Jenks' Portland Gazette. Maine Advertiser

SALEM. MAY 25.

INTERESTING NARRATIVE

Capt. Shillaber, from Mogadore has favored us with a deposition taken at the office of the American Consul in that place, of which the following is an abstract:

"John Brodie, (the deponent) of Green Briar county, in Virginia, a seaman on board schr. Betsey, of Norfolk, Samuel Short, master, sailed in said schooner from Norfolk the 15th of April, 1802, on a voyage to Madeira, laden with indian corn and pipe staves and had favorable weather for the first three weeks, and then the master suspecting they were to the eastward of Madeira, put about, and beat to the westward for about a fortnight, when finding they were not to the eastward of Madeira they put about again, and for the first 2 or 3 days had favorable winds from N. and N. W. and then it came round to E. and N. E. On the 17th of June, as the water was nearly out, the master called all hands aft to advise with them, as they could not fetch Madeira, whether it would not be best to bear away for Teneriffe. This was agreed to, and on the 20th they found themselves in the latitude of Teneriffe, but no appearance of land: the last of the water was that day served out, and they had no fresh provisions on board: the wind from N. to E N. E. and they kept standing on for the land. The day following they killed the dog and served it out. On the morning of the 28th they got soundings, and saw land about mid day. The master then sent Thomas Beck and David Evans ashore in the boat to seek for water, and the schooner stood to till about 2 p. M. and then came to anchor, and remained there till the evening of the 29th, when as there was no appearance of the boat, they cut the cable and ran the vessel ashore on a sandy beach. The surf here was violent, and Charles Rivers, the mate, attempting to swim ashore, was drowned in it. Shortly after, the master and two remaining seamen, who aided him, went overboard, and reached the shore in safety. They laid on the beach that night, and in the morning the master was so weak as not to be able to walk, but the deponent and Thomas Lewis went different ways to look for water; the former returned about noon without finding any; Lewis never appeared again. The deponent then laid down by the side of the master, who was unable to rise; And shortly after, a body of Moors came upon them, and stripped them of all their clothes. The deponent made known to them, by signs that they wanted water; and some of them conducted him to a well about two miles off, which he had before passed without observing it. He drank, and they gave him a skin of water to carry to the master, who drank a little. By this time the Moors had been on board the vessel, and had brought on shore what of the rigging they could cut away, or find loose. The deponent went to them to see if he could find any thing to eat but found what bread there was quite spoiled by the salt water, and that a cask of beef and another of pork had been washed overboard and all the meat lost. He ate a little of the bread, and then went to the master, but found him dead. He made a hole in the sand and buried him. He then returned to the Moors, and found them roasting Indian corn, and eating it, and he ate some also. The Moors made tents of the sails, and staid there about eight days; during which time they got every thing from on board which they could, and then burnt the vessel. After this, they travelled to the southward, taking the deponent with them to a place where they remained about a month. Here he found the oars of the boat, which he understood had come on shore there, and the men been carried away to the northward. A Moor then came with some camels, and took the deponent away with him, travelling northward three days: and after stopping five days, another Moor took him and travelled northward, four days more; he was then delivered to another who kept him four months, and then brought him to within sight of Santa Cruz, where he staid about three weeks; and after keeping him travelling about, and stopping occasionally, he was sent to Mogadore, where he arrived the 2d of March last."

About the 8th of April, the American Agent at Mogadore, received intelligence from Sallee, that Beck and Evans, who went ashore in the boat, were there on their way from Morocco to the Consul General of the United States at Tangiers, to be sent from there to Gibraltar.