One of our number had a pocket dial, which supplied the place of a compass; and, to say the truth, was not ill befitting such a vessel and such mariners. By its aid we steered our course by day, while the stars served as a guide by night; and, if they were obscured, we guessed our way by the motion of the clouds. In this woful plight we continued four days and nights. On the fifth day we were at the brink of despair, and abandoned all hopes of safety. Thence we ceased our labor, and laid aside our oars; for, either we had no strength left to use them, or were reluctant to waste the little we had to no purpose. Still we kept emptying the boat, loth to drown, loth to die, yet knowing no means to avoid death.
They that act least commonly wish the most; and, when we had forsaken useful labor, we resorted to fruitless wishes—that we might be taken up by some ship, if it were but a ship, no matter of what country.
While we lay hulling up and down, our hopes at so low an ebb, we discovered a tortoise, not far from us, asleep in the sea. Had the great Drake discovered the Spanish plate fleet, he could not have been more rejoiced. Once again we bethought ourselves of our oars, and silently rowing to our prey, took it into the boat in great triumph. Having cut off its head, and let it bleed in a vessel, we drank the blood, ate the liver, and sucked the flesh. Our strength and spirits were wonderfully refreshed, and our work was vigorously renewed. Leaving our fears behind us, we began to gather hope, and, about noon, discovered, or thought that we discovered, land. It is impossible to describe our joy and triumph on this occasion. It was new life to us; it brought fresh blood into our veins, and fresh vigor into our pale cheeks: we looked like persons raised from the dead. After further exertion, becoming more confident, we were at last fully satisfied that it was land. Now, like distracted persons, we all leapt into the sea, and, being good swimmers, cooled our parched bodies, never considering that we might become a ready prey to the sharks. But we presently returned to our boat, and from being wearied with the exertion, and somewhat cooled by the sea, lay down to sleep with as much security as if it had been in our beds. It was fortunately of such short duration that the leaking of the boat occasioned no danger.
Refreshed by sleep, we found new strength for our work, and tugged hard at the oar, in hopes of reaching a more stable element before night. But our progress was very slow. Towards evening an island was discovered, which was Fromentere, having already seen Majorca; at least, some of our company, who had navigated these seas, declared that it was so. We debated long to which of the two our course should be directed; and, because the last discovered was much infested with venomous serpents, we all resolved to make for Majorca. The whole of that night we rowed very hard, and also the next, being the sixth from our putting to sea. The island was in sight all day, and about ten at night we came under the land, but it consisted of rocks so steep and craggy that we could not climb up.
Whilst under these rocks a vessel approached very near. Let the reader conceive our apprehensions, after all our toil and labor, of being seized by some Turkish privateer, such as are never off the seas. Thus we were obliged to lie close; and, when the vessel had passed, we crept gently along the coast, as near as we durst to the shore, until finding a suitable place to receive our weather-beaten boat.
We were not insensible of our deliverance on reaching land; though, like men just awakened from a dream, we could not duly appreciate the greatness of it. Having had no food since we got the tortoise, John Anthony and myself set out in search of fresh water, and three remained with the boat. Before proceeding far, we found ourselves in a wood, which created great embarrassment. My comrade wished to go one way, and I wished to go another. How frail and impotent a being is man! That we, whom common dangers by sea had united, should now fall out about our own inclinations at land. Yet so we did. He gave me reproachful words; and it is well that we did not come to blows, but I went my way, and he, seeing me resolute, followed. The path led to one of those watchtowers which the Spaniards keep on the coast to give timely notice of the approach of privateers. Afraid of being fired on, we called to the sentinel, informing him who we were, and earnestly requesting him to direct us to fresh water, and to give us some bread. He very kindly threw down an old mouldy cake, and directed us to a well close at hand. We drank a little water, and ate a bit of the cake, which we had difficulty in swallowing, and then hastened to return to our companions in the boat, to acquaint them with our success.
Though now necessary to leave the boat, we did not do it without regret; but this was lulled by the importunate cravings of hunger and thirst; therefore, making her fast ashore, we departed. Advancing, or rather crawling towards the well, another quarrel rose amongst us, the remembrance of which is so ungrateful that I shall bury it in silence, the best tomb for controversies. One of our company, William Adams, in attempting to drink, was unable to swallow the water, and sunk to the ground, faintly exclaiming, "I am a dead man!" After much straining and forcing, he, at length, got a little over; and when we were all refreshed with the cake and water, we lay down by the side of the well to wait for morning.
When it was broad day, we once more applied to the sentinel, to point out the way to the nearest house or town, which he did, directing us to a house about two miles distant; but our feet were so raw and blistered by the sun that it was long before we could get this short journey over; and then, the owners of the house, concluding from our garb that we came with a pilfering design, presented a fowling-piece, charging us to stand. The first of our number, who could speak the language of the country, mildly endeavored to undeceive him, saying, we were a company of poor creatures, whom the wonderful providence of God had rescued from the slavery of Algiers, and hoped that he would show mercy to our afflictions. The honest farmer, moved with our relation, sent out bread, water and olives. After refreshing ourselves with these, we lay down and rested three or four hours in the field; and, having given him thanks for his charity, prepared to crawl away. Pleased with our gratitude, he called us into his house, and gave us good warm bean pottage, which to me seemed the best food I had ever ate. Again taking leave, we advanced towards Majorca, which was about ten miles distant.
Next morning we arrived in the suburbs, where the singularity of our attire, being barefoot and bare legged, and having nothing on except loose shirts, drawn over our coats, attracted a crowd of enquirers. We gave a circumstantial account of our deliverance; and, as they were willing to contribute to our relief, they supplied us with food, wine, strong waters, and whatever else might renovate our exhausted spirits. They said, however, that we must remain in the suburbs until the viceroy had notice of our arrival. We were called before him, and when he had heard the account of our escape and dangers, he ordered us to be maintained at his expense until we should obtain a passage to our own country; and, in the meantime, the people collected money to buy clothes and shoes.
From Majorca they proceeded to Cadiz, and from thence to England, which they reached in safety.
Several expeditions at different periods were fitted out by different European nations to chastise the pirates. The Emperor, Charles V., in the plenitude of his power, sailed with a formidable armament in the year 1541, and affected a landing. Without doubt he would have taken the city, if a terrible storm had not risen, which destroyed a great part of his fleet and obliged him to re-embark with his shattered forces in the greatest precipitation. The exultation of the Algerines was unbounded; they now looked on themselves as the special favorites of heaven; the most powerful army which had ever attempted their subjection had returned with the loss of one third their number, and a great part of its ships and transports. Prisoners had been taken in such abundance, that to show their worthlessness, they were publicly sold in the market-place at Algiers, at an onion a head.
For nearly a century after this, little occurs of note in Algerine history except a constant system of piracy. In 1655 the British Admiral Blake gave them a drubbing.
The French were the next to attack these common enemies of Europe. Admiral
Duguesne commanded the expedition, and after bombarding the place a short time, the Dey himself soon began to be terrified at the destruction these new engines of naval war made, when an unfavorable wind arising, compelled the fleet to make all sail for Toulon.
Relieved from the terror of immediate destruction, the Algerines returned to their old ways, making descents on the coast of Provence, where they committed the most dreadful ravages, killing, burning and destroying all that came in their way. The Dey also recovered, not only his courage, but his humor; for learning what a large sum the late expedition against his city had cost, he sent to say, "that if Louis would give him half the money, he would undertake to burn the whole city to please him." The French accordingly sent a new expedition under the same officers the next year. Duguesne again sailed, and in front of the city was joined by the Marquis D'Affranville, at the head of five other stout ships. A council of war was held and an immediate attack resolved upon, in consequence of which, the vessels having taken up their stations, a hundred bombs were thrown into the town during that day, and as many more on the following night, when the town was observed to be on fire in several places; the Dey's palace, and other public buildings were in ruins; some of the batteries were dismounted, and several vessels sunk in the fort. This speedy destruction soon determined the Dey and Janissaries to sue for peace; and a message to this effect was sent to Duguesne, who consented to cease firing, but refused to negociate regarding terms, until all the captives taken fighting under the French flag were given up as a preliminary step. This was agreed to, and one hundred and forty-two prisoners immediately sent off. In the mean time the soldiery becoming furious, assassinated the Dey and elected a new one, who ordered the flag to be hoisted on the city walls. Hostilities were now renewed with greater fury than before, and the French admiral threw such volleys of bombs into the city, that in less than three days the greatest part of it was reduced to ashes; and the fire burnt with such vehemence that the bay was illuminated to the distance of two or three leagues. Rendered desperate by the carnage around him, the new Dey ordered all the French captives who had been collected into the city to be cruelly murdered, and binding Father Vacher, the French Resident, hand and foot, had him tied to a mortar and fired off like a bomb against the French fleet. This wanton piece of atrocity so exasperated Duguesne, that, laying his fleet as near land as possible, he continued his cannonade until he had destroyed all their shipping, fortifications, buildings; in short, almost the whole of the lower town, and about two-thirds of the upper; when finding nothing else which a naval force could do, and being unprovided for a land expedition, he stood out leisurely to sea, leaving the Algerines to reflect over the sad consequences of their obstinacy. For several years after this they kept in the old piratical track; and upon the British consuls making a complaint to the Dey, on occasion of one of his corsairs having captured a vessel, he openly replied, "It is all very true, but what would you have? the Algerines are a company of rogues, and I am their captain."
To such people force was the argument; and in 1700 Capt. Beach, falling in with seven of their frigates, attacked them, drove them on shore, and burnt them. Expeditions at various times were sent against them, but without effecting much; and most of the maritime nations paid them tribute. But a new power was destined to spring up, from which these pirates were to receive their first check; that power was the United States of America.
In 1792 his corsairs, in a single cruise, swept off ten American vessels, and sent their crews to the Bagnio, so that there were one hundred and fifteen in slavery.
Negociations were at once set on foot; the Dey's demands had of course risen in proportion to the number of his prisoners, and the Americans had not only to pay ransom at a high rate, with presents, marine stores, and yearly tribute, but to build and present to the Dey, as a propitiatory offering, a thirty-six gun frigate; so that the whole expenses fell little short of a million of dollars, in return for which they obtained liberty for their captives, protection for their merchant vessels, and the right of free trade with Algiers. The treaty was signed September 5th, 1795; and from that time, up to 1812, the Dey continued on tolerable good terms with Congress; indeed, so highly was he pleased with them, in 1800, that he signified to the consul his intention of sending an ambassador to the Porte, with the customary presents, in the Washington, a small American frigate, at that time lying in the harbor of Algiers. In vain the consul and captain remonstrated, and represented that they had no authority to send the vessel on such a mission; they were silenced by the assurance that it was a particular honor conferred on them, which the Dey had declined offering to any of the English vessels then in harbor, as he was rather angry with that nation. The Washington was obliged to be prepared for the service; the corsair flag, bearing the turbaned head of Ali, was run up to her main top, under a salute of seven guns; and in this respectable plight she sailed up the Mediterranean, dropped anchor before the seven towers, where, having landed her cargo, she was permitted to resume her own colors, and was thus the first vessel to hoist the American Union in the Thracian Bosphorus.
In 1812, however, the Dey, finding his funds at a low ebb, and receiving from all quarters reports that a wealthy American commerce was afloat, determined on trying them with a new war. He was peculiarly unfortunate in the time chosen, as the States, having about a month previously declared war with Great Britain, had, in fact, withdrawn most of the merchant ships from the sea, so that the only prize which fell into the hands of the Dey's cruizers was a small brig, with a crew of eleven persons. The time at length came for putting an end to these lawless depredations, and peace having been concluded with England, President Madison, in 1815, despatched an American squadron, under commodores Bainbridge and Decatur, with Mr. Shaler, as envoy, on board, to demand full satisfaction for all injuries done to American subjects, the immediate release of such as were captives, the restitution of their property, with an assurance that no future violence should be offered, and also to negociate the preliminaries of a treaty on terms of perfect equality, no proposal of tribute being at all admissible. The squadron reached its destination early in June, and, having captured an Algerine frigate and brig-of-war, suddenly appeared before Algiers, at a moment when all the cruizers were at sea, and delivered, for the consideration of the Divan, the terms on which they were commissioned to make peace, together with a letter from the President to the Dey. Confounded by the sudden and entirely unexpected appearance of this force, the Algerines agreed, on the 30th of June, to the proposals of a treaty, almost without discussion.
It had long been a reproach to Great Britain, the mistress of the sea, that she had tamely suffered a barbarian power to commit such atrocious ravages on the fleets and shores of the minor states along the Mediterranean. At length a good cause was made for chastising them.
At Bona, a few miles to the east of Algiers, was an establishment for carrying on a coral fishery, under the protection of the British flag, which, at the season, was frequented by a great number of boats from the Corsican, Neapolitan, and other Italian ports. On the 23d of May, the feast of Ascension, as the crews of all the boats were preparing to hear mass, a gun was fired from the castle, and at the same time appeared about two thousand, other accounts say four thousand, infantry and cavalry, consisting of Turks, Levanters, and Moors. A part of these troops proceeded towards the country, whilst another band advanced towards the river, where the fishing boats were lying at different distances from the sea; and opening a fire upon the unfortunate fishermen, who were partly on board and partly on land, massacred almost the whole of them. They then seized the English flags, tore them in pieces, and trampling them under foot, dragged them along the ground in triumph. The men who happened to be in the country saved themselves by flight, and declared that they saw the soldiers pillage the house of the British vice-consul, the magazines containing the provisions, and the coral that had been fished up. A few boats escaped, and brought the news to Genoa, whence it was transmitted by the agent of L
loyd's in a despatch, dated June 6th.
No sooner had the account of this atrocious slaughter reached England, than all ranks seemed inflamed with a desire that a great and signal punishment should be taken on this barbarian prince, who was neither restrained by the feelings of humanity nor bound by treaties. An expedition, therefore, was fitted out with all speed at Portsmouth, and the command intrusted to Lord Exmouth, who, after some delays from contrary winds, finally sailed, July 28th, with a fleet complete in all points, consisting of his own ship, the Queen Charlotte, one hundred and twenty guns; the Impregnable, rear admiral, Sir David Milne; ninety guns; Minden, Superb, Albion, each seventy-four guns; the Leander fifty guns, with four more frigates and brigs, bombs, fire-ships, and several smaller vessels, well supplied, in addition to the ordinary means of warfare, with Congreve rockets, and Shrapnell shells, the destructive powers of which have lately been abundantly proved on the continent. August 9, the fleet anchored at Gibraltar, and was there joined by the Dutch admiral, Van Cappillen, commanding five frigates and a corvette, who had been already at Algiers, endeavoring to deliver slaves: but being refused, and finding his force insufficient, had determined on joining himself with the English squadron, which it was understood was under weigh. Meanwhile, the Prometheus, Captain Dashwood, had been sent forward to Algiers to bring off the British consul and family; but could only succeed in getting his wife and daughter, who were obliged to make their escape, disguised in midshipmen's uniform; for the Dey, having heard through some French papers of the British expedition, had seized the consul, Mr. Macdonnell, and put him in chains; and, hearing of the escape of his wife, immediately ordered the detention of two boats of the Prometheus, which happened to be on shore, and made slaves of the crews, amounting to eighteen men. This new outrage was reported to Lord Exmouth soon after leaving Gibraltar, and of course added not a little to his eagerness to reach Algiers. He arrived off Algiers on the morning of the 27th of August, and sent in his interpreter, Mr. Salame, with Lieutenant Burgess, under a flag of truce, bearing a letter for the Dey, demanding reparation.
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