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impression on his mind; he assented to his danger, but the perception of it seemed immediately to pass from his view.

in the usual language of prayer, were distinctly heard.

6

Excepting a laborious respiration, our departed friend was mercifully re'During the two or three last hours lieved from any struggle of nature with of his life, he appeared, however, to the king of terrors. He expired withbe engaged in prayer,-his eyes were out the movement of a limb or the disraised, and some expressions, couched tortion of a feature.'

ART. 6. An authentic Narrative of the loss of the American brig Commerce, wrecked on the western coast of Africa, in the month of August, 1815, with the account of the sufferings of her surviving crew, who were enslaved by the wandering Arabs on the great African Desert, or Zahahrah; and observations Historical, Geographical, &c. made during the travels of the Author, while a slave to the Arabs, and in the Empire of Morocco. By James Riley, late master and supercargo. Published by T. Longworth, 114 Broadway.

THIS HIS is an interesting volume. It is next day a number of furious Arabs the genuine journal of an Ameri- attacked and plundered them; and after can seaman; and as such, is entitled to killing one of the crew, compelled the credit in every respect. It contains, rest to seek refuge, from their violence, besides an entertaining history of the on board the wreck. Finding it imposauthor's extraordinary adventures and sible to remain long in this situation, sufferings, a curious and instructive ac- and apprehending every hour that they count of the manners of the untameable should fall into the hands of the barbaArabs, the rovers of the Great Desert.' rians, Captain Riley and his compaThe following sketch of this Narra- nions resolved, in this cruel exigency, tive' is intended for such of our read- considering it their only chance of preers as have not had an opportunity of servation, to put to sea in their shatperusing the work. tered boat, in the hope of throwing On the 23d of August, 1815, Captain themselves in the way of some friendly Riley sailed from Gibraltar in the brig vessel that might happen to be near. Commerce, as master, on his return In this hope, however, they were misevoyage to New-Orleans, with a crew rably disappointed; and after buffeting consisting of nine men and a boy. In- the waves for several days, in the greattending to pass near the Cape de Verd islands, he appears to have been carried by a current (the nature of which he afterwards undertakes to explain) the same inhospitable and cheerless farther to the south than he was aware coast again presented itself to their desof; and whilst endeavouring to alter his ponding view, and they were soon cast course, in the midst of fog and dark- upon the shore by an overwhelming ness, his vessel struck on a sand bank surf, and left in a condition the most near the shore, and very soon became destitute and forlorn that can be imaa mere wreck. With great difficulty gined. Perishing with hunger and they all reached the land; but on the thirst, they with difficulty succeeded, in

est distress, they dropped their oars in despair, and resigned themselves to the mercy of the elements. In a short time

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clambering up the cliffs that bounded and although they had anticipated a the coast, in the faint expectation of very severe fate, yet the horrid treatmeeting with something to mitigate ment they received from these mercitheir misery; when, to their utter dis- less savages, together with their dreadmay, they found themselves on the ful sufferings from thirst, hunger, and Atlantic border of the barren and dreary the heat of the desert, so far exceeded desert of Zaharah :every measure of misery they had apprehended, that they frequently, in the had not sunk in the ocean, or resigned bitterness of despair, regretted that they their breath on the lonely beach, without any further effort to prolong a wretched existence.

“A wild expanse of lifeless sand and sky.”

now

Though I had previously prepared all their minds (says our author) for a barren prospect, yet the sight of it, when they reached its level, had such an effect on their senses, that they sank to the earth involuntarily; and as they surveyed the dry and dreary waste, The Arabs, after tearing from them stretching out to an immeasurable ex- every article of clothing, and fighting tent before them, they exclaimed, "'tis like furies among themselves for the enough; here we must breathe our last; possession of their persons, at length nothing can live here." The little settled the conflict by dividing the moisture yet left in us overflowed at our eyes, but as the salt tears rolled down slaves (for such the prisoners were now our wo worn and haggard cheeks, we to be considered) between the two parwere fain to catch them with our fin- ties of which the caravan consisted; and gers and carry them to our mouths, that having mounted them on their camels, they might not be lost, and serve to moisten our tongues, that were set off on their journey across the Great nearly as dry as parched leather, and Desert. The extreme and complicated so stiff, that with difficulty we could sufferings of the prisoners, during the articulate a sentence so as to be under- devious wanderings of their savage masstood by each other.' ters, over the scorched and barren In this extremity of distress, one of plains of Zaharah, are almost incredithe men, towards evening, perceived a ble; and one is astonished to find hulight on the beach before them, and man nature capable of enduring such upon approaching it, a band of Arabs, horrid hardships and privations. After with their women and camels, was dis- being sold and separated from one ancovered encamped near the shore. Al- other, on different occasions, by means though certain of experiencing the most of the traffic carried on among the wan barbarous treatment, and of being re- dering tribes of the desert, as they hapduced to the most cruel slavery by these pened to meet in their route across this wild and licentious wanderers of the trackless waste, Captain Riley, and desert, yet there was no alternative; four of his men, fell into the hand of and they determined that, as soon as Sidi Hamet, a humane and generous. daylight appeared, they would throw Arab, who was finally prevailed upon. themselves into the hands of these peo- to carry them up to Mogadore, where ple, whatever might be the conse- Captain Riley assured him he had a quence. This was accordingly done; friend who would pay their ransom

This assurance was founded merely occurred since his shipwreck, and by on the supposition that there was an means of a capacious and retentive meAmerican consul resident there, and mory, he was enabled to compose a although it proved not to be the case, complete journal of all the principal, yet, most providentially for the suffer- and to him, at least, most important ers, there was indeed a friend there; a events of his days of slavery and sufferstranger, of whom they had never ing, together with a description of the heard, and to whom they also were to- country and towns through which he tally unknown:-a young Englishman passed, and an account of the manners of almost unexampled humanity, of the and character of the inhabitants. These most disinterested benevolence, and means and materials have enabled him whose conduct on this occasion does the to present to the public a narrative pehighest honour to human nature. culiarly interesting and entertaining. The author's letter, which he was Possessed of a good natural understandrequired by his master, on the north- ing, and of an inquisitive disposition, noern borders of the desert, to write thing appears to have escaped his atto his imaginary friend in Mogadore, tention and observation; and to those came, most fortunately, into the hands who are aware how little information of the English gentleman abovemen- exists relative to the geography and tioned, (Mr. William Willshire,) who natural history of the Zaharah, and of immediately paid from his own funds the condition, customs, and character of the stipulated ransom, (upwards of a the inhabitants of western and northern thousand dollars,) and despatched a mes- Africa, this volume of Captain Riley senger to the confines of Morocco with will undoubtedly be perused with great refreshments and clothing for the curiosity and interest. The 'Narrative' wretched captives, who for two months is written in a very simple and unhad been dragged about on the desert, adorned style, and ought, perhaps, for upwards of a thousand miles, en- from that circumstance, to inspire the tirely naked, and wasted to the bone reader with greater confidence in the with hunger, thirst, and every species of truth of the story, than if recourse had suffering. been had to those auxiliary means that

After a series of new dangers, diffi- are sometimes resorted to, from merceculties, and sufferings, they at length nary views, for the purpose of making arrived at Mogadore, where their hu- up a bulky volume from a few matemane deliverer received them with rials. every expression of generous sympathy, and exerted himself with the greatest zeal to administer to their relief.

The readers of the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews are apprized of the great interest that has been excited. Having recovered his health and spi- in Great Britain by the narrative of the rits under the generous care of Mr. American sailor, Robert Adams, in relaWillshire, Captain Riley began to make tion to the apocryphal city of Tombucmemoranda in writing of all that had too, and the mysterious course of the

with the leaves of the date trees: they are round, and the tops come to a point like a heap of stones. Neither the Shegar nor his people are Moslemins, but there is a town divided off from the prin

long hidden river Niger. Although Cap- covered with small reeds first, and then tain Riley, in traversing the desert, was always at a great distance from Tombuctoo, yet Sidi Hamet, the intelligent Arabian merchant, who was so instrumental in effecting his ransom, had cipal one, in one corner, by a strong made two journeys to that city with a partition wall, and one gate to it, which leads from the main town, like the Jews' caravan, and related to Captain Riley at town, or Millah in Mogadore: all the Mogadore, after his liberation, the par- Moors or Arabs who have liberty to ticulars of them with so much clearness come into Tombuctoo, are obliged to and precision, that he was enabled to sleep in that part of it every night, take down the relation in writing, and or go out of the city entirely, and no stranger is allowed to enter that Millah has published it at length in his narra- without leaving his knife with the gatetive. His description of Tombuctoo keeper; but when he comes out in the and its vicinage, agrees in some particu- morning it is restored to him. The lars with the account of Adams, but in people who live in that part are all Moslemin. The negroes, bad Arabs, and other respects it differs very materially. Moors, are all mixed together, and Sidi Hamet says, marry with each other, as if they were Tombuctoo is a very large city, five all of one colour: they have no propertimes as great as Mogadore; it is built ty of consequence, except a few asses: on a level plain, surrounded on all sides their gate is shut and fastened every by bills, except on the south, where the night at dark, and very strongly guardplain continues to the bank of the same ed both in the night and in the dayriver we had been to before, which is time. The Shegar or king is always wide and deep, and runs to the east; guarded by one hundred men on mules, for we were obliged to go to it to water armed with good guns, and one bunour camels, and here we saw many dred men on foot, with guns and long boats made of great trees, some with knives. He would not go into the Milnegroes in them paddling across the lah, and we only saw him four or five river. The city is strongly walled in times in the two moons we stayed at with stone laid in clay, like the towns Tombuctoo, waiting for the caravan; and houses in Suse, only a great deal but it had perished on the desert-neithicker the house of the king is very ther did the yearly caravan from Tunis large and high, like the largest house in and Tripoli arrive, for it had also been Mogadore, but built of the same mate- destroyed. The city of Tombuctoo is rials as the walls: there are a great very rich as well as very large; it has many more houses in that city built of four gates to it; all of them are opened stone, with shops on one side, where in the day-time, but very strongly they sell salt and knives, and blue guarded and shut at night. Tombuccloth, and haicks, and an abundance of too carries on a great trade with all the other things, with many gold ornaments. caravans that come from Morocco and The inhabitants are blacks, and the the shores of the Mediterranean sea. chief is a very large and gray-headed From Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, &c. are old black man, who is called Shegar, brought all kinds of cloths, iron, salt, which means sultan, or king. The prin- muskets, powder, and lead, swords or cipal part of the houses are made with scimitars, tobacco, opium, spices, and large reeds, as thick as a man's arm, perfumes, amber beads, and other trinand stand upon their ends, and are kets, with a few other articles; they

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Sidi Hamet then related a journey he had made from Tombuctoo to a much

carry back in return elephants' teeth, king. The whole of his officers and gold dust, and wrought gold, gum sene- guards wear breeches that are generally. gal, ostrich feathers, very curiously dyed red, but sometimes they are white worked turbans, and slaves; a great or blue: all but the king go barebeadmany of the latter, and many other arti- ed. The poor people have only a sincles of less importance: the slaves are gle piece of blue or other cloth about brought in from the south-west, all them, and the slaves a breech cloth. strongly ironed, and are sold very The inhabitants in Tombuctoo are cheap so that a good stout man may very numerous; I think six times as be bought for a haick, which costs in the many as in Mogadore, besides the empire of Morocco about two dollars. Arabs and other Moslemin or MahomThe caravans stop and encamp about medans, in their Millab, or separate two miles from the city in a deep val- town; which must contain nearly as ley, and the negroes do not molest many people as there are altogether in them they bring their merchandise Swearah." near the walls of the city, where the inhabitants purchase all their goods in exchange for the above-mentioned articles; not more than fifty men from any greater city, several hundred miles to one caravan being allowed to enter the the south, named Wassanah. The place city at a time, and they must go out be- be represents as carrying on a great fore others are permitted to enter. This trade with the white people on the sea city also carries on a great trade with Wassanah, (a city far to the south east) coast; and as the river on which it in all the articles that are brought to it stands appears, from his description, to by caravans, and get returns in slaves, be the same which he saw, and occaelephants' teeth, gold, &c. The prin- sionally approached,shortly after leaving cipal male inhabitants are clothed with Tombuctoo, Capt. Riley is led to venblue cloth shirts, that reach from their shoulders down to their knees, and are ture an opinion on this most problemavery wide, and girt about their loins tical subject; which, if future discovewith a red and brown cotton sash or ries shall prove it to be correct, will be girdle: they also hang about their bodies pieces of different coloured cloth one of the most curious coincidences in and silk handkerchiefs; the king is the whole history of African geography. dressed in a white robe of a similar This narrative I, for my own part, fashion, but covered with white and consider strictly true and correct, as yellow gold and silver plates, that glit- far as the memory and judgment of Sidi ter in the sun; he also has many other Hamet were concerned, whose veracity shining ornaments of shells and stones and intelligence I had before tested: hanging about him, and wears a pair of he had not the least inducement held breeches like the Moors and Barbary out to him for giving this account, furJews, and has a kind of white turban on ther than my own and Mr. Willshire's his head, pointing up, and strung with curiosity; and his description of Tomdifferent kinds of ornaments; his feet buctoo agrees in substance with that are covered with red Morocco shoes: given by several Moors, (Fez merhe has no other weapon about him than chants) who came to Mr. Willshire's a large white staff or sceptre, with a house to buy goods while Sidi Hamet golden lion on the head of it, which he was there, and who said they had carries in his hand: his whole counte- known him in Tombuctoo several years nance is mild, and he seems to govern ago. From these considerations comhis subjects more like a father than a bined, and after examining the best

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