The Sun.
London, England, 1827-05-03 00:00:00

EXCHANGE AT SINCAPOEE.

Private Bills on London, are with difficulty procurable ;
but drawn at 3 months, may be quoted at 4s. 3d. per
Spanish Dollar.

FREIGHT TO LONDON.-Dead Weight, 6/. to 6/. 10s;
Measurement, 81. to 0/.

We much lament to have to record the fate of
other victims to African research. The Etoile
contains the following account of the tragical
death of Major LAING and his companions,
which, we fear there is little ground to hope
will prove to be false :

They write from Sickhara-Ley-Tripoli, on the sth of
April :
Major Laing, whose tragical fate had been announced,
has actually fallen a victim to, his courageous perse-
verance, not, however, until after, he had visited the
famous city of Tombuctoo. The Pacha of Tripoli
has communicated this intellia'ence on the authority
of a letter, which his vassal the Governor of Gila-
dames wrote to apprize him of the event, and which
letter reached hiin in less than fifteen days, being conveyed
by an extraordinary courier.
The British travellers, who were at first stated to have
fallen under the weapons of the robbers, in the territory
of Tonalt, had then been' only wounded, so that after hav-
ing escaped this first danger through the philanthropy
of a Marabout, they at length'reached Tombuctoo. Shortly
after their arrival in that city, the Fellans, which power-
ful and warlike tribe now reigns exclusively over
.the im-
mense Deserts of Central Africa, appeared to the number
of 30,000, and imperiously demanded that the travellers
should be given up to them, in order that they might put
them to death, and thereby prevent the Christians from
availing themselves of the information to be gained by
their 'means, and from penetrating some day into these
remote countries to enslave the people. Such are the ex-
pressions of the Scheik of Ghadaines in his letter to the
Pacha.
The Prince commanding at Tombuctoo refused to give
up the strangers whom he had received. with benevolence ;
and in order to withdraw them from the enmity of their,
persecuters, whose resentment he was at the same time
unwilling to provoke, he sent them off secretly to Bam-
bara, escorted by 15 horsemen selected from his own
body-guard ; but being speedily overtaken by a party of
Fellans, who had rapidly pursued them on hearing of their
escape, the unfortunate Laing was mercilessly strangled,
with all his companions.
Such was the tragical end of the intrepid traveller, who
was the first to penarate into the precincts of this nayste7
rious city, the object of so much solicitude, and the know-
ledge of which is still likely to escape the best directed
inquiries, as, according to all appearance, there is no hope
of recovering the papers of the unfortunate Laing.
Meanwhile the Fellans, whose ambition is equal to their
ferocity, availing themselves of Major Laing's arrival at
Tombuctoo, and of the species of protection which he had
received there, seized upon that city, and imposed an an-
nual tribute, which the inhabitants, unable to offer re-
sistance, are in future to pay, for having, as it is said,
made themselves accomplices in a project of invasion me-
ditated by the infidels.
These last accounts have been communicated by a Tri-
politan Schieck, who has long resided at Tombuctoo. He
declares that there exists a very interesting history of that
city, which carries hack its foundation to the year 510 of
the Hegira (A.D. 1116), and the author of which is Sidi-
Hamet-Baba, a native of Arawaw, a small borough of the
Kente's country, a considerable colony of the Sultan.
It is hoped that this History may be procured.