"I never thought myself that the lives of the American prisoners were in any danger." Lieutenant Wormely, a midshipman held in captivity, also testified before a Senate committee that: "I do not believe that there was any danger to be apprehended for our lives."
CHAPTER XVI WE CAPTURE THE DESERT CITY OF DERNE
"An army, composed in part of Americans, but chiefly of the descendants of the ancient Grecians, Egyptians and Arabians; in other words, an army collected from the four quarters of the globe, and led by an American commander to conquest and glory, is a phenomenon in military history calculated to attract the attention of the world, not only by its novelty, but by its real influence and consequence. It ought to be considered, too, that this army, notwithstanding the singularity of its organization and character, and the smallness of its number and its means, acted in a cause that might be thought to affect, at least in some remote degree, the general interest of mankind. Since the destruction of Cato, and his little senate at Utica, the banner of freedom had never waved in that desert and barbarous quarter of the globe; and he who carried it so nobly, in the language of the resolution, through the desert of Libya, and placed it so triumphantly upon the African shore of the Mediterranean deserves to be honorably distinguished by that country and that government, to which the enterprise has added lustre."
—Speech made by James Elliott, Representative from Vermont, before the House of Representatives.
Every step we took, I could tell by the rector's map, which now I daily consulted, was taking me to that section of the coast where the treasure lay buried. We had hard fighting ahead of us, and all of my energies were needed to help our cause, yet I was determined to find enough time to make the search. The problem of finding a trustworthy person who could read for me the Arabic inscription on the map had been solved through my friendship with Mustapha, who had acquired a fair education in Egypt. I planned to go to Tokra under his guidance. My plans worked out well, but in a different way from that which I proposed.
The first duty ahead of our army—a task that must be done before any treasure hunt could be thought of—was the capture of Derne. The city of Tokra lay beyond Derne. Our army, if it went on to Tripoli, must pass near it. The coast was clear—if Derne were captured by us. Little did I think that the ill fortunes of our soldiers should send me forth at last to fulfill my long-cherished aim.
Two days after leaving Bomba, we camped on a height that overlooks Derne, and reconnoitered. We had reached the climax of our march. We learned that the governor of the place had decided to defend the city against us. We learned also that the army Joseph Bashaw had sent from Tripoli was making a forced march to Derne and might arrive before the return of our vessels, which had been blown out to sea in a gale. This information alarmed the Turks and Arabs. Hamet, we observed, again seemed to be ready for flight. The Sheik il Taiib, who had promised to prove himself a valiant man at Derne, quitted the camp.
Several chiefs came out from Derne to assure Hamet of their faith. They told us that the city was divided into three departments; that two of these favored Hamet and one Joseph, but that the department that favored Joseph was strongest and had control of the guns.