correspondence of those individuals who procured the author's redemption, (referring to his case,) and whose names must be well known to commercial persons trading to Northwestern Africa, as well in England as in the United States. We conceive, therefore, that the general fact of his shipwreck and subsequent slavery is amply proved by this testimony: while his detail of sufferings must rest principally on his own credit. As to the belief that is due to some accounts of the interior of Africa, derived from Moorish traders, perhaps they will excite a greater diversity of opinion; which will necessarily be regulated with readers according to the effect produced on them by the agreements, and the discrepancies, which they discover between these and former accounts.

James Riley, master of the brig Commerce, sailed from Gibraltar for the Cape-de-Verd islands on the 23d of August 1815. He describes himself as having been a strong athletic man, six feet and one inch in height; and these are circumstances which it is not unnecessary for us to bear in our recollection. His crew consisted of the following persons: G.Williams, chief mate; A. R. Savage, second mate; W. Porter, A. Robbins, T. Burns, and J. Clarke, seamen; Horace Savage, cabin-boy; and R. Delisle, (a black man,) cook.-The weather became so foggy soon after they left Cape Spartel, that scarcely any nautical observations could be taken; and to this cause are referred the errors in the reckoning which produced the loss of the vessel. Some doubts arising in the mind of the master, when by the log he judged himself to be about thirty miles north of Cape Bodajor, he was induced to determine on hauling off to the N. W.: but, before his orders could be executed, breakers were heard under the lee. He in vain attempted to stand off, the vessel was carried by a current and a sea directly towards the breakers, and she took the ground: surge after surge came on; and she was driven, notwithstanding anchors which had been let go, partly with her head on shore, where she struck with such violence as to start every man from the deck.' It afterward proved that the scene of this calamity was near Cape Bodajor. As the vessel soon began to fill with water, and seemed in momentary danger of going to pieces, the long boat was quickly hoisted out, some of the articles most valuable under present circumstances were placed in it, and the crew with difficulty reached the shore. They had scarcely landed, and begun to secure their effects from the sea, when a human figure, whose complexion was between that of a negro and that of an American Indian, made his appearance: his form and face are described as most hideous: some women and children soon joined him; and, REV. OCT. 1817. feeling

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feeling themselves strong, they commenced an indiscriminate plunder. Riley and his crew had no fire-arms, but might have defended their property with pikes, had they not been afraid of irritating these people, of whose numbers in the vicinity they were uninformed. Such, however, was the effect produced on them by this visit, that they determined to regain the wreck in their shattered boat; which, after the departure of the savages, they reached with great exertions and continual bailing. Thence they saw the plunder of their effects continued on the shore; and all the articles which the Arabs did not want were consumed by fire. Riley was afterward tempted to venture again to land by a shew of friendship in the natives, and, having accomplished it by means of the hawser, he was there detained as a hostage while the old Arab went to the wreck: but the latter, not finding in the vessel any of the objects of his search, soon returned to the shore.

Mr. Riley was now in a most critical situation, and was menaced with instant death unless a treasure of dollars was produced from the wreck. As the noise of the surf prevented his voice from being heard by the crew, he partially made himself understood by signs, and some dollars were accordingly pushed in by a person from the hawser: but this booty did not act, as it was intended, in the way of ransom; so that at last the Captain had recourse to another device, and he attempts to justify it on more pleas than one, the strength of which we leave to be decided by the learned in moral casuistry. He had on board an old man, Antonio Michel, (not enumerated in the list of the crew,) who by signs from Riley was sent on shore; and, when arrived, he was employed by his master to point out some spots in the sand, where various articles had been buried on the first landing. This fixed the attention of the Arabs, and, during the process, Riley found means to throw himself into the sea and regain the boat, which was along side the wreck. On the discovery of his departure, poor Michel instantly fell a victim to the fury of the natives.

The boat was now the only resource for the unfortunate crew, and to that they committed themselves and all their hopes: putting to sea in this leaky conveyance, with two of their number continually bailing out the water. At last, their provisions failing, and the leaks increasing to a terrible degree, they were persuaded by their captain to steer to land; which they reached with difficulty on the 7th of September at a promontory, as they afterward found, a little to the north of C. Blanco. They were compelled to pass the first night on the beach, as they could discover no part of the rocks that

afforded

afforded the possibility of ascent; and, when they did gain the summit at some few miles' distance on the following day, they beheld before them an endless plain, without a tree, shrub, or spear of grass, that could give the smallest relief to expiring nature.' The shock which they thus experienced is forcibly described. Towards the evening, when they were almost fainting with thirst, a light was perceived; and such were their present necessities, that, when they discovered whence it proceeded, they were willing to accept slavery under the Arabs in the Desert, in exchange for the hope of life and a drop of water to moisten their burning tongues. They did not, however, surrender themselves during the night: but the Arabs observed them when at some small distance in the morning, and ran towards them; when the Captain, taking Mr. Williams and Mr. Savage with him, went forwards to meet them, bowing himself to the ground before them, and with signs imploring their compassion. The prize of so many Christian slaves caused no small contention among the savages; and, after the captives had been all stripped to the skin, each Arab claimed those as his property whose dress he had allotted to himself. A battle by no means bloodless, but not terminating fatally in any instance, ensued; and it was at length decided by the arbitration of the scimitar that Riley, Savage, Clarke, Horace, and Dick, (the black cook,) should remain with one party; while the others, mounted on the bare backs of camels, were carried in a different direction by another set. Of these latter we hear no more in the course of the narrative: it appears, however, by subsequent information, that Porter, one of them, has been since ransomed and brought to Mogadore, and that intelligence had been received of three of his companions: but their destinies form no part of the pages before us.

Although Mr. Riley's companions remained with one division of the Arabs, they were the property of different masters, and with them they proceeded into the interior of the desert:still naked, nearly starved, excoriated in a dreadful degree by riding in that state on the hard backs of camels, blistered over the whole body with the intense heat of the sun, and, when obliged to drive the camels, their feet were cut nearly to the bone by stones almost as sharp as gun-flints. The description of their sufferings, indeed, exceeds any thing of a similar nature which we recollect to have read; and they seem to be more than any human beings could inflict or any endure. In this state, they were driven forwards with blows and, as their masters were in great distress from the failure of provisions and water, the captives were limited in their sus

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tenance

tenance to such a degree, that it is almost incredible that the vital spark could have been preserved. When they had proceeded to the S. E. for more than a week, they were compelled to return towards the sea by the want of water; and, during their whole journey, the abhorrence of the white men expressed by the women was such that they were never admitted to the tents at night, but were exposed to the hard and flinty ground, where the luxury of a bed of sand could not be procured and the cold cut them to the quick.

They had passed fourteen days in this calamitous state, when they were met by two Arab-merchants from Morocco, Sidi Hamet, and Seid his brother. Riley persuaded the former, by repeated intreaties, partly by signs and partly by the few words in the language of which he had become master, to purchase him, and convey him to Sweerah, (Mogadore). A bargain was accordingly struck for the extent of the ransom to be paid by a friend whom Riley represented himself to have at that city; which he did in reliance on the humanity of any of the European consuls who might hear of his captivity. He was ultimately still farther successful in inducing the two brothers to embark in the speculation of purchasing his comrades also, with the view of an equal reward: but this was done with the exception of the black cook. In this situation, the sufferings of the party were in some measure mitigated, but they were still dreadfully severe. Sidi on many occasions evinced a compassionate disposition, but his brother was a savage in every sense of the appellation. Mr. Riley continued about six weeks in this servitude, journeying to the north in a line nearly parallel to the sea, and in some places near the shore; perpetually reminded even by Sidi of the forfeit of their lives, which they were to pay in case the expectations of their purchasers should not be realized. Several attempts were also made to intercept them, or steal them away, by parties of the Arabs. On the 19th of October, they first arrived in the habitable country of Wednoon; where Riley was supplied with some miserable scraps of paper, on which he contrived to write a letter addressed to the consuls of the English, French, Spanish, or American nations. Sidi Hamet went forwards with the letter; and, after a suspense of eight days, an answer was returned by a Moor in the confidence of Mr. Wiltshire, the English consul, Sidi having been detained at Mogadore.

The eighth day of my master's absence passed tediously away; when after dark we heard a trampling outside the walls: Seid went forth to learn its cause, and soon returned with Sidi Mohammed, followed by a well-looking Moor: they came directly to that part of the yard where we were sitting on the ground,

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trembling

trembling with apprehension and with cold. When they came near us, the Moor called out and said in English, "How de-do, Capetan ?" This raised me and all my men from the ground; I felt as if my heart was forcing its way up into my throat, and it entirely obstructed my breath. I eagerly seized his hand, and begged to know who he was, and what was my doom; and if Sidi Hamet had come back; he then asked me in Spanish if I spoke that language, and being answered in the affirmative, he informed me in Spanish that he came from Mogadore; that my letter had been received by one of the best of men, an Englishman, who was his friend, and who had shed tears on reading my letter: that he had paid the money to my master immediately, and had sent him (the Moor) off, without giving him scarcely a moment's time to take leave of his wife, and that he had been on his mule ever since he left Sweerah, travelling on as fast as possible, night and day. The anxiety of my companions by this time had risen to such a pitch, that they broke in upon his story, on which I communicated to them the thrice welcome and happy intelligence that we had a friend, who would redeem us from slavery. Our souls were overwhelmed with joy, and yet we trembled with apprehension lest it might not be true; alas! perhaps it was only a delusive dream, or some cruel trick to turn our miseries into mockery. At this moment, however, the Moor handed me a letter: I broke it open : but my emotions were such, that it was impossible for me to read its contents, and I handed it to Mr. Savage; for my frame trembled to such a degree that I could not stand, and I sunk to the earth, but, thank God, not senseless; while, by means of the light of a fire, he read as follows.'

The letter, which ensues, realized all their hopes, and dispelled all their apprehensions. The Consul had not hesitated to advance the money at his own risk; and, as well by his letter as by his subsequent reception of his fellow-Christians, he shewed how completely he entered into the spirit as well as the profession of our faith. Every thing that humanity could dictate was done for the miserable sufferers. Riley, it will be recollected, had been a tall and an athletic man, estimating his own weight at about two hundred and forty pounds: but, on his arrival at Mogadore, he fell short of ninety pounds in weight; and his companions, he assures us, although he fears the accusation of violating truth, did not exceed forty pounds in weight each. From his own description of his person, it seems likely that, even in his reduced state, he would exceed the size of the others, who were probably cast in a smaller mould: but the difference of more than one half of the weight makes us almost doubt the author's accuracy, though we do not suspect an intentional error. Horrid and inconceivable it is to add that he says; Many of my bones, as well as ribs, had been entirely divested not only of flesh,

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but