APPENDIX. leaves the river. 811. "At last, after inflicting on us every hardship we could fuffer, only sparing our lives and the houfes of the colonists, they failed on the 13th Oct. last, at noon, The fquadron proceeding downwards to the Gold Coast, and left us in the most dreadful fituation, without provifions, cloaths, houses, or furniture, &c. &c. and I fear much, that most of us should have perished, had not our friends in the neighbourhood, both natives and Europeans, who were so happy as to escape the enemy, been so kind as to fend us what they could spare*. Sickness but no want. Mr. Afzelius's peculiar mif fortunes. The French 812." In the mean time, moft of us have either been, or fill are, very fick, and many have died for want of proper food and medicine. The worst, however, is now past. At least we are not in any want of provifion, although of the coarseft kind, but are deftitute of the most neceffary articles and utenfils for the house, the table and the kitchen. 813. Befides the common misfortune, in which I participated equally with the reft, I have feveral grievances which make me particularly uneafy. All that I could poffibly fave from destruction, were a few books, fome dry herbs and feeds, and only a few fragments of my MSS. These laft were my most valuable property, and the only fure voucher or teftimony I could produce, to certify my perfeverance and attention in my researches, in the course of my travels in foreign countries-but most of them are no more, and many of them can never be restored, as for inftance, my journal from the time I first came to this place till this terrible catastrophe, &c. &c. Defcriptions of natural productions and of my collections, I might perhaps, in a great measure, replace, had I only the neceffary inftruments and other requifites, but I have loft all. What then can a poor beggar do in a desert? He must endeavour to employ his time in the best manner, patiently submit to the will of Providence, and wait until affiftance can arrive. By the next veffel from England, which, however, cannot arrive here in less than 4 or 5 months, I hope my worthy friends and protectors will remember me with fuch things as I may want. 814. "Before I finish, I beg leave to make two general obfervations on the conduct of the French at this place. 815. I. That they acted contrary to their own acknowledged fundamental fquadron ap principle, viz. the Spreading of light and liberty, when they plundered this colopear to be ignorant of the ny, which has been inflituted for those very purposes, viz. to abolish the Slave true object of the colony. trade, to enlighten the Africans, and to render them virtuous and rational, free and happy. This establishment, which has no parallel in hiftory, at first so much attracted the attention of the National Assembly that feveral of its members, as I have been told, wrote to the Directors of this colony in London, and affured them that * Mr. A. here alludes to the Europeans, refiding at the neighbouring flave factory, whose friendly offices, as well as the civility of their employers in England, the Directors liberally acknowledge. See the note at the clofe of $510. neither neither their fhips, nor Colony fhould be expofed to the Republican arms. I have APPENDIX. great reason to believe that this correspondence is yet preserved. own remarks. 816. "It may be faid that this offer and promife was given by the party, called Mr.Afzelius's Girondifts, who no longer exift; but I fhould think that the Mountains, (fo called) would not yield to their opponents, in noble and generous fentiments. There must confequently be some fault or misunderstanding, either in theory or in practice; either with the Convention, who iffued the orders, or with the commodore who put them into execution. I mentioned thefe circumftances to fome of the French officers, and they did not deny their justice; but they laid all the blame upon two American flave captains, who have been obliged to escape both from England and from America, for great crimes, and who, thinking they had fuffered fome injury here at S. Leona, were looking out for vengeance. These men piloted the French hither, encouraging their failors to commit all poffible violence and cruelty. But be this as it may, that promise once made to our Directors, had lulled both them and us in the colony, into fo profound a fecurity, that neither they nor we could think of any hoftile attack, and confequently had not put ourselves in any state of defence*. 817. "II. That they acted against the laws of neutrality, when they plundered me. I mentioned that I was a Swede, and a naturalift, who was expofing my life in Africa for the fake of enlightening, and making discoveries for the benefit of all nations, and who was refiding here only for a certain time, without having any thing further to do with the English. They acknowledged, that I was ill treated, and many of them even allowed that I ought to be indemnified for my lofs. I very naturally fupported this laft propofition, and even spoke to the commodore about it, but, although he gave me full hopes, nothing could be effected. They excufed themselves by faying, that I was out of the way when my houfe was broke open, and that if they had known to whom it belonged, they would have preferved it. This founds well, but that they were not ferious, I think I can conclude from what I experienced. When I first entered into my house and found that there were fill fome trunks left, I asked for one of them, but was anfwered that it belonged to the captain of one of the frigates, and when I then asked for another, that belonged to fuch or fuch an officer, &c. &c. They had, however, juft before agreed that I had fuffered injury. The following day, when the captain himself came on fhore, I asked him for my trunk. He shrugged up his shoulders and complained much of my misfortune, saying, that he would do me this little favour with all his heart, if it was in his power. Another time I faw in my room a bed-cover; I asked the officer, who was on his poft for it, and he gave it to me, but a failor came immediately and tore it from me, faying that it belonged to him, and I loft it. I could men Mr. A. tho' a Swede, was plundered. APPENDIX. tion many fimilar inftances. But the plain truth of the matter was that the officers ་--ང་ had no authority, and the failors did what they pleafed. The former, who were in general fenfible and refpectable men, were very forry for thofe violences that were committed, but complained fincerely that it was totally out of their power to prevent it. The latter, or failors, feemed in general to be miferable and in great want; but at the fame time cruel, and could be compared only to wild beafts who live by. devouring their prey. Agreement tranfactions of 818. "I have fcarcely any paper, pens or ink, nor even a penknife; fo that I have very good reasons to hope for fome indulgence, remaining, &c. "A. AFZELIUS." 819. It is important to obferve, that the report of the governor and council to the Directors, the foregoing letter of Mr. Afzelius, and feveral other private letters, mutually corroborate each other. 820. Mr. Gray in particular, in his letter to one of his friends in London, dated "Ruins of Freetown, Oct. 18th, 1794," and which I have juft feen, mentions every material fact contained in the foregoing extract. He adds, that "the largest French fhip carried 50 guns, and the two frigates 22 guns each." But it would appear, that they were fo ill found, and the feamen fo diforderly, that he goes on to fay, "I am confident that two English frigates would have taken their whole force" (namely the foregoing fhips, with two armed brigs, and fome veffels of inferior confidera. tion.) It rather furprizes us, that this coast should be so neglected, Government not having a veffel of any kind in this quarter of the world. . So the French no doubt had learnt, which caused their coming here. However, for my own part, I do not find room to blame the French fo much, as thofe who are at the head of English affairs, for the evils that have befallen us."-" You must not imagine,” adds he, "because we have been taken by the French, and have had our houses burnt, that we are fleeping in the woods, or that we are ftarving for want of victuals. No: we have houses yet, the governor having hired fome of the best of the fettlers' houfes, for the officers and himfelf; nor, whilft we have fheep and goats for fending for, no very great diftance, can we be fuppofed to be famifhing." Mr. G. having been captured in a veffel at some distance from Freetown, fays, "I flept on board one of the frigates, where I must acknowledge being well treated; fo much fo, the captain offered me his own bed." This gentleman alfo writes, that notwithstanding his paft hardships, he had enjoyed uninterrupted health; and that he was about to accompany Mr. Watt in an attempt to penetrate to Tombuctoo. Moft probably, therefore, thofe enterprizing gentlemen have, ere now, entered on that interefling and arduous journey. 821. From Mr. Padenheim's letter to C. Grill, Efq. the Swedish Conful General, in London, it additionally appears, that an American flave-captain, of the name of Newell, who had thought himfelf affronted by the Governor, had perfuaded the APPENDIX. French to attack the colony, affuring them of a very great booty. Hence I think to attack the it is fair to conclude, that the hopes of plunder operated fo powerfully on the French incited minds of the French failors, that their commanders found it impoffible to reftrain colony. them, either from attacking the colony, or from plundering it*. PROCEEDINGS AT A GENERAL COURT OF PROPRIETORS OF That I may omit nothing that tends to give my readers an impartial, though I ac- 822. Mr. H. Thornton, the Chairman of the Court of Directors, took the Chair, and read the journal transmitted by the Governor and Council at S. Leona, relative to the late transactions of the French at that place; and he concluded with reading various remarks made by the Directors thereupon. 823. [This journal contained fo full and circumftantial an account of the attack upon the colony, that the reading of it took up above three hours. I have not room even for an abridgment of this detail, a circumftance the lefs to be regretted, as the Directors have juft published a very faithful Abridgment of it, under the title of "Subftance of the Report of the Court of Directors, &c. Feb. 26th, 1795;" which came rather too late into my hands. Befides, I really could not offer the reader a better fummary, than the above extracts from the letters of Mr. Afzelius, Mr. Gray, and Mr. Padenheim; for I am happy to fay, that, in a general view, thofe extracts and every other account that has come to my knowledge, perfectly agree with the journal and the "Subftance," of it, of which two (or perhaps more) editions have been published; fo that the reader can easily make the comparifon. Upon the whole, it feems as unneceffary, as it is impracticable, for me to infert more than the following abridgment of the concluding remarks of the Directors. See Substance," &c. from p. 16, to the end.] 824. "It appears, that in about three weeks after the departure of the French Sickness and "from S. Leona, an almost univerfal fickness prevailed among the whites, the confequence of the exertions of fome, and the fufferings of others, at the crifis. The cines, &c. "want of medical attendance, (the phyfician and both the furgeons being ill, one of "the latter of whom died) and improper food and accommodations, aggravated the "diforder, which, as in the first fickly feason, was fatal, almost exclufively, to the "lower Europeans. The deftru&tion of the medicines was now moft feverely felt, as appears from the Governor himself, after a fit of fever, refraining from taking bark, "left he should confume too much of the small remaining quantity. The Directors "mention with concern, that, of the 120 failors first put on fhore at S. Leona, by 66 66 diftrefs for want of medi * Having mentioned Mr. Padenheim, I cannot but add Mr. Beaver's opinion of this gentleman, Mr. Beaver's That he did not know any perfon at S. Leona, while he was there, who had done more effential fervice opinion of Mr. to the colony, than Mr. Padenheim. A teftimony fo honourable, from fo excellent and impartial a Padenheim. judge as Mr. B. is, efpecially of this kind of merit, convinces me that Mr. P. must indeed be a valua ble member of the colony. Printed by J. Phillips, George Yard, Lombard-ftreet, "the APPENDIX.the French, 80 have already died. The Governor flates, that they never, in any flage of the public diftrefs, wanted at least a regular meal of rice; and the Directors are perfuaded, that no practicable measures of prudence or humanity have been "neglected, either respecting thefe, or any other refugees from flave-ships, who from time to time, have been caft on the clemency of the S. Leona government. 825. "Before the date of the laft difpatches, the fickness is faid, in fome degree, circumftances. « to have abated. The healthy feafon was approaching; and a very feasonable, though probably an inadequate, fupply of articles much wanted, had been juft bought from "the captain of a chartered veffel fent out by the Directors. Favourable Company's lofs and re "to 826. "The whole lofs of the Company, on this occafion, may be computed at maining flock. "£40,000, exclufive of the buildings destroyed, which cost about £15,000; but "their value having been much lefs, fuch of them as will now be thought necef Company's fmall veffels and goods on fhore not in fured, and why Good effects fary, will probably be rebuilt for 2 or £3000. About 8 or £9000 have been laid “out on works of defence, roads, a landing place, a wharf, and the allotment and cultivation of lands. The whole remaining property of the Company, exclufive of "the 8 or £9000 dead stock juft mentioned, the Directors compute at about £85,000. 827. "The Company's small veffels, trading on the coast, were not insured; for "the monthly premium, required on them, was thought unreasonably high. The "value of each veffel and cargo feldom exceeded 2 or £30co; and the capture of fo many of them at once, on different parts of the coaft, was not confidered as a proba. "ble event. The Company's large fhip, the Harpy, with her cargo, was mostly in"fured. But the infurance of goods on fhore, against infurrections and foreign enemies, were found to be exprefsly excepted in the policies of the only Company "that underwrites goods on fhore, in diftant countries. 828. "The governor and council state that fome good effects may be confidered likely to refultas refulting from this calamity. They obferve, that it has convinced the N. Sco"tians of their folly, in having contended for the ground nearest the river, and in from the calamity. 86 neglecting the more diftant and mountainous parts. They even remark, that the improvement in the mountains, during the ensuing dry season, seems likely to "counterbalance the damage done to the town*. Thus an opportunity is faid to be afforded I have just been favoured with a paper, which makes me think that sugar will never be among the productions of those mountains; though it may be hoped the Bullom fhore will, in due time, afford a fupply of that commodity. This paper juftifies several of my remarks on the cultivation of the Company's plantation; fo that had I been in poffeffion of it when I drew up NOTE X. 1, I could have rendered that hafty and general outline lefs unworthy of the reader's attention: for I could have exemplified fome of my reasonings with facts which prove that symptoms of the spirit of fugar fpeculation had actually appeared at S. Leona. But I must add, that nothing has come to my knowledge to justify a fuppofition that the Directors were ever actuated by that spirit. They fent out indeed the proper implements for manufacturing fugar: but I have good authority to fay, that in this inftance, they |