sequently, the truth or falsehood, of many of his statements
must of necessity be known. No time was lost in obtaining
an interview with this Gentleman: and the satisfactory
answers returned by him to the Editor’s first inquiries, led
to further trespasses on his kindness and his leisure, which
terminated in his consenting, at the earnest solicitation of
the Editor, to undertake the perusal of the entire Narrative,
and to communicate in writing whatever observations,
whether confirmatory or otherwise, might occur to him in
the course of its examination.
The general result of this scrutiny, so satisfactory to the
previous believers of Adams, is contained in the following
Letter from Mr. Dupuis, which is too interesting and
important to admit of any abridgement.
London, 31$£ January, 1816.
“ In compliance with your request, I have great pleasure
in communicating to jo u all the particulars with which I
am acquainted respecting the American seaman who is
supposed to have been at Timbuctoo; of whom I have a
distinct recollection.
“ In the latter end of the year 1810,1 was informed at
Mogadore, that the ship Charles, of New York, to which
that seaman belonged, was wrecked on the Western Coast
of Africa, near the latitude of Cape Blanco : and about
three months after her loss, I was fortunate enough to
ransom three of her crew; who informed me that their
Captain was dead, that the rest of the crew were in
slavery, and that two of them, in particular, had been
carried away by the Arabs in an easterly direction across
the Desert, and would probably never be heard of again.
Some time after this, I heard that the mate and one
seaman were at Wed-Noon; and I accordingly tried to
effect their liberation ; but after a considerable time spent
in this endeavour, I could neither succeed in that object,
nor in obtaining any information respecting the rest of the
crew. At length, nearly two years after the wreck of the
Charles, I accidentally heard that a Christian was at El
Kabla, a remote Douar in the Desert, in a south-east
direction from Mogadore ; and subsequently I heard of the
arrival of the same individual at Wed-Noon ; from whence,
after a tedious négociation, I ultimately obtained his release
about a year afterwards.
“ The appearance, features and dress of this man upon
his arrival at Mogadore, so perfectly resembled those of an
Arab, or rather of a Shilluh, his head being shaved, and his
beard scanty and black, that I had difficulty at first in
helieving him to be a Christian. When I spoke to him in