Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa / The religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806; with an appendix, containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave trade

by Joseph Corry

---

---

OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
WINDWARD COAST OF AFRICA.

---

[CHAPTER I.]

Remarks from the Period of my Embarkation at St. Helens, to my arrival at Sierra Leone—Sketches of the Land discovered in the Passage—its Bearings and Distance—with Observations upon the Bay and Entrance of Sierra Leone River, &c.

Previous to my arrival and landing in the river Sierra Leone, on the 6th of April, 1805, I shall notice my passage, and display the sketches I have taken of the land we fell in with, its bearings and distance, for the observation of the mariner, which from position and prominence to the Atlantic, claim his most serious attention in running down the coast of Africa to-windward.[^[1]]

On the 9th March, 1805, I sailed from St. Helens in the ship Thames, commanded by James Welsh, in company with a fleet of ships bound to the East Indies, under convoy of his Majesty's ship Indostan. We had a favourable run down Channel; but, after making to the westward of Scilly, a heavy gale of wind separated the Thames from the convoy, which we never afterwards regained, and were therefore obliged, at all hazards, to proceed for our destination upon the coast of Africa.

Nothing interesting occurred during a prosperous and quick passage, until the high land of Sierra Leone appeared in view on the evening of the 5th of April. We came to an anchor outside the Capes, and weighed the next morning, steering our course for the river.