74 
ALARMING RUMOURS. 
fever. They had been immediately landed at the 
hospital, where Commander Bird Allen, with several 
officers and men had fallen a sacrifice to their zeal in 
braving to the utmost the climate of the fatal river. 
In fact, the vessel and her crew were only saved from 
gi-eat risk of destruction by the timely meeting of Mr. 
Beecroft, in the ‘ Ethiope,’ who brought them safely to 
Fernando Po. She had been conducted as far as the 
point where her deliverer was met, by the almost 
superhuman exertion of Doctors McWilliam and 
Stanger; but it was not possible that their unaided 
strength could have lasted much longer. Captain 
Trotter was reported to be in such danger, that 
the medical men had thought it necessary he should 
immediately return to England, as the only means of 
saving his life, and that officer deeming it also of im- 
portance that one of the commissioners should lay 
before Her Majesty’s Grovernment a statement of the 
condition of the vessels and survivors of the Expedi- 
tion, had taken his passage in a small schooner which 
was fortunately about to sail for England. 
In addition to these disasters, it was rumoured that 
Mr, Carr, the superintendent of the model farm, had 
been murdered by the natives at the mouth of the 
Niger, while he was in the act of proceeding up the 
river, for the purpose of taking charge of his estab- 
lishment, having been obliged by severe illness to come 
away in the ‘Albert,’ when she descended the river. 
Lastly, it was said that the settlers, whom we had 
