r of
travelling in this region of robbery and civil war, Eaton set off at
once, accompanied by Blake, Mann, and a small escort. After a ride of
seventy miles, they fell in with a detachment of Turkish cavalry, who
arrested them for English spies. This accident they owed to the zeal of
the French Consul, M. Drouette, who, having heard that they were on good
terms with the English, thought it the duty of a French official to
throw obstacles in their way. Luckily the Turkish commandant proved to
be a reasonable man. He listened to their story and sent off a courier
to bring Hamet to them. The Pacha soon arrived. He expressed an entire
willingness to be reinstated upon his throne by the Americans, and to do
what he could for himself with his followers and friendly Arab tribes in
the province of Derne. In case of success, he offered brilliant
advantages to the United States. A convention was drawn up in this
sense, signed by him as legitimate Pacha of Tripoli, and by Eaton, as
agent for the United States.

The original plan was to proceed to Derne in the Argus; but the Turkish
Governor of Alexandria refused to permit so large a force to embark at
that port; and Hamet himself showed a strong disinclination to venture
within the walls of the enemy. The only course left was to march over
the Desert. Eaton adopted it with his usual vigor. The Pacha and his men
were directed to encamp at the English cut, between Aboukir Bay and Lake
Mareotis. Provisions were bought, men enlisted, camels hired, and a few
Arabs collected together by large promises and small gifts. The party,
complete, consisted of the Americans already mentioned, Farquhar, an
Englishman, Pascal Paoli Peck, whose name we take pleasure in writing
again, with six men of his corps, twenty-five artillery-men of all
nations, principally Levanters, and thirty-eight Greeks. The followers
of the Pacha, hired Arabs, camel-drivers, servants, and vagabonds, made
up their number to about four hundred.

On the 8th of March, 1805, Eaton advanced into the Desert westward,
towards the famous land of Cyrene, like Aryandes the Persian, and Amrou,
general of the Caliph Omar. The little army marched along slowly, "on
sands and shores and desert wildernesses," past ruins of huge
buildings,--relics of three civilizations that had died out,--mostly
mere stones to Eaton, whose mind was too preoccupied by his wild
enterprise to speculate much on what others had done there before him.
Want