Captain James Riley Escaping from the Native Arabs on the Coast of Africa with the Brig Commerce in the Background

FEBRUARY 2017 SURVEYING ECONOMICS Thought Leader Surveying History Decided Guidance Our own worst enemy Following the footsteps Staying within your survey JamesCaptain

RileyThe Sea, the Sahara, the Swamp and the Sea

» JOSEPH D. FENICLE, PS

Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • February 2017 • Copyright 2017 Cheves Media • www.Amerisurv.com Bottom Left: A sketch from An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce shows Captain James Riley escaping from the Native Arabs on the Coast of Africa with the Brig Commerce in the Background.

JOSEPH D. FENICLE, PS A Map of Part of Africa » by John Eddy from 1816 shows the route of the Brig Commerce and the route Riley was taken across the Sahara desert by the Native Arabs.

hen Deputy Surveyor Benjamin working in the Great Black Swamp of Northwest Ohio and Hough crossed the Maumee River following in the footsteps of Hough a mere six years later. in Ohio on September 29, 1815, James Riley was the Captain of the American Brig Captain James Riley was half Commerce. On August 28, 1815, while Hough was traveling way across the world stripped to Fort Defiance from the North Cape of Maumee Bay, the nakedW and tortured into what seemed to be a life of Brig Commerce crashed into the rocks of Western Africa. slavery. Hough along with 12 crew members surveyed the Native Arabs, possibly carnivorous, stabbed and captured Michigan Meridian North while Riley and 11 shipmates one of their crew members while the rest of the crew were strapped on the backs of camels and marched across watched in horror as the scene unfolded. The crew pushed the Sahara Desert. Unbeknownst to Riley he would even- off in a rickety long boat and landed 300 miles farther to tually become a free man and end up a Deputy Surveyor the south. This time they had no choice other than to be

Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • February 2017 • Copyright 2017 Cheves Media • www.Amerisurv.com The Plat map of Township 7 North, Range 4 East of the First Principal Meridian and Baseline in Ohio by Captain James Riley in 1821. The meandering river is rightfully “Tiffin’s River”.

find a loose one sufficiently large, to knock out my brains with it; but searched in vain”. Thankfully Riley came to his senses and created a plan to convince his masters that he was worth a handsome ransom if taken to the Consul at Mogador—now known as Essaouira, Morocco. A British man by the name of William Willshire agreed without hesitation to pay the ransom and after multiple months of hell they were free again. The experience took a perfectly healthy 240 pound man down to a mere 90 pounds of literally skin and bones. His surviving shipmates were even worse off and could not even stand and were lucky to weigh 50 pounds upon their rescue, not mentioning being almost blind, suffering from severe dysentery and infested with captured as their bodies were in a horrific Surviving on camel milk and urine the men lice. It took months for Riley to recover state of dehydration, hunger and fatigue. were beaten and tortured to near death and enough to travel back to the States to his This group of native Arabs decided to make continuously sold or traded as slaves. wife and children. them slaves instead of killing them. The While Hough was struggling with the Once back in the States he did work for group was stripped naked only to literally swamps in Ohio and Michigan and ready the government and spent some time soul have all of their skin burnt off their bodies to give up, so was Riley. At one point Riley searching. Riley was appointed a Deputy as they were forced to hike across the desert. “…searched for a stone, intending if I could Surveyor by Edward Tiffin and eventually

Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • February 2017 • Copyright 2017 Cheves Media • www.Amerisurv.com The author standing next to a 400 year old Burr Oak at Goll Woods State Nature Preserve, in Fulton County, Ohio, where Captain James Riley and Benjamin Hough crossed paths.

This Post was set by Captain James Riley in 1821. It was uncovered in 1993 by Chris Stanley, PS and Jack Brooks during the excavation of a GPS Control Monument while the author was still in high school.

relocated to Northwest Ohio. He subdivided townships North of Sylvanus Bourne’s Ohio Baseline and even platted and laid out a town rightly named Willshire in Northwest Ohio. Riley wrote “In May, of the same year, I went again to my business of surveying at or near Fort Defiance, at “While Hough was struggling with the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee the swamps in Ohio and Michigan rivers, and up Tiffin’s river, and to the northern boundary of Ohio”. On July 13th of and ready to give up, so was Riley. 1821 Captain James Riley, while surveying ” Township 7 North, Range 4 East crossed the Michigan Meridian as laid out by Deputy Surveyor Benjamin Hough on October known if the two men ever knew each because of his excellent skills navigating 2nd, 1815. Captain Riley wrote in his field other it is quite interesting how their paths with the night sky as a captain of the sea. notes while running East on a Random literally crossed in the swamp land of Upon his return as a slave Riley published line between Sections 24 & 25 “Crossed Northwest Ohio. a book in 1817 titled An Authentic Narrative an old line marked R 1 E, T 11 S”. Hough The result of Riley’s survey work in of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce— calculated the start of the Meridian at Fort modern terms is nothing short of amazing. or simply known as Riley’s Narrative. When Defiance to be Range 13 South. Today the In 1994 the North Quarter Post of Section he came back he was urged by Congress path of the Michigan Meridian (thru Ohio) 14, Township 7 North, Range 4 East of the and especially the Secretary of State James literally can be recreated in your mind as First Principal Meridian and Baseline of Monroe to write about his experience. Since it passes through one of the last patches Ohio was excavated for a new 1rst Order 1817 this book has been published multiple of old growth timber in Northwest Ohio. GPS Monument. The crew of the Fulton times but most famously under the title The famous White and Burr Oaks at Goll County Engineer’s Office dug and found an Sufferings in Africa. In 2004 author Dean Woods State Nature Preserve were well original wood hub as set by Captain James King revisited the story. King, with funding established even when Plymouth Rock was Riley. The hand hewn marks are clearly from the National Geographic Society, liter- landed upon. Both tree types were called identifiable as it starts to near 200 years old. ally retraced the steps of Riley, along with out in their field notes.Although it is not Captain Riley was sought after as a surveyor the steps of Archibald Robbins. Robbins was

Displayed with permission • The American Surveyor • February 2017 • Copyright 2017 Cheves Media • www.Amerisurv.com The Post as set by Captain James Riley in 1821 leans against a Burr Oak as depicted in Riley’s field notes. This tree would have been mature when the Pilgrim’s landed at Plymouth Rock.

a crew member and had a prior Riley creek is also nearby and is named along with Riley, contract in 2008, after James Watson Riley because he fell but was separated early was renewed, but even- in it while on the survey crew of his father on and would eventually be tually expired in 2012. The film and nearly drowned and further losing his rescued much later. company allegedly decided to pursue the equipment. And one can only speculate if Robbins also wrote his own narrative. movie anyway, but this time without King’s the Village of Archbold, which lies within When Riley’s book was originally published consent, or compensation. land surveyed by Riley, was named after many people did not believe his story and The importance of Riley’s Narrative Archibald Robbins. The list goes on as thought it was made up or exaggerated. has no doubt changed history more than James Watson Riley named Lake James in King found out after comparing the two anyone can imagine. Without the unbiased Northeast Indiana. separate narratives they were very similar. detail of his narrative while Riley was a Here is yet another fine example of a King made a point to walk barefoot across slave the opinion of a young Abraham General Land Office Deputy Surveyor with the burning hot sand and run across jagged Lincoln could have possibly been swayed. one of the most colorful histories we will rocks, as well as spend days on the back Lincoln, yet another surveyor, considered ever see. I encourage everyone to read the of a camel—all as described by Riley. His Riley’s Narrative one of his favorite books, books by Riley, Robbin’s and King and top bestselling book is titled Skeletons of the next to the Bible itself. Even surveyor it off with the classic folk song Skeleton’s on Zahara and is incredible in print or audio. Henry David Thoreau cited Riley in the the Zahara as found on the self-titled debut EP by the Bold Riley Band and written and composed by John Gunn. I have no doubts His surviving shipmates…were lucky the books and music will make all cherish “ the story of Captain James Riley for years to weigh 50 pounds upon their rescue… to come and further respect the work these Deputy Surveyors did to make the grid we being almost blind, suffering from all know and work off of so well today. A new Ohio History Connection Historical severe dysentery and infested with lice. Marker is also in the works for this famous ” surveyor to be debuted for National Surveyors Week in 2018. ◾ The History Channel also made a 1864 classic Cape Cod. Riley eventually documentary of this. At one point Steven moved back to New York after severe illness Spielberg and Dreamworks had the rights related to his Sufferings and in March of but the plan was shelved. In late 2015 1840 headed back to sea aboard the Brig Hollywood star Russel Crowe was selected William Tell and was never seen again. Joseph D. Fenicle, PS is the Chief Surveyor at the Office of the Fulton County Engineer to play Captain James Riley in a new movie A visit to Willshire, Ohio, respectfully in Wauseon, Ohio. Joe also owns Angular titled In Sand and Blood. Unfortunately the named after William Willshire, will lead By Nature, LLC a company specializing in film will probably never hit the big screen to streets named after his crew. Nearby in Continuing Professional Development for as Dean King has filed a 5 million dollar Mercer County is the Riley home and home Surveyors and Engineers as well as offering Land Surveying Services across Ohio and copyright infringement lawsuit against to the Mercer County Historical Society. Michigan. Joe lives outside of Sand Creek, multiple parties. He is predicted to win Much of this area was surveyed by Captain Michigan on his own active farm with his wife the suit as he spent 11 years on his book James Riley and his son James Watson Riley. and three young boys.