The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-06 00:00:00

NAVAL -INT,ELLIGENCE.

(From the Hampshire Telegraph.)
The Horatio transport arrived yesterday from Ascen-
sion, which she left on the 27th of October, with inva-
lids from the African squadron. She brings sad accounts
of the disastrous effects of the climate un the crews com-
posing the Niger expedition, no less than one-third of
them hiving been invalided, of whom about twenty-two
have died. The Soudan, on quit dug the Nun River,
with thirty-six invalids on board, fell in with the Dol-
phin, and transferred them to that ship. Eight of these
' died on board the Dolphin ; and with the remainder she
proceeded to Ascension, where they were put on board
the Horatio, and have returned home. The havoc made
by the climate on the crews had greatly disheartened the
expedition, and it was considered doubtful whether it
could proceed. It,is somewhat singular, that the Blacks,
who went from England with the expedition, were the
first to fall a prey to sickness, on entering the river.
The former accounts received from the expedition
mentioned that the steamers er.tered the Nun River on
the 13th August. We now lerirn that this river is two
miles wide, and that it is tleaught to be the chief of the
many moutha of the Niger. The' vessels, with the
Amelia tender, did not do more than al,out a dozen
miles until the 20th, on which day they did about 30 ;
the 21st 30 miles more ; the 22d, bei.:eg Sunday, they
rested. The 23d was wasted in locking after the Wil-
berforce, which had gone up (without Captain Trotter's
knowledge) by a different channel. The 24th they did
20 miles ; the 25th 9.5 miles, and on the evening of the
26th they all four arrived at the island of Eboz, 130
miles up the river, according to its course. The riven
here is about 200 yards wide and of good depth, the
banks to the water's edge covered with vegetation, with
the cotton, -ambrella, palm, bamboo, and many other
trees of the kind. The depth of water varies from 13
fathoms dawn to very shallow indeed, the current
against thuan going up about two miles an hour. Thus
far up the river its width varies from a hundred yards to
a mile ,and a half. The next 30 or 40 miles they saw
but few huts. The next 30 or 40 they passed several
villages, then (for some miles) fewer inhabitants again,
and latterly none. The town of Ebor is very large, not
on the main river, but up a creek ; the King went on
board the Albert dressed like a mountebank, red coat,
&c. The natives are quite peaceful towards them ; in-
deed, they were fearful of them ; they had provided
them with vegetables and some bullocks on the day the -
last letter was dated, viz., 18th September. They have
very large canoes, carrying 40 or 50 men each.
The following is an extract of a letter, dated Mount
Stirling, close to the confluence of the Niger and the
Zeladda, September 18, 1841, her Majesty's ship Amelia
(tender) :—(This point is 300 miles from the sea, and
being above the delta of several rivers, is comparatively
healthy.)
__

" The: pestilence has broken, out ; 50 or 60 are ill in
he squadron ; 10 or 12 have died, and many more will
die, I fear. The Soudan takes the sick out of the river;
the Wilberforce goes un the Zeladda ; the Albert, with
Captain Trotter and t'aptain Bird Allen, goes up the
Niger. Mr. Horatio Coltman, Acting-Assistant Surgeon
of the Soudan, is left in the medical charge of the
Amelia, and the settlement which is forming on shore
here under Mr. Care by the Society. Mr. Nightin-
gale, Assistant-Surg,eon of the Albert, is dead, and
also Mr. Marshall, Acting-Surgeon of the Soudan."
The Horatio has also brought to England the following
invalids :—Lieutenant Somerville, late of the Persian ;
Lieutenant Haeston, late of the Albert ; Mr. Belem,
Acting Master of the Soudan ; Mr. Rees, Second Master
of the Dolplian (recently promoted), and Mr. C. J.
Brown, CleA in Charge of the Brisk. The Dolphin
had been sickly, and had lost about ten men, among
whom was Mr. Penny, the Gunner ' - but when the Ho-
ratio left, all were well on board. The Champion
left Sierra Leone on the lit of October, and
Ascension on the 26th, for Rio de Janeiro, all well.
The Vestal, 26, Captain Parker. was at Kingston, Ja-
maica, on the Ist November.—Orders have been re-
ceived to complete the equipment of the Warspite, Vin-
dictive. and Belvidere, with all despatch. The former
was taken out of the basin on Wednesday.—The Min-
deli, 72, is commissioned. at Plymouth, as an hospital
ship, to be attached to the China expedition.—The
I'owerful, 84, and Ganges, 84, from Malta • and the
Hastings, 72, and the Implacable, 72, from Gi-
braltar, are ordered home, to be paid off. The
Powerful, with the flag of Vice-Admiral . Sir
John Ommanney, may be daily expected at this port.--
The Fly, 18, has been commissioned at Plymouth, by
Capt. Blackwood, for the purpose of surveying Torres
Straits. She will be attended by the Bramble cutter.—
The Thalia, 36, Capt. C. Hope, arrived at Leith on
Monday, to enter men.—The keel of a 90-gun ship, to
be named the Hannibal, has been laid down at Woolwich
Dockyard, on the same slips on which the Trafalgar was
buile—The Ariadne, hired steam-vessel, arrived on
Thursday from Jersey, with seven officers, and about
seventy men of the 59th Regiment, to be em-
barked in the Numa transport, Lieut. E. Ward,
agent for Barbadoes, on her arrival from Woolwich.—
Her Majesty's packet Sheldrake, Mr. Williams, Master
commanding (Lieut. Morgan, who went out in
cLarge, having died soon after leaving St. Thomas, on
:ler passage homewards), arrived at Falmouth on Wed-
nesday night. She left Barbalees on the 12th of Oc-
tober, St. Lucie and Martinique on the 13th, Dominique
and Guadeloupe 14th, An*.igua 15th, Montserrat, Nevis,
and St. Kitt's 17th, r:ortola 19th, and St. Thomas
November 6.—The 'Firefly steamer brought up her
Windward Island Mails ; and the Tartarus, tkose
from Jamaica. The crews of her Majesty's ships
had .for the most part been exceedingly unhealthy.
At jimaica on the Ist Of November, were the
Magnin:eVAt, Racehorse Electra, Comus, Vestal,
Fair P.esamond, and. Pickle. The Sappho conveyed the
Pand.ora's La Guayra, mail from Barbadoes, some of the
steatners having been thrown out of the line ; and the
Plainer, being. obliged to sail for Guadeloupe, being short
of fuel, without touching at Trinidad. The English
schooner, Maid of Erin, Incledon, had arrived at St.
Lucie, and reported having been boarded by a piratical
hermaphrodite brig, north of that island, when she was
plundered of provisions, water, and money. The Shel-
drake's passengers were, Lieut. Wiugrove, R.N., Mr.
Symer, Surgeon R.N., Mr. Reep, Purser R.N., Captain
Fuller, 59th regiment, and lady; Mr. Reed, Mr. Illidge,.
and Mies Goldsmith. Freight 6,0001.
NAR.ROW ESCAPE OF HER MAJESTY'S STEAMER
Diuseza.—A communication was received on Wednesday
morring at. the Admiralty, relative to her Majesty'
steamer Driver, which was nearly lost on the rocks uwler
St-del Point, near Flamborough Lighthouse, on Suritlay
night last, during the dreadful hurricane from the south.
The particulars received stated that the steamer got on
the rocks in the early part of the evening. It appears
that immediately she struck signal guns were fired for as-
sistance, as well as blue lights exhibited, which being
perceived by the Manchester steamer, Captain Polwart,
and the Captain of another large steamer, belonging to
the London and Leith trade, they bore down, and on
coming up to the Driver attempts were made to tow her
off, but in consequence of the dangerous condition of the
rocks it was impossible to get ropes on board. At length,
after heaving the guns
.overboard, and also part of the
previsions, she got off, and put into Shields harbour the
following day to repair damages. It is supposed her
bottom has sustained much injury.
—The keel of the Royal Frederick, 110, sister ship to the
Queen, is to be laid down in this yard ; as also that of a
first-class steamer, the Belaebub. The frames of two
other steam-vessels are in course of preparation—the
Centaur, a first-class; and Scourge, a second-class. The
Thunderbolt steamer is rapidly progressing towards
completion, and will be ready for launching about the
first of January.

On Monday night, during the tremendous gale, a ves-
sel was seen off Corfe Castle in distress—the sea beating
over her ; it was soon visible, being moonlight, that she
had struck on the Kerneridge Ledges. One of the crew
was seen undressed in the water, making for the land,
but his efforts were in vain, and the waves soon swallowed
him up. That meretorious officer, Lieutenant Smith,
R.N., and the boatmen of the Kerneridge Coast Guard
Station were speedily on the shore, and made several
efforts to launch their boats, at the risk of their own
lives, but it was evident that all attempts to save the un-
fortunate crew were fruitless. The vessel was soon des-
troyed by the rocks, and all on board perished. A.
piece of the wreck washed on shore bore the mark He-

toise, and a Spanish terrier swam on shore. Two bodies
have been washed on shore.

In Harbour.—St. Vincent, Victory; Queen, Excellent,
Vindictive, Warspite, Belvidera, Royal George, Devas-
tation, Hazard, Pantaloon, Viper, Echo steam-tug,
Cracker tender, and Atli°ll troop-ship.
Major Kendall's Company of Royal Artillery em-
barked yesterday at Woolwich, on board the Numa
transport, to relieve Captain Morgan's Company at
Barbadoes.