1804.] THE BOMB-KETCH. 239 eight inches long, very thin and sharp, the blade curved like a crescent and the handle of ivory.) The Moor reached down his hand to draw it, so as to stab Decatur to death. Decatur saw what he was trying to do, and throwing his arms around the neck and shoulders, and flinging his legs over those of his enemy, he pressed him so tightly against his own body that the man could not shove his hand between, so as to draw the dagger. Luckily for Decatur, one of the pistols in his belt was near his side, so that while his left arm still clasped his foe like a vise, he drew his pistol with his right hand. 'Then it was that he did a most reckless thing - but it was just like him. He reached upward and over with the hand holding the pistol (which he managed to cock, by pressing the muzzle against the side of his enemy as he raised the hammer), until it was over the back of the Moor. Then, Decatur pointed the muzzle downward directly toward his own breast and pulled the trigger. Had the bullet passed through the body of the other, it must have penetrated that of Decatur himself. When I reminded Decatur of that, he said he knew it at the time, but he was sure of one thing - the shot was bound to kill the Moor and he could not feel certain of doing that if he fired in any other manner. At the same time, there was a good chance that Decatur would not be hit. So it proved. The man gave a gasp and a quiver, and, as Decatur relaxed hist hold, rolled off on the deck and died without a struggle. Decatur drew that dagger from his sash and presented it to me." Decatur was not in danger from this barbarian alone, for another attacked him while he lay on the deck, but Reuben James, a sailor, threw out his arm and had it shorn clean off, thereby saving the life of his commander. The Tripolitans had three boats sunk, three captured, and a large number of men killed, while the loss of the Americans was only fourteen killed and wounded. Other bombardments of the city took place, but the bomb-shells, as was afterward learned, were of poor quality and little impression was made. The enemy learned to avoid all close encounters with the Americans. They were able to do more by fighting at long range, as they proved in several instances. The Americans fixed up the Intrepid as a bomb-ketch, with which they hoped to do great damage to the enemy. A hundred barrels of powder and missiles were stored in the hold, and the deck was covered with a hundred and fifty shells and a large quantity of shot and pieces of iron. The intention was to send this prodigious torpedo, as it may be called, among the Tripolitan fleet in the harbor and there explode it. If this could be done, the effect would be terrific. The plan was to have Captain Richard Somers, Lieutenant Henry Wadsworth, and eleven men sail quietly to the proper point, set fire to the slow match, and then escape in a couple of small boats. Several smaller vessels convoyed the Intrepid to the western entrance of the harbor, where they halted, and in low tones bade good-by to Somers and his brave companions, who sailed away in the darkness. The stars were visible overhead, but a haze rested on the water, so that objects could not be seen far away. "I had charge of one of the convoys," said Admiral Stewart, who at that time was a lieutenant, "and was almost the last to part with the young captain. I watched his course by a night-glass. He advanced slowly, and seemingly without the slightest ripple. We who were left behind scarcely spoke, and what few words were said were in low tones. I kept my gaze on the Intrepid until it gradually faded from sight in the gloom. "I was looking steadily after it when I saw a point of light suddenly begin to move forward and up and down at the same time. It was exactly as if a man was running with it in his hand, which was happening. Fifteen or twenty steps were taken when it vanished out of sight, as though the one carrying it had leaped down a hatchway. I held my breath, for I knew what it meant. The Intrepid was still a long ways from her destination and she must have been discovered by the enemy. There was only one thing that a brave man could do under such circumstances and that, it was well understood, Somers was prepared to do. "It could not have been ten seconds after the light went down the hatchway, that a column of fire shot up in the sky, as if from the mouth of a volcano, and a crashing boom shook the sea. Then the fragments that had been hurled high in air, fell in the 1804.] ARRIVAL OF COMMODORE BARRON. 241 water around us and only the burning and smoking remnants of the Intrepid were to be seen. A few days later, the thirteen bodies were picked up and given burial. They were so mangled that we could not recognize one of them." Of course it never could be positively known what caused the explosion of the Intrepid. Many thought it was accidental, but Admiral Stewart, who was certainly good authority, was convinced that Somers himself or one of his men did it when he believed they were discovered. In November, Commodore Samuel Barron arrived with the President and Constellation, and superseded Commodore Preble. The squadron now numbered ten vessels, carrying two hundred and sixty-four guns. The reigning bashaw of Tripoli was Yusef Carmelli, who had gained the throne by deposing his elder brother, Hamet. The latter had fled to Upper Egypt, and was in command of a large force of Mamelukes, fighting the Turks. William Eaton, the Amer ican consul at Tunis, knew all about him, and believed that he could be used as an instrument in forcing the usurper Yusef to make peace with the United States. He proposed to our government that Hamet should be placed back on the throne, and Eaton was authorized to carry out the rather ingenious scheme. Accordingly, Eaton made his way to Alexandria, sought out Hamet, and made the proposal. Hamet eagerly accepted the offer, and furnished Eaton with a body of Arab cavalry and seventy Greek soldiers. They marched one thousand miles across the Barcan desert, suffering frightful hardships, and, in the latter part of April, 1805, appeared before Derne, one of Yusef's eastern seaports. Yusef was also approaching the town, and Eaton saw it would not do to wait. Arms and ammunition were landed from the American fleet, several of whose vessels appeared off shore, and which prepared to give help. A bombardment was opened, and the enemy were driven from their guns, while the land force, numbering eleven or twelve hundred, stormed and captured the town. For the first time, the stars and stripes floated above a fortification on the eastern side of the Atlantic, having been placed there by a motley force of Americans, Arab cavalry, Greek infantry, and Tripolitan rebels. The enemy was defeated again in May, and the invaders marched toward Tripoli. But by that time, as you may well suppose, Yusef was in a terrible state of fear, and was anxious for peace. A treaty was made on the 3d of June, the representative of the United States being Colonel Tobias Lear, our consul-general in the Mediterranean. It was agreed that sixty thousand dollars should be paid for the captives in the hands of the Tripolitans; but no more tribute was to be given, and an exchange of prisoners was effected. Poor Hamet found that nations are as selfish as individuals. He had come a thousand miles across the desert, under the promise that the United States would help restore his throne to him, and bring his usurping brother to terms; but one of the conditions of the treaty made with Tripoli was that the United States was to give him no help at all. It was unkind treatment. Hamet was obliged to leave his wife and children with his brother as hostages for his peaceful behavior. He afterward visited the United States, and after a pitiful appeal to Congress, was presented with twenty-four hundred dollars. While these stirring events were going on across the Atlantic, affairs were prospering at home. President Jefferson recommended an appropriation for an exploring expedition across the continent from the Mississippi. The suggestion was adopted, and an expedition numbering thirty men left the Mississippi on the 14th of May, 1804. The commanding officers were Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, both Virginians by birth. They had had abundant experience in Indian warfare, and were well fitted for the important enterprise. Embarking in a flotilla, they worked their way up the Missouri for a distance of twenty-six hundred miles. They gave the names of Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison to the three streams that form the Missouri. Leaving their boats in charge of a detachment, the rest, riding horses that they had captured, pushed on across the mountains. They discovered the two streams that are named after the officers, followed them to the Columbia, and in turn traced the river to the Pacific Ocean. 1804.] DUEL BETWEEN BURR AND HAMILTON. 243 Lewis and Clark were gone more than two years on this expedition, and their experience was exceedingly interesting. They met many Indians who had never seen a white man, and who were as much astonished as were the natives that first saw Columbus. A negro in the party was a source of never-ending amazement, as were the clothing, firearms, and a sagacious dog that performed a number of tricks. The explorers came back to civilization and made their report to the government. It was very important, as they were the first party of white men that had ever crossed the continent north of Mexico. Captain Lewis was governor of Missouri Territory from 1806 to 1809, when he committed suicide. Captain Clark also became governor of Missouri Territory, and later superintendent of Indian affairs, dying in St. Louis, in 1838. In giving you an account of the election of Jefferson, you learned how near Aaron Burr came to the presidency. For thirty-five ballots the vote was a tie, when most fortunately Jefferson was successful. I shall now tell you more about the man who was Jefferson's opponent. Aaron Burr was born at Newark, New Jersey, in 1756. Both his father and grandfather (the latter the celebrated Dr. Jonathan Edwards), were president of Princeton College. Young Burr possessed a brilliant mind, and graduated from the same college with the highest honors. He acted a creditable part in the Revolution, was remarkably successful as a lawyer, became attorney-general of New York, was sent to the United States Senate in 1791, and, as you know, was vice-president during Jefferson's first term. Alexander Hamilton vehemently opposed Burr, from his first entrance into politics. He believed that he was a dangerous man to place in office, and he did not hesitate to say so. It was Hamilton who prevented Burr's election to the presidency. The quarrel between them became so intense that, in 1804, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton was foolish enough to accept, and the duel was fought on the 12th of July, 1804, at Weehawken, New Jersey, close to the spot where a son of Hamilton was killed in a similar manner a few years before. Hamilton fired his pistol in the air, but Burr aimed to kill. His antagonist fell, mortally wounded, and died the next day. This tragic affair shocked the country, and caused Burr to be detested by thousands who had been his admirers. He presided in the senate after the duel; but his friends fell away from him, and in the fall of 1804, when Jefferson was re-elected, George Clinton, of New York, took Burr's place as vice-president. Impelled by his consuming ambition and his total lack of moral principle, Burr formed a plot for founding a new empire. Its precise nature can never be known with certainty. Some thought he meant to take possession of Mexico, others believed he had designs upon New Orleans, while Burr himself stated that he intended to settle on Baron Bastrop's lands on the Washita River. The most absurd schemes always find followers, just as the most absurd doctrines never fail to have believers. Burr visited Blennerhassett's Island, in the Ohio, near Marietta, where he was warmly received by Harman Blennerhassett and his lovely wife. The couple were in good circumstances, and had a most charming home on that beautiful island. Blennerhassett listened eagerly to Burr's dazzling schemes and readily |