Columbia ^SnttJerjs^ftp 
 
 THE LIBRARIES 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 Gen WILLIAM EATON; 
 
 SEVERAL VEARS AN OFFICER lU THE UNITED STATES ARMY, 
 CONSUL AT THE REGENCY OF TUNIS ON THE COAST OF 
 iflARBARY,. AND COMMANDER OF THE CHRISTIAN 
 AND OTHER FORCES THAT MARCHED ^ ^ ^^ '^ ^ ?J^^ '^ 
 THR6t;GH THE DESERT OK BARCA, IN 18Q5, 
 AND COMQUEPElD THE CITY OF DERNE, 
 WHICH I.to TO THE TirtATY OF PEACE 
 I BETWEEH-ThB w*«iT«D STA-rsSAND 
 
 i( THE REGENCY OF TRIPOLI. 
 
 rRINCIPALLY COLLECTED FROM HIS CORRESPOND^ 
 ENCE AND OTHER MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 BROOKFIELD : 
 PRINTED BY E. MERRIAM Sc CO. 
 "1815." 
 
DISTRICT CLERK'S OFFICE. 
 
 District of Massachusetts, to vvit: 
 
 BE it remembered, That on the sixteenth day of April, A. D. 18^5, 
 and in the thirty-seventh year of the Independence of the Uniied 
 States of America, Ebenezer Merriamofthe saiddistrict, has depos- 
 ited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims is 
 proprietor, in the words following, to wit : 
 
 "The LIFE OF the LATE Gen. WILLIAM EATON ; sever- 
 al YEARS AN OFFICER IN TH E UNITED ST ATES' ARM V, CONSUL 
 AT THE REGENCY OF TUNIS ON THE COAST OF BARBARY, AfD 
 COMMANDER OF THE CHRISTIAN AND OTHER FORCES THAT 
 MARCHED FROM EGYPT THROUGH THE DESERT OF BARCA, N 
 1805, AND CONQJJERED THE CITY OF DERNE, WHICH LED TO 
 THE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AKD 
 THE REGENCY OF TRIPOLI: PRINCIPALLY COLLECTED TR M 
 HIS CORRESPONDENCE AND OTHER MANUSCRIPTS." 
 
 In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, intitled, 
 *' An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securinj^ thci - •■ 
 of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authoisand Pioprietors o\ 
 copies, during the times therein nKntir""*^ , • and also, to an ;n.t, iutitlii d 
 ** An act supplemental y to an act, intitled, an act for the encouragemeji. 
 of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to tic 
 authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein men 
 tioned ; and extending the benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, 
 E'ngraving, and Etching Historical, and other Prints." 
 
 WILLIAM S. SHAW, 
 Clerk of the District of Massachusetts 
 
 \ 
 
THE COMPILER'S PREFACE. 
 
 Gen. Eaton expired, June 1st, 1811. Shortly after his 
 decease, several gentlemen, who having a just, entertained a high o- 
 pinion of his talents and services, expressed a wish to see a history of 
 his life and atchievments, believing that in his numerous manuscripts 
 there were ample materials, by judicious selection, for abiography of his 
 life and a relation of its principal events, that were worthy preserva- 
 tion : hoping at the same time that a volume might be published of 
 sufficient interest to defray the expense of publication, and pei:haps 
 yield a profit that might do much towards educating his orphan chil- 
 dren. Major Amos Paine of Woodstock, (Con.) the husband of a 
 sister of Gen. Eaton, from regard to the family, and solely with 
 a hope of rendering it a service, offered to risque the expense of pub- 
 lication. Having been intimately acquainted with Eaton, and witli 
 much of his public life, trusting, perhaps too much, to my judgment 
 and fitness foe the undertaking, Mr. Paine requested me to make the 
 desired selections, and superintend the work. Being under obliga- 
 tions to spend thd ensuing winter in the City of Washington^ and there 
 not being sufficient time for the execution of the work before the win- 
 ter, it was agreed to defer it till the next spring. A disappointment in 
 procuring paper oelayed the commencement of the printing till late in 
 th*" autumn of the last year. If however the volume contains 
 
 isement, instruction or interest, this delay can have no essential ef- 
 in its sale. — These particulars are mentioned merely to account 
 
 ''■e lateness of a volume so long before announced. 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 Of the greater part of his life Gen. Eaton kcpta journal : h 
 served copies of all his official, and most of his private letters : a 
 en volumes of the size of this would not contain the whole. To t'x.- 
 amine and collect, from such a mass of papers, what is most interest- 
 ing ; and at the same time so to connect it, so as to afford, from his own 
 pen, a relation of his life and vts principal transactions, has been a diffi- 
 cult and laborious undertaking. Some things are perhaps omitted 
 which many would deem of more importance than otliers which are 
 inserted ; and some things are inserted which others may consider of 
 little value. To please all was an impracticable task. Having no one 
 to consult ; no guide but my own very fallible judgment ; censure of 
 that judgment is to be expected ; but censure of its faithful exercise 
 would be most unmerited. 
 
 Not having it at all times in my power to examine the proof sheets it 
 is probable that some small errors of the press may be discovered ; 
 some perhaps have escaped my own attention : nothing I trust howev- 
 er of importance . 
 
 I at first intended to divide the work into chapters ; b.ut finding 
 
 that such division must be entirely arbitrary, and that no advantage 
 
 cquld arise from it ; it was deemed advisable rather to leave the 
 
 whole to such pauses as the dates or transactions naturally suggest. 
 
 . An insertion of the list of Subscribers was intended ; but it has 
 
 been found impracticable to obtain in season the different subscription 
 
 papers issued, a few in the neighborhood excepted : hence, and the 
 
 insertion being considered of little importance, it has been thought 
 
 unnccessay to delay the publication for an object of such minofr 
 
 consequence. 
 
 The EDITOR' 
 MrookfieUj April 20tb, 1813. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 From Page 9 to Page 5T. 
 
 Page 9. Preliminary observations— birth of Gen. Eaton — character- 
 istic anecdotes. 
 11. Joins the army — prepares for the university. 
 12 Goes to Hanover. 
 
 14. Apointed a Captain in the United States army — marries — 
 
 joins the army under Gen. Wayne, in the North Western 
 Territory. 
 
 15. (Quarrel with Capt. Butler. 
 
 19. Character of Gen. Wayne. 
 
 20, Description of a storm at sea. 
 
 22. Is arrested and tried bv a court martial — letter to the Secre- 
 tary at War, in exculpation of the charges exhibited a- 
 gainst him. 
 
 53. Goes to Philadelpliia — arrests Doctor Romayne, 
 
 54.^^ppointed Consul at Tunis — embarks. 
 
 ^ram Page 57 to Page 152. 
 
 57. Commission. 
 
 59. Arrives at Algiers — description of the Dey. 
 
 61. Arrival at Tunis — reception. 
 
 65. Conversation with the Bashaw — further discussion respect- 
 ing the treaty. 
 
 76. Difficulties. 
 
 84. Piesents to the prime minister — altercations with the re- 
 gency. 
 
 89. Letter to Mr. Pickering, topographical description — polit- 
 ical. 
 
 93. Description of ports. 
 
 94 Temple of v^isculapius — cisterns. 
 
 96. Government — courts. 
 
 98. Military force. 
 
 100. Sardinian captives — commercial remarks —political obser- 
 vations. 
 
 117. Difficulties in part adjusted. 
 
 120. Anecdotes relative to wearing a hat or cap in presence of 
 the Bey or Sapatapa. 
 
 123. Manners — maxims. 
 
 124. Spirited letter of Lord Nelson. 
 126. Complaints against Famine. 
 
 130. Letter of Mr. Pickering. 
 
 131. Letter of the President to the Bashaw of Tunis, 
 
/ 
 
 ▼i CONTENTS. 
 
 133. Intercourse with the Sapatapa. 
 
 136, Circular letter. 
 
 13T, i^etter of the Bey to the King of Denmark. 
 
 140, Letter to Mr. Pickering — various comments. 
 
 146. Letter to Mr. Smith, Lisbon — horsewhips Famines—con- 
 
 sequences. 
 149. Letter to Mr. Pickering — war declared against Denmark. 
 
 From Page 152 t»Page 184. 
 
 152. Letter to Mrs. Eaton— admittance to the presence of 
 the Bey of Tunis — description of the City — manners — re- 
 marks on slavery. 
 
 156. Letter to Mr. Pynchon— description of Algiers — ladies of 
 Barbary ; their dress — religious observations. 
 
 162. Humorous letter to O'Brien. 
 
 163. Letter to Mr. Lyman ■ Letter to Mr. Hough — manners 
 
 of the natives — habits of the Turks — further description of 
 Tunis — ejaculations — political observations. 
 171, Private letter to Mr. Pickering — remarks on the cultiva- 
 tion of the date — olives — ^figs, &c. 
 . V\1. Letter to Mrs. Eaton. 
 1T.S Privateletter to Mr Pickering — consular expenses. 
 1T4. Letter to Mr. Pynchon — Washington's Reception iji 
 
 Elysium. 
 176. Letter to Mr. Harris^Sorrow for the loss of Washing- 
 ^— ton. 
 477. Private letter to Mr. Pickering. 
 '^178. Letter to Mrs. Eaton— Mr. Pickering's removal from 
 
 the office of Secretary of State. \ 
 
 . 179. Private letter to Mr. Pickering on the subject of^nis re- 
 /' moval from office. 
 
 180. Letter to Mrs Eaton— reasons for relinquishmg great 
 
 pro.'it by the purchase of six Danish vessels — letter or the 
 Danish Admiral — expressions of gratitude. 
 
 181. Letter of Mr. Cathcart — Mahometan superstition and in- 
 
 tolerance. 
 
 From Page 184 to Page 242. 
 
 185. Letters to Mr. Marshall, Secretary of State— Peace be- 
 tween Denmark and Tunis — conversation with the Bey — 
 arrival cf the Anna Maria. 
 
 189. O'Brien to EATON-arrival of the Washington— ordered 
 
 to Constantinople— notes by Eaton. 
 
 190. To Mr. Smith, Secretary ot the Navy— jewelry. 
 
 191. To Mr Marshall— difficulties with Tripoli. 
 
 193. Protest of Mr. Cathcart against the Regency oi^ Tripoli. 
 
 201. Letter of Mr. Cathcart to Eaton— proposals to the 
 Bashaw 
 
 204. To the Secretary of State — demand for arms— conversa- 
 tion \n consequence. 
 
 206. Mr Madison,. Secretary of State, to Eaton— jewelry- 
 promised. 
 
 208. Ixtter to Mr. Madison— situation of the Ex-Bashaw— plan 
 of co-operation with him. 
 
 2/)9, To Mr. Madison— constitutional doubts relative to the 
 4cceptar.ee ofa present from the King of Denmark— lettfr 
 
CONTENTS. ys. 
 
 to Eaton of the Danish Board of Members on Barbary 
 
 affairs — Eaton's answer. . \ ■ i 
 
 212, Extracts of letters to Mr. Madison. ^ . - ''-[ 
 
 214. To Mr. Cathcart — Eaton ordered to quit Tunis — order 
 
 countermanded. 
 216. To Mr. Madison — proposition of peace with Tripoli, 
 
 through the mediation of the Bey of Tunis — consequent 
 
 discussion. 
 S19. To Mr. King— arrival of the Constellation. 
 220. To Mr. Madison— disagreement with Com. Barron. 
 223. Letter from Eaton to the Ex-Bashaw. 
 225 To Gen. S. Smith— plans in concert with the Ex-Bashaw. 
 22T. To Mr. Madison— complaints of ill treatment from the 
 
 naval commanders. 
 230. To the same — conversation with the Bey. 
 
 233. Letter of the Bey of Tunis to Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 234. Extracts, to Mr. Madison. 
 
 237. Notes from the journal. 
 
 238. To Mr. Madison— claim of the Bey for indemnification for 
 
 a vessel cpptured by the Americans. 
 
 242. Eaton returns to America. 
 
 From Page 242 to Page 301. 
 
 243. Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 253. Letter from Mr. Hiim,bert to Eaton approving of his 
 official conduct. 
 
 255. Certificates of Foreign Consuls in Tunis of the correctness 
 of Eaton's deportment there. 
 
 236. Eaton appointed Navy Agent of the United States for 
 thei several Barbary powers, with the view of aiding the 
 operations of Hamet, the Ex-Bashaw. — Letter to Col. 
 Dvvight, explanatory of his plans in conjunction with Ham- 
 et, the encouragement, promispd assistance and duplicity,. of 
 the Administration— the President's Letter to the Bey of 
 Tunis, &c. 
 
 258. Extracts from the journal — arrival at Malta — further ex ■ 
 tracts — arrival at Grand Cairo. 
 
 277. To tlie Secretary of tlie Navy — interview with; the Vice 
 Roy. 
 
 283. To Hon. John C. Smith. 
 
 205. Private Letter to Commodore Preble — relation of plans, 
 proceedings and expectations with regard to Hamet. 
 
 294. Letters to Capt. Isaac Hull. 
 
 2ft6. Extracts, to the Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 297. Convention with Hamet. 
 
 From PageSOi to Page S^^. 
 
 30.1. Extracts from the journal — march from Alexandria throu^gli 
 the desert of Barca — difficulties, fatigue, distress, anecdotes, 
 arrival of the army at Bomba ; of the Argus, Captain Hull, 
 and tlie Hornet — march to Derne. 
 
 336. Letters to Commodore Barroii — terms of amity offered the 
 Bey of Dernc— relation of the engagement there— discus- 
 sion of the right and policy of proceeding to Tripoli — fur- 
 ther relation of skirmishes — further discussion of the ri^ht 
 and policy of perseverance. 
 
yyi CONTENTS. 
 
 361, Letter from Eaton to CoiTitnodoreRodgers. 
 
 364. From Colonel Lear to Eaton, givmg mformation of the 
 conclusion of a treaty with the Bashaw of Tripoh. 
 
 366. Letter to the Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 368. Verbal orders from Barron to Eaton and Hull— corres- 
 pondence with Commodore Barron and Captain Hull.— 
 Letter to the secretary of thek Navy— relation, argument, 
 expectation and complaint respecting co-operation with 
 Hamet, and hasty conclusion of peace. 
 
 From Page 393 to the End. 
 
 393 Gen Eaton arrives at Hampton road, Virginia.--Mo. 
 tion in Congress for bestowing a medal ; opposition and de- 
 feat of the motion. . -r,- . • . r iv/r • u 
 
 393. Grant of 10,000 acres of land m the District of Maine by 
 the legislature of Massachusetts. . ,£..,, 
 
 396 Testimony in relation to Burr's conspiracy before the 
 Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. 
 
 403, Wilkinson to Eaton— Eaton's answer. 
 
 406. Address to the Chairman of the Committee of Claims. 
 
 408. Attendance in Richmond on the trial ot Burr. 
 
 4i0. Letter on the death of his Step Son. 
 
 112. Speech in Town Meeting. 
 
 418. Life of Lcitensdorfer. 
 
 425 Letter to Mr. Humbert. , , i -d \-^ r^f ti.*> 
 
 428". Account of his last sickness, and death-Remarks of tie 
 Editor on his character-anecdotes-extracts from his writ- 
 ings, &c. 
 
 447. Ode, by the late Mr. Paine. 
 
 448. Extract from a poem by Mr. Pierront. , 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 Gen WILLIAM EATON ; 
 
 Together with some of his COBRESF 0J\'*I)' 
 EJ^CE AND other WMITLYGS. 
 
 THAT biography whicli is dictated by the 
 partiality of friendship, or is distorted by unfriendly 
 preposyessious ; which in vivid colors poiirtrays on- 
 ly the virtues, or with rancorous exultation displays 
 only the shades of departed excellence; while it 
 violates the sanctity of truth, equally disappoints the 
 expectations of honest curiosity, and encourages the 
 extension of incertitude and perversion. The public 
 have a just claim on the man who professes to exhibit 
 the character of the deceased : it claims a faithful 
 likeness drawn by the pencil of truth. The old 
 precept J^il de mortuis nisi honmn, was never in- 
 tended for history or biography : adhesion to such a 
 dictate would eflfectually destroy the value of both. 
 
 Nor can the delineation of the character, and rela- 
 tion of the actions, of an individual, be of utility to 
 the reader, where are discovered only the amiable and 
 exalted traits ; and where only the brilliant exploits 
 are exhibited. It is not less necessary to show the 
 foibles and deviations from duty, than the virtues and 
 meritorious atchievements ; that the former may be 
 
10 LIFE or 
 
 produced for avoidance, and the latter displayed for 
 imitation. 
 
 The subject of these memoirs, William EatoNj 
 was born at Woodstock^ Connecticut, February S3d, 
 1764. He was the second son of Mr. Nathan 
 and Mrs. Sarah Eaton. His father died Nov. 2Sd, 
 1804 : his mother is still alive. His fatlier was a 
 plain farmer, who supported his family by mamial 
 industry, and, for nearly twenty years, by keeping 
 school during the winter season, for which he was 
 qualified ])y more than ordinary school acquirements. 
 He had a large family for whom to provide, having 
 liad thirteen children, eight of whom are still living. 
 
 William early discovered intellectual vigor and 
 eccentricity. To labor he was extremely averse in 
 his boyhood ; a book, a pen and a gun, being his con- 
 stant delight. Of his father he learnt to read and 
 write, and made considerable progress in arithmetic. 
 When compelled to work in the field or the woods, 
 he usually concealed a book in his pocket or hid it 
 in the field, for the perusal of which he left bis work 
 when not overseen, and during the intervaU of la- 
 bor. 
 
 He was about ten years of age when his par- 
 ents removed from Woodstock to Mansfield. 
 While a boy, in this town, such was his fearless and 
 adventurous spirit that he several times was near 
 losing his life by his daring carelessness. Returnins; 
 one Sunday from public worship, he climbed a cher- 
 ry tree that stood beside the way, from which he fell, 
 and dislocated his shoulder ; and such was the con- 
 cussion, owing to the lieight whence he fell, that he 
 was deprived of his reason for several days. The 
 first appearance of returning rationality Avas noticed 
 on the succeeding Wednesday. A neighbor, a tanner 
 by trade, sitting by his bedside, asked him if he lov- 
 ed cherries. "^ I)o you love hides ?" was the re- 
 sponsive quere. 
 
 When about sixteen years of age, without the con- 
 sent or even knowledge of his parents, or the com- 
 
GEN. EATOX. il 
 
 iminicatioii of his intentions to any one. he eloped 
 from home, and enlisted in the army. He here con- 
 tinued upwards of a year, the greater part of the time 
 in the capacity of a waiter to Major Dennie, of the 
 Connecticut troops. 
 
 Becoming ill in health he ohtained liberty to re- 
 turn to Connecticut : But, on his journey home, he 
 became so lame that he was unable to proceed, when 
 within about two days journey of Mansfield. Being 
 without friends, he supported himself in the family of 
 a farmer, by mending old chaiis. After remaining 
 here three weeks, his father, having learned where 
 he was, came for him, and offered to pay the farmer 
 for his board. Tlie farmer however refused any 
 remuneration ; declaring that tlie mending of chairs, 
 and the instruction he had given his children, were 
 sufficient recompence ; and he should he very willing 
 to board him much longer, merely for his good com- 
 pany. 
 
 William, hoAvever was not long contented at 
 home ; and, on the recovery of his health, again 
 joined the army ; in which he continued till the first 
 of April 1783^ when he was regularly discharged, 
 having been some time before promoted to a ser- 
 geant's birth. 
 
 He continued with his parents till September, 
 1784, when he commenced the study of the latin lan- 
 guage, under the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Nott of 
 Franklin. In the winter he commenced the study 
 of the Greek language. 
 
 In the summer of 1785, his mind was most seri- 
 ously affected with religious impressions, and he was 
 regularly propounded and admitted to membership in 
 the church of that place. 
 
 In October of the same year he proceeded to Han- 
 over (N. H.) and was admitted a Freshman in 
 Dartmouth College, with permission to remain ab- 
 sent during the ensuing winter. Such liberty being 
 at that time frequently granted to students in indigent 
 ^circumstances, with the expectation that while em- 
 
IS LIFE OF 
 
 ployed ill leaching school for the purpose of replen- 
 ishing their purse^ those to whom such indulgence 
 is given, would attend to the studies pursued by 
 their classmates at the University, and be pre- 
 pared for examination and re-entrance into their class. 
 Eaton however, in consequence of certain embarrass- 
 ments at home, and devotion of most of his time to 
 school keeping, received no advantage from his ad- 
 mittance in 17S5, as he was again admitted, in May 
 1787; a member of the Freshman class. 
 
 In November 1785, he commenced a school in a 
 parish of Windham, called Scotland, devoting how- 
 ever a part of his time to his college studies under 
 the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Coggsweli.. Here he 
 continued till the 1st of June 1786: When he re- 
 turned to his parents in Mansfield, laboring on the 
 farm a part of the time, and devoting a part to the 
 pursuit of his studies, under the direction of the Rev. 
 Mr. Welch of Mansfield ; a gentleman for whom 
 he ever after entertained the highest respect. 
 
 In November he re-commenced his school in 
 Windham ; in which he continued till the e^nsuing 
 March, 1787. 
 
 In May, 1787? witli his staff over his shoulder, on 
 which was suspended his pacli, containing a change 
 of linen, and a few trinkets, which he expected to 
 sell on his journey, and with one pistareen only of 
 ready money, he started on foot from Mansfield, to 
 regain admittance at Dartmouth College. Arriving 
 at Northfield his money v» as all expended ; his spir- 
 its were depressed ; and he gave himself up to tears 
 for several hours. At length, resuming courage, he 
 ventured to offer his pins, needles &c. for sale ; and, 
 with the avails and charitable assistance on the road, 
 was enabled to reach Hanover. Producing a letter 
 of recommendation from the Rev. Mr. Nott to Pres- 
 ident Wheelock, he was by that gentleman treated 
 with great kindness ; was examined, and joined the 
 Freshman class, then in their last cjuarter. 
 
GEN. EATON. 13 
 
 From the Ist of January, to the 1st of May 1788, 
 he taught a school in Windsor (Vt.) and then return- 
 ed to Hanover. 
 
 July 4th, by appointment, he sustained a part in a 
 dramatic performance, in an exhibition ordered for 
 that day, by the authority of the College. 
 
 Aware of the necessity of every exertion that 
 could be made to enable hira to maintain himself 
 through his academic course, he pursued his studies 
 with the most unremitting industry, in order to pre- 
 serve his standing, yet be enabled to devote a great 
 pai't of his time to school keeping. Excessive ap- 
 plication impaired his health, and he was attacked 
 with a liectic fever. His physician advised him to 
 suspend his studies : to which advice however he 
 did not yield till compelled by disease. By a jour- 
 ney to Windsor, attention to his complaint while 
 there, and refraining from study, he gradually recov- 
 ered iiis health and strength. 
 
 In November he commenced a school in that 
 town, devoting all his spare hours to the prosecution 
 of his studies, not unfrequently trimming his lamp 
 till the grey dawn reminded him of the necessity of 
 sleep. Here he continued till May 1789, when he 
 rejoined his class. 
 
 In September he re-commenced his school in 
 Windsor, and continued in it till May 1790, where 
 he remained till the collegiate exercises of the Sen- 
 ior class were closed. After a journey to Connect- 
 icut, he returned to Hanover and took his degree of 
 Bachelor of Arts, at Commencement, xVug. S5th. 
 His performance was a poetic dialogue, in conjunc- 
 tion with his classmate Wm. Jackson. [Of this 
 performance I find no trace among his papers.] 
 
 The ensuing Decem])er he again opened a school 
 in Windsor, in which he continued till Aug. 1791, 
 when he quitted the business of a pedagogue. 
 
 In October he was chosen Clerk to the House of 
 Delegates for the State of Vermont. 
 
14 LIFE OF 
 
 During the next winter he made a tisit to Con- 
 necticut. He had a brother, Mr. Calvin Eaton, 
 who at that time resided in Brimfield, (Mass.) whom 
 he visited on his journey. He had been previously 
 partially acquainted with the family of the Hon. 
 Timothy Danielson of that town ; a gentleman of 
 liberal education, who had sustained several import- 
 ant civil and military oflSees, and who was most 
 highly respected by all who had the pleasure of liis 
 acquaintance. Gen. Danielson at his decease left a 
 widow, then about twenty live years of age, with 
 whom Mr. Eaton renewed his acquaintance. 
 
 In March, 179S, he received official information 
 of his having been appointed a Captain in the Army 
 of the United States, of which appointment he ac- 
 cepted. This appointment, I have been informed, 
 was procured partly, if not mostly, through the in- 
 strumentality of the Hon. Stephen R. Bradley, 
 now, and for many years past a Senator of tlie Unit- 
 ed States from Vermont. 
 
 Agreeably to orders from the war department, in 
 May, he proceeded to Bennington, (Vt.) and took 
 charge of the recruits that had been raised by his 
 Ensign, Charles Hyde, and commenced himself 
 the recruiting service. 
 
 In July he took the three first degrees in Free- 
 masonry in the North Star Lodge at Manchester, 
 
 Some of his soldiers having deserted, Capt. Eaton 
 pursued them, taldng himself the rout to Windham, 
 (Ct.) and ordering a sergeant to Windsor, (Vt.) 
 After spending a short time in Brimfield, he was 
 married, at Union, (Ct.) on the SI st of August, to 
 Mrs. Eliza Danielson ; and immediately departed 
 for Windsor, where he found his sergeant with the 
 deserters. 
 
 Having received marching orders, he proceeded, 
 in September, to Albany with his company, thence 
 to New- York and Philadelphia. Being here joined 
 by some other troops he was ordered to Pittsburg, 
 
GEN. EATON. 15 
 
 where the troops arrived, Oct. 22. He was here hi- 
 trodiiced to Gen. Wayne. 
 
 Shortly after the troops proceeded down the 
 Ohio, and joined the army at Legionville. 
 
 In March 1793 Capt. Eaton had an altercation 
 with the acting Adjutant General, which as it dis- 
 plays much of his hasty and decisive temjier, I shall 
 relate, in his own words. 
 
 " Sunday, March I7. — General Review. — In 
 consequence of a deficiency of field oflBcers, I com- 
 manded the left column of the army. In the course 
 of the maneuvres, the General ordered my column, 
 which I had formed in two lines afront, and cover 
 for an attack in front, to form the line in the flank 
 by facing the lines to the left, and wheeling by files 
 to tlie right. This brought my flank platoons and 
 music in the centre ; the centre on the flanks, and 
 my rear rank in front. 
 
 When the tiring ceased — the Acting Adjutant 
 General gave orders to take up the line of march, 
 and return in the same order as we marched on the 
 ground^ which Avas by files from the right, counter- 
 march — I immediately ordered the two wings to 
 countermarch from the left and centre, which was 
 the only possible method of bringing them to their 
 proper order. — The Adj. Gen. observing this, and 
 not knowing the position of the column, counter- 
 manded his own order, by ordering me to counter- 
 march by the left — I was positively right, and was 
 confident that I was bringing the column in the posi- 
 tion which he himself wished — and consequently 
 continued my march — When I had brought the head 
 of the column to its proper position — B. the Adj. 
 Gen. met me, and in presence of the General taxed 
 me with having disobeyed a positive general order. 
 I told him I positively had not, but was right — A 
 short, but pointed contradiction ensued — B. threat- 
 ened to make me repent my conduct — I challenged 
 him to do it — This irritated his rage, he advanced on 
 lierseback towards me with his lifted sword — I met 
 
16 LIFE OF 
 
 bis advance with my espoiitoon — The General em- 
 phatically observed that this w^s no place to alter- 
 cate, and ordered the march to continue — I prompt- 
 ly obeyed. When the Legion returned to the grand 
 parade and vi^ere dismissed — I wrote B. a challenge 
 as follows — 
 
 Legionvilhy iyth March, 5 o'clock, P. M. 
 Sir, 
 
 I am to understand — and am to b& understood by 
 Capt. Butler. 
 
 EATON. 
 
 The Acting Mj. Gen. 
 
 This billet was honored by my friend, Captain 
 Slough, on r2ception of which B. pledged his honor 
 that I should hear from him. 
 
 The next morning, lie wrote me the following an- 
 swer. 
 
 18^/i March, 1793. 
 Sir, 
 
 I received your note hy Capt. Slough, and had 
 wrote last evening in answer frf it be possible to an- 
 swer one so equivocal: J hoivever, ere I had quite fin- 
 ished, company came in and prevented me. On a 
 review of the contents this morning, least any illnat- 
 ured person should put wrong constructions, I ivill 
 first make you this proposal, that as I feel mijself ex- 
 ceedingly aggrieved in your conduct of yesterday, ice 
 will take the opportunity of a general explanation in 
 the presence of the gentlemen who commanded in 
 your column, and who must generally understand 
 what passed, and the cause — 
 
 Should this explanation not prove satisfactory, 
 you shall be apprized of my further intentions — You 
 can name the place if you please ; and let me knoiv. 
 
 Tours, 8Cc. 
 
 E. BUTLER. 
 
 Capt. Wm. Eaton. 
 
GEX. EATON. 17 
 
 To which I wrote— 
 
 Monday Evening, iSth March. 
 Sir, 
 - With plea sure Iivaiton you in company with the 
 s^entlcmen of my column— Please, Sir, name the 
 time and place, 
 
 EATON. 
 Ckipt. Butler, Acting Jldj. Gen. 
 In return of which I r(!Coived the following. 
 
 iSth March, 1793. 
 
 SiRj 
 
 Having received your note o^' acquiescence, I have 
 appointed Capt. Price's hut as the place of meeting, 
 f shall endeavor to attend there in one hour. 
 
 Monday, half past 6 o^clock, P. M. 
 
 , E. BUTLER. 
 Cajjt. Eaton. 
 
 Accordingly we met — I observed to the gentle- 
 men that I had come there in consequence of Capt. 
 Butler's request, who had called on them to attend, 
 and that I expected lie would suggest his business 
 to them. Tliis he did^ by a statement of a number 
 of questions ; and we retired. 
 
 Soon the gentlemen requested our attendance, 
 and exhibited their opinion as follows. 
 
 '' The referees, to determine the diiference be- 
 tween Captains Butler and Eaton, are of opinion 
 that however wrong Capt. Eaton was, in the first in- 
 stance, Capt. Butler was equally if not more so 
 in the second : and as they were both mifortunate 
 in being culpable, so it is incumbent on both to come 
 forward and bury the matter in oblivion, by again 
 renewing their former friendship. 
 
 BENJAMIN PRICE, Capt. ^th S. Leg. 
 
 President. 
 
 March 18, '93, 
 
 To thiij opinion Capt. B. conceded, and offered 
 me his hand. I observed that I would ever sacri- 
 fice my own to the oiiinion of niY friends : iwid ac- 
 cepted it'*' 
 
 8 
 
IS LIFE OF 
 
 On the 5ih of May the army arrived at Cincinati, 
 Eaton thus described the Ohio and its banks. 
 
 ^' During the last three days of onr desoeirt, the 
 eircumstance of my having been detailed for the 
 year guard^ gave me a very considerable advantage 
 of the officers who were attached to the line — I took 
 my own time to progress^ and my own method of ob- 
 servation so far as was , consistent w itli my orders. 
 Never was my eye so much delighted with the rude 
 uncultured grandeur of nature. A description of 
 the banks of the Ohio mocks, or can but ape reality. 
 Creography has never yet done justice to the subject. 
 For more than two hundred miles I saw not a hill 
 incapable of culture. All so far as eye can ken is a 
 fertile bottom variegated with gentle rises. The 
 rank and rapid growth of vegetation, and the prodig- 
 ious weight of timber, demonstrate the natural luxu- 
 riance of the soil. The sycamore, the elm, the 
 beach, the aspin, the hicory, the walnut, and the 
 maple, or sugar tree, are large beyond credibility. 
 The trees even at this early season, were in full foli- 
 age. The herbage which covered the surface of the 
 bottom, was nearly two feet high. I frequently 
 walked the bottom, with two faithful soldiers of my 
 guard, oLe of vvhom was an active Canadian, till I 
 found myself almost insensibly strayed two or three 
 miles from my boat. The soil continued the same. 
 These little excursions, or ratlier eccentricities, were 
 on the Indian side of the river. The tracks of 
 dear, bear and buffaloes, were extremely plenty, 
 and here and there a mokasin. I sav/ none of the 
 animals ; the noise of the preceding army had 
 pro])ably frighted them from the sliore. 
 , After all which can be said of its banks little can 
 be said of the river. It is the most capricious 
 stream I ever saw. However incredible, true it is, 
 tl\at its Avaters frequently rise in tlie freshes from ten 
 to fifteen feet in one night, and fall again in a very 
 few days. Its current is rapid, at the rate of five 
 miles an hour in time of the freshes ; consequently 
 
GEN. EATON. 19 
 
 tiie unwieldy boats which float down, never ascend. 
 Keel bottom boats and canoes are rowed against the 
 current, but Avith considerable labor, I am no 
 friend to the first." 
 
 In August, an Ensign by tlie name of Morgan, 
 was tried by a Court Martial, on charges exhibited 
 by Gren. St. Clair, and cashiered. Eaton thus 
 records the names of the Court, and their subsequent 
 fate a short time after. 
 
 " Brisadier Gen. Thomas Posey, President — Ke- 
 signed and dead. 
 
 Majors. D. Resigned and dead. 
 
 H. .Damned by brandy. 
 
 Captains. P. Dead per do. 
 
 P. Dead. 
 
 Eaton. At Tunis. 
 P. Damned by brandy. 
 
 M. Dead. 
 
 F. Dead. 
 
 P. Dead. 
 
 J . Damned ])y brandy. 
 
 Campbell. Killed." 
 Such is the disgust with which men view the im- 
 prudence and vices of others ; so confident too of 
 never immitating their examples : 
 
 Yet, seen too oft, familiar to the face, 
 We first endure, then pity, then embrace. 
 
 Capt. Eaton continued with the western army 
 till February 1794, when he obtained leave of ab- 
 sence. During this time he was engaged in various 
 skirmishes and scouting parties, and assisted in the 
 erection of Fort Recovery. 
 
 The following is the character which he gives of 
 Gen. Wayne, written about the year 1795. 
 
 " He is firm in constitution as in resolution ; — 
 industrious, indefatigable, determined and persever- 
 ing ; — fixed in opinion, and unbiased in judgment ;— 
 not over accessible ; but studious to reward merit. 
 He is a rock against which the waves of calumny 
 
so -iJl-'E OF 
 
 and malice, moved by the gust of passions natiu-ai t« 
 envy, have dashed — have washed its sides. He is 
 still immoveable on his base — He is in some degree 
 susceptible of adulation, as is every man who has an 
 honest thirst for military fame — He endures fatigue 
 and hardship Avith a fortitude uncommon to men of 
 his years. I have seen liim in the most severe night 
 of the winter of 'Q% sleep on the ground like his fel- 
 low soldier; and walk around his camp at four in the 
 morning, with the vigilance of a sentinel.'' 
 
 "^ His manners are austere and forbidding, but Jiis 
 heart is susceptible of the finest feelings of sensibil- 
 ity. WJien in danger, he is in his element ; and 
 never shows to so good advantage, as when leading 
 a charge. His name is better in an action, or in an 
 enemy's country, than a brigade of undisciplined 
 levies." 
 
 After spending a few weeks in Philadelphia, he 
 returned to Brimiield. In June, by request from the 
 war office, he engaged in recruiting at Springfield ; 
 the (Secretary at War, Oifering him liis option, to at- 
 tend to tlic recruiting service, or to return to the ar- 
 my at the westward. In this service he remained 
 till October 1/95? when he received orders to inarch 
 to Georgia. He arrived v/ith his troops in Philadel- 
 phia, and on the 1st of December embarked thence 
 for Georgia. On the night of the 13th, arose a most 
 violent storm of rain, hail, tlumder and liglitning; 
 which is thus described in a letter to Mrs. Eaton, 
 
 Hoarse thro' tljc corciagc growlcc' the llircaicning blast, 
 Portcnteous of the slonn. The expanse of Heaven, 
 O'ercast witii murky columns, seemed convulsed 
 With one wide visie of elemental v/ar. 
 From every point, ah^ng the boundini; surjjes, 
 Rolled the black phalanx of electric fluid, 
 Born on the pinions of tiie maddenin,:^ storm. 
 
 Ocean oppressed, and shrinking from the alarm, 
 Rushed from the deep with agonizing pangs, 
 And urged, in vain, precipitate retreat. 
 
 Dowr, rushed the glaring tempest, rain and hail, 
 In winding torrents closed, and the vast space 
 
GEX. EATON. 31 
 
 Of sea and air seemed one promiscuous deluge. 
 Blue streams of angling sulphur blazed around, 
 Transforming midnight to the fire of day, 
 Reserving all her horrors. Peals on peals 
 Burst from the flaming batteries of heaven, 
 And nought but horror stalked along the gloorn. 
 Deep plunged the tortured brig beneath the gulph, 
 Them bounding o'er the waves, along the skies 
 Inveloped in the storm, wrapt herbroad decks 
 Amidst the lightning's soursc ; then plunged again 
 Beneath the breaking surges. All the while 
 The hardened sailor and as hardened soldier, 
 Dispairing and forlorn, saught tlial dernier 
 And natural resort from danger, prayer. 
 
 The shrieks of female terror, and the cries 
 Of infant fear, spoke uniform distraction : -^ 
 
 And each articulation plead for mercy : 
 As if the God creative had forgotten 
 His attributes of kindness. 
 
 Eight gloomy hours we plunged in dread suspence : 
 Fear and amazement occupied the soid, 
 And hope was almost exiled : till at length 
 Breathed the soft spirit of our gentler fate. 
 Wafting the lightning's vapor through the skies, 
 Silenced the distant murm 'rings of the thunder. 
 And soothed the angry surface of the deep. 
 
 Once more the prince of day smiled from the east, 
 And each glad heart to a relenting heaven 
 Tendered the silent gratitude of praise." 
 
 On the 26tli he arrived at SavannaLj and on the 
 30th at St Mary's. He reported himself to the offi- 
 cer commanding at that station, Lieut. Col. Henry 
 Graither ; and took the command of a detachment of 
 160 soldiers from Virginia, whose commanding of- 
 ficer was Capt. Tinsley ; making in the whole num- 
 ber of troops on that station, about 300. 
 
 The erection of a fort at Colerain, on the St. Ma~ 
 ry*s, had been determined, and to this, immediate at- 
 tention was paid by Capt. Eaton, though he had 
 strong objections to the ground, being low, marshy 
 and unhealthy. This fortification he called Fort 
 Pickering ; " not however," says he, ** that I might 
 satirize a good mail by erecting his monument in 
 
LIFE or 
 
 I' 
 
 In May arrived three Commissioners of the U. S. 
 deputed to make a treaty witli tlie Creek Indians, 
 who had long been exceedingly troublesome on the 
 frontiers of Georgia. This was effected the last of 
 June. 
 
 The objects of the force at St. Mary's were, the 
 establishment of a trading factory on its waters, and 
 a military force ; to overawe the Indians or arrest 
 the.a if necessary ; to keep the Spaniards in check, 
 who had been represented unfriendly ; and to pre- 
 vent a,ny disorderly conduct of the citizens of Geor- 
 gia towards the inhabitants of Florida. The prin- 
 ciple object however had regard to the Indians ; 
 which oljject was in a great measure obtained by the 
 treaty made between the commissioners and the 
 Creeks. 
 
 A misunderstanding had for some months existed 
 between Capt. Eaton, and Col. Gaither, and other 
 officers ; and in August, Eaton was arrested and 
 tried by a Court Martial. 
 
 As a laborious attempt was made by Col. Burr, 
 during his trial at Richmond, to destroy the credibil- 
 ity and even the competency of Eaton's testimony, 
 on account of the charges at this time brought against 
 him ; and as some of his friends may have entertained 
 unfavorable suspicions from the circumstance of his 
 having undergone a trial ; it is proper that some 
 statement of it should be made. The following let- 
 ter, though long, it is hoped will not be tedious ; as 
 it certainly exhibits no unfavorable specimen of 
 his talents as a pleader, as well as eloquence as a 
 writer. It is addressed to the secretary at war. 
 
 Fort Piclcering, iSth Sejpt. 1796. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Constrained by the injuries I suffer, I assume the 
 honor of addressing you on a subject not less painful 
 to me than I am sure, it will be unwelcome — 
 
 Since my arrival and first acquaintance with the 
 Commandant of the federal troops in Georgia, I have 
 
GEN. EA.TON. S3 
 
 been apprised of his disposition to embarrass me — 
 My friends say it was in consequence of my com^ 
 mand ; but I believe his animosity may be traced to 
 other sources. I reported to him from Savannah 
 S6th, Dec. and from St. Mary's 30th, inclosing a 
 copy of your instructions. On his arrival here in Feb- 
 ruary I submitted to him all arrangements I had 
 either made or contemplated : with these he affected 
 to acquiesce, and even condescended to compliment 
 my exertions — But the mask was soon thrown off;, 
 and 1 found myself placed between his animosity and 
 my own duty. I continued to consult him — but his 
 orders he always, except in a few instances, dictated 
 to me verbally — I found his memory treacherous, and 
 remonstrated against this sort of discipline, but with- 
 out effect. For obedience of these orders I have 
 in some instances been reprimanded and in one 
 charged with criminality. This with other charges I 
 shall take the liberty to annex to this letter, with a 
 copy of my defence. The proceedings of the court 
 will undoubtedly be forwarded to the war office ac- 
 cording to law, from which it may be determined 
 whether the prosecution has been actuated by public 
 or sinister views. 
 
 However the command assigned me may have in.^ 
 fluenced the resentment of the commandant, there 
 are other more ostensible causes ; some of which I 
 beg leave to suggest — He holds lands in the Yazoo 
 purchases. — On his arrival and first introduction he 
 offered me a bargain of 500,000 acres, I think, at 
 35,000 dollars, not supposing I had informed my- 
 self of the invalidity of the title — I acknowledge I 
 humored his proposal to try tlie extent of his candor;, 
 but at length I dropped the subject of the bargain, and 
 candidly reprobated the manner in which the grants 
 were obtained ; at the same time observing that I 
 would not thank a man for an opportunity of specu- 
 lating on the credulity of ignorance, and at the ex- 
 pence of justice. 
 
;^1 LIFE or 
 
 He is»au allied IViciul to a man who owns large 
 tracts of land in the vicinity of this post, I have, 
 not hesitated to censure the speculative views which 
 must have induced tlie proprietor to recommend this 
 fjs a military post, or proper position for the tradins; 
 factory — Such have been my reports to the Wal- 
 Office — This had added fuel to the blaze already 
 kindled to consume me. But I have dealt uprightly 
 on this subject. The resentment of no man shall 
 warp my sentiments from that which I believe is 
 due to truth and my duty. A post never should 
 have been established here. The vast extent of 
 nuasliy and low country, retaining the w^ater on its 
 surface, and the putrefaction of a\\ vegetable sub- 
 stances Avhich fall from the trees, or are produced 
 from the soil, impregnate the air with miasmata des- 
 tructive to health. The country cannot be washed 
 with rains ; the water Avhich falls must principally 
 go oiF by evaporation. This produces a great de-. 
 gice of humidity in the air ; this is evidenced by the 
 chill which immediately succeeds the absence of the 
 sunbeams, the amazing swarms of musquetoes and 
 other insects which fill the air ^ and the numerous 
 small frogs which even get into the chambers and 
 garrets of houses ; the propensity of all metals to 
 corrode when exposed to the air, and the sallow, 
 sickly complexion of the inhabitants, who are settled 
 upon the low bluffs and ridges — The latter, I recol- 
 lect, made forceable impressions upon the feelings of 
 Mr. Clymer and General Pickens, with whom I 
 did myself the honor to visit a settlement in this vi- 
 cinity in June last. This miasmata, with which thf'. 
 air is continually more or less impregnated, although 
 it may not be so poisonous as to produce contagious 
 diseases, insensibly preys upon the, human system, 
 and in a short time produces sensible effects — The 
 countenances from northern climates, and hilly 
 countries, which are llorid and healthful, on being 
 placed a few months in this low ground, become pal- 
 lid, and the system enervated. This is visible in the 
 
GEN. EATON. 25 
 
 troops who cafiie out with me from the northward^ 
 and the citizens who have lived in the upper counties 
 of this and other southern States^ — The seaboard is 
 healthy ; but I venture to assert, even if it should 
 finish the destruction of my reputation, which has 
 been so hopefully contemplated, that there is but one 
 eligible military position from the mouth to the source 
 of this river, and this is Trader's Hill. For the jus- 
 tice of this remark I beg leave to refer to General 
 Pickens and Col. Hawkins, with both of whom I 
 had the honor to reconnoiter that position, and with 
 the latter the whole extent of country quite to the 
 Indian line. It has been insinuated that I am inter- 
 ested in mentioning Trader's Hill. I solemnly declare 
 I never owned, nor have I in contemplation to own, a 
 foot of land in the state of Georgia — were this oth- 
 erwise, and the insinuation true, still would my re- 
 ports remain on the rock of truth. The representa- 
 tions which have been made to recommend this post 
 have been wrapped up in speculation. I do not be- 
 lieve the country in its vicinity can ever be success- 
 fully settled. The children born in its neighbor- 
 hood seldom arrive to adult age. Soon after 
 they leave the breast they assume the complexion 
 before described, and insensibly mature to the grave. 
 The few inhabitants who are settled here and there, 
 beneath the pines, have either been seduced by a 
 dream of fortune, or have escaped fromtiie discipline 
 of law, or the prosecution of catholic jealousy. But 
 at this moment the surface of the country in this vi- 
 cinity for many miles, except here and there a bluff 
 or ridge, is inundated — I cannot but consider it a 
 prodigality of human life and happiness to sacrifice 
 them to individual interest. Observations of this 
 kind placed me as a target for a formidable coali- 
 tion. Other circumstances, combined with these, 
 have tended to precipitate the storm : some of which 
 are delineated in my defence. I have frequently 
 said I thought Mr. Price an improper person to be 
 employed at the head of the trading factory. The 
 
 4 
 
S(j LIFE OF 
 
 moroseness of his disposition, wliicli is so plainly de- 
 picted in liis countenance, and which exhibits itself 
 on all occasions of the least perplexity, I believe 
 v/ould^ and did disgust many of the Indians and tra- 
 ders. From this circumstance I have frequently in- 
 vited both Indians and traders to my quarters and 
 entertained them, who were dissatisfied with the man- 
 ners of the factor. These people want much atten- 
 tion, and are as jealous of neglect as people in the 
 refined walks of life. It was my study that they 
 should imagine nothing of the kind from me. By 
 these means I found them growing attached to me 
 and the troops, whom they call Gen. Washington's 
 men. If I have not rendered my country a service 
 by these little sacrifices, I have at least studied to 
 do it. But as nothing can be seen in its true color 
 by a jaundiced eye, so neither was this conduct of 
 mine. My particular attention to these people 
 was construed into an interference with the trading 
 department; and the resentment which this and oth- 
 er tilings, hereafter mentioned, excited in the factor, 
 added an auxiliary to the coalition. 
 
 On intimation of what was carrying on, I twice, 
 by letter, solicited of the commandant a court of en- 
 quiry ; and repeatedly by verbal request. My first 
 application by writing he totally neglected ; my 
 last he equivocally answered and evaded. My ver- 
 bal requisitions were ahvays procrastinated ; hence 
 I saw nothing but my removal from command could 
 eftect the object of the allies, and I reconciled myself 
 to the process. On the 5th Aug. I received a letter 
 from the Commandant, from wiiich I extract : " You 
 will make out a return of all public stores which yon 
 received in Philadelphia, previous to yonr sailing to 
 Georgia : also all ordnan«e and public stores of eve- 
 ry kind whatever which you have received since 
 you arrived in Georgia, noting" all issues and expen- 
 ditures ; the month for which you have signed ab- 
 stracts, and the amount of each abstract ; and deliv- 
 
GEX. EATON. ^ 
 
 '^i 
 
 er the same to Major Freeman, two days after your 
 reaeipt of this/' 
 
 This order I executed with as much accuracy as 
 the time prescribed admitted. On the 7th, I receiv- 
 ed the following from Major Freeman. '^ I have to 
 inform you that in obedience to the orders of Lieut. 
 Col. Commandant Gaithcr, commanding officer of 
 the Federal troops in Georgia, dated F. S. Tamma- 
 ny, on the 3d. instant, I do this day take upon ray- 
 self the command of the troops in garrison at this 
 post. The folloAv ing is an extract from the aforesaid 
 order. " It is my request that on your arrival at 
 Colerain you should take upon yourself the com- 
 mand of the troops at that post." You will therefore 
 direct, &c. 
 
 This order of the Lieut. Col. was inforced by his 
 verbal order that, if I should refuse to give up the 
 command, the Major should put me in irons ! High 
 sense of military privilege ! From this, however, he 
 was dissuaded by the argument of the Major; and of 
 it I was never informed till since mv trial. 
 
 1 gave up the command agreeably to the above or- 
 der ; and on the 17th, received from the hand of the 
 officer of tlie day, an arrest in the handwriting and 
 signature of Colonel Gaither, containing the charges, 
 which I beg leave to copy in their order in the fol- 
 lowing defence. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 If I were capable of adulation, and believed yon 
 susceptible of the charm, I would not, on this occa- 
 sion, put myself behind that shield of guilt : for I 
 stand not here to solicit favors, but to demand justice. 
 Your candor I believe will be measured by the lat- 
 ter, your resolution steeled against the former ; and 
 your understanding placed oa the watchtower of 
 truth, to direct your decision ; at the same time that 
 it will stamp correction upon any improper shades, 
 
S8 LIFE OF 
 
 or colorings, which the interest I feel in that decision 
 may induce me to cast upon the process. 
 
 Persuaded I am the court have already grown wea- 
 ry in the tedious investigation of the charges exhibit- 
 ed against me, and I could not a moment draw on 
 your further patience, did I not consider it an obli- 
 gation due to my own reputation. 
 
 Some observations on the evidence before you, ap- 
 plied to the charges, shall introduce my defence. 
 
 1st. I am charged Avith " Speculating on my men 
 with nankeens at sundry times ; and other things." 
 
 I believe you will find that I never but in one in- 
 stance had any dealings with the men of my compa- 
 ny in nankeens ; that I did, by unanimous and vol- 
 untary agreement of the company, furnish them with 
 a uniform of nankeen short coats ; that they agreed 
 to receive them at any price short of two dollars and 
 fifty cents ; and that, on settlement, two dollars only 
 were charged for each coat. The best evidence of 
 which the nature of the case would admit, has un- 
 doubtedly been produced on the part of the United 
 States in substantiation of this charge ; yet on a cal- 
 culation which the court will make, rests the ques- 
 tion, whether in this article I have intended to profit 
 by the provision made my company. Nothing has 
 appeared to show that the price was unreasonable. 
 Sallyer, a foreman of the taylors, has sworn, that 
 just such coats in Philadelphia, would cost three 
 dollars, or at least two dollars and three quarters. 
 At the lowest rate then, the men save seventy five 
 cents by my speculation. The factor, Mr. Price, it 
 appears, did sell one piece of nankeen to Captain 
 Nickols at one dollar and twenty five cents, and said 
 it was tlie price he gave in Philadelphia. This may 
 be tru€. But was the Factor, Mr. Price, on oatli 
 when he made this declaration ? Will this court ad- 
 mit the cursory observation of a man out of court, 
 and not on oatli, to be a criteiion to determine the 
 price current of nankeens in Philadelphia, even 
 
GEN. EATON. Jl9 
 
 when no respect is had to the time of purchase ? On 
 no principle can evidence of this sort be admitted ! 
 
 , It appears from the testimony of witnesses that 
 the few pieces which Mr. Price disposed of here, 
 this one piece excepted, were sold at one and an half 
 dollar — These were brought out in the same ves- 
 sel of the United States with those in question, 
 and sold by a man in the service and pay of govern- 
 ment — undoubtly he would not speculate on them. 
 Nankeens have at St. Mary's, all this season, I be- 
 lieve, been sold at one dollar and seventy five cents. 
 Doctor Gillasspy has informed the court that he was 
 asked one dollar and fifty cents for nankeens in the 
 city of New York. It is well known that goods of 
 this kind are cheaper in that metropolis than in Phila- 
 delphia — At an early period I informed the court 
 that those nankeens were procured for me by a mer- 
 chant taylor in Philadelphia. I did not take a bill ; 
 nor do I recollect the exact price I gave, but believe 
 it was about one dollar and an half. In addition to 
 the making, binding and other trimming, which were 
 brought into calculation, ought to be reckoned the 
 subsistence whicli the taylors daily had in my fam- 
 ily extra to their rations. I acknowledge it is not in 
 my power to make an exact calculation to a fraction ; 
 but from an estimate which was made by Mr. M'Call 
 the paymaster, and myself, it was concluded that two 
 dollars was a reasonable price to fix to the coats. I 
 had been previously informed by the taylors of the 
 price they gave for the binding and other trimmings, 
 as testified by Sallyer, and made my calculations ac- 
 cordingly. The general satisfaction of tlie men 
 evince that they feel no injury ; and it is demonstrat- 
 ed that the measure of receiving them and paying for 
 them was not compulsory. The climate and season 
 of the year, were my reasons for recommending the 
 uniform. I had previously consulted the Lieut. 
 Col. Commandant, and informed him of the price, a- 
 bout two and an lialf or two dollars ; he approved 
 the plan. If justice is done me a more favorable 
 
30 LIFE OF 
 
 eonstruefcioii will be applied to my conduct in this 
 affair, and it will be found that humanity rather than 
 avarice actuated my proceeding. I do candidly be- 
 lieve if every thing which ought were brought into the 
 calculation, I have not saved my expences. Sure I 
 am it would require a microscopic eye to count my 
 profit. No evidence appears, even presumptive, to 
 substantiate this charge ; if corgecture should be 
 hazzarded on the question, it will go in favor of the 
 defence, for such are the maxims of law and indi- 
 vidual right. 
 
 .The " other things," mentioned in the charge, it 
 seems, must have intended a partnership with a citi- 
 zen in settling with the troops. That I sold Mr. 
 Hampton eighty pieces of nankeen, bought at ven- 
 due, at a profit of 25 per cent, is true ; but that I was 
 interested directly, or indirectly in the profit he 
 should make in retailing them, or that I had the most 
 distant idea of any of the troops purchasing them, is 
 not true. His inducement to buy, he told me, was to 
 supply the country people who would attend the trea- 
 ty. The troops at that time had no money, and no 
 immediate probability of any being paid them. It is 
 well knoAvn that tlieir pay was eight months in arrear 
 before they received it for the months of November 
 and December, 1795? and that no order for muster 
 for those months was given until the tenth of June of 
 the current year. . 
 
 This circumstance, in addition to the wretched 
 quality of the rice, substituted for bread, rendered 
 the situation of the troops extremely disagreeable. I 
 ^ave my company a permit to trade with Mr. Hamp- 
 xon. Their necessities produced this. Their dis- 
 tresses gave them a plea to that indulgence. Hu- 
 manity acknowledged the claim they had upon my 
 duty to comply with their repeated solicitations. 
 This I did under such restrictions as I have shown 
 the court. Sugar and molasses were articles they 
 most wanted to qualify their bad rice. They were 
 under no obligation to take any thing : but were at 
 
GEN. EATOST. Sjt 
 
 liberty to take little or more value short of four dol- 
 lars, or one months pay ; and if they purchased nan- 
 keens I had no more interest in it than if they had 
 purchased amours. 
 
 Was it speculation on my men to sell to a citizen 
 the nankeens I had no use for, at a moderate profit ? 
 It is a novel and hard case, if a man because he 
 wears a particolored coat, may not be allowed, in his 
 dealings with citizens, the common privileges of a 
 citizen ! Were either of us disposed to sell our riding 
 horse, should we feel ourselves confined to our bill of 
 sale for the minute price to fix upon ? 1 fancy no^ ! 
 The evidence produced to show my copartnersl ip 
 with Mr. Hampton is so diametrically opposite to 
 the object, that I think no comment need be expend- 
 ed upon it. 
 
 I do not believe, gentlemen, that you will find I 
 have " speculated on my men in nankeens at sun- 
 dry times ; and other things — " 
 
 I" am charged 2dly of " detaining in my hands the 
 bounty money due my soldiers, which I received in 
 Philadelphia, and paying them off in small goods 
 at an advanced price. '^ 
 
 It is an unpleasant thing to awaken misfortune, by 
 commenting on its ills — It is enough *that reflection 
 will sometimes point to it, in spite of reason and phi- 
 losophy. I leave the first article of this charge to 
 such disquisition, gentlemen, as you shall think 
 proper to make : only observing that the cause of 
 the second necessarily grew out of the event which 
 produced the first ; and hope that this may be admit- 
 ted as a necessary and sutfieient plea in justification 
 of the mode I adopted for payment of the arrearage 
 ©f bounty to part of the men of my company. 
 
 The court have seen the specific account of the 
 articles, and on estimate of the prices as I supposed 
 they were to be charged to me, and as they were in 
 fact delivered to the men. 
 
 I believe you can have no doubts but that I receiv- 
 ed the goods with an expectation of paying for them 
 
32 LIFE OF 
 
 agreeably to that estimate. It was a fortunate cir- 
 ciimstance, however, that long before my bills were 
 presented for payment I obtained a copy of the charg- 
 es as entered in the factor's ledger. On making a 
 further calculation, (for the entries were not as I ex- 
 pected,) I found a balance of twenty one cents and a 
 fraction of a cent due the men, who had taken the ar- 
 ticles mentioned in the bill produced to the court. 
 I did immediately inform the men of this balance, 
 and said it should be paid. On procuring their cap 
 trimmings, some of them were informed that the a- 
 rajunt of the balance of the bounty should go in off- 
 se to tliis charge, so far as it would cover it : but no 
 se tlement has been made with the company on this 
 account. A considerable number of the men were 
 paid cash which 1 borrowed, for the arrearage of 
 their bounty. These had no balance due. I in- 
 formed them that I had expectations of money being 
 allowed for straw due them and that their trimmings 
 should be deducted from this sum, if it should be al- 
 lowed. Here it should be observed that the sum m as^ 
 estimated at the price stated in the bill, because it 
 was to be returned. I think it appears from the tes- 
 timony of sundry witnesses, that the same liquor, 
 which stands charged to me in the entries, at one 
 dollar and thirty four cents, was afterwards retailed 
 to the soldiers of this garrison, for two dollars per 
 gallon. Whether this is a speculation upon the sol - 
 diery of which the United States, or their factor, reap 
 the benefit, or whether the accounts of the factory are 
 rendered from the entries or from the actual sales, are 
 questions which may form matter for future enquiry. 
 The while thread has not been brought into tlie ac- 
 count, not being charged in tlie factor's boolc, al- 
 thougli it appears from the testimony of the men that 
 they did receive it. 
 
 This mode of payment was the best, and indeed 
 the only one I could hit upon. The men were 
 volunteers in accepting it, and, I believe, were per- 
 fectly (Batisfied before I reported a balance. Many 
 
GEN. EATON. 33 
 
 of them have been before the courts caiid all acknowl- 
 edge their entire satisfaction, except Mr. Mickin, 
 who imagines he did not receive his full quantity of 
 some of the sargeants. He may have forgotten : he 
 is capable of it. 
 
 Had I not paid the bounty I should undoubtedly 
 have been involved ; perhaps not more seriously 
 than I am from the steps I have taken to avoid it. 
 If my object had been speculation, or profit, is it 
 probable I would have informed my men of a bal- 
 ance when I knew them satisfied, and had no reason 
 to expect that an enquiry would ever be had in the 
 premises ? Instead of profit I have submitted to a 
 loss of twelve dollars from the deficiencies of the con- 
 tents of the cash which I borrowed. Of this I be- 
 lieve the court v/ill be satisfied, and, after mature de- 
 liberation on the evidence adduced in this charge, 
 will find my conduct justifiable. 
 
 I am charged 3dly, of " Selling public corn ; 
 and allowing the public horses only two quarts per 
 day." 
 
 The necessity of procuring this substitute for 
 bread, the manner of its being brought to the garri- 
 son, on the backs of the men, in rainy weather, and 
 the condition it was in, when stored, have been 
 clearly shewed to the court. That it was in a per- 
 ishable condition when I proposed to the Command- 
 ant this method of saving the property, is likewise 
 demonstrated. Had I silently suffered it to spoil, 
 and it had been concluded the propei'ty of the Unit- 
 ed States, I should have been subject to arrest and 
 trial in the fifth article of the twelfth section of the 
 rules and articles of war. This dilemma put me. 
 on projects to secure it. Shifting and sunning had 
 little effect, and the probability was, that it would 
 spoil on my hands. I therefore concluded that it 
 would be prudence to dispose of as much of it as 
 possible to the citizens in this vicinity, who were 
 much distressed for bread. By the concession I 
 made to the court of having sold public corn, ii 
 
 5 
 
€J4 LIFK OF 
 
 should net be understood knowing it to be the prop- 
 erty of the United States, nor without authority 5 
 thus I explained myself to the court the next day, 
 I was at loss wliether to consider myself accounta- 
 ble to tlie United States, or to an individual State, or 
 whether in my official or private capacity. Thus I 
 frequently expressed my doubts to gentlemen ; and 
 until the testimony of Capt. Randolph was heard, 
 which produced certain papers from the late con- 
 tractor's agent, William Johnson, I was induced to 
 believe the corn the property of the State of Georgia. 
 This, however, I knovr did not exonerate me from 
 accountability, but embarrassed me in the mode of 
 settlement ; leaving me altogether uninformed Avheth- 
 er to charge or credit the United States. Had my 
 views he&n fraudulent or speculative, is it probable I 
 would have consulted the Lieut. Col. Commandant 
 on the subject ? Or that I Avould have transacted the 
 business through an acting quartermaster in an open 
 and conspicuous manner ? And had the Lieut, 
 Col. Commandant not thought the measure eco- 
 nomical, is it probable he would have sanctioned it by 
 his approbation ? Had my motive been individual 
 interest, is it probable I could have borrowed corn 
 on my own credit to replace the damaged corn dispos- 
 ed of, and to furnish the horses, entitled to forage^ 
 with corn of a better quality ? 
 
 Only twenty iive bushels were reported to me sold, 
 until the commencement of this trial. For twen- 
 ty one bushels of this I received two beeves, a cow 
 and a two year old. These were sold to the con- 
 tractor and issued to the troops. They neated tM en- 
 ty three or four dollars. This sum I received to pay 
 for or replace tlie corn sold. For four bushels sold 
 before the corn became materially damaged, I re- 
 ceived six dollars : amounting in all to about thirty 
 dollars. I have paid for nineteen bushels of corn 
 borrowed at 1). 1 25 cents. Sixteen bushels of this 
 liave been issued to the public horses, and three to 
 ^he paymaster's. On settling with Doctor Gillasspy 
 
GEN. EATON. ^ SS 
 
 and the paymaster for a month's forage, six bushels 
 appeared due them ; this deficiency I paid up at the 
 same price. My account of profit on the sale of 
 corn stands thus — 25 bush, sold Bol. 30 
 
 S5 do. replaced 31 25 
 
 The sales for which Ensign Thompson is account- 
 able are six bushels ; and for this he will account on 
 demand. The residue of the hundred bushels has 
 been issued, some part to the troops, the rest to pub- 
 lic horses. 
 
 I have always been solicitous to be instructed in a 
 proper mode of settlement, and on all occasions liave 
 spoken openly on the facts. My conduct was au- 
 thorized by proper authority : and why this article 
 should appear as a charge can only l)e solved into 
 the forge tfulness of infirm old age. That I ever 
 limited the public horses to any quantity short of four 
 quarts is not true. I believe the court will justify 
 my conduct in this aifair. 
 
 I am charged 4thly, with "Disobedience of or., 
 ders." 
 
 This alludes to the order of the Commandant of 
 24th of May last, relative to the exchange of cer- 
 tain men. I did not at that time charge myself with 
 the police of the company ; but did, however, con- 
 sult and advise with the commanding officer on the 
 construction to be applied to the order, and conclud- 
 ed that the word exchange could not extend to the 
 men who joined me by transfer. To this conclusion 
 I was persuaded by an observation of the Command- 
 ant that he meant the men who came out Avith me 
 from Philadelphia, should remain in my company, 
 and his general direction that Captain Tinsley's com- 
 pany and mine should be kept full. TMs construc- 
 tion was ailso supported by the order of the tenth of 
 June relative to the master of the troops. 
 
 Had we construed the order more extensively, and 
 returned the men who had been transferred, should 
 not I have been subject to arrest for liaving exceeded 
 tJhe literal construction of the order ? 
 
36 LIFE OF 
 
 A particular object ill the order did not appear to 
 me to be matter of inquiry. If there were a particu- 
 lar objectj as lias been insinuated, and my con- 
 struction did not embrace that object, how easily 
 might an explanation been given by another 
 order or otherwise ! Sure I am, the necessary cor- 
 rection would have been made ; for the execution of 
 the order was left to a gentleman Avhose promptitude 
 in duty has never been questioned. Mr. M'Call 
 lias informed the court that the order was obeyed on 
 its literal construction. I declare I never heard 
 any uneasiness on the subject until it discovered Itself 
 in t're shape before you. 
 
 If the court should find any other construction in 
 the term exchanged than what we applied, I hope 
 they will nevertheless do me the justice to believe 
 that the one given was such as my own undersand- 
 ing suggested, and tjiis by the consultation of the of- 
 licers of my company ; and will acquit me. 
 
 I am ciuiiTj'^! .stilly, of " Liberating from confine- 
 ment Corporal Billings, who was charged by a jury 
 of inquest v,'i(;h having been the death of Joshua 
 Haverlones, a private in Captain Dickinson's compa- 
 Tij, from ihe vioience'of the blows he had inflict- 
 ed on him ; and tearing to pieces the charge in a 
 disrespectful contemptuous manner. 
 
 Corporal Billings has not been a moment released 
 from confinement since the evening on which the 
 cause originated. He remained confined on a charge 
 given by a commissioned officer, until the mittimus 
 of the civil magistrate was put into my hands, and 
 his permission obtained for the removal of the pris- 
 oner. Thus stands the evidence. In justifkation 
 of the removal, I have produced to the court the tes- 
 timony of the magistrate, as also his written certifi- 
 cate, in demonstration of the orders he gave me. 
 The causes of the removal were these. The alarm 
 which possessed the prisoner, in consequence of the 
 mode of his confinement and the imprudent observa- 
 tions which obtained, that he would undoubtedly be 
 
GEN. EATON. 37 
 
 convicted of murder^ it was feared would have a ten- 
 dency to alarm bim into desertion. 
 
 I believed no alacrity of the guards would secure 
 binij provided be sliouUl resolve on an escape. 
 Frequent escapes bad liappened before, and one 
 since. My fears were not less founded on tbose cir- 
 cumstances than tbe known persevering disposition 
 of the prisoner. I supposed tbat some sort of assur- 
 ance that his crime could not be found capital, would 
 mitigate bis alarm, and tbat moving bim into my 
 kitchen, under tbe care of two sentinels, where was 
 his wife and infant child would be an act not less hu- 
 mane than prudent, as it might reconcile him to bis con- 
 finement, and secure bim to justice. The place of bis 
 confinement was equally if not more secure in its 
 rear than tbe guard bouse ; and I believed two sen- 
 tries a sufficient guard. Had I taken tiiese steps at 
 my own discretion, my conduct would have been 
 justifiable by law. Billings w as not tlie prisoner of 
 the United States, but of tbe state of Georgia. This 
 appears from tbe mittimus. Notwithstanding be 
 was at first confined by the charge of a military olficei:, 
 tbe mittimus of tbe civil magistrate superceded that 
 charge. The prisoner being then committed to me, 
 as commanding oificer of the garrison, s'hould be con- 
 fined at my discretion. Had my exertions to secure 
 liim proved remissly inefifectual, then should 1 have 
 been amenable to civil law. These are my ideas on 
 this subject, and they are founded in law. But I have 
 shown to the court that I have proceeded in this af- 
 fair agreeably to the instruction of tbe civil magis- 
 trate who committed the prisoner ; and the event has 
 proved that our determination on tlie mode of con- 
 finement was proper. The prisoner did not escape : 
 but was transferred to tbe guard bouse on demand. 
 Where then is the injury, where the necessity of this 
 mighty clamor ? 
 
 As to matter of contempt in tearing to pieces the 
 original charge, mentioned as an article in this charge^ 
 I do not feel that it deserves a comment. 
 
38 LIFE OF 
 
 I am charged Ctliiy, of '^ Unjustly defrauding the 
 troops under my command out of rations which were 
 due them, and storing them in the garrison store, 
 which have never heen accounted for to the men." 
 
 I have conceded that nearly one thousand rations 
 of flour, an arrearage due the troops, were deposited 
 in the public store, and > held as a check Upon a de- 
 mand which tlie contractor had and was determined 
 to prosecute, for the same quantity of damaged and 
 condemned flour destroyed by the troops. This 
 concession appears from the evidence a just state- 
 ment of facts. A moment's explanation might have 
 satisfied a mind disposed to be satisfied : but this 
 transaction afforded plausible matter of charge, and 
 it has been improved ! Exertions have been uiade to 
 substantiate it by introducing a species of evidence 
 unprecedented, singular and mysterious. A note, 
 something in the form of a duebill, for somewhere 
 about two thousand rations, signed by a third 
 person, Avithout the knowledge of myself, has, by 
 the informer, been introduced to this court as a bul- 
 work of proof against which it Avas expected even 
 truth itself could not prevail ! This note smells rank 
 of assassination ! How was it obtained ? Clandes- 
 tinely, and by finesse ! Of whom ? Not of me ; but 
 of an unsuspecting serjeant ! For what use ? Not to 
 recover a real due for the soldier ; but to create an 
 imaginary one to criminate an oflicer ! Was it ever 
 presented me ? No ; not till the confidential person 
 with whom it was deposited, was struck with con- 
 viction of the perfidy of its object ! Hov/ then was it 
 presented ? Secretly ; and with a proposition that I 
 would contaminate my fingers by destroying it ! 
 Was this an artful attempt upon the impetuosity 
 which it would naturally excite in my mind ; or an 
 individual wish that the advantages contemplated to 
 be acquired by the note might be defeated ? This re- 
 mains to me an enigma ! But the note v/as destroyed ! 
 By whom ? Not by me ; but by the person who ob- 
 taiaed it, and contrary to my direction ! Another 
 
GEN. EATON. 39 
 
 note in all things like unto the first has appeared be- 
 fore this court ! What has it produced in evidence ? 
 Art and subtlety in its projects ; stupidity in its au- 
 thor ; and in its countenance the deepest hue of in- 
 iquity ! These are strictures which naturally arise out 
 of this subject. But notwithstanding this formidable; 
 appearance ; this monster of illegitimate conception ; 
 simple facts have demonstrated that my concession 
 went to the extent of every thing which existed rela- 
 tive to this charge ; and further, that my conduct has 
 not been fraudulent, but equitable. 
 
 The condemned flour was used by the troops in- 
 discriminately at the time the rations of flour in quest- 
 ion were becoming due. This was done by my ad- 
 vice : but I could not suppose any credit was due the 
 contractor for such sort of provision. On his arrival, 
 however, he made demand of payment for the con- 
 demned flour thus made use of by my direction ; in- 
 sisting that condemning it did not transfer to me a 
 right of destroying it, nor of suffering it to 1 3 destroy- 
 ed ; and declaring that he would recover it of me, 
 either by abstract, or by an action of trespass. The 
 former I refused and he determined on the latter. I 
 had doubts in my own mind whether he could recover 
 against me. The troops were at that time well sup- 
 plied ; and I concluded that to retain the flour in 
 public store, which had become due the troops dur- 
 ing the time of their using the condemned flour, till 
 the question at issue should be determined, or till the 
 contractor should relinquish his idea of bringing his 
 action, would be just and proper ; and that then the 
 issues should be made without respect to the destruc- 
 tion of the condemned flour. 
 
 These facts have been unequivocally ascertained. 
 Does this look like fraud ? Does it not favor more 
 the complexion of uprightness ? If the contractor has 
 sustained a loss for which damages are recoverable 
 by law, who should be amenable for those damages 
 but the persons who committed the waste, and had 
 the benefit of it ? Had I appropriated the fl.our thus 
 
W LIFE OF 
 
 retained and stored^ to my own use, or any part of H^ 
 then might this charge be supported : But if from 
 the moment of its having been stored it has remained 
 as disputed property, how evident must it be to ev- 
 ery unbiassed mind that the question of right alone 
 held me in suspense respecting its issues ? If I had 
 issued it till this question was determined, how clear- 
 ly w ould an action and a charge lie against me for 
 trespassing on the property of the contractor and 
 where would have been my remedy ? Thus, act as I 
 v/ould, on either side was I liable to embarrassment 
 by arrest both civil and military ; and undoubtedly 
 the patriotic zeal of the day would not have passed 
 the opportunity. 
 
 But were this transaction viewed in its worst light, 
 still fraud cannot be made out of it. The term im- 
 plies a deceitfully obtaining, and wrongfully apply- 
 ing to ones own use, goods which are the property of 
 another. Has here been any deceit ? Has here 
 been any wrongful application. On the contrary, 
 has not the business been openly conducted ? Have 
 not I always declared facts as they now appear on 
 your proceedings ? And has not the property been 
 as carefully preserved as possible. It must be a 
 strange perversion or rather distortion of terms to 
 stamp the epithet either of injustice or fraud upon 
 the transaction out of which this charge has arisen. 
 I am confident the court will be convinced of this, 
 and that however plausible the pretence for this 
 charge may be, I am not iii fact chargeable with the 
 most distant intention, in this transaction, of wrong- 
 ing an individual, nor the public, but on the contra- 
 ry, so far as possible, disposed to do justice to both. 
 
 Having gone through with my observations on the 
 proceedings, I beg the court will indulge me in a 
 few remarks, which naturally arise from the pros- 
 ecution, and the circumstances which may have pro- 
 duced it. 
 
 What influence upon superior rank the circum- 
 stance of my having a particular destination from 
 
GEN. EATON. 4?i 
 
 the Secretary of War may have, I leave to the determ- 
 ination of the more particular acquaintances of the 
 disposition of a man in an elevated station. If this 
 circumstance lias had influence, other circumstances 
 have afforded auxiliaries to the measures which were 
 influenced hy this. 
 
 On my arrival at St. Mary's, among the troops of 
 Virginia, I found many sick : these had no medical 
 assistance. On board of our brig sailed the Sur- 
 geon's mate. He recommended to take these sick 
 on board of us. I accordingly ordered them on 
 board. This obliged my uoneommissioned officers 
 to resign their births between decks to the sick. 
 The evening of the first of January commenced an 
 incessant rain. At ten at night I went on deck and 
 saw my noncommissioned officers rolled in their 
 blankets and drenched in rain. By consent of the 
 sailing master I ordered them into the cabin to take 
 births' upon boxes, chests and a table. Human- 
 ity dictated this step. The day and night following 
 the storm continued. I again took them into the, 
 cabin. This gave umbrage to the factor of the In- 
 dian trade, J^Ir. Price, who had all the passage 
 occupied a stateroom, and had slept on there the pre- 
 ceding evening. About daybreak, the next morn- 
 ing, moving out of his stateroom and addressing his 
 assistant and a blacksmith, who occupied births in the 
 cabin, he made some unmannerly and iilnatured stric- 
 tures upon this arrangement of mine ; supposing I 
 was asleep. 1 undeceived him ; and attempted to ar- 
 gue him into conciliation, pleading tlie humanity of 
 the measure, and observing that if any gentlemen 
 had reason to complain, they were Capt. Nicoll and 
 Doct. Grillasspy, who slept in the cabin, and not 
 himself, who Avas not incommoded in his lodgings ; 
 that the noncommissioned officers were down after 
 he was in bed, and out before he was up ; and hop- 
 ed thai the sight of a soldier's blanket did not clfepd 
 him. 
 
 6 
 
^B LIFE OF 
 
 He offended me ! I resented it. Exxjlaiiatioii wr^ 
 liad and the aifair Ijuried, as I supposed, in oblivion : 
 but from that moment I have experienced from that 
 quarter a persecution of resentment which, and in 
 manner which, a man of a liberal mind and open 
 countenance would be ashamed of.. These charges 
 of my arrests were fancied in his counting room, in 
 his own hand writing, as they were accidentally 
 discovered and reported to me the morning after the- 
 secret dispatches- went oiF with them. I believe I 
 may charge that lago of Othello as the proliiic nurse of 
 all the mischief which has been designed against me. 
 
 At St. Mary's, Captain Tinsley, or Ensign AUin- 
 son, shewed me an appointment of Adjutant which 
 the Captain had made tlie Ensign, which I think I 
 said should be respected so far as my influence would 
 ebtain ; observing at the same time that the appoint- 
 ment of the regimental staff did not rest with platoon 
 officers. The order of the secretary of war required 
 that the eldest subaltern should be left at St. Mary's. 
 Rank determined this command to Ensign Allinson. 
 Soon after my arrival here I ordered a junior Ensign, 
 to do the temporary duty of Adjutant. When Col- 
 onel Gaither arrived, I submitted to him every ar- 
 rangement I had made or contemplated : and at the 
 same time mentioned the appointment first alluded to,, 
 and recommended the sul)altern last alluded to for 
 the appointment of quartermaster. But I received^ 
 for answer, that " no appointments would be made to^ 
 those offices." And the first order for muster, 10th 
 June, coincided with that answer. Consequently 
 things remained as they were. But Ensign Allinson 
 app&ared dissatisfied, and continued so. How far 
 this disappointment might have influenced the feelings 
 of this informer may be conjecturcd. From these 
 and other causes which may be traced I liave long 
 since discovered a disposition in this tripple alliance 
 to embarrp.ss me. And from the proceedings before 
 you, gentlemen, you will be able to discover whethei- 
 my suspicions h^ave been well or ill founded, wheth- 
 
GE-N'. EATON. 4g 
 
 «r this prosecution has for its basis truth or spleen, 
 and whether it was born of patriotism or a less hon- 
 orable parent. 
 
 With what face can my prosecutor accuse me of a 
 paltry half cent speculation, who, on my arrival mto 
 this state would readily have taken from me thirty 
 five thousand dollars for lands, the titles of Avhieh he 
 knew were in dispute, and believed invalid ; having 
 been obtained by fraud and corruption ? Had I at 
 that moment closed a bargain, and obtained credit for 
 a moiety of that sum, I have good reason to believe I 
 «lioald at this moment be caressed. But unfortu- 
 nately for my peace, I ridiculed the dream of the 
 speculation, and reprobated tiie Yazoo grants. Here 
 •sprung up a new source of resentment : and this was 
 irritated by my remonstrating on the impropriety of 
 being obliged to govern myself by verbal orders, 
 which I found were as conveniently forgotten as 
 given, To this remonstrance I was lead by a convic- 
 tion of the treachery of human memory : but this 
 was treason. If I consulted with gentlemen on the 
 embarrassment of this mode of discipline, it was 
 scandalum inagnatiim. For obedience of verbal or 
 ders, twice have I been indirectly reprimanded : and 
 once for the same crime, an article is added in. 
 the charges of my arrest — (Witness the. third charge.) 
 I have long since discovered how persuaded this man, 
 high in rank, has been that my reputation and future 
 happiness should be sacrificed on the altar of partial- 
 ity. 
 
 Because I have not v/inked as he winked, and smil- 
 ed when he smiled, acquiesced in the slander which 
 most men suffer from his splenetic disposition, and 
 stooped like a slave when he condescended to lash 
 me, he has been convinced that this sacrifice, s© 
 trifling to a man of my rank, was a necessary one to 
 Ms humor. Can I be silent on this subject? Can 
 the respect I feel for the presence of this court, 
 €hall a tame submission to the caprice of w^eakness 
 and despotism, confine my injuries to the obsequious 
 remedy of supplication ! " I have not .slavish tem= 
 
44 LIFE OF 
 
 peraiice enough to attend a favorite's heels and catch 
 Lis smiles ; bear an ill office done me to my face, 
 and thank the lord, who wrongs me, for his favor." 
 
 I reverence virtue, and respectability ; but that 
 accidental consequence which blind fortune attaches 
 to the opposite of these qualities, obtains nothing of 
 me but what rank will not be refused. 
 
 The perverted construction which has been put on 
 all my measures, and repeated inattention to my re- 
 peated request of a more humane, yet as proper 
 mode of investigating the facts, prove the vindictive 
 temper of this prosecution, and a prepence intention 
 to assassinate my reputation. 
 
 How often has tlie j^round been shifted, and new^ 
 positions taken since the siege has been laid against 
 my character ! How silently have parallels been 
 drawn and evacuated ! Spies have been sent into 
 my company, and even into my family, to discover, 
 if possible a vulnerable part ! Citizens have been 
 called from their beds, at the dead hour of night, to 
 ascertain facts, whicii were transacted in the center 
 of the area of the fort, by consultation of the officers 
 of the garrison, and order of my prosecutor ! And I 
 am not yet satisfied that an instrument has not been 
 employed to sap my firmness by an artful attempt up- 
 on the excitability of my temper — (Witness the pre- 
 sentment of the note before mentioned.) Yet, instead 
 of a choice of crimes, as the boast has gone out, 
 what deliberate anxiety has been discovered to get 
 hold of any thing which could be distorted into a 
 misprison of criminality. Even my misfortunes 
 have been called up and passed in revicAv Avith a 
 motive, not of commiseration, but to spy out of them 
 some ambiguity, which could be metamorphosed into 
 crimes. If t!ie salvation of a country depended on 
 my fall thei^e might be found an apology for this sin- 
 gular prosecution, but if private animosity is only to 
 be gratified, the means which have been used, and 
 perseverance observed should take another name 
 than :hat of merit. 
 
»EN. EATON. 45 
 
 Wild must have been the infatuation of the mind 
 to have prevailed on itself to endeavor to distil spec- 
 ulation out of measures which the man himself had 
 recommended, and fraud from an economy which 
 was due to the public and to justice. Who cannot 
 discover, even with but one eye, that other motives 
 than public measures must have actuated this pro- 
 ceeding ! And who does not blush at the ridiculous 
 veil of hypocrisy under which this malevolence is 
 masked ! It is envy in the shape of conscience ! It is 
 however jJossiftZe that misrepresentation has done all 
 this. Whatever may have been the moving cause, I 
 feel that I have suffered. All the poison of my life 
 magnified by a jealous and creative imagination has 
 been scattered before the winds to blast my honor. 
 Had my herald been delighted as much with good 
 as with evil extracts, he could here and there, from 
 my memoirs, have gathered a little of the dews of 
 benevolence and humanity to perfume the bieath of 
 slander : but it is the spider's peculiar quality to ex- 
 tract poison from the same iiower from which the 
 bee will gather honey. 
 
 When a man only lies under the imputation of 
 malconduct the secret satisfaction which man- 
 kind feel in the misfortunes of their fellow men, in- 
 duces a kind of instinctive credit to the calumny i 
 and common fame is always ready to give it curren- 
 cy. With such as are inclined to relish evil reports, 
 and such there are, slight presumption will be ad- 
 mitted as positive evidence, and every evil thing will 
 be believed. ^^ Tlie grossest sophistry will pass 
 upon men^s understandings w hen used in support of 
 measures to which they are already inclined.''' And 
 good men credit evil reports from a consciousness of 
 the frailty of human nature. Hence, when slander 
 once drops from the invenomed tongue, it more or 
 less obtains credit of all men ; and the reluctance 
 which all men feel at the imputation of guilt, prompt 
 them to shun the sufferins; character through fear of 
 
46 ' LIFE OF 
 
 feeing suspected accomplices ih bis crimes. Hence 
 an insulted character suffers every inconvenience 
 from the secret whisper of malev;dence, which it 
 can from positive conviction : all the infamy which 
 attaches itself to crimes already consumes his hon- 
 or ; and conviction can add nothing to the sufferings 
 of the man, but the pain or the disgrace of punish- 
 ment. Hence the innocent are as liable to suffer as 
 the guilty ; and hence the dumb significance of a 
 muscle, has frequently the address to blast a reputa- 
 tion. When hatred combines with propensity to 
 distress a character, and power is called in to aid the 
 assault, it imbitters the venom of calumny with the 
 gall of persecution. This I most solemnly feel. 
 What but fortified invidiousness, which could be 
 satiated only by my ruin, could figure to itself, even 
 in imagination, the possibility of my having wronged 
 a soldier ? In all this tedious process, not a single 
 soul has been produced who has even felt dissatisfied 
 with me : nor who would consent that the idea should 
 be recorded. Yet has it been industriously blazoned 
 that I have stooped to injure my soldiers. Is there 
 a soldier in existence, and has served with me, Avho 
 can be made to say this ! Did ever a sick, or an hun- 
 gry, or a distressed soldier represent to me his wants 
 and go away unrelieved ? Not a living soldier can 
 say this : and the dead, if they could declare for me, 
 would testify that my disinterested acts of benevo- 
 lence have always been commensurate M'ith their 
 lives. Is there a man in existence, and is my ac- 
 quaintance, who can say that a single act of all my 
 actions has been stamped with parsimony ? Or who 
 will not rather say that the other extreme has been 
 an error of my life ? My kitcl^en has always been 
 an hospital and an inn for the sick and the distress- 
 ed soldier, and my quarters a caravansary for the 
 stranger. With the utmost truth I can declare, that 
 from almost eight years service in a military capaci- 
 ty, nearly five of which I have received the pay and 
 
GtEN. EATON. '4/ 
 
 emolument of Captain, with the additional emolu- 
 ment some part of the time of Brigade Major, I hav& 
 not saved a single guinea. Yet have I not lived 
 profusely, nor indulged intemperance. 
 
 Then it cannot be from an overgrown fortune that 
 I am charged with speculation and fraud ! not from 
 extravagance of living ; and not from the complaints- 
 of injured individuals ! What then can it be from ? 
 An invidious wish that it were so ! For the justice of 
 this conclusion, gentlemen, I refer you to the pro-- 
 eeedings before you. 
 
 The bias which uncontradicted report must have 
 given this court at the commencement of the trials 
 would have alarmed me, were I not persuaded that 
 with every member which compose it, prepossession 
 would give place to facts. It is the province of truth,^ 
 when drawn fj*om her recess, to unmask deception 
 and falshood, and to compose to their natural form 
 the features M^hich jealousy, envy, or a spleeny im- 
 agination had distorted into deformity. 
 
 But gentlemen, I am growing prolix, and you im- 
 patient. I knf»v you will recollect that you sit here 
 to determine in law and equity, between the United 
 States and myself, on charges in the decision of which 
 my reputation, my future happiness, and that of my 
 family cannot but be involved. I feel that if the 
 most imbittered construction should be applied tt> 
 my conduct as shewn to you from the evidence, it 
 would require the eye of casuistry to extract crim 
 inality from it. 
 
 I trust aud firmly believe that your decision will be 
 unbiassed and impartial : that compliment to indi- 
 vidual opinion, cliaracter or caprice, will have no in- 
 fluence in your deliberation : and that from the test 
 of truth, you will be able to determine that econo- 
 my tind not speculation ^ that humanity Mid not con- 
 tempt of law nor etiquette, and t\\3it justice and not 
 fraud, have dictated that conduct which has bee© 
 stamped with the impression of criminality. 
 
48 LIFE OF 
 
 With confidence I rest my cause in the integrity 
 of this court. 
 
 WM. EATON, Captain oflvfantry. 
 
 On the seventh instant the proceedings of the 
 eourt were forwarded to the Commandant at St. Ma- 
 ry's. I was there on the trial of Billings, and was 
 informed by a gentleman of the bar, that the Com- 
 mandant disgusted with the decision, had determin- 
 ed to forward the proceedings to his excellency, the 
 President, without acting upon them. In corobora- 
 tion of this information, this day Major Freema|i 
 received an order for the dissolution of the court, 
 but nothing of the decision. For this piece of acci- 
 dental justice I would thank him, had he not in do- 
 ing it laid a necessity of prolonging my confinement 
 within the walls of a fort. I did not believe he 
 would dare show those proceedings where he ever 
 wished to show his face. Every thing is studiously 
 arranged with design to counteract my felicity. It is 
 Mi vain to plead that duty or public good requires 
 this treatment. The former requires not the aid of 
 falshood in its execution, and the latter seldom ac- 
 knowledges itself in debt to meanness and oppression. 
 But I am not the only officer who suffers under this 
 lash of tyranny. His humor is the standard by 
 which his esteem or hatred is measured : and his 
 power deals out to the favorites the natural partiali- 
 ties. Nor does he seem satisfied to confine his influ- 
 ence to individual character. I wish I were not 
 compelled to believe that his misrepresentation has 
 prevented that good understanding which might oth- 
 erwise have been restored to the United States and 
 Georgia. What man in his senses could imagine 
 that Greneral Jackson, who sailed on l)oard a sloop 
 to the treaty, with few more then twenty volunteer 
 infantry, under the command of a subaltern, contem- 
 plated to assume the command at this post ? Every 
 one who knows the General must be satisfied that he 
 
GEK. EATOK. 
 
 Kas better inToBnied military ^eas than to attempt 
 this. Yet the Gomraandant had the address, by pos- 
 itive declaration, to impress the commissioners of the 
 United States with this idea. The consequences have 
 been detailed in public print : the dernier event is 
 to be feared ! But a private pique of long standing 
 was gratified. These things, though they take the 
 prostituted name of federalism, to me appear vastly 
 uncandid. The liberties I am taking may perhaps 
 be considered unwarrantable. Indeed I know, an 
 officer here must confine his ideas, like his person, 
 within the stockades of his post, and shall have 
 kave to think through the organ of a Commandant, 
 provided his ideas keep the channel of his views. I 
 am not made of such stuff : and have never yet been, 
 reduced to feel that the livery of a soldier should 
 smother the light of understanding, or manacle the 
 pinions of reason. If these liberties then siiould be 
 construed into disrespect, I shall charge the misdc= 
 meanor to maxims to which I have always adhered, 
 that rank has no just claims beyond the boundary 
 lines of duty ; that respect is a voluntary attachment 
 to merit, and that no consideration should prevail on 
 a man to veil the face of truth in obsequiousness to 
 any man's humor or interest. If, still sore from the 
 sting of envy, I have dipped my pen in acrimony, I 
 trust the abuse I have suffered will sufficiently apol- 
 ogise for me. If my complaint merits a hearing, re- 
 dress will undoubtedly naturally follow. But if my 
 persecutors should have the address to blast me at 
 this period of life, I shall feel the sad reconciliation 
 that I shall have fallen an early martyr to the dic- 
 tates of truth, duty, and humanity. 
 
 It has been confidentially said between the two 
 gentlemen most interested in my reports, and over.' 
 heard ; ^^ We must get that Eaton out of the way !'' 
 I truly stand almost alone ; but feel myself never^' 
 theless steadfast. The recruit, an Ensign Allinson 
 who has been employed as an instrument; t© effect 
 
 '7 
 
30' LIFE OF 
 
 the project, has generously been offered five hundred 
 acres of land at this post as a pledge of the trust and 
 eonfidence reposed in him. Plans have been well 
 concerted, confidence and secresy have been sacredltf 
 adhered to, and no exertions have been wanting to- 
 excite the patriotic project. But yet I stand, and 
 believe I shall, till my enemies are confounded, and 
 the public shall blush at the depravity of principles 
 which have moved my misfortunes. I am not in- 
 deed tenacious of holding my commission on a peace 
 establishment, and should before this have requested 
 to be placed on the list of derangments ; but to re- 
 tire from service at this crisis would bear an unfavor- 
 able construction. My only anxiety is to leave ser- 
 vice like a soldier. As such I trust I have served,^ 
 and am at all times ready to serve, should my coun- 
 try demand my service. J5ut let not speculation and 
 malice prevail to blast a life and family devoted to 
 the calls of duty and human liappiness. 
 
 Sincerely do I beg pardon for this intnision : but, 
 my honored Sir, to whom else shall I address my 
 aggrievance ? If your confidence in me has been mis- 
 placed, it cannot, I think, but affect your feelings. 
 And if falshood and cruelty should have the influence 
 to place it in that light, the consequence w ill be the 
 same. I am in possession of some facts, interesting 
 to the public, which I shall bring forward in the 
 proper channel vviien digested, and when my em- 
 barrassments shall be removed. ' These shall show 
 who are patrons of speculation on the public, and 
 who are embarked on the - bottom of truth, who of 
 misrepresentation. 
 
 I have to request that my command, which has 
 been wantonly and violently v* rested from me, may 
 be restored. My honor is pledged that my eye shall 
 be fixed on the public measures without respect to 
 the feelings of individuals. And when facts are as- 
 certained and the veil removed from the public eye, 
 that justice may be established, I shall then ask l?ave 
 
GEN. EATON. 51 
 
 to retire from a service iu which an honest man can 
 acquire no other scars than from the shafts of those 
 dark and deadly assassins, envy and selfishness. 
 
 
 With 'profound respect, *, 
 
 / have the honor to remain, 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, and very hum- 
 ble servant, 
 
 William Eaton, Capt, 
 of Infantry. 
 
 The Honorable 
 
 Timothy Pickering, 
 
 Secretary for the department of state, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 For some specification of one of these charges Ea- 
 ton was sentenced to invo months suspension from 
 command. That it was of no very criminal nature, 
 appears from the following extracts of letters written 
 by Ensign Thompson, one of the court martial. 
 
 >^ Our Col. Commandant, who is an ignorant, de- 
 bauched, unprincipled old batchelor, appears willing 
 to sacrifice the purest character to gratify the spleen 
 of his soul. 
 
 He lias long since been collecting materials to ef- 
 fect the destruction of Captain Dickinson, a man 
 worthy of esteem, and who wears more scars of pat- 
 riotism, acquired in the struggle for American liber- 
 ty, than perhaps any other man in the United States. 
 I was a member of the court martial which tried Cap- 
 tain Dickinson. At this court the ColoneFs want 
 of knowledge, and want of truth, made him lose my 
 esteem ; and in my opinion, forfeited his title to it, 
 from every honest man. 
 
 His next object was Capt. Eaton, against whom 
 the Colonel's jealousy and envy were awakened, 
 Crom the circumstance of the Capt's having particu- 
 
6g L1FK OF 
 
 lar command at Coleraiii;, where tiie trading post 
 islioiild be. 
 
 Captain Eaton's punctuality likewise, in givjng 
 information of the situation of this frontier, was an- 
 other sourcgi of bitterness ; as heretofore, there had 
 seldom been any reports of the kind, not clothed with 
 partiality. 
 
 This, Col. Gaither might naturally enough imag- 
 ine, might amount to a reflection on him. 
 
 This must have been his idea : for he commanded 
 Capt. Eaton to make no rejportSf although the Sec- 
 retary of War had given instruction that lie should. 
 From a number of reasons, it was supposed by the 
 Col. and his confederates, that his sacrifice was nec- 
 essary to their reputation : for the party have been 
 heard to say, ^^ We must get rid of this Eaton.'^ 
 
 Captain Eaton was arrested, notwithstanding he 
 had twice made a written demand for a court of en- 
 quiry, and once verbally. This was his legal right, 
 and this ^\ould have saved much trouble ; as it 
 would have convinced every unprejudiced mind, that 
 the circulation of the reports had no foundation ; and 
 shown that they were raised only from a wish that 
 there were cause of criminality. 
 
 Enquiry was not to be had. The court martial 
 consisted of five membeis ; one Major who was his 
 inveterate enemy, as he is to every plain dealer ; two 
 Captains, one of whom was aspiring to his com- 
 mand ; the other, though in general looked upon as 
 an honest man, yet knows nothing of law and the 
 nature of evidence, and might perhaps, be as deep in 
 the party, as the prosecutor. All were inferior in 
 rank to Capt. Eaton, except the President. En- 
 sign M'Call was the only person who appeared to 
 me unprejudiced. I was a member of the court my- 
 self ; and although my oath restricts my mentioning 
 the opinion of any particular member, as to the de- 
 cision, yet it is not a violation to say that there was 
 the most ostensible partiality ; and that more anxie- 
 ty and exertion were discovered to give propriety, 
 
GE'N. EATON. 5^ 
 
 duty, and honesty, - the colormgs of their opposites^ 
 than that truth should have its iniluence. 
 
 The trial was tedious. Upwards of a fortnight 
 we were upon it : and after all was said ; after all 
 that had been collecting for about live months, by the 
 scrutiny of surrounding enemies, and by spies which 
 had been sent into his company and family ; to what 
 did it amount ? It amounted to — wliat I am not at 
 liberty to say, being a member of the court, and a« 
 the sentence is not yet approved of by the Col. 
 Commandant." 
 
 It appears also from the petition of .John F. Ran- 
 dolph, and twenty nine others, heads of families liv- 
 ing in the vicinity of Colerain, addressed to the War 
 Department, that Capt. Eaton had given great sat- 
 isfaction to the neighborhood, by restraining his sol- 
 diers from plunder : as tlie petitioners, after his re- 
 moval, complain of the ati-ocious conduct of the 
 soldiery, and the acquiescence of the officers, and 
 pray that Eaton may be restored to command. 
 
 The proceedings of the court martial were sent to 
 Gaither, whose duty it was to decide upon them. 
 As his object was not attained, instead of deciding 
 upon the sentence, he ordered Eaton to be confined 
 within the walls of Fort Pickering, where he was 
 immured upwards of a month ; and sent the pro- 
 ceedings of the court martial to the Secretary at 
 War : and ordered Eaton to the seat of governmeiit, 
 after this long confinement. 
 
 On arriving at Philadelphia, in December, Capt, 
 Eaton presented himself to the Secretary at War, 
 d.esiring to know what standing he then had. The 
 Secretary informed him that tiie sentence was not 
 confirmed ; and that his standing was not changed 
 In January, 1797? Eaton returned to Brimfield, 
 where he continued till the ensuing summer, when he 
 repaired to Philadelphia, in consequence of general 
 marching orders. 
 
 In July, he was charged with a confidential com 
 mission from the Secretary of state, to execute the 
 
5^i LIFE OF 
 
 orders which should be issued by a committee of 
 Congress sitting to procure information relative to the 
 conspiracy of William Blount ; and received orders 
 and a warrant to repair to Ncav York, and arrest 
 Doctor Nicholas Romayne and his papers. This 
 duty was immediately performed. Eaton left Phi- 
 ladelphia on the morning of the 10th July, and se- 
 cured Homayne and his papers, before 3 o'clock the 
 next morning, and brought him to Philadelphia at 
 S o'clock P. M. on the 12th. 
 
 On his return to Philadelphia, he was appointed 
 Consul to the city and kingdom of Tunis. 
 
 During the same month he was charged with dis- 
 patches for Mr. Gerry, then in Cambridge, who was 
 about to sail for France ; which were delivered ac- 
 cording to their address. 
 
 The autumn Eaton spent in Brimfield ; and the 
 winter in a journey to the Ohio ; whence he returned 
 to BrimfieUi in March, 1798 ; where he continued 
 the greater part of his time till Nov. 12th, when, 
 on receiving information from the Secretary of state 
 that the vessels destined to Algiers were ready to de- 
 part, he took leave of his family, and, on the 18th, 
 arrived at Philadelphia. 
 
 On the 22d of December, Mr. Eaton took leave 
 of the Secretary of state, Mr. Pickering, and went 
 on board the U. S. brig Sophia, Capt. Henry 
 Geddes, commander, bound to Algiers ; in company 
 with the Hero, a ship of 350 tons burden, loaded 
 with naval stores for the Dey of Algiers ; the Has- 
 san Bashaw, an armed brig of 275 tons, mounting 
 eight six pounders, destined to Algiers ; the Skjol- 
 dabrand, a schooner of 250 tons, 16 double fortified 
 four pounders, destined to Algiers ; and the Le la 
 Eisha, of 150 tons, 14 four pounders, also destined 
 to Algiers. All these vessels excepting the Sophia, 
 were to be delivered to the Dey of Algiers, for ar- 
 fearages of stipulation and present dues. 
 
GEN. EATON. 5$ 
 
 James Leander Catlicart^ appointed Consul at 
 Tripoli, and his Lady, took passage in the Sophia 
 witli Mr. Eaton. 
 
 In the montli of August, 1797^ Joseph Etienne 
 Famin, a French merchant residing at Tunis, agent 
 for the United States there, formed a treaty with 
 the regency of Tunis. This treaty was discussed 
 by the Senate of the United States, in the month of 
 March, 1 798, and ratified, with the exception of the 
 14th article, which v/as in these words. ♦ 
 
 br^i^ The Citizens of the United States of America, 
 who shall transport into the kingdom of Tunis the 
 merchandize of their country in the vessels of their 
 nation, shall pay three per cent duty. Such as may 
 be laden by such citizens under a foreign flag com- 
 ing from the United States or elsewhere, shall pay 
 ten per cent duty. Such as may be laden by for- 
 eigners on board of American vessels coming from 
 any place whatever, shall also pay ten per cent dutyi 
 If any Tunisian merchant wishes to carry merchan- 
 dize of his country, under any flag whatever, into the 
 United States of America, and on his own account, 
 he shall pay three per cent duty." 
 
 It is somewhat surprising that this Mr. Famin, 
 a Frenchman, should have been authorized to make 
 this treaty, at a time when France and the United 
 States had assumed a hostile attitude. His being 
 recommended by Mr. Barlow may however assist 
 in the solution of such an impropriety. If Famin 
 was ignorant of the revenue laws of the United 
 States, he was unfit to negotiate a treaty ; if not ig- 
 norant, the 14tli article discovers a gross violation of 
 duty and propriety. The first object demanding the 
 attention of the two Consuls, Eaton and Cathcart,^ 
 in conjunction with O'Brien, Consul at Algiers, and 
 then there, was an alteration of the 14th article of this 
 treaty : the three Consuls, or any two of them, being 
 authorised to make the adjustment. 
 
 It was suspected by the government of the U. S, 
 that the latter part of the 14th article might have been 
 
LIFE OF ; 
 
 inserted by Famin with an expectation of deriving for 
 himself great commercial advantages fey opening a 
 direct trade from Tunis to this country : or that the 
 Bey and his chiefs, either aware of the efiPects of the 
 article, or being imformed by Famin, might contrive 
 it as the instrument of obtaining a new sacrifice to 
 their avarice ; expecting it would not be ratified by 
 the United StatesJ; and that the United States, in or- 
 der to get it expunged, would offer the Bey an addi- 
 tional sum of money. But, whatever might have 
 been the motive, the article was inadmissible ; and 
 the consuls were instructed to alter it, so as to place 
 the commerce of the United States with Tunis, and 
 that of Tunis with the United States, on the footing 
 of the commerce of the most favored nation for the 
 time being ; or to insist on its rejection, even though 
 immediate war should be the consequence. 
 
 Objection was also made by the Senate to some othi 
 er parts of the treaty ; especially the provision that a 
 barrel of gunpowder should be paid the Tunisian 
 government, for the firing of every gun of a Tunisian 
 fort, saluting American armed vessels entering their 
 harbors, ; the number of guns for a salute he^ 
 ing left to the pleasure of those saluting. 
 
 The following is Mr. Eaton's Letter of Cre- 
 dence. 
 
eEN. EATON, 5^ 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, 
 
 / 
 
 PRESIDENT OF the UJ^ITED STATES 
 
 OF 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
 TO the most Illustrious and most Magnifi- 
 tent Prince, the Bey^ who commands the Odgiac of 
 Tunis, the abode ofhaj)j)inesSy and the most honored 
 Ibrahim Dey, and Soliman, .i_^ft of the JanisarieSp 
 and Chief of the Divan and all the Elders of the 
 Odsaiac, 
 
 ^— Illustrious and Honored !1^riends. 
 
 SOME difficulties occurring in the terms of 
 the treaty of peace and friendship concluded be- 
 tween the United States and you^ and being de- 
 sirous of removing the same in the most proper 
 manner, I have appointed and given full powei" 
 to our respected citizens, Richard O'Brien, Es- 
 quire, William Eaton, Esquire, and James Le- 
 ander Cathcart, Esquire, to negotiate with yoit 
 for the removal of those difficulties. I therefore 
 request you to receive the said Richard O'Bri- 
 EN, William Eaton and James Leander Cath- 
 cart, or such of them as shall be at Tunis and 
 present you this letter, and to hear and believe 
 the explanations of those difficulties whieli they 
 are directed to lav before vou : and whereupon 
 
 8 
 
% 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 they have authority to arrange with you the terms 
 of the treaty^ in a manner compatible with the in- 
 terest and honor of the two nations, by Mhich 
 peace may be continued, commerce established, 
 and the greatest advantages enjoyed on both sides. 
 And may the Infinite God direct our hearts to 
 tliai which is right. 
 
 Illustrious and Honored Friends. 
 
 I have appointed the said Willian Eatoj^^ 
 Esquire, to be Consul of the United States, for 
 the city and kingdom of Tunis, to reside at Tu- 
 nis, to watch over the interests of the United 
 States and their citizens. Wherefore, I request 
 you to receive him as their Consul, to. cause him 
 to be duly respected, and to give full credence to 
 what he shall say to you, on behalf of the Unit- 
 ed States, more especially when he shall assure 
 you of their friendship and good will. 
 
 Given under my hand and the great Seal off 
 the United States of America, at Philadelphia, 
 the twenty first day of December, in the year of 
 our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety 
 eight, and the Independence of the United Stfte^ 
 ihe twenty third. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 By the President^ Timothy Pickbring, 
 
GEN. EATON. 59 
 
 On the 9th of February, the Sophia arrived in the 
 bay of Algiers, after a passage of thirty six days 
 from the capes of Delaware. Eaton and Cath- 
 CART waited on O'Brien, Consul General of the Unit- 
 ed States for the Barbary coast, and continued with 
 him till the 2d of March. On the IGth of Februa- 
 ry the armed vessels stipulated to be given the Dey 
 of Algiers, were delivered to the Regency. On the 
 SSnd, Eaton and Cathcart were introduced to the 
 palace. The introduction is thus described by Ea- 
 ton. 
 
 ^^ Feb. S2, Friday, 13 o''dock, M. admitted to an 
 audience with the Deij. 
 
 Consuls O'Brien, Cathcart and myself. Captains 
 Geddes, Smith, Penrose, Maley, proceeded from the 
 American house to the court yard of the palace, un- 
 covered our heads, entered the area of the hall, as- 
 cended a winding maze of five flights of stairs, to a 
 narrow, dark entry, leading to a contracted apartment 
 of about 12 by eight feet, the private audience room. 
 Here we took off our shoes ; and, entering the cave, 
 (for so it seemed) with small apertures of light with 
 iron grates, we were shown to a huge, shaggy beast, 
 sitting on his rump, upon a low bench, covered with a 
 cushion of embroidered velvet, with his hind legs 
 gathered up like a taylor, or a bear. On our ap- 
 proach to him, he reached out his fore paw as if to 
 receive something to eat. Our guide exclaimed, 
 ^^ Kiss the Dey's hand ! " The consul general 
 bowed very elegantly, and kissed it ; and we follow- 
 ed his example in succession. The animal seemed 
 at that moment to be in a harmless mode : he grin- 
 ned several times ; but made very little noise. Hav- 
 ing performed this ceremony, and standing a few 
 moments in silent agony, we had leave to take our 
 shoes and other property, and leave the den, without 
 any other injury than the humility of being obliged, 
 in this involuntary manner, to violate the second 
 commandment of God, and offend common decency. 
 
60 LIIE GF 
 
 Can any man believe that this elevated brute has 
 seven king s of Europe, two republics, and a conti- 
 nent, tributary to him, when his whole naval force is 
 not equal to tv* o line of battle ships ? It is so !" 
 
 Mr. Eaton's reception at Tunis, and the progress 
 made in adjusting the treaty, cannot better be ex- 
 plained tlian by himself, in his first communication 
 from Tunis, to the Secretary of State. The extracts 
 from this letter will also give the reader some idea 
 of tJie mode of conducting diplomatic concerns on the 
 coast of Barbary, 
 
 Tiinisy 26th March, 1799. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 THE following extract from my journal, 
 being compared and corresponding with Mr. Cath- 
 cart's, will receive his signature, and be forwarded 
 by Capt. Geddes ; and will detail our progress from 
 the moment of leaving Algiers till the finishing of 
 our negociation. 
 
 March M. Sailed from Algiers for Tunis. 
 
 Sth. Forced by contrary winds into the bay 
 of Byserte. Went on shore ; and at 3 P. M. dis. 
 patched a courier by land, with the following letter 
 to Signor Azulai, a Hebrew merchant at Tunis. 
 
 ^* The underwritten envoys, commissioned by the 
 government of the United States of America, to ne- 
 gociate and fix on certain alterations in the Treaty of 
 peace between the Bey of Tunis and said States, on 
 board the American brigantine, Sophia, now riding 
 at anchor in the bay of Biserte, avail themselves of 
 an opportunity of a Courier by land to apprize 
 Signor Solomon Azulai, that, by the first fair wind, 
 they will proceed to Tunis, to enter upon the nego- 
 ciation, and to desire him to provide, with economy, 
 a convenient house, with suitable furniture for their 
 j-eception. 
 
 They have letters of importance from the house of 
 Bocri and Busuah in Algiers for Signor Azulai : but 
 (ill jin opportunity presents of delivering them with 
 
GEN. EATON. ^i 
 
 their own hand, tliey desire that the purport of this 
 note may be kept a profound secret. 
 Please to accept, 8^c. 
 
 W. EATON. 
 
 J. L. CATHCART. 
 
 This letter, translated into Italian, with its origin- 
 al, was forwarded by a Moor, whom we employe<l 
 for the purpose. 
 
 A heavy wind blowing into the mole, and a strong 
 current setting out, occasioned such a surf that we 
 found it impossible to reembark ; and we were very 
 hospitably invited to take accommodation in a Chris- 
 tian house, Stephen Decoster, an Italian, who was 
 acting vice consul for the Emperor, Holland and 
 Kagusa. In this house was a Secretary of Mr. 
 Famin, who suspected our cliaracter, and communis 
 eated his suspicions to him. 
 
 Mai^ch iOth, By the assistance of the Captain of 
 the port, with a launch, we got on board our brig. 
 In this place we experienced much hospitality, but 
 paid dear for it in cash. 
 
 nth. At night anchored off cape Carthagcna. 
 ^i2th. Half past two o'clock, afternoon, came 
 to anchor in the Bay of Tunis. Proceeded Avith the 
 Commandant in the boat to the Goalette : Exliibit- 
 ed to the Aga of the marine the ship's papers, and re- 
 ceived his assurance that proper information sh.ould 
 be sent to the Bey ; and that tomorrow at eleven in 
 the morning a flag would be hoisted as a signal for 
 our proceeding to Tunis. 
 
 14f/i. Eight in the morning a renegade from the 
 palace came on board witli the Bey's permission to 
 us to go on shore. We immediately proceeded in 
 the barge to the city, where we arrived at half past 
 two, P. M, No house being provided, we went to 
 M. Famin's. He received us with marks of suitable 
 respect, and offered u? every service in his power. 
 
63 LIFE OF 
 
 The flags of the different European nations at 
 peace with this regency, were hoisted, on our arriv- 
 al, upon the consular houses ; and this afteriioott 
 was consumed in the formality of receiving visits. 
 
 Major Magre, the English Consul, spent the even- 
 ing with us. He cautioned me against any confi- 
 dence in M. Famin : said he was a dangerous man ; 
 and added that my situation was peculiarly critical 
 liere ; that snares were set for me on many sides, 
 and that the utmost vigilance might not save me from 
 falling into some of them. Advised us to move with 
 caution but firmness in the business of our negocia- 
 tion ; and said the Bey was a man of acute dis- 
 cernment, and generally of fair dealing ; but that he 
 was vain and avaricious. 
 
 i5tk. Eight in the morning, M. Famin conducted 
 us to the pLilace, and introduced us to the Bey. Af- 
 ter delivering our letters of credence and full pow- 
 ei's, passing the ceremony of kissing his hand, sit- 
 ting a few minutes and taking coffee ; he began to 
 interrosate us. 
 
 ^^ Is your vessel a vessel of war ?'' 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 " Why was I not duly informed of it, that you 
 anight have been saluted, as is customary." 
 
 ^ We were unacquainted with the customs'. 
 {True cause, we did not choose to demand a salute 
 which would cost the United States eight hundred 
 dollars.) 
 
 " Had not you an agent here who could have in- 
 formed jou ; and have not I ministers who could 
 have introduced your concerns to me, without tlie a- 
 gency of a Jew .^" 
 
 ' True we had an a£;enriiere, but we were unin- 
 formed of the mode of making communications.' 
 (The fact is. we had been advised at Algiers, not to 
 employ M. Famin, and had made our arrangements 
 accordingly.) 
 
 '^ It is now more than a year since I expected the 
 regalia of maritime and military stores, stipulated by 
 
GEN. EATOX. 
 
 treaty : what impedes the fulfilment of the stipula- 
 tion r' 
 
 ^ The treaty was received by our government a- 
 bout eight months ago : a malady then raged in our 
 capital, which forced not only the citizens, but all 
 the departments of the government, to fly into the in- 
 terior villages of the country. About the time the 
 plague ceased to rage, and permitted the return of 
 the government, the winter shut up our harbors with 
 ice. We are also engaged in a war with France ; 
 and all our extraordinary means are turned into the 
 channel of defence against the depredations of that 
 rapacious nation. Besides, when the treaty was laid, 
 before the government for ratification, it was found 
 exceptionable. We are come forward empowered to 
 agree on the necessary alterations. When these shall 
 be effectuated, the Government of the United States 
 will cause every exertion to be made for the fulfilment 
 of the obligation on their part.' — We pointed out the 
 articles and amendments ; and assured the Bey that, 
 when these should be agreed to, we were authorized 
 as a proof of the good faith of our government, and 
 of the siacerity of their desire to cultivate friendship, 
 to stipulate for the payment of an equivalent in cash'. 
 
 " I am not a pauper," said he ; " I have cash to 
 spare. The stores are at this moment more than ev- 
 er peculiarly necessary in Consequence of the war 
 with France. You have found no difficulty in ful- 
 filing your engagements with Algiers and Tripoli ; - 
 and to the former, have very liberally made presents 
 of frigates and other armed vessels." 
 
 We told him these facts had been misrepresented 
 to him. Our government had, indeed, agreed to fur- 
 nish to the Dey of Algiers, certain armed vessels for 
 which he was to pay cash ; that we found no great 
 difficulty in fulfiling this contract, because the ves- 
 sels carried with them their own defence ; and be- 
 cause it had been several years in its accomplish- 
 ment. We had therefore fulfiled it, and received 
 the stipulated consideration. We were as ready to 
 
tJ^? LIFE OF 
 
 filial oar engagements with him, if, by auy arrange- 
 ments which could now be made, it could be render- 
 ed as feasible. 
 
 " You may inform mC;," said the Bashaw, '^ that 
 the Dey of Algiers paid you cash for your vessels. 
 I am at liberty to believe otherwise." Turning to 
 M. Famiu, he said, " If the treaty were not ratified 
 by the government of the United States in its origin- 
 al form, why did you hoist their colors ?" 
 
 " I had orders from the government to hoist 
 them," said M. Famin. 
 
 We assured the Bashaw that no such orders had 
 been given by our government, nor would be until 
 the ratification of the treaty. The exceptions to it 
 were but few, and with these exceptions, our gov- 
 ernment would find no difficulty in agreeing to it. If 
 M. Famin imagined that our government wished to 
 hoist the flag at all events, he must have mistaken 
 the idea from the communication of some govern- 
 mental agents, and not immediately. We should, 
 however, when our affairs were accommodated, send 
 direct dispatches to our government, when the obli- 
 gations of our agent here would be acknowledged 
 and paid. 
 
 - Said the Bey, " It cost you but little to have your 
 flag hoisted. It will cost you less to have it taken 
 down :" and insisted on the Regalia as a condition 
 of the preservation of the peace. 
 
 We repeated the hazard of sending out the stores. 
 The articles were contraband of war : if they should 
 fall into the hands of the French, they could on no 
 principles be reclaimed. Tliis would occasion to us 
 positive loss ; to him delay and disappointment. 
 This event was almost certain. The streights of the 
 Mediterranean were covered with French and Span- 
 ish war boats, and there was no way of passing them 
 but by fighting through. To prevent, therefore, the 
 disappointment which might, and most probably 
 would be eventual, of sending out the stores unpro- 
 tected, we proposed furnishing an equivalent cruis- 
 
GEN. ^ATON. ^3 
 
 er, provided he acceded to the alterations we de- 
 manded in the treaty. 
 
 Said he " I shall expect an armed vessel from yon 
 gratuitously, after the business is settled, as you 
 have given Algiers." 
 
 We answered him he might not expect any thing 
 of the kind ; it was utterly impossible. We iiad 
 business enough for our naval force, in defending 
 our commerce against the depredations of our com- 
 mon enemy ; and it was only to prevent sacrificing 
 our property in such a manner as to strengthen their 
 liands, and to convince him of the integrity of our 
 government, that we proposed subatituting an armed 
 vessel in lieu of the stores. 
 
 He observed that the present opportunity was not 
 favorable to tliis subject, and proposed postponing it. 
 Said he would send for us at a convenient season ; 
 but enjoined upon us to make our communications di- 
 rectly, or through his ministers, and not through the 
 medium of a Jew. 
 
 This conversation was in presence of Mr. Famin, 
 and it was believed on this account tiie Bey propos- 
 ed postponing the discussion. 
 
 We retired into tlie area of the palace and remain- 
 ed a few minutes, when the sapitapa asked several 
 questions of a commercial ncature, and said the Bey 
 would send for us on Monday. 
 
 We returned to M. Famines. During this inter- 
 view we desired permission to take a house ; and 
 was answered that business of greater importance 
 must first be arranged, after which accommodations 
 of this sort would be attended to ; besides this was 
 the American house. 
 
 March iQth. Last evening, Mr. Cathcart went off 
 to go on board, but was detained all night at the 
 Goulette ; accepted the hospitality of a respectable, 
 intelligent old man, who had formerly been a Colo- 
 nel in the army of the Stadtholdcr, now an engineer 
 in the Bey's service, with whom he tarried all night, 
 and from whom he obtained and noted in his di^ry 
 
 9 
 
•80 LIFE OF 
 
 the following advice. " Trust no person with jouw 
 affairs. Be a.ware of Famin. He is an insidious 
 character, despised by all the Consuls : is consider- 
 ed as a spy upon their actions ; is supposed to have 
 coined pretexts for the government of Tunis to make 
 demands upon the tributary nations ; and he is gen- 
 erally believed to receive brokerage for all the fish 
 he brings to their net. 
 
 The Bey is susceptible of flattery, and not abso- 
 lutely unchangeable in his resolutions." This cor- 
 responded with the advice of the British Consul. 
 
 The plenipotentiary of Algiers, resident at Tu- 
 nis, sent for us : we waited on him. After making 
 us a tender of his friendship, he advised us to enter- 
 tain no doubts of a favorable issue to our negociation; 
 but to move with caution and perseverance : said the 
 Barbary princes sometimes wore unmeaning frowns, 
 and did not always execute their menaces. 
 
 We informed him of the position our government 
 had taken to repel and punish the aggressions of 
 France : told him the Bey of Tunis, since this posi- 
 tion was taken, must adopt a policy to us wholly un- 
 accountable, if, by rejecting our terms of accommo- 
 dation, he should oblige us to turn those arms against 
 his cruisers which Were now pointed only against 
 his enemy. But if he preferred this measure it was 
 at his option : we should not accede to any extraor- 
 dinary sacrifice to evade it. Situated as the United 
 States are, they would not throw any property with- 
 in his grasp on these seas unprotected. Whatever, 
 therefore, he should chance to capture would first be 
 disputed. 
 
 He seemed pleased with our hostility with France, 
 Said, patience and perseverance were only necessa- 
 ry to the attainment of our object ; and engaged to 
 sec the Bey. He advised that Mr. Cathcart should 
 remain with me till the business should be concluded, 
 on account of his speaking the language ; and, iu 
 terms of great apparent sincerity, again made a ten- 
 
GEN. EATO^\ ^ 
 
 del* of his personal friendship to me as agent for the 
 United States, for whose government lie expressed 
 great respect : (so would a Cheroltee Chief, for a 
 bottle of rum and a rifle.) 
 
 Algiers exerts all her means to maintain a com- 
 manding influence in the affairs of Tunis ; and how- 
 ever reluctant the latter may be in yielding to this 
 policy, imperious circumstances compel it. Algiers 
 is the superior in arms and resource. This the sub- 
 jects of the Bey well know, and are backward at 
 contending with them. When therefore the Dey 
 embarks his national pride in the attainment of any 
 measure, he is sure to carry it with the Bey ; conse- 
 quently the latter will not voluntarily disoblige him, 
 when he is convinced of his sincerity. It is never- 
 theless dangerous for Christian nations to employ the 
 mediation of Algiers in negociation with Tunis : for 
 these two powers generally play so understandingly 
 into each others hands, that when the former has 
 fleeced his cliant of the fee, the management of the 
 cause becomes a matter of indifference. 
 
 Mondaij, iSth, Eleven, A. M. Went to the pal- 
 ace. After passing the usual ceremonies, taking 
 coffee, and sitting a moment, the Bey desired to see 
 the articles of the treaty which wanted revision. 
 We produced a note in English, containing the ar- 
 ticles and the amendment aimed at : these Mr. Cath- 
 cart rendered to him in Italian. He ordered his 
 Secretary to give him the Turkish original. This 
 lie compared with the copy in Frencb, which we 
 had with us, and observed that he could see no rea- 
 foon why our government should reject, or Avish to 
 alter the 14tli article, as it was perfectly reciprocal. 
 
 We told him it Avas not for want of a literal recip- 
 rocity in the article that it was exceptionable : but 
 the duty being fixed at three per cent, would very 
 essentially effect our existing commercial treaties 
 with other nations, with whom we were at peace, 
 and reduce us to the necessity, expense and trouble^ 
 ©f ultering all those treaties. 
 
68 ' LIFE OP 
 
 The Bey answered that he was not tenacious of 
 the article in its present shape : he was satisfied the 
 duty should be altered to six, ten, or an hundred 
 per cent, provided it retained its reciprocity, or that 
 Ave sliould demand no partial privileges. 
 
 We proposed this substitute, ^ Tlie commerce of 
 the citizens and inhabitants of the United States with 
 the kingdom of Tunis, and the subjects and inhabit- 
 ants of tlie kingdom of Tunis with the United 
 States, shall be on the footing of the most favored na- 
 tion for the time being respectively.' 
 
 The Bey said it was impossible for him to agree to 
 this, till he should be informed what duties were 
 paid in the United States : it was possible the bur- 
 then might be very unequal. The duties of the most 
 favored nations v/ere fixed in his ports at three per 
 cent ad valorem, and according to a valuation taken 
 and fixed by the prices current of Feb. 7^ 1753. 
 That many of those articles were now six hundred 
 per cent dearer than at that period, aud consequently 
 did not pay half per cent. This was a permanent 
 establishment fixed by treaty with the French, of the 
 above date, and allowed to be considered as a rule 
 for otlier nations. But the latitude which our pro- 
 posed substitute would admit, might expose his sub- 
 jeets to the payment of any duty our government 
 should think proper to impose, provided the most fa- 
 vored nations paid the same. He proposed fixing 
 the duty at ten per cent respectively ; allowing his 
 subjects to carry their merchandize under any colors 
 whatever. 
 
 We told him the proposition was inadmissible, 
 and were proceeding to give reasons, when he pro- 
 posed to dismiss further discussion of this article till 
 tomorrow, 
 
 We then introduced the first clause of the amende 
 ment to the IStii article. He said he had no objec- 
 tion to it ; but the original was more favorable to us 
 than the amendment ; and he explained it to bear 
 exactly the construction which the Secretary of the 
 
GEN. EATON. 60 
 
 United States imagined it miglit mean. -'•^ That the 
 officers on the spot should furnish such protection 
 without obliging the parties to seek it at a distance." 
 It admitted this resort to his governors in the first in- 
 stance, without application to subordinate authori- 
 ties, and enjoined upon them the duty of furnishing 
 this protection ; leaving an appeal to himself in all 
 cases where complete support and adequate justice 
 were not rendered by those officers. 
 
 We passed from this clause to the second of the 
 amendment to the same article. 
 
 The Bey said this article also was misconstrued, 
 or badly translated from the original. It had refer- 
 ence only to cases of emergency, where Ae, (the Bey- 
 lique,) had occasion to send vessels to the Levant 
 or other ports in the Mediterranean ; but did not 
 mean to extend to vessels of war nor of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 We told him this was a concession, even with this 
 explanation, which the United States yielded to no 
 nation on earth. It was without reciprocity ; it 
 might work an essential injury to our merchants, by 
 turning them out of their course ; and it would also 
 produce injury to tlie commercial interests of his sub- 
 jects, because it would operate as a prohibition a.~ 
 gainst our vessels entering his ports. 
 
 He said the Danes, Swedes, Dutch, Spaniards, 
 and all other nations, Vv^ith Avhom he was at peace, 
 conceded to the same article, and it could not be dis- 
 pensed with in this treaty. 
 
 We proposed to modify it as follows, ^ If in case 
 of emergency the government of Tunis should have 
 need of an American vessel to facilitate dispatches to 
 any port in the Mediterranean, such vessel, being 
 within the Regency, and not a vessel of war, nor be* 
 longing to the government of the United States, may 
 be compelled to perform such service, on receiving a 
 payment sufficient to indemnify the owners and oth- 
 ers concerned for such service and detention.' To 
 
70 LIFE OF 
 
 this he agreed : then revived the subject of the delay 
 of our government in not forwarding the Regalia. 
 
 We repeated to him the reasons before stated ; 
 explained to him the form of the government of the 
 United States ; told him the Senate, who were a dis- 
 tinguished body of patriots elected from every State 
 in the Union, to counsel the chief magistrate in af- 
 fairs of this magnitude, had not consented to the rati- 
 fication of the treaty : they had resolved not to ratify 
 it till it should be modified on just and honorable 
 terms. The compact was not complete ; the gov- 
 ernment therefore, were neither obliged nor authoriz- 
 ed to forward the Regalia ; and, to deal very cand- 
 idly on this subject, no provisions would be made 
 for this purpose till the treaty should be amended 
 and ratified : when this should take place the gov- 
 ernment would promptly and punctually fulfil their 
 engagements. 
 
 The Bey paused a moment and said, " Tomor- 
 row ! You have stayed till my dinner is getting cold. 
 Go ; and come tomorrow at eleven o'clock." 
 
 'Tuesday, iQth^ Eleven, A. M. at the palace. 
 
 The Eey reverted again to the iStli article, and at 
 our request, ordered his secretary to enter the ex- 
 planation he had given to the first clause of the a- 
 mendment in the original. Turning to the second, 
 after going over the ground of yesterday, he affected 
 not to have intended it should be altered agreeably 
 to our translation of his meaning. It must not be 
 limited to couriers only in cases of emergency, but 
 extend to the freight of a vessel where he should 
 have occasion to send or take a cargo to or from any 
 port in the Mediterranean ; but it should extend to 
 merchantmen only. He ordered his Secretary to in- 
 sert, by interlineation, this alteration in the original ; 
 observing at the same time that occurrences of this 
 kind vt'i'Y s-^cldom happened, and probably never 
 would to the Americans. 
 
 We said this alteration of liis was immaterial : it 
 was not as we understood him^ yesterday. If it 
 
GEN. EATON. 71 
 
 sliould be confined to couriers only in cases of emer-, 
 gency, for the immediate service of tlie government, 
 it was possible our government might consent to it ; 
 but as it now stood, they would surely reject it. 
 But if they should agree to it, the result would be 
 that our merchantmen would not enter his ports. 
 
 " Well" said he, " I can do without them : they 
 seek their own profit and not mine in coming here. 
 I get the pitiful sum of three per cent, by an old tar- 
 if, Which hardly amounts to one ; whereas, they 
 make great profits to themselves. I?ut, if your gov- 
 ernment does not like it as it now stands, they may 
 reject it or send it back : it is now on a footing with 
 the French, Danes, Swedes, Ducth, in short, with 
 all nations at peace with us." Without further ob- 
 servation he returned to the 14th article ; repeated 
 the observations of yesterday ; insisted on fixing the 
 duty ; but would agree it should be reciprocal. 
 
 We declared to him it was impossible for us to 
 define the exact duty : the power of laying duties oa 
 imports was vested in the representatives of the 
 whole nation, in congress assembled. We could on- 
 ly agree to the substituted article. This accorded 
 to him the same privileges wliicli are given to our 
 best friends ; leaving him at liberty at the same 
 time to impose such duties on goods belonging to 
 our citizens as he should think equitable and fit to 
 impose on those of the nations most favored. Our 
 commercial treaty with the powerful nation of Eng- 
 land was on the same principle. France, before the 
 annulling of our treaty, and all other nations with 
 whom we were at peace, were exactly on this foot- 
 ing with us. His interest would probably never be 
 eifected by the article, and we could see no reason 
 v.'hy he should so strenuously oppose a measure 
 which would serve a friend and work no injury to 
 himself. In short the article must be altered or the 
 liegociation was at an end ; and he might abandon 
 the expectation of the Regalia. He laid down the 
 treaty ; made us no reply ; but, turning to his minis- 
 
7a LIFE OF 
 
 } 
 
 ter s, began a conversation in Arabic. At length, 
 turning to the eleventh article, he asked if there were 
 any other article to be altered besides these. An- 
 swer, no. " What alteration do you want in this ?'' 
 ^ Strike out the barrel of powder for each gun, and 
 reduce the number to fifteen.' He peremptorily re- 
 fused. Said he would insert an alteration in the 
 Turliish original, and render the terms of the article 
 reciprocal, by imposing the same duty on Tunisian 
 vessels in American ports. We told him the transla- 
 tion had it so. " But the original has not,^* saidiie : 
 and, ordering his Secretary to make the addition, 
 asked if we agreed to it now. We told him we did 
 not ; it did not alter our understanding of it : though 
 the terras had a nominal reciprocity, they were other- 
 wise in effect ; because there was no probability that 
 his sliips of war would frequent our ports ; whereas 
 the very conditions of our peace with him obliged us 
 to send our armed vessels into liis. The article cDn- 
 yidered in relation to the expense was a trifle ; but 
 as it was unprecedented in any of his treaties with 
 other nations, it would be humiliating in us to agree 
 to it, and not very lionorable in him to demand it ; 
 we trusted therefore, he Avould not insist on so 
 singular a demand for so trifling a consideration. 
 " However trifling," said he, " it may appear to you, 
 to me it is important. Fifteen barrels of powder 
 will furnish a cruiser which may capture a prize and 
 net me one hundred thousand dollars.'' 
 
 We told him the concession was so degrading 
 that our nation would not yield to it : both justice and 
 honor forJiade ; and we did not doubt but the world 
 would view the demand as they would the conces- 
 sion. 
 
 " You consult your honor," said he, " I my inter- 
 est ; but if you wish to save your honor in this in- 
 stance, give me fifty barrels of powder annually, and 
 I will agree to the alteration." We replied, that we 
 should not expend a thought upon a proposition 
 which aimed at making us tributary. We would a- 
 
CEN. EATON. 73 
 
 gree to pay him for the powder he burned inthe sa- 
 lute. He turned to the Sapitapa^ and said, in Turk- 
 ish ; ^^ These people are Cheribeenas ; they are so 
 hard there is no dealing with them.'^ (Cheribeenas 
 are merchants from the connnes of Persia.) 
 
 Mr. Cathcart translated this to me so loud that 
 the Sapitapa heard him, and, grasping his hand, 
 repeated the same in Italian. 
 
 We observed to him that Ave had made great sac 
 rifiees to obtain a peace, which v/as likely to produce 
 nothing. He said it was customary for friends to 
 accompany their professions with good oflices, to 
 demonstrate their sincerity. We answered, genuine 
 friendship is generally reciprocal in these offices. 
 But friendship is, in business of this nature, pretty 
 much out of the question. If we were to talk of eq- 
 uity, it would be pretty difficult for him to justify his 
 claims upon us : we have never done him any inju- 
 ry, nor received a favor from him ; and though we 
 have been treated as enemies, we have never been at 
 war with him. '* You will be pleased to cgnsider, 
 also, that you have never been at peace ; and if it 
 were no favor to have a free navigation into the 
 Mediterranean, why do you ask it ?'^ said the Bash- ' 
 aw\ 
 
 We proposed to expunge the eleventh article al- 
 together. He acceded. *• Or'' said he ^^ Pll agree 
 that you shall not be saluted except ycu demand it ; 
 and of course you will not be obliged to pay for a sa- 
 lute : it is no object with me to be firing away my am- 
 munition to salute strangers ; but if you demand it you 
 must pay for it.'' He got up and left the gulf with- 
 out ceremony. Going out, he was asked if he had 
 determined on any thing respecting the 14 ih article. 
 " I'll think of it," said he ; " there are other people to 
 be consulted. You will call the day after tomor- 
 
 row." 
 
 The Sapitapa, who remained, took ^Ir. Cathcart 
 by the arm and whispered him. " if you w ould a- 
 gree to make the Bey tx private present^ it might in- 
 
 10 
 
7'lt LIFE OF 
 
 duce him to alter the 14th article ; but the article 
 relative to the powder must stand." Mr. Cathcart 
 asked my opinion on the propriety of agreeing to the 
 proposal. I desired him to answer the Sapitap^i, that 
 in case of a favorable issue to the negoeiation, it w&s 
 probable a gratuity of this nature might be expected^ 
 bat no stipulation of the kind would be entered into. 
 He did so. The minister seemed disappointed : said 
 nothing. We told him the government of the Unit- 
 ed States had been taught to entertain a very respect- 
 able opinion of the abilities and integrity of the Bey 
 of Tunis : and we hoped to have an opportunity to 
 confirm this opinion : intimated to him that we were 
 assured his iniiuence would do much with the Bey ; 
 and gave him to understand that his friendly offices 
 would not be forgotten. 
 
 He said the Bey was very little under the influ^ 
 ence of any man ; all his business of importance he 
 transacted himself ; but, as the Americans had never 
 been an active enemy, he had always been disposed 
 to render them every assistance in his power ; he be- 
 lieved he had done much for them, and was still dis- 
 posed to use tlie little influence he had in their favor : 
 {'and lied J Left the palace, 2 o'clock, P. M. 
 
 Thursdm;, 2ist. eleven, A. M. waited at the pal- 
 ace an hour. The Bey engaged with letters from 
 the east. Bid us come tomorrow at half past eight 
 in the morning. It was proposed to me to wait on 
 the Sapitapa. Supposing the maneuvre planned to 
 give him an opportunity to demand money, I refused 
 to see him. We returned to the city. 
 
 Friday, 2%d, 10, A. M. at the palace. The Bey, 
 after some introductory conversation, asked what 
 was our determinations relative to his proposed alter- 
 ations in the treaty ? We told him we had already 
 given him our determination, and now waited his an- 
 swer, in order to dispatch the brigantine. He intro- 
 duced the 14th article ; said, again, if we would fix 
 the duty ^iten, twenty, or an hundred per cent, adva- 
 lor em, reciprocally, he would have no objection to 
 
GEX. EATON. 7^ 
 
 the alteration : or if he were informed what duties 
 w^erepaidby other nations in our ports^, he should be a- 
 ble to determine whether it would or not be consistent 
 with the interest of his subjects to admit of our terms. 
 
 We answered that the duties in America w ere 
 fluctuating : some articles of importation paid more, 
 some less ; but to talk any more upon this subject 
 was an unavailing consumption of time : we of- 
 fered to put the Tunissians on the footing of the 
 most favored nations for the time being, and only 
 asked the same in return. The terms he insisted on 
 could not be very interesting to him : it was possible 
 the Tunissian merchants will never send goods to 
 America, and probable iheir vessels would never go 
 there ; it could not therefore effect his subjects. 
 
 " True," said he, '• my subjects have never yet 
 been to America ; but wiiy do you hence conclude they 
 never will ?" Because they have no intercourse with 
 us, their interest does not appear to promote it, and, 
 if it did, they do not know the way. *• Hitherto,''' 
 said he, " they have not known the way ; but man- 
 kind are now becoming more enlightened and more 
 enterprizing, and I hope ere long to have many ves- 
 sels go there." 
 
 This we believed was not probal)le ; but, if it 
 were, it would not alter the case ; no reason liad 
 been advanced, wliy the Tunissians should be ad- 
 mitted to privileges not granted to other nations, e- 
 ven the most favored ; the idea might at once be a- 
 bandoned ; it could not be admitted, if war should 
 be the consequence ; we Avere prepared for this e- 
 vent ; and although it would place both him and us 
 in an awkward situation, to be destroying each oth- 
 er at the same time that our arms should be united a- 
 gainst a common enemy, this, nevertheless, would be 
 preferable to the concessions he demanded. But 
 because mankind are placed on dijQTerent parts of the 
 globe, in such a manner as to produce contrasting in- 
 terests, they should not, on every trifling occas on, 
 make this destructive appeal : they should ratner, 
 
76 LIFE OF 
 
 like members of tlic same great family^ study a gen- 
 eral good, even at the expense of individual interest. 
 ^'' True/*' said lie, ^» but this will never be the case, 
 so long as there are great and small among men. I 
 have, however, no intention of a w ar with the United 
 States ; if so I should not have permitted their col- 
 ors to be hoisted, although I might have found occa- 
 sion in the failure of your government to forward the 
 regalia.'' 
 
 VYe aslf ed him if any inducement would prevail on 
 him to make the alterations we demanded in the 
 treaty. He answered, '^ No : I will agree to any 
 thing you please, which shall be reciprocal ; but I 
 tell you as you have told me, you may as well aban- 
 don your terms.'' He then proposed the following 
 substitute in substance. 
 
 '' The citizens and inhabitants of the United 
 States of America, shall have liberty to enter all the 
 ports of the kingdom of Tunis, and freely trade, on 
 paying a duty which sliall countervail the duty paid 
 by Tunissirai merchants, in the ports of the United 
 States, allowing nine months for obtaining the prop- 
 ''er information ; mean time, the Americans shall pay 
 three per cent only, in the Tunissian ports. In like 
 marnier, the subjects and inhabitants of the kingdom 
 of Tunis shall have free commerce in all the ports of 
 the United States, on paying the duty usually paid 
 by the most favored nation." 
 
 " Send this," said he^ ^* to your government ; if 
 they do not like it, tliey may send it back." 
 
 We returned to the eleventh article, went over the 
 ground of yesterday ; insisted on a mutual salute, 
 we paying the expense of the salute in his ports, he 
 in ours : rejected. We told him, if he calculated on 
 making a speculation by this article, he was in an 
 error ; he would not get a cartridge by it in an hun- 
 dred years : no American Consul will ever demand 
 a salute. Yet we Avere unwilling to dispense with 
 ihis .friendly compliment, if it could be exchanged 
 pii friendly terms, Have you^ we interrogated, an 
 
GEN, EATOX. 1^ 
 
 article like this, in any existing treaty, with any nia,- 
 tion on earth ? Why should you wish to impose on us 
 this humiliating discrimination ? Have we been more 
 hostile to your interests, or less faithful to our en- 
 gagements ? Have we not at great expense aimed at 
 a friendly intercourse with you ; and have you not, 
 by accepting our presents, seduced us to believe you 
 were candidly disposed to treat with us on friendly 
 and honorable terms ? 
 
 " As to existing treaties, '^ said he, '* they were 
 made by my predecessors, who were more allured 
 by a gold watcli or a diamond ring, than by maga- 
 zines of ammunition and arsenals. I am not so 
 much enamored with toys. / am now making a 
 treaty for myself. Ammunition I* must have. You 
 make powder, and can, without mucli inconvenience, 
 make this small compliment to my necessities. Your 
 o;ood faith I do not doubt ; but jouv f resents have 
 been trifling." 
 
 We answered, ^ we make powder ; but not enough 
 for our own consumption. We import from Kurope 
 much more than we manufacture ; and what we 
 make, comes as dear to us as what we import, be- 
 cause we import the ingredients ; saltpetre from the 
 V vast distance of the East Indies, and sulphur from 
 Saxony,' 
 
 He remained inflexible. The article was agreed 
 upon as follows. 
 
 ^^ When a vessel of war of one of the parties shall 
 enter a port of the other, and demand to be salut- 
 ed, there shall be paid one barrel of powder for each 
 gun demanded for the salute : but if the demand be 
 not made by the Consul on the part of the United 
 States, or by the Commandant of the vessel on the 
 part of the kingdom of Tunis, no salute shall be giv- 
 en, nor payment demanded for the salute." 
 
 We again proposed to send forward a cruiser in 
 lieu of the stores stipulated. He said one cruiser 
 would not be enough. "^ I have a head," said he, 
 '^ you cannot over reach me/' We are well con- 
 
78 LIFE 0F 
 
 vineed of that. '^ But/' continued he, " if you act 
 politically, you will make me a compliment of a 
 cruiser in addition to the stipulated regalia." We 
 told him we should think of being generous, after we 
 found the ability of being just. We should honestly 
 give him whatever we agreed to give. ^"^ I do not 
 suppose/' said he, ^' you will study to cheat me ; 
 this is a characteristic of low life ; but I find you 
 closely attached to your interest : so we all are." 
 
 We retired to the Sapitapa's apartment, where the 
 alterations were inserted in the original. 
 
 The Sapitapa took this opportunity to demand a 
 present for the Bey. Said, he himself, and all the 
 great men had received the customary presents on 
 raising the flag : but the Bey had received nothing : 
 it was a custom of all other nations. We told him 
 we perfectly recollected hearing the Bey himself say 
 but a few days since, that he was not a pauper ; but 
 had money to spare. It was very remarkable that 
 he should so soon become a beggar : but, if he found 
 any thing in the treaty which imposed the obligation, 
 we were ready to pay it. As to the custom of all 
 other nations, we chose to be singular in this in- 
 stance : we were sorry, however, the Bey had so 
 soon forgotten he had but a short time since received 
 fifty thousand dollars, a present from the United 
 States. " Fifty thousand dollars,"' said he, " is noth- 
 ing. The Spaniards gave one hundred thousand for 
 the peace ; and very valuable presents on hoisting 
 the flag." 
 
 The Spaniards have mines of gold and silver : 
 they dig them in mass from the bosom of the earth : 
 we get our cash in half pence, by laboring on its sur- 
 face. 
 
 ^^ You are however," said he, ^^ a strong and eu- 
 terprizing people, in the neighborhood of the Span- 
 ish mines : these will most probably shortly fall into 
 your hands." 
 
 When this happens, we will make the Bey a pres- 
 ent. 
 
GEN- EATON. 79 
 
 ^' But/' continued he, '^ it was not fear which in- 
 duced the Spaniards to make these presents : they 
 had fleets at sea, to protect their commerce : it was a 
 manly expression of friendship." We told him, on 
 the other hand, the Spaniards had an extensive coast 
 exposed to the ravages of the Tunissian Corsairs ; 
 and were constantly under apprehensions of having 
 their defenceless women and children taken into 
 captivity, and enslaved : this induced their manly 
 expression offriendshijj. We had no fears of this 
 kind. Our coast was not only far off, but defended 
 by freemen. Every man had arms in his hands al- 
 ways prepared for defence ; and if an assault should 
 be made upon them, the assailants would find more 
 bayonets than booty. 
 
 The Sapitapa appeared irritated : got up and 
 went into the Bey's chamber : returned and insisted 
 on the present. We refused : but said we would 
 consult our government. 
 
 Monday was proposed to come for the treaty. 
 We left him to recover his temper. 
 
 Monday, 25thj eleven, A. M. at the palace. De- 
 livered the Consular presents. The Bey engaged 
 with his Generals : desired to call tomorrow. 
 
 Tuesday, 2Qth March, eleven, A. M. at the palace. 
 The treaty as amended, was delivered us by the 
 Bey, in Turkish. 
 
 We retired into the Sapitapa's room. He renew-> 
 ed the demand of a present for the Bey : repeated 
 that it was the custom of all nations, and made fre- 
 quent reference to the Spaniards. 
 
 We told him the Bey had not admitted us to the 
 privileges of all other nations ; he ought not there- 
 fore, to expect the same usages from us. He had 
 refused us a salute, except on terms repugnant both 
 to our honor and our interest. He had extorted 
 from us the concession of suffering our merchantmen 
 to be pressed into his service. And he has exacted 
 threefold the duty in his ports, which he had received 
 
So Lit'K Ol* 
 
 from any other nation. He had therefore less pretext 
 to claim of us the same considerations. At any rate, 
 we should make no stipulation of this kind. The 
 nogociation was closed. This was entering upon a 
 new negociation which neither our instructions nor 
 inclination led us to enter upon. 
 
 Mr. Famin said he had intimated the thing to Mr. 
 Barlow, who had instructed him to make the 
 necessary provision to meet this demand. Doubt- 
 ed. He said he had the letter. We told him he 
 had mentioned this circumstance in the palace on 
 Saturday, and promised to produce the document. 
 Two days had elapsed but he had omitted it. We 
 believed nothing of this was ever intimated to our 
 government : and we were well persuaded they 
 would not yield to it. " Then/' said the Sapitapa, 
 " you may write your government that you have a 
 truce but not a peace with Tunis. We told him, 
 if peace depended on admitting these claims, we 
 were ready to make the communication he dictated. 
 He blustered : threv/ down his papers in an aifected 
 rage : used menace : come again to the subject, and 
 produced a note, containing an invoice of the articles 
 given by Spain. We refused to see it. He urged 
 it upon us. We said the Bey had no longer ago 
 than yesterday, received a present. He said that 
 was a co7?.^M/ar present, and had no relation to the 
 usages of raising the flag. Asked if we wanted a 
 long peace. Said, if we did, it must be on liberal 
 terms. We answered, that we expected the peace 
 would continue as long as it would be found conven- 
 ient : the sapie, whether we paid more or less. He 
 blustered again, and again menaced us with war, in 
 case the demand was not complied with. We took 
 the note, told him we would forward it to our gov- 
 ernment, but assured him they would pay no atten 
 lion to it. 
 
 In tliis affair, M. Famin has betrayed his real 
 character. He is manifestly in the interest of the 
 court, and prepared to countenance all their pr(>jecti 
 
GEN. EATON. §1 
 
 of plunder : but this may arise as much from a spirit 
 of dependence as selfishness. 
 
 Wednesday. 27th. Received the following note 
 from the Secretary of State^ dictated by tlie Sapi- 
 tapa. 
 
 " I write to you in the name of Sidi Joseph, so 
 far as relates to my subject. Sidi Joseph says it is 
 the usance of this regency, wlien tlie articles are 
 changed, to give the customary usances to the Secre- 
 tary and to the Sapitapa : and also, if it is written 
 out an hundred times ^ it is necessary to give the 
 same usance as at the first time. 
 
 I have the honor, 8Cc. 
 
 fSignedJ M. STTJ^C.V' 
 
 Dated at the jjalace, 27th March. 
 
 Friday, 29th March. Wrote the Sapitapa as fol- 
 lows. ^ Day before yesterday I received a note 
 from the Secretary, Mr. Stinca,'^informing me that so 
 often as a treaty is written out or altered, the cus- 
 tomary presents are given to the keeper of the seal 
 and the Secretary. It would be agreeable to me to 
 be informed what these presents are. I hope it will 
 be considered t}iat the treaty, till now. could never 
 be considered complete ; and that the presents al- 
 ready g iven have been in anticipation of this event. 
 This being the case, the demand for presents does 
 not bear witli it that appearance of propriety, as it 
 would in case there had been a rupture between ihe 
 parties, and the treaty renewed. I am, at present, un- 
 prepared to meet a demand of this nature : but if I 
 find the custom established and formed in equity, 
 provision shall be made for it. Candor and duty, 
 demand of me however, to declare, that I can in no 
 case of this kind, resort to the Spanish nation for 
 precedent to govern my conduct : If the United 
 States should emerge from their present distressed 
 situation, they may perhaps become enabled to adopt 
 the usages of the Danish and Swedish nations, 
 
 lam. 8Cc.^ 
 
 a 
 
8^ LIFE OF 
 
 April ist. The following is an extract from the 
 answer of the Secretary, dated April 1st. 
 
 ^^ Sidi Joseph says that your treaty has been al- 
 ready ratified in the manner of all other nations who 
 are our friends. Since you altered and retrenched 
 some of i]\Q, articles, and the treaty is changed^ he re- 
 quires of you his usance, and that of the Secretary, 
 as all other nations have given. Sidi Joseph says 
 he is much surprized at the import of your letter of 
 29th ult. ^' That you could not regulate your con- 
 duct by the example of tlie Spanish nation ; and if it 
 were convenient to the situation of the United States 
 you probably would regulate yourself by the usages 
 of the Danish and Swedish nations.*' While this 
 was received, the Bey had ridden out. Sidi Joseph 
 immediately mounted, went to our Lord the Bey, and 
 told him what you had written. The Bey told him 
 to write to you tliat he would have his present ac- 
 cording to the note which you, gentlemen, copied in 
 the presence of Sidi Joseph : and more, that his 
 Excellency would have it a little better than what 
 was contained in the note you, gentlemen, took. 
 His Excellency the Bey likewise said, if you were 
 not contented with the proposals he made to you to 
 communicate to your court, you might arrest the brig, 
 call at the palace and speak witli his Excellency the 
 Bey, and he will give you more precise terms to 
 communicate to your government. 
 
 fSignedJ STIJK^CA.'' 
 
 I returned the following note to the Sapitapa. * I 
 have received your letter of this morning. Tomor- 
 row at ten iu the morning I will have the pleasure to 
 wait on his Excellency the Bey.' 
 
 This morning, Mr. Cathcart embarked for Tripa- 
 li, in the Sophia. 
 
 Tuesday, 2d, Six, A. M. The brig sailed with a 
 fair wind. 
 
 At ten I waited on the Bey with additional pres- 
 ents ; among them six pieces of cloth of different col- 
 ors, which were divided between him and the Sapi- 
 tapa, To these he affected perfect indifferencCo 
 
GEN. EATOK. 83 
 
 Asked in an air of importance wlij the brig had 
 sailed, contrary to the order contained in liis note of 
 yesterday. I told him the affairs of my nation re- 
 quired it. He showed disgust at the import of my 
 note of the 29th ult. I told him our engagements 
 must be dictated by our abilities to fuMl them : hoped 
 he would consider that America is distressed bv 
 war : thai the articles he demanded, were to be pro- 
 cured from the countries only, with whom the war 
 forbade an intercourse ; and it was therefore impos- 
 sible to accede to his demand. He said he Avould 
 have the present*demanded, I told him our govern- 
 ment must be consulted. ^^ If you will not agree to 
 it/^ said he, " you may go home and consider void 
 all wlwcli has hitherto been done." 1 answered, if 
 there was no other alternative, I would go. " ^ ery 
 well," said he, " I give you ten days to consider on 
 the subject ; and, if you continue in this present res- 
 olution, you may embark in the brig, on her return 
 from Tripoli, and go home." Very well ! He arose 
 from his Sofa in a rage ; and left the chamber 
 without ceremony. The Sapitapa remained. " Are 
 not these articles manufactured in America ?" ^ No, 
 we have neither the materials nor the manufacturers 
 in America.' He appeared surprised. ^^ Is not A- 
 merica an old country ? ^ No ; it is not yet two 
 hundred years since the first effectual settlements 
 w^ere made in the United States.' '• But the Bey 
 must have his present : it is indispensable:" '• If the 
 Bey be sincere in his pacific expressions, he will not 
 at this period insist on a present which it is impossi- 
 ble to procure, and leave no alternative but war.' i 
 hoped he would use his friendly influence to direct 
 the Bey from his partinaeity. He made no answer. 
 I left him without ceremony i but ordered my inter- 
 preter to leave with him a douceur which I had pro- 
 vided for the purpose. On lea\'ing the court, a 
 number of applications were made for money for pet- 
 it officers and principal slaves of the palace, which 
 were said to be usages of all other nations^ oa a new 
 C^onsul's beine: received. 
 
84 LIFE OF 
 
 Among other questions of the Sapiiapa hrelavaiit 
 to this subject, one was, what faith the Jlmevicans 
 held. I told him we believed in God, Almighty, the 
 reward of justice, and the punishment of Fraud. 
 " I thought," said he, ^'^ you were not very supersti- 
 tious Christians !" The Tunissians have a con- 
 temptible opinion of Christians : and well they may : 
 for those of them with whom tliey have had most 
 acquaintance, have lapsed from the dignity of Chris- 
 tianity, to unmeaning ceremony, and shameful effem- 
 inacy. 
 
 Wednesday, Sd. Waited on Mustapha Coggea, 
 the Prime Minister, an old man who had been very 
 » influential, but had lost his teeth. Made him an ad- 
 ditional present of two pieces of cloth. He express- 
 ed a sense of obligation, and very modestly told my 
 interpreter that, if he were not ashamed to do it, he 
 ^woidd give me hade the jjresent. 
 
 The Sapitapa sent for me, and renewed, in his a- 
 partment, the subject of the Bey's present : but ap- 
 peared in better temper tlian yesterday : the media- 
 tor, left with him, had, perhaps, softened his obdu- 
 racy. He reminded me however, that, during the 
 discussion of the articles of the treaty, I Jiad intimat- 
 ed to him, that the Bey might expect something very 
 handsome, in case he aumitted the alteration ; that, 
 having obtained ray object, it seemed I had forgotten 
 the obligation, or was disposed to evade it. I an- 
 swered him I should evade im obligation fairly 
 contracted : thought the Bey had mistaken the real 
 purport of my letter, or 1 had not communicated iny 
 meaning intelligibly. It went only to assure him 
 that the United States will not adopt the example of 
 the Spaniards ; and for a very good reason ; they 
 had not the ability. Why should we promise rega- 
 lia which our country did not produce ? It were bet- 
 ter to deal thus plainly with him, than to flatter him 
 to expect jewels which might never be in our power 
 to procure. It was true, as I told him yesterday, we 
 juj^d neither gold nor diamonds in America, nor any 
 
GEN. EATON. 85 
 
 body who knows how to work them. ^' What, are 
 you/' said he, " a parcel of countrymen, shepherds 
 and rustics ?" ^ Very much so.' " But you build 
 ships ?'' ' Yes.' '' Of what timber ?" * The best.' 
 '^ And handsome ?" ' Yes.' " Well, suppose you 
 agree to make the Bey a present of a small, hand- 
 some cruiser ?" '^ The Bey has given me ten days to 
 consider on his fust proposal. In this time I will 
 consider this proposal. Am glad however, you .are 
 disposed at length to modify the demand. When 
 the brig returns, I will wait on the Bey with an an- 
 swer.' ^' And I," said he, " mean time, will en- 
 deavor to facilitate the measure." 
 
 It is hard to negociate w here the terms are wholly 
 exparte. The Barbary courts are indulged in the 
 habits of dictating their own terms of ncgociation. 
 Even the English, as the Consul himself informed 
 me, on his arrival and reception here, had furnished 
 liim a present in cash and other articles valued in 
 England at seventeen thousand pounds sterling. 
 But Tunis trembles at the voice of England. This 
 then must be a political intrigue of England to em- 
 barrass the other mercantile Christian nations ; and 
 it has the effect. To the United States, they be- 
 lieve they can dictate terms. Why should tliey not ? 
 Or why should they believe it will ever be other- 
 wise ? They have seen nothing in America to con- 
 trovert this opinion. And all our talk of resistance, 
 and reprisal, they view as the swaggering of a brag- 
 adocio. They are at present seriously concerned, 
 through fear that the English and Americans arc in 
 offensive and defensive alliance. The report is cur- 
 rent, and I have taken occasion to cherish it by be- 
 ing seen frequently Avith the British Consul, dining 
 with him, and holding secret intercourse. But what- 
 ever stratagem may be used to aid our measures, it is 
 certain, that there is no access to the permanent 
 friendship of these states, without paving the way 
 with gold or cannon balls ; and the proper question 
 is, which method is preferable. So long as they 
 
86 LIFE OF 
 
 liold their own terms, no estimate can he made of 
 the expense of maintaining a peace. They are un- 
 der no restraints of lionor nor honesty. There is not 
 a scoundrel among them, from the prince to tlie mu- 
 leteer, who will not beg and steal. Yet, when I 
 proposed to the Sapitapa to day to substitute money 
 in lieu of the present, he said the Bey had too high a 
 sense of honor to receive a bribe : he would receive 
 a present ; but it would affront him to offer him 
 money. 
 
 Saturday, 6th. Th« prime minister, Mustapha^ 
 Coggea, returned his present to me with a message 
 that he was not accustomed to receiving presents in- 
 ferior in value to the Sapitapa, who was inferior to 
 him in rank, being second minister. He believed I 
 had been misled by the advice o-f the Jew s in the 
 distribution I had made of my presents. If he could 
 not have an equivalent to the Sapitapa, he would 
 have nothing. The messenger said the prime minis- 
 ter w as very angry ; but intimated that the present, 
 with some small additions, might go down and re- 
 move his bile. When I was w ith him on Wednes- 
 day, he did not discover any discontent. He 
 probably did not then know what the Sapitapa had 
 received. 
 
 Sunday, yth. A demand came from the Admiral 
 for a gold headed cane, a gold watch and chain, and 
 twelve pieces of cloth : the usance on a new Con- 
 sul's being received. Laid on the table. 
 
 A demand came from the Aga of the Goulette for 
 his usance on the occasion of the first vessel of war 
 coming to anchor in the bay. To this I answered 
 that I icovM make him a jwesent of a copy of the 
 treaty. 
 
 Sunday, 14///, 8, A. M. at the Palace. The Sapi- 
 tapa informed me that the Bey had rejected the pro- 
 posal of a small cruiser in lieu of the present in 
 jewels. 
 
 I told him^ notwithstanding the Bey had refused 
 to listen to a cash proposition,, I would once more 
 
GEN. EATON. 87 
 
 make him a tender, and proposed fifty thousand dol- 
 lars in full of all demands. He said the maritime 
 and military regalia were very rich ; that they 
 were peculiarly necessary at this period ; and if I 
 would offer two hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
 the Bey would not accept it. 
 
 I recapitulated the expense already incurred in our 
 negociation with this Regency ; and shewed him 
 Famines general account and list of presents. He 
 said it was a trifle ; and again mentioned the jewels. 
 I observed it was very unaccountable the Bey should 
 persevere in his demand of articles which the war 
 rendered it impossible to procoure. " Get them in 
 England/' said he ; ^* we like the English manu- 
 factures much better than the French and Spanish." 
 I said it was still more extraordinary that the Bey 
 should demand of the United States threefold the 
 duties of all other nations ; refuse the salute which 
 he gave all other nations ; compel an obligation on 
 us to suffer our merchantmen to be pressed into his 
 service ; and yet demand of us the usages of the 
 richest and most favored nation on earth. He repeat- 
 ed that the service very probably would never be re- 
 quired. Be this as it may, the Bey would have the 
 presents. He now demanded for himself a double 
 barrelled gun and a gold chain to a Avatch ; said the 
 American Agent had promised the gun, and he be- 
 lieved had sent for it. I told him plainly the Unit- 
 ed States would find it cheaper and better policy to 
 send a force into these seas to defend their commerce^ 
 than to yield to these accumulated demands. ^^ Very 
 well ;" said he. 
 
 He reported to the Bey. In a few minutes I was 
 introduced to his apartment. A few words passed 
 between us of the tenor of the foregoing. He got in- 
 to a passion : arose and left the hall : but turned, 
 going out, and said, '* consult your government. I 
 give them six months to give me an answer, and to 
 send the presents. If they come in that time, well z 
 if not, take down your flag atid go home."' 
 
8S LIFE OT 
 
 Thus, sir, I have given a faithful but a tedious de- 
 tail of our negociation. The United States sat out 
 wrongly ; and have proceeded so. Too many con- 
 cessions iiave been made to Algiers. There is but 
 one language which can be held to tliese people ; 
 and this is terror. If my own feelings were to dic- 
 tate the answer to the demands submitted, it would 
 be a solemn one. But w4iether good policy would 
 dictate tliis is the question. We should get little, 
 and might lose much. At all events we should have 
 to buy a peace at last, and redeem our captives, un- 
 less we could effect the intire destiiiction of the Re- 
 gency, or convince them of our ability to do it. Our 
 affairs are critically circumstanced. Much mischief 
 is meditated by our cidevant agent. I am assured 
 he has this day formally protested to the Bey against 
 the United States establishing another Consul here 
 and taking the bread out of his own mouth : audi 
 should not be surprised to have an opportunity to 
 hand my dispatches to the department of State. 
 
 I have not yet made great sacrifices, nor other 
 than unavoidable ; but I expect to be compelled to 
 it, except something at present unforeseen, shall 
 operate to prevent it. I will not however be bullied 
 into the measure. When I find it necessary I will 
 soften my tone with this government : but this will 
 be my dernier. The language of independence has 
 never been spoken by our agent. If he were receiv- 
 ed as the representative, as well as the agent of the 
 Government of the United states, well may we be 
 considered fit for slaves. I am persuaded he has nev- 
 er resisted any demand ; and am of opinion he has 
 shared the benefits of his own concessions. My in- 
 verted opinion of this Frenchman may seem unac- 
 countable. His civilities to me were the upper dress 
 of hypocrisy. 
 
 I believe it would have a good effect to show force 
 m these seas, if it can be spared from our own 
 coasts ; if it be only to convince these pirates that Ave 
 are npt Italians. Jf the present of jewels be resisted, 
 
GfiN. EATOX\ S9 
 
 as I devoutly pray it may, it will be absolutely nec- 
 essary, or the other regalia will not be received. 
 Denmark furnishes a recent example of this nature. 
 Policy forbids the Tunissians going to war with the 
 United States at present. So long as this continues 
 to be the case, we are not in much danger : but no 
 sense of justice w ould prevent this event if occasion 
 should suit. It is probable further forbearance may 
 be obtained, and must, from the impossibility of re- 
 turning the answer within the time ; but it is hoped 
 too much may not be presumed on this probability. 
 The United States have no messenger whom I would 
 greet with so much cordiality with the answer a« 
 Sommodore Barry. 
 
 I have the honor to remain^ 
 
 With perfect respect. 
 Sir, your most obedient 
 
 very humble servant y 
 WILLIAM EATOX 
 J^pril i ^. 
 honorable Secretary 
 , of the United States, 
 
 The instructions of the Secretary of state, Mr^ 
 Pickering, to Mr. Eaton, were very ample, direct- 
 ing him not only with regard to the more immediate 
 duties of a Consul, but requiring his attention to the 
 military and naval force, manufacturer, commerce, 
 laws, policy, &c. of Tunis and the other Barbary 
 powers. The following, omitting unimportant re- 
 marks, conveys much itiformation on these subjects. 
 
 Tunis, i5th June, 1799. 
 Sir, 
 
 The commerce of Tunis is principally monopoliz- 
 ed by the Jews. The hides and wax of the whole 
 kingdom, which are considerable articles of exporta- 
 tion, are farmed by a compauv of merchants, compos- 
 
 13 ' 
 
©9 LlFli OF 
 
 ed principally of Jews, called Gioruata ; for whiek 
 they pay the Bey, annually, sixty thousand piasters, 
 equal to seventeen thousand one hundred and forty 
 two dollars. The subjects are compelled to sell 
 th'i hides to this company at eleven cents each, and 
 wax at thirty two dollars per quintal. The Giorua- 
 ta have had a factory established at Leghorn, whith- 
 er these raw materials were exported, till the opera- 
 tions of the French in Italy, since which this factory 
 is moved to Messina. Two hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand hides, and four hundred quintals of wax, are 
 supposed to enter into the ordinary annual trade of 
 this eompany. Revenue produced to the Bey. 
 dols. 17, 142,*^ 85. 
 
 The other and more considerable articles of ex- 
 portation are oil, wheat and barley. Of these, the 
 Bey receives tithes. One hundred and thirty thou- 
 sand metars of oil, of six gallons each, are supposed- 
 to be annually exported to Europe and Asia. In 
 addition to the tithes, the Bey receives sixty four 
 cents per metar for a tiskery, (permission to ex- 
 port.) The oil is purchased, at about twenty eight 
 cents per gallon, the average price, which, w ith the 
 tiskery, amounts to something less than thirty nine 
 cents per gallon. According to this calcuiation, the 
 annual revenue derived from this article is, dols. 
 78,520. 
 
 The exportation of wheat, exclusive of the tithe, 
 is supposed to l>e three hundred and fifty thousand 
 bushels annually. Suppose this to be nine tenths of 
 the whole annual produce of the country, the value 
 of the tithe in w heat will amount to thirty eight 
 thousand eight hundred and eighty eight dollars. 
 For a tiskery for each caffice of eleven bushels, the 
 Bey receives ^ix dollars, amounting to one hundred 
 and ninety four thousand, four hundred and eighty 
 nine dollars. Upwards of one hundred and twenty 
 vessels, averaging ninety tons, annually load with 
 this article. And the revenue produced, aceordin 
 ^ the above calcultXtion, is dollars 223,377, 74. 
 
 
GEX. EATON. 9i 
 
 I cannot ascertain the quantity of barley export- 
 ed, and duties collected ; but, supposing it to be half 
 as much as the wheat, the revenue arising from this 
 article would lie about dollars, 70jOOO. The ex- 
 portation of beans and vetches is supposed to pro- 
 duce about dollars, 17jOOO. 
 
 Some ])eeves and sheep are expor^ed, but the 
 quantity is inconsiderable : on these articles howev- 
 er duties are collected by giving tiskeries. 
 
 This information is obtained from a principal He- 
 brew merchant in this city. And, although it may 
 not be accurate, it raav communicate some idea of 
 the produce and internal revenue of this kingdom. 
 
 The principal manufactures of the kingdom, are 
 red caps and sashes ; a sample of the former, I sent 
 by Capt. Geddes, of which great quantities are ex- 
 ported into all the Turkish dominions. 
 
 The manufactors of caps import annually from 
 Spain three thousand quintals of fine wool : and the 
 sash manufactories receive annually from the Morea, 
 six hundred quintals of raw silk. These ailicles 
 pay no dutj% This is a peace calculation. The 
 present war has totally deranged the commerce ot 
 this kingdom. Ragusa is at present the carrier for 
 Tunis ; and what little commerce remains to them, 
 centres principally at Smyrna and other ports of the 
 Levant, alon^ the coast of Dalmatia and the Morea. 
 
 Muslins, stuffs, fine cloths, iron, coffee, sugar, pep- 
 per and spices of all kinds, bleached wax candles, 
 cochineal, dried fislrand lumber, are articles of im- 
 portation much wanted and which would command 
 great prices in cash, at least three hundred per cent 
 more than in America. 
 
 [Mr. Eaton here gives a list of the marine force 
 of Tunis ; by which it appears that the Tunissian* 
 then possessed ninety four armed vessels, nine hun- 
 dred and twenty eight guns, and eighty eight swiv- 
 els ; the whole manned by upwards of eight thou- 
 ssand men.^ 
 
9;^ • LIFE OF 
 
 The foregoing list and annexed schedule exhibit 
 in a summary view, the most correct information at- 
 tainable of the naval force of Tunis, the species of 
 armed vessels, the number of their gnus and men^ 
 and the times of the year they go to sea : also the in- 
 crease of the navy the last ten years. Mr. Tulin, 
 the Swedish Consul, the oldest and perhaps best in- 
 formed in the kingdom, informs me that, twenty 
 years ago, Tunis could send out but nine cruisers. 
 it may not be improper to note liere, that the Bey re- 
 ceives tithes of all prizes brought into any of his 
 ports by the privateers of his kingdom. This, in 
 addition to the tribute of re^^alia from Christian na- 
 tions, the prizes taken by the corsairs of the regen- 
 cy, and the internal duties upon commerce, produce 
 a great revenue. But these sources arc failing. But 
 twenty cruisers have gone out this year. 
 
 The cruising ground of the corsairs of this king- 
 dom has heretofore been in the vicinity of Corsica, 
 Sardinia and Sicily, on the coast of Genoa, Tusca- 
 ny, Naples, Calabria, and in the entrance of the A 
 driatic sea ; and even as far up as Venice. But 
 these coasts, having fallen under the protection of 
 the belligerent powers, now aiford no game. Theii 
 mode of attack is uniformly boarding. For this, 
 their vessels are peculiarly constructed. Their long 
 latteen yards drop on board the enemy, and afford a 
 safe and easy conveyance for the men who man them 
 for this purpose : but being always crouded with 
 men, they throw them in from * 11 points of the rig- 
 ging, and from all quarters of the decks ; having 
 their sa])res grasped between their teeth, and their 
 loaded pistols in their belts, that they may have tli^ 
 free use of their hands in scaling the gunnels or net- 
 ting of their enemy. In this mode of attack they 
 are very active and very desperate. Taught by 
 revelation that war with the Christians will guarantee 
 the salvation of their souls, and finding so great sec- 
 ular advantages in the observance of this religions 
 duty, their inducements to desperate fighting are 
 
GEN. EATON. 93 
 
 very powerful. Proper defence against them are 
 higli nettings with chains sufficiently strong to pre- 
 vent their being cut away ; buck sliot plentifully ad- 
 ministered from muskets or blunderbusses ; and lan- 
 ces. But it is always best to keep them at distance, 
 that advantage may be taken of their ignorance at 
 raanoeuvering. 
 
 The principal naval ports are Porto Farina, the 
 Goulette, Ifax, Susa, and Biserte. Porto Farina is 
 the rendezvous for vessels of war, no other being 
 permitted to lay up there. It is situated about eight 
 or nine leagues N. N. W. from Tunis, and about 
 six or eight miles W. by S. from tlie western point 
 which forms the bay of Tunis. The harbor is secur- 
 ed bv the walls and batteries of the town of tlie same 
 name, forming an entrance of about seven feet water 
 for the admission of the cruisers, which are obliged 
 to anchor under the batteries, get out their guns, bal- 
 last, provisions, &c. and being careened on tiieir sides 
 to lessen the draft of water, to be towed in by a spe- 
 cies of large scows, called pontoons. Vessels of any 
 size may anchor within gun shot of the walls. The 
 town is said to contain about one hundred thousand 
 inhabitants ; has a governor, (Mahomet Coggea) anc^ 
 police ; and is the magazine and arsenal of the naval 
 and military stores of the kingdom. The governor 
 owns the most cruisers of any man in the kingdom j 
 more than the Regency. 
 
 The bay of Tunis is formed by capes Fauna or 
 Plain island, and Bon ; and is thirty miles deep. 
 Tiie harbor at the Goulette, nine or ten miles E. by 
 S. from 1\inis, is an immense bason, having cape 
 Carthage (N. E, point of the peninsula of the ancient 
 city) on its west, and a projection of the main land a 
 little north of the mouth of Bagrada, so noted for 
 Regulus's serpent, on the east. It is defended by 
 an enormous stone castle feet high, mounting 
 
 guns, and by barbet batteries below ; under 
 cover of which, at a small distance, merchant vessel^ 
 jnay ride in four or five fathom water. At a little 
 
94? LIFE OF 
 
 further distance vessels of i^ar of any draft liave 
 good anchoring ground in water from six to twenty 
 fathom. It is a safe and beautiful harhor. Within 
 this bason, divider] from it by a garter of land about 
 six miles in length, and secured by the castle of the 
 OoulettCj is a stagnant lake thirty miles in circumfe- 
 rence, reaching quite to the suburbs of Tunis, whose 
 deepest water is not more than six feet, which re- 
 ceives through a canal, immediately under the v/alls 
 of the castle, the sandals, or lighters with merchan- 
 dize from the vessels at anchor in the bay. In the 
 same manner ail vessels receive from the city their 
 provisions and lading, riding at anchor ; for there is 
 not a wharf, which I have seen, on all the coast. In 
 this lake the lialf gallies lay up in winter. Its wa- 
 ters are so stagnant that, as the boats pass across it, 
 a green, putrid wake is seen in their path, and a 
 sickly, most offensive smell fills the -air at some dis- 
 tance. The putrid miasmata from this lake may be, 
 perhaps, among other causes of the plague in Tunis. 
 It has been said to inundate the ruins of Carthage. 
 This is erroneous. I have repeatedly visited those 
 ruins. The exterior walls and ditches of the an- 
 cient city can be traced without the least difficulty. 
 The walls of Byrsa, the citidal, and temple of .^s- 
 culapius, may also be traced on an elevation of 
 ground one hundred and eigJity feet above the sur- 
 face of the water, bordering On the sea three or four 
 miles from the lake. The immense cisterns, thirty 
 feet deep, covered by vast arches supported by 
 strongly cemented pillars of stone, are still entire : 
 but these, like many other arches of vaidts; cisterns 
 and magazines, are now subterraneous ; and tlie 
 Moors cultivate the surface where their superstruc- 
 tures once stood. It is manifest, however, that this 
 lake covers a part of an ancient village, vestiges of 
 which are found buried in ruins, in the* vicinity of 
 the Goulette. 
 
 Ifax, a fortified town situated 48 leagues S. S. 
 B. from Tunis, the next very considerable port, has 
 
GJiN. EATON. 95 
 
 a large, open harbor, but remarkably safe, being cov- 
 ered by an island at its entrance. It has good an- 
 choring ground from six to ten fathoms water. The 
 governor sends out many cruisers, as is shewn by the 
 list. 
 
 Susa, a fortified town, 20 leagues S. S. E. from 
 Tunis, has a good harbor, and anchoring ground of 
 six to eight fathom water within pistol shot of the 
 Hown. 
 
 Biserte, situated about 10 leagues N. W. from 
 Tunis, has a large bay and good anchoring ground 
 within musket shot of the castle : but the road, be- 
 ing quite open, is exposed to a heavy sea from the 
 N. E. which renders it a mere shelter. Biserte has 
 a large mole within its walls communicating with 
 the bay without and with a large, beautiful lake in 
 its rear, by canals of about forty feet width and ten 
 deep. Into this mole the cruisers are brought for 
 safety in the same manner as they are got over the 
 entrance of Port Farina. 
 
 Heather's chart of the Mediterranean gives the 
 best points of direction for entering these ports. 
 
 The winds upon these coasts are variable at all 
 seasons of the year. But in settled weather in the 
 summer season there is said to be a sea breeze set- 
 ting in there by day, and a land breeze setting oft* 
 by night. This is probably occasioned by the great- 
 er rarefactibn of air by the reflected heat from the 
 sands on shore by day and the warm surface of the 
 water by night. 
 
 From the foregoing list and schedule it appears 
 that no season of the year is considered peculiarly 
 dangerous to navigation. February has uniformly 
 sent out fewest cruisers, but this 1 apprehend, may 
 be ascribed i-ather to the great sensibility of these, 
 people to the cold than any other cause. This forms 
 no impediment to the European sailor, who navigates 
 those seas at all seasons of the year. 
 
 The country on the sea coast of this kingdom in 
 naturally luxuriant and beautiful beyond description. 
 
t)6 LIFE or 
 
 Well rniglit the Romans consider it a luxury to have 
 a seat here. Were it in the possession of an enlight- 
 ened and enterprising people, I know not why it 
 might not vie with the opposite continent in every- 
 thing useful, rich and elegant. 
 ' The government is absolute, heredetary monar- 
 -chy ; but uncommonly mild in its administration. 
 The present Bey holds the regency by usurpation. 
 His father, Alha Bey, on the death of a brother, 
 Mahomet Bey, took the government in trust during 
 the minority of a nephew, Sidi Mahmoud Bey, the 
 rightful heir. By an eminently mild and good ad- 
 ministration he secured the love and adoration of his 
 subjects ; and by bribes and intrigues with the divan, 
 principal officers of state and the Grand Signior, he 
 procured the regency established in himself and de- 
 scendants, to the exclusion of the heir of the right 
 line, who is now held as a kind of hostage in the 
 palace and maintained by the regency. Hamuda 
 Bashaw Bey, the present regent, by possessing ma- 
 ny of the talents of his father, and by adopting his 
 examples in government, has established himself so 
 firmly in the affections and confidence of his sub- 
 jects, that his rival seems to have abandoned all 
 hopes of dispossessing him, and quietly submits to 
 the usurpation. He enjoys however the title of Bey, 
 a title stripped of all appendages. 
 
 It is remarkable that the Alcoran forms the only 
 code of laws in this I'egency. (As this is formed 
 in religion it will be naturally concluded that here 
 ^re no lawyers , and of course very little litigation.) 
 
 The Bey, solus, forms the supreme court ol judi- 
 cature, and admits presentments and causes of every 
 name and nature to be originally brought before him. 
 Such as he finds capital or important he hears and 
 determines ; petit felonies and small traversies he 
 sends down to a public inferior court of justice, call- 
 ed Sharah, in the city of Tunis, at the head of which 
 ii! the Cndi or high priest. 
 
GEX. EATON. ' 97 
 
 ■ III each province and considerable town are inferi- 
 or courfs. Tlie Cait, or farmer of the revenue, a 
 kind of deputy governor, forms a species of court of 
 common pleas for hearing and determining all mat- 
 ters of dispute between private subjects, where the 
 demand does not exceed a certain sura, or where the 
 subject matter of controversy is not of a criminal na- 
 ture. And the Caia, a governor of the province, who 
 is also commandant of the forces, forms a court in 
 the nature of sessions of the peace for the trial of all 
 criminal oiTences not capital. In causes of this na- 
 ture these courts may have original jurisdiction, but 
 appeal lies in all cases from their decision to the 
 Bey, or supreme court. 
 
 , The Bey sits in the hall of justice from eight till 
 twelve o'clock in the winter, and from seven till e- 
 leven in the summer, every day in the year, Fridays 
 and the days of Biram and Ramadan, public feasts, 
 only excepted. In all the courts the plaintiff enters 
 and argues his own cause, in. irropria jjersona, and 
 the defendant in like manner pleads and defends. 
 So also in criminal prosecutions. The whole man- 
 agement consists in simple statements, substantiat- 
 ing and refuting allegations, generally by evidence 
 deduced from the testimony of witnesses. Their 
 rules and maxims, in trials of criminal and capital of- 
 fences, are very similar to those of our common law ; 
 especially the crime of murder; and may ])c and 
 probably are, derived from the same source, the law 
 of Moses. 
 
 The Bey also transacts all his national concerns 
 in his own person, and superintends the police of 
 his navy and army, even the payment of liis troops. 
 These duties render his life extremely laborious^ 
 He lives abstemiously, exercises much and sleeps 
 little, (and alone though connected by marriage v.ith 
 the finest and most accomplished woman in the king- 
 dom, who is about ten years younger than himself, 
 and devoted to him by the most aifectionate attach- 
 ment.) But with all these excellent qualities of th(* 
 
 13 
 
QS LIF£ OF 
 
 pvincejlieis not without a blemish the name of whiclr 
 would excite a blush in the countenance of the most 
 depraved of nature^s children. And however sin- 
 gularly unnatural^ his favorite minister (the Sapata- 
 pa) a lusty Turk of about thirty three, is the first ob- 
 iject of his passion! 
 
 He also is unboundedly avaricious. And though he 
 said to me he was not enamored with toys, his palace 
 is crowded with rich jewels of all sorts and arms or- 
 namented with 2;old and diamonds : and his wife is 
 said to be loaded with gold and diamonds, which, 
 like the jewels of Paulina, may be literally said to 
 be locked from usefulness and from the world. 
 
 The military force of Tunis is rather imaginary 
 than real. JLverv Turk, and descendant of a Turk, 
 is a soldier find under pay, they amounting to 6,800 
 These, though they are never embodied, are what 
 they call their regular troops. Detachments of them 
 appear in the field once or twice a year, for the pur- 
 pose of sv. aggering into the interior provinces, to col- 
 lect the revenues of the poor, oppressed Moors. 
 They cannot be said to have an uniform : and they 
 have less discipline than the rudest troops I have ev- 
 er seen in America ; and I have seen our militia 
 from Boston in Massachusetts to Lexington in Ken- 
 tucky, and from the north boundaries of Vermont 
 to the south boundaries of Georgia. They are arm- 
 ed with a sabre, brace of pistols, and a rusty mus- 
 ket without a bayonet. Their camp, as they call 
 their army, or rather their mob, when assembled, 
 are composed partly of cavalry, who are armed in 
 the same manner as the infantry. Their horses, tak- 
 en collectively, are really worse than the mill hors- 
 es of my own native country, New England, which 
 every body knows are wretched enough, brought 
 into the field as nature formed them, or only al- 
 tered by the galling of pack saddles or hampers, 
 and totally undisciplined. They have no manual 
 exercise nor field manoeuvres. On their march they 
 drive on lielter skelter, as void of tacdcs as the tigers 
 
GEN. EATON. 99 
 
 ef their desert : and their encampments are as ir- 
 regular as their exercise. Such are all the soldiery 
 whom I have seeu^ and I have reason to believe such 
 are all whom the kingdom can produce. These, as 
 I have said before, are regulars : their militia is still 
 worse. Every Moor has arms. Their natives form 
 the militia : but they assemble neither in bodies nor 
 detachments^ except in case of imminent danger : 
 and they then rasii down from the mountains like 
 so many wolves of the forest. In their complexion 
 and habits they have a striking resemblance to the 
 American savages ; and in their manners resemble, 
 them much : but they want tliat wild magnanimity, 
 that air of independence, which animate those free 
 born sons of our forests. I am inclined to believe the 
 Moors are timid. The Turks are said to be brave. 
 This is not impossible. Bunker's hill affords a 
 proof that undisciplined men v/ill fight : but the 
 campaign of '76 also proves that undisciplined men 
 form bad armies. I cannot ascertain the number of 
 the unorganised militia. 
 
 The pay of the Turkish soldier is four aspers, 
 ^-Qi of a dollar per diem, without clothing, and 
 without rations, except when in the field. This sum 
 increases one asper every third year till it amounts 
 to, but cannot exceed, twenty nine aspers per diem, 
 let the rank be what it will. The Bey, being a Turk, 
 is, of course, a soldier, and commander in chief of 
 the army and navy. His pay for this service is 
 twenty nine aspers per diem. His Major Generals 
 receive tlie same and no more for their military ser- 
 vices. How do they subsist ? By perquisites. This 
 establishment may have been founded in economy : 
 it has destroyed discipline. 
 
 Among the other miscellany of this letter, the ag- 
 gressions of these pirates which have lately happen- 
 eid, and some reflections on the affairs which inti- 
 mately concern our nation, I hope may not be con 
 «idered wholly impei'tinent. 
 
iOO JAYE OF 
 
 In the years ^85 to '9, Tunis is said to have taken 
 one hundred prizes from Venice. In the month of 
 August of the year 1797? Prince Paterno of Sicily, 
 as he was passing from Palermo to Naples, in a 
 Greekvesselof the Morea, with subjects of the Grand 
 Signior, and under Ottoman colors, was taken by a 
 Tunissian corsaire and brought into port. The 
 court of Naples protested to the Grand Signior against 
 the capture, who sent an envoy to Tunis to examine 
 the vessel's papers. Finding them not minutely 
 regular, the vessel and cart o were adjudged as a 
 good prize, and the crew and passengers condemned 
 to slavery. The prince remained a prisoner till the 
 middle of December of the same year, w hen he stip- 
 ulated for his own ransom for four hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars to the Bey and fifty thousand to the 
 Sa])itapa. 
 
 On the eighth of September last, five Tunissian cor- 
 saires, carrying nine hundred and ninety men, landed, 
 in the grey of the morning, upon the island of St. Peters 
 in the dependence of Sardinia, captured and brought 
 prisoners to Tunis seven hundred women and chil- 
 dren and two hundred and twenty men. The des- 
 cription given Die, by the British Consul, of the bar- 
 barous and brutal conduct practiced upon these un- 
 fortunate, defenceless wretches, would shock a sav- 
 age. The able bodied men of the island being at 
 their vinta;5es in the conu<ry, these people fell a fee- 
 ble sacrifice to the merciless assailants. Decriped 
 age, delicate youth and helpless infancy, were tum- 
 bled headlong from tlieir beds, precijiitated down 
 flights of stairs, shoved out of street windows, driven 
 naked in an undistinguished crowd, without respect 
 to sex or circumstance, through the streets, and cram- 
 i'd promiscuously into the filthy hold of one of their 
 cniiscrs ; in this manner brought across the sea, and 
 in this wretched plight goaded with thongs through 
 the street of the city by their relentless captors, driv- 
 (^•n to the common auction square, and consigned to 
 slavery, The king of Sardinia, distressed as he has 
 
GEN. EATOIS'. 101 
 
 been on the other hand ])y the crimes of the republic, 
 has not hitherto found the ability to redeem them, at 
 the enormous sum of six hundred and forty thousand 
 dollars, which the Bey demanded. He has lately 
 appointed an a^^ed and respectable Count, Porcheela, 
 who has been four times before an ambassador to this 
 Court, and who is now here to negociate the terras of 
 their redemption. He has at length prevailed on the 
 Bey to accept the sum of two hundred and seventy 
 thousand dollars ; but the terms of payment are not 
 yet agreed upon : there is however a prospect of their 
 release. * * * * ->ff **•*-** * 
 
 The old, the infirm, and the infants, who were un- 
 fit for slaves, have been obliged to shift for themselves. 
 They could not find subsistence. Charity dealt her 
 sparing morsel to them. They have suiFeretl much : 
 but the Consuls severally contributed something to 
 their relief. I received a letter from the Sardinian 
 Secretary of State, and another from the Consul Gen- 
 eral appointed to be charged with the affiiirs of all 
 nations who have not a consul established in that 
 kingdom, soliciting the good offices of the American 
 Consul in this affair : tlie latter seemed to claim as 
 an obligation, intimating that he had often rendered 
 disinterested services to Americans in Sardinia. 
 I gave one hundred dollars. ****** 
 
 When war was declared against France, the Con- 
 sul and all his countrymen were confined in close 
 prison, and their property sequestered, notwithstand- 
 ing a treaty stipulation that the Consul and others of 
 his nation should be allowed one year, after declara- 
 tion of war, to adjust their affairs and depart the king- 
 dom. 
 
 On the Sd. of April last, the garrison of Corfu sur- 
 rendered by capitulation to the combined forces of 
 the Russians and Turks, on condition of being con- 
 voyed to France. On the 25th, one of the transportfe 
 having on board two hundred and fifty of the garri- 
 son, being separated from its convoy, fell in with and 
 was captured by an Algerine corsaire. On the sec- 
 

 iOS I.1FE OF 
 
 Olid of May they were broiiglit into Tiinis^ and on the 
 fourth they ivere marched through the city and sent 
 ofl' by land to Algiers, wliere they have since ])een 
 condemned to slavery. About the same time a Veni- 
 cian vessel was taken under the Emperor's colors and 
 passport, carried to Algiers and condemned ; the 
 Dey refusing to knovi^ the Emperor. 
 
 On the 8th of May, a Tripoline corsaire sent into 
 the port of t.ie Goulette a large Danish ship laden 
 with sugar and coff'ee, taken in the straits. There 
 lias been no war declared by Tripoli against Den- 
 mark : but the latter has delayed some stipulated re- 
 al ia. 
 
 On the same day the Bey of Tunis condemned as 
 a good prize a Sicilian merchant vessel taken by his 
 corsairs with admiral Nelson's passport. The ad- 
 miral has the firmin of the Grand Signior to protect 
 whatsoever vessel he pleases. 
 
 A few days since the Bey of Tunis demanded 
 of the king of Spain two frigates of thirty two guns 
 each ; and it is said the demand is acceded to by the 
 Consul. 
 
 Denmark is in arrear to this regency for some re- 
 galia of maritime stores, which lieing delayed beyond 
 the limited time, the Bey demanded additional pres- 
 <pnts, to compensate the damages of the delay. The 
 demand ])eing submitted by the Consul to his court 
 and re jrr+ed, the stipulated regalia, though actually 
 forwarded, w eve refused to be received, and now lie 
 under water at iiie Goulette. The affair is unsettled. 
 
 It would seem that aggressions and insults such 
 as these Avould bring down vengeance upon these re- 
 gencies by a combination of all Europe against them, 
 It would so, but policy dictates otherwise. They 
 are not a sufficient object to engage the serious atten- 
 tion of the gre'at powers, especially those who can 
 aw^e them into terms by the voice of their thunder, or 
 purchase them at half the expence of a war. The 
 small states which suffer their ravages are enervated 
 by effeminacy, cramped ])y oppression, terrified by 
 cruelty or destitute of resources. The greater have 
 
GEX. EATON. . 103 
 
 cheerfully seen these little victims consumed, which 
 would otherwise have been impediments to their com- 
 merce. But the time is coming, f.»id now is, when 
 these sources of plunder will be cut off. The aston- 
 ishing progress of the combined forces in Italy 
 leaves no doubt that those states will ultimately 
 change their masters, and fall into hands able to pro- 
 tect them. Venice is already out of their reach — 
 Genoa is said to have fallen into the hands of the 
 combined armies. The king of the two Sicilies^, 
 througli the mediation of the Grand >Signior, and 
 under the auspices of the British lords, St. A'^incent 
 and Nelson, has negociated a truce during the pres- 
 ent war. France has no commerce exposed. Spain 
 can defend herself by assistance of auxiliaries drawn 
 from her mines. Portugal, though a lady, speaks 
 with a manly tone to these pirates ; she dictates 
 terms to them under their own batteries. She has 
 lately, on the twelfth of May, forced Tripoli to pur- 
 chase a treaty at the expense of eleven thousand dol- 
 lars, after having Captured two of the Bashaw 's prin- 
 cipal corsaires. All this with only one 7% command- 
 ed by commodore Campbell. I>enmark and Sweden 
 have frigates in thcfse seas : and Holland has no 
 commerce here. Tunis is robbed of hev prey : and 
 is»as restless as a bear robbed of her whelps. Com- 
 merce is at an end here. Plunder must be had. 
 Where is it to be found ? America presents it. Bui 
 Tunis is at j)eacc with America. Tunis must have 
 jjlitnder. Necessity has no law. A pretext is found 
 for a declaration of war in our delinquency, our de- 
 lay in sending out the stipulated regalia ; and the, 
 commerce of America in this sea will fall the victim to 
 the rapacity of these starving robbers. Europe will 
 be something more than an idle spectator of the 
 scene. Europe will participate in the joy of the e- 
 vent. I am not amusing; myself with idle specula- 
 tions. Nor does it require a second sight to per- 
 ceive this tendency of things. I lately thought poli- 
 cy w^ould dictate otherwise during the war with 
 

 104 t-'it'E Of 
 
 France. Observation lias pursuaded me that Tunis 
 is reluctant at fighting France, and that the regency 
 Avishes, if possibJe, to cultivate a secret understand- 
 ing with the republic. 
 
 It seems highly probable that the United States 
 will soon become chief carriers into the Mediterra- 
 nean ; or that they will at least have their share of 
 tills trade. Our peaceable situation, vicinity to the 
 islands, the enterprize of our navigators, and the 
 great advantages that offer here, all promise and en- 
 courage it. Europe Avill see a rival accumulating 
 wealth and power in the west by this monopoly. 
 Jealousy and envy will conspire with national inter- 
 est to procure the sentence against us, JUelenda est 
 Carthago ! But this must be done by intrigue, by assas- 
 sination. These pirates present themselves as suita- 
 ble instruments of this policy. They are suffered in 
 existence for no other purpose but to be thus used. 
 Peace aiul war m ith them are articles of commerce ; 
 and they may be set on or bought off by the highest 
 bidder. The nations, who may find occasion to use 
 them to check our commerce, have little more to do 
 than to paint to them the certain advantages which 
 would result from making war upon it : to paint 
 the number, value and defenceless situation of our 
 merchantmen in this sea : and, if occasion should re- 
 quire, to add by way of stimulus regalia of ammu- 
 nition. Who among our friends would scruple to 
 use these means ? I wish avarice may find its limits 
 here. I wish I could persuade myself that the rival 
 nations of Europe, whom conquest will exhaust at 
 home, will not aim to fix their talons on flourishing 
 America. I wish I could think better of mankind : 
 but the age in which I live has already furnished 
 too many examples of this depraved policy, this cru- 
 el intrigue, of which America has been the subject, 
 without the ability to detect^ or po^ver to oppose its in- 
 fluence, not to establish the suspicion. 
 
 I vf ill here take the liberty to suggest that there is 
 an impropriety in granting money for Barbary with' 
 
GEN. EATON. 105 
 
 open galleries ; for, being published in Europe, Eu- 
 ropean agents here are instructed to inform the Beyg 
 of these appropriations, or they do it without in- 
 structions ; which tends to enhance their demands 
 and embarrass our negociations. This must be the 
 case, for the Beys do not read, yet they know per- 
 fectly well the amount of these appropriations. It 
 is only pursuing a uniform policy. Is England less 
 interested or less solicitous at this moment in prohib- 
 iting the carrying of American goods in American 
 bottoms to these important places of commerce, than 
 she was in 1660 ? 
 
 An English Captain from Mahon, a few days since, 
 was heard to say, in the Britishconsular house, that 
 eighty American ships had already passed the straits 
 this spring. The Consul, in a transport of astonish- 
 ment, exclaimed, '' By God we must put a check to 
 these people ; they are ruining all our commerce 
 here and in the East Indies !" 
 
 Would a directory of France less than a Lewis 
 the XIV. be solicitous to erect an Mgiers, if there 
 were not one already on this coast ? 
 
 But, independent of European intrigue, it would 
 tindoubtedly be to the interest of this regency to 
 break with us, and they undoubtedly know it. 
 
 The game of tlie Mediterranean Christians wrest- 
 ed from them by the more mighty hunters of the 
 Nortli and East, what have they for one hundred 
 and twenty blood hounds, which now lie kenneled 
 in their ports, to be employed about ? They must be 
 let loose upon somebody. They already scent our 
 merchantmen. And finding the least plausible pre- 
 text, they will be loosed to the chase. If then our 
 stipulations be not punctually obiserved, where is the 
 guarantee of our safety ? Shall we rely on treaty 
 compact? Treaties are dead languages with these 
 regencies. Was it not stipulated that one year 
 should be allowed to the French to remove with their 
 effects ? Is not their Consul, and are not his fellow 
 citizens, slaves ? We cannot place any reliance in. 
 
their good faith. Can Immanity move them ? Why 
 should we expect from inveterate pirates, virtues sel- 
 dom practised among civilized and christian na- 
 tions ? Have we the vanity to believe they are afraid 
 of us ? What should have produced this impulse ? 
 They have seen nothing here to excite terror but the 
 little Miss Sophia disguised in men's clothes. The 
 poor thing excited pity rather than alarm. When I 
 observed to the Bey at one of our interviews, that 
 we had once whipped the English^he shrewdly ask- 
 ed whether we did it or whether the French did it 
 ■ for us ? As I have before said, nothing will prevent 
 j us from being bloodsucked by this daughter of the 
 i horse leach except formidable force, faithful fulfil- 
 ment of our stipulations or further sacrifices. 
 
 Whatever shall be resolved upon, should be ex- 
 peditiously prosecuted. Otherwise we shall experi- 
 ence the evils which I liave predicted and which I 
 believe are now projecting. I am at this moment 
 convinced that it Avas with a view of finding pretext 
 for a war, that the Bey and his ministers labored 
 with so much perseverance to dragoon or manoeuver 
 me into a promise of regalia of jewels and a cruiser. 
 It is my decided opinion that unless something shaH 
 appear for us before the fir?t of February, the die 
 will be cast against us, and a sweep made among 
 our merchantmen. I wisli my alarm may prove the 
 child of timidity. But since from arguments already 
 given, it has taken j)osscssion of my belief, I cannot 
 forbear my importunity on a subject of so much im- 
 portance. We owe our peace at this moment to the 
 victory of Lord Nelson. 
 
 I submitted my opinion by Captain Gcddes, that a 
 small cruiser of eighteen or twenty guns would be 
 well given. I am still of that opinion, in case a 
 force be not sent out. 1 iiave before said tliat here 
 is no access to these courts witliout paving the way 
 with gold or cannon balls. Humanity condemns tlie 
 policy of putting arms into the hands of these mad 
 men. But we are not singular in this policy. Be- 
 
GEX. EATON. 107 
 
 sides considering the intrigues of our rivals here, 
 we ought perhaps to feel no remorse on this score 
 other than what the danger of those arms being 
 turned against ourselves should produce. I have al- 
 so advanced my opinion that a respectable, armed 
 force in this sea would be among the best precau- 
 tions against a preditory war.^ How often is the 
 maxim repeated in America, " to preserve peace, be 
 prepared for war ?'' But how should this prepara- 
 tion be productive of its object, if the world are ig- 
 norant of it ? If this precaution be necessary to pre- 
 serve peace among <iivilized nations, how much more 
 so among savages who have no restraint but fear ? 
 Having never seen the quiver they have no desire 
 for the olive branch. Our language to them should 
 be the language of the gospel : ^^ I have this day 
 set before you life and death, choose you which you 
 will.^' Without a language like this, and an attitude 
 to support it, to think of reciprocity is idle, since 
 here are no commercial interests to induce it. And 
 to send an agent with presents in his hands to talk 
 of friendship, honor and national justice, is like deck- 
 ing a woman with jewels and sending her into a for- 
 est to hold imparlance with a highwayman. 
 
 Were I to dictate measur&s to the United States, 
 they would read thus. " Send out the stimulated re- 
 galia : for, being stipuLated, it is become a debt. Ac- 
 company it with a respectable force ; and under our 
 guns, make the tender on iim legal principles of a 
 tender ; that, if refused, ii should a-nnul the obliga- 
 tion. After this act of justice is performed, if the 
 president should think proper to offer something 
 conciliatory, something to " turn away wrath,"' let 
 it be done gratuitously, and in such a manner as not 
 only to confer an obligation, but to impose a sense of 
 it also." These measures! do believe necessary pre- 
 cautions. But they icill be attended icith eocpence. 
 Let my fellow citizens be persuaded, before convic- 
 tion shall force the belief, that this is an expence 
 which must one day be submitted to. Wisdom woul(3 
 
108 LIFE OP 
 
 provide for it before we »hall hefratei^ally squeezed 
 into the measure. Before we incur the expence of 
 redeeming two or tliree hundred captives from sla- 
 very at three or four hundred dollars eacli, exclu- 
 sive of the loss of twenty or thirty merchantmen. 
 /**' Tiie citizens of tiie United States, jealous of their 
 liberty, and tenacious of their property, are reluctant, 
 or at least slow, to secure by due guards what they 
 are most desirous to have secured. If the ravages 
 of the present European war have not convinced them 
 that a defenceless position invites insult, they may 
 with a little more patience have additional evidence 
 of this truth. But to me it is now apparent that little 
 less than sacrifices equivalent to the expence of a 
 war will long secure our property on these seas, un- 
 less they will at least go to the voluntary expence of 
 sending out a hangman and erecting a gallows in 
 siglit of these robbers. 
 
 These familiar remarks and reflections in an of- 
 ficial communication I know are out of order, and 
 for the department of state, which I believe has long 
 since anticipated them, wholly unnecessary. But as 
 they arise out of observations taken on the spot, it 
 is not unreasonable to suppose they may make some 
 impression on minds not accustomed to be exercised 
 "with this subject. For this reason they are annexed 
 to the report whicli duly requires of me : and for 
 this reason it is hoped they may be considered veni- 
 ablo if not in order. * * * ^ * 
 
 Speaking the other day with the Swedish Consul, 
 who has been twenty years in this regency, respect- 
 ing the usances exacted of the nations, and mention- 
 ing the Bey's demands from the United States, he 
 said, ^^ All nations, in making and concbiding a 
 treaty of peace, make large presents ; otherwise the 
 most frivolous thing would be made a pretext for 
 new demands or for invalidating the treaty. Beside 
 this, the Bey Avould perhaps once in twenty years 
 demand a present. Re has lately demanded of 
 Sweden regalia of plank, timber and tar, part of 
 
GEN, EATON. 109 
 
 which has been sent out, the other is daily expected. 
 But/' continued he, " If England, who has been 
 two hundred years at peace with this regency, sliould 
 give twelve thousand pounds sterling on sending out 
 a 7iew Consul, it is not surprizing that much more 
 should be expected from a great nation on negociat- 
 ing a treaty and estahlisliing a Consul.'' 
 
 Whoever has read the books of the Old Testa- 
 ment, or else where learned the manners and cus- 
 toms of the ancient Jews and other eastern nations, 
 may form some idea of these people. Those ancient 
 religious rites, marriage ceremonies, ablutions, do- 
 mestic habits and even agricultural management, 
 (which probably must have descended from the an- 
 cient Egyptians.) are preserved here with little devi- 
 ation, and less improvement. But no custom of the 
 ancients seems more minutely preserved than that of 
 giving and receiving presents. This custom seems 
 to have been very ancient, not only on the reception 
 of Jin Ambassador, but also on the meeting of friends, 
 or formal visits. The Queen of Sheba, on a visit to 
 Solomon, is said to have brought a present, the gold 
 of which is estimated by Dean Prideaux at 864,000/. 
 sterling. Few I believe are the instances recorded 
 in ancient history, sacred or profane, of a prince or 
 an ambassador meeting a prince with propositions 
 of a negociation, without preluding the business with 
 a present. Hence David : " a gift in secret pacifi- 
 eth anger, and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.'* 
 What is now considered in Europe and America 
 corruption, was then no more than a matter of course : 
 and is now thus received by the descendents of 
 the eastern nations. The Sapitapa informed me 
 that when he went on an embassy to the Grand Sign- 
 ior, about two years ago, he carried with him a pres- 
 ent in jewels valued at 500,000 dollars of Spain: 
 and that, finding this inadequate to the purposes for 
 which it was intended, he used his discretion in pro- 
 curing the deficiency at great additional expencct 
 He added, that, as tiic measure procured the object of 
 
ilO LIFE OF 
 
 his mission, his court approved his conduct. This 
 story he gave as authority to govern my conduct 
 witli his master. It proved however the existence 
 of the custom with these nations in their negociations 
 with each other. But equivalent returns are general- 
 ly made in these cases. They have then imposed 
 on christians the custom of o;*imrt_g", without receiv- 
 ing : And christians have been stupid enough to 
 let it become usance^ law of nations, here : and 
 Americans must submit to it : or arm to resist it. 
 It is now more peculiarly necessary, because, in 
 yielding to the custom^ we have acceded to the law. 
 We began wrong : that is, we deviated from right 
 in suspending the fitting out of the five frigates to 
 enter upon a negociation with Algiers. Had our 
 ambassador held in his right hand a lighted match, 
 and in his left the project of a treaty, Algiers would 
 have blustered^ and fretted too, but she would have 
 been less exorbitant : and her accomplices, Tunis 
 and Tripoli, would have been awed into terms. 
 But regrets are useless : we have now only to make 
 the best of a bad bargain. 
 
 With great respect. 
 Sir^ your most obedient 
 Servant^ 
 WILLIAM EATOK 
 Hon. Timothy Pickering, 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 Extracts, to the Secretary of State. 
 
 Jnly i5th, 1799. 
 
 i have yet mentioned nothing of further attempts 
 fif a cash payment in lieu of the maritime and mili- 
 tary stores, l>ccause no avcII grounded hopes were 
 entertained of success, and because the result of pro- 
 jects some time since in operation were not known. 
 
 Interest was making with the governor of Porto 
 Farina and the Sapitapa, to influence the Bey into 
 ike measuie, and the prospect was considered not 
 
GEN. EATON. Ill 
 
 wholly desperate though not flattering. I had as- 
 sured the Sapitapa, that, if he would procure a final 
 settlement and discharge of all demands for any sum 
 short of ninety thousand dollars, he should be entitled 
 to receive ten thousand dollars promptly, in consider- 
 ation of his good offices. He seemed much inclined 
 to the argument. 
 
 On the 28tli ult. he gave a dinner at his garden. 
 Present, the English and Imperial Consuls, the Por- 
 tuguese and Sicilian ambassadors and the American 
 agent, besides several principal Turks. In the 
 morning of this day I took the opportunity to obtain 
 his decided opinion relative to the cash substitute. 
 He gave it, that the project was not feasible : said 
 that the Bey had purchased, and was purchasing, 
 all the ammunition he could procure : that he had sent 
 vessels to Trieste, Mahon and Spain, for maritime 
 and military stores, such as he expected from Amer- 
 ica, without being able to procure them. That he 
 was sending to Gibralter and England with the same 
 views : That the delinquency of the United States 
 had occasioned great disappointment ; particularly 
 so at the present crisis. It had operated to retard, 
 and indeed to defeat, plans of national defence and 
 enterprise, the entire execution of which depended 
 on these munitions of war. He was authorized a- 
 gain to declare that no sum of money would be con- 
 sidered an equivalent to the regalia. He hoped, if 
 the timber could not be procured immediately, (for I 
 told him it was yet growing on the sources of our 
 rivers,) that the guns, ammunition, pitch, tar, rosin, 
 cordage and such other articles as are to be found in 
 our magazines, would be forwarded without delay. 
 
 It is worthy of remark here that while v» e were at 
 dinner a hotly of Turks came armed to the garden, 
 and even into the court yard, and demanded money, 
 alledging that the gavernment having made peace 
 with every body had reduced them to famine ; but 
 fhe?i icere resolved not to starve ! This cirenmslance 
 
lis LIFE or 
 
 confirms the opiiiioii heretofore advanced that they 
 ' Must be let loose upon some body.' 
 
 On the 29th, the Portuguese and Sicilian ambas- 
 sadors embarked for their respective courts ; th» 
 former having concluded a truce vrith this regency 
 for three years^ the latter during the present war in 
 Europe. This raised a new spectre of alarm to my 
 vision. What now is to block the corsaires with- 
 efut the Straits ? What now shall hinder them from 
 cruising fn)m tlie Ca[)e of Good Hope to the Orkney 
 islands ? England is in a kind of alliance with 
 them ; and France will not oppose their outrage a- 
 gainst Americans. I resolved therefore once more to 
 see the Bey and push, if possible, the project of a cash 
 payment : accordingly, on the 4ili of July I waited 
 on him at his palace, and requested him to state 
 what sum of money would satisfy his claims and 
 cancel all his demands ? He laconically answered 
 '' No sum whatever. You need not think more of 
 it." He observed that his minister had communi- 
 cated to him ray proposals on this subject, and had 
 received his instructions to give me a conclusive and 
 final answer to them, which he presumed had been 
 done. I said the minister had made the communi- 
 cation, but as he was daily lessening the number of 
 his enemies, and of course diminishing the necessity 
 of these munitirms of war, I hoped it would produce 
 motives to dispense with them for a cash equivalent : 
 but as he insisted on the stipulated articles, I hoped 
 he would consider the impediments which might 
 retard their arrival and would prolong the time. He 
 said it would be early enough to enter upon this sub- 
 ject after the given time shall have expired. 
 
 I now consider that my ultimatum, agreeably to 
 instructions, has been proposed in a manner best 
 calculated to insure success, but finally rejected. 
 It remains with the exertions of the United States 
 to preserve the peace. Every thing conspires to 
 confirm my suspicion that the regency does not wish 
 it, and that the commerce of the United States is 
 
GEN. EATON. 11^ 
 
 marked out as the \4ctim of Tunissian piracy. I 
 thought I had exhausted the subject of this suspicion 
 in ray last letter, but new evidence appears to sup- 
 port it. The Spaniards are individually intriguing 
 to effect it, that they may avert the storm which low- 
 ers upon them ; and the secret agency of the French 
 h thrown into this scale of influence. Should the 
 Republic obtain a separate peace with the Ottoman 
 empire, which is projecting, the event is most certain, 
 unless, by our own means, we can counteract the 
 plot : for the Jews, who have loved us dearly hith- 
 erto, having much more depending with the French 
 than with the United States, will Avithdraw their 
 friendly offices from us. Besides, their percents on 
 loans and brokerage and their profits as bankers di- 
 minishing, they may calculate a more profitable spec- 
 ulation on American prizes than American commis- 
 sions : for, individually and collectively, they are — 
 Jews ! 
 
 To the menaces of war I have hitherto feigned a 
 voice of indifference, and, I believe, have impressed 
 a conviction of the truth of this disposition in my 
 government. But in this I have had to effect an 
 entire revolution of sentiment ; for the abject came- 
 leon who preceded me held no language ])ut that of 
 humility and supplication. Policy dictated this de- 
 parture from his example, and the opinion is deeply 
 impressed in my mind that policy will dictate to the 
 United States to support me in this position, unless 
 they have reasons for relapsing into disgrace herC;, 
 and for submitting to be plundered. 
 
 Should an armed force accompany the regalia in- 
 to this sea, it should take the appearance of a con- 
 voy. This would appreciate the merit of our exer- 
 tions, and, without menace, will have the effect of 
 chastisement. But if the Bey should persist in his 
 demand of Jewels, and if there be no alternative but 
 an equivalent or a rupture, how am I to govern my- 
 self? 
 
 ' ' 15 
 
ii4i LIFE OF 
 
 Tunis, Sth »lugust, 1799. 
 
 On 30th and 31st ultimo^ the Bey called upon all 
 the consuls of the tributary nations, (among them 
 the American !) and demanded of their courts^ 
 through thera^ immediate supplies of naval stores. 
 Of me he had the modesty only to demand that I, 
 without delay, should charter a ship for America to 
 bring out the naval stores. Said, by a report of his 
 Admiral, governor of Porto Farina, and of his naval 
 constructor, he was informed, that he had not a sin- 
 gle plank nor a spar in his magazines. I consumed 
 three days at the palace on the affair, and left the 
 Bey where he started. 
 
 i^othing can be added to tlie communications 
 heretofore made to inforce the necessity of expedi- 
 tion in forwarding the regalia. I have prevailed on 
 the Bey to forbear till the first of January, and have 
 insisted on the impossibility of returns from Ameri- 
 ca till February. The earliest information of the 
 provision, &c. making, may be useful to me. I have 
 uniformly found the Bey a reasonable and indeed 
 accommodatin-g man. But the Sapitapa — owns 
 corsaires, and Famiu is his — slave 1 
 
 Tunis, mil Oct, 1799. 
 The Bey of Tunis still holds an imperious tone. 
 1 can add little on this subject to the communications 
 already forwarded, but a confirmation that nothing 
 will secure our peace here but implicit concessions to all 
 the demands of the regency, or formidalde resistance. 
 Having resolved to know m hether any relaxation of 
 the Bey's claims could, by any means, be obtained, I 
 waited on him in his palace yesterday, and proposed 
 that he should receive in lieu of the jewels demand- 
 ed, the amount of ten thousand dollars in such arti- 
 cles as he should chuse to commission for from En- 
 gland. He ansAvered that he ivas not a merchant : 
 he kneic nothing of the value of the regalia ; they 
 were the usance ; and he should neither abate nor 
 coinmutc. 
 
GEN. EATON. • 115 
 
 The fact is, tlie regalia have been stipulated by the 
 proper agent of the United States, and the govern- 
 ment have no alternative but to ratify the act or g6 
 to war. The first of January is declared to be the 
 ultimate moment of forbearance for the maritime and 
 military regalia : the jewels three months later. 
 This being the situation of our affairs here, I haVe 
 thought prudent to communicate a caution to the dif- 
 ferent Consuls in the Mediterranean : it may also be 
 proper to cause the communication to be made pub- 
 lic in the United States. 
 
 The project of a war witli Spaiu has evaporated. 
 A secret accommodation between the Consul and the 
 Bey has reconciled the latter. France, though at 
 war, is not less secure in her intrigues than her 
 strength. The king of the two Sicilies has a truce. 
 The oth^r Italian states and Malta have foreign pro- 
 tection. There is not then upon all the coast of tlie 
 Mediterranean a single corsaire in which the vul- 
 ture of Tunis can fix his talons. He views his prey 
 in the west. My suspicions of the hostile disposition 
 of this regency towards the United States are sup- 
 ported by testimony which renders the fact unequiv- 
 ocal. The late Ambassador from this to x\lgiers was 
 charged to intimate to the Dey, that ^^ the Bey, having 
 limited the period of his forbearance witli the United 
 States to six months from the departure of their A- 
 gent's dispatches, trusts the Bey would not interfere, 
 if, after the lapse of said period, in case of failure on 
 the part of the United States, he should adopt strong 
 measures.'' This is said to have excited some agi- 
 tation at that court, and to have drawn from the Bey 
 professions of his friendship towards us : but noth- 
 ing appears in his dispositions to evidence any oppo- 
 sition to the measure. When one sound argument 
 can be introduced founded in facts, or in the interest 
 or good faith of the Bey of Algiers, to induce his ef- 
 fectual interference in belialf of the United States, 
 then let us rely on this interference : but if facts, no 
 less than circumstances, go to prove the contrary, let 
 
116 LIFE OF 
 
 US no longer be amused. Is not Algiers allied with 
 Tunis by blood, religion, lionovy (there is honor a- 
 mong thieves, J and by the closer ties of interest? The 
 same instant that the ambassador made tiiis commu- 
 nication he put into the hands of the Dey a present, 
 valued in Tunis at thirty thousand and seven hun- 
 dred dollars ; being the amount of the annual tribute 
 and extraordinary regalia. This was, of itself, 
 sufficient to compose the soul of the Potent Beast 
 at that moment, if he had seen the whole Chris- 
 tian world inveloped in destruction. But the Dey 
 dares not use his influence for us if disposed. What ! 
 Turk betray the interest of Turk. Mussulman cut 
 the throat of Mussulman ; and pirate oppose the in- 
 terest of allied pirate, to aid the interest of infidels, 
 dogs, slaves ! for his life he dares not ! He would see 
 revenge and death brandished against him on the 
 blade of every Mussulman's otagan. I affirm that he 
 has no serious inclination to aid our measures here. 
 It is ascertained that the important letters, put into 
 the hands of Mr. Cathcart and myself to insure the 
 success of our negociation here and at Tripoli, were 
 merely letters of civility and calculated to amuse us. 
 What else did they avail ? * * * ■ * * 
 On the 2()th September, Hassen Alzeri was stran- 
 gled by the Bey ! This young prince was the de- 
 scendant in the third degree in the right line from 
 the predecessor of the father of the present Bey. 
 He had been confined from infancy in Algiers, until 
 about seven years ago, when he made his escape 
 hither by the agency of the Bey, under tlie appear- 
 ance of friendship ; but more probably to acquire a 
 more immediate ascendency over his life and for- 
 tune. Tlie soldiers who were ordered to seize him 
 durst not approach him. He threw away his arms 
 and said, advance ! What alarms you ? They con- 
 ducted him to the place of execution. The mutes 
 approached him with caution. Execute your or- 
 ders, cowards ! said he ; and snatching the cord 
 from their hands and placing it about his neck, and 
 
GEK. EATON. H7 
 
 putting liis hands behind him, ordered them to tie 
 liim. "Looking upon his friends, who stood about 
 him, he said ; If I have wronged you, forgive me : t 
 go to the tomb of mi/ fathers ; and was strangled. 
 He was conducted in a cart to that tomb without a 
 single follower. About the same time a slave was 
 bastinadoed to death in the palace. Hamuda Bash- 
 mv is considered a mild prince. ***** 
 
 The special reasons which induced Doctor Shaw 
 to leave the Sophia, I leave to him to detail. They 
 "were such as I considered wonld at least justify me 
 in countenancing the measure ; especially as it ap- 
 peared to be the result of an anangement made by 
 Captain Geddes himself, and founded in a settled 
 animosity between the officers of the brig, and the 
 Doctor. I have continued his pay agreeably to his 
 appointment up to the 21st of August last ; and have 
 given him reason to expect it to be continued until 
 he shall have arrived at tiie seat of government, and 
 shall have delivered these dispatches with which he 
 is charged. My inducements for sending him at 
 this moment, and in this manner, to America, are to 
 communicate to government certain and correct in- 
 formation of the existing state of affairs here, and to 
 use the measure as an argument for further jforbear- 
 ance, if necessary. I believe the step dictated by 
 the best policy, under existing circumstances ; hope 
 it may receive the approbation of government, and 
 produce the intended effects. It has the concur- 
 rence of the Consul at Algiers in the following 
 words. " I much approve of all you have done rel- 
 ative to forwarding Doctor Shaw : I hope it will fa- 
 cilitate the stipulations.'' Mr. Shaw has talents 
 and integrity which may be rendered very useful to 
 the public and the world, if suitably patronized. 
 
 Uh Bee. 1799. 
 With infinite satisfaction I have the honor to in- 
 form you that within a fe^v days our affairs have as- 
 sumed a new and promising aspect. Since the de- 
 
118 LIFE OF 
 
 parture of Doctor Shaw for America on the 17th Oc- 
 tober, I have paid court to the vanity and avarice 
 (predominant passions) of the Sapitapa ; and have 
 at length persuaded him, what is undoubtedly true, 
 that he would ilnd his real interest more secure in a 
 commercial intercourse than in a war with the Unit- 
 ed States ; and that Americans would be his safest 
 carriers to Spain, where he has opened an extensive 
 commerce, the ships of all other nations being inter- 
 rupted either by the ])e]ligerent powers of Europe or 
 by the corsaires of Aly;iers. I observed to him that 
 the conditions of these advantages were known to 
 iiim ; that I had, during the short time of my resi- 
 dence here, received propositions from the American 
 consul at Leghorn and Barcelona, to introduce a trade 
 here ; and also applications from two American mas- 
 ters of vessels, to get them freight here : in reply to 
 whicli I had stated to them the articles of our trea- 
 ty : since which I had heard no more on the subject. 
 It was only necessary to inform my countrymen that 
 they were not equally respected here with other na- 
 tions, to determine them against coming here, let the 
 considerations of individual profit he what they 
 would. He noAv experienced the truth of what I 
 eight montlis ago declared to him ; that no Ameri- 
 can merchantman would ever enter a port of Tunis, 
 unless compelled, until they should be informed that 
 the terms of our treaty were more favorable. 
 
 The Sapitapa acknowledged a propriety in my 
 observations ; expressed an earnest desire to employ 
 Americans as carriers to Spain ; and intimated his 
 opinion, that if the regalia arrived in season, there 
 would then be no impediment to an arrangement of 
 our affairs more satisfactoiily. He promised to open 
 the subject to the Bey, and to give it his support, — 
 He entered very candidly into a detail of the causes 
 whicli had embarrassed our nejrociations Jiere, which 
 sliali appear at large on my jouriia], but which may 
 be reduced lierc to two words, French intrigue and 
 Jeivish injidelitif. 
 
GEN. EATON. 119 
 
 I saw the Bey this morning, and have his promise 
 for forbearance sixty days. In the mean time, it is 
 hoped, we may liavc arrivals from America. Famin 
 has tried to insinuate that the government of (he U- 
 nited States have no serious intentions of fulfilling 
 their engagements with Tunis. He has not succeed- 
 ed. — That slave has been a thorn in my side. But 
 he has now no influence at court. The Bey's family 
 physician informed me, a few days since at dinner 
 with me, that the extraordinary demand for jewels 
 was actually projected by him, (Famin) and stipu- 
 lated after my arrival at Tunis. That the Sapita- 
 pa hesitated to introduce it, as it had not been stated 
 in any of his former communications ; and that 
 Famin told him not to hesitate, he (Famin) could 
 find document to support the demand. I have uni- 
 formly treated this French pirate with polite atten- 
 tion, taking care to keep the commanding grounds, 
 till I have finally defeated all his projects of mis- 
 chief : and if nothing interfere with my present 
 arrangements, have now a flattering prospect af ulti- 
 mately terminating our affairs with this Regency, 
 more favorably to the interests of the United States, 
 and more conformably to the instructions of the gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 Three things have operated to produce this change 
 of projects at court, 1 . Doct. Shaw's departure to 
 America ; 2. the Bey's pursuasion that the United 
 States after obtaining a peace witli France, will 
 send a fleet into this sea ; 3. The Sapitapa's desire 
 to employ American carriers. 
 
 Extracts from Mr. Eaton's Jbitrwa/. 
 
 May "Mh. The Sophia, Captain Henry Geddes, 
 sailed for America. 
 
 t^ Mustapha Coggea, the Prime Minister, and 
 the Sapitapa, keeper of the great Seal, are both 
 slaves to the regency of Tunis, were brought from 
 Georgia in Asia, and sold for money. The latter 
 
120 LLt'ii 01? 
 
 was purchased by the Governor of Ifax, and remain- 
 ed in his house till the Bey was smitten with his 
 charms, and demanded him of his master. They 
 became renegades at an early period. The former 
 is a brave, discerning, humane old man, of course 
 generous of heart and liberal of sentiment : the lat- 
 ter a sly, designing, avaricious beast, and of course 
 bigoted. 
 
 On their decease the property of both escheats to 
 the Bey. 
 
 i'hth. Feast of Biram. All the consuls visited the 
 Bey except the American, who excused himself, 
 having three days before fallen from a horse antl 
 lamed himself in the — will ! 
 
 Last evening tlie governor of Porto Farina renew- 
 ed his application for a present, through a friend ; 
 intimated that all nations paid hira this compliment 
 on sending out a new consul. Delicacy hindered 
 his personal application. He is a man of the first 
 influence among Tunissian governors. * * * 
 
 %Oth. Walked to Carthage : sat oif at 6, A. M. 
 and arrived half past eight. Rambled among the 
 ruins till half past twelve, and arrived in Tunis at 
 4, P. M. Mercury stood at 96. The Moors were 
 reaping their corn. * * * * * 
 
 June 2ist. The old Count Porcela, Sardinian Am- 
 bassador, concluded a stipulation for the payment of 
 a redemption of the captives of St. Piere, and all the 
 Christian Consuls were desired to be present to wit- 
 ness the contract. I had for a number of days been 
 afflicted with an aifection in my head which had in- 
 duced me to wear, under my hat, a Turkish cap 
 made of fine wool died red. On entering the porch 
 of the palace, I was informed that I could not be 
 admitted to the presence of the Bey with this cover. 
 I stated my reasons for wearing it. He returned for 
 answer that no ambassador ever came before him cov- 
 ered ; and as it was the usance of the palace, if I could 
 dispense with it till I had passed the usual ceremoni- 
 al salute, I might immediately put it on again. I a- 
 
GEN. EATON. 1^1 
 
 gi'eed. But the Sapitapa, availing of this opportu- 
 nity to give himself consequence, sent me word that 
 it was not customary for Consuls to appear before 
 him neither covered. I replied, that as usual I 
 should take oif my hat ; but did not feel inclined to 
 take off my ca^?, as it was inconvenient. Some in- 
 termediate imparlance took place. We both main- 
 tained our positions ; till he sent me word that if I 
 would not concede the point I could not see hira. 
 By G**, I will not see him I I am not come hither to 
 be insulted by the Sapitapa. When he wishes to see 
 me he will send for me, said I, and bowing apology 
 to the consuls, turned on my heels, walked to my 
 carriage, mounted and ordered the Moor to drive off. 
 
 This, however trifling, was a subject of much 
 ^speculation to the Consuls. Those who had the 
 misfortune to be born in the country, gazed with as- 
 tonishment. The others stifled a laugh. " Who is 
 this American ?'' said the Sapitapa. ^^ You must 
 know," said the British Consul, "that he is a repre- 
 sentative of an independent and a brave nation, 2cho 
 descended from the English, and you will do well 
 to be reconciled to him." 
 
 27th, On the S7th, I received a polite invitation 
 to dine with the Sapitapa, at his garden, in company 
 with the English and Dutch Consuls, the Portu- 
 guese and Sicilian ambassadors, the Bey's principal 
 physician, and a number of principal Turks. A 
 thing which very seldom happens. 
 
 2^th. Received a letter from the palace express- 
 ing the Bey's wish to see me there tomorrow morn- 
 ing early. 
 
 SOth. Five in the morning, at the palace. The 
 Bey demanded that I should immediately charter a 
 vessel to the United States, to expedite out the 
 stores ; said he had not a spar nor a plank in his 
 magazines ; recapitulated the old song of grievance 
 and delay ; and insisted on this measure v/ith a tone 
 of imperioHsness. 
 
 16 
 
iSS LIFE OF 
 
 lu a very few Avords I convinced liim that th^ 
 measure was impracticable. He shewed much agi- 
 tation ; doubted the sincerity of our governraentc and 
 suspected in them an intention of evasion ; said three 
 months of tlie time of forbearance iiad already elaps- 
 ed ; andj counting with his fingers, said, " Novem- 
 ber ! If you will not comply with my demand, and 
 the regalia do not appear by the first of November, 
 I shall take steps to recover for myself suitable 
 damages for the disappointment.^' I addressed his 
 reason, for he is really a very reasonable man, stated 
 the date of the Sophia's departure from Algiers, the 
 rout she took, and the probable time of the voyage ; 
 and pledged myself that the regalia would be for- 
 warded without delay. He seemed dissatisfied. A 
 project presented. I proposed taking a passage my- 
 self to America to iiurry on the stores ; imagining 
 that if once off, he could not honorably use violence 
 against us till he should at least hear from me. The 
 stratagem succeeded. He saw not the object ; clos- 
 ed with the plan ; and I engaged to embark in five 
 days. 
 
 July Sist. At the palace. Made arrangements foi- 
 the management of our affairs, and announced Dr. 
 Shaw as charged. — Took leave. 
 
 August ist. Five, A. M. at the palace. After 
 much interlocutory conversation, the Bey intimated 
 doubts of the propriety of proceeding on the voyage ; 
 and with, much fairness, stated the objections wJiich 
 suggested themselves : thought, on the whole, it 
 would be better to suspend tlie enterprize till I should 
 hear from America : and agreed to wait patiently till 
 thefirsst of January. * * * * * 
 
 If the United States persist in resignation and 
 passive ohedience, they will find tliat " Qui se fait 
 brebis le lonp le mange." He who makes himself a 
 sheep must expect to be devoured by the wolf. 
 
 August 5th. The Tunissians have little or no liti 
 g^tion^ because they have no attornies among them 
 
GEN. EATON. 123 
 
 They have no domestic scandal and neighbor- 
 liood bickering, because they shut up their women. 
 
 Their young men are muscular, athletic, hale and 
 enterprizing, because they have no access to inebria- 
 tion and venery. 
 
 Their married men are inert and domestic, being 
 permitted a plurality of wives they are always re- 
 laxed and forever jealous : and, being in the perpet- 
 ual habit of smoking tobacco, they have an eternal 
 propensity to sleep. 
 
 Considered as a nation, ihey are deplorably 
 wretched, because they have no property in the soil 
 to inspire an ambition to cultivate it. They are ab- 
 ject slaves to the despotism of their government : and 
 they are * humiliated by tyranny the worst of all ty- 
 rannies, the desjiotism of priestcraft. They live in 
 more solemn fear of the frowns of a bigot who has 
 been dead and rotten above a thousand years, than 
 of the living despot whose frown would cost them 
 their lives. 
 
 Their manners are simple, their living tempera'te, 
 and their conversation generally without dissimula- 
 tion. They have no midnight revels ; no assaults 
 and batteries, and very seldom assassinations. The 
 deplorable wretchedness which always attaches it- 
 self to seduction, and which so frequently wounds 
 the eye of sensibility in every village in the Chris- 
 tian world, is unknown here : because they impris- 
 on their girls. 
 
 Maxims of Hamuda Bashaw, Bey of Tunis, 
 {worthy a Christian Prince. J 
 
 Never jutlge the cause of a friend : for, however 
 just, suspicion will pronounce it partiality ! 
 
 Have no intimacy with the great men of the king- 
 dom, lest they gain an ascendency over the mind, 
 and divert the attention from the duties of kindness 
 and equity towards the common subject. 
 
 Suffer no fees to be received for administration of 
 justice ; lest avaricious men should devise means t© 
 ,make a commerce of it. 
 
1S4 LIFE OF 
 
 Admit no advocates, because simple statements 
 generally lead to the clearest truths. * * * * 
 
 iith. Some good friend had informed the Bey 
 that I had an elegant Grecian mirror in my house. 
 To day he sent a request for it, pretending that he 
 ^vanted it for the cabin of his pleasure boat, now a- 
 bout to be launched. So it is. If the Consuls have 
 a good piece of furniture, or any other good thing 
 which strikes with the Bey's fancy, he never hesi- 
 tates to ask for it : and they have no alternative but 
 to give it. They have suffered this to become us- 
 ance also. 
 
 i2th. Sent the Bey the mirror. 
 
 The following copy of a Letter from Admiral Nel~ 
 so'^^ procured by Mr. C athc art and sent to Eaton, 
 though not connected with the present subject, is a 
 curiosity well worth preservation and perusal. 
 
 Vanguard, Palermo, April 28th, 1799. 
 Sir, 
 
 WHEN I received your Highness's 
 letter by Capt. Hardy, of the Vanguard, I was re- 
 joiced to find that you had renounced the treaty you 
 had imprudently entered into with some of the emis- 
 saries of General Buonaparte, that man of blood, 
 that despoiler of the weak, that enemy of all good 
 Mussulmen ; for like Satan he only flatters that he 
 may the more easily destroy. And it is true that 
 since the year 1789, all Frenchmen are exactly of 
 the same disposition. I had sent your letter to the 
 great King my master ; I had done the same to the 
 grand Signior ; for I never believed that your high- 
 ness would say a word that was not most strictly 
 true ; a lie is impossible for a true Mussulman to 
 tell ; at least, I had always believed so. What 
 then must have been my astonishment, to have heart! 
 from his Britanic Majesty's Consul General, Mr. 
 Lucas, tliat, the moment the Vanguard sailed, the 
 Incncii Consul and all the French were liberated ; 
 
GI:N. EATON. 1S5 
 
 and also the French vessels in port allowed to fit 
 for sea ; and one, to my knowledge, had sailed for 
 Malta. Why will your highness be thus led astray 
 by evil counsellors, who can have no other object in 
 view, but your ruin. 
 
 Your highness knows that although a powerful 
 squadron of Portuguese ships has been since last Au- 
 gust under my command ; that by every means in 
 my power, they have been prevented from cruising 
 against the ships of your highness, or from approach- 
 ing your coast. 
 
 It is now my duty to speak out, and not to be mis- 
 understood. That Nelson, who has hitherto kept 
 your powerful enemy from destroying you, can and 
 will let them loose upon you, unless the following 
 terms are, in two hours, complied with : viz. that 
 the French Consul and Vice Consul, and every 
 Frenchman, are delivered on board her most faithful 
 Majesty's ship Alphonso, to Commodore Campbell, 
 in two hours from Mr. Lucas setting his foot on 
 shore. 
 
 That hostages are also sent on board to remain 
 till every Frenchman in the state of Tripoli shall be 
 sent off, which shall not exceed four days. N. B. 
 There shall be no reservation or trick about the 
 French Consul at Tripoli : he shall be on board in 
 two hours from the demand being made. 
 
 All French vessels, or vessels pretended to be 
 taken from the French, shall be destroyed in two 
 hours. These terms complied with. Commodore 
 Campbell will, as he has done upon the passage, re- 
 frain from taking your vessels, until his arrival at 
 Palermo. If these proper terms are not complied 
 with, I can no longer prevent the ships of lier most 
 faithful Majesty from acting with vigor against your 
 highness. 
 
 Your highness will, v/ithout difficulty, write me a 
 letter, the substance of which will be dictated by 
 Mr. Lucas : you will also, as a convincing proof of 
 your detestation of the evil councils which liave been 
 
tS6 LIFE OF 
 
 given you by Hamet Rais, your Capt. of the Port, 
 cither cause him to be delivered to Commodore 
 Carapbcllj that I may send Jiim to Constantinople, 
 or dispose of him in such a manner that he may for- 
 ever be incapable of giving your highness any ad- 
 vice ; for his heart is so black that I am informed 
 he can give you no good. 
 
 Your highness will, 1 am confident, approve of 
 the opeii and unreserved manner of this letter, and 
 consider it as a proof of the honest, upright intentions 
 of the great MONARCH whom I have the honor of 
 serving ; and that it comes fro«m your highnesses 
 
 Most attached 
 and faithful Servant^ 
 fSignedJ NELSON. 
 Mis Highness the 
 Bashaw ofTrijwli. 
 
 To Mr. Pickering. 
 
 Dec. i5th, 1799. 
 
 On the 6th instant I had the honor to inform you 
 of the more favorable prospect of our aiFairs. I now 
 confirm that information. The principal cause of 
 which is the interest which the Sapitapa views in his 
 future employment of American bottoms to carry for 
 him to Spain, all others of neutral powers being in 
 danger from the Algerines. This circumstance 
 promises an issue of our negociations corresponding 
 with the Avishes of our government, provided the re- 
 galia arrive before a negociation for a peace be set 
 on foot iu Europe ; in which case we shall have to 
 combat the whole commercial influence of France. 
 
 The Bev's Chamberlain tlined with me. After 
 plying liim plentifully with wine he ran over the com- 
 mencement and progress of the American affairs,. 
 Said, after my arrival at Biscrte, Famin was con- 
 stantly atBardo, importuning the Bey to refuse me 
 an audience, stating the infidelity and ingratitude of 
 die United States in general, and particularly as it 
 
GEN. EATON. 1S7 
 
 respected his nation and himself personally ; insinu- 
 ating that this innovation upon their establishment 
 made here, of a Consul, was undoubtedly aiming at 
 some evasion of fulfilling the engagements stipulated 
 by treaty ; and urging the services he had rendered 
 and was always ready to render his Excellency. 
 The Sapitapa was in favor of Famin. The old Min- 
 ister Mustapha Coggea, was against the measure. 
 The Bey balanced two or three days ; and then an- 
 swered Famin : " You have told me repeatedly that 
 you were appointed by the Prince of America his 
 Consul General near me, and that by the first arrivals 
 you should receive your credentials : Instead of this 
 you now inform me that America has deceitfully sup- 
 planted you, and their proper Consul is now in one 
 of my ports ; and you demand of me to avenge your 
 wrong by refusing this agent a hearing. I do not 
 know but all you have told me is true ; but I am ap- 
 prehensive you have not told me all that is true : this 
 Consul at least may throw light in my path ; and it 
 will be early enough to send him back when I shall 
 have examined whether he be the messenger of good 
 or of evil. At any rate you connot be accredited 
 any longer as the representative of that nation, unless 
 you produce the credentials which you have so often 
 assured me were made out for you.'' 
 
 Famin then offered the Sapitapa to double tlie rent 
 of his house, if he would consent to let him cut down 
 the American flag and remain in it. The Sapitapa 
 inclined both towards Famin and the rent : but his 
 ambition of having the American flag flying upon his 
 liouse, overcame his avarice and his friendship. 
 
 After my arrival, Famin took every occasion of 
 my absence from Bar do, to be thci^e ; and to iuforce 
 the idea of the infidelity of the United States. Said 
 they were tlie d'lpes of Algiers ; that their Consul 
 v/as nothing but a vice Consul, subject to the Consul 
 general at Algiers, and only placed here as a spy : 
 that the Consul general was no other than a slave to 
 tlie Dey of Algiers, wlio merited rather to be coiisid- 
 
138 LIFE OP 
 
 ered an instrument of the Dey than a foreign minis- 
 ter : and that he had actually consigned the vice Con- 
 sul here to Bradi, the Algeriue Vickil. 
 
 To which the Bey answered, " Patience ! time 
 proves all things. I must receive the proper minis- 
 ter of the American Prince." 
 
 This chamberlain is the humble friend of the Bey, 
 who has been twenty two years in this service ; and, 
 though his freedom has been given him, he prefers 
 his place to returning to Europe. He is harmless, 
 friendly, and generally silent : but is vulnerable in 
 his head ! 
 
 Jan. ist, 1800. 
 
 On the 27th December, I received a letter from 
 Mr. O'Brien, inclosing a copy of a letter from Mr. 
 Smith, at Lisbon, which stated that the frigates, U- 
 nited States and Constitution, were about to sail for 
 the Mediterranean in August last ; and that they 
 were probably to have in charge the articles intended 
 for the Regencies. Tliis information I immediately 
 communicated to the Bey ; adding, that he should 
 be satisfied that the regalia were under way : hoped 
 it would arrive in January. 
 
 Feb. ist, 1800. 
 Sir, 
 
 Since informing the Bey, by the authority of Mr. 
 Smith's letter to Capt. O'Brien, that the articles in- 
 tended for the regency of Tunis were under way, I 
 have been only once at the palace. Tins audience 
 was consumed in talking of the lengih of the voyage, 
 inclemency of the season, and inconstancy of the 
 winds. 
 
 I have no doubt of amusing tlie JBey until certain 
 intelligence arrive concerning the expected regalia ; 
 provided this information arrive before the spring 
 season invite the corsairs to sea. 
 
 March ist, 1800. 
 
 My last audience wit]i the Sapitapa assured him 
 that our vessels, destined for the regencies, were ])ut 
 in quarantine at J^sbun. I know not what to mnlce 
 
QEX. EATON. Igg 
 
 my dernier resort. Tliis is an anxious moment. A 
 storm is gathering. Nothing can be added to the 
 voluminous reports already made on this subject. 
 Unless something appear for us, a short time will 
 prove that my conjectures have been but too accurate 
 and my alarms but too well grounded. It is known 
 at the palace that there are forty American merchant- 
 men at anchor in the port of Leghorn : and seventy- 
 four days have brought information from America of 
 the death of the illustrious General Washington, via. 
 Leghorn. These communications, and every other 
 concerning us, are made by Famin to the Sapitapa. 
 The conclusion is natural ; " the United States can 
 as safely and as expeditiously send ships to Tunis as 
 to Leghorn. 
 
 March 8//z, 1800. 
 
 The copy of a letter to Mr. Appleton, herewith 
 inclosed, requires no explanation. It may suggest 
 to the department of State whether there would not 
 be a propriety in cautioning the Consuls of the Unit- 
 ed States against too liberal a diifusion of the privu 
 leges of American citizenship. It is not impossible, 
 however, that Alberganty, a native Italian, may be 
 among Judge M'K--n's American citizens, as he was 
 certainly in Americti, Philadelphia, in I796, and is a 
 blustering Jacobin. 
 
 Policy has induced me to grant Famin a letter of 
 protection ; but I have since obtained proofs so in- 
 controvertible of his fraudulent negociation ; and 
 have such evidence of his persevering intrigues to 
 defeat the success of our measures with this regency ; 
 that, the moment our affairs will admit of the step, I 
 will withdraw that protection, denounce him at the 
 palace, and to the world. This will arrest the prog- 
 ress of his mischief as an American citizen, and will 
 prevent his doing further injuries to us in a character 
 which has attached to him more credit than his per- 
 sonal merit. But it will draw upon me the full ex- 
 ercise of his malignity. The most which can result 
 from it is assassination ; to execute which, I do «ot 
 
 17 
 
ISO LIFE Of 
 
 doubt his disposition, if he had courage to attempt it 
 A man, who could dance in the ruins, on hearing of 
 t he assassination of his principal, Robespiere, may- 
 be suspected of any thing. I am, however, at all 
 times prepared against a ruffian. Herculais' com- 
 mission was signed by Robespiere ; his measures 
 here, were dictated by the French policy of that ty- 
 rant's day : and Famin was selected, by Herculais, 
 from among a hundred other Frenchmen, as the most 
 suitable character to push those measures, and em- 
 barrass the United States. There lives not unhung 
 a character more false, a knave more abandoned, 
 nor a villain more abject, than our cidevant agent, 
 here. Mr. Barlow's faith in Herculais, and conse- 
 quent confidence in his agent here, is, perhaps, a- 
 mong the inexplicable errors to which good men arc 
 sometimes incident. 
 
 I waited on the Bey- yesterday. He permitted me 
 to kiss his hand : frowned a menace, and said not a 
 single word to me. 
 
 Mr. Pickering to Eaton. 
 
 Department of State^ 
 Philadelphia J Jan. i^th, ISOO. 
 
 SlE, 
 
 I have reserved for a separate letter the Presi- 
 dent's determination on the subject of the Jewels 
 demanded by the Bey of Tunis. In his letter to the 
 President, of which"^ I inclose you a copy, you v/ill 
 see that he persists in his claims : but not in terms so 
 decided as in his conversations with you. Perhaps 
 it may be parried, or at least reduced to one half the 
 amount. Since you wrote, you may have ascertain- 
 ed what other powers, as well as Spain, have given 
 on similar occasions. I am aware that the delay is 
 unfavorable ; but if he ^vaits the arrival of the Hero, 
 with her valuable cargo of naval and military stores, 
 an earnest, besides, that the residue will come, I hope 
 he will be softenecl ; and that you will citheT do a- 
 way his claim or reduce it to a small value iu some 
 
GEN. EATON. ISl 
 
 of the most conspicuous articles in his list. You 
 will well consider how this affair may be best con- 
 (kicted ; and act as you shall think most advanta- 
 geous for the interest of the United States. It will 
 not >do to lose our peace with Tunis for the value of 
 these presents. You suppose the estimate to be ex- 
 travagant : doubtless the articles are set at tlie Jew 
 prices, and that for a much less sum, they may be 
 procured from England. If therefore, you are com- 
 pelled to give the presents, secure time enough to 
 get them in England. Some must prol)ably be man- 
 ufactured for the purpose : and the whole may re- 
 quire a year to be procured. In the mean time, as 
 he wants something to be seen, a few articles, most 
 showy, may be procured at Tunis. If he objects to 
 the proposed delay, you can answer that the Presi- 
 dent felt a conMence, that on further reflection upon 
 all circumstances in relation to the United States, he 
 would relinquish the claim, and therefore did not 
 give orders to provide the present, &e. 
 
 fSignedJ 
 TIMOTHY PICKERING. 
 
 To William Eatox, JEsq. 
 
 The PRESIDEiSTT of the UNITED STATES 
 
 OF AMERICA, 
 To HAMOUDA PACHA, BEY of TUNIS, 
 
 THE WELL GUARDED CITY AND ABODE OF 
 
 FELICITY. 
 
 I HAVE received your letter of the 30th of A- 
 pril 1799, answering to the 25th of the Moon Kaada, 
 of the year of the Hegira 1S13 ; and take this occa- 
 sion to express to you my thanks for the attention 
 shown to my Deputies, William Eaton and James 
 Leander Cathcart, who were charged to arrange 
 anew with you some articles of the treaty of peace and 
 amity between us. It gives me pleasure also tliat 
 vou have received Mr. Eaton for tlie Consul of the 
 
1^ LWB OF 
 
 United States, and assured to him all the honors, dis- 
 tinctions and prerogatives, which the Consuls of oth- 
 er nations enjoy. I persuade myself that by his 
 wise and discreet deportment he will shew himself 
 alike worthy of your regards and of my confidence. 
 
 Nothing could be more grateful to me than the 
 expression of your desire, that in consequence of 
 these final arrangements, a commerce solid and lucra- 
 tive, might be established ; and that Almighty God 
 would cause to reign, between our respective nations, 
 a firm and durable peace. 
 
 With respect to the time within which you re- 
 quired that the stipulated stores should be delivered, 
 I have charged Mr. Eaton to explain to you the im- 
 possibility of a compliance : and will now only ob- 
 serve, that of the six months proposed for that pur- 
 pose, four had elapsed when your letter and the 
 Consul's dispatches arrived : and then a pestilence, 
 raging in some of our principal cities, by causing the 
 inhabitants to flee to the country, and suspending 
 business, rendered delays unavoidable. But you 
 may rest fissured, that the engagements I have made 
 with you, in behalf of the United States, will be per- 
 formed with perfect good faith ; and all the stipulat- 
 ed naval and military stores be delivered, with as 
 much dispatch as the great distance of the United 
 States, and the time necessary to procure the stores, 
 render practicable. Your clear and eminent discern- 
 ment will see the reasonableness of these observa- 
 tions ; and your regard to justice will give them 
 their due weight. 
 
 With sentiments of high consideration , 
 I remain your good friend. 
 
 Done at Philadelphia, the i5th day of January 
 1800, and of the Independence of the United States 
 the twenty fourth year. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, 
 By the President, 
 
 Timothy Pickeking, Secretary of State. 
 
GEN. KATOX. 133 
 
 March Mst, 1800. 
 To Mr. Pickering, 
 Sib, 
 
 ON the 24th instant I received your communica- 
 iions by the Sophia, and early the next morning 
 went to the palace. After waiting some time in the 
 antichamber, on account of the indisposition of the 
 Bey, who had been nine days dangerously ill of a 
 billious putrid fever, I was admitted to an audience ; 
 passed the usual formalities and retired into tlie cham- 
 ber of the Minister, (Sapitapa.) I stated to him that 
 1 had yesterday received interesting intelligence 
 from the government of the United States, among 
 which was a letter from the President to the Bey ; 
 and desired to be informed when, if the Bey's health 
 would admit, I might make a foj-mal communica- 
 tion ? 
 
 '' Do you take us to be dupes ?" said he. ^^ You 
 have at one time shewed us letters from your minister 
 at Portugal, at another from youi' Consul general at 
 Algiers ; at another from your Consul at Leghorn : 
 at one period your regalia were under convoy of two 
 frigates ; at another in quarantine at Lisbon ; and 
 then we are placed at our windows with our spy- 
 glasses looking for the arrival of vessels wliich sail 
 in air. We are no longer to be amused- It is not 
 necessary that you take the trouble of a. formal com- 
 munication. I now candidly advise you, (a measure 
 which has long since been resolved upon,) that the 
 Corsaires* now bound on a cruise have orders to 
 bring in Americans : and for this purpose, they are 
 ordered to cruise off the coast of Spain and Portu- 
 gal.'' 
 
 I began an explanation on the inaccuracy of my 
 former communications. He interrupted me, and re- 
 peated, that the measure was resolved, and that ex- 
 planations were needless. 
 
 * Three in number: two. the property of the Bey, of 26 guns 
 each : one of the Sapitapa, ot 20 guns. 
 
134l LIFE OF 
 
 I regretted that our countrymen should be set up- 
 on each other to shed blood. But, if there were no 
 alternative ; no exji4anation to be had : I could only- 
 lament the calamity with the sad consolation of hav- 
 ing used my best efforts to avert it. I would how- 
 ever inform" him, with as much candor as he appriz- 
 ed me of the resolution, that I had, long since, plac-, 
 ed my countrymen on their guard against this event : 
 that our merchantmen were well armed and manned : 
 that I would vouch for their defending themselves, 
 for that they were not novices in war, and despised 
 slavery. His attention was arrested. I changed 
 my position, and took up the explanation. That the 
 communications I had before made, were unofficial, 
 predicated upon letters from our ministers and con- 
 suls, whose concern for the peace of their country in- 
 duced them, perhaps, to place too implicit reliance 
 upon incorrect information. This I now ciFered 
 was direct from our government, including a letter 
 from our President, addressed by his own hand to 
 the prince of this Regency, accompanied by the trea- 
 ty formally ratified, and assurances from the Prime 
 Minister, that a large ship was now under way for 
 Tunis, laden with naval and military stores : that 
 these dispatches also authorized me to meet the de- 
 mand of the Bey for jewels in a manner which, I 
 hoped, would be satisfactory to him. 
 
 " It is very well ! This looks a little more like 
 truth," said the minister : " but we will not aiTest 
 the cruise. If we make captures of Americans, we 
 Mill send the Christians (meaning crews) to your 
 house ; your vessels to Porto I^'arina ; and their car- 
 goes we will safely store. They shall be held in se- 
 questration a given number of days, in expectation 
 of the arrival of your regalia so much talked about ; 
 . on failure of which, they shall be good prize/' 
 
 I answered, that a step of this kind, if it went on- 
 ly to secure the fulfilment of our obligations, would 
 <iefeat its own object : my countrymen would not 
 jield to it witliout resistance : and that revenge and 
 
GEN. EATON. 135 
 
 blood would be the inevitable consequence of at- 
 tempting it. I desired, therefore, to prevent the e- 
 vils which might and most certainly would result 
 to both countries from this project, that tlie Bey- 
 would see the President's letter, and hear my com- 
 munications. 
 
 He paused. An English gentleman, who was 
 with me, and to whom we are obliged, urged the 
 reasonahleness of my desire. 
 
 The minister, after recapitulating his detail of de- 
 lays and infidelities, of which we are accused, said, 
 ^' I will see my master tomorrow. The day after, 
 if you come to Bardo (the palace) we will decide on 
 something." 
 
 March 2Qth, eleven o'clock, A. M. An American 
 ship, Camilla, Capt. Samuel Holmes, of Boston, last 
 from Naples, came to anchor at the Goulette, ad- 
 dressed to Julius Csesar Alberganty. At three, 
 P. M. a message came from the minister, informing 
 that the " government had occasion for the Ameri- 
 can ship now at the Goulette." I replied that the 
 message should be answered tomorrow% In the in- 
 terim, I sent the Sapitapa a piece of superfine blue 
 cloth, and half a piece of scarlet, which I had the 
 day before received from England, intended for my 
 own use. 
 
 This day was employed in rendering into Italian, 
 the President's letter to the Bey, his ratification of 
 the treaty, and such of the communications of the 
 Secretary of State as related to the regalia of naval 
 and military stores, and also an extract of a letter 
 from Mr. Appleton, relative to the eifect the last 
 clause of the 13th article of the^ treaty had produced 
 in the minds of our countrymen, masters of vessels, 
 at Leghorn. 
 
 27tli. 11, A. M. At the palace. Made the above 
 communications to the Bey. He expressed great 
 satisfaction : seemed flattered with the President's 
 letter ; thanked God ; and hoped the safe arrival of 
 the, ship 5 but observed, ^* I see nothing here about 
 
1S6 LIP£ OF 
 
 the jewels." To which I thought proper to ^ay : 
 the President has directed me, as? a furtlier testimo- 
 ny of his friendly sentiments towards the Bashaw of 
 Tunis, to procure a present of this kind also from 
 England, but has limited the sum destined for the 
 purpose, very much within the estimate annexed to 
 the note given of the jewels. " To me," said the 
 Bey, " the sum limited is of no import. I shall be 
 satisfied, provided the articles come according to the 
 note." He said nothing of the demand formerly 
 started of a cruiser. And he gave leave for Capt. 
 Holmes to take a cargo of wheat on his own account. 
 
 CIRCULAR. 
 
 Consulate afthe Udited States, 
 
 Tunis, iOth April, 1800. 
 Sir, 
 Having at length amicably adjusted the affairs of 
 the United States witli the Bey and Regency of Tu- 
 nis, I desire you will communicate this agreeable in- 
 telligence to the masters of American vessels, and 
 others interested, who may come within the limits of 
 your Consulate. 
 
 The principal minister of the Bey has pledged 
 himself that the last clause of the ISth article of our 
 treaty with this Regency, inserted by Joseph Etien- 
 ne Famin, shall liave the same effect with respect to 
 American merchant vessels as the custom of all other 
 nations at peace with Tunis has established with 
 respect to their own, and no other. There is there- 
 fore now no danger to be apprehended from Ameri- 
 can vessels visiting this coast : perfect health pre- 
 vails here. 
 
 lam, Sir, with esteem ami regard, 
 you most obedievt Servant 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 Thomas Appletox, Esq. 
 
 American Consul at Leghorn. 
 
GEN. EATON. i_37 
 
 Mmj 7th, 1800. 
 
 After the storm was directed from the United 
 States, it lowered over Naples — passed over Spain, 
 and broke upon Denmark. * * * ^c 
 
 In October 1797;* the Bey a^ddressed a letter to the 
 king of Denmark, containing the folloAving modest 
 article. " On account of the long /We?? rfsAf/j which 
 has subsisted between us, I take the liberty to give 
 you a commission for sundry articles of naval and 
 military stores, as per note subjoined, which I find 
 indispensable, to assist me in certain public works 
 now in operation. I give you six months to answer 
 this letter, and one year to forward the commission : 
 and, remember, if we do not receive the answer and 
 the articles in the time limited, we know what steps 
 to take.^^ 
 
 The king of Denmark did not give this commission 
 the prompt attention it required. He however order- 
 ed out a ship, laden with timber, which arrived in 
 the summer of 1798 ; but it was so far short of the 
 Bey's expectations, that he rejected the compliment 
 altogether, even after it was unladen, and the articles 
 have since lain, in a perishing condition, exposed io 
 the open elements. 
 
 The projects the Bey has been meditating, and 
 which were actually on the point of execution, a- 
 gainst Jlmericans, directed his thoughts from the 
 Danes. The arrival of the Heko filled his eye / 
 (never were such naval stores seen in Tunis.) The 
 Neapolitan humility suspended his operations against 
 that kingdom : Spain, about the same time sent him 
 a douceur, and a number of ship builders to work in 
 his dock yard at Porto Farina : and the cruisers are 
 consequently let loose upon Denmark. Here is a 
 demonstration of two facts I have before stated : that 
 the cruisers cannot he restrained ; and that treaties 
 are dead languages here. Hence also may be infer- 
 ed, that my apprehensions have been none too lively. 
 If the Hero had miscarried, no document could have 
 saved us until the arrival of the spring shipments, 
 
 18 
 
138 LIFE OF 
 
 The stars are beginning to acquire gravity liere^ 
 I wish they may be permited to receive some lustre. 
 It is not enough to tell that we are the descendants 
 of the English : conviction of some kind, if it be on- 
 ly the construction of a ship, should be added, that 
 we are worthy of such ancestors. Notwithstanding 
 our present flattering prospect of our affairs, I am 
 still of opinion it would be well to show one or two 
 of our best frigates here. It would be better if they 
 should have one or more Frenchmen in tow. This 
 display would at least convince the cruisers of our 
 ability to meet them on their own ground ; and it 
 would confirm m hat I have uniformly declared at 
 court, and what has been as uniformly denied by 
 Famin, that it is not our weakness hut our love of 
 peace which induces the concessions we inake. It 
 cannot be attended with great extraordinary expence, 
 because, it is presumed, the government will not 
 risque the residue of the regalia, upon which so 
 inuch de))cuds, to the laws of war, I say laws of war, 
 because, if at peace ourselves with France, Tunis is 
 not ; though it is a truth beyond a doubt that these 
 terrible pirates dare not cruise against the terrible 
 republic. 
 
 If the residue come forward safely and seasona- 
 bly, and the jewels, for which I have commissioned, 
 we may calculate on twenty or thirty years tranquil- 
 ity here. A trifling defect would be made a pretext 
 for a rupture, if no impressions of fear be made with 
 all our evidence of genero sit V. * * * * 
 
 *Muy iOth. Last evening his Britanic Majesty's 
 Consul General, Peckins Magra, Esq. at the Ameri- 
 can house, desired me to consent that he might men- 
 tion me to the Duke of Portland as chars^e des af- 
 fairs of the British nation in case of accident which 
 should render the oflice vacant. Major Magra's de- 
 clining state of health, probably, induced tliis step. 
 I consented, on condition that the confidence should 
 be reciprocal between us. To this he agreed. I 
 hope the relation of the two governments is such as 
 
GEN. EATON. 139 
 
 to admit the propriety of the measure. This gentle- 
 man has been between thirty and forty years in the 
 kino-'s service, twelve in this regency ; a man of ex- 
 tensive information and strict good faith. He has 
 an English head, and an American heart. 
 
 May nth, 1800. 
 
 Yesterday morning a Danish merchantman from 
 Leghorn, unapprised and unsuspicious of danger, 
 anchored at the Groulette. No sooner was the flag 
 distinguished, than Famin wrote express to Bardo, 
 (the palace) tliat a Danish ship had entered. In con- 
 sequence of this early information, the Bey caused to 
 be arrested, the Master and people, before they could 
 weigh anchor and escape. 
 
 Same day a Danish ship, laden with coffee, sugar 
 and other West India produce, was sent into Biserte. 
 
 Last evening his Danish Majesty's Consul Gener- 
 al, Lewis Hammekin, Esq. at the American house, 
 intimated his expectation of being compelled, by im- 
 perious circumstances, to leave the kingdom ; and 
 desired me, in such case, to take charge of the affairs 
 of the Danish nation here. To this 1 consented, so 
 far as to be the medium of communication for his 
 court. I know no contrasting interests between the 
 tw o courts Avhich render this compliance improper. 
 
 P. S. ISf/i May. At Bardo, to day, the demand of 
 a cruiser was revived ; and a ji.ved time insisted on 
 for the arrival of the residue of the regalia. The 
 former was rejected without debate ; the latter sus- 
 pended on hope. 
 
 June 24f/i, 1800. 
 To Mr. Pickering. 
 
 It is doubtless, and with reason, considered as 
 whimsical as absurd, that Barbary Consuls, boys 
 whose minds have been formed in camps and pris- 
 ons, should intrude counsel to men fall of years and 
 wisdom. Facts demonstrate the position. But, if it 
 
140 LIFE OF 
 
 be admitted that moderate capacities, on the spot, 
 may discover projects, plots and intrigues, hidden 
 by intermediate space from the eye of keen penetra- 
 tion ; and if it be admitted that these discoveries 
 may excite a restlessness as much the emotion of 
 patriotism as presumption, it may be also hoped tliat 
 even our clamor as well as importunity, may be 
 viewed with an eye of grace, at the seat of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 It is presumed, Volney's Travels in Egypt and 
 Assyria have been read. The general character 
 there given the Turks, exactly fit them here, with 
 this addition, that the insolence of the Pachas of tlie 
 Barbary Regencies, are in an increased ratio to their 
 independence on the Porte. Ignorance, exalted to 
 a station of receiving tribute from every slave below 
 him, from the wandering Beduoin to the sedentary 
 Monarch of Spain, feels none of those manly re- 
 straints of justice, which the balance and the sword 
 are calculated to inspire between beings mutually a- 
 fraicl of each other Refusal of a favor produces in 
 him the same effect as in an ungoverned brat of an 
 indulgent mother : he will tear the breasts which 
 have nursed him. This figure is farfetched ; it is 
 nevertheless in point ; correction is as feasible in one 
 case as the other ; and correction alone will reduce 
 the churl to decency. 
 
 The Danes are running on a lee shore here. 
 They have gone aground at Algiers and Tripoli ; 
 and Sweden keeps company. The United States 
 have been beating off and on, ever since their treaty 
 oiamitif with France ; and the harbor of safety 
 seems as distant as at the moment of their departure 
 from their own — dignity ! Can avarice and tlie 
 grave be satisfied ? Give ! Give ! is the eternal cry ! 
 Every breeze will waft it to America ; and as often 
 as it is not responded with accord will be brandish- 
 ed over our heads the otlas;an of a contemptible pi- 
 I'ate I . « 
 
GEN. EATON. Ill 
 
 •^ We Icnow what steps to take/' says the Gener- 
 al* of 16,000 ragged, undisciplined Turks to a king 
 of Denmark ! and " we know what steps to take/' 
 says the Captainf of an undisciplined squad of sun- 
 burnt cavalry, to the government of the UnijLed 
 States ! Denmark, like a proverbial domestic bird of 
 our poultry yards, spreads his feathers, swells tlje 
 magnitude of his terrors, swaggers and yields. A- 
 merica yields implicitly ! If there were a rational 
 hope that these indignities would of themselves come 
 to a crisis, they might be more tolerable : but if it be 
 just to reason from analogy, this hope is abortive. 
 When lias a tyrant ever been known to lift his foot 
 from the neck of a voluntary slave ? Where is the 
 evidence of Barbary's iieing satisfied with the ^gen- 
 erosity of its friends ? Does Spain, Italy, Holland, 
 Denmark, Sweden, exhibit it ? Will the United 
 States ever exhibit it ? Never, so long as they have 
 powder to give, and want the energy to burn it ! 
 
 " Do you not give money to Algiers ?" says the 
 Organ of a nation, to an American Envoy ! ^' Arc 
 you not tributary to the pitiful sandbank of Tripoli ?'* 
 says the world : and the answer is affirmative with- 
 out a blush ! Habit reconciles mankind to every 
 thing, even humiliation ; and custom veils disgrace. 
 But what would the world say if Rhodeisland should 
 arm two old merchantmen ; j)ut an Irish renegade in 
 one, and a Methodist preacher in the other, and send 
 them to demand a tribute of the Grand Signior r 
 The idea is rediculous ; but (uily so because novel : 
 it is exactly as consistent as that Trij)oli should say 
 to the American nation, "• Give we tribute^ or irem- 
 hle under the chastisemeyit of my navy P' (Oim old 
 clump from Boston^ and a polacre or two from some 
 other complaisant christian capitals,) and that m^ 
 yaukee adventurers should succeed, would not be 
 more unaccountable, than that these wretched hordes 
 of sea robbers should have so gotten the ascendancy 
 of the enterprizing world ! 
 
 ^ Bashaw of Tunis. | Bashaw of Tripoli. 
 
142 LIFE or 
 
 Consul Catheairt is undoubtedly correct when he 
 states that '^ two of our frigates and four gun boats 
 would bring the Bashaw of Tripoli to terras :" but 
 the propriety of his opinion, that it would he best to 
 make him a voluntary j^re^ent, may be questioned. 
 If Malta should revert again to its ancient form of 
 government, what could it avail us ? what benefit 
 have we ever expected from its Constitutional hatred 
 to Mussulmen ? 
 
 Genoa has received a new master sufficiently ma- 
 jesterial, it is presumed, to protect her from Barbary 
 insolence. This deprives them of a very considera- 
 ble resource. All their booty in the Mediterranean 
 is falling into the hands of abler freebooters. They 
 must seek it then in foreign markets. It is no less 
 the interest of all commercial Europe to point them 
 to America, than it is theirs to take that direction. 
 We must either bribe their avarice or chastise their 
 audacity. Riving only increases their avidity for 
 more. We have the only alternative tiien to yield 
 unconditional accord to their claims, or straighten 
 ourselves up a little, and look them out of counte- 
 nance. This position must at some period be taken. 
 Does the present moment forbid it? or shall we 
 wait a little longer till we shall have reinforced their 
 navy by our naval and military regalia, until they 
 become formidable to us ? WJien we are unlading 
 these regalia in their ports. Are we not shedding 
 the blood of our countrymen ? It is devoutly to be 
 hoped that the United State may have the honor 
 (very easily obtained) of setting the first example, a- 
 mong the tributaries, of chastising the insolence of 
 their lords. If Tripoli persist, does not Tripoli in- 
 vite the experiment ; and is not the occasion a good 
 one ? Show him two or three of our strongest, best 
 built frigates. Set life and death l)efore liim. Leave 
 to hira the choice. If he prefer the latter, give it 
 him. There is nothing impracticable in the thing. 
 The Turks are a contemptible military, and at sea, 
 lubbers. I have, by accident, been three days and 
 
GEN. EATON. 148 
 
 two nights in one of their cors?irs at sea. Our sea- 
 men of the north may give them cent per cent, in 
 numbers, odds, and meet them on any ground of war, 
 boarding excepted. 
 
 It would be well, on their return or passage out, 
 that the frigates visit Tunis. I will invite the Sapi- 
 tapa and a brace of the Bey's governors to dine in 
 the Commodore. I will point them to his guns and 
 say, " See there our executive power commissioned 
 to keep treaties." Do these sentiments look hostile ? 
 They are the only sure guarantee of peace ! xYU ra- 
 tional nature may be adduced to evidence it ; and 
 France besides. It is more strikingly true in a 
 country where all respect is denied to every thing 
 but arms. 
 
 Consistently witli these sentiments therefore, the 
 questions submitted by Consul Cathcart to the Con- 
 sul General, O'Brien, and on which the opinion of 
 this consulate is demanded, have received the fol- 
 lowing answers. 
 
 Q^iies. **" ist. Whether it would not be to the interest 
 of the United States to make the Bashaw a present, 
 to content him at least till some of our frigates come 
 into the Mediterranean ? if in the affirmative, to what 
 amount ought the present to be made, that is, snp- 
 posing there is no alternative ?'' 
 
 Ans. I should not have intruded my counsel in 
 any matters relative to your administration, had you 
 not desired it. 
 
 The Bashaw of Tripoli has given written docu- 
 ment as evidence of his entire satisfaction with the 
 presents he has received from the United States as 
 the condition of a perpetual peace. Whence then 
 arise these claims ? It is not sufficient that he asserts 
 a right to be placed on a footing with tlie other 
 Regencies. He may be informed that it is ow ing to 
 the treachery of French agents that the latter have 
 been so liberally paid. Were this otherwise, his 
 claim is nevertheless inadmissible, being barred by 
 
i4fi LIFE OF 
 
 his own voluntary act. A demand, tliereforc, of this 
 sort is at least an infringement upon the treaty. 
 
 But it is to be doubted whether any extension of 
 the President's instructions may be construed to a 
 discretion of giving or even stipulating additional 
 presents. It is a latitude Avhich seems not to have 
 been intended, even in cases more pressing than the 
 present. It is a happy circumstance for us, and 
 ought to satisfy the Bashaw, that we are thus circum- 
 scribed. That the " Bashaw has condescended to 
 heg a present," will not warrant us the discretion of 
 giving. 
 
 To revert to your figure to Captain O'Brien, that 
 " we are sentinels of an advanced jjicquet.'^ It is 
 our duty to give the alarm on an enemy's approach ; 
 but by no means to concede one inch of ground 
 which we are stationed to defend. 
 
 From these premises my opinion may be easily in- 
 ferred ; that the Bashaw of Tripoli must wait tlie 
 answer of the President of the United States to his 
 demands. And my opinion may be also as easily 
 inferred, that the President will highly approve of 
 your conduct in the mode you have adopted to resist, 
 or at least to delay his claims, until such ansv/er be 
 received. 
 
 " 2d. Should any of our vessels be sent in here on 
 any pretence whatever, and their cargoes condemn- 
 ed, how would you advise me to act ? After such a 
 violation of our'treaty shall I refuse tlie Corsairs of 
 Tripoli American passports, or shall I issue them as 
 if nothing had happened ?-' 
 
 Sliouldan event of this kind happen, which does 
 not, from any thing to be gathered from your commu- 
 nications, seem immediately to menace us, imperious 
 circumstances must be yielded to, and the 1)est pro- 
 visions possible, made for the crews, until the result 
 of the government be known : but, passports, being 
 evidence of the good understanding subsisting be- 
 tween the Government of the United States and the 
 Bashaw, cannot, in truth nor propriety be granted 
 
GfcN. EATON. 146 
 
 ^fter that good understanding shall be ihterrupted. 
 Besides^ this concession would furnish the enemy a 
 decoy to entrap our merchantmen, and even our ves- 
 sels of war, at the same time that it would shield the 
 corsaires against reprisal from our ships of war 
 which might be detached on this very duty. Pass- 
 ports therefore, cannot be granted after an overt in- 
 fraction, in fact, of the treaty, on the part of the Bash- 
 aw of Tripoli or his subjects. 
 
 ^^ Sd. Do you imagine that the Dey of Algiers 
 would send four or five of his cruisers to demand any 
 American vessels that might be captured ? Antl if he 
 Would, would it not coct more to fee him than to con- 
 tent the Bashaw of Tripoli ? I am of opinion that if 
 the Dey of Algiers would take the above step, he 
 would succeed ; but all the letters in the world 
 would at most produce only a civil answer, mixed 
 with lies and prevarications. 
 
 I do not know how these conclusions, in answer 
 to Mr. Cathcart^s questions, may correspond with 
 the feelings and decisions of government. If they 
 betray some alkali^ it is because the intemperance of 
 the climate forces it. 
 
 The plague is every day becoming more serious. 
 Our hope is in the approaching heat of summer^ 
 The last spring and present month of June, have 
 been unusually cold and humid. 
 
 !N^o precautions whatever are used by the ordina- 
 ry Moors to prevent the malady communicating. 
 Ask a Mussulman the cause of this neglect : " What'^ 
 says he, ^^ do you suppose I have lost confidence in 
 l>od ?'' 
 
 I have the honor, 8(c. 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 Honorable Secretary 
 of the United States, 
 
 19 
 
I4<G LIFE OF 
 
 To Mr. Smith, Minister at Lisbok.^' ■'^'^" 
 
 Tunis, June 27thy 1800. 
 TO meet the extraordinary deniauds of the Bey of 
 Tunis, I stated to government in terms which I sup- 
 posed would attract some consideration, that a dis- 
 play of force would be the only effectual argument. 
 The President has done me the honor of approving 
 of my stile of conduct and communication, but has 
 permitted the Hero, an old ship of between five and 
 six liundred tons, navigated by twenty men, (only 
 Oiie of them a native of America,) mounting two four 
 pounders, and but one barrel of powder, charged with 
 a cargo upon which nothing less depended here than 
 our peace^ to leave New York without convoy for 
 Tunis. Happily, she arrived ; and the desired ef- 
 fect is secured, at least until the residue of the rega- 
 lia arrive. But the weak, the crazy situation of 
 the Vessel and equipage tended to confirm an opinion, 
 long since conceived, and never fairly controverted 
 among the Tunissians, that the Americans are a 
 feeble sect of Christians, and that their Independence 
 was the gift of France. Tliis opinion has been cul- 
 tivated by our cidevant agent, a base slave of the 
 projects of this court, and a remorseless traitor to his 
 trusts. He has never ceased to thwart me ; tifl at 
 length his projects of injury against our citizens, and 
 his personal insults to myself, became so glaring and 
 insufferable, that, finding myself without support, at 
 Once to convince Tunis and its slaves that Ameri- 
 cans are not entirely devoid of resentment, nor oblig- 
 ed to Frenchmen for independence, I gave him, (tell 
 it not in Gath) at the marine gate, among an hundred 
 people, the discipline of my horsewhip. This kin- 
 dled the flame I intended it should. He summoned 
 me to the tribunal of a pirate. I met him there : 
 joined issue and proceeded to argument. The court, 
 at the commencement of the action, was manifestly 
 prepossessed in favor of the much injured Fdmin, 
 My reasons to tlic Bey were laconically these. I 
 
GEX. EATON. 147 
 
 iiave found the man at all points a traitor and a vil- 
 lain ; not less so in bis personal treatment towards 
 the representative the President of the United 
 States had placed near him, the Bey, than in the ex- 
 ecution of the public trusts himself had once tlie hon- 
 or to hold under the same authority. That I did not 
 present myself there to answer to the allegations of 
 the traitor, as I held myself in no respect responsi- 
 ble to the government of Tunis, but to denounce the 
 man as such, and to withdraw from him that protec- 
 tion which he had never merited, but had shamefully 
 dishonored. 
 
 " I Avill send you oct of the country !'' said the 
 Bey — You will do me an honor which I will take 
 care to appreciate. 
 
 " How dare you lift your hand against a subject 
 of mine in my Icingdom .^" 
 
 If your renegade had been in the" Icingdom of heav- 
 en, and had given me the same provocation, I would 
 have given him the same discipline. But the Bey of 
 Tunis has too much penetration to believe that abject 
 yvretcli faithful, even to his patron. If he were such ; 
 if he were a true Frenchman^ I would respect him ag 
 such ; if an American, I would protect liim as such ; 
 if a good Mussulman, I would honor him as such ; 
 or, if a Christian, he should be duly respected. He 
 is neither one nor the other. I have document to 
 convince you that he would sell your head for carou- 
 bes, and barter away the reputation of your court for 
 piasters. See here his statement to an American. 
 who by this means lias been entrapped into his 
 hands. Hear uim call your prime minister and his 
 mercantile agents f, set of thieves and robbers. 
 '' How !" Yes, tliif jes and robbers. ^^ Mercy — for- 
 Ijearance I**' •cried Famin. Yes, thieves and rob- 
 bers ! ! This is the man of your confidence ! This 
 is the man of mediation between your Excellency 
 and my master the President, (adopting my language 
 to the occasion,) and tliese are the measures lie uses 
 i.Q maintain the good understanding subsisting be^ 
 
148 LIFE OF 
 
 tween us. Had lie been faithful, either in his repre- 
 sentations of your Excellency's character to the 
 President, or in that of my nation to you, you would 
 long since have received, whatever it might have 
 been, the regalia stipulated as the tokens of friend- 
 ship. It is his treachery, his falsehood, his sleek 
 and plausible misrepresentations, which has generat- 
 ed the misintelligence between us. Do not suppose 
 I am ignorant of his intrigues. Full well I know he 
 labored three days, incessantly, after my arrival at 
 Biserte, to prevail on your Excellency to refuse me 
 an audience. Full well I know, that, during our ne- 
 gociation, he was playing a double game with us. 
 And full well I know that he has uniformly insinu- 
 ated that my government were flattering you with de- 
 lusive expectations and insincere promises, and that 
 I, myself, am s^t here to be the instrument of this 
 liypocricy. 
 
 '' But, how do you know these things ? Whatever 
 passed between him and me on these subjects was 
 testa a testa, insieme* !'' 
 
 Yes, but the fellow had not prudence enough to 
 keep your confidence. Elated with the prospect of 
 success, he blabbed every thing to the woman he 
 keeps : she to her neighbors : so that it has been 
 the topic of conversation in half the Christian taverns 
 in Tunis, ^* that his Excellency the Bey was going 
 to send away the American Consul," to accommo- 
 date an apostate Frenchman ! as if the Bey of Tunis 
 had not independence of mind nor discernment to 
 discriminate between the event of insulting a nation 
 and disobliging a slave. Permit me to suggest to 
 your Excellency, your reputation has been brought 
 into disrespect in the event. 
 
 The Bey listened to me. Famin trembled as if 
 in a paralytic lit, and began an address in Arabic. 
 
 '' Speak French,'^ said the Bey, looking him 
 frowuingly in the face. He denied my charges. I 
 adduced facts in evidence. 
 
GEN. EATON. 149 
 
 The Bey was convinced. Famin stood convicted. 
 On leaving the palace I told the Bey, tomorrow I 
 would announce to the world what I had on that 
 ground. Parting, he gave my hand a cordial 
 squeeze '. and, when I was out, turning to his court, 
 said, " the American Consul has been heated : but 
 truly he has had reason. I have always found him 
 a very plain candid man ; and his concern for his 
 fellow citizens is not a crime." 
 
 Since this event, which happened about four 
 weeks ago, more hats have been off than had been 
 observed for fourteen months before. 1 detail this 
 adventure, (which I am sensible will not show much 
 to my advantage in the civilized world,) to demon- 
 strate, what has before been asserted, that the best 
 way to treat these savages is to meet them on their 
 own ground. They began by biiUying; I have 
 paid them off in kind. 
 
 To the Secretary of State. 
 
 Tnnis June %Sth, 1800. 
 This morning the Danish flagstaff was cut down, 
 and WAr declared by the Bey of Tunis against the 
 king of Denmark. Upv/ards of seventy people, the 
 equipage of seven vessels, condemned to" slaverVy 
 and the Consul confined to his house. 
 
 Tiinisy July ^tli, 1800. 
 Sir, 
 
 THE Danish Consul and familv have been order 
 ed to quit the kingdom of Tunis : he departs tomor 
 row, and, as I have before had the honor to intimate 
 to the department of state, has desired me to be the 
 medium between the king of Denmark and Bey of 
 Tunis, during the war. 
 
 Yesterday I had an iuterview with the Bey and 
 his confidential minister. The latter went into a de 
 tail of the causes of the war, wherein he clearly dem- 
 onstrated that the Danes were the aggressors. This 
 
150 LIFE OF 
 
 inferrence he drew from tlie taken for granted prem- 
 ises " that the Bey had a right to demand regalia, 
 and that the king of Denmark had violated his good 
 faith by treating that demand contemptuously ! 
 
 During the conversation he said, " To speak tru- 
 ly and candidly, the war was intended against the 
 Americans : but the letter from your Prince resolved 
 the Bey to suspend the operation a reasonable time 
 for the arrival of the ship. It did arrive, as you 
 told us it would ; and, to deal ingenuously, we must 
 acknowledge to you that we have never received ar- 
 ticles of the kind of so excellent a quality from any 
 Christian nation. Had those sent by the king of 
 Denmark (iti 1798) been /^a//as good, we should now 
 be at peace with him." 
 
 1 remarked to him, tJiat if he had given me the 
 credit which he was now convinced he ought, he 
 might have saved himself and the Bey much impa- 
 tience and the entire trouUle of arming his navy a- 
 gainst us : but I had observed with some concern, 
 that he chose rather to hear meddling fellows, who 
 would as deliberately betray him as me, if the occa- 
 sion suited. 
 
 " That is past," said he, " and you have had your 
 own way of revenge. We are convinced you have 
 dealt candidly with us, though we sometimes thought 
 you a little hard bitted : but you are a sort of Eng- 
 lishmen, you Americans, are you not ?" We are 
 not Italians. ^' Have you no Pops in America?" 
 Yes : once a year our boys and girls of the streets, ac- 
 companied by our sailors and fiddlers, make a Pope 
 and a Devil of old cast clothes ; mount tliem both 
 on a Borreco, (Jack-ass,) and after driving them a- 
 l)out till they are wearied, tar and feather and burn 
 them togetlier by way of amusement. He laughed 
 heartily, and said : " I believe you arc just such an- 
 other hard headed race as the English : but, thank 
 God, we are friends. The Bey exhibited marks of 
 perfect satisfaction with us, and, to demonstrate his 
 sincerity, gave me a house in Biserte, eight ho«r.s 
 
GEN. EATON. 151 
 
 ride from this, by the sea side, where I am to spend 
 the summer. ***** * * 
 
 The Bashaw of Tripoli, has in a very gracious 
 and polite maimer demanded of the President addi- 
 tional evidence of his friendship ; something else than 
 ^'flattering words and delusive promises. ^^ Hope 
 the President will accommodate him. Mr. Cath- 
 cai-t is of opinion that a present should be given to 
 content his Excellency a year or so. 1 have had but 
 one opinion on the subject of regalia, since I have 
 seen the contemptible navy and military of the regen- 
 cies. If the demand of Tripoli be aeceeded to, un- 
 doubtedly it will furnish pretext for similar demands 
 from the other Regencies. '' You give Tripoli ex- 
 traordinary presents not stipulated by treaty. Are 
 we less your friends than Tripoli ? If not it will re- 
 quire other evidence than flattering words and delu- 
 sive promises.'^ Where will these humiliations end ? 
 The time must come, when by solid argument we 
 must convince our friends here of our warm attach- 
 ment. Why not show Tripoli a sample of it ? I 
 should fear that my reiterated, perhaps too familiar, 
 observations would excite apprehensions that my a- 
 gency here might tend to embroil our affairs, if facts 
 did not establish the contrary. 
 
 I have the honor, 8(c. 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 Honorable Secretary 
 of the United States, 
 
15^ LIFE OF 
 
 Having brought the more important official corves- 
 pondence and transactions to this date, it will per- 
 haps be now proper to revert to some o/Eaton^b 
 familiar letters and private affairs. 
 
 To Mrs. Eaton. 
 
 Tunis, April Qih, 1799- 
 SINCE I arrived in this city, which was 
 on the 14th ultimo, I have been constantly employ- 
 ed in negoeiatiug alterations in the treaty between 
 the United States and the Bey and Divan of this Re- 
 gency. I have therefore had but little opportunity to 
 acquaint myself with any thing whicli can aftbrd 
 you entertainment or instruction. On landing at the 
 marine, about half a mile north of the front gate of 
 the city, the flags were hoisted on all the European 
 consular houses, and on arriving to the American 
 house, the consuls of the different nations welcomed 
 me to the place. The day following was assigned 
 for an introduction to the king. I sat off at ten in 
 the morning, in a carriage drawn by two mules, at- 
 tended by a Turk, two Moors and an interpreter. 
 The palace is four miles from the city. At this I ar- 
 rived about eleven ; and, after waiting a while in the 
 area of the court, was admitted to the apartment of 
 the Bey. He was seated with his legs under him 
 like a taylor^ on a sopha covered with a velvet cano- 
 py richly embroidered with gold, with a turban a- 
 bout Ids head, and a very rich kind of surplice &om- 
 ing loosely about his shoulders. After having pass 
 ed the formality of introduction, a seat was present- 
 ed on his right hand, his principal Minister and 
 Secretary of State sitting on a carpet on his left. In 
 a few mfnntes three Christian slaves entered the 
 
GEN. EATON. 153 
 
 chamber, one of them with a salver of coffee, in 
 beautiful china cups set in gold, richly ornament- 
 ed with diamonds ; another held over his shoul- 
 der a napkin ; and the third brought a kind of 
 embroidered canopy, which he spread in the 
 Bev's lap. Collee being served, we entered into 
 a discourse upon the voyage ; and this was suc- 
 ceeded by the subject of our negociation. This 
 formality and business continued fifteen days, when 
 at length, by the agency of bribes and presents 
 to a considerable amount, the object of the negocia- 
 tion was obtained, and I took half a day's leisure to 
 ride into the country. I found the king a man of 
 shrewdness, understanding and great ingenuity. 
 His terms, in consideration of his accession to the 
 terms we proposed, were enormous ; and we are not 
 yet perfectly on good terms respecting them. I have 
 uniformly resisted them ; and the last time I was at 
 the palace, he threatened us witli war in case I did 
 not come to an unequivocal agreement to his terms. 
 I told him we w^ere not at this period to be alarmed 
 by menaces ; we were prepared for war ; and if he 
 chose to commence it on so trifling an occasion, he 
 might have cause to regret his temerity. He left me 
 witliout ceremony, saying, if I would not accede to his 
 demand I might pull down the American flag j em- 
 bark in the brig and go home. If I do not find some 
 means to soften liis temper or moderate his demand, 
 I may possibly hand you this letter myself. 
 
 This country is indeed beautiful ; but the people 
 are superlatively wretched. They are humbled by 
 tlie double oppression of civil and religious tyranny ; 
 seem to have but little enterprise, and are grossly ig- 
 norant. The houses of the city are built of stone, 
 cemented wUh lime, one story high, without chim- 
 neys, the roofs flat, and so closely joined together 
 that the whole light is admitted through an aperture 
 in the top of the liouse. They sit always on the 
 floor, which is generally the earth covered with tiles^ 
 or with mats made of reeds ; feed principally on teg- 
 
 20 
 
idh , LIFE OF 
 
 fttable diet made of grain, olives and fruit ; and 
 drink nothing but water. The women are never seen 
 abroad, except the poorer classes, and these not with- 
 out being wrapped about in blankets and handker- 
 chiefs from the crown of the head to the ancles : they 
 are always barefoot, or in slippers only. The in- 
 habitants have exactly the complexion of the Ameri- 
 can Indians ; excepting those of foreign countries 
 who have become naturalized. The city contains 
 about three hundred thousand souls ; ten thousand of 
 them JeAvs, two thousand Christians, six or seven 
 hundred renegades, beside three thousand Christian 
 slaves. These are parcelled out at different public 
 employments, and in private service of their masters. 
 [The situation of the 9^0 Sardinian slaves is here 
 described.] 
 
 Many of them have died of grief, and the others 
 linger out a life less tolerabl-e than death. Alas, re- 
 morse seizes my whole soul when I reflect that this 
 is indeed but a copy of the very barbarity which my 
 eyes have seen in my own native country. And yet 
 we boast of liberty and national justice. How fre- 
 quently, in the soutliern states of my own country, 
 have I seen weeping mothers leading the guiltless 
 infant to the sales, with as deep anguish as if tliey 
 led them to tlis slaughter ; and yet felt my bosom 
 tranquil in the view of these aggressions upon de- 
 fenceless humanity. But when I see the same enor- 
 mities practiced upon beings whose complexion and 
 blood claim kindred with my own, I curse the perpe- 
 trators and weep over the wretched victims of their 
 rapacity. Indeed truth and justice demand from me 
 the confession tiiat the cliristian slaves among the 
 barbarians of Africa are treated with more humanity 
 than the African slaves among the professing Chris- 
 tians of civilized America ; and yet here sensibility 
 bleeds at every pore for tlie wretches vt'Iiom fate has 
 doomed to slavery, 
 
 I have once passed over the ruins of Carthage and' 
 tJtica, but tiiis moment is too contracted to afford me 
 
GEN. EATOX. 155 
 
 leisure to describe to you my discoveries or feelings 
 on that occasion. Another time shall be devoted to 
 this subject ; the present is consumed in preparing 
 necessary dispatches to our government, and in writ- 
 ing letters of business. 
 
 Tunis at present, offers no advantage from com- 
 merce. The Barbary States are involved in tlie war 
 with the French Republic. This excludes all inter- 
 course with the States of Italy, the coasts of France 
 and Spain, and indeed with almost all the ports of 
 her usual commerce. I cannot, therefore, promise 
 myself many commercial advantages from my pres- 
 ent situation. I hope however, by dint of economy, 
 to be able to save half the amount of my salary. In 
 less than two years from this moment, by the leave 
 of Heaven, I will again embrace my friends in Brim- 
 field and ether parts of America. My arrangements 
 are already made for this purpose ; and I look for- 
 ward with an anxiety, which indeed does not become 
 my years, for tlie moment wliich shall again restore 
 to me the homely felicity of my native country. But 
 before this period elapses I am resolved to visit 
 Rome, and if possible the Holy Land ; but must a- 
 bandon the idea of visiting Fgypt so long as the 
 French hold possession of it. The plague rages at 
 this moment in that devoted couniry : but, thank di- 
 vine goodness, no symptom of it has yet shewn itself 
 in this city the present season. 
 
 I was never before so thoroughly convinced that 
 infinite wisdom never hit on a more rational discov- 
 ery than when he " saw it ivus not ^jodfor man to he 
 aloneP Do not suppose I would be willing to lose 
 a rib for the manufacture of an help meet for me here. 
 No such thing I assure you : but I should feel not 
 the least objection to undergo the experiment of hav- 
 ing the one already lost restored to its place again. 
 Goodnight : it is twelve o'clock, and nothing but 
 solitude and dulness to solace the bosom of 
 
 Yours, ^c. 
 •N. B. Take care, Eliza, not to let our good old 
 parents die till I return. 
 
156 LIFE OF 
 
 To Stephen Pynchon, Esq. Brimfield. 
 
 Tunis, ,ipinl 8th, 179y. 
 
 " Give me whatever's pretty, nice and new ; 
 « All ugly, odd, old things I leave to you." 
 
 ON the fourth of January of the pres- 
 ent year we put to sea from the capes of the Dela- 
 ware : and by the bluster of winter were hurried 
 through the Atlantic over head and ears in brine and 
 suds, without a dry thread about us : and in thirty 
 six days arrived at Algiers. One of our vessels, a 
 ship of between two and three hundred tons and 
 thirty people, broached to in a storm, and went 
 down, poor fellows, in a moment. This happened 
 on the American coast. Another of our company 
 fell in with a fleet of gun boats at the mouth of the 
 streights, and fought her passage. This was a 
 schooner commanded by Captain Maley, who told 
 me he expended four hundred balls on the occasion, 
 and received as many : but this must have been at a 
 very respectful distance^ for no blood was lost on 
 our side ! That they had skirmishing is true. 
 
 Algiers is an immense pile of brick and lime, ce- 
 mented in a mass, on the declivity of a hill, resemb- 
 ling a marble quarry with excavated cells. This 
 figure you will more easily understand, when I tell 
 you that the roofs, or rather tops of tlie houses, are 
 Hat, and connected with eacli other in such a manner 
 that a man might walk from wall to wall without 
 couching feet to the ground in almost any direction 
 in the city. The streets, or rather covert ways, are, 
 in general, not more than six feet broad : tlie broad- 
 est will admit, v/ith mucli difficulty, a loaded camel 
 in the centre, and a footman on each side. They 
 arc almost uniformly covered with projected stories 
 of the houses, forming in some places arches and in 
 others planes, and hiding the sun at mid-day. 
 There is not a yard in the whole city : every conve- 
 
GEN. EATON. 157 
 
 nience is placed within the walls of the houses, even 
 the common vaults and reservoirs of water ; and 
 they have no light but what is received at an aper- 
 ture in the centre of the house ; generally a square, 
 extending from the top to the ground in every house, 
 from thirty to eight or ten feet in pi'oportion to the 
 dimensions of the house, forming at once the court 
 and galleries. On each side of this area from two 
 to four stories are rooms for every purpose. 
 
 Tiie city is crouded with imperious Turks, beg- 
 garly Moors, and savage Arabs, distinguised from 
 each other by their dress, or rather undress. The 
 Turks in short jackets, something like those of our 
 seamen, without sleeves, embroidered with spangles 
 of gold, wrought in a variety of figures on the edges 
 and sides : a species of open trousers of different 
 cloths, fine linen or muslin, descending to tlie calf 
 and tied around each leg : a sash of a red or varie- 
 gated silk interwoven with gold tinsel wound around 
 the small of the body, in which are worn a sword 
 and brace of long pistols : square toed shoes, naked 
 legs ; head shaved and bound about with a turban, 
 half a dozen yards of white muslin coiled about a 
 small red cap, which just appears at top : the beard 
 suspended upon the breast. The Moorish dress dif- 
 fers from this only in quality, except that these wear 
 no arms, the Turks only forming the military of the 
 country. The Avabs in every respect resemble the 
 savages of America, except that they are less enter- 
 prizing, and have nothing of that wild magnanimity 
 which invigorates the free born sons of our forests. 
 
 The ladies of Barbary seen in the streets, look 
 like walking ghosts swaddled in rags. These wear 
 square toed shoes, generally without quarters or very 
 low ones. Above these, half way up the leg they 
 are uncovered ; then commence writhes of muslin like 
 sailors' trousers, loosely twisted about each leg, tied 
 at the bottom, and in this kind of coil ascending a- 
 bout two spans from the first joint above the ancle, 
 and forming a junction ; now becoming an immeBso 
 
158 LIFE OF 
 
 bag, it ascends in irregular plaits till it gatliers round 
 the waist and divides the upper from the nether re- 
 gions of the body. Over this, suspended like cur- 
 tains from the head to the ground, roll huge dirty 
 folds of tlanuel or muslin blankets. Around the 
 mouth, chin and forehead, are handkerchiefs, close- 
 ly swathed, hiding the whole face except a necessa- 
 ry aperture for the admission of light. Thus rig- 
 ged, nothing can be seen of them abroad but the 
 twinkling of an eye. 
 
 ]S ot so the daughters of Abraham. Their bare, 
 broad, brown faces, form a contrast to the Turkish 
 women as much on the other extreme. They ap- 
 pear dirty as brutes and as brazen as impudence. 
 Common fame slanders them as accessible. It may 
 be so ; but of this I shall never have other demonstra- 
 tion than the scandal of common fame : for, beside the 
 prohibition imposed on my — curiosity by a Union^' 
 magistrate, I have a moral disgust to every thing of 
 this kind which is dirty. All the ladies I have seen, 
 if their beauties were consolidated, would not create 
 sensibility enough in my heart to produce a ballad 
 from my brain, even if I possessed the skill and feel- 
 ings of the royal grandson of Jesse. The description 
 of Algcrine habits may, with very little exception, ap- 
 ply to Tunis. It is an abominable falshood recorded 
 by geographers, that the women of Tunis are hand- 
 some. Those I have seen in the streets, and more 
 exposed from the tops of their houses, are ill shaped, 
 short and dirty. They are all brown. I can say 
 little of their manners and customs : cannot howev- 
 er but take notice of one very remarkable custom, 
 which I consider a very laudable one ; this is a habit 
 the widows have of repairing at least once a week to, 
 and weeping over, the graves of their — husbands, e- 
 ven after they have been a month dead ! ! 
 
 Of the strength, commerce, manufactures and 
 general manners of these Regencies, it is hoped a fu- 
 
 * A pun : he having been married in Union^ (Ct.) 
 
GEN. EATON. 159 
 
 ture opportunity will afford some entertainment and 
 information. I will now only remark, (for this is 
 something remarJcable,) that there ai*e no laivyers in 
 the country : but it is cursedly infested with priests, 
 tipropos : this brings me to 3 general religious 
 subject. I once formed a resolution to dispute with 
 no man on religious subjects. The resolution was 
 well formed ; and I have reason to regret having 
 ever in any instance departed from it. I here re- 
 new it. Religion is a necessary guide to human ac- 
 tions, an anchor of hope, a dernier resort from the 
 evils of this illusive life ; and both humanity and 
 good manners forbid an attempt to deprive a bewil- 
 dered mortal of a sanctuary so hospitable, let vision 
 shape it in what manner it will. 
 
 There are perhaps but few among the vast mass 
 of men, who are void of religious jjriyicipleSy who 
 have philosophy or resolution to resist the tempta- 
 tions which the sensations of every day convey to 
 the mind : hence most men, who have not a sacred 
 regard for religion of some kind, are dissolute in their 
 manners ; and those, who effect to despise it, are a- 
 bandoned to every vice which sense invites and 
 which darkness can hide from the penetration of jus- 
 tice. 
 
 I was once a Christian, and believed in miracles : 
 became a deist from the absurditv introduced to that 
 system by the hypoericy, bigotiy and ignorance of 
 priestcraft : am now again a Christian, from a con- 
 viction of the simplicity and excellence of its morali- 
 ty, its manly independence, and its immortal hope. 
 I have also political reasons. In a country where 
 Christianity is the prevailing religion, every honest 
 patriot should be a Christian, to prevent that mischief 
 which hypocrites and knaves, both political and di- 
 vine, are capable of committing under the garb of 
 Christianity. 
 
 The common mass of mankind are alwavs more 
 or less influenced by that hlind faith which they are 
 willing to pass for religion, and which, perhaps, they 
 
460 LIFE or 
 
 believe so, fovj^no rance \m s less^hypoc r icy ih n ji wis - 
 dgjn : and to whatever form of faith their zeal or cap- 
 rice may induce them to incline, they pay homage to 
 it in their superiors. 
 
 An additional argument is, that every good man 
 and lover of his country, owes it as a duty to his 
 country, to conform to its religion in so great a 
 measure as not to lose his influence, even if he sacri- 
 fice to ignorance : because the balance of influence 
 should always be held by honest men, and this tends 
 to secure it. 
 
 If a designing hypocrite finds a necessity of blast- 
 ing the influence of an honest man, of wliose integri- 
 ty he is afraid, he can no way do it more effectually 
 than by denouncing him an infidel. 
 
 It seems to be a principle attached to the coward- 
 ice of guilt and eiTor of ignorance, to approach its 
 judge through an intermediate being. AH experi- 
 ence demonstrates this fact : and all ages of men 
 have differed on this principle only, in the being they 
 have chosen for the mediator. Some have fixed on 
 an ox and some a corpse ; some have considered the 
 sun and stars the representative of God, and some 
 the whirlwind and the storm. But whatever it be, if 
 there be nothing of political fraud nor corruption in 
 its constitution, it should so far have the countenance 
 of good men as to secure to society the benefit of 
 their influence : Jind I believe God will forgive the 
 idolatry for kum.anitffs sake. 
 
 Christianity is undoubtedly the most pure and 
 simple of any created religion, which has hitherto 
 been introduced by man. I say created, because 
 truth, and of course true religion, must ha> e been 
 more ancient than the existence of God : must have 
 governed him in creation, and not have been created 
 by him : Or they are more properly unique, 
 
 I find no potitical reason m this country for be- 
 coming a Mussulman : but I will be a Christian if 
 ever I return to my dear, native wilds. 
 
GEN. EATON. l61 
 
 You will object to my system because it counte- 
 uances hypocricy — Granted : but is it not a refined 
 hypocricy which shall control hypocricy of the 
 grosser sort, to subserve mankind ? 
 
 I have spun this subject far beyond my intentions 
 and the bounds of modesty ; but I hope you will be- 
 lieve I am not aiming at preceptorial consequence : I 
 am submitting my indigested thoughts for your crit- 
 icism, correction.- or sympathy. 
 
 1 have said in my letter to Mrs. Eaton, which 
 accompanies this, that the houses of Tunis are low. 
 The consular houses are exceptions. These are 
 from three to four stories, large and well built. 
 The American house is the largest in the city and by 
 far the handsomest. It is four stories from the mag- 
 azine ; one hundred and twenty feet by fifty ; built 
 of stone and lime, and well finished, upon the Euro- 
 pean construction : but it has no chimney nor fire 
 place, except in the kitchen. It has one and twenty 
 rooms and closets on the floor of the second stoi-j , 
 eight of them large, the others convenient and neces- 
 sary. My family consists of a young gentleman 
 from Baltimore, a physician and a philosopher, who 
 has agreed to tarry with me two years ; an interpret- 
 er and three servants. 
 
 Silence and solitude reign among us. From 
 morning till midnight here is nothing to interrupt 
 study and rational contemplation, for we have not a 
 woman in the house. 
 
 It is but a few days since I got through with the 
 business of my negociation with the Bey and Divan : 
 in a f€w days more shall close my dispatches. Af- 
 ter which I promise myself much satisfaction in 
 ranging among the ruins of the ancient cities in this 
 vicinitv. 
 
 William eaton 
 
 ^i 
 
463 Life of 
 
 Extracts, to O'Brien. 
 
 July 20th, 1799. 
 
 THE Bey's Physician dined with me to day, and' 
 confidentially told me that the Regency had it in 
 contemplation to declare war against Spain ; and 
 only waited the return of two merchant vessels, 
 whieli had gone thither. Speed to the measure ! It 
 will give us relief. Pity it is, that the Italians were 
 not included in the personae iramatis. Mussulmen, 
 catholics, assassins, thieves, beggars, pimps. In 
 Heaven's name, let them devour each other. The 
 world is afflicted with their abominations. I wish I 
 could thunder with a voice like Jove : I would pro- 
 ject electric bolts, omnipotent among them, thicker 
 than the stars of heaA en ; more irregular than the 
 dreams of guilt ; pointed with blue wrath, terrible as 
 hell ; and, in one permiscuous labyrinth of conta- 
 geous vengeance, iogulf them : and would then peo- 
 ple the coast of the Mediterranean with a new race 
 of men, upon a construction of my own, who should 
 never suffer lust, nor avarice, nor the cholic. 
 
 I am sorry that the request of the " female Bo- 
 cris"* is inadmissible, being much disposed to serve 
 them. But, I have already employed a " hack san- 
 saF' from among the disjiersed, who serves me as a- 
 drogoman, broker, footpage, groom, scullian, bottle- 
 washer, aid du corps and physician : who was born 
 in Gribralter, is free of London, a convict from Ire- 
 land, a burgomaster of Holland : was circumcised in 
 Bal'bary ; Avas a spy for the Devil among the Apos- 
 tles at the feast of Penticost, and has the gift of 
 tongues : has travelled in all Europe, and will un- 
 doubtedly be hung in America, for I intend to take 
 him tliere. He is the most useful scoundrel in the 
 world. He interprets, trades, runs, holds a horse, 
 
 * Two ladies in Algiers, who wished Eaton to take one of 
 theii-men servants. 
 
GEN. EATON. 18.3 
 
 scrubs, makes punch, intrigues, fights and prescribes 
 for me, for the moderate sum of five dollars per 
 month, and the perquisite of purloining every thing 
 wliiek I cannot miss. I regret that I cannot oblige 
 the ladiefj. 
 
 Extracts ; to Hon. S. Lyman, Esq. Springfield. 
 
 JLpril 2QtJi, 1799. 
 
 A mind accustomed, in a country like ours, to feast 
 on the calm and manly happiness of contemplating, on 
 every point, his fellow men in the full enjoyment of 
 equal rights and equal protection, must here be al- 
 most transported to madness in viewing the extremes 
 of intolerable insolence and of the basest abjection 
 which every where exhibit themselves. 
 
 Blindness seems peculiar to this country. The 
 streets are crowded with blind beggars, sitting wrap- 
 ped about witli miserable blankets, crying for cliari- 
 ty for the love of JMahomet. I believe I have pass- 
 ed an hundred of these wretches in half a mile's 
 walk. I think this malady may be imputed to the 
 stimulating effect of tobacco smoke, whidi is taken 
 incessantly among the men, without a suflRcient use 
 of animal food to restore the fluids which are dissi- 
 pated by this unnatural stimulus. The use of tobac- 
 co in any shape I believe pernicious to the human 
 system. Experience has taught me it is so to habits 
 like mine ; and observation has persuaded me it is 
 so to all habits. Yet it seems to fascinate half the 
 world of mankind : but in no place are men so tobac- 
 co-mad as in the Turkish dominions. It is as un- 
 common to meet a Turk here without a pipe as it is 
 to meet a stripling in our fashionable towns in Anier- 
 ica without a segar. 
 
 To GrEORGE HoUGH, Esq, 
 
 September idtli, 1799. 
 TIME was, friend Hough, when you and I laugh- 
 ed away an hour as happily as poor men could. 
 
iQ'h LIFE OF 
 
 But no more ! That however is a portion of the 
 23astj on wliich I frequently seize, and in a kind of 
 retrospective pleasure act over and over again, to fill 
 the vacuity of the j^resent, 
 
 Tkis place of my exile furnishes much material 
 for contemplation, but very little of enjoyment ; it is 
 therefore among the ruins of departed pleasures that 
 my mind retrogrades for subsistence : few periods 
 furnish more than that of our early acquaintance. 
 
 This country is indeed beautiful and naturally 
 productive of every thing which any soil or climate 
 on earth can be made to produce ; but it is badly 
 cultivated, because the wretched subjects who are 
 parched upon its surface have so precarious a title 
 to the produce of their labor, that they find no stim- 
 ulus to industry and enterprize. A naked subsist, 
 ence therefore bounds their ambition, and a confirm- 
 ed state of oppression has settled them into habitual 
 indolence and contentment. Upon the vast surface 
 of this extensive coast, naturally as fertile and as 
 generous as the bosom of youth, little else is to be 
 seen than wandering families of sunburnt Moors, 
 whose only houses are tents of camels hair, and 
 whose only property is a few herds of cattle and 
 sheep, a little poultry and a patch of corn. A hand- 
 ful of olives and a morsel of bread serve them for 
 their daily subsistence. A mat of reeds fiirnislies 
 their bed, their seat and their table : and a flannel 
 blanket, thrown loosely about them, their whole 
 wardrobe. The simplicity of their living is a strik- 
 ing proof how little may suflBce to support life ; and 
 when contrasted with the tables of the afliluent, 
 provf',s also hov/ much is devoured tliere without 
 zest and without cheer, which might other\^ise re- 
 lieve distress and gladden the heart of sorrow. 
 They seem to have enough and to be happy. They 
 enjoy perfect health : live to great old age, and then 
 gradually decline away, like old trees, without pain 
 and without even a consciousness of decay. Such 
 are the natii^c.s of the country. The Turks are en 
 
GEN. EATON. * 166 
 
 tirely a different species of men. So indeed are the 
 inhabitants of their cities and walled towns. The 
 city of Tunis is inhabited by a morty herd of ani- 
 mals. Here within the circumference of about sev- 
 en miles, three hundred tliousand souls arc cram- 
 ed into subterraneous cells, Jews, Moors, Italians 
 and Turks, like moles, bats, vipers and wolves. 
 The houses are generally low, built of brick or 
 mud ; their walls contiguous to each other, admit- 
 ting the light only through an aperture in the top ; 
 and, the narrow streets are so filled by the oftiil of 
 two or three thousand years, that the descent to the 
 floor in many of them is from one to two or three 
 feet. The middling and poorer people have but one 
 apartment, an oblong square arched over, aboUt fif- 
 teen feet long and from ten to twelve l)road. The 
 ]>etter sort have square houses, with an open space 
 in the centre, on each side of which is a room with 
 necessary apartments. Here and there are elevated, 
 among these dens, spacious stone buildings of rich 
 Turks and foreign ministers ; huge piles of castles 
 and enormous mosques. The tops of the houses are 
 all flat, and in the wet season of the year are covered 
 with vegetation, which, viewed from the terrace of 
 the American house, which has an elevation of three 
 story above the ordinary houses, present a very gro- 
 tesque appearance. Of the great number of souls, 
 who inhabit this small space, one iialf, the wo- 
 men, never but once, during their whole lives, 
 go Avithout the Malls of their wretched prisons ; and 
 then only to be transplanted into a confinement which 
 has undoubtedly more allurements but stricter vigils^ 
 the house of a husband ; and never without the Myalls 
 of the city. Add to this, one third of the whole 
 number, the mechanics, who never during life go 
 three leagues from the spot of their birtli. Rere 
 then are two hundred and fifty thousand animals, in 
 the shape of human beings, w^ho vegetate and set in 
 the same sink. The small number who venture out 
 confine their travels to privateering and coramercial 
 
466 LIFE OF 
 
 voyages, within the confines of the Mediterranean, 
 or to the semiannual revolution of the camp, to gath- 
 er tithes from the poor natives. 
 
 They have no books but the Alcoran, which, not 
 one in a hundred can read, and of course no light but 
 divine lights which, all experience teaches us, when 
 admitted in exclusion of the light of common sense, 
 guides men to palpable darkness. From these prem- 
 ises you Avill conclude that superstition and fanati- 
 cism have their rankest growth here. No — They 
 are ranker in Italy and Spain, because speculators in 
 divinity have more influence there ; but here they 
 are rank. In the twilight, (this is the time of 
 ^jrayers,) when parting day and solitude shed a kind 
 f)f solemnity over the mind, I frequently walk upon 
 my house top and view the animal world below. 
 1 behold at the same instant hundreds of souls upon 
 their terraces prostrating themselves at the shrine of 
 tlieir tutelar deity, while in the cells below and 
 mosques is heard the din of incessant prayer. With 
 their faces towards Mecca, they kneel, they pray ; 
 fall prostrate on the ground and kiss thfi dust. They 
 continue long at these devotions. With sad distor- 
 tions of countenance, souls agitated with holy zeal, 
 and hearts religiously distended with hatred towards 
 the unbelieving dogs who are not blinded with their 
 liglit, they bless God that they were born under the 
 influence of the trite religion, and were not left to per- 
 ish under Christian delusion.* A thousand ideas, 
 faster than I can digest them, rusli upon my mind on 
 these solemn occasions : and, whether from pity or 
 from sympatliy I know not, my soul joins the torrent 
 /jf prayer. ^'' Incomprehensible source of being and 
 perfection ! Can these devotions of thy creatures, so 
 sensible of their dependence, however darkly ignor- 
 ant they are, and however erroneous they may be, 
 
 • I asked a Turk who frequents my house ifhe would go 
 to America and turn Christian ? He said he should like to go 
 there ; but for a thousand worlds he would not turn Christian 
 and lose his soul. 
 
GEN. EATON. i6'f 
 
 can they be less acceptable to thee than the sacrifices 
 of souls more refined, offered with less simplicity and 
 equal arrogance ? Or art thou moved like a sec- 
 tarian and wrought upon by a rite ? Do I not at this 
 moment conceive thee addressed throngli a million 
 different channels ; and may they not all direct their 
 course to the vast ocean, of thy goodness ?" But these 
 are eiaculatory enquiries too sacred to be explained 
 to a natural man : I leave them therefore to the so- 
 lution of those distinguished ministers of light who 
 have penetrated the arcana of God, and pursue my 
 observations as a layman, only begging the indul- 
 gence to turn the period of my prayer with, 
 
 " Let not this weak, unknowing hand 
 
 Presume thy bolts to throw ; 
 Nor deal damnation round the land 
 
 On each I judge thy foe." 
 
 I said they pray with their faces towards Mecca, 
 Can you be persuaded that the more enlightened of 
 these favorites of heaven are so particular in this 
 point that they shape their position with a compass ?' 
 li is true ! The tomb of our savior lias a variation 
 from this point of only eighteen degrees from that of 
 Mahomet, which is imperceptible to the eye. Should 
 accident or ignorance, on these occasions, point a 
 Mussulman's nose towards Jerusalem, jealousy might 
 induce the prophet to consider it as a breach of good 
 faith, a compliment meant to his rival, and an insult 
 offered to his dignity, which would incense the father 
 of gods and men to rain wrath upon the hapless 
 subject of this error. In Italy this same equal God 
 would pour equal wrath upon the blasphemous 
 scoundrel, who to the prejudice of the true Messiali 
 should pay a civility to the memory of Mahomet ! 
 Man ! Thou paragon of rational inconsistency ! 
 How grateful ought thou to be to thy common Fa- 
 ther for pitying thy weakness, suffering thy absurdi- 
 ties^ pardoning, thy pride and withholding fro id thee 
 
16S LIFE OP 
 
 bis bolts of vengeance with which thou woiildst 
 reciprocally destroy and reciprocally damn thy 
 whole race ! 
 
 The ignorance, superstitious tradition and civil 
 and religious tyrranny, which depress the human 
 mind here, exclude improvement of every kind ; 
 consequently the same habits, customs and manners, 
 whicli were observed in the east three thousand years 
 ago, are still prevalent here. Every thing is done 
 ii) the greatest possible disadvantage. 
 
 The Turli^s are the lords of the country. They 
 form the government and the regular military, and. 
 although they bear a very small portion to the whole 
 number of inhabitants, every thing yields to their 
 convenience and pleasure. They are consequently 
 imperious, overbearing and insolent ; regardless of 
 human right and unmoved by human misery. They 
 subsist generally by plunder of some kind ; either 
 indirectly upon the natives of the country, or directly 
 upon the effeminate Christian powers of the Mediter- 
 ranean, with some^one of whom, for this sole pur- 
 pose, they are perpetually at war. The government 
 draws its support from the same sources ; and, to 
 the shame of Christendom and hnmanity, has so es- 
 tablished the system, that Europe and America stip- 
 ulate its guarantee by treaty compact. The general 
 principle of the Barbary Regencies is the same. 
 
 Algiers has seven kings of Europe and two repub- 
 lics, besides the American empire, held in direct or 
 indirect tribute. Yet 1 consider Algiers far from be- 
 ing invuljierable from the most inconsiderable of 
 those powers. Tunis is but little less arrogant, 
 though far less formidable. What can induce these 
 submissions ? A groveling policy in the more nort]i- 
 ern states of Europe, founded on commercial rival- 
 ship, of feeing these pirates to raise impediments to 
 each other, and a cowardly effeminacy which has 
 long since unmanned Spain, Italy and the Islands in 
 their dependencies, and which has cultivated a spir- 
 it of tame submission. What should have brought 
 
GEN. EATON. l69 
 
 America into the measure ? Covetousness, jealousy 
 of their own government and illfounded credulity in 
 foreign intervention. Had the government of the U- 
 nited States persevered in their first resolutions of 
 showing a force in this sea, we miglit have held our 
 own terms : but, to save the expense of that arma- 
 ment, we have expended as much cash in negocia- 
 tion as its equipment would have cost : we have en- 
 tailed on ourselves and posterity the payment of a 
 tribute, which, with freight and insurance, will a- 
 mount annually to forty thousand dollars ; and we 
 have obtained, with two of these regencies, a preca- 
 rious peace. I say jjifecainous, because all experi- 
 ence teaches us that no peace between nations can 
 be permanent, which is not guaranteed by mutual in- 
 terests or equal force, longer than while the imposing 
 power is paid an equivalent to the probable advanta- 
 ges of breaking it. These Regencies will fabricate 
 pretexts for accumulating their claims upon us, so 
 long as we shall have a commerce in this sea wort]i 
 these sacrifices to their avarice for its protection, and 
 we remain apparently in a situation to give it no oth- 
 er more eft'eetual protection. We have, therefore, 
 only this clioice of measures, to concede uncondition- 
 ally to their demands, or to elfectuate diflferent hab' 
 its of feeling among them towards us from the pres- 
 ent, by showing a force here. We liave no other 
 alternative. It is indeed an erroneous calculation to 
 seek to save the expense of this kind of protection by 
 stipulating payments to a gang of fearless robbers, 
 whose avidity for plunder is as insatiable as death ; 
 not to say any thing of the national degradation col- 
 lateral to this measure. My fellow citizens then 
 may reconcile tliemselves to open their purses to buy 
 otto of roses to perfume Mussulmen's beards, or to 
 open their gun ports to protect their purses and re- 
 deem their reputation. For my own part it grates 
 me mortally, when I see a lazy Turk reclining at his 
 case upon an embroidered sopha, with one christian 
 slave to fan away the flies, another to hand his cof- 
 
 ^2 
 
170 LIFE OF 
 
 fee, and a tiiird to hold his pipe ; and when 1 reflect' 
 tliat the sweat of my countrymen contributes to pro- 
 cure him this ease. It is still more grating to per- 
 ceive that the Turk believes he has a right to de- 
 mand this contribution, and that we, like Italians, 
 have not fortitude to resist it, England, at present, 
 seems to be the only nation of Europe suitably re- 
 spected by these Regencies ! The lion of England 
 shows them his teeth. Algiers feigns a friendship 
 for the United State, for the. same reason that an old 
 bawd falls violently in love with a young facior ; 
 she has got hold of liis purse strings and is determin- 
 ed to pick his pockets. It is but justice to say of 
 Tunis tliat it has^ a wise and an amiable prhice, but 
 he entertains no adequate ideas of the importance of 
 the United- States : he cannot discriminate between' 
 Mediterranean and transatlantic Christians. When 
 I talk to hira of tfcs strength, independence and en- 
 terprise of my country, he leers at it : I hope he may 
 be taught to think more justly of us. 
 
 Were I to go into a detail of the insults, aggres- 
 sions and barbarities which these pirates are every 
 day practising upon their tame Christian neighbors^ 
 you would be astonished. It is a common> thing a- 
 mong them to take masters and seamen out of the 
 nierciiant vessels in their harbors, and unmercifully 
 bastinade them for refusing any thing required of 
 them however trifling or however extravagant. I 
 think it would throw me into a perspiration to see ait 
 American treated in this manner. Yet, if found 
 here, they areas subject to it under existing circum- 
 stances as any other Christians. 
 
 I can iix no period to the probable time of my se- 
 clusion from society and happiness. Please to men- 
 tion me agreeably to your lady ; and believe me t» 
 be, my dear sir, as cordially and as shicerely as ever, 
 Your friend and humble servant^ 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
GEN. EATON. ^^l 
 
 Extract : To Mr. Pickering, f Private J 
 
 FROM the similarity of soil and eli 
 mate between this country and some parts of tlie 
 United States, it may be presumed that the rfa/e, 
 jig and olive tree, may be successfully cultivated in 
 our country. 
 
 The date seeks a dry, hot bed of sand : it grows 
 where no other vegetation is seen. The pine bar- 
 rens of Georgia would be peculiarly friendly to this 
 tree. It is produced from the seed ; is slow in 
 growth, but very durable. It very much resembles 
 in appearance tlie cabbage tree. The fruit is very 
 nutritive : many people upon the borders of the 
 desert subsist almost entirely upon it. It is used as 
 a dessert at many tables. I send a few seeds ])y 
 Mr. Shaw ; and could wish that an experiment 
 might be made with them by putting them into tlie 
 hands of a Georgiau, who extends his ideas of agri- 
 cultural improvement to the Yazoo grants, and a 
 Jiundred years into futurity. The tree requires wa- 
 tering in the hot seasons. The fig also flourishes in 
 ^ sandy soil : it requires less moisture than the date. 
 The wild, fig grows spontaneously upon the islands 
 on the coasts of Georgia ; which is a sufficient proof 
 that the true may be cultivated there. If the scion 
 can be grafted I intend trying the experiment of in- 
 troducing it to America. The healthy properties of 
 this fruit arc known to every body. When green, as 
 well as dry, it forms an agreeable dessert. 
 
 The olive requires a tenaceous soil ; but the cir- 
 cumstance of the plains of this country being ver- 
 dant with them, wlien there has not fallen a drop of 
 rain for more that fifteen weeks, proves tliat the tree 
 can subsist with very little moisture. The marly 
 soil of the Ohio and the Mississippi, and the clay 
 bottoms of the Southern States, would be most prob- 
 4?blv favorable to tlie cnltivation of the olive. It if 
 
17^ LIFE OF 
 
 produced from the slip : it is of slow growth ; but it 
 lives to an amazing age. We see olive groves here 
 which from the ruins of walls that enclosed them, 
 appear to have been planted by Europeans ; and 
 which are yet fruitful. There is no need that any 
 thing should be said of the produce of this tree 
 neither as it respects the sustenance of life nor as a 
 source of wealth. I contemplate attempting to in- 
 troduce this tree also to America if circumstances 
 should operate to favor the project. I do not know 
 that tiie project has been assayed. Whatever may 
 be the success of it, the anticipation that future gener- 
 ations may sec sources of life and wealth covering 
 the immense sand and clay barrens of our countrj'^, 
 which now present a discouraging surface, is an 
 agreeable subject of contemplation. 
 
 To Mrs. Eatox. 
 
 Tunis^ ^flpril 13/A, 1800. 
 I AM at this moment exceedingly press- 
 ed with business, having with me two ships loading 
 for Europe, and having communications to make tQ 
 government of the ultimate result of my exertions 
 the last year. Every thing is well Avith me, both 
 public and personal. I have received tlie full ap- 
 probation of the President on the manner in which I 
 have conducted the affairs of the United States in a 
 very critical moment ; and the warm expressions of 
 friendship of Mr. Pickering in a private letter from 
 him on tlie sulvject. I should not mention theie 
 things, but I suppose a man may be a Yiiiloi familiar 
 with his u'ife without being charged with vanity. 
 Besides, I know you feel every thing which touches 
 me. My prospects of commerce are truly flatter- 
 ing ; and my health, thank God, was never better. 
 You have wept for me, Eliza. God will let us re- 
 joice together. 1 am more and more persuaded 
 that theifc is a siipeviotcndant power, a Being of 
 
GEN. EATON. 173 
 
 justice, who regards liiiman affairs, and who maketh 
 the upright exertions of a man to prosper. 
 
 To Mr. Pickering. fPrivate.J 
 
 Tunis, May iSth, 1800. 
 I READ your friendly^ letter of iSth 
 January, with infinite satisfaction and a due sense of 
 gratitude. I am not less sensible to the honor done 
 me by the approbation the President has been pleas- 
 ed to confer on ray conduct here. 
 
 I am haj)py the discretion I used iit diawing an out- 
 fit* did not incur censure. The situation in'Avhich I 
 found myself on arriving here rendered some such 
 expedient necessary. It was not without hesita- 
 tion I adopted it, not feeling confident that my de- 
 ductions from your comments would be admitted ; 
 knowing however, that, if not finally allowed, it 
 might be placed to my debt on account of salary. 
 
 It may not be improper to note here, what I do not 
 chuse should appear in my official communications, 
 unless a question be made on the subject, that the 
 British consul's stated salary is 800/. sterling per an. 
 and perquisites of office, last year, nearly 12007. 
 The Dutch consul's, who is charge des affairs for the 
 Emperor and Republic of Ragusa, about 3000 dol- 
 lars ; perquisites of office more than three times this 
 sum last year ; Ragusa being the principal carrier 
 for Tunis ; and the consul receiving five per cent on 
 the freight of their vessels : (the British Consul also 
 takes five per cent : ) the Danish Consul about 3000 
 idollars : the Spanish Consul 4000 dollars and all 
 expenses defrayed by government, even his ward 
 robe : the Swede about 3000 dollars. 
 
 From an estimate of the expenses of my table the 
 last year, I find its amount D. 1,970 48 cts. exclusive 
 of clothing, horsekeeping and domestics' salaries. 
 My house, however, the last year^j has been a cara- 
 
 * S2,000. 
 
174 LIFE OF 
 
 vansary. Every body, who had the ear of the Bey, 
 whether Christian (Famin excepted) or Mussulman, 
 (the latter have no scruples to a glass of wine under 
 a thristian flag,) have been my ^' good friends.'* 
 For this sum a family might have been subsisted. 
 
 Market provisions are much dearer here than in 
 Algiers ; say 33 1-3 per cent. Ought not the sala- 
 ry to be in proportion ? The consular houses are 
 much more in stile. If the American be singular in 
 liis resourses this will not be admitted as a sufficient 
 excuse for his being so in his expenses. The outfit 
 helped me. The surplus of furnishing the house 
 and what cash I brought out, I embarked, incog, 
 in trade with an English gentleman : and it has suc- 
 ceeded beyond my calculation. I was compelled to 
 do this or go into debt. 
 
 To Mr. Pynchox. 
 
 Tunis, May 2Sd, 1800. 
 IT was not my intention to write you by 
 this opportunity, because my vacant head could in- 
 dict nothing worth your reading. But, rummaging 
 this morning, among old passports, bills of health, 
 manifests, protests, old letters and manuscript chaos 
 of my own, I found, in a mutilated state, the original 
 of the enclosed scrap. They are rhapsodies which 
 occurred at the instant of hearing of tlie death of the 
 best and greatest mere man who ever died. On a 
 review of it I like it ; not because it is poetical or 
 elegant ; but because it is a strong expression of the 
 impression the intelligence made on my mind. I 
 send it to you that it may be printed, under your in- 
 spection, in the waste corner of a Newspaper. It 
 savors a little of heathenism, but not in tlie least of 
 atheism nor democracy * 
 
GEN. EATON. 17^ 
 
 WASHINGTON'S Reception in Elysium. 
 
 IT was a glad inorn when great Jove announced, 
 " Our glorious Washington arrives to day." 
 A thousand suns, to grace the arch of heaven, 
 Were lighted into lustre on the occasion ; 
 And stars, that twinkled through the beams of day. 
 Were ranged to add a brilliance to the grandeur. 
 
 A barge, constructed of the deals of life, 
 Manned by eight heroes' spirits ; anlient half. 
 Half modern ; David, Israel's royal warrior ; 
 Cyrus the Persian Conqueror ; Philip's son ; 
 And Rome's first Emperor, mighty Julius C-esau j 
 Alfhkd the Great ; Lewis the boast of France ; 
 PiBTER the Czar, and Prussia's deathless Frederic ; 
 Drake at the helm ; bore him across the Styx. 
 Phocion and Fabius, Charlemagne and Warren, 
 Stood and received him on the other aiAe ; 
 And led him through Avcrnus. On the fields 
 Of fair Elysium, ranged in open order, 
 With arms presented, stood the host of heaven. 
 
 As he approached the right, a signal given, 
 The park celestial thundered a salute. 
 
 Once more were seen his loved compatriots, 
 Heroes who bled on young Columbia's plains. 
 Proceeding joyful in their General's train. 
 
 As he drew near the city, every gate 
 Was thrown wide open. On the lofty rampans, 
 Celestial myriads crouded, gazed and shouted, 
 While all heaven's batteries thundered a salute. 
 
 A million virgins o'er the gilded pavements 
 Spread laurel, cassia, aromatic flowers ; 
 And sang, once more, " The conquering Hero corwes." 
 
 Great nature's monarch from his pearly throne 
 Rose gracious ; and, all affable, half bending, 
 Half did him homage, while he bade him wellcome : 
 And all the court of Jove lespectful bowed. 
 
 All night old Franklin, seated on a cloud, 
 Displayed illuminations through the realm. 
 
 Such the respect the great accord to goodness. 
 And such the joy which filled the etherial courts. 
 When WASHINGTON received a crown immortal. 
 
 But, o'er the Western hemisphere of earth. 
 Thai day was veiled in sadness : poignant grief, 
 Unknown till then, oppressed a nation's breast ; 
 And half a world o'erwhelmed in mighty sorrow. 
 
176 LIFE OF 
 
 Weep not, Columbia, that thy Son and Soldier 
 Ascends te glory unalloyed, eternal. 
 Wouldst thou confine a soul like his to earth, 
 Where black higratitude and envy reign 
 In half the hearts of men ? Perhaps he still 
 Remains thy Guardian Genius and thy Friend. 
 Most sure 1 am heaven can bestow no gift, 
 No honors grant, confer no dignity. 
 So grateful half as this ; reward so ample 
 For all his toils and virtues as a man, 
 And sure I am, there's no competitor, 
 In heaven or earth, that can with him contest 
 The claim to this distinction and deposit. 
 
 Weep not, Columbia, Washington is still 
 Thy Guardian Genius thy immortal Guide.* 
 
 Bar bar y^ March Is?, 1800. 
 
 To Mr. Harris. 
 
 Tmiis, June iSth^ 1800. 
 THE death of our Patriarch had been 
 told through this region, before your letter announc- 
 ed it. You have wept iii America^ You have had 
 cause . The world should weep. Man has lost a 
 friend ! As a man and as an American^ 1 feel a deep 
 impression of manly sorrow. But as a christian, and 
 an admirer of that extraordinary man, I am glad he 
 has ascended. He lived enough to glory ! enougli 
 to usefulness. It were unkind to wish him longer 
 from home : we owe infinite gratitude to heaven for 
 lending him so long. He has left us the immortal 
 monumenis of his virtue. He has left us his exam- 
 ples. He has left us a country. Long as America 
 retains a single symptom of patriotism, honor, or 
 
 * See his valedictory address to the Citizens of the Unhed 
 States in 1795. Read it in thy holy filaces. Bind it about thy 
 neck. Print it on the tablet of thy heart. It shall keep thee 
 from the strange vjoman.^ It shall deliver tliee from the //«" 
 lot\ that lieth in wait for thy soul. 
 
 t Sister France 1 
 
 \ Mother Biitain ' 
 
truth, 60 long hei* citizens, oft as the name of Wash- 
 ington occurs, shall feel their own virtues reinforced, 
 and blush at corruption : even depravity itself shall 
 feel a dignified pride from the reflected honor to 
 have been born iri a country which bore such a son. 
 
 Treachery and fraud will be repulsed at the 
 idea that the spirit of Washington witnesses their 
 intrigues. America has lost a. friend and k father. 
 Heaven has acquh'ed an ornament and a son. 
 
 N. B. Do Rot forget to send me a register. The 
 object is not so much to know the " new moons and 
 appointed feasts," as the departments of State, war, 
 navy, members of Congress, promotions, depressions, 
 bills of mortality, births, marriages, revivals of re- 
 ligion, extraordinary instances of conversions to fed- 
 eralism, epigrams anecdotes, recipes to cure the bite of 
 mad dogs, mad politicians, and rattle snakes, (they are 
 all a bite^) the sting of scorpions, plague and hypo ; 
 and such other useful and wise matters as " the gen- 
 tleman's annual pocket remembrancer^' generally 
 contains. 
 
 To Mr. PiCKEiiiNG, f Private. J 
 
 Tunis, July 21 sf, 1800. 
 THE morning next succeeding the de- 
 parture of his Danish Majesty's Consul General, the 
 Danish Masters of vessels, then captured, six in 
 number, came in a body and desired me to redeem 
 their vessels. It was understood that they could 
 opon a credit in Leghorn. I accordingly went to 
 the minister, and proposed, in my own name, to 
 purchase the Danish vessels. He closed with the 
 proposal and appointed his agent. I examined the 
 vessels ; (they had not been tlien plundered ';) and 
 made an offer. He demanded time to deliberate. 
 In the interim the Danish Captains discovered ap- 
 prehensions of danger in pursuing the project* 
 My word was passed ; and my only hope rested iii 
 refusal of my bid on the part of the Government. 
 
 S3 
 
478 LIFE OF 
 
 Famin overbid me. Government reported, by theii= 
 agent, his bid. To which I replied that I consider- 
 ed the business at an end on my part, because I was 
 fixed in my first bid The next day I departed for 
 Biserte : but had been but twelve hours there when a 
 message arrived expressing the astonishment of the 
 government at my departure, because their agent 
 had received orders to close with my offer. I re- 
 turned immediately : finished the bargain, and fixed 
 on the mode of payment. I now reported the busi- 
 ness to the Danish Captains ; but they failed alto- 
 gether. T nov/ found myself in possession of six 
 vessels, purchased on credit, in a situation by no 
 means eligible. 
 
 To Mrs. Eaton. 
 
 Tunis, *lugust idth, 1800. 
 YOU will probably feel anxious to know by 
 every occasion, the situation of my health and affairs, 
 particularly as you may have heard that the plague 
 is in this city. With satisfaction I announce to you 
 that we are no longer alarmed by that destroyer. It 
 is now six days since any accident has happened ; 
 and we have a flattering hope that the malady has 
 subsided altogether. I am, thank God^ in perfect 
 health. My affairs are on a good footing : my 
 prospects flattering. My resolutions to return to A- 
 meriea next spring fixed. 
 
 Being charged with the affairs of the Danish na- 
 tion, I redeemed six prise vessels for their Captains ; 
 but they, fa,iling in pavment, have abandoned the 
 vessels to me. If no unforeseen accident befal me, 
 we may count on a speculation here of ten thousand 
 dollars, on a moderate calculation : and the business 
 conducied on the broadest principles of equity and 
 honor. I purchased on credit, of the Government of 
 Tunis. No man has, at this moment, more credit nor 
 influence here than the American Consul. After a 
 year of the most anxious perplexity and concern, 
 
GEN. EATON. 179 
 
 fortune began to play into my bands, and tbe iiekle 
 Goddess has almost persuaded me tliat she will not 
 immediately change sides. I shall be careful to add 
 my exertions to hers ; and without some unforeseen 
 impediment , I know not why we may not keep 
 company tiP I may have the felicity to consign the 
 product of our enterprises to a Lady of a much 
 more stable and constant character than Dame For- 
 tune. In short, if I should happen to make a hand- 
 some property here, I trust no candid commentator 
 will say I have not merited it. 
 
 Does any body know in America what has caused 
 the removal of my respected, loved, honored friend 
 Mr. Pickering ? It is impossible, if any thing is im- 
 possible, that he should be capable of malfeasance 
 of office. Pray let me know vviiat common fame 
 says on the subject. I lament his disgrace ; for I 
 cannot, without strong reasons, believe he has merit- 
 ed it. If that man be not faithful and just, I v/ill no 
 more hope to find an honest man among the race of 
 beings on whom God is said to have stamped his 
 own image. 
 
 To Mr. Pickering. 
 
 Tunis, JSTovemher 4^th, 1800. 
 MY conjecture has been on the rack 
 and turned bankrupt on the subject of your removal. 
 A suspicion of delinquency cannot have a moment's 
 existence : for, if this were true, the chief Magis- 
 trate would not lose a moment in justifying himself 
 to the public by exposing facts. It is not impossible 
 that such a sacrifice may have been thought necessa- 
 ry to the security of an impending election. Gen. 
 Marshal, it is presumed, has more influence to the 
 southward than his predecessor. And who can say 
 that this ehction may not be necessary to the safety 
 of the state ? And if so " it is expedient that one man 
 should die for the people ; and that the whole nation 
 perish not V^ But however necessary such an election 
 
18(3 LIFE OF 
 
 may be to the safety of the states I am apprehensive 
 the measure, resorted to in order to secure it, will de- 
 feat its own object. Aristides will be Aristides 
 still ; and the very faction who w^ere tired of hearing 
 him called the just will honor in exile whom they 
 dreaded in office; and detest the hand that has 
 wronged him ; for however fond men are of pushing 
 their resentments and carrying their measures by all 
 means, they cannot but hate the instrument of injus- 
 tice which favors them. The chief magistrate, how- 
 ever upright may have been his motives, will add 
 nothing to his interest from opposition ; while he 
 hazards to alienate his supporters by an act which 
 admits a suspicion of sinister rather than patriotic 
 views. 
 
 To Mrs. Eaton. 
 
 Tunis f JSTovember &thf 1800. 
 MY last letter was dated 15th August. 
 In that I mentioned that I had redeemed six Danish 
 prize vessels. But I have restored them again to 
 their original proprietors. Ask you why ? Because 
 there is more pleasure in being generous than rich. 
 I could undoubtedly have saved eight or ten thous- 
 and dollars by the speculation. But, ^^ man wants 
 hut little, nor that little long.'' I have had the pleas- 
 ure of seeing eighty six unhappy captives embark in 
 these vessels and shape their course for their native 
 countrv- 
 
 After I had resigned the Danish affairs into the 
 hands of their proper Agent, I received from the Ad- 
 miral, charged with a commission to arrange exist- 
 ing difficulties, the following letter, viz. 
 
 ^^ On hoard the Factor in the Road of Tunis. 
 
 September 27th, 1800. 
 Sir, 
 
 I should neglect my duty if, before leav- 
 ing this Road, I should refuse myself the honor and 
 
GEN. EATON. 181 
 
 die pVeasupe to repeat to you how grateful I am for 
 the services you have had the goodness to render 
 my king and country, both at the time of our misin- 
 telligence with Tunis and at the instant of negotia- 
 ting a truce ; in the first ease by regarding with sin- 
 gular care his subjects in chains here ; in the sec- 
 ond by aiding with your light the measures necessary 
 to produce the desired accommodation. I am here 
 but the organ of my sovereign, to whom I have al- 
 ready, by my first reports, communicated what you 
 have done for us. The multitude of objecis to him 
 then submitted did not allow me to extend this sub- 
 ject to the extent of my wishes ; but certainly I 
 shall not fail by the first occasion to finish the agree- 
 able part I have begun. And I flatter myself, Sir, 
 on my return here to be specially charged by his 
 Majesty to give you assurances of his sense of obli- 
 gation. Have the goodness in the mean time. Sir, 
 to accept the particular assurance of my personal 
 gratitude, as well for the ityfluence you have been 
 pleased to use during the course of the negociation 
 of which a happy issue is the effect, as also for the 
 great politeness you have shown myself and gentle- 
 men under my orders attached to the service of his 
 Danish Majesty. 
 
 With perfect esteem and consideration <, 
 
 I have the honor to he, 
 Sir, yaur most humble 
 
 and very obliged servant. 
 fSignedJ KOEFAED. 
 To Mr. William Eaton, 
 Consul of the United States of Jlmericaat Tunis.^^ 
 
 The following extract of a letter from Mr. Cathcart 
 to Mr. Eaton, unfolds a curious trait of Mahome- 
 tan intolerance and superstition. 
 
 Tripoli, Feb. i7th, ISOO. 
 Capt. Marco being detained here by 
 contrary winds, gives me an opportunity of informing 
 
183 UFE OF 
 
 you of the following facts, by which you will be en* 
 abled in some measure to form an opinion of our 
 Monarch's character. We not having had any rain 
 since the 20th of last April, except a very small 
 shower on the 8th of December, the Bon. the 12th 
 inst. gave the following ridiculous order : that all 
 the youth of the city, should assemble, and each take 
 a stone, and repair to the Cadi's seat, where he ad- 
 ministers justice to the populace ; and then and 
 there heave a stone at him, as a mark of the just de- 
 testation the Bashaw has for all acts of injustice : 
 and although he could not prove any thing against 
 said civil magistiate, he was led to believe that he 
 must have committed several acts of the most flagrant 
 iajdstice, as nothing less could have incensed the 
 great and only Allah to that degree as to cause him 
 to withhold his bounty from this great, populous and 
 antient Pachaiic, the abode of tlie faithful and ter- 
 ror of its enemies. He farther ordered that, if the 
 Cadi was not present, they should cast the stones at 
 his seat ; which would be sufficient, as the prophet 
 would intercede for them in virtue of their just in- 
 tention, without insisting on the rigor of the act. 
 The boys, through ignorance of the order, or malice, 
 I know not which, proceeded to his worship's seat ; 
 and, not finding him there, demolished it, and filled 
 it with stones : and then went in a body to his dwell- 
 ing house. The servants being apprized of their 
 coming, barricaded the doors, so that they could 
 not get in. They however filled the door with 
 stones, until it was rendered unserviceable, and then 
 retired with exultation. This happened on a very 
 cloudy day, wind about S. S. E. which is a land 
 wind, and extremely warm, the air impregnated with 
 small sand from the desert : the whole indicating a 
 thunder storm and rain. The prophet, however, 
 this time was inexorable. The wind came round to 
 the N. W. and fine clear weather ensued. On the 
 IStii, wind to the southward as before, the sun obscur- 
 ed with clouds and sand indicated rain. The Bash- 
 
GEN< EATON. 183 
 
 aw, m order to ensure success beyond all probability 
 of doubt, ordered the boys to destroy the apparatus 
 of the synagogue. This was a feast for them. 
 They went in a body around with stones. The 
 lamp with seven branches was destroyed : the holy 
 oil was spilt : the tabernacle was polluted : the holy 
 writings were thrown down and torn : the vail of the 
 temple was rent in twain ; and they played the very 
 devil in the sanctum sanctorum. 
 
 When the populace in any country finds them- 
 selves vested with power, they generally are either 
 ignorant of the extent delegated to them, or malicious- 
 ly surpass its bounds. The boys, not content with 
 their atchievment at the synagogue, went into sever- 
 al of the Jews houses, and broke their moveables, 
 and hove stones at the poor creatures, who had no 
 other alternative but a precipitate flight. The mar- 
 aboots paraded the streets, and marine, and threw 
 stones at the Jews and Christians, in sign of their de- 
 testation and enmity for all orders of men but those 
 that profess the true Mussulman faith. An impe- 
 rial Captain was wounded on the eye brow by one 
 of those holy missile w capons, which was the only 
 Christian that was corporally hurt by this ceremony : 
 but our feelings must have been callous not "to have 
 sensibly felt the horrors of our humiliating situation. 
 Does not humanity recoil, my dear sir, at the indig- 
 nity these poor Jews continually suffer, and yet they 
 content tiiemselves at the very instant of receiving 
 them, by planning clandestine schemes of retalia- 
 tion ; and are, or seem, perfectly happy, when they 
 have, (by the practice of the most consummate decep- 
 tion, which they study from their infancy) over 
 reached or taken advantage of an enemy of their re- 
 ligion, be the acquisition ever so trifling, they retire 
 to their dwellings w^th their ill acquired gains, and '' 
 exult in an atchievment, the perpetration of which 
 with us would be branded with^infamy. 
 
 The prophet, w^ho had been in the dumps during 
 the whole time of the Ramadan, and had not paid 
 
184 LIFE OF 
 
 the least regard to the fasting and prostration of the 
 true believers, was now so pleased with the persecu- 
 tions of his fellow men, that he interceded so eft'ectu- 
 ally with the immortal Allah ! that the windows of 
 heaven were opened on the 14th inst. and the rain 
 descended in torrents, accompanied with thunder 
 and lightning, which lasted until the night of the 
 l6l;h, when the wind coming to the N. W. it cleared, 
 and we have now fine weather. The Jews are of o- 
 pinion that their holy things will share a similar fate 
 every dry season, and that this will be quoted as a 
 precedent. 
 
GEN. EATON. 185 
 
 EXTILICTS, 
 
 To Gen. Marshall, Secretary of State, 
 
 _ Tunis, September grf, 1800. 
 AT the sacrifice of eight vessels and 
 cargoes, aud 61,440 Spanish dollars for the redemp- 
 tion of eighty six captives, the Danes have obtained 
 a trace with the Regency of Tunis for four months. 
 A history of this two month's bloodless war would 
 exhibit a picture worthy of — Danes ! 
 
 France on the other hand Avithout a sacrifice has 
 obtained a truce during the war with Europe, and a 
 release of all her citizens without redemption. 
 
 It is a maxim of the Barbary States, that ^^ The 
 Christians who would be on good terms with tJienii 
 must jight well or pay ivelV^ France and Denmark 
 bear testimony to this maxim. 
 
 The six Danish vessels, mentioned in a former 
 communication, which I purchased of this Regency 
 for the owners, I have restored to their respective 
 masters on condition of the Commodore redeeming 
 my credit and reimbursing actual disbursements. 
 
 To the Secretary of State. 
 
 Tunis, JVovember ist, 1800. 
 I WAS at the palace this morning and 
 Jresterday. Says the Bey ; " What am I to de- 
 duce from all your assurances of punctuality on tlie 
 part of your government?'' I answered : your Ex- 
 cellencv will have the sroodness to believe that when 
 information of our definitive arrangements was re- 
 ceived in the United States, the stores, Avhich we 
 liave stipulated as the condition of peace with you, 
 were growing on our mountains, at the sources of 
 our rivers. " Am I to suppose then," said he ! 
 " your guns and your powder, comprised in that 
 stipulation, were growing on your mountains ? Yow 
 
 34 
 
186 LIFE OF , 
 
 lad no difficulty in discharging your obligations 
 with Algiers. Do you suppose me less able than; 
 Algiers to compel the punctual observance of trea- 
 ties ?" By no means, said I ; if we have been more 
 attentive to Algiers than to yon, it is not because we 
 consider you less respectable, but more just than 
 Algiers. '^ We must make an end of compliment ;" 
 said he. " It wonld give me pain to affront you ; 
 but facts justify the conclusion, that if you suppose 
 me just, you study to amuse my justice. Denmark 
 may furnish you a caution against such a reliance." 
 I suppose, said I, your Excellency can have no doubt 
 that the residue of our peace presents have long 
 since been at sea : but the winds have been many 
 days against us. " They have been against us three 
 years ;" said he. Your Excellency will recollect 
 they were very favorable last spring. '^ Not so fa- 
 vorable as I had been flattered to believe they would 
 have been ;" said he. What can be done ? I asked, 
 shall we make war upon tlie elements ? '• You can 
 chuse your measures : and you need not be surprised 
 if I reserve to myself the same privilege ;*' he au- 
 sAvered. Permit me, said I, to demand an explana- 
 tion of this entendre. '» Events will explain it ;" 
 said he. I observed : if this manner of evasion cov- 
 er a menace I ought to know it for my government 
 in giving passports to your cruisers. '• In this,''^ 
 «aid he, " you Avill use your own discretion. If 
 you give them it is an evidence tliat you are at 
 peace with me. If you refuse them, 1 have nothing 
 serious to apprehend from it." Cutting reply ! to 
 which I made no rejoindre. I could draw nothing 
 direct from liim. I do not know whether to sound 
 an alarm or still to say, all is ivell. But I venture 
 to repeat, if something do not appear soon to my re- 
 lief, I shall shortly be compelled, instead of ordinary 
 communications, to make my monthly reports of «2- 
 merican Slaves. And if government will take the 
 trouble to review my letters they cannot but be sensi- 
 ble that this event has less resulted from any delin- 
 
GEN. EATON. 187 
 
 queiicy of my communications than from want of 
 suitable respect to them. I pray Heaven for the spee- 
 dy arrival of the Ship expected from New York. 
 Mean time I am at loss for projects to amuse the Re- 
 gency. Sidi Joseph, Sapitapi, now prime, as he 
 has long been principal, minister (Sidi Mustapha 
 Coggea the old minister having died the 10th ulti- 
 mo, aged 83) has a large Danish prise ship spoiling 
 at Porto Farina, which he has been a long time by 
 his commercial agent, teasing me to buy. I am re- 
 solved to enter on a negociation to this effect. And 
 if I can obtain a credit three or four months for the 
 amount of its value, which cannot exceed four or five 
 thousand dollars, it may divert his attention from 
 greater objects. And if I should make a sacrifice in 
 the speculation it is presumed the important object it 
 aims to secure will induce the government of the 
 United States to indemnify me. 
 
 To THE Secretary of Statsi. 
 
 Tunis, December Sth, 1800. 
 ON the 35th ult. it was intimated to mt 
 that there was an American ship in the road of Porto 
 Farina. Instantly I sent off an express to enquire 
 for facts. On the 37th, received a note from Cap- 
 tain CoflRn of the Anna Maria, informing me that he 
 had been ten days in the road without being able to 
 communicate with the shore, by reason of the weath- 
 er, wbiCii was extremely bad. On the 28th, I asked a 
 boat of the Bey to board her, which he said should be 
 ready on the 30th, accordingly on the 30th, I embark- 
 ed at Tunis in an open boat, and arrived on board, ten 
 leagues, at eight in the evening of the same day. On 
 the morning following, 1st December, had the honor 
 of receiving your letter of 30th August, covering an 
 invoice and bill of the ship's lading. Yesterday I 
 returned to Tunis. Such part of the cargo as was be- 
 tween decks was chiefly discharged before I left the 
 «hip. The quality of the articles are aeknowledge^J 
 
188 ' LIFE OT- 
 
 to be good ; but it is objected that the plank and the 
 oars are too short ; and the government affects to be 
 dissatisfied tliat the keels, guns, and powder are not 
 come forward. I believe the facts to be, the governs 
 meut are dissatisfied tiiat any tiling has come for- 
 ward. If this opinion require evidence, I consider it 
 sufficient to state that the United States are the only 
 nation which have, at this moment, a rich unguarded 
 commerce in the Mediterranean ; and that the Barba- 
 ry Regencies are pirates. 
 
 I take to myself the merit of having once more at 
 least suspended an expedition which was prepared 
 for us. But we are yet deficient ; and I am not 
 without apprehension tliat this deficiency will be re- 
 sorted to as a pretext for surprising our merchantmen. 
 In which case they might do us incalculable mis- 
 chief. These are considerations which, it is sup- 
 posed, should compel exertions to fulfil our obliga- 
 tions with this Regency, I have very little prospect 
 of reducing the Bey's claim for the jewels, although 
 he is not yet informed that I have commissioned for 
 them. The immense concessions he has received 
 the summer past from Spain, Denmark, Sicily and 
 Sweden, liave so diminished the condition of our 
 peace in his eye that he says it is a trifiefor so great 
 a commercial nation in consideration for the advan- 
 tages of a free trade in this sea. This government 
 affect great personal respect and even friendship 
 forme ; it is the assassin's decoy. In return how- 
 ever, I make their civilities reciprocal. Byit, again 
 I repeat, unless our government change their mode 
 of intercourse with tliese Regencies, especially with 
 this, so far as to be punctual, I have no means of 
 maintaining the peace ; and it would be criminal in 
 me to amuse the government with such a confidence. 
 The Anna ]Maria will probably be discharged within 
 lipr lav davs. 
 
gen. eatok. 189 
 
 (FBriek to Eaton. 
 
 Algiers, October iQth, 1800. 
 Sir, 
 
 I WROTE ydUy and forwarded your let- 
 ters, announcing the arrival of the Washington the 
 17th September. On the 9th instant said sliip was 
 ready for sea, and would sail on the 10th, for the 
 United States ; hut the Dey, in a great fury, de- 
 clared to me, that if said ship did not proceed with 
 his ambassador and vegalia for Constantinople, lie 
 no longer held to his friendship witli the United 
 States. We had no alternative but to acquiesce, or 
 war would be the result, and, I am convinced, de- 
 tention of the ship and crew, besides every otiier loss 
 from a sudden surprise. It is a forced business. 
 The ship is under sail and is to return, God knows 
 when ; but, sir, if any accident happens, depend, on 
 the first news, said Potent Dey will send out his 
 corsaires and take all Americans iu order to repay 
 himself. The ship is the peace of the United States 
 with Algiers.^ I have liad a severe squall. 
 
 On the 14th instant arrived the ship Brutus, Cap- 
 tain Brown. The Dey will insist that said ship 
 will proceed to Rhodes to bring him a cargo of 
 Turks. Observe said ship has 1056 cases oil and 
 soap on board. The Dey told rac if said ship did 
 not go he would oblige her per force. 'No pay. — No 
 consideration for the cargo. Nothing to be consid- 
 ered but the Dey's own despotic will. 
 
 Crew of the Washington, 
 
 Ambassador and Suit, 100, ^ 331. 
 
 I, 131, ) 
 
 100, C 
 
 ren, 100, y 
 
 Negro women and childr 
 
 4 horses; 150 sheep; 25 horned cattle ; 4 
 lyons ; 4-tygers: 4 autilopes ; 12 parrots; funds 
 and regalia amount to nearly one million of dollars. 
 &c. &c. We want six frigates in this sea to wait 
 
 * I do not believe it. Note by Eaton. 
 
IDO LIFE OF 
 
 the event of the Washington making the voyage 
 safe or not. 
 
 Notes of Eaton. 
 
 Genius of my country ! How art thou prostrate ! 
 Hast thou not yet one son whose soul revolts ; 
 whose nerves convulse, bloodvessels burst, and heart 
 indignant swells, at thought of such debasement ; 
 
 Shade of Washington ! Behold thy orphaned 
 sword hung on a slave, a voluntary slave, and serve 
 a pirate ! I never thought to find a corner of this 
 slanderous world where baseness and American 
 were wedded. But here we are the byeword of de- 
 rision ; quoted as precedents of baseness, even by 
 Danes ! 
 
 Shall Tunis also lift his thievish arm, smite our 
 scarred cheek, then bid us kiss the rod ! This is the 
 price of peace f But if we will have peace at such a 
 price, recal me, and send a slave, accustomed to a- 
 basement, to represent the nation. And furnisli 
 ships ofitmr, sind funds , and slaves to his supporl, 
 and our immortal shame. History shall tell that the 
 United States first volunteered a ship of war ^ equipt, 
 a carrier for a pirate. It is written. Nothing but 
 blood can blot the impression out. I frankly own, I 
 would have lost the peace, and been myself empaled 
 rather than yielded this concession. Will nothing 
 rouse my country ? 
 
 To Mr. Smith. 
 
 Tunis, March Qth, 1801. 
 THE present position I hold with Tunis 
 seems to promise tranquility, at least until the issue 
 of my adventure in the Anna Maria be known : but 
 perhaps this prospect should not induce a relaxation 
 in the measures of government relative to fulfilling 
 our treaty stipulations. No longer ago than yester- 
 day, the Bey's Prime Minister asked me when I ex- 
 pected the Jewels the Bey had demanded P I told 
 
GEN. EATON. " jf^JQi 
 
 liim, neveVf according to the list he had ordered : but, 
 that our Minister in England had received the Pres- 
 ident's instructions to procure a present in London, 
 as a testimony of the respectful and friendly senti- 
 ments he entertained for the talents and character of 
 the Bashaw of Tunis, which would probably be out 
 next summer ; but I had no authority to say it would 
 correspond with the note forwarded ; on the contra- 
 ry was pretty certain it would be something short of 
 it. The Minister replied with some agitation ; " If 
 the President does not send the whole, the Bey will 
 receive none.^' Tell the President so, said 1, and 
 he will send none. He is a plain, upright man, who 
 loves his friends, and is obliging ; but very much in 
 the habit of doing as he pleases : and if you affront 
 Mm you will find him as hard headed as an En- 
 glishman.* Here tlie subject ended : but I could 
 not discern that the Minister felt himself affronted at 
 this frankness. * * * * ^ * « 
 
 To THE Secretary of State. 
 
 Tunis, ^jpril iOth, 1801. 
 Sir, 
 
 THE dispatches herewith inclosed /row 
 the Consul of the United States at Tripoli se^m. to 
 me of so much consequence to the safety and interest 
 of our maritime and commercial citizens, and, in the 
 event, to the revenue of the government^ that I not 
 only feel myself justifiable, but constrained by duty, 
 to use extraordinary means to communicate them to 
 the department of state ; I have therefore chartered 
 a Ragusa brig, to proceed directly with them to the 
 United States, on conditions expressed in a translat- 
 ed copy of the charter party herewith inclosed. I 
 prefer this flag as least liable to be turned out of its 
 course, and I dispatch the vessel in ballast to pre- 
 vent all possible annoyance. The expense of this 
 expedient bears so small a proportion to tlie interests 
 it aims to secure, that I cannot doubt it will receive 
 
 • A proverbial saying among the Turks. ' 
 
it<^ LITE OF 
 
 the President's approbation. It is now more than 
 nine mouths since the alarm passed through this of 
 fice from Mr. Cathcaf t ; it would seem some fatality 
 had intercepted it in its passage to America : possi- 
 bly Mr. O'Brien's construction of the cause of the 
 Bashaw's demand may have betrayed government in- 
 to a security. Facts are now indubitable. The 
 Bashaw's corsairs are actually out and fitting out a- 
 gainst Americans ; and the agent of our government 
 at Tripoli is taking measures for the safety of him- 
 self and family. 1 have advised him not to give his 
 passports to the corsairs except the Bashaw will ex- 
 plicitly declare they are not destined against Ameri- 
 cans ; andj in case of refusal of such explicit decla- 
 ration, to make haste to get himself and family to 
 Tunis. 1 advance this counsel because it is become 
 a stratagem in tliese Bashaws to decoy their game 
 with Consular passports ; and because, in case of 
 war, Mr. Ca.thcart's remaining in the hands of Tripo- 
 li would tend rather to embarrjrss than to assist any 
 measures government should take to reestablish the 
 peace. The Bashaw demands, as a condition of 
 sparing the United States, two hiindred and tiventy 
 Jive thousand Spanisli dollars, prompt payment, and 
 twenty five thousand aiinually. Terms to which the 
 Swedes have agreed, and which will be demanded 
 of the Danes. But if our government yield these 
 terms to the Basliaw of Tripoli it will be absolutely 
 necessary to make provisions for a requisition of 
 double the amount for tlie Bev of Tunis. Algiers 
 also will be to be respected according to rank. If 
 the United States will have a free commerce in this 
 sea they must defend it. Tliere is no alternative. 
 The restless spirit of these marauders cannot be re- 
 strained. 
 
 T remain with great esteem n 
 
 Sir, your most ohedieiit servant, 
 and cordial friend, 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
GEN* EATON. i^U 
 
 War was declared by the Bashaw of Tripoli against 
 the United States^ May iithf 1801. The follow- 
 ing Protest of Mr. Cathcart, and extracts of let- 
 ters, will unfold the causes of this war. 
 
 To ALL \VHOM IT DOTH OR MAY CONCERN. 
 
 KNOW ye^ by these presents, that I, 
 James Leander Gathcart, Agent and Consul of the 
 United States of Amei'iea in and for the City and 
 Regency of Tripoli in Barbary, finding just cause 
 to complain of the conduct of Jusef Bashaw, Su- 
 preme Commandant of the said City and Regency 
 of Tripoli, and his Ministers, towards the govern- 
 ment and citizens of the said United States of A- 
 merica, and conceiving it my duty to protest against 
 said conduct : Now know ye, that I do hereby protest 
 against said Jusef Bashaw, Supreme Commandant of 
 said City and Regency, and against his Ministers 
 and Counsellors, in behalf of the government of the 
 United States of America, myself and fellow citi- 
 zens, for the following reasons. — to wit. 
 
 First. Be it known that on the 17th ofAngust 
 1799, said Jusef Bashaw, Supreme Commandant of 
 the Regency of Tripoli, at the instigation of Morad 
 Raiz, Admiral of the Cruisers of this Regency, re- 
 fused to receive the printed passports issued by the 
 Consul of the United States of America in this Re- 
 gency, in obedience to his orders from government, 
 thereby claiming a superiority, a preference to the 
 Regencies of ^llgiers and Tunis, he lieing duly in- 
 formed that the said passports were accepted in the 
 same form by the chiefs of the said Regencies, and in 
 order, as in ray firm belief, to have a pretext to send 
 the merchant vessels belonging to the citizens of the 
 United States into this port for examination, said 
 Admiral Morad iiaving publicly declared that he 
 Would go to sea with the vessels under his command 
 without any passport from tliis office, if they were wot 
 
 g;1 
 
l'9i LIFE oy 
 
 modified to liis liking and worded similar to the 
 passports of the British. And the said Jusef Bash- 
 aw^ on application being made by the Consul of the 
 United States, refusiHs: to exert his authority, is a 
 clear and sufficient evidence that he was accessory 
 to the insolent demand of said Morad, or, more prop- 
 erly speaking, that said Morad acted, if not by hi? 
 X)rders, at least with his consent, thereby forcing^ 
 the said Consul of the United States to deviate from 
 his instructions, and to submit from imperious neces- 
 sity to a humiliation incompatible with the honor and 
 dignity of the nation he has the honor to represent. 
 
 Second. Be it known that in the month of Octo- 
 ber 1799, said James Leander Cathcart, Consul 
 for the United States in this Regency, having receiv- 
 ed several bales of cloth to dispose of, said Ju- 
 sef Bashaw sent the broker Leon Farfara, to the 
 C'usular house, requesting said Consul to give him 
 the preference in the sale of said cloth, promising to 
 pay for the same like any other individual, and as 
 cloths were sold of the same quality. 1, knowing 
 liow he had served the late Venilian and Swedish 
 Consuls on a similar occasion, sent said Leon Far- 
 fara to inform him that the cloth was not mine, and 
 that I expected to be paid immediately, in order ta 
 be enabled to make a remittance to my correspond- 
 ent, which he the said Bashaw promised to do. 
 I therefore conMing in his promise, which I was 
 taught to believe w as sacred to all true Mussulmen, 
 and more pai'ticnlarly to a Prince of the august 
 family of Caramanly, did deliver unto him sundry 
 pieces of cloth, to the value of five thousand seven 
 hundred and eighty seven yuslicks, current coin of 
 this Regeney, which at the same v, as worth Spanish 
 dollars, two thousand three hundred and fourteen, 
 and to cents, two yuslicks and one half being then 
 equal to one Dollar silver, but at present the coin of 
 this Regency having depreciated, owing to the great 
 quantity of alloy mixed in the coinage, a dollar pass- 
 es for three vji slicks which makes a difference of 
 
GEX. EATON. 19^ 
 
 t>ne fifth part, or twenty per cent. That I have re- 
 peatedly demanded the above sum, and have always 
 been put oif from time to time witii promises, until 
 the 22d day of September 1800, when some oil be- 
 longing to said Bashaw being selling at public ven- 
 due^ I sent my drogomau to purchase a barrel for the 
 use of my house, value about eighteen dollars, which 
 the Hasnadar refused to give unto him unless I sent 
 the money to pay for it first. I sent the drogoman 
 immediately to the Bashaw to know the reason, who 
 repeated the same words, saying the oil was not his, 
 but belonged to tlie ctev/ of the Cruisers ; that if 1 
 wanted oil I must first send the cash. I immediate- 
 ly sent for Farfara, who had acted as broker in the 
 sale of the cloth, and desired him to demand a posi- 
 tive answer from the Bashaw, whether he intended 
 to pay me or not, that I was resolved to be kept no 
 longer in suspense, and ottered to take the money at 
 the present value, which is only 1939, dollars in full 
 of all demands : the Bashaw sent the same answer 
 which lie had sent above fifty times before, that he 
 would pay me, but that at present it was not conve- 
 nient, and desired Leon Farfara to inform me that if 
 I had a mind I might take one of the Swedish [)ri- 
 zes for the money, which I declined, knowing that 
 he, having a quantity of prize and other goods on 
 hand for exportation, would probably force me 
 to take a cargo of said goods to Leghorn or else- 
 where, thereby exposing the United States to be- 
 come responsible for said goods or their value, should 
 any accident happen to said vessel, in the same man- 
 ner as the claim originated upon Sweden ; which 
 was the first and principal cause of the present war, 
 >I therefore deemed it more expedient to entirely 
 lose the forementioned sum, than to run a risque 
 which probably might involve my nation in a war. 
 And as it appears from the above detail that said 
 Bashaw never intends to pay the above sum in cash 
 according to agreement, notwithstanding I have his 
 receipt or promisory note under the great seal of this 
 
196 LIFE OF 
 
 Regency, and I having waited above cue year for 
 the payqienfc of the said sum without effect, I there- 
 fore debit the United States the said sum in my ac- 
 count current, leaving the government of the said 
 United States to make tiie claim a national claim ; 
 no individual being bound to be responsible for the 
 arbitrary acts of the chiefs of the Barbary States, 
 iit the same time making myself responsible to the 
 United States for said sum or any part thereof which 
 may be recovered from said Jusef Bashaw hereafter. 
 Third. Be it known, that in the months of May 
 and October 1800. the said Jusef Bashaw. Su- 
 preme Commandant of the said Regency of Trip- 
 oli, having made certain demands upon the United 
 States in direct violation of the 10th article of the 
 treaty existing between the United States of Ameri- 
 ca and the Regency of Tripoli, which tlie Consul of 
 the United States resident here found incompatible 
 with the honor and iuterest of the nation he repre- 
 sents, to comply with, that said Jusef Bashaw, in di- 
 rect violation of the IStli article of the said existing 
 treaty, did publicly declare that he would only wait 
 until he received answers from the President of the 
 United States of America, which if not satisfactory, 
 that he would then declare war against said United 
 States, as is more fully explained in my dispatches to 
 governraeni:, copies of which were forwarded to our 
 Consuls at Algiers and Tunis : and whereas it is 
 particularly specified in the lOtli article of said 
 treaty ,that the money and presents demanded by the 
 Bey or Bashaw of Tripoli is a full and satisfactory 
 consideration on liis part and on the part of his sub- 
 jects for said treaty of perpetual peace and friend- 
 ship, and that no pretence of any periodical tribute 
 or further payment is ever to be made by either par- 
 ty, and said Bashaw of Tripoli having acknowledg- 
 ed the recipt of the money and presents stipulated 
 by said treaty, I find myself justifiable both to God 
 and my Country, in refusing to comply with the said 
 Bashaw's unjust demands upon said United Statofs 
 
GEN. EATON. 197 
 
 of America. And whereas it is stipulated in the 
 twelfth article of the aforesaid treaty, that in case, of 
 any dispute arising from a violation of any of the 
 articles of said treaty no appeal to arras shall be 
 made, nor siiall war be declared, on 'any pretence 
 whatever : but if the Consul, residing at the place 
 where iha dispute sball happen, shall not be able to 
 settle the same, an amicable reference shall be 
 made to tha mutiial friend of both parties, the Dey of 
 Algiers ; the parties thereby engaging to abide by 
 his decision ; and he l)y virtue of his signature to 
 the said treaty having engaged for himself and his 
 successors to declare the justice of the case accord- 
 ing to the true interpretation of the said treaty and to 
 use all the measures in his power to inforce the ob- 
 servance of the same. 
 
 Now know all men by these presents, that I, James 
 Leanujer Cathcart, Consul for the United States 
 of America, in said Regency of Tripoli, do protest 
 and declare that the demands made by the Bashaw 
 of Tripoli upon the United States of America are 
 of such a nature that I cannot settle the dispute aris- 
 ing therefrom ; and that I conceive that I should 
 not only be deviating from my official duty but like- 
 wise acting as an accomplice and in conjunction 
 with said Basliaw of Tripoli, to treat our good friends 
 the Dey and Divan of Algiers with indignity and 
 disrespect ,was I to refrain from making the foresaid 
 amicable reference. I therefore, in virtue of these 
 presents, do make the foresaid amicable reference, 
 transmitting the whole to the Consul General of the 
 United States of America at Algiers, who is possess 
 ed of every information relative to tlie state of our 
 affairs in this Regency, having received duplicates of 
 my dispatches for tlic Government of tlie United 
 States, at the same time leaving it at the discretion of 
 tiie Consul General of the United States at Algiers 
 to take such measures as he in his judgment may 
 think most likely to promote the interests of the 
 United States and to maintain the peace of our Coun 
 
198 l^IFE OF 
 
 try with this Regency upon honorable and equitable 
 terms. 
 
 Fourth. Be it known that on the 35th of Septem- 
 ber 1800, Raiz Amor Shelli, commander of a 
 Tripoline corsair of 18 guns, captured the American 
 brig Catherine, James Carpenter master, of and 
 from New York, and bound to Legliorn, valued at 
 50,000 dollars or thereabouts ; that said vessel was 
 kept in possession of the subjects of Tripoli until 
 the 15th of October in the evening, and was then de- 
 livered up to the Consul of the United States, in 
 consequence of the Bashaw of Tripoli having wrote 
 a letter t^ the President of the United States, the pur- 
 port of which being already known needs no repeti- 
 tion, and that said vessel was exposed to much loss 
 and peril, as appears by the said master of the brig, 
 his protest already forwarded to the Consul General 
 at Algiers, and that said brig was plundered of effects 
 valued by said master, James Carpenter, at 397 
 dollars, whereof was recovered to the value of 180 
 dollars, the value 217 dollars being irrecovera.bly lost, 
 notwithstanding the Bashaw had given positive or- 
 ders to Hamet Raiz, Minister of the marine, to 
 cause every article that could be found to be restored 
 to their lawful owner : yet said Raiz of the ma- 
 rine did not comply with the Bashaw's orders (and 
 he being the Bashaw's brother in law it was out of 
 my power to compel him) but on tlie contrary preva- 
 j-icated from day to day from the l6th to the 31st of 
 October^ with an intent uo doubt to share the spoik 
 with the aforesaid Raiz Amor S belli, and on the 
 Slight of the 3ist instant sent Abram Farfara to in- 
 form me that if tlie brig did not sail by day light in 
 the morning, the port would be embargoed ; and 
 gave me to understand that if I did not promise to 
 pay him anchorage for said brig she would be 
 detained until the embargo sliould be taken off. 
 This command I absolutely "refused to comply with. 
 On the 23d at day light I ordered the brig to get un- 
 ilev way, and could not get the pilot to go on board 
 
GEN. EATON. 199 
 
 Tintil said Abram Farfara paid the Raiz of the mar- 
 ine five dollars and 7^ cents anchorage^ which not- 
 withstanding it being an unjust demand I complied 
 with sooner than have the brig detained one day long- 
 er. I therefore for the aforesaid reasons, and for 
 each of the aforementioned ai'bitrary acts, do protest 
 against the aforesaid Jusef Bashaw, supreme com- 
 mandant of the Regency of Tripoli in Barbary, and 
 against his ministers and Counsellors. But more es- 
 pecially against said Morad Raiz, Admiral of the 
 cruisers of this Regency, for being the cause of my 
 altering the national passports of the United States 
 of America, and against Hamet Raiz, minister 
 of the njarine, for the reasons before mentioned as 
 well as for falsly, insidiously and slanderously as- 
 serting in ray presence and in the presence of Capt. 
 Carpenter, that the Consul Greneral of the United 
 States, Richard O'Brien, and the broker or banker 
 of the United States Micaiah Cohen Bocri, had in- 
 formed him, when he was last at Algiers, that the 
 government of the United States had alone paid 
 to the house of Boeri and Co. one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars for their influence ; thereby irritating; 
 the said Jusef Bashaw against the government and 
 citizens of the United States of America, as the said 
 Jusef Bashaw seeming to give credit to the fals- 
 hood of said Hamet Raiz and emphatically said that 
 the government of the United States had treated 
 an Algerine Jew better, and with more liberality, than 
 they had the said Bashaw of Tripoli. Nt)twith- 
 standing I gave the direct lie without ceremony or 
 hesitation to the said Hamet Raiz, and told the 
 Bashaw that I ^\ondered how he could give credit to 
 so barefaced a falshood : for even had the United * 
 States given the above mentioned sum, the party con- 
 cerned would be the last people in the Avorld to di- 
 vulge the same, it not only comporting neither with 
 their honor nor interest, especially to Hamet Raiz^ 
 who was not only an enemy to the United States, but 
 likewise to his Excellency the Bashaw of Tripoli, he 
 
SOO LIFE OF 
 
 having by his false insinuations endeavovwl to per- 
 suade the Bashaw to annul the treaty of peace and 
 amity at present siibsistins; between the said United 
 States and this Regency^ to the prejudice of his char- 
 acter, honor and dignity, whose word and signature I 
 had always supposed inviola])ly sacred : and that said 
 Jusef Bashaw, in answer to the above, said, "You 
 say that Hamet Raiz lies, and I say he tells the truth,'^ 
 thereby discrediting all I had said and giving fijll 
 credit to the imposition of siiid Hamet Raiz, or 
 minister of the marine. 
 
 Now all men, know that for tiie reasons afore as- 
 signed, I, James Leander Cathcart, Agent 
 and Consul for the United States of America, in the 
 Regency of Tripoli, having shewn sufficient cause to 
 enter this protest against the said Jusef Bashaw, his 
 aforesaid ministers and counsellors ; that I do by 
 these presents most solemnly protest against the con- 
 duet of the said Jusef Bashaw, his aforesaid minis- 
 ters and counsellors as being unjust and in direct vi- 
 olation of the 10th and 13th articles of the existine 
 treaty between the United States of America and 
 the said Regency of Tripoli. 
 
 And I, James Leander Cathcart do further 
 declare tliat the dispute arising from the violation 
 of said treaty is of such a nature that I cannot adjust 
 the same before I receive express instructions from 
 thtt President of the United States of America, or un- 
 til our good-friends the I)ey and Divan of Algiers 
 shall decide upon the justice of the cause according 
 to the true interpretation of tlie existing treaty be- 
 tween the United States of America and this Regen- 
 cy : and that I do hereby make an amicable refer- 
 ence to our good friends the Dey and Divan of the 
 Regency of Algiers, promising in the name of the 
 United States of America to abide by their decision, 
 agreeably to the true meaning of the stipulation con- 
 tained in the ISth article of the treaty of peace and 
 amity concluded between said United States of A - 
 merica and the Regency of Tripoli, by the interven 
 
GEN. EATON. 201 
 
 lion of ilie late Hassan Bashaw, Dey of Algiers and 
 under the immediate guarantee of said Regency, the 
 aaid treaty having been duly ratified by the reigning 
 Dey of Algiers, Mustafa Bashaw, whom God pre- 
 serve. 
 
 Now I. James Leander Cathcart, Agent and 
 Consul of the United States of America, conceiving 
 it my duty so to do, do now transmit this said pro- 
 test to the Chancery of the United States at Tunis, 
 in order that it may be tliere duly registered, and 
 from tiienee forwarded to the Consul General of the 
 United States of America at Algiers, in order to pre- 
 vent, as much as depends upon me, any appeal being 
 made to arms, leaving the conducting of the whole 
 affair entirely to the Consul General of the United 
 States of America for the time being, as before men-^ 
 tioned, not doubting but he will take such measures 
 as he in his judgment may think most likely to pro- 
 mote the interests of the United States of America, 
 and to maintain the peace of our Country with this 
 Regency upon honorable and equitable terms. 
 
 In testimonij of the. above, I have here- 
 unto subscribed my name, and affixed 
 the seal of my office, at the chancery 
 ^<^v<?>^<^ o//Ae United States of America, in the 
 ^r*! ?'i ^^^y of Tripoli, in Barbary, this 29th ^ 
 day of October, in the year of our Lord 
 one thousand eight hundred, and in thp^ 
 twenty fifth year of the independence 
 of the IJnited States of America, 
 r Signed.) JAMES LEANDER CATHCi^^T. 
 
 Extracts from Cathcart to Eaton. 
 
 Tripoli, February flOth, 1801, 
 
 I HAVE only time by this courier to 
 
 give you tlie following extract from luy journal^ 
 
 which you shall have in fjiU by the next conveyance- 
 
 Saturday, ^th Febuary arrived Hadgi Mahamud 
 
 La Saed, ^l^ith Mr. O'Brieu's letter in duplicates* 
 
 I §6 
 
 \^i\^\^^^\^f\ 
 
202 LIFE OT 
 
 the one enclosed to Leon Farfara and the other t& 
 Siddi Mohammed Daguize. 
 
 It being Satiird?iy the letters were not brought 
 to my house until nine P. M. and after Siddi Mo- 
 hammed Daguize and Farfara had been at the cas- 
 tle : the letters were dated at Algiers, December the 
 31st, 1800. 
 
 Sunday Sth. Waited upon Siddi Mohammed 
 Daguize : requested him to inform the Bashaw that 
 I had a present to deliver to his Excellency, and 
 would be glad to know when I was permitted to 
 wait upon him with it. 
 
 Siddi Daguize answered, that the Bashaw knew 
 there was a present arrived from Algiers, and that 
 his Excellency had ordered him to inform me that 
 he would neither receive me uor the present ; that 
 he was determined to let the whole world see that he 
 respected not the interferance of the Dey of Algiers, 
 and that he would declare war in form against the 
 United States of America in forty days from the 
 date of the arrival of the presents. I made use of eve- 
 ry argument to dissuade the Bashaw from putting his 
 menace into execution, knowing that Daguize would 
 report the whole conversation to tiie Bashaw. Da- 
 guize answered, that he knew the Bashaw had no 
 reason to declare Avar against us, and that he had 
 informed him several times that, in the present state 
 of his affairs, it was not his interest to displease the 
 Dey of Algiers ; that he advised the Bashaw to re- 
 spect the request of the Dey, from a conviction that 
 it was his master's interest so to do, and not with any 
 intention to befriend the United States; but that he 
 Avas sorry to fmd tlje Bashaw paid but very little re- 
 spect to his advice, being surrounded by a set of mer- 
 cenaries, who had hardly comniuu st;nse, and who 
 where continually persuading him to declare war a- 
 gainst the Uaitcd States, and assuring; him that the 
 Dey of Algiers A\'ould only be angry fol- a few days : 
 that by capturing tiie ships and enslaving the citi- 
 zens of tlie United States, the govcrnnu'-nt would bi 
 
GEN. EATON. ^Qg 
 
 obliged lo come, cap in hand, and sue for peace, ip. 
 on the same terms Sweden has : and that Amerca 
 was at too great a distance to send a considerblefoiee 
 into this sea. 
 
 I combated these ideas but with little success, anj 
 Siddi Mohammed Daguize informed me that I naglt 
 depend the Bashaw would put liis scheme into ex( 
 cution ; was it only to try the experiment ; that tU 
 only service he could do me was to procure me an/ 
 audience next day, when I would hear from the 
 Bashaw himself his determination. li 
 
 On the 9th inst. at 3 P. M. I procured an -audi 
 Ctiice, which lasted for about three hoars, the Bash- 
 aw broke silence in a blunt manner and asked nie 
 what I wanted. I have come to ask permission 
 to present your Excellency with some Regalia, as a 
 token of the friendly intention of the President of 
 the United States, and to know when you will be at 
 leisure to receive it. " Never, by God, never !" said 
 he. For what reason ? 
 
 ^^ Because it was not intended for me." It nev- 
 er can be supposed that the Bashaw of Tripoli 
 has occasion for such trifles. Tripoli is, uifferejit-^ 
 from what it was some years ago. , 
 
 I observed that probably his ETxcelleney did 
 not know what the Regalia consisted of. ^'•' Yes I 
 do," said he, " better than you>do ; and if it was ten 
 times as valuable I would vM receive it. You may 
 send it from whence it cviine. 
 
 I now swear by G<3»d, my religion, tlie head of my 
 Son Siddi Aly, (Avho was sitting by him,) and, by 
 ih-is right ham', that I will never be at peace with 
 youv nation until your President appoints a person 
 to negociate a treaty with me without the interfer- 
 ence of Algiei'€ or any other nation. I now declare 
 your treaty no longer binding, and that I will de- 
 ciare war against America immediately if you do not 
 give me assureance that your President will alter 
 the said treaty to my liking, and give me 250,000 
 4ollars as the price pf the said new treaty : and that' 
 
•^G^ tlFE OF 
 
 yoi-i' nation will annuahy pay me the sum of twenty 
 th'>{isand^ to continue the said new peace after it is 
 m^de." 
 
 I made use of every argument in my power, 
 ^^hich produced no effect whatever. These terras 
 fte Bashaw said were the only ones he had to 
 n-opose, that the alteration in the treaty he insisted 
 >n above every thing else^ and swore he would never 
 renter into any negociation with an agent of the Unit- 
 lid States upon any other terms, even was he sure 
 Ho lo»e his kingdom, and with it his head. With 
 tirk be drew his hand horizontally across his gul- 
 let. After three hours litigation, he said he would 
 give us time^ if we would pay him well for it, and 
 demanded 100,000 dollars for six months. At last, 
 the result was, that he would wait eighteen months, 
 if I would give him eighteen thousand dollars, and 
 assurance that tlie President of the United States 
 would comply with the rest of his unjust demands. 
 I negatived the whole, as you may well suppose. 
 
 To THE SeCRETAEY OF StATE. 
 
 Tunis J June 28t1i, 1801. 
 ON- the night of the eighteenth, a fire 
 broke out in t^e Be^^s palace, which in its progress, 
 consumed fifty thousiind stands of arms. The sec- 
 ond day following I re(ieiyed a message to wait on 
 the Bey ; but was at that moment confined to my 
 bed v/ith a billions fever, so that it was not till this 
 morning that I have been able to go to the palace in 
 my carriage. The Bey's object in calling me was, 
 to demand of the United Stages ten thousand sir.nds 
 of arms. I refused to state his demand. " I liave 
 Apportioned my loss," said he, " among my friends : 
 and this quoia'^falls to you to furnish ; tell your gov- 
 ernment to send them without delay." It is impos- 
 sible, said 1, to state this claim to my government. 
 We have no magazines of small arras. The organ- 
 tzation of our national strength is different from thai 
 
GEN. EATON. 
 
 20t» 
 
 of every other nation on earth. Each citizen carries 
 his own arms, always ready for battle. When 
 threatened with invasion, or actually invaded, de- 
 tachments from the whole national body are sent by 
 rotation to serve in the field : so that we have no 
 need of standing armies nor depositories of arms. It 
 would be an affront to my government, and an im- 
 position on the Bey, to state to them this demand, 
 or to flatter him with a prospect of receiving it. 
 ^' Send for them from France or England/' said the 
 Minister. You, said I, are in a much more -ligibl' 
 position to make this commission from Eii-„^^/>'-.ii 
 we are. " If the Bey had any intentions of V'i^r- 
 chasing the arms from Europe," said the Minister, 
 •• he could do it without your agency. He did not 
 send for you to ask your advice, but to order you to 
 communicate his demands to your government.'- 
 But I come here, said I, to assure you that I will 
 make no such communication to my government. 
 '^ The Bey will write himself," said he. If so, it 
 will become my duty to forward his letter : but, at 
 the same time, it is equally obligatory on me. tolc' 
 the Bey be beforehand apprized, that he will nei 
 er receive a single musket from the IJ^nited s^Wet 
 I should suppose a respect to decene^y, if not a sens 
 of gratitude, would dissuade the Sey from this ne^^ 
 and extraordinary claim. Ha^he not, within eigh, 
 teen months, received two laAge ships' cargoes in VQi 
 galia ? Have we not novv another ship laden for hin| 
 on its passage ; and has he not, within sixty days, 
 demanded cannon extraordinary of the United 
 ^ States ? At this rate, when are our payments to have 
 aM eud ? '■' Never !" said the Minister. -^^ As to the 
 smips, you talk of, they are but the past payment ol" 
 iVgalia you have long since owed us as the condition 
 'if peace. The other claims we make are such as 
 v^we receive from all friendly nations once every two 
 or three years : it is an established custom ; and 
 you, like other Christians, will be obliged to con- 
 form to it." When we shall have completed th** 
 
20^ LIFE OF 
 
 payment of our peace stipulations you may iitvei' 
 «alculale on further donations. It is by treaty stip- 
 ulated, as the condition of a perpetual peace, and a- 
 ny new claims on your part will be an infraction of 
 that treaty, and will be so considered by us. You 
 may therefore, at once, and forever, abandon the idea 
 of future regalia ; for I again assure you, in the 
 name of my government and country, that the dis- 
 charge of our treaty obligations will put an end to 
 ©ur contributions here. 
 
 /^ Ypiu* contribtitions here, as you think proper to 
 cpM.*>*^ * /' repeated the Minister, " will never liave 
 an end : if this be the language you think of holding 
 at this court you may prepare yourself to leave the 
 kingdom, and that very soon.'' If change of stile on 
 my pai-t, said I, be the condition of residence here, 1 
 will leave the Bey's kingdom tomorrow morning. 
 ^^ We will give you a month," said the Minister. 
 I ask but six hours, I replied. ^' But you will 
 write ?" JN'b / ^' It is your duty to write !" For de- 
 linquency in duty, this is not the place where I am 
 to be fjuestioned. " J tell you again," continued 
 hc>,.f^ your peace depends on your compliance with 
 ims tfSiTm^od V>f niy master." If so, said I, on me be 
 the responsjbiUC.y of breaking the peace. I wish 
 you a good morn1i7g ! 
 
 Leaving the palacC. I heard the Minister say to 
 one of his colleagues, '•^- .By God, that man is mad ! 
 But we shall bring him to f^r.ms ; never fear !" 
 
 I do not know how this auiair will end. I shall 
 not change my position. 
 
 Extracts : Mr. Madison (Secretary or SxATijiv 
 
 TO Eaton. , 
 
 Department of State : ., 
 
 Washington, May 20tii, 1801. 
 THE proofs which have been given by 
 the Basliaw of Tripoli, of hostile designs against the 
 United States, h^ve, as you will learu from Compio- 
 
f» 
 
 GEN. EATON. SO*; 
 
 dore Dale^ determined the President to send into the. 
 Mediterranean a squadron of three Frigates and a 
 sloop of war, under the command of that officer. 
 Should war have been declared or hostilities com- 
 menced, this force will be immediately employed in 
 the defence and protection of our commerce against 
 the piracies of that Regency. It is hoped tiiat the 
 cont?igion will not have spread either to Tunis or 
 Algiers ; but should one or both of them have fol- 
 lowed the perfidious example, their corsairs will be 
 equally repelled and punished. 
 
 The policy of exhibiting a naval force on the coast 
 of Barbary, has long been urged by yourself and the 
 other Consuls. The present moment is peculiarly 
 favorable for the experiment^ not only as it is a pro- 
 vision against an immediate danger, but as we are 
 now at peace and amity with all the rest of the 
 world, and as the force employed would, if at home, 
 be at nearly the same expense, with less advantage 
 to our mariners. The President has therefore everv 
 reason to expect the utmost exertions of your pru- 
 dence and address, in giving the measure an impres- 
 sion most advantasieous to the character and interests 
 of the United States. In elfecting this object, the 
 means must be left in a great degree to your laiowl- 
 edge of the local and otlser circumstances, which 
 cannot be understood at this distance. You will oi' 
 course take due pains to satisfy the Bey, that the U- 
 nited States are desirous of maintaining peace with 
 all nations, who are willing to live in peace, that 
 they have given abundant evidence of their dieposi^. 
 tion to cultivate the friendship of the Barbary Re- 
 gencies and of himself in particular, and that if tlie 
 iiag of the TJnited States should be engaged in war 
 with either of them, it will be a war of defence and 
 necessity, not of choice or provocation. You will 
 also give every friendly explanation and assurance, 
 on t!)is occasioiij which may be requisite for th© 
 Consuls and Agents of other powers residing at Tu- 
 nis- 
 
^08 Lii'E or 
 
 You are authorised to inform tlieyBey of Tunis, 
 'hat a vessel is now preparing to tiikc in the cargo^ 
 Mhieh will complete the regalia due to him, and that 
 no time will be lost in getting her on her voyage. 
 The jewels, to the amount of SI 0,000, have, as you 
 know, been ordered to be prepared in London. On 
 the 28th December last, Mr. King wrote : " I have 
 concluded to take immediate measures to provide the 
 jewels enumerated in the list furnished by Mr. Ea- 
 ton. 8ome of the articles can be soon prepared 
 and sent : others, including the arms and almost all 
 the jewelry, will require a long time to be prepar- 
 ed." If they are essential to the preservation of 
 peace and the benefits of the treaty with the Bey, 
 they must be yielded to him. The demand is nev- 
 ertheless deemed so extortionate, that the President 
 expects from you every practicable exertion to get 
 rid of it, or as much as circumstances will permit 
 you to withhold. The articles, withdrawn from tin 
 present, may be preserved, to be applied on some 
 future occasion, which mav demand them. 
 
 ^ To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis J September 5tli^ 1801. 
 THE inelosures, which I have the hon- 
 or herewith to forward, will inform government, as 
 accurately as I have the means, of our actual posi- 
 tion and future prospects in regard to Tripoli, one 
 circumstance only omitted, which is, a project in 
 concert between the rightful Bashaw of Tripoli, now 
 an exile in Tunis, and myself, to attack the usurper 
 by land, while our operations are going on by sea. 
 These two men are brothers ; the younger is on the 
 throne ; having expelled the elder about eight or 
 nine years ago. Tlie subjects in general of the 
 reigning Bashaw are very discontented, and ripe fov 
 revolt ; they want nothing but confidence in the 
 prospect of success. This confidence may be iu 
 spired by assurances of our determinrition +n cbas- 
 
GEN, EATON. SiiH? 
 
 iise this Bashaw for his outrages against the United 
 States. The Bey of Tunis, though prudence will 
 keep him behind the curtain, I have strong reasons 
 to believe, will cheerfully promote the scheme. H« 
 is in favor of the elder brother. The idea of de- 
 throning our enemy, and placing a rightful Sovereign 
 in his seat, makes a deeper impression on account of 
 the lasting peace it will produce with that Regencyj 
 and the lesson of caution it will teach the other Bar- 
 bary States. These are objects which, to me seem 
 so clearly in our power that they ought to command 
 exertions. 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis, J\*ov. iyth, 1801. 
 THE manner in which the King of Den- 
 mark has been pleased to recognize my services the 
 last summer, (inclosure B.) places me in somewhat of 
 an embarrassed situation. I do not know, all things 
 considered, whether the token of satisfaction his 
 Majesty tenders me comes within the interdict of the 
 construction of the constitution : I submit the ques- 
 tion to government ; and, in the mean time, have 
 answered the board, (inclosure C.) 
 
 f Inclosure B. of the preceding letter. J 
 
 Cojrenhagen, Juhj ii tJi, 1801, 
 Sir, 
 
 HIS Majesty, the King, having been in- 
 formed of your kind pi-oceedings towards his sub- 
 jects, who last year had the misfortune of being made 
 slaves by the Tunissians 5 as also of the service you 
 have rendered the owners of six of the captured 
 ships, by venturing to purchase them at the instances 
 of the masters, and restoring since to the said own- 
 ers, though upon a somewhat precarious security for 
 getting reimbursed your expences ; and of the 
 friendly assistance which you have lent Commodorf* 
 
 S7 
 
SIO LIFE OP 
 
 Koefoed as lie addressed himself to you ; has beeK 
 most graciously pleased to order us to transmit you 
 the gold box ornamented with the initials of his 
 Royal name, which will be delivered to you along 
 with this letter, and which you will please to accept^ 
 as a token of his Ma jesty's most high satisfaction 
 with regard to the services you have rendered the 
 nation. 
 
 It is peculiarly pleasing for us, sir, to fulfil his 
 Majesty's orders on this subject, as we entertain the 
 highest sense of your very liberal and meritorious 
 conduct ; which suits entirely those relations of 
 friendship and intimacy which subsist, and, we trust, 
 will continue still increasing between both govern- 
 ments : and it shall be our particular care to give 
 orders to the Danish Consuls on the coast of Barba- 
 ry that they shall avail themselves of every oppor- 
 tunity that may occur for being of any service to the 
 interests of the government of the United States and 
 of individuals of the American nation : which we 
 are happy ta learn has already been done by his 
 Majesty's Consul at Tripoli. 
 
 Captain Hoick, of the navy, has been appointed 
 his Majesty's Consul at Tunis ; we beg leave. Sir, 
 to recommend him to your friendly attentions, which 
 he most assuredly will endeavor to secure by the 
 ties of mutual esteem and confidence : and we must 
 particularly request for him, that yon, Sir, might be 
 pleased to give him the advice and directions which 
 a newly arrived stranger alw ays, and especially in 
 the country where you live, stands so much in need 
 of. 
 
 We are^ with particular esteem^ 
 Sir^ your very obedient Servants, 
 The Members of the Board for the affairs 
 
 relatins; to the states on the coast of Barbaru. 
 fSlgmdJ E. SCHIMELMAN STIEN BILLE '^ 
 
i«rv 
 
 «EN. EATON, Sii 
 
 finclosure C.J 
 
 American house at Tunis. 
 
 JSTovemler i7th, 1801. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 THE expression by which his Danish 
 Majesty has been most graciously pleased to signify 
 his approbation of my conduct, during the short pe- 
 riod I acted as his medium of communication with 
 this Regency, and which was last evening put into 
 my hands by his Consul Capt. Hoick, does me dis- 
 tinguished honor ; and impresses at the same time a 
 deep sense of obligation : but, as an article of the 
 constitution of the United States ordains that, ^^ no 
 person holding an office of profit or trust under them, 
 shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any 
 present, emolument, office or title of any kind what- 
 ever, from any king, prince or foreign state" it is be- 
 lieved his Danish Majesty will be graciously pleas- 
 ed to allow me to submit for the decision of that body 
 whether I may be permitted to hold this honorable 
 testimonial of his satisfaction ? 
 
 If in exercising the duties of a Christian and a 
 man, I may have been serviceable to some of his 
 Danish Majesty's subjects, who had unfortunately 
 fallen into slavery here, tlie simplest evidence of his 
 contentment would have been an ample gratification : 
 I certainly acted with no other view of recompense. 
 
 I feel myself bound no less by the ties of sympathy 
 and gratitude than by a consideration of the happy 
 intelligence which subsists between the two govern- 
 ments, to tender Consul Hoick, as well as every in- 
 dividual of the Danish nation, my best offices when- 
 ever they may be useful : the United States at this 
 moment receive essential services from the friendly 
 and judicious agency of his Danish Majesty's Con- 
 sul, Mr. Nissen, at Tripoli. 
 
 I shall transmit a copy of the letter I have had the 
 honor to receive from you to t|ie government af the 
 
SIS LIFE OF 
 
 United States ; and I make no doubt that they wiU 
 reciprocate the benevolent orders you have givei^ 
 your Consuls on the Barbary coast. 
 
 With perfect consideration 
 
 Your most obedient and 
 most humble Sercant. 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 To the honorable Members of the Board 
 relating to the States on the Barbary coast. 
 
 Copenhagen. 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis, December i2th, 180i. 
 I HAVE the honor to inform you that 
 the Peace and Plenty, Capt. Richard Woods, under 
 the convoy of the George Washington, arrived here 
 on the evening of the first instant. She has already 
 delivered her powder, (which, although somewhat 
 damaged, has passed, with a bribe, to the surveyor,) 
 and a small quantity of her plank. The rest of her 
 cargo, so far as I have been able to examine it, ap- 
 pears in good order, and will be delivered, it is 
 hoped, within her lay days. I have not the smallest 
 doubt but that it will be well accepted. 
 
 Extract, to Doctor William Turner, of the 
 United States Navy, at Tunis. 
 
 December iSth, 1801. 
 THE invalid state of my health compels 
 itic to take a short voyage at sea to try the efficacy 
 of change of air and climate : and the Greorge Wash- 
 ington, Capt. Sha^^ , offering me a passage to Leg- 
 liorn, I have obtained the consent of this Bey that 
 the affairs of the LTnited States shall be conducted 
 by you during my absence, and I have resolved to 
 profit of this occasion to go thither : some instruc- 
 tions therefore to assist your agency seem not only 
 proper but necessary ; kc. 
 
GEN- EATON, 113 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis, Dec. iStJi, 1801. 
 ON the morning of the Sd J\'*ov. I re- 
 ceived a message from Sidi Mahomet Ba«haw, the 
 exile from Tripoli, informing me that the usurper, 
 Ms brother, hart addressed the Dey of Algiers and 
 begged his mediation to bring about a reconciliation 
 with the American government ; and expressed great 
 solicitude to know, whether, in my opinion, the A- 
 mericans would admit such an intervention ? I did 
 not hesitate to give it as my opinion, that my govern- 
 ment, havinir been once deceived bv that Dav. 
 would now seek to establish their peace on a surer 
 base. He then desired to be advised whether he might 
 place any reliance on the operations of the Ameri- 
 cans in his behalf. I recommended to him patieiice 
 and silence ; at the same time gave him leave to en- 
 tertain the hope (may it not be illusive) that the next 
 sumnjer's opepations would favor his views. 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Leghorn, Feb, 22d. 180^, 
 INFORMATION from Tripoli up to 
 ^th January, states that no captures had been made. 
 The Bashaw is sending away his covsaires to difi'er- 
 ent ports in the Morea for fear of assault from the 
 Americans. Discontentment in his interior has aris- 
 en to insurrection. Famine distresses his capital : 
 and he is destitute of resourses. He has actually 
 made overtures of reconciliation to his brother at 
 Tunis. I siiall defeat this project if I arrive at jny 
 post in season : shall depart hence in three days r 
 have waited hitherto fqv a passage. 
 
S14< LIFE OF 
 
 To Mr, Madison. , 
 
 Tunis, March iSth, 1803. 
 ON arriving at Tunis I find Sidi Mahom- 
 et Bashaw yielding to his brother's instances^, and 
 on the point of departing for Derne, a province of 
 Tripoli, the government of which is promised him ; 
 for which purpose he begged my passport. I not 
 only refused it, but told him very candidly that if he 
 departed we must consider him in the light of an 
 enemy, and that, instead of my influence to assist 
 his passage to the kingdom of Tripoli, I should give 
 it to have him afld his retinue carried prisoners of 
 war to the United States ; but if he would adhere to 
 liis former arrangements I did not doubt but that be- 
 fore the expiration of four months he might be offer- 
 ed to his people by an American squadron. I tell 
 him the sole object of his brother is to cut his throat. 
 He is sufficiently aWmed and too much distressed, 
 this Bey having refused him any further supplies of 
 provisions. He proposes going to Malia and wait- 
 ing the issue there. I will only consent to his going 
 to Leghorn or Sardinia. If he departs on other 
 terms I shall send an armed ship after liim, and, if 
 possible, carry him and retinue to some Italian port 
 
 To Mr. Cath,cart. 
 
 Tunis, ^ipril g6f7z, 1802. 
 AT Bardo last Wednesday, mutually 
 s^iccusing each other of unaccomnioding dispositions, 
 the altercation grew so warm thai tlie Bey ordered 
 me to quit the court, and hold myself in readiness to 
 embark in the first ship of war of my own country 
 which should arrive in port. I turned short on my 
 heels ; came to my office ; and forbade my secretary 
 illling any more passports for Tunissian cruisers. 
 This prohibition was immediately reported to the 
 Bey I and had the effect aimed at. The same even- 
 
GEN. EATON. 215 
 
 lug his commercial agent come to my house and 
 begged, in Grod^s name, that I Avould countermand 
 that order : said it was not the intention of the Bey 
 to provoke a war by sending me away, but rather to 
 obtain another Consul more capable of cherishing 
 peace than myself. I replied, that I should not con- 
 descend to consider the Bey's objects nor views in 
 oft'ering an affront to my government in the person of 
 their agent. He had taken his position : 1 had tak- 
 en mine, which I should hold till he retracted his. 
 Saturday morning I went to Bardo on the invitation 
 of the Bey. The first motion was to resolve the past 
 into oblivion ; of course an act of mutual amnesty 
 was passed. We then discussed the relative ad- 
 vantages of peace and war. The result was, as con- 
 cluded by this court, " That, though they could not 
 pretend to the ability of fighting our ships of war, we 
 could not do them any hurt : they would lay up 
 their large cruisers, and send out their small ones to 
 vex our commerce. And, said the Minister, though 
 a fly in a man's throat cannot kill him, it will make 
 him vomit. Yet they should always be willing to 
 maintain the peace with the Americans on the same 
 footing as the other small Christian nations, but they 
 must have a Consul with less fantasia^ and mors 
 friendly to the Barbary interests.'^ I stated that I 
 daily expected permission to return to my country, 
 and to be succeeded by Mr. Cathcart, my colleague 
 at Tripoli. The Bey expressed astonishment : ask- 
 ed if I recollected what he said last year to this prop- 
 osition ', and repeated that you sliould never come in- 
 to his country on auy pretext whatever ; even if you 
 were a good man it would be improper, after having 
 made war with Tripoli. — But, embroglioue, (troub- 
 lesome, litigious, trifler) as he knew you to be, his 
 desire of peace alone would exclude you from iiis 
 court and kingdom.- 
 
Sid ilFE 0* 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 TuniSf May 25th, 180S. 
 YESTERDAY I received a note from 
 the Bey's Prime Minister, demanding an interview. 
 I rendered myself at the palace, to encounter, as I 
 supposed, new perplexities ; but, on passing the us- 
 ual ceremony with the Bey, I discovered on his coun- 
 tenance an unnsual air of complaisance. He signifi- 
 ed to mc iAmU after uniting a little, I should be in- 
 formed of the object of calling me to the palace. 
 Accordingly, in about an hour after, I accompanied 
 the Minister witli the commercial Agent of the Re- 
 gency into a private cliamber ; where, after a great 
 deal of circumlocution, he came to the subject in 
 view ; which was nothing more nor less than VLjirojp- 
 osition of peace 3n the jmrt of the Bashaw of Trip, 
 all, through the mediation and binder the guarantee 
 of the Bey of Tunis. Here follows the substance ot 
 our conference. 
 
 ^' Have you done any thing'' said the Minister^ 
 ^' on the subject of a peace with Tripoli ?" 
 
 Nothing. 
 
 " You are carrying on a war, at so great a dis* 
 tanee, p-t very great expense, without a prospect of 
 gaining any tliins^-'*' 
 
 That we are very j^ensible of. 
 
 ^^ Would vou l)e willing to negociate a peace with 
 Tripoli?" 
 
 Are you authorized to pro]»csethis ([uestion ? 
 
 " 1 am." 
 
 Well, then I toll you very frankly, v^e have no 
 inducements whatever to desire a war with any na- 
 tion on earth ; much less with that \v}?ich is novv^ the 
 subject of it. If Tripoli should make suitable" re- 
 tractions, she may think of peace. But, even then, 
 we should think it hazardous to treat with tlie reign- 
 ing Bashaw after having secTi such llagiant viola- 
 tions of his faith. 
 
<iEN. EATON. 817 
 
 " If the Bey of Tunis would act as mediator be- 
 tween the parties, and take upon himself the guaran- 
 tee of the peace on the part of Tripoli, would it re- 
 move this difficulty ?" 
 
 We have great reliance on the good faith, equity 
 and magnanimity of his Excellency the Bey of Tu- 
 nis j and should l)e very secure in his responsibili- 
 ty : but is it certain that this Bey would take upon 
 himself the guarantee of a peace in behalf of Trip- 
 oli ? ' 
 
 " Yes. But if you talk of retractions and indem- 
 nities, it would be idle to talk of peace. On the 
 contrary, according to all custom, you must make 
 the Bashaw a small jjresent : though he would ])e 
 willing to put up with something less than what he 
 at first demanded.'" 
 
 We were not the first to violate the peace : we arjj 
 not the first to demand it. If Tripoli be solicitous! 
 for it, she must abandon the idea of imposing condi- 
 tions. She will most certainly never receive a ca- 
 roube* in consideration of her friendship : we do 
 not set any value upon it. 
 
 '^ Nay ; but if you place no value on her fiiend- 
 sliip, the security of your commerce in this sea, and 
 the saving of the expense of armaments, are objects 
 of consideration, in which you consult your own in- 
 terest. '' 
 
 We never supposed oar commerce in this sea 
 more secure than at present ; notwithstaijding the 
 war with Tripoli ; and as to tlie expense of arma- 
 ments we accumulate nothing on that score from 
 making the Mediterranean the manouvering ground 
 of our seamen. We shall probalily always have a 
 squadron in this sea. 
 
 <* But Tripoli is very poor : she -caoiiiot subsist 
 without the generosity of heifriciiih : g;ive something 
 then on the score of charity.'" 
 
 * 52 oaroubes make a dollar. 
 
 2^ 
 
^18 LIFE OF 
 
 Tripoli has forfeited lier title of friend. Besides, 
 there is a vast difference between the beggar who 
 seizes my horse by the bit, and. with a pistol at my 
 breast, demands my purse, and him who, with one 
 hand pressed to his heart, and the other hanging 
 with his hat, asks charity for the love of God. The 
 former merits chastisement ; the latter excites com- 
 miseration. I leave you to apply the figure. 
 
 " 1 feel it. But the Barbary Regencies never 
 make peace without presents.^' 
 
 It is high time then that there should be a prece- 
 dent. 
 
 ^' But you say you are disposed for peace." 
 
 Yes ; but you are not to understand me that we 
 either wish or will accept it on dishonorable terms. 
 
 ^" There can be nothing dishonorable in making a 
 small voluntary present to Tripoli.'^ 
 
 Drop this subject, if you please. Tripoli is not 
 in a right position to receive expressions of our hos- 
 pitality. Nor am I vested with powers to negoci- 
 ate. I can only express to you the general, but fix- 
 ed sentiment of my government and country, that we 
 f refer ■peace to war, if ice can have it on honorable 
 terms : and you are at liberty to express this senti- 
 ment to Tripoli. She may profit of it if she tbink 
 proper. Otherwise, four or five years of warfare 
 with that state will be but a pastime to our young 
 w^ari'iors. 
 
 " I shall send off a courier,'' said the minister, 
 ^^ with the result of this interview." 
 
 At evening the commercial agent was at my house. 
 Went over the same ground. Was sure that we 
 should never have a peace without paijing some- 
 thing : it would disgrace the Regency : but he seem- 
 ed extremely solicitous to have permission to write 
 sometliing promising to Tripoli on the subject of a 
 negociation. He said, what the Minister had as- 
 serted in tlie moi'ning, that the only pretext the 
 Bashaw of Tripoli had for breaking faith with i\m 
 
g;en. eatox. gig 
 
 United States was that the peace was not voluntary 
 on his part ; but forced on him by Algiers. 
 
 These overtures go to prove the embarrassed situ- 
 ation of our enemy ; and promise, if suitable advan- 
 tage is taken of it. a peace on our own terms. We 
 hold the high grounds of him at all points. I am par- 
 tial to my original plan of restoring the rightful 
 Bashaw, though nothing was said on the subject at 
 the palace to day. I think it highly probable that 
 the reigning Bashaw has offered more powerful ar- 
 guments to engage this Minister in his interest than 
 either his brother had the means or myself the dis- 
 cretion of offering. Besides, the Bey of Tunis is ig- 
 norant of that project. It will be reasonable enougli 
 to inform him of it after having ensured its success. 
 In the mean time let us amuse the usurper with his 
 own propositions. 
 
 To Mr King. 
 
 Tunis, June Qth, 1803* 
 ON the 38th ult. arrived the United 
 States frigate Constellatiouj Capt. Alexander Mur- 
 ray, last from Gibraltar. He delivered me the arms 
 prepared in London for this Bey, which I have pre- 
 sented, saving the sword, and which were highlj 
 acceptable ; but, in the uniform spirit of insolence 
 which Christians tolerate in tliese Regencies, the 
 Bey, through his Minister, after receiving these val- 
 uable articles, revived a former demand for a corvette 
 or brig of war, such as we had given Algiers. I 
 referred him to treaty stipulations ; and thus silenc- 
 ed this claim, at leas*^. for the present : it will be re- 
 vived the instant that Ave consent to pay Tripoli for 
 a. peace ; which must be the result of that war u«les9 
 Wore energy J)e thrown into our operations. 
 
2^0 LIFE OF 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis, June StJu i802. 
 MY moasiii-es with Mahamet Bashaw, 
 the rightful sovereign of Tripoli,' which I liave had 
 the honor to detail to government hy different ronts 
 and various occasions, have undergone very severe 
 criticism hy Captains S. Barron and Bainbridge ; by 
 them reprobated in a stile of most illiberal censure ; 
 and under their influence rejected by Capt. Murray, 
 in an air of authority and reprimand which I should 
 not expect even from the highest departments of gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 I am aware that tlic expression found in my com- 
 munication on the subject, we are abandoned hy our 
 ships oficar. may have touched the feelings of gen- 
 tlemen commanding them. I am not in fault for 
 that.' It is my duty, at least I consider it so, to re- 
 port facts as they present themselves to me : no con- 
 sideration will divert me from that duty. 
 
 The Philadelphia sailed from this port the. 23d. 
 September last for Tripoli ; and returned the 2d. 
 October following : she has not been seen here 
 since : and one of her midshipmen, now acting in 
 the Constellation, whose name I forget, afBrms that 
 she has but once since slvivvn herself before Tripoli ; 
 and then remained on the station only six hours. 
 This is the only United States ship of war* Avhich 
 has appeared at all on tliis coast since October, untrl 
 the arrival of the Boston, Capt. M'Niell, who has 
 fcejrthis -post. The exh'emity of the winter com- 
 pelled the commander of the Philadelphia to take 
 house and lodgings at Saragosa, except thirty or for- 
 ty days he has been on shore at Leghorn. The Es- 
 sex has been stationed oii'Gibralter to watch the hull 
 
 * Except the George Washington in the tripple character of 
 t\arrior, transport, and merchantman. 
 
GEX. EATON. 2S1 
 
 of a dismantled ship ; but that post she has left oc- 
 casionally, ten, twelve, or fifteen days at different 
 periods : she may liave had special calls at Malaga 
 and Cadiz. This is a singularly economical mode 
 of carrying on the war ; and it is not extraordinary 
 if gentlemen /ep/it?^% attached to it should take of- 
 fence at a vigilance which should go to put an end 
 to it. 
 
 There may be another source of grievance be- 
 tween one of tiiose gentlemen and myself, which 
 takes its rise at Algiers. I have exercised the liber- 
 ty, in terms as pointed as every citizen of the Unit- 
 ed States should feel the abasement, to express my 
 concern that a United States ship of war should have 
 been exposed to the ridicule of nations, navigating 
 tha sea under Algerine colors ! And, though I never 
 aimed to reflect any censure on the commander, who 
 acted under, perha,ps, inevitable compulsion, it is 
 nevertheless possible, nay proliable, that the turn 
 Mr. O'Brien may have given to my expressions 
 should have wounded his sensibility ; for whoever 
 is acquainted with tiie emotions of the human heart 
 will be at no loss to imagine what kind of sensations 
 my disapprobation of that disgraceful concession 
 Avould excite in the temper of individuals who really 
 are, or who seem to think themselves iraplicated : it 
 is very certain that Capt. Murray has been iiifinenc- 
 ed by Captains S. Barron and Baiuliridge. \^' hen 
 I had the pleasure to wait on those gentlemen in 
 this port, last summer, they expressed their entire 
 concurrence in all my measures ; and seemed, with 
 me, fully ])ersHaded that tJie most energccic opera- 
 lions would alone stamp the impression on these 
 powers which our nation are desirous to impress of 
 our strength and abilities. Why they should so 
 suddenly depart fr jm that sentiment : or why Capt. 
 Murrav should arroirateto himself the discretion to 
 put so prompt, so rigorous a check to measures tend- 
 ing to that effect, I cannot well comprehend : it is a 
 stran£:c notion of economv wmcii should induce bins 
 
2^2 LIFE OP 
 
 to reject a project which promises a saving to the U- 
 iiited States hundreds of thousands, under a pretext 
 of curtailing an expence of 10 or 20 thousand dol- 
 lars. If he acted from want of confidence in the 
 success of the project, he was moved by a zeal with- 
 out Icnoivledge. Information he may have received 
 from Captains S. Barron and Bainhridge must have 
 been presumptive ; for those commanders, not hav- 
 ing been for the eight months last past in this quar- 
 ter, can be but very imperfectly -informed of the 
 whole facts and entire object which those arrange- 
 ments embrace. They can, in fact, have no infor- 
 mation dn the subject, except by mere intimation, 
 other than what they derive from my dispatches, a- 
 bove alluded to, passed open through their hands ; 
 to which, however, it is manifest, they paid no re- 
 spect ; except such parts of them as may Jiave been 
 construed to have reference to individual delinquen- 
 oy. But to whom are gentlemen, intrusted with, and 
 fresh in, command here, to look for information ? To 
 the local and proper Agents of the government sta- 
 tioned here to watch for the interests of the United 
 Stateis ; or to the theatres of Saragosa, Leghorn and 
 Malaga ? -* ^ * «- * «- -» 
 
 To Mi?. Madisox. 
 
 Tunis, .lug. 5th, 1803. 
 ON the S3d ult. I fell in witli a Tripo- 
 line mercliaut at the Swedish house, who informed 
 rac that the circumstance of Maharaet Bashaw being 
 at Malta, had excited great emotion at Tripoli ; that 
 the reigning Basluw was much alarmed ; and that 
 to prevent an insurrection in the interior in favor of 
 the brother, the Bashaw had seized and confined 
 several chiefs of principal village;^. On the contra- 
 ry, that his subjects build on this circumstance a 
 hope of returning peace and a milder administration. 
 That a spirit of universal discontentment and revolt 
 pervade all classes of the subjects, except a few 
 
GEN. EATON. 223 
 
 personally attached to the reigning Bashaw : and 
 that they generally think it the interposition of heav- 
 en that their rightful sovereign is to be restored to 
 them and their oppressor punished. I do not vouch 
 for the truth of these facts ; though t)«ey correspond 
 with every thing which has come to my knowledge 
 on the subject. 
 
 To his ExcKLLENCY Mahamet Caramelli, Basii^ 
 
 AW of Tripoli. 
 
 Tunis, Aug. 6f/z, 180S. 
 
 BiR, 
 
 I HAVE Lad the honor to receive your 
 Excellency's letter of l6th ult. and I improve this 
 first opportunity to request Mr. Pulis to furnish you 
 with two thousand hard dollars on the credit of the 
 United States, which, I hope will be a relief to your 
 situation until the arrival of o\ir Commodore, who is 
 hourly expected here. He arrived at Gibraltar ear- 
 ly in June ; but has been detaiued in that quarter for 
 the arrangement of public affiiirs with the Emperor 
 of Morocco. I hope your Excellency's patience 
 will noi be exhausted. Remember that your broth- 
 er thirsts for your blood. I have learned from a 
 certain source that his project of getting you to 
 Derne was to murder you. He is now more deter- 
 mined than ever ; because he has intercepted some 
 of your letters to your friends in Tripoli. You can- 
 not be safe therefore, in any part of your Regency, 
 unless you enter it in your true character of sover- 
 eign. I believe in God, the mighty and the just, that 
 this event is not far distant. In the mean time, per- 
 mit me to recommend to your Excellency to keep up 
 a correspondence with those of your party in Tripoli, 
 and with your subjects of the country. Let them be 
 persuaded that your friends will not abandon you 
 until, by the help of God, they shall see you restored 
 to your faithful people. Give them assurances to 
 
SS4; LIFE OF 
 
 redress their grievances and to treat them like a 
 mild and just prince. And do every thing to detach 
 them from the interest of the usurper. 
 / have the honor to he, 
 
 Sir, with the most profound respect, 
 t/our Excellency's most obedient 
 and most humble servant, 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 To Mr. Madisqn. 
 
 Tunis, Aug. Qth, 1802. - 
 , WHxiTEVER may be Capt. Murray's 
 opinion of my measures, he ought not to sacrifice the 
 interests of service to individual resentments. Gov- 
 ernment may as well send out quaker meeting-houses 
 to float about t!iis sea as frigates with Murrays in 
 comipand : the friendly salutes lie may receive and 
 return at Gibraltar produce nothing at Tripoli. 
 Have we but one Truxton and one Sterret in the 
 United States ? 
 
 The Arab camp, called to the defence of Tripoli, 
 has undoubtedly been collected to defeat the project 
 of Mahamet Bashaw, the exiled brotlier. What 
 other internal enemy can the usurper fear ? If so, 
 this amounts to unquestionable evidence of the in- 
 fluence that measure might have had in the war with 
 Tripoli if pushed to eifect. But, perhaps, the proj- 
 ect is not lost. Let tlie reigning Bashaw exhaust 
 his resources in useless defensive preparations, and 
 fatigue his subjects with fruitless campaigning ; 
 v/hiie the project in vicAv, on the part of his enemy, is 
 tnatuving for operation. I have communicated noth- 
 ing of this project to Mr. Nissen, he not having a 
 cypher corresponding with mine, and it being danger- 
 ous to commit it to an intelligible character : he ap- 
 pears totally uninformed of it, 
 
 Tliis Regency is creating new demands on us. I 
 shall detail them seasonably, if necessary. ' Among 
 fbem the oris;inal demand for a vessel of war. 
 
GEN. EATON, ^5 
 
 fixTBACT : To Gen. S.\ Smith, Baltimore^ Mem- 
 ber of Congress. 
 
 Tunis, Aug, Wh, 1808. 
 ABOUT the time the Bashaw of Tripo- 
 li'had fixed his resolution to declare war against the 
 United States, Mr. Cathcart, our Consul near that 
 Regency, suggested to me, that Mahamet Bashaw, 
 brother of the reigning Bashaw, to whom the sub- 
 jects of that Regency were very much attached, be- 
 ing the rightful sovereign and then in Tunis, having 
 been treacherously driven from the throne some 
 years ago, might be used as an instrument in the 
 bands of the United States, to chastise the temerity 
 of the usurper, reestablish himself, and effect a 
 cheap, honorable, and permanent peace to our coun- 
 try. I immediately entered into a coneertation with 
 the exiled Bashaw to this effect : and he gave me 
 such assurances of the feasibility of the measure, to- 
 gether with such collateral information collected 
 from other quarters, as left scarcely a doubt of its 
 success, if managed with suitable address. Mr. 
 Cathcart suggested the same project to government, 
 and I reported to the proper department tlie steps I 
 had taken in the measure. Last winter, being in 
 an infirm state of health from the convalescence of a 
 fever which had reduced me very low during the 
 summer, I was advised by physicians to take a voy- 
 age at sea. Accordingly I embarked in the United 
 States transport, the George Washington, on the 13th 
 December, for Leghorn. Late in February, infor- 
 mation came to me that Mahamet Bashaw wai about 
 to return to Tripoli, on overtures made to him by 
 the reigning Bashaw ; who, it seems, had become 
 iealous of him in his actual situation. 1 immediate- 
 ly embarked for Tunis, in a Danish built ship of 
 mine, called the Gloria, armed with fourteen twelve 
 and six pounders ; navigated by thirty seven men, 
 chtefly Americans ; and commanded by Capt Jo- 
 
I 
 
 Wcf, LlJE OF 
 
 sepli Boiiuds of Baltimore ; where, on my arrival, I 
 found the Basliaw on the point of departure, under 
 the escort of about forty Tripoliue soldiers, for the 
 province of Derne in the Regency of Tripoli, the 
 government of which the usurper had promised him 
 as an indemnity for the loss of his throne. My re- 
 turn to Tunis and arguments which I used, deter- 
 mined the Basliaw to change his resolution, and 
 seek some secuve asylum until the arrival of the A- 
 merican squadron. But the Bey of Tunis, whether 
 suspicious of what was on foot, or from what other 
 motives I know not, had refused him further sup- 
 plies in liis Regency. His departure therefore, had 
 become a matter of necessity. I wished him to go 
 to Leghorn and put himself into the hands of Mr, 
 Cathcart : but, surrounded with Turkish subjects of 
 his brother, as he was, left it not optional with him : 
 and, though apprehensive of treachery on the part of 
 his brother, he seemed to have no alternative but to 
 submit to his destiny. Yet he expressed a desire 
 by some means to be thrown into the hands of the 
 Americans. Here being none of our ships of war 
 in the vicinity, 1 dispatched Capt. Bounds to the 
 Boston frigate^ Capt. M'NicU, being tlie only com- 
 mander on the coast, witli a statement of fiicts ; who 
 embraced t!ie project and sent Capt. Bounds back 
 to me with instructions to hold the Gloria in service, 
 at VL\j disposition, until the arrival of the Commo- 
 dore. In the mean time, before the Bashav/ sailed, 
 I obtained secret intelligence from tliis Bey's Prime 
 Minister that the object of the usurper was to get 
 possession of his brotlier in order to destroy him. I 
 immediately communicated tliis intelligence to the 
 Bashaw, who had now already embarked for his 
 passage, and brought him to a resolution to go to 
 Malta, and there wait the arrival of our Commodore, 
 with whom he might proceed before Tripoli and de- 
 mand the restitution of his Regency ; as he had as- 
 surances that, in such case, the subjects in general, 
 who are much dissatisfied with the war, would revolt 
 
GEN. EATOK. SS 
 
 ' in his forVov and deliver tlie usurper into his hands. 
 Accordingly, under a pretext of evading tiie Swede 
 and American frigates, he prevailed on his attend- 
 ants to touch at Malta. This plan being arranged, 
 I ordered Capt. Bounds to Gibraltar, with dispatch- 
 es to the government and Commodore, stating tliis 
 position of affairs. He there fell in with the Con- 
 stellation, Capt. Murray ; v/lio, after having previ- 
 ously read my communications, and consulted with 
 Captains S. Barron and Bainbridge, discarded the 
 project, and dismissed my ship \v'it\i marks of point- 
 ed disapprobation. Mahamet Bashaw, faithful to 
 liis engagements, discharged his sliip at j>lalta, un- 
 der the same pretext which took him to that port ; 
 and has remained there ever since. But, though he 
 has had an interview with Capt. M'Niell who coun- 
 selled him to persevere in the project, he has receiv- 
 ed no succour, nor even countenance from the gen- 
 tleman now in command (Capt. Murray.) The cir- 
 cumstance of his secure position, however, has excit- 
 ed such alarm in the apprehensions of the reigning 
 Bashaw, that he has actually called to the defence 
 of his city such of the Arabs of liis kingdom as are 
 attached to his interest, and, to insure their fidelity, 
 confined their chiefs within his walls. This fact, 
 together with the solicitude of the usurper to get pos- 
 session of his brother's person, go to demonstrate 
 the correctness of our calculations on this project, if 
 suitable advantage had lieen taken of the position it 
 offered. I hope the occasion is not lost. 
 
 To Mr. Madisox. 
 
 Tuitis, .higiisf %M, 1S03. 
 OUR operations of the last and present 
 year produce nothing in effect but additional enemies 
 and national contempt. If the same system of op- 
 erations continue, so will the same consequences. 
 The obstinate posture and affected indifference to 
 fiienace, which have hitherto been jny talisnien ici 
 
g§3 XilFE OF 
 
 lieu of solid argument here, no longer avail. The 
 Minister puifs a whistle in my face, and says ;, 
 t '^ We find it is all a puff ! We see how you carry 
 on the war with Tripoli !" 
 
 I have never ceased to give the alarm in due sea- 
 son : to suggest such measures as seemed to mc in- 
 dispensible to parry serious mischief ; aud to point 
 out what I believed would be the consequence of 
 neglecting that advice. I have now the melancholy 
 reflection that my apprehensions have been but too 
 well founded, and my predictions but too accurate. 
 
 My exile is become insupportable here. Aban- 
 doned by my countrymen in command ; no advice 
 from government to regulate my conduct ; and my 
 own exertions failing of effect ; I am left subject, 
 though not yet submissive, to the most intolerable 
 abuse and personal vexation. Anxiety, perplexity 
 and a climate unfavorable to my constitution, waste 
 my health. The position I have taken and held with 
 this Bey in regard to passports for his merchantmen 
 for Tripoli, has excited a temper and disposition in 
 this court to distress me in my personal concerns. 
 I have frequently stated that my salary is an inade- 
 quate support. The check which Capt. Murray 
 thought proper to put on my public measures has 
 not less affected my public character. Thus situat- 
 ed, I am consuming life, property, aud, perhaps, 
 public reputation here, without the consoling pros- 
 pect of having the merit of being useful to my coun- 
 try. Why should I remain at a post which is no 
 longer tenable ? Again, I repeat, my individual re- 
 sources are insufficient barriers against the avarice of 
 this Regency. From the first moment of my agency 
 here it was apparent to me that submission to the de- 
 mands of this Bey would only sharpen avidity. 
 I stated tliis apprehension in my communications to 
 government : it wnn thought too lively ! My meas- 
 ures to chastise a perfidious enemy are now branded, 
 by commanders, as speculative; the. effusions of a 
 disordered fan cv / Is it not enough that I Iiave sacri- 
 
GBN. EATON. SS9 
 
 ficed almost four years to the service of my country 
 in a state of painful sequestration from ail rational 
 enjoyment ? Will any body alledge tliat I have not 
 discharged my duty with an upright zeal ? And are 
 such the rewards of my services ? To be branded 
 unheard in my own defence, and by a solitary Capt. 
 of a frigate, with sjjecnlation, and insanity ! This is 
 too much ! I have the native rights, and I trrst the 
 feelings of an American citizen. Let Murray leave 
 to me my liberty and my honor : he may filch from 
 me all the other appendages of life which can be use- 
 ful to him. But blasted as is my honor here by the 
 weight of his authority and the In'eath of his scandal, 
 my very existence is insupportable. It were impos- 
 sible to keep these things concealed here, even if 
 they had been transacted with less publicity. The 
 Bey says ; " I always told the American Consul he 
 was a mad man," (because I have not been his obse- 
 quious slave, as are half the Consuls near him,) 
 ^'' and it appears the commanders of his nation are of 
 the same opinion !'' Gentle commanders ! Ye have 
 hitherto exhibited no symptoms of ?«flrf??f?ss to these 
 Regencies ! They are perfectly satisfied with your 
 moderation ! Equally so with the blast, in cool 
 blood, you have stamped on the character of a fel- 
 low citizen and a fellow servant of your country. 
 
 I am constrained therefore, not less by a regard to 
 the interest and honor of my country than to my own 
 individual interest and honor, to request the Presi- 
 dent Mill permit me to resign the trust I have the 
 honor to hold under tlie government of the United 
 States ; unless more active operations sliall ]>e re- 
 solved on against the enemy ; in Miiich case it would 
 gratify me to remain on this coast till tlic i,«sue be 
 determined. 
 
 P. S. Aug. S8. 
 
 Yesterday I was caMed to the palace. Tiie Min- 
 ister formally demanded of me a frigate of oG guns. 
 Jt need not be thought strange to see me in America 
 this winter. I c^ii neither yield to nor get rid of 
 the demand. 
 
230 LIFE OF 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis, Sept. i2th, 1803. 
 IN former comraimications I have had 
 the honor to suggest to the department of state, that 
 ^vhen these Regencies prevail on a tributary nation- 
 al Agent to state a demand to liis government, they 
 raise an assumpsit on this compliance. I have con- 
 sequently been uniform iii refusing to state their de- 
 mands. Steady to this resolution, I now refuse to 
 write for a tliirtysix gun frigate. The Bey has 
 therefore condescended to write himself ; but he 
 conceived a project, entirely original, to finesse me 
 into his views : which was, that I should make a 
 form of the letter, which he Avould send the Presi- 
 dent, under his signature. It would thus become 
 my act ; and of course, on their mode of reasoning, 
 a promise. Thi« I refused. 
 
 At tlie palace on the 29th ult. argument was drawn 
 from treaty compact, and our late delivery of rega- 
 lia, to discourage this demand. I asked the Minis- 
 ter, if he was not ashamed to make the demand after 
 having received such valuable presents from the U- 
 nited States, and so lately ? He answered in sub- 
 stance. *^ The presents already received were mer-e 
 ^eace stijmlatiGii, M'hich ought to have been deliver- 
 ed years ago. We have forborne with you on ac- 
 count of assurance of the Asjcnts of your government 
 til at they were always on the way. It is six year^ 
 fiince youv peace negociation was begun. We ex- 
 pected full payment in a year. Yon came out with 
 nothing. More than tliree years have elapsed since 
 .you finished the negociation. We allowed you six 
 months to bring forward the regalia. We have 
 u aitcd more than thirty six. After so long delay 
 we have received payment for your peace. But you 
 liave made us no consideration for this forbearance : 
 nor have we hitherto received any evidence of the 
 ,veritoMe friendshiv of the Prince of America : not- 
 
GEN. EATON. ^1 
 
 withstanding the repeated amicable intimations we 
 have o-iven him that such an expression of his sin- 
 derity would be aj^reeable to us. We shall expect 
 a different answer to this request. His Excellency, 
 my master, is a man of great forbearance ; but he 
 knows what steps to take with the nations who ex 
 haust his patience with illusive expressions of friend- 
 ship ; as you have learnt from the Danes, Spaniards 
 and others. Do not you see the Spanish king has 
 changed his Consul at the demand of my master ? 
 You may experience the same disgrace. We shall 
 expect tiierefore, that you will give us your influence 
 to obtain us a frigate ; though we have much reason 
 to believe you rather discourage your Prince from 
 listening to our solicitations. And, should a rupture 
 happen, and he be made acquainted with your neg- 
 lect of duty, he must impute the cause to you alone." 
 
 To which I answered. Let the Bey write the 
 President. He can undoubtedly state his preten- 
 sions with more perspicuity than I can. I shall take 
 care to give his letter conveyance. 
 
 On the Sd instant, my drogoman was at tlie pal-, 
 ace. The demand that I should form the project of 
 a letter was reiterated. I had directed him, in case 
 this subject should be revived, to tell the Bey decid- 
 edly, I would not write, neither directly nor indirect- 
 ly. He did so. The Minister said : " It is what 
 all the tributary Consuls do. And the American is 
 in an error if he thinks to break over established 
 customs !" He directed the drogoman to tell me the 
 Bey would sec me at tlie palace on the -Mh. Ac- 
 cordingly on the fourth I rendered myself there. 
 The Bey referred me to the Minister. I waited on 
 him in his private chamber. After some interlocu- 
 tion, he demanded, in an imperious tone, a form of a 
 letter to the President. I asked again, on what pre- 
 text he founded his claim for a frigate ; and why he 
 so strenuously insisted on my forming the letter ? " 1 
 have ah*eady explained the grounds of our claim,*' 
 said he. •• Wc nu\sl; have this expression offriep.d' 
 
LIFE OF 
 
 sliipf as you have given the Bey of Algiers. My 
 master is afflicted that your Prince does not show 
 him as much friendship as he does the Dey. And 
 he will have you Avrite, because it is customary, (u- 
 sanza.) Besides, he does not know what stile would 
 be agreeable to your master. You therefore must 
 form the letter in a stile to please him and to ensure 
 our object.'' 
 
 I said 1 thought the idea somewhat singular that 
 the Bey of Tunis, who corresponded with all the 
 Princes Of Europe, should find any difficulty in fram- 
 ing a letter to the President of the United States ! 
 Besides, this would not be the first time he had writ- 
 ten him. — " To no purpose," interrupted the Minis- 
 ter ; " and we will now try the efficacy of your com- 
 position." Not on this occasion, said I : If the Bey 
 writes I shall send the letter ; if not, it will spare 
 me the trouble. " He will write," said the Minis- 
 ter, irritated, *'^ and in the English language, that we 
 may be understood. We fancy you do not under- 
 stand our letters in a foreign language !" He or- 
 dered the drogoman to come on the 7th, and receive 
 the letter, ^' which," said he to me, ^^you will send 
 off by your ship express !" 
 
 On the 7th, the drogoman was at the palace : the 
 letter was written : but, being read to the Bey, did 
 not please him. The drogoman was ordered to call 
 on the 0th : called on the 9th, ordered to call the 10th : 
 called the 10th, and at half past eleven, A. M. re- 
 turned with the Bey's letter, (inclosure B.) There 
 can be little doubt that this demand of the Bey has 
 for its object a pretext of rupture, in case circum- 
 stances should encourage his hope of plunder or of 
 greater concessions. He certainly cannot be stupid 
 enough to suppose it will be yielded him. He is 
 penetratir;^ and subtle as he is avaricious ; and has 
 generally the address to cover his designs till the mo- 
 meut of aiming his blow : witness the surprize of the 
 Danes in 1800. 
 
GEN. EATON. ^3 
 
 He certtiinly starved Mahan>et BashaW out of his 
 kingdom to force liim into the hands of his brother* 
 I once thought liim partial to the exile ; and still be- 
 lieve him personally so ; but state policy has out- 
 weighed individual attachment. 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 The Bashaw, Bey of Tunis, to the President of 
 the Republic of the United States of Amer, 
 
 ICA. 
 
 Sir, President. 
 
 Tunis, Sept 8th, 180S. 
 WITH equal pleasure and satisfaction I 
 have seen arrive, and have received successively, all 
 the military and naval stores, as well as the superb 
 jewels, which your government ]»as sent forward for 
 my Regency and myself, in execution of our condi- 
 tions for the confirming and consolidating of the good 
 harmony and alliance which, thank Grod, have been 
 established, and actually subsist between us. 
 
 While I am happy to give you this assurance, in- 
 deed sincere, of my full contentment, 1 ought not to 
 dissemble, that I do not, at the same time, see myself 
 treated with the same distinction and the same re- 
 gard that* you have had for your other friends, and/ 
 since I am equally one, I avow to you, with frank- 
 ness, as I have already declared to Mr* Eaton, your 
 Consul, tha.t it would have been infinitely agreeable 
 to me, if you had also made me a present of a vessel 
 of war. 
 
 Mr. Eaton not finding it convenient to charge 
 himself with the communication of this demand to 
 yoa, on my part, I am determined to testify to you 
 directly, by the present, that it would be very agree- 
 able to me that you should send me a good frigate of 
 thirty six guns, which would add to the high esteem 
 I have for your nation, and would more and more 
 cement the ties of our friendship, which, on my part I 
 shall maintain firm and inviolable. 
 
 30 
 
g3'4 LIFE OF 
 
 Convinced as I avi before hand, Sir President 
 that this demand, ia^ien into consideration, will ob- 
 tain the full effect which I expect from it, I renew 
 to you the assurance of my most distinguished es- 
 teem, and I pray Almighty God to have you in his 
 holy keeping. 
 
 HAMG¥DA BASHAW, Bey, 
 Prince of the jmnces of Tunis, the city well guard- 
 ed, the abode ofhajjpiness. t 
 
 f Bey's Seal./ 
 To Mr. Madiso.y. 
 
 Tunis, Oct. 22d, 1802. 
 THE indignities I have suftered at this 
 court latterly, are iusup[iortable. On the first appear- 
 ance of our squadron, this Bey behaved respectful- 
 ly : he has grown insolent in proportion to the mod 
 eratiou of their movements and the success of the 
 enemy, l have in no instance yielded to his exac- 
 tions. But, again permit me to repeat, without more 
 energetic support, I cannot maintain the position X 
 have taken here : a position which lias liitherto re- 
 ceived the approbation of every distinguished officer 
 of the geneidl government with wliom I have had the 
 honor to correspond. And, suiier me to add, if fur- 
 ther concessions are to be made Iiere, I desire I man 
 not be the medium through whom they shall be yre- 
 sented. The rich regalia I Iiavc already given this 
 Bey, in the name of the chief magistrate of the Unit- 
 ed States^ serve only to show him our v/calth and 
 our weakness^ and to prompt his avarice to new de- 
 miands : Three years ago, I apprehended tliis conse- 
 quence of our yielding expressions of amity. The 
 same effect will result from the same cause, so long 
 as the latter exist. * * * * ' ^ 
 
 I am indeed weary of this state of exile and fruit- 
 less exertion : I do not, however, permit myself to 
 consider any privation of personal enjoyment, 
 (though on my part it is total,) as a sacrifice, if it 
 may go to promote the honor and aid the interest of 
 
GEN. EATQN. 235 
 
 my beloved country. But, let me be supported or 
 replaced. It is a [U'opositiou equally reasonable as 
 desirable. 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Turns, J\rov. m, 1802. 
 IT was enjoined on me to forward my 
 account by the return of the squadron : but it must 
 be long since known to government that no ship of 
 that squadron showed itself here for seven or eight 
 months previously to leaving this sea. My reasons 
 for not forwarding it by the Washington, were stated 
 in the letter of 13th December last. It would havg 
 been desirable to have obtained permission to present 
 my account in person. There are items to which I 
 have no regular vouchers, and others whose vouch- 
 ers require explanation. These people never give 
 receipts for presents. I could not prevail on the 
 Bey, nor his Minister, to receipt ti)e articles deliver- 
 ed him as the conditions of peace ; and I should 
 forever have remained destitute of sucli a voucher, if 
 he had not committed liimseVf in his letter to the 
 President, of September 8th, I shall forward the 
 account by the first direct conveyance. In the mean 
 time it is ineumbent on me to advise go^ ernment tliat 
 the incidents of my measures with Mahamet Bash- 
 aw, liave involved an expense of about twenty tiu'ee 
 thousand dollars, for the defraying of which I have 
 obtained casli on credit here ; and for the reim- 
 bursement of which, immediate provisions must be 
 made. I lament having been the principal agent in 
 measures which have incurred this useless expense 
 to my country : useless it would not have heen, if 
 those measures had received timely support. The 
 failure of the project will not be followed by any oth- 
 «v inconveniences to our affairs here : though, I 
 confess, I had apprehensions of more serious conse- 
 quences from it. Chagrin would forbid me ever 
 presenting this statement, if I w^re in cash to reim- 
 
336 LIFE OF 
 
 burse the sum ; but I have suffered every species of 
 personal vexation the season past which barbarity 
 could inflictj to compel me into the views of this Re- 
 gency : every thing which took the appearance of a 
 promise has been pxacted of, and extorted from me. 
 I have been literally robbed ; and am consequently 
 destitute of resources here. If this expense should 
 not be admitted in account on final settlement, my 
 property in America must go to indemnify the Unit 
 ed States, so far as it will extend to that object. I 
 have the satisfaction to reflect that I have yielded no 
 national points here ; on the contrary, though it 
 threatened and may perhaps eventually effect my 
 personal ruin, have steadfastly resisted the Bey's in- 
 stances and exactions : but, though he menaced me 
 in all shapes to compel concessions, I find this obsti- 
 nacy (as he is pleased to term it) will produce no 
 public mischief here. 
 
 To Mr, Madison. 
 
 Tunis f Dec. 20th, 180S. 
 MY means and ray resources of resist- 
 ance are totally exhausted at this place. The oper- 
 ations of our squadron this season have done less 
 than the last % aid my efforts. Only one frigate of 
 this squadron has been hitherto seen on the enemy's 
 coast. I can no longer talk of resistance and coer- 
 cion without exciting a grimace of contempt and rid- 
 icule. I am neither permitted nor inclined to talk 
 of concessions. And, of course, my personal servi- 
 ces can no longer be useful here under actual cir- 
 cumstances. Any body whose fidelity may be de- 
 pended on, and who is capable of writing an intelli- 
 gible letter, may be of equal service and less expos- 
 ed. This Regency view me with a jealous and sus- 
 picious eye. They say, " the American Consul is 
 an enemy to the Barbary interests." (God forbid 
 that he should be a friend to them.) And, in case 
 of a rupture, I have not the least reai^on to suppose 
 
GEN. EATON. ^37 
 
 the Bey would consent to my departure. When the 
 commodore and Mr. Cathcart arrive I shall consult 
 with them, and if tliey concur in the measure, shall 
 endeavor by stratagem to get out of this country 
 and repair to the seat of government of the United 
 States. ***** -^ •* 
 
 Notes from the Journal. 
 
 PICKPOCKETS. 
 
 Tunis, Dec. 27th, 180S. 
 THE superintendent of the Sapitapa's 
 public buildings sent to demand a winter's provisions 
 of sugar and coffee. 
 
 I sent the messenger away with this answer. 
 
 " Tell Sidi Hagi' Sala Bougdier, that I have no 
 sugar ; and, if he wants coffee, to treat with my bro- 
 ker.^^ 
 
 I am Aveary and exhausted by this kind of beg- 
 gary. The Bey, the Sapitapa, both their physi- 
 cians, their chamberlains, the Caii of Porto Farina, 
 the Schaik Medina, (mayor of the city) and Aga, 
 (Commandant or Colonel) of the Goulette, have been 
 sui)plied with sugar, coffee, tea, pepper, spices, and 
 indeed, clothing, from the Americaii house, more 
 than three years : and in a manner which excludes 
 the possibility, in most instances, of my making it a 
 public charge. Even the Bey's commercial agent 
 refuses payment for coffee and loaf sugar ; (he is a- 
 bove using brown ;) which he, at different times, 
 has received on credit, to the amount of 900 piasters. 
 Whatever these pickpockets fix their eyes upon in 
 my house is good prize. They will not be refused ! 
 Let me get away from this den of thieves ! The sal- 
 ary of the President of the United States would 
 hardly be adequate to the support of tliis house, on 
 the present moderate system of our economy, with 
 these RegencieSo 
 
§38 LIFE OF 
 
 To Mr. Madison. 
 
 Tunis, March 5th, 1803. 
 YESTERDAY morning, about nine o- 
 clock, Commodore Morri? left the American house, 
 to go on board. Some altercations between him 
 and the Bey's commercial agent, who had three 
 times come to, and as often fallen from, an agree- 
 ment relative to the reclamations for tlie prize in 
 question with this Regency,* had determined him to 
 depart without making a visit of congee to the Bey. 
 He was met at the marine by the commercial agent, 
 and detained for the payment of a balance of a loan, 
 amounting to twenty two thousand dollars, which I 
 bad obtained of said agent, as reported in my letter 
 to the department of state of 9th November last. 
 This act of violence was warmly remonstrated a- 
 gainst. It Avas insisted that the loan was a transac- 
 tion of my own, for which I was solely responsible 
 in my representative character. I repeated to the a- 
 gent what I had before informed him, that I had 
 nearly four months since communicated this affair to 
 my government, and should probably soon receive 
 some assistance ; that at all events the debt was se- 
 cure, and, in order to obtain his forbearance, I offer- 
 ed to make him any reasonable compensation for the 
 delay. He rejecled the proposal : asserted that I 
 had promised payment on the arrival of tlie Commo- 
 dore ; and insisted on being paid. 1 denied ever 
 having given liim any assurance of payment on the 
 arrival of the Commodore ; but confessed, what was 
 true, that I had said to him, I hoped to have the 
 means of payment on the arrival of a frigate from A- 
 merica. And I repeated to him that I would make 
 him any reasonable sacrifice by way of compensa- 
 
 * Mr. Eaton had declared Tripoli in a state of blockade. 
 The American squadron had taken a Tunissian vessel bound to 
 Tripoli. The Bey of Tunis claimed restitution, declaring the 
 blockade illegal. 
 
GEN. EATON. S39 
 
 tion, if he would consent to suspend the settlement 
 till such an arrival. All was in vain. — Shylock 
 must have his pound of flesh. The Commodore re- 
 turned to the American house ; and at his request I 
 presented myself before the Bey and demanded if 
 this detention were by his order. He did not give 
 me a direct answer ; but signified that it was under- 
 standingly done. There was no alternative but for 
 the Commodore to satisfy this demand before he 
 could obtain permission to embark. He therefore 
 addressed himself to the French commissary gener- 
 al, who engaged to advance the money on his bills 
 on Leghorn : but in order to indemnify the Commo- 
 dore I propose to put into his hands in favor of tlm 
 United States an assignment af all my property of 
 every nature, whether real, personal or mixed, to be 
 applied to the reimbursement of this sum in case 
 my contingent charges, which occasioned this loan, 
 should not be admitted on final settlement ; account 
 of which accompanies this statement. 
 
 It were desirable that I might render myself at 
 the seat of government with my vouchers, in order 
 to make such explanations as the nature of the sub- 
 ject may require : but the Commodore thinics it 
 would be too injurious to the interests of the United 
 States here at this crisis. It is hoped however, this 
 indulgence may be gi^anted as soon as the situation 
 of affairs will render it admissible. I am now total 
 ly destitute of funds and credit here ; and do not 
 know where to obtain the means of daily subsist- 
 ence. 
 
 The Commodore and other gentlemen of rank in 
 the squadron have expressed to me their entire ap- 
 probation of my public agency and general measures 
 at this Regency : but the events of yesterday seem 
 to have excited some unpleasant sensations. I could 
 have no apprehension of such an event. It was im- 
 possible to apprehend that the respect attached tD 
 the person of the Commodore would be violated. It 
 is unprecedented, even in the history of Barbary out- 
 rage. 
 
^0 LIFE OF 
 
 P. S. March 6. 
 
 This raorniiig the Commodore, accompanied by 
 Mr. Cathcart, Capt. Rogers and myself, waited on 
 the Bey at the palace. After having come to a final 
 arrangement in the affair of the prize, by the Com- 
 modore's engagement to cause all Tunissian proper- 
 ty to be restituted, the subject of the loan before 
 mentioned was brought forward. The question was 
 asked the Bey whether the Commodore was arrested 
 by his order ? He answered evasively ; by saying it 
 was not customary for a Commodore ever to depart 
 without making him a visit of congee ; and that he 
 had been informed carriages were ready for the pur- 
 pose the morning of the fourth. 
 
 It is true that, the evening of the 3d, the Commo- 
 dore had concluded to see and take leave of the 
 Bey ; and that the morning following, carriages were 
 prepared for the purpose. The commercial agent 
 had said to him, he thought the affair of the prize 
 might be arranged without difficulty at the palace ; 
 and that delay might be obtained for the payment of 
 this balance by engaging the good offices of the Min- 
 ister. But the equivocal and suspicious behavior of 
 the government relative to the prize reclamations, as 
 stated in my report of yesterday, had determined the 
 Commodore to go on board ; to make his further 
 communications with the palace througli the medium 
 of the consulate ; and to leave to me the adjustment 
 of this balance. His detention was the consequence. 
 
 I ceuld not forbear remonstrating in pointed and 
 animated terms witii the Bey against this national 
 indignity and breach of hospitality. I stated to liim 
 the meaus I possessed to meet this debt. That I 
 had already informed my government of the circum- 
 stances of the case ; and that answers could not now 
 be long in arriving. That I had reason to suppose 
 the contidence always manifested on liis part towards 
 me, and the integrity of my conduct towards liim, 
 would have shielded me against this wound to my 
 feelings and reputation. That this loan, as he well 
 
QEN. EATON. 
 
 ^i 
 
 knewj had originated in measures altogethei* compul- 
 sory ; that I had given a premium of two thousand 
 dollars to obtain it ; and that I had been impeded 
 from a more seasonable payment by reason of the in- 
 iquity r had experienced at his court ; especially 
 the absolute frauds of his Minister, who had literally 
 robbed me. The Sapitapa, aiFecting to be affronted 
 at this charge, as usual in all cases when resisted or 
 reproached, accused me of being mad. And the 
 Bey, taking an interest in his cause, ordered me im- 
 mediately to quit his court. I answered — It is well / 
 I am not dissatisfied to quit a court where I have ex- 
 perienced little else than violence and indignity. 
 But demanded of him to state his objections to my a- 
 gency ; and, if he had found mc unjust, to declare 
 it. Addressing himself to the Commodore, he an;- 
 swered. — " The Consul is a man of a good heart, 
 but a wrong head. He is too obstinate and too vio- 
 lent for me. I must have a Consul with a disposi- 
 tion more congenial to Barbary interests P^ When 
 asked in what I had offended ? He said, I had vio- 
 lated the laws of his country by bastinading his sub- 
 jects : and named Famin, another Christian and a 
 Jew. I acknowledged that 1 had, three years ago, 
 chastised Famin. But I denied that he was his 
 subject ; though I knew him his voluntary slave ! 
 His conduct towards nie had merited chastisement ! 
 it had been treacherous, dishonest and base. Find- 
 ing no other means of justice I had used the disci- 
 pline which I would again use in similar circumstan- 
 ces. x\s to the Jew, I was not in the habit of patiently 
 taking an insult in ray own liouse from any man ; 
 much less from an Algcrine Jew. The other affaii' 
 had been misstaied to him. As it respected my 
 publlc agency I was conscious of not having bee'ri 
 wanting in point of duty nur in my respect to him- 
 self as a prince. The Bey acknowledged it. I reit- 
 erated to him that I had suffered every species of in- 
 jury, outrage and indi!!;niiy in his Regency ; .and I 
 thankf^d him unieignedlv for ordering me out of it. 
 
243 LIKE OF 
 
 I should at least leave behind me the impression tllatr 
 I was not his slave, and that it was not in the nature 
 of things to reduce me to that situation. I gave him 
 my hand and wished liim well. He reciprocated 
 the wish. I shall embark in the squadron. Doc- 
 .tor George Davis, of New York, will remain charged. 
 
 March Qth. The Commodore embarked the sev- 
 enth and sent the balance of my obligation from or 
 board. I shall quit this sink of treachery tomorrow, 
 and repair immediately to the seat of the Govern- 
 ment of the United States, where I hope to render a 
 satisfactory account of my four years agency here. 
 
 I think it worthy remark, that yesterday the chi^' - 
 alier de Barthes said to me in presence of Capt. 
 Rodgers, he had discovered that the Bey had medi- 
 tated other exactions, which he intended forcing c:i 
 the Commodore, but that he had desisted from his 
 projects by reason of being informed that the French 
 commissary general had interested himself in the af- 
 fairs of the Americans. That, confounded at this 
 information, he hud thought it prudent to change his 
 views. 
 
 On the iOth of March, Mr. Eaton left Tunis 2 
 and on the 20th, arrived at Algiers. The next day 
 the squadron sailed for Gibralter, v/liere it arrived 
 on the S3d. On the 30th of the same month, Mk. 
 EAf ox embarked on board a merchantman, the ship 
 Perseverance, bouiid to- Boston, where he arri^ed 
 May 5t]i ; and in a few days was restored to the 
 bosom of a family irom which he had been absent 
 four years- and a half. 
 
 In June he went to the seat of government in order 
 to adjust his accounts and urge the administraliou 
 to the adoption of more vigorous measures against 
 Tripoli, a^ Avell as to induce them to sjkHction and 
 assist the plan, of employing K«niet Bashaw in op- 
 posing the reigning Basiiaw of Tripoli. A part of* 
 his accounts were of such a nature as to demand 
 the interference of Congress ; a settlement was there- 
 
GEN. EATON. S43 
 
 4bre postponed till the ensuing session. Most of the 
 summer and autumn were spent in the management 
 and improvement of his farm in Brimtield. 
 
 In January 1804, Mr. Eaton repaired to Wash- 
 ington to adjust his accounts under the sanction of 
 Congress, the Department of State refusing to allow, 
 the S S2,000 expended in endeavoring to obtain the 
 cooperation of tlie Ex-Bashaw, as well as some 
 minor claims. 
 
 The followins^ extracts of his letter to the SpeaJc- 
 er of the House of RejJresentives merit perusal. 
 
 HAVINGr gone through this statement 
 of events which produced the items of my claim now 
 before this honorable house ; and brought into view 
 -the most considerable transactions of my agency ; 
 ?joth as they relate to my exertions to keep the peace 
 at Tunis and to assist the operations of tlie war a- 
 gainst Tripoli ; I beg it may be considered ; that, 
 so far as respects the latter, I have been but the 
 chief acting agent of a measure which was recom- 
 mended and urged by not only Mr. Catheart, an a- 
 gcnt of the government, best acquainted with the prob» 
 abilities of its success, but by every other agent and 
 citizen of the United States with whom I could con- 
 sult, and who were entitled to my confidence. A 
 measure ultimately adopted by every commanding 
 officer Avho has appeared on that station since it took 
 shape : and approved by the Executive. That I 
 have takcR no steps in the measure but what resulted 
 from the position on which I was placed and the na 
 ture of my duty ; and but what met the concurrence, 
 of Mr. Catheart and such other officers of the gov- 
 ernment as were on the ground. That, so far as my a 
 gency had any influence on the measure, it succeed- 
 •ed : and that, if we have not experienced all the bene- 
 fits calculated lo result from its full eifeet, it ought to 
 be attributed to the inertia of a commander or com- 
 manders over whose conduct I had no control. That 
 .it was not apprehended any expenses to the United 
 
S-W) LIFE OF 
 
 States would accrue from the measure. But, on the 
 contrary, that such expenses as should be incident 
 to its prosecution would be defrayed out of its suc- 
 cess ; and that it would be a public saving both of 
 life and property : as would eventually have been 
 the case if it had been prosecuted with suitable en- 
 crgy. 
 
 It may not be improper to recite, that my ship Glo- 
 ria was to be employed on this emergency only till 
 the arrimilofa Commodore on the coast. But it was 
 impossible to imagine his arrival Avould be delayed 
 eleven months after the plan was mature for execu- 
 tion, or that, on liis arrival and finding it in that 
 stage, he should make no effort to give it effect. He 
 was entreated to send only one of his ships, with the 
 agents to tiie friendly Bashaw in order to encourage 
 iiis perseverance until he could bring the whole 
 squadron to cooperate with him. This he refused oi^ 
 a pretext that the ships were on short rations, and 
 must all accompany him to Gibraltar to provision. 
 
 This may have been tlie case ; but, it is neverthe- 
 less true, that the whole squadron lay nine days after 
 arriving at that port without taking in even a biscuit 
 or a bucket of water : the Commodore was occupied 
 with his Royal Highness, the duke of Kent, solicit- 
 ing a court of admiralty to adjudicate upon David 
 Valenziu, the Jew, whom he picked out of an impe- 
 rial vessel, near Malta. It is true that the first ap- 
 pearance of this Commodore before Tripoli was not 
 till the 22d May, 1803. It is true that during this 
 term of a year, from his first arrival on the station, he 
 never burnt an ounce of powder ; except at a royal 
 salute fired at Gibraltar in celebration of the birth 
 d.ay of his Britanic Majesty ; or on similar occa- 
 sions. And it is equally true, that, during the peri- 
 od of seventeen months he commanded the whole 
 force of the United States in tlie Mediterranean, he 
 was only nineteen days before the enemy's port ! 
 
 I certainly feel no inclination to act the informer : 
 nor would 1 state these facts >vere it not that those 
 
GEN. EATON. S45 
 
 Uelmqueneies have iiwst deeply aifected me ; rifled 
 me of my honor ; and, for oiiglit I know, reduced 
 me to extreme poverty. Whereas, had T been sup- 
 ported with that energy, nay, with that integrity, 
 which was due to the confidence of the government 
 in the commander in cliief of the expedition, I should 
 have saved both my honor and my property. I 
 should at least have saved myself the mortificatiou 
 of this appeal to the equity and sensibility of the na- 
 tional legislature. And, it is confidently believed, 
 my country would have experienced lasting benefits 
 from my exertions. 
 
 It is presumed tlie project with TIamet Eashaw is 
 still feasible. The very, circumstance of his exist- 
 ence is evidence of his liolding a position formidable 
 to the enemy ; for, it is well known, a Turkisli des- 
 pot never lets a rival exist whom lie can destroy. 
 And, I must be permitted still to adhere to the opin- 
 ion, which has actuated my conduct in this affair, 
 that it is the most eligible way pf securing a perma- 
 nent peace with that iiegency ; for there is ?io faith 
 in treaties tvith the ruling Bashaiv ! 
 
 Besides the impression to he made on the world, 
 by this species of chastisement, it would have a ben- 
 eficial influence on the other Barbary Regencies. 
 To them, the precedent would be dreadful ; for it 
 would be no very difflciilt matter in case of war t<ii 
 -start a rival in either of those Regencies ; the gov- 
 ernment of Algiers being military elective ; and the 
 Beyliquc of Tunis, though hereditary, now held by 
 usurpation. Tliis may account perhaps, for the 
 Sapitapa having, after deliberation, seceded from 
 his engagements with me in favor of reestablishing 
 the legitimate Bashaw of Tripoli. 
 
 But, wliether the project be yet practicable or not, 
 it is believed, sufficient evidence has been produced 
 to convince the understanding of every one, Avho is 
 willing to be convinced, that the object which that 
 cnterprize aimed to secure was worth an experi- 
 ment. With the discretionary instructions I held, I 
 
S46 I.IPE OF 
 
 shoultl Iiave thought myself chargeable Math a crim- 
 inal omission had. I not used every eflbrt to secure 
 it : for if a prominent occasion oifers which might 
 place the life and dominion of the enemy into our 
 hands, would it not have been treacherous to have 
 neglected it ? 
 
 It may be asserted without vanity or exageration, 
 that my arrangements witii the rival Bashaw did 
 more to haiTass the enemy in 1803 than the entire 
 operations of our squadron. Yet the force sent into 
 the Mediterranean that season was adequate to all 
 the purposes of the war ; and, with the favorable 
 jiositions which had been secured, might have put an 
 end to it in sixty days after arriving at the post, had 
 the arrival been seasonable- This is not my solita- 
 ry opinion. The Bey of Tunis himself, when hear- 
 ing of the plan concerted between the Americans and 
 the rival Bashaw, exclaimed ^^ Said Joseph is ruin- 
 ed !'" Meaning the ruling Bashaw of Tripoli. But 
 it is now pretended the enterprise v, as abandoned on 
 the score of economy ! Oliver Cromwel searched the 
 Lord, whenever he had occasion to veil his sinister 
 views from 7nen ! Kconomy seems to be the mask of 
 the day v/ith us to disguise the most palpable and 
 inexcusable neglects of duty ; for it is hackneyed 
 by every liypocrite whose baseness wants a shield 
 for delinquency ; or whose jealousy seeks to blast 
 the merit of that vigilance and energy which cannot 
 but upbraid his remissness. Hence the very com- 
 mander, who recoils at the prodigality of seeing a 
 single ship employed in the prosecution of a meas- 
 ure which might have decided the fate of the enemy; 
 and at a moment when no alternative existed, seems 
 wholly unconcerned at having employed the whole 
 operative naval force of the United States an entire 
 year, in tlie Mediterranean, attending the — travels 
 of a tvoman ! 
 
 Let it not be inferred from these strictures that 
 your petitioner is an infidel to the doctrine of econo- 
 my ! On the contrary, he believes^ but not in a mis- 
 
GEJf. EATON. ' ^47 
 
 application of the term nor a perversion of the prin- 
 ciple. Without the arrogance of believing himself 
 capable of advising, may he not be permitted to ask ? 
 If this kind of concern for the public weal should 
 have influence to circumscribe the provisions which 
 the necessary operations of the present moment re- 
 quire on the Barbary coast, will it not betray us in- 
 to degredations and sacrifices which will be felt by 
 the latest generations of posterity ? Can there be a 
 doubt that the Regencies are all covertly leagued in 
 the war ? Is not the question at issue between them 
 and us, whether we will yield ourselves tributary 
 and subscribe to conditional articles of slavery ; or 
 take an attitude more analogous to our national glo- 
 ry and i'iiterest ? Is there a citizen in America wha 
 would not rather contribute something extraordinary 
 for an eftectual resistance to the pretentions of these 
 Beys, than by an illusive calculation of gaining by 
 withholding those contributions, take the yoke of a 
 Barbary pirate ; subscribe to voluntary chains ; and 
 leave tlie blush of ages inscribed on our tombs ! 
 
 Let my fellow citizens be persuaded, that there 
 is no borne to the avarice of t'le Barbary princes : 
 like the insatiate grave, they can never have enough. 
 Cousigti them tlie revenue of the United States as 
 the price of peace, they would still tax our labors 
 for more veritable expressions of our friendship. 
 But it is a humiliating consideration to the indus- 
 trious citizen, tlie sweat of whose brow supports him 
 witli bread, that a tithe from his hard earnings must 
 go to purchase oil of roses to perfume a pirate's 
 beard ! ♦ 
 
 It would be indeed sometliing astonishing that 
 these pitiful Jiordes of sea robbers should have ac- 
 quired such an ascendency over the small and even 
 considerable states of Christendom, were it not easily 
 accounted for upon commercial principles. It fs 
 true tliat Denmark and Sweden (and even the V- 
 nited States, following the example) graUiitously 
 furnish almost all tjieif materials, for ship building 
 
S48 L14-'E OF 
 
 and munitions of war ; besides the A-'altiable jewels 
 and large sums of money we are continually paying 
 into their hands for their forbearance, and for the 
 occasional ransom of captives. Holland and Spain 
 bring them cash, na>'al constructors, engineers, and 
 workmen in tlieir dock yards. Without these re- 
 sources theywould soon sink under their OAvn igno- 
 rance and want of means to become mischievous. 
 Why this humiliation ? Why furnish them the means 
 to cut our own throats ? It is from a degrading count- 
 ing house policy in tl-e cabinets of the more powerful 
 nations of Europe to keep these marauders in exist- 
 ence as a clieck upon the commercial enterprise of their 
 weak neighbors. And from a principle of commercial 
 rivalship anong the tributaries, which aims to sup- 
 plant each other in the friendship of these chiefs by 
 the preponderance of bri]>es : a principle, however, 
 which ultimately defeats its own object : — for tiie 
 Beys, like apostate lawyers, take fees on ])oth sides,* 
 and by a rule of inversion, turn their arguments a- 
 gainst the client who has the heaviest purse. 
 
 In addition to the ordinary inducements of the 
 Barbary States to cnmmit piracies on our commerce 
 there is aijother incentive equally ])owerful, 
 whicii may have escaped the notice of the people of 
 the United States, and yet whicij affects only us. 
 We are the rivals of Algiers and Tunis in one prin- 
 cipal article of commerce in the Mediterranean ; 
 which i« bread corn. Immence quantities of that 
 essential life article are annually shipped from both 
 those ilegencies to the ports of Spain and Italy, and 
 occasionally to other poits of ChriRlendom in tliat 
 sea. This article of commerce at Algiers, as well 
 as all vtlicrs, is farmed by the Jcav lionse of Bocri 
 and Busnah ; who are well known to h;tvc a pre- 
 ponderating iniluence In all the alTaiis of tliat gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 At Tunis;, the government itself monopolise the 
 entire commerce of the kingdom, in both Regen- 
 cies that rivalship cannot but excite a spirit of hos 
 
GEN. EATON. S49 
 
 tility to our commerce ; more particularly so as this 
 is the chief article of exportation in both countries ; 
 from which the governments receive their principal 
 revenue ; and an article which always commands 
 ready sale and cash payment, or advantageous bar- 
 ter. 
 
 In case of a rupture with either, or both those Re- 
 gencies, a plentiful supply of this article to those 
 ports in the Mediterranean, and a close blockade of 
 the enemy's ports, might bring them to their senses. 
 It would be, next to an invasion of their country, the 
 most wounding blow which could be inflicted. It 
 would convince them that they have as much need 
 of oui* friendship as we have of theirs. Are not 
 such the principles of reciprocity we should wish to 
 establish ? 
 
 I am aware that these remarks may be deemed 
 irrelative to the subject of this exposition. They 
 may not be found, however, foreign to the interest of 
 the citizens of the United States. They are the re- 
 salt of observations taken on the spot ; and will 
 probable, at some not very distant period, be found 
 to contain substance. ***** 
 
 I believe it will also appear manifest that the 
 measures pursued by me with Hamet Bashaw, 
 Were influenced by no stronger motives than an ar- 
 dent zeal to serve ray country by chastising an ene- 
 my, who richly merits chastisement, in a way eco- 
 nomical, eftectual and honorable : that this plan 
 might have been seasonably effectuated, if I had not 
 been abandoned by the very characters on whom its 
 execution ultimately depended : and that thus all 
 expence to the United States would have been 
 saved. 
 
 It is hoped it will be considered that in any event 
 of the issue of this project, but oTze citizen of the 
 United States can be particularly affected by it. 
 One indeed may be ruined ! But forgive the bold- 
 ness ot* the appeal : would it become the honor and 
 the magnanimity of mv country to pass so severe a 
 
 32^ 
 
250 LIFE OF 
 
 decision on upright intentions ? Where is the country 
 which ever called upon a general to reimburse the 
 expenses of a battle or a campaign ? If the expen- 
 ses of the measures I have conducted, and for which 
 I thought myself authorized to apply public funds, 
 should be admitted to my credit, there may be found 
 a small balance due to me from the United States. 
 If not, I am at once a bankrupt and a beggar ! Net 
 product of the earnings of almost five years exile ! 
 
 I very well know tliat there is one, and perhaps, 
 two, individuals, who have been in the Mediterra- 
 nean, who would be willing enough to see this ter- 
 mination of my affairs : Individuals who, with a 
 view of shrouding positive delinquency in the im- 
 agery of malfeasance of office, on my part, have an- 
 onymously come forward and stamped my conduct 
 before the public with the epithets of speculative 
 and fraudulent ! Conscious I am that this nameless, 
 blushless accusing spirit merits not the attention of 
 a refutation. It is nevertheless due to my country. 
 If at any period of my agency I had been actuated 
 by motives of speculation, means have not bfeeu 
 Avanting which miglit have been employed in a man- 
 ner not to have been detected nor evaded. 
 
 If I had received a tiskery for a thousand caflices 
 of wlieat, worth ten thousand dollars, which the Bey 
 of Tunis tendered me as an expression of his per- 
 sonal attachment, when he was intriguing to obtain a 
 promise for a ship of war, what mortal eye could 
 have ferreted out the fraud ? It would have been a 
 transaction ])etween him and me altogether secure 
 from penetration. The tacit condition of receiving 
 it would have been, on my part, only to write the 
 government stating the necessity of sending out the 
 frigate as a preventative of war. Tins would have 
 implied an assumpsit wliich could not liave been e- 
 vaded. — My country would have sacrificed one hun- 
 dred thousand dollars ; ten per cent of which would 
 have been my compensation for manifesting a dispo- 
 sition cGns:emalto the Barbarv interests 1 
 
GEN. EATON. 251 
 
 ■When the bankruptcy of Jautae and Shwatzhap- 
 pened at Le,^horn, and their agent at Tunis^ Ju- 
 lius Cesar Alberganty, was involved in the su'rn of 
 8120,000, had I acknowledged liim an American, 
 certificates of which he held from our Consuls in Ita- 
 jiy, Sactoris and Appleton, and thus given counte- 
 nance to the pretensions against the United States 
 of the Algerine Jews, who were his chief creditors, 
 a douceur of twenty per cent on this sum was pro- 
 posed as my commission for iisin^ so prudent a pre - 
 caution against affronting the '^ Potent Bey qj\ll- 
 giers.^^ 
 
 When six Danish vessels were abandoned to me 
 by their masters for a sum which the negociator, 
 Koefoed, acknowledges to his court not to be one 
 third their value ; had speculation on the misfortune 
 or misery of men influenced my conduct, is it reason- 
 able to suppose I should have rendered them to 
 their proprietors for the original sum paid as their 
 ransom ? 
 
 If this principle had actuated my agency in 1801, 
 when passports for the Bey's merchantmen to Tripo- 
 li were demanded of me, in which 1 might have tak- 
 en an interest, and, in refusing which, I put my life 
 in jeopardy, is it not natural enough to suppose I 
 would have sought some pretext to justify the con- 
 cession. It would iiave been very easy to say, this 
 was the only preservative of peace ; and this reason 
 would have been valid against all conjecture. 
 
 And when this demand was again revived in 1802, 
 and it was declared to me that a refusal on my part 
 would produce a proscription from the court against 
 me ; do the sacrifices I made in adherence to my 
 position look like a preference of my own interest or 
 safety to that of the public ? 
 
 Or, finally, when the Bey of Tunis ordered my 
 ship Gloria to America with his letter to the Presi- 
 dent, demanding a frigate ; and furnished her witli 
 his passport for the purpose ; if I had consulted my 
 particular interest in the affair, is it reasonable to 
 
^52 LIFE OP 
 
 suppose I would again hazard my personal safety 
 and, instead of obeying the Bey's mandate, profit of 
 the protection of his passport to get the ship to Leg- 
 horn for sale at a certain loss ? (I sacrificed jS7jG00 
 in the sale of that ship, and am without remedy.) 
 If I had yielded to t|ie Bey's demand, or rather pos- 
 itive order in this instance, and the pretext would 
 have been a good one^ the United States must have 
 indemnified me in all the consequent expenses. Bu t 
 the flag of the United States has never been seen 
 floating in the service of a Barbary pirate, under 
 my agency. 
 
 I do not arrogate to myself any peculiar merit in 
 having rejected overtures and submitted to sacrifi- 
 ces : my situation rendered it incumbent on me. But 
 if any consideration be due to the principles of anal- 
 ogy, or parity of reasoning, the inference will be nat- 
 ural here, that, instead of abandoning the public in- 
 terest to speculative views, I have sacrificed my own, 
 as well as my personal tranquility, in a fixed adher- 
 ence to the duties of my trust. Stupidity alone could 
 admit the idea that a man, in the exercise of reason, 
 would forego so many secure opportunities to enrich 
 himself by an iudirect speculation, and yet create 
 schemes of fraud at midday and in the face of the 
 world. I have a right to feel indignant at this cow- 
 ardly attempt to assassinate ray reputation ! 
 
 In order to show what degree of respectability at- 
 tached itself to my .agency in the opinion of respect- 
 able Europeans on the spot, it may not be deemed 
 vanity, nor improper, to subjoin here a translated 
 copy of a letter from a gentleman of rank and con- 
 sideration, dictated by the impulse of his feelings on 
 hearing of the events which occurred the day next 
 before its date ; and also of a certificate from my col- 
 leagues the European agents, presented me through 
 the medium of tlie Chevalipr de Barthes„ 
 
GEN. EATON. S53 
 
 r 
 
 TRANSLATION of the LETTER. 
 
 Sir, and much honored Friend, 
 
 Turns, March 7th, 1803. 
 WE behold you then finally forced out 
 of Tunis after having for years endeavored honora- 
 bly to support the interest of your nation, without 
 one moment enjoying, during this epock, the trifling 
 consideration vainly attached to the station of a Con- 
 sul in Barbary ! We behold you at length the vic- 
 tim, 1 hope momentary, of a combination of events 
 and intrigues the origin of which, I venture to say, 
 may be traced to the peace of the United States with 
 these Regencies ; whose expedients, unhappily for 
 the cause of humanity, the civilized world despise 
 with too much haughtiness and ignorance ; and 
 whose ridiculous pretensions they flatter with too 
 much patience and baseness. Your peace with Tu- 
 nis, above all, was negociated under the most unfa- 
 vorable auspices. It ought, with sonfe reason, to 
 shock the personal pride of this Bey, that the Dey of 
 Algiers, or rather his Jews, assumed an air of being 
 your protectors, calculated to impress a notion of de- 
 pendence on the Tunissian prince. This impolitic 
 step gave him no exalted opinion of the genius of 
 your government. And, indeed, your inactive war 
 with Tripoli can impress him with no great idea of 
 your coercive powers. 
 
 Never had a Consul so tliorny a way to clear as 
 yourself ; an object so difficult of attainment. He, 
 who had the honor to represent your nation on your 
 arrival here, by the slavish and cringing part he act- 
 ed at this court, had the means and the baseness to 
 sell your interests ; the chief source, in my opinion, 
 to which you may ascribe your subsequent political 
 embarrassments. 
 
SS-i LIFE OF 
 
 Is it possihlc to doubtj a single moment, the unfa- 
 vorable opinion this man impressed on the Bey, of 
 your government ! 
 
 I will not conceal what I observed at the time of 
 negociating your treaty, tliat the Bey of Tunis is not 
 establishing a peace icith the United States ; it is a 
 commercial speculation : Famin is his political fac- 
 tor^ and will gain the commission ! I now venture to 
 add ; the Bey had reason, the error was on the part 
 of the United States. It is not astonishing that the 
 successor of Famin, taking a position firm and analo- 
 gous to the station he came here to fill, should sur- 
 prise the Bey by so singular a contrast. He had a 
 riglit to doubt whether this firmness were peculiar to 
 your individual character ; or whether it was that 
 which your government wished to display here. 
 Ought he not to say, a nation who begins their rep- 
 resentation by one of ?ny minions have not the ap- 
 pearance of meaning to brave my pretensions P This 
 inadvertence in the choice of the first individual, who 
 ought, plainly speaking, to fix in a degree the consid- 
 eration whicli the United States should in future en- 
 joy with this Regency, is a fault of which the actual 
 consequences prove the magnitude, and the injuri- 
 ous impressions of which will with difficulty be erad- 
 icated ; time will demonstrate this. 
 
 Pardon these reflections. — The idea of your de- 
 parture force them from me. Friendship founded 
 in esteem participates the injuries whicli a friend 
 experiences. ' I do not offer you my condolence. 
 Duty discharged inspires not such a sentiment. 
 lam, Sivy 
 
 Your devoted and faithful friendy 
 
 Marse^ two leagues from Tunis. 
 
 . To William Eaton, Esq. 
 
 Consul of the United States, ^c. 
 
GEN. EATON. 255 
 
 # 
 
 TRANSLATION of the CERTIFICATE. 
 
 ^^ WE the undersigned Consuls and a- 
 gents of the European governments, at the Regency 
 of Tunis, certify, that Mr. William Eaton, Con- 
 sul of the United States of America, has, on every 
 occasion, supported the rights of his nation with dig- 
 nity and integrity. It is with pleasure we give him 
 this testimony of the truth and of our friendship. 
 Bone at Tunis, the iOth March, 1803. 
 Signed, A. NYSSEN, Consul General of the 
 Bat avian Republic. 
 DEVOISE, Commissary General and 
 charge of affairs of the French Repub- 
 » lie, near the Bey. 
 
 ^ HENRY CLARK, British charge of 
 § affairs. 
 
 ^ JOSEPH NODRIEZ, Constd Gener- 
 al, and charge of affairs of his Cathol- 
 ic Majesty. 
 HOLCK, His Danish Majesty^a Con- 
 sul General. 
 
 I ask nothing of my country but reciprocal sup- 
 port. 
 
 Accept, Sir, the assurance 
 of my profound respect, 
 WILLIAM EaTON. 
 City of Washington, Feb. iQth, 1804. 
 
 N. B. Touching at Algiers, Consul O^Bricu 
 came on board. He expressed surprize at seeing me. 
 I sketched to him the event of my congee at Tunis. 
 He said he had apprehended a squall : and express- 
 ed his reasons : which he reduced to writing, as fol- 
 lows. 
 
 " This will certify', that, in October 1802, a re- 
 spectable Jew merchaut from Tunis declared to me, 
 and in the presence of Bocri and Busnah of Al- 
 
S56 LIFE OP 
 
 giers, and also in the presence of Capt. Morris'" 
 (Andrew) " that the Sapitapa, or Tunissian Minis- 
 ter^ had declared to the said JevVj that he would work 
 the destruction of the American Consul at Tunis. 
 The Jew further added, that the Sapitapa said, he 
 was determined to have an American Consul more 
 pliable to his views. 
 
 Given under my hand, this 20th day of Mar oh ^ 
 1803. 
 
 (SignedJ RICHAUD O'BRIEN.^' 
 
 Mr. Eaton's accounts, however, were not wholly 
 adjusted this session. In April he was appointed 
 navy agent of the United States, for the several 
 Barbary powers, with the view of going forward to 
 Hamet Bashaw, to aid the operations of the United 
 States' squadron against the ruling Bashaw of Trip- 
 oli. 
 
 ^ In June he embarked on board the frigate John 
 Adams, in company with the President, the Con- 
 gress, the Essex and the Constellation, all in commis- 
 sion for the Mediterranean service, under Commo- 
 dore Samuel Barron, and Captains Rodgers^ J. Bar- 
 ron, Campbell and Chauncey. 
 
 M sea Mr. Eaton wrote the folloiving letter to 
 Col. Dwight of Springfield. 
 
 To Col. Dwight. 
 
 Extract of a letter C of instructions J from the Secre- 
 tary of State to James Leander Cathcart, dated 
 April m, 1803. 
 
 " MY last to you was of August 22d, 
 1803. It was then hoped you would liave been suc- 
 cessfully engaged in making peace M'ith Tripoli, for 
 which the crisis was peculiarly favorable. The 
 course of circumstances having deprived us of the 
 advantages of this crisis, to which the tenor of your 
 
GEN, EATON. 20/ 
 
 official instructions was adopted, the President lias 
 thought proper to review them with an eye to the 
 charge in the state of things under which, if peace 
 be still unmade, the negociations for it must still be 
 carried on. And considering that the Bashaw is no 
 longer under the domestic distresses, which, at one 
 time, humbled his pretensions ; that all the other 
 mitions at war with him, have yielded to the cus- 
 tomary terms of peace ; and tliat the new terms, 
 which the concurrent policy of all civilized nations 
 ought to force on these Barbarians, would now be 
 pursued by the United States at a very great ex- 
 pense, not only without the cooperation of a single 
 other power, but in opposition to the example of all, 
 and at a period, in difiPerent respects critical to their 
 aifairs, it is thought best that you should not be tied 
 down to avpfusal of presents, whether to be includ- 
 ed in the peace, or to be made from time to time 
 during its continuance. — Especially as in the latter 
 case the title to the presents will be a motive to its 
 continuance ; to admit that the BashaAV shall receive^ 
 in the first instance, including the consular present, 
 the sum of S0,000 dollars and at the rate aftenvards 
 of eight or ten thousand dollars a year. 
 
 If these sums can be reduced, you will, of course, 
 avail yourself of the opportunity. But no enlarge- 
 ment of them towards the examples of other nations 
 will be admissible : especially if, at the date of the 
 negociations, none of our citizens should be in cap- 
 tivity. 
 
 The presents, whatever the amount or the pur- 
 pose of them, (except the consular present, which, as 
 usual, may consist of jewelry, cloth, &c,) must be 
 made in moneys and not in stores : and also the pe- 
 riodical payments are to be biennial rather than annu- 
 al ; and tlie arrangement of iJie presents is to form 
 JVO FART of the PUBLIC TREATY/if 2i pri- 
 vate promise and understanding can be substituted. 
 The Dey of Algiei's being inflexible in refusing 
 to receive you as Consul, the President has not deem- 
 
g58 LIFE OF 
 
 ed it proper, especially under present circumstances^^ 
 to contest a right possessed and occasionally exer- 
 cised by all governments, and Avill therefore with- 
 out delay, send another successor to Mr. O'Brien. 
 He reserves to you, however, the Consulate at Tu- 
 nis ; which was your first object, and which Mu. 
 Eat on has signified his purpose of leaving. Your 
 commission is herewith inclosed, with a letter from 
 the President to the Bey. 
 
 It is foreseen that the Bey of Tunis will expect to 
 receive periodical presents, in like manner as the 
 Bashaw of Tripoli ; and we are prepared to arrange 
 them. He has made several demands of presents 
 from the United States, and last of all a frigate. 
 These have generally been declined on our part, 
 and we are determined to withhold the latter ; but 
 the circumstance may be glanced at, as our motive 
 for proposing the periodical payments, by which we 
 v/ish at once to manifest our good will and liberali- 
 ty to the Regency ; to give him an interest in pre- 
 serving peace ; and to regulate at a fixed rate what 
 is now so uncertain as to its demands. 
 
 It is believed also, that if other circumstances are 
 propitious, it will be eligible to settle tlie acceptance 
 of them by Tunis, at a moderate rate, as a prelimina- 
 ry to tlie negociation with Tripoli, since it will quiet 
 the former Regency ; aiford a scale for settling with 
 the latter } and anticipate a limit to the proposal the 
 Eey might otherwise make by refering to the prece- 
 dent set with respect to Tripoli. The sum to Le 
 allowed Tunis is to be payable in cash, and not to 
 exceed the rate of S 10,000 per annum, to be paid 
 biennially, if it can be so settled.*' &c. 
 
 Mr. Cathcart proceeded to Tunis wilh these terms 
 and a consular present, some time in the summer of 
 1803 ; but tlie Consul and the terras were both re- 
 jected by the Bey. It appears Mr. Cathcart \\ rote 
 tlie Bey from on board, after having left the king- 
 dom, or while at anchor in the road of Tunis, in 
 terms at which bis Excellency felt his piratical dig .^ 
 
GEN. EATON. 259 
 
 liity insulted, and on wliich account he memorializ- 
 ed the President of the United States. 
 
 In consequence of which the President wrote the 
 Bey. 
 
 '^' Thomas Jefferson, President of the United 
 States of America, to the Most Illustrious 
 and Most Magnificent Prince, the Bey of 
 Tunis. 
 
 Great and good Friend, 
 
 I RECEIVED in due time your letter 
 of 7th of September, repeating the request of a frig- 
 ate of 36 guns, with wliich, on a former occasion I 
 had informed you ihat circumstances did not permit 
 us to comply. I am under th,e necessity of stating 
 that these circumstances continue ; and that our na- 
 val force, being only proportioned to our exigencies, 
 we cannot with prudence lesson it by parting with 
 any portion of it . 
 
 I should regret much a misconception of our mo- 
 tives on tlijs occasion. We set a just value on your 
 friendship, as we do on that of all other nations with 
 whom we have intercourse, and, as we presume they 
 do on ours. 
 
 These mutual friendships, and the interests aris- 
 ing out of them, are equivalents, the one for the oth- 
 er ; and authorize equal claims and rights on both 
 sides. 
 
 Of our dispositions towards yourself in particular, 
 we have not been wanting in proofs, in addition to 
 the faithful fulfilment of our treaty ; nor shall we, 
 on proper occasions, fail to continue reasonable man- 
 ifestations of them, according to the rules we observe 
 in our intercourse with nations. 
 
 Such being our regard for you, it is with peculiar 
 <*.oncern I learn, from your letter of 14th September, 
 that Mr. Cathcart, whom I had chosen to succeed to 
 the place of Mr. Eaton, near you, and chosen from 
 «, confidence in his integrity, experience, and good 
 
260 Lll'E OP 
 
 dispositions^ has fo conducted himself as to incur 
 yoar displeasure. In doing this, be assured, he has 
 gone against the letter and spirit of his instructions : 
 wliich were, that his deportment should be such as 
 to make my esteem and respect for your character 
 both personal and public ; and to cultivate your 
 friendship by all the attentions and services he could 
 render. So soon as he went out of this line he was 
 out of the line of his duty ; and his acts are disclaim- 
 ed as in opposition to liis orders. On his return to 
 the United States, he will be made sensible bow far, 
 in this, he departed from the intention of his employ- 
 ers. 
 
 The consideration that the bonds of peace between 
 nations ought not to be burst asunder by the hasty 
 and unauthorized acts of a public agent, was worthy 
 of your wisdom and justice. And the acquiescence 
 in the transaction of our affairs by Mr. Davis, until 
 an agent could be sent with formal authorities, mani- 
 fested a desire of maintaining a good understanding, 
 which, being reciprocal is auspicious to our peace. 
 
 In selecting another character to take the place of 
 ]>tr. Cathcart, I shall take care to fix on one, who, I 
 hope, will better fuliil the duties of respect and es- 
 . teem for you ; and who, in so doing only, will be 
 the faithful representative and organ of our earnest 
 desire that the peace and friendship so happily sub- 
 sisting between the two countries may be firm and 
 permanent. And I pray Almighty God, great and 
 good friend, that he may have you under his holy 
 keeping. 
 
 Done at the city of Washington, in the U- 
 nited States of America, this ticenty sev- 
 enth day of January, one thousand eight 
 hundred and four. 
 fSignedJ THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 James Madison, Secretary of state. 
 
 He must be a very coward who can receive an af~ 
 fi'ontrtiul beg pardon for the injury. The language 
 
GEN. EATON. S6i 
 
 of the Bey's letter, demanding a frigate, was the Ian- 
 guage of a lord to his vassal. The spirit which dic- 
 tated the ans,er betrays more the inspiration of 
 Carter's Mountain than Bunker's Hill. If I recol- 
 leet ever having seen the effusions of so much mean- 
 ness of spirit flow from an American pen, it was in 
 Chancellor Livingston's letter of congratulation to 
 Talleyrand on the successful murders of the imperial 
 highwayman, Bonaparte ! Who can any longer doubt 
 that our exalted philosopher is a humble Christian, 
 after having seen, in so many instances, his ready 
 obedience to one of the most mortifying injunctions 
 of that system : ^^ If thine enemy smite thee on the 
 one cheek turn thou the other also !'' But if " all 
 liars shall have their part in the lake that burns 
 with fire and brimstone," as much as he hates the 
 smell of gunpowder, he stands awfully exposed to 
 ^hat of sulphur ! 
 
 It may recur to some of my friends tiiat, on my 
 ai'rival in America, May 5th, 1803, 1 stated, in a 
 Boston federal paper, that the Bey of Tunis had de- 
 manded a frigate of 36 guns of the President ; and 
 tliat shortly after an article appeared under the offi- 
 cial column of Smith's paper at Washington, deny- 
 ing the correctness of my statement. The tenor 
 of that article plainly shewed that it came from the 
 department of state ; and my truth sunk under the 
 iniluence of dignified fraud. But how brazen and 
 ulushless must have been that iiypocrisy, which dar- 
 ed so deliberately to pass this deception on the pub- 
 lie credulity, and thus wrongfully to lay mc under 
 the imputation of misrepresentation ; when those 
 instructions to Mr. Cathcart of April 9th, had exist- 
 ed in the office more than a month, and had actually 
 gone forward, with the acceptance of my resigna- 
 tion ! 
 
 An article in those instructions states that 1 had 
 signified mv intention to leave the Consulate at Tu- 
 nis. Accompanying the Bey's letter, demanding a 
 frigate, went forward a fair report of the resistance I 
 
i^6^ LIFE OF 
 
 Jiad opposed to the claim, of my assurances to the 
 Bey that he would never receive any further conces- 
 sions from the United States, as iha condition of 
 peace, and my plain declaration that, if further con- 
 cessions were made, I would not be the medium 
 through whom they should he communicated, I re- 
 quested Mr. Madison to make known this resolution 
 to the President, with an expression of my further 
 determination that, unless supported in the attitude 
 1 had taken at (hat piratical court, and taken in strict 
 obedience to the whole tenor of Mr. Jefferson's in- 
 structions, / ivould not serve another season in that 
 station. I had perceived a languor in the measures 
 of government, concerning Barbary affairs, Avhich 
 foreboded humiliations, in which, not having bee-n 
 accustomed to retraction, I had no notion of acting 
 a part. But it was intended these late instructions 
 should be concealed from me ; as it was also that 
 the prostration of the national honor, they authoriz- 
 ed, should be from the public mind ! 
 
 The dignity of the United States was laid at the 
 feet of those Chiefs of dog kennels, Tunis and Trip- 
 oli, by our President's prayers that they ivould con- 
 sent to accept the homage of a tribute, which should 
 be entailed on our posterity to all generations ; yet so 
 as " to form no part of the public treaty if a private 
 promise and understanding could be substituted !'' 
 
 On my arrival at Washington, I remonstrated with 
 Mr. Madison against the imposition passed on the 
 public and the injury done my honor by the contra- 
 diction, which had gcme from his office to the nation- 
 al Intelligencer, against the statement I had commu- 
 nicated to the public. He evaded the subject. I 
 waited on the President and the Attorney General. 
 One of them was civil, and the other grave ; but 
 neither disposed to give me the satisfaction I de- 
 manded, and which common honesty should have 
 induced them voluntarily to render. It was very 
 easy to be perceived that changes had been adopted 
 in our system of intercourse with the Regency I had 
 
GEN. EATON. 
 
 263 
 
 left, which rendered ray opinions nugatory ; and 
 that, though all acknowledged my zeal and decision 
 agreeably to instructions, all seemed indiiferent a- 
 bout the sacrifices thence resulting to myself, and 
 careful to conceal from me what those changes were. 
 Notwithstanding which, I endeavored to enforce 
 conviction on the mind of Mr. Lincoln, of the neces- 
 sity of meeting the aggressions of Barbary, by retali- 
 ation. He waved the subject ; and amused me ^vith 
 predictions of a political millennium, which was a- 
 bout to happen in the United States. The millenni- 
 um was to usher in upon us as the irresistible conse- 
 quence of the goodness of heart, integrity of miiid, 
 and correctness of disposition of Mr. Jeiferson. AM 
 nations, even pirates and savages, were to be moved 
 by the influence of his persuasive virtue and master- 
 ly skill in diplomacy. Whatever faith I might oth- 
 erwise have been prevailed on to place in the proph- 
 ecies of that old elect lady, I could not yield the as- 
 sent of my mind to the truth of the data on which she 
 predicated this. But though I did not presume to 
 contest with her the attributes of the American Baal, 
 who was to work this miracle on other nations for the 
 exclusive good of our own, I could not help express- 
 ing my doubts of the natural temper of mankind, as 
 too depraved to be so marvelously inliuenccd by re- 
 flective goodness. For, though the depi*avity was to 
 boi regretted, it is a truth to which the experience of 
 ethrj day bore testimony, that the voluntary acts of 
 benevolence exercised by individuals or nations to- 
 wards others, if they savored of weakness or pusil- 
 animity, generally produced contempt rather than 
 respect ; and invited insult rather than inspired grat- 
 itude. 
 
 No acts of the sublimest goodness would shield an 
 individual nor a nation, from violence and pillage, 
 who keep no locks to their coifer 3 nor guards to 
 their magazines. Men yield their homage ratiier to 
 the objects of their terror than of their gratitude- 
 Jove himself would receive neither sacrifices nor 
 
26^ LIFE OF- 
 
 prayers at his altars, if it were not for his thunderSc 
 And no man ever yielded the homage of respect to 
 man till first laid under apprehensions of danger 
 from withholding it. 
 
 My old pupil was so wrapped up in faith of his 
 idol/that my morality had no more effect upon him 
 thanj it would upon a young Hopkintonian candidate. 
 He did not tell me, however, that the productive 
 goodness on which all depended was to exhibit itself 
 towards other nations by contributions from our na- 
 tional treasury, and by a shameless prostitution of 
 the: natiouiil honor ! 
 
 The same Spi**it of submission which dictated the 
 instructions of April 9th, 1803, pervades the body of 
 the President's letter of January 7th, 1804. Both 
 are so repugnant to the system urged in my state- 
 ment to Congress about the same time, that I now 
 feel the full force of an observation made to me by a 
 gentleman belonging to that body, that '^ Go veiu- 
 "Inent would not have called for my services if they 
 could do without them.'' 
 
 The proposition of S10,000 tribute has been vol- 
 unteered by Mr. Cathcart to the Bashaw of Tripoli 
 and by Mr. O'Brien and Davis to the Bey of Tunis ; 
 and, thank God, by both rejected as too triflmg a con- 
 sideration for their friendship ; and the feelings of 
 the nation on this subject have at length been so 
 clearly expressed that the President will not pres^ ^; e 
 to renew the offer. But I have no doubt that ^' ; 
 chaste philosopher will, after all that is j)ast, take to 
 himself the merit of having redeemed the honor of 
 his country by resisting those dishonorable terms of 
 peace with these two Kegencies. 
 
 Had the private bargain been struck according to 
 calculations of our chief Magistrate, the navy, before 
 thisj would have been removed and hauled up at 
 Monticello. He will now have the merit also of 
 reviving the navy, and restoring the credit of the 
 national flag. -1 man the most fortunate in coniin- 
 gency-^ihe most base in calculation. 
 
G£N. EATON. 36o 
 
 I am about to cSiOse f his long; and already too te- 
 dious letter by detailing a pvooi of il.j, conclusion, 
 in which I am too seriously concerned^"* -^rhaps to 
 be cool. " '^^ 
 
 When on the 30th March last, at Washington, x 
 engaged to take the management of an enterprise ok 
 the coast of Barbary, which liad for its object the 
 recovery of our captive* in Tripoli, and imposing 
 terms of peace on the Regency, by bringing a rival 
 and aa army in the enemy's rear, the President and 
 his cabinet council had formed sanguine hopes of 
 its success. Hamet Bashaw, the elder brother and 
 legitimate sovereign of the enemy, having long since 
 been gotten out of his exile at Tunis by my man- 
 agement, had placed himself at the head of an army 
 of Arabs at Derne, and had gained some considera- 
 ble advantages in the field over the army ojT the usurp- 
 er. He now oflPered, by letters to the President, 
 to share the benefits of those advantages with the 
 United States, on condition of an effectual coopera- 
 tion with him on our part against the common ene- 
 my. The prospect of success being then beyond a 
 doubt, those overtures were accepted, and llie Presi- 
 dent concluded to send out to him, as he had asked, 
 those supplies, on the score of a loan, some field ar- 
 tilery, a thousand stands»of arms, and forty thousand 
 dollars. On my return to Washington, May 10th, 
 those prospects were encouraged by information of 
 other advantages gained by the troops of the friend- 
 ly Bashaw. Two months were consumed while the 
 squadron were getting in readiness to take its depar- 
 ture. These supplies were to have been taken on 
 board at Hampton roads, as the Secretary of the na- 
 vy informed me. Mean time information arrived 
 tiiat the Bashaw had retired to Alexandria /or want 
 of snpjjlies. On the first symptoms of a reverse in 
 iiis affairs, discouragemcni superceded resolution 
 with our executive, and economy supplanted good 
 faith and lionestv. TJic auxiliary suppliee. now 
 
 34; 
 
sip • ) 
 
 ^UO LIFE OP 
 
 supposed to be in r^adiness,^ uio- withheld. The 
 President becom'^=<refe^'vo<l. The Secretary of war 
 
 believes u'%^-^^^^^^^' V^y ^^^'^^^^' ^^ ^^^^ this to 
 me in Ivr^'^wn ofRce. Gallatin, like a cowardly Jew^ 
 shv»"^^ behind the counter. Mr. Madison leaves 
 ri^^v'y ihins; to the Secretary of the navy department. 
 And I am ordered on the expedition by Secretary 
 Smith, who by the bye, is as much of a gentleman 
 and a soldier as his relation with administration will 
 suffer, icithout any special instructions to regulate 
 my conduct ; without even a letter to the ally to 
 whom I am directed ; without any thing whatever 
 said to the coipmander in chief on the subject of 
 supplies ; nothing but a general and vague discre- 
 tion concerning the cooperation, and nothing more to 
 him of ray agency in the affair than that, " Mr. Ea- 
 ton is our agent for the several JBarhary Regencies^ 
 and icill be extremely useful.'^ Thus tacitly refer- 
 ring him to me in case the project should seem 
 feasible. 
 
 The cautious policy of the President, in this in- 
 stance as in others, is calculated to evade responsi- 
 bility, as well as to secure to himself all tlie advan- 
 tages of a miracle : for, as I have before stated, he 
 neither sends forward supplies, nor even makes any 
 reply to the chief of whose ^'iendship he is willing 
 to profit. If, therefore, ihe cooperation fail of success, 
 he evades the imputation of liaving embarked in a 
 speculative, theoretical, chimerical project. This 
 will fix on me. Whereas, if it succeeds, the glory 
 of the enterprize will be all his own ; ascribed to his 
 foresight and sagacity. A more embarrassing situa- 
 tion therefore than that in which this pusilanimous 
 conduct and sly policy places me, can hardly be con- 
 ceived. I carry with me no evidence whatever, 
 from our government, of the sincerity of their inten- 
 tions towards tiie friendly B^rshnw. He has once 
 been disappointed in the reliance he placed in the 
 assurances I had given him j because those assuv- 
 
GEN. EATON> .t67 
 
 ances, though recognized by the President through 
 Mr. Madison, were not supported by the Command- 
 er on whom the execution of the measure was in- 
 cumbent. 1 have no alternative but to place my 
 breast in this breach rtf confidence and good faith. 
 This I am resolved to do, and, by exposing my tem- 
 poral salvation, convince the ally and the world of a 
 consistency and fidelity in my country which, 1 
 myself am convinced, does not exist with our admin- 
 istration any further than considerations purely in- 
 dividual render it convenient. In these resolutions, I 
 am bound to Egyjit. But what must be done when 
 I get there will require the utmost efforts of my ca- 
 pacity at expedient. Some expectations are formed 
 by the people of the United States from this coali- 
 tion. Some confidence, I am persuaded, is placed 
 fey my friends in my zeal to render it advantageous 
 and honorable to the nation ; and some reliance on 
 'my agency to give it shape and eflect. Th.ese confi- 
 ilences shall not be disappointed. And though the 
 adventure, for I now consider it as such, be as for- 
 lorn, and, perhaps, as hazardous as any one ever 
 successfully undertaken by an individual, I will car- 
 ry it into execution or perish in the endeavor. I am 
 convinced that our captives cannot otherwise be re- 
 leased without ransom ; and, as an individual, I 
 would rather yield my person to the danger of war 
 iu almost any shape, tluin my pride to the humilia- 
 tion of ^rea^iii-g" with a wretched pirate for the ran- 
 som of men who are the rightful heirs of freedom. 
 
 But lest this expedition should fail of success, and 
 my intentions should consequently be distorted into 
 a mere matter of speculation, I have resolved not to 
 accept any compensation fov my services., -except a 
 sufficiency to cover my actual expences. 
 
 I can say therefore, as a Spartan Ambassador 
 to the king of Persia's Lieutenant, when asked 
 ^' whether he came with a public commission or on 
 
S68 LIFE Of 
 
 Jiis own account ?*' — *^ If successful, for tbe public ; 
 if unsuccessful, for myself." 
 
 I remain, with great respect, 
 Sir, Your Obedient servant, 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 HQn. Thomas Dwight. 
 
 From the Journal. 
 
 July %ist. 1804-, At meridian, made Pico^ one of 
 tbe Western Islands or Azores. Winds had been 
 uniformly fair 15 days. 
 
 Sunday, 22d. Winds shifted a head. Stood in 
 near the islands. 
 
 Saturday, 28th. Constant head winds. At Me- 
 ridian, the frigate Congress made a signal discover- 
 ing Madeira. 
 
 Sunday, 2Qth. Beating with ahead wind, came 
 within 3 leagues of Funchal, the chief Town of Ma- 
 deira. 
 
 Sunday, August 5th. At i-2 Past 11, made Mag- 
 adore, on the coast of Africa, bearing S. by E. winds 
 constantly a head. 
 
 Sunday, i%th. At 9, A. M. Made cape Spartel, 
 bearing S. E. six leagues. It is remarkable that 
 from leaving cape Henry, July Sth, till making the 
 Western Islands, on the Slst, the winds were con- 
 stantly strong and fair from the south west ; and 
 from this date till making Cape Spartel on the 12th 
 August, they were as constantly strong and contrary, 
 from the East, varying a few points northerly and 
 southerly. That the iirst 15 days we consideretl 
 our passage more than two thirds made ; but that 
 the other third was gained with difficulty in SS days. 
 During the whole passage the weather was extreme- 
 ly fine : not a day but a ship's barge would have 
 lived at sea without danger. 
 
 August iQtli. The President and Constellation 
 got under way for Tripoli. Captains Rodgers anijf 
 
GEN. EATOX. 269 
 
 S. Barron with the Congress and Ess€x ordered to 
 tlie Morocco coast to watch the movements of the 
 Emperor. 
 
 Sunday, iQth. S, A. M. Within a league and a half 
 of the island of Alboran. — Winds ahead. 
 
 20th. Oft* CapeDe Gat, becalmed. Sunk a queen's 
 ware plate over the strern, suspended to a bog line, 
 which was seen at the depth of one hundred and 
 forty eight feet. 
 
 2ist. Delivered my opinion to Commodore Barran 
 concerning the apparent advantages of cooperating 
 with Hamet Bashaw against Tripoli : and the pro- 
 bable disadvantages of acting without his coopera- 
 tion. 
 
 If this plan succeeds (which will certainly have 
 the full coincidence of the Commodore) and a treaty 
 should follow, insert some clause favorable to the 
 Danes and Swedes ; because the Consul of the form- 
 er nation has befriended our captives in Tripoli ; 
 and because the latter have been disappointed in the 
 reliance they placed in our alliance with them in 
 thi^ war ; and because neither the one nor the other 
 is our rival in the commerce of the Mediterranean. 
 
 Thursday, *B.ugiist 23d. Half past 3, P. M. latitude 
 N. 36 degrees 30 minutes longitude W. 2 degrees 
 41 minutes 15 seconds, 17 miles W. oif cape De Gat, 
 felt a violent shock of an earthquake, which lasted 
 about 30 seconds. It had the exact resemblance of 
 the ship's keel grazing hard upon a rock. We 
 were at dinner in the cabin. The shock was gen- 
 eral througli the ship : it was supposed she was 
 aground — Consternation seized the board — all ran 
 on deck — the ship kept luu* way and no appearance 
 ofrocks or shoals could be discovered. The Con- 
 stellation, whose Captain dined aboard of us, we be- 
 ing becalmed, soon made signal to speak the Com- 
 modore : and coming up, reported she had struck a 
 rock. On enquiry, we found she felt the shock at 
 the same instant it v/as felt in the President. A 
 Spanish merchantman being at that time about one 
 
Syb LIFE OF 
 
 league on the CoiUiiiodore's landboard bow, a breeze 
 sprung up : we bore down and spoke her : she had 
 felt tlie shock, and said it was very violent. About 
 5 o'clock we experienced another emotion in the ship, 
 less violent, but more tremulous, than the first. 
 
 Saturday, 25th. Off cape De Gat, a strong gale a- 
 liead ; felt a violent shock of an earthquake. 
 
 Sunday, August 26th. Made Cape Falcon, on 
 the Barbary coast. 
 
 Monday, 27th. Made Cape Ivi, on the Barbary 
 coast. 
 
 Friday, Sist. E. wind, veered to the north ; and 
 Ave laid our course for Malta. It is remarkable that 
 since the Slst July, the day we made Pico, a space 
 of forty one days, the wind has been constantly and 
 directly ahead ; excepting about IS hours in 
 entering and leaving Gibraltar, during which time 
 we have beat to windward a distance of four hun- 
 dred and fifty leagues. 
 
 Sunday, Sejptemher 2d. 6, P. M. Made the isl- 
 and of Sardinia. 
 
 5th. Arrived at Malta. Quarrantined : having 
 spoke a Tunissian. 
 
 6th. Mr. O'Brien, under the stern, said he had 
 been to Tripoli and Tunis, by authority. To the 
 Bey of the latter he had offered an annual tribute of 
 eight thousand dollars to compromise for a frigate by 
 him demanded of the United States. To the former 
 one hundred and ten thousand dollars for a peace 
 and ransom of our captives. Terms rejected by 
 both. * * * * * * * 
 
 To Mr. Smith, Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 Malta, September 6th, 1804. 
 HAMET BASHAW is at Alexandria, 
 in the friendship and protection of a Bey of Egypt ; 
 waiting, as Mr. Pulis informs me, for answers to his 
 proposals offered to the government of the United 
 States. The advantages calculated to result from 
 a cooperation with him seem not to have diminished 
 
GEN. EATON. S71 
 
 m prospect from any occurrences which have hap- 
 pened since those proposals were made. The reign- 
 ing Bashaw persists in his demand of a ransom for 
 our captives. But the distress, which must he oc- 
 casioned by the means he is obliged to use in sup- 
 port of these pretentions, cannot but increase the 
 discontentment of his subjects, and ripen them for 
 revolt. For, such of them as subsist, ordinarily, by 
 cruising or commerce, being barred those resources 
 by a harrassing blockade ; and such as depend on 
 labor for subsistence, being compelled to serve for his 
 defence without pay, will be very apt to seize an op- 
 portunity to relieve themselves from that distiess, 
 when it offers, on principles so consistent with their 
 proper allegiance and religion. Those subjects, 
 who were heretofore in the interest of the friendly 
 Bashaw, are still so. Through these instruments, 
 I firmly believe, the enemy may be taken from his 
 sofa at the same instant that our fellow citizens are 
 rescued from chains. The only obstacles which 
 seem to oppose the success of this measure are want 
 of supplies to put it into operation. These are not 
 in the fleet ; and the Commodore is not decided 
 whether any construction of the President's instruc- 
 tions extends to a discretion of procuring and fur- 
 nishing them : he will probably express himself on 
 this subject after having fixed on hi» plan of opera- 
 tions. 
 
 Saturday, September i5th. Went on board the 
 brig Argus for Malta, at 8 o'clock, A. M. 
 
 Monday J iyth. At midnight arrived at Malta. 
 Found the Constitution there. 
 
 Saturday, 22d. Sailed for Syracuse. Commo- 
 dore Preble on board. 
 
 Monday, MtJi. Arrived at Syracuse. The John 
 Adams here. 
 
 Wednesday, 'SJijth. Took room at the house of 
 George Dyson, Esq. navy agent of the United States; 
 a plain, franl:, up and down, hospitable Yorkshire- 
 man. 
 
gyS LIFE OP 
 
 Tliursday, 27th. The President, Commodore 
 Barron, arrived. Col. Lear and Lady on board. 
 The Commodore in ill health. 
 
 Saturdaij, 2Qth. Sat out for Messina by land, in 
 company with Commodore Preble, Capt. Decatur, 
 Mr. Morris, the Commodore's Purser, and Mr. Ry- 
 land Randolph, conducted by Lorenzo Abbate, a 
 very attentive and intelligent Sicilian, lodged at a 
 village called Lentina, hear the lake of the same 
 name. 
 
 Sunday, September SOth. Took a tour in boats 
 upon the lake. A stagnant, sickly surface exhaling 
 a foetid atmosphere, very similar to that between 
 the ruins of Carthage and the city of Tunis : said to 
 have been created by an earthquake : covered with 
 fowl, and full of fish, both of a wretched quality. 
 Arrived at Catania, foot of Mount Etna, and took 
 lodgings at the tavern of Lorenzo Abbates, our guide, 
 theonly tolerable public house of entertainment in 
 the place. 
 
 Monday, October ist. Yisited the natural and 
 artificial curiosities of Catania. 
 
 Wednesday, Sd. Sat off for Messina, lodged jit a 
 village under the foot of the Mountain, 20 miles 
 from Catania. 
 
 Thursday, ^tli. Travelled twenty one miles and 
 lodged at a village eighteen miles from Messina. 
 
 October otJi. Arrived at Messina, at 9, A. M. 
 Found here the brig Argus and schooner Enterprise, 
 which had come in the day before. 
 
 Sunday, 7th. Took lodgings with Jonathan Brad- 
 bert, Esq. navy agent of the United States, a rich, 
 intelligent, respectable British merchant, of plain 
 manners and hospitable dispositions. Average div- 
 idend of expence from Syracuse to Messina, dollars 
 36,30. Gratifications — the society only of our own 
 party ; and there damped by a continued series of 
 melancholy proofs how fatal to human happiness is 
 the hypocricy of religious bigotry in the hands of a 
 privileged priesthood. Every thing is stamped 
 
GEN. EATON. S^S 
 
 with wretchedness ; whieli nothing short of an en- 
 tire revolution or the resurrection can erase. Bry- 
 done is a graceless liar — so is general description. 
 
 Sunday, Oct. '25th. Dined with the Groveruor of 
 Messina. 
 
 Thursday, iStli. Sailed from Messina. Commo"-^ 
 dore Preble and Capt. Decatur passengers. 
 
 Friday, i^tli. 2, A. M. Arrived at Syracuse. 
 
 Monday, 22d. Sailed for Malta. 
 
 Tuesday, 2Sd. Q, P. M. Arrived at Malta. 
 
 In portj the frigates President, Constitution, John 
 Adams : brigs Argus, now arrived, and Vixen, and 
 schooner Enterprize. Commodore BarVon sick on 
 shore. 
 
 triday, ^Qih. At evening returned on board the 
 President. 
 
 . Saturday, 27th, At 4, A. M. the brig Argus sail- 
 ed for the station off Tripoli. 
 
 Sunday, 2Sth. Entered the Congress. 
 
 Monday, 29th. Entered tke Enterprise and Essex. 
 
 Oct. Slst. Sailed the Essex. 
 
 Thursday, JSTov. 2d. Sailed the President, Con^ 
 stitution, and Congress. Took in convoy a store- 
 sl^ip for Syracuse. 
 
 Sd. Arrived at Svracuse. 
 
 'Wi. Commodore Barron shifted his flag on board 
 the Essex, went iiimself on sliore in an infirm stale 
 of health, and the President Capt. Cox, command- 
 er, put to sea on a cruise. Fell in with the Con- 
 gress about three leagues from port, cruising along 
 the coast. 
 
 8th. Returned into port. Found the Argus at 
 anchor ; having returned from the cc»ast on account 
 of the small pox breaking out in lier crew. She 
 had been two days in port. 
 
 JVov. iOth. Removed with baggage on board the 
 Argus to prosecute the expedition to Egypt. About 
 this time Capt. Sodgers took command in tke Gon- 
 §tifation, Capt. Decatur in the ConaTess- 
 
 S5 
 
:37'i LIFE OF 
 
 JVor. 14f/i. Argus sailed for JVlalta and Alexais- 
 dria. Left in port at Syracuse, frigates, Constitu- 
 tion, Con£;ress, Essex and John Adams : bris 
 ocourge. 
 
 Commodore Barron sick on shore. The frigate 
 President gone off Tripoli to relieve the Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 15th. Arrived at Malta, midnight. 
 
 i7th. Sailed for Egypt. 
 
 JV'oi\ 25th. Arrived at Alexandria :' lay off for a 
 pilot. 
 
 2Gth. Entered the old port. In port a Turkish 
 Admiral with one ship of the line and six frigates. 
 The Argus saluted the Admiral's flag with 17 guns ; 
 yalute returned with 13. Samuel Briggs, Esq. his 
 Brittanic Majesty's Consul on board. 
 
 27th. Argus saluted the castle with 15 guns. Sa- 
 lute returned, gun for gun. 
 
 Waited on the Admiral, Governor, and supervis- 
 or of the revenue. Most hospitably entertained. 
 
 28th. Embarked for Grand Cairo by Rosetta. 
 Lieut. Blake of the navy, Lieut. O'Bannon of the 
 Marines, Midshipmen Mann and Danielson, Mr. 
 Farquhar and Seid Selim, Alii, a drogoman, and six 
 servants. 
 
 JVov. 2Qth. Detained at Alexandria by contrary 
 winds. 
 
 30^/z. Sailed for Rosetta. At % P. M. anchored 
 in Abukir Bay, by reason of the day being far spent 
 and the danger of passing the Boghase by night. 
 Took the occasion of visiting the battle grounds of 
 8th and 21st of March 1801, yet covered with human 
 skeletons. 
 
 I)ec. ist. Weighed anchor at 3, A. M. at 1, P. M. 
 entered the moutii of tlie Nile. At lialf past 2, was 
 met by the English barge with the drogoman of the 
 Consulate at Rosetta about three miles from the city. 
 In the barge was Doctor Mendrici. At 3, arrived 
 at the landing wliere we were met by Major Misset, 
 the British Jiesident at Grand Cairo, wlio had taken 
 
GEN. EATOIST. %^5 
 
 refu'^e here from the dangers which threatened Eu- 
 ropeans in consequence of the war between the 
 Turks and Mamelakes, which raged in that vicini- 
 ty ; and were by him conducted to Mr. Patruci's, 
 tiie Consular house. Fast of Raraadara begins. 
 
 Bee. 2d. Impeded from proceeding for Cairo on 
 account of a Skiak, religioas chief, having siezed 
 all the boats. 
 
 Sd. Engaged a boat, (called marche,) and laid in 
 provision for the passage. 
 
 4^/i. Embarked for Cairo. Capt. Vincengo, Ma- 
 jar Misset's Secretary, and Doctor Mendrici, joined 
 our party. Mr. Blake returned to Alexandria. 
 Four servants with those gentlemen, now increased 
 our strength to eighteen able bodied men well armed 
 and provided. Wind coming ahead, came too near 
 the village Deeby's west bank. 
 
 5th. Wind contrary, went ashore : inhabitants op- 
 pressed and miserable. At 11, A. M. made sail. 
 Tlie British flag displayed on Capt. Vincent's ves- 
 sel ; that of the United States on ours. Dined in a 
 garden near the village F'ior. Astonished the in- 
 habitants by the accuracy of the rifle shot, having 
 twice split an orange, in three shot, at the distance of 
 33 yards. 
 
 Dec. Qth. Went on shore at the village Sabour : 
 five hundred Albanian deserters, Arnout Turks, left 
 this wretched village on the 4th, after having de- 
 stroyed every thing valuable or growing within and 
 about it. The inhabitants apprised us of a camp of 
 wild Arabs about four miles above, of which tliev 
 manifested great fear. They prayed for the return 
 of the English. It is the universal prayer of Egypt. 
 
 Dec. 7ih. At eleven, A. M. landed near a village 
 on the east side of the Nile. Villagei-s fled at our 
 approach. On giving tokens of friendship some ot' 
 them advanced towards us : when told we were En- 
 glish they flocked around with demonstrations of 
 joy ; oTeredus their services, and riised loud ejacu- 
 jotions for our estalilishiiicnt in the countrv. At 5. 
 
Sy6 LIFE OP 
 
 P. M. anivcd at the town of Bulac in front of 
 Grand Cairo. By the imprudent behavior of my 
 young drogoraan, AUi, and of my Maltee servant, 
 Lewis, firing a musket, we narrowly escaped an as- 
 sault from the Turks, who boarded us sword in 
 hand ; but who were appeased by explanations. 
 
 Saturdciy^ Dec. Sth. Entered Grand Cairo on 
 horseback, accompanied by some Turkish officers of 
 distinction ; and followed by an innumerable horde 
 of people of all ages and sexes, curious to see Amer- 
 icans ! Capt. Vincents assigned us apartments in 
 the British ministerial house, and announced us to the 
 Vice Roy by letter. Doctor Mendrici waited on 
 his highness in person, and informed him that an A- 
 merican General accompanied by several young gen- 
 tlemen of the navy, who visited Cairo during the 
 winter suspence of operations, to gratify curiosity, 
 had arrived and would pay him the visit of respect 
 at sucli time as would be agreeable. The Vice Roy 
 had already been apprised of the arrival, and had 
 sent horses and attendants to receive us on shore, 
 and accompany us to Cairo. Visit him tomorrow. 
 
 Fiv6 o'clock, visit from the Vice Roy's interpret- 
 er, welcoming our arrival ; offering his civilities ; 
 and informing that tomorrow evening at nine o'clock 
 he would receive our visit. He appointed the even- 
 his^ because, it being the fast of Ramadam, he could 
 offer no refreshment by day. * *^ * * 
 
 Dec. \^th. Visited the island Rhoda, tlie Nilom- 
 eter, and the village Gizek ; all a pile of ruins. 
 Palace of Murad Bey in complete rains. 
 
 SOf/h \ isited ancient Cairo ; the retreat and as- 
 aylum of the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus. 
 
 Passing the corn market, the people there assem- 
 bled, shouted at our approach, and as we passed, 
 raised loud acclamations and prayers for the estab- 
 lishment of a government of round hats in the coun- 
 try, that the price, of bread might fall ; supposu)g u« 
 to be Euglishrae^i. 
 
GEN. EATON. ^77 
 
 Proceeded to the village Daerteen, and were ad- 
 mitted into the mosque Atarenabee ; and to a view 
 of all the ladies of the village. Omnia vincit ar- 
 gent. 
 
 Returned. 
 
 Dec. 21 sf. Engaged in the service a German en- 
 gineer, late a Colonel in the Tyrol battalions, by 
 name Eii^^ine, [alias Leitensdorfer.] Advanced 
 him fifty dollars. 
 
 At evening an exhibition at the Englii-h house ef 
 the almee, dancing women. Haggard prostitutes^ 
 disgustful, obscene monsters, who exhibit savage na^ 
 ture in jestures of studied and practised depravity : 
 something resembling the Spanish balario, from 
 which the latter probably originated. 
 
 2Qth. Visited the mountain Catan and the devil's 
 coffeehouse. 
 
 To Mr. Smith, Secrktary of the Navy. 
 
 Grand Cairo, December iSth, 1804. 
 LETTERS of recommendation from 
 Sir Alexander Ball, to his Brittanic Majesty's Con- 
 sul at Alexandria and resident at Cairo have had the 
 effect to give security, and perhaps I may add success 
 to this expedition. 
 
 On the 30th ult, we sailed from Alexandria for 
 Rosetta, and arrived the day following. Found 
 there Major Misset, the Britisli Resident, who had 
 left Cairo in consequence of the war which rages be- 
 tween the Mamelukes and the Torks ; and v*']jich 
 renders a residence here, at this moment, both dan- 
 gerous and disagreeable ; for nothing can be more 
 fluctuating and capricious than the Government h.) 
 this country, except the disposition of the slaves over 
 whom it dominates. 
 
 The attention of Major ]>fisset, the resident, 
 though it cannot exceed my gratitude, far exceeds 
 any means I have of expressing i^. Finding him a 
 frank, open hearted, generous soldier, I unreservedly 
 
378 LIFE OF 
 
 opened to liiiii ti!c object of my voyage. He took 
 every step, which the nature of his situation would 
 justify, to facilitate that object. And, to render our 
 passage on the Nile and stay at Cairo safe and a- 
 greeable, he directed his Secretary, Capt. Vincents, 
 to accompany us, and to lodge us in the English 
 house. 
 
 I also fell in at Rosetta, witl.i Doctor Mendrici, of 
 whom honorable mention is made in my Communi- 
 cations to Government from Tunis as the Bey's 
 chief Physician. The Doctor was sent out of that 
 Kegeucy about a year before me, and for reasons, if 
 not analogous, equally cogent : myself for wanting 
 dispositions congenial to the interest of the Bey ; he 
 for possessing dispositions congenial to the interest 
 of the Bey's wife. He is here chief Physician to 
 the Vice Roy, Konrchek, Ahmet Pacha, and also to 
 the Jiritish commission. 
 
 Having chartered a marches species of schooner 
 peculiar to the river, of about forty tons burthen, on 
 the fourth instant we embarked for this place ; our 
 strength consisting of Lieutenant O'Bannon of the 
 Marine Corps, Midshipmen George Mann, and Eli 
 Danielson, [sou in law of Gen. Eaton] Mr. Farqu- 
 liar, Sclim a Janisary, AUi, a drogoman, with six ser- 
 vants, all armed ; Capt. Vincents, and Doctor Men- 
 drici, in another boat mounting two swivels, besides 
 muskets, pistols, and sabres, and about an equal 
 number of people : precautions necessary to resist 
 the predatory attacks of the wild Arabs, who infest 
 the river's banks, and, during this general suspence 
 of justice, prey upon the defenseless ; as well as the 
 outrage of the Albanian Turkish soldiery, who, re- 
 strained by no discipline, ravage and murder indis- 
 criminately every Mhere. The English and Amer- 
 ican flags were displayed upon their respective ves- 
 sels. 
 
 At 3 in the afternoon of the same day, without 
 having obtained any certain intelligence concerning 
 the ol)ject in pursuit, we departed from Rosetta : 
 
'f 
 
 GEN. EATON. ggl 
 
 sailed tranquilly along ihP^^ torches : the streets for 
 Nile ; and, on the evening ot'^^^ were margined with 
 Bulac, in front of Cairo, yviihoni'^ ^'^'^^^ had come from 
 we were at one time under some app?P*^ servants were 
 a troop of wild Arabs, which we saw fa. ^^^ citadel, 
 upon a herd of camels, buffaloes and cattle, .regularly 
 village Sabour, and drive several of them off uio the 
 noyed. Tlie shrieks of the villagers demonstratebly 
 their consternation and anxiety, while tliey offered 
 no resistance to these mounted marauders of the des- 
 ert : and these, on the other hand, appeared to aim no 
 mischief towards the persons of their inactive breth- 
 ren of the plain. We bad just returned on board 
 from visiting the village ; the Arab camp Avere with- 
 in half a league ; but the fire we raised from our fowl- 
 ing pieces upon the vast numbers of pigeons and oth- 
 er small fowl in its environs must ha,ve deterred them 
 from attempting to examine our baggage. They 
 hov/ever assailed and robbed several boats just after 
 we had passed. This same village was but the day 
 before plundered by five hundred Albanians, who 
 had deserted from the Vice Roy's army ind taken 
 their rout to Damietta. Fortunate for us, perhaps, 
 that they had not stayed a day longer ; for it is 
 doubtful whether our appearance would have been 
 formidable to their avarice ; or our resistance to their 
 force. I make this digression to show the deplora- 
 ble situation of the inhabitants of Egypt. Their 
 prayer for the return of the English is universal ; 
 and humanity prays with them. 
 
 On the morning of the eighth, horses and attend- 
 ants were sent from the palace to convey us to Cairo 5 
 and at nine o'clock we entered the city, followed by 
 a vast concourse of people of all ages and sexes 
 whom curiosity or want had collected about us ; but 
 at that respectful distance peculiar to the people of 
 the east tov/ards strangers of distinction. We pass- 
 ed as American Officers of the army and navy, 
 whom curiosity had brought from Malta to Egypt 
 during the v*inter's suspense of operatic^. 
 
^78 LIFE OP 
 
 opened to liim tijc object of ^^^ 
 
 every stejj, which the nat- =» ^^^ '^^^^ chiefly consumed 
 justify, to facilitate tha^/'^ing visits. Among others a 
 passage on the Nile-*^^ ^J the Vice Roy's interpreter, 
 greeable, he dire arrival, and signifying that it would 
 to accompany to his Highness to wait on us at the hall 
 house. »^G ill the Citadel af the third hour of the night 
 I al5 pext day. This unusual hour was fixed on by 
 whv "^ojirof the fast of Ramadam, during which no re- 
 ' ireshmenls can be given by day. 
 
 Mean time I employed all prudent means to put 
 in motion the real objects of my visit here. I found 
 the secretary of State and two Ex-Grovernors of Ham- 
 et Bashaw on the spot ; destitute of every thing but 
 resentment ; for even hope had abandoned them. 
 From them I learned that their Sovereign, after a 
 series of vicissitudes and disasters had been reduced 
 to the alternative of joining the Mamelukes; and that 
 lie was actually with them in command of a few 
 Tripolitans and the Arab auxiliaries, besieged with 
 Elfi and the other Mamelukes Beys in the village of 
 Miniet in upper Egypt. 
 
 Though glad to hear that the Bashaw was still 
 active, and that the Arabs were still attached to his 
 interest, the embarrassments which have hitherto ac- 
 cumulated to impede the execution of our plan were 
 now heightened by the impossibility of personal 
 access to him ; the difRculty of communication ; 
 and tlie uncertainty of obtaining the Vice Roy's 
 firman for his departure, in case of succeeding to 
 detach him from the rebel army, as tlie Mamelukes 
 are here stiled. These obstacles overcome, every 
 thing else seemed feasible. I resolved therefore to 
 throw myself on the honor and hospitality of the 
 Turkish sovereign of the country. 
 ' At eight in the evening of the ninth, six Arabian 
 horses, richly caparisoned, and a numerous escort of 
 attendants, waited in iiie court yard of the British 
 house to conduct us to the palace. Capt. Vincents 
 and Doctor Mendrici accompanied us in their nation- 
 al uniform^ The procession was preceded by an 11- 
 
GEN. EATON. S81 
 
 lumination of flambeaux and torches : the streets for 
 the distance of a mile and a half were margined with 
 spectators, curious to see i\m men pjho had come from 
 the new world. Guards, grooms and servants were 
 stationed to receive us at the gate of the citadel. 
 The courhose was paraded with troo])s regularly- 
 drawn up. The flights of stairs which lead to the 
 grand saloon were flanked with young men superbly 
 armed and in rich Turkish uniform. The hall was 
 large and splendid ; and the court, which attended 
 the Vice Roy, surpassed in magnificence evek'y thing 
 I have ever seen of the kind. His Highness, with 
 a dignified air of aftability, rose from a sofa of em- 
 broidered purple and damask cushions ; and, taking 
 me by the hand, seated me next himself and the 
 gentlemen in company on the right and left. 
 
 Coffee, pipes and sherbet, were served in oriental 
 stile. The customary salutations passed and repeat- 
 ed. Questions on indifferent subjects asked and an- 
 swered : news of the day concerning the European 
 w^ar : enquiries relative to our nation ; situation and 
 extent of our territory ; date of our independence ; 
 nations with whom v/e were at peace or war ; pro- 
 ductions and commerce of the country ? &c. &c. 
 At length, ])y a signal of his hand, the court retired, 
 leaving the Vice Roy and liis interpreter alone with 
 us. He now observed tliat it seemed to him our visit 
 to this country, at so critical a moment, must have 
 s-oniething more for its object than the mere gratifica- 
 tion of curiosity. This opened the occasion, which 
 I was dcferrained to seek, of making to him a can- 
 did explanation of my business. 
 
 I stated, in French, which he seemed well to un- 
 derstand, but which Vv^as formally translated into 
 Turkish, r detail of our intercourse and relation, 
 v^ith Tripoli ; negocifitions of peace with .losepli 
 Bashaw ; violation of his faith ; commencement of 
 ihQ war, and such events in its progress as honor did 
 not dictate to conceal : then drew a flattering though 
 just contrast between the habits of th(j Barbary Prin- 
 
 36 . > 
 
^2 LIFE OF 
 
 ces and those of otlier pT6\%ces of the Ottoman em- 
 pire. He listened with atteption and evident gratifi. 
 cation. Varying a little th^ subject, I touched upon 
 the affinity of principle between the Islam and A- 
 mcricaii religion. Both taught the existence and 
 supremacy of oTie God : (let not Triune Chrisiians 
 startle at the emphasis placed on this numerical ad- 
 jective ; it is not meant to imply that unity may not 
 be composed of congregate numbers to suit any 
 faitli ;) both enjoined the universal exercise of hu- 
 manity : and both forbade unnecessary bloodshed. 
 He acknowledged these to be maxims of his relig- 
 \/ ion. I declared that we sought in his province a le- 
 gitimate sovereign of Tripoli ; who had been treach- 
 erously driven from his government and country ; in 
 whose good faith we could place reliance, and 
 Avhom we intended to restore to his throne ; and, 
 so doing, stamp conviction on the world that we do 
 not unsheath the sword for conquest nor for spoil, 
 but to vindicate our rights ; and that we were ready 
 to seize any honorable mean to prevent the further 
 effusions of blood ; and more especially as we found 
 that, in prosecuting the war against the faithless Jo- 
 seph, the severity of our resentment fell rather upon 
 the innocent, deluded victims of his avarice and hy« 
 pocriey than upon the aggressor himself. 
 
 He approved cur resolution ; said he knew Ham- 
 et Bashaw ; had furnished iiim with su])plies for 
 temporary purposes of subsistence ; but knew not 
 wherohe was at this moment. He assured us how- 
 ever, that, if within his influence, lie would by all 
 means aid the accomplishment of a measure so man- 
 ifestly humane ; observing that his predecessor had 
 promised auxiliaries to Hamet Bashaw, for this very 
 purpose as soon as the tranquiliiy of this country 
 would admit. After a moment's reflection, lie added, 
 that, in case the Bashaw should have joined the 
 Mamelukes, which was possilile, it might change 
 the dispositions he would otherwise make concern- 
 ing him. 
 
GEN. EATON. S83 
 
 I replied that tin object of distress could not lie aa 
 object of resentment to an exalted mind ; and that it 
 was more like God to pardon than to punish a re- 
 penting enemy. By an inclination of his head, he. 
 signified assent ; and he promised to send couriers 
 in search of Hamet Bashaw ; which he has done. 
 So have I : and, through the intervention of my 
 friend Doctor Mendrici, who has great influence 
 at court, and of the Vice Hoy's chief interpreter, 
 whom we have gained, there is no doubt of obtain- 
 ing his permission for the embarkation of the Bashaw 
 and his suit. The only embarrassment now is, how 
 he will be able to withdraw himself from the cause of 
 the Mamelukes without exciting suspicions of trea- 
 son whicli might prove fatal to him. If he can do 
 this, we may think the most difficult part of our plan 
 accomplished ; for I have the falest assurance and 
 as full confidence that through his influence we may 
 bring any number of men on the back of Tripoli 
 which may be deemed requisite to its entire success. 
 And, this done, with our naval force in front, all 
 supplies will be effectually cut off from the enemy. 
 
 J)ec. i7th. Last evening, at an audience with 
 the Vice Roy, after reproaching Hamet Bashaw, for 
 taking part with the Mamelukes, he was prevailed 
 upon to gi'ant him a letter of amnesty, and permis- 
 sion to him to pass the Turkish army and leave 
 Egypt unmolested. It now remains to detach him 
 from the rebel Bey's. 
 
 Extracts ; to Hon. John Cotton Smith. 
 
 Grand Cairo ^ December 2Qth, 1804. 
 CAN you expect me to say any thing of 
 Egypt after Volney, and I)enon ? They ha^T drawn 
 from life ; and in nothing exagerated. Egypt's 
 physical appearance is the same ; and its political 
 is only changed, in that British regulars have sue- 
 ceeded to French marauders, and Turkish brigands 
 to both. The domination of the country is now dis- 
 
284* LIFE OF 
 
 puted V, ith these by the Mamelukes : aud the desart 
 Arabs, like the ravens and vultures of our wilder- 
 ness, hanging on the rear of both armies, devour ev- 
 ery thing which is left defenceless ; the consequent 
 wretchedness of the inhabitants is inconceivable : 
 danger and despair stalk every where. 
 
 Egypt must really seek a deliverer in a foreign 
 conqueror. Here is however a singular tradition a- 
 mong the people that this deliverance must be effect- 
 ed by Mamelukes^ another name for slaves ; because 
 God hath ordained, that, since its salvation by Jo- 
 seph, a Mameluke, the country must be saved by 
 slaves / They admit that the English rendered them 
 much service by expelling the French ; and pray for 
 their return to drive out the Turks : but then, all 
 must be ascribed to JosejjJi'S spirit. 
 
 Whatever events may take place to regulate its 
 government, and ameliorate the situation of its in- 
 habitants, Egypt, like Carthage and Syracuse, will 
 no more see its ancient splendor. It was the com- 
 merce of India and the borders of the red sea, flow- 
 ing through these plains, more than inherent resources, 
 which gave wealth and grandeur to ancient Egypt : 
 these sources having found new channels, wealth 
 and grandeur have flown with them. I can see 
 nothins; therefore on the celebrated Nile which the 
 Ohio, Mississippi, Altamaha, Savannah, and Ches- 
 apeake, do not offer us : even her crocodiles and her 
 cajal would have nothing to boast side and side by 
 our allegators and catfish ; tlicy are precisely the 
 same ; and her half grown mice of geography can 
 certainly be notliing more than abortions. But when 
 I contrast the pure currents, healthful margins, and 
 delightsome landscapes of our Susquehannah, Del- 
 aware, Hudson, and Connecticut, with the muddy 
 waters, miry or parched banks and eternal desarts 
 of this river ; and the intelligence, freedom aud felic- 
 ity of the citizens there, with the stupid ignorance, 
 rivited vassalage and hopeless misery of the peasant*! 
 
GEN. EATON. 28^ 
 
 Here, J almost lose the sensibility of pity in the glad 
 reflection that I am a citizens of the United States. 
 
 Kuiiaed temples, pyramids, and catacombs, monu- 
 ments of the superstition, pride and folly of their 
 founders, disgust my sight ; for Avith their magnifi. 
 ceuce I cannot but couple the idea of the slaves who 
 must have groaned under the oppressive folly of 
 their fabrication. 
 
 Private Letteji to Commodore Preble. 
 
 Egypt, Province of Beliera, village of Bemanhour, 
 
 January ^5th, 1805. 
 AFTER touching at Malta, the Argus 
 arrived at Alexandria on the S6th November. 
 Your letter to Governor Ball produced letters of in- 
 troduction from him to the British resident at Caii^ 
 and Consul at Alexandria ; and those Gentlemen 
 have consequently rendered us every assistance 
 which the nature of our affairs and their duty could 
 require and admit. At Alexandria it was intimated to 
 me that Ilamet Bashaw Avas not to be had without 
 application to Elfi Bey, to whom he had attached 
 himself, both of whom were in upper Egypt, acting 
 with the Mameluke Bey's agains t the Ottoman Gov- 
 ernment, and to whom access was barred by the 
 Turkish army. 
 
 Under these discouraging circumstances, and con- 
 trary to the advice of every body on the sea coast, 
 on the 30th November I left Alexandria, for 
 Grand Cairo with three officers, Liutenant O'Ban- 
 non, Mr. Mann, and Mr. Danielson, and a few men 
 from the Brig ; who, together with some others re- 
 cruited on the spot, and at Rosetta, made an escort 
 of eighteen. This precaution v^^as necessary on ac- 
 count of the banks of the Nile being infested by the 
 wild Arabs of the desart and by straggling Jirnaut 
 deserters from the Grand Seignior's army : the former 
 subsist by plunder ; the latter rob and murder in^ 
 discrimiaately every defenceless being, whose ap 
 
286 LIFE OF 
 
 pcarance ueuoics property : both move in bodies and 
 have rendered themselves terrible throughout Egypt. 
 On the 8th Dec. we arrived, without accident, at 
 Grand Cairo. There I found the Prime Minister 
 and one of the confidential Governors of Hamet 
 Bashaw, who confirmed the intimations I received 
 at Alexandria, that the Bashaw was actually with 
 the Mameluke Beys and considered as an enemy to 
 the government of this country. I had already dis- 
 patched to him secret couriers from Alexandria and 
 Kosetta, and now sent off a third and a fourth from 
 the capital. *Biit I had not yet had audience with 
 ihe Vice Roy, and not knowing his accessible point, 
 the difficulty I apprehended of getting the Bashaw 
 out of the country exceeded that of access to him ; 
 for I found it impossible to do it privately, and to at- 
 tempt it might not only defeat our main object but en- 
 danger our own personal safety. Wherefore, at my 
 first interview, finding the Vice Roy a man of much 
 more frankness aad liberality than generally falls to 
 the character of a Turk, I unreservedly opened to 
 him the object of my visit to his country, and receiv- 
 ed his proffer of friendly offices. This cleared a 
 little my prospects while it created new embarrass- 
 ments ; for the interferancc, or even the amnesty, of 
 the Vice Roy, in behalf of Hamet Bashaw, might 
 excitethe jealousy of the Mameluke Beys, and have 
 the effect to bar his departure. But a new difficulty 
 beset me which I little expected, and less from the 
 quarter it came. The French Consul, a Piedmon- 
 tese, at Alexandria, Mr. Drouette, had insinuated that 
 we were British spies in American masks ; and that 
 our pretext of friendship for Hamet Bashaw aimed 
 at nothing but an intercourse with the Mamelukes, 
 who are suspected of being in British subsidy ; of 
 course an insinuation as injurious as it was malig- 
 nant. I am yet totally at loss to account for this 
 strange conduct of Mr. Drouette, as I am equally so 
 at the indignity of our flag being refused, by that of 
 the French througliout this country, those marks of 
 
GEN. EATON. 287 
 
 civility never refused to a foreign flag in ordinary- 
 cases, and which we received ■ from every other na- 
 tion represented here ; except that, informed of our 
 object, and pursuing the same line of conduct with 
 his colleague at Tripoli, he thought by these means 
 to defeat that object. I found means however, the 
 means that move every thing in this quarter of the 
 globe, to remove this difficulty ; and finally obtained 
 the Vice Roy's letter of amnesty and passport of 
 safe conduct to Hamet Bashaw, which were dis- 
 patched to him on the 15tli, in quadruplicates and by 
 different conveyajices. I now patiently waited the 
 issue of measures thus far pursued. Mean time I 
 busied myself in finding out the Tripolitan emigrants 
 in this country ; their attachments to the rival broth- 
 ers and their feelings towards the Americans. A- 
 mong these, one appeared who was only ninety days 
 ft-om Tripoli ; an Arnaut Turli who had been in the 
 s.ervice of Joseph Bashaw during the blockade of 
 last summer, whom I had under particular examina- 
 tion: Supposing himself conversing with English^ 
 men, he was very unreserved in his confessions, and 
 being decidedly in the interest of the enemy (he was 
 enthusiastic in his cause though willing to dijypense 
 with his honors) his story deserves the more credit. 
 He said, "• Tripoli had lost many men in the differ- *- 
 ent attacks of the Jlmericans last summer : the town v 
 was much damaged : and the inhabitants under such v 
 a state of consternation that no body slept in the cityy \. 
 and that no business was done there. He confirmed ^ 
 the account of Ihe fire ship, Infernal, being blown up 
 by Capt. Somers, after having been boarded by two 
 row gallies. Stating this fact the fellow wept. He 
 observed that the war had been unfortunate to the 
 cruizers. Thev liad been led to believe that the A- 
 mericans were all merchantmen, and that they should 
 have nothing to do but to go out and bring them in : 
 but they found them devils, from whom nothing was 
 i-n) be gained in war, and therefore he quitted the ser- "*" 
 vice ok' Joseph Bashaw. The Bashaw was never- 
 
288 LIFE OF 
 
 theless determined not to make peace with these in- 
 fidels until he shall have humbled them and made 
 them pay for the damages they had done to his navy 
 and city." He acknowledged that Hamet Bashaw 
 had many friends in Tripoli ; but said, Joseph Bash- 
 aw had taken care of him ! It is ascertained that tlie 
 latter has employed assassins to poison the former. 
 These undoubtedly have reported that they had exe- 
 wjted their commission : and hence we account for 
 the report of Hamet Bashaw's death. 
 
 On the 8th instant, I received from the Bashaw 
 an answer to my letter from Cairo, dated the 28th, 
 of the month Ramadam, corresponding with the 3(1 
 January, stating that he should that day depart for 
 this province and take lodgings at the house of an 
 Arab chief, by name AWd?el gavir el he Kourchi, 
 where he should wait to meet me. But as ray letters 
 to him, dated after the Vice Roy's amnesty, all ad- 
 vised him to repair to the English house at Rosetta, 
 under the guarantee of the Vice Roy's passport, and 
 believing he might push liis march thither, I left 
 Cairo for that place on the 13tli instant, and arrived 
 in three days. Nothing additional appearing there, 
 I proceeded to' Alexandria on tlie 19th. On the 
 20th, received the Bashaw's answer to my letter of 
 28th Novemlicr, of tlic same tenor with that I re- 
 ceived from liim at Cairo. It appeared that not 
 confiding in the Vice Roy's dispositions concerning 
 him, or perhaps not haviuj^ received iiis letter of am- 
 nesty before leaving the Mameluke camj), the Bash- 
 aw had determined to expect an interview at the 
 place he had first named near the lake Fiaum, on the 
 border of tJie desert, about one hundred and ninety 
 miles from tiie sea coast. Nothing can be more in- 
 credulous than a Turk of a Turk's honor ; and for 
 a good reason : noticing can be more equivocal tluin 
 their plighted f lith. 
 
 Thou2;h traveliiii^ in the interior of this countrv 
 has become unus'aally hazardous on account of the 
 jetilousy of the Tui'kish chief ; of the riiins given to 
 
GEN. EATON. ^8fi^ 
 
 licentiousness by the barbarity of civil war ; and of 
 the strong grounds the wild Arabs hold by reason of 
 all restraint being relaxed on the part of the Turks 
 and Mamelukes who are too seriously occupied with 
 each other ; I determined to attempt a passage to 
 Fiaum. Accordingly, on the S2d instant, I left Alex- 
 andria with two officers from the Argus, Lieutenant 
 Blake and Mr. Mann, and an escort of 23 men in- 
 differently mounted, and on the evening of the S3d, 
 found myself arrested at the Turkish lines, between 
 seventy and eighty miles on my rout, by the Ker- 
 chief of Damanho!ir, commanding a detachment of a- 
 bout five hundred Ottoman troops on the frontier. 
 No argument I could devise could at all mollify the 
 severity of his first resolution, not to let mepass his 
 lines f though in every thing else lie treated us with 
 distinction and great hospitality. However mortify- 
 ing the confession, I cannot but applaud the correct 
 military conduct of this chief ; for it w as^ in itself, a^ 
 suspicious circumstance, that a body of armed, un- 
 known foreigners, should be found shaping a course 
 for his enemy^s rendesvous, with no other pretext 
 than to search for a Refugee Bashaw ! But this 
 suspicious circumstance was strengthened and aggra- 
 vated by the insinuation gone out from the French 
 Coiisul, that we came into this country loith secret 
 views hostile to the Turks. Our situation here was 
 somewhat perplexing, and vastly unpleasant. I do 
 not recollect ever having found myself on a ground 
 more critical. To the natural jealousy of a Turk 
 this Greneral added a fierce and savage temper ; of 
 course proud and vain. Here was my point of ap- 
 proach. I passed high compliments on the correct- 
 ness of his military conduct and vigilance. Said it 
 was what I apprehended ; and what I certainly 
 would have done myself in similar circumstances. 
 But knowing from character the magnanimity of his 
 soul, I was determined to have an interview Avith 
 him, in full confidence that he would aid a measure 
 so purely humane, and so manifestly favorable to the 
 
 37 
 
290 LIFE OF 
 
 Turkish interest in Egypt, in case lie could not per- 
 mit me to pursue my object personally. At the 
 same time, recurring; to the example of the Vice Roy, 
 whose letter I had showed him, and signifying that 
 I had it in charge to tender him a douceur in tes- 
 timony of our exalted opinion of his name and merit : 
 he was moved : said my confidence should not be 
 disappointed ; and called into his tent a chief of the 
 Arab tribes called Ou ad Mlis, a wandering host 
 who liave from time to time been driven or emigrated 
 from the kingdom of Tripoli since the usurpation of 
 Joseph Bashaw, to whom he stated my business, and 
 asked if he could give any account of Hamet Bash- 
 aw. The young chief, in an extacy, exclaimed that 
 he knew every thing ! I requested bim to declare 
 himself : for I had no secret in my relation with that 
 Bashaw. 
 
 You liave, Sir, already anticipated his story in the 
 statement I have given of the Bashaw's actual posi- 
 tion. He added that twenty thousand men, Barba- 
 ry Arabs, were ready to march with him from this 
 border to recover their native country and inheri- 
 tance : repeated that he knew our jilaii ; and, now 
 that he had seen me, he would pledge his head to 
 ihe Turkish General to bring me Hamct Bashaw in 
 ten days. The Turk accordingly dispatched him 
 the n^xi morning on this message. 
 
 I could yet perceive some symptoms of suspicion 
 and apprehension on the brow of my newly acquired 
 and military friend. Wherefore, without seeming to 
 have any other view than a solicitude to meet the 
 man I sought, but really with a view of removing 
 his suspicioris, I proposed to him to return to his 
 head quarters, this village ; send off my escort to 
 Alexandria ; and to wait myself, witli only the Gen- 
 tlemen in company and our servants, until our Arab 
 chief should return from Fiaum M'ith the Bashaw. 
 This proposal had its desired effect. We left him 
 and retired to a handsome pavilliou prepared for tlie 
 purpose 5 took refreshment^) he had ordered to be in 
 
GEN. EATON. S91 
 
 readiness ; and the next morning returned, witli an 
 additional escort from bis camp, to this place ; 
 where we found handsome lodgings in Turkish 
 stile prepared for us. 
 
 Thus far I have sketched an abstract «f my jour- 
 nal since we parted. Do you expect something of 
 Egupt ; its antiquities ; curiosities ; its wonders? 
 You must be disappointed. I am too much occupi- 
 ed with modern affairs to ransack catacombs or 
 climb pyramids : for the same reason I have not time 
 to gratify curiosity ; and as to wonders can only no- 
 tice what I cannot help being impressed with, the 
 wonderful ignorance, wonderful stupidity. uwnderful 
 tyranny and wonderful wretchedness whicli so 
 strongly mark the features of a country once the 
 wonder of the world for science, wisdom, wholesome^ 
 police and rational happiness. Here is matter for a 
 volume. I can only devote six lines to the subject. 
 Not a man reads here ; yet none but thinks himself 
 divinely taught. The Kerchief of whom I have 
 spoke above, in a little excursion to. gather contribu- 
 tion, has cut off between fifty and sixty peasant's 
 "■ heads for no other crime than poverty. And just 
 without the eastern gate of this village a gallows is 
 now erecting to hang a child of twelve years, the 
 only son of a chief of the village Rahraania, because 
 his father cannot pay the contribution ievi 'd on him ! 
 GOD i I thank thee that my children are Ameri- 
 cans ! 
 
 January Si sf. Since 1 began this letter circum- 
 stances have accumulated to render our situation 
 more aukward, and I may well say ridiculous. 
 The next day after entering the house, w here Ave 
 quarter, a markee was raised upon the terrace of an 
 adjoining house, and a Turkish guard mounted there 
 under pretext of fresh air. Armed Turks were sent 
 into the house to remain with us, for the purpose of 
 accompanying us as a lifeguard in our walks : and 
 a sentinel was placed at our door in the lower court 
 to jjrevent intruders. Though these arrangements 
 
^S LIFE OF 
 
 were vastly polite 1 should have heen very willing 
 to have dispensed with them. That gallows has 
 not appeared so childish a thing of late ! Yet, hy ap- 
 pearing frank and easy with the Turkish general, his 
 suspicions seem to have subsided. I receive all 
 these e^'idences of vigilance as marks of attention ; 
 thank liim for his civilities ; and assure him that I 
 shall be careful to make suitable mention of them 
 to the President, my master. By this kind of adu- 
 lation yesterday I so much drew him from his guard, 
 that he opened bis heart and unequivocally confess- 
 ed that, " in the present convulsive state of this 
 country the Turks ought to suspect every body, es- 
 pecially the Knglish : but they had peculiar reasons 
 for suspecting us, as the French Consul had declar- 
 ed us British spies /" What does not that savage 
 merit for this v/anton and base manner of exposing 
 our lives to the infamy of a gibbet ! I hope not to 
 meet him at Alexandria. 
 
 Feb. iQthf at Alexandria. "We arrived with the 
 Bashaw and Suit at the English cut between Aboukir 
 bay and lake McEriotis, a week agolast Wednesday. 
 There we had new diflRculties to encounter. The 
 French Consul had been before hand of me in gain- 
 ing the Admiral of this port and Governor of the ci- 
 ty ; and they, consequently, came to a resolution not 
 to permit the Bashaw to enter the city, nor to embark. 
 Argument was useless ; for we were too late in the 
 application of it. 
 
 Tlie Bashaw had before come to a resolution to 
 march by land to Derne and Bengazi : and he nov/ 
 moved round the lake to form his camp at Arab's 
 Tower, about thirty miles west of the old port of 
 Alexandria. In the mean time I stated to the Vice 
 Hoy the contempt his letter of amnesty suffered from 
 his subalterns in this place. In consequence of 
 which he addressed a Jirinan by a Chaux to the 
 Governor, commanding immediate compliance with 
 the inteution of his letter of amnesty, and imposing 
 a fine on him of twenty live thousand piasters. This 
 
GEN. EATON. S93 
 
 gives us a final triumph in Egypt ; though I confess, 
 I eouhl have wished the Vice Roy's resentment had 
 not fallen so heavily on his disobedient Governor. 
 I do not think it prudent to advise the Bashaw to en- 
 ter the city, least vengeance should retaliate on him 
 the chastisement he has brought upon his Turkish 
 brother of this place. We shall therefore take up 
 our line of march through the desart of Lybia towards 
 Derne next Wednesday. 
 
 Our party consists of five hundred men. One 
 hundred of whom are Christians recruited on the spot, 
 and employed in our service. We shall make a 
 stand at Bomba, and wait the return of Capt. Hull 
 with supplies and reinforcements to seize the prov- 
 inces of Derne and Bengazi, for which purpose he 
 sails for the rendezvous day after tomorrow\ 
 
 Here is a ketch from Tripoli ; sent up by the en- 
 emy with an envoy to prevent Haraet Bashaw being 
 pernitted to leave Egypt. But, not having w ith 
 him the only agent wliich carries all causes here, the 
 poor devil must go back in season only to give 
 Joseph Bashaw imformation of the fate that awaits 
 him. If our measures are supported lie must fly his 
 kingdom or die. 
 
 How glorious would be the exhibition to see our 
 fellow citizens in captivity in Tripoli march in tri- 
 umph from a dungeon to tiieir Tyrant's palace, and 
 display the flag of the United States. 
 I have the honor to he, 
 
 most resjjectfully and with 
 
 cordial attachment^ 
 Bear Sir, 
 
 your obliged and obedient servant. 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 €ommodore Preble. 
 
29'* LIFE OF 
 
 To Capt. Isaac Hull, of the Argus. 
 
 I}emanhourf Saturday Feb. 'M, 1805. 
 Sir, 
 
 LAST evening I received advice from 
 Doctor Mendrici at Rosetta, that two of Hamet 
 Bashaw's miniters, his Secretary of state and Gov- 
 ernor of police, have arrived thither from Grand Ca- 
 iro. I dispatched the courier in return and request- 
 ed them to proceed to Alexandria, and place them- 
 selves under your protection. They will probably 
 be on board of you Monday evening if not sooner: 
 Mr. O'Bannon will recognize them. To day we 
 expect the arrival of Hamet. Possibly he may be 
 delayed a day or two longer. At all events you 
 may expect us AV^ednesday evening or Thursday 
 morning. Every thing is tranquil with us. It will 
 be so with you when the truth of facts shall have 
 dispelled the mist of misrepresentation. 
 
 1 am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 r Signed J WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 Ca]pt. Hull. 
 
 Hear Sir 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 Bemanhour, Feb. 4f/j, 1805. 
 
 > 
 
 BY express of the 2d, I stated to you 
 my arrangements concerning the two Ministers of 
 Hamet Bashaw at Rosetta. 
 
 Althou£;h I have not vet received an answer to 
 my letter from this place by tlie Arab chief, I am as- 
 sured in positive terms by the Kerchief of this vil- 
 lage that an answer cannot be delayed more than 
 two days longer. It would seem hardly possible 
 that the Bashaw would loose this opportunity of an 
 interview, but slioald it so happen, and my messen- 
 ger returns without him, I am entirely with you in 
 opinion of the Brig's returning with you to the rendes- 
 
GEN. EATON. S95 
 
 vous. I have anticipated your ideas concerning the 
 impropriety of the Bashaw's approaching the Turk- 
 ish frontiei-s with a force, and have given instruet- 
 tions to my messenger to signify to him that he can 
 advance with his SM2fo«/y, which are not to consist 
 of more than eight men : am not confident he will 
 yield to theSe terms, for it appears his jealousy and 
 suspicion, with those of his Turkish brethren are 
 reciprocal. ****** 
 
 3 o'clock P. M. I had just turned this period in 
 answer to your last, when a messenger from Hamet 
 Bashaw entered my apartment, and, to convince me 
 that he was not an imposter, he put into my hands 
 my first letter to the Bashaw from Alexandria of 
 30th November. This was a fortunate occurrence, 
 because it assured the Bashaw of our high respect 
 for the Grand Seignior ; and cautioned him against 
 any steps which njight go to compromit our good in- 
 telligence witii that Sovereign : and it having an 
 Arabac translation on the back, I went with it to the 
 Kerchief, who by the bye, is a fierce savage Turk, 
 but a good General. This at once did away all sus- 
 picions. He took me by tlie hand for the first time, 
 complimented my candour, and invited me to ride, 
 out, and dine with him at his Camp. This mes- 
 senger was followed by several Arabs, who had 
 kept in the back ground till they should knov>^ wheth- 
 er they might enter with safely, accompanied by the 
 two Maltese, whom 1 dispatched secretly from Cai- 
 ro. One of the Arabs is a servant of the BashaM , 
 and accompanied him on his rout towards this place, 
 as far as Ferene. He will be in Demanhour tomor- 
 row, and Wednesday morning we shall set off for 
 Alexandria. The Bashaw has 02ily his suit with 
 him, consisting of about forty persons, which gives 
 no uneasiness to the Kerchief ; on the contrary he 
 has voluntarily offered us an escort to secure our 
 passage to Alexandria, and will p;o out himself v»'ith 
 me tomorrow to accompany our friend into Deman- 
 hour. 
 
296 LIFE OF > 
 
 y 
 
 Extracts ; to Mr. Smith, Secretary of the 
 
 Navy. 
 
 Mexayidria, February iSthj 1805. 
 WE left Deraanhour last Thursday and 
 arrived at the English Cut, between Aboukir Bay 
 and lake Moeriotis, the day following; where we 
 were arrested by a Turkish Guard, and forbid to en- 
 ter the City. This comes from the French Consul. 
 He had been befoi^e me in gaining the Turkish Ad- 
 miral : (there is but one way of access to thesew peo^ 
 pie :) who, considering himself chiefly charged M'ith 
 the safety of the city and harbor, and not admitting 
 the jurisdiction of the Vice Roy to extend beyond 
 low water mark, absolutely refused admission into 
 the city to Hamet Bashaw, or permission to us to 
 embark him at this place. The French Consul ex- 
 cuses himself for this intrigue, by saying his zeal for 
 the interest of the Emperor, will justify his conduct 
 and save him from reproach. 
 
 This goes in support of an opinion Commodore 
 Preble had formed from his intercourse with the 
 French Consul of Tripoli, that ^^ the intervention of 
 the Emperor in our behalf, covers a design ; or that 
 his agents on this coast have used an unwarrantable 
 discretion'\ But this impediment does not stop our 
 progress. The Bashaw had already determined to 
 take the desert of Lvbia to Berne : jrivina: for his 
 reason, which I think a sound one, that by taking 
 shipping and separating himself from the Arabs, they 
 would lose patience if not confidence also, anda- 
 bandon his cause. He has consequently moved 
 round the lake ; and will tomorrow take his station 
 at Arab's Tour, thirty miles westward of the old 
 post of Alexandria ; where I am to join him with a 
 detachment frora the city next Sunday, and proceed 
 with him^to Bomba at the head of five hundred men, 
 and there take post. Mean time Capt. Hull repairs 
 to the rendesvotis for suitable reinforcements and 
 
GEN. EATON. 2^7 
 
 supplies^ to secure an establishment at Derne and 
 Bengazi. Those provinces in our possession will 
 cut off* from the enemy and turn into our own chan- 
 nel, a source of provisions ; and will open a free 
 intercourse with the interior of the country. I have 
 requested of the Commodore for this purpose, an 
 hundred stands of arms, with cartridges, and two 
 fieldpieces with trains and ammunition ; and also a 
 detachment of one hundred marines, if necessary, to 
 lead a coup de main. I calculate the whole ex- 
 penditure of cash in this expedition, including ex- 
 pences of Egypt, will amount to twenty thousand 
 dollars. Further disbursments and supplies will be 
 necessary to carry this plan into final effect. But, 
 to indemnify the United States, I have entered into 
 a convention with Haraet Bashaw to pledge the trib- 
 ute of Sweden, Denmark and the Batavian Repub- 
 lic, which convention, I shall reduce to writing, and 
 forward by Capt. Hull if time permit ; otherwise by 
 the earliest occasion. 
 
 CONVENTION, 
 
 BETWEEN the United States of America, and his 
 HighnesSf Hamet Caramanly, Bashaw of 
 Tripoli. 
 
 God is infinite. 
 
 Article I. There shall be a firm and perpetual 
 peace, and free intercourse, between the government 
 of the United States of America and his Highness, 
 Hamet Caramaiily, Bashaw, tlie legitimate Sover- 
 eign of tlie kingdom of Tripoli, and between the cit- 
 izens of the one, and the subjects of the other. 
 
 Art. II. The government of the United States 
 shall use their utmost exertions, so far as comports 
 with their own honor, and interest, their subsisting 
 treaties, and tlie acknowledged law of nations, to 
 reestablish the said Hamet Bashaw in the possession 
 
 3S 
 
298 LIFE OF 
 
 of liis sovereignty of Tripoli, against the pretensions 
 of Joseph Bashaw, who obtained said sovereignty 
 by treason, and who now holds it by usurpation. 
 And who is engaged in actual war against the Unit- 
 ed States. 
 
 Art. III. The United States shall, as circum- 
 stances may require, in addition to the operations 
 they are carrying on by sea, furnish to said Hamet 
 Bashaw, on loan, supplies of cash, ammunition and 
 provisions ; and, if necessity require, debarkations 
 of troops also, to aid, and give eflect to the operations 
 of said Hamet Bashaw, by land, against the com- 
 mon enemy. 
 
 Art. IV. In consideration of which friendly of- 
 fices, once rendered effectual, his Highness, Hamet 
 Caramanly, Bashaw, engages, on his part, to release 
 to the Commander in chief of the forces of the Unit- 
 ed States in the Mediterranean without ransom, all 
 American prisoners who are, or may hereafter be, in 
 the hands of the usurper, said Joseph Bashaw. 
 
 Art. V. In order to indemnify the United States 
 against all expence they have or shall incur in car- 
 rying into execution their engagements expressed in 
 the second and third article of this convention, the 
 said Hamet Bashaw transfers, and consigns, to the 
 United States, the tribute, stipulated by the last 
 treaties, of his Majesty the King of Denmark, his 
 Majesty the King of Sweden, and the Batavian Re- 
 public, as the condition of peace with the Regency 
 of Tripoli, until such time as said expence shall be 
 reimbursed. 
 
 Art. VI. In order to carry into full effect the 
 stipulation expressed in the preceding article, said 
 Hamet Bashaw, pledges liis faith ancl honor, faith- 
 fully to observe, and fullil, the treaties now subsist- 
 ing between the Ree;cncy of Tripoli and their Maj- 
 esties the Kings of Denmark and Sweden, and with 
 tlie Batavian Republic. 
 
 Art. VII. In consideration of the friendly dispo- 
 sitions of his Majesty the King of the tuo Sicilies 
 
GEN. EATON. g,90 
 
 towards the American Squadrons, his Highness Hani- 
 et Bashaw invites his said Sicilian Majesty to renew 
 their ancient friendship : and proffers him a peace 
 on the footing of that to be definatively concluded 
 with the United States of America, in the fullest ex- 
 tent of its privileges, according to the tenor of this 
 convention. 
 
 Art. VIII. The better to give effect to the oper- 
 ations to be carried on by land, in the prosecution of 
 the plan, and the attainment of the object pointed out 
 by this convention, William Eaton, a citizen of 
 the United States, now in Egypt, shall be recogniz- 
 ed as General and Commander in chief of the lancl 
 forces, which are, or may be, called into service a- 
 gainst the common enemy, and his said Highness 
 Hamet Bashaw, engages that his own Subjects shalj 
 respect, and obey him as such. 
 
 Art. IX. His Highness, said Hamet Bashaw, 
 grants full amnesty, and perpetual oblivion towards 
 the conduct of all such of his subjects as may have 
 been seduced by the Usurper, to abandon his cause, 
 and who are disposed, to return to their proper alle- 
 giance. 
 
 Art. X. In case of future war between the 
 contracting parties, captives on each side shall be 
 treated as prisoners of war, and not as slaves, and 
 shall be entitled to reciprocal and equal exchange, 
 man for man, and grade for grade, and in no case, 
 shall a ransom be demanded fw prisoners of war, 
 nor a tribute required, as the condition of jjeace, 
 neither on the one part nor the other. AH prisoners 
 on both sides, shall be given up at the conclusion of 
 peace. 
 
 Art. XI. The American Consular Flag in Trip- 
 oli shall forever be a sacred asylum to all persons 
 who shall desire to take refuge under it, except for 
 the crimes of treason and murder. 
 
 Art. XII. In case of the faithful observance and 
 fulfilment on the part of his Highness, said Hamet 
 Bashaw, of the agreements and obligations herein 
 
300 LIFE OF 
 
 stipulated, the said Commander in chief of the A- 
 merican forces in the Mediterranean, engages to leave 
 said Hamet Bashaw, in the peacahle possession of 
 the city and Regency of Tripoli, without dismant- 
 ling its batteries. 
 
 Art. XIII. Any article suitable to be introduced 
 in a definative treaty of peace between the contract- 
 ing parties, which may not be comprised in this con- 
 vention, shall be reciprocally on the footing of the 
 treaties subsisting with the most favored nations. 
 
 Art. XIV. This convention shall be submitted to 
 the President of the United States for his ratifica- 
 tion : iu the mean time there shall be no suspence in 
 its operations. 
 
 Vone at Alexandria in Egypt, Februa- 
 ry S3f?, 1805, and signed by said Ham- 
 (L. S.) et Bashaw, for himself and successors, 
 and by William Eaton, on the part 
 of the United States. 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 f Arabic signature and seal of Uamet.J 
 In prsence of 
 P. N. O'Bannon, Lieut, of Marines, 
 Be. Francisco Mendrici, 
 Pascal Paoli Peck. 
 
qEN. EATON. 301 
 
 Additional Article^ secret. 
 
 His Highnes, Hamet Bashaw will use his utmost 
 exertions to cause to surrender to the Commander in 
 chief of the American forces in the Mediterranean, 
 the Usurper Joseph Bashaw, together with his family 
 and chief admiral called Maurad Raiz, Alias, Peter 
 Lisle, to be held by the Government of the United 
 States as hostages, and as a guarantee of the faith- 
 ful observance of the stipulations entered into by 
 convention of the 23d February 1805, with the 
 United States, provided they do not esc?pe hy flight, 
 4 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 bi| ^Arabic signature and seal of Hamet. J 
 
 VLi Witness, 
 
 Y. N. O'Bannon, Lieut, of Marines^ 
 Dr. Francisco Mendrici, 
 Pascal Paoli Peck. 
 
 From the Journal. 
 
 March 2d, 1805. 
 OUR provisions, which were embarked 
 on board a Nile boat to be transported to tlie Mara- 
 bout were arrested in the new port of Alexandria. 
 The lines which defend the city were manned, and 
 orders given that no one, American officers excepted, 
 should depart. The Bashaw's servants, who were 
 leaving town with sundry articles of baggage, were 
 arrested and imprisoned. Turkish guards and pa«. 
 troles advanced towards the Bashaw's camp. He 
 was alarmed, and with his people, was on the point 
 of flying to the desert. The firm and decided con- 
 duct of Mr. O'Bannon prevented their movement. 
 We found the impediments raised to us were occa- 
 sioned by the influence of the supervisor of the rev- 
 enue, who had not yet been bought. The day was 
 spent in accommodating the affair. The influence 
 of the British Consul prevailed ; and we obtained 
 
30S / LIFE OP 
 
 the order of the Governor and Capt. Bey for free 
 passage. 
 
 Sunday, March ^d. Left Alexandria, and joined 
 • Hamet Bashaw, at the Marabout. We had been 
 several days delayed by the delinquency of Richard 
 Farquhar, to whom I had intrusted the commissary's 
 and quartermaster's department, and to whom from 
 time to time I advanced a sum of S1350, which he 
 chiefly embezzled or misapplied. In consequence 
 of which I discharged him ; and was obliged to 
 make myself the provisions for our passage through 
 the desert. 
 
 March ^th. Messrs. Briggs, brothers, and Doctor 
 Mendrici visited camp. Witnessed the conventioc 
 concluded with Hamet Bashaw, on the S3d Februs- 
 Ty. Liquidated the account of monies they had ad- 
 vanced for the service of the United States, and took 
 leave. Their whole amount of advances SI 6,5001 
 Balance due them 812,500. Paid by Capt. Hull 
 S4O00. 
 
 March 5th. Freighted a caravan of 190 camels, 
 as I supposed for the passage, at S 1 1 per head. 
 The Chiek il Taiib raised fresh demands for cash ; 
 and seemed determined to retard the march until his 
 pretensions were satisfied. Pacified him with prom- 
 ises. 
 
 March Qth. Broke up camp and marched to Arab's 
 tower, forty miles from Alexandria, leaving part of 
 our baggage behind. This tower is an immense 
 ruin of regular fortification, of freestone, about 
 three hundred feet squaie, the walls five feet thick 
 and thiity two high, with bastions at the angles, and 
 battlements on the curtains. In its vicinity are cat- 
 acombs and other excavations in the ridge of a free- 
 stone mountain upon which it stands, and which 
 divides the sea shor6 from the barren plains in the 
 rear. From Alexandria to this post is a desert. 
 The tower is not Arabian architecture but Greek. 
 
 March 7th, The rear of our baggage came up. 
 
GEN. EATON. 30S^ 
 
 March 8th. Arranged oar caravan and organised 
 our force ; which now consisted of nine Americans, 
 including Lieut. O'Bannon and Mr. Peck, a non- 
 commissioned officer and six private marines ; a 
 company of twenty five cannoniers, commanded by 
 Belim Comb^ and Lieut. Connant and Koco, and a 
 comnany of thirty eight Greeks, commanded by Capt. 
 Lucj Ulovix and Lieut. Constantine. The Bash- 
 aw's suit consisted of about ninety men, including 
 those who came from Fiaume and those who joined 
 him since his arrival at Alexandria. These, togeth- 
 er with a party of Arab cavalry under the orders of 
 the Cheiks il Taiih, and Mahamet, and including the 
 footmen and camel drivers, made our whole number 
 about four nundred. Our caravan consisted of one 
 hundred Pud seven camels and a few asses. 
 
 Marched at H, A. M. fifteen miles. Camped on 
 an elevated bluff upon the sea board. Good water 
 near the shore. 
 
 March 9th. Remained in camp, some difiiculties 
 with the owners of the camels and Jiorscs hired for 
 the passage. They demanded advanced pay. It 
 was not safe to do it. They became mutinous. 
 
 March iOth. The camel drivers and footmen who 
 followed the horses revolted and nmde a stand. 
 The Chiek il Taiib had insinuated a suspicion among 
 them that if they performed their services before be- 
 ing paid, the Christians would be apt to defraud 
 them. The Bashaw seemed irresolute and dispond- 
 ent. Money, more money was the only stiraulous 
 which could give motion to the camp. The fore- 
 noon was consumed, and no appearances of a dispo- 
 sition to proceed ahead. I ordered the Christians 
 under arras and feinted a countermarch ; threatening 
 to abandon the expedition and their Bashaw, unless 
 the march in advance proceeded immediately. This 
 project took effect ; the mutiny was suppressed ; 
 and we marched twelve miles. 
 
 March iith. Marched twenty miles. 
 
 March i2th. Marched twenty one miles. 
 
804) - LIFE OF 
 
 March iSth. Marched twenty five miles. These 
 three days we have passed low sand vallies and 
 rocky, desert plains. Few ve stages of ruins except 
 a castle fifty miles from Arab's tower, which has all 
 the appearance of Grecian architecture. About 2 
 o'clock, P. M. this day, a courier met the Bashaw, 
 from Derne ; informed him that the province was '^^m- 
 ed in his defence, and the Governor shut within the 
 walls of his castle, (which we afterwards found to 
 be false.) In consequence of this good news feats 
 of horsemanship and a feude joie were exhibited in 
 front of the Bashaw, by his people. Our foot Arabs, 
 who were in the rear with the baggage, hearing the 
 firing, and apprehending that we were attacked by 
 the wild Arabs of the desert, attempted to disarm and 
 put to death the Christians who escorted the caravan. 
 They were prevented by an Arab of some consider- 
 ation among tiiem, who insisted that prudence dic- 
 tated they should suspend their execution till the 
 cause of the firing should be known. At this camp- 
 ing ground, on the seaboard, are numerous wells of 
 great deptli cut through solid rock, and producing 
 water of a pretty good quality. A little to the west- 
 Ward is a handsome bay about twenty miles deep 
 and fifteen broad. 
 
 March 14if/z. Marched twenty six miles, over a 
 barren rocky plain. Passed some vestages of an- 
 cient fortifications : raised and encamped upon the 
 dividing ridge between Egypt and Tripoli, near a 
 cistern of excellent water. The scite of the ridge a 
 vast plain, barren of vegetation. 
 
 March idth. Marched twenty five miles : camped 
 in a ravine, at the head of which we found rain wa- 
 ter, preserved in natural reservoirs excavated in the 
 rocks by the cascades of water during the winter 
 rains. 
 
 The night was cold and rainy. A musket, bayo- 
 net, cartoucli box, and cartridges, stolen by the A- 
 rabs from the marine tent, and all our provisions of 
 cheese from the magasioe. We had heretofore ex- 
 
GEN. fiATON. 305 
 
 perienccd daily losses of provisloug and barley, which 
 they stole and concealed. 
 
 March i6th. Bold, high winds from W. N. W. 
 heavy thunder and incessant rain. Remained in 
 camp. At 3, P. M. our camp inundated. Moved 
 to high ground. At the foot of this ravine is an ex- 
 tensive bay of the sea. 
 
 March i7th. Morning rainy. Our Arabs refused 
 to proceed farther without money. Reconciled 
 them with promises. Marched twelve miles — 
 camped in a deep ravine : some small brush and 
 good rain water. 
 
 March iStL Marched fifteen miles io a castle 
 called by the Arabs Masroscah : an extensive plain 
 valley, surrounded in the rear and flanks by a stony 
 desert, and in front by white sand drifts of great 
 height, which cuts the view from the sea. In this 
 valley are four vestages of ancient fabrications, gar- 
 dens, mansion and pleasure houses, evidence of for- 
 mer cultivation and im^xrovement, of which the place 
 is very susceptible ; though now all lies buried in 
 ruins, except some miserable patches of badly culti- 
 vated wheat and barley. Here was a Chiek, who 
 held the castle, and a few Arab families in tents. 
 The modern castle is a square of about one hundred 
 and fifty feet, built of rough stone, about eleven feet 
 high, without bastions or battlements ; but with loop 
 holes. It is the deposit of thie produce and traffic of 
 the place. Cattle, sheep, goats, fowls, butter in 
 skins, dates and milk, were found and oflFered for 
 sale ; but very dear. 
 
 I now learned, for the first time, that our caravan 
 v/as freighted by the Bashaw onl^ to this place, and 
 that the owners had received no part of their pay. 
 No persuasion could prevail on them to proceed to 
 Bomba, nor to wait our arrival thither for their pay. 
 They alledged that they had fulfiled their engage- 
 ment with the Bashaw, and would now return to 
 their families in Behara, for who§e safety they had 
 
 39 
 
306 LIFK OF 
 
 serious apprehensions from the Kerdiief of Deman- 
 hour. The Chiek il Taiib favored their pretensions. 
 
 I promised to procure the cash for their payment 
 on condition that they would proceed two days fur- 
 ther, where we expected to find Arab tribes and hire 
 another caravan. This they engaged to do. I re- 
 duced my stock of cash to three Venitian sequins, 
 andj with a hundred and forty dollars borrov/ed of 
 the Christian officers and men, passed into the hands 
 of the Bashaw, six hundred and seventy three dol- 
 lars ; which sura, together with Avhat he raised a- 
 mong his own people, enabled him to meet the claims 
 of these chiefs of the caravan. 
 
 Jlarch IQth. The Bashaw paid oif his caravan, 
 who promised to proceed two days march ahead. 
 But, the same night, all except forty of them drew 
 off for Egypt ; and the others refused to proceed, 
 leaving us in a perplexed and embarrassed situa- 
 tion ; as it was impossible to move without the cara- 
 van, and uncertain Avhether we could procure them 
 to start from this place. The Bashaw proposed de- 
 positing our baggage in the castle and proceeding for- 
 ward to the camp of sundry tribes, who expected him, 
 two or three days march ahead. This I rejected ; 
 being now destitute of cash, to proceed without pro- 
 visions would be throwing too much on contingency. 
 
 March 20th. Last night the rest of the camels left 
 us, to return to Egypt. 1 now discovered a complot 
 betvveen the Chiek il Taiib and sundry other chiefs, 
 at which I thought the Bashaw connived, purporting 
 a resolution to proceed no further until they should 
 have assurance of the arrival of our vessels at Bom- 
 ba. A report had been started, said to be brought 
 by a pilgrim on his way from Morocco to Mecca, 
 that a force consisting of eight hundred cavalry and 
 numerous foot were on their march from Tripoli for 
 the defence of Berne, and were actually passed Ben- 
 gazi. I thought this an argument that urged accel- 
 eration ratiier than delay. A great deal of noise and 
 some counsel were heard among the Bey's chiefs, in 
 
GEN. EATON. 307 
 
 which I was not consulted, and a final resolution 
 taken that they would remain on the spot till a run- 
 ner could go to Bomba and return. In consequence 
 of which I ordered their rations stopped, and resolv- 
 ed myself to take possession of tlie castle and fortify 
 myself there until I could get intelligence to our na- 
 val detachment to come to our relief, when I would 
 take off our Christians and leave them to take measures 
 for their own subsistence and safety. It was now 
 twelve o'clock at night. I left the Arab chiefs in the 
 Bashaw's tent, confused and embarrassed, and re- 
 tired to my own markee and reflections. 
 
 We have marched a distance of two hundred 
 miles, through an inhospitable waste of world with- 
 out seeing the habitation of an animated being, or 
 the tracks of man, except where superstition has 
 marked her lonely steps over burning sands and 
 rocky mountains, whence the revelation of one of lier 
 most hypocritical fanatics trains her wretched vic- 
 tims a tedious pilgrimage to pay their devotion at 
 his shrine. But while we reproach the impostor we 
 cannot but ascribe some gocd to the effect of the im- 
 position : it has here and there opened a water 
 source to its votaries, which now allays the thirst of 
 pilgrims, bound across tliis gloomy desert on pur- 
 suits vastly different from those which lead to 
 Mecca ; the liberation of tlu'ee hundred Americans 
 from the chains of Barbarism, and a manly peace. 
 
 March 2ist. The position taken yesterday had 
 its effect. Fifty camels were prevailed on to return 
 to us, and to go on two days further. We marched 
 at 11, A. J>f. and proceeded to an elevated stony 
 plain barren, about 13 miles, where we found good 
 cistern water. 
 
 March 22d. Marched 13 1-2 miles. At 3, P. M. 
 arrived at an extensive inclined plain, bordering on 
 the sea, called in Arabic Oak Jcorar ke harre, a- 
 midst camps of numerous Arabs, consisting of three 
 tribes of the Eu ed alii race, supposed to amount to 
 the number of 3 or 4,000 souls, inclusively, cover- 
 
308 LIFE OF 
 
 ing a grouud in a detached manner of 19 or 20 
 leagues cireumfereHce. Here were vast herds of 
 camels, horses and cattle and innumerable flocks of 
 sheep and goats. We were the first Christians ever 
 seen by these wild people. We were viewed by them 
 as curiosities. They laughed at the oddity of our 
 dress ; gazed at our polished arms with astonish- 
 ment : at the same time they observed the greatest 
 deference towards such of us as bore any distinctive 
 marks of office. They brought us for sale every 
 thing their camps afforded, and as rarities offered ua 
 young gazels and ostriches. But being destitute of 
 cash, we could only exchange our rice for their prod- 
 uce. We found dates here, which we*re brought 
 five days journey from the interior of Africa, of an 
 excellent quality. All our grain (barley and beans) 
 for the horses exhausted. Dispatched a courier 
 with letters to Capt. Hull at Bomba. 
 
 March 2Sd. Continued in camp. Eighty mounted 
 warriors joined the Bashaw : all appear attached to 
 him • but we want the means to engage their ser- 
 vices. Cash, we find, is the only deity of Arabs^ as 
 well as Turks. Good feed for our horses : rain wa- 
 ter in great abundance, preserved in cavities of rocks 
 worn by torrents of water descending from the high 
 grounds in our rear. But our provision is reduced 
 to hard bread and rice. From Alexandria to this 
 place there is not a living stream, nor rivulet, nor 
 spring of water. 
 
 March2'ith. Remained in camp. Freighted a cara- 
 van of 90 camels at S 11 per head, to Bomba. 
 
 March 25ih. Forty seven tents of Arabs joined us 
 with their families and moveables. In this detach- 
 ment are one hundred and fifty warriors on foot. 
 The Arabs of this place have never seen bread. On 
 first offering them biscuit, they examined it careful- 
 ly ; and, breaking it with their sheplierds club or 
 hatchet, tasted it with symtoms of hesitation ; find- 
 ing it palatable they sought every means to obtain it 
 from us. They arepeciiarly fond of rice. A wo- 
 
GEN. EATON. 
 
 309 
 
 man offered her daughter to my interpreter for a 
 sack of it : and the girl consented to the traffic. 
 She was a well proportioned, handsome hrunette 
 of about thirteen or fourteen years, with an expres- 
 sive hazel eye, inclining to black, arched eye brows, 
 perfect teeth, and lips formed for voluptuousness. A 
 bargain would have been concluded if my consent 
 could have been accorded ; prudence forbid it. The 
 Arabs of the desert are generally well built, arc ac- 
 tive, but timid, jealous and thievish. 
 
 March 2Qth. A courier from Derne, in the interest 
 of the Bashaw, brings intelligence that five hundred 
 o.f Joseph Bashaw's cavalry, accompanied by great 
 numbers of Arabs, both horse and foot, were a few 
 days march from that place, and v, ould certainly 
 arrive before it would be possible that wc could. 
 The alarm excited by this information arrested our 
 motions. The Bashaw seemed to hesitate wliether 
 to proceed farther. The camel drivers lied with 
 their caravan : and there seemed to be a combination 
 among the Bashaw's people and the Arabs of Beha- 
 ra to return to Fiaum. I again suspended their ra-, 
 tions ; forbidding any more issues till the caravan 
 should return and the march proceed ahead. A 
 council was heljd : despondency sat in every counte- 
 nance. About eleven, A. M. I learned that tlie Chi- 
 ek il Taiib had resolved to proceed no farther until 
 certain intelligence arrive of our vessels being at 
 Bomba. I could not but reproach that cliief with 
 want of courage and fidelity. He had promised 
 much and fulfiled nothing. I regretted having been 
 made acquainted with him ; and should be well sat- 
 isfied if he would put his menace in execution of re- 
 turning to Egypt, provided he would not interfere 
 with the dispositions of other chiefs. He quit the 
 camp in a rage, swearing by all the force of his re- 
 ligion to join us no more. The Bashaw would have 
 sent an officer to pacify and bring him back. I ob- 
 jected. And he took himself off v/ith a small de- 
 tachment of his tribe. 
 
310 LIFE OF 
 
 March 27iJi. The Cbiek il Taiib excited an in- 
 surrection among the Arabs of this place who had 
 engaged to proceed with us ; drew off half their 
 number ; and, putting himself at their head, started 
 for Egypt. The Bashaw sent a messenger to me 
 praying that I would dispatch an officer to request 
 him in my name to return. I answered that no con- 
 sideration whatever could prevail on me to ask as a 
 favor what I claimed as a right. The services of 
 that chief were due to us : we, had paid for them ; 
 and he had pledged his faith to render them with fi- 
 delity. It did not belong to him, at this period, to 
 make terms nor dictate measures : I should not de- 
 base myself to propose an accommodation. The 
 Bashaw was apprehensive that he w^ould turn his in- 
 flneuee and take a part against us. Let Jiim do it. 
 1 like an open enemy better than a treacherous 
 friend. Whin he shall have taken this ground it 
 will, perhaps, give me an opportunity to punish e- 
 ventually what I would do summarily if the respect 
 I had for his Excellency did vot prevent it. I had 
 a rife and a sabre true to their distance. Carry the 
 message to the chief. He was mad with rage ; and 
 swore vengeance against the Bashaw, and his Chris- 
 tian sovereigns, as he stiled us. I ordered a march. 
 We got under way at half past 7? A. M. At 10, a 
 messenger came from the Chiek to assure us that he 
 had taken up his march for Behara. 
 
 Since he has taken that rout, I have nothing fur- 
 ther with him hut to take steps for the recovery of the 
 cash and property he has fraudulently drawn from 
 me. Continued the march. At 12 o'clock another 
 messenger. " The Chiek il Taiib will join if the 
 camp haltseasonably.'^ The Bashaw desired, and 
 we halted at half past 12. About an hour and half 
 after, tlie Chiek hove in sight with his party : soon 
 after came up ; and, presenting himself at my mar- 
 kee, with visible chagrin in his countenance, said, 
 " you see the influence I have among these people !" 
 
GEN. EATON. 311 
 
 YeSf and I see also the disgraceful use you make of 
 it. We gained about five miles to day. 
 
 March 28th. I perceived a manifest reluctance in 
 the Bashaw to advance, and evident calculations for 
 a retrograde march. Joseph Bashaw's forces had 
 seized on all his nerves. He now took from my of- 
 ficers the horses he had given them for the passage 
 through the desert, and gave them to some of his 
 footmen. Drew oif his Mahometans, and stood bal- 
 ancing, after the troops were drawn up for the march. 
 I reproached him with indecision, want of persever- 
 ance, and of consistency in arrangement. I demand- 
 ed the horses for my officers. High words ensued. 
 I ordered the march in front. The Bashaw retro- 
 graded. We proceeded in front with the baggage. 
 The Bashaw came up in about two hours ; and, 
 making us some compliments for our firmness, said, 
 he was obliged to dissemble an acquiescence in the 
 wishes of his people to render them manageable. 
 We proceeded 12 and an half miles to a castle 
 ShemeeSf and camped at one o'clock, P. M. In the 
 evening, discovered that the Arabs who had joined 
 us on the 25th, and who, as we expected were follow- 
 ing us, had all taken up their march for the borders 
 of Egypt. The Chiek il Taiib had discouraged and 
 dissuaded them from pursuing tlie expedition. The 
 Bashaw sentolTa General officer with sundry horse- 
 men to bring them back by persuasion. 
 
 Hamet Grurgies, the otiicer who went for the A- 
 rabs, did not return this day. 
 
 March 2Qth. Remained in camp, waiting for 
 Hamet Gurgies. At this castle, which is a rough 
 stone wall, laid in clay mortar, about ten feet high, 
 without bastions, and one hundred feet square, there- 
 seems to be some trade with the inhabitants of the 
 interior of Africa. We find here, cattle, sheep, 
 butter, fowls, eggs, and dates, but very dear ; and 
 for which we bartered rice at great disadvantage. 
 The situation is enchanting ; vast plains, capable of 
 high cultivation ; good well water ; and some en- 
 
3iS LIFE 0¥ 
 
 closed gardens of fig and palm trees. But every 
 thing bears the ruinous aspect of ravage and war. 
 About four, P. M. Hamet Gurgies came up with the 
 Arabs who separated themselves from us on the 
 
 37th. 
 
 March SOth. At 6, A. M. resumed our march 
 with the Christians and baggage, leaving the Bash- 
 aw to follow with his Arabs, who were mounted for 
 the purpose. At this instant a dispute arose between 
 the Cliiek il Taiib and Chaik Mahamet concerning 
 the distribution of S 1500 ; which the former had 
 received of the Bashaw to be equally distributed ; a 
 part of which he had concealed ; and grew so warm 
 that Maham-et swore he would proceed no farther. 
 Three other Chaifes and several other considerable 
 Arabs took part with him, and retrograded. The 
 Bashaw in vain endeavored to reconcile the parties. 
 Chaik Mahamet persisted in quitting the expedition ; 
 and with his party moved rapidly off. The Bashaw 
 left them, and hastily pursued us, with a view of ar- 
 resting our march, having sent back Hamet Gurgies 
 and two other officers to endeavor to recover the mal- 
 contents. We had gained fifteen miles ahead when 
 he came up with us at S o'clock, P. M. But it was 
 necessary to retrograde three miles to water, and 
 there camp. The expedition could not proceed 
 without those chiefs, as they had many people and 
 powerful influence with the Eu eil alii tribe near 
 Berne, to which they belong. 
 
 Pitched our camp at 5, P. M. 
 
 The Bashaw with twelve horsemen and my inter- 
 preter returned to the castle in hopes of reconciling 
 the Chieks and of bringing up their party. This 
 will detain us tomorrow. 1^'rom Alexandria to this 
 place, we have experienced continual altercations, 
 contentions and delays among the Arabs. They 
 have no sense of patriotism, truth nor honor ; and no 
 attachment where they have no prospect of gain, ex- 
 cept to their religion, to which they are enthusiasts. 
 Poverty makes them thieves^ and practice renders 
 
BEN. EATON. 313 
 
 tlieto adroit in stealing. The instant the eye of vig- 
 ilance is turned from an object on which they have fix- 
 ed a desire, it is no more to be found. Arms, ammu- 
 nition and provisions, most engage their furtive spec- 
 ulations ; but sundry of our people have been rob- 
 bed of their cloaths and other articles. With all 
 their depravity of morals they possess a savage inde- 
 pendence of soul, an incorrigible obstinacy to disci- 
 pline, a sacred adherence to the laws of hospitality, 
 and a scrupulous pertinacity to their religious faith 
 and ceremonies. Day before yesterday I was admit- 
 ted, as a mark of special distinction, within the 
 walls of their castle. Curiosity brought every Arab 
 about me who belonged to the tribe. They exam- 
 ined the lace of my hat, epaulettes, buttons, spurs, 
 and mounting of my arms. These they took to be 
 all gold and silver. They were astonished that 
 God should permit people to possess such riches who 
 folloiced the religion of the devil ! 
 
 My interpreter explained that the religion of the 
 Americans was different from that of ail other nations 
 who wore hois ; (the hat and fnrban are distinguish- 
 ing marks of Christian and Turk :) that we believ- 
 ed in God and respected all his revelations ; that 
 we made no distinction in our respect to people of 
 different creeds ; all were free witli us to worship God 
 as their consciences dictated; and that all honest men 
 were equally respected in America. They could hard- 
 ly comprehend this description of Christians any where 
 existed. He added that I was a good man, and a 
 great friend to Mussulmen. They had heard so. 
 Haraet Bashaw's people had told them every thing 
 that I had done for them. They lamented that so 
 good a man should go to hell. While I continued an 
 IniidelT must expect to be damned. I should escape 
 hell and go to the paradise of Malioraet if I would 
 only repeat one word after them, Allah Mlah Ma- 
 hammed Benallahy which they repeatedly pronounc- 
 ed, and desired, by the esteem they felt for me, that 
 i would repeat after them. 1 answered, that in A- 
 
 40 
 
314? LIFE OF 
 
 merica, v e made no account of a religior. '>\hicli con- 
 sisted only in words. God had promised us a heav- 
 en distinct from that of Papists and Mussulmen, 
 where we should admit all good, men who should 
 clioose to come over to us, and be permitted ourselves 
 at discretion to make parties of pleasure into the 
 paradise of Mahomet and the heaven of the Papists. 
 They doubted my story. I told them I had assur- 
 ances myself of being well received and civilly treat- 
 ed by those opposite prophets, as I had very many 
 friends among the followers of both. They smiled 
 at this idea ; but confessed they should be very glad 
 to see me in their paradise ; though they doubted 
 whether Mahomet would permit me to come there, 
 even on a visit, unless I confessed him and became 
 a true believer. 
 
 A good Christian would have given me the same 
 admonition. How frail is human reason ! How ab- 
 surd is the pride of bigotry ! Yet how happy are 
 tllese ignorant Arabs in their faith and intolerance I 
 A desert their patrimony ; a wretched hut their 
 dwelling 5 a blanket their bed and wardrobe ; a 
 a wooden bowl and spoon their furniture ; and 
 milk and roots their food. Like the patriarchs of old, 
 they " Seek a country." Their hope is in heaven, 
 ^f arriving there tliey have the faith of assurance. 
 They are contented. 
 
 The climate of the desert is pure and healtliful. 
 Though placed und«r an arid sun, it has a constant 
 refreshing sea breeze by day and land breeze by 
 night. No frosts, and no storms : gentle rains only 
 during the winter months, and sometimes wind and 
 thunder, but not immoderate. 
 
 , Men seem not to sicken here ; and only die by 
 the easy and tranquil declension of age. Tiiey con- 
 sider seventy to eighty years the usual term of life ; 
 but I have seen men and women who count upwards 
 of an hundred, and such very common. They are 
 free from chronic diseases. Kven <)pthalmy, which 
 seems contagious in Eg^ pt and Barbary, effects do- 
 
GEX. EATON. 315 
 
 fcody here : and the plague is not known among 
 them. 
 
 March 3ist. Remained in camp. Very rainy day, 
 with thunder and wind ; the supceediug evening 
 chilly. The Bashaw absent. 
 
 jljjril ist. Chiek il Taiib put himself at the head 
 of five Shieks, three of whom weiR of the caravan, 
 and presented himself at my markee to demand an 
 augmentation of the ration. I refused. He menac- 
 ed. 1 reproached. him as the cause of all our delays 
 in the march? and with a total failure of ail his en- 
 gagements with me. ^He had engaged me four 
 hundred mounted Arabs of his tribe at the Marabout 
 and to bring me to Bomba in fourteen days. His 
 whole number of men consisted of but twenty eight ; 
 we had now been twenty five days in gaining half 
 our distance : and, instead of encouraging our pro- 
 gress, he was on all occasions throwing obstacles in 
 our way. He recriminated the Bashaw and other 
 Chicks. I thought the Bashaw and Chicks he accus- 
 ed better men than himself;; .and w^ould not Jicar 
 them calumniated. He, believed me partial. I said 
 to him, if he had experienced any evidence of my 
 partiality it was in his favor until after his hypocrisy 
 betrayed itself. It was tr.re I now held him in no 
 coneideration, for I could place no reliance in any 
 thing he said or undertook. He seemed very indif- 
 ferent about the opinion I entertained of him, pro- 
 vided he could obtain his object. -He cautioned me 
 against persisting in the resolution -1 had taken not 
 to augment the ra,tion ; it would unavoidably pro- 
 duce an insurrection. The other Chieks and caravan 
 would leave me. As for himself, he could not sub- 
 sist on rice alone ; he would have bread also. I ask- 
 ed him if he thought to compel the measure ? He 
 said, with a menacing tone, "Remember you are in a, 
 desert, and a country not your own."' I am a greater 
 man here than either you or the Bashaw. I retort- 
 ed : I have found you at the head of every commo- 
 tion which has happened since we left Alexandria. 
 
316 LIFE OF 
 
 You are the instigator of the present among the 
 chiefs. Leave my tent ! but mark ; if I find a mu- 
 tiny in camp during the absence of the Bashaw, I 
 will put you (o instant death as the fomenter of it.'' 
 Ke left the tent ; mounted his horse ; and, with 
 tv. o other Chieks, took himself off. The Bashaw's 
 Hasnadar (treasurer) had been called into my tent on 
 the entrance of the Chiek il Taiib. He had the in- 
 fluence to pacify the other chiefs, or to engage them 
 to wait at least till the return of the Bashaw. Now 
 10 o'clock and no news of him. % o'clock, P. M. the 
 Chiek il Taiib returned. Entered into the tent of 
 my officers : regretted that he had lost my confi- 
 dence : apprehended that some secret enemy had in- 
 sinuated unfavorable impressions against him : was 
 devoted to me : would even abandon the Bashaw to 
 follow me ; and begged Mr. Farquhar and Peck 
 to use their influence for a reconciliation. 
 
 Five, P. M. He came to my tent : professed eter- 
 nal obligations and attachment : would seek every 
 occasion to give proofs of it ; and hoped that an op- 
 portunity would offer to him at Heme to convince 
 me tliat he was a man ! 
 
 I replied that I required nothing of him by way 
 of reconciliation but truth, fidelity to the Bashaw, 
 pacific conduct among the other chiefs, uniformity 
 and perseverance in this conduct. 
 
 These he promised by an oath ; and offered me 
 his hand. 6 o'clock, P. M. The Bashaw not return- 
 ed : apprehensive that he has suffered himself to 
 fall into a snare of his brother. The day has been 
 rainy, blowing, and chilly. 
 
 Visited the Arab camp. Their young men, 
 young women and children are perfectly well made, 
 and though copper colored, are handsome. Never 
 saw teeth so universally sound and white, even and 
 well set. The women do not veil : have nothing of 
 the affected reserve and bigoted pride of the Turks; 
 yet in their general deportment modest and bashful. 
 1 took dates in the teut of their principal Chiek : one 
 
GEN. EAXaN. 317 
 
 of his wives served them in an ozier pannier, and 
 seemed elated with the visit. I complimented her 
 elegant proportion and symmetry. Slie. smiled, and 
 said there were much handsomer youni^ women in 
 camp than herself. I douhted it. To give me 
 proof, sundry fine girls and young married women 
 were invited in. I admitted they were very hand- 
 some, but could not give up my first opinion. 
 
 *April 2d. 3 o'clock, P. M. The Bashaw returned, 
 accompanied by the Chieks Mahamet and others 
 who separated themselves from us on the 30th ult, 
 Whom he had overtaken on their route to the prov- 
 ince of Behara, two hours march eastward of the cas- 
 tle Massarah, the ground of our encampment from 
 the 15th to 21st ultimo ; a distance of fifty nine 
 miles. He rode all night of the 31 st, and succeed- 
 ing day in an uncomfortable fall of rain and chilly 
 winds, and subsisted his party during the expedition 
 on milk and dates which were occasionally brought 
 lura by the desert Arabs. 
 
 At 7 in the evening a meeting of the Bashaw and 
 all the Chieks at my tent. 1 exhorted them, as on 
 other instances of disagreement, to union and perse- 
 verance, as the only means of insuring success to the 
 important enterprise in which they were engaged ; 
 to which they gave pledges of faith and honor ; and 
 orders were accordingly given to resume the line of 
 march at reveillee beating tomorrow. We have now 
 between six and seven hundred fighting men on the 
 ground, exclusive of followers of the camp and 
 Beduoin families, who inclusively make a body of 
 about twelve hundred people. 
 
 *lpril Sd. Marched at six, A. M. advanced only 
 ten miles in front, when the Arabs pitched their 
 camp and insisted on remaining here until they could 
 send a caravan five days march into the interior of 
 the desert to a place called Seewauk to procure 
 dates. We were in a valley upon the centre of a 
 vast elevated plain, and have excellent cistern wa- 
 ter. 1 urged the march a head. The Arabs posi 
 
318 LIFE OF 
 
 tively refused to proceed. They were short of pro- 
 visions, and had no other resort. I said those wants 
 would be supplied at Bomba. They replied that 
 this depended on contingency ; we could not com- 
 mand the sea. I threatened to take off the Christ- 
 ians. They intreated I would halt till the next 
 morning. To this I consented, on condition that 
 they would solemnly promise to tlirow no more im- 
 pediments in the way of our progress to Bomba, and 
 that they would hereafter yield implicit obedience to 
 my orders ; threatening at the same time to embark 
 with the Bashaw and suit at that place, and proceed 
 directly to Tripoli, leaving them to contend for the 
 provinces of Derne and Bengazi alone in case of 
 any infraction of these conditions. They pledged them- 
 selves ; and we encamped. Their caravan went 
 off for Seewauk, to join us again at Bomba. The 
 Arabs say that at that place is a fountain, or lake of 
 fresh water, of thre/C leagues circumference, which 
 supplies a considerable territory of good land by 
 small rivulets descending from the mountains. It 
 does not appear that this lake has any issue to the 
 sea : but the truth of its existence is supported by 
 the excellent dates brought thence to the castles on 
 the sea board for sale ; a fruit only found on low, 
 well watered ground. 
 
 This afternoon a marriage was celebrated in the 
 Arab camp. Two camels were dressed with a spe- 
 eies of canopy, resembling a covered waggon, or 
 Lackuey coach, traverse, covered with a species of 
 carpeting, fabricated of camels hair, in imitation of that 
 of Smyrna, supported by arches of wood like hoops., 
 &nd ornamented with finer cloths of various color- 
 ings. The first ceremonies had already passed when 
 '^he procession was announced tons by volliesof mus- 
 ketry. The bride and groom were closely, but sep- 
 ;arately, shut up in these carriages, attended by sun- 
 dry elderly women, and all the adult unmarried girls 
 of the camp on foot, and all the warriors mounted. 
 The women had their places near the camels, chant- 
 
GEN. EATON. 319 
 
 ing a savage kind of epithalamium ; the men per- 
 forming feats of horsemansliip, and an incessant /eit 
 dejoie. In this manner they took a circuit quite a- 
 round their own encampment, and then proceeded to 
 ours, and made the same circuit. After which the 
 procession returned to two tents detached a few rods 
 in the rear of their line of tents, where the camel 
 which carried the bride was driven seven times round 
 the tent assigned for her by the singing women. 
 The animal was now made to kneel, the door of the 
 carriage opened, and the bride precipitated head first 
 into the tent, where she was surrounded by chiefs 
 and matrons, with some young women, who repeated 
 a short prayer or benediction, when all retired, leav- 
 ing the bride with only her attendants. I had the 
 curiosity, together with the gentlemen of the expedi- 
 tion, to fall into the procession. We were treated 
 with marks of peculiar distinction ; and great exer- 
 tions w ere taken to give us a place near the carriag- 
 es. During the procession the camels were fre- 
 quently halted, and dances were performed by young 
 men and girls, exhibiting the most lascivious ges- 
 tures. After the ceremonies were over it was signi- 
 fied to me that a present would be expected on the 
 occasion. I asked a cliief who would be the proper 
 person to receive it ? He pointed out a middle aged 
 woman, whom I observed to have been very offi- 
 cious during the ceremony of maiTiage, and whom I 
 supposed to be the mother of the bride, to whom I 
 presented two half rupees of two dollars each: and 
 invited an old man of about fifty five, who, I took no- 
 tice, seemed deeply concerned in the affair, and 
 whom I supposed to be tlie father of one of the mar- 
 ried couple, to accompany me to ray tent, and order- 
 ed him a small present of extra provisions. He was 
 foUovvod by sundry other Arabs of distinction. Be- 
 ing seated in the tent, conversation turned to ths mar- 
 riage ceremony, which led to questions of the par- 
 entage aad ages of the married pair : when, what 
 was my surprise to find the old man to whom we had 
 
f^SO LIFE OF 
 
 exhibited our civilities to be himself the groom, his 
 bride a girl ot* thirteen years, and the officious mid- 
 dle aged womau, whom I took to be the mother, a- 
 nother wife of this newly married dotard. It appear- 
 ed that the old man was a Chiek ; his new bride a 
 daughter of a family of the Samerank, whom he had 
 bought of the parents, according to custom, before 
 marriage. We were told that the bride must yet re- 
 main three days in the hands of matrons before con- 
 summation. 
 
 Ajpril ^th. Marched at 6, A. M. Halted at four 
 afternoon. Gained eighteen miles. This day Capt. 
 Selem Comb chased down a m ild cat with his grey 
 hound : height two feet ; length from extremities 
 five feet ; color sable, brindled about the body ; 
 black ears and nose, and dark brindled tail : it was 
 cooked, and it eat very well. An Arab, soon after, 
 brought me a couple of her young ; but they were 
 not old enough to be raised. 
 
 At this camping ground are two remarkable wells, 
 between ninety five and a hundred feet deep, sunk 
 through solid rock, except about four feet at the sur- 
 face. The surrounding plains are a bed of marie and 
 sand : and have unequivocal evidence of ancient 
 cultivation. Vast ruins of masonry scattered in dif- 
 ferent directions : the superstructures totally effaced 
 by time. 
 
 d-jwil dth. Marched IS miles : camped seven 
 leagues distant from the sea board. Here is a re- 
 markable ancient castle of hewn stone, and regularly 
 built, one hundred and eighty feet square, the Malls 
 eighteen high and five thick, with bastions at each 
 angle, and battlements on the curtain constructed for 
 archers. In the centre is a Avell, descending to an 
 immense cistern, cut in solid rock, extending to an- 
 other well witliout the walls, a distance of one hund- 
 red and twenty feet. Tins va,st cistern must have 
 been supplied by rain .Avater conveyed into it from 
 the terraces of buildings, as its depth is but aboiir 
 thirty feet, and the depth of the only well of uatcr 
 
GEN. EATONi 8Sl 
 
 in the vicinity is one hundred and fifty : the water 
 ofVhich is sulphurous and saline. The cistern is 
 dry. Around the castle are many ruins of ancient 
 buildings, of apparently excellent masonry ; the 
 cement of which resembles exactly that in the ruins 
 of Carthage. Time in many places has consumed 
 the freestone of the walls, leaving the cement per- 
 fectly entire, and honey combed. 
 
 Scattered among these ruins are numerous graves 
 of pilgrims with Turkish and Arabic inscriptions of 
 modern date, expressive of little else than an ejacu- 
 lation. The surrounding country, as far as eye can 
 ken, exhibits little more than a barren desert, seem- 
 ingly never to have been cultivated, yet every where 
 interspersed with ruins of masonry . One of my for- 
 eign officers found here, and presented me, two copper, 
 coins with Grreek inscriptions but so effaced as not 
 to be intelligible. On the west of this port is a 
 mountain of great height, forming a steep bluff on its 
 eastern abutment, extending in a circular direction 
 south easterly as far as the eye can pursue it. The 
 Arabs tell me this mountain preserves the same ap- 
 pearance quite to the province of Fiaume, and is 
 called in their language Auk bet Salaum. Its site 
 is a vast plain, rocky and barren, gradually inclined 
 to the westward. Our guides fix this port one 
 iiundred and fifty miles from Derne. 
 
 April 6th. Last night a party of wild Arabs stole 
 into the vicinity of our camp and took off nine of the 
 Bashaw's horses. A detachment was sent this morn- 
 ing in search of them wliieh returned at twelve and 
 reported that they fell upon the track of fifty horses, 
 supposed to ]>e mounted by the thieves, which shaped 
 a rapid course towards the interior of the desert. 
 The detachment was reinforced and returned on the 
 [>ursuit. 
 
 This morning died the saddle beast of one of my 
 servants. 12 o'clock at noon. After six hours 
 march came to a well seventy feet deep, below which 
 a large cistern of bad water, foetid and saline. Our 
 
 41 
 
222 LIFE OF 
 
 horses had not drank during forty two hours, and 
 the people with much difficulty procured a little ve- 
 ry nauseous water from the deep well near the cas- 
 tle last night. Every hody pressed near the well, 
 the horses and people crouding upon each other for 
 drink. In the struggle the horse of my other servant 
 was forced backwards from the croud, and, the 
 ground descending to the well, slipped and went 
 down, with two cloaks, and perished in the fall. 
 Continued our march 17 miles, hut advanced very 
 little in front, having kept under the side of the 
 mountain to gain the seaboard. Halted at 3, P. M. 
 within four miles of the sea shore. I walked with Mr. 
 Farquhar and a servant to the water side. A very 
 handsome bay formed by the mountain which ex- 
 tends into the sea a league and an half, and termin- 
 *ates in a high cape. The Arabs call the port Sala- 
 nm : it is marked on the French chart Cape Luco : 
 
 They say it is remarkable for having been a shel- 
 ter for the Maltese cruisers. Ninety miles from Bom- 
 ba by calculation. We find no water this night. 
 
 April '7tk. Marched at 6, A. M. ascended the 
 mountain, and marched on its summit, eigliteen miles 
 in front. At four afternoon halted iu a valley, where 
 we found excellent Teed for our liorscs, but no water. 
 
 April StJi. Marched at 6, A. M. Descended the 
 western declivity of the mountain. At nine called 
 a halt near a cistern of excellent rain Avatcr, ex- 
 cavated in a solid rock, at <hc bottom of a deep ra- 
 vine, by the torrents of water and small stones which 
 rush down the mountain by tliis avenue during tiie 
 rainy season. This was a precious repast to our 
 thirsty pilgrims. I went with a small j)arty to sur- 
 vey the seacoast and reconnoitre the country, intend- 
 ing to pursue the march as soon as tlie army should 
 have refreshed themselves. Bnt, during my ab- 
 sence, the Bashaw ordered the camps pitched. On 
 mj return I demanded his reason for so doing. He 
 answered that the exhausted sitnation of the troops 
 and people required at least one day's repose. 1 dis- 
 
GEN. EATON. 323 
 
 covered however that his real intention was to remain 
 on this ground until a courier should return, whieli 
 he was about to dispatch to Bomba in quest of our 
 vessels. We had only six days rations of rice; no 
 bread nor meat and no small rations. I urged this 
 circumstance as an impulsive reason why the march 
 should continue. He said the Arab chiefs were re- 
 solved to proceed no further till the camp shall have 
 recruited themselves by a little repose. I told him 
 if they preferred famine to fatigue they might have 
 the choice ; and ordered their rations stopped. The 
 day passed confusedly among them. At 3, P. M. 
 the Bashaw, compelled by his Arab host, struck 
 his tent, ordered his baggage packed, mounted, and 
 took up a march for Fiaume by the mountain. I 
 waited without emotion the result of this movement ; 
 not chusing to betray a concern for ourselves. Dis- 
 covering however an intention in the Arabs to seize 
 our provisions, I beat to arms. My Christians 
 formed a line in front of the magazine tent. Each 
 party held an opposite position the space of an hour. 
 The Bashaw prevailed on the Arabs to return ; they 
 dismounted ; and he pitched his tent. Supposing 
 the tumult tranquilised, I ordered the h'oopsto pass 
 the manual exercise, according to our daily practice. 
 In au'instant the Arabs took an alarm ; remounted, 
 and exclaimed, " the Christians are preparing to 
 fire on us !" The Bashaw mounted and put himself 
 at their head, apparently impressed with the same 
 apprehension. A body of about two hundred advanc- 
 ed in full charge upon our people, who stood their 
 ground motionless. The enemy withdrew at as mall 
 distance, singled out the officers, and, with deliber- 
 ate aim, cried — fire/ Some of the Bashaw's officers, 
 exclaimed, " for God's sake do not fire! The Christ- 
 ians are our friends." Mr. O'Bannoa, Mr. Peek, 
 and young Farquhar, stood firmly by me, Seleni 
 Aga, (Capt. of Canoniers,) his Lieutenants and the 
 two Grreek officers, remained steadfast at their posts. 
 The others were agitated, and in fact abandoned us. 
 
334< LIFE OF 
 
 I advanced towards the Bashaw and cautioned him 
 ?igainst giving countenance to a desperate act. At 
 once a column of muskets were aimed at my 
 breast. The Bashaw was distracted. A universal 
 clamor drowned my voice. 1 waved my hand as a 
 signal for att:ention. At this critical moment some 
 of the Bashaw's officers and sundry Arab chiefs rode 
 between us with drawn sabres and repelled the muti- 
 neers. I reproached the Bashaw for his rashness^ 
 or rather weakness. His Casnadar asked him if he 
 was in his senses. The Bashaw struck him with 
 his naked sabre. The fracas had nearly resumed 
 its rage, when I took the Bashaw by the arm ; led 
 him from the croud, and asked liira if he knew his 
 own interests and his friends ! He relented : called 
 me his friend and protector ; said he was too soon 
 heated ; and followed me to my tent, giving orders 
 at the same time to his Arabs to disperse. After a 
 moment's breath, he said if I v»'ould gite orders to 
 issue rice it would quiet every thing. This I would 
 not do on any other condition than his promise to 
 march tomorrow morning at reveillee beating. He 
 promised, and provisions were issued. Confessions 
 of obligation and professions of attachment were re- 
 peated as usual on the part of the Bpshaw and his of- 
 ficers ; and the camp again resumed its tranquility. 
 The firm and decided conduct of Mr. O'Bannun, as on 
 all other occasions, did much to deter the violence 
 of the savages by whom we were surrounded, as 
 well as to support our own dignity of cliaracter. 
 After the affair was over the Bashaw embraced him 
 with an enthusiasm of respect, calling him the brave 
 S^nerican. The Chevalier Davies, my aid de camp, 
 acted a part which I would rather attribute to an 
 amiable disposition than to weakness of nerve. My 
 Doctor behaved decidedly like a coward, and a 
 base one. Mr. Farquhar conducted with manly 
 firmness. One of the Arabs, during the agitation, 
 snapped a pistol at his breast. Happily it missed 
 
GEN. EATON. 325 
 
 fire : had it been otherwise the fire would most proba- 
 bly have become general and the result serious. 
 
 We find it almost impossible to inspire these wild 
 bigots with confidence in us, or to persuade them 
 that, being Christians, we can be otherwise than en- 
 emies to Mussulmen. We have a difficult under- 
 taking ! 
 
 •'ipril 9th. Marched at half past 5, A. M. advanc- 
 ed ten miles and halted at a water cistern. Grood 
 feed for our horses. Here are considerable ancient 
 ruins of houses and partition walls, but almost entire- 
 ly effaced. 
 
 In this cistern we found two dead men ; probably 
 pilgrims murdered by the Arabs. We were obliged 
 nevertheless to use the water. 
 
 Spril iOth. Marched ten miles, and at twelve 
 o'clock camped in a beautiful valley between two- 
 ridges of desert mountain of calcarious rock and flint 
 stone ; upon one of which we found an excellent cis- 
 tern of rain Avater ; and in the valley, good feed for 
 our horses. 
 
 The detachment joined us which went off the 
 sixth ; but Avithout recovering the horses or overtak- 
 ing the thieves. Nothing but rice and water for 
 subsisiienee and that at half rations. No intelligence 
 from Bomba by the courier dispatched tliither. 
 
 An idea has been insinuated into the mind of the 
 Bashaw that Ave aim only to use him for the purpose 
 of obtaining a peace with his brother, and that the 
 manner is indilferent with us. 
 
 He gives place to this apprehension because he 
 has twice been deceived by Christian puicers ; and 
 because the English have deceived Elji Bay, as he 
 says. And he permits himself so far to be carried 
 away by the phantom, as to fear least Ave should give 
 him up to the enemy. 
 
 Three o'clock, P. M. A general council of war. 
 An insurmountable reluctance on tiie part of the 
 Arabs and some of the Bashaw's people to proceed 
 further without intelligence of our vessels, induced 
 
3^6 LIFE OF 
 
 me to agree to halt and wait for intelligence, after 
 two days more march in front. Tiie Bashaw fears 
 desertions in case of approaching Derne without pro- 
 visions. We have only three days half rations of 
 rice, and no otlier supplies whatever : and, wiiat ren- 
 ders our situation truly alarming, we can get no in- 
 formation of any vessels having appeared off the 
 coast ; as we now plainly perceive tlieir arrival a- 
 lone will prevent a revolt among our Arabs, who 
 will undoubtedly take any side which will give them 
 the best fare. 
 
 Seven o'clock, P. M. An officer came to my tent 
 and informed me that mutiny ri^as organized in the 
 company of canoniers, and that they Avere about to 
 embody and demand their full ration of provisions 
 before this tent. I told him to endeavor by gentle 
 means to supjjress the mutiny ; and, if he found 
 this method impossible, to caution them on pain of 
 death, not to appear in arms to make any remon- 
 strances with me. At the same time sent for the 
 issuing commissary to be informed of the exact quan- 
 tity of rice on hand. I mentioned the disagreeable 
 situation of affairs to no one but Mr. O'Bannon. 
 Before any thing serious took place, about half pa&t 
 seven in the evening, the courier which had been 
 dispatched to Bomba arrived with intelligence of our 
 vessels being off that place and Derne. In an in- 
 stant the face of every thing changed from pensive 
 gloom to enthusiastic glachiess. Nothing more heard 
 of the mutiny. The Arabs resumed confidence. 
 And the Bashaw promised to force the residue of 
 our march to Bom ha. 
 
 Nine in the evening. The Bashaw attacked by 
 spasms and vomiting ; continued the greater part 
 of the night. 
 
 Ajjriliith. Marched at 6, A. M. gained five miles 
 a head, and camped. Tlie Bashaw's indisposition 
 rendered a halt indispensable. No water. Discover- 
 ed a singular commerce between our soldiers and the 
 Arab women. Thev exchanged their buttons, which 
 
GEN. EATON. 3^7 
 
 • 
 
 they cut from their clothes, for dates. The women 
 strung them as ornaments about their necks. Six, 
 P. M. The Bashaw recovers. 
 
 Apinl i2th. Marched twenty five miles ; the first 
 part of the day in the continuatiou of the valley men- 
 tioned the tenth ; but camped on an eminence where 
 there was neither water nor fuel. The residue of 
 our rice issued to day ; but the troops were obliged 
 to eat it without cooking. Sucii of the Arab tribes 
 as moved with their families camped five miles in the 
 rear ; being unable to come up, exhausted by fatigue 
 and huneier. 
 
 April iSth. Marched seven and a half miles. 
 Hunger and fatigue rendered the foot soldiers and 
 Bedouin families unable to pursue the march. The 
 Bashaw killed and issued one of his camels of bur- 
 then, and exchanged another with the Arabs for 
 sheep ; which together gave a full ration to our 
 troops, but they were without bread or salt. 
 
 *^lpril 14^/i. Marched fifteen miles. Camped in a 
 pleasant valley of rich strong land, but totally uncul- 
 tivated. Good and abundance of feed for our horses, 
 and sundry cisterns excavated in the ridges on the 
 borders of the valley contained excellent rain Wfiter ; 
 but we were totally destitute of provisions. Near 
 these cisterns and in the valleys are' ruins of ancient 
 architecture and visible marks of former cultivation ; 
 but now all is waste. 
 
 April i5th. Marched at seven in the morning. 
 Our people this day scattered througlsout all the plain 
 in search of roots and vegetable substances to ap- 
 pease the cravings of hunger. A species of wild 
 fennel and sorrel which we found in the small ravines 
 contributed something to our support. At 4 o'clock 
 P. M. we reached Boniba. But what was my as- 
 tonishment to find at tijis celebrated port not the 
 foot trace of a human being, nor a drop of vvaler. 
 And what my mortification to find iio vessels here. 
 We had this day taken up tlu-ee Arabs v/!u) ^ivf; me 
 positive declarations that they had seen two vessels 
 
328 LIFE DF 
 
 • 
 
 in the Bay a few days before, aucl very well describ- 
 ed the brig Argns, Capt. Hull ; bul tliey were 
 gone, and I concluded had left the coast in despair of 
 our arrival. Nothing could prevail on our Arabs to 
 believe that any had been there. They abused us as 
 iuiposters and infidels ; and said we had drawn them 
 into that situation with treacherous views. 
 
 All began now to think of the means of individual 
 safety ; and the Arabs came to a resolution to sep- 
 arate from us the next morning. I recommended an 
 attempt to get into Derne. This was thought im- 
 practicable. I went off with my Christians, and 
 kept up fires upon a high mountain in our rear all 
 night. At eight the next morning, at the instant 
 when our camp was about breaking up, the Bash- 
 aw's casnadar, Zaid, who had ascended tlie moun- 
 tain for a last lookout, discovered a sail ! It was 
 the Argus. Capt. Hull had seen our smokes, and 
 stood in. Language is too poor to paint the joy and 
 exultation which this messens;er of life excited in 
 every breast. I went on board at tv, elvc o'clock ; 
 the camp ii? the mean time moved five or six miles 
 round the bay to a cistern of water: piid at six in the 
 afternoon provisions were sent off to them. I re- 
 mained on board all night. 
 
 On the 17th, eleven in the morning, tlic sloop Hor- 
 net arrived, laden with provisions. The quarter of 
 the bay where the vessels fell in with us being in- 
 convenient for landing ; (m tlse 18th and 19th, I con- 
 tinued the ma,rch round the bay, twenty two miles, 
 where we found an inexhaiistable cistern of Avatcr 
 and a good l)arbor and landing. 
 
 The 20t]i, 2tst and 23d, we remained on tius 
 ground : refreshed orr famished ai'?ny i and took 
 out of the Hornet the necessary provisions to carry 
 us to Derne. 
 
 Afril 2Sd. Cold, high winds \vitli rain. March- 
 ed ten miles over a mountainous rocky country, and 
 camped in a ravine, within a mile from a natural 
 source of water, springing from the lop of a monn 
 
GEN. E^tON. ^89 
 
 tain of freestone, near cape Itazatine. This is the 
 first natural spring we have found since leaving E- 
 gypt. We are approaching cultivated fields. A 
 herald cries through the camp — " he who fears God 
 and feels attachmevit to Hamet Bashaw will be care- 
 ful to destroy nothing. Let no one touch the grow- 
 ing harvest He who transgresses this injunction 
 shall lose iiis right hand !" 
 
 ,iljril S4fA. Marched fifteen miles over mountain- 
 ous and broken ground, covered with herbage and 
 very large and beautiful red cedars : the first resemb- 
 lance of a forest tree we have seen during a march 
 of nearly six hundred miles. Camped in a pleasant 
 valley, by a natural rivulet bordered with delight- 
 some verdure and fields of barley, about five hours 
 march from Derne. Certain information came to us 
 here that the Governor of the country had fortified 
 himself and was determined to defend the city a- 
 gainst our approach. The same courier confirmed 
 the intelligence which had frequently before been 
 stated to us that the army of Joseph Bashaw, which 
 he had sent out for the defence of the province^ were 
 near Derne, and w^ould probably, by a forced march 
 arrive before us ; especially if we waited the return 
 of our vessels to the coast, which had been blown ofl^ 
 in the gale of the S3d. Alarm and consternation 
 seized the Arab chiefs ; and despondency the Bash- 
 aw. The night was passed in consultations among 
 them at which I was not admitted. 
 
 April 25th. At six iu the morning beat the geneT* 
 al and gave orders for marching. The Arabs mu- 
 tinized. The Chieks il Taiib and Mahamet at the 
 head of the Arab cavalry took up a retrograde 
 inarch, and the Bedouins refused to strike their 
 tents. After much persuasion, some reproach, and a 
 promise of two tliousand dollars to be shared among 
 the chiefs, they v/ere prevailed on to advance : and 
 at two o'clock, P. M. we camped on an eminence 
 which overlooks Derne, and reconnoitered the place. 
 Discovered that the Governor's defence consisted of 
 
 43 
 
380 LIFE OF 
 
 a water battery of eight nine pounders towards tire 
 N. E. some temporary breast Morks and walls of oW 
 buildings to the S. E. and along the front of the bay 
 a department of the city of about one third the whole 
 number of inhabitants, who weie in the interest of 
 Joseph Bashaw, had provided tboir terraces and 
 walls of their houses with loop holes. The Gover- 
 nor liad also a ten incli howitzer mounted on the ter- 
 race of his palace. Sundry Chieks came out this 
 evening to meet the Basliaw, who assured him of the 
 loyalty and attachment of the other two departments 
 of the city ; but stated that the Governor could bring 
 eight hundred men into battle, and as he possess»;d 
 all the batteries, breast works, and seaboard, we 
 should tind it difficult to dislodge him. Besides Jo- 
 seph Bashaw'y army was just at hand. I thought 
 the Bashaw wished himself back to Egypt. No 
 vessels in sight today. 
 
 *ipril 2Qth. Eight, A. M. made signals by smoke 
 upon the highest point of the mountain. At 2, P. 
 M. the Nautilus hove in sight : exchanged signals : 
 and at six we spoke. I expressed my determination 
 to attack the town tomorrow if the other vessels 
 came in seasonably. 
 
 April ^7th. At half past live in the morning, the 
 Argus and Hornet appea;red in sight. 
 
 Sefe my dispatches to Commodore Barron of 
 April amir, page 338. 
 
 May i St. The sloop Hornet went olF with those 
 dispatches. 
 
 May 2d. Examined the different sites in the vi- 
 cinity of the town. Used exertions to draw the Gov- 
 ernor from his sanctuary. TheHiram in which he 
 had taken asylum appertained to a Chiek of Mesreat, 
 one of the departments of the city in the interest of 
 the Bashaw. Neither persuasion, bribes nor men- 
 ace, could prevail on this venerable aged chief to 
 permit the iiospitality of his house to be violated. 
 He urged that whatever may be the weakness or c- 
 yen the crimes of the Arabs there was never an in- 
 
GEN. EATON, 331 
 
 stance k«own among them of giving up a fugitive to 
 whom they had once accorded their protection ; and 
 should he suffer himself to transgress that sacred 
 principle, the vengeance of God and the odium of 
 all mankind would justly fix on him and his poster- 
 ity. 
 
 May Sd. Information that the enemy are advanc- 
 ing. Set myself to fortifying our post. 
 
 Mfuj 8th. These five days have been employed in 
 putting ourselves in as good a state of defence as the 
 means we possess will admit. The enemy have ad- 
 vanced i>y a circuitous rout and planted their camp 
 on the ground we occupied the 25th and 26th ult. 
 The in/tabitants of the town in a state of consterna- 
 tion. It seems yet a matter of uncertainty with them 
 which is the strongest party ; a defeat to Hamet 
 Bashaw would be slaughter to his adherents. Ap- 
 preliendinga counter revolution through the intrigue 
 of Mn^tapha Bey, the late Governor, I again de- 
 manded him of his host, threatning to canonade his 
 department. He said he would submit to the chas- 
 tisement of God ; but would not consent to violate 
 his ordinances. 
 
 May i2th. The enemy have been these four days 
 endeavoring to corrupt and bring over the people of 
 the town. The late Governor acting from his sanc- 
 tuary must be considered as an active enemy, entit- 
 led to no privileges of hospitality. The Chi^k re- 
 mained immovable in his resolution not to give him 
 up. I resolved to try an experiment of compelling 
 him ; accordingly marched into the quarter near 
 him at the head of fifty Christians with bayonets, 
 and deelareid my intention to wrest the Bey from his 
 sanctuary. A general alarm spread through the de- 
 partment. *^ The Christians no longer respect the 
 customs of our fathers and our laws of hospitality !" 
 I urged that the Bey was an outlaw ; he had for- 
 feited his title to protection. He had in the first in- 
 stance rejected terms of amity ; had in an insolent, 
 manaer challenged me to combat ; had been beaten 
 
333 LIFE OF 
 
 from Lis post ; was still in a conquered town ; and 
 was by all the laws of war my prisoner. But if he 
 sought refuge under the banners of religion to deserve 
 its protection he should conform himself to its in- 
 junctions and remain peaceable. But he was actu- 
 ally carrying on war against me even in his recluse, 
 by doing which, he had forfeited also the lenity due 
 to a prisoner. I would therefore have him dead or 
 alive. The Chiek remained inflexible. The de- 
 partment got in motion to defend their religion and. 
 customs. The Bashaw, Hamet, apprehensive of an 
 insurrection, became deeply agitated. He begged 
 tliat 1 would suspend the execution of my attempt 
 till tomorrow, promising in the mean time to use his 
 exertions to draw the Bey from the protection of the 
 Chiek by gentle means. I countermarched. This 
 night the Chiek aided the Bey to escape to the ene- 
 my's camp with fifteen or sixteen Turks in his train. 
 Mmt iSfh. See my dispatches of 15th, to Commo- 
 fiore Barron. 
 
 li is worthy of remark that the same Chiek of 
 Mesreat, who had given refuge to and aided the es- 
 cape of Mustapha Bey, fought him the next day, and 
 brought all his people into the engagement against 
 the enemy in favor of Hamet BasliaAV. After the 
 battle was gained he presented himself at the Bash- 
 aw's palace, kissed his liand, and, seating himself 
 before him as a subject in manner of the east, re- 
 proached him in these manly and expressive terms, 
 " I have this day given you, I trust, an unequivo- 
 cal demonstration of my personal attachment and fi- 
 delity. I ought to say to you that you have not 
 - merited it. You would have yielded to the instan- 
 ces of the Christian General in violating the hospital- 
 ity of my house, and of degrading the honor of my 
 name. You should have recollected, that, not quite 
 two years ago, you were saved in this same asylum, 
 and secured in your escape by the same hospitality, 
 from the vengeance of this very same Bey. Had 
 ibe fortune of this day gone against you 1 sbould 
 
GEN. EATON. 333 
 
 have suppressed these sentiments of reproach : as it 
 is, I have acquited myself to my God and my con- 
 science.'' He then renewed his oath of allegiance 
 to the Bashaw. 
 
 May iSth. Three, A. M. The Nautilus sailed with 
 dispatches to Malta. 
 
 At 9 in the morning the enemy advanced in order 
 of battle to tiie declivity of the mountain, but could 
 not bring themselves to a resolution to meet the vast 
 numbers who showed themselves with Hamet Bash- 
 aw ; and retired in about an liour : they had daily 
 showed themselves since the 13th, but not so con- 
 spicuously. 
 
 May Wth. Eight o'clock, A. M. the enemy ap- 
 pear in all their force ; and seem resolute for a dis- 
 play of gallantry. At 10 they disappeared. At 6, 
 P. M. a woman from their camp states that it was 
 the intention of the Beys to have attacked our works 
 this morning ; but the Arabs refused to advance to 
 the charge. The Beys attempted to compel them. 
 They s?id they had not only the preservation of their 
 own lives but the existence of their families to keep 
 in view. Hamet Bashaw had possession of the town 
 and the Christians of the batteries ; these, with the 
 great guns of tlie shipping, would destroy every 
 thing that approached them. They would remain 
 with the camp till reenforcements came from Joseph 
 Bashaw ; and would then fight the Christians. The 
 Beys then demanded their camels to be moved as 
 covers to their front and flanks. This they refused. 
 The Beys were obliged to give up the project of a 
 victory today. The flocks of the Beduoin Arabs 
 have been under the protection of oar guns since the 
 morning of the 13th. There has hitherto been no 
 instance of this confidence being deceived. Their 
 women bring us mutton, milk, eggs, and traffic with 
 our soldiers without any apprehensions of violence 
 or fraud. We have several days been reduced to the 
 necessity of bartering prize goods of the Argus for 
 
334 LIFE OF 
 
 meat for the garrison. A humiliating traffic : but we 
 have no cash. 
 
 May 2ist. A woraau from the enemy's camp states 
 that a reenforcement joined them yesterday of 150 
 cavalry ; that they expect another today or tomor- 
 row, when they calculate on taking the town and be« 
 sieging the Christian post. 
 
 May 22d. An Arab chief who had been chained 
 as a hostage with the enemy to insure the fidelity of 
 his troops, escaped to us. Says the Arabs absolute- 
 ly refuse to risk another assault on the town. He 
 promises to bring his people, to the number of eighty^ 
 over to the Bashaw. 
 
 We want nothing but cash to break up 
 OUR enemy's camp witout firing another shot ! 
 
 May 2Sd. Hassien Bey, the commander in chief 
 of the enemy's forces, has offered by private insinu- 
 ation, for ray head, si.v thousand dollars, and double 
 the «um for me a prisoner ; and JS30 per head for 
 Christians. Why dont he come and take it ? 
 
 Five o'clock, P. M. Overwhelmed with the scy- 
 roc or hot wind of the desert. It come in a hurricane 
 and brought with it a column of heated dust, which 
 resembled the smoke of a conflagration, and turned 
 tlie sun in appearance, to melted copper, swept every 
 thing to the ground that lia<l life ; and filled every 
 thing with a hot, subtile sand, or rather powder. 
 We were distressed for breath : the lungs contract- 
 ed : blood heated like a fever : and a relaxing per- 
 spiration covered the surface of the body. 
 
 It lasted 3-4: of an hour. 
 
 May 25th. The Scyroc wind blew in a gale from 
 ike south west all day. So piercing was the heat 
 that the whit-e pine boards of our folding table and 
 book coverings in our tents warped as if before a 
 close fire. 
 
 The heated dust penetrated every thing, through 
 our garments ; and indeed seemed to cboak the 
 pores of the skin. It had a singular effect on my 
 wound, giving it the painful sensations of a fresh 
 
GEN. EATON. 335 
 
 burn. The skin, after perspiration became dry aixl 
 parched, and the lungs compressed and inflamed. 
 Water standing in tumblers in a few minutes became 
 heated to such a degree as not to be borne in the 
 hand ; and even stones, naturally cold, were so hot 
 that the soldiers were obliged to suspend labor at the 
 trenches. 
 
 May 28th. Attacked and defeated a detached par- 
 ty of the enemy, of about sixty foot and a troop of 
 horse, with only thirty five Americans and Greeks, 
 including officers. Mr. O^Bannon, Maun and 
 Farquhar, and Capt. Constantino, were with me. 
 
 May 29th. The en^my feinted an attack. See 
 dispatches of this date. 
 
 Six o'clock, P. M. a mirabout (saint) who had ex- 
 perienced some charities from me — now from the en- 
 emy, states that two women, one at camp and the 
 other in town, have engaged to take me off by poi- 
 son ; and that the commander in chief of the enemy, 
 has already made them large presents, among other 
 things, a diamond ring, brelleant solitaire, in antici- 
 pation of this service. The saint cautio'^ed me a- 
 gaiust accepting any presents of pastry corking, pre- 
 serves, or fruit, from any persons of the town. 
 
 June nth. The following is a statement of the en- 
 emy's forces, as given by Seiim, Chiek of Mensurat 
 who deserted to us the l6th ultimo. 
 
 1. Hassieu Bey, commander in chief. 
 
 2. Hadge Ismain, of Cavalry. 
 
 3. Muhamed, Bey of Bengazi. 
 
 4. Mustapha, Bey of Derne. 
 
 5. Imhamed, Bey of Ogna. 
 
 Tripoliians mounted - - - - ^yo 
 
 Vicinity of Mensurat do. - - - 90 
 
 Imselletti - do. - - - 30 
 
 Issileiti do. - . - .30 
 
 Issiheli do. - - - 75 
 
 Bengazi and vicinity do. - . , 90 
 
986 L^F£ Of 
 
 Jeiberna Arabs do. - - - S60 
 
 Haddud do. do. - - . too 
 
 945 
 Foot Arabs 1250^ 
 
 Do. refugees, Derne 330 5 ^^^^ 
 
 25^5 
 Recruits, up to 10th Junfe - - . 50O 
 
 Totol 3045 
 
 Berne f April Wth, 1805. 
 Sir, 
 
 OWING to impediments too tedious to 
 detail, but cliieiiy to delinquency in our quartermas- 
 ter's department, which I had confided to Richard 
 Farquhar, I did not leave Alexandria till the third 
 of last month. The liost of Arab«, wiio accompani- 
 ed the Bashaw from that place and joined him on the 
 rout, moving chiefly with their families and flocks, 
 rendered our progress through the desert slow and 
 painful ; add to this the ungovernable temper of this 
 ma^'auding militia, and the frequent fits of despond- 
 ency, amounting sometimes to mutiny, occasioned by 
 information, almost every day meeting us, of formi- 
 dable reenforcemenfcp from the enemy for tlie defence 
 of this place, and it Avill not seem unaccountable that 
 it was not till the fifteenth instant we iwrived at Bom^ 
 ba. We had nov/ been twenty five days wittiout 
 meat, and fifteen without bread, subsisting on rice. 
 Happily, the next morning, discovered the Argus, to 
 whom 1 made signals by smoke, whicli were discov- 
 ered and answered. The Kornet soon after appear- 
 ed. Capt. Hull sent off a boat, i went on board, 
 and had the honor and inexpressible satisfaction of 
 receiving your communications of 2Sd ult. The 
 timely supplies which came forward in these vessels 
 gave animation to our half famished people ; and no 
 time was lost in moving forward. On the morning 
 
GEN. EATON; 837, 
 
 of the 25ih, Mf® ^^^^ V^^^ ^^ ^^^ eminence in the rear 
 of Derne. Several chiefs came out to meet the 
 Bashaw with assurances of fealty and attachment. 
 By them I learned that thW city was divided into 
 three departments ; two of which were in the interest 
 of the Bashilvv, and one in opposition. This depart- 
 ment, though fewest in numbers, was strongest in 
 position and resource, being defended by a battery 
 of eight guns, the blind walls of the houses which 
 are provided in all directions with loop holes for 
 musketry, and by temporary parapets thrown up in 
 several positions not covered by the battery ; this 
 department is the nearest the sea and the residence 
 of the Bey. On the morning of the/S6th, terms of 
 amity were oflPered the Bey on condition of allegi- 
 ance and fidelity.* The flag of truce was sent back 
 to me with this laconic answer, ^^ My head or 
 yours !" — at 2, P. M. discovered the Nautilus, and 
 spoke her at six. At 6 in the morning of the 27th, 
 the Argus and Hornet appeared and stood in. 1 
 immediately put the army in motion, and adyanced 
 towards the city, A favorable land breeze enabled 
 the Nautilus and Hornet to approach the shore, 
 which is a steep and rugged declivity of rocks. 
 Witli much difficulty we landed, and drew up the 
 precipice one of the field pieces ; both were sent in 
 
 * Environs of Verne ^ April 26th, 
 
 His ExcBllency the Governor of Berne. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 1 want no territory. With me is advancing the legiti- 
 mate Sovereign of your country — give us a passage through 
 your city ; and for the supplies of which we shall have need, you 
 shall receive fuir compensation. Let no differences of religion 
 induce us to slied the blood of harmless men who think little 
 and know nothing. If you are a man of liberal mind you will 
 not balance on the propositions I offer. Haniet Bashaw pledg- 
 es himself to me that you shall be established in your govern- 
 ment. I shall see you tomorrow in a way ofyour choice. 
 
 -EATON. 
 
 43 
 
338 LIFE or 
 
 the boat for the purpose, but the apprehension of los- 
 ing this favorable moment of attack induced me to 
 leave one on board. We advanced to our positions. 
 A fire commenced on the shipping. Lieut. Evans 
 stood in, and, anchoring within one hundred yards 
 of the batiery, opened a well directed *ire. Lieut. 
 Dam dropped in and anchored in a position to bring 
 \m guns to bear on the battery and city. And Capt. 
 Commandant Hull brought the Argus to anchor a 
 little south of the Nautilus, so near as to throw her 
 S'i pound shot quite into the town. A detachment of 
 six American marine^?, a company of 24 cannoniers, 
 and another of 26 Greeks, including their proper of- 
 ficers, all under the immediate command of Lieut. 
 O^Dannon, together with a few Arabs on foot, had a 
 position on an eminence opposite to a considerable 
 party of the enemy, who had taken post behind their 
 temporary parapets and in a ravine at the S. E. quar- 
 ter of the town. The Bashaw seized an old castle 
 which overlooked the town on the S. S. W. dispos- 
 ing his cavalry upon the plains in the rear. A little 
 before 2, P. M. the fire became general in all quar- 
 ters where Tripolitans and Americans were opposed 
 to each other. In three quarters of an hour the bat- 
 tcy was silenced, but not abandoned ; though most 
 of the enemy withdrew precipitately from that quar- 
 ter and joined the party opposed to the handful of 
 Christians with me, which appeared our most vulner- 
 able point. Unfortunately the fire of cnr field piece 
 was relaxed by the rnmmer being shot away. The 
 tire of the enemy's musketry became too warm, and 
 continually augmenting. Our troops were tlirown 
 into confusion ; and, undisciplined as they were, it 
 was impossible to reduce them to order. I perceiv- 
 ed a charge our dernier and only resort. We rush- 
 ed forward against a host of savages more than ten 
 to our one. They fled from their coverts irregularly^ 
 firing in retreat from every palm tree and partition 
 wall in their M'ay. At this moment 1 received a l»al I 
 through my left wrist which deprived me of the use 
 
GEN. EATON. 33^9 
 
 of the hand, and of course of ray rifle. Mr. O'Ban- 
 non, accompanied by Mr. Mann of Annapolis, urged 
 forward with his marines, Grreeks, and such of the 
 cannoniers as were not necessary to the management 
 of the fieUl piece ; passed throjigh a shower of mus- 
 ketry from the walls of houses ; took possession of 
 the battery ; planted the American flag nj)on its 
 ramparts ; and turned its guns u[)on the enemy ; who, 
 being now driven from their out posts, fired only 
 from their houses, from whicli they were soon dis- 
 lodged by the whole fire of the vessels, which was 
 suspended during the charge, being directed into 
 them. The Bashaw soon got possession of the Bey's 
 palace ; his cavalry flanked the flying enemy ; and 
 a little after four o'clock we had com pleat possession 
 of the town. The action lasted about two hours and 
 an half. The Bey took refuge, first in a mosque, 
 and then in a hiram, the most sacred of sanctuaries 
 among the Turks ; and is still there : but we shall 
 find means to draw him thence. As he is the third 
 man in rank in the kingdom he may perhaps be used 
 in exchange for Capt. Bainbridge. 
 
 I havei fixed my post in the battery ; raised para- 
 pets and mounted guns towards the country to be 
 prepared against all events ; though I have no seri- 
 ous apprehension of a counter revolution. The mo- 
 ment of gaining Derne has been peculiarly fortunate, 
 as the camp, v/hich long since left Tripoli for its de- 
 fence, were within two days, fourteen hours march, 
 the day of our attack ; of which we had information 
 in the morning, and from which circumstance "t was 
 with much difficulty I could prevail on the Bashaw's 
 array to advance to the city and to obey my diirpv>si- 
 lions. The camp will probably take up a retrogra le 
 march. 
 
 Of the few Christians who fought on shore, I lost 
 fourteen killed and wounded ; three of whom 
 are marines, one dead and another dying ; the rest 
 chiefly Greeks, who, in this little afi^air, well sup- 
 ported their ancient character. 
 
340 LIFE OF 
 
 Ic \vould be going out of my sphere to comment on 
 the conduct of naval commanders in the field. 
 
 Yet I should do violence to my own sense of duty 
 and obligation were I not to observe they could not 
 have taken better positions for their vessels nor man- 
 aged their fire with more skill and advantage. 
 
 The detail I have given of Mr. 0*Bannon's con- 
 duct needs no encomium : and it is believed the dis- 
 position our government have always discovered to 
 encourage merit will be extended to this intrepid, ju* 
 dicious and enterprising officer. Mr. Mann's con- 
 duct is equally meritorious. I am bound also by a 
 sense of well merited esteem to mention lo your par- 
 ticular patronage a young English gentleman, Mr. 
 Farquhar, who has volunteered in our expedition 
 through the desert, and has, in all cases of difficulty, 
 exhibited a firmness and attachment well deserving 
 my gratitude ; if compatible with our establishments, 
 I request you will ensure him a Lieutenacy in the 
 marine corpes. 
 
 jf have the honor to be. ivith 
 great respect and sincere 
 attachment, 
 Sir J your very 
 
 obedient servant, 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 Samuel Barron, Esq. Commander in Chief, 
 
 Berne, *.lpril2Qth, 1809. 
 Sir, 
 
 THE information I have the honor lo 
 forward of this date, stating in abstract occurrences 
 sii?,ce my last, will not disappoint the expectations 
 my calculations then may have formed. Certain 
 periods of your letter of 22d ult. Require a distinct 
 and separate answer. This I sliall do with candor. 
 It was understood, when government came to a 
 determination to try the eftect of a cooperation with 
 Haraet Bashaw against the enemy, that provisions 
 
GEN. EATON. 341 
 
 would be made adequate to the experiment. Six 
 field pieces, a tiioiisaml stands of arms, with suita> 
 ble ammunition, and eighty thousand dollars were 
 asked for by Hamet Basiiaw while yetiu possession 
 of this province, and gaining ground against the 
 usurper. The Secretary of the navy informed me 
 that the arms, ammunition, and fifty thousand dol- 
 lars would be furnislied ; and they were to have 
 been put on board at Hampton roads. While the 
 Squadron were getting ready for sea, information 
 arrived of the Bashaw having been driven from his 
 post, and retired to Egypt. In consequence of 
 which, it is to be presumed, the supplies getting in 
 readiness were withheld, as the success of the ex- 
 periment then appeared very doubtful. The twenty 
 thousand dollars deposited with the Consul General 
 at Algiers, to be applied to this service, cannot be 
 supposed adequate to the purpose of bringing the 
 Bashaw from his exile in Egypt, placing him in a 
 situation to act against a rival possessed of all tha 
 resources of his kingdom, and of carrying his plan of 
 operations into effect, whatever may have been the 
 disposition of the people towards him. The twenty 
 thousand dollars therefore could have been meant 
 only to assist the research of the Bashaw and the 
 revival of his aifairs, in case our plan should be 
 thought feasible. Hence, 1 think, ii is not presura - 
 ing too far to conclude that the unlimited discretion 
 vested in the Commander in chief in reirard to all 
 the exigencies of the war : and particularly as it re- 
 lates to the object in view, extends to every matter 
 necessary to its accomplishment. The instructions 
 of the Secretary of the navy certainly cannot mean 
 to tic him down to any limited applications. The 
 advantages calculated to result from the success of 
 this measure have been heretofore stated : and thus 
 far, the experiment has not disappointed those calcu- 
 lations. We are in possession of the most valuable 
 province of Tripoli. The high estimation the ene- 
 my places on this department of the kingdom is evi 
 
4S LIFE OF 
 
 ■7 
 
 dericed by the extraordinary efforts he has used to 
 defend it, and by the menaces to which he has re- 
 sorted to deter us from the operations here : his 
 camp was only fourteen hours march from the place 
 when we seized it by assault. I am this evening in- 
 formed they are retrogradeing, and only regret that 
 we have not the means of pursuing them. The ex- 
 pences already incurred in this expedition will a- 
 mount to nearly thirty thousand dollars — for thir- 
 teen thousand of which we are indebted to Messrs. 
 Briggs, brothers, of Alexandria, eleven thousand 
 have been received through the hands of Captain 
 Hull, including his advances and drafts in Egypt. 
 I have disbursed nearly two thousand, and for the 
 residue shall be indebted to individuals. This ex- 
 pence will not appear extravagant when it is consid- 
 ered, that it covers all our expenditures in Egypt 
 where many sacrifices were necessary to pass the 
 carriers of Turkish jealousy and avidity in getting 
 the Bashaw through that country ; of furnishing 
 horses, tents, arms, and ammunition preparatory to 
 our entering the desert ; of provisioning a thousand 
 two hundred souls, and about two hundred horses 
 in that barren desert upwards of forty days, a dis- 
 tance of nearly six hundred miles, and of caravans 
 for transporting these provisions the whole distance 
 from Alexandria : and also the unavoidable expend- 
 itures in presents to chiefs, and payments to troops in 
 order to gain the one, and avail ourselves of the ser- 
 vices of tJie other. 
 
 Ma.j/ ist. The situation in wliich it is known 
 Hamet Bashaw was found in upper Egypt must of 
 itself suggest the idea that he must be destitute of all 
 means necessary for moving a military expedition 
 except the attachment of his subjects. The posses- 
 sion of this i)rovinee does not materially alter that 
 situation. The general failure of the harvest which 
 the whole coast of Barbary experienced last season, 
 i together with the extraordinary tributes which Jo- 
 \ seph Bashaw has exacted to support the war, has ren- 
 
GEN. EATON. 313 
 
 dered, not only this, but every other part of Tripoli 
 poor and oppressed ; wholly destitute of the means 
 of contributing any thing very considerable to either 
 of the rival brothers. This is a circumstance favor- 
 able to our measures if we will go to the expence of 
 profiting of it. No chief, whatever may be the at- 
 tachment of his followers, can long support military 
 operations, without the means of subsisting and pay- 
 ing his troops. The observation is peculiarly appli- 
 cable to the temper, and circumstances of the Arabs 
 of this country, who in fact form its real strength — 
 who are poor, yet avaricious ; and who, being ac- 
 customed to despotism, are generally indiiferent a- 
 bout the name or person of their despot, provided he 
 imposes no new burthens. Stronger proof of this 
 cannot be brought than the difficulty Joseph Bash- 
 aw's camp has found in recruiting in its progress 
 from Tripoli. It left that long since with about two 
 hundred men. 
 
 1 have this morning intercepted six letters from 
 that camp, dated only four days since, signed by the 
 commander in chief, the Governor of Bengazi, and 
 an aid de camp, addressed to the Governor of Derne, 
 and to several chiefs, or Ciiieks, encouraging them 
 to hope and perseverance, and stating that their de- 
 lay has only been occasioned by expectations of re- 
 ceiving reenforcements from the Arab tribes : tliey 
 have increased their number only three hundred, 
 though they have passed through that part of the 
 country nearest, and most nearly attached to the ene- 
 my. Haniet Bashaw brought tv/o thousand Arabs 
 into the iield on tlie 37th. This serves to siiew the 
 weight of money with these people ; and as a pretty 
 irood criterion of the balance of influence between th 
 
 » 
 
 e 
 
 two Bashaws. With the aids contemplated by gov- 
 ernment to have been furnished Haroet Bashaw, 
 when in the position he now holds, I have no doubt 
 but lie may proceed lo the walls of Tripoli. Bui, 
 while I off'er this opinion, I cannot conceal my ap- 
 prehension, grounded on experience;, that, when ar- 
 
344) LIFE OF 
 
 rivttd there he 'vould effect little without more mili- 
 tary taient and firmness than exists either in himself 
 or the hordes of Arabs who attach themselves to him. 
 They are exactly what Volney describes of the 
 camps of the Egyptian Beys, rather a rabble than an 
 army. And in our affair here, they held safe posi- 
 tions, to catch fugitives, until the doors of the 
 enemy were opened for plunder, when they became 
 at once brave and impetuous. If, therefore, the co- 
 operation is to be pursued with him, and if its direc- 
 tion is to be confided to me, it must be on condition 
 that detachments of regulars may be occasionally de- 
 barked from the squadron, or procured elsewhere to 
 aid and give effect to such operations as require en- 
 ergy. With the supplies asked for, provisions for 
 our Christians, and w ith the firm front of one regu- 
 lar regiment, I believe it would not be presuming 
 too far to engage, in conjunction with the squadron, 
 to force the enemy to take refuge in a sanctuary. 
 But I confess sir, there is one discouraging circum- 
 stance, resulting from the declaved views in affording 
 auxiliaries to Hamet Bashaw. These aids are to be 
 withdrawn at any period when the enemy shall pro- 
 pose terms of peace which may be accepted by the 
 agent of government on the spot. If Hamet Bash- 
 aw is to be used solely as an instrument to the attain- 
 ment of an object exclusively to the advantage of the 
 United States, without any consideration to his fu- 
 ture existence and wellbeing, I cannot persuade my- 
 self that any bonds of patriotism diciate to me the du- 
 ty of having a chief agency, nor indeed any, in so 
 extraordinai v a sacrifice. Certainlv the enemv v;iU 
 propose any terms of peace with us the moment he 
 entertains serious apprehensions from his brother. 
 This may happen at any stage of the war most like- 
 ly to rid him of so dangerous a rival, and uot only 
 Hamet Bashaw, but every one acting with Iiira must 
 inevitably fall victims to our economy f 
 
 If we proceed no ftirther it wouid seem incumbent 
 on the honor of government, in the eytni of peace, at 
 
G£n. EATON. S45 
 
 least to place Haraet Bashaw in a situation as eligible 
 as that from which he has been drawn ; out of the 
 power of an incenced and vindictive enemy. Proba- 
 bly Joseph Bashaw would agree to establish him in 
 the government of this province and Bengazi, and 
 to restore to him his family. He may perhapKS be 
 made satisfied with such an accommodation, and the 
 United States experience fioia it, many of the ad- 
 vantages calculated to result from carrying the orig- 
 inal plan into execution, aud consistently with both 
 our honor and interest. At all events I am deeply 
 impressed with the opinion that the post we have 
 secured here, should not be abandoned, nor terms of 
 peace precipitately embraced ; indeed it were to be 
 wished that the elBfect of the success of a coopera- 
 tion might be tried : it would very probably be a 
 deathblow to the Barbary system. Any accommo- 
 dation savoring of relaxness, would as probably be 
 death to the navv and wound to the national honor. 
 If it determined either to proceed or hold a iK)sition 
 here, further supplies of cash and provision must 
 immediately be sent to the coast. For reasons 
 which will suggest themselves from preceding obser- 
 vations, it would not be good policy in Hamet Bash- 
 aw to levy contributions during the contest with his 
 brother, least it should alienate his friends : on the 
 contrary, he ought to be enabled to move with a lib- 
 eral hand. Cash will do much with the inhabitants 
 of this country ; even those whom it will not engage 
 to fight, will by it be engaged not to fight ; with it 
 we can pass generally. But if we here and there 
 find a walled tov, u, or a garrison impervious to its in- 
 fluence, cannon balls and bayonets come in as irre- 
 sistable agents. 
 
 The convention I have entered into with Hamet 
 Bashav/, may be useful in case he succeed in getting 
 repossession of his government : otherwise it can do 
 no mischief, eveu if ratified, as will appear by the 
 precaution in the second article. I iuelose a copy, 
 
 44- 
 
34S LIFE QF 
 
 It is with much pain I keep a sedeDtary position^ 
 to write ; this circumsiaiire with the indulgence 1 
 allow myself to expect from your goodness will, I 
 am persuaded, furnish me an apology fur omissions 
 and inaccuracies. 
 
 It has been deemed expedient, by Capt. Hull and 
 the other Commanders, whom I have consulted, and 
 myself, that the Argus and Nautilus should remain 
 here until these dispatches can receive answers, on 
 account of the enemy's camp being in the vicinity. 
 I am confident it will not approach us, ])ut disperse, 
 if it has not already. Should it be perceived, how- 
 ever, that the coast is to be abandoned, it would en- 
 courage an effort in the Commanders to gain their 
 post of destiaation. 
 
 I have not language to express my sense of grati- 
 tude, and obligation for your exertions in forwarding 
 us supplies : without them we must have perished. 
 With my most cordial wishes for the speedy and 
 perfect reestablishment of your health, and with the 
 assurance of my sincere respect and attachments^ 
 
 / have the honor to be. 
 Sir, your faithful 
 ohedient servunt, 
 fSisnedJ W ILLIAM EATON. 
 Samuel Barron, Esq. Commander in chief. 
 
 Verne f khigdom of Tripoli, May i5th, 1805. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 SINCE my dispatches cf 29th ultimo 
 and 1st instant, we have been occupied ^vith the 
 movements of the enemy's troops : who contrary to 
 our expectations, advanced and gave us ])att]e on 
 the 13th. The preceding night tlie late Bey of 
 Derne, whom I found inaccesi-able in his sacred asy- 
 Inm, escaped to their camp ; and having gained ve- 
 ry correct information of our number of Christians 
 on shore ; and carrying with him the confidence of 
 assurance that the inhabitants of the place wculd 
 
GEN. EATON. 847 
 
 abandon Haraet Bashaw, on the appea^rance of Jo- 
 seph's forees; gave encouragement and motion to the 
 latter. About 9 in the morning they shewed tliem- 
 «elves on the higli grounds iu our rear ; displayed 
 five standards : reconuoitered us a while ; and mov- 
 «d down in a body, and attacked a detachment of a- 
 bout one hundred of Hamet's cavalry, who were 
 posted in the rout about a mile from the town. These, 
 though they disputed the ground very bravely, were 
 obliged to give Avay to superiority of numbers. The 
 enemy |)ursued into the city under a steady fire- from 
 the Argus and Nautilus, and the guns from our bat- 
 tery and field pieces, and proceeded through an ir- 
 regular fire of small arms from ambuscades quite to 
 the Bashaw's palace. Here they met a warm re- 
 ception from the musketry of the people who were 
 near him, and of the inhabitants who fired from tSie 
 blind wallsof their houses : but they seemed .reso- 
 lute to get possession of the Bashaw's person. The 
 weakness of our post would not Justify a sortie to 
 his relief : and, apprehending, from the scattered 
 and relaxed fire of the musketry, that the day was 
 lost to us. 1 turned our gans upon the town. Yerj 
 fortunateJy a sliot from one of our nine pounders, 
 killed two of the enemy from tlieir horses near the 
 palace. They instantly sounded a retreat ; and, 
 abandoning the town at al! quarters, were every 
 where pursued hw Hamet's cavalry, until they were 
 chaced under the shot of the vessels; which galled 
 them sorely in them* flight. A little befure three, 
 P. M. every thing in the city was reduced to tran- 
 .quility, and the enemy were seen only from their 
 heights. I am happy that this occurrence enables 
 me to correct an opinion I had formed from the af- 
 fair of the S7th ultimo, that the Bashaw's people 
 calculated too much on saving themselves : they 
 certainly left the burthen of tiiat day to us, Avith 
 which I could not forbear reproaching their chief : 
 in this engagement they exhibited intrepidity and 
 good conduct. By an Italian slave who escaped the 
 
34S LIFE OF 
 
 enemy the succeeding evening, and by deserters who 
 have come in since^^ we have pretty certain informa- 
 tion that they lost twenty eight men killed and fifty 
 six wounded, eleven of whom are since dead. The 
 Bashaw lost twelve or fourteen killed and woimded. 
 The enemy are again appearing on the heights, and 
 by what we can learn, are making arrangements for 
 another assault. As a species of defence, they are 
 endeavoring to collect camels to secure their front 
 and fianks. These travelling breast works, it is 
 presumed may be worked both ways ; and may per- 
 haps, be rendered useful in the transportation of our 
 baggage to Bengazi. So soon as the issue of the next 
 recontre is decided, whicli will probably happen 
 within two or three days, if at all, the schooner will 
 go ofi* v/ith dispatches. 
 
 May iGth. Last evening two oflRcers deserted to 
 us from the euemy. Chicks from Cape Mensurat, 
 Selini and Ahaliel, who assure us that the camp are 
 in great disunion. The Beys, stung with disappoint- 
 ment and shame, and their Tripolitan troops are for 
 hazarding another attempt on Derne. The Arabs 
 recruited on the march, are opposed to it. The 
 number of Tripolitans is three huiu'.red and fifty, 
 well mounted : of Arabs on liorseback, between two 
 aYid: three hundred ; and about three hundred Bedou- 
 ins, or desert Arabs on foot. 
 
 in this promiscuous army, are two or three hun- 
 dred fugitives from this place, who fought us on the 
 27th ult. and who now pass for Tripolitans and A- 
 rabs. 
 
 May i^tli. The enemy have thrown up {)arapets 
 of loose stone wall, with loop holes, around their 
 camp, which is planted three miles distant, and sep- 
 arated from us by a chain of mountains, and are em- 
 ployed in plundering corn and forage, for their own 
 ancl the subsistance of their horses. By fugitives 
 come in this morning, Ave learn that the Arabs obsti- 
 nately refuse to advance again, within reach of our 
 cannon, or to suffer their camels to be used as breast 
 
genJ^eaton. 349 
 
 works. The Beys are embarrassed. They must 
 make a desperate piish^ or a retrograde inarch. 
 Never were an enemy in sa favorahle a position to 
 be attacked by a cowp de main, I cannot prc^ ail 
 on the Bashaw's people to attempt it : they never 
 fight by night : they indeed are unwilling to go out of 
 the town against the enemy, before receiving some 
 pecuniary encouragement. We are really too weak 
 to force their lines alone ; and the state of the veR. 
 sels does not admit of debarkations. It is enough 
 to state these facts, without a comment, to give you 
 a sympathy in the pain we suffer under these morti- 
 fying circumstances. The Nautilus sails to night 
 with this letter, and duplicates of my last. I beg 
 leave to refer you to Capt Dent, whose intelligence 
 collected on the spot, and whose correct judgment 
 will enable him to supply circumstantially such in- 
 formation of our actual position and future prosj)ects 
 as may not be gathered from my cotnmunications. 
 We shall endeavor to hold this post till his return, 
 (which I request you will permit,) though I ought 
 not to conceal my apprehensions that it will be very 
 difficult many days without sup])lies. The enemy 
 on our rear cut oii", at present, all provisions which 
 we might otherwise draw from the country. 
 
 / have the honor to be^ 
 very resvectfullf/. Sir, 
 
 your most obedient servant, 
 f Signed) WILLIAM EATON. 
 Samuel Barron, Esq. Commander in chief. 
 
 N. B. Bread and rice are essential articles of sub- 
 sistence — coflFee and sugar necesi^ary — some salt 
 provisions and small rations. 
 
 Berne, May 2dikj 180;?. 
 Sir, 
 
 ►SINCE the departure of the Nautilus 
 with my dispatches of the i7lh; the enemy have dai- 
 
350 WFE OF 
 
 ly shewed themselves in a menacing posture nearus ; 
 but have not come to general action. Yesterday a 
 detacliment of abont 50 or 60 of their foot, covered 
 by a troop of horse, descended the mountain by a ra- 
 vine, fell upon some of our Arab families, who were 
 camped in the rear of the town, and drove off* sever- 
 al cattle and camels. The Bashaw's people pursu- 
 ed and attacked them under the mountain ; killed 
 and vvounded three of ihera, and recovered their cat- 
 tle. I marched out with Lieut. O'Bannon, Mr. 
 Mann, and Farquhar, and thirty rank and file, A- 
 mericans and Greeks, from tlie garison, and took a 
 ravine on the left, with a view of cutting off* their 
 retreat. We fell in with them soon after ascending 
 the moujitain. They opposed to us a short resis- 
 tance, but fled before a charge af bayonet. We pur- 
 sued them within a short distance of their camp : 
 killed their Captain and five men ; wounded a num- 
 ber, and took two prisoners ; without receiving any 
 injury ourselves. The camp beat to arms ; mount- 
 ed and moved towards us in a body ; but did not 
 come witliin musket shot. They could not ascer- 
 tain our number, and apprehending that we were an 
 advanced party aiming to draw them into an ambus- 
 cade on ^lisadvantageous ground, formed in order of 
 battle and kept their post — while we retired down 
 the mountain. The enemy swore vengeance : and 
 resolved to execute it to day. About nine in the 
 morning they advanced their whole force and posted 
 themselves on an eminence in fair view. Proper 
 stations were taken on our part to receive them. 
 They reconnoitered us a while ; but, when orders 
 were given to attack, their Arabs mutinized and ret- 
 rograded ; and tlie Beys were compelled to follow 
 with their Tripolitans. 
 
 Ju.ne M. To day the enemy brought themselves 
 to a resolution to attack. They had previously forc- 
 ed the Arabs into oaths of fidelity by seizing and 
 chaining hostages from their most considerable fam- 
 ilies : but their movements this day terminated ex- 
 
GEN, EATON. 351 
 
 actly as on the 37th. The Beys attempted to forcfe 
 the Arabs forward. They resisted : and alledgcd, 
 as on other similar occasions, that they were willing 
 to fight an enemy of their own mode of warfare : but 
 they could not resist the Americans, who fired enor- 
 mous balls, that carried away a man and his camel 
 at once, or rushed on them with bayonets, withoftt 
 giving them time to load their muskets. 
 
 Last evening I had the honor to receive your let- 
 ter of the nineteenth ultimo, by which I learn, that 
 the reigning Bashaw of Tripoli^ has lately made 
 overtures of jpeace, which the Consul General, 
 Colonel Lear, has determined to meet ; viewing the 
 'present moment propitious to such a step. In con- 
 sequence of which, it seems contemplated, that we 
 should withdraw ourselves from this coast. It was 
 an event anticipated in my letter of the first ultimo, 
 that the reigning Bashaw would seize the moment 
 when he should apprehend himself seriously in dan- 
 ger from his brother, to rid himself of this rival by 
 detaching from him our succor, through overtures 
 of peace. Facts establish the correctness of this 
 conjecture. That the inhabitants of Tripoli are 
 weary of the war is well ascertained. That they 
 secretly desire the restoration of their legitimate^ sov- 
 re/^^w because they believe him peacably inclined, 
 transpires through various indubitable channels : and 
 that the Arabs and Moors of the kingdom, who form 
 its entire population, are generally in a revolutionary^ 
 state is equally true. Joseph Bashaw is not ignor- 
 ant of these dispositions. As early as the month of 
 January last he was, according to the Danish Con- 
 sul, v^ery attentive upon our transactions icith hm 
 brother in Alexandria. On the 19th ultimo, late 
 overtures liad intimated to the Consul General liis 
 inclination towards a pacification. We had then 
 been seventy six days from Alexandria ; thirty five 
 asTar forward as Bomba : and twenty one in pos- 
 session of this place. Of these movements and op- 
 erations, intercepted comiaunicafions by wav of 
 
353 LIFE OF 
 
 M«nsurat and Bengazi prove to lis the enemy was 
 not uniiiiormed. It is now nineteen days since 
 his forces w^ere beaten on tliis grojind ; and since 
 that, detached parties surprized and routed. These 
 are also events wiiich cannot be easily concealed* 
 It does not appear that the season has hitherto per- 
 mitted any formidable display of our naval force be- 
 fore Tripoli. It cannot be unfair therefore, to infer 
 that the pacific overtures of the reigning B.ashaw, 
 are influenced in a great measure by apprehensions 
 of his brothers approach. Yet it seems not to be ad? 
 mited that we have any obligations towards Hamet 
 Bashavv'. But if such is the effect of the enemy's 
 apprehensions from tliis quarter, (who certainly 
 knows liow to compare the relative influence of the; 
 parties,) the calculations we have formed of the ul- 
 timate result of an effectual cooperation should no 
 longer seem visionary. I do believe it was in tlie 
 contemplation of government to have profited of 
 this advantageous circumstance as instrumental to 
 chastise a perfidious foe, rather than to sacrifice a 
 credulous friend. I know it was in the general 
 wish, and indeed the expectations of our country, 
 that the enemy should be chastised. How far this 
 wish and expectation will be satisfied, from the ar- 
 rangements now in operation, time and events must 
 detertnine. But 1 cannot, from any shape in which 
 the subject can be viewed, be persuatled that the 
 mannet' of serving ourselves of Hamet Bashaw, and 
 abandoiiing him, can be reconciled to those princi- 
 ples oiJumor ii\u\ justice, whicii I know actuate the 
 national breast. It seems enough to cancel every 
 })ledi;e that we have Ijrought him back to the post 
 from wliich lie had been driven. It ought to be tak- 
 en into consideration that this is no other than tho 
 post from whence he has aiv/ays asked supplies : 
 and that consequently setting him down here, just as 
 he was, can render liim no essential ser\ice, but to 
 abandon him here under actual circumstances where 
 famine, and the ravages of the enemy's forces have 
 
GEN. EATON. 363 
 
 exhausted the resources of the province, and while 
 those forces are still in the vicinity ; cannot but leave 
 him in a more hopeless situation than he left the 
 place : and here is an additional reason why his 
 mesLns tive not materially altered for the better. He 
 was driven away on account of his intercourse with 
 the enemies of his rival. He has been induced to 
 return under an expectation of receiving aids from 
 us, to prosecute his views of recovering his throne. 
 I thought myself authorised, from the assurances 
 given me by the Secretary of the navyj to encourage 
 him with tlie prospect of receiving those aids — and 
 frequent expressions of your resolution to make an 
 example of Tripoli the ensuing summer, fortified me 
 in the confidence that the exercise of my discretion 
 here, in the manner I have done, would eventually, 
 if not directly, assist the accomplishment of these ob- 
 jects. The resistance we met at this place is said to 
 have discouraged, the expectations formed for the co- 
 operations in view. This resistance would undoubt- 
 edly have been less obstinate, had not the vicinity of 
 the enemy's camp in some measure imposed, or at 
 least encouraged it. But it may have been expected 
 that the Governor of Joseph Bashaw, who twenty 
 months ago, with forces from Tripoli, drove Hamet 
 Bashaw from the post, and who still held posses- 
 sion, would oppose his return by all the means in 
 his power. Want of qualities essential in the char- 
 acter of a commander and a j)rince is stated as a se- 
 rious obstacle to the advancement of his cause. We 
 do not hitherto find that the enemy possesses those 
 qualities in so eminent a degree, as to justify a com- 
 parison to the prejudice of his rival. It must be ad- 
 mitted that the latter possesses the capacity of com- 
 manding respect and conciliating affection among 
 his subjects. And I liave lately had good reasons 
 to correct the unfavorable opinion at one time enter- 
 tained of liis military enterprise. Yet he is not a 
 General. I never saw but one Turk who, I thought, 
 deserved that character. I am not alone in the o 
 
 45 
 
354 LIFE OF 
 
 pinion. It is a general belief among the gentlemen 
 who have acted with me, that Hamet IJasha>v pos- 
 sesses talents sufficient for our purposes. As evidence 
 of this, every one of them is not only willing, but so- 
 licitous to pursue the expedition. With such aids 
 as 1 have mentioned to be thought requisite, w^e 
 could at once break up the enemy's camp in our 
 front, and open our way, without farther considera- 
 ble impediments, to the gates of Tripoli. The ene- 
 my is aware of this ; and is endeavoring tc outgen- 
 eral us. His camp is abroad ; of course his defence 
 is weakened at the Capital. The total defeat of his 
 forces here would be a fatal blow to his interests : 
 to recal them would be to abandort the provinces of 
 Derne and Bengazi ; but to remove the enemy near 
 him by paeitication, he may safely turn all his re- 
 sources against bis rival : and, when once relieved 
 from this danger, we shall again undoubtedly have 
 experiences of his respect to treaty. 1 am suspi- 
 cious that the Spanisli Consul has an influence in Jo- 
 seph Bashaw's measures. If my recollection serves 
 me, he was accused by our late Consul, Mr. Cath- 
 eart, of advising the war. I recollect perfectly well 
 hearing him assert, at Tunis, in December, 1801, 
 that the .^/wencaws miscalculated if they thought of 
 forcing a peace tcithoiit paying for it Nalional 
 shame, perhaps interest, and individual pride, engag- 
 ed him to favor such an issue of the war : he is said 
 to be the confidential man of the Bashaw. I am a- 
 fraid one important consideration has been overlook- 
 ed in the arrangements lately adopted by Mr. Lear : 
 the danger of falling back to an irrecoverable dis- 
 tance ; in ease of failure of the negociati<>n commtnc- 
 ed by him, and at the same time tlie ahaudonment of 
 the advantageous ground we hold h»M'e : it would 
 certainly have a tendency to unite the ]:ii)gdom of 
 Tripoli against us, and possibly encour.ige the whole 
 coast of Barl)ary to aggression : or. should it even 
 transpire that the evacuation of this post had been 
 recommended, it would certainly have an uufavora- 
 
GEN, EATON. 355 
 
 ble influence on the pending negociation. Another 
 consideration is involved, which cannot hut wound 
 the pride of military principles : we must strike Wie 
 flag of our country here, in presence of an enemy, 
 who have not merited tlie triumph ; and yield to 
 them the honor of a victory wliich no encounter hith- 
 erto has given them a right to claim nor reason to ex- 
 pect : certainly they, and perhaps the world, will 
 place an unjust construction on this retreat. At any 
 rate it is a retreat ; and a retreat of Americans ! If 
 individual feeling were alone to be consulted in this 
 situation, it would prefer a manly defeat to this mode 
 of safety. The consequence to our national charac- 
 ter would he mure honorable. 
 
 The burthen of expenee which must accrue from 
 pursuing the cooperation, seems an insurmountable 
 obstacle. I am apprehensive that the ultimate ex- 
 pence of maintaining a peace with Joseph Bashaw, 
 will be more barthensome to the United Statas, than 
 that accruing from this cooperaiion : besides it is cal- 
 culated that this expenee will be reimbursed. It is 
 insinuated to me that the Consul General is opposed 
 to this measure. It is possible that he may have bet- 
 ter information from whence to form an opinion of its 
 issue, than we who have thus far accompanied the 
 expedition; but it is not probable. Has he any agen- 
 cy in the icar ? — I cannot but still indulge the hope 
 that additional instructions from government will ar- 
 rive in season to enable you to furnish the means of 
 prosecuting the cooperation to effect, of cliastising 
 the temerity of our enemy, and of preventing the 
 melancholy and disjgreable events, which present 
 appearances threaten. — ^You would weep^ sir, were 
 you on the spot, to witness the unbounded coniideuce 
 placed in the American character here, and to reflect 
 thai this confidence must slrortly sink intecontempt 
 and immortal hatred : you would feel that this confi- 
 deuce, at any price, should be carried through the 
 Barbary Regencies, at least to Tripoli, by the same 
 means that it has been inspired here. But, if no fur- 
 
336 LIFE OF 
 
 ther aifls come to our assistance, and we are compell- 
 ed to leave the place under its actual circumstances, 
 humanity itself must weep : the whole city of D erne, 
 together with numerous families of Arabs, who at- 
 tached themselves to Hamet Bashaw, and who re- 
 sisted Joseph's troops in expectation of succor from 
 us, must be abandoned tj their fate : havoc and 
 slaughter will be the inevitable consequence : not a 
 soul of them can escape the savage vengeance of the 
 enemy. In proceeding, therefore, thus far and no 
 farther, instead of lending aids to the unfortunate 
 people whom we use as allies, and of whose situation 
 we are actually profiting to our own exclusive bene- 
 fit, we involve them in destruction ! Could I have 
 apprehended this result of my exertions, certainly no 
 consideration would have prevailed on me to have 
 taken an agency in a tragedy so manifestly fraught 
 with intrigue ; so woundiug to human feelings ; 
 and as I must view it, so degrading to our national 
 honjr. 
 
 It is impossible, though enjoined on me, to say 
 any thing farther to Hamet Basnaw of the Squadron 
 coojjerating with him, after having been officially in- 
 formeil, that a negociation is opened with his broth- 
 er, witliout so far considering his situation as to have 
 agreed on a cessation of arms. The delusion is al- 
 ready carried too far. If it had not been our inten- 
 tion to support him, or at least to save him, both 
 honor and religion should have forbidden any en- 
 couragement to, or use of him. It is said some pro- 
 visions will be attempted in his favor in our peace 
 stipulations ; this is, however, to be left to conven- 
 ience. But before this provision be definitely ar- 
 ranged, if at all, and information of it received here, 
 no armistice being agreed on, and this post deserted 
 by us, both himself and adherents may be cut in 
 pieces by the enemy's army here, and by such of his 
 own party as disappointment and rage will carry o- 
 vor to them. 
 
GEN. EATON. 857 
 
 Viewing the present posture of affairs therefore, 
 either as elegible to our national honor and interests, 
 or the situation of the Bashaw and people here, I 
 consider it due to the confidence of government and 
 a bond imposed by all the injunctions of humanity, 
 to endeavor to hold this post to the last moment, in 
 hopes that some happy occurrence may take place to 
 secure our own and at the same time to assist the in- 
 terests of our friends ; and 1 most devoutly pray hea- 
 ven, that the blood of innocence may not stain the 
 footsteps of us who have aimed only to fight the ene- 
 mies of our country. 
 
 June Sd. Tiie enemy feinted another attack to- 
 day by sending a detachment on the back of the 
 town, which was repelled with loss. Their object 
 seemed to aim at ascertaining the disposition of the 
 inhabitants of the place ; these turned out to a man in 
 view of them. Their main body halted at a safe 
 distance : and after some manoeuvering retired to 
 their camp. During the alarm, a detachment from 
 the garrison, under command of Lieut. O'Bannon pass- 
 ed through town. Every body, age and childhood, 
 even women from their recluses shouted, '^ Live the 
 Americans ! Long live our friends and protectors !"' 
 Hapless beings ! If they could descry the reverse 
 that probably awaits them, how justly would their 
 acclamations of confidence be turned to execrations ! 
 
 June 5th. This morning a spy, a religious chief, 
 whom I had employed to watch the enemy's motions, 
 and wh« last night slept in their camp, reports that a 
 courier arrived yesterday, eleven days from Tripoli, 
 with dispatches from the reigning Bashaw, to his 
 Commander in Chief in this vicinity, stating his in- 
 tentions of concluding a peace with the United States, 
 which he was resolved to carry into elFect, even if he 
 sold his ivardrobe I After which he sliould know 
 how to dispose of his internal enemies. He enjoin- 
 ed it on the commander to hold his position before 
 this town, if possible, till the issue of this project of 
 peace should be known. The Mirabout chief added 
 
358 LIFE OF 
 
 that the Beys had it in contemplation to propose an 
 armistice to me. I shall meet such an overture, if 
 it shoulfl be offered, until I receive further advice 
 from head quarters. 
 
 Eleven o'clock, A. M. This morning came in two 
 deserters from the enemy's camp, both Levant Turks, 
 Ismien and Maiiamet, a Choux and a Cheriff, cor- 
 responding with the rank of Aid du Camp and En- 
 sign, who confirm the information before stated ; and 
 add that the Beys cannot prevail on their troops to 
 attack this place under our battery, and guns of the 
 shipping ; but that they calculate on sacking the 
 city, the moment we evacuate our posts. These of- 
 ficers put themselves under the protection of the A- 
 snerican flag, giving this reason for reference that 
 they wished to get out of the kingdom of Tripoli, 
 and thought this a favorable occasion. They say 
 Joseph Bashaw has about two hundred soldiers in 
 Tripoli, in whom he can place confidence, and three 
 or four hundred others, who are undisciplined and 
 suspected. They declare that the people in general 
 of the kingdom expect with solicitude and impatience 
 the approach of Hamet Bashaw, as they think him a 
 good man, and are weary of the madness and vio- 
 lence of his brothe^r. 
 
 Five o'clock, P. M. This afternoon an Arabic 
 chief, Ab'd'el Selim, with a party of warriors came 
 over to us : he brings a message from the principal 
 Arab chief at camp, tliat he will come over to the 
 Sashaw with his cavalry, amounting to about one 
 hundred and fifty, if he can have assurances that the 
 Americans will not abandon him, in which case 
 Joseph Bashaw would devour his family and lands. 
 This chief asserts that the Bey of Bengazi, who is 
 with the camp, is well disposed towards us ; and on- 
 ly waits the arrival of our supplies to declare him- 
 self. 
 
 Be assured. Sir, we only want cash and a few ma- 
 rines to proceed to Tripoli, and to meet jou in the 
 citadel of that niratical kennel for the liberation of 
 
GEN. EATON. 359 
 
 our captives. li would only occasion a delay of 
 their release a few months, their triumph will amply 
 compensate this delay. 
 
 It is thought proper to dispatch the Hornet with 
 these communications, and hold ground here until 
 your answer can be received. 
 
 J?twe 9th. Day before yesterday, Hodge Ismain 
 Bey, the second in command of the enemy's army 
 here, deserted with a few attendants and camels, took 
 off the military chest and entered the desert for up- 
 per Egypt. This defection is said to have been caus- 
 ed by his being cha^'ged with bad generalship in the 
 affair of the 13th ultimo. He commanded the cav- 
 alry. 
 
 June iith. Yesterday morning the enemy, having 
 received fresh reinforcements of Arabs, appeared in 
 great numbers on the heights which overlook the 
 town ; and moved along the site of the mountain for 
 the space of two or three miles, apparently in search 
 of some avenue to descend without being exposed to 
 our cannon, but seemed irresolute. An accident 
 brought on an engagement. The declivity of the 
 mountain is a steep and uneven ledge of rocks, with 
 only one pass where cavalry can move down ; and 
 this about two miles and a half from the town. The 
 plain below boi*dering on the sea about one mile in 
 depth is calcarious rock and red earth, very broken ; 
 in many places of whieij the brass twelves could take 
 effect, in others, impeded by ridges near the shore. 
 About half way between the town and the pass of 
 the mountain the Bashaw had posted a few cavalry 
 to serve as videts. A detachment of the enemy* of 
 superior numbers, descended the pass with a view of 
 cutting off this po.-^t : but they were manfully resisted 
 and repelled. Reniforeemcnts of small parties join- 
 ed, and continued to join, on one side and the other, 
 till about two o'clock, when the action liccame gener- 
 al. We were little mure than spectators of the scene. 
 The Argus, as often as thii enemy wei'c uncovered 
 from tiie ridges, galled them with her shot IVom her 
 
360 LIFE OF 
 
 long twelves ; (the 24 lb. cannonades could not reach) 
 and we occasionally brought one of our field pieces 
 to bear on them from our advanced battery ; but the 
 fire of the Hornet was lost by reason of her being 
 too near the shore, the high blujff of which covered 
 the enemy. Captain Hull, who had the fairest op- 
 portunity of ascertaining it, judges there were five 
 thousand men on the field. The engagement lasted 
 four hours : though frequently charged the Bashaw 
 lost not an inch of ground. At length the enemy 
 gave way, and were pursued quite to the pass of the 
 mountain, where a regard to safety compelled many 
 of them to quit their horses, which fell into the hands 
 of our friends. This action, though fought in the 
 Barbary manner, was conducted judiciously on the 
 part of the Bashaw, and the victory was decidedly 
 his. The number of his killed and wounded is be- 
 tween fifty and sixty : among the latter four of his 
 principal officers. Some Arab women who came in 
 from the enemy's camp this morning, say the Beys 
 lost between forty and fifty killed, and upwards of 
 seventy wounded. If we could have furnished but 
 two hundred bayonets to assist a charge and cut the 
 pass of the mountain, not a horse should have escap- 
 ed. Mr. O'Bannon was impatient to lead his marines 
 and the Greeks, (about thirty eight in number) to the 
 scene of action. This could not be done without 
 leaving our post too defenceless in case of a reverse : 
 besides, I confess, I had doubts whether the meas- 
 ures lately adopted by our commissioner of ])eace 
 would justify me in acting ofleusively any longer in 
 this quarter. Had the aids come foricard season abJi/, 
 tchich we Jwped, to receive here, we might now have 
 been at Cape Mensural^ and in fifteen days more at 
 Tripoli. Head winds have detained the Hornet, 
 and a gale last night took the Argus to sea : as soon 
 as she returns Captain Evans will be dispatched to 
 head quarters. 
 
 I have communicated, some days since, such parts 
 of the contents of your letter of the nineteenth ultimo 
 
GEW. EAtON. 361 
 
 as concern him to Hamet Bashaw. He answers, 
 that, even with supplies, it would be fruitless for him 
 to attempt to prosecute the war with his brother af- 
 ter you shall have withdrawn your squadron from 
 the coast ; but without supplies he must be left in a 
 most forlorn situation ; for he can command no re- 
 sources here, nor can he place any faith in provis- 
 ions which may be stipulated with his brother in his 
 favor, unless guaranteed by the United States. He 
 emphatically says that to abandon him here is not to 
 have cooperated with him, but with his rival ! He 
 wishes us to take him off in case of a peace. I am 
 extremely anxious to learn the issue of the negocia- 
 tion. 
 
 Mean time, I have the honor to be, 
 
 with great respect and consideration j 
 Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 Samuel Barron, Esq. Commander in chief of the 
 United States forces in the Mediterranean. 
 
 On board the United States frigate Constella- 
 tion, off Derne, June iSth. 1805. 
 
 Extract *. to Commodore Rodgers, then in com- 
 mand of the Squadron. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 AT six o'clock, P. M. of the eleventh 
 instant, Capt. Campbell ancliored in tliis road ; at 
 eight, sent off Lieut. Wedersrandt witli your letter of 
 the sixth, and Col. Lear's of the fifth, announcing 
 the conclusion of peace with Joseph Bashaw of Trip- 
 oli, and, consequently, requiring me to evacuate this 
 post ; and the next morning a letter from his own 
 hand, advising me that his ship would receive my 
 garrison. About nine o'clock the Captain came on 
 shore, attended by a few of his officers, whom I ac- 
 companied into town. I now coramunicated to the 
 
 46 
 
'B6^ . LIFE OF 
 
 Bashaw the news of peace on our part wiih bis 
 brother ; and the convention, that his family should 
 be restored to him on condition of his quietly with- 
 drawing himself from the kingdom. He said he had 
 no safety but in leaving the country with us ; and 
 even this would be impossible with him and hazard- 
 ous to us if the project sh(mld transpire before carri- 
 ed into effect : despair would drive his adherents to 
 revenge and we must fall victims to it. I conse- 
 quently kept up the idea of an attack on the enemy, 
 an idea which had been excited from a report that 
 reinforcements had come out in the frigate for this 
 purpose ; and accordingly sent ammunition and ex- 
 tra rations to be distributed among our Moorish and 
 Arab troops, and dispatched spies to ascertain the 
 enemy's position. With the same apparent view 1 
 inspected the garrison ; ordered them to be divested 
 of all heavy baggage ; and to be held at their post in 
 readiness to advance at the word. At eight in the 
 evening I placed patroles of marines to stop inter- 
 course between the town and our post ; this was a 
 usual precaution at this hour, with only the differ- 
 ence that on ordinary occasions this duty was done 
 by rotine. In the mean time all the Constellation's 
 boats were laid alon"- side our wharf. I ordered the 
 Captain of cannoniers to embark his company with 
 the field pieces and a ten inch howitzer which fell in- 
 to our hands on the 37th April ; and after them the 
 Greek company. This was executed with silence 
 and alacritv ; but witli astonishment. The marines 
 remained at their posts. When the boats were seen 
 returning I sent a messenger to the Bashaw request- 
 ing an interview. Understanding the purport of this 
 message, he immediately repaired to the fort with 
 his retinue ; dismounted, and embarked in the 
 boats. The marines followed with the American 
 officers. When all were securely off, I stepped in- 
 to a small boat which I had retained for the purpose, 
 and had just time to save my distance when the 
 shore, our camp, and the battery, were crowded with 
 
GEN. EATOX. 363 
 
 the distmcted soldiery and populace ; some calling 
 on the Bashaw ; some on me ; some utterine; 
 shrieks ; some execrations ! Finding we were out of 
 reach) they fell upon our ti^nts and horses, which 
 were left standing ; carried them ojQT, and prepared 
 themselves for flight. My garrison, together with 
 the Bashaw and suit, w^ere all on board the Constel- 
 lation about two in the morning. Before break of 
 day ouir Arabs Avere all off to the mountains, and 
 with them such of the inhabitants of the town as had 
 means to fly, taking away with them, every living 
 animal fit for subsi^-tence or burthen which belonged 
 to the place. This morning a Chaux from TriiJoK, 
 who came out in the frigate, went on shore under ,a 
 flag of truce, and carried letters of amnesty from Jfl* 
 seph Bashaw to the people of Derne on condition of 
 their returning to allegiance. He stated, on ])is re- 
 turn, that nothing but despair depicted itself in the 
 visages of the few wretched inhabitants who remain- 
 ed ; that they rejected Joseph Ba.^haw's terms of 
 pardon, declaring that they knew his perfidy too 
 well to suffer themselves to be ensnared by it ; and 
 that they were i^esolved to defend themselves to the 
 last moment from their terraces and walls of their 
 liouses against his troops. It is to be hoped the po- 
 sition they have taken may terminate in an accom^ 
 modation and save the tragedy that menaces them. 
 It is now twelve o'clock, and we see no symptoms 
 of the enemy's troops advancing towards the town. 
 This, however, may be accounted for on other prin- 
 ciples than those of humanity or arrangement. On 
 the arrival of the Constellation, the idea impressed 
 itself on tliera also, that she brought troops and sup- 
 plies ; in consequence of wliich, they decamped dis- 
 orderly and retired with precipitation to a post fifteen 
 miles in the rear towards the desert : it is possible 
 they may not yet have heard of our evacuation. In 
 a few minutes more we shall lose sight of this devot- 
 ed city, which has experienced as strange a reverse 
 in so short a time as ever was recorded in the disas- 
 
364 LIFE OF 
 
 ters of war ; thrown from proud success and elated 
 prospects into an abyss of hopeless wretchedness. 
 Six hours ago the enemy were seeking safety from 
 them by flight ; this moment we drop them from ours 
 into the hands of their enemy, for no other crime but 
 too much confidence in us ! 
 
 The man, whose fortune we have accompanied 
 tlms far, experiences a reverse as striking. He falls 
 from the most flattering prospects of a kingdom, to 
 beggary ! 
 
 Col. Lear to Gen. Eaton. 
 
 Tripoli, in Barhary, June Gth^ 1805. 
 
 IN consequence of a representation 
 made to me by Commodore Barron, that the present 
 was a favorable moment for us to enter into a negoci- 
 ation with the Bashaw of Tripoli, and my instruc- 
 tions leaving it4o the judgment of the Commander 
 of our forces in this sea, to determine the proper time 
 for sttch an attempt, I repaired off' this place on the 
 26th ultimo, in the United States frigate, Essex, and 
 immediately opened a communication with the 
 Bashaw. His demands were 200,000 dollars for 
 peace and ransom, and the delivery, on our part, of 
 all the Tripqlines in our possession, and a restoration 
 of all their property. These terms were at once re- 
 jected in toto ; and after some discussion, I propos- 
 ed, as the ultimatum, that a mutual delivery of pris- 
 oners should tak^ place, and as he had a balance of 
 more than two hundred in his favor, I would give 
 him 60,000 dollars for them ; but not a cent for 
 peace, which should be made on terms of the most 
 favored nation with whom he has a treaty, and x 
 regulation respecting prisoners, if a future war 
 should take place between our nations. And, in 
 order to prevent any fruitless altercation, I declared 
 I would not go on shore to complete tlie business un- 
 til these terms were forraallv acceded to. Th? 
 
GEN. EATON. 865 
 
 weather proving bad, for the season, obliged our ves- 
 sels to keep oif and prevented a regular cimmunica- 
 tion with the shore, which protracted the completion 
 of the preliminaries till the 3d inst. when they were 
 sent off to me with the Bashaw's seal. I immedi- 
 ately went on shore, and in 24 hours all the officers 
 and crew of the late frigate Philadelpiiia, were sent 
 on board the ships. 
 
 I found that the heroic bravery of our few Coun- 
 trymen at Derne, and the idea that we had a large 
 force and immense supplies at that place, had made 
 a deep impression on the Bashaw. I kept -up that 
 idea, and endeavored, from thence, to make an ar- 
 rangement favorable to his brother, who, although 
 not found to be the man whom many had supposed, 
 was yet entitled to some consideration from us. But 
 I found that this was impracticable, and that, if per- 
 sisted in, would drive him into measures which 
 miglit prove fatal to our countrymen in his power. 
 I therefore engaged, of course, that on the conclusion 
 of peace, we should withdraw all our forces and 
 supplies from Derne and other parts of his domin- 
 ions, and the Bashaw engages, that if his brother 
 withdraws himself quietly from his dominions, his 
 wife and family shall be restored to him. This is 
 all that could be done, and I have no doubt but the 
 United States will, if deserving, place him in a sit- 
 uation as eligible as that in which he was found. 
 
 I presume that long before this reaches you, (if it 
 should find you at Derue) you will have receive^ 
 Commodore Barron's letters by the sloop Hornet, 
 which convey iiis sentiments and instructions fully 
 on this subject. In consequence of a continuance of 
 his ill health, he has resigned the command of our 
 Squadron in this sea, to John Rodgers, Esq. the ofiG- 
 cer next in seniority to himself, who sends from this 
 place the United States frigate, Constellation, Capt. 
 Campbell, with this letter and his dispatches. 
 
 The Bashaw has requested that a Chous may be 
 permitted to go in the frigate to Derne, who will not 
 
366 LIFE OF 
 
 land ; but merely send on shore letters from the 
 Bashaw, and return in the frigate to the port to which 
 she may be destined. 
 
 I pray yon will accept youi-self, and present to 
 Mr. O'Bannou, and our brave countrymen with you, 
 my sincere congratulations on an event which your 
 and their heroic bravery has tended to render so 
 honorable to our country. 
 
 fVith consideration and esteem, 
 I have the honor to be. 
 Sir, your most obedient servant y 
 TOBIAS LEAR. 
 Commissioner of the United States, for negociating 
 a peace with the Bashaw of Tripoli. 
 
 Extract to the Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 Syracuse, July Qth, 1805. 
 I HAVE the honor to inclose herewith, 
 copies of my communications to the Commodores 
 since I left Egypt. By the next occasion shall give 
 the correspondence. 
 
 I cannot but think our pacification has been too 
 much precipitated. Was it contemplated that so 
 formidable a squadron should be sent into this sea to 
 negociate without showing itself before the enemy's 
 port ? Such is the fact ! If it had only appeared off 
 the place, I have no doubt the effect would have been 
 a peace without money. If it had gone into vigorous 
 cooperations, Joseph Bashaw must have resigned at 
 discretion, or saved himself by jiight : he was calcu- 
 lating more on this than on dpfence. But we have 
 peace ! 
 
 The whole expence of my expedition in cash a- 
 mountsto S39,108 58 cents, payment of troops in- 
 cluded. As soon as I can effect a fall settlement, 
 my accounts will be transmitted. It will be neces- 
 sary to negociate bills on your department, in order 
 to em-jble me to do tliis;, to the amount of S7,083 58. 
 
GEN. EATON. 367 
 
 J^In order to give the reader the grounds of disagree- 
 ment between Gen. Eaton, and Com. Barron, 
 and Mb. Lear, the following letters and extracts 
 are submitted. The reader will -particularly at- 
 tend to the dates, and the secret verbal orders of 
 Com. Barron, the original of which is attested 
 in the handwriting of Capt. Hull, and Gen. 
 Eaton.] 
 
 Verbal orders of Commodore Barron, to Captain 
 Hull, of the United States brig Argus, in pres- 
 ence of the Undersigned, on board the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 Sept. i5th, 1804. 
 Sir, 
 
 THE written orders, I here hand you: 
 to proceed to the port of Alexandria or Smyrna for 
 the purpose of convoying to Malta any vessels you 
 may find there, are intended to disguise the real ob- 
 ject of your expedition ; whieli is to proceed with 
 Mr. Baton to Alexandria in search of Hamet Bash- 
 aw, the rival brother and legitimate Sovereign of the 
 reigning Bashaw of Tripoli ; and to convey him and 
 his suit to Derne or such other place on the coast as 
 may be determined the most proper for cooperating 
 with the naval force under ray command against the 
 common enemy : or, if more agreeable to him, to 
 bring him to me before Tripoli. 
 
 Should Hamet Bashaw not be found at Alexan- 
 dria, you have the discretion to proceed to any other 
 place for him where the safety of your ship can be, 
 in your opinion, relied upon.* 
 
 The Bashaw may be assured of the support of my 
 squadron at Bengazi or Derne ; where you are at 
 liberty to put i«, if required, and if it can Ke done 
 without too great risque. And you may assure him 
 also that I will take the most effectual measures vv^ith 
 the forces under my command for cooperating with 
 
S,68 LUE OF 
 
 him against the usurper, his brother ; and for reestab- 
 lishing him in the regency of Tripoli. Arrange-i 
 meiits to tills effect with him are confided to the dis- 
 cretion with which Mr. Eaton is vested by the 
 Government. 
 
 /JH.., S ISAAC HULL, 
 -^^'^est. ^ WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 Extract from the instructions of the Navy De- 
 PARTMENT to CoMMODORE Barron, communicat- 
 ed by Barron to Eaton. 
 
 *^ WITH respect to the Ex-Bashaw of 
 Tripoli, we have no objection to your availing your- 
 self of his cooperation with you against Tripoli, if 
 you shall, upon a full view of the subject after your 
 arrival upon the station, consider his cooperations 
 expedient. The subject is committed entirely to 
 your diser^on. In such an event, you will, it is 
 believed, find Mr. Eaton extremely useful to you. 
 (The sum appropriated to this object SSO,000'') 
 
 C> This line inclosed in the parenthesis is not in 
 the Commodore's instructions. J\*ote by Eaton. 
 
 Extracts from Com. Barron to Gen. Eaton. • 
 
 Malta, March i%d, 1805. 
 1 CANNOT but applaud the energy 
 and perseverance that has characterized your prog- 
 ress through a series of perplexing and discouraging 
 difficulties, to the attainment of the object of your re- 
 search ; an attainment which I am disposed to con- 
 sider as a fair yresage of future success. On re- 
 ceipt of these communications, I did not lose a mo- 
 ment in making the necessary arrangements for 
 sending you succors, and I now dispatch the Argus 
 brig, with the sloop under her convoy, carrying a 
 Variety of stores and provisions according to the ac- 
 
GEN. EATON. 369 
 
 companying list. Capt. Hull will shapie his conrse 
 direct for Bomba where he calculate!? on finding you 
 ^ith the Bashaw and his army, and where he stip- 
 p(tses you will make a stand. I have direfeted him 
 to deliver these stores to you, to be applied as your 
 discretion may direct. He has also under his charge 
 a um in specie amounting to seven thousand dollars, 
 vagich is likewise to be placed at your disposal, 
 len the time these vessels establish a communication 
 wrtii you, you will have been enabled to form a cor- 
 rect opinion as to th« prospect of ultimate success ; 
 and thence to estimate the advantages likely to re- 
 sult to our affairs from this cooperation ; and by this 
 opinion you must be governed in the application of 
 thq succors. Should you have encountered unex- 
 j^ected difficulties which place the chances of success 
 upon mrre than precarious grounds, your own pru- 
 fl" suggest the propriety of not committing 
 
 Cos Mhd the money uncontroledly to the 
 
 -ashaw. Indeed in the point of view 
 
 ard the measures already pursued as 
 
 Sir, iect of cooperation generally, I con- 
 
 WiM tread with the utmost circumspec- 
 a this harbor on i 
 
 'assage.) I had th^ensible Sir, that in giving their 
 s^ the 29th ultimo ai^'ation Avith the exiled Bashaw, 
 gre of Derne, after a contemplate the measure as 
 le^erve, that your coiAud absolutely to a reinstate- 
 m(s inarms will not his righcs on the Regency of 
 Ti countrymen have e> have viewed the cooperation 
 in 'Sarbary. which, provided there exist- 
 
 ed have perused with d in the Exile, and attach- 
 meits and reasons adduce>T>art of his former subjects, 
 mi' the subject of pursui common furtherance and 
 ad I Haraet Bashaw. Beii.l of our cause, but with- 
 out the exertion of letter w elves by any specific or 
 defi ng with difficulty, Qw'mi, as the tenor of my in- 
 stru it is impossible for me t'S an extract) and the 
 limi ; nor does it indeed appea' that special purpose, 
 clea is now arrived at that pcV the Convention you 
 aw, after being put in pos; 
 
370 Li^'fi 0^ 
 
 were about to enter into with Hamet, and by the 
 Gomiilexion of other measures that a wider range 
 may have been taken than is consistent with the 
 powers vested in^nje for that particular object. 
 
 The consequences involved in such an engage- 
 ment cannot but strike you forcibly, and a general 
 view of our situation in relation to the reigning Bas^ - 
 aw, and our unfortunate countrymen in Tripoli, w 1 
 be sufficient to mark its inexpediency. I shall cons^' 
 er it my duty, as it certainly is my inclination,, to^ui- 
 ford you every aid compatible with the authority 
 vested in me, and commensurate with the means 
 placed at ray disposal ; and you may depend upon the 
 most active and vigorous support from the squadron, 
 as soon as the season and our arrangements will per- 
 mit us to appear in force before the enemy's walls ; 
 but I wish you to understand, that no 2;uar«ntee or 
 
 stand in the way of our acquiescence \ ' ' 
 ble and advantageous terms of accomi • • , . 
 the present Bashaw may be induced ' i?.„ ^^ 
 
 It IS impossible tor me to comply 
 sition for one hundred marines to 
 coast. Such a step in the pi-esen ^^^ ^ j; 
 
 iar exceeds my powers ; and, ' *• 
 
 ■want of hands, ^ I could not feel^^^;^ ^^rf, I80.^m 
 detaching so consulerable forCppi^uj the en ell 
 
 1 sliould be wantin"; in lustL *A„- „,i .;j 
 
 , ,, ^ , ^ J ,, ^cterized your \)ih 
 
 as o tlie officers who have tl^^ ^„j discourlrce 
 and dangers, were I not to ,.^^ ^^^^^ ^^ »ce 
 upon your courage, eneis: am disno d f * 
 well as my ardent desiie;^,,^, ^JJ^l ^^"^ 
 expectations may be v^^^^ j ,|i^j ,,^^ j ^«- 
 
 which 1 here convey to yo.cn,,., ^^,.„. ,' 
 
 ed to coolvour zcaf ovdiL ^ ,.arrangemenb>?5, 
 en to cooiyom ^cat^ oi ai^^^ dispatch the ^ke 
 but they are what I conr,,,, ^^^/^.^^^^ ^^^.^/^^^-^ 
 
 •For what? /^^"^ according to f' 
 
 ftU 
 
GEN. EAT^iN. 371 
 
 aad drawn from me by the purest feeling of duty ; 
 and as such, permit me to recommend tbem to your 
 calm and candid consideration, and request you will 
 make them the subject of conversation with Captain 
 Hull, who is fully possessed of my sentiments. As 
 in enterprizes similar to that in which you are en- 
 gaged, much is left to fortune, so also, much is de- 
 pendent on the operation of circumstances. Hence 
 the impropriety of tying you down with positive in- 
 structions. Many things must necessarily occur, in 
 which your judgment and discretion alone can be 
 your guide : and indeed your further proceedings 
 will depend so completely upon events and circum- 
 stances, impossible for me to estimate or foresee, that 
 I must consider myself rather as your counsellor 
 than your director. 
 
 Com. Barron to Gen. Eaton 
 
 Malta, May 19, 180i">. 
 
 S'lR, 
 
 BY the Hornet sloop, which arrived 
 in this harbor on the 16th inst (having bad a tedious 
 passage,) I bad the honor to receive your dispatches 
 of the 39th ultimo and 1st inst. announcing the cap- 
 ture of Heme, after a contest, in which, permit me to 
 observe, tliat your conduct and that of your compan- 
 ions in arms will not discredit the character which 
 our countrymen have establislied among the nations 
 of Barbary. 
 
 I have perused with deserved attention the argu- 
 ments and reasons adduced in your letter of the 1st, 
 on the subject of pursuing the cooperation with 
 Sidi Haraet Bashaw. Being myself still too Aveak 
 for the exertion of letter writing, and my secretary 
 writing with difficulty, os^ing to an inflamation in his 
 eyes, it is impossible for me to enter into a lengthy 
 reply ; nor does it indeed appear necessary ; the busi- 
 ness is now arrived at that point, where if the Ex- 
 Sashaw, after being put in possession af Heme, his 
 
37^ LIFE OF 
 
 former governmeDt and the district in which his inter- 
 est is said to be the most powerful, has not in him- 
 self energy and talent, and is so destitute of means 
 and resourses, as not to be able to move on with suc- 
 cessful progress, seconded by our naval force acting 
 on the coast, he must be held as unworthy of fr*t'ther 
 support, and the cooperation as a measure too expen- 
 sive and burthensome, and too little pregnant with 
 hope or advantage, to justify its farther prosecution ; 
 for, whatever. Sir, may have been once the intentions 
 of government on this subject, and whatever your 
 ideas touching those intentions, I feel that I have 
 already gone to the full extent of my authority. 
 My instructions from the navy department on this 
 particular point with which you are not unacquaint- 
 ed, fall very short of that unlimited discretion and 
 power of application as relates to funds insisted on 
 in your communications, and are totally silent with 
 regard to the quantity and description of stores and 
 supplies which you mention to have been in the con- 
 templation of government to furnish to the Bashaw ; 
 hence you will be sensible that without taking a lat- 
 itude that must involve me in a sum of responsabili- 
 ty, whicli it were the extreme of imprudence and 
 rasliness to encounter, I cannot proceed further. 
 Inde])endcnt of this consideration it may not be im- 
 proper to state that I have not at my disposal funds 
 sufficient to meet the lar.?;e sums which accordins; to 
 your calculations would be required to pursue the 
 plan with effect. 
 
 With respect to any engagements to Sidi Hamet, 
 I cannot consider them as definite or specific. By 
 our resources and by your enterprize and valor we 
 have placed him at the post from whence he was 
 driven when first he solicited the aid and support of 
 our arms, and in "^ the most valuable province of 
 Tripoli :" in performing which, I conceive we have 
 fulfiled every pledge, and that he can neither charge 
 us with bad faitli in our engagements or with injus- 
 tice towards himself. This want of those qualities 
 
GEN. EATON. 373 
 
 SO essential in tlie character of a commaudcv, and es- 
 jjecially to a Prince, contendiuJ^ for his throne, is a 
 serious obstacle to the advancement of his cause ; 
 not to be surmounted even by the existence and man- 
 ly exertion of them in those abcjut his person. BiJit 
 it is certainly what we had no right to anticipate and 
 still less to suppose, that when master of the finest 
 province in his kingdom, where his influence is great- 
 est and his adherents most numerous, " his situation 
 would not be materially alleied,'' aud himself as 
 destitute of means to carry on the contest as when 
 brought from his exile in Egypt. In shorty Sir, the 
 matter reduces itself to this : We are ready and wil- 
 ling to support the the Bashaw by an union of opera- 
 tions on the coast so long as the war with Tripoli 
 continues, but his Excellency must be explicitly ia- 
 formed that our supplies of money, airas and pro\as- 
 ions are at an end and that he must now depend upon 
 his own resources and exertions. This determina- 
 tion will suggest to you and your comrades that line 
 of conduct most prudent to be adopted in the present 
 posture of affairs. I have lost no time in dispatching 
 the Hornet with a supply of provisions for the crews 
 of the Argus and Nautilus, and the Christians under 
 your command, and I hope she will arrive in time to 
 prevent your suffering from want. 
 
 I have now to acquaint you with an occurrence in 
 our affairs interesting in itself and momentous as re- 
 lates to your situation. In consequence of recent 
 advices from Tripoli, I have thought it my duty to 
 state to the Consul General, Col. Lear, (now at this 
 place) my candid opinion that the present is a mo- 
 ment highly favorable to treat for peace and a com- 
 munication has just been handed me from that gentle- 
 man expressing his determination to meet the over- 
 tures lately made ])j^ the reigning Bashaw, so far as 
 to found on it the commencement of a negociation, 
 and to proceed to Tripoli in the Essex Frigate, in the 
 course of this week. From a variety of concurring 
 circumstances the present period appears propitious 
 
37^ LIFE OF 
 
 to such a step ; and I cannot help indulging san- 
 guine hopes that a very short time will restore Capt. 
 Bainbridge and his unfortunate comrades to freedom 
 and their country. It would be needless for me to 
 say any thing on the effect which this measure must 
 needs have on your situation and determinations : 
 it is a measure which was anticipated in my letter to 
 you by Capt. Hull, and as such the intelligence of it 
 wi)l not I presume reach you unprepared. The in- 
 terests of Sidi Hamet will not be overlooked : it is 
 with Col. Lear's express sanction that I mention his 
 intention to endeavor at stipulating some conditions 
 for the unfortunate Exile, provided this can be done 
 without giving up points that are essential, and with- 
 out any considerable samfice of national advantage 
 on our part. 
 
 I have sent by Lieut. Evans 2000 Spanish dollars 
 which he is directed to deliver to you or to Capt. 
 Hull, this sum will serve to extinguish any little en- 
 gagements you may have contracted at Berne. 
 
 I am extremely anxious for further intelligence 
 from you and remain with much respect and consid^ 
 eratioUj 
 
 SiTf your most obedient 
 and humble sei^ant, 
 SAMUEL BARRON. 
 
 United States Brig, Argus. 
 
 Berne, June 4^A, 1805. 
 
 SlE, 
 
 I HAVE the honor to inclose you a 
 copy of my orders by the Hornet, Lieut. Evans, 
 from Samuel Barron, Esq. C^ommanderin chief of the 
 United States Squadron in the Mediterranean, by 
 which vou will be informed that the United States' 
 vessels under my command are to leave this coast for 
 Syracuse as soon as the necessary arrangements can 
 be made for that purpose. 
 
GEN. EAT'ON. 375 
 
 I have therefore to inform you that the Argus and 
 Hornet are ready for sea and in readiness to receive 
 you and the men under your command on board at 
 any moment that you inform me of your intentions to 
 abandon your post, and a favorable opportunity of- 
 fers to take you off. 
 
 / am Sirp as always^ 
 yours sincerely, 
 ISAAC HULL:; 
 William Eaton, Esq. 
 
 Derne, June dth, 1805. 
 Sir, 
 
 I THINK the tenure of this post so im- 
 portant to the issue of the negociation now pending 
 between the United States and the reigning Bashaw 
 of Tripoli, that I cannot reconcile it to a sense of du- 
 ty to evacuate it, except compelled by imperious cir- 
 cumstances, until the result of that negociation be 
 known, or further advices received from' the Com- 
 mander in chief of the United States Squadron in the 
 Mediterranean. I shall therefore wait a reasonable 
 time for the return of the Nautilus, which is daily 
 expected from head quarters. 
 
 I am, ^c. 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 Capt. Isaac Hull. 
 
 United States Frigate, Constitution, 
 
 off Trijjoli, June 5th, iS03, 
 Sir, 
 
 ALTHOUGH I do not expect this will 
 find you at Derne, conceiving you have evacuated 
 that place agreeable to Commodore Barron's last ad- 
 vices to yoa by the United States sloop Hornet, yet 
 as it is not impossible some unforeseen circumstance 
 may have delayed your compliance with his advices, 
 I have thought it advisable to send the Constellatioo^, 
 
376 LIFE OF 
 
 Capt. H. G. Campbell, to apprize you of peace hav- 
 ing been concluded between the United States ami 
 the Josepli Bashaw of Tripoli on the 3d inst. and 
 have to desire that no farther hostilities by the forces 
 of the United States be committed against the said 
 Joseph Bashaw, his subjects, or dominions, and that 
 you evacuate and withdraw our forces^ from Derne, 
 or whatever part of his territory this may find you a- 
 greeable to the enclosed articles of stipulation be- 
 tween Tobias Lear, Esq. Conskl General for Algiers, 
 and Commissioner of peace on the part of the United 
 States and the said Joseph Bashaw of Tripoli. 
 
 I have the Jionor to be, 
 ivitli great respect, 
 
 your ohedieiit servant, 
 JOHN RODGERS. 
 Commanding, in chief, the United States 
 Squadron in the Mediterranean. 
 William Eaton, Esq. Berne, 
 
 To THE Honohahle Secretary of the Navy of 
 THE United States. 
 
 At sea, Mediterranean, August Qth, 1805. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I HAVE now the honor herewith to for- 
 ward copies of the correspondences promised in my 
 letter of 6th ultimo. A view of the transactions and 
 the circumstances in which these correspondences o- 
 riginated, give rise to some remarks and observa- 
 tions which I shall submit witii candor and frank- 
 ness. 
 
 When it was determined by Commodore Barron 
 to cooperate with Hamet Bashaw, though the Com- 
 modore then expressed his doubts concerning an im- 
 plied discretion in your instructions for applications 
 of supplies to this object, no idea was suggested of 
 making this cooperation an instrument only to the 
 
GEN. EATON. 377 
 
 attainment of peace with the reigning Bashaw of 
 Tripoli : nothing was then talked of but chastise- 
 ment. The examples of Commodore Preble, then 
 recent and conspicuous, inspired the relieving squad- 
 ron with an ambition and a confidence, equalled on- 
 ly by their patriotism ; insomuch that it seemed to bs 
 regretted the space of a winter must intervene before 
 they could be brought to the theatre of action. Peace 1 
 was avowedly an object secondary to national honor 
 and individual applause : of course every measure 
 was adopted and every mean embraced, which seam- 
 ed to favor those primary objects ; and the earliest 
 occasion of the ensuing season was to give an impos- 
 ing lesson to the furtive pride of Barbary. With 
 these impressions Commodore Preble returned home 
 under engagements with his successor to give his in- 
 fluence with the government for hastening forward 
 such additional aids as the expedition would re- 
 quire ; and with the same impressions I was sent to 
 Egypt, with entire discretion of using means to 
 bring Hamet Bashaw on the rear of the enemy. 
 Commodore Preble executed his commission with 
 the exactness and dispatch which mark his charac- 
 ter ; and I have the consciousness of not having 
 been indolent in my endeavors to acquit myself of the 
 trust confided to me. Both from one quarter and the 
 other, measures succeeded beyond the calculation of 
 the most sanguine expectation. And never did a 
 season for decisive operations open with more flatter- 
 ing prospects of success than this in which it has 
 been determined that a flag of truce, instead of our 
 squadron, should be displayed to the enemy's view. 
 The result is well known — but it is so foreign to 
 what we calculated here — and to what, it is believ- 
 ed, was expected by the government and people of 
 the United States that apologies are sought to parry 
 the censure and do away the disappointment to 
 whicii this result cannot but give birth. Among 
 these subterfuges I am charged of having gone too 
 far — of having exceeded, the intentions ofgovern- 
 
 48 
 
LIFE OF 
 
 ment — and of having shaped to myself projects the 
 end of which could not be foreseen. 
 
 If finding out the object of my researches and mov- 
 ing understandingly with him against the enemy be 
 to exceed the intentions of government, 1 may have 
 gone too far. Admitting this, I have not penetration 
 enough to comprehend how it could have obstructed 
 offensive operations in other quarters. As to projects 
 none were new shaped, on my part, after I left head 
 quarters : but at what period the project took shape 
 of resting the whole expectations of our country on 
 the instrumentality of the hapless Hamct Bashaw for 
 the attainment of peace, I know not ; presume, how- 
 ever, it was not till Commodore Barron dispaired of 
 recovering his health in season for activity, and not 
 ontil a man, who had no authorized agency in the 
 war, had intruded himself into his confidence and 
 gained an ascendency over his resolutions. The 
 line of conduct pursued at head quarters, and the 
 communications from that quarter to the coast, estab- 
 lisli the fact that such a project had superceded our 
 original plans ; and the event proves it to have been 
 carried into effect. 
 
 In the Commodore's letter to Haraet Bashaw dat- 
 ed Malta, Slst March, he expresses himself — 
 
 " With great satisfaction I have received from 
 Mr. Eaton the intelligence of your junction with 
 him, and of the measures you had adopted to com- 
 mence your march towards Derne."' kc. 
 
 " No sooner did I receive this intelligence than I 
 made every exertion to collect the succors required 
 in your letter.'' &c. — 
 
 Here is not only an explicit and clear sanction to 
 all we had done, but also an unequivocal assurance 
 of dispositions made on the part of the Commodore to 
 furnish the succors required by Hamet Bashaw's 
 letter for prosecuting a plan of cooperation. But 
 these succors were what the Bashaw had always 
 required. If therefore I should, from any induce- 
 ment, have carded a different language to him how 
 
GEN. EATON. S7i)l 
 
 j ustly might he have suspected me of a disposition 
 to raise impediments to his progress ; and more espe- 
 cially as the whole tenor of the Commodore's letter 
 goes to encourage his expectations ? If the Commo- 
 dore requires me to become the interpreter of this let- 
 ter, how inconsistent, nay how treacherr>us would he 
 make himself and rac appear by translating also an- 
 other from his own hand clearly expressing his real 
 intentions to be only to lead the Bashaw forward as 
 an instrument ! I could not but hope that returning 
 strength, or some candid adviser would restore the 
 Commodore to resolutions more worthy of his own 
 and the dignity of his country. 
 
 On the day next succeeding the date of his letter 
 from the same place the Commodore writes me. 
 
 '^ I cannot but applaud the energy and persever- 
 ance that has characterized your progress through a 
 series of perplexing and discouraging difficulties to 
 the attainment of the object of your research — an at- 
 tainment which I am disposed to consider as a fair 
 presage to future success — " 
 
 Success in what ? The cooperation ! In w hat 
 manner ? This is explained by the Commodore's re- 
 iterated resolution to withhold his sanction from any 
 specific or definite engagement with Hamet Bashaw, 
 and by his unqualified confession of our views i^ 
 favoring the cause of the exiled Prince as an in- 
 strument only to the attainment of an object ; that this 
 object is a separate peace Avith his rival ; and tliat, 
 this object obtauied, we would withdraw from him 
 our succor. — 
 
 Struck himself with the discouraging and dishon- 
 orable conditions here imposed ef w hat he calls a co- 
 operation, he adds by way of injunction — 
 
 '• You will not however conclude that these con- 
 siderations, important and necessary as they are, 
 ought to induce us at once to abandon the benefits 
 whicli the measures you have adopted seem to prom- 
 ise.'' &c. 
 
380 LIFE OF 
 
 Benefits v^ere already anticipated from the meas- 
 ures we had thus far pursued ; and the plain con- 
 struction of this and the following periods of the 
 sam?. letter enjoins it on me to persevere in those 
 measures ; aud by way of encouragement, the Com- 
 modore pledges himself to give us the most active 
 and vigorous support fro7ii his squadron so soon as 
 the season and arrangements would permit him to 
 appear in force before the enemy^s walls — and, in 
 case of our successful progress, to give the Bashaw 
 ^' Every support by a systematic union of operations 
 so as to enable him to come on the rear of the ene- 
 my — " 
 
 We did persevere — and our success, considering 
 the obstacles we had to encounter and the means af- 
 forded to overcome them, exceeded our calculations. 
 What then became of the most active and vigorous 
 support of the squadron ; and systematic union of 
 operations P The instant the eff'ect of our success- 
 es discovered itself, through the alarmed solicitude 
 of the enemy, a messenger of peace is stnt to meet 
 the overtures of the panic struck Joseph Bashaw, 
 and to bid him be under no apprehensions ; while 
 our too credulous ally is sacrificed to a policy at the 
 recollection of which honor recoils and humanity 
 bleeds. 
 
 " I am" says the Commodore '' too unwell to 
 write with my own hand". It was needless for him 
 to add this ; it was easily perceivable by tlie drift 
 and composition of the communication : there is no 
 feature of Barron's manly soul to be traced in it. 
 It is the work of a Machiavelian commissioner, into 
 whose influence the Commodore had vielded his 
 mind through the infirmity of bodily weakness. It 
 is a well known fact, that at this period, he had been 
 nearly six months unable to remain on shipboard, 
 and so debilitated by a painful and wasting illness, 
 that he scarcely retained the remembrance of occur- 
 rences from day to day. This commissioner, in or- 
 der to take advantage of that circumstance, affected 
 to be averse to peace, and an advocate for excmpla 
 
GEN. EATOX. S81 
 
 ry measures. The sequel will show a specimen of 
 his sincerity. It is ouly proper to observe here, 
 that though the instructions of the Secretary of the 
 navy left an pntire discretion in the Commodore, 
 concerning the cooperation in view, Mr. Lear con- 
 firmed him in his doubts, that the discretion to act 
 and to apply the means of acting were distinct ; and 
 that the sum appropriated to this object was limited 
 to S 20,000 — Evidence, nevertheless, that govern- 
 ment had calculated upon it. 
 
 On the S3d March, the Commodore, in his instruc- 
 tions to Capt. Hull, states, 
 
 *^ As you will perceive by my letter to Mr. Ea- 
 ton, I have left the application of these succors and 
 consequently the responsibility wholly to him, which 
 I conceive proper, as well on account of his having 
 the chief direction of the land operations, as that by 
 the time you arrive on the coast he Avill have it in 
 his power to form a just estimate of the chances of 
 success, and thence how far it is safe and expedient 
 to pursue the object." 
 
 I revert to this clause in the Commodore's instruc- 
 tion to Capt. Hull, to corroborate what my former 
 communications stated — that an understanding sub- 
 sisted between the commander in chief and myself, 
 that I should go forward and exercise discretionary 
 measures for bringing Haraet Bashaw forward with 
 all his influence in order to intercept supplies to the 
 enemy from the country, and to cut off his escape in 
 the rear. Mr. Lear has misrepresented this fact at 
 Malta, and elsewhere. 
 
 Though the communications which came forward 
 from the Commodore by Capt. Hull, and which were 
 delivered me at Bomba, were extremely discourag- 
 ing, I could find nothing in them which would justify 
 an abandonment, on my part, of the expedition thus 
 far conducted. But after we had gained possession 
 of Berne, and still more so after having beaten the 
 enemy's army in that province and opened our way 
 to the gates of Tripoli, I could not but liope the Copi- 
 
38S ' LIPE^OF 
 
 niodore would take coufidence from those successes' 
 and be animated to push bis operations by a system- 
 atic union. What then ought to have been my as- 
 tonishment to receive, on the 1st June, his letter of 
 19th May, containing the following periods. 
 
 '' If the Bashaw, after having been put in posses- 
 sion of Derne, his former government and the district 
 in which his interest is said to be most powerful, has 
 not in himself energy and talent, and is so destitute 
 of means and resources as not to be able to move on 
 with successful progress, seconded by our naval force 
 acting on the coast, he must be held unworthy of 
 further support, and the cooperation as a measure too 
 expensive and too little pregnant with hope and ad- 
 vantage to justify its further prosecution.'^ 
 
 " In short. Sir, the matter reduces itself to this. 
 We are ready and willing to support the Bashaw by 
 an union of operations on the coast so long as the 
 war with Tripoli continues, but his Excellency must 
 be explicitly informed that our supplies of money, 
 arms, and provision are at an end, and that he must 
 now depend on his own resources and exertions." 
 
 ^^ In consequence of recent advices from Tripoli, I 
 have thought it my duty to state to the Consul Gen- 
 eral, Col. Lear, (now at this place) my candid opinion 
 that the present is a moment highly favorable to treat 
 of peace ; and a communication has just been hand- 
 ed me from that gentleman expressing his determina- 
 tion to meet the overtures of the reiguing Bashaw, so 
 far as to found on it the commencement of a negoeia- 
 tion, and to proceed to Tripoli in the Essex frigate 
 in the course of the W^ek. From a variety of con- 
 curring circumstances the present period appears 
 propitious to such a step.'' 
 
 This letter labors ingeniously to find some pretext 
 for deserting Hamet Bashaw at the very moment we 
 profit of liis operations and his influence to secure 
 peace to ourselves. — But the ingenuity of the piece 
 is not sufficient to disguise the hypocricy of the de- 
 sign — We are still to amuse the Exile with an idea of 
 
GEX. EATON. 383 
 
 cooperation and union of operation on the coast at 
 the very moment that a pending negociation necessa- 
 rily suspends all hostile operations on the part of our 
 commander in chief. — But this was a moment highly 
 favorable to treat of peace. What rendered it so ? 
 At the period this candid opinion is expressed by the 
 Commodore he had not seen Tripoli during the last 
 eight months, nor ever* within gun shot ; some of his 
 frigates had not ever been nearer it than Malta ; sel- 
 dom if ever more than two of them cruising off the 
 port and generally not but one ; his squadron had 
 never been displayed to the enemy's view ; nor a 
 shot exchanged with the batteries of Tripoli since 
 Commodore Preble left the coast, except enpassant : 
 and, what is a truth equally demonstrable, no visible 
 preparations were making at head quarters for the 
 investment the ensuing summer which could give the 
 enemy any uneasiness. The Commodore, I am sen- 
 sible, was too much an invalid to take an active part 
 in an expedition. But was he so destitute of energy 
 of mind as to be incapable of directing its opera- 
 tions ? and had he no commander in the fleet to 
 whom he could confide the conduct of an expectation 
 under his own direction ? If destitute of those capac- 
 ities himself, his counsellers possessed them — and 
 it Avould have cost them no more exercise of mind 
 to encourage them to derange plans. 
 
 But the theatre of the war was transferred to the 
 eastern provinces. Why not then support us there 
 with the means of subsistence and detachments of 
 marines ? All that was now necessary was to sup- 
 port us and show himself. The idea of this step 
 surpassing his authority is ridiculous, and could not 
 have originated with him — Wit at ! A commander in 
 chief without authority to make discretional disposi- 
 tions of his forces and the means of subsisting them ? 
 It is objected tliat the services of the oncers were all 
 to be called for on board their respective ships as 
 soon as offensive measures icere entered upon. In 
 a bombardment or a cruise, marines are' of little 
 
384 LIFE OF 
 
 more use in a man of war than cavalry or pioneers ; 
 and while the vessels are lading in port they are us- 
 ed only as badges of rank and machines of ceremo- 
 ny. Why not send them where they could be use- 
 ful, at least till offensive measures icere entered up- 
 on P Gentlemen of that corps, I am well assured, ac- 
 tuated, like their brethren of the navy, by a manly 
 zeal to distinguish themselves/ Avere ready to volun- 
 teer in the expedition — And it did not require a 
 greater latitude of discretion to indulge them the per- 
 mission to fight at Derne tlian to furlough them on 
 parties of pleasure at Catania : and they might have 
 been subsisted cheaper on the coast than at any port 
 in Italy. But we were compelled to sacrifice forty 
 five days at that post, fixed, within an hour's march 
 of the main force of the enemy without the power of 
 attacking them with any reasonable prospect of suc- 
 cess ; and only for the want of SOO bayonets ! would 
 such a detachment have defeated the great operations 
 carrying on by the squadron ? 
 
 When peace was finally resolved upon, what were 
 the provisions made for the brave men who had 
 fought our battles in the enemy's country, and who had 
 contributed in rendering this moment propitious to 
 such an event P — Supplies, indeed, are sent out for 
 the Christians under my command ; but the alterna- 
 tive left me to perish with the Mahometans under 
 my command or desert them to their solitary fate and 
 abandon my post like a coward ! 
 
 This is the first instance I ever heard of a relig- 
 ious test being required to entitle a soldier to his ra- 
 tions ; and the only one of an ally being devoted to 
 destruction with so little necessity and with so much 
 cool blood. Is all this to be ascribed to the debili- 
 tated state of the Commodore's system ? I am per- 
 suaded it is. And for this reason I cannot but feel 
 that the persons near him, w ho dictated his measures 
 as well as his stile (he says in th?s letter also he can- 
 not write himself) are deeply reprehensible for adopt- 
 ing pacific measures so prematurely, under circum- 
 
f5EN. EATON. 385 
 
 Stances so favorable to coercion and on condi- 
 tions so dissonant to the general tone of our f-rovern- 
 meni and country. — They ought at least to have isus- 
 pended those measures until advices, which would nat- 
 urally be expected after the return and representations 
 of Commodore Preble, from the head of t))e Depart- 
 ment. The season for naval operations had hardly 
 opened, and the delay of two or three months could 
 work no probable disadvantages in our affairs, even 
 should no advice have come forward — But, as pro- 
 visions mere made at home, had the subject been 
 considered with due influence over measures, we 
 might with great certainty have calculated on taking 
 possession of Tripoli and of the enemy's person. — In- 
 deed, T do firmly believe we might have done it with 
 the means we did originally possess, had those means 
 been propei*ly directed into action ; and this without 
 aFiy considerable sacrifice on our part. — Some lives 
 might, and probably would liave been lost ; but when 
 a man accepts a sword and })ears on his shoulders 
 badges of the co?ifidence of his country he ought 
 no longer to calculate on dying in a feather bed. 
 
 After our commissioner had arrived at Tripoli 
 and had opened a communication with Joseph Bash- 
 aw, (he command of the squadron being transfer- 
 red to Captain Rodgers, some disagreement occurred 
 which broke off the intercourse. At this crisis Cap- 
 tain Dent arrived off Tripoli, being dispatched by 
 the late Commodore, with information to the acting 
 Commodore of the reinforcement of gun boats an(i 
 bom]) ketclies bavins: arrived in the Mediterranean 
 from the United States ; and with my letter of i5ih 
 May stating our success against the enemy's army 
 iti the eastern provitice. Captain Bent was also au- 
 thorized to assure the commodore of my determina- 
 tion to hold our position at Dernc until something def- 
 inite should be decided in our affairs. Here tlien was 
 a fair opportunity for the acting Commodore Rodg- 
 ers to have distinguished himself; to have set au 
 example to all tributary nations by chastising the te- 
 
 49 
 
386 LIFE OF 
 
 merity of a Barbaiy pirate ; and to Lave rendered a 
 most important service to liis country. Why he did 
 not profit of the occasion can only be accounted for 
 by presuming that he was discouraged by tlie com- 
 missioner of peace^ and by him led under the impres- 
 sion that it became his duty to govern himself by tlic 
 posthumous opinions of liis predecessor — knowing as 
 every one does, the patriotism^ personal energy and 
 laudahle ambition of Captain Rodgers, it would be 
 tliilicult to conceive any othei- reason for his not seiz- 
 ing so great an occasion to have done a signal honor 
 to his ilag and to have immortalized himself. 
 
 1 am, indeed, at loss for reasons why Mr. Lear a- 
 bandoncd these high grounds after having affected so 
 much engagedness for exemplary measures. But 
 the negociation was resumed and ])&iice, jJurchased / 
 And on the 6tli June this commissioner states to me 
 official information of the transaction. 
 
 ^' The Bashaw's demands'^ says he, •• were 
 :^00,000 dollars for peace and ransom, &c. — which 
 terms were at once rejected in toto :'' — and " after 
 some discussion'' he adds, ^^ 1 proposed that a mutu- 
 al exchange of prisoners should take place, and as 
 he had a balance of more than two Imudrcd in his 
 power, I would give him 60,000 dollars for them ; 
 but not a cent for peace," &c. 
 
 On these terras, peace was definitively concluded. 
 But this statement, adopted in its liteml seuse^ is an 
 imposition on the understanding of the public. It is, 
 indeed, literally true that a balance of jrrisoners of 
 war was in Joseph Bashaw's power — but we had iu 
 our power, being actually in our possession, the cap- 
 ital of the largest province of his dominions contain- 
 ing between twelve and fifteen tliousand souls. 
 Could not this have been exciianged for SOO prison- 
 ers of war ? Was the attempt made ? It is manifest 
 the enemy dispaired of recovering; it by force of arms. 
 And, so far from not giving a cent for jjeace, as as- 
 serted by the commissioner — we gave a kingdom for 
 peace. Tripoli was in our power ; and witli no vei y 
 
GEN. EATON. 38; 
 
 extraordinary effort it might have been also ^n our 
 hands. The enemy felt a conviction of this, "and 
 did not hesitate to acknowledge it in the presence of 
 the commissioner ; and tlie latter has since expressed 
 to me his own 1)elief in the feasibility of the enter- 
 prize ; but he advances at tlie same time as argu- 
 ment for concluding the peace in the manner he did, 
 and with such prospects before us^ that we wished to 
 make peace with a man icho would have the ability 
 to keep it. If parricide, fatricidc, treason, perfidy 
 to treaty already experienced and systematic piracy 
 be characteristic guarantees of good faith, ]V!r. Lear 
 has chosen the fittest of the two brotliers for his man 
 of confidence. Their ability to keep tiie peace is 
 less essential than ou)s to maintain it : undoubtedly 
 nothing but terror would bind either of them, nor any 
 other Barbary chief, to a faithful observance of trea- 
 ty stipulation. Our negociator ought however to 
 have considered that Hamet Bashaw's was the pop- 
 ular cause, and that this cause is fast gaining ground 
 in Barbarv. It was jhe cause oflibertv — of free- 
 dom. He ouglit to have considered that to cede the 
 advantageous position we held could not but make 
 the desire of peace appear like too much of an ob- 
 ject with us and could not but leave an impression of 
 weakness or want of spirit on our character. It 
 would l)e hard to suspect our commissioner of inten- 
 tional fraud on the United States in his generosity 
 with Joseph Bashaw ; but it is liarder to reconcile 
 his needless concessions and prodigalities to I he test 
 of patriotism. 
 
 Alt!iou2;li Mr. Lear would never admit that our 
 operations in the eastern provinces had any iniiuence 
 on the dispositions of the enemy, and although he 
 made it a condition of his entering upon a negocia- 
 tion that the Commodore should talte measures to 
 compel tlie evacuation of Derr.e ; yet in a paroxysm, 
 of candor, he expresses himself thus in his letter a- 
 bove quoted. — 
 
388 LIFE OF 
 
 ^^ I Sund that the lieroic bravery of our few coun- 
 tryi-ieii at Derne, and tlie idea that we had a large 
 fcfce and immense supplies at that place had made a 
 deep impression on the Bashaw ; I kept up that idea, 
 and endeavored, from thence to make some arrange- 
 itnents favorable to his brother, who, althougli not 
 found to be the man whom many had supposed, was 
 yet entitled to some consideration from us. But I 
 found this was impracticable, and, if persisted in, 
 would drive him to measures which might prove fa- 
 tal to our countrymen in his power." 
 
 The reasons here assigned for the deef impressioji 
 made on the Bashaw are not strictly true. It was im- 
 possible to conceal from the enemy our real force at 
 Derne. The late Governor had obtained exact in- 
 formation of it before he escaped from his sanctua- 
 ry — and the enemy themselves reconnoitered us al- 
 most daily. Besides this, it was impossible for us 
 totally to prevent communications between the town 
 and tlie camp. Is it probable that a garrison of one 
 liundred Cliristians on the coast, left totally destitute 
 ofsiipiMes, could of itself impress such deep appre- 
 hensions ? For sliame let (is not admit this, so much 
 the more humiliating our conditions of peace ! No ; 
 it was a dread of the revolution, moved by Hamet 
 Bashaw, being brought to bis capital through our 
 assistance, that made the impression on the enemy. 
 
 But the apprehension insinuated by Mr. Lear, 
 that endeavoring to prolit of this circumstance in fa- 
 vor of the legitimate Prince might prove fatal to oar 
 countrymen in his power betrays ignorance, pusilau- 
 imity or design. Or if menaces were used to im- 
 press siicli an apprehension it can hardly be admitted 
 as sufficient reason for bartering the honor of our 
 country, and deserting the interest of an ally — for, if 
 lie had not already been njadc acquainted with the 
 rhodovuontade of Joseph Basiiaw's character, a com- 
 mon observance of tlie operations of luiman nature 
 roight have taught him, tljat man seldom meditates 
 vengeance when ^lisfeoliition glare? him in the face, 
 
GEN. EATON. 389 
 
 nor violates the rights of nature and the'^laws of na- 
 tions when certain destruction awaits him. 
 
 In this case, however, the experiment h?.d been 
 fairly tried, and this bravado's resolution put to the 
 test by Commodore Preble. That Bashaw threaten- 
 ed him, and swore by the solemnity of his religion to 
 put every one of our countrymen to death who were 
 in Tripoli if the Commodore fired a shot into his bat- 
 teries. Did he put the threat in execution ? On the 
 contrary ; when ever that determined commander 
 approached his walls, after the first attack, the terri- 
 ble Bashaw's first care was to provide for his own 
 safety ; and he uniformly took refuge at his gardens 
 or in his bomb proof — and, all experience has taught 
 us, that the more rouglily he was handled and the 
 nearer danger approached him, the more tractable lie 
 has been rendered. 
 
 But if the idea of our large force and immense siip- 
 -plies at Derne, or more honestly our transactions 
 with his brother, made a deep impression on the 
 Bashaw, as it manifestly did, was tliis the first in- 
 stant of the commissioner being apprized of it ? If so 
 he had neglected his duty; for it was notorious to 
 every other American officer in the Mediterranean — 
 and he ought to have known it and to have made an 
 honorable use of it : instead of wliich he proceeds — 
 
 ^^ I therefore engaged, of course, that on the con- 
 clusion of peace,'' (for which he gave not a cent !) 
 ^''' we should withdraw all our forces from Derne and 
 other parts of his dominions, and the Bashaw engag- 
 es, that if his brother witlidraws himself quietly from 
 his dominions, his wife and family should be restor- 
 ed to him." 
 
 He goes further. He really not only negociates 
 Hamet Bashaw out of liis own territories, but pledg- 
 es the faith of the United States to carry the stipula- 
 tion into execution ; and, at the same time, secretly 
 convenes m ith Joseph Bashaw that the fulfilment of 
 his en2;a2:eraent in tliis article shall never be made a 
 subject matter of consideration. Was Mr. Lear eenl 
 
390 LIFE OF 
 
 out to cooperate Avith Joseph Bashaw ! Or is this a 
 crisis in the circumstances of the United States 
 which renders darkness and duplicity necessary to 
 our political safety or existence ? Is it possible that 
 any thing can render it so, in favor of a piratical 
 chieftain of a Barbary garrison whom one frigate 
 and a few tenders had so often driven from his strong 
 holds ? If so, it ought to appear to justify our eon- 
 duct to tlie world. 
 
 Our commissioner closes his communication to 
 me — 
 
 ^^ I pray you will accept yourself, and present to 
 Mr. O'Bannon, and our brave countrymen with you, 
 my sincere congratulations, on an event which your 
 and their heroic braverv has tended to render so lion- 
 wable to our country." 
 
 After having subscribed to a treaty the conditions 
 of which, Jinder the then existing circumstances, re- 
 flects a wound on our national dignity ; and after 
 having seized an occasion to use me as an instrument 
 to the attainment of t!iis acquisition as he seems to 
 think it, he evidently flatters himself he shall absorb 
 my just sense of indignation and chagrin in a plausi- 
 ble paragraph of fulsome adulation. 
 
 Whatever may be considered, by capacities capa- 
 ble of judging correctly, the merit or demerit of my 
 cond;ict, I beg you will entertain a more favorable 
 opinion of my ]n'ide than to suppose I ever lived a 
 moment when I should have thought it an honor to 
 receive a military compliment from the provisionat 
 Colonel Lear — 
 
 A Colonel * * * ^ **-*** * 
 
 ^^ Who never set a squadron in the field, 
 
 *^ Nor the division of a battle knows, 
 
 ^^ More than a sph.ster.'^ 
 
 Of one thing I am confident — If there ])e any hon- 
 or or advantage in the peace, a share of the merit 
 trannot be refused to those whose exertions influenced 
 the event. If it has bren too precipitately concluded, 
 end all tlie advantages not secured which situations 
 
GEN. EATON. 391 
 
 offered, it was no I my fault : — It was my invariable 
 opinion, and I invariably endeavored to impress it 
 both by argument and effort, that the measure ought 
 to be delayed until all our means of chastisement 
 were brought to bear on the enemy. — But the instru- 
 ment the most imposing, that which the enemy un- 
 doubtedly greatly dreaded, and on which our country 
 had fixed its chief hope and reposed its honor, never 
 appeared in the field — our Squadron ! And our 
 Commissioner negociated out of our hands a Post in 
 the enemy's dominions, next in population and con- 
 sequence to his capital, without any equivalent 
 
 WHATEVER. 
 
 Thus, though it was our business, and though we 
 had most amply the means to dismantle the enemy ; 
 instead of this, we have established him in a more 
 safe situation to do us and mankind mischief, tlian 
 he possessed before the war : or than he could have 
 possessed without the war ; for, by expelling his ri- 
 val, we have relieved him of his most dangerous ad- 
 versary. He has gained a kingdom — what have we 
 gained by the war ! 
 
 However the Peace may be received by the Gov- 
 ernment and people of the United States, here arc 
 circumstances in which both our interest and our 
 lionor are so deeply involved that tliey cannot but in^ 
 duce an enquiry. 
 
 I have the honor to he^ 
 very r especf fully, 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant^ 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
89S LIFE OF 
 
 P. S. LIST of the naval force which might have 
 been employed before Tripoli by the middle of July^ 
 actually at the rendezvous at Syracuse the fourth ana 
 eleventh. 
 
 FRIGATES. 
 
 
 1 President, 
 
 44 guns 
 
 2 Constitution, 
 
 44 
 
 3 Congress, 
 
 36 
 
 4 Constellation, 
 
 36 
 
 5 Essex, 
 
 32 
 
 6 John Adams, 
 
 32 
 
 BRIGS. 
 
 
 1 Argus, 
 
 18 
 
 2 Syren, 
 
 18 
 
 3 Vixen, 
 
 14 
 
 4 Franklin, 
 
 8 
 
 SCHOONERS. 
 
 • i'- 
 
 1 Enterprize, 
 
 14 
 
 2 Nautilus, 
 
 14 /, 
 
 SLOOP. 
 
 1 Hornet, 8 
 
 Carrying in all 318 guns and 
 mortars. 
 Gun Boats and ketches from the United States. 
 No. 1 not sailed. 
 Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 
 7 not arrived. 
 Nos. 8, 9. 
 
 Gun Boats from Tripoli, 2 
 
 Gun Boats from the Adriatic. 6 
 Total number of guns, including 33 belonging to 
 
 the gun boats, 351. 
 Commodore Preble attacked Tripoli successfully 
 with less than one third this force : and with no col- 
 lateral circumstances in his favor. 
 
QEN. EATON. 093 
 
 GrEN. Eaton left Syracuse Aug. 6th, touched at 
 Malta, Tunis, Gibraltar and Madeira, and arrived 
 at Hampton Roads, in the Chesapeake, in Novem- 
 ber. On his way to Washington he spent several 
 days at Richmond, where he was highly honored 
 by the Citizens ; and partook of a sumptuous public 
 entertainment, provided to show him respect. 
 
 On his arrival at the seat of government he was a- 
 gain honored with a public dinner. The President, 
 in his Message to Congress, made honorable men- 
 tion of his merit and services. Throughout the U- 
 nited States his name stood exalted : never perhaps 
 before did that of any individual rise so rapidly 
 and to such an atitude. He was considered as , 
 having, by his prowess and enterprise, compelled ; 
 the Bashaw of Tripoli to make peace : while the- 
 the general sentiment entertained was, that, had not 
 Lear thus hastily made a treaty, he must, if proper- 
 ly sustained by the naval force then in the Mediter- 
 ranean, in a short time have been master of the king- 
 dom of Tripoli, and have been enabled to make his 
 own terms of peace, as well as to have settled our 
 concerns on the Barbary coast, so as to prevent here- 
 after the necessity of tribute. 
 
 Being unreserved in the expression of his senti- 
 mants with regard to Lear, who, from some cause, 
 was determinedly upheld by the administration, he 
 unwittingly created enemies. In the social circles 
 at Wasiiington he was not at all times guarded in 
 his regimen ; and when occasionally lieated by those 
 excesses which afterwards became almost habitual, 
 ills egotism, raslmess and authorative manners, excit- 
 ed disgust in the minds of many. 
 
 In December he paid a visit to his family in Brim- 
 field. On bis way, in Philadelphia and elsewhere, 
 he Avas treated vvith great attention and respect, by 
 invitations to public dinners and other expressions 
 of esteem. He soon after returned to Washington. 
 
 A resolution was brought forward in the House of 
 Kcpresentativcs of the United States for presenting 
 
 50^ 
 
394 LIFE OF 
 
 him with a medal, in testimony of his enterprise, 
 courage and signal services. This resolution was 
 debated with no inconsiderable warmth. The 
 principal speakers in opposition to its passage were 
 the celebmted Mr. J. Randolph and Mr. J. Clay of 
 Pennsylvania. These gentlemen represented the 
 whole proceedings of Eaton, and his engagement 
 at Derne, as a trivial occurrence, unworthy the pub- 
 lie expression of thanks by the House. A small 
 majority were opposed to the adoption of the resolu- 
 tion ; whi«h was postponed from time to time, but 
 never passed. 
 
 In the legislature of Massachusetts he received a 
 treatment very different from that received in the na- 
 tional legislature. With a liberality higlily honora- 
 ble to that State, its legislature passed the following 
 Hesolve. 
 
 COMMONW^EALTII OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 In Senate, Feb. 25th, 1806, 
 
 WHEREAS in a rising Republic, it 
 is highly important to cherish that patriotism which 
 conquers a love of ease, of pleasure and of wealth, 
 which prompts individuals to a love of their country, 
 and induces them to embrace every opportunity to 
 advance its prosperity and happiness, as welJ by a- 
 meliorating the fate of those citizens who aa the for- 
 tune of war has thrown into captivity, as by cheerfully 
 contributing to its support and defence : And where- 
 as the love of enterprise, when guided by ii just sense 
 of propriety and benevolence, may become the par- 
 ent of many virtues, and a state is sometimes in- 
 debted for its safety, to the virtues and undaunted 
 courage of a single man. 
 
 And whereas the Senate and Houso of Represen- 
 tatives of this Commonwealth, are desiroiis to perpet- 
 uate a remembrance of the lieroic enterprise of Wn>- 
 LiAM Eaton, Esq. while engaged inthe service of tlie 
 
GEN. EATON. 395 
 
 United States, whose undaunted courage and brilliant 
 services, so eminently contributed to release a large 
 number of his fellow citizens, late prisoners in Trip- 
 oli, from the chains of slavery^ and to restore them 
 to freedom, their country, and their friends ; — there- 
 fore 
 
 RESOLVED, that the Committee for the sale of 
 eastern lands be, and they are hereby authorized and 
 directed, to convey to William Eatox, Esq. a citi- 
 zen of this Commonwealth, and to his heirs and as- 
 signs, a tract of land to contain ten thousand acres, 
 of any of the unappropriated land of this Common- 
 wealth, in the District of Maine ; excepting the ten 
 townships on Penobscot river. 
 
 And be it further resolved, that his Excellency the 
 Governor be requested, as soon as conveniently may 
 fee, to cause to be transmitted to the said William 
 Eaton, Esq. an authentic copy of this resolution. 
 
 Sent down for concurrence^ 
 
 H. G. OTIS, President 
 
 In the House of Representatives, March 3rf, 1806. 
 
 Read and concurred, 
 
 TIMOTHY BIGELOW, SpeaTcer. 
 
 March ^th, 1806. 
 
 s^lpproved, CALEU STRONG. 
 
 True Copy, Attest, 
 
 John Avery, Secretary. 
 
 His accounts, for many years standing, with the 
 United States, were unsettled. Several important i- 
 tems were considered by the Department of State 
 as improper for any other adjudication than that of 
 Congress. These accounts w«re before the commit- 
 tee of claims daring the v/hole sesgion, but were not 
 
390 LIFE OF 
 
 adjusted before its close. In the spring he returned 
 to Brimfield, where he spent the summer in visiting 
 his friends and improving a large farm. 
 
 At the next session of Congress, 1806-7, (ten. 
 Eaton returned to the seat of government, princi- 
 pally for the purpose of adjusting^ his accounts. 
 The conspiracy of Aaron Burr had excited great at- 
 tention and considerable alarm throughout the union. 
 \^ilkiuson^ who, from the best testimony appears to 
 have been originally concerned with Burr, but liad 
 found it safe and prudent to deny the connexion and 
 become an outrageous patriot, had arrested several 
 persons in the territory of Orleans, denying them the 
 privilege of the Habeas Corpus, and had ordered 
 them transported by water to the district of Co- 
 lumbia. Swartwout and Boll man, two of the per- 
 sons arrested by Wilkinson, arrived at Washington 
 in January, I8O7. 
 
 At the instig^rtion of the Executive of the United 
 States, a motion was made by the United States 
 district Attorney, in the Circuit Court of the District 
 of Columbia, fnr a warrant, directing the Marshall of 
 the district to take the pris(mers from the hands of the 
 military, that they might be delivered to the civil au- 
 thority. As no specific charge was made in the dep- 
 osition of Wilkin&on, some hesitation arose with the 
 Court from the want of a specific oifence with which 
 to charge the prisoners. To obtain sucli charge, the 
 deposition of Gen. Eaton was demanded ; which 
 was given in the following manner. 
 
 '^ Early last winter, Col. Aaron Burr, late Vice 
 President of the United States, signified to me, at 
 this place, that under the authority of the general 
 government, he w as organizing a secret expedition 
 against the Spanish provinces on our south western 
 borders ; which expedition he was to lead, and in 
 which he was authorized to invite me to take the 
 command of a division. I had never before been 
 made personally acquainted with Col. Burr ; and, 
 having for many years been employed in foreign ser- 
 
geS'. eatox. 397 
 
 vice, I knew but little about the estimation this gen- 
 tleman now held in the opinion of his countrymen 
 and his government : the rank and confidence by 
 which he had so lately been distinguished, left me 
 no right to suspect his patriotism. I knew him a 
 soldier. In case of Avar with tlie ^Spanish nation, 
 which from the tenor of the President's message to 
 both houses of Congress seemed probable, I should 
 have thought it my duty to obey so honorable a call 
 of my country ; and, under that impression, I did 
 engage to embark in the expedition. I had frequent' 
 interviews with Col. Burr in this city — and for a 
 considerable time his object seemed to be to instruct 
 me, by maps, and other information, in the feasibili- 
 ty of penetratiiig to Mexico — always carrying for- 
 ward the idea that the measure was authorized by 
 government. At length, some lime in February, he 
 began by degrees to unveil himself. He reproached 
 the government with Avant of character, want of 
 gratitude, and want of justice. He seemed desirous 
 of irritating resentment, in my breast J)y dilating cer- 
 tain injuries he felt I had suffered from reflections 
 made on the floor of the House of Representatives, 
 concerning my operations in Barbary, and from the 
 delays of government in adjusting my claims for dis- 
 bursements on that coast during my consular agency 
 at Tunis ; and he said he would point me to an 
 honorable mode of indemnity. I now^ began to en- 
 tertain a suspicion that Mr. Burr was projecting an 
 unauthorized military expedition ; which to me was 
 enveloped in mystery ; and, desirous to draw an ex- 
 planation from him, I sulfered him to suppose me re- 
 signed to his counsel. He now laid open his proj- 
 ect of revolutionising the western country, separating 
 it from the Union, establishing a monarchy there, of 
 which he was to be the sovereign, Nejv Orleans to 
 be his capital ; organizing a force on the Missisippi, 
 and extending conquest to Mexico. I suggested a 
 number of impediments to his scheme — such as the 
 republican habits of the citizens of thai country^ and 
 
398 Li>£ 01 
 
 their affection towards our present administration of 
 government : the want of funds ; the resistance he 
 would meet from the regular army of the United 
 States on those frontiers ; and the opposition of Mi- 
 randa in case he should succeed to republicanise the 
 Mexicans. 
 
 Mr. Burr found no difficulty in removing these ob- 
 stacles — he said he had, the preceding season, made 
 a tour through that country, and had secured the at- 
 tachment of the principal citizens of Kentucky, Ten- 
 nessee and Louisiana to his person, and his meas- 
 ures — declared he had inexhaustible resources as to 
 funds ; assured me the regular army would act with 
 him, and would be reiaforced by 10 or 12,000 men 
 from the above mentioned states and territory, and 
 from other parts of the union ; said he had powerful 
 agents in the Spanish territory — and as for Miranda, 
 said Mr. Burr, we must hang Miranda. He now 
 proposed to give me the second command in his ar- 
 my. I asked him who should have the chief com- 
 mand ? He said General Wilkinson. I observed, 
 it was singular that he should count on Gen. Wil- 
 kinson ; the elevated rank, and high trust he now 
 held as commander in chief of our army and gover- 
 nor of a province, he would hardly put at hazard for 
 any precarious prospects of aggrandizement. Mr. 
 Burr said, Gen. Wilkinson, balanced in the confi- 
 dence of government, was doubtful of retaining much 
 longer the consideration he now enjoyed, and was 
 consequently prepared to secure to himself a perma- 
 nency- i asked Mr. Burr if he knew Gen. Wilkin- 
 f^on ? He answered yes : and eclioed the question. 
 I said I knew him well. " What do you know of 
 Mm ?*' said Mr. Burr. I know, I replied, that 
 Gen. Wilkinson will act as Lieutenant to no man in 
 existence. ^' You are in an error," said Mr. Burr. 
 •^ Wilkinson ivill act as Lieutenant to me." From 
 the tenor of repeated conversations with Mr. Burr, 1 
 was induced to believe the plan of separating the 
 union which he had contemplated had been comrau- 
 
GEN. EATOX. 39ft 
 
 nicated to and approved by Gen. Wilkinson, (though 
 I now suspect it an artful argument of seduction) 
 and he often expressed a full confidence that the 
 General's influence ; the offer of double pay and 
 double rations ; the prospect of plunder and the am- 
 bition of atchievement, would draw the array into 
 his measures. — Mr. Burr talked of the establishment 
 of an independent government west of the Allegha- 
 ny as a matter of inherent, constitutional right of the 
 people ; a change which would eventually take 
 place, and for the operation of which the present cri- 
 sis was peculiarly favorable. There was, said he, 
 no energy in the government to be dreaded, and the 
 divisions of political opinions throughout the union 
 was a circumstance of which we sliould profit. — 
 There were very many enterprising men among us 
 who aspired to something beyond the dull pursuits 
 of civil life, and who would volunteer in this enter- 
 prise, and the vast territory belonging to the United 
 States which offered to adventurers, and the rnine^ 
 of Mexico, would bring strength to his standard 
 from all quarters. 
 
 I listened to the exposition of Col. Burr's views 
 with seeming acquiescence. Every interview con- 
 vinced me more and more that he had organized a 
 deep laid plot of treason in the west, in the accom- 
 plishment of which he felt fully confident. Till, at 
 length, I discovered that his ambition was not bound- 
 ed by the waters of the Missisippi, and Mexico, but 
 that he meditated overthrowing the present govern- 
 ment of our country. He said, if he could gain over 
 the ^tarine Corps, and secure the naval command- 
 ers, Truxton, Preble. Decatur and others, he ivould 
 turn Conp^ess neck and heels out of doors ; assassin- 
 ate the President ; seize on the treasury and navy ; 
 and declare himself the protector of an energetic gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 The honorable trust of cotrupting the marine 
 corps, and of sounding commodore Preble and cap- 
 tain Decator, Col. Burr proposed confiding to me. 
 
400 LIFE OF 
 
 Shocked at this proposition, I dro pped the mask, and 
 exclaimed against his views. He talked of the de- 
 graded situation of our country, and the necessity of 
 a blow by which its energy and its dignity should be 
 restored — said, if that blow could be struck here at 
 this time, lie was confident of the support of the best 
 blood ot' *imerica, I told Colonel Burr he deceived 
 himself in presuming tliat he, or any other man could 
 excite a party in this country who would countenance 
 him in such a plot of desperation, murder and trea- 
 son. He replied, that he, peiliaps, knew better the 
 dispositions of the influential citizens of this country, 
 than I did. I told him one solitary word would' 
 destroy him. He asked, what word ? I answered* 
 Usurper ! He smiled at my hesitation, and quoted 
 some great examples in his favor. I observed to him,' 
 that I had lately travelled from one extreme of the 
 union to the other ; and, though I found a diversity 
 of political opinion among the people, they appeared 
 united at the most distant aspect of national danger. 
 That, for the section of tiie union to which I belong-' 
 ed, I would vouch, should he succeed in the first in- 
 stance here, he would within six weeks afterwards 
 have his throat cut by Yankee militia. 
 
 Though wild and extravagant Mr. Burros last 
 project ; and though fraught with premeditated 
 slaughter, I felt very easy on the subject, because its 
 defeat he had deposited in my own hands. I did 
 not feel so secure concerning that of disjoining tjie un- 
 ion. But the very interesting and embarrassing situa- 
 tion in whicli his communications placed me, left me, 
 I confess- at a stand to know how to conduct mvself 
 with propriety. He had committed no overt act of 
 aggression against law. I ceuld draw nothing from 
 him in writing ; nor could I learn that he had expos- 
 ed his plans to any person near uie by whom my tes- 
 timony could be supported. He had mentioned to 
 me no persons who were principally and decidedly 
 engaged with him, except Gen. Wilkinson-<.-a Mr. 
 Alston, who I found was his son in law, and a Mr. 
 
GEN. EATON. 401 
 
 Ephraini Kibby, lat* a Captain of rangers in Gen. 
 Wayne's army. Satisfied that Mr. Burr was reso- 
 lute in pushing his project of rebellion in the west of 
 the Alleghany, and apprehensive that it was too well 
 and too extensively organized lo be easily suppress- 
 ed ; though I dreaded the weight of his character 
 when laid in the balance against ray solitary asser- 
 tion, I brought myself to the resolution to endeavor to 
 defeat it, by getting him removed from among us, or 
 to expose myself to all consequences by a disclosure 
 of his intentions. Accordingly, I waited on the 
 President of the United States ; and after some de- ' 
 sultory conversation, in which I aimed to draw his 
 view to the westward, I used the freedom to say to 
 the President 1 thought Mr. Burr should be sent out 
 of this country — and gave for reason, that I believed 
 him dangerous in it. The President asked where 
 he should be sent ? I mentioned London and Cadiz. 
 The President thought the trust too important, and 
 seemed to entertain a doubt of Mr. Burr's integrity. 
 I intimated that no one, perhaps, had stronger grounds 
 to mistrust Mr. Burr's moral integrity than myself : 
 yet, I believed ambition so much predominated over 
 him, that when placed on an eminence and put on 
 his honor, respect to himself would ensure his fideli- 
 ty : his talents were unquestionable. 
 
 I perceived the subject was disagreeable to tiie 
 President ; and to give it the shortest course to the 
 point, declared my concern that if Mr, Burr jvere 
 not in some way disposed of, we should within eigh 
 teen months, have an insurrection, if not a revolution 
 on the waters of the Missisipjn. The President an 
 swered, that he had too much confidence in the infor- 
 mation, the integrity and the attachment to the union 
 of the citizens of that country, to admit an ajypre 
 hension of the kind. I am happy that events prove 
 this confidence well placed. As no interrogatories 
 followed my expression of alarm, I thought silence 
 on the subject, at that time and place, became me. 
 Bat I detailed, about the same time- the whclfi pro- 
 
 5i 
 
40S LIFE OF 
 
 jects of Mr. Burr to certain members of Congr£ss. 
 They believed Col. Burr capable of any thing — and 
 agreed that the fellow ought to he hanged ; but 
 thought his projects too chimerical and his circum- 
 stances too desperate to give the subject the merit of 
 serious consideration. The total security of feeling 
 in those to whom I had rung the tocsin induced me 
 to suspect my own apprehensions unseasonable, or at 
 least too deeply admitted ; and, of course, I grew 
 indifl'erent about the subject. 
 
 Mr. Burr's visits to me became less frequent and 
 his conversation less familiar. He appeared to have 
 abandoned the idea of a general revolution ; but 
 seemed bent on that of the Missisippi ; and although 
 I could perceive symptoms of distrust in him towards 
 me, he manifested great solicitude to engage me with 
 him in the enterprize. Weary of his importunity, 
 and at once to convince him of my serious attach- 
 ments, I gave the following toast to the public : 
 
 The United States — Palsey to the brain that 
 should plot to dismember, and Leprocy to the hand 
 that will not draw to defend our union ! ' 
 
 1 doubt whether the sentiment was better under- 
 stood by any of my acquaintance than Colonel Burr. 
 Our intercourse ended here — we met but seldom 
 afterward. I returned to my farm in Massachusetts, 
 and thought no more of Mr. Burr, nor his empire, till 
 sometime late in September or beginning of October, 
 -when a letter from Morris Belknap, of Marietta, to 
 Timothy E. Danielson, fell into my hands at Brim- 
 iield, which satisfied me that Mr. Burr iiad actually 
 commenced his preparatory operations on the Ohio. 
 I now spoke publicly of the fact — transmitted a 
 copy of the letter from Belknap to the department of 
 state, and about the same time, forwarded through 
 the hands of the postmaster general, to the President 
 of the United States, a statement in substance, of 
 what is here above detailed concernins; the Missisippi 
 conspiracy of the said Col. Aaron Burr — which is 
 said to have been the first formal intelligence recciv- 
 
GEN. EATON. 403 
 
 ed by the executive on the subject of the conspirator 
 being in motion. 
 
 I know not whether my country will allow me the 
 merit of correctness of conduct in this affair. The 
 novelty of the duty might, perhaps, have embarrass- 
 ed stronger minds than mine. The uprightness of 
 my intentions 1 hope will not be questioned. 
 
 The interviews between Col. Burr and myself, 
 from which the foregoing statement has resulted, 
 were chiefly in this city in the months of February 
 and March, last year. 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 Washington City, Jan. 36fA, 1806. 
 
 Sworn to in open court, this S6th day of January, 
 
 1807. 
 
 Wm. Brent, Clerk. 
 
 Some suspicions have been entertained by a few, 
 that Eaton listened to Burr with a wavering dispo- 
 sition, or with sentiments for some time favorable to 
 feis prcy'ects. This however was mere suspicion, 
 nor was there even any evidence adduced to support 
 such a charge. 
 
 Gen. Eaton iirmly believed that Wilkinson was 
 equally guilty with Burr ; as will appear from the 
 answer to the following extract of a letter from Wil- 
 kinson to Eaton. 
 
 Washington, Jan. 2Sdf 1808. 
 
 My Deah Eaton, 
 
 THE conspiracy formed for my de- 
 struction in New Orleans last spring, of which I was 
 fully apprised at Richmond, at the time I was 
 sounding Powers and Clark as to their object in com- 
 ing there, has burst forth in consequence of my expo- 
 sition of the turpitude of John Randolph, and Clark 
 ?^eiQg pushed by his associates in New Orleans^ to 
 
404 HF£ OF 
 
 fttifil his compact to destroy me. This villainous ex- 
 plosion which I dreaded before a vile corrupt Judge, 
 with Burr and his pack of infernal attorneys, to tor- 
 ture, distort, deform and misrepresent, to suit the 
 purpose of the combination, has occurred under cir- 
 cumstances, and taken a course, which give my ene- 
 mies and accusers a claim to my thanks : and if T do 
 not prostrate them under my feet and repel every 
 charge of dishonor, then do you abjure your Chris- 
 tian faith and turn Turk : nay more, renounce me 
 forever. — The inclosed is a mere coup d'oeil of what 
 is believed — poor Clark his horrid attempt On my 
 lionor, has brought forward more of honor, witli doc 
 uments to prove him guilty of perjury and forgery, 
 and that he was an associate of the Mexican combi 
 nation, and labored to promote Burr's views. 
 
 J. WILKINSON. 
 William Eaton. 
 
 The compiler of these memoirs happened to be 
 with Gen. Eaton, in Boston when this letter was 
 received. 1 asked him if he had any doubts of 
 the guilt of W^ilkinson : he replied that he had not the 
 least : but that Wilkinson had ingenuity enough to 
 escape. To this letter he returned the following an 
 swer. 
 
 Boston, Feb. 6tk, 1808. 
 Sir, 
 
 THE letter and inclosures you did 
 me the honor to forward on the 39th ult. did nut ar- 
 rive until yesterday. For tiie honor of your cloth ; 
 for the nations honor ; {qv the personal respect I feel 
 towards my former General, I devoutly wish your 
 reputation may come from the ordeal like gold seven 
 times tried by the fire. Yet to an eye which can 
 impartially view the statements as they come to the 
 public, doubts cannot but arise. 
 
 If Clark be perjured, he has nevertheless had the 
 address to work so much of consistency into his story 
 that men, unacquainted with your character, admit 
 
GEN. EATON* 405 
 
 suspicion. It will require all your talent and inge- 
 nuity to do away this suspicion. Do you remem- 
 ber, sir, having shewed me a confidential letter from 
 Mr. Clark, which talked of Dukedoms and Princi- 
 palities P I should do injustice to candor were I to 
 withhold the impressions made on my mind on the 
 occasion : which were that at one period you must 
 have thought of a Western Empire ; hut that ma- 
 ture deliberation determined your adiierence to duty 
 and the union : of course that your arrangements and 
 mode of exciting tliem, in the end, were necessary 
 and proper. On the charge of corruption^ the man- 
 ner you explained the receipt of S.^0,000 of a Span- 
 ish officer, being due as a balance on a tobacco trade, 
 smuggled through his connivance, was satisfactory 
 to me : the conduct was lawful to any American citi- 
 zen. Mr. Clark swears there was no tobacco specu- 
 lation in tlie case : tliis testimony must be invalidat- 
 ed, or my opinion must suspend. I really wait with 
 great solicitude the result of the important enquiry, 
 
 and remain with great respect^ 
 Sir^ your ver?/ obedient 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 Iii a public address some time after, Gen. Eaton 
 expressed himself thus — " I have jeopardized my 
 life and reputation to preserve the integrity of the 
 Union : and, (I hope to be forgiven,) to this vigilance 
 and fidelity, rather than to movements on the Sabine 
 or at New Orleans, our hero of Carter's mountain 
 owes his political if not personal existence : for, it 
 was not until my public exposure had alarmed Gen. 
 Wilkinson in his camp, that he, though more than 
 two years acquainted with the treasonable plot, 
 thought of betraying his felloic traitor, and becoming 
 a patriot by turning states evidence.'^ 
 
 During the month of February, I8O7, Gen. Eaton 
 succeeded in procuring an adjustment of his ac- 
 counts, by the passage of a bill authorising the de- 
 
406 LIFE OF 
 
 partincnt of state to settle them according to equity : 
 but not till he had, in the following spirited manner, 
 addressed the Committee of claims, which address 
 he made public. 
 
 To the Honorable Chairman of the Committee of 
 
 Claims. 
 
 Washington City, Feb. 9ith, I8O7. 
 Sir, 
 
 ON a review of the statement, accom- 
 panying my petition of SOth Feb. 1804, now before 
 this honorable Committee, I cannot find a paragraph 
 which needs correction or modification. That state- 
 ment surveys the chief ground and origin of my 
 claims. Have the goodness, sir, to pass attentively 
 over it ; and to carry forward, in the examination, a 
 view of the events which have since occurred to es- 
 tablish the correctness of the measures there alluded 
 to. It will satisfy you that a perseverance in those 
 measures has given peace to this country and eman- 
 cipation to tliree hundred of our fellow citizens ; and 
 that, while it has done something to stamp a good 
 impression on the pirates of Barbary, it has saved 
 your treasury more thau a million of Dollars. My 
 reward, hitherto, is penury and wounds ! I ought 
 not, perhaps, to say this ; it carries something which 
 savors of reproach : this I do not mean. I have no 
 where been refused indemnity. On the contrary, 
 three years ago, when as yet the effects of my ar- 
 rangements had not been realized, your Committee 
 expressed an opinion that I Jiad a well founded claim 
 on the government. 
 
 But th€ delay, in the decision necessary to a reim- 
 bursement of ray expenditures, has greatly distress- 
 ed me in my individual concerns — expenditures of 
 which my country now reap the profit — and of which 
 a vast majority of my countrymen appear to be very 
 sensible. 
 
GEN. EATON. 407 
 
 I do not present myself here to ask alms, nor to 
 expect gratuities — nor yet to draw on your sensibili- 
 ty to awaken a consideration for all the sacrifices to 
 which I yielded in standing to the duties of my station 
 at the court of a piratical despot, and on the coast of 
 a savage enemy. You cannot make me such indem- 
 nity — you cannot, sir, under any shape I can present 
 the claim, award me a remuneration for the sacrific- 
 es of property incident to the vexatious, impositions 
 and proscriptions which the Bey of Tunis practiced 
 on me in consequence of my resistance to his unwar- 
 rantable exactions against the United States — You 
 cannot bring back to me nine years of active life — - 
 you cannot restore to me the strength of an arm. 
 But for actual disbursements for the benefit of our 
 common country, whether voluntary or extorted, I 
 have a right agam to resort to your justice, and to 
 believe that this justice will be no longer delayed. 
 
 It is only fit here, therefore, that I avow the per- 
 fect confidence I feel, sir, in the disposition and the 
 righteousness of this Committee to give my claims a 
 delibera'te and a seasonable review, and an equitable 
 award. 
 
 With regard, however, to the last item of my 
 charge, it should be remarked — this teas Tiot origin- 
 ally intended to be brought against the United States. 
 I had faith that the honor of the Court of Sardinia 
 would redeem the paper of a nobleman charged witli 
 the high trust of a national negociator : and in case 
 of failure here, had confidence in the exertions of the 
 sou of that nobleman to reimbuise me the cash I was 
 compelled to pay, as his surety, for the re^lemption 
 cf the child of his affection, and for the honor of his 
 family. I should, undoubtedly, have realized these 
 confidences had not a dispensation of the govern- 
 ment of the United States (unacquainted with the 
 usages of that country) released the surety held at 
 Tunis for the debt, and been construed by the Chcv 
 
4(08 LIFE OF 
 
 alier Porcille as a generous acquittal of the debtor.* 
 A reimbufsement ought to come from the Court df 
 Sardinia to our government. Papers touching this 
 tpansaction are submitted with my other document. 
 The heavy expences incident to an appeal to thiis 
 Chancery for such a length of time as 1 have been 
 before you, and at so gi'eat a distance from my home ; 
 together with the circumstances of these private 
 funds lying so long useless to me have necessarily 
 laid me under pecuniary responsibility to my friends. 
 The suspense of another year must lodge me in a 
 'prison ! 
 
 If you find, sir, that I have been upright to my 
 country — let my country, by a reciprocity, now enar 
 ble me to ranson myself. 
 
 I have the honor to he, 
 with perfect respect, 
 
 Sir. your mo^ obedien servant, 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 In May, Gen. Eaton was elected by the inhab- 
 itants of Brimfield, a representative in the legislature 
 of the state of Massachusetts : the first session of 
 which commenced the last of that month, which how- 
 ever, he was unable to attend, having been summon- 
 ed to attend the court about to sit in Richmond, 
 (Vir.) for the trial of Aaron Burr and (others. The 
 trial was very long, and in Richmond he spent the 
 greater part of the summer. Here his intemperate 
 iiabits became more confirmed ; and a very great 
 proportion of his time was spent at the card (able ; 
 at which he lost large sums of money ; besides con- 
 siderable Slims in betting on the issue of Burrs trial. 
 
 Great pains were taken by Burr and his counsel 
 to invalidate the testimony of Eatox, but without 
 jJuccess. Much was expected from the presence 
 and relation of Col. Gaither, of whom mention is 
 
 * This was a debt of 17,000 piasters, due to the United States, 
 which Mr. Jefferson kindly relinquished by his own imperial will. 
 
GEN. EATON. 409 
 
 made in a formev part of this volume, but the evi- 
 dence of Eaton, remained uninjured. 
 
 At the commencement of the second session of 
 the legislature of Massachusetts, in December, Gen. 
 Eaton took his seat. The town which had sent 
 him was decisively federal, and expected from him 
 a course of political conduct agreeable to their wisli- 
 es. He had the reputation, generally, of being of 
 the Washington school ; but the delivery of a speech 
 in which he condemned the conduct and impeached 
 the integrity of Chief Justice Marshall ; and in 
 which were uttered many expressions and sentiments 
 offensive to the purity of federalism ; occasioned the 
 withdrawing of coniidence in both parties. 
 
 By a vain attempt iJius to secure the good opinion 
 of both parties he lost the political esteem of both. 
 Nor less was diminished the personal esteem gener- 
 ally entertained for him at the commencement of the 
 session. He was invited to the tables of some of the 
 most respectable characters in Boston, where his de- 
 portment was such in many instances, as soon to ren- 
 der liim an unwelcome guest. He governed his glass 
 with little jealousy ; and at such times, as is usual, 
 his ^^ wit was out." 
 
 In the spring of the year 1808, Gen. Eaton, was 
 summoned to attend the United States district Court 
 in Philadelphia, as a witness in the trial of a per- 
 son charged Avith being concerned with Eurr. On 
 liis return Jie learned, to his disappointment and mor- 
 tification, that he was not reelected to the legislature 
 of this slate ; the equivocal part he liad taken the 
 last session having alienated the confidence of the 
 town ill his political firmness. 
 
 Several of his letters to some friends in Wasliing- 
 ton betray his wishes and expectations of receiving 
 some liigh military command in the army of the U- 
 nited States. His disappointment in this respect ; 
 tlie refusal of the town of Brimlield again to send 
 iiim to the General Court, and the derangement and 
 embarrassment of his domestic and pecuniary con- 
 
 5g 
 
418 LIFE or 
 
 cems ; so preyed upon liis mind that he seems from 
 this time to have given himself up to the despair of 
 promotion, of mending his fortune or reestablishing 
 his character : his habits of intemperance became 
 more constant and excessive ; and excepting in mo- 
 ments of hilarity he appeared to view the world with 
 gloom or indignation. 
 
 In the month of August, his son Eli E. Daniel- 
 son, who had accompanied him in his expedition to 
 Derne, and to whom he was particularly attached, 
 fell in a duel at New York, in consequence of a 
 quarrel with a brother officer in the navy. Infor- 
 mation of this misfortune was received in a letter 
 from Mr. Babbit ; to which Gen. Eatox, gave the 
 following answer. 
 
 BrimjieldyAug, l^ih, 1808. 
 
 Dear Siu, 
 
 THE sympathy you manifest in the 
 event which occurred on the 5th instant, so aflfticting 
 to myself and family, receives our unaffected ac- 
 knowledgments* 
 
 I wished Danielson might have lived to the use- 
 fulness of whiclt he was capable. — But who can 
 parry the arrow of d^ath ! The iclien and the icliera 
 we receive the shock is of less consequence than the 
 how. — I have always flattered myself that your friend 
 could not die unlike a brave man : but it pains me 
 that the ground of his fall had not been marked w itb 
 more usefulness to his country. — Brave, great and 
 experienced men may sometimes find it necessary to 
 their reputation tliat they meet in personal contest ; 
 this may be justified where the fate of a nation is de- 
 pending ; such occuri'ence^; are rare : but the trivial 
 disputes which excite ardent young men to put life 
 up at a game of hazard, cannot be reconciled to prin- 
 ciples of morality, patriotism, nor character. Daniel- 
 son wanted no tests of Jiis bravery : young, as he 
 was, experience had tested this. I lament more the 
 
GEN. EATON. $11 
 
 absence of his prudence than I should the loss we 
 feel had he fallen in the legidmiite iield of glory. — 
 The manner of Hamilton^s death added nothing to 
 the lustre of his fame ; and the circumstance of 
 Burr's killing him gave no man the more confidence 
 in Burr's honesty nor patriotism : the catastrophe 
 satisfied no one on the merits of the cause which 
 produced it. Individuals may slaughter each other 
 honorably by the laws of chivalry — all that society 
 can pronounce on this exhibition of courage is — Alas ! 
 The absence of Commodore Hodgers at that eventful 
 moment is much to be lamented : His presence 
 would have overawed the extremity which has 
 brought affliction to tlie concerned for the deceased, 
 and a loss to the service of our country — I most de- 
 voutly hope that this unhappy incident may prove a 
 caution to the young gentlemen of your profession^, 
 against sudden sallies of passions. 
 
 Any thing in detail which you can state concern- 
 ing the melancholy death of my son and friend, will 
 confer en me a peculiar obligation. I have received 
 no communications from Mr. Boyd, nor Mr. Evans, 
 on the subject. 
 
 •/ am, Sir, ^c. 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 Lieut. FiTz H. Babbit, 
 U. S. JV'avij. 
 
 That Gen. Eaton was in almost all respects in 
 principle a geuuine disciple of the Washington 
 school of politics is certain. The acquittal of Burr 
 however in some measure soured his mind, and the 
 hope of promotion in the army, by gratifying the rul- 
 ing administration, occasioned at times a considera- 
 ble swerving from his convictions. In the autumn of 
 this year he however boldly denounced the general 
 policy and measures of Congress. The following 
 speech, made in town meeting in Brimfield, is wor- 
 thy preservation as an exhibition of his oratorical 
 
41S LIFE OF 
 
 talents, as well as for its general correctness of pria- 
 ciple and propliecy. 
 
 From the Boston Repertory. 
 
 BRIMFIELD TOWN MEETING. 
 
 Ofi the 29th iilt. the Inhabitants in Brimfield, in this 
 State^ being duly notified, assembled to take into 
 consideration the expedience of petitioning the 
 President of the United States to remove the Em- 
 bargo in whole or in pari, or to convene Congress, 
 with that view, if his power were deemed incom- 
 petent. On this occasion, General Eaton ad- 
 dressed his fellow townsmen in the following 
 Speech, tvhich was requested for publication by 
 vote of the town, andforivarded to us for that rmr- 
 ^pose, 
 
 REMARKS BY GEJTERJIL EATOJW 
 
 IN the address of the inhabitants of tlie 
 town of Boston to the president of the United States, 
 and now offered to this town for concurrence, we 
 see nothing unconstitutional nor disrespectful. — Its 
 object, if attainable, is essentially important to the 
 commercial and agricultural interests of tliis coun- 
 try : and not less necessary to our revenue. In- 
 deed the distress and misej-y occasioned among all 
 classes of our fellow citizens by the Embargo, this 
 negative measure of coercion, are of themselves suffi- 
 cient to justify this appeal for relief. 
 
 It is hardly necessary, at this moment, minutely 
 to investigate the causes or the motives which hiducr 
 ed the Embargo. Admit, what cannot be denied, 
 that the interdictions upon our commerce by the bel- 
 ligerents, 2/* t/ie// could have been enforced, would 
 have nearly excluded us from the ocean — that by 
 both parties we have been outraged — rplundered and 
 
GEN. EATON. 413 
 
 insulted by both — and against both had sufficient 
 cause of war : it does not follow, from any thing 
 that appears to uS; that the position we have taken 
 to meet, those ag2;ressions has produced any relaxa- 
 tion of the restraints imposed on us as a neutral na- 
 tion ; nor any amelioration of our sulTerings. 
 
 A season, as it relates to commerce, has elapsed 
 since the imposition of the Embargo ; the experi- 
 ment has neither procured us national hoii or ^ national 
 security — nor domestic tranquility ; on the contrary, 
 in a national and domestic point of view, we suft'er 
 from this measure every disaster incident to war, ex- 
 cept actual invasion, without any of the possible ad- 
 vantages of war. For though we see not on our plains, 
 garments, rolled in blood, we see our sea board de- 
 serted by a hardy race of our natural defenders, 
 whom starvation has compelled to seek foreign ser- 
 vice ; to die ingk)riously and unlaraented. Thongli 
 we see not the devastation of plundering armies, M"i 
 feel our wealth diminisliing to a death bed consump- 
 tion for want of action — commerce annihilated — in- 
 dustry discouraged — the heart of enterprise broken — 
 and a species of lazaroni beginning to crowd our 
 porches with no other claims on our charity than 
 want of employment ! And though we do not, indeed 
 weep the misfortunes of our iiag for defeated squad- 
 rons and armies, we blush its fallen ^ory as the ef- 
 fects of a pusilanimous speculation on events much 
 more dishonorable than manly defeat. 
 
 It is believed no real American will deny that both 
 France and England have given us sufficient provo- 
 cation to war. Not to mention the captures^ deten- 
 tions, condemnations, burnings and sinkings of our 
 ships and merchandise by decrees of Napoleon the 
 First ; not to mention his insolence at onr court ; his 
 fraVkdulent sale iohonest purchasers, of the unbound- 
 ed Louisiana, and his subsequent inteiference in be- 
 half of the claims of Spain to the very territory he 
 sold us, should have been enough to have raised tlie 
 resentment of this whole nation. — That trpaisactiou 
 
414 LIFE OF 
 
 always reminds one of an upstart who once offered 
 our SsLviouY all the kingdoms of the earth on condi- 
 tion of his homage — The Devil was rebuked — 
 Bonaparte succeeded Letter with a subject. Both 
 had an equal right to the kingdom they proposed 
 to ])arter for homage. 
 
 But all the violations of our rigjits, on the part of 
 the Corsican, are silently and tamely endured, and 
 the edge of resentment, under his patronage, is solely 
 pointed to England. It can no longer be conceal- 
 cd, that the Embargo was intended for the British 
 nation, and/o?' her alone ; else why do lier ships of 
 war continue to l)e excluded from our ports, and 
 those of her enemy admitted to indulgencies whicli 
 are denied to our own citizens ? It is believed that 
 the Embargo was contemplated as a war measure ; 
 and mean<^, by some leading characters of our admin- 
 istration, to produce that effect. Indeed I do not 
 hesitate to assert, that war with England has been 
 a matter of calculation with the chief magistrate of 
 the United States. Else why have all his messen- 
 gers left their dispatches in France ; and to amuse 
 our confidence, gone in blank to England ? Else why 
 do we see so many posts of trust and honor filled 
 with avowed enemies to England, and devoted 
 friends of an usurper ? 
 
 But such an event under existing circumstances, 
 would prove ruinous to our country. Allied, as 
 England now is, with Spain and Portugal, the whole 
 boundary line of these United States, both by sea 
 and land, comprising a circumference of more than 
 four thousand miles, would become an enemy fron- 
 tier. Spain has never yet ceded Louisiana to us. 
 The discontented subjects of that territory ; the jeal- 
 ous Mexicans : the choice spirits on the waters of 
 the Missisippi ; the restless, untamed sons of the 
 forest : and the British provinces of Canada, would 
 all cooperate against us on that border : what barri- 
 er can we oppose to them in defence of that great 
 section of the union ? 
 
G^N. EATON. ' 4*1 & 
 
 Gome to our Atlantic seaboard. — What have we 
 to defend our commercial towns and cities, the seats 
 of our wealth, and resources of our revenue, against 
 the comb'ined navies of Great Britain and her allies ? 
 Will our gunboats and mud batteries do it ? The 
 notion is ridiculous. Can Bonaparte do it ? Every 
 body knows he cannot float a Frenchman across the 
 Atlantic, except in disguise of a mandarin ! A great 
 statesman and philosopher would recommend asyl- 
 um in mountains^ — but the dwellings like the habits 
 of New England are too fixed for mountain retreats. 
 Our altars and fire sides we cannot abandon for caves 
 and grottos. If neither the policy nor the energy of 
 the measures of administration can protect us at 
 home, where shall we look for protection ? Shall we 
 cede ourselves to France by allianae with her ty- 
 rant ? We commit national suicide and die an igno- 
 minious political death. We have the tale of half 
 Europe to admonish uij against such a dependence. 
 Bonaparte like Judas, kisses to betray. The only 
 possible benefit resulting from his good graces would 
 ])e, to be brought calmly in from the " tempestuous 
 sea of liberty," and securely grounded in the dry 
 dock of despotism. Our imperial and royal ally 
 would graciously signify to us his paternal solicitude 
 for our safety by creating lus well beloved nephev/ 
 Don Jerome Patterson Napoleon, King of these 
 States ; and his faithful and trusty General and 
 Plenipotentiary Turreau, Lie.utenant and Regent 
 of the kingdom during the minority of Ms said neph- 
 ew. Our governors of States would be provided 
 from his general staif. Are Americans so soon pre- 
 pared for this political annihilation and voluntary 
 transmigration into reptiles ? Not yet ! Let us be 
 loosed from the shackles which depress the nation ; 
 put on oar armor ; and let us like Spaniards, resist 
 the lure and the fraud of a blood stained son of ra- 
 pine. — -To support this position must we take the 
 hand of England ? Tlien would our catastrophe be 
 as certain ; though we mny linger out somewhat 
 
4l6 LIFE OF 
 
 longer a disgraceful existence. — Both these nations 
 have an itching palm for this country. They have 
 contended for it ever since its discovery, even when 
 a forest. The oldest soldier and youngest student a- 
 mong us know this. But, if at a period when wild 
 and unproductive, it was an object of contest, how 
 much more so now when it might produce to a con- 
 queror or a seducer, a revenue or a con ti ibution of thir- 
 ty millions a year. Against the lust of conquest anil 
 the pride of empire do we expect national Jifsh'ce to 
 defend r.s ? The term alas, is no longer to be found 
 in the libraries of courts ! Can met-kness save iis ? 
 When have we known a tyrant lift his fotjt from the 
 neck of a voluntary slave, or a country receiving for- 
 eign protection who were not ultimately reduced to 
 vassalage ! No : It is upon the arm of God and the 
 use of our ov/n means that tijis naUon must rely for 
 the recovery of its rights and for the maintenance of 
 our independence. Under that Almighty protection 
 we must stand by our ov/n strength. Alliances have 
 generally ended in the same way the very instant a 
 preponderance of power and advantage has fallen 
 into either scrde. 
 
 The great events now agitating in the eastern con- 
 tinent, may, and it would seem must so completely 
 occupy tlie warring rivals of Europe that their ava- 
 rice would be turned from the United States for a 
 time ; and great advantages, if improved, thence re- 
 sult to oiir commercial enterprise. Lift the Embar- 
 go ; hill's commerce to shift for itself ; and, in des- 
 pite of imperial decrees, we have open a vast field 
 for the display of this enterprise. We }»ave the Brit- 
 ish ports every where — Sweden and Norway — the 
 whole coast of Portugal and Spain — the islands 
 Minorca and Majorca — the whole Turkish coast of 
 the Mediterranean, except Algiers — tlie entire wes- 
 tern and southern coast of Africa — the borders of the 
 Red Sea — India and China ; Madeira, Teneriffe and 
 the Azores — most of the rich islands of the West In- 
 dies — the Spanish and Portuguese coast of Soiuh 
 
(JEN. EATON. ^bljT 
 
 America— -liie whole American coast of the Pacific 
 Ocean. And what is more important to us, our own 
 Coast and our own Fisheries, comprising more than 
 four fifths of the commercial coasts of the four Con- 
 tinents, and productive islands of the seas. Shall 
 we forego all the advantages which could be derived 
 from these sources of wealth from dread of the de- 
 crees of an adventurer, who has grown potent from 
 incident, and whom the justice of Heaven may soon 
 throw back to impotence on his native island of rocks 
 and sterility ? A mighty man of valor who dares not 
 send a bombkctch to sea through dread of his enemy ! 
 Such humility is too degrading to the feelings of 
 brave men and honest Americans. 
 
 But if this crisis be seized as by many apprehend- 
 ed, and by some asserted, to try an experiment upon 
 a, favorite plan of withdrawing ourselves entirely 
 from the seas, and wholly abandoning foreign com- 
 merce, it requires no deep penetration to foresee that 
 the experiment, if persevered in, will produce a dis- 
 me mhejinent ot ih^ union. " Where the treasure is, 
 there will the heart be also.'' Friendship and union 
 end the moment that interests clash, or that an over- 
 bearing disposition betrays itself in a section of the 
 union. The commerce of New England is our most 
 productive field of industry. Deprive us of this, and 
 we may become hev/ersof wood and drawers of wa- 
 ter to task masters of more luxuriant climates ; But 
 ere this liumiliation sink us, hearts will bleed and 
 heads will fall. I mean not generally to implicate a- 
 ny section of the United States in hostility to the in- 
 terests and growth of tlie North and the JSast ; but 
 in some leading characters I have witnessed conduct 
 which would justify the suspicion; and no where 
 more strongly than in an obstinate opposition to the 
 just claims of our countrymen who unsuspectingly 
 purchased territory under the solemn grant of a state: 
 I mean on the Yazoo. The embapgo is not without 
 its features of a siraular design. It ^iestroys the 
 fruits of our industry and turns our labors to noughtv 
 
 53 
 
418 LIFE or 
 
 Agriculture is the handmaid of Comiuerce says a 
 great mart. But if the abilities of the Govevncss be 
 pinionctl, where shall the hasidmaid find meaiis to be 
 useful to herself ? The present times answer tliis 
 question. What is to be done with the surplus prod- 
 uce of our hard earnings upon <»ur hard farms ! 
 Perish in our graneries and cells ! Where is the cir- 
 culating medium of our country ? Embargoed. In 
 banks, which like the gates of death, shut and no 
 man opens — How shall the farmer and the fisherman 
 discharge his contracts ? By !)ankruptcy ! Uovv is 
 the civil list to be paid ? And how the national debt 
 provided for ? By direct taxes ! How find the means 
 to pay direct taxes ? Our digriified retirement within 
 ourselves does not afford them — Shall we all go pri- 
 vateering ? We are Embargoed ! Situated as we are 
 we possess nothing, nor can we produce any thing 
 which will bring casli. And though we give our 
 bodies to be burned, and have not cash, it is nothing. 
 Privation and imprisonment will not pay a debt of 
 honor, nor satisfy an execution ; but if things stand 
 on as now going, this state of dignified retirement, 
 will by and by become our dernier reso''t for making 
 ourselves respected abroad and secure at home. 
 
 Our national father, Washington, wiiose name all 
 parties hail with enthusiasm, always recommended 
 to the stales, as a strong bond of union, mutual sac- 
 rifices, forbearances and sufferings. ([ wish liis 
 valedictory may be read in caucuses.) jiov/ has his 
 council been respected ? Tlie eastern states have 
 been left naked of defence to spare money for capar- 
 isoning a hobby on the west of our ancient bounda- 
 ries,(for sucli is Louisiana,)and it is believed the Em- 
 bargo was recommended, in some measuiT, to grati- 
 fy' the imperial vender of that hobby, lest in his wralh 
 lie should dismount his rider. ^V'liatever the in- 
 ducement to the measure, the author could not but 
 foresee that it niust, if continued, operate unerpially 
 upon the different states. The north and east have 
 not the natural resources of the south and west. 
 
GEN« EATOK. 419 
 
 Some of our necessaries of life, many of our conveni- 
 ences, and most of our luxuries, are derived from 
 commerce : Deprive us totally of this resort, and 
 wants both real and imaginary will assail us, and 
 will produce tljat discontentment which presidential 
 proclamations ^^ ill find diificult to pacify. Let us 
 be indulged in the exercise of our )iatural energy, 
 the use of our resources, and the pride of our Inde- 
 pendence ; and we will not be re|)roachful at the 
 philosophy which seeks shelter in a mountain or a 
 tub. I shall vote i'or the Boston a«ldress — and I 
 hope the President will give it, graciously, his high 
 consideration. 
 
 In Town Meeting in Bi^Vnfield^ •^w^- 29, 1808. 
 
 Voted, to request of Gen. Katon, a copy of his 
 remarks on the sul)joct of the Communications from 
 Boston to the Select men of Brimtield, for the press. 
 Copy of record. 
 
 Attest, S. Pynciion, Town Clerk. 
 
 In December 1809, he was visited by Leitensdor- 
 fer, or Eugene, the man wiiom he sent to Upper E- 
 gypt in search of the Ex- Bashaw, and who accom- 
 panied Eaton through the desart of Barca, and act- 
 ed as a Colonel in the battle of Derne. No man 
 ever appeared to be more gratified than Gen. Eaton 
 by this unexpected visii. Leitensdorfer tarried sev- 
 eral days, then took his de[)arture for the City of 
 Washington, having first received from Eaton cer- 
 tificates of his unrewarded services, and recommen- 
 (lations to Gen. Bradley of the Senate and other 
 members of Congress, to enal)le him to substantiate 
 and obtain his dues.* 
 
 * Ihe reader noill doubtless here be gratified ijoitb the folleiulng biogra- 
 phy of this extraordinary man, from the Port Folio. 
 
 Life of a Tyrof-ese at Washington. 
 
 Account of the remarkable Tyrolesey patronized by the American Genjern- 
 
 tncnt. 
 
 Sully thought it wortli while to delineate the character of Servin ; 
 joldsmith employed himself in describing the qualities of Chrichton : 
 
4^0 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 He ever considered himself as having been tiie uu- 
 intentional means of rendering tlie situation of the 
 Ex-Bashaw less eligible than before his cooperation 
 
 and Johnson has drawn at full length the portrait of Savage. Other 
 extraordinary persons demanded from time to time the aid of biogra- 
 phy. For a year and more, a remarkable man has lived at the seatof 
 the nationa.l government. He has attracted so much attention as to 
 have been the subject of a special act of congress. Few of the mem- 
 bers knew much about him ; and still less was known to the public. 
 On the passage of the bill in his favor, one of the representatives of 
 the people was, from diffidence and the love of quiet, withheld from 
 delivering, the following history of the man. 
 
 Ger-vasio Prodasio Santuart was born at a village near Trent, in the 
 Tyrol, on the twenty first of October, 1T72 He was educated in one 
 of the schools of that country, in which part of the learner's time is de- 
 voted to literature, and part to the exercise of the agricultural and 
 mechanic arts. He was then sent to college, for the purpose of be- 
 ing educated to the Romish church. But not liking his occupation 
 or prospects, he quitted his theological studies and entered very young 
 into the married life For a while he solicited employment as a sur- 
 veyor of land. Shortly after, when Joseph the Second ordered an ex- 
 pedition against the Turks, he entered tlie army under Laudun, and 
 iTiarchedon the exjpedition to Belgrade. He afterwards sustained his 
 part of the siege of Mantua under Wurmser. After the capitulation 
 of that city, he was under the command of Alvinzy, and deserted 
 from the Austrian army to avoid the punishment of hanging for hav- 
 ing been concerned in a duel. He joined the French at Milan, and 
 passed by the name Carlo Hossondo. But growing weary of the sus- 
 picion which attached to him as a spy, he poisoned the guards by ad- 
 ministering to them drink containing deadly doses of opium,and es- 
 caped to a village situated in the southern extremity of Switzerland. 
 Here, to avoid detection, he assumed the name of Johan Eugene 
 Leitensdorfer. From this place he sent word to his family of his sit- 
 uation, and received from them a remittance of money With this he 
 bought watches and jewelry, ^nd travelled into France and Spain, 
 selling his ware as he went- 
 
 In this capacity he visited Toulon, and was induced to embark in a 
 vessel and sail for Egypt. After his arrival he wandered to Cairo, 
 while Menou commanded the French forces, and he assisted in the 
 agricultural and economical projects of the institute that was formed 
 there. Some time after the arrival of the English army and of Aber- 
 crombie's death, he quitted the French and attached himself to the 
 British. By the Enghshofficers he was encouraged to open a coffee 
 house, for tneir entertainment. In this occupation he collected mon- 
 ey enough to buy a house, and to be concerned in a theatre, in which 
 the military gentlemen of dramatic tas.te performed plays. Here he 
 married a Coptic woman. 
 
 On the withdrawing of the English, he found it necessary to leave 
 Alexandria too Heabandoned his wife, child and property, and ar- 
 rived, after an ordinary voyage at Messina, in Sicily. At that place, 
 being out of employment, and destitute of resources, he entered him- 
 self a novice in a monastery of Capuchin friars; and after having 
 practised their discipline and enjoyed their bounty, under the name qf 
 Padre Anselmo, until a convenient opportunity oftered of running a- 
 way, he went off in a vessel for Smyrna. He soon reached Con- 
 stantinople, and there rambled about for three days whithout food or 
 
, Gi;x. EATON. 421 
 
 wiih the fovccs of the United States: He likewise 
 considered liimself authovised to make the treaty 
 with him which was made, and the government of the 
 
 dnnk. At length meeting a Capuchin, he begged of him a pack of 
 cards and a pistol ; and with the aid of these he exhibited tricks, and 
 retrieved in some measure his desperate fortune. 
 
 About this time, Brune, who had commanded the French army at 
 Milan, when he made his escape, arrived at Constantinople as the 
 French embassador ; and he, fearing that he might be discovered and 
 arrested, enlisted in the Turkish service. Two expeditions were then 
 on foot J one against Passwan Oglou in Bulgaria; and the other a- 
 gainst Elfy Bey in Egypt. He jomed the latter ; and on the defeat of 
 the Turkish detachment to which he belonged, saved his head by be- 
 taking himself to the desert, and courting protection from the Be- 
 doween Arabs. After his unfortunate expedition, he returned to 
 Constantinople, and solicited a passport from the Russian minister to 
 get into Muscovy 1 his being refused him, he ouce more endeavor- 
 ed to obtain military employment, by the Turks j but in this he was 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 He now resolved to assume the character of a dervise. These are 
 the functionaries of rehgion, and always combine^ with their sacerdo- 
 tal office, those of physician and conjurer To be initiated into this 
 order he made a formal renunciation of Christianity, denounced its 
 foUov/ers for the wrongs and injuries they had done him, professed 
 the Mahometan faith in due form, and to show that he was in earnest, 
 circumcised himself in the presence of the faithful, by his own hand 
 with a razor. This being accomplished, he joined, under the new 
 name of Murat Aga, a caravan for Trebizoud, on the southern shore 
 of the Black sea. On the way he practised his profession by giving 
 directions to the sick, and selling, for considerable sums of money, 
 small pieces of paper on which were written sentences from the Koran 
 in Turkish, which he sanctified by applying them to his shaven and 
 naked crown. 
 
 At Trebizond he was informed that the Bashaw was dangerously 
 sick and threatened with bhndness. He was directed to prescribe for 
 this grand patient : but this he refused to do, until he should be ad- 
 mitted to the sovereign presence. Thither he was conducted through 
 files of armed soldiers and ranks of kneeling officers. Having arriv- 
 ed in the sick chamber, the dervise displayed all the pomp and gran- 
 deur of his calling, by solemnly invoking God and the prophet. He 
 next proceeded to enquire under what disease the Bashaw labored • 
 Finding that he was afflicted with a fever acconipanied with a violent 
 inflammation of the eyes, and judging that he might recover both 
 health and sight, he boldly declared it to be God's will that both these 
 events should happen, after the next new moon, provided certain in- 
 termediate remedies should be used. -Then searching the pouch con- 
 tainmg his medicines and apparatus, he produced a white powder 
 v.'hich he ordered to be blown mto the bashaw's eyes, and a wash of 
 milk and water to be frequently employed afterwards. Sweating was 
 likewise recommended, by the assistance * t^f warm drinks and 
 blankets. He was well rewarded by money and presents; and the 
 next day departed with the caravan towards Persia, intending to be 
 nine or ten days' journey trom Trebizond before tJie new moon 
 should appear, that he might be quite out of reach, in case the event 
 should be unfortunate. 
 
4S2 J-lfE OF 
 
 United Stales bound for its fulfilment. Hence his 
 complaints were constant against what he called the 
 duplicity, injustice and treaciiery of Lear, sanctioned 
 
 This caravan being numerous, and heavily loaded, was overtaken 
 some days afterward by a lighter, and armed caravan, who pursued 
 themfor the purpose of plunder. And the caravan to which he be- 
 longed finding it must either fight or purchase terms, it chose the lat- 
 ter. This affair being settled, he heard two men of the marauding car- 
 avan talking to each other, concerning the grand dervise who had cur- 
 ed the Bashaw of Trebizond. He heard them say that recovery was 
 confidently expected, inasmuch as the threatening symptomshada- 
 bated, and the prospect was every way more encouraging. The der- 
 vise then rejoiced at the beneficial operation of the caustic lime which 
 he had ordered to be blown into the Bashaw's eyes, to eat the films a- 
 way. On hi« return the physician presented himself before the govern- 
 or. He was received as a great and good man, and loaded agam with 
 donations. 
 
 At this place he remained until a caravan was prepared to undertake 
 a journey to Mecca- To this body of pilgrims and traders, he attach- 
 ed himself as a dervise. They arrived in proper time in that region of 
 Yemen. But the Wechabites had made great progress in their fanatic- 
 al work. They had demolished in part the old religion of Mahomet, 
 and set up their new revelation in its stead, burned the body of the 
 prophet, destroyed the holy temple, and sequestered the revenue paid 
 at the shrine of Mahomet The caravan feared to encounter these 
 zealous and daring innovators, and halted at a distance. But the der- 
 vise, availing himself partly of his priestly occupation, and partly of 
 liis personal adroitness, went over to their camp, and was well re- 
 ceived. 
 
 Having tarried as long as he pleased in Mecca, he went to a port 
 near jedda, a city on the Red sea. Thence he crossed to the west 
 bide, and coasted along to Suez. There he made himself known to 
 lord Gordon, a Scottish traveller, arwi entered into his employ, as an in- 
 terpreter. With him he travelled to Cairo, and through the Lermar, 
 to Nubia and Abyssinia. His last exercise previous to his seperation 
 froiTi that munificent gentleman, was to decorate witli flowers, fruits, 
 leaves, branches and chandeliers, the hall in which his employer, on 
 his return, gave a splendid treat to the foreign residents and consuls, 
 then at Cairo. 
 
 From this place, he returned after an absence of six years, to Alex- 
 andria : and on inquiring for his wife, was told she was in conceal- 
 :nent. A separation was readily agreed ujwn by mutual consent, and 
 she immediately formed a connexion with a Copt, a man of her own 
 sect. 
 
 Being once more in Cairo, he wholly threw aside the character of a 
 dervise, and assumed the occupation and imiform of an engineer. 
 Here he was engaged in planning military works, and in superintend- 
 ■ ing their execution. While he was thus (.'inployed, news was brought 
 him that captain Eaton^ had arrived, and wished a confidential and 
 intrepid agent, to convey a message to Hamet Caram.elli, the Ex-Bash- 
 rtw of Tripoli in Barbary. At an interview which took place between 
 them, the former first swore the latter to secrecy on the Koran, and 
 then communicated his project. 
 
 ./aving agreed to the conditions, he took the earliest opportunity to 
 desert the lurks, and to penetrate through the desert to the M^ma- 
 ; ike camp, where Caramelli was ; in poverty and dependence, 
 
GEX. KATOX. 4:23 
 
 by the adniinistratioii. He frequently received let- 
 ters from Hamet, some of which vvere forwarded to 
 Congress ; and exerted himself as far as in his 
 
 though respected. It is to be understood that Egypt is divided into 
 Enghsh and French parties : the Turks being attached to the French, 
 and the Mamalukes to the Enghsh. With a single atteiidant and two 
 dromedaries, he proceeded with the swiftness of wind, feeding the 
 animals with small balls composed of meal and eggs, and taking no 
 other sleep than he could catch upon the back of the hard trotting 
 beast. He reached the Mamaluke camp in safety- TheChiek, in to- 
 ken of a welcome reception, gave him a few sequins, refreshed him 
 with coffee. In a short time he so arranged matters with the Ex-Bash- 
 aw, that one night CaramelU went forth as it on an ordinary expedition 
 with about one hundred and fifty followers, and instead of returning 
 to his Ma.naluke encampment, sped his way over the trackless sands, 
 and with that force reached th3 rendezvous of th? enterprising Amer- 
 ican. 
 
 With all the forces they could jointly assemble, they traversed, with 
 extreme toil and suffering, ihe deserts of Barca, for the purpose of 
 making a.diversion in favor of the squadron of armed ships which the 
 United States of America had ordered against the city of Tripoli. Af- 
 ter surmounting incredible hardships, they arrived at Derne, and 
 gained an advantage over the troopsofthe reigning bashawin a skirm- 
 ish. This action spread terror through all the Tripolitan dominions, 
 and exceedingly alarmed the Bashawin his castle. Immediately after 
 a peace was concluded by consul Lear. In consequence of this, orders 
 were forthwith sent to the American vessels on the coast and the co- 
 operating land forces under Eaton, to discontinue hostile operations, 
 i he Egyptian host was requested to embark in the American vessels. 
 Part of them, thus stopped in midcareer, did so : and the rest remain- 
 ed on shore, .subject, now they were inferior in martial strength, to the 
 cruelty and caprice of the angry despot and his vassals. 
 
 Leitensdorferwas one of the persons who went on board and witness- 
 ed the mortification of the Ex-Bashaw and the ravings of his lieuten- 
 ant general, at this unexpected order, so subversive of their plans, 
 and so ruinous of their hopes. He himself acted as a colonel. In this 
 vessel he went, by way of Malta, to Syracuse From which place he 
 proceeded to Albina, taking the route of Corfu to Salona, with the 
 design of inquiring by letter what was the situation of a son by his first 
 marriaoe, whom he had left in Tyrol. Immediately on landing a- 
 mongthe Turks, he was seized asan apostate Mahometan, and reduc- 
 ed to slavery. By degrees, however, he excited favorable senti- 
 ments,in consequence of having cured several sick sailors during the 
 voyage- In addition to which he pleaded the necessity he felt, when 
 in the American army of Africa, ofconforming to the dress and man- 
 ners of that strange and peculiar people of the west, under a belief 
 that to be an American was not to be a christian. He wasat lengtli 
 rebtored to the freedom of a faithful mussulman. He next visited 
 Palermo, and there formed a temporary marriage witli a female willing 
 to engage in such a connexion. 
 
 Aboiit this time the new king of Naples threatened to conquer Si- 
 cily in fpite of all the resistance that Ferdinand the Fourth, and the 
 Englilh could make On this, Leitensdorfer became alarmed for his 
 own safety, knowing that he had no mercy to expect from French- 
 men. He determined to embark as a passenger for the American 
 States. But no m.aster of a vessel could be found, who would receive 
 
4^4} ' LIFE OF 
 
 power for the Tt'storatiou of Hamcr.s famiTy. 
 When he received inforfnation of his being appoint- 
 ed to the goveninient of the Province of Devne, 
 
 him in that capacity- He then resolved to offer himself as a sailor ; 
 and was entered as sucli on board a vessel bound to Salem in Massa- 
 chusetts Here he learned to hand, reef and steer, and do the adlive 
 business of a seaman He arrived at Salem in December, 1809, and 
 iooii went on a visit to his old friend and fellow warrior at Brimfield. 
 He was hospitably received, and left his late general, with honorable 
 sentiments of his generosity and bravery. By him he was advised to 
 visit Washington, and to present himself to the President and Secreta- 
 ry of State. For this purpose, Eaton had furnished Leitensdorfer 
 with recommendatory letter":, stating the compensation due to him 
 for his various services and losses. By these gentlemen, he was refer- 
 red to the secretary at war ; and was sent from one to the other un- 
 til his skill in surveying, drawing and engineering became known to 
 the surveyor of the public buildings, and he thereby acq^uired-soraeof 
 the patronage of Mr. Latrobe. 
 
 Thus he lived along occupying one of the vacant chambers in the 
 northern pile of the capital, as a watch or an office keeper, providing 
 and cooking for himself, and employing his hands in almost every 
 kind of occupation, from the making of shoes, to the insnaring oi 
 birds, and the delineation of maps. 
 
 This extraordinary man is about five feet ten inches in height, with 
 dark eyes, black hair and brown complexion. His looks are lively, 
 his gestures various, and his limbs remarkably flexible and vigorous. 
 His forehead is ample, his features expressive, and his figure rather 
 spare and lean. With such natural marks and powers, he has been 
 enabled to assume the respective characters ot Jew, Christian and 
 Mahometan ; and of soldier, linguist, engineer, farmer, and trades- 
 man with uncommon ease And in short, he has proved himself to 
 be one of the most versatile of human beings; having acted during 
 his multifarious life in about thirty different capacities. In the 
 course of his adventures he has received several wounds. And his ec- 
 centric life has afi^brded incidents to gratify the inhabitants of Vienna 
 by a theatrical representation of his character on the stage. 
 
 He can utter the Hebrew words almost exactly like a rabbi in 
 the synagogue. He can recite the Latin prayers 5nd homilesofthe 
 christians after the manner and in the tone of the capucJiins ; and h^ 
 pronounces the religious sentences of the mussidnien in Arabic, with 
 the earnestness and emphasis of a mufti. All these he performed for 
 me successively one morning with singular i-eadiness and skill. 
 
 To complete his strange story, Mr. Bradley undertook to be Jiiv 
 friend in the senate of the United States ; and that body passed a bill, 
 introduced by him, giving Leitensdorfer a half section ol land (thre- 
 hundred and twenty acres) and the pay of a captain from the 15th ot 
 December, 1804, to the 15th of December, 1805, bein^ tlie time thai- 
 he served as adjutant and inspector of the army of the United States^ 
 in Egypt, and on the coast of Africa. 
 
 The generosity of the house of representatives was manifested by 
 the insertion of an amendment to give him a whole section of a mile; 
 square (six hundred and forty acres) of land, instead of three hundred 
 and twenty. But the senate disagreed to it, and the house rocedtd. 
 So that his grant remained as originally introduced.. 
 
GEN. EATON. ii^5 
 
 ?lii'(Uigh the instrumentality of Doctor Davis, he ex- 
 pressed himself in the strongest terms of satisfaction, 
 clechiring he was then willing to die. 
 
 In January 1810 he received a letter from Mr. 
 llumhert, * long his most intimate friend while in 
 Tunis, to which he returned an answer : Extracts 
 follow. 
 
 Brimfieldf Jan. 15/A, 1810. 
 
 My Dear Friend. 
 
 FORTUNP: has reversed her tables.— 
 I am no more Eatox. I live, or ratlier stay, in ob- 
 scurity and uselessness. The wound 1 received on 
 the coast of Tripoli, and others more early, have de- 
 prived me of an arm's use and the use of a leg — 
 Want of economy, which I never learned, want of 
 judgment in the speculative concerns of private life, 
 which I never studied, and, what is more, privation 
 of the consideration of a government which I have 
 served, have unmanned me. * * 
 
 A fellow first fed on horse chesnuts and then on 
 charity now bestrides the world, and fattens on 
 gore : we Americans venerate him, because we have 
 lost our national character 5 perhaps it was never 
 well fixt. We can shew you citizens who fly to- 
 luountains and caves for a hiding place ; but our 
 
 * The following lines were addressed to Mr. Humbert 
 BY Eaton WHEN leaving Tunis. 
 
 Tunis Bay, March iOth, iSOS. 
 Swift to the western world I wing my way. 
 Where light and freedom pour the radiant day ; 
 Leave the curst shores of chains and stern despair, 
 To breath once more my happy native air ! 
 Yet while o'er ocean's heaving breast I roam,. 
 Rapt in the charm of Liberty and home, 
 My faithful friends shall claim the frequent tear; 
 But none more frequent than my friend Humbert. * 
 Once reached the wished for goal, Columbia's shore ; 
 My cares forgotten, my misfortunes o'er ; 
 There from my peaceful fields again I'll write, 
 What plain and honest friendship shall indite. 
 Till then, adieu, Humbert j may God extend 
 Bliss to thy wishes, and preserve my friend. 
 
 * Pronounced Hum-berr. •' 
 
 {ill 
 
4aa 
 
 l.rtE Ob 
 
 wars are on paper. Free presses, but no lieavr 
 metal. * * * * 
 
 1 am glad you are well ; when I am so, I will 
 write you more. Death has laid himself along side, 
 and thrown his grapliugs upon my quarter and fore- 
 castle, but I keep him off midships yet.^^ 
 
 During the winter of 1809-10, Gen. Eaton was^ 
 much of the time confined to his house or his cham- 
 ber with rheumatic and gouty complaints. The se- 
 verity and continuance of his pains and his sufferings 
 had however no admonishing affect in producing a 
 change in his regimen. His friends and relations, 
 sometimes with timid delicacy, sometimes with re- 
 proachful openness, and often with pathetic tender- 
 ness, entreated and encouraged <1 reformation of his 
 habits. His resolutions of amendment were not 
 nnfreqnent, but never executed. No man was more 
 sensible than himself of the inevitable consequence 
 of his excesses. At times, wakened by considera- 
 tions of duty to his family, and his hope of reestab- 
 lishing his character, and becoming useful to the 
 community, he would 
 
 Push his honest purpose to resolve, 
 In all the magnanimity of thought, 
 Resolve, and re -resolve ; 
 
 but wa« ever incompetent to performance. Keflex- 
 ions on his past misconduct, the loss of property by 
 his imprudence, and the loss of reputation by his 
 excessive indulgence, produced only sorrow and re- 
 morse, from which he sought immediate relief by re- 
 currence to the temporary relief of the glass. 
 
 In the win.ter of 1810-11, h^ was much confined 
 with an increase of chronic complaints and gener- 
 al debility. His appetite for food was almost totally 
 gone. His feet and ankles^ became swolen, and a 
 dropsy gradually ensued. His strength daily failed, 
 so that in April he was scarcely able to \\a]k. 
 When the weather was pleasant he occasionally 
 took a short ride in a chaise. In one of his last at- 
 tempts to go abroady he called upon a friend in the 
 town, (Col. A. Morgan,) to rest and refresh hims^-lf^ 
 
GEN., EATOX. 4^7 
 
 During liis stay he conversed with calmness on his 
 approaching dissolution; gave directions for his funer- 
 al ; and; calling for a pen and ink, after consul- 
 tation with his friend, gave the names of four 
 Colonels, who had commanded the regiment of mili- 
 tia of that town and vicinity, for his hearers. 
 
 In the intervals of distress and occasional relaxa- 
 tions from pain, he was frequently sociable, facetious' 
 or satirical. A neighbor, a cabinet maker, having 
 called to see him, a few tlays before his (I^ath, he 
 suddenly turned his head towards him, and calling 
 him by name, addressed him thus : '^' If you should 
 have the making of my coffin, let me beg of you not 
 to make it ofpine^ for I can't bear the smell of it : 
 and take care not to place me on my back, for in 
 that position 1 am very subject to the mg;ht mare.'' 
 
 To the last, while he had the command of his 
 senses, he was inquisitive for foreign news and pol- 
 itical information. He considered this country as 
 sold to France, unless the people should seasonably 
 refuse to sanctify the bill of sale of it by the admin- 
 istration ; which he rather hoped than expected. 
 His opinions of Jefferson and Madison were express- 
 ed with the most bitter execrations. 
 
 He languished, becoming daily more weak, his 
 legs and abdomen continuing to swell, till Friday, 
 May 31st, before his senses or his memory seemed 
 much impaired. In the evening of that day, two 
 gentlemen coming to liis bed side, and enquiring the 
 state of Ws health, he readily made answer to one of 
 them, calling him hy name ; but when addressed by 
 the other he could neither call him by name, nor be 
 made to notice him. 
 
 One of his neighbors and the editor of this vol- 
 ume watched with him during the night. He seem- 
 ed insensible to all that passed, or unable to expres<^ 
 himself. At one time, however, during the night, be- 
 ing asked if he would not take some drink, he dis- 
 tinctly replied ; *' Yes, I .believe I will." Almut 
 §iiurisc, being asked if lie wished his head raised, lie, 
 
438 LIFE OF 
 
 answered " Yes, sir, I thank you.'' At other iimeH 
 he took no notice of what was said or done ; and 
 these were the last words he uttered. His respira- 
 tion was regular during the day following ; but 
 gradually more and more rapid and difficult. About 
 twenty minutes before nine o'clock in the evening, 
 June 1st, he breathed his last, without a groan or 
 struggle. 
 
 On the succeeding Tuesday he was buried under 
 arms according to liis wish ; his bearers Colonels Ses- 
 sions, Morgan, Lyon and Patrick. His body was 
 carried to the Meeting house, where a very able, 
 pertinent and pathetic discourse was delivered by 
 the Rev'd Doctor Welch of Mansfield, (Con.) 
 
 Thus prematurely fell Gen. Wm. Eaton, a man 
 blest by nature with talents of t!ie highest grade. 
 His career was brilliant and eccentric. He perform- 
 ed much, and was adequate to the performance of 
 much more, had prudence kept pace with his ambi- 
 tion. His competency for greater actions ought not 
 however to diminish the lustre of what he has at- 
 chieved. That he did not duly respect himself and 
 maintain the high reputation to wliich he was at one 
 time exalted, for the continuance or increase of his 
 own fame and the service of his country, is a subject 
 of just lamentation: but, in the words of Doctor 
 Johnson, " when it is objected that much is omitted, 
 let it not be forgotten that much also is performed." 
 
 Gen. Eaton's frequent imprudences of deport- 
 ment have induced many who were but little acquaint- 
 ed with him to hold but a mean opinion of his abili- 
 ties. His conduct, at times, was such as to justify 
 among strangers the entertaining of such sentiments ; 
 but those who were intimately acquainted with him 
 could possibly possess no other than an exalted opin- 
 ion of his intellectual powers. Instead of a military, 
 had he pursued a literary course ; as a poet, divine, 
 stateman or orator, he would liave had few competi- 
 tors. 1 once asked him what accident, or whether 
 deliberate choice, first incited his desire of a military 
 
GEN. EATON. 4;S9 
 
 lile. He told me it was the perusal, when a boy, of 
 ;ui odd volume of Plutarch's Lives, or some other 
 military biography, which directed his young ambi- 
 tion to the pursuit of glory by the professioji of arms. 
 While in college however he was at one time resolv- 
 ed on the study of divinity ; and, after leaving the 
 University, he at auotlier time determined on the 
 study of law : for which purpose he entered his 
 name in an xltlorney's office at Windsor (Vt.) and . 
 would doubtless have persevered had he hcen disap- 
 pcfinted in his application for a commission in the 
 army of the United States. 
 
 Among his loose manuscripts I find the copy of a 
 letter, dated, ^' Ruins of Utica, August Md, 1799/' 
 directed to the RevVl Doctor Welch, inclcteing a 
 sermon in support of the Immortality of the Soul; 
 from which a few extracts are here ma<ie. 
 
 ^^ Reverend and Dear Siu, 
 
 IT recurs to me that many years ago I 
 promised you to "he a minister.*' ••It is not in man 
 that walketh to direct his steps.'' The incidents! 
 whicli have marlved the path of iiiy life since I thus 
 plighted myself, no human penetration could have 
 foreseen. — I can hardly say I have had a volition 
 in them. I should then have thought it frantic in any 
 one vv^ho should have predicted that at a future period 
 I should date a letter to you from the ruins of Utica. 
 
 '^ Among the earliest moments of my beginning to 
 think, the Christian religion exhibited to a mind, de- 
 sirous of immortal lite, excellent beauties, and 
 sublime hopes : and tiiougli the evolutions of my 
 existence hitherto have afforded fewer proofs of this 
 impression than the sublimity of the subject should 
 produce, it is nevertheless my frequent, though secret 
 theme. * * * 
 
 ^' Placed as I am at present among ruins of human 
 enterprise and ambition and monuments of human 
 
4*80 LIFE OF 
 
 greatness, which lie buried beneath the waste of ma» 
 ny thousand years, this subject imposses itself on 
 Biy mind witli new solemnity and more impatience to 
 believe. * * * 
 
 " Among my collegiate manuscripts I find something 
 which I intended as the base of a sermon. On a re- 
 yiew, at tliis late period, I recognize the thoughts ; 
 and, incoherent as they are, I give them to you. 
 You will find little in them but the rhapsody of 
 youth : but I have neither time nor means to give 
 them the features of coiTcct argument. ^ * 
 
 " Because priests have in all countries, except the 
 United States, prostrated our religion to an instru- 
 ment of oppression, it is no argument against the 
 system. What good institution of government eith- 
 er in the religious, moral or political world, has not, 
 in the hands of avaricious, cruel or ambitious men, 
 undergone the same violation ? * * 
 
 *' The spotless life of Jesus is as great a miracle as 
 his resuriection. Who ever lived as he lived ? 
 When his enemies arraigned him at the tribunal 
 which was to decide on life and death, of what did 
 they accuse him ? Not of one moral vice ! The Rom- 
 an Governor with' great propriely observes : He 
 found no fault in him. * * * 
 
 ** When, among his adversaries, we find a man who 
 can introduce a better system for a rule of practice, 
 and give us examples of more distinguished virtue, 
 then shall we be safe in abandoning the Nazarine 
 and following the reformer. But it so happens that 
 the more a wise man assiraulates himself in disposi- 
 tion and practice to the character of a perfect being, 
 the more he resembles the jyian ofson^ow. * * 
 
 ^ Do we ever hear a dying man regret that he has 
 lived soherlij, righteously and Godly, in the world ? 
 
 *• Our system establishes ajust balance between the 
 monarcliy of reason and tlie anarchy of the passions. 
 
 *^ It is the revelation of God. * * 
 
 ^^ How should God but reveal what he has so deep- 
 ly implanted in the Jiuman system ? ^ * 
 
GEJf. EATON. 4^1 
 
 ^* The materialist calls it pride. But his very la- 
 T)ors prove that this pride exists in his own breast. — 
 What but a desire of being immortalized in the 
 memory of his survivors could prompt him to 
 the laborious task of blotting out the hope of futurity, 
 and of establishing a creed altogether useless to 
 mankind; and cruel to the wretched ? * -*^ 
 
 ^^ What is ambition ? — Why are monuments erect- 
 ed ? Why preserve the likeness of our friends ? 'Tis 
 immortality. — Why does the shepherd carve his 
 name in the green bark of many a shrub ? 'Tis im- 
 mortality, though he knows it not. 'Tis the God of 
 nature moving in his breast. * * 
 
 '' No man ever desired eternal death till guilt first 
 made him shun the light, and pride forbade repen- 
 tance. ^ ' * * 
 
 '' We find in all ages that the advocates for im- 
 mortality have been the supporters of moral virtue. 
 
 '' If we cannot find argument, in natural philoso- 
 phy, to support tlie doctrine of the immortality of the 
 soul, so neither can we to prove the contrary. * 
 
 " If those wlio have placed their chief good in tem- 
 poral enjoyments can content themselves with a good 
 so transitory, — and if they are willing to flatter the 
 wicked with this dark sanctuary of guilt ; it is nev- 
 ertheless unkind to deprive tlie poor, the forlorn, the 
 faithful, who have wandered as strangers and pil- 
 grims through the tribulations of this world, of a hope 
 so hospitable as a Savior's bosom ? * 
 
 " Dare we impeach the goodness of God of having 
 prepared no reward for the righteous ? — -Shall the 
 hope of the just perish? * -^ 
 
 " It will make the burthen of life easy and the pil- 
 low of death void of terrors. These are advantages 
 which cannot be found in speciilative philosophy. — 
 'riiey are precepts which the world can neither give 
 nor lake away. * * 
 
 ^' Philosophers argue that the decomposition of the 
 animal system returns each material particle to its 
 proper element. Why will not the argument apply 
 
43S^ LU'E OF 
 
 also to tlie rational principle with us ? — Why may 
 not even philosophy argue tliat this also shall return 
 to its original source ? — 
 
 Gp:n. Eaton's voice in public speaking was loud 
 and distinct, liis pronunciation slow and impressive. 
 Almost hi« only exhibitions of public elocution were 
 during one session of the legislature of this state r 
 but enougli was then discovered to warrant the be- 
 lief that, if he had devoted his mind to the forum or 
 the pulj)it, he would have* been one of the best of 
 public speakers. 
 
 Of poetry he was fond though he never wrote 
 much, nor was his poetical rea<ling very extensive. 
 The few pieces published in this volume however 
 discover great strength of mind and great creative 
 powers, with but partial cultivation. In a volume 
 of his journals 1 find the following 
 
 ODE. 
 
 When God, the Architect Supreme, 
 At first conceived tb.e amazing scheme, 
 Ffom chao') and eternal night, 
 To call up order, worlds and light, 
 Deep in the omniscient mind, the plan 
 On fellowship revolved ; when man, 
 ]iieattied from his own existence, stood 
 A beauteous portrait of his God ; 
 For love, for social joy refined, 
 To every social joy inclined. 
 
 Blissful roll the moments on ; 
 
 Glad'ning eve and cheeiful movn ; 
 
 Manly friendship, sacred love, 
 
 Eden's peaceful bowers improve. 
 But envy fe.'l assumed control, 
 And ranc'rous passions seized the soul ; 
 Chaos o'erwl^.elmed the world again ; 
 Confusion re-assumcd her reign ; 
 Horror o'ercast tlie affrighted east ; 
 And nature trembled to the v/est. 
 Man wept ; accused ; exile his doom — 
 A friendless, hopeless vast to ream ; 
 Where haic, distrust, revenge and blood. 
 Effaced the image of his God 1 
 
GEN. EATO>f. 43B 
 
 liesevts drear convey no charms ; 
 
 Every rustling leaf alarms ; 
 
 Jealous ihorns to love succeed ; 
 
 Friendship's vows a thistle breed. 
 With pity mov'd — the Almighty Mind 
 Again conceived ! the Lodge ordained-! 
 Resolved on this eternal base 
 T'engrave his name ; restore our race ; 
 To earth give radiance from its day ; 
 Pour on the blind its visual ray ; 
 Extend its orb where thought extendi ; 
 Nor end its reign till nature ends : ^ 
 
 Bid peace, and truth, and joy, and love 
 Immortal, round its centre move. 
 
 Happy mortals saw once more 
 
 Blissful days like days of yore j 
 
 Man, to ancient faith restored, 
 
 Resumed the image of his God. 
 Beamed from the east a genial ray ; 
 To western climates winged its way ; 
 Found out fair Freedom's hemisphere, 
 And shone a Constellation here. 
 Approving Heaven, with fostering hand, 
 Gave masons triumph through this land ; 
 And, firmly to secure our craft 
 From bigot rage, and envy's shaft, 
 Sent a Grand Master, Freedom's son, 
 The God-like patriot Washington ! ' 
 
 Brethren, let's hail our Washington, 
 
 While planets through their orbits run, 
 
 And ever let his birth-night be 
 
 To us an annual jubilee — 
 Washington City, Feb. 10, 1804, Comp.osed for the celebm^ 
 Hon of St. GKOROErWArSHiNOTON^a/ Monson, 22rf inat. by 
 
 WILLIAM EATON. 
 
 These few specimens of his poetry, perhaps near- 
 ly all he ever wrote, though sometimes eccentric 
 and incorrect, are sufficient to prove that if he had 
 followed the Muses rather than Mars, his pursuit 
 would have been crowned with success. 
 
 The remark of the Roman Satirist, nullum nu • 
 MKN ABEST SI SIT pRUDEMTiA : 710 deitij is obseiit 
 where there is Prudpnce '; though well known to Ea- 
 TON, had little effect on his deportment. Few neti 
 
 55 
 
4t^ LIFE OF 
 
 had less government over the unruly member. What 
 he thought at the moment was generally uttered at 
 the moment, without regard to circumstances or con- 
 sequences. So imprudent a frankness frequently 
 geiuerated distaste or created enemies, 
 
 It has been asserted that all men have nearly an 
 equal share of Vanity, and that the appellation of 
 modesty and egotism are bestowed only in propor- 
 tion to the circumspection or heedlessness with which 
 that Vanity is concealed or betrayed. As a general 
 rule this opinion is probably correct. Were the real 
 sentiments of the man apparently the most diffident 
 displayed to universal inspection, we should hardly 
 know how to discriminate, or whom not to pro- 
 nounce externally vain. In the earlier part of Ea- 
 ton's life he was not remarkable for arrogance ; per- 
 haps not till his return from the Mediterranean in 
 1805, when in addition to ordinary approbation, by 
 many he was be-plastered with the most extrava- 
 gant sxlnlation. When he arrived in Richmond 
 ^ Virginia Jon his way from Hampton to the seat of 
 Government [./Yoi\ 1805. J the Editor of one of the 
 public papers there, the Enquirer, a man of ardent 
 feelings but of little discrimination and less genius, 
 published along eulogy of childish extravagance, 
 which, while it excited a smile with men of discern- 
 ment, was swallowed by Eaton with greediness and 
 without offence. Other papers also, desirous of ex- 
 alting tlie American military character, little hesitat. 
 ed at any extravagance of expression, that might ex- 
 alt him or the reputation of his country. Anecdotes 
 and sketches of his life soon circulated in tiie differ- 
 ent periodical publications, which were not without 
 their effect on his mind. Hence, as before observed, 
 probably arose the opposition in the United States' 
 House of Representatives to his receiving a medal ; 
 for from this time, a relation of his own exploits, and 
 anecdotes of his own life, were too apt in alt compa- 
 nies to engross his share of conversation ; and, from 
 the long habit of commandins:, he had accustomed 
 
GEN. EATON. 435 
 
 liimself to assume an aiitlioritativ e tone of voice and 
 contraction of brow, calculated frequently rather to 
 •inspire disgust than respect. These were however 
 often laid aside, while his manners were e,entle, his 
 conversation instructive, his humor entertaining and 
 his wit brilliant. 
 
 In some situations of life more than others, men 
 are liable gradually to confirm intemperate habits ^ 
 perhaps in the army more than elsewhere ; when the 
 association of the officers is constant, books scarce 
 and genteel company often not to be had. To shun 
 the taedium vitae of a peaceful camp, resort is there- 
 fore had to the diversions of the card table or the 
 poisonous promotion of temporary hilarity. Here, 
 though excesses may not at first ])e frequent, habits 
 are by degrees formed and confirmed, wliich in time 
 become too powerful for the feeble resolutions of the 
 victim, and prematurely drag him to his '^ narrow 
 dwelling.^' It is believed that Eaton was not fre- 
 quently the slave of his glass, till after his disap- 
 pointment in not being permitted to raaTch from 
 Berne to Tripoli, and the sufferings of his sensibili- 
 ty when he found a majority of the I'igislature of his 
 country indisposed to bestow a trifling evidence of 
 their respect for his services. His pecuniary affairs 
 were at this time also embarrassed by tlie delay of 
 payment by Congress for money expended in the 
 public services. A writer of considerable ingenuity 
 and excessive severity with the utmost freedom rid- 
 iculed, in a public paper at the seat of government, 
 his pretentions to the character of a warier or hero, 
 and with much spleen exposed to the public some 
 traits of vanity and egotism which had unguarded- 
 ly been exhibited by Eaton in a private circle. 
 During the summer of I8O7, there were many who 
 without ground cr.nsidered him as having at first lis- 
 tened with pleasure to Burr, intending should ihert5 
 Ue a prospect of success, to join in iiis enterprise. 
 During the trial of Burr he was exposed to the sar- 
 ^/asras and severity of his atlornies, particularly t\m 
 
436 ' LIFE OF 
 
 celebrated Mr. Martin ; and, by cards and betting 
 on the issue of the trial, he lost considerable sums of 
 money. He had certainly expectations of a high 
 military appointment, which were continued a year or 
 two but defeated. These considerations preying on 
 his mind depressed his spirits and tended to increase 
 the frequency of his recurrence to the deceitful meth- 
 od of restoring them by ruinous indulgences. His 
 constitution was of the firmest kind ; and he long seem- 
 ed unaware of the inroads he was making upon it. 
 In May 1808, returning from Philadelphia to Brim- 
 field, his stage companion was his old friend the ven- 
 erable American Aristides, Mr. Pickering. On the 
 morning of his arrival home, as soon as he entered 
 the room with his fellow traveller, he enquired of his 
 step son who was chosen to the next General 
 Court, fully confident of his own re-election. The 
 reply was given, that there were two elected. He 
 eagerly enquired Avho they were. On being inform- 
 ed, his countenance bewrayed his disappointed feel- 
 ings. The stage stopped but a few moments, and 
 Mr. Pickering took his leave. He declared he had 
 taken nothing stronger than coffee and tea for five 
 days, and intended to dismiss forever the " cursed 
 slow poison " as he called it. During his absence his 
 carriage had been attached for debt. He appeared 
 agitated and dejected, and shortly after took a walk 
 to a neighboring inn, to alleviate his sorrow. Alas 
 human frailty ! It is not improbable but that, had he 
 met, on his return, incidents or mformation causing a- 
 greeable sensations instead of vexations, he might 
 have adhered to his determination, and haye been at 
 this moment an honor and blessing to his country. 
 But conjecture is useless, and regret unavailing. 
 He several times declared his determination to change 
 his habits, but the trial of one or two days rendered 
 his resolutions useless. 
 
 There is no good reason to doubt but that in his 
 younger days he was a serious and zealous believer 
 in the Christian religion. His letter to Doctor 
 
GEN. EATON. 437 
 
 Welch, dated on the riiins of Utica in 1799> discov- 
 er how much his raind was affected with religious 
 contemplations, though some expressions indicate his 
 doubts : especially where he speaks of his " impa- 
 tience to believe.'' In another place he observes : 
 ^^ It is not for the followers of Jesus Christ to de- 
 nounce vengeance against those men who soberly 
 think themselves into Theism. Christianity for- 
 bids it : and the parable of the good Samaritan gives 
 us a striking example to the contrary. We cannot 
 admit therefore that the zealots in the cause of 
 Christianity who deal chiefly in mystery, and who 
 woidd enforce belief chiefly by terror, are true copy- 
 ists from their Benevolent Master." Yet, whatever 
 might have been liis opinions till within a few years 
 of his decease, certain it is that for several of his 
 last years he not only improved opportunities offer- 
 ed, but frequently sought them, to display his wh, 
 his ingenuity or knowledge, in attempts to weaken 
 or destroy the arguments usually offered in sup- 
 port of Cliristianity. Ridicule was sometimes 
 his weapon ; at others he made use of manly argu- 
 ment ; particularly endeavoring to invalidate the 
 miracles related in the old and new Testaments by 
 accounting for them on physical principles or mis- 
 statement of facts. His acquaintance with the man- 
 ners and customs of Palestine, Egypt and Arabia, 
 gave him some advantages in debate over his oppo- 
 nents. I have several times heard hira relate the 
 conversation that took place between himself and the 
 Mahometan Mufiti, or chief priest, at Tunis. The 
 Mufti heard his relation of the principles of the 
 Christian religion and his arguments to support its 
 divinity as well as superior purity and sublimity over 
 the Mahometan creed. With great warmth and 
 zeal he then endeavored to combat his creed : 
 and, on parting, with much emotion grasping his 
 hand, with a broken voice and streaming eyes, en- 
 treated him to forsake his iutidelity and fly to the 
 true faith, believe in the Prophet and save his souL 
 
438 LIFE OF 
 
 Eaton frequently mentioned the effect this inter- 
 view had on his mind, in leading him to a belief 
 that the mercy of the Omniscient was equally ejiz^ 
 tendedjfco the moral^Hd sinc ere of ev er y"nima te and 
 
 eYfiryLcreedV7 ^~ 
 
 Hopes, fears, doubts and expectations, frequently 
 agitated his mind, with regard to a future state. A 
 short time before he died, the last time of his being 
 able to ride abroad, the subject of a future state being 
 accidentally introduced, I asked his opinion. With 
 more carelessness or indifference than I had expected, 
 he spoke of the dread of losing life common to most 
 animals ; with respect to man there was cause for 
 hope of future existence, but no positive evidence. 
 Formerly his hopes appear to have been much 
 stronger ; as the following extract will evince. 
 
 ^^ Since the creation and fall of man, it has been 
 the conversation of the thoughtful to obtain some ev- 
 idence, some rational hope of existence beyond this 
 span of life : because without such a hope all is vis- 
 ionary here. From the first moment of volition the 
 mind is put in pursuit of some distant object, in the 
 possession of which it anticipates rest and content- 
 ment. That object attained, it parishes in the enjoy- 
 ment ; another succeeds, and another in succession, 
 till death aiTests his pursuit, and leaves the man as 
 if he had never enjoyed it, seeming to mingle him 
 with original chaos. Every day brought conviction 
 of the certainty of this catastrophe, and admonished 
 men of the folly of confining the whole exercise of 
 the soul to tlie thing? of a world so transient and so 
 visionary. — He dared to soar and hope a future ex- 
 istence. Contemplating the infinite wisdom display- 
 ed in the construction of himself — his capacity for 
 enjoyment, liis propensity to hope — his instinctive 
 dread of dissolution — his inclinations to social love, 
 with all which he i§ endowed by the God of nature, 
 lie humbly soars and asks his great Creator, if this 
 be all a fiction ? Is there no distant clime, unseen by 
 mortal eye, to whirli the soul, the rational principle 
 
GEN. EATON. 439? 
 
 within us, shall emigrate- and find that fulness for 
 which it is capacitated ? Reason aJBirms it, but when 
 or where ? All is conjecture until revelation expels 
 the douhts and bids him boldly hope. — " The prom- 
 ises which were first revealed to the fathers" &c. 
 
 ** And life and immortality were brought to light" &c. 
 
 " If man be wholly mortal, why this pageantry of 
 worlds ? Why that glorious luminary the sun ? Was 
 it spoken into splendor to light as through this dark 
 heathenous world, into an abyss of everlasting night ? 
 
 " If immortality be a fiction, then what is creation 
 but a tragic drama, in which the human race have, 
 thousands of years been wretched actors ; God him- 
 self being author and promoter ? 
 
 Is it then that we are involuntarily brought upon 
 this stage, to gaze a moment in astonishment and ad- 
 miration on the stupendous fabric of the universe, 
 and then to close our eyes in eternal blindness, nev- 
 er admitted to behold and pay our homage to the A- 
 dorable Being who has spoken this universe into ex- 
 istence. It sliould require stronger evidence to em- 
 bolden us to accuse the Supreme Intelligence of 
 this farce, than to justify us in hoping more worthy - 
 ly of him. — " 
 
 The RevM Mr. Fay, the Minister of the town,, 
 called to see him as a neighbor. Mentioning that 
 probably he was convinced that his mortal exit could 
 not be long deferred, he asked him if he was ready 
 to exchange worlds. " Oh, yes," said Eaton, *^ like 
 a jack Tar I am always ready." The reply appear- 
 ed so unbecoming a man in his situation that Mr. 
 Fay pressed the subject no further. Some time 
 af^er, being about to retire, Gen.Eaton^ waving his 
 hand, requested him to stop, and informed him that 
 it might be agreeable to the family to hear a prayer. 
 Mr. Fay asked liim if he had any particular peti- 
 titions to offer to the Thrcne of Grace. He replied 
 thathe£Mr. Fay]knew what wa^j proper on suck 
 occasions. 
 
440 LIFE OF 
 
 TheRev'd Clark Brown of Swauzey, [N. H.] 
 formerly a settled Minister in Brimfield, being iu 
 town on a visits called to see Gen. Eaton. After 
 casual conversation Mr. Brown expressed a hope 
 that his reliance on the intercession of a Savior 
 would make tranquil his last moments : he seemed 
 to assent by a nod of his head ; and before his de- 
 parture requested him to pray with him. 
 
 Perhaps it ought to be mentioned that about two 
 months before his death he was very desirous of 
 having his children baptized, to show, as he observ- 
 ed, his respect for the Christian religion : and he 
 made application to Mr. Fay to perform the duty. . 
 After consulting some members of the church Mr. 
 Fay wrote him a billet, informing him that his long 
 absence from communication with the church, and his 
 immoral habits, rendered it improper to perform such 
 service. Gen. Eaton was extremely indignant on 
 receiving the letter. 
 
 These minutes respecting his religious sentiments 
 are due to impartiality and truth. While they may 
 gratify curiosity, they cannot justly give offence to 
 any one. The example of the last years of Gen. 
 Eaton can give no triumph nor consolation to infi- 
 delity. 
 
 Generosity v/as one of the most distinguisliing 
 traits of Eaton's character. No man could take 
 more pleasure than he in acts of charily. When so 
 reduced that it was sometimes with difficulty that 
 the family " could provide for the dny that was pass- 
 ing over them,'^ if a poor neighbor or travalJer so- 
 licited alms or assistance, he was ready to divide the. 
 last loaf or last pound of meat. This generosity 
 was often in his better days carried to excess. Hav- 
 ing once rodein a public stage a few miles he en- 
 quired of the driver what was his demand. " A 
 dollar,^' was tlie answer. He gave him an eagle and 
 refused chansje. This anecdote stands not alone; 
 In his house he was ever hospitable or profti^sc : and 
 
GEN. EATON. 4*tl 
 
 iie delighted in giving eutevtainments to liis towns- 
 men, friends and strangers. 
 
 He was seldom backward in giving to enquirers 
 iineedotes of his military life, relations of his travels, 
 marches and skirmishes^ or a history of the manners, 
 character and pursuits, of people and nations with 
 which he had been conversant. 
 
 Between gross flattery and just compliments he was 
 but an indifferent judge. He seldom revolted at the 
 most barefaced prodigality of praise. Adulation 
 was generally a certain passport to his friendship ; 
 and of this foible advantage was sometimes taken for 
 committing depredations on his property. 
 
 He was never rich. He held the commission of 
 a Captain in the army when he married, the income 
 of which was not more than sufficient for his sup- 
 port : and though Mrs. Eaton was left by her form- 
 er husband in agreeable circumstances her property 
 consisted principally of real estate. While he was 
 Consul at Tunis, by commercial enterprise and exer- 
 tion he acquired considerable property, a part of 
 \i^hich he soon after devoted to the purchase of a- 
 bout forty acres of excellent land near the meeting 
 house in Brimfield, and to the erection of an unnec- 
 essarily large house, the expense of which was little 
 less than seven thousand dollars. In the manage- 
 ment of his fiscal concerns, in the latter part of his 
 life, he was careless, extravagant and imprudent. 
 Depending generally on others for the execution of 
 his ordeis and direction of his agricultural and do- 
 mestic concerns, much was wasted by profusion and 
 inaltentioti, and much was dissipated he knew not 
 liow. Liberal to excess, his doors were ever open : 
 r'lnd, ostentatious in his hospitality, while he possess- 
 ed tlie means of gratificalion he delighted in dis- 
 playing his generosity. In brief, for a considerable 
 time he lived as if he were in possession of a princely 
 estate that could never be expended, listening to no 
 advice, governed by no considerations offuturitVo 
 
^sM- LIFE OF 
 
 checked by no anticipations of inevitable conse. 
 quences. 
 
 Of the ten thousand acres of land given him by the 
 legislature of Massachusetts he sold one moiety in 
 the winter of 1808, at fifty cents per acre. In the 
 summer of the same year lie was several times visit- 
 ed by the sheriff : and before the autumn of 1809 
 most of his property, even much of his household 
 furniture, was embarrassed by mortgage and convey- 
 ance or lost at the fall of the hammer. He was too 
 inattentive to avoid costs of suit by previous arrange- 
 ment and timely provision ; hence, in addition to 
 the expenses of prosecution, much property was sac- 
 rificed for but a portion of its value. His circum- 
 stances, as well as his credit, health and character, 
 might at any time have been retrieved by steadiness 
 and exertion : but in proportion to the increase of his 
 embarrassments seemed his iudiiference to the world 
 and all its concerns. 
 
 Tliere were however moments wlien he felt confi- 
 <lcnt of being shortly able to surmount his difficulties 
 and abandon his propensities. In the winter of 
 1809, I one evening conversed with him, after the 
 family had retired, till a late hour in the night. His 
 own situation, prospects and fears, were the subject 
 of conversation, introduced by himself. He permit- 
 ted me to say what I pleased, not only without ap- 
 parent offence, but with cheetrful attention. Af- 
 ter a full and uninterrupted historical dissertation 
 on his merits, atchievements, disappointments, hopes 
 &c. for several years previous ; attributing his first 
 recurrence to excess, partly to the gradual increase 
 of a careless habu, but principally to the ill treat- 
 ment lie had received from the general administra- 
 tion ; I dwelt on the certainty of speedy ruin, without 
 reformation ; on the easy means of regaining healtli 
 and reclaiming credit, peace fortune and honor ; but, 
 more than all, urged him to consider liow high his 
 name still stood, and how probable would be his ad- 
 Tenceraent, at least to the first offices in the gift of the 
 
GEN. EATON. 44^ 
 
 State. He squeezed ray hand, affected eveu to tears, 
 -applauded my frankness; and repeatedly, with 
 raueii warmth of asseveration, expressed his deter- 
 mination " to be a man ; to be Eaton again. "-^En- 
 tering his room in the forenoon of the next day, he 
 accosted me with, " Good morning — say what you 
 please, out — no more lecturing — Come, take with me 
 a glass of spirit and water." 
 
 Such was his indifference and inattention to his 
 pecuniary affairs that he died insolvent, though not 
 much in debt, debts of honor so called not being con- 
 sidered. __^ 
 
 From a candid examination of all the circum- ) 
 stances and documents exhibited in this volume, 1 
 think it must appear evident that Eaton was treated 
 with great duplicity by the Administration, with re- 
 spect to his connexions with Hamet the Ex-Bash- 
 aw. His letter to Col. Dvvight unfolds facts that 
 testify the caution of JeffersoL, so as to enable hirato 
 tlirow censure on Eaton, if unsuccessful, as acting 
 without authority ; or to demand credit, if success- 
 ful, for assistance in the accomplishment of a great 
 design. Why Lear was so anxious to make a treaty 
 at the moment when in all human probability, with 
 proper assistance from the navy, our troops and 
 such as might easily have been procured had tlie 
 fairest prospect of getting possession of Tripoli, and 
 enforcing their own terras of adjnstment ; it is not 
 for me to say ; but for the reader to conjecture. 
 ^' At present,'" says Lear in his letter to the Secreta- 
 ry of State, giving a history of his negotiation with the 
 Bashaw, " I confine myself to the subject of the ne- 
 gotiation and treaty. As I have always been oppos- 
 ed to the Egyptian and Derne expedition, I shall 
 say nothing on that subject, especially as I presume 
 there will be full communications respecting it from 
 other quarters*' — Why he Avas opposed to it, no 
 mention is made : but what can be more plain than 
 that the success of Eaton at Derne and the expec- 
 tation of his threatened conquest of Tripoli and es^ 
 
444 LIFE OF 
 
 tablisbmcnt of the rightful sovreigii in place of his 
 brother the usurper, were the principal causes of tlie 
 treaty ; of the restoration of the captives ; and prob- 
 ably of the saving of hundreds of thousands, if not 
 of millions, by procrastinating the war. " Eaton,'' 
 said an able officer of rank then commanding in the 
 Navy in the Mediterranean,'' was running away Avith 
 the honor of the Tripolitan war. Between an army 
 and a navy jealousy is common. What had the na- 
 vy done long before, after the atchievment of Pre- 
 LBLE ? Hence the readiness to snatch the first oppor- 
 tunity for a peace."— 
 ^ Eaton was not only disappointed at the fate of 
 the Resolution for granting him a medal ; but prob- 
 ably more so, in not receiving some more subtantial 
 evidence of his country's gratitude. " How many 
 lives,' how much money," says he, " has the peace 
 saved the United States ? Millions. To whom is the 
 credit due ? And do y<;u refuse a bill of 840,000 ? — 
 Impossible !" I know not why the sum of S40,000 
 is here mentioned : perhaps he expected that, in- 
 stead of a bill authorising the Department of State 
 to adjust certain disputable items in his account, the 
 sum of forty thousand dollars would have been insert- 
 ed partly as payment of just claims, but princi- 
 pally as a reward of his high merit and services. 
 He certainly expected pecuniary or other remunera- 
 tion much beyond what he received. Was such an ex- 
 pectation unreasonable ? By uncommon reward for 
 uncommon merit and services of uncommon national 
 utility, inducements are extended to the ambitious 
 and enterprising, for the accomplishment of great, 
 dangerous, or brilliant atchievments, not less con- 
 ducive to the glory than to the interest of the state. 
 The ample honors, promotions and rewards, granted 
 of late to our national commanders, who have aston- 
 ished their country by their courage, skill and con- 
 quests, cannot fail of rousing a spirit of emulation 
 that must hereafter increase the reputation aiid pros- 
 perity of the United States. How different was the 
 
GEN. E4^T0N. 445 
 
 ti'eatuicnt of I^aton by the general government. 
 How much did he not save the United States, by 
 the plan and successful execution of a daring and 
 dangerous enterprise, much superior in extent and 
 cflect to any of the late naval victories ; yet what 
 was his recompense ? ]SK)t even a vote of thanks ; a 
 stigma the more bitter from the long agitation of the 
 question ; no promotion, no pecuniary remunera- 
 tion, but delay and difficulty even in obtainining his 
 just dues. 
 
 Qen. Eaton was not a profound scholar. He 
 liowever read much and thought much. To the 
 Greek language he paid no attention after leaving 
 the University ; to the Latin but little : the French 
 and Italian languages he could read with ease and 
 speak with considerable fluency. History, geogra- 
 phy and tactics were his principal studies : with the 
 former he was mtich, with the last Jie was fully ac- 
 quainted. Military parade and the sound of the 
 drum and the fife gratified and animated him to the 
 last. 
 
 He was naturally a rhetorician. Though he 
 scarcely knew by name a figure of that art, he used 
 most of them with correctness. His language Avas 
 harmonious, energetic, and correct ; as his oflBcial 
 and other correspondence evidently testifies. 
 
 Of that virtue usually called public spirit he liad 
 a very great portion, often indeed carrying it to ex- 
 cess by expenditures beyond his income. The 
 wellfare and improvement of the town in which he 
 lived engrossed much of his time, and much of his 
 money. 
 
 In his deportment towards his family, and others, 
 in the latter part of his life, he was irregular and ca- 
 pricious, sometimes treating them with affability aiitl 
 gentleness, and sometimes with harshness, sever- 
 ity, and great rudeness : angry at one time with- 
 out a motive, and pleased at another without a 
 cause : hence his commands were often foolish o? 
 absm*d, of course neglected, or obeyed from terror 
 
44^ LIFE OF 
 
 rather than respect or affection. Nothing that could 
 be effected by the patience, discretion, good sense 
 and singular fortitude, of his wife, was withheld, to 
 correct his irregularities and promote his comfort. 
 
 In his pecuniary dealings be appears to have been 
 governed by principles of justice, honor and generos- 
 ity. There is no doubt but that he might have a- 
 massed a considerable fortune while Consul at Tu- 
 nis, had he employed the many opportunities which 
 were there afforded for robbing his government, al- 
 most without the possibility of detection. How easi- 
 ly he might have enriched Mraself may be learned by 
 referring to the 250th page of this volume. Few in- 
 deed would have neglected the fair opportunity he 
 had of securing eight or ten thousand dollars by the 
 purchase of the six Danish vessels at one third their 
 value. He restored them at their cost. The rea- 
 sons for which, given in his letter to Mrs. Eaton, do 
 honor to his feelings. — '* Ask you why ? Because 
 there is more pleasure in being generous than rich. 
 J\'lan 2cantB but little, not that little long. I have 
 bad the pleasure of seing eighty six unhappy cap- 
 tives embark in these vessels, and shape their course 
 for their native country.'^ 
 
 Gex. Eaton was about five feet eight inches in 
 height : of a fair complexion, inclining to ruddiness : 
 his eyes large and blue, expressive of energy, pene- 
 tration and authority, impatience and disquietude : 
 his nose of the ordinary size and shape : his mouth 
 large ; his lips full but not swelling : his eye bones 
 nncommonly large, and his forehead immediately a- 
 bove remarkably retreating, then raised to the ordi- 
 nary height. His whole countenance announced vig- 
 or, dignity and command ; but, especially in his 
 last yeai's, more their assumption than native pos- 
 isession. 
 
 He left five Children ; three fine daughters, aged, 
 at his death, about sixteen, fourteen and twelve ; 
 and two sprightly boys, about six and four years of 
 2»ge. 
 
GEN. EATON. . <M7 
 
 From the loorka oj the late Robert Treat Paine^ £gq. 
 
 ODE. 
 
 Written for, and sung at the Anniversary of the Gen. Eaton 
 Fire Society, January 14, 1808. 
 
 Tune—m*i GOD save the king," 
 
 Blest be the sacred fire, 
 Whose beams the man inspire, 
 
 Panting for praise ! 
 Renown her laurel rears, 
 Not in a nation's tears. 
 But in the Sun, that cheers 
 
 Her hero's bays. 
 
 In Afric's cells confined, 
 Columbia's sons had pined, 
 
 'Mid hopeless gloom : 
 By native land forgot. 
 By friend " remembered not," 
 They delved their captive spot, 
 
 And hailed their tomb I 
 
 Who, for the brave, could feel ? 
 Who warm, with patriot zeal, 
 
 Their country's veins ? 
 Eaton, a glorious name ! 
 Struck, from the flint of fame, 
 A spark, whose chymick flame 
 
 Dissolved their chains. 
 
 O'er Lybia's desert sands, 
 He led his venturous bands, 
 
 Hovering to save ; 
 Where Fame her wings ne'er spread 
 O'er Alexander's head, 
 Where Caio bowed and b?ed 
 
 On glory's grave. 
 
 Though earth no fountain yield, 
 Arabs their poignards wield. 
 
 Famine appal ; 
 Eaton all danger braves, 
 Fierce while the battle raves, 
 Columbia's Standard waves. 
 
 On Derne's proud wSlJ, 1^ 
 
448 LIFE OF GEN. EATON'. 
 
 Lon^ to the brave be given 
 The best reward of Heaven, 
 
 On earth beneath ! 
 His country's Spartan pride, 
 To honest fame allied, 
 No serpent e'er shall glide 
 
 Under his wreath. 
 
 Blest be the sacred fire, 
 Whose beams the man inspire, 
 
 Panting for praise I 
 Renown her laurel rears, 
 Not in a nation's tears, 
 But in the Sun, that eheers 
 
 Her Hero's bays. 
 
 Extract from a very meritorious Poem delivered before the 
 Washington Benevolent Societij in XcvuburijfiQTt^ October 
 27th, 1812, by John PiERPaNT, Esq. 
 
 Thcuy nay since then, whil« yet a twilight grey 
 Gave to our eyes the parting oeams of Jay, — 
 For, when our sun, * our glory sunk to rest. 
 He fringed with gold the curtains of the west, 
 And poured a lustre on the world behind, 
 That faded, as the mighty orb declined ; — 
 Our eagle, soaring with unwearied flight. 
 Mid clouds t'enjoy the last faint gleam of light. 
 With piercing eye glanced o'er the wat'ry waste, 
 And saw her flag by Mussulmen disgraced ; 
 Nay — heard her childr'en on Numidia's plains, 
 Sigh for their homes, and clank Abdallah's chains : 
 The gcn'rous bird at that incensing view, 
 Caught from the clouds her thunder as she flew, 
 With dreadful shriek alaruned the guilty coast, 
 And launched the bolt on CaramelWs host — : 
 Crescents and turbans sunk in vild dismay ; 
 The Turkish soul, indignant, left its clay, — 
 Though to the brave, a rich reward is given, 
 The arms of Houris, and the bowers of heaven — 
 And Eaton trod in triumph o'er his foe, 
 Where once fought Hannibal and Scipio. 
 * Washington. 
 
 Thereisanerror in the 10th page of thisvolume : tlie nameof Gek. 
 Eaton's father was Nathaniel, instead oi Naihar.> 
 
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