According to their announcement on the preceding day, the messengers
from the chiefs arrived, bringing with them two fine sheep and a
great quantity of rice, and it appeared that they would be required
to give presents to nine people, before they should be able to get
away from the place.
Having prepared the presents, the messengers were collected, and
Richard Lander laid before each of them those that were intended for
their masters, and in order to make them some reward, and secure
their good will, he gave something to each of them, and dismissed
them.
On the following morning they were visited by two young men, Arabs,
from Rabba, one of whom was very eager to claim acquaintance with
Richard Lander, and to bring to his memory certain scenes which had
taken place on his former journey to Houssa. Having in some degree
recovered from his surprise at his salutation, on looking at him more
attentively, he recognized in him the very same individual, that had
been employed by Captain Clapperton, whom he had abused and cheated,
and who was subsequently engaged by Lander himself as a guide from
Kano. He was the same person also, who decamped with Captain Pearce's
sword, and a large sum of money in kowries. The fellow, however, on
being taxed with his dishonesty, made very light of his offence, and
with the utmost effrontery begged every thing that he saw, so that
the Landers lost their temper with the scoundrel, and turned him out
of the hut in disgust. He, however, could not believe that they were
in earnest with him, "Oh, it must be all sport," said he, but at last
they threatened to shoot him, if ho did not go about his business,
and being apprehensive that they would put their threats into
execution, he ran off as fast as he could.
The market at Rabba is very celebrated, and considered by traders as
one of the largest and best in the whole country, of which it may be
styled the emporium. On one market day, between one and two hundred
men, women, and children were exposed for sale in ranks and lines,
like the oxen at Smithfield. These poor creatures had for the most
part been captured in war. The price of a strong healthy lad was
about forty thousand kowries, (£8 sterling,) a girl fetches about
fifty thousand, and perhaps more, if she be at all interesting. The
value of men and women varies according to their age, and abilities.
The situation of the travellers now assumed a critical aspect, for
early one morning, Mallam Dendo, the old king of Rabba sent for
Pascoe in a great hurry, with a message that he was waiting
impatiently his arrival at Rabba, having something of the utmost
consequence to communicate. As may be easily conjectured, the Landers
were rather surprised at this unexpected summons, and waited Pascoe's
return with much anxiety, for they had no doubt whatever, that
themselves were principally concerned in it. When, however, he _did_
come back, and entered the hut, he looked very wistfully, and
informed them with considerable agitation both of voice and manner,
that Mallam Dendo had expressed to him the greatest dissatisfaction
at the things which he had received from them as presents, declaring
them to be perfectly worthless, and with the exception of the
looking-glass, "fit only for a child," that he well knew they could
have sent him something more useful and of greater value, if they had
thought proper; but that if they persisted in their refusal to do so,
he should demand of them their guns, pistols, and powder, before he
would consent or permit them to leave Zagozhi.
This news made them very uneasy and unhappy, and they sat down in
gloom and thoughtfulness without uttering a word, for they believed
this to be a death-blow to all their hones. To part with the only
defensive weapons in their possession, they felt determined not to
do, for they knew if they were to be deprived of them, they should be
entirely in the power of a set of fellows remarkable neither for
generosity nor nobleness of principle, without the means of helping
themselves, and they resolved never to part with their guns, unless
compelled to do so by the most urgent necessity. Having reflected
deliberately on their situation, they felt convinced that something
on their part must be done by way of conciliation, if they had any
intention of quitting the country, and of prosecuting their
enterprise. On a sudden, they thought of Mr. Park's tobe, which was
given to them by the king of Boossa, and they hoped that in
consequence of the splendour of its appearance, and its intrinsic
value, it might prove an acceptable present to the covetous prince,
and be the means of effecting a perfect reconciliation between them.
They therefore immediately despatched Ibrahim with it to Rabba,
although their hearts misgave them at the time, that it would, after
all, be thought lightly of, as an excuse for further extortions.
In this, however, they were agreeably disappointed, for in less than
two hours after his departure, Ibrahim returned from his errand with
a quick step and cheerful looks, and informed them that the tobe was
accepted by the prince with rapturous admiration. By this present
they had made him their friend for ever. "Ask the white men," said
he, "what they would desire, and if Rabba can supply them with it,
tell them they shall always have it. Well," he continued, "I must
purchase this tobe, I will not accept it as a gift; that would be
against my principles, and besides, it would be wrong for me to be
guilty of such injustice. Now I shall be something like a king," he
added, turning the tobe inside and out; "let no man know of it, my
neighbours will behold me with envy, and as for my own people, I will
surprise them some morning by putting it on when they are going to
war: it will dazzle their eyes. How great will be their
astonishment?" In this manner the king of the Fellatas talked to
Ibrahim.
On the following day, Pascoe was sent to Rabba, well tutored by his
masters, and in consequence of the offer made by the king to make
them any compensation for the handsome tobe, Pascoe informed him,
that the first wish of the white men was to obtain a large canoe, and
to pursue their journey on the Niger as fast as possible. He promised
to settle the business of the canoe, and sent some presents to the
Landers, which at the time were very acceptable.
They had, however, scarcely got over the dilemma with the king of
Rabba, than a messenger arrived to that monarch from the king of
Nouffie, who had despatched him privately to Mallam Dendo, with an
intimation to him, that if it met with his approbation, he (the
magia) would order the white men to be detained at Zagozhi, until
they would consent to make him a present of a certain number of
dollars, or something equivalent to them in value; that he
disbelieved the story of their poverty altogether, and would
therefore search their luggage, in order to discover whether their
assertion were true or false, that they had no greater presents to
make.
So much dissimulation, meanness, and rapacity, which this trait in
his character exhibited, they had little reason to expect from the
king of Nouffie, after expressing for them so warmly and repeatedly
as he had done, protestations of the most cordial, candid, and
lasting friendship. They could not forbear feeling very indignant at
this foul breach of the laws of hospitality and good faith, which
previously to this act, they had experienced in every part of the
country. Perhaps it was well that they had presented the prince of
Rabba with Mr. Park's tobe, for he treated the message and its bearer
with contempt, and answered energetically, "Tell the magia, your
sovereign, that I would rebuke him for this expression of his
sentiments, and that I detest his base insinuations; that I will
never consent to his wishes, and that I reject his proposal with
disdain. What! shall the white men, who have come from such distant
lands to visit our country, who have spent their substance amongst
us, and made us presents before we had leisure to do any good for
them, shall they be treated so inhumanly? never! They have worn their
shoes from their feet, and their clothes from their persons, by the
length and tediousness of their journeys; they have thrown themselves
into our hands, to claim our protection and partake of our
hospitality; shall we treat them as robbers, and cast them from us
like dogs? Surely not. What would our neighbours, what would our
friends--our foes say to this? What could be a greater reproach than
the infamy, which would attach itself to our characters, and to our
name, should we treat these poor, unprotected, wandering strangers,
and white men too, in the manner your monarch, the king of Nouffie
proposes? After they have been received and entertained with so much
hospitality and honour in Yarriba, at Wowow, and at Boossa, shall it
be said that Rabba treated them badly? that she shut her doors upon
them and plundered them? No, never! I have already given my word to
protect them, and I will not forfeit that sacred pledge for all the
guns and swords in the world." Such was the answer of a man whom we
call a savage--it was worthy of a prince and a Christian.
It was now high time that their journey should be completed, for
their goods were very nearly exhausted, and so far from being in a
condition to make further presents, their means were scarcely
adequate to procure the bare necessaries of life. Their stock of
cloth, looking-glasses, snuff-boxes, knives, scissors, razors, and
tobacco pipes, had been already given away, and they had only needles
and a few silver bracelets left, to present to the chiefs whom they
might reasonably expect to fall in with on their voyage down the
Niger.
The population of Zagozhi cannot well be estimated on account of its
lowness, and the prevailing flatness of the country round, on which
neither a hillock nor eminence of any kind can be discerned. However,
it must be immense, and the Landers considered it to be one of the
most extensive and thickly inhabited towns, as well as one of the
most important trading places in the whole kingdom of Nouffie, not
excepting even Coulfoo.
Having at length received permission to quit Zagozhi on the following
day, to pursue their journey down the Niger, they made the necessary
preparations for their departure. They were in hope of obtaining a
canoe capable of holding the whole of their party, as it would be a
much more satisfactory arrangement for them, and more convenient than
two small ones. The chief of the island promised to send a messenger
with them as far as Egga, which was the last town down the river
belonging to the Nouffie territory. The chief was, however, unwilling
to part with a canoe under any consideration, yet as a token of his
friendship and regard, he offered to spare them one for twenty
thousand kowries, in addition to their own canoe, which they had
brought from Patashie. A messenger from the prince of Rabba arrived
just after this proposal had been made to them, with full powers to
treat with the "King of the dark water" for the canoe. In a short
time, he returned from his errand, with the pleasing intelligence of
his having succeeded in obtaining the long-talked-of canoe, and which
was to be in readiness to receive them on board at an early hour on
the following morning.
On Friday, October 16th, they rose at an early hour, to pack up their
clothes, and to get their luggage ready for embarkation. But when
this was all done, they met with a sudden and unforeseen
embarrassment, for the sable king of the dark water laughed at the
idea of giving them a canoe on the faith of receiving payment from
the prince of the Fellatas, and at first, he even refused to deliver
up their own canoe, which they had brought from Patashie, and which
they had kept with so much anxiety and trouble. At length, however,
he consented to restore to them all their property, and the whole of
the articles were accordingly moved into the canoes.
When all this was done, and they were quite ready to start, the old
chief came down to the water side to bid them farewell, according to
his avowed purpose, but in reality to offer them a commodious canoe
in exchange for their own, if they would consent to give him ten
thousand kowries in addition to them. They had fortunately realized a
sufficient number of kowries from the sale of needles at Rabba, and
while Richard Lander was shifting the things from their own canoe
into another, John Lander walked back with the old chief to his
residence, where he found all the people of the house gathered round
the trunk of a large tree, which was burning in the hut. Here he paid
the chief ten thousand kowries for the canoe, which having done, he
rejoined his brother at the water side.
The canoes made here are of a particular description, very much
resembling what are called punts in England, but are perfectly
straight and flat bottomed. They are generally formed out of one log
of wood, and are of an immense size; that which the Landers
purchased, was about fifteen feet in length and four in breadth, but
they are sometimes made nearly as large again. To this offer the
Landers most willingly acceded, and as soon as all the goods were
transferred into the purchased canoe, they found, after all, that it
was not nearly large enough for their purpose, independently of its
being extremely leaky, and patched up in a thousand places; they had
been prevented from perceiving the canoe's defect before, by the
excitement of preparation, and the hurry of departure. They now saw
that they had been cheated by the artful king of the dark water, but
rather than enter into an interminable dispute on the subject, which
might involve them in further difficulties, they held their peace and
put up with the imposition without a murmur; after, getting all their
luggage into her, they waited for the arrival of a messenger, who was
to have accompanied them a little way on their journey, but as he did
not come, they resolved to depart without him, so bidding farewell to
the king of the dark water, and hundreds of spectators who were
gazing at them, they fired two muskets, and launching out into the
river, they were soon out of sight of Zagozhi.