The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-12-30
He continues:

Ne learn it is true that three Al
In frigates and two zehecks and
rmed brig had last night passed
the straits. * 4 We arranged an
.ess for Cadiz and another to NAL
and COL Humphreys wrote to the
erican consuls at both these ports
uainting them with the intelli-
Ice, and requesting them 10 COM
nicate it to every American COM
Bnder of vessel that was now or
eht arrive at the ports"
HOct, This morning an Algerian
brsair stood into Gibraltar bay from
6e eastward. Soon afterward pro
eeded through the straits. ~ We
finally engaged a small Spanish YES.
eel to cruise off the straits, alias Gut
Bof Gibraltar, with the mate of an
American vessel on board, in order to
speak to any American vessel that
might possibly have so far escaped
the barbarians without knowing the
hazard they run"
Arnold seems not to have been the
only person, not Algerine originally,
who wished to do little piracy under
the Algerire hay. Mr.. Cutting tails
OF an alleged American, calling him
self Chapman, who passed through.
Gibraltar in July, 1892, and got to
Oran. Later, calling himself an
Englishman, he reached Algiers in
the Gibraltar boat, but the British
consul would not let him land. The
man sent to the consul letter for the
Dey of Algiers, which he said he had
brought from America. Chapman
was not allowed to land, and learned
only that the consul was displeased at
The contents Of the letter. Chapman
was then taken to Gibraltar, and Mr..
Cutting writes: From all the cir
cumstances there is room to suspect
that the purport Of the packet which
Mr.. Chapman has conveyed to Algiers
was to obtain Algerine commissions,
and thus give Mr.. - his employ
er in Virginia, pretence for captur-
ing the vessels of such nations as have
not treaty of peace with the regency
of Algiers. Perhaps the American
Indiamen were his object-perhaps
the richly freighted Brazil ships. The
whole commerce of America is at a
risk!'
On Oct. II this suspicious person
called on Col. Humphreys to explain
matters. He reported that there were
only 10 American prisoners at Algiers,
as the plague there had killed two.
He was an Englishman originally y but
had lived long in America, and was
in Gibraltar on business attempt to
get Algerine commissioners. Then
the vessel that the commissioners had
hired to warn American vessels of the
Algerine feet put back, and her mas
ter absolutely refused to 60 out again.
"He reports that there is an Algerine
zeback constantly cruising in the
straits, in the daytim he keeps on
the Barbary shore and at evening
back of the Rock, where he lays with
the view of intercepting any Ameri.
can vessel that may attempt running
out of the Mediterranean.
"Oct. 14.-A schooner arrived this
morning, after narrow escape from
the zeback back of therock. The vessel
belongs to Ebenezer Parsons of Bos.
ton, N. E., and the captains name is
Gooch. In consequence of the dam
gers of seizure of our papers, and on
account of the weather, we have con.
cluded to send our chartered brig,
now under Swedish colors, as a neu,
trail nation, to Alicant, in Spain, there
to await until our arrival by land"
Even ambassadors to Algiers were
not safe from the Algerines. So Col:
Humphreys and MIR. Cuttings started
overland, 101 leagues, or about 300 miles
to Alicant. They went through Mala.
ga, reaching there in the evening of
Oct. IL, and left on the 10Th; thence
to Granada, where they examined
"the ancient Moorish Notifications
and the palace OF the grand sultan of
that people, bnilt 7nn- years age
>Granase Ora ai icft behind on Oct. 26, they
reac red Murcia on Nov. 1 (''in this
city there are 26 hives filled with
those drooes called friars'O and Ali
cant the next day. There the COM
missioners conferred with Mr.. Mont
gomery, the American consul, and
finally it was decided that Col. Hum
phreys should write a memorial to
the dey and regency, which he should
forward by a Spanish vessel to Mat
thias Skjoldebrand, Esq, Swedish
consul in Algiers, asking permission
to call on them, and especially for q
safe conduct back again. On Nov. 16
an Algerine frigate of AZ guns came
in having taken seven American and
two Genoese ships. This frigate had
been built at Algiers by a censtruc-
tor sent out from Spain, who was at
the time building another, a 25-gun
vessel. Piracy, it appears, was sim
ply matter of business.
on the 10th Col. Humphreys des-
patch boat came back from Algiers
with letters from some of the Ameri-
can captives and flat refusal from
the dey give to a passport to Col. Hum
phreys. "Just now the Algerines are
elated with their great success over the
Americans, and have three other
treaties of peace on the tapis which
are all very precarious. That with
the Dutch is very far from being agreed
on. That with Portugal it is thought
will scarcely be ratified by the court at
Lisbon; a rupture with the Danes is
also threatened. How humiliating it
is, that through the narrow policy of
the great maratime powers of Europe
general commerce should suffer such
interruption and distress from a petty