_I.--Up the Gambia_
Mungo Park, who was born Sept. 20, 1771, on a farm near
Selkirk, Scotland, and died in 1806 in Africa, will for
ever be regarded as the most distinguished pioneer of the
illustrious procession of African explorers. Trained as a
surgeon at Edinburgh, in 1792 he undertook an adventurous
exploration in the East Indies. In 1795 the African
Association appointed him successor to Major Houghton, who
had perished in seeking to trace the course of the Niger
and to penetrate to Timbuctoo. He disappeared in the
interior for eighteen months, and was given up for lost,
but survived to tell the romantic story of his
experiences. Returning to Scotland, Mungo Park married,
but his passion for travel was irrepressible. In May,
1805, he set out on another expedition, with an imposing
party of over forty Europeans. The issue was disastrous.
Park and his companions were ambushed and slain by
treacherous natives while passing through a river gorge.
His "Travels in the Interior of Africa" was published in
1799, and has been frequently reprinted. Told in simple,
unaffected style, the general accuracy of the narrative
has never been questioned.
Soon after my return from the East Indies in 1793, having learnt that
noblemen and gentlemen associated for the purpose of prosecuting
discoveries in the interior of Africa were desirous of engaging a person
to explore that continent by way of the Gambia River, I took occasion,
through means of the president of the Royal Society, to whom I had the
honour of being known, of offering myself for that service. I had a
passionate desire to examine into the productions of a country so little
known. I knew I was able to bear fatigue, and relied on my youth and
strength of constitution to preserve me from the effects of climate.
The committee accepted me for the service, and their kindness supplied
me with all that was necessary. I took my passage in the brig Endeavour,
a small brig trading to the Gambia for beeswax and honey, commanded by
Captain Richard Wyatt. My instructions were very plain and concise. I
was directed, on my arrival in Africa, to pass on to the River Niger,
either by way of Bambouk, or by such other route as should be found most
convenient; that I should ascertain the course, and, if possible, the
rise and termination of that river; that I should use my utmost
exertions to visit the principal towns or cities in its neighbourhood,
particularly Timbuctoo and Houssa.
We sailed from Portsmouth on May 22, 1795; on June 4 saw the mountains
over Mogadore on the coast of Africa; and on June 22 anchored at
Jillifree, a town on the northern bank of the River Gambia, opposite to
James's Island, where the English formerly had a small port. The kingdom
of Barra, in which the town of Jillifree is situated, produces great
plenty of the necessaries of life; but the chief trade is in salt, which
they carry up the river in canoes as high as Barraconda, and bring down
in return Indian corn, cotton cloths, elephants' teeth, small quantities
of gold dust, etc.
On June 23 we proceeded to Vintain, two miles up a creek on the southern
side of the river, much resorted to by Europeans on account of the great
quantities of beeswax brought hither for sale. The wax is collected in
the woods by the Feloops, a wild and unsociable race of people, who in
their trade with Europeans generally employ a factor or agent of the
Mandingo nation. This broker, who speaks a little English, and is
acquainted with the trade of the river, receives certain part only of
the payment, which he gives to his employer as a whole. The
remainder--which is very truly called the "cheating money"--he receives
when the Feloop is gone, and appropriates to himself as a reward for his
trouble.
On June 26 we left Vintain, and continued our course up the deep and
muddy river. The banks are covered with impenetrable thickets of
mangrove, and the whole of the adjacent country appears to be flat and
swampy. At the entrance of the Gambia from the sea sharks abound, and
higher up alligators and hippopotami. In six days after leaving Vintain
we reached Jonkakonda, a place of considerable trade, where our vessel
was to take in part of her lading. Dr. Laidley, a gentleman who had
resided many years at an English factory on the Gambia, to whom I had a
letter of recommendation, came to invite me to his house, to remain
there till an opportunity should offer of prosecuting my journey. I set
out for Pisania, a small village in the dominions of the King of Yany,
and arrived there on July 5, and was accommodated in the doctor's home.
On this occasion I was referred to certain traders called slatees. These
are free black merchants, of great consideration in this region, who
come down from the interior chiefly with enslaved negroes for sale. But
I soon found that very little dependence could be placed on their
descriptions. They contradicted each other in the most important
particulars, and all of them seemed most unwilling that I should
prosecute my journey.
The country is a uniform and monotonous level, but is of marvellous
fertility. Grain and rice are raised in great abundance, besides which
the inhabitants in the vicinity of the towns and villages have gardens
which produce onions, calavances, yams, cassava, ground-nuts, pompions,
gourds, watermelons, and other esculent plants. I observed also near the
towns small patches of cotton and indigo.
The chief wild animals are the antelope, hyæna, panther, and the
elephant. When I told some of the inhabitants how the natives of India
tame and use the elephant, they laughed me to scorn, and exclaimed,
"Tobaubo fonnio!" (white man's lie). The negroes hunt the elephant
chiefly for the sake of the teeth. The flesh they eat, and consider it a
great delicacy. The ass is the usual beast of burden in all the negro
territories. Animal labour is nowhere applied to purposes of
agriculture; the plough, therefore, is wholly unknown.
As the Slatees and others composing the caravans seemed unwilling to
further my purpose, I resolved to avail myself of the dry season and
proceed without them. Dr. Laidley approved my determination, and with
his help I made preparations.
_II.--Penetrating the Wild Interior_
The kingdom of Kajaaga, in which I now commenced to travel, is bounded
on the south-east and south by Bambouk, on the west by Bondou, and on
the north by the River Senegal. The people, who are jet black, are
called Serawoollies. They are habitually a trading tribe. Arriving in
December at Joag, the frontier town, we took up our residence at the
house of the chief man, who is called the dooty. My fellow-travellers
were ten dealers, forming a little caravan, bound for the Gambia. Their
asses were loaded with ivory, the large teeth being conveyed in nets,
two on each side of the ass; the small ones are wrapped up in skins and
secured with ropes.
Journeying by easy stages from place to place, I at length arrived at
the important town of Jarra, which is situated in the Moorish kingdom of
Ludamar. The greater part of the inhabitants are negroes, who prefer a
precarious protection from the Moors, which they purchase by a tribute,
rather than continued exposure to their predatory hostilities. Of the
origin of these Moorish tribes nothing further seems to be known than
that before the Arabian conquest, about the middle of the seventh
century, all the inhabitants of Africa, whether they were descended from
Numidians, Phoenic-ians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, or Goths,
were comprehended under the general name of _Mauri_, or Moors. All these
nations were converted to the religion of Mahomet during the Arabian
empire under the caliphs.
The Moors, who are widely spread over the African continent, are a
subtle and treacherous race. They take every opportunity of cheating and
plundering the credulous and unsuspecting negroes.
On my arrival at Jarra, I obtained a lodging at the house of Daman
Jumma, a Gambia slatee, who owed money to Dr. Laidley, from whom I had
an order on him for the money, to the amount of six slaves. But he said
he was afraid he could not in his present situation pay more than the
value of two slaves. However, he gave me his aid in exchanging my beads
and amber for gold, which was a portable article, and more easily
concealed from the Moors.
Difficulties speedily arose. The unsettled state of the country from
recent wars, and, above all, the overbearing deportment of the Moors, so
completely frightened my attendants that they declared they would
relinquish every claim to reward rather than proceed a step farther
eastward. Indeed the danger they incurred of being seized by the Moors
and sold into slavery became more apparent every day. Thus I could not
condemn their apprehensions.
In this situation, deserted by my attendants, with a Moorish country of
ten days' journey before me, I applied to Daman to obtain permission
from Ali, the chief or sovereign of Ludamar, that I might pass
unmolested through his territory, and I hired one of Daman's slaves to
accompany me as soon as the permit should arrive. I sent Ali a present
of five garments of cotton cloth, which I purchased of Daman for one of
my fowling-pieces. Fourteen days elapsed, and then one of Ali's slaves
arrived with directions, as he pretended, to conduct me in safety as
far as Goomba. He told me that I was for this service to pay him one
garment of blue cotton cloth. Things being adjusted, we set out from
Jarra, and, after a toilsome journey of three days, came to Deena, a
large town, where the Moors are in greater proportion to the negroes
than at Jarra. Assembling round the hut of the negro where I lodged, the
Moors treated me with the greatest insolence. They hissed, shouted, and
abused me; they even spat in my face, with a view to irritate me and
afford a pretext for seizing my baggage. Finding such insults had not
the desired effect, they had recourse to the final argument that I was a
Christian, and that, of course, my property was lawful plunder to the
followers of Mahomet.
Accordingly they opened my bundles and robbed me of everything they
fancied. My attendants refused to go farther, and I resolved to proceed
alone rather than to pause longer among these insolent Moors. At two the
next morning I departed from Deene. It was moonlight, but the roaring of
wild beasts made it necessary to proceed with caution. Two negroes,
altering their minds, followed me and overtook me, in order to attend
me. On the road we observed immense quantities of locusts, the trees
being quite black with them.
_III--Romantic Savage Life_
Arriving at Dalli, we found a dance proceeding in front of the dooty's
house. It was a feast day. Informed that a white man was in the place,
the performers stopped their dance and came to the spot where I was,
walking in order, two by two, following the musician, who played on a
curious sort of flute. Then they danced and sang till midnight, crowds
surrounding me where I sat. The next day, our landlord, proud of the
honour of entertaining a white man, insisted on my staying with him and
his friends till the cool of the evening, when he said he would conduct
me to the next village. I was now within two days of Goombia, had no
apprehensions from the Moors, accepted the invitation, and spent the
forenoon very pleasantly with these poor negroes. Their company was the
more acceptable as the gentleness of their manners presented a striking
contrast to the rudeness and barbarity of the Moors. They enlivened
their conversation by drinking a fermented liquor made from corn. Better
beer I never tasted in England.
In the midst of this harmless festivity I flattered myself that all
danger from the Moors was over, and fancy had already placed me on the
banks of the Niger, when a party of Moors entered the hut, and dispelled
the golden dream. They said that they came by Ali's orders to convey me
to his camp at Benown. If I went peaceably, they told me, I had nothing
to fear; but if I refused, they had orders to bring me by force. I was
struck dumb by surprise and terror, which the Moors observing, repeated
that I had nothing to fear. They added that the visit was occasioned by
the curiosity of Ali's wife, Fatima, who had heard so much about
Christians that she was very anxious to see one. We reached Benown after
a journey in great heat of four days, during which I suffered much from
thirst. Ali's camp consisted of a great number of dirty-looking tents,
amongst which roamed large herds of camels, sheep, and goats.
My arrival was no sooner observed than the people who drew water at the
wells threw down their buckets, those in the tents mounted their horses,
and men, women, and children came running or galloping towards me. At
length we reached the king's tent. Ali was an old Arab, with a long,
white beard, of sullen and indignant aspect. He surveyed me with
attention, and seemed much surprised when informed that I could not
speak Arabic. He continued silent, but the surrounding attendants,
especially the ladies, were abundantly inquisitive, and asked a thousand
questions. They searched my pockets, inspected every part of my apparel,
and even counted my fingers and toes, as if doubtful whether I was in
truth a human being.
I was submitted to much irritation and insult by the Moors in the camp,
and never did any period of my life pass away so heavily as my sojourn
there. The Moors are themselves very indolent, but are rigid taskmasters
over those who are under them.
Ali sent to inform me that there were many thieves in the neighbourhood,
and that to prevent my things from being stolen it was necessary to
convey them all to his tent. So my clothes, instruments, and everything
belonging to me were carried away. To make sure of everything, he sent
people the next morning to examine whether I had anything concealed on
my person. They stripped me with the utmost rudeness of all my gold,
amber, my watch, and pocket-compass. The gold and amber were gratifying
to Moorish avarice, but the compass was an object of superstitious
curiosity.
_IV.--The Long Sought for Niger_
It is impossible to describe my joy when, after being three months in
captivity, I succeeded in effecting my escape. Arduous days of
travelling lay before me, and after many weeks of endurance and fatigue,
I saw with infinite pleasure the great object of my mission--the
long-sought-for, majestic Niger, glittering in the morning sun, as broad
as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly _to the eastward_. I
hastened to the brink, drank of the water, and lifted up my fervent
thanks in prayer to the Great Ruler of all things for having thus far
crowned my endeavours with success.
I waited more than two hours without having an opportunity of crossing
the river, during which time the people who had crossed carried
information to Mansong, the king, that a white man was waiting for a
passage, and was coming to see him. He immediately sent over one of his
chief men, who informed me that the king could not possibly see me till
he knew what had brought me to his country, and that I must not presume
to cross the river without the king's permission.
He therefore advised me to lodge at a distant village, to which he
pointed, for the night, and said that in the morning he would give me
further instructions how to conduct myself. This was very discouraging.
However, as there was no remedy, I set off for the village, where I
found, to my great mortification, that no person would admit me into his
house. I was regarded with astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit
all day without victuals in the shade of a tree.
The next day a messenger arrived from Mansong, with a bag in his hand.
He told me it was the king's pleasure that I should depart forthwith
from the district, but that Mansong, wishing to relieve a white man in
distress, had sent me 5,000 cowries, to enable me to purchase provisions
in the course of my journey. The messenger added that, if my intentions
were really to proceed to Jenné, he had orders to accompany me as a
guide to Sansanding. I was at first puzzled to account for this
behaviour of the king, but from the conversation I had with the guide, I
had afterwards reason to believe that Mansong would willingly have
admitted me to his presence at Sego, but was apprehensive he would not
be able to protect me against the blind and inveterate malice of the
Moorish inhabitants.
His conduct was, therefore, at once prudent and liberal. The
circumstances under which I made my appearance were undoubtedly such as
might create in the mind of the king a well-warranted suspicion that I
wished to conceal the true object of my journey.
In the countries that I visited the population is not very great,
considering the extent and fertility of the soil and the ease with which
the lands are obtained. I found many extensive and beautiful districts
entirely destitute of inhabitants. Many places are unfavourable to
population, from being unhealthful. The swampy banks of the Gambia, the
Senegal, and other rivers towards the coast, are of this description.
The negro nations possess a wonderful similarity of disposition. The
Mandingoes, in particular, are a very gentle race; cheerful in their
disposition, inquisitive, incredulous, simple, and fond of flattery.
Perhaps the most prominent defect in their character is the propensity
to theft, which in their estimation is no crime. On the other hand, it
is impossible for me to forget the disinterested charity and tender
solicitude with which many of these poor heathens, from the sovereign of
Sego to the poor women who received me at different times into their
cottages when I was perishing of hunger sympathised with me in my
distresses, and contributed to my safety.
On my return to Pisania, Dr. Laidley received me with great joy and
satisfaction, as one risen from the dead. No European vessel had arrived
at Gambia for many months previous to my return from the interior. But
on June 15 the ship Charlestown, an American vessel, commanded by Mr.
Charles Harris, entered the river. She came for slaves, intending to
touch at Goree to fill up, and to proceed from thence to South Carolina.
This afforded me an opportunity of returning, though by a circuitous
route, to my native country. I therefore immediately engaged my passage
in his vessel for America. I disembarked at St. John's, and there took
passage to Antigua, where, catching the mail-packet for Falmouth, I
reached that port on December 22, having been absent from England two
years and seven months.