CHAPTER XXXI.

It was on Tuesday, the 31st March, that the Landers bade adieu to the

chief of Badagry, and during the whole of that day they were employed

packing up their things preparatory to their departure. They repaired

to the banks of the river at sunset, expecting to find a canoe, which

Adooley had promised should be sent there for their use; but having

waited above two hours, and finding it had not arrived, they placed

their goods in two smaller canoes, which were lying on the beach.

These soon proved to be leaky, and as no other resource was at hand,

they were fain to wait as patiently as they could for the canoe

promised them. Every thing betrayed the lukewarmness and indifference

of the chief, who had received so much from them, and who expected so

much more, but they had answered his purpose, and therefore he took

no further notice of them. In two more hours, Hooper made his

appearance in Adooley's war canoe, which he had prevailed on him to

lend them. This was placed directly between the two others, and

their contents speedily transferred into it. It was between ten and

eleven o'clock at night that they were fairly launched out into the

body of the river. The canoe was above forty feet in length; it was

propelled through the water by poles instead of paddles, and moved

slowly and silently along. It was a clear and lovely night; the moon

shone gloriously as a silver shield, and reflecting the starry

firmament on the unruffled surface of the water, the real concave of

heaven with its reflection seemed to form a perfect world. The

scenery on the borders of the river appeared wild and striking,

though not magnificent. In the delicious moonshine it was far from

uninteresting: the banks were low and partially covered with stunted

trees, but a slave factory and, a fetish hut were the only buildings

which were observed on them. They could not help admiring at some

distance ahead of their canoe, when the windings of the river would

permit, a noble and solitary palm tree with its lofty branches

bending over the water's edge; to them it was not unlike a majestical

plume of feathers nodding over the head of a beautiful lady.

Proceeding about ten miles in a westerly direction, they suddenly

turned up a branch joining the river from the northward, passing on

the left the village of Bawie, at which Captain Clapperton landed.

They saw several small islands covered with rank grass, interspersed

in different parts of the river. They were inhabited by myriads of

frogs, whose noise was more hoarse and stunning than ever proceeded

from any rookery in Christendom. As they went up the river the canoe

men spoke to their priests, who were invisible to them, in a most

sepulchral tone of voice, and were answered in the same unearthly and

doleful manner. These sounds formed their nocturnal serenade.

Notwithstanding the novelty of their situation and the interest they

took in the objects, which surrounded them, they were so overcome

with fatigue, that they wrapped a flannel around them, and fell fast

asleep.

The hard and uncomfortable couch, on which they had reposed the

preceding night, made their bodies quite sore, and occasioned them to

awake at a very early hour in the morning. At six o'clock A.M. they

found themselves still upon the river, and their canoe gliding

imperceptibly along. From half a mile in width, and in many places

much more, the river had narrowed to about twenty paces; marine

plants nearly covered its surface, and marsh miasmata, loaded with

other vapours of the most noxious quality, ascended from its borders

like a thick cloud. Its smell was peculiarly offensive. In about an

hour afterwards, they arrived at the extremity of the river, into

which flowed a stream of clear water. Here the canoe was dragged over

a morass into a deep but narrow rivulet, so narrow indeed that it was

barely possible for the canoe to float, without being entangled in

the branches of a number of trees, which were shooting up out of the

water. Shortly after, they found it to widen a little; the marine

plants and shrubs disappeared altogether, and the boughs of beautiful

trees, which hung over the banks, overshadowed them in their stead,

forming an arch-like canopy, impervious to the rays of the sun. The

river and the lesser stream abound with alligators and hippopotami,

the wild ducks and a variety of other aquatic birds resorting to them

in considerable numbers. In regard to the alligator, a singular fraud

is committed by the natives of the coast, who collect the alligators'

eggs in great numbers, and being in their size and make exactly

resembling the eggs of the domestic fowl, they intermix them, and

sell them at the markets as the genuine eggs of the fowls; thus many

an epicure in that part of the world, who luxuriates over his egg at

breakfast, fancying that it has been laid by some good wholesome hen,

finds, to his mortification, that he has been masticating the egg of

so obnoxious an animal as the alligator.

The trees and branches of the shrubs were inhabited by a colony of

monkeys and parrots, making the most abominable chattering and noise,

especially the former, who seemed to consider the travellers as

direct intruders upon their legitimate domain, and who were to be

deterred from any further progress by their menaces and hostile

deportment. After passing rather an unpleasant, and in many instances

an insalubrious night, the travellers landed, about half-past eight

in the morning, in the sight of a great multitude, that had assembled

to gaze at them.

Passing through a place, where a large fair or market is held, and

where many thousands of people had congregated for the purpose of

trade, they entered an extensive and romantic town, called Wow, which

is situated in a valley. The majority of the inhabitants had never

before had an opportunity of seeing white men, so that their

curiosity, as may be supposed, was excessive. Two of the principal

persons came out to meet them, preceded by men bearing large silk

umbrellas, and another playing a horn, which produced such terrible

sounds, that they were glad to take refuge, as soon as they could, in

the chief's house. The apartment, into which they were introduced was

furnished with a roof precisely like that of a common English barn

inverted. In the middle of it, which reached to within a few inches

of the floor, a large square hole had been made to admit air and

water to a shrub that was growing directly under it. The most

remarkable, if not the only ornament in the room, were a number of

human jaw bones, hung upon the side of the wall, like a string of

onions. After a form and ceremonious introduction, they were

liberally regaled with water from a calabash, which is a compliment

the natives pay all strangers, and then they were shown into a very

small apartment. Here Richard Lander endeavoured to procure a little

sleep having remained awake during the whole of the preceding night;

but they were so annoyed by perpetual interruptions and intrusions,

the firing of muskets, the garrulity of women, the unceasing squall

of children, the drunken petition of men and boys, and a laugh,

impossible to describe, but approximating more to the nature of a

horse-laugh than any other, that it was found impossible to sleep for

ten minutes together.

The market of this place is supplied abundantly with Indian corn,

palm oil, &c., together with _trona,_ and other articles brought

hither from the borders of the Great Desert, through the medium of

the wandering Arabs. According to the regulations of the fetish,

neither a white man nor a horse is permitted to sleep at Wow during

the night season: as to the regulations respecting the horses, they

knew not what had become of them; they were, according to the orders

of Adooley, to have preceded them to this place, but they had not

then arrived. With respect to themselves, they found it necessary, in

conformity to the orders of the fetish, to walk to a neighbouring

village, and there to spend the night. Their course to Wow, through

this creek, was north-by-east; and Badagry, by the route they came,

was about thirty miles distant.

A violent thunder-storm, which on the coast is called a tornado,

visited them this afternoon, and confined them to the "worst hut's

worse room" till it had subsided, and the weather become finer. At

three p.m. they sallied forth, and were presently saluted by

hootings, groanings, and hallooings from a multitude of people of all

ages, from a child to its grandmother, and they followed closely at

their heels, as they went along, filling the air with their laughter

and raillery. A merry-andrew at a country town in England, during the

Whitsuntide holidays, never excited so great a stir as did the

departure of the travellers from the town of Wow. But it is "a fool's

day," and, no doubt, some allowance ought to be made for that.

They had not proceeded more than a dozen paces from the outskirts of

the town, when they were visited by a pelting shower, which wetted

them to the skin in a moment. A gutter or hollow, misnamed a pathway,

was soon overflowed, and they had to wade in it up to their knees in

water, and through a most melancholy-looking forest, before they

entered a village. It was called _Sagba,_ and was about eight miles

from Wow. They were dripping wet on their arrival, and the weather

still continuing unpleasant, it was some time before any one made his

appearance to invite them into a hut. At length the chief came out to

welcome them to his village, and immediately introduced them into a

long, narrow apartment, wherein they were to take up their quarters

for the night. It was built of clay, and furnished with two

apertures, to admit light and air into the room. One end was occupied

by a number of noisy goats, whilst the travellers took possession of

the other. Pascoe and his wife lay on mats at their feet, and a

native Toby Philpot, with his ruddy cheek and jug of ale, belonging

to the chief, separated them from the goats. The remainder of the

suite of the travellers had nowhere whatever to sleep. The walls of

their apartment were ornamented with strings of dry, rattling, human

bones, written charms, or fetishes, sheep skins, and bows and arrows.

They did not repose nearly so comfortably as could have been desired,

owing to the swarms of mosquitoes and black ants, which treated them

very despitefully till the morning.

Between six and seven on the morning of the 2nd April, they continued

their route through woods and large open patches of ground, and at

about eleven in the forenoon, they arrived at the borders of a deep

glen, more wild, romantic, and picturesque than can be conceived. It

was enclosed and overhung on all sides by trees of amazing height and

dimensions, which hid it in deep shadow. Fancy might picture a spot

so silent and solemn as this, as the abode of genii and fairies,

every thing conducing to render it grand, melancholy, and venerable,

and the glen wanted only a dilapidated castle, a rock with a cave in

it, or something of the kind, to render it the most interesting place

in the universe. There was, however, one sight more beautiful than

all the rest, and that was the incredible number of butterflies

fluttering about like a swarm of bees, and they had no doubt chosen

this glen as a place of refuge against the fury of the elements.

They were variegated by the most brilliant tints and colourings

imaginable: the wings of some of them were of a shining green, edged

and sprinkled with gold; others were of a sky-blue and silver, others

of purple and gold a lightfully blending into each other, and the

wings of some were like dark silk velvet, trimmed and braided with

lace.

The appearance of the travelling party was romantic in the extreme,

as they winded down the paths of the glen; with their grotesque

clothing and arms, bundles, and fierce black countenances, they might

have been mistaken for a strange band of ruffians of the most fearful

character. Besides their own immediate party, they had hired twenty

men of Adooley, to carry the luggage, as there are not any beasts of

burthen in the country, the natives carrying all their burthens upon

their heads, and some of them of greater weight than are seen carried

by the Irishwomen from the London markets. Being all assembled at the

bottom of the glen, they found that a long and dangerous bog or swamp

filled with putrid water, and the decayed remains of vegetable

substances intersected their path, and must necessarily be crossed.

Boughs of trees had been thrown into the swamp by some good-natured

people to assist travellers in the attempt, so that their men,

furnishing themselves with long poles which they used as walking

sticks, with much difficulty and exertion, succeeded in getting over,

and fewer accidents occurred to them, than could have been supposed

possible, from the nature of the swamp. John Lander was taken on the

back of a large and powerful man of amazing strength. His brawny

shoulders supported him, without any apparent fatigue on his part,

and he carried him through bog and water, and even branches of tress,

no bigger than a man's leg, rendered slippery with mud, in safety to

the opposite side. Although he walked as fast and with as much ease

as his companions, he did not set him down for twenty minutes; the

swamp being, as nearly as they could guess, a full quarter of a mile

in length. They then walked to a small village called Basha, whence,

without stopping, they continued their journey, and about four in the

afternoon, passed through another village somewhat larger than the

former, which is called Soato. Here they found themselves so much

exhausted with over fatigue and want of food, that they were

compelled to sit down and rest awhile. The people, however, were a

very uncourteous and clownish race, and teazed them so much with

their rudeness and begging propensities, that they were glad to

prosecute their journey to save themselves from any further

importunities.

Having passed two other swamps, in the same manner as they had done

before, they were completely tired, and could go no further, for they

had been walking during the whole of the day in an intricate

miserable path, sometimes exposed to the sun, and sometimes threading

their way through a tangled wood. Some of the people were sent to the

next town, to fetch the horses promised by Adooley, during the

absence of whom, the two Landers reposed themselves under a grove of

trees, which was in the neighbourhood of a body of stagnant water, in

which women were bathing, who cast long side glances at the two white

men, who were observing all their motions. It was a low, marshy, and

unwholesome spot; and although a village was not many miles ahead,

yet they were unable to walk to it. Under these circumstances, they

had no other alternative than to rest there for the night, and they

had made fires of dried wood and fallen leaves, and had prepared to

repose for the night under a canopy of trees, and were in fact

actually stretched at full length on the turf for that purpose, when

they were agreeably surprised by the arrival of four of their men

from the village with hammocks, for although sleeping in the open

air, with Heaven for their canopy, in a dark wood, may be all very

romantic and pretty in description, yet in reality nothing could be

more disagreeable, for the crawling of ants, black worms, &c., over

their faces was sufficient to dispel every delightful fancy, which

might have been engendered in the brain. These hammocks were highly

acceptable, and they were lifted into them with very grateful

feelings. It was also exceedingly pleasant, after a long day's

journey on foot, to be carried along so easily, and to see the

parrots and other birds, with a number of grinning, chattering

monkeys, capering from the lofty branches of the trees, and making

the woods resound with their hideous screams.

After a charming journey of eight or ten miles, they entered the

large and populous town of Bidjie, where the Landers first crossed

Clapperton's route, and where Captain Pearse and Dr. Morrison fell

sick on the last expedition. About a quarter of a mile from the town

they were met by a fellow with a cow's horn, who, chiming in with a

trumpeter, who had accompanied them from Wow, produced a harmony

surpassing all that they had as yet heard. Two men followed the

Bidjie musician with umbrellas of variegated silk, and, thus honoured

and escorted, they were set down, amidst a crowd of people, in the

centre of the town. As usual, the natives testified the wild delight

they felt at the visit of the white men, by clapping of hands and

loud shouts of laughter. In a short time, the noise of three or four

drums was heard, which was an announcement that the chief was

prepared to receive them, on which the multitude quitted them

simultaneously, and rushed to the spot where he was sitting, and to

which, they were also desired to proceed. The chief shook hands with

them in great good humour; and they remarked with pleasure, or they

fancied they did, that not only his laugh, but that of the people,

was a more social and civilized kind of sound, than what of late they

had been accustomed to hear. Nevertheless, when John Lander shook

hands with the chief's son, which act was not very diverting in

itself, the bystanders set up so general a roar of laughter, that the

town rang with the noise; and when Lander ventured further to place

his hand on his head, they were yet more amazingly pleased, and

actually "shrieked like mandrakes torn out of the earth."

As soon as the ceremony of introduction was over, and the admiration

of the people was confined within rational bounds, they wished the

chief a pleasant night's rest, and were conducted into a comfortable

airy hut, which had a verandah in front. The chief shortly afterwards

sent them a goat for supper.

They were now in momentary expectation of hearing some account of

their horses from Badagry, and indeed they waited the whole of the

day at Bidjie for that purpose, and in order that the men with the

luggage might have time to overtake them, for they had been hindered

by the swamps and quagmires, which they themselves found so much

difficulty in crossing. Just about sun-set, however, two fellows

arrived from Badagry with the mortifying intelligence, that their

horses would not remain on the water in canoes, but having upset one

of them, and kicked out the bottom of another, had swam ashore and

been led back to Badagry. They were fully convinced that this story

was made up for the occasion, and thus by the bad faith of Adooley

they were deprived of their horses. They had put themselves in a

fever by walking a journey of two days in one, and were likely to

walk the remainder of the way to Jenna in the glare and heat of the

sun, for they had no umbrellas to screen themselves from his rays.

Richard Lander paid eighty dollars for one of the horses, but

Adooley forgot to return the coin, and likewise kept for his own use

a couple of saddles which were purchased at Accra. Late in the

evening the expected carriers arrived with the luggage, some of which

had been wetted and damaged in the marshes. They were now informed

that horses would be sent them on the following day from Jenna.

During the greater part of the afternoon, Richard Lander amused

himself in teaching the simple hearted chief to play on a child's

penny Jews-harp, many of which they had brought with them as

presents; but his proficiency, owing to a wonderfully capacious

mouth, and teeth of extraordinary size, was not near so flattering as

could have been wished. His people, however, who had assembled in

extraordinary numbers, were of a different opinion, and when they

heard their chief draw the first sound from the little instrument,

"shouts of applause ran rattling to the skies."

A traveller in England, who enjoys the goodness of the roads, does

not often murmur at the demands which are made upon his purse by the

turnpike-keepers, but in Africa the frequency of the turnpikes on the

road from Badagry to Bidjie, was a matter of some surprise to the

Landers. Human beings carrying burthens are the only persons who pay

the turnpikes, for as to a horse or a carriage passing through them,

it would be a scene of the greatest wonder. The Landers, however,

enjoyed the same privilege as the royal family of England, for being

under the protection of the government, they as well as all their

suite and baggage passed toll free.

On Sunday, April 4th, they arose at sunrise to make the necessary

arrangements for leaving Bidjie, which was no easy task, and shortly

after they sent to signify their intention to the chief. He expressed

a desire to see them as soon as they could conveniently come,

accordingly after breakfast, they repaired to his habitation, which

was contiguous to their own. After being conducted through a number

of yards and huts, inhabited only by goats and sheep, which were

tethered to posts, and a number of tame pigeons, they perceived the

object of their visit squatting on a leopard's skin, under a decent

looking verandah. He was surrounded by his drummers, and other

distinguished persons, who made room for the travellers as they drew

near. But the chief arose as soon as he saw them, and beckoning them

to follow him, they were ushered through a labyrinth of low huts, and

still lower doors, till at last they entered the innermost apartment

of the whole suite, and here they were requested to sit down and

drink rum. The doors they had seen were covered with figures of men,

which exactly resembled certain rude attempts at portraying the human

body, which may still be observed in several old chapels and churches

in the west of England. The chief informed them that they were at

liberty to quit Bidjie, as soon as the heat of the sun should have

somewhat abated, but previously to their departure he promised to

return their visit. On leaving the place he followed them, though

without their knowledge; but finding that they walked faster than he

did, and that he could not keep pace with them, being a very bulky

man, he hastily despatched a messenger to inform them that kings in

Africa, whatever they may do elsewhere, always walk with a slow and

measured step, and that the strides of the travellers being long and

vulgar, he would thank them to lessen their speed, and stop awhile to

enable him to come up with them, which was of course agreed to by the

travellers with great good will. A few minutes afterwards he reached

their house, dressed in a tobe of green silk damask, very rich and

showy, and a skull cap made of purple and crimson velvet. With the

exception of strings of white beads, which encircled his arms, he

used no personal ornaments. He remained chattering with them for a

long time.

Many of the women of Bidjie have the flesh on their foreheads risen

in the shape of marbles, and their cheeks are similarly cut up

deformed. The lobes of their ears are likewise pierced, and the holes

made surprisingly large, for the insertion of pieces of and ivory

into them, which is a prevailing fashion with all ranks.

The church service was read this morning agreeably to their general

custom. The natives, of whose society they were never able to rid

themselves, seemed to attach great awe and reverence to their form of

worship, for they had made them understand what if they were going

about, which induced them to pay a high degree of silent attention to

the ceremony, and set at rest for the time, that peculiar continuous

laugh by which they are distinguished from their neighbours. In the

afternoon, or as the natives express it, when the sun had lost its

strength, they departed from the town of Bidjie, accompanied by its

good natured, happy governor, and in a very few minutes afterwards

reached the banks of a rivulet called Yow. Butterflies were here more

numerous than could be imagined, millions of them fluttered around

them, and literally hid from their sight every thing but their own

variegated and beautiful wings.

Here on the banks of the Yow they took a last farewell of the

affectionate old chief, who implored the "Great God," to bless them,

and as the canoes in which they had embarked moved from the spot, a

loud long laugh, with clapping of hands from the lower classes,

evinced the satisfaction they felt at having seen the white men, and

their hearty wishes for their welfare.

The Yow is an extremely narrow rivulet, not more than a few feet in

breadth, and flows in a serpentine direction through a flat country,

covered with rushes, and tall, rank grass. Crocodiles are said to

resort here in great numbers, indeed the low bark or growl of these

rapacious animals was heard distinctly, and in some instances quite

close to them; after they had been pushed along against the stream by

poles for five or six miles, between four and five o'clock in the

afternoon they landed at a narrow creek, which ran a little way into

a thick and gloomy forest. They had not proceeded more than two

hundred yards on the pathway, when they were met by a messenger from

Jenna, who informed them that the owners of all the horses in the

town, had ridden out to welcome their chief, and escort him to his

residence, so that they should be obliged to walk the remainder of

the way. A few minutes, however, only had elapsed before they

descried a horse approaching them in the path, this was a goodly

sight to them, who were already becoming wearied and sore with the

exertions they had made during the day, for they did not reflect a

moment that the animal might not after all be for their use.

However, they soon met, and the rider immediately declared that he

had left Jenna purposely on their account. The head of the horse was

loaded with charms and fetishes, enveloped in pieces of red and blue

cloth. His saddle was of Houssa manufacture, and uncommonly neat; in

the interior such an article is only used by the principal people,

and his bridle also was of curious workmanship. The horseman had an

extravagant idea of his own consequence, and seemed to be a

prodigious boaster. He wore abundance of clothing, most of which was

superfluous, but it made him excessively vain. He informed the

travellers that he had been despatched by the king of Jenna, to meet

them in the path, and to escort them to the capital; but

understanding that Adooley had supplied them with horses, he did not

conceive it necessary to send others. The messenger, however,

dismounted and offered them his horse, and the Landers agreed that

they should ride him in turns. They therefore immediately proceeded,

and traversed a rich and various country, abounding plentifully with

wood and water. A fine red sand covered the pathway, which they

found to be in much better condition than any they had before seen.

Sometimes it winded through an open, level tract of fine grazing

land, and then it again diverged through forests so thick and deep,

that the light of the moon was unable to penetrate the gloom, and

they were frequently left in comparatively midnight darkness. It is

scarcely possible to give an adequate description of the

magnificence, solemnity, and desolate repose of the awful solitudes

through which they passed on this evening. They were, however, at

times enlightened by the appearance of glow worms, which were so

luminous that they could almost see to read by their golden

splendour, and sometimes by the moonbeams, which trembled upon the

leaves and branches of the trees. A fragrance also was exhaled from

the forest, more odiferous than the perfume of violets or primroses,

and they might almost fancy, when threading their way through

scenery, which cannot be surpassed for beauty in any part of the

world, that they were approaching those eternal shades, where, in

ancient time, the souls of good men were supposed to wander. The

woods rang with the song of the nightbirds, and the hum of the

insects, which continued to salute them with little intermission

till about ten o'clock at night, when they entered Laatoo, a large

and pleasant town. Here they were informed that no house would be

offered them, the fetish priest having declared that the moment a

white man should enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, they would

be seized by their enemies and enslaved. They arrived thirsty and

exhausted, but for a long time could not procure even a drop of

water. Their tent had been left on the road for want of carriers,

and they had made up their minds to rest under a tree, when about

two hours afterwards it was fortunately brought into the town.

They fixed it immediately, and having succeeded in procuring

some wood from the inhospitable inhabitants, they kindled a fire

in front of it, and whilst their attendants laid themselves in groups

outside, the Landers attempted to sleep within their tent, but it

was in vain, so tormented were they with the mosquitoes and the

ants.

Before sunrise, on the morning of the 5th of April, they were all on

the alert, and struck their tent at a very early hour, they then sent

the carriers onwards with the luggage and hastily left the town,

without bidding adieu either to the chief or any of his people, on

account of their inhospitality, and in an hour's time reached the

extensive and important town of Larro. On dismounting, they were

first led to a large cleanly swept square, wherein was preserved the

fetish of the place, which is the model of a canoe, having three

wooden figures with paddles in it. After waiting in the shade for an

hour, surrounded by an immense multitude of people of all ages, the

chief's approach was announced by a general rush from their quarters,

to the other end of the square, where he was walking. They went

towards him in order to pay him the accustomed salutation of shaking

hands, &c., but one of his followers fancying that John Lander kept

his master's hand clasped in his, longer than the occasion warranted,

looked fiercely in his face, and snatched away his hand eagerly and

roughly, without, however, uttering a word. "I could have pulled the

fellow's ears with the greatest goodwill, in the world," says John

Lander, "had not the fear of secret revenge deterred me. As it was, I

smothered my rising choler, and with my brother quietly followed the

chief, to his principal hut, under whose verandah we were served with

goora nuts in a huge pewter platter."

Presently the chief squatted himself down on a handsome rush mat, of

native manufacture, and they were desired to sit by him, on an

elegant Turkey carpet, which had been laid there for the purpose. He

was rather fancifully dressed; and wore two tobes, the one nearest

the skin being of black silk velvet, and the other of crimson velvet,

lined with sarsenet; his boots were of yellow leather, neatly worked,

and his wrists were loaded with bracelets of silver and copper. The

countenance of the chief betrayed much seriousness and solidity, and

the diverting laugh of his countrymen was suspended by a sober

cheerfulness. Many of his wives sat behind him in rows, some of whom

were of a bright copper colour, indeed a great number of the

inhabitants of Larro have fairer complexions than mulattoes. The yard

of the hut was crammed full of curious and inquisitive people, who

stood with open mouths during the audience. The chief wished to

imprint strongly on their minds his own dignity and power; he said he

was greater than the governor of Jenna, inasmuch as the latter was a

slave to the king of Katunga, but himself was a free man. He would

give them permission to depart to-morrow, he continued, and in the

mean time would supply them with provisions. The chief was as good as

his word, for shortly after they had quitted the hut they received a

goat and some game, and he returned their visit in the cool of the

evening. It appeared that it was not his general practice to drink

spirituous liquors in presence of his people, as it may be against

the law to do so, for having carefully excluded all prying eyes from

their dwelling, and ordered a mat to be hung over the door-way, he

even then turned his face to the wall, whenever he attempted to

swallow the brandy that was offered to him. He remained with them

rather better than an hour. On the presentation of the chief to them,

a religious ceremony was performed, which was not observed in any

other part of the country. A chapter from the Koran was repeated to

him by a mahommedan priest, to which both he and his people seemed to

pay great attention.

Public schools are established in the town of Larro, for the avowed

purpose of teaching the rising generation the rudiments of the

mahommedan religion.

A singular custom prevails in the town, of compelling children at the

breast to swallow a quantity of cold water from a calabash. An infant

was nearly choked on this morning by the injection of more than a

pint of water down its throat. Whether the mothers follow this custom

for the purpose of curing the children of any imaginary complaints,

or, as is more probable, in the hope of rendering them less eager for

their natural food, was not exactly to be ascertained.

The inhabitants possess horses, asses, and mules, though not in any

considerable numbers, they have, however, great abundance of sheep

and goats, which are bred in the town; and their yards and huts are

the common place of resort for those animals, indeed they may be said

to grow up and live with the children of their owners. The Landers

amused themselves during the greater part of the day, in looking at

the gambols of some very handsome goats, which had strayed into their

abode, but the sheep were not near so tame or frolicsome, repelling

all the advances towards a more familiar acquaintance, by timidity

and ill nature. Shrimps and fish, which are caught in the streams in

the vicinity of the town, are daily exposed for sale, and the

inhabitants appear to be in possession of a greater share of the

necessaries and comforts of life, than their neighbours of the sea

coast.

They this day observed the country to be sensibly rising, and

agriculture appeared to be conducted on a regular system, which was

an evident proof of the active and industrious habits of the people.

The gloomy fastnesses and wildnesses of nature, such as they passed

on the first day or two of their journey from Badagry, were less

common as they advanced, and open glades with plantations of bananas,

fields of yams and Indian corn, all neatly fenced, met their view

from the path of yesterday as well as on the present day. The

inhabitants of Larro also exhibit greater cleanliness of person and

tidiness of apparel than the tribes nearer the sea-shore. Those pests

also, the unfortunate beggars, entirely disappeared, for the

inhabitants of Larro appeared to possess too much pride to beg.

It was at Larro that the two brothers began to feel the relaxing

influence of the climate, but still their hearts were good, and they

hoped, by the blessing of Heaven, that their progress through the

country might not be impeded by sickness.

On Tuesday, April 6th, the sun had scarcely risen above the horizon,

and the mists of the morning yet hung upon the hills, than they

quitted the town of Larro, and pursued their journey on horseback.

Three horsemen from Jenna followed them on the path, and they were

enlivened by the wild jingling of their animals' bells, till they got

within a mile of that town, where they alighted at a kind of

turnpike, and fired a salute of two muskets. Here they were met by a

number of fellows with horns, who blew on them with the accustomed

energy of the natives; these men preceded them over a bridge, which

was thrown across a moat that surrounds Jenna into the centre of the

town, where they again alighted, and waited the chief's pleasure in

an open shed. They had not been seated many seconds before an immense

crowd of people pressed in upon them on every side, subjecting them

to the accustomed inconvenience of want of air, strong unwholesome

smells, and a confused hubbub, that defies description. Never were

the people more eager to behold a white man; the little ones formed

themselves into a ring close to the shed, then followed those of

maturer age, after them came a still older class, and the last circle

consisted of people as tall as steeples; most of whom held infants in

their arms. Altogether a large amphitheatre was formed of black

woolly heads, and white teeth set in jetty faces, and although the

Landers felt rather amazed at their innocent curiosity, and were

obliged to wait a considerable time for the new chief, they could

not help being highly diverted with the spectacle around them; at

length, to their great relief and joy, intelligence was brought that

the chief was ready to receive them. It appears that the principles

of etiquette at the royal courts, whether of Europe or of Africa, are

not definitively settled, for that which at the court of a William

the fourth, would be considered as the extreme of rudeness and

disrespect, is at the African courts construed into the most decisive

testimony of good breeding and politeness. It may be difficult to

determine to which the preference ought to be given, but as etiquette

is an essential in all courts, no matter how far it departs from

common sense and reason, we do not see why, as amongst the many

fooleries which are enacted at courts, the African system should not

be introduced. It happens, however, that the etiquette of the

European and African are decidedly dissimilar: to make an individual

wait is certainly considered in the former, as a breach of good

manners, whereas in the latter, the longer a person is made to wait

before the introduction takes place, the greater is the honour done

him, and the higher is the rank of that person supposed to be, who

exacts that ungracious duty. They discovered the chief, or rather

governor, sitting on a piece of leather, under a large verandah at

one end of a commodious square yard. He was clad in the prevailing

finery of crimson velvet tobe and cap, both edged with gold lace. At

his right hand sat his wives and women, and the brothers were desired

to place themselves on his loft. The women sang the praises of their

master in a loud unpleasant voice, in which they were assisted by the

music, equally inharmonious, of drums, fifes, clarionets, and horns.

On their wishing the chief all the happiness in the world, all the

people who had flocked into the yard after them, and every one near

the chief, prostrated themselves on the ground, and clapped their

hands. Goora nuts were now presented to them in water, and a

profusion of compliments passed on both sides; but the dignity of the

newly-made governor seemed to sit rather awkwardly upon him for he

was as shy and bashful as a maiden, and really appeared agitated, and

afraid of his white-faced visitants. Strange as it may appear, the

patience of the most patient people in the world was completely

exhausted, as might be seen by the desertion of the premises before

the travellers quitted them, notwithstanding the few words that had

passed between them and the chief. The ceremony being over, they bade

adieu to the chief, and having visited the grave of Dr. Morrison on

their way, they repaired to a hut which had been got ready for their

reception.

The former governor of Jenna, who it will be recollected treated the

gentlemen composing the last mission so handsomely, died about

fifteen months before the arrival of the Landers, and the king of

Youriba chose one of the meanest of his slaves as his successor. This

appears, however, to be an invariable rule with the sovereigns of

that country, of which Jenna is a province; for they fear as its

distance from the capital is very great, that a person of higher

rank, if possessed of talents and spirit, could easily influence the

natives to throw off the yoke, and declare themselves independent of

Youriba. The then governor was a Houssa man, and was raised to the

dignity he then held, in all probability, on account of his childish

simplicity, and artlessness, for a person with a countenance more

indicative of innocence, and perhaps stupidity also, they never

recollected to have seen. The qualities of his heart were, however,

said to be excellent, and his manners were mild and amiable. He had

been twelve months in coming from Katunga to Jenna; being under the

necessity of stopping at every town between that place and the

capital, to receive the applause and congratulations of the

inhabitants, and to join in their festivities and amusements.

The showers were now becoming heavier, and fell more frequently than

heretofore, indeed the rainy season may be said fairly to have

commenced, the thermometer, on the 6th of April, fell suddenly from

94° to 78", and remained stationary there for the whole of the day.

On the 7th April they carried a present to the governor, which he

received with every mark of satisfaction and gratitude; but he

declared with sorrow that he should be obliged to send some of it to

the king of Katunga, who would not allow him to wear red cloth, till

he had been a longer time established in his new situation.

It is related in Captain Clapperton's journal, that one of old

Pascoe's wives eloped from him in Katunga, whilst he was asleep,

taking with her the trinkets Mr. Belzoni had given him, and said that

she was never afterwards heard of. This woman had the effrontery to

introduce herself into the house of the Landers with an infant,

whereof she asserted with warmth that Pascoe was the father, and that

she was determined to leave it upon his hands. She had prevailed upon

a number of Houssa women to accompany her, that they might endeavour

to induce her quondam husband, who was a countryman of theirs, to

receive the child, and make up the breach between them; but the

infant not being more than nine or at most twelve months old, and

three or four years having elapsed since the elopement took place,

they were convinced that, independently of the age and infirmities of

Pascoe, it could not by any rule or law be his. Accordingly,

notwithstanding the uproar occasioned by the women's tongues, which,

whether in Africa or elsewhere, is a very serious matter, the mother

with her spurious offspring, and the ladies who came to aid and abet

her imposition, were turned out of the yard without any ceremony, to

the great relief of Pascoe, and his present wife, who felt rather

uncomfortable, whilst the palaver was carrying on.

The fetish priest of the town came dancing into the hut, shortly

after the ladies had retired, looking exceedingly wild, and roaring

as if possessed by an evil spirit. They paid little attention to the

fellow's fooleries, who, not liking his reception, left the hut,

after he had received the accustomed fee of a few kowries. The person

and dress of the man, together with his whimsical ornaments, were

admirably adapted to impose on the credulity and superstition of the

inhabitants; although many people of the town, influenced perhaps by

the spreading doctrines of Mahomet, spoke their minds pretty freely,

calling him a scoundrel and a devil. There was something peculiar in

this priest's countenance, which could not be defined. On his

shoulders he bore a large club, carved at one end with the figure of

a man's head. A vast number of strings of kowries were suspended on

this weapon, which were intermixed with shells, broken combs, small

pieces of wood with rude imitations of men's faces cut on them, large

sea-shells, bits of iron and brass, nut shells, &c. &c. Perhaps, the

number of kosries on his person did not fall far short of twenty

thousand, and the weight of his various ornaments almost pressed him

to the ground. After this fellow had left their apartment, three or

four others came to torment them with drums, whistles, and horns, and

began and ended the evening's serenade to their own infinite delight

and satisfaction. The native drum answers the purpose of a

tambourine, and bagpipe as well, and is of peculiar formation. Its

top is encircled with little brass bells, and is played upon with one

hand, whilst the fingers of the other were employed at the same time

in tapping on its surface. The instrument itself was held under the

left arm, but instead of an outer wooden case, strings alone were

used from end to end, which being pressed against the musician's

side, sounds somewhat similar to those of a Scotch bagpipe, but very

inferior, are produced. The drummers, with their companions of the

horns and whistles, subsist entirely on the charity of the public,

who require their services on all occasions of general merriment and

jollity.

On the morning of the 8th of April, the two messengers who arrived at

Badagry whilst the Landers were there, and stated that they had been

employed for the purpose by the governor of Jenna, were discovered to

be impostors, and put in irons accordingly. But as the poor fellows

had really been of essential service to them, inasmuch as by their

representations, they had prevailed upon Adooley to give them leave

to proceed on their journey much sooner than they themselves could

have done; they thought proper to intercede, in their behalf, and

although they were to have been sold for their deception, they were

set at liberty. The person also who had met them with a horse after

crossing the river Yow near Bidjie, proceeded thither on his own

account, without the knowledge or consent of the governor, but as he

was a Fellata and a respectable man, little was said or done about

that matter. The only motive, which could have influenced these three

men in their projects of assisting the travellers, had been without

doubt in the expectation of receiving a trifling remuneration, and of

this, notwithstanding an injunction to the contrary from the

governor, they did not disappoint them, their services were well

timed and very acceptable, and amply deserved the reward of a few

needles and scissors.

The travellers were this morning witnesses to a specimen of native

tumbling and dancing, with the usual accompaniments of vocal and

instrumental music; by far the most diverting part of the

entertainment was the dancing, but even this did not at all answer

the expectations they had formed of it. The dancers were liberally

supplied with country beer, and like most amusements of the kind,

this one ended in wrangling and intoxication.

The fellows who accompanied them as guides from Badagry, and who, in

their native place would sell their birthright for a glass of rum,

had now washed themselves, and thrown aside their rags, appearing in

all public places in borrowed finery. They now never left their

habitations without Adooley's sword, which they had with them, and a

host of followers. On this morning, they attended the celebration of

the games in showy apparel, with silk umbrellas held over their

heads; and amongst other articles of dress, the principal of them

wore an immense drab-coloured quaker's hat of the coarsest quality.

So great were their ostentation and pride, that they would scarcely

deign to speak to a poor man.

It was now they learned with great regret, that all the horses of the

late governor of Jenna, had been interred according to custom with

the corpse of their master, and they consequently began to be

apprehensive that they should be obliged to walk the whole of the way

to Katunga, as the present ruler was not the owner of a single beast

of burthen. This piece of ill news was carefully withheld from the

travellers, until the presents had been all duly delivered to the

governor and his head men; but in this instance, the latter alone

were to blame. Matters being thus unpleasantly situated, they sent a

messenger to the chief of Larro, informing him of the circumstance,

and entreating him to redeem his promise of lending them a horse and

mule; and another messenger was sent to Adooley, requesting him to

despatch immediately, at least one of their horses from Badagry, for

they had found it impossible to proceed without them. It was not

supposed that he would pay any attention to the request; and yet on

the other hand, it was scarcely to be imagined that he would carry

his chicanery so far, because he must fear that the variety of orders

they had given him, to receive valuable presents from England, would

never be honoured by their countrymen, if he refused to fulfil his

engagements with them.

Since the demise of the late governor, it was calculated that Jenna

had lost more than five hundred of its population, chiefly by wars,

intestine broils, &c. and all for want of a ruler. It must not,

however, be imagined, that because the people of this country are

almost perpetually engaged in conflicts with their neighbours, the

slaughter of human beings is therefore very great. They pursue war,

as it is called, partly as an amusement, or "to keep their hands in

it," and partly to benefit themselves by the capture of slaves. As

they were sailing down the coast, they were informed that the natives

of La Hoo, and Jack-a-jack, had been warring for three years

previously, and were still at variance, but during that long period

only one single decrepit old woman, who found it no easy matter to

run as fast as her countrymen, was left behind, and became the

solitary victim of a hundred engagements. Much after the same fashion

are the bloodless wars of Jenna. Success depends much more on the

cunning and address of the parties, than on any extraordinary display

of intrepidity, and living not dead subjects are sought after, so

that it is their interest to avoid hard blows, and enrich themselves

by the sale of their prisoners. Perhaps the extraordinary decrease in

the population of Jenna, has arisen principally from the desertion of

slaves, who embrace the opportunity, whilst their masters are from

home, engaged in predatory excursions, of running away; and thus the

latter often become losers instead of gainers by their unnatural

passion for stealing their fellow creatures. The individuals captured

are sent to the coast, and the chiefs of those unsettled and

barbarous tribes that inhabit it, are appointed agents to regulate

the sale of them, for which they receive half the profits.

Late in the evening, the young Fellata already mentioned, paid them a

visit, and offered his horse for sale. He was a mahommedan priest,

and was accompanied by a countryman of the same persuasion, but

neither of the holy men appeared in their dealing to understand the

meaning of truth or justice. An agreement was made and thirty dollars

paid. The merchant implored them not to tell his father, who was the

real owner of the horse, that he had sold him for less money than he

had received, and in this request, he was seconded by his more

venerable friend, because he said he wanted a small sum for his

private use, which he knew his parent would refuse him. The words

were hardly out of their mouths, before the two Mussulmans publicly

went through their ablutions in front of the house, where, turning

their faces to the east, they seemed to pray very devoutly to the

founder of their faith. When this was concluded, they sang an Arabic

hymn with great solemnity, and the whole had a wonderful and

immediate effect on the feelings of many of their followers in the

yard, who, mistaking loudness of voice for fervour, and hypocritical

seriousness for piety, made the two worshippers a present of money.

The Fellatas are generally supposed to be spies from Soccatoo, but

although this is a very prevalent opinion, no measures whatever have

yet been taken either to watch their motions, or question them as to

their intentions.

The women of Jenna employ themselves generally either in spinning

cotton, or preparing Indian corn for food. Much of the former

material grows in the vicinity of the town, but the cultivation of

the plant is not carried on with that spirit which it deserves. Silk,

which is brought over land from Tripoli, the inhabitants sometimes

interweave in their cotton garments, but such being very expensive,

are only worn by the higher class of people. They have abundance of

sheep, bullocks, pigs, goats, and poultry, but they prefer vegetable

food to animal; their diet, indeed, is what we should term poor and

watery, consisting chiefly of preparations of the yam and Indian

corn, notwithstanding which a stronger or more athletic race of

people is nowhere to be met with. Burdens with them, as with the

natives of many parts of the continent, are invariably carried on the

head, which, it is more than likely, occasions that dignified

uprightness of form, and stateliness of walk, so often spoken of by

those acquainted with the pleasing peculiarities, of the African

female. The weight of a feather is borne on the head in preference to

its being carried in the hand; and it not infrequently requires the

united strength of three men to lift a calabash of goods from the

ground to the shoulder of one, and then, and not till then, does the

amazing strength of the African appear. The greater part of the

inhabitants of Jenna have the hair of their head and their eyebrows

shaven. But the governor's ministers and servants wear their hair in

the shape of a horse shoe as a mark of distinction. It is confined to

the crown of the head by large daubs of indigo, and none of the

people presuming to imitate it, it answers the purpose of a livery.

The early part of the morning of April 10th, was obscured by a mist

or haze, which was as thick, and at least as unwholesome, as a London

fog in November, but between nine and ten o'clock it dispersed; and

the sun shone out with uncommon lustre. The hut which they occupied

was in a large square yard, and was the property of the late

governor's wife, whose story is rather romantic. Each of its sides

was formed by huts, which had all at one time been inhabited, but a

fire having broken out in one of them by some accident, the greater

part perished. A few huts were only then standing, together with

black, naked walls, and stakes, which supported the verandahs, the

latter reduced to charcoal. The tenantable buildings were inhabited

by the female slaves of the owner of the square, and the travellers

and their suite.

It is the custom in this place, when a governor dies, for two of his

favourite wives to quit the world on the same day, in order that he

may have a little, pleasant, social company in a future state; but

the late governor's devoted wives had neither ambition nor

inclination to follow their venerable husband to the grave, not

having had or got, according to their opinion, enough of the good

things of this world; they therefore went, and hid themselves before

the funeral ceremonies were performed, and had remained concealed

ever since with the remainder of their women. On this, day, however,

one of these unfortunates, the individual to whom the house belonged,

which the travellers resided, was discovered in her hiding place at

the present governor's, and the alternative of a poisoned chalice, or

to have her head broken by the club of a fetish priest, was offered

her. She chose the former mode of dying, as being the less terrible

of the two; and she, on this morning, came to their yard, to spend

her last hours in the society of her faithful slaves, by whom she was

addressed by the endearing name of mother. Poor creatures! as soon as

they learnt her misfortune, they dropped their spinning; the grinding

of corn was also relinquished; their sheep, goats, and poultry were

suffered to roam at large without restraint, and they abandoned

themselves to the most excessive and poignant grief; but now, on the

arrival of their mistress, their affliction seemed to know no bounds.

There is not to be found in the world perhaps, an object more truly

sorrowful, than a lonely defenceless woman in tears; and on such an

occasion as this, it may very easily be conceived that the distress

was more peculiarly cutting. A heart that could not be touched at a

scene of this nature, must be unfeeling indeed. Females were arriving

the whole day, to condole with the old lady, and to weep with her, so

that the travellers neither heard nor saw any thing but sobbing and

crying from morning to the setting of the sun. The principal males in

the town likewise came to pay their last respects to their mistress,

as well as her grave-digger, who prostrated himself on the ground

before her. Notwithstanding the representations and remonstrances of

the priest, and the prayers of the venerable victim to her gods, for

fortitude to undergo the dreadful ordeal, her resolution forsook her

more than once. She entered the yard twice to expire in the arms of

her women, and twice did she lay aside the fatal draught, in order to

take another walk, and gaze once more on the splendour of the sun and

the glory of the heavens, for she could not bear the idea of losing

sight of them forever. She was for some time restless and uneasy, and

would gladly have run away from death, if she durst; for that

imaginary being appeared to her in a more terrible light, than our

pictures represent him with his shadowy form and fatal dart. Die she

must, and she knew it; nevertheless she tenaciously clung to life

till the very last moment. In the mean time her grave was preparing,

and preparations were making for a wake at her funeral. She was to be

buried in one of her own huts, the moment after the spirit had

quitted the body, which was to be ascertained by striking the ground

near which it might be lying at the time, when, if no motion or

struggle ensued, the old woman was to be considered as dead. The

poison used by the natives on these occasions, destroys life, it is

reported, in fifteen minutes.

The reason of the travellers not meeting with a better reception when

they slept at Laatoo, was the want of a chief to that town, the last

having followed the old governor of Jenna, to the eternal shades, for

he was his slave. Widows are burnt in India, just as they are

poisoned or _clubbed_ at Jenna, but in the former country no male

victims are destroyed on such occasions. The original of the

abominable custom at Jenna, of immolating the favourite wives, is

understood to have arisen from the dread on the part of the chiefs of

the country in olden times, that their principal wives, who alone

were in possession of their confidence, and knew where their money

was concealed, might secretly attempt their life, in order at once to

establish their own freedom, and become possessed of the property;

that, so far from entertaining any motive to destroy her husband, a

woman might on the contrary have a strong inducement to cherish him

as long as possible, the existence of the wife was made to depend

entirely on that of her lord, and this custom has been handed down

from father to son even to the present time. But why men also, who

can have no interest to gain on the death of their prince, should be

obliged to conform to the same rite, is not to be so easily accounted

for. The individual, who was governor of Jenna at the time of the

visit of the Landers, must of necessity go down to the grave on the

first intelligence of the demise of the king of Youriba, and as that

monarch was a very aged man, the situation of the former was not the

most enviable in the world.

Previously to her swallowing the poison, the favourite wife of a

deceased chief or ruler destroys privately all the wealth, or rather

money of her former partner, in order that it may not fall into the

hands of her successor. The same custom is observed at Badagry also,

and although the king's son may be of age at the period of his

father's death, he inherits his authority and influence only. He is

left to his own sagacity and exertions to procure wealth, which can

seldom be obtained without rapine, enslavement, and bloodshed.

Whenever a town is deprived of its chief, the inhabitants acknowledge

no law; anarchy, troubles, and confusion immediately prevail, and

until a successor is appointed, all labour is at an end. The stronger

oppress the weak, and perpetrate every species of crime, without

being amenable to any tribunal for their actions. Private property is

no longer respected, and thus, before a person arrives to curb its

licentiousness, a town is not unfrequently reduced from a flourishing

state of prosperity and of happiness to all the horrors of

desolation.

Considerable surprise was now excited at the delay of the messenger,

who was sent to Badagry for the horses, on which they placed so much

value, for he had not yet returned, although he promised to be back

in four days from the time of his departure. As he had exceeded the

time by a whole day, and being a native of Badagry, the travellers

had given up all hopes of again seeing either him or the horse, or

even the message sword they had lent him as a token that he had been

sent by them. Positive assurances were given them that leave would be

granted to depart from Jenna on the following week, but as they had

only one horse, they would be obliged to take it in turns to ride, or

procure a hammock, which it would be a difficult thing to get, and

attended with considerable expense.

In the mean time, the devoted old queen dowager engrossed the chief

part of their attention, although her doom was inevitably fixed, yet

her cheerfulness appeared rather to increase, and she seemed

determined to spin out her thread of life to its utmost limit; spies

were now set over her, and she was not permitted to go out of

the yard.

On Monday the 12th of April, the travellers had the customary visit

to their yard of a long line of women, who came every morning with

rueful countenances and streaming eyes to lament the approaching

death of the old widow. They wept, they beat their breast and tore

their hair; they moaned, and exhibited all manner of violent

affliction at the expected deprivation. Perhaps their sorrow was

sincere, perhaps it was feigned; at all events their lamentations

were ungovernable and outrageous; the first woman in the line begins

the cry, and is instantly followed by the other voices; the opening

notes of the lamentation were rather low and mournful, the last wild

and piercing.

The principal people of the place finding the old lady still

obstinately bent on deferring her exit, sent a messenger to her

native village, to make known to her relatives, that should she make

her escape, they would take all of them into slavery, and burn their

town to ashes, in conformity to an established and very ancient law.

They therefore strongly advised the relatives of the old woman for

their own sakes, and for the sake of the public, to use all their

endeavours to prevail upon her to meet her fate honourably and with

fortitude. A deputation was expected from the village on the morrow,

when no doubt, after a good deal of crying and condoling, and talking

and persuading, the matter will eventually be decided against the old

lady. It was well understood that she had bribed a few of the most

opulent and influential inhabitants of Jenna with large sums of

money, to induce them to overlook her dereliction from the path of

duty, and by their representations that she had obtained the tacit

consent of the king of Katunga to live out the full term of her

natural life. But the people for many miles round, horror-struck at

such impiety and contempt for ancient customs, rose to enforce the

laws of her country against her.

On Tuesday April 13th, the town of Jenna was visited by one of those

terrific thunder storms, which are so prevalent in those latitudes.

The thatched hut in which the Landers resided, afforded but an

insecure and uncertain asylum against its fury. Part of the roof was

swept away, and the rain admitted freely upon their beds, whence the

most awful lightning flashes could be seen, making "darkness

visible." It appeared as if the genius of the storm were driving

through the murky clouds in his chariot of fire to awaken the

slumbering creation, and make them feel and acknowledge his power. It

was, indeed, a grand lesson to human pride, to contemplate the

terrors of a tornado through the trembling walls and roof of a gloomy

dilapidated hut in the interior of Africa. It is scenes like these,

which make the traveller think of his home, his friends, and his

fireside enjoyments, and by comparison, estimate the blessings which

are his portion in his native land. In civilized countries, when men

are visited by an awful calamity of this kind, the distinctions of

rank are levelled, and numbers flock together, for the purpose of

keeping each other in countenance, and strengthening each other's

nerves; but here all was naked, gloomy, desolate.

They passed the night, as may be supposed, in a very uncomfortable

state. The roof of their dwelling had long been infested with a

multitude of rats and mice; and these vermin being dislodged from

their haunts, by the violence of the wind and rain, sought immediate

shelter between their bed-clothes; and to this very serious

inconvenience was added another still greater, viz. the company of

lizards, ants, mosquitoes, besides worms and centipedes, and other

crawling, creeping, and noxious things, which the tempest seemed to

renovate with life and motion. After a long, long night, the morning

at length appeared, and the terrors of the storm were forgotten.

Not long after sunrise, two fresh legions of women entered their

yard, to mourn with their old mistress, and the shrieks and

lamentations of these visitors, were more violent than any of their

predecessors. It made them shudder to hear their cries. The piercing

cries, that assailed the ears of Telemachus, at his entrance into

the infernal regions, were not more dolorous or fearful. Their eyes

were red with weeping; their hands were clasped on the crown of the

head; their hair was in frightful disorder, and two channels of tears

were plainly seen flowing down over the naked bosom of each of the

women. In this manner they passed before the threshold of the hut in

two close lines, and were observed to bend the knee to the venerable

matron, without uttering a word. They then rose and departed, and

their cries could be heard long after they were out of sight.

Matters were now arranged for their departure, and after breakfast

they went to pay their last respects to the governor. Of course they

were obliged to wait a tiresome length of time outside his residence,

before admittance was obtained; but when the doors were opened, the

band that were in attendance inside, played a native tune as a token

of welcome. A greater number of drummers were observed than on any

former occasion. Some of their instruments were something in the

shape of a cone, and profusely ornamented with plates and figures of

brass. On one of these was represented the busts of two men, with a

tortoise in the act of eating out of the mouth of one of them. The

tortoise had a cock by its side, and two dogs standing as guardians

of the whole. These figures were ail ingeniously carved in solid

brass. Both ends of the larger drums were played on with the palms of

the hand; hundreds of little brass bells were suspended round the

edges for ornament rather than use; for being without clappers, they

could not produce any sound. The common native drum is beaten on one

of its ends only, and with a stick shaped like a bow.

After a little conversation, the chief and his principal people shook

the Landers affectionately by the hand, and wished them every

blessing; and as soon as they got outside the yard, they mounted

their horses and rode out of the town. The chief of Larro had broken

his promise, but they were fortunate enough to meet with and purchase

another horse that morning, so that they cared little about it. Their

pathway led through a champaign country, partially wooded; and after

a pleasant ride of three quarters of an hour, they entered the small

village of Bidjie. Here their carriers dropped their loads, nor could

they be induced to resume them by the most pressing solicitations.

Nor would the villagers, as their duty required, take them up; but

when they were begged to do so, they laughed at them, so that they

were compelled to remain at Bidjie until the following day. This was

very provoking, but such was the tiresome mode of travelling through

this country. No consideration can induce the natives to shake off

their habitual indolence, not if a voice from heaven were to be

heard, would they do it. Pleasure and sloth are with them synonymous

terms, and they are scarcely alive to any other gratification. In the

mean time, the chief, who appeared to be a very good sort of man,

although he had little authority over his people, sent them a fatted

goat; and being in good health, and having very encouraging prospects

held out to them as to their future progress, they were determined to

forget their little troubles and vexations, and spend the evening as

cheerfully as they could.

Hawks and vultures are exceedingly numerous both at Jenna and this

place, the former are bold and disgusting birds, but the latter are

so hungry and rapacious that they pounce fearlessly in the midst of

the natives when at their meals. Whilst the Landers were at supper,

one of them darted at a piece of meat, which one of their men held

between his fingers, and snatched it from him whilst he was conveying

it to his mouth.

At an early hour of Wednesday the 14th April, to the infinite

surprise and pleasure of the Landers, the man from Badagry made his

appearance with one of their horses and an English saddle. The latter

was as acceptable to them as the horse, for on the preceding day, for

want of a saddle, they were obliged to substitute a piece of cloth,

and the back of the animal being as sharp as a knife, it was no very

pleasant thing to ride him; walking would have been the far less

irksome exercise of the two. Pascoe, whose sagacity and experience

proved of infinite service to them, was lamed in his endeavours to

walk as fast as the rest of the party, and as he had the misfortune

of having one leg shorter than the other he became the general butt

and laughing stock of his more robust companions. This day, however,

they mounted him on the extra horse, on the back of which he retorted

their revilings, and the whole of them became as envious of his

dignity, as they were before facetious at his expense.

They took their departure from Bidjie while the morning was yet cool

and pleasant, and arrived at Chow before eleven o'clock in the

forenoon. The natives have an unaccountable fancy that white men are

fond of poultry to an excess, insomuch that whenever they entered a

town or village, all the fowls were immediately seized and confined

in a place of security until their departure.

Several strangers accompanied them from town to town, for the purpose

of evading the duty which is exacted at the turnpike gates, by

stating themselves to be of the number of their attendants. Women

also placed themselves under the protection of their men from Cape

Coast Castle, in order that they might enjoy a similar advantage; in

return for this favour, they showed a great willingness to do for

them many little kind offices, and they were found particularly

useful in making fires, preparing food, &c. for the whole of the

party.

Their journey throughout the whole of this day was extremely

pleasant. At one time the path ran in a serpentine direction through

plains covered with green turf, at another it led them amidst large

groves of stately trees, from whose branches a variety of playful

chattering monkeys diverted them by their mischievous tricks, and the

grey parrot, with its discordant, shrill scream, and other beautiful

birds, "warbled their native wood notes wild."

The chief of Chow, who received and entertained Captain Clapperton,

had been dead some time, and was succeeded by a humble, good natured,

and active individual, who treated the white men more like demi-gods

than human beings. At the time of their arrival, he was engaged in

superintending the slaves at his corn and yam plantations, but he

hastened to them the moment he was informed of the circumstance. He

possessed a number of horses, one of which was the smallest and most

beautiful animal they ever beheld.

In the evening, the chief visited them again with a present of

provisions, and a few goora nuts. Richard Lander took the opportunity

of playing on a bugle horn in his presence, by which he was violently

agitated, under the supposition that the instrument was nothing less

than a snake.

For the first time since their landing they observed the loom in

active operation; the manufacture of cotton cloth is, however,

carried on exclusively by women, the men appearing too slothful and

indolent to undertake any labour, which might subject them to

fatigue.

On the following day the path wound through a country charmingly

diversified by hill and dale, woods and open glades, and watered by

streams flowing over beds of fine white sand. A horseman from Katunga

met them about ten o'clock in the morning, whose dress and

accoutrements were highly grotesque. He neither stopped nor spoke,

but couched his lance as he gallopped past them. It was supposed that

he was the bearer of a message to the chief of Jenna, from the king

of Katunga, and that it had some reference to themselves, but whether

it was an act of caution or of compliment could not be ascertained.

They met a number of people of both sexes in the path, who were

returning from Egga to Chow, and several naked boys on their way to

the coast, under the care of guardians. These were slaves, and would

be most likely sold at Badagry. Some of the woman bore burdens on

their heads, that would have tired a mule and broken the neck of a

Covent Garden Irish woman, and children not more than five or six

years old trudged after them with loads that would have given a full

grown person in Europe the brain fever.

They departed from Chow before sunrise; a surprising dew had fallen

during the night and distilled from the leaves and branches in large

drops. They passed during the forenoon, over three or four swampy

places, covered with reeds, rushes, and rank grass, which were

inhabited by myriads of frogs of prodigious size. On crossing the

streams, they were invariably saluted by a loud and unaccountable

hissing, as if from a multitude of serpents. They could not account

for this extraordinary noise in any other way, than by supposing it

to have proceeded from some species of insects, whose retreats they

had invaded.

With very trifling manual labour, the path, which was little better

than a mere gutter formed by repeated rains, might be converted into

a good and commodious road; and were a tree simply thrown over them,

the streams and morasses might be crossed with ease and safely. But

the natives appeared to have no idea whatever of such improvements,

and would rather be entangled in thick underwood, and wade through

pools of mud and water, than give themselves any trouble about

repairing the road. But the native, however, says to himself, and not

unjustly, _cui bono?_ neither in England or in Africa are

individuals to be found, who will undertake a work of difficulty and

fatigue gratuitously, merely for the benefit and accommodation of

others; characters of that description are very rarely to be found,

and perhaps the interior of Africa is the last place in the world

where we should look for them. An Englishman might find it to be his

interest to repair the roads on which he is frequently obliged to

travel; but what benefit can accrue to the uncivilized African, and

particularly the slave, who has not a blade of grass under the canopy

of Heaven, which he can call his own, to trouble himself about the

repair of a road, on which he might never have occasion to travel,

and which, with the great uncertainty which is always hanging over

his future condition in life, he may never fee again. Trees not

unfrequently fall across the pathway, but instead of removing them,

the people form a large circuit round them, even a small ant hill is

an object too mighty to be meddled with, and it is left in the centre

of the narrow road, to be jumped over, or to be travelled round,

according to the option of the traveller.

Several women, with little wooden figures of children on their heads,

passed them in the course of the morning; they were mothers, who,

having lost a child, carry these rude imitations of them about their

persons for an indefinite time, as a symbol of mourning. Not one of

them could be induced to part with one of these little affectionate

memorials.

They entered Egga, which is a very large town, in the early part of

the afternoon. On their arrival, they were introduced into the house

occupied by Captain Clapperton on his last journey, in the yard of

which, repose the remains of an Englishman, named Dawson, who died

here of a fever when that officer passed through the country. Both

the hut and yard were soon tilled with people, and were in a state of

filth, which baffles all description. They could not by any means rid

themselves of sheep, goats, and fowls, with their train; in spite of

all their attempts to remove them, they were determined to be their

companions, and this grievance, added to the tongues of a hundred

visitors, made their situation all but intolerable.

Egga is the principal market town in this part of Africa, and is

attended by buyers and sellers for many miles round. Women here are

the chief, if not the only traders, most of them are of graceful and

prepossessing exterior, and they all practise those petty tricks and

artifices in their dealings, with which the market women of more

civilized countries are not unacquainted.

This day, April 16th, was one of the hottest they ever remember to

have felt. They found the path in much better condition, than that on

which they had previously travelled, and it lay almost entirely

through plantations of yams, calavances and pumpkins, and three or

four different varieties of corn, which a number of labourers were

employed in weeding, &c. The hoe is the only implement of husbandry

in use, and indeed they can well dispense with every other, because

the soil, during the rainy months, is so soft and light, that but

very little manual exertion in working it is required. Population is

abundant, labourers may be hired to any number; and it may be

affirmed that he introduction of the plough would scarcely be a

blessing, but on the contrary, it would furnish fresh encouragement

to the general sin of indolence.

Having crossed at noon a small but agreeable river flowing from east

to west, in which several females were bathing and washing clothes,

they shortly afterwards entered the capacious and populous town of

Jedoo. Here they were informed that the chief had been in the grave

more than a twelvemonth; and that no one having yet been nominated to

succeed him, every thing continued in a state of confusion and

misrule. They were conducted, after having waited a little, into a

large yard belonging to the late governor, and in a short time

received a visit from his brother, in company with all the elders of

the place; their conversation was, however, very unpleasant, and

their whole behaviour much cooler than was agreeable, the more so as

such a reception had been entirely unexpected.

The yard in which they resided, was perfectly circular, and walled

with huts, all tenanted by the late chiefs widows, who employ their

time and earn their livelihood by spinning and weaving. Not less than

a hundred of the king of Katunga's ladies were lodging in the yard

with them. They had all passed the bloom of life, and had lately

arrived with loads of trona and country cloth, which they barter for

salt, and various articles of European manufacture, particularly

beads; with these they return home, and expose them for sale in the

market, and afterwards the profits are taken to their husbands. These

royal ladies are distinguished from their countrywomen only by a

peculiar species of cloth, which is wrapped round their goods, and

which no one dared to imitate on pain of perpetual slavery. This

severe punishment is often inflicted, for, as the king's wives pay no

tribute or turnpike dues whatever, and must besides be entertained by

the chiefs of every town through which they pass, strong inducements

are offered for others to attempt to deceive, by using the forbidden

cloth, and hence examples are necessary. As a contrast to the

afflicted females of Jenna, the wives of the king of Katunga all fell

to crying for joy this evening, on recognizing a few old acquaintance

in the yard, who soon joined them in the melancholy music. It was

highly ridiculous to see them, for after the first burst had

subsided, they began to chat with a garrulity far beyond that of the

most talkative of their European sisters. The conversation lasted

more than an hour, till at last it resolved itself into a violent

quarrel, which lasted during the remainder of the day.