scarcity of water, that several of his men had died by the way. This induced him to direct his march towards a watering place in the woods, where his men, having quenched their thirst, and being overcome with fatigue, lay down carelessly to sleep among the bushes. In this situation they were attacked by Damel before daybreak, and completely routed. Many of them were trampled to death as they lay asleep, by the Jaloff horses; others were killed in attempting to make their escape; and a still greater number were taken prisoners. Among the latter, was Abdulkader himself. This ambitious, or rather frantic prince, who, but a month before, had sent the threatening message to Damel, was now himself led into his presence as a miserable captive. The behaviour of Damel, on this occasion, is never mentioned by the singing men, but in terms of the highest approbation; and it was, indeed, so extraordinary, in an African prince, that the reader may find it difficult to give credit to the recital. When his royal prisoner was brought before him in irons, and thrown upon the ground, the magnanimous Damel, instead of setting his foot upon his neck, and stabbing him with his spear, according to custom in such cases, addressed him as follows. "Abdulkader, answer me this question. If the chance of war had placed me in your situation, and you in mine, how would you have treated me?" "I would have thrust my spear into your heart;" returned Abdulkader with great firmness," and I know that a similar fate awaits me." "Not so, (said Damel) my spear is indeed red with the blood of your subjects killed in battle, and I could now give it a deeper stain, by dipping it in your own.; but this would not build up my towns, nor bring to life the thousands who fell in the woods. I will not therefore kill you in cold blood, but I will retain you as my slave, until I perceive that your presence in your own kingdom will be no longer dangerous to your neighbours; and then I will consider of the proper way of disposing of you." Abdulkader was accordingly retained, and worked as a slave, for three . months, at the end of which period, Damel listened to the solicitations of the inhabitants of Foota Torra, and restored to them their king. Strange as this story may appear, I have no doubt of the truth of it; it was told me at Malacotta by the Negroes; it was afterwards related to me by the Europeans on the Gambia: by some of the French at Goree; and confirmed by nine slaves, who were taken prisoners along with Abdulkader, by the watering place in the woods, and carried in the same ship with me to the West Indies.'

Without experiencing any extraordinary hardships, or remarkable accidents, the caravan, after a journey of 500 miles, on the 4th of June 1797, arrived at Medina, the capital of the King of Woolli's dominions, which Mr. P. had left in December 1795. He proceeded hence to Pisania, and there met with his friend Dr. Laidley, who received him with great joy and satisfaction as one risen from the dead. He had now an opportunity of recompensing his benefactor Karfa, the kind slave-merchant, who parted from him with great regret.-On

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the 17th of June, Mr. P. took his passage on board an American ship which had entered the river Gambia in order to purchase slaves, and in 35 days arrived at Antigua; which port they were obliged to make on account of the leakiness of the vessel. On the 24th of November Mr. P. took his passage in the Chesterfield packet, and arrived in England on the 22d of December 1797; after an absence of two years and seven months.

The volume concludes with the insertion, entire, of the Geographical Illustrations and Maps of Major Rennell, before mentioned, and noticed in our 26th volume. A portrait of Mr. Park, and several other plates, are also introduced.

Wood.....

ART. II. The Natural and Political History of the State of Vermont, One of the United States of America. To which is added, an Appendix, containing Answers to sundry Queries, addressed to the Author. By Ira Allen, Esquire, Major-General of the Militia in the State of Vermont. 8vo. PP. 300. 6s. Boards. West. 1798.

HE author of these memoirs was THE an active agent in most of the political measures which have been pursued by the inhabitants of Vermont, towards their establishment as a free and independent state. The professed design of this publication is to lay open the source of contention between Vermont and New York, and the reasons which induced the former to repudiate both the jurisdiction and claim of the latter, before and during the American revolution, and also to point out the embarrassments which the people met with in founding and establishing the independence of the State against the intrigues and claims of New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusett's.'

While Canada was subject to France, very few settlements had been made in the neighbourhood of the Green Mountains, (whence the country derives its present name, Vermont,) but, on the reduction of Canada by the British forces, the few French who had formed settlements to the east of Lake Champlain abandoned their plantations, and removed to Canada, with the Indians who had inhabited thereabout, and who had been a heavy scourge to the frontiers of New England, from the first settlement in 1620.'

In the year 1759, the Governor of New Hampshire, in pursuance of orders and instructions from his Majesty and the Privy Council in Great Britain, made grants of lands on the west side of Connecticut river, north of the Massachusett line of boundary. On the conclusion of the war with France, the country, before almost a wilderness, having no longer any enemies

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to apprehend, was rapidly settled, and increased fast in popu lation. In 1763, the government of New York issued a proclamation, claiming the right of jurisdiction over the country west of Connecticut river, in virtue of a grant made by King Charles II. to the Duke of York. To prevent the settlers from being intimidated, the Governor of New Hampshire made another proclamation, declaring that the grant to the Duke of York was obsolete. The government of New York, however, persisted, and made new grants of lands already settled in right of grants from the Governor of New Hampshire. The first settlers resisted the claimants under the New York grants; and, for a length of time, the dispute was carried on with great eagerness and violence on both sides; the govern ment of New York and the people of Vermont being in almost a state of war against each other for several years: the government of New York endeavouring to maintain their grants by forcibly seizing and driving out the first settlers; and the people of Vermont, besides retaliating in like manner against the New York grants, inflicting the punishment of whipping (liberally enough bestowed) on the sheriff's officers sent from New York, and on several others who acted against the Ver mont interest. Congress, at different times, during and after the American war, interfered; yet the dispute was not finally adjusted till the year 1790, when it was amicably terminated; and, shortly afterward, the state of Vermont was acknowleged, and admitted into the Federal Union.

Some of the transactions exhibit curious instances of state, manœuvre and intrigue. The Governor and a party in the Council of Vermont, finding Congress not well disposed to their interest, and their territories being the most open to attack from the British army in Canada, entered into a secret negotiation with the Governor of Canada, by which they succeeded in procuring a temporary suspension of hostilities; and it is insinuated that this only was their aim. The writer, who was employed in this negotiation, for the ostensible purpose of settling an exchange of prisoners, had a very delicate game to play, which he managed with sufficient address to satisfy and deceive all parties. On his return, in consequence of some suspicious circumstances, he was examined before the legislative assembly of Vermont; where he gave such satisfactory answers, that those members, who were most firm to the inte rests of the United States, joined in complimenting him on his open and candid conduct. Whether the real intention of those concerned in the negotiation was only to amuse the British, or whether they had any serious design of engaging their countrymen to return to the subjection of Great Britain, are ques

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tions which the capture of Lord Cornwallis's army prevented from being clearly decided; for the Canadian army, which was about to cross Lake Champlain, returned towards Quebec immediately on the news of what had happened. A correspondence with Canada, however, was continued. Some letters to the Governor were delivered in too public a manner to be concealed; yet, on opening them, it was not thought pru dent to divulge their contents. New letters were therefore made out, and, for the information and satisfaction of the public, they were read in council and assembly, as the originals! In the final settlement of these disputes, there appears to have been great moderation; for they were concluded as much to the satisfaction of the people of Vermont as of any of the parties concerned: although at a time when, the Americans being freed from all apprehensions of other enemies, it was in the power of Congress to have prescribed what terms they pleased to the people of Vermont. The author does not appear sufficiently sensible of this moderation.

The history of these transactions is written with great spirit, but perhaps not without partiality, and with but little attention to accuracy of language. They, however, afford much more entertainment than the generality of political memoirs.

In the course of the work, and also in the Appendix, is given a description of the territory of Vermont; which appears to possess advantages of situation and climate, with fertility of soil, equal to those of any country in the world. The popu Jation in 1792, taken by the census, amounted to 85,589 souls. We may judge of the increase since that time, by the estimate given of the militia in 1792 and in 1798. In the former of those years, the militia was computed at 18,500; and in 1798, to be nearly 30,000.

On settling the State, due attention was paid to instruction, and to the interests of letters. Besides several schools on goodfoundations, an university, called by the name of the State, is established on the east bank of Lake Champlain; it is endowed with 50,000 acres of land, and has been encouraged by volun tary donations to the amount of 10,000/

In the account of the present state of agriculture, the following particulars are related of the rattle-snakes:

In the early frosts about the month of October, they retire to craggy rocks, where they find some subterraneous cavity, in which they remain in a state of torpor till the return of spring, when they crawl forth; at this season they are not poisonous, as they are too feeble, and their venom is not sufficiently concocted till they drink water, which ferments and increases the virus. Their dens or haunts are sought for the purpose of destroying them, as their grease is va

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luable in many medical cases, which is an incentive to trace and destroy them, so that they are diminished in proportion as the country is cultivated and cleared.

And as it seems to be a dictate in nature that there is no bane for which there is not a remedy, the Indians are in possession of one, and can effectually cure their bite; nor is the secret confined to them alone. The swine eat or feed on them: this also tends to lessen their number; so that at present they are to be found in very few places in Vermont.'

We shall also present our readers with an extraordinary account of some frogs, given in the early part of the work.

Near the river Onion, about three miles from Burlington-bay, in digging a well, at the depth of twenty-four feet, wood was found, and about thirty frogs were discovered, but so apparently petrified that it was difficult to distinguish them from so many small stones; when brought out of the well, disengaged from the earth, and exposed to the air, they gradually felt the vivifying beams of the sun, and, to the surprize of all present, leaped away with as much animation as if they had never lain in their subterraneous prison. The place where this well was sunk, was on high ground, often surrounded by the river in flood-times; large pines, and the ancient fragments of them, are found on this land; from the appearance of the growth of this timber, those frogs we may well suppose to have remained under ground six hundred years.'

The author accounts for this phænomenon by supposing that some convulsion of nature had taken place; but it seems a more natural conclusion, that the spot on which the frogs were found might communicate with the river by subterraneous passages.

In the account of the present state of Vermont, many instances are given of its increasing prosperity; proving (to use the author's phrase) that it is already far advanced beyond the condition of a young sucking state. The powers of government are vested in a governor, a deputy governor, twelve counsellors, and an assembly of representatives annually elected, The expence of government, from October 1st, 1791, to October 1st, 1792, amounted to 32197. 95. 9 d. currency, (about 2415 sterling,) and the expences have not generally differed since.'-The revenue of the State depends not on commerce, but on taxation of real and personal property. In 1791, the whole list of the taxable property of the State amounted to 324,796 l. 18 s. 10 d.; when the sum of expence, in 1791, was divided between the inhabitants of the State, according to the census, it was found that each person paid only six-pence three farthings to government for the protection of his person, liberty, and property.'

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