Note 11 — Chapter I

On the 25th November, 1851, a force of 260 men in 23 boats, commanded by Commander Forbes, H.M.S. ‘Philomel,’ entered the river to repress the disorders caused by the ‘usurper Kosoko.’ They were preceded by Mr. Beecroft, H.M. Consul for Fernando Po, carrying a flag of truce. About five thousand people manned the bush, and though a landing was effected and a few houses were fired, the expedition was ‘whipped’—as it deserved, for not shelling or rocketing the town: two poor fellows were killed, and several were wounded. In January, 1852, the Commodore, Captain R. W. Bruce, revenged the affront, and his name has been perpetuated in ‘Bruce’s Island.’