Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 2.djvu/249

Rh While lying at Bermuda, and on the passage out, nothing could exceed Mr Clapperton's diligence in discharging the duties of his new occupation. Officers as well as men, received instructions from him in the cutlass exercise; and his manly figure and sailor-like appearance tended, in the opinion of all who saw him, to fix the attention, and improve the patriotic spirit of the crew. At his own, as well as the other messes, where he was a frequent guest, he Mas the very life and soul of the party; sung a good song, told a merry tale, painted scenes for the ship's theatricals, sketched views, drew caricatures, and, in one word, was an exceedingly amusing and interesting person. Even the admiral became acquainted with his delightful properties, and honoured him with his warmest friendship and patronage. Clapperton was obliged, however, to repair to the Canadian lakes, which were then about to become the scene of important naval operations. Here he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and soon after appointed to the command of the Confiance schooner, the crew of which was composed of nearly all the unmanageable characters in the squadron. To keep these men in order was no easy task; yet his measures were at once so firm and so judicious, that, although he rarely had recourse to flogging, and withheld or disbursed allowances of grog, as a better system of rewards and punishments, his troops in the end became so orderly, that the Confiance was allowed to be one of the smartest barks on the water. When she rode at anchor on the spacious shores of Lake Erie or Lake Huron, her commander occasionally repaired to the woods, and with his gun kept himself in fresh provisions. In these excursions he cultivated an acquaintance with the aborigines, and was so much charmed with a mode of life, full of romance, incident, and danger, that he once entertained serious thoughts, when the war was ended, of becoming a denizen of the forest himself. It was his custom, on returning to the vessel, to swim out to it, instead of taking a boat, so that he might, by approaching unperceived, detect the crew in any little neglect of duty. On one occasion, having dined heartily on shore, the water propelled the blood to his head, so that he soon became too weak either to retreat or advance. In this situation he contrived to float, and called for a boat as loudly as he was able. For a long time his cries were disregarded; and he often expressed his firm conviction, that the watch were willing to leave him to his fate, as the best means of getting rid of a rigid disciplinarian. But at length, fearing that if he survived, a worse fate would befall them, they sent out a boat, which saved him when at the very point of sinking through exhaustion. This adventure frightened him out of the practice.

In the year 1817, when the flotilla on the lakes was dismantled, Clapperton returned to England, to be placed, like many others, on half pay, and he ultimately retired to the old burgh of Lochmaben. There he remained till 1820, amusing himself chiefly with rural sports, when he removed to Edinburgh, and shortly after became acquainted with a young Englishman of the name of Oudney, who had just taken his degree as doctor of medicine in the college. It was at the suggestion of this gentleman that he first turned his thoughts to African discovery. On the return of captain Lyon from his unsuccessful attempt to penetrate northern Africa, earl Bathurst, then Colonial Secretary, relying on the strong assurances of his majesty's consul at Tripoli, that the road to the south of Mourzook, (the extreme point of Lyon's expedition,) was now open, resolved that a second mission should be sent out, to explore this unhappy quarter of the globe. Dr Oudney was, upon strong recommendations from Edinburgh, appointed to proceed on this expedition, in the capacity of consul at Bornon in central Africa, being allowed to take Clapperton along with him as a companion. About that time, the late colonel Denham having volunteered his services in an