CHAPTER XVIII. CHAPTER XVIII. EATON AND HAMET. CARRYING TRADE. FIRST SESSION AT the commencement of the difficulties with Tripoli, Cathcart, the late consul there, had suggested to Eaton, at Tunis, the idea of an attack by land, in concert with Hamet, then a resident at Tunis, elder brother of Jessuff, the reigning bashaw of Tripoli, and formerly bashaw himself, but who had been deprived of his sovereignty by Jessuff, and driven into exile several years before. Eaton was a person of romantic temper and great enterprise. At the age of sixteen he had left his father's house in Connecticut without leave, and had enlisted into the Revolutionary army. Having served through the war, and risen to be a sergeant, he had returned home, and, gaining a support meanwhile as a teacher, had prepared himself to enter Dartmouth College, and in the same way had made his way through it. He was shortly after appointed a captain in the army; and having served in the Northwest under St. Clair and Wayne, besides doing garrison duty in Georgia, had finally received from Adams the consulship at Tunis. He caught eagerly at Cathcart's suggestion, and opened a communication with Hamet. But, after incurring an expense of some $22,000, though countenanced to a certain extent by the authorities at home, he could not engage the naval The CHAPTER XVIII. commanders on the station to co-operate with him. next year (1803) Eaton went to America, and, by urgent representations, succeeded in obtaining a vague sort of authority to carry out, in conjunction with Hamet, his scheme of a land attack upon Tripoli. He returned to the Mediterranean in Barron's squadron (1804), and proceeded to Egypt in pursuit of the exiled bashaw, who -after attempting, at the head of a body of mercenaries hired for the purpose, an attack upon Derne, the Tripolitan port and settlement nearest to Egypt, but separated from it by a wide desert-had been reduced to the necessity of joining the Mamelukes in Upper Egypt, where such of them as had escaped the French invaders and the still more destructive massacre of the famous Ali Pasha still maintained a predatory war against the Turkish authorities. By indefatigable zeal, and by the friendly assistance of the English agents at Cairo and Alexandria, and in spite of obstacles placed in his way by the French consul, Eaton succeeded in obtaining from Ali Pasha, by whom he was very courteously received, a letter of amnesty for Hamet, and permission for him to pass the Turkish armies, and to leave Egypt unmolested. Messengers were sent to Upper Egypt to seek Hamet out and detach him from the 1805. Mamelukes; and he and Eaton at length met near Feb. 11. Alexandria, and concerted measures for an expedition. against Derne. The force mustered for this invasion consisted of about four hundred men, one hundred of them Christians, adventurers of various nations, picked up in Egypt, including nine Americans. The rest were partly Tripolitan exiles, adherents of Hamet, and partly Arab cavalry, any number of whom it would have been easy to collect had there been means to feed them. While this force commenced its march through the des XVIII. CHAPTER ert, with a caravan of camels and asses for the conveyance of provisions, the Argus, which had carried Eaton 1805. to Egypt, sailed to Syracuse for supplies, with which she was to meet the forces of Hamet and Eaton at Bomba, a roadstead not far from Derne. The whole expenses of the expedition thus far were about $20,000, for the repayment of which Hamet pledged the tribute of Sweden, Denmark, and Holland. After infinite trouble with his camel-drivers fearful of not being paid, and a constant struggle against the hesitation and timidity of his allies, Eaton succeeded, at April 15. last, in reaching Bomba just as the last of his provisions were consumed. But Bomba was an arid beach, with out the vestige of a human being. Nothing could be seen of any wells, nor was the expected vessel in sight. From rage the Mussulmen passed into despair; but a signal-fire having been kindled, by Eaton's orders, on a neighboring hill, it was seen by the Argus, which was off the coast, and she presently stood in. The Hornet arrived a day or two after, laden with provisions; and meanwhile ample cisterns of water had been found at a little distance inland. Thus replenished, the little army pushed on for Derne, the approach to which was presently indicated by signs of vegetation. As that town came in sight, Eaton's motley forces were greatly frightened by a report that the Tripolitan troops were approaching. He persuaded them, however, to seize upon a hill overlooking the town. Hamet was joined by some additional partisans. Two of the three quarters which made up the town were well disposed toward him; but as the governor had a force of eight hundred men, they were not able, at present, to render any assistance. In a few days the Argus and Hornet, joined meanwhile by the Nautilus, made their appearance off Derne; but XVIII. to a proposal from Hamet that he should acknowledge chapter him as bashaw, the governor of that town laconically replied, "Your head or mine." An attack was immediate 1805. ly resolved upon. The main defense was a water battery of nine guns. There were also some temporary breastworks; and the houses of the hostile quarter were loop-holed for musketry. The ships of war, having taken up a position as near April 27. in shore as possible, opened a fire on the battery and the Eaton, with his little band of Christians, aided by a field-piece and a few marines from the shipping, attacked a body of the enemy stationed behind the temporary breastwork; while Hamet, with his cavalry, took up a threatening position on the opposite side of the town. The battery having been silenced by the shipping, Eaton and his party made a rush and obtained possession of it. The guns were turned upon the town, the ships renewed their fire, and the enemy were soon completely driven out. Thus Derne fell into Hamet's hands. Eaton was soon after attacked there by the forces of May 13. Jessuff, sent to the relief of the garrison; but, assisted by the vessels, he succeeded in repelling them. He pressed hard for further supplies, to enable him and Hamet to march against Tripoli itself. But Barron, who knew the exceedingly economical spirit of the gov ernment, and who had no great faith in Eaton's project, doubted whether he was authorized to grant any thing more. Indeed, a negotiation was already on foot, conducted by Lear, who had succeeded O'Brien as consul at Algiers, which soon resulted in a treaty of peace. This treaty provided for an exchange of prisoners, man June 3 for man, as far as they would go. But as Jessuff had a No further aid was surplus of about two hundred prisoners, $60,000 was to be paid by way of ransom for them. XVIII. CHAPTER to be furnished to Hamet, Jessuff stipulating, however, to give up his wife and children, who had been detained at 1805. Tripoli. When Eaton and his Christian troops were withdrawn from Derne, that unhappy adventurer himself embarked also, as having no other refuge either from the revenge of his brother or the despair of his own adherents. This abrupt termination of the war was by no means agreeable either to Hamet or Eaton, both of whom considered themselves very badly treated. And there were those in America to whom the peace seemed somewhat hasty; especially as pains had been taken to send to the Mediterranean nine of Jefferson's gun-boats, with their guns stowed in their holds, also two bomb-ketches, built at Preble's suggestion, re-enforcements to Barron's fleet, which arrived just after peace was concluded. It seemed singular to many that a peace should have been made just as the American squadron had learned the true method of attack, and had been provided with proper means for it, possessing, also, an opportunity for a land co-operation—a peace including the concession of paying ransom for the prisoners, which had all along been the great point of dispute. Loud threats of war had recently been uttered by Tunis, in consequence of the capture of two or three vessels of that regency which had attempted to evade the blockade of Tripoli. But Barron's appearance with his whole fleet off that port soon brought the Bey to terms. He retracted his threats of war, and asked permission to send an embassador to the United States to solicit the restoration of his captured vessels. Since the recommencement of the European war, the carrying trade of the United States had reached an immense extension, never known before or since, and productive of vast profits. The vessels employed in this |