"Why, it is enough to vex a man, Mr Braithwaite," observed the first
lieutenant. "As we could not send on board last night to take
possession of our prize, she has managed to slip away during the
darkness. She left a light burning astern on a cask to deceive us. If
we ever come up with her we'll make her pay dearly. The other fellow,
too, has got clear away; however, we will find him out, wherever he has
hid himself."
Soon after this the commodore signalled to us to send our boats to
assist in removing the prisoners from the _Renomme_. Thanks to the
exertions of the carpenter and his crew, three were already made capable
of floating. I asked to take an oar, as I wished to go on board the
prize. No sooner did I step on board than I regretted having come.
Terrible was the scene of slaughter I witnessed. The frigate had been
crowded with troops, nearly one-half of whom had been cut down by the
_Galatea's_ shot, which she had poured into the Frenchman's hull. The
crew were only now beginning to throw the dead bodies of their shipmates
overboard. The French commodore, a gallant officer, and many others,
were killed. But the wounded nearly doubled the killed, and they
chiefly excited our sympathy. Their own surgeons were already almost
worn out with attending to them, and of course we could not spare any of
ours to render them assistance. The more of the effects of war I saw,
even on this small scale, the more I longed for the time when wars are
to cease and nations to live at peace with each other. It was not,
however, the fashion to speak on that subject in those days, nor do the
nations of the world, alas! appear more inclined now than then to bring
about that happy state of things!
When taking some of the prisoners on board the _Galatea_, I found she
had also suffered severely, though not at all in proportion to the
_Renomme_. Captain Schomberg ordered us, as soon as our damages were
repaired, to make sail for the port of Tamatave, on the east coast of
Madagascar, where he suspected the other French frigate had taken
refuge, her captain supposing probably that we should return at once
with our prizes to the Mauritius. The _Astrea_ coming up, her crew went
on board the _Renomme_, to put her to rights, and this being done, all
four frigates made sail together for Tamatave. It is merely a
reef-formed harbour, and by no means a secure or good one. The English
had sent a force of about fifty men there after the reduction of the
Mauritius, and they had, we understood, built a fort, or taken
possession of an old one. It was a question whether they had been able
to hold it against the French, or had been compelled to surrender. As
we approached the coast, all our glasses were in requisition, to
ascertain whether any ships were at anchor off the place. There were
two, certainly, one larger than the other. The wind was light, but we
at length got in close enough to see that the French flag flew at their
mastheads, as also over the fort, and that there were several smaller
vessels. I thought that there would be more fighting, but instead of
proceeding to that extremity, the commodore sent in a boat with a flag
of truce, pointing out the overpowering force he had under him, and
demanding the instant surrender of the ships and fort.
We anxiously watched for the return of the boat, for if the demand were
not acceded to we should have, it was understood, to go in and cut out
the ships with our boats. Many liked the thought of such an exploit, in
spite of its dangerous character. It was very possible that the French
captain might hope, with the support of the fort, to be able to beat off
the boats, and to hold out until the squadron should be driven off by a
storm. At last the boat was seen returning. The frigate was the one
which had escaped from us. Her captain wisely agreed to yield to the
fortune of war, and to give her up with all her prizes, and the fort
into the bargain.
"And what is the name of the other ship?" I asked.
"The _Barbara_ merchantman," answered the lieutenant. "She was on the
point of sailing with a French crew when we appeared, so that her owners
have had a narrow chance of losing their property."
This was, indeed, satisfactory news. I was, of course, very eager to go
on board and hear from Captain Hassall what he intended doing. The
account brought off as to the state of the English garrison was
melancholy. The fort was built in an especially unhealthy spot, with
marshy undrained land close round it. The consequence was, that of the
fifty men who had been sent there, when the French appeared not a dozen
were alive, and that sad remainder were scarcely able to lift their
muskets. They had therefore at once yielded to the enemy. Several
others had since died, but the sickly season being now over, it was
hoped that the remainder would live on till the next year, when in all
probability during the same season they would share the fate of their
comrades. I got a passage in one of the next boats which pulled in.
Captain Hassall had been allowed by the French to return to his ship,
and he was taking a turn on deck when I went alongside. He looked at me
curiously two or three times when I stepped on deck, and, raising his
hat, inquired what I wanted. Suddenly he stopped when he got close up
to me, exclaiming, "What! James Braithwaite, my dear boy, is it really
you? I am delighted to see you, for to say the truth, I had given you
up as lost. I never supposed that cockleshell of a boat in which you
left the ship would have survived the hurricane which came on directly
afterwards."
There was one question above all others I wished to ask him, "Have you
written home to tell my friends of my loss?"
"No," he answered; "I have so often found people turn up whom I thought
had been lost, that I am very unwilling to send home bad news till it is
absolutely necessary, and as I did not require your signature, I was
able to avoid mentioning that you were not on board."
This answer greatly relieved my mind, and I was in a short time able to
talk over our arrangements for the future. The capture of the _Barbara_
would, of course, be a heavy expense to the owners; but if the voyage
should prove as successful as we still hoped it would, a handsome profit
might yet be realised. To that object we had now to bend all our
energies. We were therefore anxious as soon as we could to proceed on
our voyage. I had heard from the captain of the _Phoebe_ that an
expedition was fitting out in India for the capture of Batavia, the
chief town in Java, of which the French now held possession; and we had
great hopes, if we could reach it soon after the English had gained the
place, which of course we expected they would do, that we should sell a
large portion of our cargo to great advantage. Before sailing, however,
we determined to see what trade could be carried on with the natives.
Fortunately, the French had not touched our cargo for that purpose.
Though they had made frequent attempts to form settlements in
Madagascar, they had never succeeded in gaining the confidence and
goodwill of the natives. Had the plans of the Count Benyowsky been
carried out when he offered his services to France, they might possibly
have obtained a powerful influence in the affairs of the country, if not
entire possession of it. His plans were, however, completely defeated
by the governor of the Mauritius, who, looking on Madagascar as a
dependency of that island, was jealous of his--the Count's--proceedings,
and finally drove him to make common cause with the natives against the
French Government. I heard some details of the life of that
extraordinary adventurer. The Count Benyowsky was a Polish nobleman,
who for some political reason was banished by the Russian Government to
one of its settlements in the extreme eastern part of Siberia, whence it
seemed impossible for him ever to find his way back to Europe. The
governor of the town in which the Count was compelled to reside had a
daughter, young and lovely, who had conceived a warm affection for him,
which appears to have been fully returned. Through the means of this
young lady he was able to gain information as to everything which was
taking place. He heard, among other things, that two large Russian
ships were expected at the neighbouring port. He had long been looking
out for the means of making his escape from Siberia.
Here was an opportunity. None but a man of great boldness and energy
would, however, have considered it one. He was a prisoner in a
fortified town; it contained a considerable number of his countrymen,
but they were prisoners strictly watched. Still he was determined to
make the attempt. He set to work and gained over a hundred men to
assist in his dangerous undertaking. By some means they were able to
provide themselves with arms. The governor's fair daughter undertook to
obtain the keys of the fortress, provided her father's life was spared.
The adventurers found it impossible to make their escape without first
mastering the garrison. The conspirators were mustered, and were ready
for the enterprise. The young lady brought her lover the keys. Her
last words were, "Do not injure my father."
"Of course not, if he makes no resistance," was the Count's answer.
The gates were opened; the conspirators rushed in. The old governor
was, however, not a man to yield without a struggle. Putting himself at
the head of some of his men, he endeavoured to keep back the assailants.
Again and again he charged them, calling on the troops to rally round
him. It was evident to the Count and his companions that if he were
allowed to live their undertaking would fail. He therefore, pressed on
by numbers, was killed, with all who stood by him.
The adventurers, now putting all who opposed them to the sword, became
complete masters of the place, and without difficulty obtained
possession also of the two ships which had just arrived. A sufficient
number of officers and seamen were found to navigate the ships, and,
having provisioned them for a long voyage, the Count, taking the
daughter of the governor with him, went on board them, with a hundred
companions, and made sail to the southward. The Count had taken
precautions against pursuit; indeed, there were probably no Russian
men-of-war in those waters at the time, and thus he made good his
escape. He touched at a variety of places. He reached Canton in
safety. Here he wisely sold his ships, as, had he fallen in with any
Russian men-of-war, his destruction would have been certain. At Canton
he and his companions embarked on board two French vessels, in which
they proceeded to the Isle of France. Here he announced his intention
of forming a colony in Madagascar, or perhaps of conquering the country
for France.
His plans, as I have said, excited the jealousy of the governor of the
Mauritius, and of other people of authority in that island, who
determined to oppose him. Notwithstanding, he proceeded to France,
where he so completely gained the good opinion of the French minister
that he was appointed to take command of an expedition to found the
proposed settlement, with the title of governor-general. He had married
the daughter of the Russian governor, and she accompanied him in all his
travels, but what was her ultimate fate I do not remember having heard.
After returning to the Isle of France, where the governor still kept up
his hostility, and opposed him by every means in his power, he set sail
with about three hundred men for Madagascar. He landed at Antongil Bay,
where he was well received by the chiefs, but he at first was subject to
a good deal of opposition from the natives generally. He did his best
to conciliate them, but as he had often to employ force, and to keep up
a strict military rule at the same time, it must have been difficult to
persuade them that his intentions were pacific and philanthropic. He
seems to have met with heroic courage all the innumerable difficulties
by which he was beset. He lost many of his officers and men by
sickness, as the position where he attempted to found his first
settlement, from being surrounded by marshes, was very unhealthy. Among
others, his only boy lost his life by fever. He was left without the
necessary supplies he expected from the Isle of France, the governor
purposely neglecting to send them. The natives also were incited by
emissaries of the governor to oppose him, while, of the officers sent to
him, some were incapable, and others came with the express purpose of
betraying him. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, by the middle of
1775 the settlers had built a fort in a more healthy situation, which
was called Fort Louis, had constructed all the necessary buildings for
the town of Louisbourg, and had formed a road twenty-one miles in length
and twenty-four feet in breadth. The Count had also done something
towards civilising the people, and among other important measures had
persuaded the women to give up their practice of infanticide, which had
been terribly prevalent. They, however, refused to ratify the
engagement without the presence of the Count's wife, who was residing at
the Isle of France. She was accordingly sent for, and on her arrival
the women of the different provinces, assembling before her, bound
themselves by an oath never to sacrifice any of their children. They
agreed that any who should break this oath should be made slaves, while
they were to send all deformed children to an institution which had been
founded by the Count in the settlement for that purpose.
He had by this time formed alliances with many of the surrounding
chiefs, who ever afterwards remained faithful to him. In other parts of
the island combinations were formed against him. He accordingly
mustered his forces, and marching against his enemies, who had brought
forty thousand men into the field, put them to flight. Those who fell
into his hands he treated with so much leniency and kindness that he
ultimately attached them to his cause. A curious superstition of the
natives was the cause of his being at length raised to the dignity of
the principal chief of the island. It appears that the hereditary
successor to the title was missing, when some of the natives took it
into their heads that the Count Benyowsky was the lost heir. The idea
gained ground at the very time that the affairs of the Count were in a
very precarious condition. His own health was failing, the more
faithful among his European officers were dead, his enemies in the
Mauritius had succeeded in prejudicing the minds of the members of the
French Government against him, and two, if not more, vessels bringing
out supplies had been lost. Under these circumstances it is not
surprising that he should have accepted the proffered dignity, which
shortly led to his being recognised as the principal chief and supreme
ruler of the whole island.
Commissioners had been sent out from France to investigate the affairs
of the settlement. While they were there he took the opportunity of
giving up the command of the settlement to another officer, and entirely
dissolved his connection with it and with France, though he at the same
time, with the other chiefs, expressed his desire to live on friendly
terms with the inhabitants, and to support the settlement to the best of
his ability. He employed some time after this in consolidating his
power and in improving the condition of the people. He also drew up a
constitution, which for those days was of the most liberal character.
Having done all he could to civilise the people, he resolved to go to
Europe to establish mercantile relations with different countries for
the improvement of the commerce of his adopted country.
In France, though he had some friends who welcomed him cordially, he was
coldly received by those in power, though his course was supported by
the celebrated Dr Franklin, who was at that time in Paris. At length,
quitting the country, he went to England; but though he offered to place
the country under the protection of the English Government, no
encouragement was afforded him. All his hopes in Europe having failed,
he set sail for the United States, in the vessel he chartered with a
cargo of goods suited to the markets of Madagascar. After remaining for
some time in the United States and obtaining another ship and cargo, he
reached Antongil Bay in July 1785. He was here cordially welcomed by
the chiefs, but instead of going into the interior and assuming the
reins of government, he remained on the coast for the purpose of
establishing trading-posts where his goods might be disposed of. He had
captured one port from the French, and was engaged in repairing a fort
built by them, when a body of troops landing from a French frigate
attacked him. He retired with some few Europeans and natives into the
fort, where he attempted to defend himself. The French advanced, he was
shot through the body, and being ignominiously dragged out, directly
afterwards expired. Poor Count Benyowsky! I could not help feeling
sorrow when I heard of his sad fate.
The climate of the low lands near the seashore was, from what we heard,
_very_ unhealthy, but in the hill country of the interior it is as
healthy as any part of the world. We heard a good deal of the English
and French pirates, who had formed, a century before, some flourishing
settlements on the northern coasts. The name of a bay we visited
(Antongil) was derived from one of the most celebrated, Anthony Gill.
Several other places also obtained their names from members of the
fraternity of freebooters. While the pirates continued their
depredations on the ocean, they in general behaved well to the natives,
but when being hotly pressed by the men-of-war of the people they had
been accustomed to rob, they entered upon the most nefarious of all
traffics, that of slaves, and to obtain them instigated the people of
one tribe to make war on those of another. This traffic has ever since
been carried on, greatly contributing to retard the progress of
civilisation.