CHAPTER III.

JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS FROM KATUNGA, OR EYEO, TO BOUSA, ON THE NIGER,

OR QUORRA, THE PLACE WHERE MUNGO PARK PERISHED.

At three o’clock in the afternoon I set out from Katunga, and passed

the gates of the town, with the same escort I had on entering it,

headed, as before, by the king’s brother. In the evening we halted

at the village of Assina for the night, where I got two fowls and

some yams. The poor people were just returning to their houses,

from which they had been driven out by the Fellatas last year,

who continue to infest the country, even up to the gates of Katunga.

Wednesday, 8th.—Left the village of Assina; the morning dull,

but cool and pleasant; arrived at Tshow, where I had breakfast,

and left it at 10 A.M., and after travelling over very bad roads,

cut up and crossed by deep rocky ravines, reached the higher ground,

which was well cultivated; but their villages appeared to be all

in ruins, which my guides told me were destroyed last year by the

Fellatas. At noon arrived at the town of Algi, which is now rising

from its ruins; it having shared the same fate as the villages I had

passed. The inhabitants are now returning to their ruined dwellings,

some of which they have already repaired; they said they had nothing

but a little grain, and a few yams for seed; of these they gave me

part, and the best house in the town. The Yarro messenger had not

made his appearance, and I now learned, that Algi no longer belonged

to the king of Yourriba, but to Yarro, the chief or sultan of Kiama,

a petty state of the kingdom of Borgoo; that Kiama was the name of

the province, and Yarro the name of the sultan, as he is called. I

gave the king of Yourriba’s brother, who commanded the escort,

a fathom of red cloth, and ten coral beads, as he is to return to

Katunga as soon as he has seen me off from this place.

Thursday, 9th.—Light airs, and clear. I was unable to get off

to-day, as they could not collect the people to carry my baggage. The

king of Yourriba’s brother declared, that he or his people had had

nothing to eat all night, or since he had left Assina; yet he got the

caboceer of the place to send me a pig, for which I gave five coral

beads: the man said he was ashamed to see me, as he had nothing to

give. Algi consists of three walled villages, and before it was burnt

down had been of considerable size: they pointed out a rock close to

the south side of the town, from whence the Fellatas flew the pigeons

to set fire to it. The mode of doing it was, by making combustibles

fast to the tails of the birds, which, on being let loose from the

hand, immediately flew to the tops of the thatched houses, while the

Fellatas kept up a sharp fire of arrows, to prevent the inhabitants

extinguishing the flames. There are still a number of Fellatas in

this neighbourhood, who are nearly white, but pagans: they speak

the Fellata language, and agree in every thing but their religion.

Friday, 10th.—This morning the king’s brother accompanied me

outside the town. I sent by him a letter to Mr. Houtson, to tell the

king of Yourriba he had behaved very ill in not sending a proper

messenger; that the one he had sent was not the Kiama messenger,

but the butcher’s son of Algi, and that in no one point had he

performed his promise to me. We halted at the village of Watatoo,

where I was lodged in one of the best houses; this village had also

shared the fate of Algi, having been burnt down by the Fellatas,

and the inhabitants were just returning to their homes. The country

between Watatoo and Algi is cultivated in a number of places, and

planted with cotton, yams, and maize, and is diversified by hill

and dale: the hills are low and rocky; the rocks of a fine-grained

sand-stone. In the evening the head man of the village made me a

present of four fowls and some yams.

Saturday, 11th.—Cool and cloudy; during the night, heavy storm of

wind, with thunder and lightning. At daylight I had every thing ready

for starting; the butcher’s son having arrived last night, mounted

on a little mare, with a saddle, and he without shoes or boots. On

leaving Watatoo, I gave the two head men of the village a fathom of

blue cloth each, as they had been as good as their circumstances

would admit, and they promised to send every thing after me as

soon as possible. In about fifteen minutes after leaving Watatoo,

I arrived at and crossed the river Moussa, which formerly divided the

kingdoms of Yourriba, and Borgoo: it was dry in a great many places,

with a very rocky bed; when full, about thirty yards in breadth;

and runs apparently with a very strong current. They say, it is the

same river I passed on the road to Tshow, on the north side of the

hills, and enters the Quorra opposite Nyffee, and near Rakah. After

crossing, I travelled through thick woods for an hour, when I halted

at a few huts on the north side of the river, called Bori, until

the baggage should arrive. A hut stood apart from the rest, near

the banks of the river; the grass and weeds carefully cleared away

from around it. The messenger and people who were with me went one

after another to say their prayers; which they did, by lying down,

with their foreheads towards the door, which was secured by a mat:

they appeared to be very devout, and having finished their prayers,

slipped a few cowries inside the mat. I asked if I might go and look

in, but they would not allow me. I asked them who they prayed to: they

said, to the God that gave them plenty of water, corn, and yams. They

say there are great numbers of hippopotami and crocodiles in the river

during the time that it is full. The carriers, with the baggage, came

up very slowly, and the heaviest loads were mostly carried by old

women; and I could not help noticing the cold-blooded indifference

of the young men, who would not give the poor old creatures the

least assistance: however, I made them carry the heaviest loads,

to the great joy of the old ladies. During the time I was waiting

for the carriers to come up, a piece of cloth was stolen from one

of the women. The bearers flew to arms instantly, the arrows laid

on the strings, and the bows bent. I expected nothing but a battle;

but fortunately the thief was discovered to be one of the villagers,

who had pretended to be asleep, and drunk, all the time we were here;

he had stowed the cloth under the thatch of the house, and I never saw

a woman more overjoyed in my life than the poor honest creature was,

when she recovered her cloth; she came and kneeled down to thank

me, as she said it was by my influence the cloth was returned. On

the tops of the huts, which are of the real Bornou coozie form,

the first I have seen since I came to Africa this time, were stuck

a number of crocodiles’ eggs, which are considered as a protection

against that animal. All the baggage having now arrived, I left the

village of Boru, with its shady trees and mud temple, at a very quick

pace, over a flat country apparently not far from the river Quorra,

thickly wooded with fine tall trees, and inhabited by large antelopes,

numerous traces of which I saw. In the evening halted in the wood,

close to a small stream of water.

The next morning, on leaving our encampment, a messenger from the

chief of Kiama arrived; he had been sent to see if I was on the

road, and to return with speed and inform his master. Our road was

through thick woods; the soil a red clay, mixed with gravel. At

10 A.M. halted at the town of Oblah, which has been walled, and

of considerable size, but now only a few huts remain, the rest

having been burned by Yarro. Here my servant Richard was taken

very ill, and unable to ride; in consequence of which I remained

until the afternoon, when he got better, and was able to proceed,

by a man holding him on the bare back of the horse, for we had no

saddles. Halted at the village of Socka, where I got one of the best

huts, a few yams, and four fowls.

Monday, 13th.—Morning cool and cloudy. At daylight an escort

arrived from the chief of Kiama, mounted on as fine horses as I ever

saw. One man had on a white cotton tobe, or shirt, written over

entirely with Arab charms, which made it look like printed cotton

at a distance. They were a despicable, lawless set of fellows; for

as soon as they had delivered their master’s compliments to me,

they began to plunder the village of the goats and fowls. One fellow

rode in at full gallop, through the fence of matting which surround

the huts, brandishing his spear; those on foot following him, and

making a prize of every thing they could lay their hands on. I gave

the head man of the village, out of sight of the escort, a fathom of

blue cloth, and two knives. On leaving Sacko, I was now accompanied

by this escort, who formed as fine and wild a looking troop as I

ever saw. They had brought me a saddle, but Richard and Pascoe rode

bare-backed, and our little Yourriba mares made a miserable contrast

with the gallant looking troop who were guarding us: but I consoled

myself with the thought that I had not plundered the village. Our road

lay through a country rough and uneven, consisting of hill and dale,

with rocks of quartz and sandstone, a range of hills closing round

to the right. Passed two villages, at which my honest escort levied

a tribute of goats and fowls. At nine A.M. we arrived at the city

of Kiama, and rode instantly up to the house of the chief; where,

after waiting under the shade of a wide spreading tree for a few

minutes, I paid my respects to the chief, or sultan, as they call

him: his name is Yarro. He was sitting in the porch of his door,

a stout, good looking man, past the middle age, dressed in a white

tobe or large shirt, with a red Moorish cap on his head. We shook

hands; and after telling him who I was, and where I wished to go,

he said, Very well, I had better go and rest from the fatigues of

my journey, in the house that was prepared for me; and sent his

head man to conduct me to it. He was attended by a mob of people,

who were lying on their bellies and their sides, talking to him in

this posture. After taking my leave, I went with his head man to my

house, which proved to be a very good one. It consisted of three large

huts inside a square, in one of which I put the baggage; occupied the

second myself; and the servants the other. I had not remained long,

before Yarro sent me a present of milk, eggs, bananas, fried cheese,

curds, and foo-foo; and I was left alone until the heat of the day was

over, when I received a visit from Yarro himself. He came mounted on

a beautiful red roan, attended by a number of armed men, on horseback

and on foot; and six young female slaves, naked as they were born,

except a stripe of narrow white cloth tied round their heads, about

six inches of the ends flying out behind; each carrying a light

spear in the right hand. He was dressed in a red silk damask tobe,

and booted. He dismounted, and came into my house, attended by the

six girls, who laid down their spears, and put a blue cloth round

their waists before they entered the door. After he was seated,

he began by asking after the health of the king of Yourriba, who,

I said, I had left very well. I then told him I had been sent by the

king of England to visit Bornou; that I was the king of England’s

servant, and hoped he would assist me in proceeding on my journey;

and that I intended to make him a suitable present; that I wanted

thirty-six men to carry my baggage, and two horses for my servants

to ride; and that I wished to stay as short a time as possible,

as the rains were near at hand, which, if overtaken by them, would

prevent my travelling; that the season of the rains was very sickly,

and fatal to white men; that three of the white men who had left

England with me had died in Yourriba, and it was more than probable

that I should die also, if exposed in any of these countries to the

rains. He said I was going to stay but a short time, and that he

would send me to Wawa; from thence I should be forwarded to Boussa;

then to cross the river Quorra to Injaskee, and thence to Bornou. On

his leaving me, I attended him to the door. He mounted his horse,

the young ladies undressed, and away went the most extraordinary

cavalcade I ever saw in my life.

After sunset I had a visit from the taya or chief of the caravan

belonging to Houssa, which had arrived yesterday from Gonja and

Ashantee, and a trader of Bornou who had known me when I was in

that country. They advised me by all means to leave this country

as soon as possible, as they were all kaffirs; that they would

plunder me of every thing I had; and that on no account ought I to

go by the way of Youri, as they were now at war with the Fellatas,

and the road entirely shut up; that, besides, the road by Youri was

the most distant; and that I must urge this chief to send me away

as soon as possible.

Tuesday, 14th.—This morning I waited on Yarro with my present, which

consisted of the following articles:—a large blue silk umbrella,

one of Tatham’s African swords, three fathoms of blue cloth, three

fathoms of red, some red beads and coral, an imitation gold chain,

two bottles of rum, two phosphorus boxes, four knives, and six pair of

scissars, and some prints. The cloth I had spread out at full length:

the large mock coral beads he shook at the naked young females, as

much as to say, Which of you will get these? On seeing the sword he

could not restrain his delight, and drawing it, and brandishing it

around his head, he called out, “_Ya baturi! Ya baturi!_” “Oh,

my white lord! Oh, my white lord!” He was certainly more pleased

than any man I ever saw with a present; his eyes sparkled with joy,

and he shook me about a dozen times by the hand. I pressed the

necessity of my departure, which he said should be the day after

to-morrow. I then took my leave; and a short time after returning

to my house he sent me some milk and a sheep; and in the afternoon,

by his head man, Abubecker, an earthenware jug to look at: it was of

English earthenware, representing old Toby Philpot with a flowing

jug of ale in his hand. I have seen more European articles, such

as earthenware jugs, brass and pewter dishes, pieces of woollen

and cotton cloth, within these two days that I have been in Kiama,

than I saw during the whole time I was in Yourriba.

In the evening I had a visit from the head man of the Houssa goffle,

or caravan, which is on its way from Gonja and Ashantee: they consist

of upwards of 1000 men and women, and as many beasts of burthen. He

offers to carry all my things to Kano for a certain sum. He says

that they had been detained in Gonja a long time, twelve months,

on account of the wars; that the king of Ashantee was dead, as

also the heir, and that the Ashantees were now without a king. This

taya, as the head man of the goffle is called, is named Abdullah,

a native of Kano. I heard a great many inquiries made after myself,

they not knowing me in my English dress, and without a beard. They

talk to me about having seen me in Bornou and Soudan: I do not yet

tell them that I am the same person.

The principal part of the cargo of these Houssa merchants consists

in gora or kolla nuts, which they receive in exchange for natron,

red glass beads, and a few slaves, principally refractory ones

which they cannot manage. They carry their goods on bullocks, mules,

asses, and a number of female slaves are loaded; even some women hire

themselves to carry loads to and from Nyffé. Some of the merchants

have no more property than they can carry on their own heads. The

duty they pay to the chief of Kiama is ten kolla for each load.

Wednesday, 15th.—I early visited the chief this morning, to urge

my departure. He was surrounded by a number of his head men; and

when I had finished my story, he made a number of objections to my

going off to-morrow. One of his fellows said I had given nothing to

be allowed to go. I said I was not a merchant, possessed of a great

quantity of goods to give away; that I had only a few things to give

to the different sultans on the road, to afford me protection to

and from Bornou, and pointed out to Yarro each separate place where

I should be obliged to give. He said that, before I left Kiama, I

must give a present to his governor and the head men of the town,

whom he would send to me. I told him, if this was to be the way,

I should very soon have nothing to give: that at Wawa, Boussa,

and Injaskie, they would be sure to hear what I had given here, and

that they would expect the same. He then said, that as soon as his

messenger arrived from Katunga, who was a very trusty man, I should

go to Wawa. I informed him that the chief of the Houssa caravan

had offered to take me to Kano from Wawa, and that he would carry

every thing for me. “Oh,” says he, “you must not believe these

stories; he would take you a day or two on the road, and then leave

you: where is he to get the means to carry your things? and besides,

he has not paid his custom yet, and until that is paid he cannot go:

you shall go to-morrow or next day.” On which I thanked him, and

took my leave. On my return I had a messenger from his principal wife,

to say she wished to see me; and she sent me five yams and a fowl.

In the afternoon I went to visit her sable majesty. I first repaired

to Yarro’s house, where, after some conversation about my going

away, I told him I wished to send a letter to Badagry, and if he

wanted a tea-pot like mine I should send for one for him: he said

yes, he wanted a tea-pot and a pair of gold bracelets, and some

other things, which he would mention to me by and by. His wife and

daughter came in: the first old and ugly; the next about twenty-five

years old, which is past the meridian in this country. After paying

their respects to Yarro, which is after the Yourriba fashion, I gave

them one fathom of red cloth, one fathom of blue, some scissars,

needles, beads, and silk. Yarro asked me if I would take his

daughter for a wife; I said “Yes,” after a great many thanks

for my present. The old woman went out, and I followed with the

king’s head man, Abubecker. I went to the house of the daughter,

which consists of several coozies separate from those of the father,

and I was shown into a very clean one: a mat was spread: I sat down;

and the lady coming in and kneeling down, I asked her if she would

live in my house, or I should come and live with her: she said,

whatever way I wished: very well, I said, I would come and live with

her, as she had the best house. She kept her kneeling posture all

the time I was in the house. I took leave of her, and went home,

when one of the great men mentioned by Yarro waited upon me, and I

gave him a present of two knives, some beads, and a yard of cloth.

Thursday, 16th.—The king’s son came to-day for my advice: a

fat, gross, tall man. He said, on my inquiring after his disorder,

that every month he had a great throbbing of blood in his head,

attended with pain; that he lost the use of his limbs, and could

not stand; that the pain then fell down to his breast, and remained

altogether four days, coming on always a few days before the new

moon. I weighed him out nine doses of calomel, of seven grains each,

desiring him to take them one at a time when the throbbing came on,

and if he could get bled in the head to have that done also; and,

with the assistance of God, I hoped he would get well before he

had taken the nine doses. I had a visit also from the princess,

for the purpose of receiving a small donation of beads. She would

not sit down on the carpet or mat, as her father had sat on it when

he had been in my house. Such is the custom: a daughter must not

presume to sit where her father has sat. A wife of the governor

of the town also came to see me. She brought me a present of some

cowries, as she said her father had been a servant to white men:

she would sleep well and happy to-night, as the joy or wish of her

life was accomplished—she had seen me.

I had a present of a sheep, four fowls, and some yams, from a young

man related to Yarro, for my advice and assistance; as I now intend

my advice in the medical way shall turn to some account: without

that I should never have a moment’s peace for patients. This

young man had nothing the matter with him: he was only afraid he was

going to get the disorder his mother died of, which he described as

follows:—First, swellings of the eyes and ears, then contracting

of the toes and fingers; the skin on the body peeling off, and the

flesh looking red and raw; then death. I gave him twelve papers of

calomel, of two grains each, desiring him to take one every morning,

besides giving him a strong dose of Croton oil (three drops), and

a dose of Seidlitz to wash it down.

Every night we have dancing and singing. Their music is the Bornou

flute, the Arab fiddle, and the drum. There appears not the least

jealousy to exist in Kiama: men’s wives and maidens all join in

the song and dance; even those of the Moorish belief seem to forget

that part of their creed in Kiama.

Friday, 17th.—This being jama, or the day Mahometans attend the

mosque, kept by them as we keep our Sunday, the pagans also take

advantage of the day, and spend it in showing their fine clothes,

and paying and receiving visits. I had a visit from the governor,

who came in state: he was attended by a great rabble, and two drums:

he had on a turban over a European foraging cap, two or three tobes

of Manchester cotton; the rest of his dress was of country-made

cloth. After the governor left me I visited Yarro with a present

of six wax candles, and the remains of my red beads of the largest

size, as he says his women are very fond of them; and this is to be

my last present, as I am to go away to-morrow. He says he will give

me carriers; lend me horses; and, as I will have to sleep in the

woods, he would send plenty of provisions: his people should sleep

on one side the baggage, and mine on the other, at night; and then,

when every thing went safe, I could not but say Yarro was a good man.

After the heat of the day was over, Yarro came, attended by all his

train. The most extraordinary persons in it were himself and the

bearers of his spears, which, as before, were six naked young girls,

from fifteen to seventeen years of age. The only thing they wore

was a white bandeau, or fillet of white cloth, round the forehead,

about six inches of the ends flying behind, and a string of beads

round their waists; in their right hands they carried three light

spears each. Their light form, the vivacity of their eyes, and the

ease with which they appeared to fly over the ground, made them appear

something more than mortal as they flew alongside of his horse, when

he was galloping, and making his horse curvet and bound. A man with

an immense bundle of spears remained behind at a little distance,

apparently to serve as a magazine for the girls to be supplied from,

when their master had expended those they carried in their hands.

Yarro is a stout, good-looking man, with large eyes, a handsome

Roman nose, a short grisly beard, sits well on horseback, and was

dressed in a high red Moorish cap, a tobe or large shirt, boots,

and brass stirrup-irons. His horse’s neck was bedecked with small

brass bells and charms, and was as fine a dark bay as I ever saw. The

rest of his attendants were not worth mentioning: some on horseback,

some on foot; and one only had an old musket, which missed fire every

time they snapped it. The whole of the horse in attendance might

be about fifty, who filed past my door, and then halted, when Yarro

alighted and came in. I had tea prepared for him, which he professed

to like very much; but he would not drink milk with his tea, as it

is forbidden by his fetish. The girls came into the house with him,

but a cloth for the waist was first given them to put on. After tea he

returned, and at his request I went to the front of his house, where

there was some by no means bad horse-racing, in an oblong square in

front of his house, formed on one side by tall shady trees, the end

closed by the rocky ridge. The horses ran in pairs up this square,

sometimes a large Bornou horse paired with the small native breed,

the latter of which appeared to dispute the victory often with the

larger horses of Bornou. Towards the close, young boys rode on bare

backed young horses, which was not the worst of the sport. After

the racing I went and complimented Yarro on his riding, as he also

was one of the racers, and of course won.

Kiama, the principal city of a province of that name in the kingdom of

Borgoo, is situated in latitude 9° 37′ 33″ north, and longitude

5° 22′ 56″ east of Greenwich. It is governed by a chief whose

name, Yarro, signifies The Boy; and both city and province are,

as frequently happens in Africa, sometimes called after him. The

province is thinly inhabited, and the city straggling and ill

built. The houses consist of circular huts, or coozies, built of

clay and thatched: a number of these, enclosed in a square fence

of matting, generally form but one house. The city is built on the

south side of a rocky ridge, and is surrounded by an extensive low

clay wall, which is broken down in a number of places: inside the

walls are plantations of corn and yams. The surrounding country is

thickly wooded, with but few plantations, and the country is said

to abound in game of all descriptions.

Kiama is one of the towns through which the caravan from Houssa and

Bornou passes to and from Gonja, on the borders of Ashantee: it also

has a direct trade with Dahomey, Youri, Nyffé, and Yourriba. There is

no fixed duty for the merchants to pay, but the chief takes just as

much as can be squeezed from them. The inhabitants are pagans of an

easy faith; never praying but when they are sick, or want something,

and cursing their object of worship as fancy serves. The Houssa

slaves amongst them are Mahometans, and are allowed to worship in

their own way.

The town (and I think I speak within bounds) may contain 30,000

inhabitants. They are looked upon by all who know them as the greatest

thieves and robbers in all Africa; and it is enough to call a man a

native of Borgoo, to designate him as a thief and a murderer. Their

government is despotic; and it appears very little protection is

given to the subject, as one town will plunder another whenever an

opportunity offers. Their manner of salutation to superiors is by

prostration at full length on the ground, but without throwing dust on

the head or body: the women kneel on their knees and elbows, holding

the two open hands turned up towards the face. They say that a country

called Gourma lies eight days’ journey to the north of them; Gonja

is to the W.N.W.; and that a small territory called Katakolee lies

between Gonja and Borgoo. They sell in the market Brazil tobacco,

snuff, natron, yams, plantains, bananas, milk, vegetable butter,

gora nuts, and honey in great plenty and cheap. Sheep and bullocks

are abundant: the latter mostly in the hands of the Fellatas, who

inhabit the woods, shifting about from place to place as pasture is

good. The Borgoo people will not suffer them to carry any weapons

of defence. Their best horses they get from the Bornou and Houssa

merchants, who bring them for sale.

On the 18th, after breakfast, being provided with carriers and

two horses, one saddled for myself, I took leave of Yarro, and

left Kiama. The Houssa caravan left before me, but was to halt

at another village, at a little distance from my route. The road

was principally through thick woods, with a few plantations of

yams, near some villages that we passed, inhabited by Fellatas. One

deserted village, they said, had been abandoned last rainy season, on

account of sickness; but what the disease was, I could not learn. The

inhabitants of these villages were mostly Fellatas, who take care

of Yarro’s cattle. The road very winding, diversified by gentle

hill and dale; the soil red clay and gravel, with rocks and stones

here and there, of a gritty sandstone, with large square pebbles

of quartz. At 11.40 A.M. halted at the village of Bonaga, where I

got a good house; and I found Yarro had sent forward two goats and

a large quantity of yams, which I shared out to the carriers of the

baggage. The day was excessively hot, and it was late before all the

baggage came up. The head man of the village sent me three large bowls

of foo-foo, with goats’ flesh dressed in the skin, which is the

saving way of this country, nothing being thrown away but the hoofs

and horns. Just as I was going to bed in the evening, Abubecker, who

by Yarro’s order had accompanied me, to see me safe on my journey,

came running into my room in his shirt, apparently in a great fright,

and said the men had run away who were engaged to carry the baggage,

and he must ride into the town to bring them back. I thanked him,

and said I hoped he would make haste. He waited a little; and I

suspected he wanted to draw a present out of me, though I had given

him more than any other person in Kiama except Yarro.

Sunday, 19th.—At daybreak I had every thing ready for starting, but

the manœuvring of old Abubecker kept me until 7.30 A.M.; and even

then I had to give three yards of blue cloth and several strings of

beads before I could get the baggage off. After starting, our road

was through a thickly wooded country of fine tall trees, with little

underwood, the country rising into gentle hill and dale, and the

path very winding. At 10 we fell in with the Houssa caravans. They

occupied a long line of march: bullocks, asses, horses, women, and

men, to the amount of a thousand, all in a line, after one another,

forming a very curious sight; a motley groupe, from the nearly naked

girls and men carrying loads, to the ridiculously and gaudily dressed

Gonja traders, riding on horseback, some of these animals being lame,

and going with a halt, and all in very bad condition. The poor girls,

their slaves, are compelled to travel with a heavy load on their

heads, yet are as cheerful and good-natured as if they were at home

grinding corn in their own native country. The road lay over a level

plain covered with trees; the soil a red clay, with gravel and ore,

among rocks of clay ironstone, appearing, from the softer parts,

to have been washed or worn away, as if it had undergone the action

of fire. We halted near to a small rainy-season stream, in which

were pools of water. Here and there saw numerous traces of the

large antelopes, buffaloes, and elephants. The latter, they say,

the natives do not kill, because they can get plenty of other meat,

and they can prevail on no one to buy the tusks. They destroy wild

animals with poisoned arrows, one of which they pretend to say will

kill an elephant in about an hour. They eat the flesh of the animal

slain with these arrows, but cut out and throw away the piece around

the poisoned wound. Yarro’s messenger has promised to show me the

tree from which they get the poison when we arrive at Wawa: they

tell a number of extravagant stories about its power and effects,

which are too ridiculous to believe.

In the evening I went to the place where the Houssa people were

encamped, in order to conclude my bargain with the taya, or head

man of the caravan, and to make him sign the written agreement in

Arabic by which he was to be bound to carry my baggage and presents

from Boussa to Kano; and for which I was to pay him, the day after

my arrival at the latter place, two hundred thousand cowries. He had

always fought off the agreement, saying, I could conclude the bargain

when I got over the river; that I must get the sultan of Boussa to

allow me to go, and then we should conclude the bargain. I never

could get him to say how much he would take them for, or even that

he would take them at all. I now said he must determine, as, before

I knew whether he would for certain take them or not, it would be of

no use asking the sultan of Boussa; “for if I get the sultan’s

leave, and you get me on the road, you may charge what you please:

if he does not allow me to go, signing the agreement will do no harm,

it will only be the loss of the papers. You are mistaken if you think

I have any thing to fear from the sultan of Youri; I am a servant

of the king of England, and will receive assistance and protection

whichever route I take.” He said he would send for his partner. His

partner came, Malem Mohamed, or the learned Mohamed; a man that could

not read or write, but could repeat a chapter or two of the Koran by

heart. He was a palavering old rogue, who always repeated, to whatever

the taya said, the words “_madealla, madealla_,”—“very good,

very good,”—without giving any answer to what I asked. I told

them, it did not require much consideration about the matter: this

must be done, yes or no, before I see the sultan of Boussa; for if

they did not determine whether they would take my things or not, I

would go direct to Youri. The taya then said, how many loads would

I have? I said, fifteen bullocks or asses; that I would pay him at

Kano, the day after my arrival, as I could have what money I wanted

from Hadji Hat Saleh on giving him a receipt, as I had no money here;

(not wishing to let them know that I had a dollar here, as it might

endanger my existence and that of all my property). “Well,” says

he, “I know you can have what money you want from the merchants

of Kano: I and my partner will consider of the affair to-night,

and give you an answer to-morrow.” The taya returned with me

to my encampment, and, to my surprise, told me that I must not

let it be known that I was going to the Fellatas: “Say you are

going to Bornou.” “So I am,” I said; “I have got a letter

for the sheikh, which I will show you to-morrow.” When the taya

left me, I began to think that what Yarro of Kiama had told me was

true. When I asked him to go with the caravan, says he, “Are you

a merchant? if you are, go with the caravan: if you are the king of

England’s messenger, you have nothing to do with them; your way is

to go from one king to another, not with caravans of merchants. You

will find plenty of people to put evil in your head; if you are wise,

do not believe them.”

Monday 20th.—At 6 A.M. left our encampment. Our road through a

woody country, rising into hill and dale, with some beautiful rocky

mounts, perched on the heights composed of blocks of sandstone and

clay ironstone; the soil a red clay and gravel. We halted at the

village of Barakina, where I stopped until the carriers came up. As

I arrived at this village, a hunter came in from the chase. He had

a leopard’s skin over his shoulder, a light spear in his hand,

and his bow and arrows slung over his shoulder. He was followed by

three cream-coloured dogs, a breed as if between the greyhound and

cur: they were adorned with round collars of different coloured

leather. The hunter and his dogs marched through the village as

independently as ever I saw a man, without taking the least notice

of us, or even looking at us. He was followed by a slave carrying a

dead antelope that he had killed this morning. They say the people

of Borgoo are the greatest hunters in Africa, and that the people of

this village and of those we have passed live entirely by the chase;

the little ground they cultivate being worked by the women.

Leaving Barakina, and travelling until noon, I came to a rocky

ledge, formed like a wall, in some places rising into beautiful

rocky mounts with bold precipices, shaded on the top with trees of

the most luxuriant foliage. The road lay through a narrow pass in the

ledge, shaded with fine tall majestic trees. Here, I said to myself,

is the pass, or gates, leading to the Niger. The rocks of which the

ledge is composed are of a conglomerate, formed with large square

pieces of white quartz, imbedded in a shining dark gray substance;

the pieces of quartz about an inch square, the strata forming an

angle of about 40° with the zenith. At noon crossed the river Oli,

which has a very rocky bed, and is said to be impassable, from

the swiftness of the current, in the rainy season. At this place

the rocks in the river were a dark clay slate: its course was from

west-north-west to east-south-east. The head man of the village at the

ferry told me that it had its rise in the hills to the north of Niki,

ran to the north of Kiama, and entered the Quorra above Rakah. At

the place where I and my baggage crossed it was dry; but all other

passengers, not being in the service of a king, are required to cross

at the ferry by a canoe, where they have to pay ten cowries a head

for each passenger, and twenty cowries for a load for goods. After

crossing, I halted at the village of the ferry, which is called Billa,

on the south side of the river. I encamped under a shady tree for

the superior coolness, though I was offered the best house in the

village. The head man brought me a present of a sheep, some yams,

milk and honey; and, a short while after my arrival, the head man

of the village of Barakina arrived with a sheep, yams, and honey,

making an apology for his not being at home when I passed. Alligators

are plenty in the river, as one of the carriers, in going to bring

water, was chased from the river side by one: parrots, paroquets,

and game abound near the banks of this stream. In the evening it

was reported to me that the whole of the horses were lost: whether

it be to extract a present or not, time will show.

Tuesday, 21st.—It was 8 A.M. before the horses were brought back. I

sent all the baggage and stores off, except three boxes, which I gave

in charge to the head man of the village, who promised to forward

them to me at Wawa. I gave him and the head man of the village of

Barakina two yards of cloth each, with a knife and a few beads,

with which they were very well pleased. An escort of four horsemen

arrived to conduct me to Wawa, and at 8.30 A.M. I left Billa and the

escort, who had made the head man of the village provide them with a

breakfast. The road lay over a plain, well cultivated, and planted

with cottons, yams, and corn in a number of places. At 10 halted

under the shade of a tree, near the walls of Wawa, until the escort

came up, which they did in a short time afterwards, when I proceeded

with them into the town, to the gate of the governor’s house, where

I halted under a large spreading tree for upwards of an hour. I then

desired Yarro’s messengers to tell the governor that if I was kept

longer waiting outside I should return to Kiama; that I was the king

of England’s messenger, and would not be kept outside of any door

in this way. They went in and told the governor, who sent out to say

he was dressing to receive me, and would be out immediately. In a

few minutes a number of men came out of the house, and sat down in

two rows outside the door; then a high stool was brought out, and

placed in the entrance; after which the great man came slowly out of

the gate, with a long staff in his hand, and seated himself on the

stool. He sent for me. Until then I had not dismounted. I went up

and shook hands with him: he kept his hand wrapped up in the sleeve

of his tobe, for fear the touch of a white kaffir should kill him. I

told him at once who I was, and what I wanted. He said, every thing

I wished should be done, and as I must be fatigued with my journey,

I should see him again to-morrow. I was shown to a very good house,

but found it excessively hot: the thermometer in the shade was 105°

of Fahrenheit, which is higher than it has been since I have been in

Africa this time. In the afternoon, the governor sent me a present

of a goat, yams, honey, and eggs, and the same from his head man.

I was not a little surprised, towards sunset, by a visit from the king

of Dahomey’s messengers. I thought that all my prospects were now

blasted; that they had been sent to detain me, and bring me back;

but my fears were soon allayed, by their saying that they were on

their way home; that they had heard white men had arrived here,

and they had come to pay their respects to me; that they had been

in Youri, and twelve months since had left Dahomey; that the king

of Dahomey had sent them to get a camel, but the war between the

people of Youri and the Fellatas prevented any camels coming to

Youri. These men brought two muskets to salute me with; they had

been here twelve days, and were intending to leave this for their

own country as soon as they could procure an answer from the governor.

I am lodged in the house of a widow, whose husband was one of the

governor’s head men. She is the only wife that bore children to the

deceased, and in consequence was not taken and sold at her husband’s

death. She wears a rope round her head, another round her neck, and

one round her waist, until she has passed her time of mourning, or

procures another husband; but I suspect this will be until she dies,

as she is ugly in the extreme. I had a visit, amongst the number,

from the daughter of an Arab, who is very fair, calls herself a white

woman, is rich, a widow, and wants a white husband. She is said to

be the richest person in Wawa, having the best house in the town, and

a thousand slaves. She showed a great regard for my servant Richard,

who is younger and better looking than I am: but she had passed her

twentieth year, was fat, and a perfect Turkish beauty, just like a

walking water-butt. All her arts were unavailing on Richard: she could

not induce him to visit her at her house, though he had my permission.

The next day I went, after sending to say I was ready to give the

governor his present, to his house, accompanied by his head man,

and gave him seven yards of red cloth, seven yards of blue cloth,

seven yards of blue silk, an umbrella, ten strings of beads, and a

phosphorus box, after showing them off to the greatest advantage, a

thing never to be neglected in Africa. I sat down and told him what

I have told them all, and which has been so often repeated. He said

there were two roads, one where there was war, the other peace. The

one where there was war was by Youri; that the sultan of that country

was out fighting the Fellatas: the other by the way the merchants

went, through Nyffé, which was safe, and he would advise me to go

by that road. I thanked him, and said I would follow his advice,

for that I had nothing to do with war. Says he, “You are come to

make peace among all people, and make the kings leave off war.”

I said, “God willing, I would do what I could.” This opinion of

my being a peace-maker prevails strongly in all places that I have

been in: perhaps it may arise from the people of the coast and those

of Dahomey informing them of the active part we take in preventing

the slave trade. He said he should send to the sultan of Boussa, and

tell him to forward me by the way of Nyffé, with the merchants, as

the other road was bad; that he had never had such a valuable present

from any one before; and that I should see every thing I pleased in

his country. I told him that three white men who were with me had

died on the road; that I was very anxious to get to Bornou before

the rains, as being a dry sandy country, I considered that there I

was safe: but that in this country or Houssa it was very unsafe and

unhealthy for white men to be caught by the rains. The governor is a

thin, spare, old man; he had on a cap in the form of a foraging cap,

with some of the Stuart tartan riband in several folds around it,

a white tobe or large shirt, a Moorish kaftan of Manchester cotton,

and a pair of sandals on his feet. The room in which he received

me had nothing worth note but the stool on which he sat, which had

two lizards carved in bas relief on the top, and the heads of two

as handles for carrying it. His house is inside a high square clay

wall, with one gate on the western side, and consists of coozies,

or circular huts, built of clay and thatched, and one square tower

of clay, having little projections at each corner, and an ostrich

egg on the top of each of the huts.

After returning home I had numerous visitors, who brought presents of

rum, palm wine, and pitto, none of which I would accept, nor allow to

be brought into the house for the servants; but as for my man Ali,

an Arab, whose freedom I had purchased at Badagry and taken as a

servant, all my care could not prevent him from getting drunk. He is a

confirmed liar and a thief, and I have often regretted that I gave him

his freedom, as I cannot well get rid of him here. The inhabitants

of this place appear to be the most roaring, drinking set of any

other town I have yet seen. Last night, until near morning, nothing

was to be heard but fiddles, Arab guitars, castanets, and singing.

The Kiama messenger, according to his promise, brought some of

the leaves of the tree or bush called by them kongkonie, from the

seeds of which the natives extract the poison for their arrows; from

the leaves and branches exudes a resinous gum which sticks to the

fingers; the flower is small and white, with a very long foot-stalk;

the seeds are enclosed in a long case surrounded by a silky substance;

the seeds are small, like caraway seeds, and are boiled to a thick

black paste before they are put on the arrows. They say that the

seeds are a deadly poison if taken into the stomach; the seeds I

have got in the case, but dried, and fit for use.

The king of Dahomey’s messengers came to me in the evening and

told me they wanted to speak to me, saying they wished to do so

privately. I sent Pascoe to one side with them, but they came back

observing that they must say it to myself only; their mighty secret

was this: that they had been in Youri five months assisting the king

of that country against the Fellatas; that, if I either regarded

my safety or wished to reach the end of my journey, I ought not to

take that road, as I should never get on; that they had stood the

brunt of all his battles, and that all their guns but two were burst;

that they were now on their way to their own country, but expect to

be sent back by the king of Dahomey with a larger force after the

rains. They said that Niki was the capital of Borgoo and not Kiama;

that it is fifteen days only from Dahomey; that Borgoo and Dahomey are

joined together, or two neighbouring kingdoms; that there are high

hills on the road between Niki and Dahomey; that they left the Maha

country on their left hand when they came here; that Kiama is five

days distant from Niki; that it is from Dahomey the people of these

countries receive all their rum and European articles. This account

I believe to be true, as I have seen great abundance of rum, pewter,

and earthen ware. They begged I would send a letter by them to say

I had met them, which I shall do to-morrow. They are much superior

looking men to the people of Wawa, and from their knowledge of white

men in their own country, have been very civil to me. They seem to

entertain a poor opinion of the courage and behaviour of the people

of Youri and of this country, and say that with a few men they could

take them all.

Thursday, 23d.—I had heard various stories, at different places on

the road, concerning the fate of the late unfortunate and enterprising

travellers Park and Martin, none of which I considered worth relating

except that which I now heard from the governor’s head man; but

they all with whom I have conversed agree in asking me if I am not

going to take up the vessel, which they say still remains. The head

man’s story is this: that the boat stuck fast between two rocks;

that the people in it laid out four anchors a-head; that the water

falls down with great rapidity from the rocks, and that the white men,

in attempting to get on shore, were drowned; that crowds of people

went to look at them, but the white men did not shoot at them as I

had heard; that the natives were too much frightened either to shoot

at them or to assist them; that there were found a great many things

in the boat, books and riches, which the sultan of Boussa has got;

that beef cut in slices and salted was in great plenty in the boat;

that the people of Boussa who had eaten of it all died, because it

was human flesh, and that they knew we white men eat human flesh. I

was indebted to the messenger of Yarro for a defence, who told the

narrator that I was much more nice in my eating than his countrymen

were. But it was with some difficulty I could persuade him that if his

story was true, it was the people’s own fears that had killed them;

that the meat was good beef or mutton; that I had eaten more goats’

flesh since I had been in this country than ever I had done in my

life; that in England we eat nothing but fowls, beef, and mutton.

The women here are marked on the body somewhat in the manner of the

lace on a hussar’s jacket: in some, where the skin has not healed

properly, it looks very disgusting.

The widow Zuma has been kind enough to send me provisions ready

cooked, in great abundance, ever since I have been here. Now that she

has failed with Richard, she has offered Pascoe a handsome female

slave for a wife, if he could manage to bring about matters with

me. Not being much afraid of myself, and wishing to see the interior

arrangement of her house, I went and visited her. I found her house

large, and full of male and female slaves; the males lying about

the outer huts, the females more in the interior. In the centre

of the huts was a square one of large dimensions surrounded by a

verandah, with screens of matting all around except in one place,

where there was hung a tanned bullock’s hide; to this spot I was

led up, and, on its being drawn on one side, I saw the lady sitting

cross-legged on a small Turkey carpet, like one of our hearth rugs,

a large leather cushion under her left knee; her goora pot, which was

a large old-fashioned English pewter mug, by her side, and a calibash

of water to wash her mouth out, as she alternately kept eating goora

and chewing tobacco-snuff, the custom with all ranks, male or female,

who can procure them: on her right side lay a whip. At a little

distance, squatted on the ground, sat a dwarfish hump-backed female

slave, with a wide mouth but good eyes: she had on no clothing,

if I except a profusion of strings of beads and coral round her

neck and waist. This personage served the purpose of a bell in our

country, and what, I suppose, would in old times have been called a

page. The lady herself was dressed in a white coarse muslin turban;

her neck profusely decorated with necklaces of coral and gold chains,

amongst which was one of rubies and gold beads; her eyebrows and

eyelashes blacked, her hair dyed with indigo, and her hands and

feet with henna; around her body she had a fine striped silk and

cotton country cloth, which came as high as her tremendous breasts,

and reached as low as her ankles; in her right hand she held a fan

made of stained grass, of a square form. She desired me to sit down

on the carpet beside her, which I did, and she began fanning me,

and sent hump-back to bring out her finery for me to look at; which

consisted of four gold bracelets, two large paper dressing-cases

with looking-glasses, and several strings of coral, silver rings,

and bracelets, with a number of other trifling articles. After a

number of compliments, and giving me an account of all her wealth,

I was led through one apartment into another, cool, clean, and

ornamented with pewter dishes and bright brass pans. She now told

me her husband had been dead these ten years, that she had only

one son, and he was darker than herself; that she loved white men,

and would go to Boussa with me; that she would send for a malem,

or man of learning, and read the fatha with me. I thought this was

carrying the joke a little too far, and began to look very serious,

on which she sent for the looking-glass, and looking at herself,

then offering it me, said, to be sure she was rather older than me,

but very little, and what of that? This was too much, and I made my

retreat as soon as I could, determined never to come to such close

quarters with her again. During the night squally, with thunder,

lightning, and rain.

Friday, 24th.—Amongst my numerous visitors this morning, I had a

travelling musician, attended by two boys. His instrument was a violin

made of a gourd, with three strings of horse hair, not in single

hairs, but a number for each string untwisted; the bow the same;

the body of the violin was formed of half a long gourd; the bridge,

two cross sticks; the top, the skin of a guana stretched tightly over

the edges; the neck was about two feet long, ornamented with plates of

brass, having a hollow brass knob at the end. To this instrument was

hung a diminutive pair of sandals to denote his wandering occupation,

a piece of natron, strings of cowries, and stripes of cloth. He said

he would take any thing that was given to him. The boys had hollow

gourds with stones or beans in them, with which they kept time by

holding them in one hand and beating them against the other. The

musician himself was past the middle age, his beard being tinged

with gray, and neither too long nor too short; his face inclining

more to long than oval, with a nose slightly hooked; his forehead

high; his eyes large, bright, and clear, with a kind of indefinable

expression of half rogue and half a merry fellow, and when he sang

he sometimes looked sublime; his mouth and teeth were good; his

voice clear and melodious; his stature about the middle size, and

spare form; his dress was a white turban and large sky-blue tobe or

shirt. He accompanied his instrument with his voice, the boys joining

in chorus. His songs were extempore. I should have taken one down,

but found they were all about myself; and a number of visitors coming

in, I gave him fifty cowries and sent him away rejoicing. Received

a present of a sheep, yams, milk, eggs, and a goat, from the governor.

I went outside the town with Yarro’s messenger to see the kongkonie

tree which I have before mentioned, and from the seeds of which

they are said to extract the poison for their arrows. The tree is

a parasite (meaning probably a creeper), about the thickness of

a man’s thigh at the root, from which shoot up several stems,

that ascend the large tree at the root of which it grows, twisting

itself round the stem and branches to the top of the tree; the bark

of the young branches is like the darkest of the hazel; the stem and

older branches smooth and whitish, like the bark of the ash; the

flower, which is now fading, has five leaves tapering to a point,

from which they have a string about two inches in length hanging;

they are about the size of our primrose, but of a darker yellow; the

leaves of the tree are rough and furry, exuding a gum that sticks

to the fingers; the part which grows from the flower and contains

the seeds is about a foot and a half in length, and one and a half

or two inches in circumference in the thickest part; the seeds are

like caraway seeds, and are surrounded by a silky substance; they

are boiled until they turn into a paste, when they are fit for use,

and put on the arrows. I had a present of five alligators’ eggs

sent me by the governor; they are only eaten by the principal people,

and considered a great delicacy: they were brought from the banks

of the Quorra. The taja called upon me, but he appeared still to

shuffle off coming to any arrangement, saying he could not say for

how much he would carry me to Kano, until he saw whether I was to

go with him or not. I observed to him it was very easily said, and

that until he told me how much, I would not ask the governor to go

with him. He said he wanted half the money here. To which I replied,

“You must go with this understanding in all future affairs between

you and I, that I will not give you one farthing until I arrive in

Kano, when, the day after I arrive there, you shall have every cowrie

of the money. If you come to any bargain with me, it must be with

the understanding that I have no money here.” “Well,” says

he, “I will call to-morrow and see your things, and then come to

a written agreement with you—half the money here.” This taja

must take me for a fool; I will sooner stay here all the rains,

than let him have the money and leave me in the lurch.

Saturday, 25th.—Clear and warm. At noon the taja visited me, when,

after a great deal of unnecessary palavering and manœuvring on his

part, we came to the following bargain,—that he is to carry all my

baggage and stores to Kano for 200,000 cowries. I also found out that

he does not go to Boussa, but crosses the Quorra at a place called

Comie, and goes to Koolfu in Nyffé, where he stops for a few days. I

am therefore to ask the governor here to carry my baggage to Koolfu,

where the taja will find bullocks. I must however go out of the way

to visit the sultan of Boussa, as all this part of the country is

nominally under him. The sultan of Niki is next to him, and equal

to him in power. My baggage, therefore, and stores with my servants

must proceed to Koolfu without me, as I have no other alternative

but to take this route or that of Youri. After the taja left me,

I went to the governor, and acquainted him with the agreement I had

come to with the taja, who immediately promised to send a messenger

with myself to Boussa, and another with my servants and baggage to see

them safe to Koolfu. I would not on any account miss the opportunity

of going to Boussa, being most anxious to see the spot where Park

and Martin died, and perhaps get their papers. If I am detained,

my servants go on with the taja; and I have left directions with

them how to proceed in the event of my death or other accidents.

Sunday, 26th.—On inquiring to-day of the same person, the

governor’s head man, concerning the fate of Park and Martin,

he said the natives did shoot arrows at them, but not until guns

had been fired from the boat: in all other parts of the story he

agreed with what he had told before, adding, that the boat was to

be seen above water every Sunday. They all treat the affair with

a great deal of seriousness, and look on the place where the boat

was wrecked with awe and superstition, telling some most marvellous

stories about her and her ill-fated crew. I also learnt from this

man their manner of burial in Borgoo, which is as follows: they

dig a deep round hole like a well; the corpse is put in the hole

in a sitting posture, with the wrists bound tight round the neck,

the legs bent, and the thighs, legs, and arms, bound tight round

the body. The grave is made in the floor of the deceased’s house,

and his horse and dog, if he has any, are killed to serve him in the

next world. The Mahometans bury in their usual fashion, and have a

burying-ground on the east side of the town, inside the walls.

Monday, 27th.—Received a present of a goat, two fowls, yams, and

milk, from the brother of the governor, who has got a sore leg, and

wishes me to cure it. In the afternoon we had thunder, lightning, and

rain. I took this opportunity of waiting on the governor to press my

departure, as the taja is rather too slack for me. I asked him if he

would not send me to Koolfu to-morrow, as he saw now that the rains

were close at hand. “Oh,” says he, “they will not set in these

two months, yet it is always thus before the rains.” I told him that

no one knew the seasons better than I did; and that, if I travelled as

slow as I had done of late, I would be caught by the rains in Houssa,

and I might as well have a sword run into my breast. He said he would

send for the taja to-night, and give me into his charge. I said,

I must go to Boussa, and make a present to the sultan; that if I did

not, he would say, a white man has passed through my country without

paying his respects to me, or bringing a present: it would be going

out of the country like a thief, not like the messenger of the king

of England. “Very well,” says he, “I will despatch a messenger

with you to request he will not detain you. You must send all your

things up to my house; I will give them and your servants in charge

of the taja, and all will go well; my messenger shall accompany them

to Koolfu”—(sometimes pronounced Koolfie and Koolfa). He then

began asking me if Englishmen would come into the country. “Yes,”

says I, “if you use them as well as you have done me: there is now

a doctor on his way to join me from Dahomey.” He said he would

be very glad to see him, and would forward him on to me. I asked

him if this country or Borgoo owed any allegiance to Yourriba: he

said, none; and laughed at the idea. He said he owed allegiance to

Boussa, as Kiama, Niki, and Youri did; that he was separated from

Kiama by the brook I halted at the second day I left that place,

and that the province of Wawa extended as far south as Rakah; that

Kiama owed no allegiance to Yourriba, but was a province of Borgoo,

subject to the sultan of Borgoo, who was the head of all: he added,

the sultan of Boussa could take Yourriba whenever he chose, but,

says he, the Fellatas will take it now. I asked him if he thought the

sultan of Boussa would give me the books that were found in the boat

belonging to the white men lost there. He said, if there were any,

he would certainly give them to me, as they were of no use to him,

he could not read; and he then related to me the same story nearly

that his head man had told me of that affair, and asked me if the

unfortunate people were not my countrymen, and had great riches:

I said they were, but that they were not rich, but honest men like

myself; that one, the head man, was a doctor.

Tuesday, 28th.—This morning I visited the governor’s brother

who has got the sore leg, as he had sent a fee, and could not come

and see me. His left ankle was dreadfully ulcerated and swelled,

and had been in the same state since the last rainy season. The leg

was thin and wasted; and he complained of suffering much pain. He

could move his toes very well; and inquiring if it was the effect of

a hurt, he said no, that it had come on at the beginning of the last

rains. I directed him to wash it clean night and morning with warm

milk and water, to apply poultices night and day until the swelling

was reduced, and on no account to drink spirits or palm wine: an

advice which he did not at all admire, as he said when he drank

it eased his pain and gave him sleep. I desired moreover that when

the swelling in his leg was reduced by the poultices, he should put

clean fat on a soft rag and lay over it, and on no account to drink

any thing stronger than water. After my return home he sent me a

present of a sheep, four fowls, eggs, milk, and honey. I now began

to prepare for starting to Boussa in the morning at daybreak, but

the taja is working against me, and I doubt being able to get off,

as I have just learned that he does not leave this until Saturday

next, and wishes to detain me also. The sky being clear, before the

moon rose I was able to get the meridian altitude of the star Dubbe

in the Great Bear, which gave the latitude of my house in Wawa,

9° 53′ 54″ north. Its longitude I calculate to be 5° 56′ east.

Wednesday, 29th.—Wawa is the capital of a province of the same

name in the kingdom of Borgoo; it is in the form of a square, and may

contain from eighteen to twenty thousand inhabitants. It is surrounded

by a good high clay wall and dry ditch; and is one of the neatest,

most compact, and best walled towns between this and Badagry. The

streets are wide, spacious, and airy, the houses of the coozie, or

circular hut form; the huts of each house being connected by a wall,

forms an airy and open space inside, and does not take away from

the regular appearance of the houses. One of the coozies next the

street has two doors, which forms an entrance into the interior, into

which the other coozies open. The plan of the one in which I lived

may serve for all, except the governor’s and that of the widow

Zuma. This plan will afford a fair specimen of the accommodations

of Wawa. The governor’s house is surrounded by a clay wall, about

thirty feet high, in the form of a square, having large coozies,

shady trees, and square clay towers inside.

[Illustration: A. Sleeping and sitting-rooms.

c. Little houses for holding grain.

F. House of entrance.

B. Stables.

D. Houses of the slaves.

4. Places for cooking.]

The marriages of the Wawanies are very simple. The pagans make up

matters with the girl first, give the father or mother a present,

and all is right. The Mahometans read the fatha, and make a present;

read it again, and part, when tired of one another. The virtue of

chastity I do not believe to exist in Wawa. Even the widow Zuma lets

out her female slaves for hire, like the rest of the people of the

town. Neither is sobriety held as a virtue. I never was in a place

in my life where drunkenness was so general. Governor, priest, and

layman, and even some of the ladies, drink to excess. I was pestered

for three or four days by the governor’s daughter, who used to

come several times in a day, painted and bedizened in the highest

style of Wawa fashion, but always half tipsy; I could only get rid of

her by telling her that I prayed and looked at the stars all night,

never drank any thing stronger than _roa-in-zafir_, which they call

my tea,—literally hot water: she always departed in a flood of

tears. Notwithstanding their want of chastity, and drunkenness,

they are a merry people, and have behaved well to me. They appear

to have plenty of the necessaries of life, and a great many of

the luxuries, some of which they would be better without; this

being the direct road from Bornou, Houssa, and Nyffé, to Gonja,

Dahomey, and Jannah. Since the war between the Fellatas and people

of Yourriba, they are able to procure plenty of European articles,

such as pewter jugs and dishes, copper pans, earthenware, Manchester

cottons, &c. Their fruits are limes, plantains, bananas, and several

wild fruits in the season. Their vegetables are yams, calalou, or the

leaves of a plant which they use in their soups, as we do greens or

cabbage; grain, doura, Indian corn, and millet. Fish they procure in

great plenty from the Quorra and its tributary streams: those I have

seen were all smoked, and principally a kind of catfish. Their best

and largest horses come from Bornou: the native breed are small,

like the Shetland ponies, hardy, active, and generally of a brown

or mouse colour. Oxen are in great plenty, principally in the hands

of the Fellatas; sheep and goats are also plentiful; domestic fowls

plenty and cheap; honey and bees’ wax abundant; ivory and ostrich

feathers they say are to be procured in great plenty, but they can

get no sale for them. The country abounds in wild animals of all

the different kinds to be found in Africa. Slaves are numerous:

the males are employed in weaving, collecting wood or grass, or on

any other kind of work; some of the women are engaged in spinning

cotton with the distaff and spindle, some in preparing the yarn

for the loom, others in pounding and grinding corn, some cooking

and preparing cakes, sweetmeats, natron, yams, and _accassons_, and

others selling these articles at the markets; the older female slaves

are principally the spinners. The mere labour is very light, and a

smart English servant would accomplish their hardest day’s work

in one hour: but if their labour be light their food is also light,

being confined to two meals a day, which almost invariably consist

of paste of the flour of yams, or millet, in the morning about nine

o’clock, and a thicker kind, approaching to pudding, after sunset,

and this only in small quantities; flesh, fowl, or fish, they may

occasionally get, but only by a very rare chance. Their owners, in

fact, fare very little better: perhaps a little smoke-dried fish,

or some meat now and then; principally only a little palm oil, or

vegetable butter, in addition to their paste or pudding; but they

indulge freely in drinking palm wine, rum, and bouza.

Of the slaves for sale I can say but little, and a stranger sees

very little of them. In fact when not going on a journey to some

slave mart, or sent out to the wells or rivers in the mornings to

wash, they are seldom seen. Even then they are fastened neck to neck

with leather thongs; and when this duty is over, they are confined

closely in the houses until they are marched off. When on their march,

they are fastened night and day by the neck with leather thongs or a

chain, and in general carry loads; the refractory are put in irons,

in addition to the other fastening, during the night. They are much

afraid of being sold to the sea coast, as it is the universal belief

that all those who are sold to the whites are eaten; retorting back

on us the accusation of cannibalism, of which they have perhaps the

greatest right to blame us. The slaves sold to the sea coast are

generally those taken in war, or refractory and intractable domestic

slaves. Nyffé at present is the place that produces the most slaves,

owing to the civil war raging in that country.

The people of Wawa would take beads in exchange for any articles their

country might produce; also brass bracelets for the arms and legs;

brass, copper, pewter, and earthenware dishes; Manchester cottons of

gaudy colours, and calicoes. Their arms are bows and poisoned arrows,

and light spears. They say they do not like war, but appear to be

very tenacious in not permitting interference with their country; and

they like the Fellatas better than their neighbours of Kiama, of whom

they are very jealous. They have a good character for honesty; are

cheerful, good-natured, and hospitable; and no people in Africa that

I have met with are so ready to give information about the country as

they are; and, what is very extraordinary, I have not seen a common

beggar amongst them. They deny their Borgoo origin, and say they are

descended from the people of Nyffé and Houssa. Their language is a

dialect of the Yourriba: but the Wawa women are very good-looking,

and the Youriba women are not: the men are strong and well made, but

have a debauched look. Their religion is partly a loose Mahometanism,

and partly pagan. The most pious of the former can only say a few

prayers, or go through the necessary forms, and are called Malem,

or learned: the latter are called Kaffirs; and what they worship

it is hard to tell; every man choosing his own god, which they

pray to that he may intercede with the Supreme Being for them; and

they offer sheep, dogs, and sometimes a bullock, according to the

benefit they expect. A woman is sent to the market and sold, if,

when she has a child at the breast, she is known to go with a man,

and, in addition, loses her child, and is flogged.

In this country, as well as in all others I have passed between

this and the sea, I have met with tribes of Fellatas, some of whom

are not Mahometans, but pagans. They certainly are the same people,

as they speak the same language, have the same features and colour,

except those who have crossed with the negro. They are as fair as

the lower class of Portugueze or Spaniards, lead a pastoral life,

shifting from place to place, as they find grass for their horned

cattle, and live in temporary huts of reeds or long grass.

Thursday, 30th.—Having had every thing prepared last night

for starting this morning at day-break, I went and took leave

of the governor, who repeated his promises of sending my baggage

on to Koolfu. On my return from the governor, I met a messenger

of the sultan of Boussa, who had been sent expressly for me. He

said he would just wait on the governor, and deliver a message,

and follow me. I left Wawa, mounted on an old red roan mare of the

governor’s, on a good road, leading through a woody country, with

numerous plantations of yams, and Indian corn. At 8.30 A.M. passed

a village about a quarter of a mile from the south side of a range

of low rocky hills, running in a direction from east-south-east to

west-south-west by compass. The rocks were composed of pudding-stone,

the white quartz pebbles of which were square, not rounded, and

imbedded in a gray substance. At the end of an opening in the range

was a beautiful sugar-loaf mountain, overlooking all the rest, and

bearing from the village east-south-east, distance half a mile. This

I presumed to call Mount George, after his present majesty George the

Fourth. After passing the village and entering amongst the hills,

I found the valleys well cultivated, and planted with yams, corn,

and maize, but the road winding and rocky. At 10 A.M. came to the

village of Injum, the first belonging to the province of Boussa. Here

I halted, until the messenger, who had joined me some time before,

got his breakfast. This village is on the north-east side of the

hills. Amongst the number of people who came to look at me was a

woman, whose face, neck, right breast, and part of her right arm,

were covered with a scurf, like a person very ill with the small

pox: the borders of the scurf were bare, raw, and inflamed. This is

the disorder the young man’s mother died of, to whom I gave the

medicines at Kiama. When the disease reaches the toes and fingers,

they first contract, and then drop off; when, in a short time after,

the unfortunate person is relieved by death, as they have no cure

for it, nor do they attempt any. I called the woman, and asked her

if she suffered much pain: she said no, nor did it itch. She sent

for some yams, and offered them, as she said my looking at her would

do her good.

At 10.30 the messenger having finished his breakfast, we left

Injum. He gave me his horse to ride, as I could not get the old

Wawa mare to go on without a great deal of beating. At noon halted

at the side of a brook, to water the horses. Here end the hills and

the pudding-stone of which they are composed, and the rocks are now a

dark gray slate, which moulders away with the rains, the soil a strong

blue clay, with deep gullies formed by the rains. At 1 left the brook:

the country thickly wooded with tall trees, amongst which are a number

of the acacia or mimosa, many of them thrown down by the elephants,

for the purpose of feeding on the upper and tender branches. The

traces of elephants, buffaloes, and the larger kind of antelopes

called in Bornou _corigum_, are numerous. At 2.40 halted at a village

of the Kumbrie, or Cambrie, a race of Kaffirs inhabiting the woods,

on both sides of the river. They made a great difficulty in procuring

me a drink of water, so I mounted and left them, and at 3.30 arrived

at a branch of the Quorra, called the Menai, close to its junction

with a second branch. The Menai is about twenty yards in breadth,

and about two fathoms in depth; the current hardly perceptible, and

the water dark and muddy; that of the branch into which it runs being

about thirty yards in breadth, with a strong current, about three or

four knots, throwing a back-water up the Menai. The island on the

other side of it is low and swampy, and covered with high reeds;

the colour of both the streams red and muddy, as if in flood; but

the messenger, on my asking if this was the case, said no, that the

river was now at its lowest mark, and pointing to a place on the

opposite bank of the Menai, about fifteen feet above the present

level, said the river rose to that height during the rains. The

trees on both banks were close down to the water’s edge, and the

branches were in the stream, and every now and then a branch would

be broken off, and washed away by the strength of the current. From

this, and the muddiness of the water, I concluded it was rising; but

certainly the inhabitants must know best: had I not made inquiry,

I should certainly have said it was rising. The canoe being on the

other side of the Menai, the messenger stripped off his tobe, and

swam over for it. After crossing and swimming the horses over, in

about a quarter of an hour’s ride I entered the walls of Boussa,

by the western gate. The walls appeared very extensive, and are at

present under repair. Bands of male and female slaves, accompanied

by drums and flutes, and singing in chorus, were passing to and from

the river with water, to mix the clay they were building with. Each

great man has his part of the wall to build, like the Jews when they

built the walls of Jerusalem, every one opposite his own house.

I was much surprised, after entering the gate, to see only clusters

of huts here and there, and no regular town, as I had been led to

expect. I remained under the shade of a tree until the messenger went

and acquainted the sultan of my arrival. On his return I accompanied

him up to the sultan, whom I found sitting under a small projection

of the verandah of one of his coozies: his midaki, or principal wife,

sitting alongside of him. To this personage I had been advised by the

widow Zuma to pay particular attention, as she was every thing with

the sultan. He received me very kindly, and said the sultan of Youri

had kept seven boats waiting for me for these last seven days to take

me up the river to Youri. I said I was much obliged to the sultan

of Youri, but that I did not intend going that way, as the war with

the Fellatas had shut up the communication between Bornou and Youri;

that with his permission I would go by the way of Koolfu and Nyffé,

where there was no war. He said I was right, and that it was good for

me that I had come to see him; that I should take what path I chose.

We then parted, he ordering his head man to take me to a house. He

would have come with me himself, but the midaki pulled him back;

she had acted, during the time I was there, as prompter. The sultan

is a fine looking young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six years

of age, five feet ten inches high, with a high forehead, large eyes,

Roman nose, decent lips, good teeth, short chin covered with about

an inch and a half of beard, more of a spare than robust make. He

was dressed in a white tobe, striped Moorish kaftan, with a red

Moorish cap on his head. The midaki appears somewhat older, below the

middle size, with nothing remarkable about her but her voice, and a

winning womanish way, sitting on his left side, a little behind him,

with her arm half around his neck. His house does not differ from

those of other people, except the huts being a little larger, and

surmounted by ostrich eggs. I found my house a very good one, with

three rooms or huts, and a shade for the heat of the day; and the

sultan and midaki sent me a sheep, yams, fish, milk, honey, and eggs.

Friday, 31st.—This morning I waited on the sultan with my present,

which consisted of eight yards of red cloth, eight yards of blue,

eight yards of silk, a blue silk umbrella, an African sword, three

pair of white cotton stockings, three pair of gloves, two phosphorus

boxes, three clasp-knives, and three pair of scissars, a mock-gold

chain, beads, and coral; for the midaki, pictures of the king, and

royal family, &c. I displayed my present to the best advantage,

and explained the uses of the different articles. The sword he

was delighted with, and the chain, I saw, had won the midaki’s

heart. She first put it around her own neck, then taking it off,

and putting it around the sultan’s, looked up in his face with as

sweet an expression of countenance as ever I saw. Upon the whole,

my present appeared to have the effect I wished. After giving me a

great many thanks, and the presents were taken away, he began again

about Youri: said, that Yarro of Kiama had informed him that I was

going there. I said, I meant to have gone there, but that I should

now defer my visit until my return; that the rains were now at hand;

that by the way of Youri there was war, and I could not get to Bornou

before the rains; that remaining in Youri or Houssa during that

season would kill me, and they had better put a sword through me at

once than detain me. He said there was no sultan between Koolfu and

Guari. I told him the taja had engaged to find me bullocks to carry

my baggage to Kano. He then asked me when I wished to go away. I

replied, “To-morrow.” “Well,” says he, “you shall go in the

afternoon.” I said I would prefer daybreak, as I wished to make

observations at the river side, and see my baggage safely over. I

had some apprehension that the king of Youri, should he hear that I

am going by the way of Koolfu, might outwit me; on which account I

mentioned my preferring to travel in the morning. “Well,” says

he, “you shall go when you please.”

This point being settled, I asked him to lend me a horse and saddle,

which he promised to do. I next inquired of him after some white men

who were lost in the river near this place twenty years ago. He seemed

rather uneasy at this question, and I observed that he stammered in

his speech. He assured me he had nothing belonging to them; that he

was a little boy when the event happened. I said, I wanted nothing

but the books and papers, and to learn from him a correct account of

the manner of their death; and that with his permission, I would go

and visit the spot where they were lost. He said no, I must not go;

it was a very bad place. Having heard that part of the boat still

remained, I asked him if it was so: he replied, that such a report

was untrue; that she did remain on the rocks for some time after, but

had gone to pieces and floated down the river long ago. I said if he

would give me the books and papers it would be the greatest favour

he could possibly confer on me. He again assured me that nothing

remained with him, every thing of that kind had gone into the hands

of the learned men; but that if any were now in existence he would

procure them and give them to me. I then asked him if he would allow

me to inquire of the old people in the town the particulars of the

affair, as some of them must have seen it. He appeared very uneasy,

gave me no answer, and I did not press him further. In the afternoon

the sultan came galloping up in front of my house, a man running

after him, holding the umbrella I had given him; but the bearer

could not keep up with the horse, or hold it over his head.

In the evening I was visited by the sultan and midaki, and the king

of Youri’s messenger with them. The messenger said his master

had sent provisions and every thing for my voyage up the river to

Youri. I told him I could not but feel much obliged to the king

of Youri for his kindness; but that the rains were close at hand,

and the road between Youri and Bornou shut up by the war; that on

my return, after the rains, I should certainly visit the king, for

his kindness on this occasion. The sultan of Boussa said I should be

making an enemy of the king of Youri if I went away without seeing him

or sending him a present. I said I really had nothing here to give;

that if the messenger of the king of Youri would accompany me to

the ferry where my baggage was, I would give him as good a present

as I was able; but that I had now very little to give. The Youri

messenger was very anxious that I should go with him; but the midaki,

whose heart the gold chain has won, fairly beat him off the field,

and it was decided that I am not to go to Youri. The sultan made a

great many inquiries about England, and asked me two or three times

if I had not come to buy slaves. I laughed in his face, and told

him there was nothing we so much abhorred in England as slavery;

that the king of England did every thing to prevent other nations

buying slaves; that the slave trade was the ruin of Africa; that

Yourriba presented nothing but ruined towns and deserted villages,

and all caused by the slave-trade; that it was very bad to buy and

sell men like bullocks and sheep. It was now nearly dinner-time,

and he said he would come and see me at night.

At eight in the evening the sultan came, accompanied by the midaki,

and one male slave. He began again about Youri; but I repeated what I

had said before. He then asked me if the king of England was a great

man. “Yes,” I said, “the greatest of all the white kings.” “But,” says

he, “you live on the water?” “Oh no,” I said, “we have more land than

there is between Boussa and Badag (as they call Badagry), and more than

five thousand towns.” “Well,” says he, “I thought, and always have

heard, that you lived on the water. How many wives has the king?” “Only

one wife,” I said. “What!” says he, “only one wife?” “Yes,” says I;

“no man is allowed more than one wife, and they hang a man if he has

two at one time.” “That is all very good for other men,” says

he; “but the king having only one wife is not good.” When I told

him, if the king had a daughter and no son, she would rule the kingdom

at her father’s death, he laughed immoderately, as did the midaki,

who was apparently well pleased with the idea of only one wife, and

a woman ruling. I asked him who were the first people who inhabited

this part of the country. He said the Cambrie; that his ancestors were

from Bornou; that the sultan of Niki was descended from a younger

branch of his family; that his ancestors and people had come into

this country a long time ago; that his family were descended from the

sultans of Bornou; and that they had paid the latter tribute until,

of late years, the road had been shut up; but that he would pay it

all up whenever the road was open; that the sultans of Youriba, Niki,

Kiama, Wawa, and Youri, paid tribute to Bornou. I then asked him at

what place the river entered the sea. He replied he did not know:

but he had heard people say it went to Bini, which is the name they

give to Bornou. I asked if he had ever seen any of the Bini people,

or if they come up as far as this by the river. He said, no, he had

never seen any of them; that he understood they never came higher

up the river than Nyffe or Tappa (as they call Nyffe). He remained

with me until near morning, and when he was gone, finding I could

not sleep, and hearing the sound of sweet-toned instruments, I sent

for the musician, and made him play and sing to me. On sending him

away, I desired him to call in the morning and I would pay him,

and to bring his instrument with him.

Saturday, 1st April.—Morning cool and cloudy, with a little

rain. The Houssa musician came to his appointment, and I made him

play and sing. I made a sketch of his instrument, which I asked him to

sell to me; but he said he had played on it to his father and mother,

and they were pleased with it; they were now dead, and he would not

part with it. My servant Ali was cooking a fowl for my breakfast,

and having occasion to call him, he came with a knife in his hand;

on seeing which, the musician started, and ran as if he had been

going to be put to death instantly. The women in the house, when they

saw him run, rolled on the ground, and laughed at the poor man’s

fright. After breakfast I visited the sultan, and asked him to be

allowed to depart, as my baggage was to have been at the river-side

yesterday. He said I must not leave him to-day, and that when I came

back I must stay forty days with him. I was visited by a great number

of people, amongst which were many Fellatas, the chief of whom sent

me a sheep, honey, and milk. The sultan, when I inquired of him

again to-day about the papers of my unfortunate countrymen, said

that the late imam, a Fellata, had had possession of all the books

and papers, and that he had fled from Boussa some time since. This

was a death-blow to all future inquiries here; and the whole of the

information concerning the affair of the boat, her crew, and cargo,

which I was likely to gain here, I have already stated. Every one

in fact appeared uneasy when I asked for information, and said

it had happened before their remembrance, or that they did not

see it. They pointed out the place where the boat struck, and the

unfortunate crew perished. Even this was done with caution, and as

if by stealth; though, in every thing unconnected with that affair,

they were most ready to give me what information I asked; and never

in my life have I been treated with more hospitality or kindness.

The place pointed out to me, where the boat and crew were lost, is

in the eastern channel: the river being divided into three branches

at this place, not one of which is more than a good pistol-shot

across. A low flat island, of about a quarter of a mile in breadth,

lies between the town of Boussa and the fatal spot, which is in a

line, from the sultan’s house, with a double-trunked tree with

white bark, standing singly on the low flat island. The bank is

not particularly high at present, being only about ten feet above

the level of this branch, which here breaks over a gray slate rock,

extending quite across to the eastern shore: this shore rises into

gentle hills, composed of gray slate, thinly scattered with trees;

and the grass at this season gives it a dry and withered appearance.

The city of Boussa is situated on an island in the river Quorra,

and is in latitude 10° 14′ north, longitude 6° 11′ east. The

course of the Quorra here is from north-north-west to south-south-east

by compass; and, as they informed me, is full of islands and rocks

as far up the river as they were acquainted with it, and the same

below. Boussa stands nearest the westernmost branch, which is called

by the natives the river Menai; the other two branches have no other

name than the Quorra. The Menai’s stream is slow and sluggish;

those of the other two strong, with eddies and whirlpools breaking

over rocks, which in some places appear above water. Boussa island,

as I shall call it, is about three miles in length from north to

south, and a mile and a half in breadth at the broadest part. A

ridge of rock, composed of gray slate, runs from one end of the

island to the other, forming a precipice from twenty to thirty feet

high on the eastern side, and shelving gently down on the west:

below this precipice extends a beautiful holm or meadow, nearly the

whole length of the island, and about three hundred yards broad,

to the banks of the river, where there are several rocky mounds, on

which villages to the number of four are built. The wall of Boussa

is about a quarter of a mile from the banks of the Menai, and unites

with the two extremities of the rocky precipice, where they fall

in with the banks of the river; and may be about three quarters

of a mile or a mile in length. The houses are built in clusters,

or forming small villages, inside the wall, not occupying above

one-tenth of the ground enclosed. Outside the walls, on the same

island, are several villages, with plantations of corn, yams, and

cotton. The language of the people of Boussa is the same as the other

states of Borgoo, and appears to be a dialect of the Yourriba: but the

Houssa language is understood by all classes, even by the Cambrie. I

should not think that the whole of the inhabitants living between

the wall and the river amounted to more than ten or twelve thousand;

but I was informed that the state of Boussa was more populous than

all the other provinces of Borgoo; and that, next to Houssa, the

sultan of Boussa, from that state alone, could raise more horse

than any other prince between Houssa and the sea. The inhabitants,

with a very few exceptions, are pagans, as is the sultan, though

his name is Mohamed. Milk is his fetish, and which he, therefore,

does not taste. This I learnt when he drank tea with me. They eat

monkeys, dogs, cats, rats, fish, beef, and mutton; the latter only

on great occasions, or when they sacrifice. This morning when I was

with the sultan, his breakfast was brought in, which I was asked to

partake of. It consisted of a large grilled water-rat with the skin

on, some very fine boiled rice, with dried fish stewed in palm oil,

and fried or stewed alligators’ eggs, and fresh Quorra water. I eat

some of the stewed fish and rice, and they were much amused at my not

eating the rat and the eggs. Their arms are, the bow, sword, spear,

and a heavy club of about two feet and a half in length, bent at the

end and loaded with iron: their defensive armour is a tanned leather

shield, of a circular form, and the tobe or large shirt gathered in

folds round the body, and made fast round the waist with a belt.

From the front of the Sultan’s house they pointed out to me a

high table-topped mountain, bearing by compass north-north-east,

distant from twenty-five to thirty miles. On the south-west side of

this mountain they say Youri lies; and the Quorra runs past the west

end of the mountain.

When I went to take leave of the sultan and midaki, the latter made

me a present of a fine young native horse; his brother, a fine young

man, accompanied me; the head man, or, as he is called, the _avoikin

sirka_ and the principal people of Boussa, also accompanied me to

the banks of the Menai, when I crossed and took leave of them; the

messenger of the sultan of Boussa, and a messenger of the king of

Youri, to whom I had promised to deliver a present for his master

when I got to the ferry, attending me. Thus ended my visit to Boussa.