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AFTER a series of almost incredible sufferings, the Arabs who had Riley and his companions in charge, arrived at a place within ten days journey of Mogadore, whither, in the hopes of finding some Chris tian there, Capt. Riley had induced the Arabs, by the promise of certain reward, to convey him. After getting thus far, they refused to go farther until one of them had been to Mogadore (or Swearah, as the Arabs called it) and found the friend of Riley. There being no alternative, a small scrap of paper, brought from some shipwreck, was furnished to Capt. Riley, on which, with a piece of reed and some dark coloured liquid, he wrote as nearly as he can recol lect, as follows :— SIR—The brig Commerce, from Gib raltar for America, was wrecked on Cape Bajador, on the 28th August last ; myself and four of my crew are here nearly naked in Barbarian slavery 5 I conjure you by all the ties that bind man to man, by those of kindred blood, and every thing you hold most dear, and by as much as liberty is dear er than life, to advance the money requir ed for our redemption, which is 920 dollars, and two double barrelled guns . 1 can draw for any amount, the moment I am at liber ty, on Batard, Sampson Sharp, London ; Cropper Benson, Liverpool; Munroe Burton, Lisbon ; or on Horatio Sprague, Gibraltar. Should you not relieve me ny wife must instantly pay the forfeit. I leave a wife and five helpless children to deplore my death. My companions are Aaron B. Savage, Horace Savage, James Clark and Thomas Burns. I fest six more in slavery on the desert. My present master, Sidi Hamet, will hand you this, and tell you where we are—he is a worthy man. Worn down to the bones by the most dreadful of all suffring —naked, and a slave, I implore your pity, and trust that such distress will not be suffered to plead in vain. For God’s sake, send an interpreter and a guard for us, if that is possible. I speak French and Spanish, JAMES RILEY, late master and supercargo of the brig Commerce.” While I was writing the above, (says Mr. R.) they procured an additional scrap of paper, being a ‘yes of a Spanish bill of lading. on yeh wrote a part of my let ter, that could not be written legibly on my first scrap. Having folded them up, I di rected them to the English, French, Span ish or American consuls, or any Christian merchants in Mogadore or Swearah.” I purposely omitted mentioning that we were Americans, because I did not know that there was an American agent there, and I had no doubt of there being an Mnglish con sul or agent in that place. With this letter one of the Arabs sat out for Mogadore. The interval of suspense between his departure, and hearing from him, it may be imagined, was acutely pain ful. The narrative thus discloses the result of the mission: “ The eighth day of m my master's absence passed tediously awayg when, after dark, we heard a trampling outside the walls . Seid went forth to learn its cause, and soon, returned with Sidi Mohammed, followed by a well looking Moor, they came directly to that part of the yard where we were sit ting on the ground, trembling with appre hension and with cold. When they came near me, the Moor called out and said, in English, “ How de do, capetan.” ‘Phil raised me and all my men from the ground . I felt as if my heart was forcing its way in to my throat, and it entirely obstructed my breath. I eagerly seized his hand, and begged to know who he was, and what was my doom, and if Sidi Hamet had come back ; he then asked me in Spanish if I spoke that languages and being answered in the affirmative, he informed me, in Span ish,that he came from Mogadore, that my tter had been received by one of the best of men, an Englishman, who was his friend, and who had shed tears on reading my let ter, that he had paid the aréney to my mas ter immediately, and had sent him (the Moor) off, without giving him scarcely a Moments tithe to take leave of his wife, and that he had been on his mule ever since he left Swearah, travelling on as fast as possible, night and day. The anxiety of my companions, by this time, had risen to such a pitch, that they broke in upon his story, on which I communicated to them the twelcome and happy intelligence, that we a friend who would redeem us from slavery. Our souls were overwhelmed with joy, and yet we trembled with apprehension fest it might not be true; alas! perhaps it was only a delusive dream, or some cruel trick, to turn our miseries into mockery. At this moment, however, the door hand ed me a lever; I broke it open, but my emotions were such, that it was impossible for me to read its contents, and I handed it to Mr. Savage, for my frame trembled to such a degree, that I could not stand, and I sunk to the earth, but, thank God, not sense less ; while, by means of the light of a fire, he read as follows :— Macavoxe, October 25, 1815. My dear and sijuicted Sir, I have this moment received your two notes, by Sidi Hamet, the contents of which, I hope, you will be perfectly assured have called forth my most sincere pity for your sufferings, and those of your companions in captivity. By 4 Gibraltar paper I discover, under the arrivals from the 6th to the 1tth Au gust, the name of your vessels and that she was American, from which I conclude both you and your crew must be subjects of the United States. Had it not been for the pa per adverted to, some delay would have oc cured as you do not state in your notes to what nation you belong. I congratulate you most sincerely on the good fortune, you and your fellow Bifferers have met, by being in the hands of a man who seems to be guided by some degree of commiseration. I can in some measure participate in the severe and dangerous sufferings and hard ships you must have undergone; but, my dear sir, console yourself, for, thanks be to God, I hope they will soon have a happy is sue ; for which purpose I devoutly pray the great Disposer of all things will give you and your unfortunate companions health and strength once more to vist your native land. This letter will be delivered you by Rais del Cassim, in whom you may place the full est faith ; he speaks Spanish, and has direc tions to pay attention to your orders, and ren der you every care your severe misfortunes may require. Be pleased to write one an immediate answer, stating every particu lar relating to yourself, your crew, and ves sel, as I have given orders to the Moor to forward it to me without delay. I have agreed to pay the sum of nine hun dred and twenty hard dollars to Sid. Ham et, on your safe arrival in this town with your fellow sufferers ; le remains here as a kind of hostage for your safe appearance. I have been induced to trust implicitly to your word, and the respectable references you have given, in confidence that those gentlemen or yourself, will readily reim burse me the whole of the expenses that may be incurred in obtaining your redemption. I have the most sincere pleasure to ac quaint you, you will be at liberty to com mence your journey for this town on the re ceipt of this letter, and make what stages you please on the road, as I do not advise you, in the eagerness all of you must feel, to ran into danger by over exertion and fa tigue. I would, therefore, recommend the greatest precaution on this point. I have sent under charge of Rais del Cassim, shoes and cloaks, which I have no doubt you will find very useful in preserving you from rain or cold on the road. I have also forwarded you some provi sions and spirits that you may enjoy a fore taste of returning liberty. I beg to recommend the greatest secre cy of your circumstances until you arrive here, for should the Moors suppose you able to pay more, they would throw diffculties in the way, and thereby much retard your redemption. I shall send off an express to-morrow to the United States’ Consul General at Tan gier, and a letter to Mr. Horatio Sprague, of Gibraltar, informing them of your loss, and of the favorable hopes I entertain of your immediate release. I have appointed with Rais del Cassim, on your arrival at a short distance from Mogadore, to wait at the garden of a friend of mine, and send me a notice of the same, when I shall immediately set out to meet you. I trust there is no occasion for me to say how truly I commiserate and enter into all your misfortunes ; when God grants me the pleasure to embrace you, it will be to me a day of true rejoicing; beg you to assure everyone with you of my truest regard ; and with sentiments embittered by the thoughts of the miseries you have under gone, but with the most sanguine hopes of a happy end to all your sufferings, I sub scribe myself, with the greatest esteem, my dear sir, your friend, WILLIAM WILLSHIRE. P. S. I willingly agree to advance the money, considering a month or more must elapse before I could receive an answer from Mr. Sprague. I therefore concluded you would prefer being at liberty in this town, to experiencing a prolongation of your sufferings during that period. TV shall be hap py in rendering you every comfort that my house and this country can afford. W. W.? _ My feelings, during the reading of this letter, may perhaps be conceived, but I cannot attempt to describe them; to form an idea of my emotions at that time it is neces sary for the reader to transport himself in imagination to the country where I then was, a wretched slave, and to fancy himself as having passed through all the dangers and distresses that I had experienced , reduced to the lowest pitch of human wretchedness, degradation and despair, a skinless skeleton, expecting death at every instant, then let him fancy himself receiving such a let ter from a perfect stanger, whose name he had never before heard, and from a place where there was not an individual creature that had ever before heard of his existence, and in one of the most barbarous regions of the habitable globe , let him receive at the same time clothes to cover and defend his naked, emaciated and trembling frame, shoes for his mangled feet, and such provi sions as he had been accustomed to in his happier days—let him find a soothing and sympathising friend in a barbarian, and one who spoke perfectly well the language of a Christian nation; and with all this, let him behold a prospect of a speedy libera tion and restoration to his beloved fami ly. Here let him pause, and his heart must, like mine, expand near to bursting with gratitude to his all-wise and beneficent Creator, who had upheld his tetteris frame, and preserved in his bosom the vital spark, while he conducted him, with mar ring wisdom and goodness, through the greatest perils and sufferings, by a continu ed miracle, and now prepared the heart of a stranger to accomplish what had been be fore Aldter mined,?
Newspaper Details
Augusta Herald
Augusta, Georgia, US
Tue, Jun 10, 1817
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Jamaal H.
USA 24 Aug 2026
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