QUARTERLY CHRONICLE.

JUNE, 1849.

1. SOME interesting accounts were received at this date from the coast of Africa. The United States brig, Bainbridge, was lying at Porto Praya, a harbour in St. Iago, one of the Cape de Verde islands. The other vessels of the squadron were cruising on the coast. It is stated in a letter from an American officer, that the republic of Liberia had been successful in the New Cessters war, which was undertaken for the purpose of destroying the slave factories from Cape Mount to Cape Palmas. The Spaniards headed the natives, and offered a vigorous resistance; but the factories were burned and the slaves released. The English also had destroyed the factories at Gallinas. President Roberts believes that, with two or three armed vessels, he could keep the whole of that coast free of slavers. The letter of the naval officer alluded to thus continues:

"The principal factories on this part of the coast are now broken up, but there are many by-places where slavers can easily obtain a cargo, and it is almost impossible to prevent them; for such is their despatch, that, in three or four hours, they will take in six hundred slaves, and by daylight be out of sight of land. Should a man-of-war, be cruising in the neighbourhood, the slaves are put in canoes, in irons, and sent up or down the coast, to some convenient place for shipment. Not long since, a canoe-load of them was capsized on their way from Cape Mount to New Cess, and the whole of them drowned; and a few days afterwards their bodies were washed up on the beach, in irons.

"St. George del Mina (or El Mina) is one of the principal places on the gold coast. It is a very strong Dutch possession, very prettily situated, and kept in nice order and repair. The Dutch officers were very kind and polite to us during our stay. This castle was built by the Portuguese for the purpose of carrying on the slave trade, and was captured from them during the thirty years' war by the Dutch, who have held it ever since. El Mina is celebrated for its gold, as large quantities are found in the neighbourhood; and, after a rain, every one in the villages begins to wash for gold. The negroes are very skilful in washing for it; the work is done almost entirely by the women.

"About eight miles to the eastward of El Mina is Cape Coast Castle, an English possession, which is a very pretty place, and very strongly located. It has but a small garrison, and, like El Mina, the principal trade is in gold dust. The natives are exactly the same in appearance,

except that those of Cape Coast seem to be more lively-whether from an extra allowance of government or grog, I could not find out. We were all very much pleased with the English officers there, who were very polite and kind. This castle is the spot where L. E. LANDON died, and who was so much regretted by every one. A neat stone, with an inscription to her memory, is placed in the parade ground. Cape Coast is represented as a very unhealthy place."

Notwithstanding these partial successes in the attempts made to suppress the slave trade, the committee in the British house of Commons on that subject recently reported that, after a careful investigation, they had come to the conclusion that no system of force can effect the suppression of the slave trade; and that their main reliance is "on the improvement and civilization of Africa." See Documents.

1st. Amongst the news recently received from Senegal, the Courier de la Gironde notices an event which cannot fail to have the happiest effect on commerce. An expedition attempted by Capt. Bouet, on the Grand Bassam river, has produced results which would appear fabulous, had they not acquired a great degree of authenticity from the very source whence they emanated. On the 4th of March last, M. Bouet, then commanding the Serpent, succeeded in crossing the bar of the river, which has acquired such an evil reputation, and his entrance was hailed by salvos of artillery from the fort and the ships in the harbour. The dangers of the exploring expedition were terrible. Of four officers Capt. Auguste Bouet lost three; the fourth, with the surgeon, and a few white seamen, whom he succeeded in saving, returned to France in a condition truly deplorable. M. Bouet himself was attacked by illness no less than three times; but his energy was not in the slightest degree subdued by sickness. "Thanks to Heaven," says the letter which apprises us of these details, "he has succeeded, and the happiest results have crowned his enterprise. He has discovered two magnificent lakes, where palm-oil is so abundant that the ship had not vessels enough to hold it. Now, according to the dealers themselves, palm-oil gives a profit of eighty per cent., whilst gold only yields fifty or sixty."

The adjoining villages are said to overflow with produce of all sorts. Capt. Bouet has, however, visited unknown regions, established relations, and asserted the power of France in the midst of a country the very centre of the gold trade, the only commerce hitherto carried on at Grand Bassam. He has discovered, what all skilful geographers already suspected, that the Grand Bassam is a confluent of the Niger. It being the dry season, the want of water prevented its exploration; but in the rainy season there are six feet of water, and the river may be ascended as far as the cataracts of Abouesson, fifty leagues distant. At that place the traveller is within sixty leagues of Sego, and the course of the Niger is still continued. Thus the anticipations of Capt. Bouet are confirmed, and every day adduces fresh proofs of their cor

rectness. When the steamer Guettander proceeds to Grand Bassam, that vessel, which only draws two feet of water, will entirely solve the problem. Thus, a well armed and well supplied vessel will penetrate to the interior of the country, a district of which Capt. Bouet has seen a part himself, and which is the entrepot and the passage for the caravans of the gold and silk merchants, and where the gallant captain discovered, and inhabited for two days, a city more ancient and more important than Timbuctoo.

We have also accounts, at this date, from the Sandwich Islands. If the statements received by the N. Y. Journal of Commerce be correct, the prospects of the kingdom of Kamehomeha III. are gloomy indeed. It is stated that the native population is diminishing so rapidly that, by the end of the next ten or fifteen years, scarcely a native will be found on the islands. Indeed, one of the oldest resident physicians there has expressed the opinion that this result will be realized within the next five years. Four-fifths of the population have disappeared since the first visit of Capt. Cook, a period of seventy years, and about one-sixth of the remnant have died within the last year. The missionaries estimate the number of deaths during the past year at about ten thousand, or more than one-tenth of the whole population. A majority of the infants born were among the victims. The present population of the islands is about eighty thousand.

2d. The following information from the far West was received at this date at St. Louis.

A considerable portion of Col. Fremont's property, abandoned in the mountains, has been recovered, some of it being in the possession of Mexicans, who have been arrested, charged with a participation in the murder by the Indians of Dr. Kearn and Bill Williams, who went in search of it.

Col. Washington, in command of the Department of New Mexico, had issued his proclamation in pursuance of the provisions of the treaty of peace with Mexico, advising the inhabitants of the territory ceded to the United States to decide by the 30th of May (last,) whether they will become American citizens, or retain the character of Mexicans.

Captain Chapman, of the Santa Fe Guards, having received information of Indian depredations, set out to chastise them. He came suddenly upon a large force of Apache Indians, whom he defeated in a fight, and killed two hundred of them. The Indian chief was killed by Lieut. Kendrick.

Stations have been established on the Atlantic, by virtue of the Act of March 3, 1849, for the prevention of wrecks, and for the saving of the crews and passengers of wrecked vessels. The method adopted in saving lives is the same as is used in England, viz.: to throw lines on board the vessels either by means of rockets or by attaching them to balls fired from carronades. When this is accomplished, the persons in danger can be brought on shore by means of the life cars, which

are furnished with rings so that they can be hauled along the line to and from the wreck. They are made sufficiently large to contain two or three persons, with openings in the decks for the purpose of ventilation. The surf boats and life boats are both to be constructed of galvanized iron, and will be furnished with floats of India rubber, so that they cannot be capsized, no matter how heavy the surf may be.

4th. The news is received of a battle in Java, between the Javanese and Dutch, some time during the last spring, in which the former lost 5000, and the latter 250.

Also an account of a battle, about the same time, on the island of Borneo, between the Rajah, Sir J. Brooke, and the hostile Dyaks. He had succeeded in burning their towns, and had sent to the admiral on that station for an additional force.

The London Times contains a letter from Admiral Charles Napier, late at the head of the channel fleet, to Lord John Russell, in which is repeated the apprehension, some time since expressed by the Duke of Wellington, of danger to England from the increase of the French navy. He states that France has twenty war steamers capable of carrying two thousand men each, in which they transported, in less than thirty hours, an army to Civita Vecchia. Referring to the remonstrance on the part of England against the invasion of the Roman States, he inquires if England is in a condition to remonstrate. He thus continues:-"When Rome is taken-which I fear it will be-if we offer any threat, if we say one offensive word, what is to hinder the French collecting the very steam vessels that transported the French army to the capital of the catholic world, at Cherbourg, and transporting an army to the capital of protestant England? It may be argued that the French have their hands full already-that they are quarrelling among themselves. What, my lord, would unite them so soon as a war cry? It appears the government have got the better of the red republicans. The president, in his speech, tells France that they have an army of 450,000 men; they have a sailing navy nearly equal to our own, and a steam navy far superior."

5th. The Western Indians have been very troublesome, especially the Camanches, attacking emigrants and committing outrages of various kinds. Some of the Seminole Indians and others, who were removed to the West, were suspected of a disposition to unite with the more savage tribes. The following graphic account, published in June, is from the Little Rock (Ark.) Banner:

"The Indians begin to assume a savage appearance about here, they all paint and wear scalp locks, we met two the other day almost entirely naked, with the exception of a blanket and a small piece of cloth about their loins: they were armed with bows and arrows, rode without saddles, and in lieu of a bridle had a piece of rope about the lower jaw of the horse; they belonged to the Wachita tribe. About two miles beyond Little river, we met the celebrated Seminole chief, Wild Cat,

with twelve warriors, all painted, and in their war dress: they had plenty of whiskey, which sold for twenty cents per pint, and were of course very drunk. Old Wild Cat is a fine-looking Indian, but he has a countenance that would do honour to an imp of Satan. His neck, wrists, arms and waist, were encircled with silver plates given him at Washington, and engraved with his name. The current report here is, that he is in league with the Camanches, and appearances seem to favour it. A few weeks ago he was at Fort Smith with some of his people and there bought a quantity of gunpowder and whiskey; with these he returned, and is now on his way to the Grand Prairies: what his real intentions are, is not known, but I think that he intends nothing good. One thing is certain, as all the reports confirm, that the Camanches and other tribes are on the offensive."

6th. The New Albany Bulletin contained an interesting account of an operation performed by Dr. Sloan, of New Albany, upon the eyes of Rev. N. Hoskins, of Crawford county, Ia., who had been blind from birth. The Bulletin states:

"Mr. Hoskins was taken home to Crawford county before the bandages were removed, and when this was done, we are informed by a gentleman residing in that neighbourhood, the operation was found to have been eminently successful. He describes the emotions of the patient when suddenly possessed of a sense so novel to him, to be of the most enthusiastic description. Things which he had long been acquainted with, through the medium of the other senses, became possessed of a new and surpassing beauty, and roads which he had been used to travel fearlessly when blind, had to be again learned. His wife and children, whom he had never seen, his friends, his parishioners, his home, every thing endeared to him, became an unending source of delight and new-born gratification. He had the same confused notions of distance, which we see the smallest children manifest, and took the liveliest pleasure in beholding the great variety of colours. In short, he was compelled to learn to see, in precisely the same manner that the smallest child does, and to him it was an occupation of the most gratifying nature."

10th. The fossil remains of an elephant were found a short time since, in the construction of the Rutland and Burlington rail-road, upon the slope of Mt. Holly, one of the highest mountains in Vermont. Professor Agassiz states that this is the first true elephant found in a fossil condition in the Northern States. He says it is certainly not the same kind of elephant which had been found in the Kentucky cave, and that it is a question whether it is identical with the fossil European elephants or not.

At this date a terrible steamboat explosion occurred on the Ohio river, by which thirteen persons were killed. A number of the crew and deck passengers were killed and blown overboard by the violence of the concussion. Twenty-eight others were severely scalded, some