The travellers found the city of Kano in a state of dreadful
agitation. There was war on every side. Hostilities had been declared
between the king of Bornou and the Fellatas; the provinces of Zamfra
and Goober were in open insurrection; the Tuaricks threatened an
inroad; in short, there was not a quarter to which the merchants
durst send a caravan. Kano being nearly mid-way between Bornou and
Sockatoo, Clapperton left his baggage there, to be conveyed to the
former place on his return, and set out for the capital of the sultan
Bello, bearing only the presents destined for that prince. On his way
he found numerous bands mustering to form an army for the attack of
Coonia, the rebel metropolis of Ghoober. The appearance of these
troops was very striking, as they passed along the borders of some
beautiful little lakes, formed by the river Zirmie.
The appearance of the country at this season was very beautiful; all
the acacia trees were in blossom, some with white flowers, others
with yellow, forming a contrast with the small dusky leaves, like
gold and silver tassels on a cloak of dark green velvet. Some of the
troops were bathing; others watering their horses, bullocks, camels,
and asses; the lake Gondamee as smooth as glass, and flowing around
the roots of the trees. The sun, in its approach to the horizon,
threw the shadows of the flowering acacias along its surface, like
sheets of burnished gold and silver. The smoking fires on its banks,
the sounding of horns, the beating of their gongs and drums, the
blowing of their brass and tin trumpets; the rude huts of grass or
branches of trees, rising as if by magic, everywhere the calls on the
names Mahomed, Abdo, Mustafa, &c., with the neighing of horses, and
the braying of asses, gave animation to the beautiful scenery of the
lake, and its sloping, green, and woody banks. The only regulation
that appears in these rude feudal armies is, that they take up their
ground according to the situation of the provinces, east, west,
north, or south; but all are otherwise huddled together, without the
least regularity.
The sultan was himself encamped with the forces from Sockatoo,
whither the travellers repaired to join him, and they arrived just in
time to be eye-witnesses of a specimen of the military tactics and
conduct of these much-dreaded Fellatas. This curious scene is thus
described:--
After the mid-day prayers, all except the eunuchs, camel-drivers, and
such other servants as were of use only to prevent theft, whether
mounted or on foot, marched towards the object of attack, and soon
arrived before the walls of the city. Clapperton accompanied them,
and took up his station close to the gadado. The march had been the
most disorderly that could be imagined; horse and foot intermingling
in the greatest confusion, all rushing to get forward; sometimes the
followers of one chief tumbling amongst those of another, when swords
were half unsheathed, but all ended in making a face, or putting on a
threatening aspect. They soon arrived before Coonia, the town not
being above half a mile in diameter, nearly circular, and built on
the banks of one of the branches of the liver, or lakes. Each chief,
as he came, took his station, which, it was supposed, had been
previously assigned to him. The number of fighting men brought before
the town could not be less than fifty or sixty thousand, horse and
foot, of which the latter amounted to more than nine-tenths. For the
depth of two hundred yards, all round the walls, was a dense circle
of men and horses. The horse kept out of bow-shot, while the foot
went up as they felt courage or inclination, and kept up a straggling
fire with about thirty muskets and the shooting of arrows. In front
of the sultan, the Zeg Zeg troops had one French fusee; the Kano
forces had forty-one muskets. These fellows, whenever they fired
their muskets, ran out of bow-shot to load; all of them were slaves;
not a single Fellata had a musket. The enemy kept up a slow and sure
fight, seldom throwing away their arrows, until they saw an
opportunity of letting fly with effect. Now and then a single
horseman would gallop up to the ditch, and brandish his spear, the
rider taking care to cover himself with his large leathern shield,
and return as fast as he went, generally calling out lustily, when he
got amongst his own party, "Shields to the walls! You people of the
gadado, (or atego, &c.) why do you not hasten to the wall?" To which
some voices would call out, "Oh, you have a good large shield to
cover you." The cry of "Shields to the wall!" was constantly heard
from the several chiefs to their troops; but they disregarded the
call, and neither chiefs nor vassals moved from the spot. At length
the men in quilted armour went up "per order." They certainly cut not
a bad figure at a distance, as their helmets were ornamented with
black and white ostrich feathers, and the sides of the helmets with
pieces of tin, which glittered in the sun; their long quilted cloaks
of gaudy colours reaching over part of their horses' tails, and
hanging over the flanks. On the neck, even the horses' armour was
notched or vandyked, to look like a mane; on his forehead, and over
his nose, was a brass or tin plate, also a semicircular piece on each
side. The rider was armed with a large spear, and he had to be
assisted to mount his horse, as his quilted cloak was too heavy; it
required two men to lift him on. There were six of them belonged to
each governor, and six to the sultan. It was at first supposed, that
the foot would take advantage of going under cover of these unwieldy
machines; but no, they went alone, as fast as the poor horses could
bear them, which was but a slow pace. They had one musket in Coonia,
and it did wonderful execution; for it brought down the van of the
quilted men, who fell from his horse like a sack of corn thrown from
a horse's back at a miller's door, but both horse and man were
brought off by two or three footmen. He got two balls through his
breast; one went through his body and both sides of the tobe; the
other went through and lodged in the quilted armour opposite the
shoulders.
The cry of "Allahu akber!" (God is great), the cry of the Fellatas,
was resounded through the whole army every quarter of an hour; but
neither this nor "Shields to the walls!" nor "Why do not the gadado's
people go up?" had any effect, except to produce a scuffle amongst
themselves, when the chiefs would have to ride up and part their
followers, who, instead of fighting against the enemy, were more
likely to fight with one another. At sunset, the besiegers drew off,
and the harmless campaign terminated in a desertion on the part of
the Zirmee troops, followed by a general retreat.
The flags of the Fellatas are white, like the French, and their staff
is a palm branch. They are not borne by men of honour, but by their
slaves. The sultan had six borne before him; each of the governors
had two. They also dress in white tobes and trousers, as an emblem of
their purity in faith and intention. The most useful personage in the
army, and as brave as any of them, was an old female slave of the
sultan's, a native of Zamfra, five of whose former governors, she
said, she had nursed. She was of a dark copper colour, in dress and
countenance very much like a female esquimaux. She was mounted on a
long-backed bright bay horse, with a scraggy tail, crop-eared, and
the mane, as if the rats had eaten part of it, nor was it very high
in condition. She rode a-straddle, had on a conical straw dish-cover
for a hat, or to shade her face from the sun; a short, dirty, white
bed-gown, a pair of dirty white loose and wide trousers, a pair of
Houssa boots, which are wide, and come over the knee, fastened with a
string round the waist. She had also a whip and spurs. At her
saddle-bow hung about half a dozen gourds filled with water, and a
brass basin to drink out of, and with this she supplied the wounded
and the thirsty.
The army being disbanded, Clapperton obtained permission of the
sultan to proceed to Sockatoo, where he found every thing ready for
his reception, in the house, which he had occupied on his former
visit. The traveller, however, found an entire change in the feelings
of kindness and cordiality towards himself, which had been so
remarkably displayed in the previous journey. Jealousy had began to
fester in the breasts of the African princes. They dreaded some
ambitious design in these repeated expeditions sent out by England,
without any conceivable motive; for that men should undertake such
long journeys, out of mere curiosity, they could never imagine. The
sultan Bello had accordingly received a letter from the court of
Bornou, warning him that by this very mode of sending embassies and
presents, which the English were now following towards the states of
central Africa, they had made themselves masters of India, and
trampled on all its native princes. The writer therefore gave it as
his opinion, that the European travellers should immediately be put
to death. An alarm indeed had been spread through Sockatoo, that the
English were coming to invade Houssa. The sultan irritated doubtless
at the shameful result of his grand expedition against Coonia, felt
also another and more pressing fear. War had just broken out between
himself and the king of Bornou. Clapperton was on his way to visit
that prince, and had left six muskets at Kano, supposed to be
intended as presents to him; and six muskets in central Africa, where
the whole Fellata empire could scarcely muster forty, were almost
enough to turn the scale between those two great military powers.
Under the impulse of these feelings, Bello proceeded to steps not
exactly consistent with the character of a prince and a man of
honour. He demanded a sight of the letter which Clapperton was
conveying to the king of Bornou, and when this was, of course,
refused, he seized it by violence. Lander was induced by false
pretences to bring the baggage from Kano to Sockatoo, when forcible
possession was taken of the muskets. Clapperton loudly exclaimed
against these proceedings, declaring them to amount to the basest
robbery, to a breach of all faith, and to be the worst actions, of
which any man could be guilty. This was rather strong language to be
used to a sovereign, especially to one, who could at any moment have
cut off his head, and the prime ministers of the sultan dropped some
unpleasant hints, as if matters might come to that issue, though in
point of fact, the government did not proceed to any personal
outrage. On the contrary, Bello discovered an honourable anxiety to
explain his conduct, and to soothe the irritated feelings of the
traveller. He even wrote to him the following letter, which it must
be confessed, places the character of Bello in a very favourable
light.
"In the name of God, and praise be to God, &c. &c. To Abdallah
Clapperton, salutation and esteem. You are now our guest, and a guest
is always welcomed by us; you are the messenger of a king, and a
king's messenger is always honoured by us. You come to us under our
honour as an ambassador, and an ambassador is always protected by us.
There is no harm in the king's ministers sending you to the sheik
Kanemi, of Bornou, nor do we see any harm in your coming, when thus
sent. But when you formerly came to us from Bornou, peace was then
between us and the sheik; whereas there is now war between him and
ourselves; we cannot perceive any blame in our preventing warlike
stores being sent to him. We continue to maintain our faith with you,
and are ready to attend to all your wishes, because we consider you
as a trusty friend, and one who enjoys a high degree of esteem with
us. Do not encroach upon us, we will not encroach upon you; we have
rights to maintain, and you have also rights to be respected. And
Salam be to you."
(Signed as usual.)
It is difficult to conceive, why so reasonable and friendly a letter
should have failed to subdue the irritation of the traveller; this
cannot be accounted for only by his ill health, or by supposing that
he was not exactly conversant with its contents. It appears, however,
that the conduct of Bello had such an effect upon the spirits of
Clapperton, that Lander reports, he never saw him smile afterwards.
The strong constitution of Clapperton, had till this period enabled
him to resist all the baneful influence of an African climate. He had
recovered, though perhaps not completely, from the effects of the
rash exposure which had proved fatal to his two companions, but
subsequently when overcome with heat and fatigue he had lain down on
a damp spot in the open air, he was soon after seized with dysentery,
which continued to assume more alarming symptoms. Unable to rise from
his bed, and deserted by all his African friends, who saw him no
longer a favourite at court, he was watched with tender care by his
faithful servant Lander, who devoted his whole time to attendance on
his sick master. At length he called him to his bed-side, and said,
"Richard, I shall shortly be no more; I feel myself dying." Almost
choked with grief, Lander replied, "God forbid, my dear master--you
will live many years yet." Clapperton replied, "don't be so much
affected, my dear boy, I entreat you, it is the will of the Almighty,
it cannot be helped. I should have wished to live to have been of
further use to my country--and more, I should like to have died in my
native land--but it is my duty to submit." He then gave particular
directions as to the disposal of his papers, and of all that remained
of his property, to which the strictest attention was promised. "He
then," says Lander, "took my hand within his, and looking me full in
the face, while a tear stood glistening in his eye, said in a low but
deeply affecting tone, 'My dear Richard, if you had not been with me,
I should have died long ago. I can only thank you with my latest
breath for your kindness and attachment to me, and if I could have
lived to return with you, you should have been placed beyond the
reach of want, but God will reward you.'" He survived some days, and
appeared even to rally a little, but one morning, Lander was alarmed
by a peculiar rattling sound in his throat, and hastening to the
bed-side found him sitting up, and staring wildly around; some
indistinct words quivered on his lips, he strove but ineffectually to
give them utterance, and expired without a struggle or a sigh.
Bello seems to have repented in some degree of his harsh conduct,
especially after the news arrived of a great victory gained by his
troops over the sultan of Bornou. He allowed Lander to perform the
funeral obsequies with every mark of respect, agreeably to the
sultan's own directions at Jungavie, a small village on a rising
ground, about five miles to the S. E. of Sockatoo. Lander performed
the last sad office of reading the English service over the remains
of his generous and intrepid master; a house was erected over his
grave;
"And he was left alone in his glory."