Cadiz, Minorca, Majorca, Alicant, Carthagena, Algiers, Oran, Altea
Bay--Drive a French Privateer on shore near Denia.
On the 13th of June I sailed in H.M. Ship _Brune_ for Cadiz, at that
time besieged by Marshal Soult. I waited on Admiral Legg, and our
ambassador (Sir Henry Willesley), and delivered my despatches, and,
after remaining there two days, proceeded to Gibraltar and Minorca,
where I was placed under the orders of Rear-Admiral Benjamin Hallowell,
who, on the 4th July, sent me to Palma Bay, Majorca, to collect
Spanish troops, and embark them on board transports and the _Brune_.
After making two or three trips between the two above-named islands,
I embarked Major-General Whittingham’s brigade of Spanish troops, who
were not a bad-looking body of men.
I dined occasionally with his Excellency the Governor-General of the
Balearic islands, the Marquis de Coupigny, who was a very pleasant,
gentlemanly person, and at whose table I met several of the Spanish
_noblesse_, who had taken refuge at Palma during the troubles on the
continent.
I observed that smoking was not uncommon with the Spanish ladies.
Whence this custom originated it is perhaps difficult to determine,
unless, indeed, the habit of using tobacco--to which the other sex
are immoderately addicted--has gradually, from social motives, been
adopted by the fair; for we can hardly suppose that a practice so
generally reprobated by them should at once be resorted to by ladies
as a recreation, or even solace. The compliment, if such it be, ought
to be duly appreciated by their husbands. But what will not woman do
or suffer to conduce to the comfort or to mitigate the care of him she
loves!
In Spain are to be seen beautiful women in every rank of life, with
very fine eyes, pretty feet and hands. They generally carry a fan--a
most useful auxiliary whilst conversing; indeed, they would be hardly
able to talk without one. Their dress is calculated to set off a good
figure and fine features to great advantage.
After embarking the brigade of General Whittingham, we proceeded
to Alicant. The castle and fortress of this place make a figure
in history, particularly during the war of succession, and bring
to remembrance the brave and chivalric conduct of the Earl of
Peterborough. The anchorage in the bay is good, and, with a long scope
of cable, ships may ride out a heavy gale with the wind in, for the
under-tow is so great that you ride with little strain on the cables.
After the battle of Salamanca, Soult, thinking his situation before
Cadiz insecure, raised the siege, and retired into the interior; but
it being doubtful whether he might not make a dash at Carthagena,
Rear-Admiral Sir Sidney Smith proceeded thither from Gibraltar in
the _Tremendous_ (74), to communicate with the general commanding our
army at Alicant and Rear-Admiral Hallowell on the subject. I was,
therefore, sent thither with two Spanish regiments, embarked on board
transports, to be ready to act in case of necessity, but with orders on
no account to land the troops, unless the place was threatened, as a
bad periodical yellow fever was raging in the town with great violence.
The gallant admiral (Sir Sidney Smith), however, would take me on
shore to show me the best places to plant cannon and take up position
in case of attack. After this, we must go to the hospital to inquire
into the nature of the fever, &c. Every now and then he gave me a pinch
of snuff, telling me not to swallow my saliva, and there would be no
danger of catching the disease. In the course of a week I was attacked
by fever, but, being in the outer roadstead, the fresh air probably
prevented its attaining that malignancy it had reached in the town, but
it was some weeks before I perfectly recovered.
The _Tremendous_ (74), with the admiral, sailed the day after our visit
to the city to join the fleet off Toulon. Several other men-of-war
arrived in the course of a few days with more troops from headquarters.
Whether Soult was deterred by the sickness prevailing in the place, or
had heard of the reinforcements, he passed on his route, and we all
returned to Alicant.
Shortly after, I was sent to Altea Bay, to lie there and protect any
transports that might arrive to procure water.
During my stay there the French sent a detachment of three hundred
infantry and a squadron of cavalry from Denia to forage and levy
contributions. Having only my own ship’s company--which altogether, men
and boys, amounted to only one hundred and forty--it was impossible
for me to land and fight them, but by making a show with our boats,
and firing a few shots, we dislodged them from the town, and prevented
their plundering it or getting any contributions from the inhabitants.
They succeeded, however, in our neighbourhood, and in the course of a
couple of days collected a quantity of forage, &c., and retired upon
Denia.
Within one day’s march of Altea was a Spanish division of troops,
to whom I immediately sent the moment intelligence of the enemy’s
intention of paying us a visit reached me.
The officer I dispatched got to them the same evening, and returned
back the following morning, three hours before the arrival of
the enemy. The Spaniards, with their usual alertness, sent two
regiments--about twelve hundred men--_exactly five days_ after the
French had retired.
On the 8th of December, 1812, a convoy of transports were placed under
my orders to proceed to Oran, on the coast of Barbary, to procure corn
and bullocks for the army and navy, but heavy gales from the S.W.
obliged us to run into the bay of Algiers, where we remained about a
fortnight.
Our consul, Mr. MacDonald, was extremely civil, and occasionally I
slept at his country house, a few miles out of the town; but being
unaccustomed to the noise of the jackals that came nightly to the very
walls of his yard in search of food, I was frequently disturbed by them.
The Dey of Algiers ordered us a daily supply of fresh provisions and
vegetables. On my departure I proffered my services to take whatever
his Highness might have to send to his servant, the Bey of Oran. He
thanked me, through our consul, and requested me to take a stone
coffin for the Bey’s son, which I delivered safe. The Dey was so much
indisposed during my stay that I was unable to obtain an audience. We
had a great deal of saluting--twenty-one guns on anchoring--twenty-one
guns on landing; three guns whenever he sent off his present of fresh
meat and vegetables, which latter was considered in the light of three
salaams.
After a passage of two days from Algiers, we reached the fine, safe bay
of Marsalquiver, three miles from the town of Oran, where all ships
anchor in winter, it being nearly land-locked.
No time was lost in having an interview with the Bey, who was civil;
but I had a long discussion previously with his guards, who refused me
admittance to his presence unless I took off my boots, and employed
menaces to enforce their demands. However, finding me obstinate, and
our vice-consul, who was a Spaniard, telling them I had come from
Algiers with a present from his Highness the Dey, they permitted me to
pass, and I never was troubled afterwards.
The Bey was a venerable-looking man, of about sixty-five years of age,
thin, and of middle stature, with a fine, long, white beard, hard
features, but a scowl upon his countenance that showed he could, when
he thought proper, play the tiger.
He promised the supplies I requested in ten days, said he wished to be
on the best terms with the English, and thanked me for bringing the
stone coffin for his son’s tomb; gave me coffee without sugar, and
a pipe to smoke, and appeared much amused with my awkward manner of
sitting cross-legged like a Turk.
He was surrounded by his principal officers, in full dress, with
silver-gilt swords and pistols in their girdles.
The admiral or captain of the port was a handsome, mild, gentlemanly
person. The old Bey, the morning of my arrival, had been administering
summary justice, for on my going into the market-place I saw three
ill-looking Moors hanging by the neck. It is not the fashion in Barbary
to place caps over the criminals’ faces before they are executed. Upon
inquiring what those three wretches had been doing, the vice-consul
gave me the following account:--“A Moorish merchant, with a special
passport from the Bey, had permission to travel into the interior to
traffic, when he and his party were waylaid on the mountains, robbed,
and all, except one, murdered. The person who escaped immediately
informed the proper authorities, who reported it to the Bey. A body
of troops was instantly sent to the mountains, who arrested all the
chiefs of the tribes, and brought them before his Highness. He, looking
at them sternly, said, ‘On such a day a merchant from my city, with my
passport, was murdered and robbed on the mountains. If in three days
from this time you do not bring before me the whole of the offenders,
your own heads shall answer for it. Begone!’ In less than forty-eight
hours eleven fellows were brought in, and led directly to the palace.
The Bey demanded who committed the murder. Three men were pointed out.
They did not deny it. ‘Very well,’ said the Bey, ‘take these men, and
instantly hang them up in the market-place.’ Three others, who had
been most active in plundering, had their right hands cut off, and the
remaining five received each from three to five hundred bastinadoes on
the soles of their feet.” The third evening, at sunset, the murderers
were cut down and buried.
They have a very expeditious way of staunching the blood after
amputation. The stumps of the arms are plunged into a kind of boiling
pitch, which has the effect of searing the arteries. Over this is
placed a dressing and bladder, when the sufferers are turned out.
I used to go occasionally, with our vice-consul and some of my
own officers, out shooting. We always found the people tolerably
civil--except the boys, who used to abuse and spit at us, calling us,
amongst other names, Christian dogs. Now and then we got a shove and a
sly stone.
Coming home one evening from an excursion to a small lake, about
sixteen miles distant, where we had been for the purpose of shooting
flamingos, &c., we got into a serious scrape, owing to a young
commissary having taken his servant, a Portuguese boy, with him, who
did not understand managing a horse.
We had ridden fast across the country from the lake to get back before
the gates of Oran were shut, which they always were at sunset, when,
just as we were entering the town and trotting on, we met a party of
Turkish and Moorish boys, who tried to frighten our horses by throwing
up their loose garments in the animals’ faces, and making a great
noise. All our horses stood this, except the one on which the servant
boy was mounted, which reared up, and, dashing forward, knocked down
with his fore feet one of the young Turks who had been most forward
in the mischief. His head was a good deal cut, and bled profusely.
We should have said he was very justly served. Not so the Moors and
Kabiles. A hue and cry was instantly raised, and we were followed by a
mob, demanding the life of the poor Portuguese for having, he being a
Christian, drawn the blood of a true follower of the prophet. Pushing
on to the vice-consul’s, we jumped off our horses, shoved in the young
Portuguese, and locked and barricaded the doors. The Moors and Kabiles
surrounded the house, making a great clamour, insisting that the
servant should be immediately given up and put to death. Nothing but
their fear of the English prevented them breaking into the place. We
hoisted our colours on the flagstaff at the consul’s house, when it was
considered a fortress, and respected accordingly.
In a city like Oran, where each man is a spy on his neighbour, the news
was fortunately not long in reaching the ears of the Bey, who, on the
first intimation of the danger that threatened the consul’s residence,
sent down a party of troops, with the captain of the port, to restore
order, and act as circumstances might require. Some management was
necessary to get the captain of the port into the house, as also to
keep out the Moors, who, had they laid hold of the boy, would certainly
have murdered him.
We at length succeeded, and then explained that, returning from
shooting, we had ridden full trot into the town in order to get home
before the gates were closed at sunset, clearly showing that but for
the boys frightening our horses no harm could possibly have happened.
He said that he did not in the least doubt the truth of our story, but
should the boy die,--accidents not being provided against in their
code of laws,--nothing short of the death of the Portuguese lad would
appease the populace, since blood, and Turkish blood, too, had been
spilt.
I proposed putting on my uniform and attending the vice-consul and
captain of the port to the palace, which was done. Passing through the
crowd was not very agreeable, but, under the protection of a guard, we
reached our destination in safety.
The old Bey laid down the Moorish law with great clearness, arguing the
point calmly, and evidently with a friendly feeling towards us.
He had been making enquiries, he said, and had found our account of
the transaction to be quite correct; that he knew the Turkish boy was
a great rascal, and though he had been rightly served, it would be
difficult to pacify the Moors, especially since the offender was not an
Englishman. “True,” I replied; “but he is a subject of our ally, and
under my protection, and nothing but extreme necessity shall compel me
to give him up.” “Keep him out of sight,” replied his Highness, “and
never again let eyes be cast on him in this place, or I will not be
answerable for his life. Come here to-morrow.”
We returned to the consul’s, and the captain of the port dispersed
the mob, assuring them the Bey would take care that justice was done.
With the morning’s dawn again came our clamorous foes; but having in
the meantime had communication, through our friend the captain of the
port, with the boy’s parents, we had learned there was no fear of the
young Turk dying, who, though he had received a severe cut and some
bruises, was doing well. A hint, too, was given us that a few dollars
would assist to heal the wound and soften the rigour of justice. We
went early next morning to the palace, when the Bey informed us of what
we already knew, that the boy would not die from the injuries he had
sustained. Then entering into conversation, “Consider,” said he, “if a
like event had happened to you in a town in England? You knew it was
wrong to ride fast near a populous town.” We pleaded our apprehensions
of being locked out all night. “You ought to have come home sooner
then; but to return to my first question. If in your own country such
an accident had happened, what would be the consequence?” I replied
that we should have had to pay the doctor’s bill, and in the case of
a poor person to give something extra to the parents for the loss of
time in nursing him. “Very well, then, you shall do the same here; but,
take my advice, never ride fast through a large town again, and smuggle
your Portuguese off to the ships for fear of accident;” which I did
the earliest opportunity. The Bey then said, “Who furnished you with
horses?” The vice-consul informed him. “What! my slave? they were mine,
and the fellow had let them to you without my leave; he has been the
cause of the whole. Here,”--clapping his hands, that an officer might
come,--“go directly and give my groom five hundred bastinadoes for
letting out my horses without asking my permission.” Making our bows
we retired, when just outside the door we met Achmet the groom in the
hands of two fierce looking Moorish officers of justice, taking him to
the market-place to undergo his punishment. He fell on his knees, and
implored us to ask his master to pardon him. We stopped the officers
of vengeance, and after a little solicitation, the Bey listened to our
request, and the man was pardoned, who, when he met us, wanted to kiss
our feet for saving him from being bastinadoed. I believe the fellow
was a rogue, who intended to pocket the money, thinking his master
would not find him out. Thus ended the affair, the commissary paying
sixty Spanish dollars to the mother of the young vagabond.
Having embarked our supplies for the army, we returned to Alicant with
the convoy, and the 21st of January, 1813, proceeded to Gibraltar to
refit, where we remained three weeks, and then rejoined Rear-Admiral
Hallowell, who sent us to our old station in Altea Bay,[K] and from
thence to cruize off Denia, near which place we drove a French felucca
privateer on shore, mounting two brass nine-pounders and swivels, with
small arms, and bilged her. Our next destination was another trip to
Oran, on the coast of Barbary, with four transports, for cattle and
corn. We had a capital run there and back with our live cargo.