Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1822-06-15

4 81. Ne no
blythe party who took him, that A. ,s taa
purpose was TO convey him to the .t ,uss
hold Of Benebedas, twenty lea.n..0as
the interior. After excessive tr,y uss %
on mules, distance Of about 81, @;l {
over mountains and through a1,s ,'s.
impassable swamps, he arrived =. ~
| river Lebo, and at dark was Carl. .as
bout 2 miles from the path into |, .w. o !
| whore he found an sncampm.nt " ~
bout ESQ soldiers, commanded ~ !.
! old Cacique- This detachment ann. -
! ed to be wandering party, hayinrs' s'.
provisions, and being otherwi,. : +. -
wretched condition. Here was b.u -
council Of war, and it was agreed 'V :. !
put capt. B. and his boatswain1 70 d..% y
Immediately, lest they should esc,us ; :
the night. %
Capt B. demonstrated against III.
cruel conduct, declaring to them ,b..
he was an American; bot to no NM u.'
pose: they only laughed at his eut rs''
ties, and asked ifcapt RUSSELL. and cant
Clark, sc. were not Americans? Th,.,
theinhuence ofan officer, however v;,l
whom capt. B. was acquainted, the, :.
greed to spare their lives until mornin,
Having strong guard (of about "a ~,
over them, the soldiers went to the;, Az
ferent watck-fres. Between the bou,.
of nine and ten the party were alarmed
by the discharge Of about one hundred
carbines at not more than Is yards dr..
tant. This FIRE proceeded from body
of Patriot troops, who had come uuon
them by surprise, and on itheir rising
from the ground, the Patriots kept 10
a constant fire, and cut them down by
dozens. Fortunately for capt. B hi,
guard were all either killed, wounded
or deserted, which gave him a chance
to escape. Accordingly he and bis
boatswain crawled under the cane.
breaks about half a mile, and concealed
themselves. The firing continued sbou.
three quarters Of an hour. The attack
was so sudden that capt. B. conld not
thea learn by whom it was made, and
therefore thought it most prudent to
keep concealed, and if possible find bis
way back to the ship.
Considering himself in great danger
Of being discovered in his place Of con.
cealmsnt by the numerous bordes Of
dogs that infest this country, capt. B.
consulted with his boatswain on tho
best measures to be adopted. 1t was
concluded to endeavor to regain tho
sea shore, distant about ten miles, as
they Judged they might secrete them.
selves more securely among The rocks
that bordered on the sea. Accordingly
with this intent. they sat forward, crop
ping their way(the night was very dark
sometimes on their hands and knees,
over rocky mountains and swamps, and
through streams Of water--bruising
and tearing their bodies in most
shocking manner !; their only means Of
guiding their course was by following
the current of rivers.
Capt. B. lrelates that while fording
a river they aroused the dogs in .
camp at a few yards distance, and that
they were obliged to remain perfectly
quiet in the water for half an hour, un.
til all was again still. At day light.
discovered the sea shore, and concealed
themselves in cavity of the rocks,
during the whole day. As soon as it
was dark, commenced their journey as
nearly as they could calculate for Point
Romano, in hopes to find the ship there.
After travelling the whole night, en-.
countering difficulties scarcely less than
those Of the night preceding, at day.
light in the morning, arrived at the top
Of mountain. from which they discov'
cred the point where they left the ship,
ten miles distant Fearful lest they
should again fal! into the hands Of Bene-
bedas' men, they concealed themselves
among the rocks: but suffering much
from hunger, they resolved toput all at
hazard, and about 9 o'clock, renewed
their journey. About l9, arrived at
point Romano, and found the ship had
gone Their situation now appeared
hopeless indeed All the miseries they
had endured, were now surpassed BY
the anguish of their disappointment
Their only possible chance Of escape
was in reaching Aruco, distant 90 miles
and after having rested about sn
hour, they continued their journey Tor
Aruco. On this route the travelling
was good, being over a sand beach
They arrived at Aruco about dark
Here they found the ship, she having
been taken by Patriot sloop OF war.
The town Of Aruco was then in pos,
session of the Patriots, who received