The journeys of Denham and Clapperton made a great accession to our
knowledge of interior Africa, they having completed a diagonal
section from Tripoli to the gulf of Benin; they explored numerous
kingdoms, either altogether unknown, or indicated only by the most
imperfect rumour. New mountains, lakes, and rivers had been
discovered and delineated, yet the course of the Niger remained wrapt
in mystery nearly as deep as ever. Its stream had been traced very
little lower than Boussa, which Park had reached, and where his
career was brought to so fatal a termination. The unhappy issue of
Clapperton's last attempt chilled for a time the zeal for African
discovery; but that high spirit of adventure which animates Britons
was soon found acting powerfully in a quarter, where there was least
reason to expect it. Partaking of the character which animated his
master, Lander endeavoured, on his return towards the coast, to
follow a direction, which, but for unforeseen circumstances, would
have led to the solution of the great problem. After reaching
England, he still cherished the same spirit; in our frequent
conversations with him, he expressed it to be his decided opinion,
that the termination of the Niger would be found between the fifth
and tenth degree of north latitude, and his subsequent discoveries
proved his opinion to be correct. Undeterred by the recollection of
so much peril and hardship, he tendered his services to the
government to make one effort more, in order to reach the mouth of
this mysterious river; his offer was accepted, but on terms which
make it abundantly evident that the enterprise was not undertaken
from any mercenary impulse. The manner in which he had acquitted
himself of his trust, amidst the difficulties with which he had to
contend after the death of Clapperton, bespoke him as being worthy to
be sent out on such a mission, when scientific observations were not
expected, and the result has proved the justness of the opinion, that
was entertained of him. Descended from Cornish parents, having been
born at Truro, and not gifted with any extraordinary talent, it was
not his fortune to boast either the honour of high birth, or even to
possess the advantages of a common-place education. His leading
quality was a determined spirit of perseverance, which no obstacles
could intimidate or subdue. In society, particularly in the company
of those distinguished for their talents or literary attainments, his
reserve and bashfulness were insuperable, and it was not until a
degree of intimacy was established by frequent association, that he
could be brought to communicate the sentiments of his mind, or to
impress a belief upon the company, that he was possessed of any
superior qualifications.
His younger brother, John Lander, who, influenced by a laudable
desire to assist in the solution of the geographical problem, was of
a very different turn of mind. He was brought up to the profession of
a printer, and, as a compositor, had frequent opportunities of
enriching his mind with various branches of knowledge, and in time
became himself the author of several essays in prose and verse, by no
means discreditable to his talents. Being naturally gifted with an
exuberant imagination, his descriptions partake of the inflated and
bombastic; but we have reason to know, that the information which he
gives is deduced from authentic sources, without the usual
exaggeration proverbially belonging to travellers.
The following were the instructions given by government to Richard
Lander:--
"Downing-street, 31st December 1829.
"Sir,
"I am directed by secretary Sir George Murray to acquaint you, that
he has deemed it expedient to accept the offer, which you have made,
to proceed to Africa, accompanied by your brother, for the purpose of
ascertaining the course of the great river, which was crossed by the
late Captain Clapperton on his journey to Sockatoo; and a passage
having been accordingly engaged for you and your brother, on board of
the Alert, merchant vessel, which is proceeding to Cape Coast Castle,
on the western coast of Africa, I am to desire that you will embark
immediately on board that vessel.
"In the event of your falling in with any of his Majesty's ships of
war on the coast of Africa, previously to your arrival at Cape Coast
Castle, you will prevail on the master to use every endeavour to
speak with such ship of war, and to deliver to the officer commanding
her, the letter of which you are the bearer, and which is to require
him to convey yourself and your brother to Badagry, to present you to
the king, and to give you such assistance as may be required to
enable you to set out on your journey.
"You should incur as little delay as possible at Badagry, in order
that, by reaching the hilly country, you may be more secure from
those fevers, which are known to be prevalent on the low lands of the
sea-coast. You are to proceed by the same road as on a previous
occasion, as far as Katunga, unless you shall be able to find, on the
northern side of the mountains, a road which will lead to Funda, on
the Quorra or Niger; in which case, you are to proceed direct to
Funda. If, however, it should be necessary to go as far as Katunga,
you are to use your endeavours to prevail on the chief of that
country to assist you on your way to the Quorra, and with the means
of tracing down, either by land or water, the course of that river as
far as Funda.
"On your arrival at this place, you are to be very particular in your
observations, so as to enable you to give a correct statement.
"1st, Whether any, and what rivers fall into the Quorra at or near
that place; or whether the whole or any part of the Quorra turns to
the eastward.
"2nd, Whether there is at Funda, or in the neighbourhood, any lake or
collection of waters or large swamps; in which case, you are to go
round such lake or swamp, and be very particular in examining whether
any river flows _into_ or _out_ of it, and in what direction it takes
its course.
"3rd, If you should find that at Funda, the Quorra continues to flow
to the southward, you are to follow it to the sea, where, in this
case, it may be presumed to empty its waters; but if it should be
found to turn off to the eastward, in which case it will most
probably fall into the lake Tchad, you are to follow its course in
that direction, as far as you conceive you can venture to do, with
due regard to your personal safety, to Bornou; in which case it will
be for you to determine, whether it may not be advisable to return
home by the way of Fezzan and Tripoli: if, however, after proceeding
in an easterly course for some distance, the river should be found to
turn off towards the south, you are to follow it, as before, down to
the sea. In short, after having once gained the banks of the Quorra,
either from Katunga or lower down, you are to follow its course, if
possible, to its termination, wherever that may be.
"Should you be of opinion that the sultan of Youri can safely be
communicated with, you are at liberty to send your brother with a
present to that chief, to ask, in the king's name, for certain books
or papers, which he is supposed to have, that belonged to the late
Mr. Park; but you are not necessarily yourself to wait for your
brother's return, but to proceed in the execution of the main object
of your mission, to ascertain the course and termination of the
Niger.
"You are to take every opportunity of sending down to the coast a
brief extract of your proceedings and observations, furnishing the
bearer with a note, setting forth the reward he is to have for his
trouble, and requesting any English person to whom it is presented to
pay that reward, on the faith that it will be repaid him by the
British government.
"For the performance of this service, you are furnished with all the
articles which you have required for your personal convenience during
your journey, together with a sum of two hundred dollars in coin; and
in case, upon your arrival at Badagry, you should find it absolutely
necessary to provide yourself with a further supply of dollars, you
will be at liberty to draw upon this department for any sum not
exceeding three hundred dollars.
"During the ensuing year, the sum of one hundred pounds will be paid
to your wife in quarterly payments; and upon your return, a gratuity
of one hundred pounds will be paid to yourself.
"All the papers and observations, which you shall bring back with
you, are to be delivered by you at this office; and you will be
entitled to receive any pecuniary consideration which may be obtained
from the publication of the account of your journey. "I am, Sir, &c.
&c.
(Signed) "R. W. HAY."
"To Mr. Richard Lander."
In pursuance of these instructions, Richard Lander and his brother
embarked at Portsmouth, on the 9th January 1830, in the brig Alert,
for Cape Coast Castle, where they arrived on the 22nd of the
following month, after a boisterous and unpleasant passage. Here they
were fortunate enough to engage old Pascoe and his wife, with Jowdie,
who had been employed on the last expedition, with Ibrahim and Mina,
two Bornou men, who were well acquainted with English manners, and
could converse in the Houssa language. These individuals promised to
be very useful on the expedition, more especially old Pascoe, whose
merits as an interpreter were unquestionable.
After remaining at Cape Coast Castle eight days, they accompanied Mr.
M'Lean, the president of the council at that place, on a visit to Mr.
Hutchinson, commandant at Anamaboo, about nine miles distant from
Cape Coast. Mr. Hutchinson lived in his castle, like an English baron
in the feudal times, untinctured, however, by barbarism or ignorance;
for the polished, refinements of life have insinuated themselves into
his dwelling, though it is entirely surrounded by savages, and though
the charming sound of a lady's voice is seldom or never heard in his
lonely hall. His silken banner, his turreted castle, his devoted
vassals, his hospitality, and even his very solitariness, all
conspired to recall to the mind the manners and way of life of an old
English baron, in one of the most interesting periods of our history,
whilst the highly chivalrous and romantic spirit of the gentleman
alluded to, was strictly in unison with the impression. Mr.
Hutchinson had resided a number of years on the coast, and was one of
the few individuals, who had visited the capital of Ashantee, in
which he resided eight months, and obtained a better acquaintance
with the manners, customs, and pursuits of that warlike,
enterprising, and original nation, than any other European whatever.
In the Ashantee war he took a very active part, and rendered
important and valuable services to the cause he so warmly espoused.
They resided at the fort till the 4th March, and then sailed in the
Alert for Accra, where they expected to find a vessel to take them to
Badagry, in the Bight of Benin, agreeably to their instructions.
In two days they arrived opposite the British fort at Accra, and,
after staying there a week, they embarked on board the Clinker,
Lieutenant Matson, commander; and having sailed direct for Badagry,
they dropped anchor in the roadstead in the front of that town on the
19th. From the commander of the Clinker they received a young man of
colour, named Antonio, son to the chief of Bonny, who eagerly
embraced the opportunity of proceeding with them into the interior,
being impressed with the notion that he should be enabled to reach
his home and country by means of the Great River, or Niger.
In the earlier part of the afternoon of the 22nd March, they sailed
towards the beach in one of the brig's boats, and having been taken
into a canoe that was waiting at the edge of the breakers to receive
them, they were plied over a tremendous surf, and flung with violence
on the burning sands.
Wet and uncomfortable as this accident had rendered them, having no
change of linen at hand, they walked to a small creek about the
distance of a quarter of a mile from the sea shore, where they were
taken into a native canoe, and conveyed safely through an extremely
narrow channel, overhung with luxuriant vegetation, into the Badagry
river, which is a branch of the Lagos. It is a beautiful body of
water, resembling a lake in miniature; its surface is smooth and
transparent as glass, and its picturesque banks are shaded by trees
of a lively verdure. They were soon landed on the opposite side, when
their road lay over a magnificent plain, on which deer, antelopes,
and buffaloes were often observed to feed. Numbers of men, women, and
children followed them to the town of Badagry, making the most
terrific noises at their heels, but whether these were symptoms of
satisfaction or displeasure, admiration or ridicule, they could not
at first understand. They were soon, however, satisfied that the
latter feeling was predominant, and indeed their clothing was
sufficient to excite the laughter of any people, for it certainly was
not African, nor had it any pretensions to be characterized as
European. In the first place, the covering of the head consisted of a
straw hat, larger than an umbrella, a scarlet mahommedan tobe or
tunic and belt, with boots, and full Turkish trousers. So unusual a
dress might well cause the people to laugh heartily; they were all
evidently highly amused, but the more modest of the females,
unwilling to give them any uneasiness, turned aside to conceal the
titter, from which they were utterly unable to refrain.
On their way they observed various groups of people seated under the
spreading branches of superb trees, vending provisions and country
cloth, and on their approach, many of them arose and bowed, whilst
others fell on their knees before them in token of respect. They
reached the dwelling, which had been prepared for them about three
o'clock in the afternoon, but as the day was too far advanced to
visit the chief or king, they sent a messenger to inform him of their
intention of paying him their respects on the following morning.
Towards evening, Richard Lander his brother being too fatigued to
accompany him, took a saunter in the immediate vicinity of his
residence, when he found, that in one respect, the streets of
Badagry, if they might be so called, and the streets of London, bore
a very great resemblance. It might be the mere effect of female
curiosity, to ascertain what kind of a man's visage could possibly be
concealed under such a preposterous hat, or it might be for any other
purpose, which his penetration could not discover, but certain it
was, that ever and anon a black visage, with white and pearly teeth,
and an expressive grin of the countenance, somewhat similar to that
of the monkey in a state of excited pleasure, protruded itself under
the canopy of straw, which protected his head, but he, who had
withstood the amorous advances of the widow Zuma, or of the fat and
deaf widow Laddie, could not be supposed to yield to the fascinations
and allurements of a Badagry houri. Richard therefore returned to his
dwelling, fully satisfied with himself, but by no means having
satisfied the ladies of Badagry, that an European was a man of love
or gallantry.
At nine o'clock on the morning of the 23rd March, agreeably to the
promise which they had made on the preceding day, they visited the
chief at his residence, which was somewhat more than half a mile from
their own. On their entrance, the potent chief of Badagry was sitting
on a couple of boxes, which, for aught Lander knew, might at one time
have belonged to a Hong merchant at Canton; the boxes were placed in
a small bamboo apartment, on the sides of which were suspended a
great number of muskets and swords, with a few paltry umbrellas, and
a couple of horses' tails, which are used for the purpose of brushing
away flies and other insects.
King Adooley looked up in the faces of his visitors without making
any observation, it perhaps not being the etiquette of kings in that
part of the world, to make any observation at all on subjects before
them, nor did he even condescend to rise from his seat to
congratulate them on their arrival. He appeared in deep reflection,
and thoughtfully rested his elbow on an old wooden table, pillowing
his head on his hand. One of the most venerable and ancient of his
subjects was squatted at the feet of his master, smoking from a pipe
of extraordinary length; whilst Lantern, his eldest son and heir
apparent, was kneeling at his side, the Badagry etiquette not
allowing the youth to sit in the presence of his father. Everything
bore an air of gloom and sadness, totally different from what they
had been led to expect. They shook hands, but the royal pressure was
so very faint, that it was scarcely perceptible, yet, notwithstanding
this apparent coldness, they seated themselves one on each side,
without ceremony or embarrassment. It was evident that neither Lander
nor his brother knew how to deport themselves in the presence of a
king, a thing which the former had never seen in his life but at the
courts of Africa, and they, God knows, were not calculated to give
him an exalted idea of royalty; but when it had been ascertained,
that it was contrary to etiquette at the court of Badagry, for even
the heir apparent to assume any other attitude in the royal presence
than that of kneeling, it might have occurred to the European
travellers, that seating themselves without permission, in the
presence of so august a personage as the king of Badagry, might be
the forerunner of their heads being severed from their body, which,
as it has been detailed in a preceding part of this work, is in that
part of the country, a ceremony very easily and speedily despatched.
It was, however, necessary that some conversation should take place
between the king and his visitors, and therefore the latter began in
the true old English fashion, to inquire about the state of his
health, not forgetting to inform him at the same time, that they
found the weather uncommonly hot, which could not well have been
otherwise, considering that they were at that moment not much more
than 5° to the northward of the equator. In regard to the state of
his health, he answered them only with a languid smile, and relapsed
into his former thoughtlessness. Not being able to break in upon the
taciturnity of the monarch, they had recourse to a method which
seldom fails of "unknitting the brow of care," and that was by a
display to the best advantage, of the presents, which they had
brought for him from England. Badagry is not the only kingdom in
which, if a present be made to the king, the sole return that is
received for it, is the honour of having been allowed to offer it,
and this experience was acquired by our travellers, for the king
certainly accepted the presents, but without the slightest
demonstration of pleasure or satisfaction; the king scarcely deigned
to look at the presents, and they were carried away by the
attendants, with real or seeming indifference. To be permitted to
kiss the hand of the sable monarch could not rationally be expected,
as an honour conferred upon them for the presents, which they had
delivered, but it was mortifying to them not to receive a word of
acknowledgement, not even the tithe of a gracious smile; they
accordingly said not a word, but they had seen enough to convince
them that all was not right. A reserve, the cause whereof they could
not define, and a coldness towards them, for which they could in no
wise account, marked the conduct of the once spirited and
good-natured chief of Badagry, and prepared them to anticipate
various difficulties in the prosecution of their plans, which they
were persuaded would require much art and influence to surmount. The
brow of the monarch relaxed for a moment, and an attempt was made on
the part of Richard Lander to enter into conversation with him, but
on a sudden the king rose from his boxes, and left them to converse
with themselves.
After waiting a considerable time, and the king not returning, a
messenger was despatched to acquaint him, that the patience of his
visitors was nearly exhausted, and they would feel obliged by his
immediate return, in order to put an end to their conference or
palaver, as it is emphatically styled, as speedily as possible. On
the receipt of this message, the king hastened back, and entered the
apartment with a melancholy countenance, which was partially
concealed behind large volumes of smoke, from a tobacco pipe, which
he was using. He seated himself between them as before, and gave them
to understand in a very low tone of voice, that he was but just
recovering from a severe illness, and from the effect of a series of
misfortunes, which had rendered him almost brokenhearted. His
celebrated generals Bombanee and Poser, and all his most able
warriors had either been slain in battle, or fallen by other violent
means. The former in particular, whose loss he more especially
lamented, had been captured by the Lagos people, who were his most
inveterate enemies. When this unfortunate man was taken prisoner, his
right hand was immediately nailed to his head, and the other lopped
off like a twig. In this manner he was paraded through the town, and
exposed to the view of the people, whose curiosity being satiated,
Bombanee's head was at length severed from his shoulders, and being
dried in the sun and beaten to dust, was sent in triumph to the chief
of Badagry. To add to his calamities, Adooley's house, which
contained an immense quantity of gunpowder, had been blown up by
accident, and destroyed all his property, consisting of a variety of
presents, most of them very valuable, that had been made him by
Captain Clapperton, by European merchants, and traders in slaves. The
chief and his women escaped with difficulty from the conflagration;
but as it was the custom to keep the muskets and other firearms
constantly loaded, their contents were discharged into the bodies and
legs of those individuals, who had flocked to the spot on the first
alarm. The flames spread with astonishing rapidity, notwithstanding
every exertion, and ended in the destruction of a great part of the
town. This accounted in some measure for the sad and grievous
expression so strongly depicted on the chiefs countenance; but still
another and more powerful reason had doubtless influenced him on this
occasion.
On returning to their residence, a number of principal men, as they
style themselves, were introduced to compliment them on coming to
their country, although their true and only motive for visiting their
quarters was the expectation of obtaining rum, which is the great
object of attraction to all of them. They had been annoyed during the
greater part of this day by a tribe of ragged beggars, whose
importunity was really disgusting. The men were in general old,
flat-headed, and pot-bellied. The women skinny and flap-eared. To
these garrulous ladies and gentlemen they were obliged to talk and
laugh, shake hands, crack fingers, bend their bodies, bow their
heads, and place their hands with great solemnity on their heads and
breasts. They had not indeed a moment's relaxation from this
excessive fatigue, and had Job, amongst his other trials, been
exposed to the horrors of an interminable African palaver, his
patience would most certainly have forsaken him. Lander was of
opinion that he never would be a general favourite with this
ever-grinning and loquacious people. If he laughed, and he was
obliged to laugh, it was done against his inclination, and
consequently with a very bad grace. At this time, Lander, speaking of
himself, says, "for the first five years of my life, I have been
told, that I was never even seen to smile, and since that period,
Heaven knows my merriment has been confined to particular and
extraordinary occasions only. How then is it possible, that I can be
grinning and playing the fool from morning to night, positively
without any just incentive to do so, and sweltering at the same time
under a sun that causes my body to burn with intense heat, giving it
the appearance of shrivelled parchment. Fortunately these
savages--for savages they most certainly are in the fullest extent of
the word--cannot distinguish between real and fictitious joy; and
although I was vexed at heart, and wished them, all at the bottom of
the Red Sea, or somewhere else, I have every reason to believe that
my forced attempts to please the natives have so far been successful,
and that I have obtained the reputation, which I certainly do not
deserve, of being one of the pleasantest and best-tempered persons in
the world."
This candid exposition, which Lander gives of his own character is
fully borne out by our own personal observation. On no occasion do we
remember that we ever saw a smile sit upon his countenance, and as to
a laugh, it appeared to be an act which he dreaded to commit. He
seemed always to be brooding over some great and commanding idea,
which absorbed the whole of his mind, and which he felt a
consciousness within him, that he had not the ability to carry into
execution, at the same time that he feared to let a word escape him,
which could give a clue to the subject, which was then working within
him. In this respect, he was not well fitted for a traveller in a
country where, if his nature would not allow him, it became a matter
of policy, if not of necessity, to appear high-hearted and gay, and
frequently to join in the amusements of the people amongst whom he
might be residing. Lander himself was not ignorant of the Arab adage,
"Beware of the man who never laughs;" and, therefore, as he was
likely to be thrown amongst those very people, he ought to have
practised himself in the art of laughing, so as not to rouse their
suspicions, which, it is well known, if once roused, are not again
easily allayed.
To return to the narrative, one of the fetishmen sent them a present
of a duck, almost as large as an English goose; but as the fellow
expected ten times its value in return, it was no great proof of the
benevolence of his disposition. They were now obliged to station
armed men around their house, for the purpose of protecting their
goods from the rapacity of a multitude of thieves that infested this
place, and who displayed the greatest cunning imaginable to
ingratiate themselves with the travellers. On the following morning,
they awoke unrefreshed at daybreak; the noise of children crying, the
firing of guns, and the discordant sound of drums and horns,
preventing them from enjoying the sweetness of repose, so infinitely
desirable, after a long day spent in a routine or tiresome ceremony
and etiquette.
On the 24th March, one of the chief messengers, who was a Houssa
mallam, or priest, presented himself at the door of their house,
followed by a large and handsome spotted sheep from his native
country, whose neck was adorned with little bells, which made a
pretty jingling noise. They were much prepossessed in this man's
favour by the calmness and serenity of his countenance, and the
modesty, or rather timidity of his manners. He was dressed in the
Houssa costume, cap, tobe, trousers, and sandals. He wore four large
silver rings on his thumb, and his left wrist was ornamented with a
solid silver bracelet: this was the only individual, who had as yet
visited them purely from disinterested motives, as all the others
made a practice to beg whenever they favoured them with their
company.
The chief's eldest son was with them during the greater part of this
day. The manners of this young man were reserved, but respectful.
He was a great admirer of the English, and had obtained a smattering
of their language. Although his appearance was extremely boyish, he
had already three wives, and was the father of two children. His
front teeth were filed to a point, after the manner of the Logos
people; but, notwithstanding this disadvantage, his features bore
less marks of ferocity than they had observed in the countenance of
any one of his countrymen, while his general deportment was
infinitely more pleasing and humble than theirs. When asked whether,
if it were in his power to do so, he would injure the travellers, or
any European, who might hereafter visit Badagry, he made no reply,
but silently approached their seat, and falling on his knees at their
feet, he pressed Richard Lander with eagerness to his soft naked
bosom, and affectionately kissed his hand. No language or expression
could have been half so eloquent.
They were now preparing to proceed on their journey, when they
learned with surprise and sorrow, that a part of the populace had
expressed themselves decidedly hostile to their projects, and that
the leaders were continually with Adooley, using all their influence,
and exercising all their cunning, in order to awaken his slumbering
jealousy. They endeavoured to persuade him to demand, before he
granted them leave to pass through his country, a sum of money,
which, they were aware, was not in the power of the travellers to
pay; and therefore it was imagined they would be compelled to abandon
the undertaking. The first intimation they received of the effect of
these insinuations on the mind of the chief, was brought to them by a
person, who pronounced himself to be "on their side." This man
assured them, with an ominous visage, that Adooley had declared, in
the hearing of all the people, that the coat which Richard Lander had
given him was intended for a boy, and not a man; it was therefore
unworthy his acceptance as a king, and he considered that by the
gift, they meant to insult him. The coat alluded to by Adooley was
certainly extremely old-fashioned, and belonged to a surgeon in the
navy about twenty years ago, notwithstanding which, it was almost as
good as new, and was made showy by the addition of a pair of
tarnished gold epaulets. It was, however, clear to Lander, that as
this very same coat had been, only two days before, received with
great satisfaction, that some enemy of theirs had been striving to
render the chief discontented and mistrustful. To counteract the
efforts of the malicious, they judged it prudent to sound the
dispositions of those, who they were inclined to believe, from the
fondness which they evinced for their rum, that they were favourable
to their intentions and devoted to their interests.
At this time, there were two mulattoes residing in the town, one of
whom, by name Hooper, acted as interpreter to Adooley, and shared a
good deal of his confidence. He was born at Cape Coast Castle, in
1780, and was for many years a soldier in the African corps. His
father was an Englishman, and he boasted of being a British subject.
He was excessively vain of his origin, yet he was the most confirmed
drunkard alive, always getting intoxicated before breakfast, and
remaining in a soaking state all day long. This did not, however,
make him regardless of his own interest, to which, on the contrary,
he was ever alive, and indeed sacrificed every other feeling. The
other mulatto could read and write English tolerably well, having
received his education at Sierra Leone; he was a slave to Adooley,
and was almost as great a drunkard as Hooper. These drunken political
advisers of the chief they had little difficulty in bribing over to
their interests; they had likewise been tampering with several native
chiefs, apparently with equal success. Unfortunately every one here
styled himself a great and powerful man, and Hooper himself calls a
host of ragged scoundrels "noblemen and gentlemen," each of whom he
advised Lander to conciliate with presents, and especially spirituous
liquors, in order to do away any evil impression they might secretly
have received, and obtain their suffrages, though it should be at the
expense of half the goods in their possession. There is hardly any
knowing who is monarch here, or even what form of government
prevails; independently of the king of kings himself, the redoubtable
Adooley, four fellows assume the title of royalty, namely, the kings
of Spanish-town, of Portuguese-town, of English-town, and of
French-town, Badagry being divided into four districts, bearing the
names of the European nations just mentioned.
Toward the evening, they received an invitation from the former of
these chieftains, who by all accounts was originally the sole
governor of the country, until his authority was wrested from him by
a more powerful hand. He was then living in retirement, and subsisted
by purchasing slaves, and selling them to Portuguese and Spanish
traders. They found in him a meek and venerable old man, of
respectable appearance. He was surrounded by a number of men and
boys, his household slaves, who were all armed with pistols, daggers,
muskets, cutlasses, swords, &c., the manufacture of various European
countries. In the first place, he assured them, that nothing could
give him more pleasure than to welcome them to Badagry, and he very
much wondered that they had not visited him before. If they had a
present to give him, he said, he would thank them; but if they had
not, still he would thank them. A table was then brought out into the
court before the house, on which decanters and glasses, with a
burning liquor obtained from the Portuguese, were placed. In one
corner of the yard was a little hut, not more than two feet in
height, wherein had been placed a fetish figure, to preserve the
chief from any danger or mischief, which their presence might
otherwise have entailed upon him. A portion of the spirit was poured
into one of the glasses, and from it emptied into each of the others,
and then drunk by the attendant that had fetched it from the house.
This is an old custom, introduced no doubt to prevent masters from
being poisoned by the treachery of their slaves. As soon as the
decanters had been emptied of their contents, other ardent spirits
were introduced, but as Richard Lander imagined that fetish water had
been mingled with it, they simply took a tea-spoonful into their
mouths, and privately ejected it on the ground. The old chief
promised to return their visit on the morrow, and lifting up his
hands and eyes to heaven, like a child in the attitude of prayer, he
invoked the Almighty to preserve and bless them; they then saluted
him in the usual manner, and returned well pleased to their own
habitation.