to their interest and ours, than the guns, cocked hats, and mountebank
coats, with which they are at present supplied." In spite of our
traveller's philanthropic wish, things have not changed since his time.
The negroes are just as fond of intoxicating drinks, and their petty
kings still go about wearing on grand occasions hats the shape of an
accordion, and blue coats with copper buttons, with no shirts
underneath. The maternal sentiment did not seem to Laing to be very
fully developed amongst the people of Timmannee, for he was twice
roundly abused by women for refusing to buy their children of them. A
few days later there was a great tumult raised against Laing, the white
man who had inflicted a fatal blow on the prosperity of the country by
checking its trade. The first town entered in Kouranko was Maboum, and
it is interesting to note -en passant- what Laing says of the activity
of the inhabitants.
"I entered the town about sunset, and received a first impression
highly favourable to its inhabitants, who were returning from their
respective labours of the day, every individual bearing about him
proofs of his industrious occupation. Some had been engaged in
preparing the fields for the crops, which the approaching rains were to
mature; others were penning up cattle, whose sleek sides and good
condition denoted the richness of their pasturages; the last clink of
the blacksmith's hammer was sounding, the weaver was measuring the
quantity of cloth he had woven during the day, and the gaurange, or
worker in leather, was tying up his neatly-stained pouches, shoes,
knife-scabbards, &c. (the work of his handicraft) in a large kotakoo or
bag; while the crier at the mosque, with the melancholy call of 'Alla
Akbar,' uttered at measured intervals, summoned the dévôts Moslems to
their evening devotions."
Had a Marilhat or a Henri Regnault transferred to canvas a scene like
this, when the dazzling light of the sun is beginning to die away in
green and rose tints, might he not aptly name his painting the -Retour
des Champs-, a title so often given to landscapes in our misty climate.
"This scene," adds Laing, "both by its nature and the sentiment which
it inspired, formed an agreeable contrast with the noise, confusion,
and the dissipation which pervaded a Timmannee town at the same hour;
but one must not trust too much to appearances, and I regret to add,
that the subsequent conduct of the Kouranko natives did not confirm the
good opinion which I had formed of them."
The traveller now passed through Koufoula, where he was very kindly
received, crossed a pleasant undulating district shut in by the
Kouranko hills and halted at Simera, where the chief ordered his
"guiriot" to celebrate in song the arrival of his guest, a welcome
neutralized by the fact that the house assigned to Laing let in the
rain through its leaky roof and would not let out the smoke, so that,
to use his own words, he was more "like a chimney-sweeper" than the
white guest of the King of Simera.
Laing afterwards visited the source of the Tongolelle, a tributary of
the Rokelle, and then left Kooranko to enter Soolimana. Kooranko, into
which our traveller did not penetrate beyond the frontier, is of vast
extent and divided into a great number of small states. The inhabitants
resemble the Mandingoes in language and costume, but they are neither
so well looking nor so intelligent. They do not profess Mohammedanism
and have implicit confidence in their "grigris." They are fairly
industrious, they know how to sew and weave. Their chief object of
commerce is rosewood or "cam," which they send to the coast. The
products of the country are much the same as those of Timmannee.
Komia, N. lat. 9 degrees 22 minutes, is the first town in Soolimana.
Laing then visited Semba, a wealthy and populous city, where he was
received by a band of musicians, who welcomed him with a deafening if
not harmonious flourish of trumpets, and he finally reached Falaba, the
capital of the country.
The king received Laing with special marks of esteem. He had assembled
a large body of troops whom he passed in review, making them execute
various manoeuvres accompanied by the blowing of trumpets, beating of
tambourines, and the playing of violins and other native instruments.
This "fantasia" almost deafened the visitor. Then came a number of
-guiriots-, who sang of the greatness of the king, the happy arrival of
the major, with the fortunate results which were to ensue from his
visit for the prosperity of the country and the development of
commerce.
Laing profited by the king's friendliness to ask his permission to
visit the sources of the Niger, but was answered by all manner of
objections on the score of the danger of the expedition. At last,
however, his majesty yielded to the persuasions of his visitor, telling
him that "as his heart panted after the water, he might go to it."
The major had not, however, left Falaba two hours before the permission
was rescinded, and he had to give up an enterprise which had justly
appeared to him of great importance.
A few days later he obtained leave to visit the source of the Rokelle
or Sale Kongo, a river of which nothing was known before his time
beyond Rokon. From the summit of a lofty rock, Laing saw Mount Loma,
the highest of the chain of which it forms part. "The point," says the
traveller, "from which the Niger issues, was now shown to me, and
appeared to be at the same level on which I stood, viz., 1600 feet
above the level of the Atlantic; the source of the Rokelle, which I had
already measured, being 1470 feet. The view from this hill amply
compensated for my lacerated feet.... Having ascertained correctly the
situation of Konkodoogore, and that of the hill upon which I was at
this time, the first by observation, and the second by account, and
having taken the bearings of Loma from both, I cannot err much in
laying down its position in 9 degrees 25 minutes N. and 9 degrees 45
minutes W."
[Illustration: "Laing saw Mount Loma."]
Laing had now spent three months in Soolimana, and had made many
excursions. It is a very picturesque country, in which alternate hills,
valleys, and fertile plains, bordered by woods and adorned with
thickets of luxuriant trees.
The soil is fertile and requires very little cultivation; the harvests
are abundant and rice grows well. Oxen, sheep, goats, and a small
species of poultry, with a few horses, are the chief domestic animals
of the people of Soolimana. The wild beasts, of which there are a good
many, are elephants, buffaloes, a kind of antelope, monkeys, and
leopards.
Falaba, which takes its name from the Fala-ba river, on which it is
situated, is about a mile and a half long by one broad. The houses are
closer together than in most African towns, and it contains some six
thousand inhabitants. Its position as a fortified town is well-chosen.
Built on an eminence in the centre of a plain which is under water in
the rainy season, it is surrounded by a very strong wooden palisade,
proof against every engine of war except artillery.
Strange to say in Soolimana the occupations of men and women seem to be
reversed; the latter work in the fields except at seed time and
harvest, build the houses, act as masons, barbers, and surgeons, whilst
the men attend to the dairy, milk the cows, sew, and wash the linen.
On the 17th September, Laing started on his return journey to Sierra
Leone bearing presents from the king, and escorted for several miles by
a vast crowd. He finally reached the English colony in safety.
Laing's trip through Timmannee, Kooranko, and Soolimana was not without
importance. It opened up districts hitherto unknown to Europeans, and
introduced us to the manners, occupations, and trade of the people, as
well as to the products of the country. At the same time the course was
traced and the source discovered of the Rokelle, whilst for the first
time definite information was obtained as to the sources of the Niger,
for although our traveller had not actually visited them, he had gone
near enough to determine their position approximately.
The results obtained by Laing on this journey, only fired his ambition
for further discoveries. He, therefore, determined to make his way to
Timbuctoo.
On the 17th June, 1825, he embarked at Malta for Tripoli, where he
joined a caravan with which Hateeta, the Tuarick chief, who had made
such friends with Lyon, was also travelling as far as Ghât. After two
months' halt at Ghadames, Laing again started in October and reached
Insalah, which he places a good deal further west than his predecessors
had done. Here he remained from November, 1825, to January 1826, and
then made his way to the Wâdy Ghât, intending to go from thence at once
to Timbuctoo, making a tour of Lake Jenneh or Debbie, visiting the
Melli country, and tracing the Niger to its mouth. He would then have
retraced his steps as far as Sackatoo, visited Lake Tchad and attempted
to reach the hill.
Outside Ghât the caravan with which Laing was travelling was attacked,
some say by Tuaricks, others by Berber Arabs, a tribe living near the
Niger.
"Laing," says Caillié, who got his information at Timbuctoo, "was
recognized as a Christian and horribly ill-treated. He was beaten with
a stick until he was left for dead. I suppose that the other Christian
whom they told me was beaten to death, was one of the major's servants.
The Moors of Laing's caravan picked him up, and succeeded by dint of
great care in recalling him to life. So soon as he regained
consciousness he was placed on his camel, to which he had to be tied,
he was too weak to be able to sit up. The robbers had left him nothing,
the greater part of his baggage had been rifled."
Laing arrived at Timbuctoo on the 18th August, 1826, and recovered from
his wounds. His convalescence was slow, but he was fortunately spared
the extortions of the natives, owing to the letters of introduction he
had brought with him from Tripoli and to the sedulous care of his host,
a native of that city.
According to Caillié, who quotes this remarkable fact from an old
native, Laing retained his European costume, and gave out that he had
been sent by his master, the king of England, to visit Timbuctoo and
describe the wonders it contained.
"It appears," adds the French traveller, "that Laing drew the plan of
the city in public, for the same Moor told me in his naive and
expressive language, that he had 'written the town and everything in
it.'"
After a careful examination of Timbuctoo, Laing, who had good reason to
fear the Tuaricks, paid a visit by night to Cabra, and looked down on
the waters of the Niger. Instead of returning to Europe by way of the
Great Desert, he was very anxious to go past Jenneh and Sego to the
French settlements in Senegal, but at the first hint of his purpose to
the Foulahs who crowded to stare at him, he was told that a Nazarene
could not possibly be allowed to set foot in their country, and that if
he dared attempt it they would make him repent it.
Laing was, therefore, driven to go by way of El Arawan, where he hoped
to join a caravan of Moorish merchants taking salt to Sansanding. But
five days after he left Timbuctoo, his caravan was joined by a fanatic
sheikh, named Hamed-ould-Habib, chief of the Zawat tribe, and Laing was
at once arrested under pretence of his having entered their country
without authorization. The major being urged to profess Mohammedanism
refused, preferring death to apostasy. A discussion then took place
between the sheikh and his hired assassins as to how the victim should
be put to death, and finally Laing was strangled by two slaves. His
body was left unburied in the desert.
This was all Caillié was able to find out when he visited Timbuctoo but
one year after Major Laing's death. We have supplemented his accounts
by a few details gathered from the reports of the Royal Geographical
Society, for the traveller's journal and the notes he took are alike
lost to us.
We have already told how Laing managed to fix pretty accurately the
position of the sources of the Niger. We have also described the
efforts made by Mungo Park and Clapperton to trace the middle portion
of the course of that river. We have now to narrate the journeys made
in order to examine its mouth and the lower part of its course. The
earliest and most successful was that of Richard Lander, formerly
Clapperton's servant.
Richard Lander and his brother John proposed to the English Government,
that they should be sent to explore the Niger to its mouth. Their offer
was accepted, and they embarked on a government vessel for Badagry,
where they arrived on the 19th March, 1830.
The king of the country, Adooley, of whom Richard Lander retained a
friendly remembrance, was in low spirits. His town had just been burnt,
his generals and his best soldiers had perished in a battle with the
people of Lagos, and he himself had had a narrow escape when his house
and all his treasures were destroyed by fire.
He determined to retrieve his losses, and to do so at the expense of
the travellers, who could not get permission to penetrate into the
interior of the country until they had been robbed of their most
valuable merchandise, and compelled to sign drafts in payment for a
gun-boat with a hundred men, for two puncheons of rum, twenty barrels
of powder, and a large quantity of merchandise, which they knew
perfectly well would never be delivered by this monarch, who was as
greedy of gain as he was drunken. As a matter of course the natives
followed the example of their chief, vied with him in selfishness,
greed, and meanness, regarded the English as fair spoil, and fleeced
them on every opportunity.
At last, on the 31st March, Richard and John Lander succeeded in
getting away from Badagry; and preceded by an escort sent in advance by
the king, arrived at Katunga on the 13th May, having halted by the way
at Wow-wow, a good-sized town, Bidjie, where Pearce and Morrison had
been taken ill, Jenneh, Chow, Egga, all towns visited by Clapperton,
Engua, where Pearce died, Asinara, the first walled city they saw,
Bohou, formerly capital of Yariba, Jaguta, Leoguadda, and Itcho, where
there is a famous market.
[Illustration: Lower Course of the Niger (after Lander).]
At Katunga, according to custom, the travellers halted under a tree
before they were received by the king. But being tired of waiting, they
presently went to the residence of Ebo, the chief eunuch, and the most
influential man about the person of the sovereign. A diabolical noise
of cymbals, trumpets, and drums, all played together, announced the
approach of the white men, and Mansolah, the king, gave them a most
hearty welcome, ordering Ebo to behead every one who should molest
them.
The Landers, fearful of being detained by Mansolah until the rainy
season, acted on Ebo's advice, and said nothing about the Niger, but
merely spoke of the death of their fellow-countryman at Boussa twenty
years before, adding that the King of England had sent them to the
sultan of Yaourie to recover his papers.
Although Mansolah did not treat the brothers Lander quite as graciously
as he had treated Clapperton, he allowed them to go eight days after
their arrival.
Of the many details given in the original account of the Landers'
journey, of Katunga and the province of Yariba, we will only quote the
following:--
"Katunga has by no means answered the expectations we had been led to
form of it, either as regards its prosperity, or the number of its
inhabitants. The vast plain on which it stands, although exceedingly
fine, yields in verdure and fertility, and simple beauty of appearance,
to the delightful country surrounding the less celebrated city of
Bohoo. Its market is tolerably well supplied with provisions, which
are, however, exceedingly dear; insomuch that, with the exception of
disgusting insects, reptiles, and vermin, the lower classes of the
people are almost unacquainted with the taste of animal food."
Mansolah's carelessness and the imbecile cowardice of his subjects had
enabled the Fellatahs to establish themselves in Yarriba, to entrench
themselves in its fortified towns, and to obtain the recognition of
their independence, until they became sufficiently strong to assume an
absolute sovereignty over the whole country.
From Katunga the Landers travelled to Borghoo, by way of Atoupa,
Bumbum--a town much frequented by the merchants of Houssa, Borghoo, and
other provinces trading with Gonja--Kishi, on the frontiers of Yarriba,
and Moussa, on the river of the same name, beyond which they were met
by an escort sent to join them by the Sultan of Borghoo. Sultan Yarro
received them with many expressions of pleasure and kindness, showing
special delight at seeing Richard Lander again. Although he was a
convert to Mohammedanism, Yarro evidently put more faith in the
superstitions of his forefathers than in his new creed. Fetiches and
gri-gris were hung over his door, and in one of his huts there was a
square stool, supported on two sides by four little wooden effigies of
men. The character, manners, and costumes of the people of Borghoo
differ essentially from those of the natives of Yarriba.
"Perhaps no two people in the universe residing so near each other,"
says the narrative, "differ more widely ... than the natives of Yarriba
and Borghoo. The former are perpetually engaged in trading with each
other from town to town, the latter never quit their towns except in
case of war, or when engaged in predatory excursions; the former are
pusillanimous and cowardly, the latter are bold and courageous, full of
spirit and energy, and never seem happier than when engaged in martial
exercises; the former are generally mild, unassuming, humble and
honest, but cold and passionless. The latter are proud and haughty, too
vain to be civil, and too shrewd to be honest; yet they appear to
understand somewhat of the nature of love and the social affections,
are warm in their attachments, and keen in their resentments."
On the 17th June our travellers at last came in sight of the city of
Boussa. Great was their surprise at finding that town on the mainland,
and not, as Clapperton had said, on an island in the Niger. They
entered Boussa by the western gate, and were almost immediately
introduced to the presence of the king and of the midiki or queen, who
told them that they had both that very morning shed tears over the fate
of Clapperton.
The Niger or Quorra, which flows below the city, was the first object
of interest visited by the brothers.
"This morning," writes the traveller, "we visited the far-famed -Niger-
or -Quorra-, which flows by the city about a mile from our residence,
and were greatly disappointed at the appearance of this celebrated
river. Bleak, rugged rocks rose abruptly from the centre of the stream,
causing strong ripples and eddies on its surface. It is said that, a
few miles above Boussa, the river is divided into three branches by two
small, fertile islands, and that it flows from hence in one continued
stream to Funda. The Niger here, in its widest part, is not more than a
stone's-throw across at present. The rock on which we sat overlooks the
spot where Mr. Park and his associates met their unhappy fate."
Richard Lander made his preliminary inquiries respecting the books and
papers belonging to Mungo Park's expedition with great caution. But
presently, reassured by the sultan's kindness, he determined to
question him as to the fate of the explorer. Yarro was, however, too
young at the time of the catastrophe to be able to remember what had
occurred. It had taken place two reigns back; but he promised to have a
search instituted for relics of the illustrious traveller.
"In the afternoon," says Richard Lander, "the king came to see us,
followed by a man with a book under his arm, which was said to have
been picked up in the Niger after the loss of our countryman. It was
enveloped in a large cotton cloth, and our hearts beat high with
expectation as the man was slowly unfolding it, for, by its size, we
guessed it to be Mr. Park's Journal; but our disappointment and chagrin
were great when, on opening the book, we discovered it to be an old
nautical publication of the last century."
There was then no further hope of recovering Park's journal.
On the 23rd June the Landers left Boussa, filled with gratitude to the
king, who had given them valuable presents, and warned them to accept
no food, lest it should be poisoned, from any but the governors of the
places they should pass through. They travelled alongside of the Niger
as far as Kagogie, where they embarked in a wretched native canoe,
whilst their horses were sent on by land to Yaoorie.
"We had proceeded only a few hundred yards," says Richard Lander, "when
the river gradually widened to two miles, and continued as far as the
eye could reach. It looked very much like an artificial canal, the
steep banks confining the water like low walls, with vegetation beyond.
In most places the water was extremely shallow, but in others it was
deep enough to float a frigate. During the first two hours of the day
the scenery was as interesting and picturesque as can be imagined. The
banks were literally covered with hamlets and villages; fine trees,
bending under the weight of their dark and impenetrable foliage,
everywhere relieved the eye from the glare of the sun's rays, and,
contrasted with the lively verdure of the little hills and plains,
produced the most pleasing effect. All of a sudden came a total change
of scene. To the banks of dark earth, clay, or sand, succeeded black,
rugged rocks; and that wide mirror which reflected the skies, was
divided into a thousand little channels by great sand-banks."
A little further on the stream was barred by a wall of black rocks,
with a single narrow opening, through which its waters rushed furiously
down. At this place there is a portage, above which the Niger flows on,
restored to its former breadth, repose, and grandeur.
After three days' navigation, the Landers reached a village, where they
found horses and men waiting for them, and whence they quickly made
their way, through a continuously hilly country, to the town of
Yaoorie, where they were welcomed by the sultan, a stout, dirty,
slovenly man, who received them in a kind of farm-yard cleanly kept.
The sultan, who was disappointed that Clapperton had not visited him,
and that Richard Lander had omitted to pay his respects on his return
journey, was very exacting to his present guests. He would give them
none of the provisions they wanted, and did all he could to detain them
as long as possible.
We may add that food was very dear at Yaoorie, and that Richard Lander
had no merchandise for barter except a quantity of "Whitechapel sharps,
warranted not to cut in the eye," for the very good reason, he tells
us, that most of them had no eyes at all, so that they were all but
worthless.
They were able, however, to turn to account some empty tins which had
contained soups; the labels, although dirty and tarnished, were much
admired by the natives, one of whom strutted proudly about for some
days wearing an empty tin on his head, bearing four labels of
"concentrated essence of meat."
The Sultan would not permit the Englishmen to enter Nyffé or Bornou,
and told them there was nothing for them but to go back to Boussa.
Richard Lander at once wrote to the king of that town, asking
permission to buy a canoe in which to go to Funda, as the road by land
was infested by plundering Fellatahs.
At last, on the 26th July, a messenger arrived from the King of Boussa
to inquire into the strange conduct of the Sultan of Yaoorie, and the
cause of his detention of the white men. After an imprisonment of five
weeks the Landers were at last allowed to leave Yaoorie, which was now
almost entirely inundated.
The explorers now ascended the Niger to the confluence of the Cubbie,
and then went down it again to Boussa, where the king, who was glad to
see them again, received them with the utmost cordiality. They were,
however, detained longer than they liked by the necessity of paying a
visit to the King of Wow-wow, as well as by the difficulty of getting a
boat. Moreover, there was some delay in the return of the messengers
who had been sent by the King of Boussa to the different chiefs on the
banks of the river, and lastly, Beken Rouah (the Dark Water) had to be
consulted in order to ensure the safety of the travellers in their
journey to the sea.
On taking leave of the king, the brothers were at a loss to express
their gratitude for his kindness and hospitality, his zeal in their
cause, and the protection he was ever ready to extend during their stay
of nearly two months in his capital. The natives showed great regret at
losing their visitors, and knelt in the path of the brothers, praying
with uplifted hands to their gods on their behalf.
Now began the descent of the Niger. A halt had to be made at the island
of Melalie, whose chief begged the white men to accept a very fine kid.
We may be sure they were too polite to refuse it. The Landers next
passed the large town of Congi, the Songa of Clapperton, and then
Inguazilligie, the rendezvous of merchants travelling between Nouffe
and the districts north-east of Borghoo. Below Inguazilligie they
halted at Patashie, a large fertile island of great beauty, planted
with palm groves and magnificent trees.
As this place was not far from Wow-wow, Richard Lander sent a message
to the king of that town, who, however, declined to deliver the canoe
which had been purchased of him. The messenger failing in his purpose,
the brothers were compelled themselves to visit the king, but as they
expected, they got only evasive answers. They had now no choice, if
they wished to continue their journey, but to make off with the canoes
which had been lent them at Patashie. On the 4th October, after further
delays, they resumed their course, and being carried down by the
current, were soon out of sight of Lever, or Layaba, and its wretched
inhabitants.
The first town the brothers came to was Bajiebo, a large and spacious
city, which for dirt, noise, and confusion, could not be surpassed.
Next came Leechee, inhabited by Nouffe people, and the island of Madje,
where the Niger divides into three parts. Just beyond, the travellers
suddenly found themselves opposite a remarkable rock, two hundred and
eighty feet high, called Mount Kesa, which rises perpendicularly from
the centre of the stream. This rock is greatly venerated by the
natives, who believe it to be the favourite home of a beneficent
genius.
[Illustration: Mount Kesa. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
At Belee, a little above Rabba, the brothers received a visit from the
"King of the Dark Waters," chief of the island of Zagoshi, who appeared
in a canoe of great length and unusual cleanliness, decked with scarlet
cloth and gold lace. On the same day they reached the town of Zagoshi,
opposite Rabba, and the second Fellatah town beyond Sackatoo.
Mallam Dendo, chief of Zagoshi, was a cousin of Bello. He was a blind
and very feeble old man in very bad health, who knew he had but a few
years longer to reign, and his one thought was how best to secure the
throne to his son.
Although he had received very costly presents, Mallam Dendo was
anything but satisfied, and declared that if the travellers did not
make him other and more valuable gifts, he would require their guns,
pistols, and powder, before he allowed them to leave Zagoshi.
Richard Lander did not know what to do, when the gift of the tobé (or
robe) of Mungo Park, which had been restored by the King of Boussa,
threw Mallam Dendo into such ecstasies of joy that he declared himself
the protector of the Europeans, promised to do all he could to help
them to reach the sea, made them a present of several richly-coloured
plaited mats, two bags of rice, and a bunch of bananas. These stores
came just in time, for the whole stock of cloth, looking-glasses,
razors, and pipes was exhausted, and the English had nothing left but a
few needles and some silver bracelets as presents for the chiefs on the
banks of the Niger.
"Rabba," says Lander, "... seen from Zagoshi, appears to be a large,
compact, clean, and well-built town, though it is unwalled, and is not
otherwise fenced. It is irregularly built on the slope of a
gently-rising hill, at the foot of which runs the Niger; and in point
of rank, population, and wealth, it is the second city in the Fellatah
dominions, Sackatoo alone being considered as its superior. It is
inhabited by a mixed population of Fellatahs, Nyffeans, and emigrants
and slaves from various countries, and is governed by a ruler who
exercises sovereign authority over Rabba and its dependencies, and is
styled sultan or king.... Rabba is famous for milk, oil, and honey. The
market, when our messengers were there, appeared to be well supplied
with bullocks, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, and abundance of
poultry. Rice, and various sorts of corn, cotton cloth, indigo, saddles
and bridles made of red and yellow leather, besides shoes, boots, and
sandals, were offered for sale in great plenty. Although we observed
about two hundred slaves for sale, none had been disposed of when we
left the market in the evening.... Rabba is not very famous for the
number or variety of its artificers, and yet in the manufacture of mats
and sandals it is unrivalled. However, in all other handicrafts, Rabba
yields to Zagoshi."
The industry and love of labour displayed by the people of the latter
town were an agreeable surprise in this lazy country. Its inhabitants,
who are hospitable and obliging, are protected by the situation of
their island against the Fellatahs. They are independent too, and
recognize no authority but that of the "King of the Dark Waters," whom
they obey because it is to their interest to do so.
On the 16th October, the Landers at last started in a wretched canoe,
for which the king had made them pay a high price, with paddles they
had stolen, because no one would sell them any. This was the first time
they had been able to embark on the Niger without help from the
natives. They went down the river, whose width varies greatly, avoiding
large towns as much as possible, for they had no means of satisfying
the extortions of the chiefs. No incident of note occurred before Egga
was reached, if we except a terrible storm which overtook the
travellers when, unable to land in the marshes bordering the river,
they had allowed their boat to drift with the current, and during which
they were all but upset by the hippopotami playing about on the surface
of the water. All this time the Niger flowed in an E.S.E. direction,
now eight, now only two miles in width. The current was so rapid that
the boat went at the rate of four or five miles an hour.
[Illustration: "They were all but upset."]
On the 19th October the Landers passed the mouth of the Coudonia, which
Richard had crossed near Cuttup on his first expedition, and a little
later they came in sight of Egga. The landing-place was soon reached by
way of a bay encumbered with an immense number of large and heavy
canoes full of merchandise, with the prows daubed with blood, and
covered with feathers, as charms against thieves.
The chief, to whom the travellers were at once conducted, was an old
man with a long white beard, whose appearance would have been venerable
and patriarchal had he not laughed and played in quite a childish
manner. The natives assembled in hundreds to see the strange-looking
visitors, and the latter had to place three men as sentinels outside
their door to keep the curious at a distance.
[Illustration: Square stool belonging to the King of Bornou.
(Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
Lander says that Benin and Portuguese cloths are sold at Egga by many
of its inhabitants, so that it would appear that some kind of
communication is kept up between the sea-coast and this place. The
people are very speculative and enterprising, and numbers of them
employ all their time solely in trading up and down the Niger. They
live entirely in their canoes, over which they have a shed, that
answers completely every purpose for which it is intended, so that, in
their constant peregrinations, they have no need of any other dwelling
or shelter than that which their canoes afford them....
"Their belief," says Lander, "that we possessed the power of doing
anything we wished, was at first amusing enough, but their
importunities went so far that they became annoying. They applied to us
for charms to avert wars and other national calamities, to make them
rich, to prevent the crocodiles from carrying off the people, and for
the chief of the fishermen to catch a canoe-load of fish every day,
each request being accompanied with some sort of present, such as
country beer, goora-nuts, cocoa-nuts, lemons, yams, rice, &c., in
quantity proportionate to the value of their request.
"The curiosity of the people to see us is so intense, that we dare not
stir out of doors, and therefore we are compelled to keep our door open
all day long for the benefit of the air, and the only exercise which we
can take is by walking round and round our hut like wild beasts in a
cage. The people stand gazing at us with visible emotions of amazement
and terror; we are regarded, in fact, in just the same light as the
fiercest tigers in Europe. If we venture to approach too near the
doorway, they rush backwards in a state of the greatest alarm and
trepidation; but when we are at the opposite side of the hut they draw
as near as their fears will permit them, in silence and caution.
"Egga is a town of vast extent, and its population must be immense.
Like all the towns on the banks of the Niger, it is inundated every
year. We can but conclude that the natives have their own reasons for
building their houses in situations which, in our eyes, are alike so
inconvenient and unhealthy. Perhaps it may be because the soil of the
surrounding districts consists of a black greasy mould of extraordinary
fertility, supplying all the necessaries of life at the cost of very
little trouble. Although the King of Egga looked more than a hundred
years old, he was very gay and light-hearted. The chief people of the
town met in his hut, and spent whole days in conversation. This company
of greybeards, for they are all old, laugh so heartily at the
sprightliness of their own wit, that it is an invariable practice, when
any one passes by, to stop and listen outside, and they add to their
noisy merriment so much good-will, that we hear nothing from the hut in
which the aged group are revelling during the day but loud peals of
laughter and shouts of applause."
One day the old chief wished to show off his accomplishments of singing
and dancing, expecting to astonish his visitors.
"He frisked," says Lander, "beneath the burden of five-score, and
shaking his hoary locks, capered over the ground to the manifest
delight of the bystanders, whose plaudits, though confined, as they
always are, to laughter, yet tickled the old man's fancy to that
degree, that he was unable to keep up his dance any longer without the
aid of a crutch. With its assistance he hobbled on a little while, but
his strength failed him; he was constrained for the time to give over,
and he set himself down at our side on the threshold of the hut. He
would not acknowledge his weakness to us for the world, but endeavoured
to pant silently, and suppress loud breathings, that we might not hear
him. How ridiculous, yet how natural, is this vanity! He made other
unavailing attempts to dance, and also made an attempt to sing, but
nature would not second his efforts, and his weak piping voice was
scarcely audible. The singers, dancers, and musicians, continued their
noisy mirth, till we were weary of looking at and listening to them,
and as bedtime was drawing near, we desired them to depart, to the
infinite regret of the frivolous but merry old chief."
Mallam-Dendo, however, tried to dissuade the English from continuing
the descent of the river. Egga, he said, was the last Nouffe town, the
power of the Fellatahs extended no further, and between it and the sea
dwelt none but savage and barbarous races, always at war with each
other. These rumours and the stories told by the natives to the
Landers' people of the danger they would run of being murdered or sold
as slaves so terrified the latter, that they refused to embark,
declaring their intention of going back to Cape Coast Castle by the way
that they came. Thanks to the firmness of the brothers this mutiny was
quelled, and on the 22nd October the explorers left Egga, firing a
parting salute of three musket-shots. A few miles further down, a
sea-gull flew over their heads, a sure sign that they were approaching
the sea, and with it, it appeared all but certain, the end of their
wearisome journey.
Several small and wretched villages, half under water, and a large town
at the foot of a mountain, which looked ready to overwhelm it, the name
of which the travellers could not learn, were passed in succession.
They met a great number of canoes built like those on the Bonny and
Calabar Rivers. The crews stared in astonishment at the white men whom
they dared not address. The low marshy banks of the Niger were now
gradually exchanged for loftier, richer, and more fertile districts.
Kacunda, where the people of Egga had recommended Lander to halt, is on
the western bank of the river. From a distance its appearance is
singularly picturesque. The natives were at first alarmed at the
appearance of the travellers. An old Mallam acting as Mohammedan priest
and schoolmaster took them under his protection, and, thanks to him,
the brothers received a warm welcome in the capital of the independent
kingdom of Nouffé. The information collected in this town, or rather in
this group of four villages, coincided with that obtained at Egga.
Richard Lander therefore resolved to make the rest of the voyage by
night and to load his four remaining guns and two pistols with balls
and shot. To the great astonishment of the natives, who could not
understand such contempt of danger, the explorers left Kacunda with
three loud cheers, committing their cause to the hands of God. They
passed several important towns, which they avoided. The river now wound
a great deal, flowing from the south to south-east, and then to the
south-west between lofty hills.
On the 25th October, the English found themselves opposite the mouth of
a large river. It was the Tchadda or Benuwe. At its junction with the
Niger is an important town called Cutum Curaffi. After a narrow escape
from being swallowed up in a whirlpool and crushed against the rocks,
Lander having found a suitable spot showing signs of habitation,
determined to land. That this place had been visited a little time
previously, was proved by two burnt out fires with some broken
calabashes, fragments of earthenware vessels, cocoa-nut shells, staves
of powder-barrels, &c., which the travellers picked up with some
emotion, for they proved that the natives had had dealings with
Europeans. Some women ran away out of a village which three of Lander's
men entered with a view to get the materials for a fire. The exhausted
explorers were resting on mats when they were suddenly surrounded by a
crowd of half-naked men armed with guns, bows and arrows, cutlasses,
iron barbs, and spears. The coolness and presence of mind of the
brothers alone averted a struggle, the issue of which could not be
dubious. "As we approached," says Lander, "we made all the signs and
motions we could with our arms, to deter the chief and his people from
firing on us. His quiver was dangling at his side, his bow was bent,
and an arrow which was pointed at our breasts already trembled on the
string, when we were within a few yards of his person. This was a
highly critical moment, the next might be our last. But the hand of
Providence averted the blow; for just as the chief was about to pull
the fatal cord, a man that was nearest him rushed forward, and stayed
his arm. At that instant we stood before him, and immediately held
forth our hands; all of them trembled like aspen leaves; the chief
looked up full in our faces, kneeling on the ground; light seemed to
flash from his dark, rolling eyes, his body was convulsed all over, as
though he were enduring the utmost torture, and with a timorous yet
undefinable expression of countenance, in which all the passions of our
nature were strangely blended, he drooped his head, eagerly grasped our
proffered hands, and burst into tears. This was a sign of friendship;
harmony followed, and war and bloodshed were thought of no more. It was
happy for us that our white faces and calm behaviour produced the
effect it did on these people; in another minute our bodies would have
been as full of arrows as a porcupine's is full of quills. 'I thought
you were children of heaven fallen from the skies,' said the chief, in
explanation of this sudden change."
This scene took place in the famous market-town of Bocqua, of which the
travellers had so often heard, whither the people come up from the
coast to exchange the merchandise of the whites for slaves brought in
large numbers from Funda, on the opposite bank.
The information obtained at Bocqua was most satisfactory; the sea was
only ten days' journey off. There was no danger in going down the
river, the chief said, though the people on the banks were a bad lot.
Following the advice of this chief, the travellers passed the fine town
of Atta without stopping, and halted at Abbagaca, where the river
divides into several branches, and whose chief showed insatiable greed.
Refusing to halt at several villages, whose inhabitants begged for a
sight of the white strangers, they were finally obliged to land at the
village of Damuggo, where a little man wearing a waistcoat which had
once formed part of a uniform, hailed them in English, crying out:
"Halloa, ho! you English, come here!" He was an emissary from the King
of Bonny come to buy slaves for the master.
The chief of Damuggo, who had never before seen white men, received the
explorers very kindly, held public rejoicings in their honour and
detained them with constant fêtes until the 4th November. Although the
fetich consulted by him presaged that they would meet with a thousand
dangers before reaching the sea, this monarch supplied them with an
extra canoe, some rowers, and a guide.
[Illustration: Map of the Lower Course of the Djoliba, Kouara, Quoora,
or Niger (after Lander). Gravé par E. Morieu.]
The sinister predictions of the fetich were soon fulfilled. John and
Richard Lander were embarked in different boats. As they passed a large
town called Kirree they were stopped by war-canoes, each containing
forty men wearing European clothes, minus the trousers.
Each canoe carried what at first sight appeared to be the Union Jack
flying from a long bamboo cane fixed in the stern, a four or six
pounder was lashed to each prow, and every black sailor was provided
with a musket.
The two brothers were taken to Kirree, where a palaver was held upon
their fate. Fortunately the Mallams or Mohammedan priests interfered in
their favour, and some of their property was restored to them, but the
best part had gone to the bottom of the river with John Lander's canoe.
"To my great satisfaction," says Lander, "I immediately recognized the
box containing our books, and one of my brother's journals; the
medicine-chest was by its side, but both were filled with water. A
large carpet bag, containing all our wearing apparel, was lying cut
open, and deprived of its contents, with the exception of a shirt, a
pair of trousers, and a waistcoat. Many valuable articles which it had
contained were gone. The whole of my journal, with the exception of a
note-book with remarks from Rabba to this place, was lost. Four guns,
one of which had been the property of the late Mr. Park, four
cutlasses, and two pistols, were gone. Nine elephants' tusks, the
finest I had seen in the country, which had been given us by the kings
of Wow-wow and Boussa; a quantity of ostrich feathers, some handsome
leopard skins, a great variety of seeds, all our buttons, cowries, and
needles, which were necessary for us to purchase provisions with, all
were missing, and said to have been sunk in the river."
This was like going down in port. After crossing Africa from Badagry to
Boussa, escaping all the dangers of navigating the Niger, getting free
from the hands of so many rapacious chiefs, to be shipwrecked six day's
journey from the sea, to be made slaves of or condemned to death just
on the eve of making known to Europe the results of so many sufferings
endured, so many dangers escaped, so many obstacles happily surmounted!
To have traced the course of the Niger from Boussa, to be on the point
of determining the exact position of its mouth and then to find
themselves stopped by wretched pirates was really too much, and bitter
indeed were the reflections of the brothers during the interminable
palaver upon their fate.
Although their stolen property was partially restored to them, and the
negro who had begun the attack upon them was condemned to be beheaded,
the brothers were none the less regarded as prisoners, and they were
marched off to Obie, king of the country, who would decide what was to
be done with them. It was evident that the robbers were not natives of
the country, but had only entered it with a view to pillage. They
probably counted on trading in two or three such market-towns as Kirree
if they did not meet with any boats but such as were too strong to be
plundered. For the rest, all the tribes of this part of the Niger
seemed to be at daggers drawn with each other, and the trade in
provisions was carried on under arms. After two days' row the canoes
came in sight of Eboe, at a spot where the stream divides into three
"rivers" of great width, with marshy level banks covered with
palm-trees. An hour later one of the boatmen, a native of Eboe, cried,
"There is my country." Here fresh difficulties awaited the travellers.
Obie, king of Eboe, a young man with a refined and intelligent
countenance, received the white men with cordiality. His dress, which
reminded his visitors of that of the King of Yarriba, was adorned with
such a quantity of coral that he might have been called the coral king.
Obie seemed to be affected by the account the English gave of the
struggle in which they had lost all their merchandise, but the aid he
gave them was by no means proportioned to the warmth of the sentiments
which he expressed, indeed he let them all but die of hunger.
"The Eboe people," says the narrative, "like most Africans, are
extremely indolent, and cultivate yams, Indian corn, and plantains
only. They have abundance of goats and fowls, but few sheep are to be
seen, and no bullocks. The city, which has no other name than the Eboe
country, is situated on an open plain; it is immensely large, contains
a vast population, and is the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It
has, for a series of years, been the principal slave-mart for native
traders from the coast, between the Bonny and Old Calabar rivers; and
for the production of its palm-oil it has obtained equal celebrity.
Hundreds of men from the rivers mentioned above come up for the purpose
of trade, and numbers of them are at present residing in canoes in
front of the town. Most of the oil purchased by Englishmen at the Bonny
and adjacent rivers is brought from thence, as are nearly all the
slaves which are annually exported from those places by the French,
Spaniards, and Portuguese. It has been told us by many that the Eboe
people are confirmed anthropophagi; and this opinion is more prevalent
among the tribes bordering on that kingdom, than with the natives of
more remote districts."
From what the travellers could learn, it was pretty certain that Obie
would not let them go without exacting a considerable ransom. He may
doubtless have been driven to this by the importunity of his
favourites, but it was more likely the result of the greed of the
people of Bonny and Brass, who quarrelled as to which tribe should
carry off the English to their country.
A son of the Chief of Bonny, King Pepper, a native named Gun, brother
of King Boy, and their father King Forday, who with King Jacket govern
the whole of the Brass country, were the most eager in their demands,
and produced as proofs of their honourable intentions the testimonials
given to them by the European captains with whom they had business
relations.
One of these documents, signed James Dow, captain of the brig "Susan"
of Liverpool, and dated from the most important river of the Brass
Country, September, 1830, ran thus:--
"Captain Dow states that he never met with a set of greater scoundrels
than the natives generally, and the pilots in particular."
It goes on in a similar strain heaping curses upon the natives, and
charging them with having endeavoured to wreck Dow's vessel at the
mouth of the river with a view to dividing his property amongst them.
King Jacket was designated as an arrant rogue and a desperate thief.
Boy was the only one of common honesty or trustworthiness.
After an endless palaver, Obie declared that according to the laws and
customs of the country he had a right to look upon the Landers and
their people as his property, but that, not wishing to abuse his
privileges, he would set them free in exchange for the value of twenty
slaves in English merchandise. This decision, which Richard Lander
tried in vain to shake, plunged the brothers into the depths of
despair, a state of mind soon succeeded by an apathy and indifference
so complete that they could not have made the faintest effort to
recover their liberty. Add to these mental sufferings the physical
weakness to which they were reduced by want of food, and we shall have
some idea of their state of prostration. Without resources of any kind,
robbed of their needles, cowries, and merchandise, they were reduced to
the sad necessity of begging their bread. "But we might as well have
addressed our petitions to the stones or trees," says Lander; "we might
have spared ourselves the mortification of a refusal. We never
experienced a more stinging sense of our own humbleness and imbecility
than on such occasions, and never had we greater need of patience and
lowliness of spirit. In most African towns and villages we have been
regarded as demigods, and treated in consequence with universal
kindness, civility, and veneration; but here, alas, what a contrast! we
are classed with the most degraded and despicable of mankind, and are
become slaves in a land of ignorance and barbarism, whose savage
natives have treated us with brutality and contempt."
It was Boy who finally achieved the rescue of the Landers, for he
consented to pay to Obie the ransom he demanded for them and their
people. Boy himself was very moderate, asking for nothing in return for
his trouble and the risk he ran in taking the white men to Brass, but
fifteen bars or fifteen slaves, and a barrel of rum. Although this
demand was exorbitant, Lander did not hesitate to write an order on
Richard Lake, captain of an English vessel at anchor in Brass river,
for thirty-six bars.
The king's canoe, on which the brothers embarked on the 12th November,
carried sixty persons, forty of whom were rowers. It was hollowed out
of a single tree-trunk, measured more than fifty feet long, carried a
four-pounder in the prow, an arsenal of cutlasses and grape-shot, and
was laden with merchandise of every kind. The vast tracts of cultivated
land on either side of the river showed that the population was far
more numerous than would have been supposed. The scenery was flat,
open, and varied; and the soil, a rich black mould, produced luxuriant
trees, and green shrubs of every shade. At seven p.m. on the 11th
November the canoe left the chief branch of the Niger and entered the
Brass river. An hour later, Richard Lander recognized with
inexpressible delight tidal waves.
[Illustration: "It was hollowed out of a single tree-trunk."]
A little farther on Boy's canoe came up with those of Gun and Forday.
The latter was a venerable-looking old man, in spite of his wretched
semi-European semi-native clothing and a very strong predilection for
rum, of which he consumed a great quantity, although his manners and
conversation betrayed no signs of excessive drinking.
That was a strange escort which accompanied the two Englishmen as far
as the town of Brass.
"The canoes," says Lander, "were following each other up the river in
tolerable order, each of them displaying three flags. In the first was
King Boy, standing erect and conspicuous, his headdress of feathers
waving with the movements of his body, which had been chalked in
various fantastic figures, rendered more distinct by its natural
colour; his hands were resting on the barbs of two immense spears,
which at intervals he darted violently into the bottom of the canoe, as
if he were in the act of killing some formidable wild animal under his
feet. In the bows of all the other canoes fetish priests were dancing,
and performing various extraordinary antics, their persons, as well as
those of the people with them, being chalked over in the same manner as
that of King Boy; and, to crown the whole, Mr. Gun, the little military
gentleman, was most actively employed, his canoe now darting before and
now dropping behind the rest, adding not a little to the imposing
effect of the whole scene by the repeated discharges of his cannon."
Brass consists of two towns, one belonging to Forday, the other to King
Jacket. The priests performed some curious ceremonies before
disembarking, evidently having reference to the whites. Was the result
of the consultation of the fetish of the town favourable or not to the
visitors? The way the natives treated them would answer that question.
Before he set foot on land Richard Lander, to his great delight,
recognized a white man on the banks. He was the captain of a Spanish
schooner at anchor in the river. The narrative goes on to say:--
"Of all the wretched, filthy, and contemptible places in this world of
ours none can present to the eye of a stranger so miserable an
appearance, or can offer such disgusting and loathsome sights, as this
abominable Brass Town. Dogs, goats, and other animals run about the
dirty streets half-starved, whose hungry looks can only be exceeded by
the famishing appearance of the men, women, and children, which
bespeaks the penury and wretchedness to which they are reduced; whilst
the persons of many of them are covered with odious boils, and their
huts are falling to the ground from neglect and decay."
Another place, called Pilot Town by the Europeans, on account of the
number of pilots living in it, is situated at the mouth of the river
Nun, seventy miles from Brass. King Forday demanded four bars before
the Landers left the town, saying it was customary for every white man
who came to Brass by the river to make that payment. It was impossible
to evade compliance, and Lander drew another bill on Captain Lake. At
this price Richard Lander obtained permission to go down in Boy's royal
canoe to the English brig stationed at the mouth of the river. His
brother and his servants were not to be set free until the return of
the king. On his arrival on the brig, Lander's astonishment and shame
was extreme when he found that Lake refused to give him any help
whatever. The instructions given to the brothers from the ministry were
read, to prove that he was not an impostor; but the captain answered,--
"If you think that you have a ---- fool to deal with, you are mistaken;
I'll not give a ---- flint for your bill. I would not give a ---- for
it."
Overwhelmed with grief at such unexpected behaviour from a
fellow-countryman, Richard Lander returned to Boy's canoe, not knowing
to whom to apply, and asked his escort to take him to Bonny, where
there were a number of English vessels. The king refused to do this,
and the explorer was obliged to try once more to move the captain,
begging him to give him at least ten muskets, which might possibly
satisfy Forday.
"I have told you already," answered Lake, "that I will not let you have
even a flint, so bother me no more."
"But I have a brother and eight people at Brass Town," rejoined Lander,
"and if you do not intend to pay King Boy, at least persuade him to
bring them here, or else he will poison or starve my brother before I
can get any assistance from a man-of-war, and sell all my people."
"If you can get them on board," replied the captain, "I will take them
away; but as I have told you before, you do not get a flint from me."
At last Lander persuaded Boy to go back and fetch his brother and his
people. The king at first declined to do so without receiving some
payment on account, and it was only with difficulty that he was induced
to forego this demand. When Lake found out that Lander's servants were
able-bodied men, who could replace the sailors he had lost by death or
who were down with fever, he relented a little. This yielding mood did
not, however, last long, for he declared that if John and his people
did not come in three days he would start without them. In vain did
Richard prove to him beyond a doubt that if he did so the white men
would be sold as slaves. The captain would not listen to him, only
answering, "I can't help it; I shall wait no longer." Such inhumanity
as this is fortunately very rare; and a wretch who could thus insult
those not merely his equals, but so much his superiors, ought to be
pilloried. At last, on the 24th November, after weathering a strong
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