Departure from Badágry — Pass through Wow — Sagbú — Básha — Soató —
Bídjie — Lāatoo — Lárro to Jenna.
_Tuesday, March 31st._—We bade adieu to the Chief of Badágry in good
time this morning, and during the day packed up all our things ready for
our departure. We repaired to the banks of the river at sun-set,
expecting to find a canoe which Adooley had promised should be sent
there for our use; but having waited above two hours, and finding it did
not arrive, we placed the 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, we were fain to wait as patiently as we could for the canoe
promised us. Everything betrayed the lukewarmness and indifference of
the chief who had received so much from us, and who expected so much
more; but we had answered his purpose, and now he took no further notice
of us. In two more hours Hooper made his appearance in Adooley’s war
canoe, which he had prevailed on him to lend us. 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 when we 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 glorious ‘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 fetísh hut were the only
buildings we observed on them. We could not help admiring at some
distance ahead of our 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 us 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, we suddenly turned
up a branch joining the river from the northward, passing on our left
the village of Bawie, at which Captain Clapperton landed. We saw several
small islands, covered with rank grass, interspersed in different parts
of the river. They are inhabited by myriads of frogs, whose noise is
more hoarse and stunning than ever proceeded from any rookery in
Christendom. As we went up the river, our canoe-men spoke to their
priests, who were invisible to us, in a most sepulchral tone of voice,
and were answered in the same unearthly and doleful manner. These sounds
formed our night’s serenade. Notwithstanding the novelty of our
situation and the interest we took in the objects which surrounded us, I
was overcome by fatigue, and wrapping a flannel dress round my person,
fell fast asleep.
_Thursday, April 1st._—The hard and uncomfortable couch whereon we had
reposed last night made our bodies quite sore; and occasioned us to
awake at a very early hour this morning. At six A.M. we found ourselves
still on the river, and our canoe gliding almost 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 miasma, loaded with other vapours of the most
deleterious quality, ascended from its borders like a thick cloud. Its
smell was peculiarly offensive. An hour afterwards we arrived at the
extremity of the river, into which flowed a stream of clear water. Here
our canoe was dragged over a morass into a deep but narrow rivulet, so
narrow indeed that it was barely possible for our canoe to float,
without being entangled in the branches of abundance of trees, which
were shooting up out of the water. Shortly afterwards we 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 us
in their stead, forming an arch-like canopy, impervious to the sun’s
rays. The river and this lesser stream abound with alligators and
hippopotami; and wild ducks, and a variety of other aquatic birds,
resort to them in considerable quantities. Monkeys and parrots inhabit
the branches of the trees, and make an abominable chattering and noise
between them all the day long. We landed about half-past eight in the
morning, in the sight of a great multitude, that had assembled to gaze
at us.
Passing through a place where a large fair or market is held, and where
many thousands of people had congregated for the purposes of trade, we
entered an extensive and romantic town called _Wow_, which is situated
in a valley. The major part 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
us, preceded by men bearing large silk umbrellas, and another playing a
horn, which produced such terrible sounds, that we gladly took refuge,
as soon as we could, in the chief’s house. The apartment into which we
were introduced, is furnished with a roof precisely like the roof 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, was a quantity of
human jaw-bones, hung up on the side of the wall like a string of
onions. After a formal and most ceremonious introduction, we were
liberally regaled with water from a calabash, which is a compliment the
natives pay to all strangers, and then shown into a very small
apartment. Here my brother endeavoured to procure a little sleep, having
remained awake last night; but we were so annoyed by perpetual
interruptions and intrusions, the firing of muskets, the garrulity of
women, the unceasing squall of children, the drunken petitions of men
and boys; and a laugh, (but it is quite out of my power to describe
it—one that approximates more to the nature of a horse-laugh, than
anything I know)—so that it was found impossible to close one’s eyes.
The market of this place is supplied abundantly with Indian corn, palm
oil, &c.; together with _trona_[5], and other articles brought hither
from the borders of the desert of Zaarha, through the medium of the
wandering Arabs. By the regulations of the fetísh, neither a white man
nor a horse is permitted to sleep at Wow during the night season. We
know not what is become of the horses; they were to have preceded us to
this place by land, but are not yet arrived. With respect to ourselves,
we shall be obliged to walk to a neighbouring village, and spend the
night there. Our course to this town, through this creek, was N.b.E.,
and Badágry is distant from it about thirty miles, by the route we have
come.
A violent thunder-storm, which is called a tornado on the coast, visited
us this afternoon, and confined us to the ‘worst hut’s worse room,’ till
it had subsided, and the weather became finer. At three P.M. we sallied
forth, and were presently saluted by hootings, groans, and hallooings,
from a multitude of people of all ages—from a child to its grandmother,
and they followed close at our heels as we went along, filling the air
with their laughter and raillery. A Merry-Andrew at a country town in
England, during the Whitsun holidays, never excited so great a stir, as
did our departure from Wow this afternoon. But it is ‘fool’s day,’ and
some allowance ought to be made for that, no doubt. We had not proceeded
more than a dozen paces from the outskirts of the town, when we were
visited by a pelting shower, which wetted us to the skin in a moment. A
gutter or hollow, misnamed a pathway, was soon overflowed; and we had to
wade in it up to our knees in water, and through a most melancholy-
looking forest, before we entered a village. It is called _Ságbu_, and
is about eight miles from Wow. We were dripping wet on our arrival, and
the weather still continuing unpleasant, it was some time before any one
made his appearance to invite us into a hut. At length the chief came
out to welcome us to his village, and immediately introduced us into a
long narrow apartment, wherein we are to take up our quarters for the
night. It is built of clay, and is furnished with two apertures to admit
light and air into the room. One end of it was occupied with a number of
noisy goats, whilst we took possession of the other. Paskoe and his wife
are lying on mats at our feet; and a Toby Philpot, with his ruddy cheek
and jug of ale, belonging to the chief, separate them from the goats.
The remainder of our people have no where to sleep. The walls of our
apartment are ornamented with strings of dry, rattling human bones,
written charms, or fetíshes, sheep-skins, and bows and arrows. We did
not repose near so comfortably as could have been desired, owing to the
swarms of mosquitoes and black ants, which treated us very despitefully
till morning.
_Friday, April 2d._—Between six and seven o’clock A.M., we continued our
route through woods, and large open patches of ground, and at about
eleven in the forenoon, arrived at the borders of a deep glen, more
wild, romantic, and picturesque, than can be conceived. It is 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; everything conducing
to render it grand, melancholy, and venerable; and the glen only wants
an old 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
one beautiful sight, however, which we would not omit mentioning for the
world;—it was that of an incredible number of butterflies, fluttering
about us like a swarm of bees; they had chosen this, no doubt, 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
were of a shining green, edged and sprinkled with gold; others were of
sky-blue and silver; others of purple and gold delightfully blending
into each other; and the wings of some were like dark silk velvet,
trimmed and braided with lace.
To revert from insects to men: our followers formed a group at once
savage and imposing. As they winded down the paths of the glen, with
their grotesque clothing and arms, bundles, and fierce black
countenances, they might be mistaken for a strange band of ruffians, of
the most fearful character. Besides our own, we had hired twenty men of
Adooley to carry the luggage, as there are no beasts of burden in the
country[6]. Being all assembled at the bottom of the glen, we found that
a long and dangerous bog or swamp, filled with putrid water, and the
decaying remains of vegetable substances, intersected our 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
our 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 slough. For my own part, I was taken on
the back of a large and powerful man, of amazing strength. His brawny
shoulders supported me without any apparent fatigue on his part; and he
carried me through bog and water, and over branches of trees, 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 lay me down for twenty minutes, the swamp being,
as nearly as we could guess, a full quarter of a mile in length. We then
walked to a small village called _Bàsha_; whence without stopping we
continued our journey, and about four in the afternoon passed through
another village, somewhat larger than the former, which is called
_Soató_. Here we found ourselves so much exhausted with over-fatigue and
want of food, that we were compelled to sit down and rest awhile, and
here—
‘Naked youths and painted chiefs admire
Our speech, our colour, and our strange attire.’
But they are a very uncourteous and clownish race, and teased us so much
with their rudeness and begging propensities, that we were glad to be
rid of them by setting out again. Having passed two other swamps in the
same manner as we had done before, we were completely tired, and could
go no further, for we had been walking all day, in an intricate,
miserable path, sometimes exposed to the sun, and sometimes threading
our way through a tangled wood. It is now six o’clock in the evening—our
people are gone to the next town to fetch the horses, which Adooley
promised should meet us yesterday; and my brother and I are resting by
ourselves under a grove of trees, which is in the neighbourhood of a
body of stagnant water, wherein women are bathing and casting side-long
glances at us. It is a low, marshy, and unwholesome spot, and it is
extremely probable that we shall be obliged to sleep here on the grass
all night; but what can we do? The village, it is true, is not many
miles a-head, but then we are unable to walk.
_Saturday, April 3d._—We had made fires of dried wood and fallen leaves
last evening, 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 we were agreeably surprised by the arrival of
four of our men from the village with hammocks; for though sleeping in
the open air, with ‘heaven for one’s canopy,’ in a dark wood, and all
that, may be very pretty in description, yet in reality nothing can be
more disagreeable, for the crawling of ants, black worms, &c., over
one’s face, disperses the most enchanting reverie. These hammocks were
highly acceptable, and we were lifted into them with very grateful
feelings. It is pleasant, too, after a long day’s journey on foot, to be
carried along so easily on one’s back, to see parrots and other solemn
birds perched on the branches of very tall trees, whilst the trees
themselves seem capering away from one most surprisingly; as well as to
gaze on the cheerful moon, and admire all the host of heaven.
After a charming journey of eight or ten miles, we entered the large and
populous town of _Bídjie_[7], wherein Captain Pearce and Dr. Morrison
fell sick on the last expedition. About a quarter of a mile from the
town we were met by a fellow with a cow’s horn, who chiming in with a
trumpeter that had accompanied us from Wow, produced a harmony
surpassing all that had preceded it. Two men followed the Bídjie
musician with umbrellas of variegated silk, and thus honoured and
escorted, we 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
our visit by clapping of hands and loud bursts of laughter. Presently,
at the noise of three or four drums, which was a signal that the chief
was prepared to receive us, the multitude quitted us simultaneously, and
rushed to the spot where he was sitting, and to which we also were
desired to proceed. The chief shook hands with us in great good humour,
and we remarked with pleasure, or fancied we could, that not only his
laugh, but that of his people, was a more social and civilized kind of
sound than what of late we had been accustomed to hear. Nevertheless
when I shook hands with the chief’s son, which act is not very diverting
in itself, the bystanders set up so general a roar of laughter, that the
town rang with the noise; and when I ventured further to place my hand
on his head, they were yet more amazingly tickled, and actually
‘Shriek’d 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, we wished the chief a
pleasant night’s rest, and were conducted into a comfortable, airy hut,
which had a verandah in front. Shortly afterwards he sent us a goat for
supper.
We were in momentary expectation of hearing some account of our horses
from Badágry the whole of the morning and afternoon, and have indeed
waited here at Bídjie to-day for that purpose, and in order that the men
with the luggage may have time to overtake us, for they have been
hindered by the swamps and quagmires which we ourselves found so much
difficulty in crossing. But just about sun-set two fellows arrived from
Badágry, with the mortifying intelligence that our horses would not
remain on the water in canoes, but having upset one of them, and kicked
out the bottom of another, had swam on shore and been led back to
Badágry. We are persuaded that this story has been made up for the
occasion, and thus by the bad faith of Adooley are we deprived of our
horses; we have put ourselves in a fever by walking a journey of two
days in one, and are likely to walk the remainder of the way to Jenna,
in the glare and heat of the sun, for we have no umbrellas to screen
ourselves from his rays. My brother paid eighty dollars for one of the
animals, but Adooley has forgotten to return the coin, and has likewise
kept for his own use a couple of saddles which we purchased at Accrá.
Late in the evening our expected carriers arrived with the luggage, some
of which has been wetted and damaged in the marshes. We are informed
that horses will be sent us from Jenna to-morrow. My brother has been
amusing himself the greater part of this afternoon in teaching the
simple-hearted chief to play on a child’s penny Jew’s-harp, many of
which we have brought with us as presents; but his proficiency, owing to
a wonderfully capacious mouth, and teeth of extraordinary size, has not
been near so flattering as could have been wished. His people, however,
who had assembled in great 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.’
Turnpikes are as common from Badágry to this place as on any public road
in England. Instead of horses, carriages, &c., people carrying burdens
alone are taxed; but as we are under protection of the government, no
duty has been exacted for any of our things.
_Sunday, April 4th._—We arose at sunrise this morning to make
arrangements for leaving this place, which is no easy task; and sent to
signify our intention to the chief shortly after. He expressed a desire
to see us as soon as we could conveniently come, and accordingly after
breakfast we repaired to his habitation, which is adjoining ours. Led
through a number of yards and huts, inhabited only by goats and sheep,
which were tethered to posts, and a quantity of tame pigeons, we
perceived the object of our 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 us when we drew near. But the
chief arose as soon as he saw us, and beckoning to us to follow him, we
were ushered through a labyrinth of low huts, and still lower doors,
till at last we entered the innermost apartment of the whole suite, and
here we were requested to sit down and drink rum. The doors we had seen
were carved with figures of men, which exactly resembled certain rude
attempts at pourtraying the human body which may still be observed in
several old churches and chapels in the West of England. The chief
informed us that we were at liberty to quit Bídjie as soon as the heat
of the sun should have somewhat abated, but previous to our departure he
promised to return our visit. On leaving the place he followed us,
though without our knowledge; but finding that we walked faster than he,
and that he could not keep pace with us (for he is a bulky man), he
hastily despatched a messenger to inform us that kings always walk with
a slow and measured step, and that our strides being long and vulgar, he
would thank us to lessen our speed, and stop awhile to enable him to
come up with us, which of course we agreed to with great good will. A
few minutes after this he reached our 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 chatting
with us a long time.
Many of the women of Bídjie have the flesh on their foreheads risen in
the shape of marbles, and their cheeks similarly cut up and deformed.
The lobes of their ears are likewise pierced, and the holes made
surprisingly large, for the insertion of pieces of ivory and wood into
them, which is a prevailing fashion with all ranks. We read the church
service this morning, agreeably to our general custom. The natives, of
whose society we have never been able to rid ourselves, seemed to attach
great awe and reverence to our form of worship, for we had made them
understand what we 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 his strength,’ we departed from the town of
Bídjie, accompanied by its good-natured, happy governor, and reached the
banks of a rivulet called _Yow_ in a very few minutes. Butterflies were
here more numerous than can be imagined; millions of them fluttered
round us, and literally hid from our sight everything but their own
variegated and beautiful wings.
Here, on the banks of the Yow, we took a last farewell of the
affectionate old chief, who implored the ‘Great God’ to bless us; and as
the canoes in which we 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 us, and their hearty wishes for
our 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; the low bark or growl of these
rapacious animals we heard distinctly, and almost close to us. After we
had been pushed along against the stream by poles for five or six miles,
between four and five o’clock in the afternoon we landed at a narrow
creek, which ran a little way into a thick and gloomy forest. We had not
proceeded more than two hundred yards on the pathway, when we were met
by a messenger from Jenna, who informed us that the owners of all the
horses in the town had rode out to welcome their chief, and escort him
to his residence, so that we should be obliged to walk the remainder of
the way. A few minutes only had elapsed, however, from this time, before
we descried a horse approaching us in the path. This was a goodly sight
to us, who were already becoming wearied and sore with the exertions we
had made during the day, for we did not reflect a moment that the animal
might not, after all, be for our use. However, we soon met, and the
rider immediately declared that he had left Jenna purposely on our
account. The horse’s head was loaded with charms and fetíshes, enveloped
in pieces of red and blue cloth. His saddle was of Háussa manufacture,
and uncommonly neat; in the interior such an article is used only by the
principal people; and his bridle also was of curious workmanship. The
horseman had an extravagant idea of his own consequence, and seemed a
prodigious boaster. He wore abundance of clothing, most of which was
superfluous, but it made him excessively vain. He informed us that he
had been despatched by the King of Jenna to meet us in the path, and to
escort us to the capital; but understanding that Adooley had supplied us
with horses, he did not conceive it necessary to send others. The
messenger, however, dismounted and offered us his horse; and my brother
and self agreed to ride him in turns. We therefore immediately
proceeded, and traversed a rich and varied country, abounding
plentifully with wood and water. A fine red sand covered the pathway,
which we found to be in much better condition than any we had before
seen. Sometimes it winded through an open, level tract of fine grazing
land; and then again it diverged through forests so thick and deep, that
the light of the moon, which had arisen, was unable to penetrate the
gloom, and we were frequently left in midnight darkness. It would
require greater powers than we are in possession of to give an adequate
description of the magnificence, solemnity, and desolate repose, of the
awful solitudes through which we passed this evening. They were
enlightened, however, at times by the appearance of glowworms, which
were so luminous that one 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 odoriferous than the perfume of primroses or violets; and
one might almost fancy, when threading his way through scenery which
perhaps cannot be surpassed for beauty in any part of the world, that he
was approaching those eternal shades where, in ancient time, the souls
of good men were supposed to wander. The woods rang with the song of
insects and night-birds, which saluted us with little intermission till
about ten o’clock at night, when we entered _Lāatoo_, a large and
pleasant town. Here we were informed that no house would be offered us,
the fetísh-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. We arrived thirsty and exhausted, but for a long
time could not procure even a drop of water. Our tent had been left on
the road for want of carriers, and we had made up our minds to rest
under a tree, when about two hours afterwards it was fortunately brought
into the town. We fixed it immediately, and having succeeded in
procuring wood from the unkind inhabitants, we kindled a fire in front
of it, and our people laid themselves in groups outside, whilst we
entered, and attempted vainly to sleep.
_Monday, April 5th._—Before sunrise this morning, we were all on the
alert, and struck the tent at a very early hour. We then sent the
carriers onward with the luggage, and hastily left the town after them,
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, we were first
led to a large, cleanly-swept square, wherein is preserved the fetísh 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 our quarters to the other end of the
square, where he was walking. We went towards him in order to pay him
the accustomed salutation of shaking of hands, &c.; but one of his
followers, fancying that I kept his master’s hand clasped in mine longer
than the occasion might warrant, looked fiercely in my face, and
snatched away my hand eagerly and roughly, without, however, uttering a
word. I could have pulled the fellow’s ears with the greatest good will
in the world, 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 we 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, that 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 chiefs countenance betrayed much seriousness and
solidity; and the diverting laugh of his countrymen was superseded by a
sober cheerfulness. Many of his wives sat behind him in lines—some of
whom were of a bright copper colour; indeed great numbers 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 mouth during the whole of the audience. The chief wished to
impress strongly on our 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 us
permission to depart to-morrow, he continued; and in the meantime would
supply us with provisions. The chief was as good as his word, for
shortly after we had quitted the hut, we received a goat and some yams;
and he returned our visit in the cool of the evening. It appears that it
is not his general practice to drink spirituous liquors in presence of
his people, or it may be against the law to do so; for having carefully
excluded all prying eyes from our 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 we offered him. He remained with us
rather better than an hour. We have forgotten to mention that, on our
presentation to the chief in the morning, a chapter from the Koran was
repeated to him by a Mohammedan priest, to which both he and his people
seemed to pay great respect and attention.
Public schools are established here for the avowed purpose of teaching
the rising generation the rudiments of the Mohammedan 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 this afternoon by the injection of more than a pint of
water down its throat. Whether mothers follow this custom for the
purpose of curing children of any imaginary complaints, or, as is more
probable, in the hope of rendering them less eager for their natural
food, we have not 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 these animals—indeed they may be said to grow
up and live with the children of their owners. We have been amusing
ourselves during the greater part of to-day in looking at the playful
gambols of some very handsome goats, which had strayed into our abode;
but the sheep are not near so tame or frolicsome, repelling all our
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.
We have observed the country to be sensibly rising to-day; and
agriculture appears to be conducted on a regular system, which is an
evident proof of the active and industrious habits of the people. The
gloomy fastnesses and wildnesses of nature such as we passed on the
first day or two of our journey from Badágry are less common as we
advance; and open glades, with plantations of bananas, and fields of
yams and Indian corn, all neatly fenced, met our view from the path
yesterday and this morning. The inhabitants of Larro also exhibit
greater cleanliness of person and tidiness of apparel than the tribes
nearer the sea; and importunate beggars have disappeared entirely.
My brother and I begin already to feel the relaxing influence of the
climate, but by the blessing of Heaven we hope that our progress through
the country may not yet be impeded by sickness.
_Tuesday, April 6th._—The Chief of Larro requested my brother this
morning to repair a sword of his which was broken, but the latter having
expressed his ignorance of the art of cutlery, we were permitted to take
our leave.
The sun had scarcely arisen above the horizon, and the mists of the
morning yet hung upon the hills, when we quitted the town of Larro, and
pursued our journey on horseback. Three horsemen from Jenna followed us
on the path, and we were enlivened by the wild jingling of their
animals’ bells, till we got within a mile of that town, where we
alighted at a kind of turnpike, and fired a salute of two muskets. Here
we were met by a parcel of fellows with horns, who blew on them with the
accustomed energy of the natives: these men preceded us over a bridge,
which is thrown across a moat that surrounds Jenna, into the centre of
the town, where we again alighted, and awaited the chief’s pleasure in
an open shed. We had not been seated many seconds before an immense
crowd of people pressed in upon us on every side, subjecting us to the
accustomed inconveniences of want of air, strong, unwholesome smells,
and a confused hubbub that defies description. Never were people more
eager to behold us. 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 was formed
a large amphitheatre of black woolly heads, and teeth set in jetty
faces; and although we felt rather annoyed at their innocent curiosity,
and were obliged to wait a considerable time for the new chief, we could
not help being highly diverted with the spectacle around us. At length,
to our great relief and joy, news was brought that he was ready to
receive us. Such is the etiquette here, that the longer a stranger is
compelled to wait to be introduced, the greater is the honour done him,
and the higher is the rank of that person supposed to be, who exacts
this unpleasant delay. We 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 we were desired to place ourselves on his left.
The women sang the praises of their master in a loud unpleasant voice,
in which they were assisted by the music (equally unharmonious) of
drums, fifes, clarionets, and horns. On our wishing the chief all the
happiness in the world, those that had flocked into the yard after us,
and every one near him, prostrated themselves on the ground and clapped
their hands. Goora nuts were presented us 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 shy and
bashful as a maiden, and really appeared agitated and afraid of his
white-faced visitants. Strange as it may seem, the patience of the most
patient people in the world was completely exhausted, as might be seen
by their desertion of the premises, before we quitted them,
notwithstanding the few words that had passed between the chief and
ourselves. The ceremony of introduction being over, we bade adieu to the
chief, and having visited the grave of Dr. Morrison in our way, repaired
to a hut which had been got ready for our reception.
The former governor of Jenna, who it will be recollected treated the
gentlemen composing the last mission so handsomely, died about fifteen
months ago, and the King of Yarriba chose one of the meanest of his
slaves as his successor. This is an invariable rule with the sovereigns
of that country, of which Jenna is a province, for they fear that its
distance from the capital being very great, 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 Yarriba. The
present governor is a Hàussa man, and was raised to the dignity he now
holds, 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, we never recollect to have seen.
The qualities of his heart, however, are said to be excellent, and his
manners are mild and amiable. He had been twelve months in coming from
Katunga to this place, being under the necessity of stopping at every
town between Jenna and his capital to receive the applauses and
congratulations of the inhabitants, and to join in their festivities and
amusements. He did not make his entry here till yesterday.
Showers are becoming heavier and fall more frequently than they did; and
the rainy season may fairly be said to have commenced. The thermometer
fell suddenly to-day from 94° to 78°, and remained stationary there for
the whole of the afternoon.
The chief sent us this evening a goat, and yams, milk, and honey.
_Wednesday, April 7th._—We carried a present to the governor this
morning, 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 let him 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 Mrs. Belzoni had given him, and that she was never
afterwards heard of. This woman had the effrontery to introduce herself
into our house to-day 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 Hàussa females to
accompany her, that they might endeavour to induce her _quondam_
husband, who is 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, we were convinced, independently of the age
and infirmities of Pascoe, that it could by no rule or law be his.
Accordingly, notwithstanding the uproar occasioned by the women’s
tongues, (which is no small matter in any part of the world,) the mother
with her spurious offspring, and the ladies that 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 rib, who felt rather
uncomfortable whilst the palàver was carrying on.
The fetísh priest of the town came dancing into our hut this afternoon,
looking exceedingly wild, and roaring as if possessed of an evil spirit.
We paid little attention to the fellow’s fooleries, who, not liking his
reception, left the hut, after we had given him the accustomed fee of a
few cowries. The man’s person and dress, together with its whimsical
ornaments, were admirably fitted to impose on the credulity and
superstition of the inhabitants, although many of the town’s people,
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 the priest’s countenance that we could not define.
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 cowries were suspended on
this weapon, which were intermixed with bells, 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 cowries 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 our apartment, three or four
others came to torment us 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 are employed at the same time in tapping on its surface.
The instrument itself is held under the left arm, but instead of an
outer wooden case, strings alone are used from end to end, which being
pressed against the musician’s side, sounds somewhat similar to those of
a Scotch bag-pipe, 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.
_Tuesday, April 8th._—The two messengers that arrived at Badágry whilst
we were there, and stated that they had been employed for the purpose by
the Governor of Jenna, were this morning discovered to be impostors, and
put in irons accordingly. But as the poor fellows had really been of
essential service to us, inasmuch as by their representations they
prevailed upon Adooley to give us leave to proceed on our journey much
sooner than we ourselves could have done, we thought proper to intercede
in their behalf, and although they were to have been sold as a
punishment for their deception, they are now set at liberty. The person
also that met us with a horse after crossing the river Yow, near Bídjie,
proceeded thither on his own account, without the knowledge or consent
of the governor; but as he is a Falàtah, and a respectable man, little
has been said or done about that matter. The only motive which could
have influenced these three men in their projects of assisting us, had
been without doubt the expectation of receiving a trifling remuneration,
and of this, notwithstanding an injunction to the contrary from the
governor, we have not disappointed them. Their services were well-timed
and very acceptable, and amply deserved a few needles and scissors.
We were witnesses this morning 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 we had formed of it.
The performers were liberally supplied with country beer, and like most
amusements of the kind, they ended this with wrangling and intoxication.
The fellows that accompanied us as guides from Badágry, who in their
native place would sell their birthright for a glass of rum, have now
washed themselves and thrown aside their rags, appearing at all public
places in borrowed finery. They now never leave their habitations
without Adooley’s sword, which they have with them, and a host of
followers. 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. They will scarcely deign
to speak to a poor man.
We learn with regret that all the horses of the late governor of Jenna,
were interred, according to custom, with the corpse of their master, and
we begin to be apprehensive that we shall be obliged to walk the whole
of the way to Katunga, as the present ruler is not the owner of a single
beast of burden. This piece of ill news was carefully withheld from us
till after the presents had all been duly delivered to the Governor and
his head men; but the latter alone are to blame in this instance.
Matters being in this unpleasant state, we have sent a messenger to the
chief of Larro to inform him of the circumstance, and entreat him to
redeem his promise of lending us a horse or a mule; and another to
Adooley, requesting him to despatch immediately one of our horses at
least from Badágry, for that we had found it impossible to do without
him. But whether the latter will accede to it or not remains to be seen.
We do not think that he will; and yet we can hardly imagine he will
carry his chicanery so far, because he _must_ fear that the variety of
orders we have given him to receive valuable presents from England will
never be honoured by our countrymen if he refuses to fulfil his
engagements to us.
This evening a corpse was interred at a short distance from our
dwelling, and the friends of the deceased have been employed more than
an hour in bewailing their loss. The low, plaintive noise they make
sounds dolefully in our hut, and it has a very sorrowful and depressing
effect on our spirits.
We have been pretty busily engaged during the whole of the afternoon in
writing letters and despatches for England. They will be forwarded by
Adooley as soon as possible to Cape Coast Castle. The Badágrian guides
and carriers will return home to-morrow to our very great relief, for
they have been a constant trouble, and have harassed us from morning
till night.
_Friday, April 9th._—Since the demise of the late governor, it is
calculated that Jenna has lost more than five hundred of its population,
chiefly by wars, intestine broils, &c., and for want of a ruler. It must
not be imagined, however, 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 we were
sailing down the coast, we were told that the natives of Cape 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 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 frequently 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 Falàtah mentioned in yesterday’s journal,
paid us a visit, and offered his horse for sale. He is a Mohammedan
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 we paid thirty
dollars. The merchant implored us 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 Mussulmen publicly went through their
ablutions in front of our 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 us an Arabic hymn with very great
solemnity, and the whole had an immediate and wonderful 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 Falàtahs are 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 the spirit 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 bullocks, pigs, goats, sheep,
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 of 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 unfrequently
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, answers the purpose of a livery.
_Saturday, April 10th._—The earlier part of this morning 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 we occupy is
in a large square yard, and is the property of the late governor’s
principal 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 broke out in one of them by some accident, the greater part
perished. A few huts only are at present standing, together with black
naked walls, and stakes which supported the verandahs, the latter
reduced to charcoal. The tenantable buildings are inhabited by the
female slaves of the owner of the square and ourselves. It is the custom
here, 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 no ambition or inclination to follow their venerable husband to the
grave, and went and hid themselves before the funeral ceremonies were
performed, and have remained concealed ever since with the remainder of
his women. To-day, however, one of these unfortunates,—she to whom our
house belongs,—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 the fetísh-priest, was offered her. She has
chosen the former mode of dying, as being the less terrible of the two,
and has come to our yard to spend her last hours in the society of her
faithful slaves. These address their mistress 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, most
poignant grief; but now the arrival of their mistress has added, if
possible, to their affliction. 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 easily be conceived,
the distress is more peculiarly cutting. A heart that could not be
touched at a scene of this nature must be unfeeling indeed. Females have
been coming all day to condole with the old lady, and to weep with her;
so that we have heard and seen nothing but sobbing and crying from
morning till the setting of the sun. The principal males in the town
have likewise been here to pay their last respects to their mistress;
and so has her gravedigger, who has just risen from prostrating 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
has forsaken her more than once. She has entered our yard twice to
expire in the arms of her women, and twice has she laid aside the fatal
poison, in order to take another walk, and gaze once more on the
splendour of the sun and the glory of the heavens, for she cannot bear
the idea of losing sight of them for ever. She is still restless and
uneasy, and would gladly run away from Death, if she durst, for that
imaginary being appears to her in a more terrible light than our
pictures represent him, with his shadowy form and fatal dart. Die she
must, and she knows it; nevertheless she will tenaciously cling to life
till the very last moment. Meanwhile her grave is preparing, and
preparations are making for a wake at her funeral. She is to be buried
here in one of her own huts the moment after the spirit has quitted the
body, which will be ascertained by striking the ground near which it may
be lying at the time, when, if no motion or struggle ensues, the old
woman will be considered as dead. The poison used by the natives on this
occasion destroys life, it is said, in fifteen minutes.
The reason of our not meeting with a better reception at Lāatoo when we
slept there, 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_
here; but in the former country, I believe, no male victims are
destroyed on such occasions. The _origin_ of this abominable custom is
understood to have arisen from a dread on the part of the chiefs of the
country in olden time, 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
far from having any motives 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 near so easily accounted for. The present governor of
Jenna must of necessity go down to the grave on the first intelligence
of the demise of the king of Yarriba; and as that monarch is a very aged
man, the situation of the former is not the most enviable in the world.
Previous 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 his
successor. The same custom is observed at Badágry 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 till a
successor is appointed all labour is at an end. The stronger oppress the
weak, and consummate 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.
_Sunday, April 11th._—This being Easter-day, we have devoted it
exclusively to religious purposes. The messenger whom we sent to Badágry
for our horse is not yet returned, although he promised to be back in
four days from the time of his departure. He has exceeded the given time
by a whole day, and as the man is a native of Badágry, we have given up
all hopes of again seeing either him, or the horse, or the message-sword
we lent him as a token that he had been sent by us. We have received
positive assurances that leave will be granted us to depart hence on
Tuesday next; but as we have one horse only, we shall be obliged to take
it in turns to ride, or procure a hammock, which will be a difficult
thing to get, and very expensive.
The old queen-dowager, like Prior’s thief,
‘Often takes leave, but seems loth to depart;’
although her doom is inevitably sealed, she has been more cheerful to-
day than yesterday, and seems determined to spin out her thread of life
to its utmost limit. Spies are now set over her, and she is not
permitted to go out of the yard.
_Monday, April 12th._—Nothing deserving particular notice has occurred
to-day. We have had the customary visit to our yard of a long line of
women, who come every morning, with rueful countenances and streaming
eyes, to lament the approaching death of the old widow. They weep, they
beat their breasts and tear their hair, they moan, and exhibit all
manner of violent affliction at the expected deprivation. Perhaps their
sorrow is sincere, perhaps it is feigned. At all events their transports
are ungoverned 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 are 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_, have sent a messenger to her
native village to make known to her relatives that should she make her
escape, they will take all of them into slavery, and burn their town to
ashes, in conformity to an established and very ancient law. They would
therefore strongly advise 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 is expected from the village to-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 is understood
that she has 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 that by their
representations she has 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, have risen to enforce the laws of the country against
her.