The Journal of a Mission to the Interior of Africa, in the Year 1805 Part 6

But the princ.i.p.al and decisive circ.u.mstance in this case, is the length of time which has elapsed without any intelligence being heard of Park, since his departure from Sansanding in November 1805. This can only be accounted for, by supposing either that he is actually dead or detained in Africa as a captive; and when we consider the nature of the enterprise in which he was engaged, his personal character, and the resistance he was likely to make in case of any hostile attack, we must acknowledge that of the two suppositions, the former is by far the most probable.

To this it may be added, that since the time of the original reports respecting Park's death in 1806, no circ.u.mstance has occurred to bring that fact into doubt; if we except a few transient rumours relative to _white men_ stated to be in remote parts of the interior of Africa, which have led some persons to suppose that Park may be still in existence. Several surmises of this kind (for they are ent.i.tled to no higher appellation) have from time to time been circulated, and have found their way into newspapers and public journals; although the slightest enquiry would have shewn that they were ent.i.tled to no credit or attention. They would commonly be found to originate from loose and indistinct communications received from some of the settlements on the African coast, to which very slight and insignificant circ.u.mstances might originally have given occasion. A Moor or an Asiatic, the colour of whose skin differs by a few shades from that of the native Africans, would be described by them as a stranger or white man. The _hearsay_ accounts of the appearance of such a person in the interior of Africa would afford ample materials for credulity and exaggeration; and might easily give rise to reports and a.s.sertions the most unfounded and extravagant.

Upon the whole there seems to be no reasonable ground of doubt with regard to the fact either of Park's death or of its having happened in the manner described in Isaaco's Journal. The first of these may be considered as morally certain, the latter as highly probable. But the exact time when this event took place and the circ.u.mstances attending it, are left in great obscurity; partly from a general want of distinctness and precision in the narrative; but princ.i.p.ally because the particulars related, depend altogether upon the unsupported testimony of a slave, (represented as the only survivor of those who were with Park at the time of his death,) from whom the information was obtained at an interval of three months after the transaction. It is obvious that no reliance can be placed on a narrative resting upon such authority; and we must be content to remain in ignorance of the precise circ.u.mstances of Park's melancholy fate. But that he was attacked by the natives on his voyage from Sansanding eastwards, that he was overpowered by numbers, and that he perished on his pa.s.sage down the Niger, cannot reasonably be doubted.

The leading parts of Mungo Park's character must have been antic.i.p.ated by the reader in the princ.i.p.al events and transactions of his life. Of his enterprising spirit, his indefatigable vigilance and activity, his calm fort.i.tude and unshaken perseverance, he has left permanent memorials in the narrative of his former travels and in the Journal and Correspondence now published. In these respects few travellers have equalled, none certainly ever surpa.s.sed him. Nor were the qualities of his understanding less valuable or conspicuous. He was distinguished by a correctness of judgment, seldom found united with an ardent and adventurous turn of mind, and generally deemed incompatible with it. His talents certainly were not brilliant, but solid and useful, such as were peculiarly suited to a traveller and geographical discoverer. Hence, in his accounts of new and unknown countries, he is consistent and rational; he is betrayed into no exaggeration, nor does he exhibit any traces of credulity or enthusiasm. His attention was directed exclusively to facts; and except in his opinion relative to the termination of the Niger (which he supported by very plausible arguments) he rarely indulged in conjecture, much less in hypothesis or speculation.

Among the characteristic qualities of Park which were so apparent in his former travels, none certainly were more valuable or contributed more to his success than his admirable prudence, calmness and temper; but it has been doubted whether these merits were equally conspicuous during his second expedition. The parts of his conduct which have given occasion to this remark, are, his setting out from the Gambia almost at the eve of the rainy season, and his voyage down the Niger under circ.u.mstances so apparently desperate. On the motives by which he may have been influenced as to the former of these measures, something has been said in the course of the foregoing narrative. [Footnote: See p. lxvi.] With regard to his determination in the latter instance, justice must allow that his situation was one of extreme difficulty, and admitted probably of no alternative. In both cases our knowledge of the facts is much too imperfect to enable us to form a correct opinion as to the propriety of his conduct, much less to justify us in condemning him _unheard_.

In all the relations of private life, he appears to have been highly exemplary; and his conduct as a son, a husband, and a father merited every praise. To the more gentle and amiable parts of his character the most certain of all testimonies may be found in the warm attachment of his friends, and in the fond and affectionate recollections of every branch of his family.

There are some moral defects very difficult to be avoided by those persons, who from a situation comparatively obscure, rise to sudden distinction and celebrity. From these failings Park was happily exempt.

He was a stranger to all vanity and affectation; and notwithstanding his great popularity and success, appears to have lost no portion of the genuine simplicity of his character and manners. This simplicity originated perhaps in a considerable degree from a certain coldness and reserve, which, as was before remarked, rendered him very indifferent, and perhaps somewhat averse, to mixed or general society. It was probably owing to the same cause that his conversation, for a man who had seen so much, had nothing remarkable, and was rarely striking or animated. Hence, although his appearance was interesting and prepossessing, he was apt to disappoint the expectations of strangers; and those persons who estimated his general talents from his powers of conversation, formed an erroneous and inadequate opinion of his merits.

In his person he was tall, being about six feet high, and perfectly well proportioned. His countenance and whole appearance were highly interesting; and his frame active and robust, fitted for great exertions and the endurance of great hardships. His const.i.tution had suffered considerably from the effects of his first journey into Africa, but seems afterwards to have been restored to its original vigour, of which his last expedition afforded the most ample proofs.

Park's family consisted of three sons and one daughter, all of whom, together with Mrs. Park their mother, are now living. He also left a mother, four brothers (of whom one is lately dead), and three sisters.

In the death of Mungo Park we have to lament not only the loss of the most distinguished traveller of modern times, but the failure of an expedition, honourable to Great Britain and highly interesting to humanity and science. For a time this unfortunate event has had the effect of damping the ardour of geographical enquiry, and of discouraging all ideas of farther endeavours to explore the interior of Africa. But we may hope that the publication of Park's Journal will revive the attention of enlightened men to this subject; and that the prospect of future discoveries in that quarter of the globe will not be hastily abandoned.

It has been seen that Park's failure was entirely owing to the improper season at which his journey was undertaken, and that this circ.u.mstance was occasioned by a series of unforeseen delays arising from a great variety of causes. A slight difference in some of those accidents which r.e.t.a.r.ded his progress to the Niger, might obviously have had a most material influence on the ultimate success of the expedition. Thus, for example, if he could have sailed for Africa immediately after receiving his official instructions, if his pa.s.sage had been quicker, if fewer causes of delay had occurred on the coast and afterwards during the journey, and finally, if the rainy season, which is subject to some slight variations, had commenced a little later;--he might perhaps have been able to reach the banks of the Niger in good order, and with a loss comparatively small; and in that case might have proceeded on his journey eastwards at the conclusion of the rainy season with some prospect of success. But the safe arrival of Park's expedition at the Niger, which was only just possible in the actual circ.u.mstances of the case, would have been morally certain provided he had sailed from England (as he ought to have done) before the month of October, and had been ready to take his departure from the Gambia towards the interior at the end of November; from which time there is always an uninterrupted continuance of fine and healthy weather during a period of five months.

Hence we may safely conclude that, supposing all reasonable precautions to be taken, an expedition similar to that of Park, may penetrate to the Niger and along the banks of that river as far as the eastern frontier of Bambarra, in good order and with very little loss; and this most important fact is justly considered by Park himself as being fully established by his own disastrous expedition. [Footnote: Journal, p.

140.]

In what degree it is practicable to penetrate _beyond Bambarra_ yet remains to be ascertained; since it cannot be said that this question is determined, or even materially affected, by what took place in Park's expedition. No general inference upon this subject can be fairly deduced from an extreme case, such as Park's evidently was; nor does it follow, because a small party consisting of four Europeans and a few Negroes, was attacked and overpowered, that an expedition well appointed and properly organized, would experience a similar fate. It may be observed also that, ill provided as Park was with the means of defence, he was able to proceed in safety beyond Tombuctoo, where the Moors are most numerous, and would in a short time have reached a country beyond the Moorish territory, where the danger would probably have been much diminished. [Footnote: See letter to Sir Joseph Banks (ante p. lxxviii) in which Park says "that, according to the information of the guide, they should touch on the Moors no where but at Tombuctoo."] Neither is it altogether certain that his death was not one of those _accidents_, to which such enterprises are peculiarly liable, but from which no general conclusion can be drawn. [Footnote: Such, for example, as Captain Cooke's death, which certainly affords no argument against voyages of discovery. It may be observed that the statement in the note annexed to Amadi Fatouma's Journal (see p. 213) gives some countenance to the supposition mentioned in the text. From this note it appears that certain presents which Amadi had delivered from Park to one of the chiefs of Haoussa for the use of the king, were with-held from the latter in consequence of the chief's being informed that Park would not return; and that the king's resentment, occasioned by his receiving no presents, was the cause of Park's death.--It may be proper on this occasion to apprize the reader that the notes to Isaaco's Journal (except in one instance, p. 181) are all of them printed from the ma.n.u.script of the translation, and appear to be parts of the original doc.u.ment transmitted from Africa. They seem to have been inserted by the translator; and in several cases, apparently, were added from information which he received from Isaaco.]

It will appear, upon a due consideration of these circ.u.mstances, that reasonable and sufficient inducements still exist for attempting farther discoveries in Africa; and that nothing really unfavourable to such undertakings can with propriety be inferred from Park's late failure; but on the contrary, that the events of that mission furnish additional grounds of encouragement and new prospects of success. The proper _mode_ also of conducting such discoveries in future, may now be considered as ascertained. Before Park's late Journey, the important question whether an expedition of this kind should be accompanied by a military escort, was involved in some difficulty. Apprehensions might then be entertained lest the appearance of an armed force pa.s.sing through the country might alarm the jealousy of the natives, and produce hostile combinations, by which any small body of European troops would sooner or later be overpowered. It might also have been doubted, and with great appearance of reason, whether it would be practicable on such a march to obtain proper supplies of provisions. The history of Park's expedition appears to furnish a clear and satisfactory solution of both these difficulties; and experience having shewn that large tracts of the African continent may be traversed in safety by the aid even of a small and ill organized force under circ.u.mstances the most unfavourable, the question as to the expediency of a military escort may now be said to be determined.

The sufferings of Park during his former journey, and the melancholy fate of Major Houghton, Mr. Horneman, and other travellers distinguished by their enterprise and ability, demonstrate the utter hopelessness of such undertakings, when attempted by solitary and unprotected individuals. Even if the two schemes of discovery were equally practicable, the military plan (supposing always that the force employed is strictly limited to the purposes of security and protection) would on several accounts be ent.i.tled to a decided preference; inasmuch as it affords more ample means of observation and enquiry, as it is calculated to inspire the Africans with a greater respect for the European character, and as it may be rendered far more efficacious for the purposes of friendly and commercial intercourse. [Footnote: If the practice of sending out single individuals on journies of discovery into Africa is still to be continued, it would be better perhaps to employ _Mahometan_ travellers, who might accompany some of the great caravans.

The dangers, to which European adventurers are always exposed, from the ferocity and intolerance of the Moors, would thus in a considerable degree be avoided. There is reason to believe that individuals sufficiently intelligent for an expedition of this kind, and whose const.i.tutions would also be well suited to the climate of Africa, might be found without much difficulty among the Mahometan inhabitants of Hindostan. If a fair judgment can be formed of this cla.s.s of the British subjects from the _Travels of Abu Taleb_ (the genuine and highly interesting production of a native Mahometan of the East Indies), a very favourable opinion must be entertained of their intelligence and general information.]

The scheme of an expedition into the interior of Africa, formed upon these principles, has lately been proposed from high authority, which holds out a considerable prospect of success. From the quarter in which the suggestion has originated, a reasonable hope may be entertained that this plan, of which the following is a short outline, will ultimately be carried into effect. [Footnote: The particulars of the projected expedition here alluded to, which are given in the text, are extracted from a very interesting communication lately made to the African Inst.i.tution by Major General Gordon, Quarter Master General of the British Forces.]

In the Royal African corps now serving at Sierra Leone there are three companies of black men, enlisted from the slaves obtained from the numerous slave trading vessels which have at different times been condemned as prize upon that coast. Among these there are several natives of Tombuctoo, Haoussa, Bornou and other countries even more distant; some of them having been brought from parts of Africa so remote as to have been _two, three_ and _four_ moons upon their journey to the coast. Most of them have acquired sufficient knowledge of the English language to express themselves so as to be understood, although they retain their native languages, which they still speak with fluency.

These men, having been trained and disciplined with great care, are become excellent soldiers, and are spoken of by the Governor of Sierra Leone in the highest terms of approbation for their obedience, steadiness and general good conduct. They are of course inured to the climate, are accustomed to hardships and fatigues, and capable of the greatest exertions. They are at the same time courageous and high spirited, feeling a pride and elevation from the advantages which they enjoy, and the comparative _rank_ to which they have attained; and they are warmly attached to the British Government.

It is proposed that a proper and well selected detachment of these troops should form the basis of the intended expedition; and that, besides the person having the immediate command, one or two other leading persons should be appointed, each properly qualified to a.s.sist in the direction and management of the princ.i.p.al concerns, and (in case of emergency) to undertake the sole charge of the expedition. The number of the troops employed would of course be regulated by a due regard to the probable means of subsistence; but it is proposed that they should be sufficiently numerous to enable the leaders, in cases where it might be expedient, to separate with small detachments, taking distinct lines of march as local circ.u.mstances and other occasions might require.

[Footnote: The writer is well aware that, in some of the opinions which he has expressed with regard to the black troops of Sierra Leone, he can hardly expect the concurrence of several excellent individuals, among the best friends of the African cause, who are known to be averse to the employment of Negroes in the military service; and he is ready to admit that the practice which has prevailed of enlisting captured Africans is liable to some abuse. Let such abuses be anxiously guarded against by all the means which legislative wisdom can devise; let every charge of misconduct in this respect be rigorously investigated; and if it should appear to be well founded, let it be pursued with the utmost strictness and severity. But let not occasional abuses be urged as valid arguments against the practice itself, if it should be ascertained to be, on the whole, beneficial to the Africans. It has been stated by enlightened and benevolent persons, who have witnessed the state of slavery in the West Indies (and the a.s.sertion has every appearance of probability) that the embodying and employment of black troops has had the happiest effect in elevating and improving the Negro character, and in giving a greater degree of importance to that oppressed race. In the instance of Sierra Leone, to which these observations more immediately relate, compare the situation of a captured Negro, when rescued from the horrors of a slave vessel with that of the same man a short time afterwards, when serving as a British soldier! The ordinary condition of human life has nothing similar to this change; it is a transition from the most abject misery to ease, comfort, and comparative dignity.--Add to this, the extreme difficulty (which every unprejudiced enquirer must admit) attending the management and disposal of great numbers of these captured Negroes in a small colony like Sierra Leone; and the utter impossibility, considering their savage ignorance and total want of habits of industry, of providing all of them, or even any tolerable number, with agricultural establishments.]

The princ.i.p.al objects of this expedition would be similar in all respects to those of Park's last journey--to ascertain the course and termination of the Niger, to acquire a geographical knowledge of the countries through which it flows; and to procure all possible information relative to the condition of the inhabitants, their commercial relations and their general state of improvement. With a view to the attainment of these objects of practical and scientific enquiry, the leader of the expedition would be enjoined in the most strict and positive terms by his official instructions, to avoid all acts of aggression towards the natives, and (except in cases of absolute self-defence) to abstain from every species of violence. He would be farther directed to use his utmost endeavours to establish a friendly intercourse and communication with the inhabitants; and for this purpose to employ the most intelligent of the black troops, in all cases in which it might be practicable, as interpreters of the expedition and messengers of peace and conciliation.

By the plan which has thus shortly been described, every disadvantage which attended Park's mission, would be avoided, and all its defects supplied; and there seems to be every reasonable a.s.surance that an expedition, formed and conducted upon such principles (with a due attention to the proper season for travelling), would be attended with ultimate success.

It would be difficult to antic.i.p.ate the full extent of those beneficial consequences which may ultimately be expected from the successful result of such an expedition. We may perhaps be justified in expecting that the intercourse, thus formed with the interior of Africa, will eventually open new communications of trade, and possibly create new markets; that a certain portion of that vast commerce, which is now carried on with Tombuctoo from Morocco and the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean, may be diverted to the western coast; and that great quant.i.ties of European goods, now conveyed through other channels, may be transported into the centre of Africa through the new route of the Niger.

But without speculating too confidently upon commercial revolutions of the nature here alluded to, which are for the most part very slow and gradual, and seldom effected without much difficulty; we may safely conclude that any rational and well concerted expedition to the interior of Africa must be of great efficacy in promoting and extending the legitimate and beneficial commerce with different parts of that vast continent, which has been rapidly advancing since the Abolition of the slave trade. [Footnote: See Appendix, No. VI.] We may also reasonably expect that such enterprises, judiciously conducted, will have important effects upon the civilization and general improvement of Africa, by exciting industry and diffusing useful knowledge among the natives; and that some portion of these advantages may, in due time, be extended to those remote and sequestered countries, which are at present excluded from all intercourse with Europe, and abandoned to hopeless ignorance and barbarism. Let us hope that the honour of pa.s.sing those barriers, which have hitherto separated Africa from the civilized world, is reserved for the courage and perseverance of that nation, by whose enlightened and disinterested exertions so much has been effected in modern times, for the advancement of geographical knowledge. The voyages of discovery which have been undertaken by the command of His present Majesty, unstained by the guilt of conquest, and directed exclusively towards objects of humanity and science, have conferred a lasting distinction on the British name and character. The attempt to explore the interior of Africa, dictated by the same generous views, is in no respect less interesting, nor does it promise less important results, even than those great undertakings; and it will be peculiarly worthy of an age and nation, rendered for ever memorable in the annals of mankind by the Abolition of the African slave trade.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX. No. I.

Page viii.

There is no part of Europe, in which education has been a subject of more general attention or produced more important effects than in Scotland. During little more than a century, a system of public instruction established in that country, has not only had the most beneficial influence upon industry and private morals, but has been the princ.i.p.al cause of one of the most remarkable changes of national character that has ever yet taken place during so short a period. At a time when the public attention in this country is so laudably directed towards providing means of instruction for the poor, a few remarks on the effects of a system of general education in Scotland may not be thought unseasonable. The following facts and observations relative to this important subject are princ.i.p.ally extracted from the interesting Life of Burns, the poet, written by the late amiable and excellent Doctor Currie.

The system of education in Scotland, though closely connected with its ecclesiastical establishment, owes its first legal existence to a statute pa.s.sed in the year 1646 by the Parliament of that Kingdom for establishing schools in every parish, at the expense of the landholders, for the express purpose of teaching the poor. On the Restoration in 1660 this excellent statute was repealed; and nothing further was done or attempted for the instruction of the people during the reigns of Charles and James, which were chiefly occupied in religious persecution. But in the year 1696, some years after the Revolution, the statute of 1646 was re-enacted nearly in the same terms, and continues to be the law of Scotland at the present time. Connected with this legislative provision are many acts pa.s.sed by the General a.s.semblies of the church of Scotland, which are binding as to matters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction; and the whole together forms a code of regulations, which is eminently distinguished for the reasonableness and practical good sense of its particular provisions, and which experience has shewn to be perfectly effectual for the important purpose intended. So much convinced indeed are the lower cla.s.ses in Scotland of the benefits attending this system, that, where the parishes are large, they often form subscriptions and establish private schools of their own, in addition to the parochial seminaries.

In the year 1698, about the time when this system was established, Fletcher of Saltoun, in one of his _Discourses concerning the affairs of Scotland_, describes the lower cla.s.ses of that kingdom as being in a state of the most abject poverty and savage ignorance; and subsisting partly by mere beggary, but chiefly by violence and rapine, "without any regard or subjection either to the laws of the land or to those of G.o.d and nature." Some of the instances given by this writer of the disorder and violence of that period may remind us of the effects produced by a similar state of things during our own times, upon the _Irish peasantry_ in the disturbed parts of that unhappy country. "In years of plenty,"

says Fletcher, "many thousands of them meet together in the mountains, where they feast and riot for many days, and at country weddings, markets, _burials_, and other public occasions, they are to be seen, both men and women, perpetually drunk, cursing, blaspheming, and fighting together." [Footnote: Political Works of Andrew Fletcher, 8vo: London 1737, p. 144.] Such was the state of Scotland at the time when the present system of education was established.

It is justly stated by Dr. Currie that, at the present day, there is perhaps no country in Europe, in which, in proportion to its population, so small a number of crimes fall under the chastis.e.m.e.nt of the criminal law, as in Scotland; and he adds, upon undoubted authority, that on an average of thirty years preceding the year, 1797, the executions in that division of the Island did not amount to six annually, and that more felons have been convicted and sentenced to transportation at one quarter sessions for the town of Manchester only, than the average number of persons sentenced to a similar punishment during a whole year by all the Judges of Scotland. [Footnote: Works of Robert Burns, Liverpool 1800. vol. 1. p. 353, 8vo.]

But the influence of education in Scotland has not been merely negative or confined to the diminution of criminal offences; it has produced in a very eminent degree those habits of industry and frugality, upon which all civilization and improvement ultimately depend. In no age or country have these excellent qualities, the cardinal virtues of the lower orders of society, been more prevalent than among the peasantry and common people of Scotland during modern times: in none have the instances been more frequent of individuals who, by a course of meritorious exertions, have raised themselves from an inferior condition of life to ease and competence, and sometimes to riches and distinction.

It is impossible to conceive any situation more happy and respectable than that of the parent of a well educated family (such as was the father of the subject of this memoir, and such as there are now many others among the farmers and peasantry of Scotland) enjoying the just reward of his paternal cares in the prosperity and success of his children; each of whom he sees engaged in some beneficial pursuit, each bettering his condition in life, and each advanced somewhat in the scale of society above the situation in which he was born. It is this visible _progress_ and continual _improvement_ in the circ.u.mstances and condition of families, so frequent in the cla.s.s here particularly alluded to, which produces the greatest portion of happiness of which any community is capable; which stimulates to intelligent activity, and useful, persevering exertions; and which keeps alive and invigorates that orderly, quiet ambition, which is the foundation of all private and public prosperity, and the great civilizing principle of individuals and nations.

It is true that there are several other circ.u.mstances, besides the system of public education in Scotland, which have a.s.sisted in producing that extraordinary change of national character which has given occasion to the present remarks. But of the various causes which have contributed to this change, education is by far the most important, and that, without which indeed all the rest would have been comparatively of no avail. It is to early instruction, most unquestionably, that we must attribute that general intelligence, and those habits of thoughtfulness, deliberation, and foresight, which usually distinguish the common people of Scotland, where-ever they may be found, and whatever may be their employments and situations; which ensure their success in life under favourable circ.u.mstances; and in adverse fortune serve as a protection against absolute indigence, and secure to them a certain station above the lowest condition of life.

The truth of this remark will be apparent from a few practical instances, drawn from the experience of common life, of that general superiority which is here attributed to the lower cla.s.ses of the Scotch, as the effect of their superior industry and intelligence--1. Every one has remarked the great number of professional gardeners from that country, many of whom have been common labourers, and who if they had been no better educated than most English labourers, must always have remained in that situation. Of this numerous cla.s.s Mr. d.i.c.kson, Park's brother-in law, is a remarkable and most distinguished example.--2.

Scotland supplies a considerable number of stewards, confidential clerks, book-keepers, &c. from a cla.s.s of society, which in most other countries furnishes only domestic servants. The British Colonies, and especially the West Indies, are chiefly provided with clerks, overseers of plantations, &c. from this source.--3. The prodigious number of non-commissioned officers in the army, who are natives of Scotland, having been raised from the ranks in consequence of their knowledge of reading and writing, and general good conduct, is also very remarkable.--The recollection of most readers will probably supply them with other examples; but there are two instances, somewhat out of the course of ordinary experience, which deserve to be particularly mentioned.

In the year 1803, Mr. Matthew Martin, a gentleman distinguished for his active benevolence, having been for some time engaged, under the sanction of Government, in a laborious enquiry concerning the "State of Mendicity in the Metropolis," was desired to make a Report upon that subject for the information of Government. From the statement which Mr.

Martin prepared on that occasion and laid before the Secretary of State, it appeared that the number of Scotch beggars in London was remarkably small, especially in proportion to the Irish beggars, with whom it was most natural to compare them. Of 2000 beggars, whose cases were investigated by Mr. Martin, the following is a summary.

Belonging to parishes home 570 distant parishes 336 Irish 679 Scotch 65 Foreign 30

The second of the two cases is of a still more uncommon nature.--In the course of the expedition against Egypt in 1807, the advanced guard of Major General Fraser's army having taken possession of Rosetta and occupied a position at El Hamed a few miles from that town, was surprised by a strong corps of Turkish troops, and after an obstinate conflict and the loss of many lives, compelled to surrender. According to the Turkish custom, the prisoners taken were sold as slaves, and dispersed over the whole country; some of them being sent as far as Upper Egypt. Great exertions were naturally made by the British government to redeem those unfortunate persons from captivity; and this was happily effected as to all the prisoners, except a few who could not be traced, by the a.s.sistance of Signor Petrucci, the Swedish consul at Alexandria.

From the authentic doc.u.ments relating to this transaction, it appears that the ransoms paid for the redemption of the captives differed very considerably; the prices varying from between twenty and thirty pounds to more than one hundred pounds sterling for each man. But it is observable, on comparing the different rates, that the highest ransoms were paid for those, who must be considered, from their names, to have been natives of Scotland; and who, it may be presumed, were more _valuable_ than the rest from being more orderly and intelligent. It could not have been easily antic.i.p.ated that a soldier, brought up in a Scotch parish school, was likely, when enslaved by the Turks and a captive in Egypt, to derive much advantage from his _education_. Yet it is probable from this circ.u.mstance that the intelligence and habits of good conduct, which he acquired from early instruction, might recommend him to his master, and as domestic slavery admits of many mitigations, might procure him kinder and better treatment.

APPENDIX. No. II.

Page xix.