ENTERPRISE AND ADVENTURE.
HUGH CLAPPERTON, THE AFRICAN EXPLORER.
Captain Hugh Clapperton, the first discoverer who traversed the vast continent of Africa, from the Gulf of Guinea to Tripoli in the Mediterranean, was placed, in 1815, during the war with America, in command of a blockhouse on Lake Huron in Canada, with a party of sailors. An anecdote is related of him here which strongly illustrates that goodness of heart which is attributed to him by his faithful servant, and companion of his African travels, Richard Lander. Vigorously attacked by an United States schooner on the lake, the blockhouse had but one small gun for its defence, and was soon demolished by the superiority of the enemy's fire. In this situation, Clapperton perceived that himself and his party had no alternative but to become prisoners of war, or to take the resolution of immediately crossing on foot the frozen waters of Lake Michigan, a distance of nearly sixty miles, on to York, the capital of Upper Canada, the nearest British depôt. The difficulty
