The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

NEW MESSIAH.

Extract of a letter from Cape St. Leris,
island of St. Domingo, Dec. 10, 1789,
by Capt. Grange, Commander of the Sla-
niflaus, a slave ship.

"At my departure from the isle of
Losses in Africa, in the month of Sep-
tember last, all commerce was inter-
rupted in that part of the coast by the
coming of a new Messiah, sent by Ma-
homet.

"This prophet, called Mahada, who
had travelled from Mecca through A-
rabia, had lately arrived, and pretend-
ed he was sent of God. He was
followed by a numerous body, armed
with the sacred poignard. The first
exercise of his authority (thanks to the
superstition of the negroes) was to strike
off the heads of seven of the principal
sovereigns of this country, viz. those
of Bagress, Susons, &c.—He has giv-
en orders that all persons who shall ap-
proach him be clothed in yellow. All
the grandees of the country and neigh-
bourhood have considered it their duty
to go and pay him hommage; so that
in a very little time, he has received
more than 20,000 visits, and as many
offerings; for no person presents him-
self before him with empty hands. All
the crowned heads tremble at the pre-
sence of this Mahada, whom they re-
spect as a fetich, or Demi god. The
only piece of justice he has rendered
since his arrival, has been to oblige all
debtors to pay their debts.

"All the blacks of Senegal, even so
far as the river Sierra Leon, are Mo-
hometans. It is in consequence of their
religious system that they have so much
faith in the mission of this prophet, who
without doubt, is neither more nor less
than an Arabian imposter, who has
come from the banks of Galen, in or-
der to enrich himself at the expense of the credulity of an ignorant and superstitious people.

"Since I left the coast, from which I was in haste to depart, I have learnt that this Mahomet had given orders to the sovereigns of that country to drive the English off their coast, as that nation wanted to abolish the treaty of commerce with the country, and that the French only would keep it; in consequence of which many English merchants, settled at the head of the river, had been obliged to go away.

"The prophet Mahomet having been informed, that a very rich and powerful English resident, named Orman, had lived at the head of the river Pongo, or Rio Pongo, for more than thirty years past, he dispatched 400 armed men, with an order to send him the following trifling present;—100 black slaves—100 women ditto—100 negro boys—100 black girls—100 Arabian horses—100 dogs—100 cats—100 of all the different kinds of European merchandise specified in the treaty; saying, that being sent of God, nothing should be refused him.

I know not whether Orman will grant the modest request of the prophet Mahomet; but I hardly believe he would have been disposed to make the same present even to Mahomet himself."