An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American Brig Commerce, wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa, in the month of August 1815. With an account of the sufferings of her surviving officers and crew, ... and observations historical, geographical, etc

Front matter

AFRICA, drawn from the latest authorities to illustrate the narrative of C aptain JaniesRiley. BY JOHX H K11DT. ' arm tin />'. IWPT JEAAOlSfi WLJL Elf, Engrarcd fir kat AVorynAni cf Sufteruiat asid 7 ri/i , ./// Ifrica . AIS AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE OF TnE L09S OF TUT. AMERICAN BRIG COMMERCE, .VH-F.CKEB ON THE WESTERN COAST OP AFRICA, IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST, IBIS. WITH \H ACCOUNT OF THE SUFFERINGS G2 HEB SURVIVING OFFICERS AND CREW, WHO WER*"* ENSLAVED BY THE WANDERING AKABS OS THE GREAT AFRICAN DESART, OR ZAHAHRAH ; AND OBSERVATIONS HISTORICAL, GEOsil'.APHJCAL, Sec. J-XdE DCBIXn THE TRAVELS OP TOE AUTBOP, WaiLE A SLAVE Ttl THE ARABS, AiVD IN THE EMPtHF. OP MOROCCO. BY JAMES RILEY, LATE MASTER AXD STJPEBCABGO Preceded by a brief sketch ofthe Author's Use; and concluded by a d_,cr'pfion oi the famous „a v%'*romljuctno, on the river Niger, and of another large city, far south of it, on the same riser. called Wassanah ; narrated to the Author at Mogail ore, by Sul, Hamet, the A i _*_an _*er«_a_t WITH AN ARABIC AND ENGLISH VOCABCXARY, fl.LTTSTRATEU AND EMBELLISHED WITH TEN BAMJSOME "'OPPF.nri.JTi.

HARTFORD ; PUPT.TRHED BY TH1* ACTUQTt. isir. SOUTHER!* DISTRICT OF NEW-luUh, SS. Bt I s REMEMBERED, Thai un the third rijy ol Oct I | fir-It yw of lh- Indepcndence of the United bua-r.-. os America, [A. n. 1816J JAMES RILEY, 1 1 the md District. huh deposited in this Office the title ofu Book, the right whereof he claims us Author and Prop] >n the worda and figures following, to wit : "• An Authentic Narrative ofthe loss ofthe American brig Commerce, wrecked 00 il><: W) su-rn Coast of Africa, in the month of August, lt(_ 5. With an account of the i ifRningso ha • i ■■< i i»j Lhe wandering AralM on the gm u Ll n Desart, -or Zahahrah ; and observations ______oricaI,G«oanplncal,&o> made during the '1 ravels oi the Authca ■ -lave to the Arabs, and in the Empire of Momc-oo. By James Riley, late Mastei m Supercargo; preceded h> a hrii t iketch ■>( '.'■»■ A ■i..**.-\ life, and coocludt d b) .1 * fienpcion of ■> !tou on the river Niger, and of another large city, raj louth of it, on thesame river, called Wassana__,i<::, r . ■■■.

I ■■•hor at Mogadore,by Sidi Unmet, (he Arabian merchant; with an Arabic and English Vocabulary ; lllustratnl an.' Embellished wfth i- 1- handsome ceppei-pldU' Engravings." in aonsermity 10 the Act of the Congre-** ofthe United States, entitled B An Act for the pneour a-sjeim'-iit ot' Learning, by seeuruigthe cope* of Majis. Charts and Book 1 Co the Authors and Prop] id such topio, during the time then in mentioned- And also to an Act, entitled * An Act suppli ntided an Act for th- ■ t of I_e__nung, bj Keuringtbe conesof .' harts and Book-, to ihe Author, and IVjpri* -tors of such copirv limei tlierein mention- -d. and extending the benefits thereof to the ana us designing, engraving, and etching *tibtorieal and other prints." TIIERON RUDD, (Urk'.ftli. Southern District of NVv-York TO THE REAIJEU.

Appendix

. Observations on the winds, currents, &c. in some part of the Atlantic Ocean, developing the causes of so many shipwrecks on the western coast of Africa — mode pointed out for visiting the famous city of Tombuctoo, on the river Niger, together with some original and official letters English and Arabic Vocabulary. CERTIFICATES. Captaix James Riley has submitted his Narrative to my perusal, and I have read it over "with great care and attention. I was his second mate on board the Commerce, and one of his unfortunate companions through, and a sharer in his dreadful sufferings and captivity, on the inhospitable shores and desarts of Africa, and I am astonished to find with what precision the whole of those incidents are re lated — it recalls to my memory all those dismal occurrences and distresses, and I do hereby certify, that the Narrative up to the time of our separation in Mogadore, contains nothing more than a plain statement of facts, and that myself, as well as others of the crew, owe our lives, liberties, and restoration to our country, under God, to his uncommon exertions, fortitude, intelligence, and perseverance, and I Hereby request him, as my friend, to publish this my certificate.

AARON R. SAVAGE. Done at New- York, this 1st day of 5 February, .1. I). 1817. 5 From ihe Hon. De Witt Clinton. I have read part of Captain J. Riley's Narrative of his shipwreck on the coast of Africa, and of his travels into the interior of that continent, and I am of opinion that this work, on account of its illustrations of the geography of a country hitherto so little known, and its descriptions of the mannei _ and customs of the inhabitants, will excite great attention, and ought to command public patronage : while its affecting details of the extraordinary sufferings of himself and his companions, are calculated, in an uncommon degree, to interest the feelings of the reader. And as Captain Riley is a man of good character and respectable talents, I am persuaded that the utmost confidence may be reposed in the correctness of his Narrative. DE WITT CLINTON. Dated in the city of .Yew-York, "j> the 17th December, 1816. } NARRATIVE, $c.

Chapter I

A brief sketch qfthe Author's Life and Education, up to the month of May, 1815. I was born in the town of Middletown, in the state of Connecticut, on the 27th of October, in the year 1777, during the war between England and America, which terminated in 1783, with the acknow ledgment by the mother country of the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the thirteen United States. My father, Asher Riley, who still lives in the same place, was bred to the farming business, and at an early age married my mother, Rebecca Sage, who is also yet living. I was their fourth child. Owing to an attack of that dangerous disorder, the liver com plaint, my father was rendered incapable, of attend ing to his usual employment for several years, during which time, his property, very small at first, was entirely expended ; but after his recovery, in 1786, he was enabled, by industry and strict economy, to support his increasing family in a decent manner.

It may not be improper here, before I speak of my education, to give a general idea of what was then termed a common education in Connecticut. This state is divided into counties and towns, and the towns into societies ; in each of which societies, the inhabitants, by common consent, and at their common expense, erect a school-house in which to educate their children. If the society is too large for only one school, it is again subdivided into districts, and each district erects a school-house for its own accom modation. This is generally done by a tax levied by themselves, and apportioned according to the property or capacity of each individual. It being for the gen eral good, all cheerfully pay their apportionment. Thus prepared, they hire a teacher to instruct their children in reading and writing, and some of them are taught the fundamental rules of arithmetic.

They, for the most part, hire a male teacher for four months in the year, say from October to March, and his com pensation (at the time I am speaking of) was from six to ten dollars a month, with his board. In order to obtain his board, he was under the necessity of going to each of his employers' houses in rotation, making his time in each family as equal as possible and in proportion to the number of children therein. In this way all the parents became acquainted with the master or mistress. In the summer one of the best informed girls in the neighbourhood was selected to teach the youngest children. To defray the expense arising from this system, a tax was laid, and every man, whether married or unmarried, with children or without them, was obliged to pay the sum at which he was rated, and in this manner every one contributed for the good of the whole.

In each society one or more meeting-houses were established, whose con gregations were either Presbyterians or Congrega tionalists, and a minister (as he is called) regularly ordained and located for a yearly stipend or salary, and generally during life. This was ant)ld and steady habit. The minister was considered as the head of the school, as well as of the meeting, and his like or dislike was equivalent to a law. All the children in each district, whether rich or poor, went to -this school : all had an equal right to this kind of country education. To one of these district schools I was sent at the age of four years, where I continued, learning to spell and read, until I was eight years old, when my father's family had increased to seven or eight children, with OF HIS OWN LIFE. a fair prospect of more, (it afterwards amounted to thirteen in number.)

Finding it difficult to support us all as he wished, and I having become a stout boy of my age, he placed me with a neighbouring farmer to earn my living, by assisting him in his work. From the age of eight to fourteen years I worked on the land with different farmers in our neighbourhood, who having received but a very scanty education themselves, conceited, nevertheless, that they were overstocked with learning, as is generally the case with the most ignorant, and in this, their fancied wisdom, concluded that much less than they themselves possessed would answer my purpose, as I was but a poor boy ! ! Find ing therefore that they would lose my labour during school hours, (for they had always taken great care to keep me fully employed in hard drudgery every moment I was out of school, scarcely allowing me the usual hours of refreshment and sleep,) they kept me from school, merely because, as they stated, they could not get along with their work without my help.

When my parents remonstrated against such conduct in those who had come under a most solemn agreement to give me a plenty of schooling, they were assured " that I was a very forward boy ; that I could spell and read as well as any of the boys of my age ; that I could repeat whole chapters in the Bible by heart, and knew all the Catechism and Creed, viz. the Presbyterian, which then was, and still is consid ered, all important in that section of the union called New-England : that I could sing psalms in the sepa rate meetings full as well as those who had learned to sing by note, " though indeed he cannot write, (said they) because he has no turn for writing." These representations tended in some measure to allay the anxiety of my parents, who wished me above all things to have a good common country education, as they at that time had no prospect of being able to give me any thing better.

They had taught me, both by precept and practice, that to be honest, industrious, and prudent ; to govern my passions, (which were violent,) to feel for and relieve the distresses of others when in my power ; to be mild and affable in my manners, and virtuous in all my actions, was to be happy ; and they, generally, had instilled into my youthful mind every good principle. I had now attained my fifteenth year ; was tall, stout, and athletic for my age ; and having become tired of hard work on the land, I concluded that the best way to get rid of it, was to go to sea and visit foreign countries. My parents endeavoured to dissuade me from this project, and wished me to learn some mechanical trade ; but finding that I could not fix my mind upon any other business, they, with great reluctance, consented to my choice ; and I, accordingly, shipped on board a sloop bound to the West Indies.

Having no friend to push me forward, no dependence but on my own good conduct and exer tions, and being ambitious to gain some distinction in the profession I had chosen, I contrived to acquire some knowledge in the art of navigation, theoreti cally as well as practically, and at the age of twenty years had passed through the grades of cabin boy, cook, ordinary seaman, seaman, second mate, and chief mate, on board different vessels. I was now six feet and one inch in height, and proportionably strong and athletic, when finding the sphere I then moved in to be too limited for my views and wishes, (it extending only from Connecticut River or New- London to the West Indies, and back again,) I went to New-York, where I was soon appointed to the command of a good vessel, and since that time have continued in similar employment ; making voyages in all climates usually visited by American ships ; traversing almost every sea, and travelling by land through many of the principal states and empires of the world.

For several years I had charge of the cargoes as well as of the vessels I sailed in, and OF HIS OWN LIFE. had a fair share of prosperity, until the month of January, 1808, when my ship, the Two Marys of New-York, was seized by the French, as I took shelter in Belle Isle, in the Bay of Biscay, from some English men of war, being bound for Nantz ; and the ship, with her valuable cargo, was confiscated, under the memorable Milan Decree of the 17th December, 1807, founded on the well known Orders in Council, of the 11th November, of the same year. I remained in France until the ship and cargo were condemned, and did not return to my native country and family, till the latter part of the year 1809, with the loss, it is true, of nearly all the property I had before acquired, but wiser than I went out ; for I had learned to read, write, and speak both the French and Spanish languages ; had travelled pretty much all over France, where I had opportunities of witnessing many important operations in the science of war, calculated to attract my attention to the principles upon which they were founded, and I, at the same tim«5 took lessons in the school of adversity, which tended to prepare and discipline my mind for the future hardships I was destined to undergo.

I now strove with all my power to stem the tide of misfortune, which began to set in against me with impetuous force. I had become a. husband and the father of four children, who looked up to me for support, and I strained every nerve to retrieve my lost fortune, by trading to sea ; but it was of no avail ; every thing proved adverse, and after an absence of two years to Spain, Portugal, the Brazils, Rio de la Plata, or River of Silver, in South Ar.t-rica, the West Indies, New-Orleans, &c. I returned home at the commencement of the late war (1812) pennyless. Unarmed commerce on the ocean, my element, was at an end in an honourable way, and I could not obtain a station I wished for in the navy, nor could I obtain the command of a private armed vessel that suited my views, owing to the want of funds ; nor would CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVK.

I accept of the command of a vessel and the con signment of a cargo navigated contrary to the laws of war under foreign licences : this I considered would derogate from the character I always wished to support, that of a true friend to my country, (whether in prosperity or adversity,) and a firm sup porter of its laws and institutions, which I had proved by long experience in the ways of the world to be as good (at least) as those of any country under heaven. Though the offers that were made me were great and tempting, so that my acceptance of them could scarcely have failed of producing me a handsome fortune, and that in a very short period, yet I remained at home during the whole war, making use of all my faculties to gain a decent subsistence for my family. Soon after the burning of the Capitol and other public and private buildings at the seat of government, by the enemy, in August 1814, when their commanders loudly threatened to destroy every assailable place on the seaboard, I believed the time was near when every arm would be required for the general defence, particularly at the exposed seaport town3 ; and having enrolled myself in a volunteer company of military exempt artillerists, composed chiefly of masters and mates of vessels and seamen, I had the honour of being chosen their captain. But our services were not needed in the field.

Chapter II

1 oyage in the Commerce from Connecticut Ri ver to New- Orleans. After the close of the war, in April 1815, being then in my native state, I was employed as master and supercargo of the brig Commerce of Hartford, in Connecticut ; a vessel nearly new, and well fitted, of about two hundred and twenty tons burden, belonging to Messrs. Riley & Brown, Josiah Savage & Co. and Luther Savage, of that city. A light cargo was taken on board, and I shipped a crew, consisting of the following persons, namely ; George Williams, chief mate, Aaron R. Savage, second mate, William Porter, Archibald Robbins, Thomas Burns, and James Clark, seamen, Horace Savage, cabin boy, and Richard Deslisle, (a black man) cook. This man had been a servant during the late war to Captain Daniel Ketchum, of the 25th regiment of United States' infantry, who distinguished himself by taking prisoner the English Major-General Rial, at the dreadful battle of Bridgewater in Upper Canada, and by several other heroic achievements.

With this crew I proceeded to 3ea from the mouth of Connecticut River, on the sixth day of May, 1815, bound for New-Orleans. We continued to steer for the Bahama Islands, as winds and weather permitted, until the twentieth of the same month, when we saw the southernmost part of the island of Abaco, and passing the Hole in the Wall, on the twenty-first, entered on the Grand Bahama Bank to the leeward of the northernmost Berri Islands ; from thence, with a fair wind and good breeze, we steered W. S. W. twelve leagues ; then S. S. W. about forty leagues, crossing the Bank, in from three to four fathoms wa ter. On the morning of the twenty-second we saw the Orange Key on our starboard beam ; altered our course, and ran off the Bank, leaving them on our starboard hand distant one league. The water on this Great Bank, in most places, appears as white as milk, owing to the white sand at the bottom gleaming through it, and is so clear that an object, the size of a dollar, can be easily seen lying on the bottom in four fathom water, in a still time.

Having got off the Bank, we steered W. S. W. for the Double headed Shot Bank, and at meridian found ourselves. by good observations, in the latitude of 24. 30. being nearly that of the Orange Keys. In the afternoon it became nearly calm, but a good breeze springing up, we continued our course all night W. S. W. I remained on deck myself, on a sharp look out for the Double-headed Shot Bank, or Keys', until four o'clock A. M. when judging by our distance we must be far past them, and consequently clear of that danger, I ordered the chief mate, who had charge of the watch, to keep a good look out, on all sides, for land, white water and breakers ; and after repeating the same to the people, I went below to take a nap. At about five (then fair daylight) I was awakened by a shock, and thought I felt the vessel touch bottom.

I sprang on deck, put the helm to starboard, had all hands called in an instant, and saw breakers ahead and to southward, close on board ; apparently a sound on our right, and land to the northward, at about two leagues distance. The vessel's head was towards the S. W. and she running at the rate of ten miles the hour. I in stantly seized the helm, put it hard to port, ordered all sails to be let run, and the anchors cleared away. The vessel touched lightly, three or four times ; when I found she was over the reef, let go an anchor, which brought her up in two and a half fathoms, or fifteen feet of water, which was quite smooth. We now handed all the sails, and lowered down the boat. I went in her with four hands, and sounded out a passage ; found plenty of water to leeward of the reef ; returned and got under way, and at seven o'clock A. M. was in the open sea again, with a fresh breeze.

This being the first time, in the course of my navigating, that any vessel which I was in had struck the bottom unexpectedly, I own I was so much sur prised and shocked, that my whole frame trembled, and I could scarcely believe that what had happened was really true, until by comparing the causes and effects of the currents of the Gulph Stream, I was convinced that during the light winds, the day before, when in the Santarem Channel, the vessel had been drifted by the current that runs N. N. W. (and at that time very strong) so far north of the Double headed Shot Bank ; that my course in the night, though the only proper one I could have steered, was such as kept the current on the larboard bow of the vessel, which had horsed her across it sixty miles out of her course in sixteen hours, and would have landed her on the S. W. part of tne Carysford Reef in two minutes more, where she must have been totally lost.

As so many vessels of all nations who navigate this stream have perished with their cargoes, and oftentimes their crews, I mention this incident to warn the navigator of the danger he is in when his vessel is acted upon by these currents, where no calculation can be depended upon, and where no thing but very frequent castings of the lead, and a good look out, can secure him from their too often fatal consequences. Having settled this point in my own mind, I be came tranquil, and we continued to run along the Florida Keys from W. S. W. to West by South, in from thirty to forty fathoms water, about four leagues distant, seeing from one to two leagues within us many rocks and little sandy islands, just above the waters' edge, with a good depth of water all around them, until noon on the 24th, when we doubled the dry Tortugas Islands in ten fathoms, and on the 26th arrived in the' Mississippi River, passed Fort St. Philip at Pluquemines the same night, having shown my papers to the commanding officer of that post (as is customary.)

My previous knowledge of the river and the man ner of getting up it, enabled me to pass nearly one hundred sail of vessels that were in before me, and by dint of great and continued exertions, to arrive with my vessel before the city of New-Orleans, ou the first day of June. Here we discharged our cargo. and took another on board, principally on freight, in which I was assisted by Messrs. Talcott & Bowers, respectable merchants in that city. This cargo con sisted of tobacco and flour. The two ordinary sea men, Francis Bliss and James Carrington, now wished for a discharge, and received it. I then shipped in their stead John Hogan and James Barrett, both seamen and natives of the state of Massachusetts. With this crew and cargo we sailed from New- Orleans on the twenty-fourth of June ; left the river on the twenty-sixth, and proceeded for Gibraltar, where we arrived on the ninth of August following, and landed our cargo.

About the thirteenth the schooner , Capt. Price of and from New-York. in a short passage, came into the Bay, and the captain on his landing told me he was bound up to Barcelona, and that if I would go on board his vessel, which was then standing off and on in the Bay, he would give me a late New-York Price Current, and some newspapers. I was in great want of a Price Current for my guide in making purchases, and ac cordingly went on board. The wind blowing strong in, and the vessel far out, I had to take four men with me, namely, James Clark, James Barrett, Wil liam Porter, and John Hogan. Having received the Price Current, &.c. I left the schooner about sunset, when they immediately filled her sails ant! stood on. As we were busied in stepping the boat's mast to sail back, a toppling sea struck her, and nearly silled her with water ; vve all jumped instantly over board, in the hope of preventing her from filling, but she filled immediately.

Providentially the captain of the schooner heard me halloo, though at least a mile from us ; put his vessel about, came near us, sent his boat, and saved our lives and our boat, which being cleared of water, and it being after dark, we returned safe alongside of the brig by ten o'clock at night. When the boat filled, we were more than three miles from the Bock, in the Gut, where the current would have set us into the Mediterranean, and we must have inevitably perished before morning, but we were spared, in order to suffer a severer doom, and miseries worse than death, on the barbarous shores of Africa. We now took on board part of a cargo of brandies and wines, and some dollars, say about two thousand, and an old man named Antonio Michel, a native of New-Orleans, who had previously been wrecked on the island of Teneriffe, and was recommended to my charity by Mr. Gavino, who at that time exercised the functions of American Consul at Gibraltar.

Chapter III

Voyage from Gibraltar towards the Cape de Verd Islands, including the shipwreck of the brig Commerce on the coast of Africa. We set sail from the bay of Gibraltar on the 23d of August, 1815, intending to go by way of the Cape de Verd Islands, to complete the lading of the vessel with salt. We passed Cape Spartel on the morning of the 24th, giving it a birth of from ten to twelve leagues, and steered off to the W. S. W. I intended to make the Canary Islands, and pass between Tene riffe and Palma, having a fair wind ; but it being very thick and foggy weather, though we got two observations at noon, neither could be much depend ed upon. On account of the fog, we saw no land, and found, by good meridian altitudes on the twenty eighth, that we were in the latitude of 27. 30. N. having differed our latitude by the force of current, one hundred and twenty miles ; thus passing the Canaries without seeing any of them.

I concluded we must have passed through the intended passage without discovering the land on either side, particularly, as it was in the night, which was very dark, and black as pitch ; nor could I believe otherwise from having had a fair wind all the way, and having steered one course ever since we took our departure from Cape Spartel. Soon after we got an observation on the 28th, it became as thick as ever, and the darkness seemed (if possible) to increase. Towards evening I got up my reckoning, and examined it all over, to be sure that I had committed no error, and caused the mates to do the same with theirs. Hav ing thus ascertained that I was correct in calculation, I altered our course to S. W. which ought to have carried us nearly on the course I wished to steer, that is, for the easternmost of the Cape de Verds ; but finding the weather becoming more foggy towards night, it being so thick that we could scarcely see the end of the jib-boom, I rounded the vessel to, and sounded with one hundred and twenty fathoms of line, but found no bottom, and continued on our course, still reflecting on what should be the cause of our not seeing land, (as I never had passed near the Canaries before without seeing them, even in thick weather or in the night.)

I came to a determination lo haul off to the N..W. by the wind at 10 P. M. as I should then be by the log only thirty miles north of Cape Bajador. I concluded on this at nine, and thought my fears had never before so much prevailed over my judgment and my reckoning. I ordered the light sails to be handed, and the steering sail booms to be rigged in snug, which was done as fast as it could be by one watch, under the immediate direc tion of Mr. Savage. We had just got the men stationed at the braces for hauling off, as the man at helm cried "ten o'clock." Our try-sail boom was on the starboard side, but ready for jibing ; the helm was put to port, dreaming of no danger near. I had been on deck all the evening myself; the vessel was running at the rate of nine or ten knots, with a very strong breeze, and high sea, when the main boom was jibed over, and I at that instant heard a roaring ; the yards were braced up — all hands were called.