The Sun.
London, England, 1808-08-25 00:00:00

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AIIILICULDOS PRtaRVATION.

Battle between-a TigerlTO ; or, wonderful in-
stance of providential preservation, described in a letter
,?7,oPiwthe Capt.iin of:lfic Davenport Guineaman.
Some time after, illy arrival at the British fac-
'7.lt6y; 'Cape tasta, ob-boardtin='; Poyemport Guinea-.
min; I was sent for by the toinmodore, who was
stationed in the Diana Frigate to protect the trade'
of the place- befitre-iiii-ittiontd, and appoi:ited by
bins to command a Sloop,
,employci on the service
- of eonveying- slave;; teeth, gurn, '4(l:Other" tiler-
chandixe, from t;.re, Company'sl 661:dries, situated_
-Seveial hunored rtiitts-iip the river Congo, down to
the principal depot- at the Cape. The Sloop carried
-s:x swivels; and was manned with nine negroes, and
kV() north' that ry seamen,- named Johnson and
etimpb'ell, the former Of whom was my mate. After
- orders relative to the duty in which I was
. ;'-ent'ploVc-ti, we proceeded ,on otir‘VOyiige, and had
'iLi-vigated near fifty leagues up 'rho CUOMO', when
'irrrorziing' the breezes died away suddenly, and
we were compelled, by ;a strting current, running,
,agairist us, •to drop anchOr within a 'quarter of a mile
.c,f ale sltore. In this situation the Sloop remained
--for three days, during which time the „eh cumstances.
fell out:I am about to communicate;--circumstances..
improbable in theMselves, so marvellous, as al
'most to border on impossibdity, but nevertheless
declared by me, as a spectator, to be a most pt:rtett
'reality. To resume coy narrative—thC' bosom of
-the deep appeared,
.as it does in these parts, while •
the cram e*tremely tranflnil, aril the heat,
whiCh was intolerable, bad made us so languid, that
-almost a general overcame us, on the approach
of the evening, to bl,he its flie waters of Congo ;
ltowever, myself and Johnson were'eleterreri from it,
from the appiehension'of sharks, malty of which we
bad observ,_,l in the pr.oi-ess of our voyage, and
those enormously large. At 'length Campbell,
alone, who had been‘rnaking too free with his liquor
• case, was obstinately gem on going overboard—and
although- we used every means in air power to Our-
alade him to the contrary, dashed into the watery
element, and had swam some .distance from the
Viissel, when we on the deck discovered an alligator.
making towards him from 'behind a rock that stood
a short distance from the shdre: ,His escape I now
considered • impossible, his destruction inevitable,
and I applied to Johnson how 'l,,i;e should act, who,
like myself, affirmed the impossibilityr;t4.save him,
and instantly seized upon a loaded cat:Tali:e to shoot
the poor fellow, before befell into the laws of the
monster. I did nor, however,' consent to this, but
waited with horror the tragedy we anticipated—yet
willing to do all in my power, I ordered the boat to
•be hoisted, and-we fired two shot at the approaching
alligator, but without eft-ea, for they glided over his
Sealy covering like hail-stouts on a tiled penthouse,
anti the progress of the creature was by no means,
iml eded. -The report of the piece and the noise of
the blacks in 1110 Sloop, made Campbell acquainted
with his dajnger; he saw the creatitre making for
him, and, with all the strength and r iU he was mas-
ter of; made for the shore. And now the moment
arrived, in which a scene was exhibited beyond the
power of my humble pen perfeelly to describe.—
On approaching within a very short distance of
some canes and shrubs that covered the bank,
while closely pursued by the alligator, a fierce and
" ferocious tyger sprang towards him, at , the instant
the jaws of his first enemy were extended to devour
• hirn. At this awful moment Campbell was pre-
served. The eager tyger,. by overleaping him, en-
countered the gripe of the amphibious monster.—A
contba ensued between them—the water was co-
loured witifthe-bkodof the tyger, whose efforts to
tear the scaly covering of the alligator were un-
availing, while the lattef bad also _the advantage of
• kpeping his adversary under watt ,:'by which the
viaory was presently obtained, feicttliieltyger's death
was now effeCted. They both ;€,44,z(0. the bottom,
and we
"saw no more of theUigator. :.Campbell
was recovered, and instantly Con.vaip4.on...board-;
lie spoke not while
in the .boa!', .11)4446:1 bixociatiger
had perfettly sabered hint ; but tNe7-;ttricarrent he.
' 'wailed on the deik, fell upon his knees, and re-
turned thanks to !he Providence who had so pro,-
teeled-him, and, what-is more singular, from that,
tooinent to the time I am writing, h has:never been
son the least:intokicated, nor has been heard tp
utter a single oath. •If eVer there wapsrfeetly
reformed being in the universe, c:441:64,4 the
man."