Prins with his trunk, trode him to death, driving one of his tusks through the body, then threw it up in the air to the distance of thirty feet.

"The others perceiving that there was no pofibility of escaping on horfeback, difmounted, and crept into the thicket to hide themselves. The elephant, feeing nothing in view but one of the horfes, followed it for fome time, and then turning about, came to the spot where the dead body was left. At this inftant our whole party renewed the attack; and after he had received feveral more wounds, he again escaped into the thickeft part of the wood.

"We now supposed we were fafe, but while we were digging a grave for our unfortunate companion, the elephant rufhed out again, and drove us all from the place. Tjaart van der Valdt got another thot at him, and a joint attack commencing, he began to ftagger, and falling, the Hottentots difpatched him as he lay on the ground.

"The fury of this animal is indefcribable. Those of our party, who knew any thing of elephant hunting, declared that it was the fleeteft and moft defperate they had ever feen:

"The Hottentots told us, that the elephant never leaves a dead body when attacked, until he has swallowed the whole carcafe piece-meal; and that they themselves had feen a Hottentot killed nearly in a fimilar manner with our friend, of whofe body they could never find the least remains."

The reft of their journey afforded little worth notice. In January 1791, they reached their refpective homes, after furmounting incredible difficulties, in an expedition to which they were prompted folely by a prínciple of humanity, and

the defire of relieving, if any remained alive, such of our countrymen as might be among the natives. No intelligence of this kind, after the most diligent enquiries, came to their ears. They were indeed informed, that the fhip's cook had been alive about two years before the period of this journey; but that he then caught the small pox and died.

We cannot conclude this mournful narrative better, than with the fenfible reflections of Cap tain Riou.

"Had the party," fays he, " that fet out in search of these fhipwrecked people in 1783, profecuted their journey with the fame degree of zeal and refolution, that Van Reenen's party manifefted, it is poffible they might have discovered and relieved fome who have fince perished. Yet as they could not have arrived at the place of the wreck in lefs than fix months after the difafter happened, there is no great probability for fuppofing, after fuch a length of time had elapfed, that any great number of the unfortunate fufferers could be remaining alive.

"But what we have moft to regret is, that perhaps the failure of the endeavours of the unfortunate crew to fave their lives, was owing to their own mifconduct. It is too often the cafe, that diforder and confufion are the confequence of extreme diftrefs, and that despair feizing on the unprincipled mind, hurries it on to a fubverfion of all good order and difcipline: fo that when the joint efforts of the whole are most neceffarily requifite for the general good, it is then that each defponding, thoughtlefs wretch acts from an impulfe of the moment, which ever way his agitated tumultuous feelings direct him; and from an er

roneous

roneous idea of self intereft; or, wonderful as it may appear, from a defire of gratifying a rebellious and turbulent fpirit, at a time when it can be done with impunity, is always ready to overturn every plan that may be propofed or profecuted by his fuperiors, and the confiderate few that may be of his party.

"Such muft have been, and fuch we, indeed, are told, was the fituation of the crew of the Grosvenor, fubfequent to their fhipwreck.

"Though it may be faid, it is a very easy matter to fee errors when the confequences have happened, it will not furely be too much to affert, that when this fhip's crew was once fafely on fhore, with the advantage of what articles they could procure from the wreck, their fituation, however deplorable, could not be confidered as hopeless. For had a chofen body of ten or twenty marched a few days to the northward, they muft have fallen in with Rio de la Goa, where it feldom happens that there is not a French or Portuguese flave-trading fhip. But allowing that Captain Coxon was much out in his reckoning, and that he supposed himself much nearer to the Cape than he really was, they might then have exifted on the fea-coaft in that climate, fheltered by huts, till ready to fet out: and by preferving order and difcipline, and conducting themselves properly in regard to the natives, they might have proceeded gradually, in fafety, into the territories of the Dutch.

"Had the crew continued under the orders and difcipline of their officers, either of those objects might have been accomplished, by men whose minds were not totally given up to defpair; or they might have fubfifted there on what provi