travellers in her. The king of Yaourie, aware of their danger, sent off eight canoes after then to warn them of it, and in one of the canoes was sent a red cow, intended as a present to the white men. Mr. Park did not communicate with them, but continued sailing onwards. The canoes followed, and at last Mr. Park, probably dreading hostile intentions, fired upon them, but fortunately did not kill any one. The canoes returned, but the king, anxious for the safety of the travellers, again sent people to proceed after them, requesting them to stop, and he would send people to shew them the safe and proper passage in the channel of the river. The messengers could not, however, overtake them. Park continued his voyage till the vessel got among the rocks off Boussa, and was in consequence broke.' "Birnie Yaourie is in Houssa, but Boussa is not. The latter is in the country called Burgoo. Birnie Baourie is by land distant one day's journey from Boussa, but by water one day and a half. Duncanno described the place or pass where the canoe was broken to be like the cataracts in our mountains. The water ran with great force. The canoe was carried rapidly along, and before they could see their imminent danger, it struck with violence on some rocks, and was dashed to pieces. The people of Boussa stood upon the rocks projecting into the river, desirous, if possible, to afford the white men assistance, but the catastrople was so sudden, and the violence of the stream so great, that they could not reach them. The break of the river on the rocks is described as dreadful. The whirlpools formed were appalling, and the agitation of the waters was so great as almost to raise the canoe on its end, and precipitate it, stem forwards, into the gulfs below it. At the moment the vessel struck, Mr. Park held something in his hand, which he threw into the water, just as the vessel appeared to be going to pieces. The 'water was too bad'-so agitated that he could not swim, and he was seen to sink in it. There were plenty' other white men in the canoe, all of whom were drowned. The river there is as broad as from Le Fever Point to Tagrin Point, Sierra Leone, or about four miles. There was a black man, a slave, who was saved from the canoe. This black man spoke the Foulah language, and was a slave to a Foulah-man. When Duncanno left Yaourie, this man was still in Boussa, but he knows nothing more of him. "Duncanno asserted positively that no person from Park's vessel landed at Birnie Yaourie, that the black was the only individual saved, and that that man only was left at Boussa. The people of Boussa went in canoes to this 'bad place' in the river, where Park's vessel was broken, and where he was drowned, and some expert divers dived into the stream and picked up twelve pistols and two long muskets. Plenty of people' went from Birnie Yaourie to Boussa to see the wreck after the king of Boussa had sent to the king of Yaourie to inform him of the disaster. Park informed the black man who was in the boat, that in a week or two he should carry him, with the canoe, into a great ocean,' where the water was salt! "Thus far the simple narrative. It bears the stamp of truth upon it, and it is impossible to reflect upon the catastrophe without feelings of the deepest sorrow and regret at the loss of the enterprising traveller when he was so near completing his labour, and reaping the reward of all his toils. Various accounts, obtained through our present channel of information, agree in stating that from below Boussa to Benín the river is open and deep, and broad and navigable." MANNER OF CATCHING AND TAMING WILD BULLS AND HORSES; R On our way homeward our host entertained us, by making his people shew us the South American method of catching cattle. The instrument used is called, in English, a lasso, from the Spanish lazo,' which signifies slipknot of noose, and the operation of using it is called lassoing. It consists of a rope made of strips of untanned hide, varying in length from fifteen to twenty yards, and is about as thick as the little finger. It has a noose or running-knot at one end, the other extremity being fastened by an eye and button to a ring in a strong hide-belt or surcingle, bound tightly round the horse. The coil is grasped by the horseman's left hand, while the noose, which is held in the right, trils along the ground, except when in use, when it whirled round the head with considerable velocity, during which, by a peculiar turn of the wrist, it is made to assume a circular form! so that, when delivered from the hand, the noose preserves itself open till it falls over the object at which it has been aimed. The unerring precision with which the lasso is thrown is perfectly astonishing, and to one who sees it for the first time, has a very magical appearance. Even when standing still, it is by no means an easy thing to throw the lasso; but the difficulty is vastly increased when it comes to be used on horseback, and when, in addition, the rider has to pass over uneven ground, and to leap hedges and ditches in his course; yet such is the dexterity of the guassos, or countrymen, that they are not only sure of catching the animal they are in chase of but can fix, or, as they term it, place their lasso on any particular part they please-over the horns, round the neck, or the body; or they can include all four legs, or two, or any one of the four; and the whole with such ease and certainty, that it is necessary to witness the feat, to have a just conception of the skill displayed; which, like the savage Indian VOL. H. 82 in the use of his bow and arrow, can only be obtained by the practice of many years. It is, in fact, the earliest amusement of these people; and I have often seen little boys just beginning to run about, actively employed in lassoing cats, and entangling the legs of every dog that was unfortunate enough to pass within reach; in due season they become very expert in their attacks on poultry; so that, by the time they are mounted on horseback, which is always at an early age, they begin to acquire that matchless skill from which no animal, of less speed than a horse, has any chance of escaping. "Let us suppose that a wild bull is to be caught, and that two mounted horsemen, guassos, as they are called, undertake to kill him. As soon as they discover him, they remove the coil of the lasso from behind them, and grasping it in the left hand, prepare the noose in the right, and dash off at full gallop, each swinging his lasso round his head. The first that comes within reach aims at the bull's horns, and when he sees, which he does in an instant, that the lasso will take effect, he stops his horse, turns it half round, the bull continuing his course, till the whole cord has run out from the guasso's hand. The horse, meanwhile, knowing, by experience, what is going to happen, leans over, as much as he can, in the opposite direction from the bull, and stands in trembling expectation of the violent tug which is given by the bull when brought up by the lasso. So great, indeed, is the jerk which takes place at this moment, that were not the horse to lean over, he would certainly be overturned; but standing, as he does, with his feet planted firmly on the ground, he offers sufficient resistance to stop the bull as instantaneously as if he had been shot, though at full speed. In some cases, the check is so abrupt and violent, that the animal is not only dashed on the ground, but rolls along at the full stretch of the lasso; while the horse, drawn sideways, ploughs up the earth with his feet for several yards. This, which takes so long to describe, is the work of a few seconds, during which the other horseman gallops past: and, before the bull has time to recover from the shock, places the noose over his horns, and continues advancing till it also is at full stretch, The bull, stupified by the fall, sometimes lies motionless on the ground; but the horsemen soon rouse him up, by tugging him to and fro. When on his legs, with a horseman on each side, he is like a ship moored with two cables; and however unwilling he may be to accompany the guassos, or however great his struggles, he is irresistibly dragged along by them in whatever direction they please. "If the intention be to kill the animal for the sake of the hide and tallow alone, as is often the case, one of the guassos dismounts, and running in, cuts the bull's ham-strings with a long knife, which he always wears in his girdle; and, instantly afterwards, despatches him, by a dexterous cut across the back of the neck. The most surprising thing is, the manner in which the horse, after being left by his rider, manages to preserve the lasso always tight; this would be less difficult if the bull were to remain steady, but it sometimes happens, that he makes violent struggles to disentangle himself from the lassos, rushing backwards and forwards in a furious manner. horse however, with a wonderful sagacity, alters his place, and prances about, as if conscious of what he is doing, so as to resist every movement of the bull, and never allowing the lasso to be relaxed for a moment. The "When the wild horse is taken, the lasso is always placed round the two hind legs, and, as the guasso rides a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled horse's feet laterally, so as to throw him on his side, without endangering his knees or his face. Before the horse can recover the shock, 467 the rider dismounts, and snatching his poncho, or cloak, from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's head; he then forces into his mouth one of the powerful bits of the country, straps a saddle on his back, and, bestriding him, removes the poncho; upon which, the astonished horse springs on his legs, and endeavours, by a thousand vain efforts, to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits quite composedly on his back; and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the horse to such complete obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his speed and strength in the capture of his wild companions. "During the recent wars in this country, the lasso was used as a weapon of great power in the hands of the guassos, who makes bold and useful troops, and never fail to dismount cavalry, or to throw down the horses of those who come within their reach. There is a well-authenticated story of a party of eight or ten of these men, who had never seen a piece of artillery, till one was fired at them in the streets of Buenos Ayres: they galloped fearlessly up to it, placed their lassos over the cannon, and, by their united strength, fairly overturned it. Another anecdote is related of them, which, though possible enough, does not rest on such good authority. A number of armed boats were sent to effect a landing at a certain point on the coast, guarded solely by these horsemen. The party in the boats, caring little for an enemy unprovided with fire-arms, rowed confidently along the shore. The guassos, meanwhile, watching the opportunity, the moment the boats came sufficiently near, dashed into the water, and, throwing their lassos round the necks of the officers, fairly dragged every one of them out of their boats," BARBARITY OF ROBESPIERRE. A celebrated gambling-house was opened, during the Revolution, by the Marquis of Saint Amaranthe; this marquis, after having dissipated a revenue of 10,000 francs a-year, it is said, died a hackney-coachman. His widow, with her own fortune, continued to give fètes for drawing gamblers to her house. Robespierre having dined with her one day, and being a little excited by wine, forgot his usual circumspection, and let escape some hints of his design of getting himself named dictator or king. The same night, a player, with whom he lived in great familiarity, recalled to his mind the words he had suffered to escape him. It was necessary to get rid of such dangerous witnesses, and the following day a decree of the Convention, named Madame de Saint Amaranthe, and her family, as accomplices in the conspiracy of Baron du Batz; and three days after the decree, on 29th Prairial, in the year 2, Madame Saint Amaranthe, her son, a child between thirteen and fourteen years of age, and her son-in-law, were led to the scaffold. AMERICAN SLAVERY. We have often taken occasion to reprobate American slavery, and that not without occasion Mr. Hodgson shall shew: "The other day I passed a plantation, the owner of which, a few months before had shot one of his slaves; and I conversed with a young planter, I think not twenty-two years old, whose general manners bespoke mildness rather than the contrary, who had also shot a slave within a year. The offence in both cases, was stated to be running away, and no notice whatever was taken of either of the murderers. A friend of mine, who has resided here some time, told me, that calling one morning on a most respectable planter, a man of eminently humane and amiable manners, he was surprized to see him sitting in his verandah, with his gun in his hand, earnestly watching a slave in the court, who was looking up at him with great emotion, as if meditating an escape. By and by, the overlooker came and took the slave away. My friend turned to the planter, and asked him what was the matter. He replied, "While I was at breakfast, that negro came and delivered himself up, telling me that he had run away from my plantation, to avoid a threatened flogging; but that, as he returned voluntarily, he hoped I would intercede with the overseer, and get him excused. I told him I seldom interfered with the overseer, but would send and inquire into the circumstance. I sent for him; but the negro, in the mean time, apprehending the result, looked as if he would dart off into the woods. I ordered my gun, and if he had attempted to stir, I should have been obliged to shoot him dead; for there is no other way of enforcing obedience and subordination." "A very short time since, a wealthy planter tried to work his slaves half the night as well as the whole of the day. They remonstrated with the overseer, and became refractory, on which the planter undertook to control them himself. He took his seat on the trunk of a tree to inspect them, with his gun in his hand to shoot the first who should shrink. About twelve o'clock at night he fell asleep. The slaves seized his gun, shot him, and burnt him to ashes on the fires which he was compelling them to make at midnight, of the wood they were employed in clearing. The case was so glaring, and the planter's cruelty so notorious, that the matter was hushed up as well as it could be, and the slaves were not punished; though while at Charlestown I saw an account of a young negro woman being burnt to death in South Carolina the week before, for murdering her master. An acquaintance of mine told me he was staying at the time at an inn in the neighbourhood, from which many of the company went to see the horrid spectacle. On so serious a subject as this, I am particularly guarded in mentioning to you nothing for which I have not unquestionable authority. The following fact rests on the evidence of my own senses. At a dining party of five or six gentlemen, I heard one of the guests (who is reputed a respectable planter) say, in the course of conversation, that he shot at one of his slaves last year, with intent to kill him, for running away; that, on another occasion, finding two runaway slaves had taken refuge on his plantation, he invited some of his friends out of town to dinner and a frolic; that after dinner they went out to hunt the slaves, and hearing a rustling in the reeds or canes in which they believed them to be concealed, they all fired at their game, but unfortunately missed." Does not your blood curdle? Yet he did not seem to be sensible that he was telling any thing extraordinary, nor to understand the silence of astonishment and horror. I could extend this sad recital; but why should I harrow up your feelings." Again, speaking of Mobile, he says, "Profaneness, licentiousness, and ferocity seemed to be characteristic of the place; and the latter, as manifested in barbarity to the negro servants, was beyond even what I anticipated. You continually hear the lash upon their backs, with language that would shock you, even if applied to brutes; and the easy and intelligent expression which I had observed in the countenance of many of the slaves in Carolina and Georgia, had here given place to the appearance of abject timidity or idiotic vacancy. I have seen men, after |