Norfolk Gazette And Publick Ledger

THE PUBLIC LEDGER.

THURSDAY EVENING OCTOBER 5, 1815.

BONAPARTE AND ST. HELENA.—In another place in our paper will be found an interesting account of the Island of St. Helena, to which Bonaparte has been sent as a place of security. His escape from that Island, has been by some supposed impossible, while others have spoken of it as very practicable. The following article which is copied from the British Naval Chronicle for 1802, will shew that the difficulty of escaping is less than was imagined.

"Sufferings of some Deserters.

The extraordinary adventure of six deserters belonging to the Artillery of the Island of St. Helena, occasioned a Court of Enquiry, on the 12th of December, 1801, when John Brown, one of the survivors, delivered the following singular and affecting narrative upon oath, before Captain Defountain, President, Lieutenant B. Hodson and Ensign Young.

"In June, 1799, I belonged to the first company of artillery in the service of the governor of St. Helena, and on the 10th of that month, about half an hour before parade time, M'Kennon, gunner and orderly of the second company, asked me if I was willing to go with him on board an American ship called the Columbia, capt. Henry Lelar, (the only ship then in the roads;) after some conversation I agreed, and met him about 7 o'clock at the play-house, where I found one M'Quinn, of major Seale's company, another man called Brighouse, another called Parr, and the sixth Mathew Conway.

Parr was a good seaman, and said he would take us to the island of Ascension, or lay off the harbor until the Columbia could weigh anchor and come out. We went down about eight o'clock to the West Rocks, where the American boat was waiting for us, manned with three American seamen, who took us alongside of the Columbia. We changed our clothes, after having been on board half an hour.

Brighouse and Conway proposed to cut a whale boat which was moored by this happened about eleven o'clock at night. We observed lanthorns passing on the fire towards the sea gate, and hearing a great noise, thought we were missed and searched for. We immediately embarked in the whale boat with about twenty-five pounds of bread in a bag, and a small keg of water, supposed to contain about thirteen gallons, one compass and one quadrant, but in our great hurry the quadrant was either left behind or dropped overboard, given to us by the commanding officer of the Columbia.

We then left the ship, pulling with two oars only to get ahead of her—the boat was half full of water, and we had nothing to bail her out; in this condition we rowed out to sea, and lay off the island a great distance, expecting the American ship hourly.

About 12 o'clock on the second day, no ship appearing, we bore away steering N. by W. and then N. N. E. for the Island of Ascension, using our handkerchiefs for sails. We met with a gale of wind which continued for two days, the weather then became fine, and we supposed we had run about ten miles per hour; M'Kennon kept a reckoning with pen, ink and paper, supplied by the Columbia; also maps and charts.

We continued our course until about the 15th in the morning, when we saw a number of birds, but no land; about twelve that day Parr said he was sure we had missed the Island, accounting it to be about 800 miles from St. Helena."

The rest of the narrative contains an interesting account of much length, of the sufferings of those men—they got out of provisions, and drew lots, who should die to support the others; the lot fell upon M'Kennon, who bled himself to death: the remainder eat part of him.—On the 7th of July they reached the coast of Brazil, near St. Salvador; but so weak and exhausted that M'Quinn and Brighouse were drowned in the surf, getting on shore.