Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa Part 31

Just before sunset, John Lander selected a present, consisting of the following articles for the king: viz. six yards of red cloth, a quant.i.ty of printed cottons, a pair of silver bracelets, a looking-gla.s.s, two pair of scissors, a knife, two combs, and a tobacco pipe. The goods having been properly secured, they repaired with this present to the king, who received it with much apparent satisfaction.

Yarro professed the mahommedan faith, yet it was easy to perceive the very slender acquaintance he had obtained of the precepts of the Koran, by the confidence which he placed in the religion of his fathers, in placing fetishes to guard the entrance of his houses, and adorn their half-naked walls. In one of these huts, they observed a stool of very curious workmans.h.i.+p. The form of it was nearly square; the two princ.i.p.al figures were each supported by four little wooden figures of men, and another of large dimensions, seated on a clumsy representation of a hippopotamus, was placed between them. These images were subsequently presented to the Landers by Yarro; and they learnt that the natives, before undertaking any water excursion, applied for protection to the hippopotami, and other dangerous objects of the river, to the princ.i.p.al figure, which was mounted on one of those creatures. This important personage was attended by his musicians, and guarded by soldiers, some armed with muskets, and others with bows and arrows, who formed the legs of the stool.

In the inner apartment they discovered Yarro sitting alone, on buffalo hides, and they were desired to place themselves near him.

The walls of this apartment were adorned with very good prints of George IV., the Duke of York, Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington on horseback, together with an officer of the light dragoons, in company with a smartly dressed and happy looking English lady. Opposite to them were hung horse accoutrements, and on each side were dirty sc.r.a.ps of paper, containing select sentences from the Koran. On the floor lay muskets, several handsomely ornamented lances, and other weapons, all confusedly heaped together, by the side of a large granite stone used for pounding pepper. These were the most striking objects they observed in the king's hut, adjoining which were others, through whose diminutive doors, the wives of Yarro were straining their eyes to catch a glimpse of the white men.

When Lander spoke of proceeding to Yaoorie by way of Wowow and Boussa, the king objected to their visiting, the former state, under any condition whatever; alleging that three of the slaves who carried the goods for Captain Clapperton, had never returned to him again, but had remained at Wowow, where they were protected by the governor Mahommed, and that if he should send others with them to that place, they might do the same thing. He, therefore, promised to send them to Boosa in four days by another road. Independently of the above considerations, the king was highly incensed against the ruler of Wowow for his harsh treatment of the widow Zuma, who was his friend and relative, and who had lately fled to Boosa for the purpose of claiming the protection of the king of that country.

It was reported that Yarro's father, the late king of Kiama, during his life time had enjoyed the friends.h.i.+p of an Arab from the desert, which was returned with equal warmth and sincerity. A similarity of dispositions and pursuits produced a mutual interchange of kind actions; their friends.h.i.+p became so great that the king was never happy except when in the Arab's company, and as a proof of his esteem and confidence, he gave him his favourite daughter in marriage. The fruit of this alliance was the restless widow Zuma, and hence her relations.h.i.+p to the then reigning monarch of Kiama. The friends.h.i.+p of his father and the Arab lasted until the death of the latter. The king, however, was inconsolable for his loss, and looked round him in vain for some one to supply the place of his friend, but the ardour of his affection was too strong, and held by the hope of following his friend to another world, he committed suicide. This was the most affecting instance of genuine friends.h.i.+p, and indeed the only one, that came to the hearing of the travellers since they had been in the country. Yarro was much attached to the widow Zuma, and she would have fled to Kiama, instead of going to Boosa, if her intentions had not been suspected, and her actions narrowly watched by the ruler of Wowow.

Unwilling as the Landers always were to infringe upon the observance of the Sabbath, they were nevertheless compelled on Sunday, May 30th, to submit to the mortification of cleaning and polis.h.i.+ng a sword and pistol, which were sent them for that purpose by the king, against the approaching mahommedan festival. Yarro shortly afterwards sent them a turkey, and one of his women presented them with a roasted badger, a quant.i.ty of yams, &c. for the use of one of their people.

On this evening, the wives of the king unanimously bestowed a severe reprimand on their royal husband for neglecting to offer them a portion of a bottle of rum, which was given to him on the preceding day. The ladies scolded so l.u.s.tily, that the noise was heard outside the wall surrounding their huts, which led them to make the discovery. To appease the indignation of the irascible ladies, and to reconcile them to the loss of so great a dainty as a gla.s.s of rum, they were presented with a few beads, and some other trifles, but still it was evident that these fancy articles bore no comparison in the eyes of the ladies with the exquisite relish of the spirituous liquid.

It was generally supposed that the ruler of Wowow would make war on this state, as soon as he should be made acquainted with the fact of the Landers being at Borgoo, without having paid him a visit.

Although it was within the dominions of the king of Boossa, who was acknowledged to be the greatest of the sovereigns of Borgoo, Wowow was reported to have lately received a body of Nouffie horse soldiers, consisting of eight hundred men, which rendered its chief more powerful than either of his neighbours. These soldiers were the remnant of the army of Ederisa, (the Edrisi of Clapperton) who was the rightful heir to the throne of Nouffie; they deserted him in his misfortunes, and sought a refuge in Wowow from the fury of their successful countrymen, leaving their leader to his fate. Shortly after the return of Richard Lander to England from his expedition with Captain Clapperton, it was reported that Magia, who was a younger son of the late king of Nouffie, was reinforced by the soldiers from Soccatoo; that he took immediate advantage of the panic into which this intelligence had thrown his brother, by attacking and routing his army, and expelling both him, and them from their native country. Ederisa was for some time after a wanderer, but at length he was said to have found an asylum with one of the chiefs of a state near the kingdom of Benin where he continued to reside in tranquillity and retirement.

They received visits almost every hour of the day from a number of mahommedan mallams residing at Kiama, as well as from those merchants, who formed part of the fatakie that accompanied them through the forest from Keeshee. The former sent two boys to pray for them, in the expectation, it was supposed, of obtaining something more substantial than thanks, for the good that might result to them from their charitable remembrance of the frailty of their nature. The boys dropped on their knees, and recited the lesson that they had been taught, without committing a single blunder. A few needles were, however, the only recompense it was thought proper to make them, so that it was not likely their masters would desire any more prayers to be offered up at the shrine of their prophet, for Christians so illiberal and irreligious. Of all the vices of which these mahommedan priests were guilty, and by all accounts they were not a few, slander and defamation appeared to be by far the most general. Never did they hear a mallam speak of his neighbours in terms of common respect.

According to his account they were all the vilest creatures under the sun, not one escaping the lash of his censure. "Avoid that man," said a complaisant and comfortable looking old Mahommedan, pointing to one of his companions, as he quitted the hut, after having just blessed him in the name of Allah, "for believe me, he will take every opportunity of deceiving you, and if you go so far as to trust him with any of your property, he will cheat you of every kowrie."

The venerable speaker had a number of gilt b.u.t.tons, nearly new, in his possession, which they had given him to sell, for they were frequently obliged to make such s.h.i.+fts for a meal, and when his invective was finished, he arose to take his leave, but the self-righteous priest had neglected, in the hurry of discourse, to secure a few b.u.t.tons which he had purloined, for as he stood up they dropped from the folds of his garment on the floor. The man's confusion was immediately apparent, but they did not wish to punish him further by increasing his shame, and they suffered him to go about his business, in the belief that the circ.u.mstance had wholly escaped their observation. Gilt b.u.t.tons fetch a high price at Kiama, from two to three hundred kowries each, and as they had a great number of them, it was likely that from henceforth they would be of infinite service to them. Women use b.u.t.tons to ornament their fingers, necks, and wrists, and they imagine that the brightest of them are made of gold.

A messenger arrived this day at the king's house with the information, that Donca.s.son, the ex-king of Houssa, had recently taken no less than twelve towns in that empire from the Fellatas, in which he had been greatly a.s.sisted by the sheik of Bornou. The Fellatas have a tradition, that when Danfodio, Bello's father, and the first king of Soccatoo, was a simple shepherd, he made a vow to the great author of evil, that if he would a.s.sist him in the subjugating the kingdom of Houssa, he would be his slave for ever after. The request of Danfodio, it is reported, was complied with on his own conditions, but for no longer than thirty years, after which the aborigines of the country were to regain their liberty, and re-establish their ancient laws and inst.i.tutions. The term was now nearly expired, and the Fellatas began already, said the Houssa men, to tremble with apprehensions at the prospect of this tradition being realized.

June 1st, was the eve of the Bebun Salah, or great prayer day, and which is generally employed by the Mussulmans in Kiama, in making preparations for a festival which was to commence on the following day, and to be continued till the evening of the ensuing day. Every one in the town, who is in possession of the means, is obliged to slaughter either a bullock or a sheep on the anniversary of this day, and those who are not in possession of money sufficient to procure a whole bullock or sheep, are compelled to purchase a portion of the latter, at least, for the purpose of showing respect and reverence for the "Bebun Salah." The Mahommedans make a practice on this occasion of slaughtering the sheep, which may have been their companion in their peregrinations during the past year, and as soon as the holidays are over, they procure another to supply its place, and at the return of the festival, to undergo a similar fate. The company of one of these animals is preferred by the natives to that of a dog.

On the following morning a company of eight or ten drummers awoke them by the dismal noise of their drums, and by the exclamation of "_turawa au, azhie_," signifying, "white men, we wish you fortune,"

which was repeated in a high shrill tone every minute.

During the night, Kiama was visited by a thunder storm, which continued with dreadful violence for many hours, and the torrents of rain which fell, threatened to overwhelm them in their huts. Before they were aware of it, the water had rushed in at the door, and had completely soaked their mats and bedclothes, setting every light article in the room afloat. After much trouble they succeeded in draining it off, and prevented its further ingress, when they lit a large fire in the centre of the hut, and laid themselves down by the side of it to sleep. Towards morning it also rained heavily again, and to all appearances the wet season had at length fairly set in.

Under those circ.u.mstances, it would be found almost next to impossible to travel much further, and if they were fortunate to reach Yaoorie, they would be obliged to remain there some time, till the roads should have become sufficiently hard and dry for their future progress. Their chief hope was, that the rains might not be so incessant at their commencement, so as to render the path to Yaoorie impa.s.sable.

On Wednesday June 2nd, the threatening appearance of the weather prevented the Mahommedans from repairing to the spot, which they had selected for the purposes of devotion, so early in the morning as they, could have wished, but the clouds having dispersed, they had all a.s.sembled there between the hours of nine and ten.

The wors.h.i.+ppers arranged themselves in six lines or rows, the women forming the last, and sat down on as many ridges of earth, which had apparently been thrown up for the purpose. The chief mallam no sooner began a prayer, than the talking and noise of the mult.i.tude ceased, and the deepest attention seemed to be paid by every one, though the substance of what he said could only be guessed at, because it was in Arabic, which none of them understood a word of. The ceremony much resembled that which was performed at Badagry; and the forms, which are generally practised, it is supposed, on all public religious meetings in mahommedan countries, such as ablution, prostration, &c., were observed on this occasion. The king, however, did not rise, as he should have done, when the wors.h.i.+ppers stood up, but satisfied himself with uttering the name of Allah, and by simple prostration only. When the usual form of prayer had been gone through, the chief mallam placed himself on a hillock, and for about five minutes read to the people a few loose pages of the Koran, which he held in his hand. While thus engaged, two priests of inferior order knelt beside him to hold the hem of his tobe, and a third, in the same position, held the skirts from behind. After he had finished reading, the priest descended from the hillock, and with the help of his a.s.sistants, slaughtered a sheep which had been bound and brought to him for sacrifice. The blood of the animal was caught in a calabash, and the king and the more devoted of his subjects washed their hands in it, and sprinkled some of it on the ground. The conclusion of the ceremony was announced by the discharge of a few old muskets, and with drums beating and fifes playing, the people returned to their respective homes. The majority of them were smartly dressed in all the finery they could procure. About a hundred of the men rode on horseback, with lances and other weapons in their hands, which, with the gay trappings of the horses, gave them a respectable appearance.

In the afternoon, all the inhabitants of the town, and many from the little villages in the neighbourhood, a.s.sembled to witness the horse racing, which always takes place on the anniversary of the Belun Salah, and to which every one had been looking forward with the greatest impatience. Previously to its commencement, the king with his princ.i.p.al attendants rode slowly on round the town, more for the purpose of receiving the admiration and plaudits of his people, than to observe where distress more particularly prevailed, which was his avowed intention. In this respect we do not see that the African kings are a jot worse than the Europeans; it is true, indeed, that the African monarch has in some measure the advantage over the European, for we have never heard that any European king, particularly an English one, ever even conceived the idea of parading the town in which he might reside, for the purpose of finding and relieving the distressed, but when he does condescend to show himself amongst the people, to whom he is indebted for the victuals which he eats, it is for the purpose of attending some state mummery, or seeing a number of human beings standing in a row, with the weapons of murder in their hands, but which, when called into action to gratify the senseless ambition of the said king, is called privileged homicide. An inspection of these human machines is called a review; were some kings to inst.i.tute a review of their own actions, it would be better for themselves, and better for the people, to whom a blind and stupid fortune has given him as their log.

The kings of Africa, like other kings, attach a great importance to a great noise, called a salute, and, therefore, a hint was given to the Landers to bring their pistols with them to the race course, that they might salute the king as he rode by them; a salute is the same thing, whether it be from a pop-gun or a two and thirty pounder, for all salutes generally end in smoke, which shows their folly and insignificance. The Landers felt a strong inclination to witness the amus.e.m.e.nts of the day, and they arrived at the course rather sooner than was necessary, which, however, afforded them a fairer opportunity of observing the various groups of people, which were flocking to the scene of amus.e.m.e.nt.

The race course was bounded on the north by low granite hills, on the south by a forest, and on the east and west by tall shady trees; amongst which, were habitations of the people. Under the shadow of these magnificent trees, the spectators were a.s.sembled, and testified their happiness by their noisy mirth and animated gestures. When the Landers arrived, the king had not yet made his appearance on the course, but his absence was fully compensated by the pleasure they derived from watching the anxious and animated countenances of the mult.i.tude, and in pa.s.sing their opinions on the taste of the women in the choice and adjustment of their fanciful and many coloured dresses. The wives and younger children of the chief, sat near them in a group by themselves, and were distinguished from their companions by their superior dress. Manchester cloths of an inferior quality, but of the most showy patterns, and dresses made of common English bed-furniture, were fastened round the waist of several sooty maidens, who, for the sake of fluttering a short hour in the gaze of their countrymen, had sacrificed in clothes the earnings of a twelve months labour. All the women had ornamented their necks with strings of beads, and their wrists with bracelets of various patterns, some made of gla.s.s beads, some of bra.s.s, and others of copper, and some again of a mixture of both metals; their ankles were also adorned with different sorts of rings, of neat workmans.h.i.+p.

The distant sound of drums gave notice of the king's approach, and every eye was immediately directed to the quarter whence he was expected. The cavalcade shortly appeared, and four hors.e.m.e.n first drew up in front of the chiefs house, which was near the centre of the course, and close to the spot where his wives and children, and themselves were sitting. Several men bearing on their heads an immense number of arrows in large quivers of leopard's skin, came next, followed by two persons, who, by their extraordinary antics and gestures, were concluded to be buffoons. These two last were employed in throwing sticks into the air as they went on, and adroitly catching them in falling, besides performing many whimsical and ridiculous feats. Behind them, and immediately preceding the king, a group of little boys nearly naked, came dancing merrily along, flouris.h.i.+ng cows' tails over their heads in all directions.

The king rode onwards, followed by a number of fine-looking men, on handsome steeds, and the motley cavalcade all drew up in front of his house, where they awaited his further orders without dismounting.

This the Landers thought was the proper time to give the first salute, so they accordingly fired three rounds, and their example was immediately followed by two soldiers with muskets, which were made at least a century and a half ago, nevertheless, they yielded fire, smoke, noise, and a stink, which are in general the component parts of all royal salutes.

Preparations in the mean time had been going on for the race, and the horses with their riders made their appearance. The men were dressed in caps, and loose tobes and trousers of every colour; boots of red morocco leather, and turbans of white and blue cotton. Their horses were gaily caparisoned; strings of little bra.s.s bells covered their heads; their b.r.e.a.s.t.s were ornamented with bright red cloth and ta.s.sels of silk and cotton, a large guilted pad of neatly embroidered patchwork was placed under the saddle of each; and little charms, inclosed in red and yellow cloth were attached to the bridle with bits of tinsel. The Arab saddle and stirrup were in common use, and the whole group presented an imposing appearance.

The signal for starting was made, and the impatient animals sprung forward, and set off at a full gallop. The riders brandished their spears, the little boys flourished their cow's tail; the buffoons performed their antics, muskets were discharged, and the chief himself, mounted on the finest horse on the ground, watched the progress of the race, while tears of delight were starting from his eyes. The sun shone gloriously on the tobes of green, white, yellow, blue, and crimson, as they fluttered in the breeze; and with the fanciful caps, the glittering spears, the jingling of the horses'

bells, the animated looks and warlike bearing of their riders, presented one of the most extraordinary and pleasing sights that they had ever witnessed. The race was well contested, and terminated only by the horses being fatigued and out of breath; but though every one was emulous to outstrip his companion, honour and fame were the only reward of the compet.i.tors.

The king maintained his seat on horseback during these amus.e.m.e.nts, without even once dismounting to converse with his wives and children, who were sitting on the ground on each side of him. His dress was showy rather than rich, consisting of a red cap, enveloped in the large folds of a white muslin turban; two under tobes of blue and scarlet cloth, and an outer one of white muslin; red trousers, and boots of scarlet and yellow leather. His horse seemed distressed by the weight of his rider, and the various ornaments and trappings with which his head, breast, and body were bedecked. The chief's eldest and youngest sons were near his women and other children, mounted on two n.o.ble-looking horses. The eldest of these youths was about eleven years of age. The youngest being not more than three, was held on the back of his animal by a male attendant, as he was unable to sit upright on the saddle without this a.s.sistance. The child's dress was ill suited to his age. He wore on his head a light cap of Manchester cotton, but it overhung the upper part of his face, and together with its ends, which flapped over each cheek, hid nearly the whole of his countenance from view; his tobe and trousers were made exactly in the same fas.h.i.+on as those of a man, and two large belts of blue cotton, which crossed each other, confined the tobe to his body. The little legs of the child were swallowed up in clumsy yellow boots, big enough for his father, and though he was rather pretty, his whimsical dress gave him altogether so odd an appearance, that he might have been taken for any thing but what he really was.

A few of the women on the ground by the side of the king wore large white dresses, which covered their persons like a winding sheet.

Young virgins, according to custom, appeared in a state of nudity; many of them had wild flowers stuck behind their ears, and strings of beads, &c., round their loins; but want of clothing did not seem to damp their pleasure in the entertainment, for they entered with as much zest as any of their companions. Of the different coloured tobes worn by the men, none looked so well as those of a deep crimson colour on some of the hors.e.m.e.n; but the clear white tobes of the mahommedan priests, of whom not less than a hundred were present on the occasion, were extremely neat and becoming. The sport terminated without the slightest accident, and the king dismounting was a signal for the people to disperse.

CHAPTER x.x.xV.

The travellers left Kiama on Sat.u.r.day June 5th, and arrived at Kakafungi, the halting place, shortly after ten o'clock in the morning. The distance from Kiama was about ten miles. It was a straggling, but extensive and populous town, and was delightfully situated on an even piece of ground. The inhabitants were so clean and well behaved, and their dwellings so neat and comfortable, that before the Landers had spoken many words to one of them, they were prepossessed in their favour. Nor was this opinion in any degree lessened, when after they had been introduced into a commodious and excellent hut, they received the congratulations of the princ.i.p.al people. They came to them in a body, followed by boys and girls carrying a present of two kids, with milk and an abundance of pounded corn, and remained with them the greater part of the day.

John Lander was here taken seriously ill, and his fever was so severe that he was obliged to lie on his mat till the carriers were ready to depart, which took place at two p.m., their path lying through a perfect wilderness, and presenting a greater degree of barrenness, than any thing which they had hitherto met with. The length of the journey, the insufferable heat of the sun, combined with the speed with which they were obliged to travel, greatly increased the malady of John Lander. He was occasionally obliged to dismount, and lie on the ground for relief, being lifted off and replaced on his horse by their attendants. The two Landers were far behind the rest of the party, on account of the inability of John Lander to keep pace, and they discharged a pistol every now and then as a signal to the carriers of their approach. As each report echoed through the forest, it was answered by the increased howlings of wild animals, till at length, they gladly saw the gleam of a large fire, and arrived at the encampment, which had been prepared for them. Here they took possession for the night, of a few deserted huts, which were falling to decay.

The rest which John Lander had obtained during the night, appeared to have revived him, and he seemed in better spirits, with an abatement of his fever. They accordingly proceeded on their journey, and after bathing, crossed the Oly in a canoe, which they found tied to a tree.

During the whole of the day, they travelled under a burning sun, and in the evening pitched their tent near a small stream. John Lander was very ill, his fever having returned with increased violence. A storm gathered over their heads a few minutes after the tent had been fixed, and presently burst with increased violence. While it lasted, they were occupied with the thoughts of their forlorn condition. The deafening noise of the thunder, as it echoed among the hills, the overpowering glare of the lightning, the torrents of rain, and the violence of the wind were truly awful. The whole of their party were collected in the tent for shelter from the storm, and in spite of the water which ran through it, contrived to sleep till morning.

They were obliged to lie the whole of the night in their wet clothes, the effects of which were visible in John Lander in the morning. His brother endeavoured, in vain, to rally him, but he was scarcely able to stand. The tent was packed up in its wet state, and the carriers hastened onwards as fast as they could, for the provisions were consumed, and they were anxious to get to their journey's end without delay. As they advanced, John Lander became worse, till at length, he was completely overcome, and to prevent falling off his horse, he dismounted and was laid down. There was not a tree near them, which could shelter them from the sun, so with the a.s.sistance of his people, Richard obtained a few branches, and formed a sort of bower, their horses' pads answering the purpose of a bed. During the remainder of the day, John became worse, and the medicine chest had been sent with the other things. In this dilemma, with no food at hand, the condition of the travellers was most deplorable. Richard with the view of obtaining some refreshment for his brother, went into the wood and shot the only bird he saw, which was not much bigger than the sparrow. With this, he returned, made a fire, and prepared a little soup in a half-pint cup, which for want of salt, was rather unsavoury, nevertheless it was of service to his brother; the flesh of the bird, Richard divided between himself and his man, both of them being weak for want of food. They now contrived to make a more substantial habitation for the invalid, of some stout branches of trees, and thatched it with long gra.s.s; they also lighted large fires round it to keep off the wild beasts, but sleep was out of the question, for they were attacked by myriads of mosquitoes, and buzzing flies, attracted by the glare of the fires. A prowling tiger was the only savage animal that approached near enough to be seen during the night.

On the following morning, a considerable improvement having taken place in John Lander's health, they set forward in good spirits, and shortly after sunset arrived in the vicinity of Coobly, without experiencing so much fatigue as had been antic.i.p.ated. Having waited on the governor, as a matter of courtesy, they were detained but a few moments, and then repaired to the hut a.s.signed to them, where John was soon after seized with the return of the fever, more severe than the former. The governor sent them a bowl of rice, one of milk, two calabashes of b.u.t.ter, and a fine fat bullock.

The situation of Richard Lander was now distressing in the extreme, his brother became hourly worse, and every moment was expected to be his last. During the few intervals he had from delirium, he seemed to be aware of his danger, and entered into arrangements respecting his family concerns. At this moment Richard's feelings were of too painful a nature to be described. The unhappy fate of his late master, Clapperton, came forcibly to his mind. He had followed him into the country, where he perished; he had attended him in his parting moments; he had performed for him the last mournful office which our nature requires, and the thought that he should have to go through the same sad ceremony for his brother, overwhelmed him with grief.

Two messengers now arrived from Boossa with a quant.i.ty of onions as a present from the queen. They were commanded by the king to await their departure from Coobly, and escort them to the city of Boossa, which was said to be about two days journey from Coobly.

The illness of John Lander, to the great joy of his brother, now took a favourable turn, and he became more tranquil and freer from pain, and preparations were now made for their departure from Coobly. For some hours before their departure, Richard was greatly annoyed by an old woman, who applied to him for medicine that would produce her an entire new set of teeth, or, she, "if I can only be supplied with two large and strong ones, I shall be satisfied with them." The woman at last became rather impertinent, when Richard recommended her two iron ones from the blacksmith, which so much displeased her, that she went away in a pet. The governor supplied them every day with abundance of rice and milk, in fact, nothing could surpa.s.s his benevolence and general good humour.

They quitted Coobly on the 15th June, and on the following morning entered a snug pretty little town called Zalee, lying in a rich and romantic valley, formed by a gap in a triple range of elevated hills, which ran from east to west. The governor sent them a goat, a fowl, a calabash of rice, and a quant.i.ty of corn for the horses. Zalee contained about a thousand inhabitants.

Their course from Zalee was in a south-easterly direction, and shortly after leaving the town, they came to a fine extensive plain, on which stood a few venerable and magnificent trees. Numerous herds of antelopes were feeding, which on hearing the report of their guns, bounded over the plain in all directions. From this place they beheld the city of Boossa, which lay directly before them at the distance of two or three miles, and appeared to be formed of straggling cl.u.s.ters of huts. To their great astonishment, however, on a nearer approach, Boossa was found to be standing on the _main land_, and not on an island in the Niger, as described by Captain Clapperton. Nothing could be discovered, which could warrant the a.s.sertion as laid down by that traveller. At ten o'clock they entered the city by the western gateway, and discharged their pieces as the signal of their arrival.

After waiting a few minutes, they were introduced to the king, whom they found in an interior apartment of his residence, in company with the _Midilie_, the t.i.tle bestowed on his princ.i.p.al wife or queen.

They welcomed the travellers to Boossa, with every appearance of cordiality. They told them very gravely, and with rueful countenances, that they had both been weeping in the morning for the death of Captain Clapperton, whose untimely end they would never cease to lament. It is true, they might have been so engaged, but as on their entrance, no outward signs of tears appeared, they rather mistrusted the information which had been imparted to them.

On the day subsequently to their arrival, they were visited by the noted widow Zuma, who presented herself to them without the slightest pretensions to finery of any kind, either in her dress or ornaments, for she was clad in very humble apparel of country cloth. She related to them with great good humour, her quarrels with her prince, the ruler of Wowow, and her consequent flight from that city to escape his resentment. It appeared that in order to effect this, she was actually obliged to climb over the city wall in the night, and travel on foot to Boossa, which was a very long journey, and to a woman of her size, must have been an arduous task. She alleged that she had done nothing whatever to merit the displeasure of the Wowow chief, notwithstanding which, he had robbed her of all her household furniture and a number of her slaves. But from another quarter, they learnt that one of her sons had committed a theft in the city, for which he would have suffered death, if he had not made his escape with his mother, who, it was said, had instigated him to the deed.

The widow complained sadly of poverty and the hardness of the times; she had fought with the Youribeans against Alorie, but instead of receiving a recompense for her bravery; she had lost half of her slaves in an engagement, which so disgusted her with the military profession, that she immediately abandoned it and returned home. Yet in spite of all her losses and misfortunes, she had gained so much in corpulency, that it was with the utmost difficulty she could squeeze herself into the doorway of their hut, although it was by no means small. The widow Zuma was a very good-looking person of matronly appearance, and her skin of a light copper colour.

After the widow had left them, Richard carried the presents which had been selected for the king and queen. Each appeared delighted with them, and the former more especially was extravagant in his expressions of admiration and thankfulness. A pair of silver bracelets, a tobacco pipe, and a looking-gla.s.s, seemed to rivet the attention of the king, who could not take his eyes off them for a full half hour, so much was he pleased with them.

The Landers now visited the far famed Niger or Quorra, which flowed by the city about a mile from their residence, and were greatly disappointed at the appearance of this celebrated river. In its widest part it was not more than a stone's throw across. The rock on which Richard Lander sat, overlooked the spot where Mr. Park and his a.s.sociates met their untimely fate; he could not help meditating on that circ.u.mstance, and on the number of valuable lives that had been sacrificed in attempting to explore that river, and he secretly implored the Almighty, that he might be the humble means of setting at rest for ever the great question of its source and termination.

The queen of a country is generally the standard of fas.h.i.+on, and therefore some idea may be formed of the fas.h.i.+ons of Boossa, by the following description of the dress in which the Midikie or queen of Boossa paid a visit to the Landers. Her majesty was clad in a common check s.h.i.+rt of Nooffie manufacture, a plain piece of blue cotton was fastened round her head, wholly concealing the hair, a larger piece of the same kind was thrown over her left shoulder, and a third tied round her waist, reached so far as the middle of the leg. Her feet were bare, as were likewise her arms up to the elbow; a bra.s.s ring ornamented each great toe, and eight silver bracelets each wrist, the least of them weighing little less than a quarter of a pound. Besides these ornaments, the queen wore a necklace of coral and bits of gold, and small pieces of pipe coral were stuck in the lobe of each ear.

It was the opinion of Lander that it would have been bad policy on his part, to have stated the true reason of his visiting this country, knowing the jealousy of most of the people with regard to the Niger; and, therefore, in answer to the king's inquiries, he was obliged to deceive him with the a.s.sertion, that his object was to go to Bornou, by way of Yaoorie, requesting at the same time, a safe conveyance through his territories. This answer satisfied the king, and he promised them every a.s.sistance in his power. In the course of conversation the king observed that he had in his possession a tobe, which belonged to a white man, who came from the north many years ago, and from whom it had been purchased by the king's father. The Landers expressed a great curiosity to see this tobe, and in a very short time after the departure of the king, it was sent to them as a present. Contrary to their expectations, they found it to be made of rich crimson damask, and very heavy from the immense quant.i.ty of gold embroidery with which it was covered. As the time, when the late king is said to have purchased this tobe, corresponds very nearly to the supposed period of Mr. Park's death, and as they never heard of any other white man having come from the north so far south as Boossa, they were inclined to believe it part of the spoil obtained from the canoe of that ill-fated traveller. Whether Mr. Park wore the tobe himself, which was scarcely possible on account of its weight, or whether he intended it as a present to a native chief, they were at a loss to determine. The king himself had never worn the tobe, nor did his predecessor, from a superst.i.tious feeling; besides, observed the king, "it might excite the cupidity of the neighbouring powers."

King George the Third of England was a b.u.t.ton-maker, and therefore no wonder need be excited at the information which was sent to the Landers from the king of Boossa, announcing to them that his majesty was a tailor, and that he would thank them much for some thread and a few needles for his own private use; the king also took it into his head that as he was a tailor, the Landers must be gunsmiths, and therefore he sent them his muskets to repair, but it being Sunday when the guns were sent, they declined the job until the following day.

Eager as they were to obtain even the slightest information relative to the unhappy fate of Mr. Park and his companions, as well as to ascertain if any of their books or papers were then in existence at that place, still they had almost made up their minds to refrain from asking him any questions on the subject, because they were apprehensive that it might be displeasing to the king, and involve them in many perplexities. Finding the king, however, to be an affable, obliging, and good-natured personage, they were emboldened to send Pascoe to him with a message expressive of the interest they felt on the subject, in common with all their countrymen, and saying, that if any books or papers which belonged to Mr. Park were yet in his possession, he would do them a great service by delivering them into their hands, or at least granting them permission to see them.

To this, the king returned for answer, that when Mr. Park was lost on the Niger, he, the king, was a very little boy, and that he knew not what had become of his effects; that the deplorable event had occurred in the reign of the late king's predecessor, who died shortly after, and that all traces of the white men had been lost with him.