The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-04-05

One hundred years ago to-day April | 5, 1913, Philip Beaver, English ex- plorer and navigator, died at the Cape 1 of Good Hope Just seventeen days 1 before Beavers death, David Living stone, who was destined to carry to completion the work commenced by Beaver, was born in Scotland. The great missionary doctors centenary was recently celebrated throughout the English-speaking world, but the intrepid Beaver, pioneer and forerun- ner of Livingstone, is little less en- titled to grateful remembrance.
 Beavers career commenced in the royal navy, in which he served during the American revolution. After the conclusion of that struggle, the young man conceived the project of found ing a colony in Africa, not for gain
 but to cultivate the land by free la Dor, to civilize the natives, and to in troduce among them European arts, science and culture. After reading all the availa ble works on African subjects, he decided that the, island of Boulama, in the Bisagos archipel- ago, off the west coast of the dark continent" offered the most suitable place for beginning his benevolent work Beaver interested many per sons of prominence, including Pitt and a number of his former associates~in the navy, in his scheme, and an asso- citation was formed to carry it into execution. In April of 1782 a fleet of three ships, bearing 275 white col onists under the guidance of the phil anthropic adventurer, sailed away from the Isle of Wight. The jealous spirits of the dark continent wrecked speedy vengeance on the white invad- CTS, and in less than four months third of the colonists had succumbed to fever Over half of the survivors
 
 a few other enthusiasts remained. The youthful leader was himself snitten with the scourge that had carried off so many of his comrades, but recoV- cred, maintaining his courage in the face of a thousand difficulties and discoura gements. He hoped for new supplies and men from England, and in the meantime worked va1iant1y for the elevation of the Africans although the blacks were far from appreciative. He planted orchards and gardens, himself performing the work that was hardest and most difficult. Like an other Columbus, he sought to revive the dropping spirits of his comrades, but in vain. They thought only of England, and in November of 1793 Beaver was forced to give in to their demands and return to England. He stopped for a time at Sierra Leone, where he was again attacked by a fever, but the Summer of 1794 found him back in his native land. Hic stay-at-home associates voted him a medal for his valiant and noble con duct. For some time the explorer devoted himself to writing his ''Afri- can Mem moranda," a work which gave the world much original information n about Africa, and which was eagerly read by Livingstone before he set out on his great adventure many years later. After serving. his country in Egypt, Beaver set out again for Afri- l ca On April 5, 1913. in his fifty fourth year, he died at the Cape of Good Hope, from too severe expo 1 sure and labor in exploring the coast of Quiloa-
 Beaver was not only a man of ac- i tion a pioneer in the conquest of a | continent, but was also a scholar of ability, possessed of a great fund of It is said that during | one of his long cruises he read the | Brittanica from to | z, and treasured up in his memory 1