ; for as soon as they got over the 
 ii they ran, which appeared by their steps being longer and the 
 press ion of their feet in the sand deeper. What makes their get- 
 ii off undiscovered the more remarkable, they had a dog with them, 
 it we had a hog lying on the sand before the tent. Had the dog 
 liked, some of us must have heard it. So again, had the watch 
 lie their duty (as probably they would, if there had been no liquor 
 n!ie tent) they would have seen those men approaching, and given 
 notice of it, we might have secured them and kept them in con- 
 iiment; that would have doubled our diligence, and in one day 
 me w r e might have been at sea. 
 
 t was now 9 o’clock, and our man for the mountains still missing. 
 W called all hands together upon this gloomy occasion. Pause 
 •f in, reader, and imagine yourself on the desert of Barbary, with- 
 l*j a craft for leaving i.t', and with but little sustenance to support: 
 r, j re there ; a most barbarous enemy expected, every moment ; 
 .1 bones of the murdered lying ao n - e ground at no great distance ; 
 rnsylum to flee to ! For mvselt, even unto this da^ - , my blood runs 
 cd at the mere recollection of that dreaQIul period. 
 
 )ur poor sailors sat silent at this meeting ; without uttering a wOio. 
 ft.y all looked up to me as their counsellor. For my own part. 
 Wile casting my eyes around me upon my poor unfortunate fellow 
 
32 
 
 paddock’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 creatures, among whom were two fine little boys, one of them \ 
 nephew, I thought it too much for human nature to bear ; to ill 
 press my tears was impossible. After collecting all the manly • I 
 I was master of, I begun to give my opinion as to what would! 
 most for our good. I observed to them that the two men who 
 discovered us would propably return in a short time with s 
 numbers as would overpower us, and then might do with us as 
 most for their interest, or as best suited their caprice ; that, acci 
 ing to my calculation, if the Cape we saw was Nun, ourdistanc<{ 
 St. Cruez, on a straight line, was not more than 180 miles, ancj 
 lowing one fourth part for going in such a serpentine line as we I 
 reason to expect, we might reach there in ten days by easy marc! 
 and that five bottles of water and twenty biscuits a man would 
 port nature ; more than which we could not take with conveniei 
 Every one agreed to the plan immediately, and to lake our chanc 
 meeting with obstructions on the way ; and the matter being sett 
 all as one set to work at making knapsacks. While that w r asg( 
 on I took one man with me and buried in the sand all our must 
 powder, shot, &c. Some of the sailors objected to that measure, 
 saying we might have occasion for our guns to shoot the wild be 
 that might annoy us. But I told them that a musket of ours seer 
 an Arab might cost us our lives, as it would carry a hostile appi 
 ance at least, and that in our warmth we might be led to make an 1 
 proper use of our weapons. They at last pleaded for a pistol, 
 hoxvever, buried the whole, and laid a stone over the place. 
 
 By this time the man from the mountains made his appearai 
 coming along shore from the eastward, and when he joined us 
 were near ready for a march : we all stopt our business to hear 
 story. He told us that in travelling for the mountains which I 
 pointed out to him, he walked a few miles over sand hills drifted i 
 snow banks, which was very fatiguing to him. From those s; 
 hills he came to a flat as level as the sea, running east and west, all 
 12 miles across, and of so great length that he could not see eit 
 end of it: with great difficulty he got o^er those banks, and arrii 
 at the foot of the mountains. At that time he saw a man or pert 
 with a camel travelling westward. As soon as he got sight of him 
 laid down till he had passed, and remained there till there was not < 
 least chance of his being discovered ; for when he arose the pert 
 and camel were a long way to the westward of him, still travel)! 
 on. He then proceeded to the top of the mountains, which c. 
 sisted of sand and rocks, without any appearance either of vegc 
 tion or water. Having accomplished this much, he, agreeably 
 his orders, pushed on as fast as he could for the ship, and when! 
 had come again upon the flat aforementioned, not knowing the st ; 
 he got bewildered, and laid dow" an d slept. At the dawn of day f 
 made the hp^* his way and when he had come in sighu 
 
 the ^ on the bank of h he saw 7 the ship several miles to the w< • 
 ■ard of him ; whereupon making all haste, he joined us. He said f 
 had travelled at least fifty miles in the time; and I have nodoubi. 
 "he truth of it, as he was a landsman, and used to travelling on jo- 
 
paddock’s NARRATIVE. & 
 
 es. He made a hearty breakfast while one of his shipmates was 
 xng a knapsack for him. 
 
 ■'uring all the time the arrangement was making I was left ignor- 
 nas to what part of the luggage I should carry myself. The 
 »>rs had agreed among themselves that I should walk unincum- 
 e d, and that my part of the burden should be borne by them, 
 bn informed of this, 1 concluded to carry my spy glass and um- 
 rda, and a copper tea kettle full of water to be used first, and some 
 
 1 date and sugar in my pockets to use in case we should be so 
 >nnate as to find water on our journey. When it was announced 
 u; we were all ready for a march, I changed my clothes, put on a 
 a of fine worsted stockings, a pair of new corduroy pantaloons, 
 
 ] ir of new half boots, a new linen shirt and neck handkerchief, 
 sk vest, a nearly new superfine broadcloth coat, and a new bea- 
 inat ; a gold watch I took along with me, and also put in my 
 >:et gold of the value of 600 dollars. This done, I called my 
 e to me, and gave them the remainder of my clothing. 
 
 dack man Jack had previously taken some fine shirts into his 
 f: for me, which he did without my knowledge or direction. 
 
 ’i n they had all helped themselves with the best of my clothing 
 tin the trunk, they discovered two pieces of tabanet in the bottom 
 lit and asking me v r hat it was, I told them it was two gown-pat- 
 r which I had bought in Ireland for my wife, and that it was best 
 1:; it alone, for they had luggage enough already. Jack, who 
 a at a little distance from the trunk, on discovering the matter we 
 e talking about, rushed forward and got hold of the pieces, say- 
 
 2 Master, my mistress shall wear these gowns yet. I told him he 
 lalready too much to carry, and that his mistress would never see 
 ice patterns. She shall, master , depend on it, replied Jack, they 
 ' too pretty to leave here ; — and he packed them up. Little did I 
 e think my wife would ever see either of those pieces ; but she 
 it and that same tabanet she has occasionally worn to this day. 
 
 hen nearly ready for a start, my mate wrote up the log book 
 tt l finished my journal ; corn was put in the place for the hog to 
 tind water to drink. All things were now prepared, and we on 
 eiointof moving, when one of the sailors said, “ let us depart under 
 
 g colours the others joined him, and we were detained till 
 e had erected a pole on the hill, and hoisted a very handsome en- 
 
34 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Our powerful emotions on taking our leave of the ship — My counsel to the cr< 
 Our alarm ;ng discovery of numerous tracks of travellers — Our first night spe 
 a remarkable cave — The painfulness of our journey over sand hills and sharp p 
 ed rocks — A vast bed of sail mistaken by us for a pond — A groupe of unten; 
 hou-es discovered by us — Description of them, and our conjecture concerning 
 origin — Description of a fine bay in which Vve bathed ourselves — Appalling c 
 very of a quantity of human hair in a cask, and a heap of human bones — Ourai 
 ance in the night time by the near approach and dismal howlings of wild bea 
 Fat the second lime drunk jon his watch — The mystery unravelled as to he 
 came by his liquor — The inclination of the crew to stone him— My remonst 
 against it — A horrid tale of his life from his own mouth — Marks of discontent 
 sourness among the crew — Disclosure of a settled purpose to return back — IV 
 effectual reasonings and entreaties to the contrary — Our affectionate parting; 
 seif and three of my men proceeding towards St. Cruez, and my mate and the 
 others going back for the ship. 
 
 On we started, taking our course up the hill in a south-east d 
 tion, towards the level ground which my man from the moun 
 had spoken of. Arriving at the top of the hill, we all at that, 
 ment halted, and looked around us to take a last farewell of the, 
 which still lay with her head to the eastward, with her main-top i 
 lant-sail set, her hull nearly covered with the foaming billows, i 
 ing then high water. In the look of every countenance were 
 fear and dismay ; not a word uttered ; all seemed with one acco 
 turn "away from her. At about 1 0 o’clock we started again on 
 march. After walking about two hours over sand drifts, some 
 and others twenty feet high, which were exceeding difficult t< 
 cend, being in many places perpendicular, so that we frequently 
 to follow along a bank for some time to find a place for our asa 
 after this fatiguing walk, in one of the valleys we all sat dou 
 rest ourselves. I then took that opportunity to furnish every I 
 with one and the same story to tell in cas« we should be separ 1 
 This I thought necessary, because contradictory accounts give 
 us would be likely to expose us to greater sufferings than we i 
 have to endure if the stories of us all should prove consistent, 
 each other. Accordingly we agreed to say that the ship iva 
 Oswego of Liverpool, bound from Cork to the Cape de Verdisi 
 after a load of salt, and from thence to New- York : and to giv 
 names as they were, and all call ourselves Englishmen. I told ( 
 the reasons for substituting Liverpool for New-York as the hoi 
 our ship, and for calling ourselves Englishmen instead of A : 
 cans, were, that the English -had a considerable trade on that <S 
 particularly at Mogadore : that some of their ships I had knot! 1 
 have loaded at St. Cruez ; that I never had heard of but one Ale 
 can vessel trading there ; that, without doubt, the English < 
 consul both at St. Cruez and Mogadore, and perhaps at other ) 
 ces on the coast ; that Delano and his crew were ransomed 1 1 
 English consul on the coast, but that I could not remember w ■ 
 finally, I observed to them that we also might have consuls at < 
 places, but that it was doubtful. Moreover, I enjoined it upon je 
 in case of separation, that it should be the study of every o 
 
PADDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 35 
 
 ku the language of those we should fall amongst, to give notice to 
 n Christian when an opportunity offered for the safety of the whole, 
 cnnot but think the English reader, considei-ing the forlorn con- 
 ion I was in, will excuse my claiming the protection of his flag, 
 vssuming a false national name. I had no remorse at the time I 
 cnselled my men in that manner, nor has the deed occasioned that 
 jiijing in me at any time since. 
 
 eing rested, we proceeded on about south-east, over sand hills, 
 
 ■ iJabout one o’clock, when we came to the level ground that my 
 ■i had spoken of, which was about 8 miles from the ship; it had 
 *y appearance of once having been the bed of the sea. The 
 Ige of mountains to the south appeared very high, and as barren 
 say man had described them. In looking west, the flat appeared 
 oontinue at least as far as the eye could discern ; but eastward it 
 r ned to terminate at a few miles distant. On seeing tracks of 
 if s.es, (and from what we found afterwards,) of camels and asses, 
 vmade a short retrograde march, and dined behind some small 
 it J hills. The excessive heat of the weather, occasioned by a 
 M/erful scorching sun, and the reflection of its rays from the burn- 
 in sands, caused among us a general head ache and burning thirst. 
 A dined on dry bread. One of our sailors having a leg of boiled 
 ic pork, I persuaded him to throw it away, as it would increase 
 isf thirst. We each took from the copper tea kettle a small tum- 
 Ir of water, which we had already begun to know the value of. 
 Aout 2 o’clock we began our march eastward on the hard sand ; 
 W travelled till after sunset, going at least fifteen miles before we 
 eched the end of the distance which we had calculated to be only 
 3 ery few miles. The flat ended in nearly the form of the small 
 f; 1 of an egg ; at the very point of it was a cave in a rock, formed, 
 ait would seem from its appearance, by the whirling of an eddy-cur- 
 r it on a cape where the tide sets strong. In this afternoon’s march, 
 ien we were near the sands lying on the north side of this level, 
 v always saw tracks of man or beast : in every instance they were 
 a pointing westward. From that circumstance we drew the conclu- 
 s n that the drought at the eastward was too distressing to be borne, 
 id that the natives were bound westward for water ; which circum- 
 s nee rendered it necessary for us to avoid such travellers as we 
 vre likely to meet. 
 
 Into the aforementioned cave we all entered, and were complete- 
 i covered by the rocks that projected over our heads ; at the same 
 fie finding room enough there for more than our number. We set 
 <r watch at the mouth of the cave, with three men on each watch, 
 iy two mates and myself took the first watch, which was to be con- 
 tmed till midnight. Our reason for so doing was, our thinking it 
 jobable that some travellers having knowledge of that place, might 
 fit it in the early part of the night. However, we were left in qui- 
 S and slept well till the dawn of day. On the 7th, when we sup- 
 ised ourselves to be 7 or 8 miles from the sea, being prepared to 
 part, we ascended the rock under which we had slept ; it was 
 'ont 20 feet above the level that has been spoken of. We then 
 
36 
 
 paddock’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 took up the line of our march in Indian file, and walked along h!j 
 foot-path, which, from appearances, had been lately trodden by n 
 and beast. As was before observed, every track showed the tl! 
 veiling to be westward, which added to our fears, as we though j 
 we fell in with natives bound that way we should be compelled 
 go along with them; on what conditions we could only conjectu 
 This one thing, however, we knew for a certainty, namely, that tl 
 Avas not the course for avoiding the misery of perpetual slave: 
 which constantly stared us in the face. 
 
 About 8 o’clock we halted for breakfast, and upon examination 
 found that several of our bottles had been broken. That accid' 
 happened no doubt the day before, while w r e were ascending and < 
 scending those lofty hills. Indeed, w r e discovered some damage i 
 the kind at the time it happened ; the descent was far worse, as I 
 dangers of this sort, than the ascent ; for while descending we oft 
 lost our foot-hold, and slid or rolled down hill. Our breakfast cc 
 sisted of a little dry bread, and to each a tumbler of water from 1 
 tea kettle. About 9 we renewed our march, the ground being mi 
 more rocky ; in many places where the sand had blown off, the sk 
 points of the rocks had cut our boots and shoes very badly, 
 often as we could find it we kept the foot-path, which was nearly 
 an east course. The long ridge of mountains on the right we w< 
 gaining towards fast ; I should judge they were from four to five hij 
 dred feet above the level of the sea, and were very ragged. T 
 sand banks on our left were increasing in size and number ; but t|i 
 main bearing of our walk was on nearly a level, though we ofl|i 
 crossed sand hills from four to ten feet high. 
 
 About 1 1 o’clock, having arrived near to the foot of those motil 
 tains, several of our sailors proposed to me to ascend them ; sayi 
 Ave might possibly find a lake of fresh water there. That war 
 very powerful motive; for, from the dreariness of the country, a 
 our breaking a bottle of water every now and then, our fears wc 
 increasing as to the privation of the article which we could not li 
 ivithout long. The sun was so extremely hot that we were co 
 pletely wet with perspiration, and of course burning with thirst. 1 
 all agreed to go up ; and without much difficulty we reached the t 
 about noon, having mostly^ rocks to travel over. On the height t 
 surface looked level, consisting mostly of flat rocks. In going ea 
 ward only a few rods, one of our men called out, there is a pon 
 we all looked at it : it was two or three miles distant, and lx 
 about south-east. I proposed for one or two to go to it, and that l 
 remainder of the party should travel on about an east course, f 
 order to bring it abeam, and there stop till it should be ascertain 
 Avhether it was water or not. Two went off with a quick step, and t 
 rest of us kept on as was proposed. I did, with my glass, distinct 
 see them stoop down to drink, as we supposed. They, howevi 
 soon made for us, and each brought a handful of clear salt ; th 
 said they had dug with a stone into it, and that it appeared for 
 mile in$ diameter to be a bed of salt, which, according to o 
 calculation, was more than four hundred feet above the face of t 
 
haddock’s narrative. 37 
 
 c at that time in sight, bearing from north-west to north-east, and 
 carently five or six miles distant. 
 
 ye descended, and stopped under the foot of the mountain, and 
 r e we dined on such fare as we had commonly eat of since leav- 
 n the ship. After a short stop we proceeded on but a little dis- 
 ire, in an E. N. E. direction, along under the foot of the moun- 
 «|, and found the travelling very bad, owing to sharp rocks and 
 all steep sand hills, which occasioned the breaking of some of our 
 rles of water, and of cutting our shoes. We then concluded to 
 almore to the northward, and see if we could find it more tolera- 
 j travelling on the bank. When we had arrived at the sea coast 
 nfound the bank perpendicular, with the sea breaking against its 
 |r,s, and, in some places, the bank consisting of huge rocks, hang- 
 n over so far that we dropped stones which fell into the water many 
 m from the shore. Meanwhile the wind blew fresh, three or four 
 mts on shore, with a heavy sea, W'hich made the appearance hor- 
 se. A ship running against these rocks, would, in our opinion, 
 (dashed to pieces in a few minutes, without her keel touching the 
 Horn. The sight was too gloomy to behold. 
 
 Fe had proceeded but a few rods, when suddenly there appeared 
 ois a town at a distance of not more than a quarter of a mile; it 
 t behind sand hills, or we should have discovered it from the 
 auntains. We all stopt as suddenly as if thunderstruck, each of 
 .sooking to discover some of the human species there ; but none 
 
 { eared. I proposed to our men that they all should sit down to 
 vent our appearance being alarming, and I would approach 
 le, because from only one no alarm would be excited ; they all 
 caed to it. I then walked on, while one of them stretched up his 
 tk to witness my reception. When arrived, I found a cluster of 
 pses, from twenty to thirty in number, and from ten to twenty feet 
 care, without roofs, each having a door-way on the south side, in- 
 herently well built, without mortar. I made a signal to my men 
 > l a handkerchief on my umbrella, and they all came in speed. 
 B walked all around those buildings, conjecturing the cause of this 
 Aiupe, when we found, on the north side of the’northernmost house, 
 libral casks of about 100 gallons with one head out. From theap- 
 r ranee of the hoops and staves we took them to have been French 
 ’indy casks. The wooden hoops were mostly left on them ; but 
 i iron ones were all gone. In one of them there was a large quan- 
 i of human hair. Upon looking into that cask, one of my men 
 claimed, O my God! we are in a savage inhospitable land; these 
 nr fellows who were lately here have been murdered : then turn- 
 r to me, he said, what think you of it ? I told him frankly we had 
 '-tsetofear much trouble ; that we must be guarded against the 
 Wj-st ; that defence was out of the question, and we must submit to 
 ] Lord’s will. 
 
 Ve were then within a hundred yards of the sea, the sight of 
 wich was obscured by a sand bank which lay along north of us. 
 Cje of the men ascended it, and called out, here is a fine bay ! 
 B n which we all concluded to go there and bathe ourselves. On 
 
38 
 
 paddock’s Narrative. 
 
 the edge of the hill above the beach (that hill being not more tl 
 twenty feet high) we took off our luggage, and put it all togethei 
 one place to prevent improper use of the materials of it. I tl 
 observed that in one man’s pack there was a broken bottle, the \ 
 ter draining through the canvass, and we all, as one, regretted 
 loss of that invaluable article, of which too much had been was 
 before, though in most instances unavoidably. 
 
 Being prepared, we all stripped and' went into the water ; th 
 that could swim went off at a distance; others kept in the sh 
 water, which was as clear as I ever saw any, with a fine sandy t 
 tom. I walked off till the water was up to my neck, and then sw 
 out to a little distance, and sounded, and found nine or ten feet w 
 in a cable’s length of the shore. After bathing half an hour, wh, 
 was very refreshing, and seemed to allay our thirst, we all return 
 to the shore, dressed ourselves, and opened every pack, when ; 
 found that one-third of our water had been destroyed by breaks 
 which was felt by us as a great loss. On that occasion some of tl ; 
 began to accuse certain others of negligence, giving them reprJ 
 which 1 thought rather too severe ; we, however, presently agrl 
 to make the best of it, and be more careful for the future. 
 
 At the moment that we were about to depart we discovered a j| 
 track of a man, and, upon examining it, we were of the opinion i| 
 not many hours before a man had passed along the place where ) 
 then were, bound westward. That excited so much curiosity, nj 
 gled with fear, that one of our men ran up the bank to look wejtvvj 
 for the traveller, supposing that he could not yet be out of sight, t 
 he could not see him. He joined us, and we all went up to the pi t 
 where the houses were. When the question concerning the cat 
 of those buildings was discussed, we all united in the opinion l[i 
 the wreck we had seen was that of a ship which had borne m ) 
 unhappy men to this dreary shore, and that for their own preseij,. 
 tion they had built those cabins, and had made use of their sails i 
 a covering. We then took another view of the harbour; ant 
 more beautiful one I never saw. As near as we could calcul 5 
 the distance across it was about three miles : the two points at ! 
 were broad, closing to within one mile ; a ledge of rocks on ej( 
 point, leaving a fair entrance of half a mile in width, consistin') 
 deep water. Against those ledges the sea broke violently, bu i 
 the harbour it was smooth. From the windward side of the 1 
 bour a ship might lie out very well, with the wind as it then v[: 
 which blew strong, four points on shore, or at north-east. Had ,i 
 situation been less deplorable I should have been led to exan 
 this fine looking harbour more particularly. Should any natjc i 
 vessels ever undertake to survey this coast, they will, beyond do' I 
 visit it. From our judgment, being on shore, it would appear f : 
 the offing a nearly straight shore, as the two outer points or cb> 
 of the harbour would, except being near in, seem near to close. On| 
 west side of the harbour, where we stood to look at it, the bank i 
 high, and from sea board vmuld, in my opinion, appear like a 1; 
 round knoll. The mountain back only a few miles distant wo 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 39 
 
 ipear black ; at least a dark rock colour, and the top flat for seve- 
 miles each way, running E. N. E. and W. S. W. It was on 
 ft nearly flat mountain we saw the salt pond. 
 
 3ur next object was to travel on, being then about 45 miles from 
 iy ship. Accordingly we began our march, and for some reason 
 vich I don’t recollect, one man and myself were left a little behind, 
 
 3 did not start with the rest ; they were a quarter of a mile ahead 
 wen we started. The man was the same one who had been sent 
 •mew the Cape which v/e had taken for Nun. We did not take 
 dir track, but to shorten the distance, went a little more north- 
 
 i rd. About fifty yards from those cabins he saw a pile of human 
 ies on our left, and exclaimed, “ O Lord, protect us ; look at these 
 lies : now do you believe I saw human bones at the Cape ?” We 
 •pt only for a minute, when, within ten feet of us, there was a pile 
 o human bones. Having but an imperfect view of them, I can only 
 s i there were many ; to speak safely, I should think as many as 
 c lid be contained in a hogshead. Yet, considering the agitation 
 omind I was in, it would be nothing strange if the quantity were 
 tlee times as great, or but half so great, as it appeared to me. 
 d ink of -my situation at the time ; what a horrid spectacle before 
 ;i ! I had once been in a Portuguese golgotha, and I remember the 
 |ick that gave me, though I went thither voluntarily, and merely 
 ci of curiosity ; but that spectacle, horrible as it was, was as no- 
 t ng in comparison with the sight of these human sculls, viewed in 
 canexion with the consciousness of the dreadfully perilous condi- 
 t n We were in. My reader can now be at no loss for the reason 
 vy, so soon after, we left the [stone huts, the human hair,' andphe 
 pees of the wreck. 
 
 Our men were still at some distance ahead, which gave to us two 
 t opportunity to converse together concerning that and other things 
 uich we had seen. He told me he had not mentioned what he had 
 sen at the Cape to any one but myself, and that his opinion as to 
 te cause of the bones being there was not altered ; and now, said 
 1, this is, to my mind, a confirmation of the fact that we are among 
 tnnibals, as in several places about these huts there had been fires, 
 i t not recent. I had my fears of its being as he thought. We coll- 
 uded our conversation by saying, that if the men ahead had not 
 ;en ihese bones, we would keep the matter to ourselves ; that as 
 i Were gaining on them, we should soon know if they had seen 
 em. We joined them, and as they said nothing to us about seeing 
 e bones, we never mentioned the thing to them. ~We now stopt, 
 id finished the water from the tea kettle. The sun was burning 
 >t, and what with our thick clothing and heavy packs, and what 
 ith our being unaccustomed to travel over sand banks, and hard 
 id uneven rocky ground ; the sweat rolled off our faces profusely, 
 very countenance was sad, and some sullen ; still there was not so 
 uch murmuring as might have been expected among such a varietv 
 'dispositions, and more especially among men who had lived long 
 ider a strict discipline, and were now on an equal footing with 
 jiose that had commanded them. 
 
40 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 The ridge of mountains spoken of before was now fast drawi 
 towards the sea ; from the huts to their foot was not more than s 
 miles. We resolved, after resting but a few minutes, to draw l 
 wards them, and sleep under their cliffs, which in many places we 
 perpendicular. One great inducement for so doing was, that at t 
 time we were conversing about it, there were seen fresh marks 
 men and beasts, all fronting westward as before. At the dusk 
 the evening we saw several wild beasts at a short distance from i i 
 buL could not make out of what kind they were ; our first fears wc 
 of tigers. On approaching them they stood still and looked at 
 till we were within fifty paces of them, when they turned, and ruri 
 short distance, and then turned about and looked at us again. 0 
 of our sailors said he knew them to be hyenas ; that he had oft 
 seen that species of animals in Asia. We sought out a good plat 
 took each a piece of bread and a small quantity of water, bare 
 enough to wet our parching mouths and throats, set the watch, a 
 lay down, very much fatigued. We had scarcely got still before ■ 
 seemed to be attacked, by those beasts howling dreadfully ; we bei 
 on three sides of us too near the perpendicular rocks for those ferocic > 
 -animals to get in our rear. Upon that sudden alarm we arose, ter 
 each a stone to defend ourselves with, walked a little way towai 
 them, and, it being too dark for us to see any of our invaders, 
 returned back to our lodgings. We had a good horn lantern, in ij 
 candle, and good fire-works and matches, so that a light could ha 
 been had in a minute. We laid our weapons of defence by cj 
 sides ; I gave the watch orders, in case of alarm, to light the cant 
 and call all hands. A fire we durst not make for fear of being dl 
 covered by the natives, whom we were every moment in apprehe 
 sion of seeing ; still we had a hope thatjby a good look out we shot 
 avoid them till such time as we should get near, or nearer than i] 
 then were, to some place of relief, 
 
 Our distance from the ship, by calculation, was now fifty mil' 
 W T e soon fell into a quiet sleep, and were awaked by nothing el 
 but the changing of the watch. It so happened that Pat and I 
 Dane were on the watch : those two who had done us so much 1 
 jury, and, in the opinion of several at least, prevented us from gi 
 ting away in our boat, by their being drunk and asleep when i 
 were discovered by the two Arabs spoken of before, who otherwi 
 might have been secured. At the dawn, on the 8th, we were awak 
 by an unusual noise, which started the whole crew. The cause ‘ 
 it was soon obvious enough ; the two watchmen were quarrclli 
 about the other drink. Strange as it may appear, Pat had carrier; 
 bottle of gin in his pack, which, on a former examination, had pas 
 ed very well for water, the colour being the same ; all along un 
 this time those watchmates were equally concerned in the frau 
 Pat was now too drunk to stand ; the other not so drunk, and 1 
 story we got, which was as follows When they robbed the ca 
 on the beach, they put away in the sand one bottle, over and abo 
 what they had drank, and when we filled our packs at the ship, 1 
 the Dane, managed it so as to put that bottle in Pat’s knapsack, a 
 
PADDOCK ? S ' NARRATIVE. 
 
 41 
 
 a promised to keep it until we should arrive to a place where we 
 ii.it drink plenty of watei, and while on this watch, Pat said they 
 
 0 d finish it without being discovered. They opened the pack 
 
 1 eed which had never been allowed except all were present) and 
 k: out the gin, and along with it a bottle of water, and sipped out 
 f ich a while ; so thirsty they were in sipping, in about equal por- 
 0 ?, that Pat finished the water, and they then took out another 
 ole of water. By this time the operation of the gin was so pow- 
 r:l that Pat challenged the whole to himself. A battle ensued; 
 n in their struggle for the gin, they overset the half- packed knap- 
 jr on the rocks, and broke several bottles : the noise that this 
 vt e awoke us all. Judge of our consternation, having before this 
 othe least idea of any liquor being in our camp. 
 
 at was very drunk : the Dane said he had advised him not to 
 J the bottle out at that time, but to wait till we should find wa- 
 ul but Pat insisted that the gin was his, and he would take a 
 r k, and give him one, and then put it up again ; that the taste of 
 agin created thirst, which before was very severe, and was what 
 inted them to steal a little water, intending himself to drink only 
 file, and then put all away again ; that Pat swore he would finish 
 , nd drink as much as he had a mind to ; and that when remon- 
 -.nce was in vain, he (the Dane) thought he would drink too, but 
 e ared he was very sorry for it. 
 
 ur men were so exasperated, I did believe if I had not been there 
 awouldhave been stoned to death, and that there was not one of 
 in but would have been willing to cast the first stone. This was 
 inecond grand offence ; and they all declared it was more than 
 u it to be borne by human beings. I was left alone to plead Pat’s 
 a e ; and it was merely to save his life that I did it, for 1 confess 
 jyeelings were wrought up to a high pitch against that most un- 
 r.cipled and unfeeling rascal : yet if any violence had been done 
 it I should have been censured by the community as the ISfipIteed 
 a e of it ; had I been otherwise situated with the crew, or in the 
 ii» situation as the rest of them, it is very probable that Pat 
 dd have fared badly, but not worse than his deserts. Pat was 
 n drunk to stand, and after waiting an hour for him to come to 
 ii self, a motion was made at last, and carried without a dissenting 
 
 0 e, to take away what little of water and bread there was left in his 
 nasack, and march off and leave him. I then proposed to them 
 > ave him his share of each ; but being overpowered by numbers, 
 
 ( ook our departure, and left the poor object laying on the ground 
 j ie a martyr to gin. We had proceeded not more than a quarter 
 f mile when I prevailed on them to stop, and one of them return- 
 lack with me, and we took him up, one under each arm, and 
 tied him along to our company, whose wrathful dispositions to- 
 cls him were not in the least abated. I told them it would be 
 '■cruel to murder him on the spot than to leave him to linger out 
 
 1 but few days in misery. 
 
 hey remained inflexible : whereupon one of them gave me a 
 '5 of his historv, which they had had from himself on the passage, a 
 
 6 
 
haddock’s narrative. 
 
 -C-w 
 
 little before we were wrecked ; this was it: — -In 1799, and ihe I 
 ginning of ' SOD, he commanded a company, consisting of those w 
 were called the insurgents ; he boasted of having destroyed, 
 cutting their throats, a number who adhered to the king’s par 
 that at one time, he and his company, in a dark night, murdered 
 discriminately a number of persons whom they had caught ir 
 house, “ and d — n them,’’ he said, “I would have done more had 1 1 
 it in my power;” these murderous deeds he had committed in 
 neighbourhood of Wexford, in Ireland. 
 
 When this horrid tale was ended, they said, this fellow deser 
 all the punishment that we can inflict upon him ; and at the sa 
 time the countenance of every man of them was, on that occasi 
 so clearly marked with revenge, that I thought Pat’s case was dj 
 perate. He by this time was able to walk. All this morning i 
 been lost to us, and what was more to be lamented, was the loss) 
 a great part of our water ; we, however, commenced our mail 
 keeping near to the foot of the mountain. On this morning I lie 
 more murmuring among our men than all of it put together i|j 
 had been since our landing; and the whole of this, as I thou; 
 was to be attributed to Pat’s conduct. After dragging along v 
 slowly till noon, and seeing several fresh tracks on the sandJ 
 heading westward as before, we became more and more in feal 
 meeting the natives, and ascended to the top of a sand hill to tj 
 some little refreshment, and to look out for travellers, the weali 
 being extremely hot, with a very light breeze. We ate a lit 
 bread, and drank but a little water; so great was our thirst, the ■ 
 petite craved but little food. Every moment discovered more j| 
 content ; and, with a view to get a return of harmony in our lit 
 camp, so much disturbed the night before, I proposed for us al o 
 take a nap. It was agreed to : I then had the handle of my umbil 
 la stuck into the sand, and as it was large it served as a canopy 
 the heads of five or six of us. The most of them fell asleep in a i 
 minutes. My own anxiety was too great for me even to slum! 
 
 I lay till 2 o’clock, and then awaked them, who appeared all told 
 been refreshed. 
 
 The first object with me was to prepare and march forward ; J 
 there appeared a kind of backwardness to making preparations i 
 our departure, such as had been uncommon in like cases, and it i 
 (attended with indistinct murmuring. I had not the least conceptic: 
 the cause, till a little hurrying on to his work of one of the leader 
 it — the same man who had been spokesman in the affair of cut 
 away the masts, getting away the long-boat, &c. He looked me 
 in the face, and with an audible voice spoke to me these words 4 
 near as I can recollect : “We have been now three days since In 
 ing the wreck ; we get along very slow, and in a very few days J 
 water will all be spent, and then it will be too late to go back to i 
 wreck where there is plenty of it, and we are determined to get 
 further.” The reader can better judge of my feelings at so unexp ' 
 ed a change, than I can possibly describe them. We were nov 
 miles from the ship, that is to say, more than one fourth of our j 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 43 
 
 e to St. Cruez. In my answer to that man, I reminded him of his 
 T.inacy when our first troubles happened to us ; of his being the 
 cision of the loss of our long-boat ; and of the regrets he express- 
 difter we landed, at the hasty steps that had been taken contrary 
 any counsel ; and told him that now he was again opposing my 
 ssrtions to relieve ourselves from the gloomy situation we were 
 a ; His reply was, they were all united with -himself in the same 
 piion, and they would go no further. 
 
 luring this conversation we were all standing together, h took 
 ifcchief mate aside to consult with him on this important point : he 
 filmed to me he had suspected something of the kind as far back 
 file last evening, and had listened with uncommon attention to get. 
 ole knowledge, if possible, of what he feared was plotting, but had 
 ■been successful, otherwise he should have communicated it to 
 ■*j We then called the second mate, who was unwilling to return 
 at, and much preferred to go on. When we had gone through 
 d; our consultation, in which we were unanimously agreed, we 
 Sid our companions, who were engaged in conversation, and I 
 ■linded them of the evils that had already taken place by means 
 ifiir divisions among ourselves, and of what evils, in the course of 
 
 i its, would likely follow the present decision ; telling them that 
 ioubt remained of the natives now having possession of every 
 jg we had left behind us ; that the whole drift of travelling was 
 ward, and if carried away as captives in that direction, we 
 ild have no hopes of relief; and I begged them to continue on 
 ird the place where we had hopes. One of them observed to 
 that if he could only find a living spring of cool water, he should 
 billing to lay down by it and die there with hunger : that the 
 a e of water he had never known before. Another said, in any 
 
 1 r case he would be willing to follow me ; but as it now was, he 
 d not consent to go another step, and die in the burning sands, 
 :h were almost insufferable to his feet. After spending a 
 le hour in this most painful of all debates, they, nearly all as 
 were agreed to go back to the place where there was a plenty 
 'ater, and take their chance of what might follow. Being my- 
 determined to proceed on, I expressed that determination, tell- 
 them I would go, if f must go even alone. My mates thought that 
 would be imprudent, and that to divide ourselves into two com- 
 *|es would also be imprudent, whether we were to go back or pro- 
 el forward. Whereupon I advised them all to go back, and in 
 a' the natives were not come down, to use every exertion to re- 
 N the boat to be ready for sailing ; and I said to them that S would 
 on myself, and if I should find people friendly to us, I had money 
 pbgh to hire camels, and would send for them. No sooner was 
 hi said than the black man Jack (who had been sitting silent be- 
 >;) said to me, “ Master, if you go on, I will go too.” That was 
 s ed. I thought we could travel to St. Cruez in five days at fur- 
 i t. Evefy pack was opened for making a division of the water ; 
 M^est all agreeing that we should take a larger proportion than 
 Wn selves. At that moment Sam, the other black man, said, “ If 
 
44 
 
 PAIiDOCXc’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 you go, Jack, I too -will go.” That being settled, we proceeded 
 in making the division of water ; bread seeming scarcely thought 
 so thirsty were we all. When the bottles were all counted, thi 
 appeared only two bottles and a half to a man, which showed t 
 nearly half had been destroyed or lost. 
 
 Before the division or apportionment of the water had been g( 
 through with, Pat solicited permission to join me, which I then 
 fused to granthim. Upon which my mate took me aside, and obser 
 to me, that if 1 would not take him along, he must surely suffer dea 
 that they wore so exasperated against him, that he, the mate, co 
 not be able to prevent their taking away his life ; that he knew iv 
 had been their standing with each other for some time, and was ; 
 willing to be implicated with others in the acts of violence that mi 
 be committed upon the body of that man. I now saw that poor i 
 would be in a bad situation if I were to go off and leave him; !|l 
 from that consideration alone was I induced to accept of his com 
 ny. The reader may be assured it was from no liking to his jl 
 son, nor from any thing amiable in his manners. 
 
 It was now agreed that we should move on eastward. Being ! i 
 small in number, and all except myself good travellers, we cab 
 lated, by forced marches, to reach our destined port in a short ti 
 The parting w r ith the two little boys was to me the most distr< 
 ing thing of ail ; but the good of the whole seemed to require 
 We who were eastward-bound pleaded hard to have a larger port! 
 of the water than those returning to the ship, who could sooner 
 a plenty of it. In this case, the generosity of my fellow-suffere 
 ought not to pass by unnoticed ; they, to a man, agreed that 
 should have each of us as much water as we had started with at fi ■ 
 Accordingly they gave us twenty bottles of water, and a full sh e 
 of the bread ; and, furthermore, they invited us t.o join them in t 
 ing a drink from their own stock, and at the conclusion, sailor-1; i 
 they proposed a parting glass from the general stock. Alb this 
 arranged, and our packs made up, we all took of each other arr 
 fectionate leave ; at the same time reminding one another of < 
 story we had to tell if falling in with hostile men ; — and thus < 
 separated. The expressions of every man on this truly trying! 
 casion can never be erased from my memory so long as my seii 
 remain. Tears gushed from every eye ; some of us could haip; 
 articulate the word farewell. We shook hands with each other, t 
 all moved, in a silent procession, at the same signal, which vs 
 Go on. 
 
FADDOCK 5 |3 NARRATIVE. 
 
 45 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ’! discovery of us four by a body of wild Arabs — The ferociousness of their attack. 
 it fearful apprehensions of being instantly murdered — The manner of their strip- 
 ; ig us — Their arrangements to shoot us — A description of their persons — Their 
 ■slodious voices — The extreme sufferings they made us endure in our travel — The 
 pture of six of the other ten — We are hurried back to the wreck, where we tind 
 large assemblage of the natives — The capture of the remaining four of our men. — 
 ;aving these four at the wreck, they travel off with the remaining ten — The ex- 
 maty of our hunger and thirst, the latter being the most intolerable — In our e» 
 ;me hunger and thirst, we feed deliciously on the raw moist guts of an animal. 
 
 Ve parted at about 5 o’clock, and among my little company not a 
 vd was uttered for more than half an hour. I took the lead, as I 
 i; been used to do, and we walked about two miles, when we stopt 
 mrrange some of our luggage, which was pretty bulky, three ear- 
 wig the burthen which belonged to four ; for my comrades had 
 w, as before, taken my share of the common burthen of choice— 
 pact, had insisted on doing it, by saying they could walk as fast 
 vi such incumbrance as I could without it. At that sitting we 
 ueed to walk mostly in the night, which was cool, and to lay by 
 n he heat of the day : there was now an increase of the moon, that 
 atee -light till nearly midnight. As soon as every thing was adjust- 
 s we marched on again, and walked fast ; in the mean time cau- 
 sing each other to keep a good look out, and the moment any 
 man being appeared to our view, to hide ourselves under the sand 
 is, which were very convenient for that purpose. The sand drifts 
 tre now more common, but not so difficult to cross as they had 
 
 0 n, and, for that reason, the travelling not so tedious. The coun- 
 ir, from the mountains to the sea, was still flat. As it then appear- 
 ;<to us, the chain of mountains which we saw a long way ahead, 
 cninated at the sea. 
 
 Is there were now but four of us together, we could all join in 
 Hiversation, which I promoted, in order to employ our minds upon 
 fleets far distant from the deserts of Arabia. About half past six I 
 It/ a movement ahead, and so sudden was my stop, that the man 
 
 1 ;t behind me, not observing it, was near throwing me down. In 
 i loment we were all huddled together. I said to them, Iiideyour- 
 iues ; men ahead ! As we were veering off from the foot path, those 
 a ;ad saw us, and stopt ; we were then about a quarter, of a mile 
 un each other. With my glass I saw them looking steadfastly at 
 u Their number appeared to us greater than it really was, and 
 awe thought they were looking at us to ascertain our number, we 
 p.ced ourselves in a situation to be counted by them. To describe 
 tl condition our bodies were then in would not be difficult, but to 
 g e a description of even the smallest part of the feelings of our 
 mds, would be far beyond my power. We stood in that hopeless 
 station for more than ten minutes, not knowing nor thinking what 
 sps to take. Jack said to me, “ Master, let us run.” I told him 
 t stand still, for running would be useless, and I believed our ene- 
 mies only wanted to know our strength in order to approach us. If 
 
46 
 
 PADDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 you alter your position, said I, that may lead to our ruin ; but if 
 will stand firm, I will go to them alone and know our fate. Tt 
 were all agreed to do as I had bidden them. When I had advam 
 only a few paces, one of them called out, “ If they kill you, wl 
 shall we do?” I only replied, be quiet. 
 
 I now walked moderately towards these barbarians, with my u 
 brella under one arm, and the spy-glass in my hand. My read 
 will judge what my feelings were at that awful moment. The nr 
 or 1 approached them, the more frightful they appeared, but I kn 
 it could ans'wer me no good purpose to stop. When 1 was with! 
 hundred yards of them, they all, as with one motion, dropped th 
 packs, hove off their outer garments, and made towards me i 
 swift run. As soon as they had come within a few yards, I held i 
 my right hand in token of friendship. Of that they took no noti 
 but passed by me as swift as it could be possible for men to r 
 My poor shipmates stood motionless ; and when the monsters w 
 come near enough to grasp them, their attack began. While I v 
 walking towards them, in a quick pace, I perceived my three cc 
 panions were down on the ground, and the ferocious barbarians 
 work upon them with their daggers, which glittered in the sun. 
 They w r ere passing by me 1 saw a dagger, or long knife, hung 
 each of their necks. While beholding the horrid sight of their 
 tack, I could think of nothing else than that they were plunging th 
 daggers to the hearts of my poor companions, w'hose groans i 
 cries I distinctly heard. When 1 was come within thirty yard! 
 stopt, and looked at them, with no other expectation but that my o 
 turn would come next, after finishing the diabolical work they w 
 then about. In that deplorable situation I remained for near a qu 
 ter of an- hour, when, to my great surprise, they all arose on til 
 feet ; my men with their packs off, and half naked. 1 then cal I 
 to my men, and asked them if they were wounded ; they answei) 
 no. Upon which I w:as convinced their daggers were made use! 
 in cutting away the straps that secured their knapsacks, which tl| 
 did not know a quicker way to come at. i, 
 
 Before they had paid any attention to me they ripped open l‘ 
 packs, each of them striving to have the greatest share in the sp<j 
 Having accomplished this, one of them came within a few yards! 
 myself, and stopt, and afte reviewing me very attentively, he wall 
 partly round to get a side view. I could not perceive his moths 
 for keeping that distance, as I had shown no signs of an intention ) 
 defend myself. We were both in those attitudes respecting eaf 
 other, for a few minutes, and till one or two more of those fright! 
 beings were making towards me with the like caution. Upon t.t 
 he sprung at me, tiger-like ; my watch chain, which was of gc , 
 exciting his first attention. No sooner had he got hold of that tlj: 
 the others, seven in all, with the utmost fury seized hold of S 
 watch, and partly turned the fob inside out ; when one of them, w 
 the dagger in his right hand, cut oft’ the fob, and, through his grl 
 haste, he, with the same stroke, cut my pantaloons. In a mom 2 
 from this I was the undermost 5 the whole seven being upon i : , 
 
47 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 au with his dagger drawn. The gold they soon found, and took 
 ,,ocket and all. Being unacquainted with our dress, it took them 
 irer, by ten times, to obtain the plunder found on me, than 1 
 li ild have been in giving it up : add to this, they tore and cut my 
 Idles badly. All this time the spy-glass and umbrella lay by me 
 nhe spot where I had dropt them at the beginning of their attack, 
 d r this mauling was gone through with, they let me up again, when 
 m of them examined the spy-glass, and another the umbrella; 
 iking, I have no doubt, that this glass, which probably was the 
 I thing of the kind they had ever seen, was a defensive weapon, 
 m that made them so cautious about attacking me. They asked 
 (Snany questions, which we did not understand, repeating over 
 ■;ral times the same words, particularly the words Sapina, Rais, 
 ^ These words we soon after found out the meaning of. Their 
 ere, and ferocious look, to say nothing of their behaviour, were 
 ■avage, and even exceeded in savageness, any thing that I ever 
 ■e read in narratives of voyages. 
 
 'he business in hand being finished, they went back to the place 
 were at when we were first seen by them ; and after taking up 
 ■r guns, and what luggage they had, they came again to us, who 
 se been left by them to bemoan our condition. No sooner had 
 hr returned, than they faced eastward, fell upon their knees, and 
 oc up sand in their hands as if it were water, and washed them- 
 fies with it, hands, arms, face, neck, &zc. This done, they fell 
 intrate, with their faces to the ground, from thence rose upon their 
 4ries, and said over many words, which, from their looks and ges- 
 ■ s, we took to be their prayers. That worship, if worship it may 
 ■called, continued nearly half an hour : all which time they were 
 O rnately up and down, from kneeling, to bowing their faces down 
 obe ground. When this was over, they took each his gun, and 
 ■down about twenty paces from us, where they re-primed their 
 *s, and rubbed the hammers and flints. What could be our feel- 
 ms, when, after that was over, they came up to us, and made us 
 si el down, with our faces towards them ! instantaneous death we 
 bight would follow. Sam called out, “ W e are to be shot !” and 
 ■Swept aloud. Before this w~e had all been silent. As to myself, 
 ~ ought that, from every appearance, the hour had come for our 
 ids to take their flight to the invisible -world ; and I prayed most 
 dently to our blessed Redeemer for our souls’ salvation. At that 
 nnent there appeared before my eyes a sign, which I forbear to 
 ne, lest it should occasion some unpleasant comments from the 
 iiredulous. However, the effect of it was, that my fears of death 
 a antly subsided. 
 
 Rter that dreadful trial T was over, my burning thirst seemed more 
 .olerable than before, and as the bottles of water that had been 
 down out of our knapsacks were then lying on the ground, I took 
 * one of them, drew the cork, and drank it dry ; and after that, my 
 Wst being not yet quenched, I took' up another, and had already 
 :i nk two thirds of it, when one of those savage men ran to me, and 
 ibck the bottle from my mouth, and it rolled so far away, that l 
 
43 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 could not reach it again. During this sitting of theirs, they appe 
 ed to be consulting together as to what they should do with us. 
 length, about sunset, they came to us, and asked us many questic 
 wanting, as far as we could understand them, to know the numbei 
 us. By making marks on the ground, we informed them that i 
 number amounted to ten ; not meaning for them to include oursel 
 in that number. They wished to know if the rest of our crew 1 
 guns ; and, by the shake of the head, we answered, they had r 
 Their next inquiry was of the place where lay our ship, which tl 
 called Saffina, or at least we understood it so. We pointed wc 
 ward ; and then pointing to me, they asked me if I were rais. 
 rice, which I understood to mean captain or master. As well i 
 could make myself understood, I answered their question in the 
 firmative. Finally, they inquired for money, and we endeavon 
 to make them believe there was none at the ship. When they 1 
 gathered from us all this information, they talked with one anothc 
 few minutes, and then, as fast as they could, they gathered all I 
 luggage together except the water, made it up in the best man j 
 the time would admit of, loaded it into our hackled knapsacks, ij) 
 gave each of us a load. It was now the dusk of the evening, aild j 
 were, as we supposed, from 50 to 60 miles from the ship when tijll 
 gave the word Bomar, which signifies go on. 
 
 Before I proceed further, I will describe, as well as I can, till 
 monsters. One of them was an old man, whose head had been 1; • 
 ]y shaven, the hair of it half an inch long, and white, without jjf 
 mixture of black ; his beard nearly five inches in length, and white i 
 height he was about five feet ten or eleven inches, as straight as 
 American Indian, well made for a spare man, his cheek bones hi 
 nose sharp, eyes small and bright, of the colour of dark copper! 
 about three-fourths black : he seemed the head of the clan, foi 
 had more to say than any of the others. Another one was a bft 
 apparently of the age of seventeen or eighteen, in height about J} 
 feet eleven, of the colour of the old man, and with features so ml 
 like his, that I concluded he was his son. The other five wjj 
 nearly of the same size and colour, which was that of copper; 
 light, spare men, about five feet eight inches, their hair bla| 
 straight, and long, standing out just as it grew, never combed, 
 looking as frightfully as holy writ represents the witch of Fnc 1 
 Their dress consisted of what was once a shirt, without sleevesi 
 collar, and now in rags, over which they wore a garment cable 3 
 slaick, or echaick, made of wool, about one yard and a quarter wn 
 and four yards long. This garment is wrapped round the body, ' 
 ginning low down with one corner, and continuing upward, leav| 
 one end to be thrown over the shoulder. 
 
 With the word Bomar there came a blow, and a push for wet 
 They endeavoured to get us on a run, and for that purpose beatl 
 cruelly ; it was cruel indeed to force us on faster than a moderji 
 walk, extremely fatigued as we were when we started. j 
 companions, to save me from those cruel beatings, managed it s<[: 
 to fall into the rear in order to get me ahead, and so take the bin 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 laselves ; but the Arabs discovering that management, put a stop 
 > . Thus driven on, we continued to travel, as I should judge, 
 l!0or II o’clock, when, through extreme fatigue, I fell on my 
 k in the sand, and no Sooner did my companions see it, than they 
 Talso ; upon which our beating was increased to such a degree 
 1 thought we should never rise more. At last they desisted ; 
 a striking up a light, they, with some little dry brush, or weeds, 
 it had once grown there, made a little fire for light to examine the 
 h;der by. Every one of them appeared dissatisfied with his own 
 ■e of the plunder, and demanded for himself a part of what his 
 rffier thief had got. Their tongues, on that occasion, run like 
 ti clacks ; while at the same time our groans were incessant, and 
 Mb was not one of us but would have chosen rather to be shot, 
 k to be forced to stir another step. In this case we had lain for 
 out an hour, when came the reiterated word, Bomar, Bomar, and 
 tog with it a blow, and their threats and curses. My companions 
 v asked me what they should do. I told them to lay still. At 
 f instant one had his gun pointed at me, and another pointed one 
 'at ; they both threatening to fire if we did not get up ; for 
 icgh we did not understand their language, we could pretty well 
 jteive the meaning of what they said to us then. At last, after 
 Kits and blows, they got Pat up, and started him on ; and then the 
 •sof us, with much difficulty, got upon our feet. After this, it 
 »iied that they meant to make up for lost time ; the word Bomar 
 Softener repeated, followed, of course, with stripes. As that was 
 ie:irst time 1 had ever carried a pack, and as mine was heavier 
 a any of the rest, the endurance of the toil came harder perhaps 
 e than to my companions. Jack perceived it, and without my 
 k complaining of the burden I was compelled to bear, he, having 
 Tightest one, and being much the stoutest man, proposed to me 
 awe should exchange packs. Accordingly we stopt for that 
 •nose; but our drivers were as much bent against that arrange- 
 »e as we were for it. Jack told them, by signs, that he was the 
 
 0 est man, but they insisted that we should go on as we were ; and 
 bb that litigation was at the highest, we both dropped our packs, 
 K;he exchange was made by us, but not without our smarting un- 
 The lash. 
 
 1 ter that exchange was made, we got along much easier, although 
 etarbarians did in no degree relax of their severe and cruel treat- 
 e of us. We continued to travel on as fast as our feeble limbs 
 ■d carry us, until about 3 in the morning, when, borne down with 
 iriatigue, and with various sufferings, we fell again on the sand. 
 Ripectedly to ourselves, we were not beaten as before, but were 
 f itted to lie there an hour undisturbed ; after which we were 
 rd up again, and pushed on. We new, some of us, began to 
 i; that we had passed by those of our crew that had returned for 
 chip ; but, as we had kept on the plainest track, or foot path, i 
 wf the opinion myself, that in the former part of the night we 
 e,d come up with them, either travelling or asleep ; and in which - 
 ejease we might happen to find them, 1 had no doubt that host! 
 
l-ADDbCK 5 ? NARRATIVE* 
 
 qO 
 
 lities would commence. Our whole number, if the two paTtifes u 
 ed, would have been double the number of the Arabs ; yet t 
 expertness, and the circumstance of their being armed, and < 
 selves unarmed, were considerations which rendered it prob; 
 that they would have killed us all, if resistance had been made 
 any of us ; and this 1 had reason to fear, knowing, as I did, the r 
 luteness of my crew. 
 
 We proceeded on as fast as we could go, and, at dawn of da] 
 the 9th, we judged, from the appearance of the mountains, thai 
 were not many miles from the cave where we had slept the first ni 
 Having had no water during this whole night past, our thirst was 
 very severe, and we begged hard for water, showing the Arabs 
 parched tongues, and uttering our bitter complaints ; they werr 
 duced at last to give each of us about half a pint, from a skin 
 had, in which was about three quarts of Very bad water, but t 
 nothing could have tasted better. The mode of watering us w: 
 untie the skin bag, each hold his moutli tight to the hole, which 
 about two inches in diameter, and an Arab held up the skin, an 
 as much flow through the passage as he thought proper ; and x 
 we had drank he took the skin away. The skin appeared to 
 fresh one from a kid ; the smell showed it to have been taker 
 within a few days ; the fleshy side was as green as putrid me 
 the summer. 
 
 After that drink, they pushed us on again with all speed. At a 
 8 o’clock we came in sight of the flat which we had crossed oi 
 sixth ; and no sooner had we, from the top of a sand drift, con 
 full view of it, than the Arabs cried out aloud, uttering certain w 
 which we did not understand, and they ran off in full speed, lea' 
 only two of their number with us. We soon found out their obj 
 six of our men being in sight on the plain about two miles oil’. 1 
 were goaded on by the two men who had us in their charge.} 
 our thirst was so burning that we waddled along as fast as we o[ 
 in hopes of getting some water from our men. Those Arabs 
 within half a mile of our men before they were seen by them ; 
 ran at least five times as fast as we could get along. The mo 
 our men saw them they stopt, expecting, from a view of their 
 cious looks, and of the guns in* their hands, that their ow n time 
 short ; and having yet some water left, they drank every drop i 
 before the Arabs got hold of them. In an instant they were all <j 
 upon the ground, and thought themselves destined to slaughter;! 
 as myself and my little company had thought of ourselves, whet 
 were in the like circumstances. By the time they were stripp 
 their treasure, and had got up, we were near them, when there i 
 with them, a general rejoicing ; their seeing us alive giving 
 hopes. As soon as we could be heard, we cried out for water} 
 being answered there is none, we dropped down, not thinking it,< 
 sible for us to live. We lay groaning, and crying out for wateij 
 at the same time our limbs were in excruciating pain from fat i 
 the merciless barbarians then gave us what remained in the i 
 which was not enough to w T et our throats. 
 
iPA5>DQCK ? S KARRAflV'Ea OT 
 
 .. last they got us all ten together, which they (the Arabs) sup- 
 ®jd, from what I had told them the day before, was our whole 
 liber. It appeared from the story of my mates, that, upon part- 
 |vith us, they had calculated to walk nearly all the night; that 
 u of the men would not agree to that, as they had rather sleep, 
 ^therefore lay down for that purpose. The mates thought, that 
 cgh we did not see or hear each other, yet we must have been 
 g near those four men about midnight. 
 
 tur captors soon made a kind of division of their newly acquired 
 jierty, and when the two that were left to drive us up claimed 
 share, there seemed a war of words before the matter was set- 
 From what I could learn, those two got but a small share, 
 y then began a division of our persons, which appeared diffr? 
 ; if there had been only seven of us in number, it would have 
 li easy to have divided us between them, as there tvould have 
 ii one to each. They sorted us and appraised us several times 
 Ire the thing was settled. We gave them our names, which, ex- 
 i Jack, they made a bad hand at pronouncing. The name they 
 d me by was Ria, meaning captain ; that word the Moors pro- 
 ice Rais. How we were appraised we could not tell, but it so 
 )ened that Jack and myself fell to the worst fellow amongst them 
 i Three were put to the old man and his son, and that left a re- 
 ader of one to each of the others. 
 
 his matter being settled, the word Bomar sounded in our ears, 
 thrill as the sound of a fine voiced bird ; such melodious voices I 
 3 :r heard before nor since. I don’t mean to be understood that 
 »• voices were charming as respected ourselves. We cried for 
 fcr, they forced us up ; we pointed to the ship, in hopes they 
 c Id go there, and let us get along as fast as we could. They 
 dd not leave us, but marched us on with them. When we were 
 i in 6 or 8 miles of the ship, w r e all laid down, unable to go ano- 
 
 ! lw step, worn down as we were with fatigue ; and we repeatedly 
 ured them our parched tongues. Upon finding that we either 
 3 d not go, or would not proceed on, and that all their threats w r ere 
 ’ ^ailing, a man was dispatched for water. To what place he went 
 lever knew, but, in an hour’s time he returned, with some water 
 was brackish and black. Previously to his return, we saw a 
 3 el, with a small boy on his back, and a woman following after on 
 x . They were close upon us before either of the parties, disco- 
 fe:d the other; for there were large sand banks in their way from 
 ii ship to us, and they coming between those heavy banks, were 
 c discovered. We saw on the camel one of our sails, of which, 
 n of every thing else, the Arabs that were with us, immediately 
 K: possession. They unloaded the camel, and began their search. 
 
 3 ie mean while the woman defended herself with her uncommon- 
 rard scolding, the meaning of which we could well conjecture. 
 J;>n the exposure of her load, we saw some onions, which we got 
 d of, and ate with great avidity, and also a few potatoes. The 
 nbs let us have all the potatoes, with which they seemed unac- 
 uited, as they viewed them with attention, and smelt of them, 
 
52 
 
 Paddock’s NARRATIVE* 
 
 They were, however, far more inviting to us than the onions ; p; 
 ticularly when we had a drink of that brackish water aforementiom 
 the raw potatoes served to continue the moisture on ou? tongu 
 As soon as the examination of this load was gone through with, c 
 of the men took the woman aside and had a long talk with her, a 
 then, as we supposed, a treaty was made ; as they then joined us, a 
 loaded the camel with the sail, which was part of the foresail, a 
 the same that was left on shore by us for a tent, and with somep 
 ces of iron, and some tools which we had landed for repairing I 
 boat. 
 
 It was now about noon ; the sun beat down with such extre 
 heat that the sand was almost insufferable. We marched on, e 
 saw nothing till we were on the hill, within fifty rods of the ship, 
 we were descending the hill, we were met by a company consist 
 of about two hundred and fifty men, women, and children. Jt \ 
 now about 2 o’clock, when a quarrel arose between the two parti 
 and, as far as we could understand it, (what we afterwards found 
 be the fact,) those at the ship claimed us as their property, all 
 ing, that having possession of the ship, every thing appertaining 
 her was theirs. On the other hand, the party having possessioi 
 oui’selves, claimed not only every thing appertaining to us, but 
 ship also, by the right of having us in their possession. They qt; 
 relied hard, and we expected that we ourselves should fall as vict 
 to their furious contention. Some blood was shed on that occasi 
 but not much. During all this time we were sitting down on 
 sand, near the place where our tent was left. Every thing was tai 
 away except our hog, which lay dead, and blasted, and noisomt 
 the smell, shot no doubt by the Arabs the very day we left the wre 
 as from the putridity of its carcass, and from various other circi 
 stances, it appeared that they had been there all that time. 1 
 yawl lay on the rocks, with her oars in her, just as she was left; a 
 foresail was cut off as high up as a man could reach, if standing 
 the bellfry. They must have passed off to her by swimming. 
 
 After sitting as close together as we could for two hours or m( 
 under the keeping of the old man and his son, and perceiving noth 
 done by the natives but quarrelling about ourselves and the wrejj 
 I rose up to look round if I could see whether they had found w| 
 we buried, and perceived the covering stone to lie exactly as I 
 left it. For this offence, the one that 1 took to be my master, ran Jji 
 and gave me a hard stroke on the back part of my neck, and saijt 
 me Umbar , which means sit down, or lie down. At about 5 o’cll 
 the thing was settled between the contending parties. As fa :j;l 
 we could learn, it was agreed upon, that those having possession 
 us, should march off with us, and take nothing else with them, '< 
 that those remaining there should keep what they had got. T i 
 controversy being done with, while two of them were left to keejjt 
 together, the other five of the gang went about a hundred yards i i 
 us, fell to work under the edge of the bank, and dug out an old v 
 and in less than one hour found water. Jt had been partly sto 
 up, but was now completely filled with sand, leaving no appeara i 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 53 
 
 sire could see, of its having ever beer, a place where water could be 
 nd. They filled the skin with water, such as it was, very brack- 
 ’d and while this was doing our four poor fellow-sufferers made 
 iir appearance on the hill. They looked down with astonish- 
 Kjt, having had no knowledge of our bondage, nor of the Arabs 
 tog at that place. One of the Arabs got sight of them, and gave 
 j:ll. Upwards of fifty of those ruffians ran up the hill, and took 
 i»a down, and stripped them of their luggage. Our masters, who 
 «e filling water, ran also, but were too late. Those four were 
 knitted to talk with us while we staid, which was about half an 
 dr. Poor fellows ! they wept bitterly upon being told that we 
 /<e to depart and leave them, with but little hopes of our ever see- 
 vone another again in this world of trouble. At the sound of the 
 ?<d Bomar, we took of one another an affectionate leave, promis- . 
 ai that whoever of us should happen to be redeemed from our bon- 
 ke, he, or they, would endeavour to obtain the redemption of the 
 e. Not one of us, while continuing to breathe the breath of life, 
 f yet have forgotten, or will ever forget, that trying moment. Poor 
 k was reminded, before we parted, of his having been the cause of 
 n distress. He was prudent enough to make no reply, 
 it sunset the remaining ten of us, along with the seven Arabs, as- 
 *ded the hill again, and for the last time ; but whither or where 
 
 I ig, that was our first and deepest concern. When departing from 
 hill, instead of turning east, we were conducted, to our great 
 ■tification, in a S. W. course. It was soon dark, and we coati- 
 d in that course for about four miles, and then were ordered 
 ra. It had now become chilly, and, deprived as we were of our 
 tikets, we suffered with cold extremely. But much greater than 
 3t bodily sufferings, were the sufferings of our anxious minds, 
 wile our thoughts were fixed on the arrangement that then ensued. 
 ft:' the Arabs birthed us in the centre, and posted themselves around 
 a their muskets pointed directly toward us, the breech on their 
 |i:es, and the muzzle on the sand, ready to fire at any moment. 
 
 2 er this they despatched oft’ one of their men, who took to the 
 stward, on the run. Within about an hour he returned, and ano- 
 fir along with him, who had a camel. On the camel they loaded 
 ai the luggage, gave out the word Bomar, pointed eastward, and 
 ced out, Swearah. The word Bomar was very familiar to our 
 els ; the word Swearah was new to us. They turned the camel 
 ntward, which to us was a matter of great joy, as that was the 
 f ly direction from which we could derive any hopes of relief, 
 hat sudden hope, or rather shadow of hope, infused in us such a 
 gneral joy, that every one seemed to show some considerable de- 
 gie of animation ; whereas we had been utterly dejected before. 
 
 We continued our journey all that night. Before morning we 
 find ourselves on the great plain afore described, as thought by 
 i to have been once the bed of the sea. At daylight on the 10th 
 V discovered the cave where we had slept the first night after our 
 living the wreck. Before daylight our new companion had started 
 on a run towards the mountains. The sun was about an horn - 
 
54 
 
 paddock's narrative. 
 
 high when we arrived at the cave ; we looked into it, and retire J t 
 little north of it, and made a halt in a valley formed by two s;; 
 drifts. We were extremely tired, having walked all the night w[ 
 out sleep or rest. The sun having now been up for some consit 1 . 
 able time, and very hot, we begged earnestly for water; when th| 
 inhuman monsters would call us fonta, (bad ) — and would say, v 
 an angry grin shrub mackan, which we understood to be water no\ 
 The small skin we knew was full when we started from the wre 
 and we had seen them drink of it only once afterwards ; neverthe’ j 
 our begging was of no avail. About 10 o’clock the Arab that 1 
 left us joined us again, bringing with him about half a bushel fl 
 sweet berries, and a brute animal, such as we could not name, t 
 was about the size of a half-grown goat. ; the head, skin, and le , 
 they took off immediately ; after which they opened their gai 
 quartered it, laid it on the sand, covered it over with hot sand, : 1 
 made a lire upon it with some dry sticks. They reached the guts, 1 1 
 as they were, for us to eat. We were very hungry, but did notsui 
 so much from hunger as from thirst. This food beingwarm and mb', 
 we chewed the guts, after sucking off the fat; little thinking it wa 
 be our last meal for five days. The meat was soon cooked, and jj 
 ing in expectation of getting a share of it, we privately buried j 
 remaining part of the guts in the sand. We begged earnestly 
 water, but they took no notice of it. After they had devoured tli 
 meal of meat and sand mixed up together, they hove us the borf 
 on the whole of which there was not a single ounce of meat. 
 
 The camel now lying by the side of us, they began to pack , 
 and to load the poor beast, which had neither ate nor drank 
 thing since we first saw him. When it came to packing away 'j 
 skin, we begged so hard, that they gave each of us about half a ft 
 of water out of it, the water in which being by’ this time m ; 
 than half consumed. Our travelling seemed then to commence v i 
 speed. We took the same course which we had travelled in bet: 
 we had seen the men now with us, and pursued it for about 12 mil, 
 and then crossed the adjacent barren mountains in an E. S. E. 
 rection- The mountains were very ragged, consisting of sand £ 
 rocks alternately. When we were come to the descent of them, I 
 had hopes of seeing a better country ; instead of which it beca 
 still worse, or more difficult for travelling, as the sand hills increa. 1 
 in size and number. We followed along the foot of those mountai , 
 keeping them on our left, our course being from east to south-ea, 
 according to the direction that we found most easy to get along . 
 Towards night we, each of us, got about one pint of the sweet b- 
 ries ! they were about the size of whortleberries, the stone, or], 
 being in quantity full three-fourths of the whole. We ate the^ 
 stone and all, for the stones were not hard to our teeth. We dug 
 water, but found none. At dark we got about half a gill each of 
 water from the sack ; that drink finished it, and we lay down. T 
 Arabs tied up the left fore leg of the camel, and let him go. As 
 feed, there was none. 
 
 The night was very cold, the contrast there between night and d ' 
 
Haddock’s narrative'. 
 
 55 
 
 e o- very great. The wind was high all the night, and we all lay 
 15'ering, and whispering to each other of our sad situation ; while 
 » Arabs, who had our blankets in addition to their haicks, lay 
 tn. Jack and myself lay close to the man who claimed us both, 
 n when l thought him asleep, I softly hauled the blanket partly 
 Jim upon myself. The moment he missed it he gave me a hard 
 imp with his list; and it was a long time before I got clear of the 
 aj which the blow occasioned. We now computed our distance 
 •a the ship at forty miles, having travelled the best part of twen- 
 / >ur hours. Great as our sufferings were, sleep at last closed our 
 
 1 - 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 itlhalf burial, in our sleep, under the drifting sand — My Arab master springs furi-- 
 sly upon me, and strips me of my body-clothes — Our power of swallowing sus- 
 nded by our parching thirst — The kindly efforts of black Sam in my behalf — Our 
 irst slaked at a pond of putrid water — Its description — The bloated appearance 
 their camel after his drinking — The dismalness of our night-lodging — -A patch of 
 ;.rley in the milk ravenously devoured by us — The punctiliousness of the Arabs in 
 
 i eir devotions, as welt as constancy in their villames, regularly praying, cheating, 
 hiring, and murdering, by turns— Instance of the incomparable worth of cool wa- 
 rto the thirsty — Our rencontre with hundreds of Arabian horsemen and footmen, 
 io search us for money, and conduct us in triumph to a tented tribe — Our intolera- 
 3 sufferings there, from the heat, from the throng, and from thirst — Our introduc- 
 w to George, an English youth in slavery — His joy at seeing us — His haggardly 
 ipearance — His affectionate behaviour to us — His interesting story — A summary 
 our sufferings in our five days’ travel. 
 
 )n the morning of the 11th we were awaked, at dawn of day, by 
 ft Arabs at their prayers. This was indeed a miserable night’s rest, 
 iiest it may be called ; the sand for our pillow, and the heavens our 
 '.copy, with merciless barbarians by our side to beat us. Such 
 e reme sufferings, by night, as well as by day, we thought more 
 tin human nature could long endure ; nevertheless, the hope of be- 
 lt redeemed by some good Christian was made our constant topic, 
 u the purpose of cheering one another up. Prayers were now 
 o >r, the camel that lay near us was loaded, and we were obliged to 
 nrch, di.strest as ive were with hunger and thirst, and every one of 
 umakingthe outcries of misery. At the same time, the Arabs ap- 
 pred callous to every feeling of humanity, by their frequently call- 
 iii; out to us, Bomar. The camel walked fast, and we were driven 
 o to keep pace with him, which was out of our power. As we were 
 diwing away from the ridge of mountains, the country appeared 
 nre level, but still rocky, and there were some sand banks which 
 i was hard for us to cross, becoming more and more worn down 
 vth fatigue. About 11 o’clock the Arabs dug for water, and 
 f ind a little that was exceeding bad, but it served very well to 
 rench our burning thirst. As soon as that was in part satisfied. 
 I; hunger became more painful. One of our sailors discovered at 
 at time that he had in his pocket a small potatoe, of the size of a 
 
66 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 large walnut ; half of that he privately gave me, and 1 thought : { 
 thing ever tasted to me more pleasant. 
 
 The sun was so powerfully hot that the sweat not only dropp 
 but, on most of our faces, it ran down in a stream. We were p 
 mitted to lie down awhile, and soon fell asleep. The wind blow 
 fresh, we were very soon called up, when we were more than 1 
 covered with the drifting sand, and no doubt, in a short time, 
 should have been buried alive in the drifts. I believe there \ 
 none among us but would have been willing to remain undisturbi 
 and die there. When we arose, the Arabs appeared uncommoi 
 irritated, and fell to abusing us sadly. W e marched on, sulferi 
 more and more from fatigue, and the want of water and food, a 
 we all concluded that we could not long continue alive without : 
 lief. At that instant, Johnson very unexpectedly reached me 
 piece of biscuit, about the size of a large walnut, and said he pick 
 up double that quantity from among the luggage, when the car 
 was loading the day before ; that he had eaten half of it himself, a 
 reserved this piece forme, but had not an opportunity to give it i 
 discovered before now, as he knew the Arabs would take it if 
 were seen by them. After marching a short time, the leader, i 1 
 master, called out, Umbar — sit down. We soon obeyed, and wl:! 
 seated, they took a little meal which had been concealed from cj 
 view, and ate it. We expected some small share, but we got nor| 
 My master looked very sternly, at me : at that moment he got sid 
 of my sleeve buttons, and caught me by the wrist. I saw what 
 was after, and gave them up as soon as I could unbutton my sleev< 
 Till this time I had not been deprived of any of my wearing appai, 
 except what was in my sailors’ packs. He then ordered me j 
 strip, and necessity obliged me to comply. My coat, waistcoji 
 shirt, and neck handkerchief, were taken from me, and laid by ll 
 side. I begged hard for my clothes, or some part of them, but to j 
 effect : the piece of bread happened to be in the pocket of my p a» 
 taloons. Soon after this a general search of us took place. 1 
 fine shirts, which the sailors had on them, were all taken avmj 
 whereas those who fortunately had only their own shirts on, whi 
 were coarser, and some of them not white, were permitted to wc| 
 them. 
 
 After this business was over, we re-commenced our march, ujj 
 clothes lying upon the back of the camel. I confess the shedding j 
 some part of my sheep’s wool was to me a momentary relief; fo 
 xv hat followed caused me many fears. At that time I was eati 
 my biscuit, or rather grinding it to powder between my teeth; 
 fact, the power of swallowing was lost to me. This was the fi;|j 
 lime I ever had in my mouth any food which I could not, after che| 
 ingit, convey to my stomach ; now I found it could not be done 1,] 
 the want of fluid or moisture in my mouth and throat. My modi 
 was so parched up that the biscuit could render me no service ; i) 
 the least morsel found its way down ; every particle was discharge 
 or blown from the mouth whenever the upper and lower jaw opene 
 
 Towards night the country became more rocky and hilly, vrij 
 
57 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 iier sand drifts; many of them we were obliged to go round, as 
 ir were too steep for the camel to ascend, being in some instan- 
 e from 20 to 50 feet high, and nearly perpendicular. The rocky 
 edition of the ground added to the fatigue of travelling, and such 
 •(; the groans and cries for water among our poor fellows, who 
 e?r before knew its value, as made the scene truly distressing. 
 P Arabs, from habit, could go a long time without water, and did 
 othen appear to suffer at all in comparison with the sufferings 
 'h we endured. 
 
 s soon as the burning sun had retired a little behind the moun- 
 ts of sand, we were spurred on with greater haste. When it sunk 
 eath the horizon, the fresh wind cooled the earth, which became 
 jt cold before dark. Negro Sam, as he was walking by my side, 
 i d me if I was cold. I told him I was. He then took off his 
 : jacket, and reached it to me, and I put it on. After this he 
 plained to his master that he was cold ; whereupon his master 
 e to me, in anger, probably thinking that I had taken the jacket 
 Sam by demanding it of him. Sam made him understand 
 I was not to suffer. He, the Arab, then gave Sam my coat, 
 when it was quite dark we exchanged coats, and I got my own 
 |n. This evening’s walk was worse than any thing we had be- 
 experienced. About 9 o’clock we all ascended a mountain, I 
 ild suppose from two to three hundred feet high, over craggy 
 <:s ; at every step our joints seemed to be dislocating. When we 
 e on the top of the mountain, the Arabs called out, Shrub bezef. 
 ij knew that shrub was water, and concluded that bezef was 
 iity. That sound cheered us all. The camel, which on our 
 Kch was always driven ahead, started off at full trot, and all the 
 .lbs after him, except one, who brought up our rear. The de- 
 lft of this mountain was ten limes worse than the ascent ; our 
 ,‘i slipping or giving way at almost eve'ry step, it being too dark to 
 t: our road. We found it indeed almost too much to be borne, 
 n nothing but the hopes of finding water could have kept us from 
 king under our troubles and sufferings. 
 
 /Ten we were nearly half way down the mountain, we began to 
 all something, which could be compared to nothing I could think 
 f ut bilge water in the hold of a ship ; the nearer we approached 
 . e stronger was the smell. Before we had come to the water the 
 a el had drank of it, as also had all the Arabs except the one jn 
 krear, who taking a wooden bowl from one of his companions, 
 i oed up the water and drank it. From him I took the bowl, dip- 
 e it full, and drank every drop. My mates being by my side, 
 aed out, “ Captain, you will kill yourself!” The bowl contained 
 f :ast a gallon, and some said five quarts. Several others of us 
 nk as much as I did myself. The reader may be astonished at 
 r taking down such a quantity at a draught, and much more so, 
 i n he is informed that the water was so putrid that the smell of 
 - -ached from a quarter to half a mile ; and that when drinking it, 
 ound it as thick as common gruel used in sickness. After all 
 jpest of us had been, satisfied, l took another drink, of at least a. 
 
 .a 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 . 5 .8 
 
 quart, and then some others, if not all, mended their draught ; w 
 we all lay down by the side of the pond, and slept finely ; I thii 
 never enjoyed a finer night’s sleep in all my life. This day’s tr; 
 we computed at 35 miles. One of our men, who had been usei 
 driving a team, thought our calculation was moderate. 
 
 At dawn of day on the 12th, we were awaked, as usual, by 
 voices of the Arabs saying their prayers. On looking about us, 
 found that the pond was formed by means of the hollow in aro 
 it was from one to two hundred feet in diameter, and had fa 
 since the last rains six or eight feet perpendicularly; the depth t 
 remaining we could not ascertain ; the whole surface was cov< 
 ■with a green scum. The edges of it, all around, showed the iru 
 of the wild beasts that had frequently resorted to it for drink. ' 
 smell from it did not seem to us so nauseous this morning as it 
 the evening before, when our stomachs were empty. When t 
 prayers were over, they began to load the camel, which appe; 
 almost double the size he was of the preceding evening. Hcrt 
 ed to drink this morning. When we were ready for a march, 
 Arabs waded up to their knees in the water, and dipped up c 
 enough to fill their small skin, and returning to the shore, they p 
 ed the wooden bowl bottom upwards upoon a rock, by the side oi 
 foot path leading from the mountain. 
 
 We now were marched ofi'in about an east-south-east direct 
 our course, however, changing according to circumstances ; foi 
 stance, to avoid mountains and sand hills. Generally our course 
 in our opinion, as nearly east-south-east as we could ascertai 
 In this forenoon’s march we suffered less than usual ; our road 
 more level. About noon, it being calm, the sun was so scorchin 
 to be almost insufferable. We then complained of this forced ma 
 but Bomar was rung in our ears, and was echoed from the li 
 About 2 o’clock we were permitted to lie down for rest; howe 
 not before we had endured some foul usage from them. We 
 there nearly two hours, and slept in our wet clothes, that weren 
 wet by our pirofuse perspiration. It seemed as if all the water 
 had drank the night before had passed oft’ through the pores ol 
 skin ; for our mouths, had now become as parched as before. A 
 this rest, we begged for water, and each of us got about one 
 which did not seem to make our throats wet, as our tongues 
 dry again in a few minutes. The Arabs used this water very s ^ 
 ingly, and took along with it some little meal, which we could: 
 get a taste of. Towards evening, we saw for the first time s 
 small shrubs, appearing like our dwarf thorn bushes. The cs 
 seized hold of the tops and little branches, which he ate with ai 
 ty ; they were dry, so that in breaking them with our hands! 
 could discover very little moisture within the bark. Such as 
 were, we chewed the twigs, but could not expect any susten: f 
 from them. 
 
 As soon as the camel had eat what they thought propier, we ir 
 driven on again. By this time the ridge of mountains we had era 
 ed after we left the cave, was no more visible to us ; all the com’] 
 
paddo-ck’s narrative* 
 
 59 
 
 paring more and more gloomy the further we went. Where, or 
 I n, this dismal scene would change, was what w r e made our com- 
 ic; topic of conversation ; well 1’nowing that we could not long en- 
 |j: such cruel treatment, added to our suffering the privation of the 
 [Jt essential necessaries of life. Night came, and we brought to 
 iiie top of the highest sand hill then in sight, and finished all the 
 e;r, which was not more than half a gill to each ; we having tra- 
 ihd full thirty-six miles. It was quite midnight before we could 
 i [asleep ; the aching of our bones, our distress from thirst, and the 
 S and coldness of the wind, seemed to stop the circulation of our 
 Id. Any person who has seen the same number of hogs lying 
 jther in a cold night, may figure to himself our position . ; every 
 | of us shivering, and striving to obtain some little warmth from 
 one lying nearest to him. The Arabs, as usual, were wrapt up 
 I;, under our blankets. At dawn of day on the 1 3th, we found 
 clothes were wet with a heavy dew, which fell towards morning 
 its the heaviest we had experienced since the time of our leaving 
 (ship. Our limbs were stiff, and the animation we had left, was 
 lly enough to enable us to raise ourselves up. 
 fter the usual prayers, and loading the camel, we started on, but 
 : slowly, walking a mile at least before our blood begun to circu- 
 as usual, the weather being yet cold, by means of this uncom- 
 devv. When the sun had risen, the cravings of our thirst in- 
 :sed, but we had neither water to cool our tongues, nor food to 
 port nature, and, of course, we travelled but slowly during the 
 hie of this day. There was no visible change in the face of the 
 jv.try, which appeared nearly level, but sand drifts were more 
 Nmon : a great many of them were not more than four feet high, 
 |h the camel could mount without much difficulty ; but we poor 
 ffeiated beings had scarcely strength to move, and we thought it 
 at have been much for the interest of our merciless masters had 
 id suffered us to take our turns with themselves in riding. By such 
 a rrangement, our progress this day might have been increased 
 e ly one half, as two of us at a time might have ridden. We 
 ®e signs to them in order to bring that about, but all in vain : 
 car, Bomar, was their only reply to us. .Our course all along 
 s ! nearly the same, that is, from east to east-south-east. About 
 laiiddle of the afternoon, the land on our left appeared to rise a 
 il', and we observed the Arabs talking much, and often pointing, 
 i ’ they did not agree together respecting the subject they were 
 kbursing about. The sun was hot, and we were near perishing, 
 hn on a sudden two of them started, and ran off’ in a north-eastern 
 u:tion, we dragging ourselves along after them. As soon as they 
 ijascended one of the hillocks, we discovered that they were much 
 B^ged, appearing to be gathering something from the face of the 
 m. We doubled our diligence, and soon came to the place, and, 
 ) Jr astonishment, we found about a quarter of an acre of ground 
 lily covered with barley in the milk, of about 18 inches in height. 
 
 1 Arabs all fell to work to gather and eat ; we followed their ex- 
 ile, and the grain being full of milk, we were able in a few minutes 
 
60 
 
 padbociCs narrative. 
 
 to raise moisture enough in our mouths and throats to aid us in sil 
 lowing. 
 
 The Arabs now, for the first time, showed toward us some m;| 
 of kindness, so far as to assist us to fill our stomachs with this ia 
 grain ; they being quicker in gathering it than we were. The cal 
 was not idle ; and, in half an hour, we finished the piece. 'll 
 piece of grain appeared to have no other soil than clear sand, sj| 
 as we had all along travelled over, and it seems astonishing that h 
 vegetable substance could find support there. A more delic t 
 morsel than that cannot be described ; nor had we the least com 
 of any inconvenience or injury to ourselves from that sumptuous} 
 past. Reader, pause a minute, and figure to yourself the app 1 
 ance of ten of your poor unfortunate fellow-mortals, crawling < 
 the face of the earth, feeding on half grown grain, by the side < 
 camel, and intermixed with eight wild Arabs, who, in all app 
 ance, were dragging them into perpetual bondage, never to hea;l 
 nor see any more, their dear friends and most beloved relatic 
 Such as this, was the situation in which we were placed. 
 
 After a short stay there, we were ordered to march. We now 
 strong hopes of seeing soon a fertile spot that might refresh our 
 down meagre bodies. Night came, and having travelled 25 m 
 we laid down, and slept finely, experiencing no other inconvenk 
 but that of cold. In the arrangement of the luggage in the even 
 there was some difference from what had been their former man 
 It was put in the centre, ourselves around it, and the Arabs ocj! 
 outer side of us ; and the camel was secured better than he comm 
 ly had been, to prevent his wandering far away. Whether 1 
 were guarding against wild beasts, or wild men, we could not ( 
 jecture ; this, however, did not keep us awake a single moment, 
 thought our situation could not be worse than it was, and that 
 change would be for the better. Unusually early on the mornin 
 the 14 th, when signs of day were scarcely in the sky, we were awai 
 and while the Arabs were at prayers, we, rambling a little way Ilf 
 them, found several spears of barley, which we gathered and I 
 As soon as possible, after their devotions, they loaded the camel, ■> 
 we all marched on in about the same course that we had genet!!; 
 travelled. About sunrise, a boy of nearly fifteen years old mack i 
 appearance on a sand hill, within call of us. He stood motion |> 
 for several minutes, vierving us. The Arabs called to him :j;t 
 made no reply, but gave an uncommonly loud yell, and ran off at I 
 speed eastward, and was soon out of sight. This hove us all < 
 confusion, and we stopt. It then appeared that the man with ■ 
 camel w r as making some sort of settlement with our masters ; i 
 camel was unloaded, and he soon started off westward, riding' 
 camel at a full trot. It was at that time reasonable to expectant 
 habited country at no great distance from us. 
 
 As soon as the man and the camel were off, the Arabs bega 
 load us with what luggage the camel had carried, but we wer - 
 weak that it was with difficulty we could walk under our burths 
 *md very often we fell down on the sand. When the sun had g( 1 
 
61 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 itp up, the heat I thought was more extreme than we had ever 
 ) id it before. At 10 o’clock we were so worn down that we could 
 cstir another step, nor did their threats and their blows have any 
 £:t in getting us along. Those who have never suffered the ex- 
 raity of thirst cannot possibly realize what our sufferings were at 
 h time. I verily believe there was none of us but would have 
 ol his very life for a tumbler of cool water. When the Arabs 
 o id that we could not advance along, they took off our burthens, 
 r made a selection of the articles, while ourselves were lying down 
 n little valley. They no doubt buried the greatest part in the 
 id ; the remainder they took upon their own backs, 
 leing now a little rested, we again began our march, and after 
 fuelling but two or three miles, we saw a rising ground not far 
 .l ad, and immediately upon this, we saw hundreds of men, some on 
 and some on horseback, coming towards us in full speed. As 
 j approached us, we perceived that they were all armed, with 
 h a musket. The horsemen came to us first, and they all dis- 
 nmted. Such confusion ensued as cannot easily be described. 
 
 i fir questions, as far as we could learn them, were, Who have you 
 3 ? Are they English or Spaniards ? Have they money ? Where 
 you find them, &c. ? They came round us, and searched every 
 n of us for money. One might have thought they knew their own 
 tjntrymen too well to expect we had any thing left us. We beg- 
 jt for water, at the same time showing them our tongues, which 
 ffe as dry as powder. They replied to us, Shrub mackan — wa- 
 enone. They undertook to examine the luggage that was on the 
 ■ks of the Arabs, which the carriers defended by hard scolding, 
 is or two of them were handled very roughly, particularly the one 
 lb claimed myself and Jack. 
 
 ifter this war of words had in some little measure subsided, we 
 tre ordered to march on. We thought at first, from certain ap- 
 Blirahces, that our new visitors had took us into their own possession, 
 'i we were soon cured of that error. Our old masters gave us to 
 i lerstand that our situation in this respect had not been altered, 
 t on our ascending the rising ground, we beheld, at no great dis- 
 K ce, a large number of tents, to which we were marched in appa- 
 n t triumph. As soon as we had approached to within about a hun- 
 d d yards of those tents, we were ordered to sit down, and were 
 s Pounded with men, women, and children, to the number of from 
 s en hundred and fifty to a thousand. 
 
 This day we had travelled fifteen miles ; it was now about 2 
 olock, and excessively hot. The crowd around us prevented all 
 cculation of the air, so that we were nearly suffocated, and at the 
 s ue time were ready to perish with thirst, and all begging for wa- 
 II, our masters being out of sight. Whether mere curiosity drew 
 t s multitude of people about us, or whether we were going to be 
 f posed for sale, or what else was their object, none of us could 
 tl, nor did we trouble ourselves about it. So much did we suffer 
 l water, that our minds were wholly occupied upon that most in- 
 ■nportable of all earthly cravings. On all sides innumerable ones- 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 62 
 
 tions were asked us, and many signs made for us to inform the ji 
 we had buried any money, and of other matters. 
 
 After suffering for half an hour in this horrid situation, we ] •. 
 ceived a great bustle on the outside of the assembly that surrounc 
 us, the cause of which we were not long at a loss for. The 1 c 
 noise drew nearer and nearer to us, till, very soon, to our astoiff 
 inent, we heard a voice inquiring in plain English, Where are th 
 Where are they ? It was not a dream. A young man, once wl 
 got through the crowd at last. It was an English youth of al 
 nineteen, his skin deeply burnt with the sun, without hat or sk 
 and his nakedness covered with only a few rags. The first wc| 
 uttered to us by this frightful looking object, were, Who are y jj 
 My friends! my friends ! the tears running down his cheeks. 
 
 I would have risen to salute him, but was too feeble. He 
 dowm by my side •, we all shook hands with him, and began our ( 
 versation. We told him who we were, and he, in return, gave ui 
 account of himself ; the Arabs meanwhile interrupting him ei 
 now and then, to get our tale of him. In turn, he satisfied them i 
 had inquired of him where we were wrecked, how much money 
 goods we had on board, where it was now, how much those me 
 taineers (as they called our owners) had got, and so on. Geo 
 for that was his name, freely informed us, as to himself, that he was 
 steward of a ship called the Martin Hall, of London, cast away u 
 that coast more than a year before ; that one of the crew was ki 
 by the natives, and the captain he supposed was drowned ; that] 
 of the crew had been marched back, in a south-east direction, i 
 place they called Elie; that another part had been carried to Sw< 
 ah, and there ransomed ; that four of them yet remained among 
 wandering Arabs, who had been very cruel to them ; that noni 
 them but himself belonged to the tribe he was in ; that two b 
 were not far off ; one other boy he had not heard from lately, but !■ 
 lieved he was distant not many days’ march. “ This,” said Geoff 
 is all I can tell about our poor unfortunate crew, but I have no do 1 ! 
 that some of them have been murdered, for I heard they did not f 1 
 a ready sale for all that were carried to Elie, and that our sailors ■ 
 came turbulent there, and a quarrel ensued; the Arabs themseljj- 
 acknowledged that several of our men were wounded in the fir: 
 but these cursed monsters will lie like dogs, and there is no belij- 
 ing them ; what makes me think they were murdered, I have latjv 
 heard that some of their shoes and hats have been seen in thatnei,!- 
 bourhood.” This story of George excited our utmost attentij. 
 though it was frequently interruptedly the Arabs during the wh 1 
 of the time. * 
 
 Hitherto not a drop had been given us to drink, and George njf 
 told the Arabs that we were suffering with thirst ; but it only mi 
 them laugh. Upon this, he started on through the crowd, d 
 brought us about two quarts of milk and water. This we divided 
 believe very equally, by each of us sipping a little, and then rea' ■ 
 ing it to his next neighbour. That delicious beverage occasiod 
 such warm expressions of gratitude as I had never heard befo ; 
 
paddock’s narrative. G3 
 
 ai of us, in his own style, ejaculating his thanks to poor George, 
 i! then to our Father in heaven. Though the quantity was small, 
 tij, by taking it in that way, every drop felt in our famished sto- 
 n hs as a cordial. To the faculty in particular, I leave it to de- 
 mine what must have been the internal state of our bodies, after 
 selling, between the 9th and 14th of that month, a hundred and 
 asy- five miles at least, over burning sands and craggy mountains, 
 fit a sun nearly vertical, scorching, like fire, our emaciated frames ; 
 ring not more than four ounces of food to each, excepting the 
 a barley, and not more than one quart of water each, excepting 
 ■stinking water in the pond. As incredible as this story of mine, 
 v appear to such as have never experienced the like privations 
 r sufferings, I know, and do affirm it to be true, 
 jlo sooner had the inquisitive Arabs drawn off from us, than I in- 
 aved of George where Swearahwas? He said he never could 
 *in, the Arabs having always evaded answering that inquiry, and 
 ijned angry whenever he put the question to them; but he be’ 
 ued it was Mogadore. He then asked me about the coast where 
 a English had their trade ; observing to me that some of the Arabs 
 il n journeyed eastward, and after an absence of two or three 
 bks, returned with certain English manufactures, such as combs, 
 o;ing-glasses, beads, scissors, knives, powder, guns, and so on. 
 
 plied, as St. Cruez was nearer, and a port where a trade was 
 fried on by European nations, I rather thought that that must be 
 h:arah. He said he had never heard them so much as name St. 
 hez; and 1 answered it was the Portuguese name, and, by in- 
 jt'ing, he might find out what the Arabic name was. 
 
 feorge appeared very much delighted with our company, and no 
 lebthad hopes that we might be the means of his ransom from sla- 
 #ty. Speaking of the ones who then had us in their keeping, he 
 id to me, “ These fellows don’t belong here to our tribe, nor any 
 v ire hereabouts ; they were here about ten or twelve days ago; l 
 ■c.iember them very well, they got supper here, and went off the 
 it t day, travelling westward ; they are hunters, and poor dogs. 
 Bend on it. I will find out where they belong, and let you know, 
 ine,” he says, “let us go to the tents, and I will beg some meal 
 nl water for you; and, if my old master will let me stay with 
 /■I till night, I shall be glad. I was watching his flock, and when 
 i had arrived, he sent for me, and put some one else there in my 
 rce.” 
 
 We all rose up, and on our approaching the tents, George called 
 ) , “ There is our chief! he has been gone these three weeks, and 
 i ispect he is from Swearah.” He (the chief) came hastily to us, 
 a l inquired who we were ; and was told by George that he and 
 o 'selves were all brothers. The old man looked smilingly on this 
 onsion, and George told him we were suffering for victuals. He 
 mlied, “ They shall have some boiled meal directly.” By this 
 hie the whole male part of the tribe were assembled round their 
 c ef; and George, understanding the Arabic, learnt from what was 
 sib that he was from Swearah ; and certain words he then caught 
 
64 
 
 haddock’s narrative. 
 
 were made the topic of a long conversation between him and i 
 self afterwards. He soon left us to remain along with his tribe, 
 went to visit his two wives, who were sitting under his tent. I 
 senlly after George was called away by his master, not to send 
 to the flock, but to learn of him if we had buried any money 
 goods. The sun being now declining, and not so extremely 
 we lay down upon the ground, and soon fell asleep. When it 
 nearly night, we were called up by this good young man, to giv 
 some boiled meal ; but though from fasting so long our appel j 
 were not keen, yet we relished our meal very well neverthek 
 About an hour afterwards our appetites were craving, but we cc 
 not procure much more, the water for boiling it being scarce ; h 
 ever, we got full as much perhaps as was proper for us in that coi 
 tion. 
 
 After George had collected from his master all the information 
 could upon that subject, he told us the men that were our enslat 
 were hunters, that they belonged to a degraded tribe of Arabs, i 
 tant four days’ journey, pointing to the south-east, and about 
 day’s journey from Elie ; and that they were about to start oft’ 
 next morning for their home, and take us along with them. We 
 as one declared ourselves unable to go further, and that we 
 rather die on the spot than attempt to advance another step. 
 
 I told George that when these hunters had first found us they 
 peared to have made up their minds to put us to death, or at If 
 showed signs of such an intention, by re-priming their guns, j 
 At that moment the hunters were engaged in conversation within 
 of the tribe, and George, to satisfy himself as to that matter, w 
 and spoke with them about it. The old man, who appeared 
 be the head one of the gang, acknowledged that at the time of pi 
 dering us, it was their intention to destroy our lives, but, on rec! 
 sidcration, he said to them they had better let us live, in order tl 
 we might pilot them to our wreck, and after that they could disp i 
 of us as best suited them. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Our discovery among this tribe of two enslaved boys belonging to England, nan ' 
 Jack and Laura, the latter a mulatto of excellent sense and dispositions — 1 
 great use to us as interpreters — The ill character given me of Jack, by George ! 
 Laura — My ineffectual efforts to find out where lay Swearah, the Arabic namni 
 Mogadore — Arrival of Ahemed, the chief of the tribe— Our exposure to sale-1 
 men of the tribe throng around and appraise us — Ahemed interceded with, t 
 prevailed upon to buy us — The cutting taunt upon the Christians for their negro s 
 t ra de — A ferocious dispute and scuffle for my coat — Our old masters depart, C8 
 ing away with them our two black men — Description of the number, the vai ji 
 complexion, and the features of that tribe — The number of their flocks, and 
 managed — The process of their milking and butter making — A piece of quick hi 
 allotted me, much against my grain — Reasons for the decrease of our cravings] 
 
 ■water Surpassing beauty of the Arabian horses — Preparations of the tribe fori 
 
 moving their quarters — The articles of their baggage. 
 
 By this time the chief, whose name was Ahemed, and who 1| 
 been engaged elsewhere for some time, came to see us again, bri 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 65 
 
 Hth him another English boy, named Jack ; he was about thir- 
 or fourteen years old, covered with rags and vermin ; he had 
 irabic perfectly. We talked to the chief through him as an in- 
 ieter, for a short time, and then, having found that I was what they 
 Id Rias, he took me and Jack away to a little distance from all 
 e fest of the company, in order to find out where we had buried 
 money and goods. Upon my telling him that we had nei- 
 g he refused to believe it. I told him our ship was bound for the 
 i); de Verds for a load of salt ; that that article was very cheap 
 at 5 that what money those hunters had taken from us was suffi- 
 for purchasing a load of salt for our ship. U pon this, he asked 
 i ! there were no salt in England ? I told him there was salt there, 
 the Cape de Verd salt was cheaper, and that we had intended to 
 d our load to another country, far to the westward, where was 
 It, and there to sell it for a greater price, and return to Eng- 
 ;uj This story of mine he seemed not to believe ; he thought that 
 lips carried either money or goods, or both, and he had learnt 
 ■the hunters who brought us on, that the Arabs at the ship found 
 ting in her but sand. The sand I told him was ballast, and that 
 sip could not sail without ballast. Neither did he believe that. 
 ; lien said, if I would tell him where our money was he would buy 
 I of these men, and feed us well at his tent, and after the tribe’s 
 ■ig the wreck, which would be shortly, as he judged from hav- 
 Aarnt that they would soon burn her for the sake of her iron; 
 tfhen he would go down and take away the buried treasure and 
 in, and carry us to Swearah. I judged it most prudent to per- 
 il my first story, thinking if I should tell him there was money 
 aieef barrel it could do us no good, but probably harm, as it: 
 | have led off this chief, and one of us wdth him perhaps, to the 
 it, when, in all probability, he w T ould find her in ashes. I asked 
 nhe English name of Swearah; — he shook his head. I asked 
 ilgain, and also if it were St- Cruez or Mogadore, and how far it 
 »ff ; but he did not incline to give me any information about it. 
 hi we were about parting, it being then in the evening, I entreat- 
 |n to buy us all, and told him he would be well paid for all his 
 pise and trouble. Taking Jack with him, he went off, and join- 
 bompany that w~as collected to hear the story of our masters the 
 Mrs. 
 
 ieturned to the place our men were at, where I found Laura, a 
 enulatto boy, one that George had spoken to me about, aged 
 ay sixteen years. He understood about as much Arabic as 
 (tige, but neither of them near as much as Jack. He, Jack, (said 
 wo other boys to me,) always joins with the Arabs in their 
 airs, and is more an Arab than a Christian, and you must be 
 died against him, for he is a little treacherous lying rascal, and 
 e prefers the company of these devils here to ours, and has 
 u ihischief among us, and if he and ourselves quarrel together, 
 dalways take Jack’s part, and that makes him the more saucy. 
 Las glad to find out Jack’s character so early. George and 
 iu staid with us till near midnight ; by them I found that when- 
 
 9 
 
Haddock’s narrative* 
 
 ever the Arabs came home after their journey ings, they used to I 
 of consul Gwin, tasher Court, lasher Jackson, tasher Hoxcroft, 
 others. The word tasher I concluded must mean merchant ; and 
 proper names being English, I only wanted to know where Swea 
 was, to make out a story that might carry with it some mark 
 truth. George and Laura retired, and went back to their mast 
 tents, and we, remaining in the old tent provided for us, after m 
 conversation on the subject of our perilous situation, went to sle 
 being now for the first time under a covering to defend us aga 
 the cold winds, since the period when we fell into the hands of tl 
 cruel Arabs. We slept sound all the night, without any guarn 
 watch set over us. When we first awoke on the morning of the 1 1 
 George and Laura were both at our tent. They had begged oft, 
 masters the privilege of being in our company during the short tj 
 we were to stay ; both of them thinking we should be marchcc; 
 that very day. Whereupon I told my men we must all unite 
 firm resolution not to go, let the consequences be what they mi{ 
 that as to our travelling four days more, with such treatment and 
 as we had hitherto experienced, it would be quite out of the pc 
 of the stoutest man among us, and we had better die on the spot 
 undertake it. At the same time I desired the two boys to find 
 if possible, the English of Swearah. George said it must be Mi 
 dore, as he had, the last night, found that that was a place of g 
 trade, and Agader, of less at present, though it was once a plac 
 much trade ; he thought Agader must be St. Cruez. Our appe 
 by this time were craving, but so great was the anxiety of our mi 
 that victuals and drink were only secondary among our wei, 
 concerns. About 9 o’clock this most interesting young man, Gee 
 was able to procure for us some boiled barley meal, and some 
 ter, which, though bad, did very well. Had our minds been tj 
 quil, we no doubt should have craved much more. 
 
 Before we got this delicious breakfast, we were visited by mo 
 the tribe, who made their observations concerning our worth, ra 
 some of us at something considerable, and others at nothing al 
 but concluded that we were of no great value taken altogether. , 
 the contrary, the men that had us for sale (as is common witli 
 sellers every where) praised us up, saying we were as good as 
 Christian dogs they had ever seen. 
 
 Some time about 10 o’clock, George and Laura, who had 1: 
 every moment watching the motions of the Arabs, came in hast jt 
 inform us we were all for sale, and that some were actually sj 
 observing that Rias and the blacks, as well as several others! 
 mained unsold, their price being too high. Laura entreated tr 1 
 go to their sale and plead for myself, and mentioned that boy .3 
 had a great deal to say about us there. I thought it best, howt;t 
 to remain quiet awhile. He, Laura, continued begging me tc < 
 and said, if I were to be carried off, there would be no chance ) 
 ransom for George and himself. After the sale was partly, or r> 
 ly gone through with, Ahamed came to me, bringing Jack along 
 hi,m as an interpreter, and taking me aside, he asked me if I had i 
 
paddock’s narrative. 6? 
 
 lid m Swearah ? I told him I had a number of friends there., 
 live you,” said he, “ever been there yourself?” I answered, 
 c “Who do you know there ?” I answered consul Gwin, and a 
 u her of merchants, Court, Jackson, Hoxcroft, and some others, 
 lish, French, and Spaniards. “ What sort of a man is consul 
 ui?” said he to me. Being determined to make no mistake, I 
 nvered generally, he is a good man. This vague answer did not 
 jiify him, and he told me I must describe him. As 1 thought our 
 llilepended upon my correctness in this particular, I felt embar- 
 i ed, and he discovered my embarrassment ; when, collecting my- 
 na little, 1 told him it was some years since I had seen the consul, 
 u< according to the best of my recollection, he was about my own 
 e ht, but rather fatter. Turning to Jack, he says, “ That is all 
 c t,” and locking his fingers together, off’ at a distance from his 
 v, he says, “ His belly is so big.” This fiction of mine Jack be- 
 eed as much as Ahamcd. 
 
 hamed then asked me what I would give him, over and above 
 i t the consul would give, if he should buy me ? I answered, it he 
 tld buy us all, and then set his price, I would think on it. Upon 
 ti he said to me, “ The mountaineers will not sell the blacks at 
 n price, for they are as good travellers as themselves ; they are 
 If' that you Christian dogs have taken from the Guinea country, a 
 litate that suits them best, and you were going there to get more 
 fhem, and are worse than the Arabs, who enslave you only when 
 • God’s will to send you on our coast.” Never, l must confess, 
 id feel a reproach more sensibly; that a great many wearing the 
 h stian name did force away from their homes, and carry into per- 
 teial slavery, the poor African negroes, and thereby made them- 
 ees worse than Arabs, I well knew was but too true. However, 
 ti ding on my own defence, 1 said, in reply, that was not our busi- 
 es : to which boy Jack answered, “ It was our business :” and in 
 h he spoke the truth, for the ship he belonged to was engaged in 
 ti Guinea trade. 
 
 'he chief demanded of me again, that I should say how much I 
 nld give him ; but at last he set the price himself, by counting 
 r his fingers till he came to the number forty. I was at a loss to 
 ajw what it signified, when Jack told me he supposed it meant 
 It ars. I agreed to it, and that, in addition to the sum mentioned, 
 ould give each of his two wives a looking glass, comb, beads, 
 a some other things. The next thing with him was the security. 
 
 . Id him my word was sufficient, and that I had no other security 
 c;ive. He then asked Jack in what manner a Christian took an 
 >si? It was some time before Jack understood the question, and 
 3< until he was told by him that a Mahometan swore by his own 
 o rd, and by the prophet. Jack then said to him, “ A Christian 
 (pears by the Bible, and that oath he holds inviolable.” Jack went 
 o; to compare the Bible to the Alcoran. As no Bible was to be 
 c ae at, I told him I could make oath as well without the Bible as 
 « h it ; and this satisfying him, I then, in an audible voice, called 
 a Maker to witness, that as soon as we should be ransomed in 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 6s 
 
 Swcarah, 1 would, in addition to what the consul should pay foil 
 yansom, give him forty dollars, and for his two wives two small 1 1 
 ing glasses, two combs, two pair of small scissors, each a large bi| 
 of beads, and a knife for himself, and as much tobacco as he cl 
 smoke all the w ay back. W1 icn this was gone through with jJ 
 asked Jack if he believed me. l ie told him our God was the s! 
 as his God, and he might depend on my oath being held as sa 
 by me, as his own oath would be held by himself. Thus the m; 
 ended, after we had been detained about it for a full hour. J 
 med then went to the mountaineers, and finished the bargain fc 
 all, except the two blacks, for they would not part with them. ] 
 the purchase was paid, or in what, we never could find out. 
 hopes of us all were revived except the poor blacks ; for then 
 begged all the rest of the day, but to no effect. The looks o i 
 poor fellows were so dejected, it was painful to behold them, Li 
 the revival of this spark of hope in our breasts, our thirst and 
 hunger increased ; we got some water, but no victuals till nigh® 
 the evening I asked the chief when we should start ? His reply 
 as soon as we should be able to walk, which would be in four or |i 
 days. Here I must inform my readers that that question of n 
 and the answer to me, were in and through Laura, of whom I n 
 use as an interpreter during the whole time we were together ; a 
 so it must be understood in all my future conversations witl'i 
 Arabs, and reports of their sayings to me, unless some other pej« 
 be named as interpreter for me. 
 
 As our situation was comfortable in comparison to the suffcjS 
 condition we had lately been in, we now could be more cheerful, i 
 had opportunities to look about us, and make our observations n 
 things.. At night we had about half as much boiled barley me<5 
 we needed, and wc slept sound all the night. From the momey 
 the shipwreck to the present instant, from nothing we had take;: 
 food or drink did we ever experience any harm or inconvcnie ( 
 That very pond- water, though as foul as the water of a mud gu 
 and even worse, sat well at our stomachs, as also did the raw has 
 taken afterwards. And 1 can say for myself, 1 never had an 
 pleasant dream during the whole time 1 was with those cruel n 
 sters. 
 
 On the 16th, in the morning, our former masters appeared 
 making some preparations for moving off; they were situated a 
 rods south of us. I, with Laura, walked over to them, to interc 
 once more for our two black companions, and I assured Allan 
 who- was with them, that if these men were of any more vahn 
 their masters than the rest of us, the surplus of their value our < 
 sul would pay for them. He answered plainly, that he did not 
 lieve me. While engaged in this conversation, we were sitting 
 the ground, and my old master coming to me, ordered me to hau 
 my coat, which he claimed as his own, saying he was once in j 
 session of it, and had only lent it to me. 1 refused to give it 
 Ahamed then said it was his, and they disputed it warmly for a 
 minutes, my old master alleging that he sold him the carcass o 
 
paddock’s narrative.. G9 
 
 i[ that ail the clothes upon it belonged to himself, while Ahamed, 
 dais part, claimed the clothes as an appendage to the body. At 
 a the fellow said he would have the clothes or my life, and at that 
 ament he sprung upon me, got hold of my coat, hauled it over my 
 ifld, dragged me a few paces, and drawing his dagger, he swore 
 phis own beard, and by the prophet, that he would take away my 
 i'l, Laura, understanding all that he said, begged me to give up 
 a coat, or he would kill me. My mates also were much alarmed 
 ojmy account, and entreated me to give it up ; but I persisted in 
 .1 refusal. Upon my looking up, I saw that fellow and Ahamed 
 t iding face to face, prepared for a battle about my coat ; the fel- 
 of s anger was wrought up to so high a pitch, that he foamed hor- 
 ny at the mouth. 1 was sensible of danger, yet hoped to save 
 ica my life and the coat. At last Ahamed fell upon his knees, and 
 aied the feet of his antagonist ; upon which Laura cried out to me, 
 is all over ; you are safe !” Laura informed me afterwards, that 
 ; -never a superior humbles himself so low to an inferior as to kiss 
 iifeet, his demand or request is always granted. This matter thus 
 ; led, the seven mountaineers took all their luggage, and the black 
 at, and walked off south-eastward. The poor negroes wept bit- 
 ty, and, for our own part, we were sorely afflicted with the part- 
 is; — we never saw them more. 
 
 We now returned to our lodgings, where we got some boiled 
 ini. George’s master, it seemed, was willing he should be with 
 tvery often, and Laura’s master turned him over to our mess ; he 
 v; the owner of Jack also, but die little two-sided Jack was not 
 wiling to keep our company so constantly. He and Laura had 
 
 0 n in the habit of quarrelling together, and 1 prevailed on Laura 
 jcmake friends with him, as we might profit from it ; Jack having 
 
 1 onsiderably perfect knowledge of the Arabic, he could, if he 
 aid, inform us from time time of the intentions of the Arabs we 
 
 : vre with. In consequence of this advice of mine, they got on bet- 
 t< terms, but were never so friendly together as I wished. 
 
 Being now much encouraged in regard to obtaining our ransom, 
 a 1 fast recruiting, we had spirits, as well as leisure, to make our 
 oservations upon the strange beings we were amongst. I found 
 j by the boys, that the place we were in was as far west as the 
 fib shepherds could ever find pasture for their flocks, and also as 
 i: south, as it was on the edge of the desert ; I also was informed, 
 t the same means, that they had been only a few days here when 
 v first came among them. The number of their tents, according 
 t the best of my remembrance, was ninety-seven, averaging about 
 t;ht persons to a tent, and thus making the whole population of the 
 tbe amount to seven hundred and seventy-six. This, the boys 
 id me, was the largest tribe they ever had met with, although the 
 itives frequently talked of a thousand in each large tribe, and five 
 Inched in the small ones. Among the tribe we were in, there was 
 wariety of colours, from a light copper colour to a complexion 
 wy dark, and almost black ; but their features were still the same, 
 mrp nosed, and raw boned. The average weight of these Arabs 
 
70 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 would very little exceed a hundred pounds each, and their aver \ 
 height was about five feet nine or ten inches,. They were 
 much in the habit of sitting or squatting upon the calf of the leg, I 
 that part was of a more considerable size than the rest of their bod !j 
 The women, however, showed a much better leg, as well as a 
 than the men ; they, generally, were but a little more than four 
 high ; their breasts were monstrously large, and their immodest 
 posure of them was, to us, the more disgusting, on account of is 
 continual abusiveness we experienced from them. Their inhum; I 
 ty to us may be partly accounted for, however, from the degra 1 
 condition in which they were held by their husbands. 
 
 The barley which we found growing was such as had sprung it 
 spontaneously, and in some places were seen patches of wild o<| 
 the grass thereabouts was very scarce. On account of this scar j 
 of feed, the boys expected that we should soon remove further e . 
 ward, for the sake of finding pasture for their flocks, which Wi 
 very large. To this tribe belonged thirty camels, fifty fine horn 
 and a thousand sheep and goats ; the chief being the greatest ] 
 prietor in the stock. At night, when the flocks are brought in, :j 
 singular to see how entirely tamed they all are. The women r 
 first the camels, and then come forward the sheep and lambs ; ei 
 parcel of sheep stop at the tent they belong to, before which i 
 long rope, hauled tight, each end of it being fastened to a stakt 
 the ground. In the rope, at suitable distances, are placed bedi 
 with small lines ; the lambs come of their own accord to the rc 
 when the woman of the tent separately fastens each lamb to ; 
 becket, and drives away, at a little distance, the sheep, which all 
 down ; the lambs also lie down, and remain so till morning, wlj 
 the woman milks the sheep, and releases the lambs, and all 
 driven oft’ together. In the course of the day the lambs suck all ( 
 milk which their dams give. As to the camels, they are mill l 
 night and morning ; the young camel, if a young one there is, be ; 
 prevented, to the utmost of the keeper’s power, from sucking. 
 
 All this milk, of different kinds, is poured together into a sa , 
 that is, the skin of a goat, curiously taken off. When a suffici ! 
 quantity is collected for churning, say half a skin full, the worn 
 blows the skin up tight with her breath, like a bladder, and ties ; 
 up, each end of it fast, with a small string ; it is then fastened to- ill 
 ridge of the tent ; and while thus suspended, one of them, most co[ 
 monly a child, stands and shakes it violently, till the woman, ju< • 
 ing from the time of its agitation, thinks the milk sufficiently chui 
 ed ; the skin is then taken down, and the butter-milk poured <f 
 leaving the butter adhering to the skin ; the hole being large enou. 
 for her hand and arm to enter, she, with her fingers, claws it o 
 appearing about the colour of her arms, and puts it into a bo\ 
 This finishes the process of their butter-making ; it is never work 
 over nor salted, nor did I ever know of the skin being washed 
 edeansed. Having given the process, and the colour of the butt; 
 I will leave my readers to judge of the smell and the taste. 
 
 Their water is kept in the same kind of skin, for family us 
 
eabdock’s narrative* 
 
 71 
 
 v'ijn a call is made foi* water, the woman pours out from the skin a 
 uitityinto a small bowl, and whatever is left after the person or 
 eons have done drinking, she carefully pours back again. 
 Uj smell of the water is not, however, so offensive as that of the but- 
 unor of quite so dark a colour. Any one may form a pretty clear 
 If of its qualities, from the filthiness of the vessel it is kept in. 
 '1 water of this country is bad, I mean such as is obtained by 
 lee wandering tribes in a dry season. At the time we came 
 irjngst this tribe, the English boys informed us there had not fallen 
 i op of rain in more than two months ; that, with the exception of 
 ®je small bunches of green barley, what little food their flocks 
 3 d collect, was dry grass, of but very little nourishment ; but not« 
 -(standing this, the sheep and horses were in excellent plight, 
 ugh the camels appeared lean, and some of them were sickly, 
 bout the middle of the afternoon, while I was sitting with Lau- 
 
 1 it some little distance from the tents, and we much engaged in 
 orersation respecting the country we were in, and our own pre- 
 
 2 situation, and our prospects as to the future, Ahamed came sud- 
 ite.y upon us, undiscovered till within a few paces ; he appeared in 
 j i haste as gave us alarm. Instantly he fell to talking earnestly 
 fjji Laura, and soon finding that I was the subject of their dis- 
 D’se, I could not wait for it to be over, but interrupted it by ask- 
 
 Laura about v-hat was said. “ He has been asking,” says 
 *ra to me, “ which of us is your doctor, and I have been telling 
 i; that there was no doctor belonging to your ship ; that is what 
 Tfhave been disputing about. He says every ship has a doctor, 
 ■ I have been telling him that a ship with only a few men in it, like 
 f crs, has no doctor, and that that duty falls on the captain ; he then 
 ue me ask you if you are a doctor; I have been telling him you 
 B? not one, and he says I am a liar.” To this little warmth be- 
 wen them there succeeded a silence for a few minutes, when Aha- 
 q 1 , looking me full in the face, asked me, “ Are you a doctor ?” 
 lswered him I was not — our mutual communication of ideas be- 
 r made by our interpreter. He then added, “ this dog (Laura) 
 ss that when a ship has no doctor, the captain performs that duty.” 
 
 . >ld him, in reply, that there was some truth in it, for, in that case, 
 tfc captain was furnished with medicines put up by a man having 
 It kind of skill, and that there was given with them a book to 
 MW how they were to be applied, but that our doctor’s box was de- 
 coyed by the Arabs on the beach. Upon this he inquired about the 
 s s of that box, its contents, and other particulars, which being de- 
 s ibed to him, he says, “ It’s true ; the mountaineers told me of those 
 t ngs, such as the vials, and several surgical instruments, wdiich they 
 hi seen. And now,” says Ahamed, “ one of my wives is sick, and 
 1 m afraid she will die ; I love her much, and if you will cure her, 
 a y thing you will ask of me shall be given you. In reply to that, I 
 i d him the loss of our medicines and book rendered it impossible 
 i me to assist her; but he urged me to try; and when I found 
 tire was no way for me to turn, I reluctantly consented to make 
 t attempt. No sooner had I done it, than he starts upon his feet, 
 d says to me, Bomar tibbils, — go doctor. 
 
72 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 This new name did not relish with me very well, having ahva 
 great aversion to a quack, and now about to assume the characfi 
 one. We marched off to his tent, where lay an elderly won- 
 upon a piece of an old tent, her body covered with a piece of 
 of the same kind with that she lay upon. He told her I was ci . 
 to cure her. I looked at her awhile, and found she had a vio 
 cough, and raised matter considerably. I then told Ahamed I . 
 very sorry her case required such medicines as it was out of 
 power to give her, having been wholly deprived of them in the n i 
 ner aforementioned. He answers, “ You must recommend so 
 thing, and I know you can.” I now considered myself in a very i 
 pleasant situation, and concluded that, finding no chance for bi 
 excused, I must play the quack ; accordingly I recommended 
 feet to be put into warm water for half an hour in the evening, 
 that she should be wrapped up warm, and kept so all the night, 
 found that this prescription of mine met with the full confidenc i 
 the chief, and also of his other lady, who had paid particular at i 
 tion to all our conversation ; and having now, in the capacity ; 
 quack, performed the task of the first visit, I backed out of the t ! 
 telling Laura I hoped it would be my last. 
 
 We now joined the company of our fellow-sufferers, and str 
 hard to get some v 7 ater, of which there was but very little among 
 tribe. That circumstance, namely, the extreme scarcity of w; 
 here, led our boys to think we should soon remove our quarters i 
 fact, it was full time to do it, for all the dry grass was eaten by 
 flocks already. Upon the approach of the night ensuing, the flos 
 were brought up as usual, when the camels were tied up close ] 
 prevent their rambling ; and this indicated something like a rei - 
 val in contemplation. Though our appetites had increased, i 
 supper this evening was uncommonly small, and of water we got il 
 very little. The boys observed to us, it would not be long bef : 
 our sufferings for water would be less ; saying that they themsel ; 
 could now do very well with less than half the quantity required , 
 (hem previously to the time of their falling in with the Arabs. 1 - 
 truth of what the boys said was daily confirmed, more and more , ) 
 my own experience ; and this gradual decrease of our craving 
 water was owing chiefly, I believe, to these two causes, first, < : 
 becoming lean-fleshed, and secondly , our entire abstinence from sa : 
 our flesh was burthensome to us in this hot climate, and at the sa 
 time it increased our thirst ; as to salt, the Arabs had none, nor d 
 they crave it. 
 
 This evening the boy Jack paid us a short visit, when Laura t 
 vised him to be more with us, and not keep company so much w 
 the Arabs. To this Jack replied, he could have as much meal as 
 wanted while with them, and that he, Laura, was always quarrelli 
 whenever he was with him. Laura now saw the necessity of cou 
 ing his friendship. Whenever they two talked together about Lc 
 don, Jack used to reproach his own mother there, telling Laura fi 
 she was a bad woman, and he did not wish ever to see her agai 
 All this I thought made against us, as it. gave room to mistrust Ja 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 73 
 
 dicing inclined to the side of the Arabs ; I therefore urged upon 
 h i of them the necessity of their harmonizing together for our 
 rferal safety and welfare. 
 
 'his night was, as usual, a cold one ; we, however, slept well, till 
 ked at dawn of day by the noise of the Arabs at their prayers. On 
 W 17th, at about sunrise, their horses were all brought up, bridled, 
 a saddled. Upon viewing these horses, 1 thought it out of the power 
 ifhe painter to flatter them, with even his flnest colours. Our 
 iikfast was prepared sooner than had been usual, and the sheep, 
 h camels, and the goats, were milked. This w r as a work that had 
 ;eerally been done at 10 o’clock, about which time we had had 
 i, breakfast, and our supper at dark, that is to say, two meals only 
 me twenty-four hours. When all this was done, our chief an- 
 c need his determination to remove their quarters; upon hearing 
 h declaration, the women struck the tents, and began to load 
 i camels with their effects, which consisted of the stakes of the 
 e , and the lines for securing the lower part of it to the ground, the 
 )tj!S which suspended the top, two wooden bowls, two or three 
 k s for keeping their milk and their water in, one or two earthen 
 ici to boil their meal in, a sack to keep their barley in, the stones to 
 i d their grain with, and, lastly , the stone for driving into the 
 rind the stakes that secured the tent. The old and decrepit, and 
 h small children, completed the load ; half an hour being about the 
 pe of time taken up by this preparation. The men, all this while 
 '/i e idle spectators of the work which was going on ; and that op- 
 c.unity Ahamed took to inform me that his wife was much better, 
 r that I must visit her often. As soon as the whole was com- 
 iled, and the word given, the horsemen mounted their noble ani- 
 as, and we all, in a body, moved off eastward. 
 
 — 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 lival of (he (ribe at their new quarters — A smoking bout — Description of their pipes, 
 eir manner of smoking, and their custom of story telling — The commission of a 
 urder, by an Arab, upon the body of his wife — His trial for it, and the penalty he 
 ^ffered — His re-marriage — The wedding scene — A feat of horsemanship — Descrip- 
 )n of the horses, their trappings, and the dexterity of the horsemen — The form and 
 ape of an Arabian horse shoe — Their shooting at a mark — Our clouded prospects 
 specting our ransom — Our employ at needle work— Our journey to Ahtimed’s 
 ain field — Our arrival at the tents of another tribe of Arabs — Their manner of re- 
 iving strangers — Their customary salutations — Their boastful pride — How they 
 lucate their boys — Their utter coutempt of their females — Their regular prayers— 
 he form of prayer commonly used by Jack’s mistress — The inestimable blessing of 
 good appetite — The reproachful and contemptuous remarks of the Arabs between 
 temselves, upon the Christian nations, 
 
 n the progress of our travel we soon discovered that the dry 
 s; ss, which was only here and there in small spots, had begun to 
 foear better. We, who were not able to walk with half their speed, 
 k astern ; we were soon noticed, and ordered to keep up with 
 tlm. Many epithets of a disagreeable sort were liberally bestow- 
 
 10 
 
74 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 ed upon us, particularly by the women. Had we been without interj: \ 
 ters, we should have been ignorant of the meaning of the curses of | 
 tongue so bountifully heaped upon us by those furies : in fact, tl ij 
 were the only breed of women I ever heard of so entirely destitute |' 
 any degree of commiseration for the distressed. We, however, w . 
 died along in the rear, tolerably well, as I thought, considering l| 
 decrepit condition we were in. After being for two or three ho 
 on this march, in an east-north-east course, our horsemen started ; 
 in full speed, and were soon out of sight. At about 4 o’clock 
 arrived at the place designated for our abode, having removed ah 
 twelve miles from our former quarters. Previously to our anr 
 those horsemen had dug out an old well, of about eight feet in dej 
 which was flowing in, though slowly, with bad wrnter. Their hoi 
 had all drank their fill ; the unloaded camels were the next in coi 
 to be served ; while we, poor Christian dogs, were kept without wa 
 except some little which our English boys robbed the camels 
 This water was all passed up in wooden bowls, one man being 
 the bottom, another half way up, and a third emptied the water i 
 a large bowl for the camels to drink out of. It appeared as if 
 camels could never have had enough ; I am sure a barrel to eacl 
 a moderate estimate of the quantity of water which they then ti 
 down ; the sheep and the goats were soon supplied. 
 
 By the time this business of watering was gone through with,! 
 we, who of course were the last, had had our fill, it was near ni< 
 The tents being now all erected, and the household furniture arra 
 ed, and preparations for supper going on, the Arabs seemed al 
 be in good spirits, and formed a circle for smoking the pipe. ( 
 pipe answered for the whole company, which consisted of about s 
 ty persons, each of them facing the centre of the circle ; this so< 
 meeting lasted from two to three hours. The pipe-bowl was m;: 
 of brass, the bowl about the size of an English clay-pipe, the sli 
 about eight inches long, and of wood ; that kind of wood grows i 
 the fertile parts of their country, and their pipe stem is the groij 
 of only one year, when it is about the size of our common pipe sti, 
 and the pith so soft that a wire may be forced through it with es. 
 This smoking-bout commences with the chief, who, having filled jj 
 pipe, draws and puffs twice, then draws his mouth full of smoke I 
 puff off at his leisure, and, over his left arm, reaches the pipe to > 
 next neighbour, who draws and puffs in his turn, and so goes ror! 
 the pipe, in a complete rotation, through the whole company. W! 1 
 the tobacco in the pipe is consumed, he in whose hands the pipe tl i 
 
 is, fills it again, and thus, for hours together, it goes on, with ade 
 rable decorum. 
 
 Their story telling proceeds as regularly as the pipe. Some c: 
 of them is called upon to tell a story, and if a stranger be in i 
 company, his stoi’y comes first ; he relates such things as he has set 
 or heard" in other parts, which he thinks interesting to the compai 
 who all sit silent till he has done, and then, if any one (as any c| 
 who pleases may) should ask him to elucidate or explain any parti 
 
 it, his request is reqdily complied with. After him, his next nei< 
 
paddock’s narrative. 75 
 
 cr on the left commences, and goes on with his story, and so they 
 (round until they are called off to supper. After supper, their 
 payers follow. Thus end the evenings of these barbarians, though 
 c before they have gone through a round of scolding at their wives, 
 eh are treated by them as slaves, and I have frequently thought, 
 <!se than they themselves would treat Mahometan negro slaves, 
 mot quite so ill as they use those they call Christian dogs, who 
 rheld by them in the greatest contempt of all. 
 fter a spare supper, our chief informed us we had eat too much; 
 his barley was nearly spent, and he must either go or send for a 
 •: the next day. I asked him where he procured his supply ? his 
 • answer was, “ I bought it.” I found, whenever I made inqui- 
 f any of them to that effect, they were careful to keep us ignor- 
 ofthe geography of their country. They seemed surprised that 
 (should know what course would carry us to Swearah. Laura 
 everd to me, that since we had been among them he had often 
 pd them say, “ we could do better with the dogs if Rias were out 
 be way, as that fellow seems to know something of our country, 
 phhe must have learnt when he was in Swearah.” 
 ihad paid strict attention to all I could gather from Laura, and I 
 
 0 inued to persuade him to make use of every opportunity to gain 
 irmation respecting our destiny. He had his fears that we were 
 ©to be carried to Mogadore for our ransom ; and what occasioned 
 me fears, he had caught several expressions unfavourable to it in 
 ■r conversation. Unfortunately for us all, we could put no con- 
 dice in Jack, and yet sometimes w r e could gather from him a lit- 
 r nformation, which he seemed to drop rather by accident than 
 cgn. On the 18 th, in the morning, there appeared an uncommon 
 ti in the tribe. The horses were brought up, and rigged out in 
 tilt style : all was glee, male and female running from tent to tent ; 
 r English boys were in as great surprise as ourselves. For the 
 ill of information, Laura and George went after Jack, who of 
 fee was knowing to the cause of this great muster. Jack was 
 r to be found then, but soon after the little villain came, and in- 
 olied us there was to be a wedding that day : this quieted our 
 ids. Upon this lime he and Laura fell into familiar discourse 
 K-veen themselves as follows. 
 
 ack. You, Laura, know Afdalla, that fellow that murdered his 
 vjj about two weeks ago. 
 
 ,aura. O yes, I remember all about it. 
 
 ack. Well, he is going to marry that short, thick, yellow girl, that 
 
 1 s in that tent there, you know who I mean. 
 
 Mura. O yes, I know her. 
 
 "his conversation between the two boys, excited in mea curiosi- 
 yo know the story of that murder, and Laura related it to me. 
 
 ‘ bout two weeks ago,” said Laura to me, “ this fellow went into 
 o tent, and asked his wife where his knife was. She told him she 
 x: lent it to such a one, naming a man belonging to the tribe. Do 
 not know, he said, that you have no business to meddle with 
 u thing belonging tome? She acknowledged she had not; that 
 
7b 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 she was sorry if it had displeased him, and would go immedia 
 and fetch the knife back. He made no other reply to her that j! 
 saying, I will see if I can’t have a wife who will obey my comm; 
 better ; I always told you not to meddle with any thing of ni 
 Having a club in his hand, he struck her upon the breast ; she 
 and he continued to maul her as long as there was any breath in i; 
 body. Neither man nor woman went near them, although her < > 
 and screams were heard through the whole tribe. That evenii 
 continued Laura, “ we went to the funeral, and observed what ji 
 done there. The women measured her length, her breadth aci 
 her arms, and her whole thickness, with as much exactness as 
 could, and then they dug a grave to fit her, digging it no deeper I 
 the measure of her breadth, and put her in sideways, all nail 
 then, the women standing upon the body, trode it down with t ; i 
 feet, till the upper part of it was just level with the surface oj'i 
 earth ; after which, they all fell to gathering stones to cover I 
 body with, so as to prevent its being removed by the wild beast 
 I asked Laura what followed in regard to the murderer. The 
 count he gave me was this : “ The next day after the murder 
 committed, the chief assembled all the principal men of the trib 
 examine into the case. The murderer was called before the cou 
 and heard in his own defence ; he voluntarily related the fact, 
 they were, and was then dismissed for a few minutes. Upon 
 the chief, who always speaks first in such cases, gave his opin 
 Afdallah, says Ahamed to his counsellors, has not acted agree: 
 to the law ; he should first have complained to me of the disob 
 ence of his wife, and if she should persist therein, he would i 
 have been at liberty to punish her according to his pleasure, 
 breaking the law in not making his complaint beforehand to me 
 is worthy of punishment ; wherefore, my sentence is, that he be fi 
 four sheep, seeing his flock is small, and that those sheep be dr 
 ed for our supper to-night.” Laura added, “ the murderer was , 
 for, his sentence was pronounced, and he, without uttering a wi 
 had his flock brought up, killed the four sheep, and the company 
 them — and we, you know,” added he, addressing himself to J; 
 “got the heads.” After that Laura had gone through with his i 
 ry, I desired him to look out for the bride and the bridegroom. | 
 went to the place where the tribe was assembled, a few rods scj! 
 of our tent, where he found the women preparing the bride for 
 nuptials : and soon after they all made their appearance. We t| 
 walked towards the crowd, taking a circuit round their rear, ful ; 
 nigh them as it was prudent for us to approach. The couple si 
 ped, fronting a man who officiated in the capacity of a priest;! 
 read over to them a passage engraven on a board, taken origin;;) 
 from the Alcoran, and joined their hands, using a ceremony of wolji 
 that we could not distinctly hear, but which pronounced them hush;'; 
 and wife. A tent had been previously prepared by the bridegro< 
 on it was displayed a white flag or fly ; he took his bride, who h 
 been blindfolded by the priest with a piece of cloth tied over herey 
 led her to his tent, set her down on a mat. and said to her, “ 1 
 
7? 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 ir«a| home.” Then he left her, and returned to the place where 
 Mceremony was performed, and had a white cloth, in the form of 
 irban, tied round his head ; after which he joined with the com- 
 ay, in their singing, shouting, and firing of guns ; most of the 
 o,pany taking part in this merriment. When night came, the 
 lie company went to his tent, but none of them entered it, not 
 vi himself; instead of which, they formed in a circle in the front 
 f j, where was prepared a great feast, consisting of boiled meal 
 a milk, along with several sheep, cooked and eaten without spice 
 r alt. Their feasting continued till after midnight, when the com- 
 ay having retired, the bridegroom visits his spouse, takes off her 
 fid, shows himself to her by the light of the fire, to satisfy her that 
 ime is no mistake as to the identity of his person, and then blinds 
 ej again, and retires. She continues in this condition of utter 
 akness for the term of one week. During the whole of this week, 
 fir the first day, all the women that choose it visit her ; one of 
 ale number is appointed to cook the victuals, and perform all the 
 hr domestic duties, until the spouse is brought out to the light of 
 m when she beholds, as her husband, a capricious vagabond, and 
 lody monster, for the least deviation from whose mandate she is 
 lie to suffer death. Assuredly the American fair will not envy 
 ghappiness ! 
 
 he next day after this marriage, the horses were all brought up 
 
 ! n, and there was exhibited the master piece of horsemanship 
 : I ever saw. There w*ere about forty of those animals, the most 
 itiful that can be described, of full size, the most part grey, some 
 Iter sorrel or bay, all in the state of nature, their saddles of the 
 ubian make, and superior to all others, (being so high before and 
 icind, and so well secured by strong girths, that the rider is. never 
 manger of failing off,) the bridles of such a construction as brings 
 hhorse under so complete command, that the rider can either stop 
 iii instantly or break his jaw, the stirrups after the European kind, 
 fey mounted their horses thus equipped, formed themselves into 
 boons, each man with his musket in his hand. Andmow their 
 e begins : from before the tent of the bridegroom they start off on 
 i allop, holding the bridle in the left hand, and their musket be- 
 v en the thumb and the two fore fingers of the right ; by the potver 
 ffhese fingers and the thumb, the musket is so swiftly whirled 
 end that a spectator would be at a loss to determine whether it 
 vre a gun, a staff, or whatever else. While the horses are in full 
 'fop, on the word stop, which is so instantly and simultaneously 
 j yed, that it is not uncommon for the horse and his rider to be 
 ||vn in the sand together, — at the word stop, each of the horsemen 
 fows up his gun into the air, and catching it again in such a man- 
 a, that his thumb and the fore finger are upon the trigger, he fires 
 itff in the air, and all their guns, thus fired together, make but one 
 r< ; ort. This dexterous feat I beheld with astonishment ; it really 
 hmed too much for any of the humankind, with the aid of brutes, 
 toerform. Our English boys told me that this kind of amusement 
 vj very common there. 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 i o 
 
 In the first stage of the exhibition that has now been related, i 
 man was down, together with his horse ; the stirrups were so sj 
 that one of his legs was clear of the horse, which, by means o, 
 spurring him with one foot, arose with the rider. The fellow , 
 pearing much mortified at the accident, returned to the tent, 
 rode round the several tents, apparently angry with his poor b 
 which, as we thought, was not at all to blame. The boys said J 
 never knew of a man dismounting in a case of this kind ; that J 
 did so he would be considered by his companions as unwortl 
 an equal rank with them, and of course would fall into disgrj 
 They kept it up, riding and firing in this way for more than ha 
 hour. Their poor horses fared hard, so deep did the spurs cut i j 
 sides, as to make the blood flow pretty copiously. The wet 
 being very hot, the sweat ran down their legs, and at the sj 
 time these sons of Ishmael showed some signs of uncomi 
 warmth themselves. At length their horses were unrigged, i 
 sent out to feed in this dry and barren ground, where, only in s 
 patches, could be found even so much as dry grass ; after all, j 
 were not very lean of flesh. 
 
 After the horses were gone, a horse shoe was picked up, wlj 
 upon examining it, I found different from anything of the kind 1 
 ever seen. I can give no better description of it than the foliov 
 one. Set the horse’s foot upon a plate of thick sheet-iron, i 
 which draw a mark round the hoof, cut the iron to the mark, pi : 
 in it small nail holes near the edge, and cut out from the middj 
 round piece, about the size of an English shilling — and then 
 will have an Arabian horse shoe. These people, that is to say 
 void Arabs, keep their horses shod only when they are about g| 
 a long journey over rocky mountains. 
 
 Soon after they had recovered from the fatigue of riding, they 3 
 took themselves to another of their amusements, which was firing j 
 mark: them'ark wasa feather, stuck onaheapof sand, and raisedaf i 
 its level about two feet ; their distance about forty yards. So ex j 
 were they, that three out of four hit the feather with a single f i 
 This, and their other amusements, such as singing, leaping, anc \ 
 forth, finished the day. During this time we peeped into the tl 
 .and saw the recently married fair one sitting on a mat, blindfold, i 
 much engaged in conversation with a dozen, or more, of these i 
 serable wretches of her sex : and while we were making among 
 selves some observations upon this custom, stupid as it appear© 
 ns, we got, from the greatest part of them, a volley of curses ; L 
 ra gave us the English of them, but they were too vulgar and smi 
 to relate here. 
 
 On the 19th. early in the morning, Ahamed started off eas&w; I 
 on his camel, and with his sack, and on the 21st, at evening, he 
 turned, with eight or ten bushels of as fine fresh looking barley ;j 
 ever saw. He appeared very petulant, at which we were much J 
 easy, fearing there was something amiss that might turn to our t| 
 injury. As soon as things were a little arranged in and about Ji 
 tent,, the neighbours assembled, and soon commenced a smokf 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 79 
 
 w; in their company was boy Jack, from whom we could not cx- 
 c much information of what they said : in fact, he was soon 
 kp. Laura promised me to draw near them, and learn, if possi- 
 ; he subjects of their conversation. As soon as he came among 
 1 they ordered him off, and that was enough to satisfy us that 
 n was some mischief brewing. He laid down, however, and 
 Bed sleep, and by this means he learnt a part of their conversa- 
 >r which went to show that he, Ahamed, had seen several men, 
 t from Swearah and from Elie, who informed him of the plague 
 j g in both those places, but more in Elie than at Swearah ; and 
 dieved, as he then said, that these dogs would bring as much, 
 ore, in Elie, than any where else, and thought, from what he had 
 al, and had seen himself, that consul Gwin had no more money. 
 tlJreport of this conversation, though Laura could give it only by 
 evmeal, was truly grievous to us. I told Laura the less he said 
 £:h bad news to the crew the better ; that if he were talkative, 
 ould be the more likely to be suspected, and that his best way 
 nl be to store up all he could learn, for me and himself, so that 
 ight be always ready to refute any objections that Ahamed 
 gt advance against our obtaining our freedom or ransom. 
 
 C the morning of the next, namely, the 22d, as Ahamed appear- 
 ilerably good natured, I ventured to ask him if he had a good 
 ney for the barley, and of the news from that quarter. He 
 e:ed a little reserved for some time, but at length became some- 
 n talkative, though he said nothing in answer to my questions, 
 dal him we had now been with them eight daj r s, and were so far 
 e ited as to be able to travel a little, and thought it would be for 
 5 iterest to carry us to Swearah ; that 1 was very anxious to sec 
 profilers there. He heard me with attention, and calling for 
 _.c, who was near at hand, he bade him ask me if I remembered 
 yromise to himself. I answered him I never forgot a promise so 
 cidly given. He then ordered me to repeat it, which I did. 
 
 I at is right,” he said, “ and don’t you forget it.” While I was 
 riving my solicitations to him to carry us on, he, pointing to 
 ala, said to him, “ There is one of your crew not many days’ 
 ajh from here, (at the same time pointing south-easterly,) and I am 
 atrmined to go and buy him, so as to clear the country of all you ' 
 ! dan dogs at once, and, if I find there will be none to ransom 
 it I will cut your throats.” 1 replied to this, that if he would 
 aifir us to any place where Christians reside, and should fail of 
 itpg full compensation for all his trouble and expenses, and a 
 ttjl profit besides, I would be willing to suffer instant death. We 
 b d together a long time upon this subject, and I made him all 
 eiromises that it was prudent for me to make, and then the old 
 ■ left us, and joined his own people again. 
 
 'ter he was gone, we tried to get something out of Jack, who 
 aloath to say much, but went so far as to tell us, that, from what 
 le ad heard them say, we might expect some change in our condi- 
 osoon. This was a very unpleasant day to us all, fearful as we 
 'f that we should not be sent to Mogadore, 
 
80 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 On the morning of the 23d, Ahamed, and with him half a dozen 
 the tribe, came to our place of residence, and brought along abc 
 two yards of red flannel, and inquired if any one of us was a tailo 
 adding, we were to march on the next morning, and must make Ja 
 some clothes. Overjoyed by that piece of information, we, by mea 
 of sending Jack for them among the tribe, were furnished with sc 
 sors, thread, and needles, — not indeed equal to what are used 
 our tailors’ shops ; the thread was too large for the needle, but 1 
 singling it we made out with our sewing, though but badly. In 
 few hours, however, Jack was rigged up with a red jacket and tro 
 sers ; but, unexpectedly to us, the little fellow despised them, a: 
 wftuld rather have had his old rags again. The time now hung ve 
 heavy on us all, and we were wishing for to-morrow. Towar 
 night we found out, for the first time, to whom in reality we severi 
 ly belonged, and also discovered by Jack that we had often be 
 bought and sold among them. As hitherto they had had no labc 
 for us to perform, they had thought it immaterial whether we shop 
 know or not, how we were disposed of among themselves, or whoj 
 them in particular were our owners. It now appeared that we eig; 
 together with the three English boys, were owned by about twen 
 of these Arabs ; and as to myself, I perceived I was in the hands 
 the most unfeeling vagabond in the whole tribe. 
 
 George, who had been occupied for several days past in keepi 
 his master’s herds and flocks, came to us this evening, and told us 1 
 master had been uncommonly good to him for the last day or tw 
 and now, says he, I am to have as much meal for to-morrow as I c 
 eat. We informed him that we were to march off for some place 
 other the next morning. That, said he, is a mistake, for my mast 
 told me you were to remain here several days, and that when y 
 go, I shall go too. Poor George, however, was left behind. Til 
 next morning, to wit, the 24th, Ahamed told us we were to travels 
 to his field of grain, where he should be with us in a week’s time. (i 
 we went, and the only object we regretted parting with, was hopeleW 
 George ; him I pitied from my heart. 
 
 We were already fancying ourselves half redeemed, when my nej 
 master began to let me know 1 must obey him in particular, ffl 
 was one of the most ugly looking rascals among the whole tribe, at: 
 his conduct was no better than his looks. We had been travelliijj 
 together all the day, before we could learn to which of them each 1 
 us belonged. The difficulty of our learning it of them, was owiif 
 to their ignorance of arithmetic, and their inability to inform us th 
 we had been disposed of in joint shares ; for instance, five of the« 
 owning three of us. As our course was northerly, we had hopes 
 soon seeing the sea-coast. Late in the afternoon we came in sig 1 
 of tents, which, as they were placed in a valley, we had approache 
 near before we discovered them. We came toward them, undiscove 
 ed, till within about a hundred yards, when we all sat down on a san 
 hill, excepting our principal man, who was Ahamed’s brother, ar| 
 he stood up for some time before any of the people of the tents pe, 
 ceived him. No sooner did they see him and us, than there seeme 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 81 
 
 nong them a great stir, which was made no doubt by their looking 
 r their chief. Soon, however, there came to us a venerably look- 
 g old man, mostly dried up, who accosted our chief man thus 
 Where are you from ? where bound ? are these the Christian dogs 
 have heard so much of? what are you going to do with them?” 
 id so on. The answers were — “ We are from the edge of the de- 
 rt,” pointing south-west ; “ we belong to the tribe of Ahamed ; we 
 e bound to such a place,” pointing north-east, “ to cut our grain ; 
 ese Christians that you sec are going along with us, and when the 
 irvest is over we shall make a market of them.” “ All well,” says 
 e old man, “ come along with me and sup, and stay the night; 
 >u are welcome.” 
 
 1 will here endeavour to describe the manner the Arabs ge- 
 . rally receive their company. By them it is reckoned unpolite 
 ;r a stranger to approach nearer any tribe than about the distance 
 a hundred yards, without being previously invited. This custom 
 sometimes attended with inconvenience, as the wayfaring stran- 
 rs may not be discovered at the moment of their halting, in which 
 se they are obliged to wait till they are seen, and receive an invi- 
 :ion ; and for that reason, when they approach a tribe, they often 
 ie a circuitous route around it, so as to be the more likely to be 
 ,en. When they stop, one of them at least stands up erect, without 
 5 gun ; and if the chief of the tribe be at home, he himself walks 
 :th to see who the strangers are ; but if he be absent, some distin- 
 ished one else, most commonly one of the richest, performs that du- 
 . While among these people, I observed that their salutations were 
 (ferent at different times. Sometimes the first words uttered by 
 (3m to the strangers are, “ Is it peace ?” The answer is, “ It is 
 
 ! ace.” But the questions most commonly are, “ Who are you? 
 m whence ? of w'hat tribe ? is it healthy where you belong ? what 
 ; the prospects of the crop in your neighbourhood ? how long 
 t ee you have heard from the emperor* ? is he at peace ?” The an- 
 s ers are as prompt and particular as the questions ; after which fob 
 ilvs the invitation, and they all walk up to the tribe, and sit down, 
 .nong the Arabs it is considered as indispensable that every male 
 tove the age of twenty should own a gun, and he that has none is 
 t night but little of, and is never permitted to join their circle ; where- 
 { e the first money a young Arab can raise, goes to buying a gun, and 
 jwder, and balls, all which are procured from Mogadore, and 
 aer places of commerce on that coast. Balls are not so much in 
 i' among them as slugs: these they frequently chew in their mouths 
 t form them to nearly a round shape, but what is much more frequent 
 fill, they beat them nearly round with a stone. From constant 
 iictice, or their spending a great part of their time in this amuse- 
 Int, they are excellent marksmen; so attached are they to their 
 fn, that an Arab will take it with him in his hand, whenever he 
 jps out of his tent to visit his neighbour at not more than twenty 
 J 'ds distance. They think there is no people in the world so ac« 
 
 * The emperor of JSforocco. 
 
 11 
 
PADDOCK'S’ NARRATIVE', 
 
 $ 
 
 five and brave as themselves, and none so well informed, and ffr( 
 proudly say that they are at war with all the world, and fear nobod | 
 As to their learning, it is true that many of them, I mean their male 
 can write, and all of them can read. Their females, as i have sa 
 before, receive no education at all ; but are viewed by those of tl| 
 other sex, as beings inferior to themselves, and are treated by the 
 as slaves. As to the mode of educating their boys, in every te 
 there is a board, made of hard Wood, and on it is engraved their a 
 phabet or characters. By the time a boy is eight years old, he u 
 der&tands all the contents of the board, and is now ready to impro’j 
 with every opportunity he has, from the instruction of strangers wl 
 visit them, who sometimes bring along with them boards inscribe 
 with extensive copies from the alcoi’an, and these the boys readi 
 learn. Also, before the set time for their beginning to say the 
 prayers, they learn them by hearing them so often repeated Ij 
 others. I don’t recollect my ever ascertaining the exact age win 
 a boy begins to say his prayers, nor do I remember my ever seeii) 
 one at the public prayers, who was under the age of from thirteen 
 sixteen. Not only their prayers, but whatever else they have 
 learn, they usually learn it before the time for their putting it || 
 practice. For this they have abundance of leisure, all the labour b| 
 ing done by the -women and girls, and by the slaves. From the b<| 
 Jack I was given to understand that the Arabs considered their wl 
 men as beings without souls, and no better than dogs ; “ but,” sa 
 Jack, “ their women don’t all agree to that doctrine, for my o 
 mistress used to pray heartily enough when the old man was out 
 the way.” From what 1 could learn from these boys, their regulj 
 prayers during the twenty-four hours, were five in number : in the 
 first prayer, which was at the dawn of the day, they returned than’ 
 to God for the night which he had permitted them to enjoy in qui 
 sleep, and prayed that he would grant them the enjoyment of air 
 therday ; at sunrise, they prayed God to bless them throughout tl 
 day begun ; at mid-day, they returned God thanks for so much 
 the day, and prayed that it might end profitably to them } at t! 
 setting of the sun, they gave God thanks for the day past ; and 
 the evening, they prayed for a good and comfortable night. Tl 
 boy Jack told me, as 1 mentioned before, that his old mistress wou 
 pray whenever she had a chance ; “ and further,” said Jack, “ si 
 used to conclude her prayers with a most hearty petition to God, th 
 he would before the morning, casta Christian ship on shore, loadi 
 with a great deal of cloth and money.” — The prayers of the Ara 
 were of very great length : the particulars concerning them, no 
 given, are all I could collect from the boys, and must sulfice n 
 readers for the present. 
 
 To return now from this digression, and take up again my sto 
 where it was broken off: The venerable looking old Arab havh 
 prdnounced (as I mentioned before) his cordial invitation, on v 
 marched ; and by this time the whole tribe was out, men, wome 
 and children. They all, even the children, had something to say 
 us ; but we were now become so used to the scurrilous language 
 
PADDOCK 3 S NARRATIVE. 
 
 uch people, that we paid no attention to it, but seated ourselves 
 mong their tents, on the sand. We begged for water, having had but 
 ery little of it all that day, and our stock being now exhausted. We 
 ad ate only once, if eating it may be called, for that meal consisted 
 nly of a little raw barley-liour wet up pretty thin, so as to be drank 
 ither than eaten ; this we swilled down clean, and licked the bowl : 
 le whole quantity for us eleven was what might be a full meal for one 
 trge pig. Our appetites were very keen, and this swill tasted good 
 ) us, and lay well on our stomachs, as did every thing else that we 
 ad ate or drank. Many a time, and even hundreds of times, had 
 
 I e cause to return thanks to God for this great blessing — a good ap- 
 etite for whatever food or drink we could find, and a good diges-- 
 on of it. 
 
 Soon after we had left our tribe, and taken a northerly course, we 
 ad discovered some difference in the face of the country : it was 
 mch more uneven, and there were more appearances of its having, 
 Ji wet seasons, produced vegetation. Frequently, in the vallies 
 here the soil was gravel, and a little loam with it, we saw some 
 ansiderably large grass-spots, the grass of which was now mostly 
 f iten down ; but no doubt in the wet aveather it had been fine : also 
 i these places were some dwarf shrubs, none of which were of the 
 inds we were acquainted with, except the thorn. In all this day’s 
 ’> 'avel, it seemed to us that we were descending ; whenever we Iook- 
 I back, as frequently we did, it had that appearance ; and yet in 
 te whole hundred and fifty miles of our travel back, we had no 
 erception of it. That might be attributable to our fatigue of 
 ody and trouble of mind, and to our crossing such abundance of 
 : ind hills, that the general ascent or descent of the ground could 
 f ardly have been noticed by us. 
 
 i Soon after we made a stop at this place, the chief, and many of 
 is tribe, formed a circle, and began their chat, accompanied with 
 ie pipe. When finding themselves short of tobacco, I heard 
 iy name, Rice, called aloud, and upon my looking towards them, 
 ie master of my mates made a sign to me that they had no tobacco, 
 y putting his finger in the bowl of the pipe. This application was 
 lade to me in particular, because at the beginning of our journey, I 
 ad been appointed tobacco-carrier. There was about a pound of 
 tbacco, rolled up snug, and put in a small skin, about the size of 
 cat’s, and which was made in the manner of an old fashioned 
 ouch : this I reached to him, and taking out as much of it as filled 
 is pipe, he returned it to me. 
 
 Their conversation was on general subjects. Laura, agreeably to 
 le arrangement previously made between him and me, was listen- 
 ig to it, but could gather nothing of interest relative to our future 
 estiny. Indeed they frequently spoke of us, but in such a manner 
 s often reminded me of the old adage, Listeners seldom hear any 
 ood of themselves. That saying was verified here completely : 
 le heads of their discourse concerning us were, that we were a poor, 
 miserable, degraded race of mortals, doomed to the everlasting pu- 
 ishment of hell fire after death, and in this life fit only for the com 
 
84 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 pany of dogs; that our country was so wretchedly poor, we wed 
 always looking out abroad for sustenance, and ourselves so base as tj| 
 go to the Coast of Guinea for slaves to cultivate our land, being ml 
 only too lazy to cultivate it ourselves, but too stupid to learn how t 
 do it; and finally, that if all the Christians were obliged to live £ 
 home, their race would soon be extinct: that those belonging t|| 
 Christian countries, being dependent on the other countries for a 
 most every thing necessary to support nature with, they make fell 
 sale such things as guns, powder, knives, and so on, all which thij 
 world might do well enough without ; and then they barter thesi 
 things away to people abroad for the necessaries of life. 
 
 . These topics of discourse seemed to excite a very lively intern 
 among the company ; but as to ourselves, we felt more interest ijj 
 our supper of barley meal and water, which we got at last, but fa 
 from enough to overload our stomachs ; and then we laid down, alj 
 Usual, in the cold wind, having no bed but the sand, and nothin 
 over us but the open firmament of heaven ; and in that situation w 
 slept finely, after travelling 26 miles. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Progress in our journey — A reservoir on our way— A description of it — An account <$ 
 the heaps of stones, and the custom of the Arabs of throwing each a stone upo 
 every heap they pass by — The supposed cause of these piles — Our distressful suffer 1 
 jogs with thirst and hunger — We see, for the first time, an inhabited dwelling inthj 
 form of a house, and a large field of barley — Our entry upon the borders of a fertil 
 country, pnd our arrival at last to a vast barley-field, owned by Abamed — The set 
 tied resolution with us not to work in it, and our reasons for this — How we manage 
 it with the Ishmaelites, and obtained our end— The expedient of Pat to get clear c| 
 work, and to fill his belly — The attempt to starve us to a compliance — We march oi|j 
 in a body, and are overtaken by the Arabs with loaded muskets, and threateneij 
 •with instant death — We are conducted by them to ahouse owned by Aharned, wher 1 
 his sister boards us by the week — A description of that tenement and its two princi 
 pal tenants — The employments we were there put to — We are lodged in a goat-pen 
 paved with filth, and swarming with fleas — Description of a vault filled with baric; 
 in the sheaf — Ad Arabian corn-mill described — My interview with a venerably look 
 iug and kindly seeming old Arab. 
 
 Upon the 2.5th, uncommonly early in the morning, we starter 
 away, in an east-north-east course, and travelled very fast for tra' 
 vcllers in our condition. Before 9 o’clock in the morning we bar 
 Become very thirsty, as well as hungry. We had taken along will? 
 us no water, and but little meal ; and while we were begging lot 
 water or for victuals, they snarled out to us, Cooly mackan, shrub 
 mackan — no victuals, no drink, — and hurried us along. By If 
 o’clock, the heat of the sun was almost insufferable ; we sat down 
 only for a few minutes, and then were driven on again. The further 
 Ave advanced, the more hilly the country became, but it was still 
 barren except in small spots. Wc were fast approaching a rock} 
 mountain lying on our right, appearing to be at least two hundred 
 feet in height. We perceived where this mountain, seeming to have: 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 35 
 
 oken asunder, formed two separate hills, with a valley between 
 lem ; and when we were at no great distance therefrom, some of 
 je Arabs left us and ran ahead, while others were forcing us on as 
 st as possible. When we came abreast of this valley, to our asto- 
 ishment we saw a reservoir of water, and the Arabs who had start- 
 id ahead of us drinking at it. We soon got to it, and when came 
 >ir own turn, which of course was the last, we drank no small quan- 
 ly, and all of us sat down at our drinking place. The Arabs then 
 nixed together some raw meal and Avater, and eat of it; after 
 •iich they gave us some, and on it we made a sumptuous break- 
 
 I ist about noon, having ate nothing before from the time of our scanty 
 :pper, that is, in 15 hours. 
 
 This reservoir very much attracted my attention. It Avas built of 
 me, laid Avith lime mortar, as I should guess, about 100 feet long, 
 t feet broad, and from 12 to 15 feet deep; the lop Avas arched 
 er, and all was done in a Avorkmanlike manner. One of the ends 
 ing designed to receive all the Avater that runs down this valley, is 
 lien ; but the end Ave drank at Avas closed, leaving a door-way of 
 pout four feet in length, and three in Avidth ; from the door- way 
 
 i sre Avere stepping-stones to go doAvn to the Avater, Avhich avo sup- 
 ped to be seven feet deep ; it was clear as rock Avater, so that Ave 
 uld plainly discern the little pebbles at the bottom. The Avails of 
 t? reservoir were about three feet thick, and the arch about two feet 
 ;d a half thick at the top, where the key-stone Avas laid in. I was 
 « out going to the further end, in order to obtain a more full and par- 
 1 ular vievv of that part than could be had at the distance Ave were, 
 
 I t I Avas prevented. I asked the Arabs how long it was since this 
 i;ervoir had been built, and by whom? But all the satisfaction I 
 I uld get from them Avas, It Avas built by a good man longer ago than 
 t ay could remember. I had no doubt but they might have given 
 n the history of it, if they had been so inclined. Laura observed 
 t me at the time, that it Avould be useless to ask them any more 
 < estions ; for, instead of answering, they groAvled out one to an- 
 her, “ What right have these dogs to know any thing about our 
 < untry ?” 
 
 When Ave Avere about to leave this place, Avhich we all regretted 
 1 lea\ r e so soon, one of them took the bowl that Ave had been drinkim r 
 1 1 of, and rubbed the inside of it over with sand, and put it bot- 
 i n upward upon a stone which had been left projecting out, 
 st on the inside of the door- way, and no doubt it was left there 
 Ir that purpose. Then commenced our march, yet not before they 
 hd gone through Avith their long prayers, which in a great measure 
 insisted of thanksgiving for the benefits of that fountain. At a fevv 
 a lies onAV3rd we came to a heap of stones, Avhen each Arab took up 
 < ie stone and threvv it upon the pile, Avhich was then of 30 feet dia- 
 ller at the base, and of about the same measure in height. We 
 : d seen a great number of these piles while Ave Avere in the posses- 
 :in of the hunters, who, in every instance of our coming to one of 
 |[em, took up each a stone, and threw it upon the top. Sometimes 
 ey took up their stones, and carried them along a mile or more. 
 
haddock’s NAItRATIV-E. 
 
 86 
 
 before we had discovered ihe heap. The reason of this at last h 
 came obvious to us ; the Arabs knew, from having passed by the 
 particular heaps before, that there Avere no stones lying near the; 
 As we could hitherto form no other conjecture concerning the 
 heaps, we had concluded they were land marks ; but now, bavin 
 through our interpreters, the advantage of speaking in the Arabj 
 we inquired of them the cause, and they told us that under that he; 
 lay the corpse of some great man. Upon our asking them he 
 they knew that, they replied, if it were not so, the heap would n| 
 have been there. From all appearances, I have no doubt but the 
 heaps have been accumulating for hundreds of years. 
 
 As we advanced eastward, the country showed, more and moi 
 the signs of vegetation ; it had, in fact, become hilly, and less be 
 ren. This afternoon we found growing some little barley, whi! 
 w'e gathered and eat. At night we got neither victuals nor drini 
 for though we had meal with us, it was useless for the want of w 
 ter to mix with it. We lay down with empty stomachs, and sle 
 well, after travelling 25 miles. On the 26th we started forwai 
 early in the morning, in a north-east course. From every appet 
 ance, and from the calculations we had made of our courses, it th 
 seemed to us that we -were drawing towards the sea coast, which \\ 
 were very desirous of seeing, though at the same time we could n 1 
 expect any advantages from it. About 10 o’clock, while we we 
 much fatigued, we saw a number of tents ahead, and soon we arriv" 
 at them, and were (that is to say, the Arabs with us) well receive 
 It was a small tribe of about forty tents ; the chief was abseri 
 From their well we got some water, which was very brackish ; the’ 
 and a little meal, made an excellent swill for us. We stayed the 
 but a short time, and then pushed on again. In the afternoon v 
 came to a well which had been lately dug out, and there got son 
 water. At night we lay down on a high knoll of sand and rock; 
 the wind was high, the night was cold, and we suffered very mud 
 We begged hard for permission to go into the valley, but could n< 
 obtain it. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th we were atvakened earlier than usual 
 no signs of day being then visible in the firmament. Immediate; 
 after the prayers were over we started on, when the north star w; 
 
 still in sight ; our course was from north-east to east-north-eas 
 Thirst and hunger were sufferings not new to us, but their craving 
 were now severe indeed. About noon we saw a dwelling, built i 
 stone ; on approaching which, we found it contained a very larg 
 family, or rather several families. Under the wall we seated ouii 
 selves, and were viewed by them all ; and had the mortification ( 
 mortified we could be by any thing they could say) of hearing th 
 same kind of remarks upon us, that had been made before from dm 
 to time, after our leaving Ahamed’s tribe. We however got of ther 
 some boiled meal, the remains of the Arabs’ breakfast, and in 
 was a 1 ittle butter; it was to us a rare dish, though a very scant 
 one, being not more than enough for two men. At a smalt di: 
 tance from this house was a piece of barley, of about ten acrh 1 
 
radoock’s narrative* 
 
 87 
 
 •his was the first inhabited building that might be called a house, 
 liiich we had seen since our landing, and this was the first consi- 
 Irable piece of barley either grown or growing. There was also 
 Ire a little garden, in which we saw some finely looking pompions 
 Id onions, but could get none of them. 
 
 . After marching on, we could discern, from the top of a hill, seve- 
 r settlements, and fields of grain, and we now began to think our 
 Ifierings in a great measure at an end. At about 3 or 4 o’clock we 
 (me to a large habitation, or place of abode, of two or three hun- 
 led feet square, all walled in ; but not having the privilege of en- 
 ding therein, we could but merely conjecture, from the numbers of 
 t)se who came out to satisfy their curiosity by looking at us, that 
 Is place contained a hundred inhabitants, including men, women, 
 id children, the latter seeming to constitute a large proportion of 
 Hi whole. In only a few hours’ travel, we had, from a dreary de- 
 frt arrived to a country as fertile for grain as I ever saw ; it was now 
 tie, and ready for reaping. During our stay, our Arabian compa- 
 nns were in close conversation with the inhabitants here, but the 
 ibject of it we could not learn. Upon leaving them, we ascended 
 tiigh hill, covered with barley ; on the summit, we discovered at a 
 giat distance off, the sea, and as that was the element we were so 
 
 i ich accustomed to, the sight of it seemed to infuse joy into every 
 east. The Arabs pushed us on till near sunset, when we were 
 ought to, and were informed that we now w T ere on the ground be- 
 iging to Ahamed, and that the piece of grain that now lay before 
 i was his. Upon viewing it, I thought it contained at least an 
 Indred acres, but as 1 had not been accustomed to measuring land, 
 laight have been wide from the mark in my calculation ; though,, 
 8 any rate, it was the largest field of grain I ever saw. Our Arab^ 
 l'ormed us that we were to stay with them there till that grain was 
 fit and secured ; and now, said they, we will see what Christians can 
 | . I told Laura there was some management for us to attend to 
 < this occasion ; that if we were to go to work, and do our best, 
 i would be the means of perpetuating our slavery. He expressed 
 Inself of the same opinion. I then exhorted all my men to make 
 i seem to these Arabs as if they were unused to that kind of labour, 
 ,d that if they should be compelled to work, they must take care, 
 bile at it, to do their employers no good ; telling them that the ob~ 
 l inment of our ransom would depend upon our strict adherence to this 
 ]m — and upon that point we were all agreed. They had obtained- 
 ; a small distance, some water for themselves, and gave us some 
 t:al, prepared, as before, in the common way of swill ; and then 
 laid down to rest, in a very cold place, having travelled ajbout 
 . miles that day, and, in the whole distance frooi Ahamed’s tribe, 
 miles. The sea we supposed not far distant, the wind was high, 
 ;d this proved the coldest birth we had ever experienced ; never- 
 tdess, after being a little rested from our fatigue, we slept tolerably 
 
 ill. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 27th, the sickles that they brought 
 ■’th them were made ready, and all hands of us were ordered out te 
 
28 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 work. On hearing my name in particular called, I told them 5 nev 
 had cut grain, nor had ever done any work of the kind ; that I was! 
 shipmaster, and had been learnt nothing else. For this 1 rcceivj 
 their curses and threats, but with a determination not to heed theii 
 In the mean time Laura said to me, “ They are determined to ti| 
 you ; I heard them say, ifRias works his men will, for he is the he; 1 
 devil among them.” I told Laura he might tell them from me, thl 
 I would not work, that 1 was in their power, and they might do wil 
 me as they pleased ; that Ahamed had promised to carry us all 
 Swearah, for the purpose of our being ransomed there, and I hi 
 pledged myself to make him full compensation for all his expens 
 and trouble. To this they replied, that Ahamed had ordered the 
 to make us work till the grain was cut and secured, and if I wouf 
 not work they would shoot me. The boy Jack was present, at 
 interposed, by observing he heard them say, if I would not begi 
 and my men follow me, they would put me to death first, and tlj 1 
 others should share the same fate. I told Jack to tell them tht 1 
 might do as they pleased ; I would take my chance in regard to til 
 consequences of my refusal. I do not wish to make myself appe: 
 in this case as the man to brave all dangers. The fact was, bo 
 myself and my crew were at that time reduced to mere skeleton 
 with fatigue of body, and troubles of mind, all which made life tl 
 less desirable to us ; and besides, I thought there would be less dal 
 ger of their threats being put in execution on account of the absent! 
 of Ahamed. 
 
 This controversy lasted an hour, and they got my men into tl 
 field at last. Some of them could handle a sickle as well as then 
 selves ; one of whom (being the man that I was fearful would be < 
 the most service to them) I told to cut his own fingers, as if b 
 accident. They all understood my meaning, and it was not Ion; 
 after my men had been dragged into the field, before I found the 1 
 were doing very well, I mean well for our own purposes. Some b| 
 accident, and some intentionally perhaps, cut their fingers and hanc 
 with their sickles, and made loud complaints ; while others, wh 
 were gathering up the grain for binding, did it in such a wastefi 
 manner that their work was a real damage to the owner. Upo 
 this the Arabs took away the sickles from those of them that ha< 
 been reaping, and set them to hauling the grain up by the roots 
 They did so, but laid it in the worst form that was possible. B 
 managing things in this way, they beat the Ishmaelites, and got th* 
 victory. Our poor fellows suffered very much for a short time ; buj 
 at last they were all driven out of the field, when we all assemble' 
 together at the place where the reapers had begun their business. , 
 
 As the sun arose the heat increased, and to such a degree, then 
 being a dead calm, that it was almost insufferable. We could no 
 find where they got their water, and being destitute of both victual; 
 and drink, we cat raw barley. About noon, the reapers were re 
 turning, cutting the grain as they came on ; and we sent Jack tc 
 meet them, and to beg of them some water for us. He returned to 
 its with this message, you shall have no water till you will work, 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 89 
 
 'hey came up to us at last, and sat down to rest themselves ; and 
 e then complained to them of our necessitous condition, and beg- 
 |ed relief, but all the reply they gave us was, if you will not work 
 pu shall not eat. At this time I began to think that some of my 
 jllow-sufferers ivould be starved into a compliance. Whoever has 
 | It the extremity of hunger and thirst, can judge what our feelings 
 id sufferings were at that crisis. But being myself strongly im- 
 iressed with the belief that our obstinacy in this case was the only 
 ay to obtain our freedom. I thought it my duty to exhort them all 
 stand hrm in the resolution we had taken. I was the more tho- 
 mghly convinced of the necessity of this course of conduct, by two 
 i rcumstances ; the one was, there were at that time immense fields 
 f:’ standing grain, which required a great many labourers, and the 
 her circumstance was, the plague, as I had repeatedly heard, had 
 vept oft' the inhabitants, which made labourers scarce. Hence I 
 included that if we should make ourselves serviceable to our op- 
 ressors, we should be kept by them, at least long enough to answer 
 ieir present purpose, and perhaps several of us for life. 
 
 , Soon after the Arabs had started off to their work the second time, 
 at was missing. We all wondered (for none of us could tell) what 
 ad become of Pat. In about two hours he returned, marvellously 
 flanged in looks, and especially as to his bulk ; for he had eaten such 
 quantity of stirabout , as he called it, that his body, about the waist, 
 as swoln to double the size it was when he left us. His story 
 las this ; While there was going on with us the conversation about 
 orking in the barley-field, he took himself off, first going round a 
 fettle knoll, then keeping himself in a valley till he thought he was 
 r enough off to be out of his taskmasters’ view, and finally ascend- 
 ig the highest hill then in sight, where he saw a large house in the 
 |sxt valley, and the men, at that instant, going from it into the grain 
 J eld. As soon as he could do it with safety, he descended the hill, 
 ad when near the house, he saw the women, and stopped. They 
 loked at him, and, probably having a knowledge of our being in 
 le neighbourhood, were not alarmed. He durst not approach them 
 i earer, for fear of giving alarm to the men. In that situation, he 
 lought to draw their compassion towards him by making to them 
 igns of hunger ; but that was of no avail. Whereupon he mounted 
 large stone, and fell to singing and dancing. This took with 
 lem ; in a moment, as it were, they all came about him, women and 
 hildren, some bringing him milk, and others stirabout. He eat all 
 lat was first brought him, and craved more, which they continued 
 i furnish him with as long as he danced and sung, and that was as 
 ing as he could eat and move. After his jig was over, he took as 
 mch with him as he could carry in his hands, and left them, and 
 ame back by the way he went, undiscovered by the Arabs of the 
 ther sex. 
 
 Some of our men were desirous of trying their luck by the same 
 leans, but thinking it imprudent, I dissuaded them from it. Hav- 
 lg all that day received nothing to eat, and anticipating, as we then 
 id, another cold night’s lodging, we all fell to work, (as loose stones 
 
 12 
 
 ■ 
 
PADDOCK'S NARRATIVE, 
 
 9ft 
 
 were plenty there,) and built a stone wall, three or four feet high, at 
 perhaps ten feet long, as a lee to defend us from the cold of tl 
 night wind. We had it nearly completed as the Arabs came 
 sight ; when each dropping his sickle, they ran to us in a great pa 
 sion, abused us as usual, and not only hove our Avail down, b 
 threatened us with severe beatings in case we should presume to s 
 ourselves about that work again. It may not be amiss to remai 
 here, that while we were removing these stones for our wall, v 
 discovered, in digging or hauling them up, that the soil was of coar i 
 and fine gravel, intermixed with coarse sand ; some of our men wl 
 understood the qualities of soils better than I did, observed that 
 was of the right kind for grain. In vain did we remonstrate again 
 this cruel treatment of theirs, in not only keeping us without fot 
 and drink, but exposing us unsheltered to the cold night winds ; 
 was in vain we told them we could not live under such extren 
 hardships. Their only reply was, u go to work, and then you m; 
 eat.” And again, it was in vain to tell them that we could not woi 
 on the land, that the sea was our element. They were deaf to £ 
 we could say, and not the least relief would they afford us. 
 
 At length they went to their work again, and when once out 
 sight, we, feeling our situation to be truly distressing, held a sort, 
 council, to devise what steps were necessary to be taken by us b 
 fore it should be too late. A part of us no doubt had some inclin 
 tion to go into the field to work : but at last we were unanimously 
 the opinion that our best plan was to move off to the eastward in 
 body, and abide its consequences. The boy Jack was quiet: 
 asleep at the time, having had, without doubt, his meal private!; 
 Pat was but half asleep ; he lay groaning under the monstrous bu 
 then he had upon his stomach. We roused them both up. Pat w; 
 ready for our enterprise as soon as he could get upon his. legs ; bi 
 Jack objected to it, by saying, their guns were all loaded, and wei 
 now lying by the side of us, and he knew that they would fire at t 
 as soon as they should come within gunshot. Prevailed upon, how 
 ever, by Laura, he joined us. 
 
 Things being thus arranged, I took the lead, and all the rest fo 
 lowed. We had proceeded about eighty rods from the field whe| J 
 they discovered us, and, in a moment, each dropping his sickle, the 
 ran for their guns, and seizing these weapons, they ran after u, 
 Calling aloud for us to stop. We paid no attention to them, bi 
 moved on as fast as possible. The hindermost one got a knoc 
 from a musket, as several of the rest of us did after him, and, finally 
 we were stopped, and held a parley with them. They threatened 
 us with death, but we were now past the fear of that ; our lives ha. 
 become burthensome to us, by means of our sufferings, and of oq 
 ceaseless dread of perpetual slavery. They ordered us back, bi 
 we refused at all hazards, pleading, earnestly and repeatedly, th 
 promise made to me by Ahamed. When they found we would nc 
 go back, they said we should be put Avhere they could always fin' 
 us, and then marched us on. After we had walked through th 
 fields about two mile*, we came to a large habitation ; there w 
 
EADDOCK-’s NARRATIVE 
 
 9i 
 
 -eve stop't, under the walls, when one of them went in at the gate- 
 ay. As the gate was open, the whole of the residents there soon 
 ime out to look at us, and the .sivff that was made use of by their 
 t ingues, it is not only improper to mention, but indecent. How- 
 ver, with a woman who occupied an inner room, a bargain was 
 ade, that she should keep us till Ahamed should come, at a given 
 im by the day. We could not learn the amount of her boarding 
 es, but were soon given to understand that one of the conditions of 
 ?r taking us in was, that we were to gather and bring home the 
 cod, and parch the corn or barley, and grind it. The wood which 
 e had to provide consisted of dry brush, gathered from off the hills ; 
 appeared to be the growth of but one year, and to become fit only 
 r the fire by its having perished with drought. As to our business 
 ‘ parching barley-corn, it was performed in a kettle, over a slow 
 ■e, for the purpose of making it better for grinding ; the w r oman we 
 ere with w as only to make our pudding. 
 
 This matter being settled, the Arabian reapers returned to their 
 ■Id. We soon found that a part of this establishment belonged to 
 hamcd, and that Salear, which was the name of the woman, was his 
 ster. We were told, that during the rainy months of the winter 
 :ason, Ahamed and his family took up their abode here. The 
 hiding was an oblong square, of about 80 feet by 120 ; the eut- 
 ,ie wmlls w r ere about 3 feet thick, of stone, laid in lime mortar, and 
 Hi feet high ; the rooms, which were many, were from 8 to 1 4 feet 
 suare ; the roof was pitching, from the walls towards the centre, 
 <vered with stone and a cement of lime, and was water tight. It 
 is supported with timber, of which several pieces had been spars 
 < wrecked vessels, such as steering sail booms, top gallant, and 
 jyal yards, &c. We soon found the way to the well, which pro- 
 t ced fine water, and we drank of it an uncommon quantity. 
 
 The room next the gate w as occupied by a petulant old man, who 
 ;olded hard at Salear for making such a bargain, and swore that w'e 
 "re not worthy of a mouthful of bread. On our own part, we did 
 : that was in our power to render our company less odious than 
 tis man represented it to be. Some of our men, sent to gather brush 
 !■ cooking our supper, rambled a long time, and returned with but 
 1 tie ; and during their absence I took the liberty to walkout of the 
 te, for the purpose of looking around me. The old man was seat- 
 » at the time opposite the gate. He spoke to me, and bade me 
 i down. I sat down; but happening to sit near him, he ordered 
 n away to a further distance, saying he did not allow a Christian 
 i g to be so nigh him. I obeyed, and moved off a little. He then 
 iked me a few questions about our ship, and as to what she had in 
 ir. Laura w r as then gone after wood, but Jack was in sight, and I 
 i lied him to me for my linguist on this occasion. After he had 
 j thered from me all the information he wanted, he made some im- 
 ] rtinent remarks, and ordered me within the walls, and follow ed 
 ] ?,-and as soon as we were all mustered, he locked the gate. The 
 1 :k was very large, and he made use of his fingers for the key. It 
 'is nearly eight o’clock before we got our supper, which was excel- 
 
92 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 lent, consisting of a little barley flour and a great deal of Water ; tli 
 whole of it, however, would have been insufficient for half of oi ! 
 number, but when we complained of its great deficiency in respei I 
 to quantity, We were told it was as much as we deserved. As ui 
 pleasant as this kind of language from our new mistress tvas, we wet 
 obliged to put up with it, and crawl into the hovel provided for oi 
 lodging place, which Was about ten feet square, and six feet high 
 it had been a goat pen, and now was not cleaned out. 1 would hci 
 observe, the Arabs never fail to bring all their flocks within the 
 walls at night ; for having no fences, they would be unsafe if kej 
 out. unless they were watched by herdmen or shepherds. 
 
 This was the first roofed covering we had had since the time i 
 our leaving our wreck, and, with our i umber, it was quite war: 
 enough. But we found here a bloody foe. As soon as we had gi 
 stowed away, the fleas attacked us on all sides. At no time sin< 
 our first falling into the hands of the Arabs, had we been free fro. 
 the annoyance of these vermin, but never did they attack us so cn 
 elly before; not one of us could sleep till after midnight. In tl 
 morning of the 28th we were awaked out of sleep by Salear I 
 prayer, who, as soon as she had ended her devotions, came out < 
 her lodging room, adjacent to ours, and heaped upon us as mar 
 curses as her tongue could utter, for our keeping her awake most 
 the night. Her scolding drew to us the old man, nor were we 'spa 1 
 ed at all by him. We attempted to excuse this ofi’ence of ours, t 
 telling them the flees bit us so cruelly that we could not sleep, and w 
 promised to do better, or keep stiller, for the time to come. But a 
 this did not satisfy them, nor did their anger abate for a long tinx 
 At last, however, the old man opened the gate, and let us out. TV 
 then shook off as many of these unwelecme little inmates as w 
 could, and went to the well, which was about a hundred yards fra 
 the house, and there we drank freely. Indeed we could hard] 
 satisfy ourselves, so long had we been deprived of water, and wh;i 
 we had heretofore got, so bad, and this so good. When we wer 
 going out of the gate, my second mate, who was of a mechanics 
 turn, observed the manner of the old man’s fingers while he U'as uijj 
 locking it, and getting an opportnnity soon after of viewing the loch 
 he immediately found out the whole secret, and could lock and ur 
 lock it as readily as our old jailor. No one of us but he could uni 
 dersland how it was done, nor was it prudent for us to examine int i 
 it, lest we should be discovered while so doing, and get the oh 
 man’s displeasure ; in fact, the knowledge of that secret could hav 
 been of no service to us. 
 
 Some of our hands having been dispatched to the hills for fuel, and 
 after a long absence, returning with but little, Salear declared shi 
 could gather more of it herself than all these dogs put together. I 
 was about 10 o’clock before we got our breakfast, which finished al 
 .the meal that was in Salear’s possession ; she was in a great petal 
 the quantity we had eaten, though, as before, w e got not half enough 
 Whether the old man was, or was not interested in the expenses o 
 board, was a matter that we could not ascertain, but he scoldec 
 
haddock’s narrative* 
 
 83 
 
 jout our over-eating, as hard as Salear herself. Soon after breafe- 
 st, the old man ordered several of us into the back yard, and set us 
 
 ( work in removing some dirt. We dug down about two feet deep, 
 |id in a space of perhaps two yards square, to seme planks, which 
 fing lifted up, there opened to our view a large vault of barley in 
 e sheaf. The old man went down, and passed up as much of it as 
 :: thought necessary. We covered it over, and left it as we found 
 and then sweeping clean a place on the ground, we threshed it 
 it with long sticks, and put it in bags for use. The grain was per- 
 ctly dry, and in good order. This manner of keeping grain was 
 •w to me. 1 was desirous of ascertaining the size of this vault ; but 
 e old man, upon my asking him about it, gave me to understand 
 at it was none of my business. 
 
 This plentiful supply of barley encouraged us to expect that we 
 ould now fare better. With her fanning-basket, Salear cleaned it 
 r parching, and my chief mate officiated as chief parcher, and he 
 owned it well. In the mean time, one of our number was appoint- 
 l to pilfer a little of it, and stow it away in our lodging-room, for 
 to eat between meals. That business was arranged and con- 
 icted so judiciously, that we were able to provide for ourselves to- 
 rably well, and without being detected. 
 
 The barley being parched, one of cur men began the grinding of 
 The mill-stones for this purpose were about 1 8 inches in diame- 
 r, and three inches thick ; in the centre ol the bed-stone was a hole 
 illed through, in which v\as a wooden spindle, running upwards 5 
 6 inches; in the running-stcnc there was a hole large enough to 
 ■ceive the spindle, and leave room at the sides to put in the grain ; 
 i! one side was a hole drilled for the purpose of receiving the stick 
 at is held by the hand in turning the stone ; with the right hand 
 
 I e stone was turned, while the grain was fed in by the leit. The 
 ain being a little browned, and made brittle, a man could grind as 
 uch of it in tw o hours as w e all got for a. whole day. After it w as 
 found, Salear with her basket fanned out the bran in a most admi- 
 ■ble manner ; and she used to say that even that was too good 
 r us. 
 
 In the afternoon, the vermin becoming intolerably troublesome to 
 e, I betook myself to the shady side of the wall of our prison, in 
 
 I der to give some of them their discharge. Upon taking off my 
 othes, the skipping ones made off with themselves very readily, and 
 ich were their size as 1 had never seen before ; they might be fair- 
 rated as of the first class ; — but the crawling ones could not be 
 it rid of so easily. While I was thus busily engaged, 1 saw at a 
 stance a venerably looking old man approaching me ; his head 
 id his beard very white, and his step slow : he eyed me very at- 
 ntively while I was putting on my clothes, and at length accosted 
 e thus : — “ Christian Rias, from whence ?” 1 answered him as 
 
 ell as I could, and then walked towards the gate and called to 
 aura, who came to me, and we all three sat down together. The 
 d man informed me that he lived in the valley, between the place 
 je were now at, and the sea ; that he had heard there were some 
 
94 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 Christians here, and had come to see them ; and he reached me 
 piece of honey-comb, nearly as large as my hand, part of whicl 
 gave to Laura, and quickly ate the remainder myself. This c 
 man said to me, that, in his younger days, he had been accustom' 
 to go to Agader and Svvearah, where he had traded with the Chr: ! 
 tians ; that they were always good to him, and he had a better oj 
 nion of them than his neighbours had, and should even love thei 
 if they would only renounce their religion, which, inasmuch as M 
 hornet was truly a prophet, must evidently be wrong. He wishil 
 to know of me where we were wrecked, what goods we had, ai 
 what sums of money. I told him that the ship was in ballast, ai 
 had but little money, as it was going for salt, which required b 1 
 little to purchase it with. When I told him this story, he could n 
 understand it, nor could I satisfy him upon the point. The reastj 
 seems evident : ours was perhaps the first ship wrecked on tb 
 coast, that was empty ; the English ships wrecked there were gen * 
 rally Guineamen, which had goods that were valuable to those ro 
 bers. When I, in my turn, came to ask him about this country, ar 1 
 particularly concerning a certain fresh-water river, (wishing to lean 
 something about Nun river,) or of a town called Widnoon, or any othi 
 town in the country w 7 here a market was kept ; he was constant!) 
 ready for evasive answers to my questions. I asked him what the; 
 did w ith all the wheat and barley they raised ? to which he repliei 
 they sold it in Swearah, where it brought a good price ; and whe 
 it did not. they kept it. I wanted to be informed of their vault: 
 The barley we had taken up that very day, was cut at least one yes[ 
 before, and the grain and straw still good and bright ; and I was pai 
 ticularly desirous to find out by what means they were enabled t| 
 keep their grain so long under ground, uncorrupted and fair. But 
 could learn nothing about it from this old man. In him, as in all th 
 other Arabs that I had any acquaintance with, I found a constant re 
 luctance, or rather an utter unwillingness, to give any informatio 
 about their country. 
 
 After half an hour’s conversation with my aged visiter, our me 
 joined company with us, and to them, at least to some of them, b 
 gave a little of his honey-comb. At last the old gate-keeper cam 
 out, when they two saluted each other, and entered into discoursi 
 together on various subjects, such as the season, the crops, and si 
 on. Towards night he departed, and I never saw him more. Hi 
 was the only fat Arab I ever saw there, and he was nearly white 
 and was well-made. 
 
PACDOCk’s NARRATIVE 
 
 93 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 hie orderly manner of (he Arabs’ herds and flocks — The wretched dress and disgust- 
 ing manners of our female visiters— -Our aflliction by the plague of iice — Ahamed 
 arrives, and brings with him Bob, the other English boy — The joyful meeting of the 
 boys — ’Price of tobacco — Ahamed’s remark on chawing it — Adventure in the wheat- 
 field — Remarkable tallness of the wheat there — Instance of the power of habit— The 
 fenewal of Ahamed’s invectives and reproaches upon the Christians, for their injus- 
 tice and cruelty to the negroes — ’Alarming conference between our masters and cer- 
 tain strangers, on the subject of marketing us — Preparations for our journey to 
 3wearah or Mogadore— My last farewell to the never-to-be-forgotten Salear — The 
 commencement of our journey — We behold, for the first time, real trees— Descrip- 
 tion of an Arabian cloak— Numerous herds and flocks seen by us, as well as dwell- 
 ings — The prices of live stock — • Ahamed’s invective against the shipwrecked 
 Christians for hiding their treasure from the true believers, to whom God had given 
 t — His horrid tale of a numerous crew of a large ship, murdered to a man by him- 
 self and the other Arabs. 
 
 Our boys, when sent ^after wood, frequently stole away to some 
 jighbouring house, where they generally got milk to drink, and 
 :me victuals to eat. This kept our old gate-keeper constantly in 
 net. He said he had orders to keep us at home ; that there were 
 threat many bad people thereabouts, and if they found us rambling 
 5 road, we should be stolen away by them, and never see Swearah. 
 Hr boys told us they found in their rambles, that, from the tops of 
 ft highest hills, they could see the ocean, which seemed to them at 
 it more than sis or eight miles distance, and that the country all 
 und was covered with grain. Half the land which we saw from 
 ( r residence, was, I will presume to say, covered with wheat or 
 Irley. The flocks were well watched. It was surprizing to see 
 leks and herds, of sheep, goats, horses, and camels, together 
 Uh a few horned cattle, feeding on dry grass and wild oats, along 
 tj very edges of the grain, and never touching it. The wild oats 
 ure very plenty on these hills. I was informed by the old gate- 
 1 eper, of places where these wild oats had been growing for some 
 ’ars before any had been sown there as seed; that when ripe, the 
 bed fell into the ground, and thence sprung up in a new crop, but 
 tit they degenerated every year, till at last they did not vegetate at 
 ; . I gathered myself several heads of these wild oats, and found, 
 i thing in the husk, which, to all appearance, could vegetate. Their 
 irley often grows from the waste grain, but, in this way of its vege- 
 t:ing, it soon runs out. How the barley came in the places where 
 1; had gathered and ate it, while we were with the mountaineers, I 
 ! ver could learn. 
 
 During our stay here, we were visited every day by one or more ol 
 
 < r masters, the reapers, who, when going back, never omitted, as I 
 
 < n recollect, to give our keepers a charge not to let us ramble abroad, 
 
 ; fear, as they said, of notice of it being given to some one, who they 
 : spected would in such case rob them of their property, by stealing 
 
 away. The neighbouring Arabs, merely out of curiosity, often 
 lied here to look at us, and to make such remarks upon us as were 
 mmon with them. Partly for this reason, the women belonging to 
 
96 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 our enclosure grew very tired of us, as being the means of increasi 
 their own labour. Salear, whenever our men failed of gatheri 
 fuel enough for her, used to call upon these women for assistam 
 which greatly stirred their ill-humour. The males belonging to t| 
 neighbouring families, were engaged at that time, as we supposed,: 
 cutting and harvesting their grain, so that our full-grown visit! 
 were mostly females. These women, while with us, used to e 
 ploy themselves in combing their long black hair, and staining th 
 finger-nails with a reddish colour, such as they were very proud Ij 
 A s to washing themselves, that made no part of their business, 
 home or abroad. In regard to their clothes, if clothes they may 
 called, they consisted of one garment only ; that is to say, an ( 
 haick, first worn and nearly worn out by the husband, and then tui 
 ed over to the wife. This haick covers the body from the bre 
 down to the knees. I think I never saw an Arab’s wife with a n 
 garment on. Besides combing and painting, they had anotl 
 amusement which took up a considerable part of their time : wh 
 they were with us, they spent an hour or two every day in picki 
 off their lice, and dropping them upon the ground — never destr< 
 ing a single one of them. I have often lain down in the yard, wJ 
 my face towards the ground, and seen great numbers of those v • 
 min travelling from place to place. This strange sight was fi 
 noticed and mentioned by one of our English boys, and that excili 
 the curiosity of the rest. Some expressed it as their belief, tl 
 taking the whole of this enclosure into the reckoning, it would a 1 - 
 rage at least one of a very portly size, to every four square inches : 
 surface. I believe myself that they were more numerous still. | 
 merely this recital of mine should so affect the fair part of my reel 
 ers as to make their flesh crawl, what would be their feelings, wc ■ 
 they themselves doomed to a condition similar to that we wc 
 then in ! 1 
 
 But after all, these vermin, together with the general filthiness 
 our situation and mode of living, gave but little disturbance to 
 though we had ever been quite unaccustomed to the like befor 
 for all this time our appetites were keen, and so distressing and 
 constant was the anxiety of our minds, with respect to our futu 
 destiny, that what might have been intolerable to us under other c 
 cumstances, was scarcely minded now. 
 
 On the first of May, we having then been five days in this horril 
 place, Ahamed arrived here, bringing with him Bob, the other En 
 lish boy — the same he had spoken of as intending to go for, ai, 
 buy. By his account, he had walked four days in a south-easte 
 course, before he came to the place where he found him, and h; 
 been four days on their travel, from the time they started off tog 
 ther to come here. Starting from a point about south from us, the 
 must have come a hundred and twenty miles, of which nearly 01 
 hundred miles was through as rich a country for flocks and grain 
 we were then in ; that is, according to such scanty information as v 
 could get, for it suited not Ahamed to be questioned upon these ms 
 ters. He found Bob just recovering from the plague, and unable 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 ■97 
 
 1 . 1 k any distance, and therefore bought an old horse to bring him. 
 ie poor boy was reduced to a mere skeleton. There was such a 
 oicing between him and the other two boys, his shipmates, as it 
 mid be difficult to describe. They fawned around him, and ask- 
 him twenty questions in the time he could answer one. We mix- 
 with them, and heartily partook of their joy ; at this happy meet- 
 5 even Ahamed seemed pleased. Bob said it must have been six 
 ( mths since he had heard a word from any of the crew, and he had 
 Ipposed them all dead. So lost was the poor boy to all recollec- 
 m, that he could not tell which month in the year it then was, and 
 ich less could he tell, with any exactness, in what direction or from 
 hat point he had come. He said that Ahamed and himself kept 
 the edge of the desert, and that in one day after they left the 
 be he had lived among, they saw appearances of vegetation, such 
 little spots of barley, and of other vegetables. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of Ahamed, his sister Salear, who had been 
 "sent a little while, came in, and their meeting seemed very friendly, 
 e presently inquired of her how we came there ? This question 
 e was quick to answer, and in doing it she represented our charac- 
 rs to him in lively colours ; upon which he seemed very much dis- 
 eased, and soon went to the field to visit his reapers, from whom 
 I got, no doubt, a repetition of the story she had told him. In the 
 (,sk of the evening, Ahamed and his reapers all came here, and they 
 fere joined by several of the neighbours, who we found held Aha- 
 jod in great repute. On the outside of the building they formed a 
 ircle, and soon began to move round the pipe. We could not find 
 ■ it their discourse, for the want of our English boys to listen to it, 
 :id give us the interpretation. Jack was asleep, and Laura was 
 ightily taken up with Bob, with whom, as it should seem, he had 
 irmerly been on very friendly terms. It was about 10 o’clock, by 
 e time they had got through with their conversation, and then they 
 sime in for supper. We of course had none till they had done, 
 
 i hen we fared better than we expected. After supper, they all 
 ent off excepting Ahamed, whom we left talking with Salear : for 
 irselves, we retired to our cabin. In the morning ot ^the 3d of 
 lay, I found that Jack had not been with us during the night, 
 hich strengthened my former suspicions of zohat decency forbids 
 \e to mention. 
 
 Ahamed appearing in a little better humour than the evening be- 
 )re, I asked him when he intended to carry us to Swearah ? He 
 nswered, As soon as his barley should be all cut and secured, all 
 T hich was nearly done already. As to the manner of their securing 
 oat barley, I have no doubt they put it under ground in the field. 
 IJjpon this, he soon went off, and returned to us again about noon, 
 ind with him came several Arabs, to whom, as it seemed, he 
 ' ras selling tobacco. The money he took had the appearance of 
 iase metal, but on examining I found it pure, but very badly 
 oined. He had several pieces of this money, which he permitted 
 ie to examine ; it appeared somewhat less than an English six- 
 pence. Observing the quantity of tobacco that he exchanged for 
 

 #ar rAUDOCIi r S X A RITA T 1 V,B« . 
 
 One of these pieces, anti making my computation from that, it brough 
 here, as nearly as I could judge, at the rate of eight Spanish dollar! 
 to the pound. As I was much attached to tobacco, I begged hin 
 for a small piece to chew. Fie refused at that time, but a littli 
 piece he gave to Laura, who put it in his mouth, which displeasin' 
 Ahamed, he said, “ Christians are bad in everything; tobacco ii 
 made to smoke, and nobody but a Christian dog would eat it/' jj 
 Finding I could get nothing by begging, I endeavoured to persuadi 
 him that if lie would give me a little, F would repay him in Swearal 
 with ten-fold the quantity ; but my promise to pay had no bette: 
 success with him than my begging,. 
 
 At the dusk of the evening, the reapers all came to us,, bringing 
 along with them a quantity of fresh beef, and we soon found fronji 
 them that the barley was all secured, and that the meat was of a covj 
 they had taken from Ahamed -‘s herd. The company that evenin; 
 was fully double im number to that of our masters w'ho they wen 
 we could not learn, but found out that some of them were from i 
 distance. They all joining in a circle' as heretofore, the master o 
 my mates now gave me his tobacco to 1 keep ; not his exclusiveh I 
 for I believe it belonged to several of them in joint partnership. I 
 was now that Rias was often called upon to- supply the pipe, and a 
 each time he carefully rolled up the skin, and tied a string aroum 
 it. Of this evening’s conversation we were the subject, and in ad 
 dition to F.aura, we now had Bob to listen for us. They talked c 
 Swearah as a place for obtaining a price for our ransom, and als 
 Elie, as a place where, though wc might not fetch so high a price, 
 it was more easy to carry us. This sort of conversation of their 
 added greatly to our troubles. To comfort us, however, we got 
 good supper of boiled meal and broiled beef, of which last each o 
 us had perhaps two ounces, and then we crawled into our cabin i 
 When we were by ourselves, this- conversation of the Arabs we talk 
 ed over together, and enjoined it upon the boys to take every op 
 portunity to learn the determination of our masters concerning us. 
 
 In the morning of the 3d of May, I took a seasonable opportunity 
 to mention to Ahamed, that as his grain was all secured, he nov 
 would be at leisure to march us on to Swearah. Salear being pre 
 sent at the time, she told her brother that I had promised to send he 
 on from that place a looking-glass, a comb, and a large handker- 
 chief. lie looked at me with a smile, and asked me if I really in 
 tended to give her the things she mentioned ?' I told him I did ; anc 
 moreover that I would give her some beads and rings for her flip! 
 gers. “ Now I believe you,” replied Ahamed ; “ you shall go soon,; 
 and you shall ride the horse I bought for Bob, as Bob,” added he 
 “ is growing stronger every clay/’ Upon, saying this, he was call , 
 ed away by some of the strangers F have spoken of, with whose 
 looks we were not pleased ; and besides, the nature of the last even 
 ing’s conversation raised a jealousy in our minds that they had beer 
 bargaining for us. When Ahamed was gone, and we left to our 
 selves again, I asked Bob if he knew where the Arabs depositee 
 their grain ? I was particularly inquisitive upon this point, because 
 
. TaDDOCtFs narrative. 
 
 e never yet Iiad seen any thing like a barn. But Bob, I found, 
 as no less ignorant of the matter than we were. 
 
 . I was soon after called away to furnish tobacco fora few who were 
 poking under the shade of the walls. When they had done, my 
 ; econd mate, who was as fond of tobacco as myself, queried with 
 le as to the propriety of robbing the pouch of a little ; we did so, 
 nd divided the spoil among such of otir -company as were tobacco 
 hewers. Not long after, some new company having come, I was 
 ailed upon again to bring the pouch ; and the fellow, -on opening 
 L charged me with stealing from it. Against that charge I defended 
 lyself as well as I could, but I was by no means -acquitted of blame, 
 ut on the contrary was threatened with severe punishment if I 
 aould ever presume to do the like again. This small supply of the 
 feed was only an aggravation, as it but increased our longing after 
 lore. For some time, however, I was unwilling to make the ha- 
 irdous attempt again ; but at last, while the Arabs now were all 
 ring asleep under the shade, I proposed it to my second mate that 
 e two should go off together to some distance, where we might 
 ave an opportunity of taking out some in such a manner as not to. 
 e suspected. For this purpose we made choice of a wheat field, 
 hich lay but a few hundred yards from us. We had entered .the 
 eld but a few paces, when we found ourselves completely hidden 
 om iheir view, even while standing up erect on our feet. Al~ 
 lough he was five feet and eleven inches in height, and myself five 
 :et and ten, the heads of the wheat were above our own heads. 
 This was the finest piece of wheat I ever saw ; it was all well head- 
 J. Had we not gone among it and took its measure, we should 
 ave known it was very tall, but never could have told how tall, 
 iter making our observations on the wheat, we sat down and com- 
 ic need the particular business that we went upon;; taking special 
 : otice of the turns of the string and knot of the pouch, in which, 
 •'hen we had unrolled it, we found two little sticks, laid in such a 
 tanner as to detect me in my nest attempt upon it, and doubtless 
 pr that purpose. Having opened the tobacco, we took out as much 
 f it as we durst, and re-placed the little sticks as exactly as possi- 
 le ; when we rolled it up again, putting round it the string just as 
 |?e found it, and hurried out of the field. 
 
 This story, trifling in itself as it may seem, goes to add to the in- 
 umerable proofs of the marvellous power of habit over the appe- 
 tites. Notwithstanding the sharp and distressing sufferings we had 
 ? >een enduring under the privation of the essential necessaries of 
 Ife, and from which we were now in some measure relieved, yet the 
 
 I ight of a useless, not to say poisonous weed, which we had beer, 
 ccustomed to, raised in us such an intolerable craving, that we were 
 eady to obtain it at every risk. 
 
 ■ Within a few minutes after we had come near our habitation, I 
 [ Leard myself called, the Arabs having now assembled within the 
 rails, and formed their circle for smoking. I gave the fellow that 
 ailed upon me the tobacco pouch, and upon opening it, and finding 
 he turns of the strings all right, and the two sticks remaining just as he 
 
100 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 supposed he had left them, he turned to Ahamed and said, £ * He 1 
 not opened it this time and he went on to make some obser 
 tions concerning my taking some of his tobacco before, directing 
 speech to Ahamed, who swore in great anger that if 1 should to 
 the least piece of tobacco from his pouch, he would kill me. P 
 sently, however, the conversation took a different turn, and tli 
 went on in their usual way with their pipe and their stories. Sale 
 since the time I had promised her some presents from Swearah, I 
 
 been a little more accommodating toward me. In the dusk of the evi 
 
 ing, I found Ahamed with her, and the boy Jack sitting by their si 
 and I ventured to place myself among them. She reminded me of 
 promise I had made her, of the glass, and those several other thir 
 which the women there so highly value ; and I at the same time 
 lemnly declared to her that I would fulfil that promise. 'Upon tl 
 Ahamed made some inquiries of me with regard to the manufactures 
 my own country, which I answered as well as I could ; and I took i 
 liberty to tell him how much better he would be treated than we 1 
 been, if by accident he should be thrown on our shore ; that in si 
 an event, instead of being held in bondage, and sold from tribe 
 tribe, our Sultan would have him conducted back to his native coi 
 try in safety: whereas he still held us in slavery, and several p 
 sons had been here already in order to purchase us for market™ 
 the interior ; and all this, notwithstanding he could get a great p 
 for our ransom from our Consul, who was distant only a few dc 
 journey. 
 
 He heard me out, and then warmly retorted upon me as follott 
 u You say; if 1 were in your country, your people would treat 
 better than I treat you : there is no truth in you ; if I were there 
 should be doomed to perpetual slavery, and be put to the hard 
 labour, in tilling your ground •, you are too lazy to work yourseh 
 in your fields, and therefore send your ships to the negro coast, a 
 in exchange for your useless trinkets with which you cheat the pc 
 negroes, you take away ship-loads of them to your country, fre 
 which never one returns ; and had your own ship escaped our shoil. 
 you yourself would now be taking off the poor negroes to everla 
 mg slavery.” 
 
 Although the purpose and concerns of my voyage had been ve 
 different from what Ahamed suspected, yet I felt the sting of this i 
 proachof his, in a manner that I can never forget. Before I coti| 
 make any reply to him, lie turned to Jack, who confirmed what 
 had then said. It appeared that Jack, often before, had told the] 
 that the English ship in which he had been wrecked was bound 
 the negro coast for slaves, and he acknowledged he had told the| 
 how the negroes were treated in the West Indies. The Arabs ther 
 selves make slaves of all the negroes that come within their powe 
 but Jack had told them that we make slaves of every man of a dai 
 skin, and whether negro or Arab we cared not. There was so muc 
 truth in the cutting reproach which Ahamed bestowed on Christian 
 so called, that prudence dictated silence on my part, at that time 
 grid indeed at any other time I must have admitted that, what he sai 
 
FABDOOk’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 10 ! 
 
 as but ‘too true. After this unpleasant discourse was ended, we 
 
 I it silent for some time, and then Ahamed says to me, “ In a day or 
 vo we shall be ready to depart.” 
 
 On the 3d of May, we were visited by a great number of stran- 
 brs, who, in one of their smoking parties, fell into much debate 
 nong themselves ; and as there was no dependence upon Jack, I 
 ssired Laura and Bob to get within hearing, and endeavour to 
 arn the subject of it ; and Laura being a very artful boy, laid 
 iwn near them, and feigned himself asleep. Their conversation, 
 
 > I was informed by him, was principally relating to the manner in 
 hich they might dispose of us to the best advantage. One of the 
 rangers that were there, asserted that the English consul was una- 
 le to buy so many of us, and that if they should carry us to Elie, 
 e Jews there would -buy us all. Others objected to that plan, and 
 :id, the plague still raged in Elie, for which reason we should not 
 
 I tch any thing there, or, at most, according to the last accounts, not 
 awards of thirteen dollars each. Again, there were some of them 
 ho thought it best to divide us into two separate companies, and 
 [my a part of us to Elie, and the rest to Swearah, alleging that 
 e younger one's especially, would go off best at the Elie market, 
 hey broke up at last, without coming to any settled determination 
 inspecting the manner of disposing of us. 
 
 After Laura and Bob had joined us, and given us information of 
 hat had been going on, we were very much alarmed. As soon as 
 1 opportunity offered, I talked with our chief about Swearah ; 1 
 Id him how many friends i had there, and how rich the consul was, 
 \f this means opening the way for him to make his remarks upon 
 iat subject. He, upon this, expressing some doubts as to the ivealth 
 : the consul, I endeavoured to explain to him that the consul was 
 at to pay for our ransom in his own individual or private capacity; 
 iat it was our king, or sultan, (as he termed it,) to whom the consul 
 ?nt for money, and of whom he had it whenever he wanted it. This 
 :emed to satisfy him for the moment. The conversation 1 had 
 ith him he then rapeated to the others, but they did not believe 
 hat I had said. Some of our chiefs, said they, have lately been 
 : Swearah, and have reported that the consul there is poor ; that he 
 ept no horses nor servants, nor bought goats 5 skins, sheep’s wool, 
 or any thing else. However, Ahamed said at last, that we were all 
 ) go olf to-morrow, and that preparations for it were then making ; 
 lis we had already discovered of ourselves, by their grinding bar- 
 i iy, and by certain other kinds of business which we perceived them 
 ■Usily engaged about. Bed time now came, and we crawled into 
 
 i ur room, and went to sleep. 
 
 On the morning of the 4th of May, ive were awaked early, and 
 )und them all in a hurry at preparing for a departure. At about 
 o’clock we took our leave of this horrid place, when Salear fol- 
 nved us out of die yard, and, with her last farewell, bawled out to 
 ' ie, “Rais, remember my things.” To which I briefly answered, 
 
 1 should not forget her ; nor did I ever forget her, nor ever shall I. 
 he was about the ugliest looking woman I ever saw, about four feet 
 
102 
 
 VABDOCK/S NARRATIVES. 
 
 and six inches high, squab, or thick round, ill shaped, petala: 
 crabbed, savagely ferocious, and all this in the very worst sense 
 the words. Her dress was nothing but a nearly worn out haic 
 which she wrapped round her, so as to extend from considerat 
 above her kness to considerably below her breasts, which were era 
 mously large. Her cheek bones were high, her eyes small a 
 black, her colour that of dark copper ; her teeth were line, a 
 were the only clean things we discerned about her. W e all had rt 
 son enough to remember her. Forget you! no no, Salear, It: 
 never forget you. 
 
 I mounted the old horse that had been bought for Bob, and i 
 took the foot path leading down the valley, near the place whe 
 lived the old man who had brought us the honeycomb. The 
 seemed much more harmony among our present owners than the 
 had been among those who had owned us before ; I say our presi 
 owners, because we found that another barter had been made wi 
 us at the last stopping place, and that some of us had been sold 
 the new comers. There were of them eighteen in number, and hxj 
 we had been apportioned among them it was hard for us to find ofj 
 In following this valley down we discovered some trees, and tl 
 was a sight new to us, as we had before seen nothing deserving t 
 name of tree. On one of these trees I discovered figs growing, a 
 some others of them had the appearance of olive trees; the Aral 
 did not seem willing that we should examine them. The couti 
 of the valley was about north-east; and after travelling neap 
 four miles, and passing several habitations like the one that we h 
 left, we turned off to the right. While passing over very liii 
 ground, from the tops of these hills we could sometimes see fifty, 
 more, of such dwellings as have already been described by m< 
 some of them, however, were very large, with enclosures of two i 
 three hundred yards square, as seemed from their appearance. 0 
 leaders appeared not disposed to make a halt abreast of any 
 them, without being desired to do it by some of the inhabitant: 
 they rather chose to avoid these places, and so drove on with 
 much speed as they could well make. By this time our people 
 shoes were all worn out, and the skin of the cow, killed at Ahamed i 
 field, had furnished them with sandals. My boots had been wo: 
 out, and gone, long before, but Ahamed, to my great relief, he 
 found a pair of old, but very good shoes, which no doubt had b 
 longed to some unfortunate sailor. Here, though somewhat out 
 place, I will observe, that many of the Arabs, particularly the mo ; 
 able ones, carry along with them, and occasionally wear, a hcacle 
 cloak, much resembling in shape those worn in this country by tl 
 quaker women, and when-they are on a journey, they tie up the 
 meal in the head of this cloak, which hangs down their back, be- 
 tween their shoulders. 
 
 By noon, Bob complained of fatigue, and could not keep up wit 
 the company, and to him 1 gave up the old horse, and made out mj 
 self to get along tolerably well on foot. About the middle of tl 
 afternoon we halted in a valley, where we found an old well, fro. 
 
paddock's starkative. 
 
 1 0,j 
 
 tich each of us got a good drink of water, and had with it a very 
 jail quantity of raw meal ; and then we hastened on again, over 
 fcly land, all abounding with wheat and barley, and well stocked 
 v.h very large flocks and herds of sheep, goats, and camels, Yvith. 
 t ir keepers. Some of these flocks require three shepherds to 
 Ibh, to keep them, especially during the growth of the grain. Upon 
 lung such immense flocks, I asked Ahamed (yyJio now' and then 
 Yuld talk with me freely for a short time) about the value of their 
 £ ck ; and, from what I could learn of him, a sheep was rated at 
 tween two and three ounces, a cow (their cows were very small) 
 ■from thirteen to eighteen ounces, a jack at two ounces, and a goat 
 ■two ; an ounce, with them, being the tYvelfth part of a dollar. A 
 enmon horse w 7 as three dollars, and a fine one thirteen. Ahamed, 
 a^r giving me this information, was silent. 
 
 n this afternoon’s march yvg found the travelling very bad, and 
 Irse, as we thought, than it would have been if Yve had kept near- 
 e:he habitations that yvc so frequently saw, for there the foot paths 
 *re smooth. At dusk we got into a good path, and w r ere walking 
 »ng very moderately, Ahamed, Jack, and myself, ahead of the 
 
 I t, when the old man said, if he got as much money for us as he 
 ;ht, he should be rich. I replied to him, that he should be well 
 d, and that no danger was to be apprehended on that score, 
 cr a feYV minutes silence, he accosted me in the following man- 
 : “ There is no confidence to be placed in Christians, for Yvhen- 
 r they come ashore on our coast, and are not immediately disco- 
 rd by us, they bury their money in the sand, as you yourself 
 r e done, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the true be- 
 r ers. This can do you no good, and it is our property. -We 
 py earnestly to the Almighty God to send Christians ashore here; 
 I'hears our prayers, and often sends us some good ships, and if 
 vi did as you ought to do, we should have the full benefit of theme" 
 then asked him if it ever happened that the crews of the ships 
 cning ashore there had all perished, or been destroyed ? To that 
 ipstion he ansYvered, “It has happened, and it was the will of 
 ( d. If they had been spared, they would have secreted their 
 insure, Yvhereas by destroying the whole of them, Yve got all they 
 Id.” After this, he went on to relate to me the folfoYving story: 
 fence,” said Ahamed, “ there came ashore a very large ship. It 
 rng some time before the creYv Yvere discovered, they had landed 
 a their property, and had covered themselves Yvith their sails, 
 lien they were discovered, a small tribe Yvent down to take the in 
 i::> their possession, but they fired at our men, and some of them 
 By killed. Exasperated by being fired at by such dogs, they fell 
 mn them furiously, and many Yvere killed on both sides. Our men, 
 filing the enemy so strong, fell back, and sending up for help, 
 fother tribe Yvent doYvn. They noYV endeavoured to shoYv to tho 
 iemy by signs, that to themselves belonged the property, and thev 
 !r st give it up. But not being able to come to an understanding 
 v.h these men by signs, so as to obtain Yvhat they had with them ii> 
 tit Yvoy. they drew up towards them in order to take itbv force— 
 
104 
 
 PADDOCIi's NARRATIVE. 
 
 As soon as our men came within gun-shot, they were fired at 1 
 them ; the fire was returned, and all fought hard, but our men, r) 
 being able to get at them with their long knives, were repulsed t 
 second time. They then sent up again, and I, getting informal! 
 
 There were now tin 
 
 of it, went down, with all my fighting men. 
 
 tribes of us, and we had more men than the Christians ; and as i 
 
 tribe was the largest, the command of the whole was given to n 
 We got down in the night, and having been running for three da - 
 I thought it best not to attack them till the morning, judging ll 
 when they should see our numbers they would yield to us* At df 
 light I saw them, and made signs to them to lay down their an: 
 upon which their camp seemed all in confusion. At the momi 
 we were prepared to attack them they formed themselves in a ck 
 body, ana begun to march off eastward. We formed ourselves 
 three divisions, according to our tribes, and the chief of each tri 
 led on his own men. My tribe, together with one of the other t\ 
 got in their front, and the remaining tribe was on their side. 1 
 all begun oar attack at once, and, after fighting a long time, we 1: 
 killed half of those dogs, and then the remnant left alive laid do 
 their arms. We now all dropped our guns, and fell upon them w 
 our long knives, and every one of them we killed; and their wh 
 number we found to be upwards of five hundred. 
 
 “ After we had gone through wil 
 them all, and left their bodies lying on the ground, and went baci< 
 the ship, and found that they had landed great quantities of goo 
 In the ship we found guns, iron, sails, powder, and many other thiilj 
 valuable to us ; they had in the ship large guns, such as they ha 
 you know, upon the walls of Swearah. When we had collected 
 
 these things together, and burnt .the ship, we sent for our cam< 
 
 and carried them home, and sold them about the country. We 
 a great deal of booty, but we lost more than a hundred of our it| 
 killed in battle.” — Thus ended the story of Ahamed, which he 
 late 
 
 throughout 
 
 in a secmin; 
 
 ;ly natural manner, and with so mi! 
 
 particularity, that he described the coats of the officers, and ei| 
 their buttons. 
 
 When he had done, I asked him if they had landed casks, r 
 whether they had built stone huts, and covered them with their sa 
 and several other questions I put to him relative to what we 1| 
 seen near the harbour. He remained silent till he had heard 
 through, and then turned me off with this short answer — “ Tha 
 none of your concern.” Nevertheless, 1 ventured to inquire of ij 
 as to the lime when that afl’air happened. But his reply to me rj 
 the same as before, nor could I ever afterwards get one word rm 
 from him about it. Whenever 1 attempted it, he would turn to Ja 
 and ask him what it was for that 1 wanted to know concerning l 
 matter ? Upon inquiry, I found that Jack hod never heard this st< 
 before, nor had either of the two other English boys. 
 
 For myself, I was fully satisfied that the crew of the frigate wbl 
 was wrecked on that coast not very long before, had all been m - 
 my companions in misfortune were of the same o 
 
 dered, and all 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 105 
 
 ion. And now, having expressed my own belief, I will leave it to 
 iiy readers to judge for themselves, after comparing together all the 
 ircumstances. 
 
 I believe it was ten o’clock by the time Ahamed had gone through 
 ith his story, and at that time our attention was struck by the bark- 
 ig of dogs ahead of us, indicating some kind of alarm ; for those 
 rabs who live in fixed habitations keep dogs, which spring upon 
 te top of the wall, and bark there, to give the alarm whenever any 
 jersons are approaching. We soon got under the walls, and had a 
 ttle meal boiled, and went to sleep, after having this day travelled 
 venty-five miles at the least. 
 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 r I 
 
 pother reservoir on our road — Raw meal of more lasting nourishment than meal boil, 
 ed — Our arrival to the sea — The terrific appearance of its margin — The Foulahs, a 
 pacific sect of Arabs, resembling the shaking quakers — Our passage through avast 
 swarm of locusts — The manner of their array — The tents, and the craft, of Arabian 
 v fishermen — The desolate tents of a tribe destroyed by the piague — An assemblage 
 of women taunt and dismount us — The ruins of a town, whose inhabitants Jiad been 
 all massacred on a religious pretence— Our visit to the tribe of Ahamed’s brother — • 
 The mutual salutations of the (wo brothers, and the ceremonious observances be- 
 tween them— The murder committed by Ahamed’s brother, on his own wife, for 
 (scanting our food — His indifference about her while she lay a dying — A speculator 
 comes to buy us for re-sale— His singular looks and garb — The pictorial beauty of 
 his horse— The manner of his chaffering for us — Our extreme agitation. 
 
 I 
 
 ( On the 5th of May, at dawn, we started forward, and travelled 
 bout east-north-east, leaving most of the habitations on our right. 
 1 this morning’s travel we discovered, about their settlements, a 
 ireat many more trees than we had seen before, which we took to 
 fce of the olive and the fig ; and we also perceived that their gar- 
 lens were becoming more spacious. At about the hour of ten we 
 ime to a grand reservoir of water, resembling the one that I have 
 ■escribed already, and we found the bowl in the like situation ; 
 ■ere we feasted well. The Arabs, after drinking, mixed up a quan- 
 tify of meal and water, and eat of it ; their leavings were given us, 
 i nd in greater plenty than usual. Before this time we had made 
 le discovery that raw meal was of more service to us than that 
 Inch was cooked, as we were not so soon hungry again after eat- 
 )g it. This difference we attributed to its being slower of diges- 
 on, and of course lying longer in the stomach ; the professional 
 l. entlemen may perhaps assign a better reason, but we could not. 
 j ffter this repast, we travelled in a north-east course, which, by 
 oon, brought us to the sea, when we betook ourselves along the 
 each, and were overtaken by an Arab travelling eastward, who 
 ?as invited by our Arabs to accompany us. The wind blew strong, 
 t about four points on shore, which hove on it a very heavy surf, 
 "he' water, by beating against the rocks that lay below the sandy 
 each, was in such agitation, that the foam extended fifty yards, or 
 lore, into the sea. To us it appeared, that a ship lying among 
 
 14 
 
106 
 
 faddock’s narrative. 
 
 these rocks, must go to pieces in a very few minutes, and that th<!- 
 would be but very little chance, or rather none, of a single pers 
 reaching the shore in safety. We continued along shore all the ; 
 ternoon ; the cause of their taking this route was unknown to us, 1 
 Laura thought it was to avoid their being seen by their enemf 
 At dusk we left the sea, and soon came in sight of inhabitants, w 
 accosted our Arabs in their usual way. For a few minutes i 
 stopped near one of their dwellings, and there got some water, aj 
 progressed onward; we perceived that they were in fear of somj 
 thing. We travelled till about nine in the evening, and then brougj 
 to, near a dwelling place. There we cooked some meal over t| 
 fire, and lay down, and slept, but not so comfortably as before ; fj 
 being near the sea, and the wind high, it was very cold there. T1 
 day we had travelled thirty miles. 
 
 On the morning of the 7th, we started away early from our loci: 
 ing place, which was about three miles from the sea ; the couni I 
 back was high and uneven, and appeared fertile, and the lit' 
 towns, as they may be called, became more numerous. I will he 
 observe, that when pieces of land walled in, contain each an hij 
 dred inhabitants, or more, I call them towns, and they are probal 
 very like to some of those which, in holy writ, are called citii 
 About ten o’clock we saw a town, larger than we had hitherto set 
 and lying in the direction we were travelling. The sun was nil 
 uncommonly hot, and we suffered for want of water ; yet the Aral 
 had no disposition to turn olf to procure any, but continued to leal 
 all the settlements on our right. They promised to stop at t| 
 place we saw ahead, where, they said, we might get a plenty, a 1 , 
 rest ourselves, without any danger. It was evident that they we 
 in continual fear of disturbance from some quarter or other, a, l 
 therefore they hurried on. When we had approached near, \ 1 
 saw no dog, which was a circumstance very uncommon in these sil 
 dements. Going round the north side of this town, we proceeded! 
 its eastern side, where was their gateway, and we saw lying befo 
 it a man, who, at first, we thought was dead. We stood, and shoj 
 ed ourselves before the gate, but none took notice of us. One 
 the boys speaking to the man that was lying on the ground, ] 
 awoke out of his sleep ; the Arabs then spoke to him, and ask* 1 
 him for a bowl to drink out of; without making any reply, he wal 
 ed into the yard, and disappeared from our sight. As we stoo 
 facing the gatewmy, we saw men, women, and children, all seer 
 ingly engaged in their o'.vn particular occupations, and paying i 
 attention to us. Ahamed, upon this, often exclaimed fonla, lafon 
 — bad , very bad. This kind of behaviour of theirs appeared veJ 
 singular to us, as in all other settlements where we had halted, the 
 whole families were out among us as soon as possible, to grati 
 their curiosity, and to turn us into ridicule. Here the manner 
 the families was quite the reverse of what we had ever seen in th 
 barbarous country before, and we could not conjecture the cause 1 
 it. Ahamed, after he had repeatedly called for a bowl, but was ui 
 jiecded, ordered Jack to go into the yard, and take one. The be 
 
paddock’s narrative,. 
 
 10 1 
 
 * ml in, and walked nearly across the yard before he could find a 
 twl ; he took it away, and came to the well, which was near by, 
 
 I d we all d rank. When done, A'named says, “ Go on. and let the 
 >wl lie where it is, you shall not carry, it back.” As we walked 
 ') we found Ahamed in no condition to be talked to ; he went along 
 th the rest ol them, muttering as he went. I was waiting only for 
 opportunity to question him concerning the very thing, which, of 
 5 own accord, he at length began to speak about. “ Such fel- 
 vs,” said he, “are not fit to live.” Upon my asking him who 
 ?y were ? “ They belong,” he replied, “ to a sect called Foulah ; 
 :y n °t mix with the other inhabitants, but choose to live al- 
 jether by themselves, and arc so stupid, that if the Emperor of 
 irocco should march an army to cut off the whole race of them, 
 •y would not defend themselves, but would die like fools as they 
 ! «” I asked him il they used lire arms. “ No,” he says, “they 
 nkc no use of them, and if God were pleased to send a Christian 
 ip ashore near them, they would not seize upon the goods, nor 
 (non the men, nor would they buy a slave of any kind.” I asked 
 liamed il they were numerous ? “ No,” he said, “ they arc not nu- 
 Iprous ; but the dwellings you sec, on the sides of the hills yonder,. 
 i;e theirs, and in many other places are they to be found, and 
 liereverthey arc, they always keep together by themselves.” Fi- 
 dly, I asked him if they were Mahometans ? “ Yes,” he answered, 
 'they arc, or else we would destroy them ; they are poor ignorant 
 jigs, and but little better than the Christians.” 
 
 By some parts of Ahamed’s description of the Foulahs, I was re- 
 i.nded of the religious sect among us, commonly called Shaking 
 (.takers ; a harmless, industrious, honest people, who keep by them- 
 ilves, and avoid intermixing with those of the other Christian sects. 
 From what little I could discover by looking through the gaie- 
 ty, these Foulahmen were taller than the generality of the wild 
 •abs, and looked considerably like the American Indians in their 
 'lour and shape, and like them, were tail and straight ; the women 
 jopeared to me better clad, and a little more decent as to their ap- 
 . irel, and also taller, and better shaped, than the other Arabian 
 amen that we had seen. However, my situation allowed me only 
 i imperfect view, and perhaps I was prejudiced toward them by 
 
 t ihamed’s testimony in their favour; I say in their favour , because 
 e most of what he related to reproach them, I thought was to their 
 ■aise. We had only a slight glance into their garden, which ap- 
 tared well ; there were there several fruit trees, some of them in 
 taring, and also pompions and onions of a goodly appearance ; 
 tsides these there were many grape vines in bearing, and many 
 her things that looked well. 
 
 We set forward, and continued along near the shore, in about an 
 ist-north-east course, till near sunset, and then turned off to about 
 south-east course, which we pursued till near eight o’clock, when 
 e heard the barking of the dogs. We soon came to a cluster of 
 nts, belonging to a small tribe of Ahamed’s acquaintance. Salu- 
 tions were now exchanged as usual, and we were well received. 
 
108 
 
 I’ADOOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 * 
 
 Being very hungry at the time, as we had taken bat little all tl 
 day, Ahamed asked for a supper for us, and we at last got son 
 boiled meal. A part of their conversation among themselves th 
 evening was, as we learned, concerning the plague in the interio 
 which, by this time, had nearly subsided ; we also were given 
 understand that questions were asked concerning the price of slav* 
 in the interior. This was a piece of information very saddening 
 us ; but the fatigue of our bodies predominating over the anxiety 
 our minds, we laid down to sleep, after having travelled 25 miles : 
 least. 
 
 On the Gth of May, so early in the morning that the stars were sti 
 visible in the sky, we proceeded on in a south-east course. Aboil 
 sunrise we discovered that the ground ahead was very black, an 
 could not conjecture the cause ; but we soon came to it, and foun 
 there a swarm of locusts travelling southward. The edge, or side < 
 them, was as straight as a line ; they were thicker than they couh 
 all stand together on the ground • so numerous were they that the 
 crawled over one another’s backs, all struggling hard to get along. Tl 
 feet of our camel crushed them at every step, and at every step the 
 blood gushed out in a manner shocking to behold ; the moment tl 
 camel lifted up his foot, his footstep was filled with living locus 
 crawling over the carcasses of the crushed ones. Whether we lool 
 ed to the north or to the south, we could see no end to them ; the 
 covered the ground for about half a mile in width; the eastern sic 
 of them was as straight as the western. We saw no straggling one: 
 nor did they fly ; they were about three inches in length, and w] 
 concluded that they were young ones that had not the use of wings 5 
 This was the only swarm of locusts that we saw. All the while w 
 were passing over them, the Arabs were muttering over somethin 
 to themselves. 
 
 After leaving this formidable army of invaders, We proceeded 0 
 southerly, and about ten o’clock we got some water, and a little ra\ 
 meal, and, while eating it, w r e heard the noise of horses coming to 
 wards us, which soon made their appearance. Two men rod 
 up to us, and, in a very imperious tone, demanded of us who w 
 were, and to what place we were bound. Ahamed told them h 
 ■was from his tribe on the edge of the desert, and was bound ti 
 Swearah to sell his slaves. They replied, “It is not best to car 
 ry them there ; at Elic the Jews will give more for them than th< 
 consul at Swearah, and besides, as the plague has carried off s< 
 many of the inhabitants, these slaves should be kept at least tili tin 
 harvest, which is now coming on, shall be over.” These stranger 
 had with our Arabs some private talk, which we could not overhear 
 and then they went on, and we continued our journey. Our pros 
 pects now looked squally, and we were in great tribulation. I watch I 
 ed for an opportunity to talk with Ahamed, but he was uncommonly 
 petulant. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon we met two men on foot, 0 
 whom one was an old man, whose head was quite bald. It seemcc 
 that Ahamed knew him from a distance. When they met, each put 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 109 
 
 ! |s right hand upon the head of the other, and inquired “ Are you 
 'dl ?” Then each kissed the other’s hand, and each inquired of the 
 iher, “ How did you leave your children ? How is it with all your 
 lends?” This subject of inquiry continued with them for some 
 mutes, when Ahamed asked him how the plague was in his neigh- 
 lliurhood, and in Elic. In my neighbourhood,” replied the old 
 lin, “ the plague has subsided, but in Elic it still rages, and if you 
 Irry your Christian slaves there they will all die ; at this time they 
 I'ntld not fetch enough to pay you for the trouble of carrying them.” 
 nis talk continued for a quarter of an hour, and then, after they 
 Id had a little private conversation with our Arabs, the two men 
 vmt on. We now changed our course to the east-north-east. Whe- 
 br this change took place in consequence of that meeting, I did 
 it certainly know, but thought it very probable. The country 
 |w differed but a very little from the account that I have given of 
 i before ; the settlements became more frequent, and the trees, on 
 jti sides of the hills,, were much larger, the trunks of many of them 
 ling from 18 to 24 inches in diameter, but none grew to the height 
 <more than from 20 to 50 feet, with tops branching out and bushy, 
 1 e the live oak of Georgia. 
 
 All along from the time of our leaving the grain field we had our 
 firs that our destination was not fixed on Swearah, and every day 
 cded to those fears. Avarice was the ruling passion of our owners, 
 td that was governed altogether by their present interest ; if they 
 mid have obtained as much money by putting us to death as by 
 sling us, 1 verily believe they would not have hesitated to kill us 
 i. the spot, any more than we should to kill a dog ; for of humane 
 1 dings towards Christians they were completely devoid. 
 
 Not long after tve had changed our course to the east-north-east, 
 had an opportunity of talking with Ahamed, and I endeavoured to 
 ■nvince him (of what I had often tried in vain to convince him be- 
 tf'e) that there was not the least doubt but the consul would be hap- 
 f to see us, his brethren, in Swearah, and would immediately pay 
 f' our ransom ; that it was not his money which would be paid for 
 t but money belonging to our sultan, who always took care of his 
 gajects. Altamed’s reply was, “ If I were sure of that , you should 
 Ive your freedom in a few days.” We soon altered our course so 
 fas brought it to the north-east, and avoiding the principal, or 
 rist noted places, and crossing but an indifferently looking coun- 
 t', where there was but little grain growing, though there were many 
 1 ge flocks in the valley, we came, late in the afternoon, to a small 
 the of about from twenty to thirty tents; they looked almost as 
 ]or as those upon the edge of the desert. Here we got a little 
 l ter, and as we proceeded on we found the country more and 
 tire barren, and here and there some small drifts of sand, and, be- 
 f e night, no habitations at all were to be seen ; all around us were 
 Wen sands and sharp rocks, with not a tree or a shrub to enliven 
 t' dreary prospect. Their object in taking this northerly course 
 i s, as we were informed by them, to avoid bad men. We conti- 
 ■ id in it till eight or nine o’clock, and then, instead of burrowing 
 
110 
 
 paddock’s narrative.* 
 
 on a hill according to their usual manner, they brought us to in ti 
 deepest part of a hollow. As taking up our lodging upon a hill lit 
 always been contrary to our inclinations, we now anticipated a mo . 
 comfortable one, but were soon convinced that this situation w: 
 much colder than even the highlands ; for, a current of wind pasi 
 ing through that valley, it blew a very strong gale all the nigh 
 This day we had travelled more than thirty miles, when we g 
 stowed much as usual, as close together as possible ; and we oi 
 served that the Arabs birthed themselves around us. It was abo 
 this time that we parted with our horse, on what account I don’t di 
 linctly remember, but think it v'as because he was tired out, orun 
 ble to travel. 
 
 On the 9th we were up at dawn, and moved on to a hill that w: 
 less than three hundred yards from the place where we had slej 
 when there opened to our view the ocean not half a mile off, and < 
 the beach at least a dozen large fishing boats, with a number 
 fishermens’ huts near the shore. This accounts for our being plact; 
 in the valley the night before, and for the Arabs so cautious; 
 birthing themselves around us to prevent our escape. We we 
 to the beach, and there found all the boats in good order, the oa 
 and poles lying on the thwarts, in a situation to be launched off 
 any moment. O how w'C regretted that we did not know of this 
 season, so as to have had an opportunity to make use of these boat 
 which might have carried us to the Canaries in a very short timi 
 It seemed at the time that the Arabs could read our very hearts, 
 do not now recollect what was said by (hem on that occasion, fu 
 ther than this ; one of them asked one of our boys if we knew how 
 manage such boats, laughing the meanwhile. He added, “then 
 are several other fishing places on this coast.” These fishermc 
 appeared to be very poor. 
 
 After getting some water, which was very bad, we marched c 
 several miles along the sea coast, and then turned off, in about s 
 east-south-cast direction, and soon discovered inhabitants. As v 
 advanced from the sea the country appeared better ; the soil, and tf 
 fields of grain, nearly resembled what we had seen before ; the law 
 whenever we had an opportunity to examine it, appeared a fir 
 gravel ; the trees were more common, and, in many places, wen 
 some small groves, also many fig trees, though with but little lrui 
 We passed by many large habitations, all which we were careful tj 
 avoid. Having had nothing yet to eat, we complained of hunge 
 which could not be satisfied at present, as our stock of meal was ge 
 ting very short ; but Ahamed told us he had a brother living not ft 
 off, with whom we should be in a day or two, and then we shoul 
 have enough. Very soon after we came to a place where a gfes 
 number of tents were struck. We viewed them, and found, by oi, 
 Arabs, that the inhabitants had mostly died of the plague, and tht 
 when the tribe became reduced to a very few, those few survivoi 
 took all the furniture and turned it upside down, hauled out the ter 
 poles, and let the whole fall to the ground, where it remained un 
 touched ever after ; that such was their law, that when a whole faflii 
 
padbock’s narrative. Ill 
 
 died of that disease, no one might take their bowl to dip with, even 
 ough he were perishing for water, nor could their flocks be taken 
 ossession of by any process, but were left to run at large, till some 
 le unknowing to whom they had belonged, takes them under his own 
 s ;eping, and makes proclamation of it for a given time, after which 
 r none should have appeared to elaim them, they are to belong to 
 le present possessor. 
 
 r We had our fears of some infection still remaining there, and kept 
 i;a little distance. As to the Arabs, they all fell upon their knees, 
 ltd made a long prayer. Upon our removing but a few rods from 
 is scene of desolation, we discovered their garden, and getting 
 ier the fence, each of us took away a pompion, and was eating of 
 3 with greediness, when the Arabs perceiving it, they with great 
 Iste deprived us of all that we had not yet swallowed, which was 
 it a little, for we had nearly eat a raw pompion each. The curses 
 l;y so liberally heaped upon us for this offence were but little re* 
 ■<rded. One of the boys lagged behind, and got one large piece 
 i*iich had been taken from us, a share of which fell to me, and it 
 feted really well. 
 
 Late in the afternoon we came to a tribe of about fifty tents, 
 nere we stopped. All along it had appeared that our Arabs had 
 Is objection to visiting the tented tribes, than those that lived in 
 irmanent dwellings ; the reason for it we could not conjecture, as 
 ; the tribes seemed to consist of the same sort of people, excepting 
 83 Foulahs. It was full time to stop and get rest and refreshment, 
 * most of us were very much worn down with fatigue, and bitten 
 f hunger, after having travelled far, with but little nutriment. The 
 j'abs were well received here, but as to ourselves, no wdtere had 
 v been so much ridiculed. They were not sparing of their vile 
 (ithets, so common to these people, who had ever viewed us as a 
 jor degraded set of beings, hardly fit to live in the world. The 
 omen were foremost in insolence and abuse, and their children not 
 i- behind them. Most of the men were in the harvest field, at work 
 i cutting their grain, which was inferior, both in quantity and 
 (ality, to what we had generally seen. Here we got water, and a 
 Ule raw meal. Ahamed here bought three asses, to assist us along 
 i our journey ; one he gave me, and the other two were used among 
 ! alternately, as the needs of our men required. We now were 
 ; le to move more speedily than we could for the last several days ; 
 83 little animals were in excellent order. With the raw pompion, 
 ;d the little meal we had eat, and the water we had drank, we felt 
 nch more comfortable. The land had been less hilly since we 
 i me from the fishing huts, than we had found it before. 
 
 Towards night we came to large clusters of trees, some of which 
 ;re forty, and others perhaps fifty feet high ; there were some of 
 Rem that produced a fruit, or a vegetable, much like our beans, 
 e gathered of it, and, on opening the pods, we found in them some 
 :eds, about four or five in each. This fruit was nauseous to the 
 ;te, and while we were chewing it, the Arabs called out to us fon - 
 ; — had. As we could get no nourishment from these pods, we de* 
 
112 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 sisted from gathering them ; but though the fruit was worthless, t 
 trees were very handsome. We did not get through or beyo 
 them, till after dark, when we heard the dogs barking ahead, a 
 soon came to a tribe of about thirty tents, where the Arabs were i 
 ceived as usual. At about 9 o’clock we got some boiled meal, a 
 some indifferent water. We were so fatigued that the boys coi 
 not, as usual, attend to overhearing their conversation ; in fact, th< 
 and most of us all, were asleep before we had got any thing to e 
 We discovered that the meal now given us was from new gra 
 The distance of this day’s travel we computed to be more than th 
 ty miles ; after which we slept well through the night. 
 
 In the morning of the 8th we. started on early; our asses look 
 as if they had been well fed, but with what we did not know, 
 the sun arose over the land, we found it differed considerably in a 
 pearance from what it had been ; it had now become more hilly, a 
 
 might perhaps be properly called mountainous. About four 
 
 nu 
 
 after we had started we came to a tribe of nearly fifty tents. T 
 Arabs not intending to stop here, hurried on as fast as possible, 
 we approached, the women and the children, together with a f 
 men, came out, and made of the Arabs some inquiries, which we t 
 
 not understand ; while these inquiries were making, we were 
 moving on, as our Arabs were determined not to stop. The worn 
 ridiculed us as we passed along, and bawled out to us, “ You swin 
 looking dogs, go to your own country, we don’t want you here 
 Those of us who rode on the asses were behind the rest, and af 
 us in particular these women ran, and, in a few minutes dismoun! 
 us, taking the asses away, and laughing immoderately all the tin 
 We cried out for help, and the Arabs discovering the sad plight 
 were in, came back to us, and, with much persuasion, regained 
 us our beasts, at the same time blaming us for being behind 
 
 soon came to the field where were the men belonging to this tril 
 
 but we halted with them only a few minutes, just long enough to c 
 swer their inquiries, and then pushed on 
 
 There was now in our view a large town, or city, covering, 1 
 should suppose, two or three acres of ground. The walls appear 
 from ten to twenty feet high ; on the north side was a large brea 
 in the wall; the Arabs were looking at it, and talking about it, wh i 
 Jack and myself were both sitting on the animals we rode, and Ai 
 med perceiving us looking that way, asked Jack if there were su 
 large cities in England ? The boy told him there were much larg 
 
 ones there. Upon which Ahamed went on to say, this city vv 
 
 destroyed, and every soul put to death ; that he was at the sie^ 
 with all his tribe, and he exultingly added, “ We spared none, 
 even the children !” I asked him the cause of that massacre ; 
 which he replied, “ It contained bad men ; wicked men, who fear 
 not God, and did not live like true lfiussulmen.” While I was e 
 deavouring to get more of that story, he often put his hand to 1 
 scimitar, and boastingly said, “ I myself killed a great many.” B 
 not inclining to let rne know any more of it, he left us, and join' 
 the Arabs, who were ahead, singing and shouting, no doubt for j 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 113 
 
 th the thoughts of that horrible catastrophe. We had seen two 
 three of such ruined towns before, but, until now, we had thought 
 it their walls had probably been suffered to fall by neglect. Alter 
 jad heard this story of Ahamed, I had no scruple of their having 
 en destroyed by the natives, in their wars with each other, and 
 pretences perhaps trivial in themselves. 
 
 After we had left this place about two miles on our right, we 
 gged hard for victuals ; drink was easily had, the country being 
 ckly settled, and wells common. Ahamed says to me now, 
 ? ooly mackan ,” which unpleasant words we had perfectly under- 
 od long before as meaning victuals none. He told us we should 
 t eat till our arrival at his brother’s, not far distant ; that he was 
 : chief of a tribe, and rich, and that there we should have coo/y 
 ef- — victuals plenty. Although the country was mountainous, the 
 t-paths were so beaten that the travelling was good, except when 
 left the path to avoid being seen. All along, from the time pf 
 
 I - leaving Ahamed’s field, they seemed to be haunted with the fear 
 neeting with molestation by the rvay, and this rendered our jour- 
 n j much the more uncomfortable to us, as we had so often to ex- 
 nnge a good path for a bad one; particularly it made our route 
 c.oked, though, in the main, our course was about east-north-east. 
 
 1 \.bout noon we took a short turn to the left, over a high hill, and 
 re we saw r the sea, and, in a valley not far distant, a great num- 
 ■ of tents. On these hills were large flocks, feeding on dry grass, 
 al wild oats. No sooner did we see these tents, than Ahamed 
 led out to us, in Arabic, “ There is my brother! you shall now 
 Ire enough to eat.” We approached to within the usual distance, 
 
 ' 1 all sat down except Ahamed, but we had not to wait there long ; 
 tl tribe had discovered us while we were on the hill, as we our- 
 swes could plainly perceive at the time, and it was now but the 
 ■ice of a few r minutes before their chief came to us. As soon as 
 rf two brothers met, each put his right hand upon the head of the 
 o er, then each kissed his right hand, and then they shook hands 5 
 d l all this before a word was uttered by either of them. When 
 tb ceremony was finished, the chief then says to his near kins- 
 itn,- “ Dear brother, are you well ? from whence are you ? where 
 a you going ? how did you leave your children ?” and, last of all, 
 h inquires, “how are your wives?” To this Ahamed answers, 
 Dear brother, I am directly from home ; I am bound off to find a 
 airket for these Christians ; my children are all well ; one of my 
 Ires is sick ; we have travelled a long way to-day vdthout food ; 
 llse Christian dogs have been complaining of hunger, and 1 pro- 
 Died them they should have victuals enough upon our arrival here.” 
 The other then says, “ All is well ; to-night they shall have as much 
 a they can eat ; go to my tents.” This was a strange sight; two 
 fathers, after long absence, meeting together, going through as much 
 I emony as if they were utter strangers, gravely and steadfastly 
 king one another full in the face, and with eyes seemingly so pierc- 
 ft as to prv into the depths of each other’s hearts — all this was 
 
 15 
 
114 PADDOCK’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 very singular, and at the same time there appeared in it someth i 
 of dignity or grandeur. 
 
 We ail arose at the invitation given us, and followed the eh [. 
 Upon our arrival at the tents, one was cleared for our use, and ts 
 shelter from the rays of the scorching sun was to us an unspeaka 
 relief. Soon after our arrival, the two brothers came to our tt 
 where Ahamed introduced me to the other, as Rais, and also as t 
 bib, adding, 1 had, by my advice, been of great service to one of 
 wives. The tide of Rais I was well content with, but that of lib 
 was rather grating to my feelings, as 1 feared it might be the me; 
 of my being forced again to some employment of quackery. L 
 ra, who was sitting by me at the time, said to me, ‘ Captain, d 
 not tell you that if you should have any thing to do with these d- 
 in their sickness, you would be plagued to death by them ? You 
 wrong in advising any thing for Ahamed’s wife, and I told you 
 then.” I felt the force of Laura’s reproof, and w r as sensible of 
 error ; yet I hoped that I should not be called again to show my 
 lents in the medical line. 
 
 1 took this opportunity to beg for victuals, and Ahamed’s l 
 ther told me he had ordered his wife to cook for us as much as 
 could eat, and that it was now boiling ; he then left us. As soor 
 he was gone, one of the boys went to his tent, and found, s 
 enough, a pot boiling. Our hunger was so great that every min 
 seemed to us an hour. At last, being informed that our meal i 
 cooked, one of our boys went for it, and found one pot full on : 
 that was turned out into a large bowl, and brought us boiling 1 
 We could not wait for it to cool, but instantly began to eat it, hoi 
 it was. Reader, if you have ever seen a hog run his nose int 
 trough of hot swill, and observed the queerness of his behaviour uj 
 it, you may figure to yourself the appearance we made while eat 
 this meal.in our tent. We soon found the bottom of the bowl, ; 
 scraped it out clean with our fingers. We had learned by this tin 
 by our observing the practice of the Arabs, how to eat this kinc 
 food without spoons : the true manner is this — bring into close e 
 tact the three foremost fingers of the right hand, with the middle < 
 placed lower than the other two, and there is formed a cavity he ■ 
 ing about a spoonfull ; that , briskly handled, from the dish to ! 
 mouth, answered very well for eating this kind of food, even whei 
 was thinned with milk. If a little were spilled, and ran down <i 
 bosoms, it was only the loss of it which we regarded ; for as to 
 thiness of appearance, it gave us not the least concern. 
 
 When this bowl was finished, the two brothers came to our te 
 and asked us if we had had enough? The boys answered, We ht£ 
 had but one potfull, and that is not half enough. He turned fr ' 
 us, and went to his tent, which was not ten paces oft', and, in a vq 
 moderate tone of voice, spoke to his wife thus : “ Did I not tell )■ 
 to boil for these Christians both pots ?” She replied, “ You did, ii 
 I thought one was as much as they deserved.” Without utten; 
 another word, he took up a heavy club, and struck her over i 
 breast. She fell, and he continued to beat her till we could no long 
 
paddock’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 111’ her groans. Ahamed stood motionless. We besought him to 
 ercede with his brother for her, but he shook his head, and said 
 rlhing. When this old man had done beating his wife, he called 
 a woman in the next tent, and ordered her to boil a pot of meal 
 i us, and added, “ I will see if my orders can’t be obeyed.” Upon 
 s, he, together with Ahamed, walked back to the place where the 
 n of his tribe were sitting on the ground, and he seemed as little 
 composed as if he had been beating a dog. This shocking act 
 inhumanity seemed to chill every drop of blood in our veins. As 
 'agely as these women had all along behaved towards us, 1 be- 
 re we should have been willing almost to starve to have saved 
 )• life, or rather than have been the occasion of her losing it in this 
 >cking manner. That horrid deed clearly demonstrated to us that 
 :se men thought as lightly of taking away life, as their threats to 
 had frequently indicated. For our lives, they cared no further 
 n their value to them, in money , would amount to. Some little 
 e after the chief had left his wife in this mangled condition, I 
 
 ! it in one of the boys to see if she w 7 as dead, who staid some 
 e, and 1 heard him talking there with the woman that was cook- 
 ;. When I had called him back, he said she was still alive, that 
 ; head was considerably swoln, and that her neck and breasts, 
 re bruised very much ; and that the women there observed, “ She 
 1 die soon, and to-night we will bury her.” 
 
 There being large quantities of muscles about the place we- were 
 which was not far distant from the sea, several of our men were 
 liirous of getting some, and they, along with two of our English 
 ys, obtained permission to go after them. They w r ere gone but 
 short time before they returned with a plenty of excellent and 
 ge ones, and reported that the rocks were covered with them; 
 lese they were not long a roasting, and their smell was very re-^ 
 shing to us. I regretted very much that I could not take part 
 th them in this fare, but such had been my bodily habit, that no 
 id of shell fish could be made to lie on my stomach longer than 
 dose of tartar emetic, and, in fact, it had the same effect upon 
 [|*. Nevertheless, hearing these muscles praised so much by my 
 t:n, and being urged to it by my mate, my appetite prevailed over 
 j judgment, and I eat one, which produced in me no unpleasant 
 feet. Upon this I fell to, among the rest, and eat largely of them. 
 Ik the time this meal was finished, our pot of stirabout was done, 
 ;dshe, the cook, called one of the English boys to bring away the 
 i wl. He went, and took it to our tent, where we agreed to let it 
 ol, the craving of our appetite being now somewdiat allayed. The 
 hy found the wounded woman still alive, but said she was much 
 lore swoln than when he had seen her before. When this food was 
 
 I far cooled as to be eatable, we fell to, and eat the whole, and 
 nt the bowl back to the tent, with a message, in these few words, 
 e have had enough. The old chief, I suppose, saw the bowl re- 
 rned, and he and Ahamed came and inquired of us if we had had 
 ough ; and, after being answered affirmatively, he walked to his 
 at, and. with apparent indifference, asked the woman if his wife 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 316 
 
 was dead. Receiving for answer that she was not dead, but coul ! 
 not live long, he and Ahamed both went back again to the othiN 
 men. 
 
 We now, for the first time since our leaving Ahamed’s habitatioi 
 had our appetites satisfied, and, with full stomachs, laid down, anj 
 fell asleep. We awoke about an hour before sunset, and saw a ma 
 coming down the hill, in the same foot-path we had come in, on 
 fine grey horse, which he rode with great speed up to where thes 
 Arabs were seated. The old chief arose, and saluted him ; butw! 
 being at the distance of a hundred yards, could hear nothing distiuc 
 ly. He dismounted, and hitching the bridle over the fore part < 1 
 the saddle, he seated himself by them. We could see that he we 
 talking very earnestly ; and very soon they all rose up, and walke i 
 towards us. Never scarcely since the day that we were first take 
 by the hunters, were we so alarmed, and we knew not for what causi 
 His looks, his shape, his dress, all differed materially from what v« 
 had ever seen among the wild Arabs. He was well shaped, ligl 
 coloured, and wore a haick that was new and clean, and as to hi; 
 horse, it was seemingly as beautiful as a horse could be picturet 
 When he had come near pur tent, he asked how many of us thei 
 were ; and being answered, he asked what proportion of us weij 
 boys, whether we were healthy, and so forth, making use of near! 
 the same language that a jocky uses in buying horses. Their tal 
 here was not long ; soon they walked off to a little distance, and s; : 
 down. All three of the English boys were now engaged to find oi 
 what was going on. They made out to get near enough to hear th 
 fellow say as follows : “ Hearing that you had slaves for marke 
 and wishing to buy, I have been three days in pursuit of you ; 
 will give you so much (naming the price) for my choice of three (| 
 them.” None of the boys distinctly heard the amount of the price 
 but they understood Ahamed to answer thus : “ If you will tak 
 them all at that price you may have them ; for since we have brougl 
 them thus far, we will not separate them ; we had an offer for th 
 boys before we started from home, and what you offer is but a ver 
 little more than that, and we have been at great expenses with thei 
 since, we will therefore carry them all to Swearah.” 
 
 “Very well,” replies the stranger, “you had best sell a parte 
 them here, for the consul can’t pay for so many, he has not mone; 
 enough; there is now a Christian slave not far oft', whose master ha 
 been to Swearah, but could find nobody there to buy him. Ahame' 
 asked whether this slave was an Englishman or a Spaniard. “H 
 is a Spaniard,” replied the other. “A Spaniard!” answered Aha 
 med, “if he were mine I would sooner cut his head off than earn 
 him to Swearah ; I once carried some Spaniards up myself, and th 
 governor took them of me, but gave me not enough to pay for thei 
 victuals on the way; I will carry up no more of that sort.” Final 
 ly, the stranger, as he was about to depart, concluded thus : “ 1 
 you will not sell me a part of them, I advise you to carry them al 
 back, (pointing to the southward,) and you will find there a inarke 
 for the whole. The plague there, as you all know, has greatl 
 
11 ? 
 
 faddock’s narrative, 
 
 finned the inhabitants, and I don’t see how we shall get all our 
 rain cut and taken care of. ” My readers may conceive, but 1 
 innot describe, what our feelings were upon our being given to un* 
 er stand the meaning and purport of this conversation. 
 
 A little after dark, our chapman mounted his horse, and rode off. 
 iking the same path that he had come in. As soon as he was gone, 
 Jiamed’s brother said to him, “ Don’t you carry these slaves back, 
 r if you do they will all die of the plague, and you will lose your 
 oney ; if these people at the southward want them, let them come 
 /ter them ; you had better go to Swearah yourself beforehand, and 
 you should find that the consul can’t buy the whole, you may car- 
 ' a part of them up, and you will then know what to do with the 
 list. This cheered our drooping spirits, and led us to say to each 
 her, The plague will sate xis at last ! 
 
 In the evening Ahamed came to our tent, and told us, with his own. 
 outh, what we had discovered before by our English boys, that 
 e man who had been looking at us was desirous of buying a part 
 ‘ us ; “ but,” says Ahamed, “ those of you who belong to me, I will 
 ill to no man but the consul, and if the owners of the rest should 
 T.tempt to market their slaves elsewhere, I will prevent it if possi- 
 e.” At the moment he was saying this, I knew too well that no- 
 ting could sway him but interest, and that his sole object was to 
 >ake the most of us in money. I took this opportunity to repeat 
 jain what I had so often told him before, that if there had been 
 lever so many of us, the consul, whether willing himself or not, 
 ould have been bound by his duty to his sultan to buy us all at a 
 Dod price. Ahamed then ordered me to repeat again the promise 
 made him when we w r ere in the desert. This I did, and with as 
 huch sincerity as I ever made a promise at any time, or on any oc- 
 ision whatever, and I begged of him that he would not suffer us to 
 e separated, reminding him that we were now in three -parts ; one 
 art at the wreck, one in the desert, and ourselves here. He pro- 
 lised to keep us together, and left us to sleep, and a fine night we 
 ad. What with the sumptuous fare of the day, and what with a 
 ;nt now to keep off the cold wind, we were comfortable indeed# 
 luring the last day we had travelled nearly twenty miles. 
 
118 
 
 paddock’s narrativ®. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Our adieu to Ahamed’s brother — The fertility of the country increases as we advanc j 
 — The vastness of its grain, and of the number of reapers — A sight of St. Cruez froi j 
 the top of a hill — A gang of women hurl stones at us as we pass by them — their re l 
 markable force of muscle, as well as gift of tongue — Tumult among our owner: 
 occasioned by their missing boy Jack — The debate between the two opposit 
 claimers of him, and the manner of their settlement — Their way of eating their puc 
 ding — My conversation with one of the reapers — his inquisitiveness after informatio 
 about the English manufactures — How the Arabs take leave of their entertainers- 
 The contrast here of fat and lean between wives and husbands — Dismaying re-af 
 pearance of the speculator — Our unspeakable distress at seeing him ajain, an ; 
 hearing his plausible tale — He fails ofhis object, and goes offin a rage — Our unsuc 
 cessful attempts to escape to St. Cruez — The greedy speculator comes again — Buj 
 one of the mates — Is again defeated — We arrive at St. Cruez — The manner of cor 
 ducting us into the town. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th we were slow about moving, and di 
 not start till sunrise. At the moment of our departure I sent one c 
 the boys to see whether the aforementioned woman, so cruelly beai 
 en by Ahamed’s brother, was living or dead. He returned, an 
 said they could perceive life in her yet, but he was told by the on 
 that had cooked for us the day before, that she was almost gone, ah 
 would die very soon ; that she was swoln to a great size. I think : 
 beyond doubt that she died that very morning. 
 
 Upon our leaving this place, our course was about east-soutl: 
 east. We ascended a high hill, on which were the flocks that w 
 supposed belonged to this tribe. While we were upon this hil 
 there opened to our view a thickly settled country, lying still highe 
 than the ground we were upon. We continued to rise as we wer 
 on, ascending hill after hill, till nine or ten o’clock, and then w 
 stopt among some reapers, and eat a part of the fresh supply c 
 meal which we had from Ahamed’s brother, mixed, as usual, wit! 
 water. Our poor little animals had hard work to carry us up thes' 
 high hills. As we advanced, the country looked still better and better 
 the grain fields seemed alive with reapers ; it was not uncommoi 
 for ns to see forty or fifty of them in a single field. About noon 
 when we were upon one of the highest of these hills, Ahamed criet 
 out thrice, as loud as he could halloo, “ St. Cruez ! St. Cruez ! St 
 Cruez !” and then, pointing to me a space where the mountains o 
 the Atlas were fallen away, I could plainly discern what appeared t< 
 me a white speck, which he said was St. Cruez. Cape Geer wa: 
 plain in sight, as was also the ocean, lying, as near as we coulc 
 guess from the sun’s bearing from us, from north-west to abou 
 north-east. Ahamed now seemed very lively, as did also most o 
 the rest of them. From this hill I have no doubt we could see morf 
 than fifty miles in every direction, and some hundreds of large dwef 
 ling places. 
 
 We now had fresh hopes of soon being without the territoria 
 limits of these monsters. It had been several days since Laura, 
 without letting them know it was done by my desire, had been en- 
 deavouring to find out from them where the line had been run betweer. 
 
paddock’s narrative* 
 
 119 
 
 hem and the emperor ; but they, no doubt perceiving his object, 
 zouldgive him no information in this particular. Judging from the 
 ituation we were in for making observations on that subject, it 
 rould appear that the country here was not wanting as to wood 
 . rees, which were seen in considerable plenty upon the sides of the 
 tills. The tops of the Atlas mountains were now covered with 
 now, which at that time I took to be white clouds, that hid their 
 ofty peaks. Upon our descending this high hill, we lost sight of 
 hat grand prospect, and soon got into the grain land. 
 
 We came at length to a few tents where there were only women 
 nd children. The reapers of the other sex were, 1 suppose, at a 
 listance off, where they had pitched their tents to remain during the 
 larvest time. When we had got abreast of these women, they de- 
 ianded to know where we were going ; but the Arabs took no no- 
 ice of them, but hurried along. As we Christian slaves brought up 
 he rear, they presently began to assail us with their scurrillous lan- 
 ;uage, which the English boys answering in Arabic, and perhaps a 
 ittle provokingly, they took up stones, which they hurled at us with 
 11 their might. Their stones came whistling by our heads, surpass- 
 ng in swiftness any thing of the kind I had ever seen ; but, luckily 
 Dr us, no one was hurt. These women were larger than those we 
 ad seen before, heavy moulded, masculine, and insolent, to the ut- 
 lost extreme. 
 
 About four o’clock we passed by a large gang of the reapers, 
 /ho were near our foot path. They spoke to us as we passed 
 long, but we did not halt. About half an hour afterwards our boy 
 
 f ack was missing, and we being all examined, it was found that 
 one of us knew any thing of him. Such confusion was then among 
 iur Arab masters, such running to and fro, such searching, such in- 
 [uiring of all the people near, as might have made us smile, if smile 
 ze could. They looked like madmen, and they cursed us all. At 
 ast it was settled that we should all stop where we were, while a 
 iart of the Arabs should go back to look for the boy. These, on 
 nquiring of the reapers, could get no knowledge of him, when some 
 >f them continued on, travelling back, and the others returned. 
 They swore bitterly that they would cut our throats if they did not 
 ind him ; but having long been accustomed to such language, we 
 vere not so much terrified at it. 
 
 We remained there till dark, when we heard a great number of 
 lorsemen coming on a gallop, and perceived that Jack was riding 
 behind one of them ; upon which, Ahamed and the rest of his crew 
 :ame running like horses, and all in a foam. I never had seen the 
 fid fellow look so bad, nor ever had heard him swear so hard bv 
 lalf. Our course was now altered, and directed to about south, and 
 ,ve thought it certain that these horsemen had made a conquest of 
 he whole of us, and were marching us back. It being too dark to 
 listinguish among them, by sight, the fellow who had tried to buy 
 iome of us the evening before, we conceited, nevertheless, that we 
 leard his voice. We went on, as fast as they could drive us, till 
 about 9 o’clock, when suddenly we were stopped, and turned into a 
 
i20 paddock’s narrative, 
 
 yard surrounded -with high stone walls ; a fire was. immediate! 
 made up, and then it was that we found out the meaning and th 
 amount of all this bustle. It appeared that Jack was behind th 
 rest at (he time that these reapers spoke to us, and that as soon a 
 we had passed by them, he sat down under a large rock ; that the) ^ 
 on seeing him, went to him there, and that he offered himself to then 
 as a voluntary slave, alleging for it that he was too tired to go fui 
 ther. They secreted him, and when they were ready to go homet 
 one of them took him up behind, on horseback. Ahamed and hi 
 comrades discovering the situation Jack was in, he challenged hit ! 
 as his property, while the man that had him claimed him as his owr 
 on account of his having voluntarily given himself up to him as I 
 slave. When the fire was made, they, after a violent war of wordfl 
 agreed to settle it, on the condition of Ahamed’s giving the othe 
 the sum of four dollars, and as he had not the money by him, h 
 consented to leave his gun as a pledge, which he was to redeem in hi 
 return back. The old fellow’s anger was not subsided even aftej 
 this settlement was made, and I told Jack to inform him that I woull 
 make it up to him in Swearah. Whether he believed it or not, h 
 became more quiet. 
 
 The supper was soon brought. It consisted of a bowl of thick pud 1 
 dirig to each ; in the centre of the pudding was a cavity large enough 
 to contain a pound of butter, and each clawing up a mouth full o 
 the pudding with his fingers, dipped it in the butter, and then eat ii 1 
 When they all had done, the remainder that they left in several t 
 the bowls, we got, and there was enough of it to make us a tolerabl 
 supper. After supper, one of the reapers (the same that laid clair 
 to Jack) was disposed to talk with me, and he employed Jack a I 1 
 his interpreter. At the outset of our conversation, he took care ti( 
 inform me that all within the walls that surrounded us was his owil 
 property, and that the little rooms within its sides were occupied bj 
 his friends and relatives ; in short, he seemed to assume the air an< 
 speech of a petty prince or governor. He went on to tell me tha 
 had he been so disposed he could have kept Jack, but Ahamed bein' 
 a worthy man, and a true mussulman, he would scorn to take sucl 
 an advantage of him. As he proceeded, he was very inquisitive 
 about every kind of English manufacture that had come within hi 
 knowledge. Answering his questions as would best suit our ovn 
 convenience, I told him that the art of making the most of these wa; 
 kept a secret by those employed in them, which made them bear t 
 higher price, and that it required the practice of a number of yeas'. 1 ! 
 for one to become expert in any single branch of their manufactures 
 He was most of all desirous to know how gunpowder was made, oi| 
 what ingredients it was composed, and whether myself or any oi 
 my men knew how to make it. I, at the beginning, saw his object 
 which was to learn of me if any of us were mechanics. In regard to 
 his last subject of inquiry, I told him I had understood that the arto: 
 making gunpowder was the most difficult to learn of any of the Eng- 
 lish arts. “1 believe that is true,” he said, “ for I have heard tha; 
 the Moors are beginning to make gunpowder, and that they will not 
 l*ct even a brother Moor examine their works.” 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 12i 
 
 To get clear of these interrogatories as soon as possible, I told 
 lim that seamen were unacquainted with any other branch of busi- 
 less besides that of navigating ships ; and on the affairs pertaining 
 3 navigation he did not seem disposed to question me. When an 
 pportunity was left me to question him in my turn, I asked him 
 diat the distance was to St. Cruez, and whether any Christian ships 
 >ere there ? To this he replied, that St. Cruez was in sight, and 
 ot far ofl', that there were no ships there, nor had been for a long 
 me ; that all the ships went to Swearah. That is Mogadore, said I 
 3 him. “ Yes,” he answered, “ you call it so ; was you ever 
 iere ?” Yes. “ Was you ever at St. Cruez ?” No. “ Who do you 
 now in Swearah ?” Consul Gwin, tasher Court, Jackson, Foxcroft, 
 id many others, some French, and some Spaniards. Turning to 
 hamed, who was all attention to this conversation, he says to Kim, 
 He has been to Swearah, and has friends there.” He then con- 
 uded with asking me if consul Gwin had money enough to ransom 
 ) many of his brothers ? Without hesitation, I told him he could 
 insom ten times our number if they were brought to him ; and I 
 ideavoured to make him understand that the consul did not pay this 
 oney from his own purse, but it was money belonging to our sul- 
 
 ( n, who placed it at his disposal for that purpose, and, in case that 
 5 , the consul, should at any tune be short of money, it was only 
 r him to borrow of the rich merchants till our sultan should send 
 m more This explanation of mine seemed to be satisfactory to 
 
 f m, and our conversation was here closed. 1 found him. as well as 
 1 the other inhabitants of this coast that I conversed with, unwil- 
 J ig to give me any information about the situation and affairs of the 
 mntry. Upon that point I could immediately perceive a jealousy 
 fy. every one of them. 
 
 It being now about ten or eleven o’clock, our entertainer rose up, 
 id proposed to retire to sleep ; he brought us part of an old tent, 
 
 , id said, “ with this you may cover yourselves.” The gate of this 
 tie city being locked, we needed no watching. Our Arabs went 
 if, and left us in possession of the fire; we all lay with our feet to 
 ■ covered ourselves with the tent, and had a comfortable night’s 
 !l dging. We had travelled this day about 25 miles, 
 r On the morning of the 11th, we were awaked by the sound of 
 te voices of the Arabs at prayer. There was no appearance of 
 ly day-light till after we were prepared for a march, and then our 
 arters opened the gate and let us out. We departed without tak- 
 ig any formal leave of our entertainers, as had been our constant 
 istom ; for in no instance do I remember hearing a word spoken on 
 tch an occasion. When the visitors are departing, they go away 
 silence, taking what the English call French leave. As it was not 
 ght when we came out of the gate, we groped along but slow, and in 
 . .e same path that we had come in. Soon we saw a foot path turning 
 ■ the right, and we took it, steering, as nearly as we could ascertain 
 • y the stars, about a north-east course. When daylight fairly ap- 
 ' tared, we then, from a small hill, once more got sight of the sea, 
 id of the Atlas. St. Cruez did not appear to us much nearer now 
 
 16 
 
122 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 than when we saw it the day before, which convinced us that its di; 
 tance was much greater than we at first thought it. Our situatio 
 was a very elevated one, and we could look over a vast exteq 
 of country, which, anywhere else than in Barbary, or under an! 
 other circumstances than those we were in, might have appearejl 
 pleasant. But not so to us, who were on the brink, as it were, of a| 
 awful precipice, on a hair-breadth line, between liberty and slavery--| 
 a slavery of such horrid shape as would have been worse to us tha| 
 death itself. 
 
 We descended from this hill, and for some time saw the Atlas ni. 
 more. That day we continued the same course, which we kne jl 
 would carry us to the sea. Near 10 o’clock, we came to a tribe < 
 about twenty tents, and, after the usual ceremony was gone througi 
 with, we were received. The chief gave us some raw meal and sot 
 milk mixed together. It was drinkable, but too thin to eat. W 
 drank the whole of it up, though a large quantity, and then aske 
 for more, which was furnished us. That also we finished, an 
 again asked for more ; upon which the woman, who we supposed we 
 the wife or one of the wives of the chief, says to us, “ More ? yc 1 
 dogs, how you drink!” Without regarding that, or any thing si 
 could say, we finished all that was brought ; while the whole gan 
 of the meagre looking Arabs, and their corpulent wives, were lool 
 ing on, and sharply eyeing us. With respect to what I have no 
 said of the leanness of the one sex and the fleshiness of the other, j 
 will here explain myself: we had observed all along, that the fuij 
 iher we travelled eastward the larger or grosser the women becamt! 
 till at last many of them were so fat that they waddled along rathe) 
 than walked. This we found was regarded as their beauty. At thl 
 same time, this is thought disgraceful in a man, and for the followim 
 reason : they, the men, were always engaged, in some parts of thj 
 country or other, in offensive or defensive wars, which seemed theii 
 greatest pride, and so in them leanness was an indispensable requisite! 
 enable them to undergo the fatigues of their frequent skirmishes a»J 
 campaigns, and for nimbleness in their onsets and retreats. B 
 what means they bring it about to fatten the women and keep th 
 men lean, is a matter best known to themselves. 
 
 About noon we entered a piece of woodland on the side of a hill 
 The trees were very close to each other ; their trunks were large bu 
 short, ten feet from the roots to the first limbs being about their ave 
 rage. From their first limbs they bushed off suddenly, so that thei 
 whole height was not more than from twenty to thirty feet. Thi 
 forest was perhaps a mile and a half wide, and through it there wen 
 foot paths in every direction ; but the Arabs did not seem at a los 
 as to which path to take. When we had got through this woodland 
 the country appeared more level, sandy, and without a single habi 
 tation in our view. We were pushing on as fast as we could walk 
 (without our asses, but where we left them I cannot remember,) am 
 had got not a mile from the woods, when who should appear but th 
 same fellow that had visited us while we were with Ahamed’s bro 
 ther, galloping up on the same beautiful horse. He continued hi 
 
paddock’s narrative. 125 
 
 allop till he had got ahead of us, and then stopped and began to 
 Ik. We all stopped ; when, without ceremony or reserve, he told 
 ir masters plainly that they were doing wrong in carrying us to 
 wearah. He intended, he said, to have been with us the last night, 
 ■at missed of us, and that his object was to tell them what he had 
 lizard, which was this — the English consul had done with the busi- 
 less of ransoming Christian slaves, as he had no money left ; “ and 
 have seen,” said he, “ several people from the interior country, 
 ho told me if you would bring your slaves back there, they would 
 i ay them all.” Ahamed replied, that the man where he had staid 
 |ie last night told him a different story, and as he had had before 
 lie offer of us, and would not take us, and the end of the journey be- 
 g so near, he was determined to go on, unless he could bargain 
 Iway the whole of us at once. 
 
 He (the chapman) repeated what he had said when he was with 
 f ern before, that he wanted for himself only three boys. Nothing 
 •arcely in this world could have been such a death-blow to us ; we 
 Good motionless, silently looking at each other. The English boys 
 yho understood wdiat'he said, and interpreted it to us, who made no 
 ■ply) begged of their masters, as if begging for their lives, that 
 Ley would not heed this fellow. “ The captain,” they said to them, 
 knows better: he has friends in Swearah, who will give any price 
 r him, and he will not suffer any one of the rest to be left unran- 
 imed.” This debate lasted for half an hour, when the fellow in 
 lger rode off to the south, and we hoped never to see him again. I 
 vive no doubt if he had been in the power of some of our men, he 
 ould have been out of the way of endangering us. We watched 
 m by looking back, till he had entered the wood. After this, we 
 ere hurried on with uncommon speed, the cause of w r hich we could 
 it then conjecture, unless to avoid that fellow’s pursuit 'after us 
 rain. 
 
 About 2 o’clock, almost melted with the heat and worn down with 
 tigue, travelling as we had over sandy ground, our footing giving 
 ay at every step, we came to a river nearly a hundred and fifty feet 
 ide, the water of which was salt. One of the tallest of the Arabs en- 
 red in to ascertain its depth, and we soon saw him over. During 
 is passage, the water flowed nearly over his shoulders. We all 
 illowed him. The shortest of us were assisted by the Arabs, and 
 ion we were over, every one of us. It then appeared that the de- 
 gn of the forced march we had just been making was to get to this 
 ver in season to cross it at 1ow t water. We discovered that the tide 
 as flowing and running southward, at the rate of two knots. Be- 
 ig all fatigued, we lay down, and soon fell asleep. We had slept 
 erhaps two hours, when we were called up, and we supposed that 
 ie river had risen in that time three feet. We could not ascertain 
 ur distance from the sea, but, judging from our course, and the dis- 
 tnce we had travelled since day-light, we thought it could not be- 
 ery far oft’. Every thing about this river had the appearance of a 
 esert ; not the least sign of vegetation — the sand was blown up 
 to little hills from five to ten feet high. 
 
124 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 We had been a little refreshed with sleep, and besides, th J 
 thoughts of our soon being within the emperor of Morocco’s domi 
 nions, where we expected protection, so cheered up our spirits, ths I 
 we got over these hills much sooner no doubt than otherwise we coulc 
 We saw no appearance of any habitation till near night ; and, havin i 
 travelled over heavy sand, and the weather extremely hot, we su;| 
 fered for water, but none could be found. At length Ahamed tol 
 us we should soon come to a small tribe of his acquaintance, an) 
 there we should fare well. It was beginning to be dusk, when o| 
 our rising a hill we saw St. Cruez, which did not appear twentj 
 miles off, though in that we were mistaken. Viewing it from th 
 hill, the country here looked much like that on the edge of the dc 
 fiert, mostly sand, with some dry grass here and there ; neverthelesi 
 there were many camels and sheep feeding about the hills. It \va 
 now too dark for us to see much of’ the country back. 
 
 At about eight o’clock we arrived to the tribe which Ahamed ha 
 spoken of, which consisted of about thirty tents; and from all an 
 pearances they were well received. After they had formed the: 
 ring for smoking, we soon found out that they were conversing tc 
 gether about ourselves ; but they were more cautiously guarded tha 
 usual against our understanding them. Now and then, however, 
 word from them was caught, and, as far as we could learn, nothing i 
 their discourse seemed unfavourable to our obtaining our ransom « 
 and this W'as the more flattering to our hopes, as some of that trib 
 had lately been at Swearah. We got here but a poor supper, whic : 
 consisted of a little raw meal and bad water. When we lay dow' 
 to sleep, we found ourselves watched in a manner a little diflerei 
 from what had been usual, the Arabs lying on the outside of us. W 
 slept not well : being not far from the sea, and the wind blowin, 
 strong all the night, we lay extremely cold. We had one comforl 
 however, and a very great one ; we now were beginning to thin) 
 ourselves nearly out of danger, and that rendered our sufferings th 
 more tolerable. The lenghth of this day’s travel must, as we thoughl 
 have exceeded thirty miles. 
 
 On the morning of the 11th, we started on half an hour before 
 day-light, and took a south-east, course, and travelled fast. A 
 the dawn of day we saw St. Cruez far on our left. From the course 
 we travelled in, our approach to it was very slow, as its direction 
 was toward the highest part of the Atlas, which now for the firs 
 time We plainly perceived to be covered with snow, at least one 
 fourth part of the distance from the top to the base. The Englisl 
 boys asked the Arabs why they travelled so far south, seeing it made 
 our way to St. Cruz so much longer? They replied, “ We have t 
 river to cross, and near the sea it is deep.” When the sun arose i 
 we could discover from the hills on our right some dwellings, bui 
 there were scarcely any round about, or but very few indeed, noi 
 could the soil admit of much cultivation. About noon we came tc 
 the river, and then we could plainly discern the embrazures in the! 
 walls of the city of St. Cruez. We took to the river, and were soon 
 over it, by means of the assistance of the Arabs, who swam, like 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 125 
 
 ;hes. The distance across I should judge to be from two to three 
 mdred yards. Whether this was the best fording, place across 
 is river, or whether the Arabs took us up so far to prevent our 
 nng discovered from the town, we were left to conjecture. We 
 
 ! ere now'at least eight miles from the town, and were hidden from 
 by some high sand hills on our front. 
 
 Here we discovered a few huts a little on our right, and the Arabs 
 'oposed to go to them ; while we, on the contrary, begged hard to 
 
 ! ) directly on to St. Cruez, to which we might arrive in two or three 
 jurs. Their demur about proceeding directly forward, gave us 
 msiderable uneasiness. The Arabs at last gave us peremptory 
 ders to march to the huts, and did it with apparent anger ; and, as 
 e were not sure of our being then within the emperor’s territory, it 
 is a dictate of prudence that we should obey. Accordingly we 
 lurched on to this little collection of huts, and before we had arrived 
 iere, several came out and met us. This was different from the 
 immon manner of the Arabs towards strangers approaching their 
 Veilings. After their customary question and answer — “ Is it 
 ■ ace “ It is peace ” — these strangers invited us to their huts; 
 non which ive advanced to within thirty yards, and sat down, 
 aving had nothing to eat during the whole day, we were extreme- 
 \ hungry as well as thirsty. They soon gave us some bad water, 
 ith a little sour milk ; but on our begging for food, the unpleasant 
 ords, cooly mackan , w ere uttered by two or three of them ; never- 
 eless, one of them went to the huts, and brought us two or three 
 junds, perhaps, of old, dry, mouldy bread. Hard as it was, and 
 id as it was, we fell to and ate the whole, though one of our men 
 ’oke off a sound tooth in trying to chew it. With a dozen, or per- 
 ips twenty, of these villagers, our Arabs were very much engaged 
 a conversation of which we were the subject ; but we could not 
 illect from it any thing to our own advantage. 
 
 What I more particularly wanted to know by their conversation, 
 as whether we were or were not in the emperor’s dominions ; but 
 othing leading to information upon this point was mentioned by 
 lem. Therefore I enjoined it upon one of the boys to endeavour, 
 n the first opportunity he could get with these strangers, to ascertain 
 lat point ; and if on making that inquiry he should find that we 
 ere in his dominions, to try to induce one of them, by the promise 
 f a reward, to carry a letter from me to the governor of St. Cruez : 
 9;: the same time I charged him not to mention any thing about that 
 rrand till he was sure that we were over the line, and within the 
 each of the governor. He tried several of them, but every attempt 
 roved abortive : whenever he spoke to them about it, they shook 
 leir heads, and made no reply. This expedient failing, my mate 
 nd myself, without the knowledge of any other person, agreed that 
 ither one of us or both, improving the first opportunity of finding 
 re Arabs engaged, should get behind one of the sand hills, and from 
 lence make our escape to St. Cruez. Such an opportunity we 
 ion found, and got behind one of the hills ; but we were missing 
 ot a minute’s time before they were upon us. Their triumph at 
 
126 
 
 rADDOCK’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 finding us was not, however, very great. At the first it was agree 
 upon by us that if they should pursue and find us behind the hil 
 w r e would pretend to them the call of nature, and accordingly th 
 position they found us in prevented their suspecting us of the desig 
 of running away. 
 
 After this, I soon found an occasion of talking with Ahamed, and t 
 asked him when we were going on ? at the same time reminding hill 
 that we had been here two hours, and were pretty well refreshec; 
 He looked me full in the face, and piercingly, as if he could read m 
 heart, and asked me what was my haste ? I pretended I was noth 
 much haste, and told him it was much more comfortable travellin 
 now than it was' in the morning, as the sun was fast lowering, an 
 the wind blowing fresh, and we felt ourselves very much refreshec 
 His eyes convinced me that he had found out some of Laura’s irl 
 quiries of these villagers as to whose territory we were in ; and hi 
 said to me, “ Not long ago you were hungry, and since that yo 
 have had nothing considerable to eat ; and now, hungry as you ar< 
 you are desirous to march oft’, though there are two pots of victua 
 boiling for you.” He then shook his head, and left me, and joine 
 the company. 
 
 At the moment of Ahamed’s leaving me, the same fellow, on th 
 same gray horse, came galloping down the hill on the other side e 
 the river. I am sure the devil, in the most hideous of all the hide 
 ous shapes in which he was ever described by man, could not havi 
 been so terrifying to us as the appearance of this fellow again. W 
 all huddled round him, and distinctly heard him introduce the odioa 
 subject, and thus he went on : “ Well, I see you are determined t j 
 carry these slaves to Swearah ; — 1 heard from there yesterday, an 
 intended to have seen you last night ; but you took the lower roac 
 and so 1 missed of you : this morning I heard of you, and intende> 
 to have seen you before you had crossed this water, — however, iti 
 not too late yet. You may now j-est assured that the consul will nc' 
 ransom these Christians : but a few days ago, an old man, a frien| 
 of mine, came directly from Swearah; — he told me he saw severs 
 Christian slaves in that town, whom the consul refused to ransom 1 
 and that the Arab who carried them to that market could get no pa; 
 for them at all ; but if you will only re-cross the river in time, you 
 may sell every one of your slaves at a place south of here, anti 
 which is within three days’ march. As- 1 told you before, the plagui 
 has taken oft’ so many of our men, that there are not enough of then: 
 left to cut and harvest such abundant crops as our God in his good 
 ness hath bestowed upon us, and these men I know can soon lean 
 to work.” 
 
 Our Arabian masters said but little in reply to this harangue, bull 
 with us there was a general vociferation against it. At no time before 
 this, had we dared to interfere in their conversation; but now w< 
 were driven to extremities, and pleaded as for our lives. The Eng 
 lish boys took the lead : speaking to them in Arabic, they refutei 
 all that the fellow had advanced; and they asserted that I was weli 
 known in Swearah, and had friends there enough to redeem us alb 
 
 j 
 

 paddock’s narrative. 127 
 
 'o get clear of our clamours, the Arabs and the chapman went off 
 i some distance from us, and talked together by themselves. From 
 ue information already obtained by us, it was almost reduced to a 
 jrtainty that we were within the reach of the governor of St. Cruez, 
 id that for obtaining his protection it was only necessary for us to 
 
 ! ake known to him our situation ; but in the day time we were 
 atched too narrowly for any of us to escape and bear such intelli- 
 mce to him. In this condition of horrid suspense we were left for 
 Idf an hour, when Ahamed came back, and told us that none of 
 ir masters had consented to sell to the fellow, except the owner of 
 Bussey, my mate, and that he (Hussey’s master) had agreed to sell 
 m, and return home himself. I tried to find out the price he was 
 
 I Id for, but could not. My poor companion, Hussey, shed tears in 
 mndance, and the rest of us appeared in great distress. As to 
 hamed, all he said on the occasion was, “ I can’t help it.” After 
 short silence, my mate put on his manly resolution, and said. 
 Let it be so ; I must go, but our separation will be very short ; I 
 ill be in St. Cruez in the morning.” The rest of our conversation 
 Igether on that occasion I will omit. To part with him in this 
 Sinner was more than we could bear. Boy Jack was not to be 
 listed, but as he understood the Arabic much better than either of 
 <te other boys, I thought it best to make use of him as my mouth ; 
 
 J cordingly I directed him to go to Hussey’s master, and tell him if 
 would not part with that man, 1 would pledge my honour that the 
 nsul should give more than the price he had sold him for, and that 
 ler and above this, I would make him a present on our arrival at 
 qogadore. In this case, though perhaps in but few others, Jack did 
 tfe duty faithfully, and the bargain was broken oif ; not, however, 
 il after Ahamed, the mate’s master, and myself, with Jack 
 Jr our interpreter, had had a long talk on the subject. At sun- 
 it our chapman re-crossed the river, and rode away over the 
 111 , and out of our sight, in as great a rage as it were possible for 
 i barbarian or savage to show. 
 
 It being now sunset, we were very anxious to move on towards 
 Cruez, for we still had that terrible fellow to fear, in addition to 
 ;sl our other fears. Move they would not ; but we had no doubt but 
 te one or the other of us could find an opportunity to run off to that 
 lace in the night. In our troubles we had forgot that we were fast- 
 :g. Our supper was now ready, which consisted of about equal 
 Juantities of meal and Indian corn boiled up together ; it was ex- 
 llent, and we had of it full half enough to satisfy the cravings of 
 ir hunger. At dark the pipe took its usual turn, and at about 9 
 ■clock they brought us part of an old tent to cover us with ; the 
 ind was fresh, and its draught up this hollow made it very cold 
 lire, which rendered the piece of tent highly acceptable to us. My 
 ate and myself, before we had lain down, renewed our arrangement 
 :r being oft' in the night ; and, with an eye to that, we first birthed 
 1 the rest, and he and myself took an outside birth, and hauled the 
 s at all over us — having travelled this day 15 miles. Meanwhile 
 e Arabs, as if they knew our plan, birthed themselves on the out- 
 
12a 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 side of us two, and all around us, with their guns lying across the 
 arms. We lay still till about midnight, when we carefully rolle 
 the tent off from our heads. Upon this, the Arab that was in fro; 
 of us spoke; but we made no answer. We laid an hour longe 
 when we made the second attempt, but the fellow was still awakt 
 and finding no chance for the intended escape, we fell asleep, an 
 did not awake till broad daylight. 
 
 On the morning of the 12th, on heaving oft' our cover, we saw, ; 
 a little distance from us, the Arabs at their prayers. We suppost 
 they moved away to let us sleep, not out of any tenderness of fee 
 ing towards us, but perhaps to answer some purpose interesting i 
 themselves ; be that as it may, we were very anxious to move o; 
 and they seemed opposed to it. We were soon joined by the vi 
 lagers, who, with our Arabs, sat down together, and entered in! 
 general conversation. Presently after this, we saw coming down tl 
 hill, on the other side of the river, nineteen camels, and five mer; 
 they crossed, and came to us. Our Arabs questioned them as i 
 the course they were travelling, and finding they were bound eas 
 ward, they engaged them, for a trifling consideration, to keep 1 
 company, so that we might have the privilege of riding over to] 
 mountains of the Atlas. This affair being settled, we took a litt|j 
 food, of such kind as we had had the last night, and which no doul |) 
 had been cooked then for our breakfast; but what we eat cou 
 hardly be called breakfast , or breaking our fast, for we were so r 
 joiced with the thoughts of moving on, that hungry as we were v 
 cared but little for food. 
 
 The sun was fully up, and even above those prodigiously hig 
 mountains, before we had got fairly under way. For several mile 
 and to within two or three miles of St. Cruez, we pursued the dowi 
 ward course of the river, and then we turned to the right, in a d 
 rection for that city, which had a formidable appearance. It we 
 situated on the peak of a very high hill, formed by nature for dt 
 fence, and on the side that met our view were embrasures for guns 
 it was natural for us to conclude that this was the emperor’s frontie 
 town. Next the water was a small town, and all along below 
 were boats hauled up, which had the appearance of fishing boat. 1 
 When we had come within two or three hundred yards of the lowe 
 town, we saw a man skipping down over the rocks, and advancin 
 towards the lower town with great speed, having a gun in his hanc 
 As soon as he had come within call, he ordered us to stop ; we 
 stopt at a little distance from the nearest houses, and he demande 
 of us who we were. On receiving from the Arabs an answer to 
 question, he demanded the name of our chief. To which Ahame 
 answered that he was chief, and he gave him his name, and tn 
 name was called for next. Upon which he said to me, “ You ar 
 to appear before the governor immediately.” My bosom swelle 
 with joy at these words. I called to Laura, and bade him folio 1 
 me. I forgot my inability to jump, and to run, and how, in my fef 
 ble and emaciated condition, I made the ascent so quick, is beyon 
 my power to tell. When we had arrived at the gate of the batter) 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 129 
 
 uich was in a very short time, Laura observed to me, “ Captain, 
 
 S : water runs off your face,” which was a circumstance that I had 
 t perceived before. We entered, I directly following the soldier, 
 J ura next., and Ahamed last. 
 
 If' 
 
 CHAP. XI J. 
 
 S. examination at St, Cniez— Our hospitable treatment there— The huge mess of 
 • )orl set before us — the personal appearance of the Moorish governor — His kindly 
 Mentions to me— His remarks upon the rascality of the Arabs — His orders to Aha- 
 -led — The cringing sycophancy of the latter— The circumstances of our departure— 
 description of the battery— A view of the stupendous Atlas — The wonderful ma? 
 |]agement of the camels in climbing it — The difficulty and peril the rider is at in 
 keeping his hold— The adventures at our lodging place — Sublime prospect of the 
 ft! as as the jun was rising— The amusing spectacle of our Arabs buttering their 
 ieards — Description of the country — Ahamed swears by his beard to carry us no 
 Briber, and imprisons us in a yard— The resemblance of our condition to that of 
 le newly imported negroes yarded up for sale —A visit in our yard from a Moor of 
 treat respectability— The discovery by us of the scheme of our masters to carry us 
 lack — Another visit from the respectable Moor — The awe the other Moors, and the 
 rabs, were struck with by his presence— His inquiries of and about us — Another 
 Biccessfu! attempt of Pat to get his fill by amusing the women- — The jealousy anti 
 |ry it occasioned among the men — Our narrow escape. 
 
 In this room of refuge, where we had so happily arrived at last, 
 ,ve sitting on a bench three well looking men, of a much lighter 
 flour and stouter frame than the Arabs, and one of them was hold-, 
 til in his hand a long spy glass. They ordered us to sit down, and 
 tv did so, seating ourselves in the middle of the room, which was 
 ibably from twelve to sixteen feet square, while Ahamed (not chief 
 B v) squeezed himself up in one corner. Looking, as I did, all 
 a und the room, I saw a door back of us that was, shut. We sat si- 
 it l for near a quarter of an hour, these men all the time fixing their 
 n s upon us. At last, Laura breaking silence, asked me if I 
 ■light any one of these men was the governor. I told him I thought 
 ■was not there. Then one of them asked me in English if I were 
 ■Englishman? and upon my replying that I was, he said, “ You 
 ■1 the boy both look like Spaniards.” I answered him, including 
 Lara with myself, we are English. Speaking very slow and dis-> 
 thtly, he asked me to what part of England our ship belonged, 
 pre we were bound, and what after, how large a ship she was, 
 a v many poles she had, what goods were on board, and how much 
 srney we had with us ? In answer to these queries, I told him the 
 sip belonged to Liverpool, was bound to the Cape de Verd islands 
 f( a load of salt, that she was a considerably large ship, but nof 
 v y large, that she had three poles, (masts,) had no goods, and but 
 a ttle money, barely enough to buy a load of salt, hie asked me if 
 tire was no salt in Liverpool ? I told him we had large quantities of 
 it here, but that the salt which we were going after was of another 
 kd, made in a hot climate by the heat of the sun, and that we were 
 fr arrv it to a foreign country, far away to the westward, where 
 
 17 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 13Q 
 
 was worth more money than the Liverpool salt. Well,” ' 
 said, “ the next time you conre along this coast keep further c 
 ships of three poles should not come so near; formerly, when i 
 had trade at St. Cruex, the large ships always laid oft' a great w;| 
 from shore.” At that moment w e heard a noise without, when t. 
 Moor that had been questioning me, instantly says, “ The govern 
 is coming.” As he entered the room, I arose, and addressed him 
 English, just as I should have done if he had understood that la 
 guage, the Moor in the mean time interpreting to him what 1 hi 
 said. He returned my salutation, and invited me to sit down, wilt 
 I did. 
 
 He was a stout, portly, well looking man, about six feet hig 
 and nearly fifty years old, of a light copper colour, with a shcj 
 bushy beard, and wore a clean white haick, and neat morocco slij 
 pers ; his pleasing, manly look, prepossessed me in his favour ; il 
 his questions to me were pertinent and distinct. The Moor tei 
 him, in Arabic, the substance of the interrogations which he had } 
 to me, and then the governor went on to ask me himself sevejj 
 questions about my shipwreck, the cause of it, the time it happen; 
 and whether the Arabs (here present had any of the gold that 1 h 
 lost. After I had, by and through Laura, answered all these qu< 
 tions to his satisfaction, he asked me how this Arab (Ahamed) h 
 treated me ? Without waiting for a reply, he continued on, and sa 
 “ These Arabs are all a set of thieves, robbers, and murderers, a 
 from time immemorial they have been at war with the Moors as w| 
 as with all others within their reach, and if they have not treat! 
 you well, I will keep you here a few days, when I shall be goi ( 
 myself to Swearah, and will take you along with me, and delivj 
 you up to the consul.” Ahamed trembled, as I could plainly pt 
 ceive. 
 
 To answer the . governor’s question, and his kind proposal,! 
 quired a moment’s reflection, and I previously asked him if it wjj 
 in the power of these people to carry us back? He promptly rep 
 ed, “ No, they r dare not attempt it; this is our frontier town, ai 
 none can pass through it without my consent.” 1 then answer 
 the question he had put to me regarding our treatment by Ahame 
 telling him that Ahamed and his companions had bought us of a hui 
 ing party, and had paid a considerable sum for us, and had not treat 
 us so well as perhaps they ought, but I had no doubt they would 
 better in this respect for the time to come, and being so near Swek 
 ah, 1 preferred going on with them. He then asked if I was hu 
 gry ? I am both hungry and very thirsty, was my reply. Upd 
 this, he turned to the soldier that stood behind him, and order! 1 
 sorue drink for me, telling him not to be long after it. In a ft 
 minutes he returned, with some sweet milk mixed with water, 
 which we drank freely. I was about to reach the kettle to Ah 
 med, but the governor forbade it, saying, “ That fellow don't dm 
 from my kettle .” The kettle was of copper, and scoured to 
 high polish. After Laura had drank, I set it down, and th< 
 came the victuals. It was a dish of coscoosoo, which is a favourij 
 
I’ADD.OCK/S NARRATIVE. 
 
 231 
 
 1 11 with the Moors ; on it lay a whole quarter of a fat goat, the 
 ht of which astonished me. The quantity of food in this dish was 
 ;ater than our whole company of eleven had eat for three days 
 jether. The smell was, to us, as deliciously fragrant as can possi» 
 t he described. I looked at it for some time, when the governor 
 ai Laura, both speaking to me at the same moment, said, “ Cap- 
 in, why don’t you eat?” The truth was, I was afraid to eat; for 
 skeen was my appetite, that had I fully gratified it with feeding on 
 js;h an excellent dish, I do believe, empty as my stomach then was, 
 Ivould not only have been the means of my going no further, but 
 vuldhave killed me outright. When we began to eat, all their 
 res were fixed upon us. I ate in a manner as sparing as I could 
 ■ssibly bring myself to, and finding Laura inclined to be ravenous, 
 Ippeatedly told him not to eat like a hog. One of the Moors, who 
 Iperstood that expression, interpreted it to the governor, who 
 ighed heartily, which did not, however, disturb Laura at all, but 
 Y still bolted it down with all speed. In the dish lay a knife, with 
 v ich I cut off some of the meat, and eat it, and drank a little milk 
 ad water, and so quitted it, while feeling near as hungry as when I 
 hi begun. At first the governor urged me to eat more, but when 
 Lentioned to him the state of my stomach, he said, “ You have 
 fc;n prudent.” 
 
 ■He ordered Ahamed and Laura to sit still, and me to follow him; 
 ( id so, and he walked into the city. I followed him through two 
 beets, when stopping at the door of a large house, he ordered me 
 tisit down there, and left me. While I was sitting before his door, 
 rt very few people passed by me, and none stopt to gaze at me ; 
 It after passing by, all turned their heads, as if to take a second 
 i ik. The children came to a corner, and looked at me round it ; 
 B' being at the governor’s door was what sufficiently protected me, 
 |9 1 supposed, against their insults. The people here were all of a 
 - rk colour, and some of them black : I now speak of the men only, 
 S' as to the women, their faces were all covered, except only a lit- 
 ; hole in their veils, of the size of an eye, which they looked 
 rough. The Moorish women arc not allowed to go into the streets 
 Hess veiled in this manner. 
 
 The governor was absent about half an hour, when he came to the 
 or, with nearly a dozen thin loaves of bread, which he reached 
 and I do think they were the whitest I ever saw. I took them, 
 ;d stowed them away about me, and returned him thanks for this 
 ible present. He took the street, and walked back to the battery, 
 nich probably was his audience chamber. There he addressed 
 hnself to Ahamed in these words : “You I command to take these 
 'iristians to Swearah, and deliver them over to their consul without 
 : y unnecessary delay ; in three days after this you are to arrive 
 ere ; use them in the best manner you possibly can ; and now de- 
 trt.” The governor was standing when he uttered this mandate, 
 tamed was sitting when I left him, nor had he, according to Lau- 
 ’s account, stirred an inch since that time; but, upon hearing the 
 
i'AL»UOCk'S NARRATIVE* 
 
 las! 
 
 orders of the governor, he fell upon his knees, or rather advanc! 
 on them, up to the governor, and kissed the hem of his garment, i 
 We now left the battery. At the gate was a soldier in waitir 
 who took us round the corner of this room, and went with us do\j| 
 a foot path leading to the lower town. This path was an excelle 
 one, and had we, previously to our ascending the Battery, travell l 
 only a few rods eastward, we might have took it, and so got upwil 
 much less fatigue ; the soldier that then led us on, probably did r 
 think of that, though doubtless he would if he had been as emaciat 
 and tired as we were* When I joined the men who had been r 
 companions in distress, I found them feasting sumptuously; thf 
 had line, white, fresh loaves of bread, with dry dates and water, si 
 before them, and no doubt by the governor’s order. Instantly up j 
 my appearance, every one of them was desirous of knowing from ill 
 tvliat reception J had met with; but so overcome was I at our go 
 fortune, that I could only tell them we were safe* We were th 
 all life and spirits, thanking God for bur deliverance thus far. T 
 Arabs with the camels had been detained by the governor’s ordi 
 as a party connected with us, and they were in great haste to px 
 ceed orii We were vei’y quickly pi’ovided with such kinds of sa 
 dies, or ridirtg seats, as cortld be procured, which were mean at be 
 Some of us had none, but luckily for myself, I got some rubbi 
 quilted- on behind the hump, so high as to form a tolerable sei} 
 The Camels were ordered down* and We mounted ; our feelings 
 that time my readers can better judge of than I can describe. 
 
 The camels rose up at the word of command ; we had each a sti 
 to guide these invaluable animals, and, at about 2 o’clock, we | 
 moved on, along the beach, where we had a fine view of St. Cruc|j 
 It was situated on a handsome peak at the declivity of the Atkjj 
 steep on every side, and particularly on the south-west and norfl 
 surrounded with a high wall of stone, and on all sides were canw 
 planted ; in short, it appeai’ed both by nature and art impregnab 
 to any force that the wild Arabs might ever bi’ing against it. Tf 
 estimate which I then made of the height 1 have now forgot, but 
 was several hundred feet above the sea. The lower town I did n» 
 pass thi’ough ; when I went up to the battery with the soldier, we lo 
 it on the south-west, and when we came down we arrived at it c 
 the north-east, but, from what I could discover, it was mostly inh 
 bited by fishei-men and their families, and these fishermen at tin 
 time seemed to be all ashore ; their seines were hanging up to dr 
 and their boats, which were lai'ge, were hauled Well up on the bead 
 After ti’avelling some distance along the shore, we took a foot pal 
 leading to the right, and apparently in the direction to cross the; 
 huge mountains* At the beginning of our ascent, we had a view 
 the Atlas on our right ; our minds had become tranquil, and we cou! 
 look' about us, and talk of what we pleased, without being interrup 
 ed by the Arabs. What a change did a few hours make in our cox, 
 edition and feelings ! These mountains were awfully grand, cappcj 
 with snow, which the Arabs said had lain upon them ever since till 
 World was made. The higher we ascended, the more difficult an 
 
J o3 
 
 I?ADI>OCK. 3 S NARRATIVE.: 
 
 i ngerous appeared the passage ; the camels were all made to walk 
 a single file, the path being too narrow for two to go abreast, 
 henever we arrived where the rocks lay at some little distance 
 ; art, to see the sagacity that these animals showed in climbing 
 tern was truly astonishing. My camel, and so of the rest, when 
 Binding on a rock with all the feet together, would look out for the 
 jxt stepping place, and if the distance were considerable, he would 
 nch forward with one fare foot, as if for measuring, and then take 
 back again. When he had satisfactorily ascertained the best way 
 a which to get along, he would pursue it with great care ; sometimes, 
 uen standing as 1 have just described, if the distance would admit 
 t such an adventure, he raised his whole body on the hind feet, and 
 nched the fore ones to the place intended, and getting fast hold of 
 i with them, he, by great exertion, brought the hind feet to the fore 
 tes, and stood again with all four of them together. In these 
 ises it is extremely difficult for the rider to hold himself on, which 
 f must do at his peril. There is no ascending this mountain with 
 cl passing close along the brink of precipices, when, if the rider 
 sruld lose his hold, or fall off, he must inevitably be dashed to pie- 
 Oi, as appeared clear to me in a number of instances. While we 
 lire passing by these dangerous places, the Arabs were ready to 
 ttist us, and were continually cautioning us against falling off ; not 
 f m any tenderness towards us, as we thought, but because being 
 nv near the market, We had become valuable to them, and besides, 
 i vas too late for them to return back with us. 
 
 At the dusk of the evening we arrived at the top of this part of 
 t; Atlas, and found the ground there Hat. The snow upon the 
 inmits of the mountains in our view, appeared to us as not more 
 hn five or six miles distant, though we knew that their dis- 
 lice was much greater. Just as the darkness was coming on, we 
 Eiv a walled dwelling place a little on our left, and the Arabs pro- 
 ved to go to it and remain there the night, while, on the other 
 lnd, the owners of the camels insisted upon proceeding on further. 
 | to ourselves, we were very desirous they should remain with us, 
 ;d all go oft' together the next morning, but as they would not be 
 jjrsuaded to stop, we dismounted, and leaving them to go on, we 
 j walked together toward the house, where We did not arrive till it 
 us quite dark. The bread that was given me by the governor, to- 
 ither with some little which our men had with them, served us for 
 • pper, and along with it we had a bowl of good w r ater, which one 
 i the Arabs had procured from within this wall. Soon finding that 
 ie Arabs were calculating to sleep on the outside^of the walls, we 
 listed on going inside, where we might have a cover. To this 
 ey objected that the people were asleep, and we could not get 
 ; their being asleep seemed likely, as we had not seen a single 
 :rson belonging there. Upon my reminding Ahamed of what the 
 ivernor of St. Cruez had told him, he replied, “ I can do no better 
 ; r you.” I sent one of the boys to knock at the gate, which very 
 ach offended the Arabs, but he went, and continued to knock, till 
 me one within called to know what he wanted. To which Ah? - 
 
134 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 med answered, “ I have with me some Christians' who are vei 
 troublesome, and demand of me a lodging on the inside of yoi 
 wall, under some cover.” The man within refused at first to let 1 
 enter, but Ahamed begged him to do it, and offered to give hi 
 something on his return. While he was thus pleading our caus 
 one of the Arabs was heard to say in great anger, “ 1 wish we wei 
 on the other side of St. Cruez.” At last the conditions of ouradmi 
 tance were settled. The fellow agreed to admit us in a few minute 
 wanting, as appeared, a little time to make a light. In a few m 
 nutes the door was opened, and we were conducted to a room whei 
 a small lamp was burning; it was much like the one provided ft 
 us by Salear at Ahamed’s house, only considerably larger, and, 
 possible, still more filthy. We had scarcely got birthed upon th 
 gravelly floor, before we found ourselves attacked by flees of tl i 
 first class for size. We had no small number of them about us 
 the time we entered, and so much the worse was it to be annoyt 
 by this formidable reinforcement. However, after being severe j 
 bitten, we fell asleep, and did not awake till we were disturbed 1 
 the sound of the prayers uttered before our door. J 
 
 On the 13th, at daylight, we saw, when leaving our doleful be 
 room, no person belonging to the house ; some one having previon 
 ly been there, had unlocked the gate or door. We departed, n ; 
 without taking along with us too many disagreeable inmates, tl 
 most of which we shook off by the way, on the first opportunity 
 We took a foot path leading nearly direct across the mountain, P ; 
 about an east-south-east course. On the rising of the sun, it beii 
 a clear and bright morning, the highest mountains of the Atlas e: 
 hibited the grandest spectacle imaginable. The contrast betwei 
 the dazzling whiteness of the snow, and blackness of the rocks b 
 neath it, was truly striking. So clear was the day the crevices 
 those mountains, even the smaller ones, were visible, and seerm 
 within a mile of us. Sublime and beautiful was the reflection fro 
 them of the rays of the sun ! 
 
 We saw but a few habitations till we began to make our desceri 
 which was gradual. At about eight o’clock, we came to a we 
 looking place, consisting of a small cluster of buildings, and of or 
 without the walls, more grand than the rest. Here we began lo n 
 quire of our masters something to eat, and instead of begging ft 
 it, as all along we had done, we now demanded it, and in whi 
 no doubt appeared to them rather an imperious tone, for they wet 
 very surly upon it. In coming to this cluster of buildings, w 
 met a dozen men, or more, going out, from their appearance, to ctj 
 grain. The clamour occasioned by hunger, soon became genera 
 every one of us calling out Cooly, cooiy. Upon this, one of thes 
 Moors went into one of their little cabins, and brought us out a bow; 
 part full of boiled meal, and with it a large lump of butter, whic 
 last one of the Arabs snatched away, and divided it between two o 
 three of them, a stout fellow taking the greatest part to himsell 
 When lo! instead of eating the butter, they oiled themselves with if 
 beginning at the head, and proceeding downwards ; and what thi 
 
paddock’s narrative. 135 
 
 s>ut fellow took (he being in a state of perspiration, and exposed 
 i a hot sun) ran down from his beard, and gave to his tawny skin a 
 i e gloss, which lasted all the day. The sight was amusing enough, 
 cd we now took with them such liberties as we durst not take pre- 
 ■nusly to our interview wdth the governor of St. Cruez ; but it only 
 I'ved to vex them, and make them the more crabbed; 
 
 With this spare repast we travelled on, making a quick descent. 
 1e found the side hills tolerably settled, the grain good, the soil 
 bich more stony than the Arab land we had left, but, in other re- 
 jects, about the same ; it was what we in America should call a 
 .■od gravelly soil ; the trees were more common, and the gardens 
 lich better cultivated, but we could derive no benefit from any of 
 t,:m. Their olive trees looked flourishing ; the forest trees were 
 ijich like those we saw growing at the distance of a hundred miles, 
 c a hundred and fifty, west of St. Cruez ; of grape vines we saw a 
 |v, well loaded with fruit, but they were sour grapes to us, or be- 
 hind our reach. 
 
 When it was near noon, we met with six or eight men together, 
 v.o were travelling westward. Whether they were Arabs or Moors 
 v did not know ; in some respects these two kinds of people ap- 
 
 i ar alike ; their colour does not differ a great deal, and some of the 
 Id Arabs shave their heads like the Moors. Our Arabs had some 
 k with these travellers, which none of us took any notice of, as our 
 Bnds were at rest as regarded our reaching Swearah. They sepa- 
 red, and we walked on, and presently Ahamed seemed to be agi- 
 ted with something, and muttered to himself as he went along, but 
 ine of ns regarded it. At length, while he, Laura, and myself, 
 lire close together, he broke out in a passion, and expressed him- 
 sf thus : “ I swear by my beard (taking hold of it with his hand) 
 bill carry you no further than that house,” pointing to one that was 
 tar by. We were then crossing a little rivulet about ankle deep, 
 tit was meandering through rocky ground, running northward. It 
 ns the first fresh water we had seen running since we first came 
 i o this country, and had it not been for this apparent reverse in 
 cr fortunes at the time, I should have examined it more attentively, 
 lit to return ; Ahamed proceeded as here follows — “ I have heard, 
 
 1 a man I can believe, that the consul will not ransom any more 
 uristians, and I am sorry I ever brought you here ; by the ex- 
 jnse of my purchasing you of the mountaineers, and the provision 
 have made for you, you have destroyed all my substance. You 
 Bid me the consul would redeem you, and now I find I am cheated, 
 
 : d you shall go no further.” 
 
 Laura, with all dispatch, interpreted to me this complaint and 
 Teat of Ahamed, and added, “ he has taken the oath that is most 
 acred among the Mahometans,” — meaning his swearing by his 
 :ard. By this time we had arrived at the gate of a large dwell- 
 g, and we were marched into the yard, which contained perhaps 
 df an acre •, in the rear of which was a small cabin about 12 by 20 
 et. Having arrived at this prison of ours, Ahamed says to me, 
 Here you are to remain until the money for your ransom be paid 
 
13© PADDGClUs NARRATIVE. 
 
 down.” I attempted to reason with him, but he, and all the rest . 
 them, were as cross as curs. We entered our new habitatio | 
 and all sat down in surprise. Before this we had thought ourselv jj 
 safe, and, from the assurances of the governor of St. Cruez, we h<!| 
 a good right so to think ; but what was now to be done none of ! 
 could conjecture. We began to suspect that the men who met I 
 last were the owners of this property, and that an agreement wi 
 then made with them by our Arabs to secure us here, but for wh 
 purpose we had yet to learn. As soon as we were shown to 01 
 apartment, and forbidden to go without the gate, the Arabs all la 
 down, in different parts of the yard, and fell asleep. We had no 1 
 to make our arrangement, for the English boys to watch every oj 
 portunity to learn what they intended to do with us, and when th j 
 tvas done, being very feeble and fatigued, we all laid down on son 1 
 straw, and in sleep we forgot our trouble. 
 
 When I awoke, which was in about half an hour, I found the re 
 all asleep, the Arabs lying on their guns. Presently a woman can 
 to the well, which was in the middle of the yard, to draw wate: 
 there was no bucket at the well, and she brought a small copp 
 kettle for the purpose of drawing it. As soon as she had drawn 
 up I begged her for a drink, and did it by signs, so as not to wal ; 
 the Arabs. She set the kettle down, and went the distance of abo 
 ten paces off, and stopt. Taking up the kettle, I made a heaU 
 draught, and setting it down again in its place, I walked back to tl 
 cabin. Upon which, she took the corner of her dirty haick, wipe 
 with it the place where my mouth had touched, threw the water or 
 and drew another kettle full, and walked back into the house. 
 
 I sat some time before any one stirred. At last one of the Aral 
 awoke, and made towards us; he looked in, and seeing us all safe 
 returned, and awaked the whole company, and about the same tim 
 our company awoke, hungry, but very much refreshed with sleej 
 We endeavoured to show as little anxiety as possible about ourow 
 situation ; in the mean time they appeared petulant and snappish i 
 their speech to one another. Our men being all thirsty, went ou 
 in a body, to the well, and as there was no bucket, one of the Aral 
 went to the house and brought the same copper kettle that the wc 
 man had drawn water with, and drew, first for themselves, and the 
 for our men. The well was about 16 feet deep, and the water of j 
 very good. It was stoned up, as their wells usually are, with larg 
 round or oval stones, well laid, and near the top, or surface of th 
 ground, was a handsome fiat stone, laid in lime mortar, Every par 
 of their habitations showed that they made use of a great deal o 
 lime, but we did not see a lime kiln during the whole time wc wen 
 in that country ; the stone generally, is lime stone. 
 
 After drinking pretty freely, our hunger took its turn. I sen 
 Laura to ask Ahamed if we were to have any thing to eat ? and 
 heard him reply “ Bezef” — plenty. Very soon one of them wen 
 into the house, and brought some warm bread, made of barley meal 
 W e eat it all, and asked for more ; and the reply to us was, “ 1 oi 
 shall have more as soon as it can be cooked however, we got ik 
 
PADDOClds NARRATIVE. 1.37 
 
 iore till night, and then fared tolerably well. The sun was now, 
 s we supposed, obscured bv the lofty Atlas, and as the shade of it 
 ■/as hidden from us by our walls, i took an opportunity to retire 
 ehind our cabin, and some rough timber standing aslant against 
 le wall, I took advantage of the large knots, not hewn off, and 
 shade out to climb up so as to look over it. There I had exhibited 
 > me a fine view of the mountains, and of the thickly settled coun- 
 ty on the west of us, well covered with grain, and the reapers 
 mong it ; though, as it was near sunset, many of these reapers 
 ere returning from their fields. Nearly opposite to our place of 
 ■sidence, and not more than two hundred yards from it, was a large 
 hiding newly whitewashed, and it being unconnected with any 
 her building, i thought it probably a place of public worship. 
 Iter gratifying my curiosity awhile, 1 returned, unnoticed, to our 
 • bin, and related to my mate what I had seen. 
 
 Very soon after this there came into the yard a number of Moors, 
 Id, no doubt, by their curiosity to look at us ; we were sitting to- 
 : ther at the time before our cabin door. They, one after another, 
 nde their observations upon us, consisting of such stuff as had 
 |en familiar to our ears for a long time, and was therefore but lit- 
 i regarded by us. It brought fresh to my mind the situation I had 
 4?n the poor Africans in, in the West Indies, and also in some of 
 «r southern states, yarded up for sale, and the like observations 
 nde on them as on us — for instance, That is a stout fellow, this is 
 ■sickly looking creature, not worth much, he will soon die, and so 
 :. The object of the visit of these Moors was not, however, to 
 ly us, for we were too far eastward for that ; it was merely to see 
 s:h a degraded race of human beings as we, in their opinion, were, 
 al to make their remarks upon us. After they had done with 
 iur flouting observations, they turned to the Arabs, and asked 
 ' m a number of questions concerning us — what they had given for 
 I? how they intendedto dispose of us? what profits they expect- 
 e to make ? and so forth. The answers of our masters were short 
 1 1 crusty. 
 
 Near the dusk of the evening there appeared, coming through 
 ti gate, a lusty Moor, dressed in a white clean haick, and morocco 
 srpers. As he approached, the Arabs all rose up. He called 
 b , “ Christiano ! Christiano !” upon which I arose, and stood still, 
 f- demanded of the Arabs to know who we were, wdience from, and 
 Wat they were going to do with us ? To which inquiries of his we 
 *<re all attention. The Arabs replied, “ They are Christians, 
 rom God in his goodness had cast upon our coast; w 7 e bought 
 tim on the edge of the Great Desert, from a hunting party, wdio 
 hi taken them from their wreck ; we had intended to carry them 
 tiSwearah, but to-day we have heard that the consul has no mo- 
 rn to buy Christians with.” He asked whether we were English 
 o Spaniards ? They told him we were English. He then turned 
 rind to us, and asked which of us was Rais ? As soon as I was 
 pnted out to him, he addressed himself to me, and asked me if my 
 |«sul had money ? I told him he had enough to buy ten dimes oim 
 
 18 
 
PADDOCK a NARRATIVE. 
 
 1 48 
 
 number, and even more. “ How do you know that?' 5 says he. 
 answered, the nature of our government is such, that the consul 
 obliged to ransom all its subjects. He then turned to the Arab 
 and asked them if they understood me? They acknowledged lh< 
 did, but said they did not believe me. As he was turning away 
 depart, he said, “ All is not right.'’’’ 
 
 I told Laura to ask the people about us who this man was ? as 
 
 [udged him to be some kind of magistrate, or perhaps a priest ; hi 
 Laura could get no satisfaction on this point ; it seemed the Mocj 
 
 were not unlike the Arabs as to keeping secret every thing afl 
 
 which we inquired. When it became dark the Moors left us, a 
 the Arabs, ..according to their custom, began to pass round t 
 pipe, and commenced their chat. As it was all-important for 
 to know the subject of it, we set Laura and Bob to watch eve 
 opportunity to find out the plan they had in contemplation n 
 pecting their future dealing with us. Accordingly, these be 
 placed themselves in a situation to hear. The Arabs observi 
 them to be near, were on their guard till they supposed them aslei 
 for it was so common for them to be, in all appearance, asleep 
 
 such occasions, that they did not suspect them of feigning it : as 
 
 We retired to the cabin j 
 
 Jack, he was really asleep at the time, 
 be out of the way. 
 
 About 8 or 9 o’clock our supper, of newly baked bread, was f 
 nished, and that broke up their conversation. After supper, 
 boys related to me the substance of the conversation they had heal 
 The Arabs believed that the money for our ransom would not e 
 paid, and that we should be taken from them without their receivg 
 any reward for us. They regretted very much that they had 
 sold us before they came to St. Cruez, when they might have d< 
 it to good advantage ; as that might have added greatly to tL 
 wealth, but (as some of them said) it was now too late. Some othjj 
 were of the opinion that it was not yet out of their power to get 
 back, as they might move us off in the night, part of the way 
 first night, and on the next might pass beyond St. Cruez undisj 
 vered, and that we might in the mean time be put in such a sit 
 tion as not to be heard ; that was, however, objected to by a j: 
 of them, who thought it impossible to keep us still. It was the 
 nion of a part that we might be carried back undiscovered by crc 
 ing the mountains that lay back of St. Cruez; while another \ 
 alleged that it would be impossible to get rid of St. Cruez in t 
 way, as they must climb the rocks even where the the snow r 
 was, for which extreme cold, neither we nor themselves were si 
 ciently clad. Finally, one of them said, If they could get clea: 
 Rias, they might do better; that he was the -worst to manage 
 that all the rest were inclined to follow his advice. 
 
 Supper being brought to us, that conversation ended, as I s 
 before, and a discouraging and mortifying one it was to us. TV 
 course to take we knew not, but still had a hope that some autho 
 under the emperor would interfere in our behalf ; as to our be 
 carried back, I did not believe it practicable. If we had not 
 interpreters to inform us of what was said, we should probably h 
 
PADOQCIvS NARRATIVE. 
 
 139 
 
 een more at ease, though more unsafe. About 10 o’clock we re-* 
 red to rest. The gate was locked, and the Arabs were missing, 
 hich last circumstance gave us reason to suspect they were making 
 iends in the neighbourhood, for putting in practice one or other of 
 te schemes they had been speaking of. We fell asleep, and did 
 at know at what time they returned. 
 
 On the morning of the 14th, we were awaked by a noise we had 
 jen long accustomed to, namely, the sound of their prayers, nor 
 d we find the Arabs in any better mood than before. As we had 
 ie preceding day been fed very sparingly, and were now very hun- 
 ry, we asked for food, but found very little attention paid to our 
 quest. About 3 o’clock all of us got a little barley bread, warm 
 am the oven ; in itself it. was poor bread," but to us it tasted good ; 
 e worst of it was, tfie quantity was very spare. Soon after this 
 anty repast, many of the neighbouring Moors came to see us, 
 id by them we were treated as we had been by those who had 
 "sited us the day before ; they all, and always, came to gratify 
 eir curiosity, and to make their brutal observations upon us. 
 hile we were almost surrounded with these unpleasant and unwel- 
 me visitors, a voice was heard through the crowd, calling out, 
 Christiano !” and I soon perceived it was the voice of the man 
 10 had visited us (he day before. The crowd all dispersed in a 
 lament, the Arabs arose, and he walked up to us. After taking a 
 ght view of us, he asked the Arabs what their intentions were 
 Incerning us ? The Arabs spoke to him with a low voice, and our 
 >ys being inattentive at the time, could not tell us the purport of 
 neir reply. He walked across the yard, and went out, and the 
 te being left open, I follorved him to it, and satv him cross the 
 jad, and enter the house which I had supposed was a house of wor- 
 ip. On my return back, I perceived that all the Arabs had been 
 blowing me ; they went to the gate, and shut it, and returned to the 
 ace where we had been ordered to remain. I told the boys, 
 ie next time that man should come, they must ask him to pro- 
 ot us ; that they must tell him that our government, and that of the 
 iltan, were on the most friendly terms, and that from the Moors 
 lb asked protection, and had a right to expect it. We had but few 
 fitors this forenoon, and of those who came, we endeavoured to 
 id out who our respectable looking visitor was. Only one of them 
 I auld make any reply, who told us he was a great man, but would 
 y nothing further about him. At noon I got another peep over 
 Ie wall, but could see nothing more than I had seen the day before. 
 
 About 3 o’clock, on looking about for our men, I found Pat was 
 pissing, the Arabs at the time being all asleep. I walked towards 
 !e gate, and saw it open, upon which I went immediately to my ob~ 
 rvatory, if I may so call it, and from thence saw Pat in the road, 
 dancing, with a number of women around him. 1 informed my 
 ■ ate of it, and he took one of the boys with him to bring Pat back, 
 pon my looking again over the wall, I saw the mate and the boy 
 ting out of a bowl. The temptation being too hard to withstand, 
 followed out, and found that these women were on their return 
 
140 
 
 taddock’s narrative. 
 
 from the field, with the leavings of the mens’ dinner, and that the 
 had been feeding Pat, to hire him to sing and dance. Having eate 
 his fill, he had mounted a flat stone, and was now making these w< 
 men merry. The mate and the boy were engaged in finishing til 
 remains of a bowl. A woman, coming to join in the merriment, si 
 her bowl down for me ; in it was enough for a common dinner ft 
 two men, consisting of boiled meal and a lump of butter, which 
 finished in great haste. Four of us being now missing, led some < 
 the others to look for us, and by the time they had got engaged i 
 cramming themselves, there were at least twenty women all arour 
 us, laughing heartily at Pat’s capers and music. By this time tl 
 men in the grain field got sight of us, and ran down the road til 
 wards us, in full speed, but luckily espying them before they h: 
 arrived, I ran for the gate, and the others followed me. They weij 
 so near us, that one of the stones they hove at us passed by m 
 We all ran into our cabin, and had the door shut, before they h; 
 come in sight of it. They entered the yard, with a confused cl 
 mour, at wdiich the Arabs awoke in surprise, started up, and wai 
 ed to know the cause of the riot. We had got birthed, all but m i 
 self, who was looking through the crack of the door to see wh 
 was likely to follow. I found that the Moors were charging ti 
 Arabs with permitting us to run after their women, and that t! 
 Arabs, on the contrary, were standing in their own defence, by Ik I 
 ly denying the charge. Expecting they would come to the cabin 
 laid down soon, and presently upon it the door was opened whe 
 we all lay, when I called upon Laura to ask them what the noi 
 was about us ? The Arabs at our cabin door, replied, “ The Moo 
 have been complaining of you for running after their women, 
 owned to them that some of us had been out of the gate, where th< 
 saw women coming from the grain field, with some victuals left 
 their bowls, and that one of our men suffering severely with hungcl 
 had purchased of them something to eat by singing and dancing 
 amuse them. As to the charge of running after the women, I to 
 them it was ill founded, that I was a witness to the transaction, ai 
 could assert positively that our men were not within three paces 
 their women. We were reprimanded, and threatened with seve 
 punishment, if ever after we should be seen without the gate. Ti 
 Moors left us, muttering to themselves something that we did nil 
 understand. The poor women, I have no doubt, paid dear for the 
 entertainment. 
 
.PADDOCK's NARRATIVE. 
 
 Lit 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 ar third visit from the venerable Moor — My entreaty for his protection — His propo- 
 sal for my writing a letter to Mogadore — The purport of my letter — A courier hired 
 to carry it — Our joyful hopes turned into distracting fears, by the courier’s present- 
 ly returning with the letter broken open, and denounced as a cheat— A new, but 
 unpromising plan, agreed upon — Our benignant guest steps in and defeats it, and 
 proposes to the Arabs to send me to Mogadore — My setting out on my journey thi- 
 ther, in company with Ahamed and the Moor that was to have carried my letter — 
 Heavy discouragements on the way — Condition of the surrounding country — Drag- 
 ged by the heels from my bed of straw — My confinement in a dark and loathsome 
 room, under circumstances, and with forebodings, that rendered me nearly frantic — - 
 My escape from that filthy prison — After an altercation with Ahamed and the Moor, 
 my journey progresses — A view of the top of the Atlas, and the adjacent country, 
 at the moment of sunrise — A stifling progress through drifted and drifting sand — - 
 Enrapturing sight of Mogadore, and of the British flag waving in its harbour — Oc- 
 currences at the little village where we take up our lodgings for the night — My es- 
 cape from my keepers to a fresh river near by — A feat at scouring and rinsing there. 
 
 The Arabs were now very peevish, and what seemed to occasion 
 eir uncommon peevishness at this time, they could not devise what 
 easures to take with us. We suspected they were trying to col- 
 :t strength to get us back into their own territory, and thought if 
 ey could gain over to them the influence of the distinguished Moor 
 at I have spoken of, they would attempt to put in practice that pur- 
 use. Soon after this affair with the Moors and the Moorish women, 
 is very man came into the yard. I was ready to shudder at the 
 light of him, for fear of his displeasure at what had happened. He 
 koproached us, calling out Christiano, as usual, and speaking to 
 te Arabs ; and according to my arrangement in the morning, I ac- 
 > sted him, through Laura, in the following words — We are here in 
 *e Sultan’s territory, held by these Arabs, and from your hands we 
 :k justice. Your Sultan and our Sultan are on the most friendly 
 jrms. We ask nothing from these men but our freedom, which we 
 
 ! e willing to pay for; they have been told that our consul is unable 
 pay a sufficient ransom for us all, but in that they have been mis- 
 formed. To keep us here starving will never help them. 
 
 B After 1 had gone through with what I had to say, he asked me if I 
 siuld write ? I answered that 1 could. He then turned to the Arabs, 
 ho had heard our talk, and proposed it to them to let me write a 
 tter, and have it sent to the consul, adding, “You will know then 
 hether the stories they have told you be true or false.” The 
 rabs consented that I should send a letter if I would hire a Moor 
 carry it, which I agreed to. Accordingly a man was sent for, 
 ho demanded four dollars for that service, and I promised to pay 
 Upon this, he said he would be ready as soon as he could get 
 Is horse, and that would be as soon as I could write my letter, 
 sheet of paper, a reed, (by the way, the Moors always use reeds 
 r pens,) and some ink, were immediately procured for me, and a 
 rge flat stone was my writing table. Our good Moor lent me a 
 tarp knife, with which I made a tolerable pen. Ahamed sat op- 
 isite to me. The Arabs gathered round, and the Moors in the vi- 
 nity, who had heard that I was to send a letter to Swearah, came 
 
142 
 
 paddock’s narrative* 
 
 in; taken all together, I presume there were more than fifty collect® 
 around me. 
 
 It was agreed upon that, Ahamed should dictate my letter, and 
 called for Laura to interpret it, but he insisted that Jack should b 
 the interpreter, to which I consented. Ahamed began to dictate! 
 and did it in short sentences, and I wrote about as fast as he spoke 
 but not a single sentence of what he told me to write. The sub | 
 stance of what he dictated to me was, that myself and crew werr 
 down in the country, held captives by the Arabs, who would nc 
 carry us to Swearah till our redemption money was sent them i 
 advance ; that agreeably to our contract, for which they had my sc 
 lemn pledge of honour, our ransom was. to be four hundred dollar 
 for each of us, and forty dollars, over and above, for myself ; the 
 the men who held us captives had been kind to us, but were unabl 
 to give us much to eat ; that we were very sickly, and needed hel 
 immediately, and that the bearer would bring the money, and th 
 consul might send a man to see it paid. 
 
 I directed my letter to the British consul at Mogadore, or an 
 other humane man into whose hands it might fall, and stated in 
 that we were a short day’s march eastward of St. Cruez, and, a< 
 cording to my calculation, seventy miles south-west of Mogadon 
 but that I was unable to name the place we were at; that we ha 
 been wrecked on the coast of Barbary ; that my crew her^e wei 
 eight in number, and that besides we had with us three of the Marti 
 Hall’s crew ; that we were in a suffering condition, and that the Aral 
 here u r ere devising means to get us back, beyond St. Cruez, to ar< ; 
 gion where we should be doomed to drag out our existence in barbs 
 rian slavery ; and finally, that 1 wished the bearer might be detaine; 
 till he could release us, since, in the event of his returning without th 
 money, we should be dragged back before aid could be afforded nit 
 adding my belief that he had a full knowledge of these merciles | 
 savages, and would take such measures for us as humanity shoul 
 dictate. 
 
 When I had done writing my letter, the Arabs, very unexpected 
 ly, ordered me to read it. My mate, who was looking over m| ! 
 shoulder, saw my embarrassment, said to me, “ Read on, you ca 
 do it well enough” — and, luckily for me, I made out to read it t 
 their satisfaction. Ahamed then told Jack to read it, and we 
 knowing he could not, I reached him the letter, and Jack, upo 
 looking at it, said it would do very well, as also said o'Ur old frien 
 the Moor. Lastly, Ahamed examined it himself, and seeing n 
 numerical figures there, he objected to it for that omission. I toll 
 him the figures might be added at the bottom, which I actually die 1 
 and made and placed them just as he would have them. It mad| 
 it a pretty curious letter, but the addition was such as nobody coul 
 interpret in a manner to answer their purpose, or to injure or impai 
 what I meant to convey. Though I had folded the letter up befor 
 the Moor was ready to start, yet he demanded some tobacco i|! 
 addition to his stipulated pay, saying I had detained him too long 
 That I promised, and then had to open the letter and write tobacc 
 
paddocic’s narrative. 
 
 143 
 
 t the bottom, Now he thought it would do, and said he would re- 
 urn on the third day. We all went to the gate to see him off, and 
 e started upon a full gallop, on a fine bay horse, and was very soon 
 ut of sight. The Moors departed. My excellent friend, the Moor, 
 aid to me, “ You now will soon gain your freedom,” and left us, 
 fter I had returned to him my cordial thanks for his kindness to us. 
 Ve all now returned to our lodging place, rejoicing at this most 
 i attering prospect of soon obtaining our freedom. 
 
 In a single hour these hopes of ours were blasted. To our as- 
 Dnishment the Moor came running into the yard, with the letter 
 pen in his hand. Upon our going out of our cabin to know the 
 ause of his return, he told us he had rode but a little way when he 
 uet with one of his acquaintance, who desired to know where he 
 'as bound, and on what business ; and, upon his telling him, he 
 ■anted to see the letter, which having examined, he said it was good 
 ir nothing. We, on our part, contended that the letter was a good 
 ne. In the mean time our faithful friend came to us, in apparent 
 nger, and demanded the cause of our messenger’s return ; and be- 
 ig told the story of it by the Arabs, and I still insisting upon it that 
 le letter was good, he took our part, and said the man who had ex- 
 mined it was a liar, and then walked out of the yard. 
 
 It was now near night, and some of us were pretty hungry, but 
 pon our asking for victuals, we were reminded of what the women 
 ad helped us to ; w r e got, however, some bread, of such kind as 
 ■e had had before. We knew not what course to take next, and 
 ,r ere more fearful than ever of these Arabs obtaining assistance for 
 arrying us back, not knowing then how much it was in the power of 
 ur good Moor to render abortive any attempt of that kind. As to 
 le story about the letter, we thought it a made up one ; we had no 
 belief of its having been read by any person who understood it, for, 
 
 ’ so, he would have pointed out the particulars therein that he 
 eemed fraudulent, or faulty, of which the Moor that was the bearer 
 f it could and would have given us information. During the whole- 
 f the evening the Arabs were very cautious against suffering our 
 oys to listen to their talk ; though they were not so fearful of Jack, 
 nd of him we got a little information. He told us that they ap- 
 earedvery uneasy, and frequently said to one another, u If we had 
 re dogs back on the other side of St. Cruez, we might manage 
 [hem according to our will.” Jack expressed it as his opinion that 
 rey intended to carry us back, but he knew not how, and thought 
 hat their plan for it was not yet matured. Having by these meairs 
 ained a knowledge of their intentions, we were constantly upon our 
 uard against their taking us by surprise in the night time. After 
 long conversation upon the subject of our unhappy and deplora- 
 ble condition, we laid down, and slept pretty well. 
 
 On the morning of the 15th, previously to our going out of 
 >ur cabin, we had agreed, that before another night we would 
 >y all means have the subject of our departure from that place 
 ettled ; for the fear of being dragged back had preyed upon our 
 1 jainds to such a degree that we were on the brink of delirium. 
 
144 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 Soon after sunrise I took Laura with me, and we went to Ahamec 
 
 who was sitting under the wajl of our enclosure. I told him he wa 
 
 acting contrary to his own interest in thus detaining us here, and re 
 commended it to him to send on some man or other with the lettc 
 which the Moor had brought back, assuring him that immediate a 
 tention would be paid to that letter on its arrival at Swearah. Aht 
 med replied, “ That letter is good for nothing.” Let me read it t 
 you again, said I to him. “ No,” he answered, “ that will do n 
 good, for it sha’nt be sent on again.” After a little pause, he askc 
 me if I would send a man up for the money ? 1 readily told him 
 would, if he would send a man and horse with him. This propos 
 tion he agreed to, and the arrangement made between us was satisl 
 factory to all the Arabs. Ahamed then asked me whom I woulj 
 send? Not daring to nominate myself, for fear of increasing hij 
 jealousy of me, I told him to make his own choice. Upon whic! 
 he named one, and I proposed that he should carry my letter wit! 
 him ; but that proposition w r as rejected by Ahamed and all the resj! 
 of them. Their conditions for me were soon made up, which wcr 
 these : l was to pay four dollars for the man and horse, and the.tw 
 should ride by turns ; 1 was to give also a knife, and some tobacco, t| 
 make up for the man’s services of yesterday ; the tale that was to fc 
 told to the consul was to be given by me, but in their presence, an 
 was to be interpreted to them by boy Jack. All these conditions 5 
 consented to. Upon which, the same Moor, and the one of us th; 
 was appointed to go on, being ready to start, they began to give the [ 
 instructions, or orders, which Jack interpreted to me, and as fast a* 1 
 I received them from him I communicated them to our messengef 
 but in a manner that made them similar in substance to my lettei 
 After all was settled, and the boy that was our messenger mounf 
 ed, I took an opportunity in the absence of Jack, to ask him (th 
 messenger) if he understood his errand aright, and knew what to sal 
 to the consul ? He replied, “ I understand you.” This exciting th 
 suspicion of Ahamed, he desired to know of me what I had the 
 been saying. I told him I had only been charging the messenger t 
 do his errand right, and Laura being present, confirmed it for me 
 Our two envoys were moving towards the gate/ when our friend! 
 Moor met them, and demanded to know whither they were bound 
 They are bound to Swearah,” replied Ahamed, “ to bring the mo 
 ney for the ransom of these Christians.” The Moor then told then 
 to stop, and they did so, and he addressed himself to Ahamed as fol 
 lows : “ Are you so ignorant as to'suppose the consul will believ 
 the story you are about to send him ? depend upon it, he will not 1 
 1 know him, and know that he is a wise man. If you should sen* 
 Rais, he would believe him, and the money would be in safe hands. ,! 
 Then turning to me, he said, “ Is it not so ?” I told him this was ; 
 plan of their own forming, and that I had consented to it from a be 
 lief that any kind of efforts to obtain our freedom would be bette 
 than to stay here and not act at all. Ahamed, looking me full in th 1 
 face, said, “ Will you go?” Yes, I answered. “ Will you pay th<j 
 
paddock 5 s narrative. 
 
 145 , 
 
 cpenscs ?” I gave him the same answer. “ Well,” he rejoined, 
 
 I will go also, provided you will return with me in case you can’t 
 >t the money.” That 1 promised to* do. “We must have two 
 arses,” he said, “ and take turns to ride.” I agreed to it ; and 
 so agreed with the same Moor that we had engaged before, to fur* 
 r sh another horse, for the additional pay of four dollars and a knife. 
 
 i ;cordingIy another horse was provided in haste, and in the mean 
 ne Ahamed was much engaged with his companions the Arabs. 
 
 5 to my men, they came round me, rejoicing that the time of our 
 bverance was so near at hand. 
 
 It was about 2 o’clock before we were ready to start. Of the 
 o horses they gave me the handsomest, and one held him by the 
 ad while I was mounting. At the signal for moving, my horse, 
 er the manner to which he had been accustomed, gave such a 
 ;dden spring forward, that, although I was well guarded, I lost my 
 lid, and fell on my back and shoulders. The ground being fa- 
 vurable, and myself not very heavy, the injury proved trifling, 
 ough perhaps at another time, and under different circumstances, 
 should have felt it more. My men all ran to my assistance ; I, 
 wever, got up without help, the horse standing still the while, 
 lich I remounted, notwithstanding their proposing to me to take 
 5 other one, and, by a tight rein, I kept him under command, 
 iking the path, and proceeding in a northerly direction, we soon 
 scended into a valley, or more properly a plain, the land on each 
 e of it being hilly, and especially on the right, where were seve- 
 large habitations, well walled in. Some of the walls appeared to 
 twenty feet in height, or more ; there were also, on the sides of 
 : hills, good gardens, fenced in with stone walls. There were 
 fene handsome spots of trees, to only a few of which were we near 
 emgh to ascertain of what kinds they were. What grape vines 
 v saw were of the low kind, and well loaded with fruit, which ap- 
 pired nearly ripe. The soil was gravelly, and, in my places, veiy 
 s ny, such as produces the finest grapes in Madeira and TenerifFe ; 
 al, as the climate here was about the same, I had no doubt that the 
 gipes were of the same kind. The pompions and onions here were 
 li ? in appearance. 
 
 Keeping our horses on a moderate trot, we had travelled as fast 
 a the man on foot (who more than half the time was on the run) 
 :ild possibly get along, and, by continuing that speed, I expected 
 tweach Mogadore by the noon of the next day. But when we had 
 a ended and reached the higher ground, instead of this fair and 
 fi b travelling, we found it very rough ; the sharp stones prevented 
 n horse from keeping up, and in a short time he became lame, 
 'linking he had a sharp stone in his hoof, as soomas 1 had over- 
 t; en the footman, who stopt for me, I examined his feet, and found 
 h had no shoes on. We were now about eight miles from the place 
 n had started from, when Ahamed and the Moor proposed to re- 
 tin, but, for my part, I urged them to go on, and getting off my 
 h,se, 1 led him. We progressed so slow in this way, that the 
 B or said we must either return back, or go on with but one horse. 
 
 19 
 
346 
 
 FADD'OCk’s NaUIIATIVE. 
 
 As I still pressed them to keep on, they consented, on the coriditi 
 that the lame horse should be left behind, and that I should pay t 
 hire of both, and this 1 promised. At no great distance horn us w 
 a house, which stood three or four hundred yards from the path, a 
 when we had come to the bars, our Moor called to a boy who w 
 near the house, and bade him let them down, and then turned in t 
 horse through the opening, leaving it with the boy to take care 
 him ; which charge he no doubt attended to, and fed the horse we 
 as grain was plenty there, a large field of it being now about hi 
 
 cut, and in it a number of reapers cutting down the rest. 
 
 After this, Ahamed and the Moor, finding that I got along ve 
 slow, stopped for me to come up with them, and then propos 
 to me a new bargain, namely, that I should ride all the time, ai 
 for that privilege should add to the quantity of tobacco I had pi 
 
 mised, and give another knife ; and this I readily agreed to do, a 
 
 mounted a good hor$e, though not so smart as the one that was le 
 This new arrangement was much to our advantage ; the Arab a 
 the Moor, who were fit companions, continued to run so fast as 
 keep me in a slow trot nearly all the time. The ground was a coai 
 gravel, stony, and tolerably well settled ; there were several lar , 
 enclosures, which they called towns ; all the fields looked well, a 
 it seemed as if every body was engaged in the harvest. Aboul 
 o’clock we stopped against a small house near the way, and a w 
 being at hand, my fellow-travellers called upon a boy to bring us 
 bowl, and we got a drink of excellent water. After drinking, th 
 mixed about a pint of raw barley meal w r ith a little water, so as 
 make it a thick substance, and about three fourths of it they < 
 themselves, and gave me the remainder, which I found a sumptuc 
 repast. After all had done, they laid the bowl on the stone of t 
 well, and the boy came and rubbed out the inside with some san 
 he then washed it, and returned with it to the house. I concluded tl jj 
 this cleansing of the bowl was to clear away the pollution impart 
 to it by the touch of my lips. 
 
 We now descended a little, in nearly a north-east course, a 
 found the country along our path somewhat more level, but on ea 
 side, and particularly on the right, there were high mountains, inf 
 bited but little differently from what we had seen all along since 1 
 had commenced this journey. The flocks were rather more rume 
 ous, particularly the goats ; in many places the hills were literal 
 covered with goats, intermingled with sheep, with several childr . 
 employed as their keepers. The grass, though dry, seemed in toler 
 ble plenty; the shrubs and low trees on the hills afforded a f! 
 sufficiency of food for the goats. When it was near sunset, the S' 
 that we passed over had more the appearance of sand, intermix 
 with gravel, and abounded more with grain, and less with- fruit treij 
 and grape vines. The country ahead, except the mountains, hi 
 gan to appear to us like that on the edge of the desert, consisting | 
 sand banks, intermixed with rocky ground. 
 
 As it was now growing dark, I began to think of my night’s lodl) 
 ing. The two men with me quickened their pace to such a degr 
 
147 
 
 paddock’s narrative* 
 
 at 1 had tt> continue my horse at a considerable trot to keep up 
 ith them ; talking with them in Arabic as well as I could, having no 
 Iterpreter. Anxious as 1 was to get along, as soon as it became 
 isk I felt my inability. What with trotting on horseback for five 
 
 I t six hours, and what with meeting a cold north wind, the fatigue 
 id the chill were such as 1 could bear no longer, and I called to 
 ?e Arab and the Moor to know when they would stop, and com- 
 bined to them of the weariness and cold I was suffering. But all 
 wain; they only shook their heads at me, and kept on till consb 
 < rably dark, when they stopt along side of a large quantity of grain, 
 appeared to have been collected at this place not with intent that 
 i should lie there long in the sheaves, for they were not stacked in 
 regular manner, or as the Americans stack their grain, that is, ex- 
 sed to the weather ; the sheaves lying there were large, and well 
 und. At this time a dim light appeared at the distance of a hun- 
 ted and fifty, or two hundred yards, and the two men with me were 
 viting, I supposed, for an invitation to the house ; when, for my 
 [rt, jaded out with a ride on horseback from 20 to 25 miles, being 
 taccustomed to riding in this way, I sat down by the side of this 
 giin, and soon felt sleepy, and suffering as 1 did with the coldness 
 othe night, I found an entrance with my head between the sheaves, 
 nich were not packed close, and so far worked myself along 
 a to be, as I thought, completely under cover. My situation then 
 vs warm and comfortable, and I fell asleep, but for how long I 
 c lid not tell, for the first I knew, the Arab and the Moor were 
 digging me out by my heels. When this was over, they gave me 
 aevere scolding, probably thinking they had lost me: at least, it 
 *jk them some time to find me, and sorry was I that they did find 
 n at all that night, so comfortable was my lodging there. 
 
 They took me to the house, and asked me iff was hungry? My 
 anver was as might have been expected. It was quite an unneces- 
 ■ y question, as Ahamed all along well knew that I had never got 
 Dm his hands scarcely half enough to eat, and frequently not the 
 5 teenth of enough. He reached me the bowl, consisting of sour 
 nk, with a little raw meal stirred in it, which I swilled down, and 
 a:ed him for more. His reply was, “ Cooly mackan” — victuals 
 me, or no more. The man of the house opened the door, or gate, 
 til, by the dim light of a lamp, I was led to some bars, which he 
 It down, and put them up again after 1 had gone through, and then 
 e inguished his light. The smell was sufficient to show me what 
 k ds of animals had lodged there last ; in fact, I did think that after 
 had arrived, the sheep and goats were turned out, for the sake of 
 pividing me with a birth. Being left in the dark, I could not tell 
 ti size or the shape of my room. With my feet I scraped away as 
 itch of the filth as I could, and lying down, 1 soon fell asleep, and 
 s pt soundly. 
 
 /Vhen I awoke all was still. I concluded it was near daylight, or 
 qte, but could not discover any crack for the admission of light, 
 Cm had the day then dawned. Upon my waking, the first painful 
 tlught that thrilled through my mind was, I am here a prisoner l 
 
paddock’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 1 4o 
 
 I recollected my hearing, by the boys, how the Arabs had said, ‘ i 
 Rais was away, we might do well enough with the rest and I si 
 pected that this was a piece of management to secure me here, ai 
 make off with the others towards St. Cruez. I fancied they we 
 already carried half way to that town, and at that very moment 
 cured in some solitary place, and that the next night they woi 
 carry them on beyond St. Cruez. My imagination suggested to i 
 that they might send on a Moor to bribe some man in the lov 
 town of St. Cruez to furnish them with a fishing boat, by whi 
 means, embarking on the east side of the river, they might, in 
 hour or two, be landed in the Arabian territory on the west si< 
 and none but myself be left to tell the sad tale of our disasters, 
 very well knew I might be kept safe enough here till that pro} 
 should be accomplished. By these reflections my mind was wrouj 
 up to such a pitch of frenzy, that I groped about in the dark, fe 
 ing at the walls, nearly all round the room, before I came to i 
 bars where I had entered it, and upon trying to let them dowr 
 found them fastened, which confirmed the horrid suspicions that 1 
 taken possession of my breast. I then strove to get over the bs 
 and, in mounting them, I struck my head against the ceiling abo 
 and the blow was so hard that I was near falling ; still climbing i 
 I found the distance between the top rail and the ceiling just w 
 enough for the entrance of my head, and so emaciated was I at ti 
 time, that it proved sufficiently wide for my whole body to p 
 through. Accordingly I succeeded in getting over the bars, and 
 I recollected the direction I had gone in, in passing from the dooi^ 
 the bars, I groped along, and found the door, in which was a crt; 
 large enough to show me that it was not yet daylight. Here I 
 about for the bolt, or fastening of the door, and not being able to fi 
 it, I felt my way back to the bars, where I stood, with the horri > 
 picture in my mind of the barbarian slavery to be endured by it 
 poor fellow-captives. i 
 
 After standing in this position about half an hour, I heard it 
 stepping of a horse approaching, and soon upon it distinctly heard > 
 rattling of the stirrups of a saddle, and the sound of placing it up 
 the horse’s back ; at the same time I heard no human voice, nor <1 
 there seem to be more than one person there. Upon this, my mil, 
 extremely agitated as it was, flew to another conjecture, namely, till 
 the Moor had been away, and was now returned, and that Ahatrl 
 was about to start on for Mogadore upon the affair of our ranso, 
 and had placed us in such situations that ifhe should not succeed) 
 his liking in obtaining the ransom for the rest, he could retain all It 
 myself in slavery. All this appeared to me practicable, by meti 
 of a little assistance from the Moors. Being placed in a situatii 
 which I thought almost hopeless, I made another effort to open i 
 door, attempting it by as violent a haul as my feeble strength wod 
 admit of. It succeeded. Some part of the fastening giving w; 
 the door flew open, and before it stood the horse, saddled al 
 bridled, and the two men sitting upon the ground, eating, or rath 
 drinking, from a bowl. As soon as I could I mounted the hor, 
 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 249 
 
 nd they, angrily, ordered me off. I contended that I had hired the 
 orse, and had a right to ride him. The Moor, instead of hearken- 
 ■ lg to my argument, took me by the leg, and threatened to haul me 
 iff the horse, which I was loth to quit, for fear I should not recover 
 im again. They returned to the bowl, and handed it from the one 
 1 1 the other, till three fourths of it, or more, were gone, and then 
 t iked me if I would eat ? I desired them to reach me the bowl, which 
 liey refused, by telling me if I would not get off I should have none, 
 unger at last overcame all other considerations, and I dismounted, 
 at still held the bridle in my hand. I took the bowl, and finished 
 is contents, which was sour milk, and with it a very little raw meal. 
 
 ; his done, Ahamed says to me, in a surly tone, “ Now get on the 
 arse, you Christian dog.” He and the Moor then muttered out 
 •mething that I did not understand, but I well knew, from their ges- 
 ■ r res, that I was the subject of it. My fears of being left behind 
 ere now subsided ; fears that arose from their secret management, 
 
 I hich I did not understand the meaning of. 
 
 On the 16th, before day-break, we moved off, in the path we came 
 , as far as where the grain lay, and then took a path leading about 
 ; ist-south-east, when pointing to the north-east, I called out, and 
 >.id to them, That is the way to Swearah. But they continued in 
 <je same course, between two high hills. Daylight now began to 
 /apear, when they stopped, and went through their manner of 
 ayer, which took up a quarter of an hour. Very soon after this 
 S; came to a path leading over one of those hills that were on our 
 'ft, and having for my compass the stars, which were still visible, I 
 fund we were travelling in about a north-east course, and my mind 
 as set at rest. When we had arrived at the top of this hill, which 
 Its rocky, and of a soil fit only for grazing, it opened to my view a 
 magnificent scene. Here the top of the Atlas was full in my view, 
 ■mhibiting, at the rising of the sun, what I thought one of the most 
 and and majestic of all earthly spectacles. On the north were 
 gh sand hills, giving evidence of an unproductive soil. But, on 
 e south was seen a very extensive country, abounding with little 
 ifiiclosed cities, with large fields of grain, and with productive gar- 
 ns. In short, though the climate here is dry as well as hot, such 
 the extreme fertility of the soil, that it is capable of producing 
 mrtdantly all the necessaries, and all the luxuries of life. What 
 might it be under the cultivation of a civilized, industrious, and skil- 
 1 people ! From this hill I expected to have seen the ocean, but 
 as disappointed. 
 
 W e descended the hill in a more northerly course, and after tra- 
 iling a few miles, we came again to a plain well beaten foot path, 
 i fich I supposed was the direct road from St. Cruez to Mogadore, 
 
 • td \vhy they had left it this morning was unaccountable to me. As 
 fie were descending, xve often met travellers, with loaded camels, 
 ling westward. About 10 o’clock we arrived in a more level coun- 
 jjr, which had some little appearance of cultivation ; the hills, on 
 )th sides, were appropriated mostly to grazing. We now made 
 Kedter speed in our progress, for the two men were constantly for- 
 
150 
 
 paddock’s narrative 
 
 ward of me, on the run, which kept my horse in a moderate trot, 
 the rate, I suppose, of four miles an hour, where the travelling w 
 good, and of three miles and a half on an average. This rate 
 travelling I concluded would carry us to Mogadore some time befo 
 night, along a path level in the main, but rather descending. C 
 the sides of the hills we saw a few tolerable habitations, and, on tl 
 road sides, a few small dwellings, at one of which we stopt afro 
 noon, borrowed a bowl, drew water, and drank freely of water th 
 was really good. After drinking, they mixed together raw meal ai 
 water, of a thick consistence, and ate as much as suited them, ai 
 then reached me the bowl, in which was a larger quantity than us 
 al, and full as much as would be proper for me to eat at any tim 
 or on any occasion. However, I finished it. 
 
 Proceeding on, we soon ascended a very hilly country. Tl 
 wind was fresh, and the sand was driven in much greater abundan 
 than I had ever seen it since we left the Arabian country. Wh< 
 we were on the top of one of the sand hills, my two fellow trave 
 lers cried out, “Swearah! Swearah!” and ran on at full speej 
 For myself, I could see nothing but sand hills, nor could they 1 
 reality. It was now as late as four o’clock ; my footmen were ru 
 ning so fast that my horse was kept on a full trot, over these hills 
 drifted sand, and I every moment was expecting to behold the lot, 
 wished for place of my deliverance. Several times the sand flew i[ 
 much in my face that I was obliged to shut my eyes, and let tl 
 horse take his own way. Whenever I could get sight of the tv 
 men, I found the horse was following their track, for all shape < 
 path was effaced ; the loose sand was full half leg deep to the hors 
 While following the men round these knolls of sand, it seemed ton 
 that we were travelling far northward, and that our course at laj 
 was nearly north-west. I called to them, but received no answe 1 
 On a sudden they disappeared, while descending a steep sand hi 1 
 and the next moment my horse took down the same hill, when, in i 
 instant, there opened to my view the sea, and the town of Mogado 
 far on the right, and only a few miles distant from it three laq 
 brigs lying at anchor. 
 
 Here the two men made a full stop, and Ahamed said to me, “ 
 you know that place ? See the ships there !” So great were rr 
 emotions at this sudden change in my condition, that I was qui 
 overcome, and lost even the power of speech. When they saw tl 
 tears gushing profusely from my eyes, they laughed, I suppose, : 
 my weakness ; for the Arabs consider weeping as beneath tl 
 dignity of a man, though not disgraceful in a w r oman. These me 
 stood till 1 had collected the manly part, and then asked me if 
 knew the place, and the ships, and what nation they belonged to 
 I told them the place was Mogadore, and I had no doubt but th 
 ships belonged to my own country. The sun was now very lov 
 which they looked at, and said something, and then ran directly fcj 
 the town ; they went with such speed, that I was obliged to haste 
 the horse to keep up with them. When the sun had sunk behin 
 the hills and disappeared, we were at a little fresh water river, the 
 
faddock’s narrative. 
 
 151 
 
 as about two miles from the town 5 it was the second fresh river 
 , lat I had seen in Barbary, after travelling five hundred and seven- 
 *--five miles. Here we made a stop, and Ahamed said that we 
 mid not enter the town, because its people were asleep. I made 
 r,e of all the Arabic I was master of to persuade him to go on, but 
 
 I . no purpose ; he refused in plain terms, by saying, we must turn 
 ick to the buildings only a few rods behind us, where was a con- 
 derable collection of dwellings walled in. 
 
 Having no choice left me, 1 dismounted, kneeled down upon some 
 rail stones, and drank from this beautiful little river, which was 
 scharging itself into the sea; and seeing them going back, I con- 
 rued there washing myself. Soon Ahamed returned from the 
 )uses, with the information that I should have victuals enough there, 
 id bade me follow him, which I did. There was at this time a great 
 >dy of men and women, with camels and asses, on their way from 
 Is town, which satisfied me that the gates were shut. Some of 
 em stopped at this place, but the greater part went on ; as they 
 d not follow our path, I was convinced we had not taken the near- 
 <t or most direct road ; that, however, was but of little consequence 
 
 I me now. It being now dusk, the men of this little neighbourhood 
 gan to assemble together to see me. We took our seat under the 
 ill, and the people that were there assembled were very inquisi- 
 e about me. Upon Ahamed’s telling them that I was acquaint- 
 in Swearah, one of them informed me that he carried milk to 
 pply the English there, and wished to know who of them were my 
 ends. I mentioned the names of all the Englishmen that I had 
 lard of there, and it satisfied him that I knew them. 
 
 He went into the yard, and brought me two leaves of tobacco; 
 named, as I concluded, having informed him that I used it. I put a 
 pee of it in my mouth, and gave Ahamed the greater part of what 
 mained, for I concluded that he had brought no tobacco with him, 
 i he had not smoked since the time we began our journey, though 
 i was extravagantly fond of smoking. He filled his pipe, and that 
 i roduced a general smoking match, the pipe going round in the 
 1 aal way for an hour, or more, at the expense of our hosts or enter- 
 tners. About 9 o’clock I was conducted into my apartment. It 
 His a small room of about twelve feet square, having a door-way cn 
 outside of the wall ; two good mats were provided for me to 
 i:ep on, and a small lamp was burning, which showed nothing in 
 cp room but naked walls ; it was unconnected with any part of the 
 Ibitation. After I had laid down in this agreeable resting place, 
 1' such it was to me, the Moors flocked all round me, as many as 
 It; room could hold, and many others stood without the door-way. 
 Their conversation seemed wholly on the occurrences relating to 
 <r shipwreck, the situation we were in, in the desert, the money w r e 
 Id cost them, and the disposition of our masters to restore us to 
 cr brothers in Sw^earah. But Ahamed avoided telling them how he 
 id regretted our be ng so far from the Arabian territory, where, if 
 1 could have had uo back, he wuuld willingly have disposed of us 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 as slaves lor life. Our visiters told him there was no danger b 
 the consul would pay for my ransom ; “ True,” they said, “ he w 
 not so rich as Court, Jackson, and some others there, but he w 
 good.” It Cannot be supposed, that in the short time I was wi 
 these barbarians, I could get to understand much of the Arabic. B I 
 by paying strict attention to every word they spoke, especially wh< 
 they were talking about ourselves, I had obtained a little knowled 
 of that language, or rather the meaning of a considerable number j 
 its words, and forming the best judgment I could from what little 
 the language I did know, I put together and made out what I ha I 
 just related. It may be offered as £ just remark, which every inti! 
 ligent man, placed in a situation similar to mine, I presume will cc 
 firm, that one thus circumstanced, will learn to understand and 
 speak the words of a strange language astonishingly fast, especia 
 the words of a language so plain, so soft, and so easy to articula 
 as the Arabic ; because almost every thing respecting his welfe 
 depending upon his learning the meaning of the words, he will gi 
 his attention to it constantly, and with the utmost earnestness. 
 
 After listening to their conversation a long time, and being ve| 
 weary, I fell asleep, but was soon awaked by the smell of broil 
 beef, on which the Arab and the Moor, with six or eight besid 
 were feasting sumptuously. Being extremely hungry, I arose, a 
 asked for victuals, and they told me it was not ready, but I shot 
 have some by and by ; so that I had only to look upon these g< 
 mandizers, and wait for my own turn with great impatience. ( 
 soon as their meal was finished, mine was brought me, which was 
 wonderful mess for one man, though the quantity was not quite 
 great as had been given me by the governor of St. Cruez. W! 
 was now set before me consisted of about three pounds ofbeefste 
 broiled, about three pounds of hot bread from the oven, sixteen ha 
 boiled eggs, and half a pound of butter. As I was beginning, Ah 
 med said to his company, “ Now see him eat.” I first broke t 
 bread, and eat a little of it ; 1 pulled some of the meat to pieces, a 
 eat of that about two ounces ; I broke an egg, and finding it ha 
 boiled, laid it down, and after eating moderately of the bread, anc 
 little butter, I left off, while my appetite was still craving strongly 1: 
 more. I then broke open a small loaf of bread still warm, and pu 
 little butter on the inside of it, to be laid between my mats, und 
 my head, and, all this done, 1 gave up the dish. They asked r 
 why I did not eat, and if I were sick ? I told them I was not sick, ail 
 gave them to understand that eating more plentifully might inju 
 me. Upon which they look the dish to themselves, and eat al 
 had left, except the broken egg, and what I had polluted with n 
 fingers ; not only this did they reject, but they carefully scraped i 
 the butter on the side I had taken it from. 
 
 I fell asleep before they had dispersed, and awoke a little befoi 
 daylight, and after eating my bread and butter, I found that my tvi 
 keepers, Ahamed and the Moor, were lying across the door-way, d 
 doubt to prevent my escape. Upon examining the exact positii 
 in which they lay, I found there was room enough bettveen them 1 
 
PADDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 153 
 
 e of my feet, and that I could, with the other, reach the ground be- 
 nd them, and thus gain the object I had in view : my attempt 
 oved successful, and I found myself clear of them. It was a 
 autifully clear night ; by the bright shining of the stars I could see 
 town distinctly, but had no inclination to advance far that way 
 me. While raising my eyes towards the firmament, I thought of 
 rvey’s sublime meditations upon the starry heavens : no better 
 jiortunity, or occasion, for serious reflections of that kind, did 
 r occur to me. 
 
 Not willing to disturb my keepers, I advanced softly as possible 
 ard the fresh water river, and after a hearty drink, I went up it* 
 soon finding a little place deep enough to bathe in, I took off 
 almost worn out clothes, shook them well, hove them on the 
 d, and laid myself down, in this truly refreshing stream, and 
 thus enabled to form an ablution that my poor and long ne- 
 :ted carcass very much required. But as to my head, and my 
 bearded face, the task was more difficult ; this part I first 
 ored with plenty of sand, as well as water, and then made use of 
 mib that I had picked up at the edge of the desert, and have 
 in keeping ; by which several means I removed the -filth from 
 face and head, and a part of the lively occupants from their 
 , under the cover of my bushy hair. This employment con- 
 ed for more than an hour, and when it was ended, I again shook 
 rags, and put them on, and felt remarkably refreshed, 
 now knew, from the position of the stars, that daylight was 
 firoaching, and, in a humble posture, I poured out my soul to 
 ■Father in Heaven, thanking him for his infinite goodness in thus 
 erving me from being destroyed by those merciless savages, and 
 loring the continuation of his mercies, particularly in pointing 
 the way, for myself and my fellow-suffers, to redemption from 
 ery, in the city before me. 
 
 CHAP. XIV 
 
 rapid race of my two keepers inquest of roe— -Near Mogadore I am met, and sa= 
 bd, by two Frenchmen— My entrance into this city of refuge— The courtesy of a 
 r - toward me — My arrival at the house of the British consul —My joyful inter- 
 v there with certain British sailors, who had lately been slaves among the Arabs 
 ■f he cordial welcome given me by the aged consul — His character for extraordi- 
 By philanthropy — He orders Ahamed back, to bring up my men — A laborious job 
 £ -having — The ghastliness of my appearance to myself in the glass — My visit, 
 » 1 the consul, to the two Courts — Their engaging friendship — My application to 
 
 f American agent, a foreigner — The difficulty of our correspondence, from not 
 'Wing one another’s language— How the spur of necessity quickens one’s pro- 
 ss in learning a foreign language — My rest disturbed and broken by means of the 
 ness of my bed — My conversation with the sailors that had belonged to the ship 
 J rtin Hall — Their story of the murder of one of their crew by the Arabs — The 
 c sul’s remarks on the unusually short time of our captivity, and the number of 
 i 'wrecks on that coast during the term of his consulate— Mv interview with out- 
 
 20 
 
Haddock's narrative. 
 
 1/34 
 
 agent — Ills strange advice— Our ransom promised to be advanced by the two Corn 
 
 — My application to the American Consul General at Tangier — His exceedins 
 
 sympathetic and benevolent answer — The arrival of my men at Mogadore. 
 
 At the conclusion of my devotions, Ahamed and the Moor passt 
 by, at about ten paces distant from me, running, like horses, t> 
 ward Mogadore. I called out to them as loud as I had strength, ai 
 called the second time, before they heard me. They then imm 
 diately returned, and Ahamed, in his furious manner, asked r 
 where I had been ? He cooled 1 away when I answered, only to tl 
 river to wash myself. “ 1 suspected,” he said, “ that you had go 
 to the city to evade the payment of your ransom.” Here it behoo 
 cd me to convince him, if possible, that 1 had no such intention, n 
 the least disposition to withhold any thing that I had promised hit 
 which I strove to do, by telling him, among other things, that I wj 
 knew the bad effect that such unfair conduct would have upon t 
 unfortunate Christians who might next fall into their hands. A! 
 med wished to know of me how I had got out. I explained it | 
 him as well as I could, and told him I had been out two hours, aj 
 might have secreted myself under the walls of the town had 1 be, 
 so disposed. 
 
 This affair being all settled, and the day, namely, the 17thi 
 May, beginning to dawn, they both fell upon their knees, bow; 
 themselves to the earth as usual, and made an uncommonly lo 
 prayer. Ahamed, in the concluding part of his prayer, turned, '{ 
 face towards the city or town, rvhen, as I supposed, he was pray ij 
 for the successful termination of his journey ; for it Was not an i 
 common thing with these people to conclude their prayers in t 
 manner. When the sun had risen, Mogadore showed itself to gr 
 advantage ; a number of flag-stalls, erected on high buildings, . 
 pcared as if belonging to different consuls, and a number 
 mosques advantageously showed their stately towers. A little w 
 onward from this river was a magnificent building, handsomely w;| 
 ed around, with singular tops, covered with tile. • Upon my aski 
 Ahamed if it was a place of worship, he told me it was not, 1 
 was the Sultan’s house ; but what he meant by it I could not lea 
 There was a line of asses, a mile in length, coming from the ci 
 and also an abundance of camels, which showed me that the ga 
 were open. I then urged Ahamed to go on, but he declined, allc 
 ing for it that the consul was yet asleep. When the asses had co 
 to the river they made a stop, and I soon discovered that every c 
 of them had two kegs fixed on their sides, and that the Moors wo 
 filling these kegs with the water from the river ; those with cami 
 and the other travelling party, were bound southerly. 
 
 It was in vain that 1 urged Ahamed to go on ; he still object! 
 to it, that the consul was asleep. Our host now brought me a lx 
 of sweet milk, directly from the goat, and along with it a piece 
 bread, and it seemed to me that nothing could have tasted more ( ■ 
 liciously. I was long sipping down the milk, and then returr 
 him the bowl, with my hearty thanks, and eat the sweet bread . 
 itself. The sun being now considerably up, Ahamed. after my ■ 
 
paddock’s narrative* 
 
 1 55 
 
 S eated solicitations, brought me the horse, and I mounted, and took 
 ong the beach, near the edge of the sea, where the ground was 
 ■m for travelling. When we were nearly half way, or about one 
 ile from the town, I saw the flags hoisting on several of their 
 lies, and that one of them was English, but none American. The 
 Si’igs in the road displayed their flags, of which one was the Eng- 
 ili, one, I believe, the Danish, and one the Swedish flag. I was now 
 ■dered off the horse, and at the same time we were meeting two 
 en on foot, in Christian apparel, and well dressed. They viewed 
 e attentively, and when we had come within speaking distance, I 
 ioke to them. One of them remained silent, but the other made 
 iswer to me in French, and, as I was but little acquainted with that 
 nguage, I could not converse with him so easily as 1 wished. He 
 Id the appearance of a tender hearted man, and congratulated me 
 
 I i the prospect of a speedy recovery of my liberty, telling me, for 
 |y encouragement, that the English consul would be very happy to 
 :e me, for he thought, as it would seem, that I was an Englishman, 
 'pon my inquiring of him, at our parting, if there was an American 
 dnsul in town, he said there w'as none, and then he asked me if I 
 rtis an American ? but to that question I made no reply. 
 
 ! We were soon at the city gate, and were detained there but a few 
 [jnutes, just to give time for Ahamed to answer several questions 
 Iht were put to him ; which done, we were permitted to enter. As 
 on as we had passed through the gate, I looked around me, and 
 ovoutly exclaimed, O Lord, protect me within these walls ! We were 
 few, as well as I can recollect, on a pfiblic square, and making a 
 ort turn to the right, we passed through several streets, and, at 
 eery corner, I looked each way, in expectation of seeing some per- 
 si in a Christian habit. Having turned round several corners, 
 10 narrow straight streets, we came at last to a very large double 
 or, at which Ahamed knocked several times, but received no an- 
 ^er. I asked him if this was the consul's ? But before he had time 
 treply, a man came running up to us, and inquired of me, in good 
 Iglish, -who I was? Upon my telling him, he says, “Come along 
 l:h me, and I will show you the way to the consul’s; this is the 
 fttery, and the governor having gone back, you cannot see him 
 fei then turning to Ahamed, he told him, in Arabic, to go along 
 v:h him. We walked off, followed by a throng of men and chil- 
 t;n, who had been gathered round me, to see who I was. AVhile 
 v were walking together, I found out that the man I was talking 
 vh was a Jew. 
 
 W e soon came to the consul’s door, on which I gave three distinct 
 lacks, when its latch was raised, and the door I pushed openj 
 Sich led me into the yard that was in the centi^ of the buildings, 
 f aring men talking above, and there being a stone stair- way on 
 t left, I ascended, and at the head of the stairs I saw six or eight 
 v 11 looking sailors, who, the moment they got their eyes on me, 
 v hed forward, knowing of course that I was a shipwrecked seaman, 
 ler bidding me welcome, in their peculiar way, their inquiry of me 
 
I £6 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 was, if I had seen any of the Martin Hall’s crew ? and when I told the 
 that three of that crew were with my men, and that another of them 
 had seen, who had been left with the wild Arabs, their joy on tl 
 occasion was expressed in their own way, but was as sincere i 
 doubt as if they had expressed it in the most refined language. Oil 
 among them, a lusty good looking son of Neptune, says to m 
 “ You are an American.” When these emotions had a little su 
 sided, I asked for the consul, and one of them, after telling me 1 
 was asleep, ran to his door, and called out, “ Mr. Gwyn, Mr. Gwy 
 an English captain is here from the Arab coast, and the Arabs wi] 
 him.” 
 
 I heard him answer something, and in one minute open came li 
 door, and he presented himself to me with nothing on but his shil 
 and breeches. Never can I forget the cordial reception he ga’i 
 me. u My good friend,” he said, “ how happy am I to see yoi 
 Wait a little till I dress myself.” He returned, leaving me with til 
 sailors, who I found were of the Martin Hall’s crew. They all hu 
 died around me, like so many children around an adored parent, as 
 ing the same questions over and over again. Soon the venerab 
 old gentleman, consul Gwyn, came to us, dressed, and in a tru 
 friendly manner shook hands with me the second time, and th 
 said, “ Come with me, my breakfast is ready.” While I was fi 
 lowing him to his room, he made a stop, and asked me to what pc 
 of England my ship belonged? Upon this, I told him that I h; 
 been carrying on a piece of deception, but which I believed had i| 
 jured no man ; that I had all along called myself an Englishma 
 with a view of' gaining my freedom, as 1 was fearful there was t 
 American consul here ; and that in fact I was an American, belon 
 ing to the State of New-York, and my ship also belonging there. | 
 
 He paused but a moment only, when he said, “ Very well ; ytj 
 are a Christian, and that is enough.” I hastily asked him if I we ! i 
 safe from the Arabs ? He answered, “ Yes, you are in no danger 
 He advanced to his breakfast-table, and we took our tea, with son 
 excellent bread and butter; and an invaluable repast it was to m 
 In the midst of my story to the consul, Captain William Forrester, i 
 the English brig Friendship, of London, who had seen me pa ; 
 along the beach to the city, called in to see me here; and for Jv 
 politeness he has my thanks. After breakfast was over, 1 asked tl 
 consul if we had no consular agent here l His reply was, “I a 
 sorry to inform you that your consular agent has been disgraced I 
 the Emperor, and ordered to leave his dominions. He is now cj 
 board this gentleman’s (Captain Forrester’s) brig, the Friendship 
 he is not an American — he is, if I remember right, a Genoese, arj 
 is very much of a gentleman.” He added, “ Your consul genera 
 Mr. Simpson, resides in Tangier, and to him must you apply for n 
 lief. 1 will do every thing in my power for you, but I am poor, ar!j 
 cannot advance money for your ransom ; but beyond doubt there at 
 gentlemen here who will do it.” I told him 1 was in fear of my mi 
 being dragged back to the country of the Arabs : upon which 1 
 ’died for Ahamed, who, with the Moor, was sitting by the kifcU 
 
PADDOCK'S NARRATIVEo 
 
 lo7 
 
 oor, and interrogated him as to the place where my men were ; and 
 ’ter he had described it in the same manner that 1 had, he told him 
 go and bring the whole of them up. Ahamed, in reply, inquired 
 ' the consul if he would pay the ransom for us, together with all 
 at I had promised him besides ? 
 
 The consul then, directing his discourse to me, asked me what I 
 id promised ? whereupon I went on to tell him every promise I 
 id made in that case, and he interpreted it to Ahamed, who ac- 
 lowledged that my statement was correct ; and the consul said to 
 Very well, that shall all be paid.” Next came on the Moor 
 r his claims, which he stated precisely as had been agreed upon 
 tween us, enumerating as items of charge against me, his carrying 
 my letter, his right of pay for two horses, though one of them was 
 ft behind, his demand of additional pay for giving me the exclusive 
 ivilege of riding the remaining horse, and so on. In fact, he made 
 
 long: a story of it, that the consul laughed heartily. When the 
 
 
 oor had gone through with his claims, the consul gave me the 
 tglish of them ; and upon my observing to him that the Moor had 
 d the truth, “ Well,” he says, “ the fellow has imposed upon 
 u, but under all the circumstances, I believe it best to pay him.” 
 tcordingly, he immediately paid off the Moor, and 1 added to it a 
 nch of good Virginia tobacco. 
 
 The consul, now addressing himself to Ahamed, said, “ 1 order 
 u to return to our men, and before the night of the third day, do 
 u make your appearance before the gates of this city, together 
 th all my brothers that are in your keeping.” “ I will do it,” re- 
 ed Ahamed, “ if you will pay me my price for their ransom, and 
 t otherwise ; for Rias,” pointing to me, “ assured me that if I 
 uuld come here with him, he would return with me, and carry the 
 ')ney with him, and pay it there.” “ The money,” replied the 
 nsul to him, “ shall not be paid there, but here. 1 never did, nor 
 er will pay money for my brothers until I can see them ; and as to the 
 [ice, I must see them before my mind can be made up with respect 
 it.” Ahamed continued to urge his claim till the consul, becom- 
 g a little impatient, called his servant, and said to him, “ Go to 
 ft governor, and tell him from me, that ten of my brothers are on 
 s side of St. Cruez, in possession of the Arabs, who refuse to bring 
 |em up ; and that 1 demand of him twenty soldiers to be despatch- 
 | for them immediately.” Ahamed attentively listened to these or- 
 rs, and before the servant had reached the street-door, he begged 
 it he might be called back, and promised to go himself, and bring 
 men on ; accordingly he set off without delay. It was after he 
 d gone, that the consul (old me the story which I have now related. 
 As my fears with regard to the safety of my men were by no means 
 an end, I mentioned those fears to the consul, and queried with 
 n as to the possibility of the Arabs getting them back to their own 
 ritory, telling him 1 knew from what the English boys had related 
 me of their conversation, that they had regretted their having come 
 so far with us ; and that, as the expense would be trifling, I desired 
 a to send some one down, if it were only to watch the Arabs there, as 
 
 
idu fAnpOCK’s NARRATIVE. 
 
 in case they should attempt to carry my men back, the governor of 
 St. Cruez, on being apprized of it, might at any moment stop them 
 and send them up. “ Quiet your mind,” replied the consul to me, 
 “ I have been here in this town for more than thirty years, and have : 
 ransomed from slavery a number of British subjects : I know what 
 kind of people I have to deal with, and I know their language.” He 
 then furnished me with some of his own clothes, and called in one j 
 of the English sailors to shave and cleanse me ; and such was the J 
 sad condition of my long and thick beard, and of my head, that it ! 
 was full an hour before the operation of shaving and cleansing was j 
 completed. After this painful operation was over, and a clean white 
 shirt and a handkerchief were put on, I returned to the room, whei’e 
 I found my aged friend, preparing for church. The church-service 
 was usually attended by the Episcopalians in the town, in the con- 
 sul’s room, and having no clergyman, he had officiated himself. Till 
 then, I thought it was the last day of the week, and the 17th of May, 
 but now found it to be the first day of the week, and the 18th of the 
 month; how or where I lost a day, 1 was not able to account for, 
 nor did I think it remarkable that such a mistake should happen, 
 considering the condition I had so long been in. I now, for the first 
 time since the event of my shipwreck, took a look in the glass, and 
 it gave me a shock, which 1 did not get over for a long while ; such' 
 a ghastliness I think I never saw, in a body that had life and motion.; 
 
 After this, the consul proposed to me to walk out with him, inj; 
 order to see about the ransom of myself and my crew. We went to 
 the house of- William and Alexander Court, and found these gentle- 
 men on the tcrrace-roofs of their dwelling. I was introduced to 
 them, who appeared to have very humane feelings for me, and who 
 congratulated me on my safe arrival to that city. When I had made 
 them acquainted with the object of our visit, and solicited them toi 
 advance a sufficient sum for the ransom of myself and crew, they ; 
 manifested a disposition to relieve us. They spoke in the highest 
 terms of our consul-general at Tangier, and observed to me, that we 
 had an agent in the Road, and that although his functions had ceas- 
 ed, yet he was still within the empire, and they recommended it toi 
 me to apply to him first, as it would put me in the way of knowing! 
 how to proceed. As I thought that a judicious mode of procedure, 1 i 
 readily consented to adopt it. 
 
 We left these gentlemen, after accepting their kind invitation to 
 dine with them, and I returned to my friend’s house to devise means 
 to come at our agent, who, I found, could not speak English. It, 
 was there proposed that I should address him in a letter, which If) 
 did, and briefly stated to him all the facts relating to my case ; and 
 my friend, the consul, on perusing it, pronounced it proper. As the 
 agent could notread English, the difficulty was to make him under-: 
 stand my letter. There happened to be there at this time, a Genoese 
 captain, who could talk in English very well, but could not read it : 
 him captain Forrester took on board jhe Friendship, and read the 
 letter to him, and he gave a verbal translation of it to the agent. It 
 was with all this difficulty, that 1 conveyed to an American agent, the 
 
153 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 account of my situation, and of my wants ; and lie wrote me back 
 an answer in French. I was unable to make out the meaning of this 
 letter myself, but was assisted therein by my friend, the consul, who 
 understood the French, and he, as I thought, and still think, found 
 something in it which he did not wish me to know. After he had 
 read it to me, he appeared a little embarrassed, and proposed going 
 with me next morning on board the Friendship. He had not his 
 usual religious meeting this day ; my situation requiring his time and 
 'attention, was what probably occasioned its omission. 
 
 An English gentleman, John Foxcroft, occupied the adjoining 
 house, and came to see me. His wife (mentioned in a following 
 page) was indisposed at the time. To find such society was very 
 comforting to me. At 2 o’clock we went to dine at Court’s. The two 
 brothers, and Mr. Alexander Court’s wife and daughter, with several 
 ethers, were there, and particularly the French gentleman I had 
 met in the morning, without the gate, was one of the guests. It be- 
 ing a mixt company, and the gentlemen all understanding French, 
 
 \ that was the language made use of at this dinner party; and as I 
 > could not join in their conversation, it was in a good measure made 
 up to me by the agreeable discourse I had with Mr. Alexander Court’s 
 wife, and his daughter, of about twelve years old. The French gen- 
 tleman at the table repeatedly spoke to me in his own language, 
 and, upon my telling him that I did not understand it, he said, “ You 
 < talked to me good French in the morning.” I mention this circum- 
 i stance to convince, if possible, the incredulous, who may wonder, 
 stlf and think it past belief, that I could learn the Arabic so fast, as it 
 i would seem I did, from my own account. Whoever is driven to the 
 necessity of learning a thing so important to him, that almost his very 
 existence depends upon his learning it, will use such exertions, as 
 si -under other circumstances, would either be impossible in itself, or 
 twould seem beyond his power. It is true, I had been a great deal 
 i among the French, and knew many of their words, but as linguists 
 ar interpreters were easily obtained, I had not taken pains to leam 
 jtheir language. But in the instance of my meeting this Frenchman 
 in the morning, so occupied was my mind with the fear of not being 
 ransomed in case of no American consul being in the city, and so 
 anxious I then was to obtain information about a matter upon which 
 my all, as it were depended, that I found French words enough to put 
 together for answering the purpose. 
 
 We spent the afternoon and the evening at the Courts’,- and re- 
 : turned home at eleven. Through the anxiety of my old friend to 
 do me all the service he could in more important matters, he had 
 neglected to get a bed prepared for me, and for this he apologized. 
 
 ! tle had in the room a sofa, with a sheet and blanket, and with this I 
 made a bed, and retired to rest at twelve. Soon I fell into a fine 
 sleep, but after a short nap, I awoke, utterly insensible of my situa- 
 tion. Having lost all recollection of being at Mogadore, I sprung 
 ■from my bed, nor did I conceive where I was, till I had walked 
 r across the room and looked out of the window’, into the yard. It 
 liwas like a dream. I got my shoes, rolled the blanket round me, 
 
160 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 and walked the room for two hours. Beyond description was the ■ 
 contrast between a clean soft bed with warm covering, and lying in 
 a goat-pen among filth, or on hard rocks, in the open air, shivering 
 with cold for hours together, before my eyes could be closed in 
 sleep. 
 
 After wearying myself, I laid down again, and slept till morning, 
 and arose very much refreshed ; when finding the stair- way leading to, 
 the roof, 1 ascended and had a grand view, for the house was high, 
 and nearly overlooked the whole city ; and the view at the sea- 
 board took up full one half of the compass, as the city is situated 
 on a point of land. After walking this terrace awhile, the sailors 
 turned out and were walking under the piazza, and 1 went down 
 and joined their company. There were ten or a dozen of them, 
 the mate, boatswain, and cooper, and the others, common sailors. 
 
 I learned from them that the consul was not accustomed to rise 
 till about eight o’clock, and it was now only six. My ideas were 
 that as soon as we should be ransomed, we might have liber- 
 ty to go off’ in the first vessel ; but these sailors informed me that all 
 Christians ransomed from the Arabs were considered as prisoners 
 to the emperor, and u'ere not suffered to depart unless by his spe- 
 cial order in writing. That circumstance 1 suppose the consul for- 
 got to mention to me, and even if he had, it would not have occupied 
 my thoughts scarcely a moment ; for not feeling perfectly easy 
 or secure about the ransom of myself and my poor fellow sufferers, 
 
 I had at the time full enough of trouble to bear, without making to 
 myself any more. 
 
 While conversing with these sailors, I perceived their sincere 
 sympathy for me. They, poor fellows, had suffered much them- 
 selves, and some belonging to their crew I believe had not yet been 
 heard from. The rescuing of their three boys, Laura, Bob, and ! 
 Jack, they attributed to my exertions. These boys, they observed, 
 the Arabs w r ould like to have retained, as being serviceable to them 
 in tending their flocks ; and, as they were of a tender age, they 
 would soon become discouraged, and through despair of being ran- 
 somed might at last embrace the faith of those Mahometans, and 
 spend their remaining days with them. As to Laura, I believe they 
 were mistaken; he was a determined, resolute boy, and his spirit 
 not easily curbed. In the course of my conversation with these 
 men lately redeemed from Barbarian slavery, I ascertained the cause 
 and manner of the violent death of one of their crew. Their tra- 
 gical story was this : “ As soon as the Arabs had got us in their pos- ; 
 session, they fell to stripping us of whatever they took a fancy to ; j 
 we all gave up to them, but one, who made resistance, and, in the 
 scuffle he no doubt struck or hurt his antagonist, who, with his scim- 
 etar, struck him in the face. This was no sooner seen by the rest 
 of the gang, than they ran to the assistance of their brother Arab, 
 and plunged their scimetars into the body of our man ; the poor j 
 fellow fell, and those ferocious savages continued to plunge that I 
 weapon of death into his body, for some time after he had done 
 breathing.” 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 16 i 
 
 
 
 The consul had now made his appearance, at an hour earlier than 
 usual. According to his custom, he called upon his servant for 
 breakfast, but, before it was ready, we had a long conversation to- 
 other relative to the situation I was in. He inquired of me in the 
 first place, how I had rested, tod said, I should have a bed ready 
 against the next night. 1 desired of him that it might not be a more 
 soft one, since by reason of the softness of the one I had had, I was 
 lot able to sleep for half the night. He then, without reserve, made 
 me acquainted with his own pecuniary circumstances, which were 
 ow indeed. He told me had formerly been connected with a com- 
 nercial establishment, and had failed in business, and that his fees of 
 office were inadequate to his support ; that he dined out every day 
 of the week, Monday excepted ; that his friends were very kind to 
 lim, and never refused him any aid he asked them for ; and he added, 
 
 , I have no doubt that you will be a welcome guest at every place 
 requented by myself, and since you have no consul here, 1 wish 
 r r ou to stay with me and fare as I do ; your company will not only 
 )e agreeable to me, but in many cases advantageous, as 1 am old 
 tnd infirm, and you can render me assistance. In reply to this, 
 ifter returning him my hearty thanks for his kind dispositions to- 
 vards me, I told him I should rather live with him than with any 
 ther person, but I could not consent to live on him or his friends, as 
 was under no necessity of being dependent for my living on any 
 tody, though if he would permit me to stay with him, and let it be at 
 ay own expense at last, I should stay with the feeling of indepen- 
 lence, and at the same time with the feeling of gratitude towards 
 limself. His answer expressed a wish that I should remain with 
 lim without any pecuniary consideration, and the subject being of 
 oo delicate a nature for me to urge with a man possessing a heart 
 o pure and benevolent as his, I dropt it. 
 
 After dropping this subject, I took up the inquiry as to whether 
 he payment of the money for our ransom would, of itself alone, re- 
 tore us to our liberty; and he confirmed what the sailors had told 
 bout that matter. Our case, he said, must be laid before the empe- 
 or, who would give us liberty to return home whenever he thought 
 t proper, and, being a capricious monarch, it was always uncertain 
 s to what measures he would pursue. He asked me when I was 
 vrecked, and where ? And upon my telling him that the time of our 
 nisfortune was the third day of April, he was surprised at our arriv- 
 ng at Mogadore so soon, and said that we had been favoured be- 
 'ond any crew that had ever been wrecked during the whole time of 
 us residing there. He observed to me, that according to a general 
 alculation made upon that subject, those captives that perished, or 
 lied among the natives, were in the average proportion of one third 
 if the whole, and that eight months were considered as a short time 
 or the remaining two-thirds to get relief. I think he told me, there 
 >ad been thirty ships wrecked on the Arabian coast, within the term 
 f thirty years, but no American ship but mine. « 
 
 We took our breakfast, and he observed to me that I ate very 
 naringlv. I told him my appetite was a craving one. but I thought 
 
 .21 
 
 5 
 
Vfyl PADDOCK 3 NARRATIVE. 
 
 it best not to give it full indulgence. Then, in brief, I related to 
 him the sufferings I had gone through, my long privations as to 
 victuals and drink, the extremity of my hunger and thirst, hoiv I had 
 to eat and drink any thing whatever that was eatable and drinkable, 
 though bad as bad could be ; how I sljpt out in the open air, expos- 
 ed to the cold chilly winds, and sometimes drenched with heavy 
 dews ; and that, although my constitution at the best was but a fee- 
 ble one, yet I had never taken so much as the slightest cold, nor ex- 
 perienced the least disorder in my bowels, nor did ever have an un- 
 pleasant dream, during the whole of that time ; and furthermore,: 
 that there were not many complaints of bodily indisposition among! 
 my crew. This was astonishing to the consul, and not less astonish- 
 ing was it, nor has it ever been, to myself. 
 
 We now repaired on board the Friendship to see our agent, with 
 whom I conversed on the subject of our ransom, through the consul. , 
 as my interpreter. The agent treated me very politely, but observ-; 
 ed that it was entirely out of his power to do me the least service : 
 that unfortunately he was under orders to depart out of the empire, 
 and was not now to be considered as an agent; he spoke freely o 
 my affairs, and expressed his regret that he could give me no aid.! 
 I could thank him only for his civilities, and his good wishes for me 
 In the course of this conversation, he observed to the consul, that he 
 knew of nothing better to do with myself and crew, than to deliver 
 us up to the governor for ransom. I understood him at the moment 
 but did not know the meaning or purport of this advice. The con 
 sul replied to him, that Messrs. Courts would pay for our ransom 
 but as he was the agent for our country, they thought it best that he 
 should be spoken to on the subject, previously to their commencing 
 on that business, as it might be his choice that some other person oi 
 persons should act in his behalf in that case. After he had express ! 1 
 ed himself well pleased with the mode of procedure suggested 
 namely, that the Courts should advance the money for us, he re i 
 commended it to me to write to our consul-general, and to him make 
 a statement of our situation, adding, that he was a man of an excel i 
 lent character. Here our conversation ended, and we, the consu 
 and myself, returned to the shore. The name of this America? 
 agent, I cannot recollect : as I noticed at the beginning, my paper* 
 are lost ; otherwise, I should have his name, and would add to this 
 narrative my letter and his answer. 
 
 While we were making our passage ashore, I asked the consu 
 what the agent meant by giving us up to the governor? As near a: 
 
 1 can recollect, he answered me as follows : “ Whenever any ship 
 wrecked seamen are brought here for ransom, and their governmen 
 has no resident consul, or agent, to redeem them, the governo 
 of this place is under orders from the emperor to pay for their ran 
 som, which is commonly at a low rate, and either to detain thee 
 here, or send them to him, who would then proceed to inform thei ' 
 government of the fact, and dispose of them according as he and lha 
 government might agree between themselves. With respect to you 
 cage, added the consul, were you given up to the governor for ran 
 
s r >i ni F ■> 
 
 paddock’s narrative? 
 
 163- 
 
 som, probably you would be detained for two years or longer ; and 
 to the United States, an expense of no small magnitude would be 
 created. But for myself, I am happy to say, that such a thing would 
 not have been permitted at Mogadore ; too much philanthropy in 
 its noble-hearted Christian inhabitants, had already been evinced, to 
 leave any room for apprehensions that they would suffer us to be 
 given up to the governor; and besides, our consul-general at Tan- 
 gier was one of the best of men. I merely relate what actually oc- 
 icurred at this visit, and without any wish or intendon to'censure our 
 agent as wanting in humanity. Perhaps he felt a little differently in 
 his degraded condition, from what he w r ould if he had been on shore, 
 and in affluence. At any rate, for whatever I heard to the contrary 
 at Mogadore, he was an honest man. 
 
 On our landing, we repaired to the counting-house of the two 
 Courts, who instantly agreed to pay our ransom. They provided for 
 ne a courier to carry a letter to the consul-general, and to that gen- 
 :leman I wrote an account of my situation, stating to him all the par- 
 iculars, and requesting him to point out to me the course I should 
 aursue, — observing that I considered myself subject to his direction, 
 f I recollect aright, the courier, who went on foot in preference to 
 iding, was to have thirty dollars for this service, and w r as to return 
 n twenty-four days. He accomplished the undertaking by the 
 ime agreed on, and brought me an answer from that worthy charac- 
 er, couched in such tender and soothing language, as made an im- 
 iression on my mind, which time can never efface. His congratu- 
 : itions with me on my release from cruel bondage, and his thanks to 
 he Courts for their humane interference in my behalf, seemed sponta- 
 eously to have flowed from the warmest of hearts. He recommended 
 on §a me economy of expense as to the support of my men, reminding me 
 hat I no doubt knew the laws of my country relating to the allowance 
 a be made by our foreign consuls to indigent seamen, and at the same 
 :me observed that our case was an extraordinary one, and would be 
 o viewed by our government ; and as it w 7 as the first instance of an 
 American shipwreck on the coast of Barbary, he thought that an ex- 
 lanation of it from me to our Secretary of State would be needful, 
 nd accordingly he advised me to wait upon the Secretary for that 
 urpose, as soon as I should arrive in America. And he w'rote to 
 
 rcli 
 
 - 4 . 
 
 ■i 
 
 ie that he would furnish me with whatever sum I should want on 
 ly own private account, and take my bill on whomsoever I should 
 hoose to draw. This unlimitedcreditto me, a perfect stranger, was the 
 xongest evidence of the sincerity and benevolence of his heart ; but 
 aving been otherwise provided for, I had no occasion to accept 
 hat he so kindly proffered me. 
 
 It was on the afternoon of the 20th or 21st, when from the terrace 
 discovered my men. I went out to meet them, and the English 
 iilors all followed me. As soon as w r e had come together, I hastily 
 >ld them we were all safe ; that though we had no American consul 
 ere, we had friends enough. Joy was seen in every countenance, 
 fe all marched off together to the consul’s house, where their names 
 nd ages were all taken dow r n; and having received a message from 
 
164 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 the governor, ordering us to repair to the Battery gate, we all went 
 to it. Consul Gwyn was asked a few questions concerning us, the 
 first of which was, whether we were Englishmen ? He replied, wc 
 were not, but, what was the same thing, we were his brothers, anc 
 he wished to ransom and keep us. The governor asked me a feu 
 questions, particularly as to the place where we were wrecked, how 
 many of our men had been left in the hands of the Arabs, and sc 
 forth. He then turned to the Arabs, and told them to bring all the 
 Christians up as soon as they were wrecked, and not suffer them tc 
 perish in the desert; which injunction the Arabs promised to obey 
 ■ — and the governor then dismissed us. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The opinion of William Court and Consul Gwyn respecting (he ransoming of Chris ( 
 tian slaves — Ahamed’s jealousy on his finding me an American — The aid given m 1 
 by a friendly Jew in quitting him — The payment of our ransom by the two Court 
 —The upshot of the keg of dollars hidden by me in the barrel of beef — Regulation 
 of the market at Alogadore — Unusual cheapness of cattle, occasioned hy the plagu 
 —The regulations at Mogadore with respect to imports and exports -The Jail, 
 against any but Mahometans riding on horseback — The degraded condition of tlr 
 Jews there— The uncommonness of Christians and Jews turning Mahometans— Th 
 apostacy of boy Jack— -Exultation of the Moors on that occasion— Fairness of salq 
 and cheapness of living— My conversation With the consul, concerning Ahamedj, 
 story of the massacre of a ship’s crew of Christians, and about the harbour 1 ha 
 seen— The manner of trade between the Spanish fishermen and the wild Arabs- 
 A sketcli of the peculiar perils of the coast we were wrecked upon— Reasons fc 
 believing that many crews, supposed to have been foundered atf sea, had perishe 1 ' 
 on that coast— My last interview with Aharaed. 
 
 As soon as we had left the Battery, we went to the two Courts 
 who provided a room to lodge our men in; and our next attentio 
 was about our ransom. William, the younger of the two brothers! 
 had been in this country for many years, and was well acquainte 
 with the language, and with the nature and dispositions of the Arabs 
 and with him we had a long conference relative to the amount of th 
 sum that should be paid for our ransom. For my own part, I \vaj 
 placed in a very disagreeable situation; for in regard to that sub 1 
 ject, I seemed to have two wishes diametrically opposite to eac ! ! 
 other. On the one hand, 1 was desirous that a liberal sum migl 
 be given to these Arabs, to induce them to bring the rest of my fel 
 low-sufferers up for ransom ; while, on the other hand, I felt it to b: 
 my duty to my government not to put it to any unreasonable ex 
 pense in this case. William Court gave me his opinion, which wa 
 the result of long experience, and perfectly agreed with that of th 
 consul. “ Giving a great ransom,” said he, “ for Christian cap" 
 lives, and showing a strong desire to relieve them, is what has a! 
 ways hitherto had a direct tendency to retard their deliverance ; fo 
 when the Arabs find that a great price is given for Christian slave; 
 their avarice is excited, and their rich men buy them up tospeculat 
 upon. There have been instances,” continued he, “ when, it bein 
 
paddock’s narrative.. 
 
 165 
 
 ' known that a large sum was offered for a certain number of Chris- 
 tians, they were bought up for the purpose of speculation, and the 
 t purchaser having come up here, and then getting a better offer, 
 returned home, sold them to other speculators, who kept them for a 
 still greater price, and detained them so long that some of them died 
 of hard usage and of grief.” On the other hand, he said, if their 
 ransom were very small, the inducement to bring them would be 
 alike small ; and he therefore thought it best to pursue a middle 
 course. 
 
 In the dilemma I was in, prudence dictated that I should be cir- 
 cumspect in the part I had to act. The Arabs were constantly at 
 our heels for their pay, and were full of promises to bring on our 
 other men. There was here no law in their favour, and they had no 
 remedy for wrong ; despising every body, and by every body de- 
 spised, the poor Ishmaelites were to be pitied in their present situa- 
 tion, if ever. 
 
 The consul and myself left them, and went to dine with a very 
 i respectable English merchant by the name of Jackson, whose first 
 i name I have forgotten. The consul before this had introduced me to 
 him, and he treated me now with great civility and kindness. It 
 was either at his house, or on our way to it, that the consul remarked 
 to me, that in his opinion, the most ready and effectual way for redeem- 
 
 I ing Christian captives was to fix their ransom at a stated price, with- 
 out making any distinction in that respect between a captain and his 
 cook or cabin-boy. He added, “ If this were done, and the Arabs 
 along their whole coast were given to know it, it would prevent their 
 speculating upon their captives, and of course their detaining them : 
 that if such a rule were made, an Arab having a Christian in his 
 possession, and knowing the exact sum given here for such a cap- 
 tive, would without delay bring him up, as no rich man among them 
 would have any interest in causing a delay from views of specula- 
 tion.” As I had at the time no opposite ’opinion of my own [to ad- 
 vance, I only asked him how it could be possible to make the Arabs 
 inhabiting the desert know that they might be sure of receiving any 
 ransom here for their Christian slaves ? I then observed to him 
 that it was the general opinion of those in whose hands I had been, 
 that the consul here had done with buying his brethren. “ They 
 are lying dogs,” he replied, “ they know better, for no one ever went 
 » away without receiving his pay.” 
 
 When we returned home, after dinner I found Ahamed waiting for 
 me. He had become very much alarmed, for he had just found out 
 that we were not Englishmen, but belonging to another country. I 
 suspect that Jack had told him of this, with a view to alarm him, and 
 create dissatisfaction in his mind. I confessed the fact, but through 
 the same boy Jack I explained to him, that though we were inhabitants 
 of another country, yet we were the same kind of people with the 
 English. “ You may see yourself,” I told him, “ that we speak 
 
 ( the same language, and that my friends here, as I told you before 
 in the desert, take the same care of me as if I were an Englishman, 
 and tazher Courts you may depend will pay you off to-morrow.” 
 
166 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 But notwithstanding what I had said, he went away with the appear- 
 ance of some jealousy that a trick was to be played upon him. 
 
 The next morning I arose very early, and after walking upon the 
 terrace for an hour, I took a walk to the market-place, where I luck- 
 ily met with a Mogadofe Jew, whom I had seen at my friend Jack- 
 son’s. He spoke English perfectly well ; — in fact, he had been part- 
 ly educated in England ; the Arabic he was master of, of course. 
 While I was talking with him, Ahained hove in sight, walking to- 
 wards us quick. I told the Jew that the Arab coming was Ahamed, 
 and begged of him to act as my interpreter with him, which he readily 
 consented to do. We sat down under a wall, and there talked to- 
 gether an hour, and, during that time, 1 fully explained to Ahamed 
 the particulars as to what country I belonged, how it became seph>! 
 rated from the government of England, the harmony subsisting be- 
 tween the two countries, and the cause of my telling him that 1 was 
 English. With respect to this last particular, I observed, that had I 
 at that time told him the truth, I should not have been able to con-| 
 vince him, through the boys, that we should stand as good a chance 
 to be ransomed as if we really were English, and besides, that I had! 
 my doubts, even if we had a consul here, of his having knowledge o( 
 things of this nature, as, probably, ours was the first American ship 
 ever stranded on this coast. Ahamed heard me with the greatest ! 
 attention, so that it seemed as if every word was imprinting itself in 
 his mind ; and after I had done, he replied, “ You did very right in 
 telling me that story, for if you had said that you were not English, but) 
 from some other country, we should have had nothing to do with 
 you, as not expecting that any body would pay your ransom, and, 
 in that case, the mountaineers would have carried you back to their 
 homes, and there you must have died he added, “ what you have 
 now told me, accounts for tasher Courts’ employing themselves in| 
 this matter, and I hope they will do justice to us.” Upon my tell-) 
 ing him that that would be done, he asked me to name my country ! 
 again, which I did several times, but he could not pronounce it well, 
 though he came near it, calling it Ameck. Finally, he asked me if I 
 had not forgot my promises to his wives, and to Salear ? A Moor’s 
 shop being directly opposite, I borrowed a little moneyof the Jew, and: 
 we went directly to it, and bought every little article that I had pro- 
 mised, and some other things besides, the whole costing, I believe,! 
 three dollars. Ahamed was remarkably well pleased with it, and j 
 hastened off, as I supposed, to his comrades. 
 
 After this interview with the Arab, I returned home, where I found) 
 the consul waiting breakfast for me. At the table the conversa- 
 tion was confined to our ransom, about which I felt very uncomfort- 
 able, as the amount of it might affect our men who were yet behind. 
 The consul recommended it to me to leave it with the two Courts to 
 act according to their own judgments, saying they were both judi- 
 cious men, and that William understood well these sort of people, and j 
 their language. Agreeably to his advice, I kept at home, and, if I 
 recollect aright, the consul went to their counting house, and the 
 Courts paid them off, with such an amount as they thought proper. 
 
16 ? 
 
 haddock’s narrative. 
 
 The Arabs craved more of course. As soon as this business was 
 settled, Ahamed came to my room, and acknowledged the receipt of 
 all that I had promised him, but blamed the Courts (whom I thought 
 blameless) for not giving a higher ransom for us. 
 
 My mind was now at ease. We dined with the French consul, 
 •who was very agreeable, and treated me with great kindness. As 
 he spoke no English, the conversation at the table was all in French, 
 which the guests conversed in, all except myself. To be excluded, 
 as I was, from joining with them, seemed to give more uneasiness to 
 ; them than it really did to me. In the afternoon I took tea with 
 John Foxcroft and wife. I found them both very agreeable, and as 
 their house was adjoining to the consul’s, I often took the liberty of 
 calling to sit and converse with them. She understood the Arabic, 
 and, from opportunities of acquaintance with the Moorish women, 
 and particularly with the governor’s wives at St. Cruez, was inform- 
 ed as to their manners, and many of their customs, and had a consi- 
 derable knowledge of the Alcoran, which she had learned from those 
 
 10 women. Among all the Christians in Mogadore that came within 
 a my acquaintance, I was well received, nor was I treated with disre- 
 o spect by any Moor, or Jew, of respectability. 
 
 Being one day at my friend Jackson’s table, at dinner, the consul 
 sick at home the while, and none there but we tw'o, a good looking 
 'it Moor, or Jew, (I cannot recollect which,) came in, having business 
 
 11 with Jackson. He took a seat along side of him, and for some time 
 a they bo,th seemed much engaged in conversation, in the Arabic. 
 iii IVhen their business seemed to be gone through with, he (the stran- 
 - ger) looked very attentively towards me, and began a conversation, 
 ei of which, I found, from a few 7 words I caught, that I was the subject, 
 
 but could not conjecture as to the scope of it. They both laughed 
 heartily, and, in conclusion, Jackson turned to me, and asked me if 
 1 had in my ship a keg of dollars in a barrel of beef? I answered 
 a yes ; and he then rehearsed to me this man’s story, as follows : “ As 
 1 was down the Arab country on business, (said this Moor, or Jew.) 
 i[ 1 heard of the wreck of a ship, and I concluded to go to it, thinking 
 ’.here might be an opening for a speculation. When I had arrived, 
 
 1 found there two or three hundred Arabs, the whole of those Arabs 
 [hat first took possession of the wreck and crew having gone into the 
 interior to sell their plunder and slaves. As to the cargo, they in- 
 formed me there was no goods, but that they found in the bottom of 
 the ship an earth , which they did not know the use or value of, but 
 thought, as it was in a ship, it must be very valuable somewhere, 
 ind they wished me to look at it. I did so, and 1 found that they had 
 divided it into little heaps, of which each of them had one to his 
 share. On seeing this, I laughed at them heartily, and told them it 
 was ballast, and of no more value than the sand they stood on. They 
 were mortified in the extreme, and said they had been at w r ork for 
 several days in getting it ashore, and that in small quantities, as they 
 had to dive for every pound of it. They told we they had got out 
 most of the salted provisions, and were then finishing that job. 
 About ten barrels of the salted provisions were then lying on the 
 
163 
 
 l'ADOOCIi’S NARRATIVE. 
 
 beach, which they were dividing, allowing one barrel to a certain 
 number of men. When the barrels were opened for a subdivision, 
 such of them as contained pork were rejected with abhorrence, and 
 their owners were greatly mortified ;* but every barrel of beef was 
 divided among its joint owners by pieces. One of them, as he was 
 taking the pieces out of one of the barrels, came to a keg, standing 
 endwise, which was so heavy that he could not lift it by its hoops. 
 This exciting curiosity, and many of them, by turns, trying to lift it, 
 in the confusion the barrel was overset, and the keg rolled out of it. 
 They soon got a stone and stove it to pieces, and, in so doing, the 
 dollars flew out, the noise of which rallied together the whole gang, 
 and it was then with them catch who can. Each contended for his 
 share so ferociously, and their scimitars were employed with such 
 effect, that a great number were severely wounded, and some, it was[ 
 thought., would die of their wounds. There being some barrels yet 
 unopened, they all, as one, stove them to pieces, with stones, and 
 searched them for more dollars, and, upon their finding none, a par- 
 ty swam to the ship, and searched there for more barrels, but in vain, 
 The right owners of the barrel containing the dollars claimed the 
 whole of them ; upon which a council was called, and the chief pre- 
 sided ; their pleas were able on both sides, but as 1 came off soon, 1 
 did not learn the result.” — Thus ended this stranger’s story, as gi 
 ven me by my friend Jackson, and thus it fared with my hidden trea 
 sure. 
 
 My mind had now become tranquil, and I had but little business t( 
 amuse myself with, further than to go to market and provide food foil 
 my men ; and this I did daily, drawing the money for that purpose 
 from the Courts, and I very soon learned how to buy my meat 
 The regulations of the police with respect to the market there is wor 
 thy of notice. Every morning an officer goes to each stall, anc 
 pastes up a piece of paper, on which he w r rites what the price o 
 beef is to be for that day. So severe is the regulation of the po 
 lice, that no seller dares to exceed that fixed price, though ever} 
 seller is at liberty to sell as much below it as he pleases ; thus £ 
 deal of trouble is saved, and no imposition can be practised on the 
 buyer, as the meat is rarely sold below the fixed price. As to thr 
 price of the meat, it is governed by the price of the cattle, which 
 were constantly for sale without the gates, and were always cheap 
 
 The cattle, at this time, were so plenty in the country, and the 
 value of money so great, that almost any number of them might havt 
 been had, at a low rate, for exportation, if suitable vessels had beei 
 there to take them away. I understood by intelligent people, and i 
 was confirmed to me by the stories of the Arabs, that the cause o 
 the uncommon cheapness of cattle was this : A great many Maho- 
 metans had died the last year of the plague, and their cattle har 
 strolled about the country without keepers, so that the herdmei 
 were obliged to keep them among their own flocks to prevent theiij 
 destroying their grain, and if no jxerson claimed these stray cattk 
 
 * The Mahometans, as it is well known, will not pollute their hands with the tour? 
 of swine’s flesh. 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 169 
 
 within a given time, they were driven off to market. The exporta- 
 tion duty was not so high but that a great voyage might have been 
 made with them. The exportation of horses was utterly forbidden, 
 and, I believe, of camels also ; but mules, asses, and horned cattle, 
 tvere permitted to be exported, after paying upon them a specific 
 duty, similar to that on the other products of the country. 
 
 The imports were under a peculiar regulation, which was very 
 agreeable to the mercantile houses ; it was this, when a ship arriv- 
 11 ed, a report was made of her cargo ; there were no custom-house 
 forms, no bonds entered into for the emperor’s dues, but the goods 
 '? were all landed, and put into his stores. One tenth was then taken 
 b } the emperor’s officers, and the remainder was given up to the 
 merchant, who, at pleasure, took it away, excepting, however, any 
 1 articles that were not made use of by the musselmen, such as ardent 
 spirits, wine, and so forth, which were subject to a particular duty, 
 :i which being paid, those articles, like the rest, were permitted to be 
 taken away from the stores of his majesty. The merchants in Mo- 
 lt jgadore had but very little trouble in making this division between 
 The government and themselves; for their correspondents, if only 
 nade acquainted with this regulation, would, in shipping goods, 
 
 : lave them packed in tenths ; for instance, ten pieces in every pack- 
 ige of cloths, and the other things in the like way, so that when the 
 f) ;oods were all stored, it would require but little time or trouble to 
 livide them according to law. Smuggling, of any kind, was very 
 •are ; the guards at the city gate were so diligent, that any clandes- 
 ine management would be readily detected, 
 ffl Duties on exports were paid at the city gate in manner following ; 
 i merchant intending to ship a quantity of goods, for instance, goat 
 kins, he informs the governor of that intention, and requests him to 
 >e at the gate on a given time of the following day. The governor at- 
 ends in person, and with him a scribe, and a servant following, with 
 l mat for him to sit on. He looks at the bundles, and counts them, 
 ind points out a few, which he orders to be opened and counted, 
 .nd, on being satisfied as to the number of skins in each, the scribe 
 :alculates the sum belonging to him as government dues ; and, on his 
 lemand, it is counted out to him by the merchant, who previously 
 mew the exact amount ; the scribe counts it over after him, and in- 
 orms the governor if it be correct, and he then gives permission to 
 hip the article, or articles, and returns with the scribe and his ser- 
 ant. I frequently thought while 1 was in Mogadore, that of all the 
 torts I had ever been in, none was half equal to this for doing busi- 
 less relating to imports and exports, with ease and correctness. 
 
 I mentioned a little back that the exportation of horses was pro- 
 ibited ; but notwithstanding this general prohibition, a certain 
 English gentleman had influence enough with one of the governors 
 if the emperor, to obtain of him a permit to send a beautiful pair of 
 > ;reys to his owe sovereign, or prince, which circumstance, in all 
 irobability, never came to the emperor’s knowledge. When these 
 ne horses were landed in Europe, so elegant were they, that the 
 ’ ;um of a thousand guineas was offered, but whether for each, or for 
 
 22 
 
170 paddock’s narrative, 
 
 the pair, 1 do not recollect. This story I had from the gentleman 
 himself who sent them. The Mahometans consider the horse as an 
 animal too good for any but themselves to ride. Consequently, by 
 their law, neither a Christian nor a Jew is permitted to ride one ; 
 but policy has dictated to the reigning monarchs to indulge the| 
 Christians with that privilege. They are permitted not only to ride 
 on horseback, but to keep their shoes on while they are passing over 
 what they call Holy Ground ; whereas the Jews are obliged to live 
 up to that law' in every particular ; and therefore, for the sake oi 
 convenience, they have their slippers without quarters. It is re- 
 markable to see w'ith what easiness and dispatch the Jews can be 
 shod and unshod. As soon as they come to the place that they are to 
 pass over barefoot, thej', from long habit, kick oft’ their slippers so near!; 
 together, that they stoop, and take them up with one hand, and no’ 
 sooner are they past the place, than they drop them on the ground., 
 and put their feet into them, without appearing to make any stop 01 
 delay. 
 
 The Moors are very fond of making proselytes to their religion, 
 but it is seldom that a Jew ever embraces their faith, and as seldom 
 do Christians, except those Spanish convicts who had been seni 
 from Spain, and exiled to Ceuta ; these, to gain their liberty, some- 
 times make their escape into the emperor’s territory, and there tun: 
 Mahometans, to avoid being taken back; and to gain a livelihooc 
 they generally enlist into the Moorish army, and there spend theii 
 days. As fond as the Moors are of converting Christians to theii 
 faith, they never after put much confidence in them, who, like har-i 
 lots, are cherished but not respected. 
 
 A very lamentable instance of apostacy took place at Mogadon 
 while I was there, and with one of the Martin Hall’s boys. The 
 boy Jack, of whom I have so frequently made mention, was often 
 missing from the consul’s house, and whenever some one was sent 
 in search of him, he was found in some Moorish house, evident!), 
 preferring their company. The consul used to admonish him, and 
 point out to him the evil tendency of keeping such company, but all, 
 to no purpose. At last he was missing a whole night, and in the! 
 morning following he was found in the company of several Moors, 
 one of whom claimed him as his adopted son ; and, at the same time. 
 Jack declared that he had embraced the Mahometan faith, that he’ 
 had been circumcised, and had gone through their other ceremo- 
 nies, and he claimed protection from the one w'hom he called hisj 
 adopted father. This information was carried to the consul, who! 
 was in much trouble on the occasion. One way only was left to re- 
 claim or recover him out of their hands, and that was to make an ap- 
 plication to the governor for that purpose, and accordingly an ap- 
 plication was made. The governor’s reply was, “ You shall have 
 all the indulgence that our laws permit, which is this : examine the 
 boy in my presence, from day to day, for three successive days, and 
 if you can within that time persuade him to return to his former re- 
 ligion, you may receive him back ; otherwise, as he has voluntarily 
 come among us, and gone through our ceremonies, we are in duly 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 171 
 
 bound to retain him.” The boy being sent for, and examined by 
 the consul, who did it in the Arabic language, he declared that he 
 loved and esteemed his adopted father, that he had become a Ma- 
 hometan, and would never change from it. After the consul had 
 finished his part of the examination, the governor commenced, by ask- 
 ing Jack why he had changed his faith? His reply was, he did it 
 because he believed the condition of the Mahometans was prefera- 
 ble to that of the Christians ; that if he should continue in the reli- 
 gion he was then of, he should see God, and be saved ; whereas the 
 Christians were all to be damned. This lesson had, beyond doubt, 
 been given him by his adopted father. The governor then asked 
 him if he knew the prayers, and the meaning of them ? He declared 
 that he did, and went on to repeat them. Finally, he asked him if 
 he understood the prayer of Ramadam ? He said he did, and repeat- 
 ed it, without missing a word, though it is a very long one. The 
 governor then dismissed him, and after he was gone, observed to the 
 consul, “ The boy is safe.” The consul continued every day through- 
 out the aforementioned term of three days, in his endeavours to re- 
 claim the boy, but at last was obliged to let him go. This story I 
 had from consul Gwyn’s own mouth at the time. When the three 
 days had expired, a great rejoicing took place, a grand procession 
 was formed, and boy Jack, mounted on a horse, moved round the 
 city in great style, the followers singing and shouting in a merry 
 mood, gratified with the grand acquisition they had made, in bring- 
 ing a poor ignorant Christian boy into the saving light of Mahomet- 
 anism. I saw Jack frequently- afterwards, but he always avoided 
 me when it was in his power, and not only me, but all those belong- 
 ing to the two other crews. 
 
 When speaking of the market at Mogadore, I omitted some things, 
 which I will mention here, though somewhat Out of place. The 
 market furnished pompions, onions, melons, grapes, and other pro- 
 ducts of the climate, in abundance, and cheap. In the manner of 
 selling them, their customs were singular, or were so at least when- 
 ever I attended the market. Their loads were brought on asses, 
 mules, horses, or camels, for they have no wheel carriages in that 
 country ; and when a load came in, some one was ready to buy the 
 whole of it, or the whole of one particular article, the bystanders re- 
 maining silent while the bargain wms making, and as soon as that 
 was completed, each of them came in with his claim for a part, and 
 the load, or the particular article, w r as immediately divided, so that 
 each, on paying his quota, had his share. As I was coming from 
 the butcher’s one morning, I stopped here, and having one of my 
 boys with me, it was proposed to me by him, that he should attend 
 the fruit sale. I hardly expected that a Christian boy would have 
 the common privilege of a share in the division, but he had x4rabic 
 enough to contend for his right, and he succeeded ; our part was a 
 lot of grapes, which I thought equally good as I had ever eat, 
 ■either in the Azores or the Canary islands. The bread was fur- 
 p nished us by the bakers, and was carried to the lodgings of our men 
 r every day ; it was both good and cheap. The country was over- 
 
 
272 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 flowing with grain, and as to price, there was very little difference 
 between wheat, barley, and Indian corn. According to my recollec-; 
 tion, from an estimate of their measure, a bushel of wheat was aboui 
 40 cents, or two-fifths of a Spanish dollar; no exportation of graii; 
 was permitted at the time. Bullocks were sold from three to five 
 dollars each, which rendered our living very cheap. My men, thus 
 comfortably situated, having the best of food, and decently clad with 
 such clothing as could be afforded them, were all recruiting remark- 
 ably fast, nor was I far behind them in that respect. 
 
 An opportunity soon offered itself for my asking the consul’s opi-j 
 nion respecting the massacre of the large ship’s company , which I relat- 
 ed to him just as Ahamed had related it to me. At first he thought that 
 such a deed could not have been done without coming, in some way’ 
 or other, to the knowledge of the Christians in Mogadore. But ; 
 when I told him the facts that had actually come to my owr. 
 knowledge, such as parts of a wreck of a very large size, the stone I 
 huts, the casks, and at last the human hair, and bones, which, in mj! 
 own opinion, almost led to a full confirmation of the fact, his first 
 belief was staggered, and he confessed he had no doubts of theii | 
 disposition to destroy any thing that should come in their way, oi 
 any number of lives, if plunder could not be obtained otherwise ; 
 that treachery was the principal trait in their character, and that 
 they were capable of uniting in any thing, though ever so atrocious, 
 in annoying all mankind but those of their own nation. 
 
 From that subject we passed to the subject of the harbour which I 
 had seen. He said to me, that an intelligent Moor had some years 
 before told him of that harbour, but did not describe it exactly as 1 
 did ; that he took an interest in the story told him by the Moor, and 
 had made every inquiry of the Arabs as to such a fine harbour, but 
 having never got any confirmation of it, he had, for some years 
 past, considered the story as incorrect, or otherwise he should have 
 made it known to his government. My opinion, I told him, clearly; 
 was, that hundreds of ships could ride at anchor in this harbour ini 
 safety, defended from all winds except from the north-west, and 
 that as the entrance was so much narrower than the body of the har-i 
 bour, no sea through that could injure ships very much, the ground 
 being perfectly dear. 
 
 Our next object was to ascertain where this harbour lay; and, 
 from our computation of the distance from the wreck to St. Cruez, 
 he was of opinion that we were wrecked on a cape beyond Nun, 
 near Sabee, and that this harbour, according to that computation, 
 was about thirty miles west of Cape Nun. If that was the fact, 
 which, in frequently pondering on the subject since, I have thought 
 probable, the hunters’ object in carrying us back from the sea was 
 to avoid Widxioon, for their party being too small to resist the evil-! 
 disposed and fierce people inhabiting there, they might by going that 
 way have lost their plunder, or at least a part of it Again, if that 
 should have been the place of our shipwreck, it w’ould account for 
 our not seeing Nun river, and would also account for our seeing 
 
m 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 such numerous tracks of men and beasts, all fronting westward, as 
 being a caravan for the negro country. 
 
 I hope the time is not far distant, when some Christian power will 
 survey that coast, which, if done in the summer season, would not 
 be difficult, nor attended with risk, provided there were two or three 
 fast-sailing small vessels, well found, with good cables and anchors. 
 There is a great number of anchoring places along the coast at the 
 sea board, and although those situations are very rough, yet in that 
 respect they are nothing in comparison to the anchorage on the 
 Grand Bank. And should it so happen that a cable should part, or 
 be in such a condition as to make it necessary to cut it, there would 
 be no risk of going ashore, for during the time that 1 was on that 
 ; coast, a vessel might lie within two or three points of lying directly 
 off shore. I learned from the Arabs that it frequently happened 
 that the Spanish fishermen anchored near in, and by signs from them 
 f came ashore and traded with them, giving fish for skins or for sheep’s 
 i; wool. In carrying on this trade, the manner they used for their 
 : own secui'ity Ahamed once related to me, which was this : — “ We 
 a approached,” he said, “ to the sea-side with our goods, and left 
 « one man with them, all the others retiring back out of the reach 
 « of gun-shot. The Spaniards then landed, and made their trade with 
 
 1 his one man, he keeping himself so far from them as not to be vvi th- 
 is in reach of their grasp ; always ready for a start, and having full 
 
 ;onfidence in his heels.” Ahamed acknowledged that this trade was 
 ;onducted fairly by the Spaniards. According to his representa- 
 ffl ion, they often lay at anchor within a cable’s length of the shore, 
 si Happy would it have been had this coast been well surveyed fifty 
 is rears ago, and the survey published to the w r orld ; and more espe- 
 bi :ially, had there been a delineation of the very strong currents, it 
 at night have saved a number of fine ships, and a great many valuable 
 ives. While I was in Mogadore, I examined a great number of 
 ir! )rotests, made by the master or other officers upon oath, relating to 
 
 2 hips that had been wrecked on that coast, and every one of them 
 an sttributed their loss tothecurrents thathadswept them away, and most 
 M if them to a great distance from the place where they had calculat- 
 'd their ship to be. On the contrary, not one of those ships was 
 irotested, as lost by stress of weather. Indeed there is no doubt in 
 
 in ny mind, that many missing ships carried by the currents along this 
 us nhospitable coast, have been wrecked there, and never more heard 
 > if. A vessel in coming there seldom meets with any shoal or rocks 
 o strike on, till it strikes upon one of the many square and perpen- 
 licular bluffs against which the sea beats with such violence that it 
 lust go to pieces in a very few minutes, and every soul inevitably 
 lerish; and this circumstance, viewed in connexion with the great 
 lumber of pieces of wrecks scattered along that coast, is sufficient, 
 think, to justify the opinion I have advanced. 
 
 The wild Arabs that brought us up, appeared before they got 
 heir money to be in great haste to return, but afterwards they show- 
 d no such desire, but remained ten days in Mogadore, where they 
 iad all their dollars coined, or exchanged into ounces. During 
 
1!7'4 paddock’s narrative: 
 
 their stay, I thought % good policy to keep on the best terms of 
 friendship with tl -m, as ! hoped it might be the means of carrying 
 relief to those of our crew that were left behind. They were so parsi- j! 
 monious that, rather than buy victuals, they went to our men’s lodg- || 
 ings and begged bread arid meat, which they gave them. This gave 
 me many opportunities to talk with them about their cruelties, and 
 I endeavoured to convince them how much it would be for their in- 
 terest to bring the men up immediately whenever a ship was wreck- 
 ed on their coast, telling them there newer could be any danger but 
 that they would be well paid. They listened to me, and promised 
 that they would thereafter come up with the men, without loss of 
 time. They told me they now understood that it was bur sultan ? 
 who defrayed the expense, and that he must be mighty rich, where- 
 as always before they had thought that the money was paid out of 
 the consul’s own pocket, and therefore that he could not have ca"sh 
 enough to ransom a great many. Very soon after I had become ac- 
 quainted with the Courts, ! got them to take my bill of exchange on ji 
 Rathbone, Hughes, and Duncan, merchants in Liverpool, for twen- |! 
 ty pounds sterling, and this furnished me with money on my own 
 account; and as the Arabs were excessively fond of smoking, and 
 good Virginia tobacco was to be procured for half a dollar a pound, 
 
 1 supplied them with as much as they chose to smoke. After they 
 had made all their purchases, which mostly consisted of trinkets for 
 sale among the Arabs, and some tobacco, they called on me, all 
 prepared to start off. Upon taking leave, 1 gave them a pound of 
 tobacco, and as much money as would furnish them with meal for 
 several days, for which a small sum was sufficient ; and they then 
 took their leave, full of promises to search for and bring up every 
 Christian in the country. After this I never heard of Ahamed and 
 bis companions. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Our permit from the emperor to return home— A visit from a frigate of his Britannic I 
 Majesty — The consternation occasioned by it to the governor ofMogadore— The i 
 crippled condition of the fortifications of that town— The way and manner of my j 
 obtaining the tabinet, which my poor black man Jack had packed away for his mis- |i 
 tress to wear— Account of the commerce— Garden at Mogadore, and of the com- ':, 
 pany that resorted to it— A description of the terrace-roofs there, and of the step- 
 stones for their mosques — Curious trials for criminal offences— singular manner of i; 
 the city watchmen— the briskness of business, occasioned by a permit from the em- 1| 
 peror to export grain — Our passage for Portugal engaged— Pat’s refusal to embark 
 with us — Our voyage to Lisbon— Our quarantine there— The kind attentions, and; 
 unsuspecting confidence of Buckley, the American consul-general at Lisbon— The 
 noble generosity of captain Norman, of Baltimore— -Our voyage from Lisbon to that ; 
 city, and arrival there— Remarkable supply of my pecuniary needs— My journey ! 
 to the seat of government, and interview with the Secretary of State — My gladsome f 
 return to my wife, and to all my relations and friends in Hudson. ji 
 
 All my friends in Mogadore were fully of the opinion that wc 
 should be ordered by the emperor to Fez. It had formerly been the 
 
■Mrin 
 
 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 175 
 
 emperor’s custom to have Christians that were ransomed from slave- 
 ry sent to him, and he in person gave them their liberty to return to 
 their homes ; but in the latter years the British subjects had been 
 permitted to return home by his order in writing. As the piague 
 had not wholly subsided in many parts of the empire, and particu- 
 : larly in the aforementioned quarter, the idea of marching to the dis- 
 : tance of three hundred miles, through a country where the chances 
 of taking that fatal disorder would be nearly two to one against us, 
 was too much to bear, especially after suffering so much among the 
 Arabs. Yet this thing seemed likely ; for the Courts gave it as their 
 opinion, that as we were the first Americans cast upon that coast, 
 and as the- emperor had never seen any American, he would wish to 
 f see us for the gratification of his curiosity. They were so confident 
 that we should be obliged to go, and so careful to prepare us for it, 
 that they had their own tent put in order, and the cooking utensils so 
 arranged as to be ready at the shortest notice. 
 
 Upon this emergency, I immediately wrote to our consul-general, 
 informing him of my alarm, and begging of him that in case we 
 should be ordered up, I might have a place in the corner of his gar- 
 den, so as to be as much out of danger as possible. My mind was 
 at length quieted by a letter I received from the consul-general. 
 He informed me that he had applied to the emperor for our liberty 
 to go home, and should no doubt obtain his consent very soon, as 
 his Majesty seemed well disposed towards him ; but if he could not 
 effect it, and we must come up, he w r ould take good care of us ; add- 
 ing, that the plague had not left Tangier, and that for several months 
 he had not suffered any communication from without into his enclosures, 
 having taken up, in the Mogadore method, whatever his needs re- 
 quired. 
 
 About this time there arrived a brig bearing the American flag. 
 The captain came to the consul’s office to note his protest, and he 
 informed me that his brig belonged to Charleston, South-Caroiina, 
 iand was built there, and that he was a citizen of the United States; 
 but I soon found that he had never seen Charleston, and that his 
 .ship was not an American built one. His papers were neatly exe- 
 ‘cuted; according to which he had loaded and sailed for the North 
 of Europe. 
 
 I On the day of his departure, I received a letter from our consul- 
 
 I general, which informed me that the emperor had given to me and 
 my men liberty to return home ; and the same courier brought a let- 
 ter from the emperor to the governor, to permit us to depart. This 
 
 J letter came to the hands of Alexander and William Court, who were 
 to present it to the governor ; and as he had a great share of ava- 
 rice, accompanied with an equal share of cunning, which was turned 
 to the best advantage for money-making, the Courts were on their 
 guard with him. Previous to the delivery of the letter, a scribe w r as 
 sent for, who copied it; after which William Court and myself wait- 
 ed on his excellency, who, on reading the letter, said, “ My mas- 
 ter’s .will shall be done.” He then dismissed us. I was desirous of 
 having the letter translated, and got it done. 1 think the Arabic was 
 
i76 paddock’s narrative. 
 
 only three lines and a half on common writing-paper, but its Eng- 
 lish translation required eighteen or nineteen lines on the same kinc 
 of paper. As well as I can recollect, the letter was written in ex- 
 cellent language, and I am sorry that I cannot produce it here. 
 
 I think our permission to depart came to us in the former part oi 
 July, and the unexpected and welcome news was cheering to us all, 
 There were at the time several vessels in the port, but no one that 
 was near ready to sail. The morning after this, I was walking orj 
 the terrace pretty early, when I saw a brig running down for the har- 
 bour, with English colours flying, and a large ship in the offing, 
 standing in for the town, which, having come within four or five 
 miles, laid her main-top-sail aback, and hoisted an English ensign, 
 With a good glass I plainly discovered her to be a frigate. I rar 
 up the consul’s flag, in answer to that of the frigate, and went 
 to his room and informed him of the circumstance. By the time he 
 had got a look at her, we discovered a boat coming from her; but 
 our breakfast being now ready, we sat down at the table. In a few 
 minutes from this, a soldier came running in, half out of breath, 
 with a message from the governor, who wished to know what that 
 frigate wanted? The consul sent back word, that it was impossible 
 for him to tell. Before the soldier had time to get back, there came 
 another soldier to ask the consul to come to the Battery. He sent 
 word that he was at breakfast, and would go after he had done, 
 Before the second messenger had got to the street-door, a third one , 
 came and ordered him to come without delay. By this third mes- 
 senger he sent word that he would go when it suited him, and told 
 him to tell the governor that he he need not trouble himself anj 
 more about it, and he spoke it with warmth. The fellow begged! 
 that he would go, telling him that he durst not return with such an! 
 answ r er. When breakfast was over, the old gentleman and the sol-;! 
 dier went off together ; and I went to the top of the house, where I ! 
 saw’ the boat was near the landing place, which lay on the west side 
 of the town. 
 
 Never had I seen Mogadore so lively. Hundreds were running 
 towards the landing place, to know the cause of this visit, which; 
 was a rare instance of the kind, and the soldiers in the battery were 
 all engaged at their cannon. With my glass I could perceive that 
 a number of their carriages were deficient as to trucks, which defi-j 
 ciency was exposed to my view by their pointing their guns towards 
 the frigate. Where trucks were missing, some were using the hand- 
 spike, and others were following up the axletree with pieces of wood. 
 The consul and governor were at the landing place when the boat; 
 came in. The officer, as soon as he had come within the length of 
 an oar of the landing-place, asked if his Britannic Majesty’s consul, 
 was there ? The consul making himself known to him, he inquired 
 as to the plague, and as to his own health. While the consul was 
 inquiring for news, the governor, who was at his elbow, was in great 1 
 fear, and very troublesome, saying, every now and then, “ What do 
 they want, Mr. Gwyn? ask him, Mr. Gwyn, to come ashore.” At 
 last he invited the officer to land, but he declined it, and told him] 
 
jPADDOCK 5 3 NARRATIVE^ 
 
 If? 
 
 that the captain of the frigate had ordered 1 .in to keep at the diF* 
 tance of an oar’s length from the shore ; that he had no particular 
 business there ; that he was on the Madeira station, and somehow 
 i (but how I do not remember) they had been di’iven this way ; and 
 .that having, the evening before, seen the back land above the town, 
 the captain thought he would call and see if there was any news. 
 
 This the consul interpreted to the governor, who insisted that he 
 should accept of a bullock, which the officer declined of course, as 
 he could not have done it without coming on shore. He returned to 
 the ship, which wore round, and made sail to the northward. This 
 alarm roused his excellency, who inspected all his guns, and pro- 
 1 mised himself to be thereafter in a better state of defence. It was 
 1 my own belief at the time, that a 44 gun frigate, well manned, might 
 
 - have silenced their battery in less than an hour, in the Crippled state 
 dt was then in. The situation of this town is such, that a ship of the 
 
 line might lay within a musket shot of the battery, where every shot 
 would take effect, either in the fort or the town. This extraordinary 
 visit from one of His Britannic Majesty’s frigates, was the topic of 
 general conversation among most of the inhabitants, Christians, Jews., 
 and Moors. 
 
 11 1 About noon of the same dav, while consul Glwyn, John Foxcroft, 
 and myself, were sitting together, engaged in conversation, a wild 
 :e Arab, and one of the worst looking kind, came up stairs, with a bun- 
 dle, and washed to know if the consul would buy some handsome 
 cloth he had. In unrolling the bundle, out rolled the two gown pat- 
 :: terns of tabinet, which I had bought for my wife in Cork. The 
 111 thoughts of my wife, and of the poor black man who had taken 
 the patterns in his pack, saying, “ Mistress shall have these yet ,” 
 
 - 'ushed' so powerfully on my mind, and excited such violent emor 
 >o ions, that I could not refrain from turning aside, and giving vent 
 
 o mv anguish by a fow of tears. This was not discovered at the 
 ; ime, by the two gentlemen that were with me, from whose conver- 
 ; .ation it appeared that they were not acquainted with the value off 
 i hose pieces. Foxcroft proposed to buy the dark coloured piece- 
 w fer his wife, and called her in ; the consul, on the contrary, took a 
 ancy to the light coloured piece, for waistcoat patterns. While 
 Ifexcroft’s wife was making her observations upon the tabinet, I told 
 jiier the price of it in Ireland, and that I had bought there the two 
 pieces for my wife. Upon which, the two gentlemen immediately 
 jffered to relinquish the bargain to me, but being short of cash, I de- 
 fined it, and desired them to proceed in the purchase. Each took 
 t piece, and paid the Arab for it, according to my recollection, two 
 lollars. I did not expect to hear or see any more of it ; but the 
 fiext morning, in taking out a clean shirt from my trunk, I discover- 
 b >d that some person had been to it, and, upon examination, I found 
 hat the light coloured gown pattern had been placed at the bot- 
 om in sucii a manner as might preyent me from discovering it. It 
 js needless to mention what took place respecting it, afterwards 5 
 ‘uffice it to repeat, my wife got her gown, and wears it to tins 
 
 Bay. 
 
 23 
 
178 
 
 PADDOCK" S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Having now full permission to leave the country, in any way we 
 might please, 1 was constantly keeping pace with the loading of the 
 vessels in that port, in order to leave it in the first that should sail. 
 My time couldffiot hang very heavily upon me, as I was daily in good 
 company. Every day in the week, except one, we dined out, and 
 sometimes took a cold dinner at the Commerce Garden, in company 
 with a large party of Christians of several denominations. This 
 garden-spot lay a little more than two miles from the town; the lit- 
 de fresh water river, spoken of before, running through or by it, 
 It was formerly presented to the merchants of Mogadore, by one o 
 the Emperors, and from that circumstance it acquired its name. Be 
 sides vegetables, there were in it some trees and shrubs, affording a 
 little fruit. The dreariness of the neighbouring country, made this 
 little spot delightful. In it was a house, which though a small one, 
 was built sufficiently large to accommodate a large party, who com 
 monly met about noon to partake of a cold dinner, and returnee 
 home towards evening. From what I had discovered among m} 
 friends, these, convivial assemblies were productive of some good 
 The English and French were then at war together; but the sub 
 jects of both these great nations joined in those parties in the gar 
 den, and at other convivial meetings ; and during the nine week; 
 that I frequented this mixed company, I never heard so much as on< 
 political question discussed. Consul Gwyn told me, that each part\ 
 showed the same desire to avoid in company, every observation 01 
 the subject of home concerns, so far as related to the contentions be 
 tween their two governments. 
 
 As I have mentioned something about their terrace-roofs at Moga 
 dore, it may perhaps be agreeable to some of my readers, to have fj 
 description of them, which I will give, as given me by the consul. 
 The overhead timbers which cover the upper story are left large, tc 
 bear a great weight, and are covered Over with strong plank, am 
 that covered with good lime, sand, and water, so mixed together as 
 to make a strong cement. This cement, or mortar, is laid on ir 
 small quantities, and a fine gravel, sifted for the purpose, is laid ovci 
 it ; many hands being employed, with wooden pounders, who mode- 
 rately pound the gravel into the mortar. As soon as it hardens by 
 drying, another coat is put over it, followed by gravel pounded in, 
 so as to cement the whole together ; and, in this way they continue 
 to lay on coat after coat, till the cement is of a sufficient thickness, 
 which, if I remember right, is about six inches. It is then left tc 
 dry, and when quite dry, is extremely hard, and never admits watei 
 through it. The walls of the houses are carried to the height ol 
 three or four feet above this roof, and there are holes, like scupper- 
 holes, to let the rain-water pass off through them. Their step-stones 
 for mosques and other public buildings are made in this same way; 
 making a box for a mould, they work the contents in this manner, 
 till it is full, and when sufficiently dry, (which requires along time,)! 
 the step-stone is made use of. These stones are very ornamen- 
 tal, especially alter being worn long enough to show the material? 
 they are made of. 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 ITS 
 
 A despotic government is inadmissible among an enlightened 
 people, and is justly detested ; yet considerable good may come out 
 of it, as a set-off against much greater evil, leaving the balance 
 •against it, though a heavy one, yet, in some respects, not so great 
 as freemen, before taking the whole into consideration, generally 
 imagine. 1 was present at a few criminal causes, tried before the 
 governor, at the Battery-gate; they were against Jews, arraigned 
 for stealing. No counsel was admitted in behalf of the criminal, 
 but as many as pleased appeared against him, who, not under oath, 
 gave their testimony in presence of the prisoner. After hearing the 
 evidence, he addressed the prisoner in this manner, “ You hear 
 what is charged against you, — are you guilty, or not guilty ?” In 
 the cases I have mentioned, they pleaded guilty, and begged for 
 mercy. He then questioned them as to their ability to pay a fine, 
 and also as to the ability of their friends. After which, he imposed 
 such a fine as he thought they could pay, and gave them but a very 
 short time for making their appearance with the money, seldom 
 longer than half an hour. If the money was not paid in the time, 
 corporal punishment was commenced with, without any regular 
 mode of inflicting it. Most generally, they were laid prostrate, with 
 their faces downwards, and flogged unmercifully; die governor wit- 
 nessing their flagellation, and, between spells, asking them how they 
 ;t felt, and how long it would be before they would steal again ? The 
 object of his severity no doubt was to make them the more willing 
 to pay the next time they ivere detected, and sometimes they paid 
 him their fines while they were receiving their flagellation. In all 
 3 cases he fined them very high, and by such practices he had become 
 very rich. The consul told me there was no doubt but he had 
 amassed a great fortune, which in the end, would do him no good, 
 for as soon as it should be made known to the emperor, where his 
 treasure lay, he could easity find a pretext for having him arrested, 
 and whether for a real or imaginary fault, it made no difference, if 
 he could only get the money. 
 
 Among a number of his police regulations, this that I shall now 
 relate was a very extraordinary one. Soon after my arrival in Mo-' 
 gadore, the consul and myself were going home late at night, and on 
 turning a very short corner, we were near treading on a man who 
 lay on his side in the street. After we had passed by him, I re- 
 marked that in places where men were given to intoxication, this 
 would have been no uncommon sight, but that among Mahometans, 
 who never touched ardent spirits, it was strange to see a man lying 
 ■asleep in the street. To this he replied, “ You are very much mis- 
 taken : that is a watchman, and he is awake, with his ear to the 
 ground, to hear the better; in that position he is obliged to lie, ex- 
 cept a noise alarm him; to sleep on his watch would be as much as 
 ois life was worth. It is no uncommon thing,” he added, a for the 
 [governor to take the rounds of the town, and look every watchman 
 in the face ; and by means of this precaution there is neither house- 
 breaking nor riots here.” Whether this watch is perpetual through - 
 pout the year, or only occasional, I do not recollect. Injustice to the 
 
ij&i/ I’ADDOCK'S NARRATIVE* 
 
 governor, I must express it as my opinion, that he kept his town the 
 most quiet and orderly of any one that I had ever visited, — a clear i 
 instance that some little good is mingled with the abundant and de- 
 testable evil of despotism. 
 
 Some time about the middle of July, a Portuguese schooner ar- 
 rived from Lisbon, chartered by the house of the Bulkleys of that 
 place. She brought some goods suitable for that market, in order 
 to take in a return cargo of the products of this country, and was j 
 consigned to the house of William and Alexander Court. Those two 
 gentlemen had for some tipne been carrying on a treaty with the empe- 
 ror, to furnish him with a large quantity of powder at a low rate, and 
 to receive in return the exclusive privilege of exporting wheat to 
 Europe, This arrangement having been agreed to by the emperor, 
 the Courts received the intelligence of its ratification just as this 
 schooner was ready to receive her lading, and the wheat that was in 
 the town was immediately purchased up by them at a low price. A 
 thing of such magnitude could not be kept secret for scarcely a sin- 
 gle day. The glad tidings of the free exportation of grain flew like 
 lightning down the country, even to the wild Arabs, who had much 
 jn store, J soon had the pleasure of seeing vast quantities of wheat | 
 brought to market, which all came on camels, the whole load of 
 each being contained in one sack, which held, as near as I can re- 
 collect, about twelve bushels. One morning, soon after sun-rise, I 
 particularly remember seeing a string or file of those camels, of more 
 than half a mile in length, all coming into the gate together, each 
 •with its load of wheat. This sight was truly a grand one. The 
 price rose to a dollar a bushel. The merchants in Mogadore were 
 dissatisfied with the preference given to this one house, and solicited 
 the emperor that this privilege should be common with them all ; but 
 how it terminated J never knew. 
 
 The schooner was loaded with despatch, with what skins had been I 
 procured for her, and as to the rest was filled with wheat. She be- j 
 ing the first vessel that was to sail, 1 engaged our passage to Lisbon 
 in her. When she was nearly ready for departure, the consul sent 
 for Pat, who had left our men ? s lodging-place long before, and was 
 harboured by a countryman of his in town, a cooper by trade ; he 
 sent for him to inform him that he was to go with us to Lisbon, 
 Pat refused to come, and sent word back that he durst not go with 
 us, for that the mate and some others of our crew had threatened to j; 
 kill Ifim whenever they had him in their power. The consul de- 
 sired me to speak to him, and tell him he must go. I did so ; but 
 he declared that he was afraid of his life, and had no doubt but we 
 would destroy him before he could reach Europe. My promises to 
 the pontrary had no good effect upon him, and he remained be- 
 hind. 
 
 When the time had come for us to leave the port, (I think it was 
 the 27th of August,) our stores having been all previously put on 
 board, and notice being sent to the governor, we, with all our bag- 
 gage, accompanied by the consul, and many of my Mogadore friends, 
 went to the beach. The governor soon made his appearance, ap 
 
paddock’s narrative. 
 
 IS! 
 
 tended by his scribe or secretary, and his servant who carried his 
 mat for him to sit on. I was pointed out to him as the captain of 
 the wrecked ship, together with my crew, and he was told that we 
 were ready (with his permission) to leave the place, and return to 
 our homes. His reply was, “ Very well, you may depart, but not 
 until I shall have presented you with a bullock to eat upon your pas- 
 sage.” As I well knew the custom regarding those gifts, and had 
 nearly expended my little cash for clothing and other things, I re- 
 turned him thanks for his kindness, but told him our boat was too 
 small to carry one on board. But he insisting that I must take it, it 
 was concluded that the bullock should be slaughtered in the consul’s 
 yard, and sent oft’ in the next boat. His servants were not back- 
 ward in asking for such small presents as were common on the like 
 occasions ; so that my bullock cost me about double the money 
 that a good one might have been bought for at the market. 
 
 I took leave of my friends, and went on board of the schooner. 
 I did then, and now repeat it, return my most cordial thanks to all and 
 every one of my friends and benefactors in Mogadore ; where I left a 
 debt due from my government, to the amount, as near as I can recollect. 
 of about seventeen hundred dollars, for the ransom, clothing, and 
 maintenance of eight of us, including Pat. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon before the bullock was brought oft’, 
 but we got snug and ready for sea before night. Our captain, who 
 was an easy slow kind of man, declined going to sea before the next 
 morning, although the wind was fair, and the weather fine. His ac- 
 commodations w r ere small, but yet they were very comfortable, nor 
 was he wanting in disposition to render our situation pleasant. I 
 could not persuade him to go to sea till the afternoon, when we got 
 ! under weigh and left the port, going round to the west of Mogadore 
 island. All the way through the channel, I hove the lead and it car- 
 ried 27 fathoms. At dark the town of Mogadore was still in sin-fit 
 at the edge of the water, and the high sand hills above the town 
 looked as dreary as can be described. We kept on a wind layine; 
 up, from north to north-north-west. The next morning no land was 
 * in sight from the mast head ; at meridian the captain observed that 
 we were twenty miles south of Mogadore, when by his dead reckon- 
 ng we were thirty miles northward of it, thus, in my opinion, mak- 
 i. ing in his calculation an error of fifty miles. 
 
 The sun had been falling some time before he ascertained his lati- 
 I tude, and as he had not moved the index of his quadrant, I examin- 
 I ed his table of declination, and took oft' his altitude, and found he 
 ' had worked right. He was of the opinion that we had been cur- 
 (i rented south-westward, a long way down the coast. The weather 
 r being fine and clear, he sent a man to the mast head to look out for 
 b land on the Arab coast. I could not persuade him that the error was 
 | in his quadrant, nor would he let me examine it ; saying he bought 
 it in Lisbon, from a man he could depend on, who told him it wa< 
 I, good. In the afternoon it fell calm, but in the evening there was a 
 I light breeze from the south-west, w’hich continued all the night. As 
 ■ well as I can recollect we steered north-north-east. In the morning 
 
PADDOCK'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 n: l 
 
 
 I told him his quadrant ought to be examined before noon, and ad- 
 justed ; but he would not listen to me. Near noon I persuaded him 
 to let me look through the quadrant as the sun arose, which he con- 
 sented to occasionally, but would not give it up to me. At meri- 
 dian, by his latitude, we were as much too far north as we had been 
 ,100 far south the day before, by his dead reckoning. This he attri- 
 buted to a fair wind, by saying that his vessel sailed best when free 
 from the wind. I then found that this was his first voyage as master 
 of a vessel, and that he had but very little knowledge of navigation, 
 'hough he had been a long time at sea, in the Brazil trade, from 
 Lisbon, as a petty officer. He was a sober, saving man, and had | 
 .acquired money enough by his industry to buy this schooner, and 
 thought he could navigate her well enough. While I was in this 
 conversation with him, I discovered that many of the screws of his |i 
 quadrant were loose, and that the instrument must be corrected. I 
 was not long in putting it in order, and I showed him where the fault ) 
 was. T«he next day, at noon, he ’found that the dead reckoning and 
 meridian latitude agreed so well together, that he was fully convinc- 
 ed of his ignorance as to managing a quadrant; and from that time 
 he called on me frequently to take an observation for him, and al- 
 ways advised with me as to the course to be steered. 
 
 The vessel was a very dull sailer, and the winds being moderate j| 
 and light, wc had been at sea twenty clays when we made the rock 
 of Lisbon, right ahead, with a fair wind. From his being acquaint- 
 ed with the coast and harbour he refused to take a pilot, and an- 
 chored against the castle in Belem, a few miles below the city, on 
 t he next morning, which I believe was the 17th of August. Inline- 
 diately after our coming to anchor, the pratick boat came along 
 side, and, on finding -that we were from the coast of Barbary, left us, 
 and returned to shore. Very soon they returned again, and asked jj 
 many questions, particularly whether we were all well ? if the captain 
 had a bill of health ? if-the plague had subsided on the coast ? Then 
 calling all of us to the vessel’s side, they counted us. After this, 
 they reached the end of a pole on board, to which our captain fixed 
 his bill of health, and letters, which were carefully hauled into the 
 boat without touching them with their hands, and were immersed in 
 vinegar. They left orders for no person to leave the vessel on any I 
 occasion, and then returned again to shore. After they were gone, 
 the captain said he was very fearful we should be obliged to lie 
 there the full time of quarantine, which was forty days, but should 
 soon know our fate. The boat soon returned again, with four cus- 
 tom-house officers, to be left on board as a guard, and we were in- 
 formed that we were to lie forty days. To look forty days ahead, 
 and think of being confined all that time in this small bark, was not ' 
 very agreeable to us ; we bad, however, enough to eat, and a good- 
 natured captain, who did every thing in his power to make our time 
 as little tedious as might be. The utmost of our limits was to go, 
 when any thing was wanting, to the beach, which was near, and 
 where constantly men were placed as a watch, and to relieve out' 
 
paddock’s narrative? 
 
 183 
 
 Our stores from Mogadore were nearly expended, and I wrote the 
 next day to our consul-general, Buddy, at Lisbon, informing him 
 of our situation. He sent me an immediate answer, written in the 
 most friendly language, assuring me that we should be made as com- 
 fortable as our situation would admit ; that he had dispatched a let- 
 ter to the vice-consui, Fortuventura, at Belem, to furnish us with 
 every necessary of life. This pleasing letter from an utter stran- 
 ger, I regret it is out of my power to insert here. On the day of its 
 arrival the vice-consul came to the beach, and made a signal for us 
 to land. I went in the boat, keeping a few paces to leeward of him. 
 and he gave me to understand that he was ordered to do as our wor- 
 thy consul had written to me. Returning to the schooner, 1 made 
 an arrangement with the captain as to what supplies I should re- 
 ceive, in order to make out my equal proportion in our common fare, 
 as myself and the two mates messed with him and his son ; a suita- 
 ble allowance being made for my men, who messed by themselves. 
 After this "arrangement was settled, I again went ashore, and gave 
 directions to the vice-consul as to what provisions he should furnish. 
 He did not do exactly as he had been ordered, but we fared, never- 
 theless, very well. This confinement was rather tedious, and the 
 more, so as we had not a single English book to reach I there made 
 several notes, which might have been of great service to me now, 
 but they, -with my other papers and letters,, are lost, or mislaid. 
 
 On the 27th of September, in the morning, according , to the best 
 of my recollection, we were examined by the health officer, and per- 
 mitted to land. After we had gone through with some little ceremo- 
 ny at an office at Belim, we were once more at our liberty on . a 
 Christian shore. A captain Hand, of Charleston, was at Belim with 
 his boat, who gave me a passage to Lisbon, where we arrived about 
 eleven o’clock. I immediately waited on our consul at his office, 
 and introduced myself to him, who received me in a very courteous 
 manner, laid by his own business, and attended to mine. To him 
 I briefly related my misfortunes, and the situation I was then in, and 
 he having previously had a part of my tale, in and by the letters 
 which I had written to him while I was at Bclerp. ! had no need to 
 tell him that I was short of money. He politely questioned me as 
 to my pecuniary situation, and after he had become fully acquainted 
 with it, he directed me to call on a Madame Israel, who kept a 
 boarding house, and tell her to give me the best accommodations, 
 and he would settle it with her. When I was about starting for mv 
 new lodgings, he asked me to stay and dine with him. After din- 
 ner, I requested him to put my men on board American vessels for 
 home, which he told me he intended to do that day to save expense 
 to our government, and that I might take my own course, and as to 
 whatever money I might want on my own account, he would advance 
 it to me, for my bill on whomsoever I should choose to draw. This 
 confidence in a stranger, this unsolicited favour, was certainly far 
 beyond what I could have expected, though it was what I ardently 
 wished for, as the clothing which I then had was very thin. 
 
 He returned to his business, and sent a servant to show me t<? my 
 
184 
 
 paddock’* narrative* 
 
 lodgings, where 1 hud scarcely got seated, when a gentleman accost - 
 ed me to know who I was. On my telling him of my situation, 
 which was done with great brevity, he asked me if I wished to go 
 home ? and upon my answering that I did, he said to me, “ 1 have a 
 good ship which will be ready to sail for Baltimore in two days; in 
 her you are welcome to a passage.” His kind offer I readily ac- 
 cepted, and told him 1 would call on our consul, who had offered me 
 money, and to furnish my stores. His reply was, “ My good sir, I 
 did not offer you a half-way passage, my stores are all laid in, of 
 which you are to partake with me ; go on board as soon as you 
 please.” 1 could scarcely find words to reply to this generous man. 
 We had never seen or heard of each other before. lie soon went 
 away about his own business, when several American capitains present 
 observed, That is characteristic of the man . His name was Norman, 
 and his ship was the Perseverance, of Baltimore ; she was a fine 
 coppered ship, of 340 tons. I had two little boys under my care, 
 and was very desirous to keep them with me, but I could not have the 
 face, after captain Norman’s kind offer, to ask him to take them 
 also. I was in search after some master of a vessel to take them 
 home, when captain Norman, on discovering it, sent his boat, and 
 took them in his ship. 
 
 As my time was now likely to be very short in Lisbon, I called 
 on our worthy consul, who advanced me on my own account as much 
 money as I required. After counting it, he asked me with whose 
 name he should fill in the bill of exchange ? I mentioned to him 
 Isaac Hicks, merchant, of Ncw-Yorb, the ship’s agent there, or 
 llathbone, Hughes, and Duncan, of Liverpool; and, it being the 
 most convenient for him, he took the former. I signed the bill, nor 
 did he ask me a single question as to my right of drawing upon 
 those houses. 
 
 What abundant cause of gratitude had I, and still have, both to 
 God and man ! Ever after the time of my leaving the wild Arabs, 
 remarkable providential favours seemed to attend me at every step. 
 While I was a stranger in a strange land, and utterly indigent, I 
 there, without the least difficulty, and in most cases without my own 
 seeking, met with benefactors who provided me with whatever I 
 really needed, and soothed my affliction by every means in their 
 power. 
 
 After receiving this money, my first care was to present my aged 
 and worthy friend, consul Gwyn, with some little necessaries which his 
 circumstances seemed to require, and as a token of my remembrance, 
 and of my sincere and high esteem. Those things I packed up in 
 a box, and left them with our consul at Lisbon, w'ho shipped them 
 to Mogadore, where they safely arrived, as appeared by a letter 
 from consul Gwyn, written to me some time afterwards. 
 
 I now furnished myself with some thick clothes, and repaired on 
 board the Perseverance. I think we left the river Tagus on the 2d 
 or 3d of October. Although our ship was a fast sailer, yet by rea- 
 son of our having had either light or contrary winds, we did not ar- 
 rive at Baltimore till about the 18th of November. During this long 
 
I 
 
 paddock’s NARRATIVE, 185 
 
 [. 
 
 i) passage, I found in captain Norman, as far as I could judge, a com- 
 d plete seaman, an excellent navigator, a strict disciplinarian, and a 
 a benevolent heart,— all so combined as to render him a very agree- 
 m able companion. On my arrival in Baltimore, my first object was 
 . to visit the city of Washington, in order to fulfil my promise to James 
 , e Simpson, Esq. relative to the expenses of our ransom, and the case 
 [ of those of cur crew who had been left with the Arabs, whose ran- 
 ,( som (should they live to obtain it) would probably, as it then seem- 
 lt| ed, be more expensive to the government than ours had been. 
 
 Having at the time but one dollar left, Captain Norman offered me 
 nt as much money as I wanted 5 but as he resided in the country, a re- 
 t mittance could not have been so convenient as if I should take it 
 jfrom a merchant resident in the city, and I therefore declined his 
 e kind offer. Within two hours of the time of my landing in Balti- 
 more, where I knew no person out of the ship, I accidentally met 
 d with an old acquaintance and friend of mine, Jonathan Macy, of Nan- 
 T] tucket ; and on my informing him of my situation, he offered me a full 
 a supply of cash, which I readily accepted. These little incidents may 
 be thought by some of my readers superfluous, or too trivial to re- 
 late. In relating them 1 have only one object in view, and that is to 
 j show how remarkably I was favoured in every instance, tvhenever 
 ft and wherever I needed relief, and I feel grateful for all those favours 
 bestowed upon me, whether sought or unsought, and mere especially 
 for the latter* 
 
 r About the 19th or 20th of November, I took the stage for Wash- 
 E ington, and arrived there the same evening* The next morning I 
 r Waited on John Marshall, Esq. our then Secretary of State, who re- 
 3 ceived me politely, and treated me as a friend. In my interview 
 with the Secretary, I explained to .him our disaster, and told him 
 . what our consul-general in Tangier had said in his letter to me as to 
 our ransom, and that of the remainder of our crew yet to be redeem- 
 ' ed. He heard me with attention, and observed I might inform Mr. 
 j Simpson that, in his opinion, he had done well, and as to the remain- 
 ! der of the crew, that he must redeem them on the best terms he 
 j could. He added, “ our citizens must be protected by our govern- 
 r 'tnent,” or words of that import, and he congratulated me on my es- 
 cape from those savages. I- then look leave of the Secretary, and 
 1 returned to my lodgings, where I noted down our conversation, word 
 for word as nearly as I could, and on the first opportunity I sent a 
 copy of it to our worthy consul-general Simpson. I then returned 
 to New-York, and arrived at Hudson, among my dear friends and 
 ^relatives, after an absence of one year to a day ; that is to say, from 
 the 1st of December, 1800, to the 1st of the same month, 1801. 
 
 Although I have endeavoured to avoid all matter extraneous to, 
 or unconnected with the Narrative which I was bound to give, yet 
 it has been carried on to an unexpected length, and perhaps may be 
 thought prolix. Its prolixity, however, (if such it is,) may be 
 ahiefly attributed to two causes ; the one is, the loss of my notes 
 "aforementioned, and the other, my ■writing it down after so long a 
 ime had elapsed since the occurrences it relates took place. 
 
 24 
 
 
18G haddock’s narrativk. 
 
 On which two accounts there was required, not only extraordinary 
 care generally, but much minuteness as to particulars, in order to 
 do justice to the public ; to whose hands, as thereto rightfully be- 
 longing, after it shall have left mine, I commit it, with diffidence of 
 my own abilities, but with full confidence in its general truth and 
 correctness in point of fact. And of the public I ask indulgence 
 for any little errors or mistakes of mine, arising out of the aforemen- 
 tioned disadvantages. I will only add, that however uninteresting the 
 foregoing narrative, or parts of it, may appear to some, I do verily 
 believe, if one of the same import and contents had fallen into my 
 hands previously to our shipwreck, it probably, by guarding me 
 against those rapid currents, which I then knew nothing of, might 
 have been the means of preventing that dreadful catastrophe, and our 
 no less dreadful captivity, in the most inhospitable part of the globe 
 that has ever come within my knowledge. 
 


 
 
 
 .