1804. | - 
ftruction aad deftination, the coftume and 
manrers of their crew, &c. On this lat 
fubject I beg leave to give a brief exam- 
ple, for the truth of which I can appeal to 
many who were eye witneffes; and I give 
it partly from my own knowledge of the 
fact, and partly from the notes of fome, 
and verbal communications of others, of 
my townfmen, 
The Algerixes in Cornwall. 
On Saturday, the 27th of September, 
1760, inthe night, a large xebecque, which 
was an Algerine corfair, (truck near the 
Chimney-rock, on the fouth fice of Pen- 
zance. She was called the Cavallo Bianco, 
er White Horte, Almidah Benfcouda, 
commander; fhe carried 18 fix-poundeis, 
and 220 men, of whom forty or fifty were 
Turkith foldiers, the remainder Moors. I 
fhall never forget the terrors of that night. 
J was about eleven years of age, and was 
called up by my mother, am. dit the ling- 
ing of the alarm-bell, and the beating of 
drums. The firft report was of ‘a French 
man of war or lina eae whofe crew they 
faid were landed; the fecond was by far 
more dreadful, “an Algerie, with the 
plague on board.” Nothing could equal 
the buitle and panic which this o-cafioned. 
Some ventured towards the bzach, but 
quickly returned, affirming that they had 
fmelt, at a great diltance, the plague- {mell, 
and, in confequence, drank fome Brand? 
as an antidote. This was purely the effect 
of a terrified imagmation. Several of the 
Moors, on the ftriking of the veffel, leaped 
into the fea, in order to {wim to fhore; 
fome indeed efcaped; but the night was 
fo extremely dark, and the furf ran fo 
high, that at leaft thirty-five or forty of 
them perifhed. At three o’clock, or near 
that time, the maft went by the board ; 
and, after fome time, part of the crew 
came on fhore on the maft, and cthers as 
the tide receded. 
At break of day what a fpcétacle pre- 
fented itfelf! A huge veflel of the mof 
fingular conftruion, at leaft to an Eng- 
lith eye, wrecked and mutilated among 
the rocks! Men with long beards, ftand- 
ing in grou, s, and having | turbans on their 
heads, and dead bodies lving on the fand! 
They had imagined our fhore was the Spa- 
nifh coaft, and expeéted, of confequence, 
certan flavery; but when convinced they 
were on Englifh ground, they exclaimed, 
with great joy, ‘‘ Iugleterra! Ingleterra! 
bona Ingleterral’’ It was recolleéted, that 
a perfon of the name of Mitchell had been 
much in the Levant trade, and that probae 
bly he would be able to talk to them: he 
was accordingly fent tor; and, having a 
Wreck of Algerines near Penzance. 
#415 
{mattering in the Lingua Franca, as well 
as Italian, he became interpreter. 
At fir they were conduéted to a place 
called the Barbican, where foup was pro- 
vided for them. In the mean time, the 
Savage floop of war being then on this* 
ftation, Capt. Peard fent molt of his people — 
to act as fentinels, until fuch time asa 
party of foldiers fhould arrive from the 
neighbouring towns. ‘The next day they 
were lodged in a decent houfe in the front 
fireet of the quay, and fome time after 
marched to a building called the Folly, 
two or three fields diftant from the town; 
but the officers, fome of whom were 
handfume and portly men, were Jeparately 
lodged at the Sandybank, near the battery, 
Every attention was fhewn them, and every 
cemfort, confilte:t with their quarantine, 
adminiftered to them. ‘Their apparel was 
nothing extraordinary ; the commen men 
wore a-coarfe brown cloth, and fome of 
them had the neck and end of their drefs 
coarfely embroidered wish coloured wor- 
fieds. A few fabres were found, the han- 
dies of which were inlaid with mother- of- 
pearl; alfo fome few mufkets, ornament- 
ed in the fame manner; befides which 
there was nothing difeovered of any va- 
lue. Thefe became a prey to fome bad 
fellows, were fecreted, and afterwards fold. 
They remained here five weeks, under 
quarantine ; and at laft, by order of go- 
vernment, were put on board the Thomas 
tranf{port, which took them to Falmouth, 
where aS Blonde, a frigate which had 
been taken from the French, arrived, and 
convoyed them to Algiers. . 
The Algerines behaved very well in 
this place; but at Falmouth, where fome 
of them were permitted to land, their con- 
duét was far from orderly. 
Tt is faid, that while the tranfport was 
at Falmouth, the late Admiral Bofcawen 
came down to Tregothen to fee his bro- 
ther, Lord Falmouth, at which place the 
captain ofthe Thomas paid his refpetts 
tohim. The admiral advifed him to be- 
hive with the greareft kindnefs and ci- 
vility to the Algerines, as they were at 
that time very friendly to our nation; and 
he hoped there was plenty of good provi- 
fions on board for their ufe. Ihe captain 
affured him there was plenty of excellent 
pork, but ve-y little beef. ‘* Pork! (cried 
ihe admiral, who was too much in the 
habit of fwearing,) d—n you, the navy- 
board and victualling office together! Do 
not thefe bluckheads know, that the reli- 
gion of the Turks and Moors forbids 
them to eat pork ?” 
This xebec gue bad been on a pirating 
excurfion, 
