[Illustration: _Drawn by W. Bagg. Junr._
_Engraved by T. A. Dean._
RICHARD LANDER.]
RECORDS
OF
CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON’S
LAST EXPEDITION
TO
=AFRICA:=
BY RICHARD LANDER,
HIS FAITHFUL ATTENDANT, AND THE ONLY SURVIVING
MEMBER OF THE EXPEDITION:
WITH THE
SUBSEQUENT ADVENTURES OF THE AUTHOR.
* * * * *
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
* * * * *
LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY,
NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1830.
CONTENTS
OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
* * * * *
Page
INTRODUCTION ix
SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR’S LIFE 1
CHAPTER I.
List of the Gentlemen and others engaged in the Mission — 15
The Brazen sails from Portsmouth — Touches at the Madeiras,
Canaries, and Cape de Verd Islands — Pursues and overtakes a
French slave ship — Falls in with H.M.S. Swinger — Arrives and
anchors at Sierra Leone — The Author’s first illness
CHAPTER II.
The ship sails again — Captures a Spanish schooner with slaves 29
— The natives on the coast come on board — Vessel anchors at
Cape Coast — Sails from thence, and captures another slave
vessel — Arrives at Whydah, where Mr. Dickson lands — His
progress through the country, and reported death — The Brazen
comes to an anchor in Badagry Roads — The Gentlemen of the
Mission give a last farewell to the officers on board, and
proceed on shore
CHAPTER III.
The travellers reach Badagry, and leave that city on the 7th of 45
December — Dr. Morrison’s illness — Arrival at Latoo — Captain
Pearce and the Author attacked with fever — Enter Jannah —
Continued and alarming illness of the party — Their progress —
Dr. Morrison returns to Jannah
CHAPTER IV.
Deaths of Dawson, Captain Pearce, and Dr. Morrison — 73
Their funeral — The survivors, after meeting with various
occurrences, and experiencing the kindest hospitality from
the natives on their route, arrive at Katunga, the capital of
Yariba, on the 15th of January, 1826
CHAPTER V.
Residence at Katunga — Ebo the Eunuch — Pantomimic 108
representation by the Yaribeans — Departure from the city of
Katunga — Arrival at Khiama — Wow Wow — Manners of the People —
Boussa — Mungo Park
CHAPTER VI.
Widow Zuma’s Love Adventures — Departure from Wow Wow — Arrival 150
at Coulfo — Civil war in Nyffé — Ceremonies observed by the
people of Coulfo at the end of the Rhamadan — Tornado at that
place, and its disastrous consequences — The Travellers quit
Coulfo, and proceed on their journey — The Author attacked
with dysentery — His sufferings — Noble conduct of Captain
Clapperton towards him — They enter Zeg Zeg — Arrive at Kano
CHAPTER VII.
Residence at Kano — Captain Clapperton leaves for Soccatoo — 198
History of Pasko, the Houssa Interpreter — Pasko’s robberies
and confinement — Return of the Captain with the Godado, after
an ineffectual attempt to reach Soccatoo — His second departure
from Kano — His Letters
CHAPTER VIII.
The Author quits Kano to join his Master — His illness on the 231
road — Anecdotes of the Natives, and his reception by them
— Pasko’s new robbery, and elopement — He is overtaken, and
brought back — The Tuarick merchants — The Author’s arrival
at Soccatoo, the metropolis of the Falatah empire — Residence
there — Pasko’s dismissal, conduct, and marriage
CHAPTER IX.
Religion — Laws — Government — Amusements, &c. of the Natives 270
from Badagry to Soccatoo — Slavery in the interior countries —
Timidity of the people — State of the Arts amongst them — Dry
and Wet Seasons
INTRODUCTION.
* * * * *
On my return from Africa in the summer of 1828, I was so ill with fever
and debility, that I had neither spirit nor inclination to devote much
time to the compilation and arrangement of my notes, and of the short
sketches of character taken by stealth in the heart of that continent.
My duty and sole design, in laying my Journal before the British
Government, were to satisfy Ministers with regard to my conduct after
the decease of Captain Clapperton, my lamented master; and to make them
acquainted with the manner in which the property left in my charge at
Soccatoo had been disposed of, in my hazardous journey back to the sea-
coast. Besides, I had not seen my friends in Cornwall for a period
little short of thirteen years; and it is quite natural to suppose that
I should have felt a longing to re-visit the place of my nativity, after
so protracted and painful an absence. It is not to be wondered at, when
all this is considered, that my printed Narrative, drawn up in haste,
and without having received the benefit of even the slightest
assistance, except from a younger brother, should be incomplete, and in
many instances carelessly expressed.
To remedy, if possible, these defects, and to insert the relation of a
thousand amusing incidents which had been overlooked, I have in the
following pages given my Narrative a new and a more complete dress; and
I sincerely hope that my countrymen will not be displeased at my humble
but persevering attempts to depict, in true colours, the customs and
ceremonies of the powerful nations or tribes inhabiting that vast tract
of country lying between Badagry and the beautiful kingdom of Houssa.
The natives of the regions traversed by Captain Clapperton and myself
ever regarded our writing apparatus with mingled sensations of alarm and
jealousy; and fancied, when they observed us using them, that we were
making _fetishes_ (charms) and enchantments prejudicial to their lives
and interests. To this cause is attributable the absence of many
particulars, both in my master’s Journal and my own, which, though
unimportant in themselves, serve to pourtray, and to place in a natural
and lively point of view, the most conspicuous touches in the character
of the African, and gradually to develope his passions, prejudices, and
remarkable superstitions. We were unwilling to raise up enemies against
us in a strange land, by continuing, in presence of the people, a
practice which awakened their jealousy, and served only to make us
objects of distrust and hatred to them all. Hence we were obliged to
cherish in our memory various particulars which we were unable, at that
period, to put on paper; contenting ourselves with the hope that, on our
return to England, we should have ample leisure to devote to the
accomplishment of that object; this was, however, unfortunately
frustrated by the decease of Captain Clapperton. I myself have
consequently taken the liberty, in the following pages, of attempting to
carry into execution the project which that intrepid officer had in
view—when alive, and in the full hope of returning to his native land.
The recreations and songs of the people, as well as their wars, laws,
religion and government, I have endeavoured faithfully to describe. Of
course it cannot be expected that a person in my humble situation of
life should have powers of language sufficient to give these
descriptions the fullest charm of which they may be susceptible: yet I
have done the best my poor abilities would allow me. I have translated
several songs from the figurative language of the natives into the
English tongue, adopting the similes, and copying the mode of
expression, as nearly as the idiom of the former would permit; while, in
the absence of technical terms relative to law, &c., I have chosen words
which have appeared to me the simplest, and which indeed occur most
easily to me.
The engagements of the Falatahs with their sable neighbours can scarcely
fail of being interesting in many points of view; and their manner of
making war is characteristic of African customs. That aggrandizing
power, like the government of Russia in Europe, is making rapid and
gigantic strides towards an enormous despotism; and should it hereafter
possess so martial and enterprising a ruler as its founder, Dandfodio,
in the course of a very few years the whole of Central and Northern, if
not of Western Africa, will be under the _surveillance_ of the restless
Falatah; and the worship of snakes and idols be supplanted by the
fanatical tenets of Islamism.
The history of the far-famed Borghoo-Arabian lady, widow Zuma, is
correct in every particular; the elopement of that most bulky individual
will, it is trusted, be found amusing in the extreme; and the whole
train of her adventures—her passionate fondness for white men—the marvel
of her extraordinary plumpness—her excessive hospitality—the splendour
of her retinue and domestic establishment—her inordinate ambition in
attempting to dethrone her lawful sovereign, the innocent and facetious
Mohammed—her mournful reverse of fortune—her confinement—the song of her
maidens—and her last request,—are singularly remarkable, and strongly
pourtray the disposition and habits of an eminent African belle.
The narrative of Pasko, or rather, I should say, of _Abbu Becr_, our
Houssa interpreter, contrasted with that of the amiable and accomplished
Zuma, will not be found to be altogether destitute of attraction,
insomuch as it shows the manners and superstitions of his countrymen
much more pleasingly than a laboured description of them would do; while
the archness, drollery, and dishonesty of the old scoundrel, together
with his warm and deep attachment to the gentler sex, and his entire
devotedness to their service, are accurately related, as the
circumstances which called those various passions into action took
place.
After the decease of Captain Pearce and Dr. Morrison, when my late
valued master and myself were the only Europeans left of the mission,
Captain Clapperton for various reasons thought proper to style me his
son, and the natives ever after regarded that gallant officer as my
father. Surrounded as we were by strange faces and strange scenes, cut
off from all communication with civilized society, and wandering, far
from our native country, and all that was truly dear to us, in barbarous
regions, and oftentimes through long dismal woods, and awful solitudes;
we became linked to each other by the strongest of all ties. Ours, if I
may so express myself, were kindred spirits; we entered into each
other’s views, shared each other’s gladness and melancholy, hope and
despair, and participated in each other’s feelings and amusements. It
was for the interest of both to do so. It would not have been well for
any haughtiness or reserve to be manifested towards me under such
circumstances, merely because accident had thrown me into a lower rank
in life than my master; and it would have been unfeeling, nay unmanly,
when bowed down by pain and wretchedness in the heart of Africa, for a
British officer to refuse, for no other reason, to the humble companion
of his wanderings that confidence and friendship which he had in some
measure a right to expect. Such, happily, was not the disposition of
Captain Clapperton; the difference in our respective conditions was
willingly levelled, as it certainly ought to have been, by that
gentleman; and for my part I may justly say, that my attachment for him
was so great that I would cheerfully have undergone any privation rather
than that he should have been a sufferer; or, if necessity required it,
would even have laid down my life with pleasure for the preservation of
his.
To Capt. Clapperton I owe the existence I enjoy at the present moment;
and for him I would have sacrificed, and perhaps I _did_ sacrifice on
particular occasions, every consideration of personal comfort or
convenience. To “smooth down his lonely pillow;” to mingle my hopes, and
fears, and distresses, with his; and to render the transition from life
to eternity as easy as possible, were my employments when the
unfortunate Captain was stretched out upon his death-bed, in a dismal
solitary hut in Soccatoo; and these services themselves, Heaven knows,
carried their own reward along with them. The affectionate grasp of the
hand—the trembling eye—the _look_ of approbation and
thankfulness—expressed more eloquently and feelingly than words could
have done the gratitude of my heroic master and preserver for my humble
endeavours to serve him, when his cup of pain, disappointment, and
sorrow, was foaming to the brim; and the readers of my “Wanderings” will
excuse me for dwelling on this subject in the chapter devoted to the
illness and decease of Capt. Clapperton, &c. At this distance of time
and place even, I reflect on that gloomy and distressing period with
emotion; I recall to my remembrance all that passed there—disease,
suffering, loneliness, and death; yet do I often wish that my latter end
may be as gentle as was my master’s; more calm I do not expect it to
be—less free from pain it cannot be.
After all that I have said on this subject, the charge of having assumed
too much consequence in speaking so familiarly of Capt. Clapperton, will
not surely be brought against me; yet in conversation I have heard it
asserted that this sin was committed in my printed journal; but the
remark needs no refutation. I have not chosen to alter this imputed
consequence in the following narrative, simply because there is no
apparent necessity for doing so; and in this opinion the generality of
my countrymen will, I am confident, agree with me.
My description of the savage manners and horrid barbarities of the
people of Badagry, at the celebration of their monthly sacrifices, &c.
is by no means exaggerated. At present these seem unknown to Englishmen;
and my reasons for not relating them before are already given. I had no
intention of having my Journal printed, and therefore did not study to
render the perusal of it interesting by inserting in it observations
that did not come strictly within the compass of the plan which I had
originally laid down for myself.
In the composition of the following pages I must acknowledge my
obligations to a younger brother, and (with the exception of the
customary revision of the printed sheets) to him alone. I should feel
both pleasure and pride in expressing, in this place, my gratitude for
even a hint received from any other quarter; but as this has not, even
in a solitary instance, been the case, I have no such thanks to offer.
Although unused to composition, my brother devoted, during the past
summer, the little leisure which relaxation from his daily labour
afforded him, to the office of copying my notes and observations, and
putting them into something like arrangement. Having become impressed
with my thoughts, he has “turned them to shape,” and, entering warmly
into my feelings, he has depicted my emotions, even as I felt them; and
the public will best discern whether they are true to nature or not.
I beg to introduce this little Work to the notice of my countrymen with
the greatest humility. They will not judge of it by too severe a
standard; they will not—I am sure they will not—accuse me of presumption
in my feeble attempts to portray the manners and peculiarities of a
strange people. I have done the utmost to render the perusal of my
Narrative agreeable; and to give the reader a correct idea of the state
of society in the interior of Africa. It were unreasonable to expect
that my limited knowledge should permit me to give a learned or laboured
description of regions which had never before been visited by Europeans;
yet I repeat I have done the best my power would allow; and no one will,
I think, feel any disposition to question the truth of this declaration.
THE AUTHOR.
TRURO,
_October_, 1829.
* * * * *
Since the preceding introductory remarks were written, His Majesty’s
Government have engaged me to proceed to Fundah, and trace the river
from thence to Benin; so that before the public will be put in
possession of the following Narrative, in all probability, I shall be on
my way to the Western Coast of Africa. In this new undertaking I shall
be accompanied only by my brother (John Lander), whose assistance in the
composition of this work I have already acknowledged; and if energy and
perseverance can avail us any thing, I have the best reasons for
believing that it will prove as successful as my most sanguine
expectations lead me to hope that it will. At all events, nothing shall
be wanting on our parts to accomplish the object in view. If we be so
unfortunate as to fail in the object, I may say with confidence and
without vanity, that it shall not be attributed to a want of proper
spirit and enterprise; since we have made the fixed determination to
risk every thing, even life itself, towards its final accomplishment. We
shall endeavour to conform ourselves, as nearly as possible, to the
manners and habits of the natives; we will not mock their blind
superstition, but respect it; we will not scoff at their institutions,
but bow to them; we will not condemn their prejudices, but pity them. In
fine, we shall do all in our power to ward off suspicion as to the
integrity of our motives, and the innocency of our intentions; and this
cannot be done more effectually than by mingling with the people in
their general amusements and diversions. Confidence in ourselves, and in
them, will be our best panoply; and an English Testament our safest
_fetish_. Clothed in _this_ armour, by the blessing of God, we have not
much to fear; but if, by any casualty or unforeseen misfortune, we
perish in Africa, and are seen no more, even then our fate will not be
more dismal than that of many of our predecessors in the same pursuit,
whose gallant enterprising spirits have sunk into darkness, without a
voice to record their melancholy end. If _this_ should be our case, our
countrymen may, perhaps, be moved to respect our memory; and, at all
events, it is some consolation to know that the gap we may make in
society will scarcely be observed at all; or, if observed, soon filled
up:
“For we to the world are like a drop of water
That in the ocean falls.”
_London_,
_Dec._ 1829.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait of Richard Lander Frontispiece.
Pelicans feeding their young vol. II. p. 16
Funeral of Captain Clapperton 78
Fainting Scene 93
Crossing the streams at Yariba 215
Heads of Natives with Tattoo marks 218
Ordeal by Poison 257
* * * * *
ERRATA.
Page 89, for Kang read _Kong_.
Page 156, omit the preposition “_to_” after “lead me.”
From p. 134 to p. 269, for Soccasoo read _Soccatoo_.
At the head of chap. II. p. 29, for Cape Coast read _Papoe_.
SKETCH
OF THE
AUTHOR’S LIFE.
* * * * *
Many allusions to my earlier history occurring in the following pages,
it may not, perhaps, be deemed impertinent on my part, if I should
attempt to give a short and hasty sketch of my life, devoted as it has
been to perpetual wandering, and chequered by a thousand misfortunes.
My family is as ancient, I dare say, as that of any upon the face of the
earth, although, notwithstanding the profoundest research, I have been
unable to trace its descent, with genealogical accuracy and precision,
to a more remote era than the period of my grandfather’s nonage; the
history of all my ancestors previous to him, being either mixed with
fable, or involved in doubt and uncertainty. If the ancient saying of
the people of Cornwall, that,
“By Tre, Pol, _Lan_, and _Pen_,
You may know most Cornishmen,”
be entitled to credit, then undoubtedly my family is of pure Cornish
extraction; and I would respectfully suggest that it has a double claim,
in the present generation, to the enviable distinction of antiquity, my
mother’s maiden name being _Pen_-rose, and my father’s name _Lan_-der.
Thus much for my pedigree; and I have the solitary satisfaction of
boasting of at least one celebrated character in its humble records, my
grandfather, by my mother’s side, who was a noted wrestler in his day,
and lived some fifty years since near the Land’s End.
I am the fourth of six children, and was born at Truro, in Cornwall, in
1804, on the very day on which Colonel Lemon was elected Member of
Parliament for the Borough. Owing to this striking coincidence, singular
as it may seem, my father, who was fond of sounding appellations, at the
simple suggestion of the doctor who attended the family, added _Lemon_
to my baptismal name of Richard: an example of the trivial means by
which people are oftentimes accommodated with an extra name. As nothing
remarkable occurred for the first five or six years after I came into
the world, I shall pass them over in silence, simply observing, that
when yet in infancy, whilst I was in the act of gazing one morning at
something attached to the ceiling of my father’s stable, a piece of
iron, having a sharpened edge, fell and entered my forehead; which
accident was of so serious a nature that I was ill for several weeks,
and narrowly escaped with life.
My rambling inclinations began to display themselves in early youth. I
was never easy a great while together in one place, and used to be
delighted to play truant and stroll from town to town, and from village
to village, whenever I could steal an opportunity as well; as to mix in
the society of boys possessing restless habits and inclinations similar
to my own. I used also to listen with unmixed attention to old women’s
tales about the manners and ceremonies of the natives of distant regions
of the earth, and never felt greater pleasure than when, dangling me on
their knees, or stroking down my face with their aged hands, they used
to say, “you will be sure to see two kingdoms, Richard, for you have two
_crowns upon your head_!” Their marvellous descriptions of monsters
existing, they affirmed, in remote lands, likewise conspired to raise in
me a longing to be a traveller; for the venerable matrons of my native
county, moving in the humbler walks of life, like those of most other
counties and nations, are fond of the wonderful, and endeavour to stamp
a love of it in the tender mind of youth with all the solemnity and
earnestness of age and belief. These tales, how incredible soever they
might have been, made a deep and permanent impression on my thoughts;
and though so very young, I formed a resolution, or rather felt a strong
and violent inclination to become a wanderer, in order that the story of
_my_ adventures might one day rival in interest those to which I had
listened with so devout an attention; perhaps also a childish feeling of
pride entered my bosom as I used to say to myself: “And when I shall
have returned from such and such a place, and seen all the strange
sights in them, my former companions will look upon me with a mixture of
wonder and admiration, and I shall excite the envy of the other boys.”
Thus the first period of my life flew swiftly away; and I was no more
than nine years of age, as nearly as my memory, at this distance of
time, will allow me to guess, when owing to a series of domestic
misfortunes, which it would be a tedious and unpleasant task here to
particularise, I left the paternal roof, and have ever since been almost
a stranger in the place of my nativity.
The frequent observation of my lamented mother, “Remember, my poor
child, the old proverb, ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss,’” has been
entirely thrown away upon me, for between necessity and choice I have
ever been in motion; and with respect to “_moss_,” taken in its
figurative signification, I have certainly, in my own person, verified
the truth of the homely adage above alluded to, scarcely ever having
been able to retain a single handful in my grasp for any length of time
together.
At the early age of eleven years I accompanied a mercantile gentleman to
the West Indies, and whilst in St. Domingo was attacked with the fever
of the country, suffering so severely under its influence that my life
was despaired of; but, owing chiefly to the kindness and attention I
experienced from some benevolent and sympathizing Negro females, joined
to my youth and a naturally vigorous constitution, I recovered my wonted
health, and after an absence of three years returned to my native
country in 1818. From that period till the attainment of my 19th year, I
lived in the service of various noblemen and gentlemen, one of whom I
accompanied to France, and other countries on the Continent; when,
hearing on my return to London, that Major Colebrook, one of His
Majesty’s Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of the British
Colonies, was in want of an individual to proceed with him in the
capacity of servant, I quitted the office I then held, and procured the
vacant situation with little difficulty. With this gentleman I embarked
from Portsmouth on board the Lady Campbell, which weighed anchor on the
thirteenth of February, 1823, and after a stormy and hazardous voyage of
nearly five months, arrived in Simmons’s Bay, South Africa, on the 13th
of July following. During the passage our unfortunate vessel, in which
were upwards of forty ladies and gentlemen (passengers) with twenty
servants, very nearly escaped destruction no less than three times. In
the first instance, she encountered a heavy gale on the 8th of March, in
which she lost her rudder, and leaked four feet of water in the hold.
After being buffeted about by the wind and waves for four or five days,
her distressed condition was observed by a small French brig belonging
to L’Orient, which towed her into that port. There she was laid up for
six weeks, in order that the serious damage she had sustained might be
repaired; when, on the 1st of May, she again set sail. On the 10th of
June following, a lady, passing near the gun-room, discovered it to be
on fire, and immediately gave the alarm. After incredible exertions, and
still greater noise, hurry, bustle, and confusion, the progress of the
flames was arrested, and the fire finally extinguished, to the no small
gratification of every one on board, who feared, and with justice, that
from the proximity of the gun-room to the powder-magazine the most
imminent danger was to be apprehended. This was not the last fright we
experienced, for on the night of entering Simmons’s Bay the vessel
unfortunately struck on a rock called by seamen “The Noah’s Ark,” but
was happily lifted by the swell of the sea from her perilous situation,
without being materially damaged by the shock; and nothing worthy of
notice occurred till her arrival before Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, as
above mentioned.
After accompanying Major Colebrook in his journeyings from one extremity
of that important colony to the other,—for a reason which it would be
superfluous in this place to adduce, I left his service, and sailing
from Cape Town, arrived in England in 1824. I had not been many weeks in
the metropolis before I accepted of a situation in the establishment of
a kinsman to the Duke of Northumberland, where my time passed away
pleasantly and thoughtlessly enough; till the return of Captain
Clapperton and Major Denham from the interior of Africa, in the
following year, again aroused my rambling propensities, and I could not
help reproaching myself for having remained so long a time in a state of
comparative indolence. Determined from that hour to embrace the first
favourable chance of once more quitting my native shores, to whichever
part of the globe fate or fortune might destine me, I waited impatiently
for something to take place in furtherance of the object I had most at
heart; and an opportunity soon offered itself that promised to gratify
my fondest and warmest inclinations, as well as amply to satisfy the
inordinate desire I could not suppress of visiting foreign countries.
Having heard that it was the intention of the British Government to send
out another expedition for the purpose of exploring the yet undiscovered
parts of central Africa, and of endeavouring to ascertain the source,
progress, and termination, of the mysterious Niger; and the attempt
coinciding exactly with my long-cherished wishes, I instantly waited
upon the late Captain Clapperton, who I was told was to be placed at its
head, and expressed to that brave and spirited officer the great
eagerness I felt to become a party, however humble, to the novel and
hazardous undertaking into which he was about to enter. The Captain
listened to me with attention, and after I had answered a few
interrogations, willingly engaged me to be his confidential servant. In
this interview the keen, penetrating eye of the African traveller, did
not escape my observation; and by its fire, energy, and quickness,
denoted, in my own opinion at least, the very soul of enterprize and
adventure.
Having made the necessary arrangements, I entered with a light heart
upon my new duties, and enjoyed the thoughts of following the bias of my
own inclination with as great a zest as if the path of my future life
had been strewed with flowers.
I had not, however, adopted this line of conduct without deep reflection
on the difficulties that would, in all probability, accompany it. The
destruction that had overwhelmed former travellers, engaged in the same
pursuit, was by no means unfamiliar to me; and the melancholy story of
Mungo Park and his companions in misfortune, in particular, had often
crossed my thoughts. I felt a degree of shuddering sympathy for those
enterprizing individuals, (heightened perhaps by the cloud of darkness
in which their latter end was shrouded,) which no fictitious tale of woe
had been ever able to excite in my bosom; yet even this failed in
staggering my resolution, or overcoming my early and deeply-rooted
prejudices.
There was a charm in the very sound of Africa, that always made my heart
flutter on hearing it mentioned: whilst its boundless deserts of sand;
the awful obscurity in which many of the interior regions were
enveloped; the strange and wild aspect of countries that had never been
trodden by the foot of a European, and even the very failure of all
former undertakings to explore its hidden wonders, united to strengthen
the determination I had come to, of embracing the earliest opportunity
of penetrating into the interior of that immense Continent.
In vain my London acquaintances urged upon me the risk I should incur of
finding a grave in Africa; and equally vain were the kind
representations of a medical gentleman of the metropolis, who painted to
me in lively colours the imminent danger to which my life would be
exposed, by reason of my youth, inexperience, and habit of body. I
disregarded all the counsel that the world could give me, and perhaps
secretly depended on the strength of an unimpaired constitution to
support me in sickness, and bring me out of every difficulty; so prone
are we to indulge the belief that there is a something different, a
latent excellence within us, which does not belong to the persons or
characters of the rest of the world; and so just is the observation of
the poet, that
“All men think all men mortal but themselves.”
As soon as my relatives in Cornwall were made acquainted with the step I
was about to take, they expressed the deepest concern and sorrow, and
sent me numbers of letters, couched in the simple and affectionate
language of nature, expressive of their feelings, and endeavouring to
dissuade me from proceeding to a region they all so greatly and justly
dreaded. George Croker Fox, Esq. a highly respectable gentleman,
residing at Grove Hill, near Falmouth, with the spirit of amiable
benevolence by which he is so peculiarly distinguished, also exerted
himself in the same object, promising that if my determination to leave
England was fixed, rather than that I should expose myself to the
dangers to be apprehended from African exploration, he would procure me
a more lucrative situation in one of the South American republics. But
no inducement under the sun could make me swerve, even in thought, from
the line of duty I had laid down for myself; or cool the ardour that
warned me to attempt, at least, the accomplishment of the great object
towards which my earliest thoughts had been intently directed. Indeed, I
had already gone too far to recede; and leaving the metropolis with
Captain Clapperton, I arrived at Portsmouth, in order to embark in the
Brazen sloop of war, Captain Willis, on the 24th of August, 1825, being
then in the 21st year of my age.
WANDERINGS
IN
AFRICA.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
List of the Gentlemen and others engaged in the Mission — The Brazen
sails from Portsmouth — Touches at the Madeiras, Canaries, and Cape de
Verd Islands — Pursues and overtakes a French slave ship — Falls in with
H.M.S. Swinger — Arrives and anchors at Sierra Leone — The Author’s
first illness.
On arriving at Portsmouth with Captain Clapperton, I found the following
gentlemen, his associates in the mission, waiting for him:—Captain
Pearce, R.N. an amiable individual, but whose frame was much too
delicate for the arduous task he had undertaken; Dr. Morrison, a navy
surgeon; and Dr. Dickson, a Scotchman, who had served as a surgeon for a
long period in the West Indies. These were attended by Columbus, a West
Indian mulatto, who had accompanied Major Denham in the previous
journey; Pasko, a black, native of Haussa; and myself.
We embarked on the 27th of August, 1825; and, a light breeze springing
up from the north-east, the vessel got under weigh and made sail, the
shores of England gradually lessening from our view. After touching at
Porto Santo, the least of the Madeiras, on the 8th September, where the
Gentlemen of the Mission landed and obtained various specimens of plants
and minerals, the vessel dropped anchor at Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, on the
13th of the same month. Next day, Captain Clapperton and his coadjutors,
accompanied by three officers of the Brazen, went on shore to make an
excursion to the Peak; but my master being taken suddenly unwell on the
road from Santa Cruz, was obliged to remain at Oratavia, a fine but
irregularly built town, situated at the base of a cluster of mountains,
out of which rises the celebrated Peak, from which it is distant about
four or five miles. The travellers having accomplished the object of
their jaunt, came back with minerals, &c. complaining sadly of fatigue.
On the 16th, we returned to Santa Cruz, the rugged nature of the roads,
together with the stubborn disposition of the asses with which we were
accommodated, being in great measure overlooked by the mirthful humour
and innocent jocularity of our native guides, who enlivened us by
singing and playing on guitars nearly the whole of the way to the
capital, frequently interrupting themselves by shouting “Long live the
English!” The inhabitants were mostly employed in gathering in the
grapes, with which the island abounds; and we were met on the road by
great numbers of them with mules and asses loaded with this delicious
fruit, returning to their respective habitations.
On the 16th the Brazen again set sail with a fair wind; and on the 24th
following arrived at St. Antonia, one of the Cape de Verd islands, where
Captain Clapperton landed, as on former occasions, and obtained
minerals, &c. from its lofty mountains. The vessel weighed anchor the
same evening, and nothing requiring particular observation occurred for
several days, the wind continuing tolerably fair, but squally.
On the 4th of October, a small schooner came in sight, and supposing she
had slaves on board, the Brazen chased and overtook her. She proved,
however, to be a Russian merchant vessel, bound for Pernambuco, and was
of course suffered to proceed on her voyage as soon as the error was
discovered. On the 8th of the same month another sail was descried, and
suspecting also that she was engaged in the nefarious traffic in slaves,
we pursued and boarded her. The suspicions were confirmed on discovering
196 human beings in this French schooner (which was bound for St.
Domingo) chained together in couples, and literally crammed between
decks, which being barely three feet in height the slaves were obliged
to remain in a sitting posture whilst they stayed on board. So strong
and disagreeable an odour proceeded from the confined place in which
these poor creatures were huddled, that the air was tainted with it, and
I hastened on board the Brazen as fast as I could; shortly after which
the French vessel proceeded with her living cargo to the place of her
destination.
On the 19th the Brazen fell in with H.M. ship Swinger, on a cruise. This
vessel had lost nineteen men with fever, and was short of provisions and
water. After relieving her wants, and sending a doctor on board, we
continued our course with a fair light breeze, and on the 21st entered
the river of Sierra Leone.
The day after our arrival I went on shore, and sauntered alone through
Free Town, visiting the church and other public buildings. I was grieved
to see that sacred edifice converted into a market-place, and buyers and
sellers indecently disputing and wrangling in the temple of God. The
colony was rather sickly, and the great number of deaths which had
recently taken place sufficiently attested the extreme unhealthiness of
that immense “charnel-house.” The country in the neighbourhood of the
town is rich and fertile, producing in great abundance many kinds of
fruits and vegetables. West Indian, and other tropical productions are
cultivated with success, and to a great extent, on the banks of the
river. Cattle and poultry, which are of inferior size and description,
are excessively scarce and dear; but the inhabitants do not seem to feel
much interested in the improvement of the breed of their domestic
animals. The grass in the colony, though apparently rich and luxuriant,
contains in reality but little nutriment; and to this cause, more than
to any other, the sorry condition of the cattle is attributable.
The Kroomen, great numbers of whom reside at Sierra Leone, are a fine
athletic people; active, clean, and industrious. They have a village at
no great distance from Free Town, which I visited. It consists of a
great number of huts, most of which have a little meadow-land, or
garden, attached to them; but a very small portion of the soil is
cultivated in its vicinity, the male inhabitants being generally
employed by the masters of European vessels visiting Sierra Leone, who
find them extremely serviceable. Notwithstanding their intercourse with
the English and other European nations, which has been preserved for so
long a period, the Kroomen still retain their native costume, which
consists simply of a piece of cotton cloth, tied carelessly round the
waist, and extending to the knees. Almost the whole of them have
obtained a smattering of the English tongue, in which they pride
themselves; whilst many of the more intelligent can converse in it with
tolerable fluency. Upwards of twenty different languages, it is said,
are spoken by the mixed population of the colony, who have been
principally captured from the slave vessels of the Portuguese or
Spaniards, and have been brought from many of the interior countries.
On the 23d I again went on shore with my gun, to shoot in a savannah at
a short distance from the town, in which I remained a great part of the
day, amongst high coarse grass and thick jungle, indiscreetly exposing
my head to the scorching rays of a vertical sun; in consequence of which
I was attacked in the evening with giddiness of the head, and other
symptoms of fever; but having been bled copiously, and having taken
proper medicine, the progress of the disease was for the time arrested.
My illness, which was not particularly severe, was of short duration,
and I fondly expected that this was but the _seasoning_ every European
should be prepared to encounter on visiting tropical countries.
Having taken in her supplies of fresh water and provisions, the Brazen
got under weigh on the 27th of October, and made sail for Cape Coast,
with a fresh breeze from the south-east. On the following day a thunder-
storm arose, accompanied by heavy and continued rain and vivid flashes
of lightning, which lasted for several hours; and on the 2d of November
a sail being perceived at some distance, the ship gave her chase, and on
coming up with her, she proved to be the Fortune, a Spanish schooner,
with thirty-five slaves only on board, not having then received her full
complement. The vessel was immediately captured, and sent back to Sierra
Leone. Next day another sail was discovered, and being overtaken, was
found to be a French brig from Martinique, waiting for a cargo of human
beings.
On the 5th the natives came out to meet the Brazen in canoes, with yams,
plantains, bananas, cassada, and other productions of the country, which
they bartered for tobacco, that article being in great request with
them. Their canoes were lightly and ingeniously constructed, and
propelled through the water with singular swiftness and dexterity, the
rowers performing their laborious task in a kneeling posture. They were
completely destitute of clothing of any kind.
On the 7th we were honored with a visit from the Kroo king, who is a jet
black of goodly stature, and of simple but prepossessing manners. On his
head the sable monarch had a European hat, and across his loins was
fastened a plain piece of cotton cloth purchased from the English. He
wore a necklace of _gris-gris_ (charms or amulets) made of leather, in
the merits of which he seemed to repose implicit confidence, believing
himself the most fortunate of men in having it in his possession; and as
long as that was the case, he asserted, neither demon nor human being
could in any wise injure him.
One of his majesty’s attendants, as blindly superstitious as his
sovereign, to put the virtues of _his_ amulet to the test, entreated me
several times to discharge a musket loaded with ball at him, at the
distance of only a few yards, which, when I refused to do, he appeared
to be considerably chagrined and disappointed, and went away muttering
that the English were the most uncivil people in the world.
The following day, although the ship was at the distance of several
miles from the shore, others of the natives came alongside, differing
but little in external appearance from their neighbours who had visited
us on the former occasions: but in addition to their other ornaments,
they wore iron rings round the neck, with little bells of the same metal
appended, which, on the slightest movement of the wearer, made a
jingling noise not unlike bells hung to the necks of waggon-horses in
England. The Cape Palmas king, accompanied by a great number of his
subjects, also condescended to come on board on the 9th. He is a
powerful athletic man, having a bold expression of countenance, but of
gentle and social habits, and he was graciously pleased to converse
freely with any one on deck, who felt disposed, or had patience enough
to listen to his remarks.
There was this peculiarity in the appearance of his majesty’s followers:
their heads were shaved either partially or wholly, and the hair of
those that had any being cut into a thousand fantastic modes and forms,
looked exceedingly grotesque. Many of the tribes on the coast, indeed,
appear to devote a large portion of their time to dressing and
ornamenting their hair, which in some districts is plaited and braided
with much care, and peculiar taste and neatness. Others friz out the
hair like the natives of the Tonga islands, and as it is anointed with a
species of red clay, softened with palm-oil, which is found in great
abundance on the coast, it adds greatly to the ferocity of their
appearance.
The Brazen continued her course with a tolerably fair wind but heavy
showers, and having passed several towns and villages, the inhabitants
of some of which occasionally visited her in canoes, arrived at Cape
Coast on the 14th, at one P.M.
Cape Coast castle is a strongly-built stone fortification, capable of
containing within its walls the whole of the population of the town it
defends; the habitations of which are constructed in much the same style
as those with which the whole line of coast is thickly studded; being
built of earth, and thatched with rushes, interlaced with palm-leaves.
A great number of people have settled in the town from the interior
countries; but by far the major part of the inhabitants are Fantees, who
have voluntarily placed themselves under the protection of the British
fortress, in order the more effectually to secure to themselves the
blessings of peace, and preserve their property from the rapacity of
their more restless countrymen, and the neighbouring nations.
Cleanliness is by no means a characteristic of the Fantees at Cape
Coast, animal and vegetable substances being allowed to accumulate and
putrify in the streets, from which is exhaled so noxious an effluvium,
that the air, impregnated with it, is rendered extremely insalubrious,
particularly to Europeans.
It is perhaps a fortunate circumstance, that vultures, attracted by the
intolerable odour, resort thither in vast numbers, voraciously devouring
the filth which the indolent inhabitants are either too lazy or too
_ignorant_ to remove; for they cannot be persuaded that disease of any
kind is engendered by such means. If this had not been the case, it
would be a miracle indeed that Europeans should exist in the town many
weeks; and even the Africans themselves, in all likelihood, would
speedily fall victims to pestilential disorders.
Horned cattle are not less scarce, and yet more diminutive, than at
Sierra Leone, and their flesh is of the worst possible quality. Horses,
for some reason, are no where to be found on the Gold Coast, nor are any
beasts of burden whatever to be met with in the neighbourhood of the
Castle; loads of every description being carried on men’s heads, and in
hammocks fastened to long poles, which are borne by two persons.
The market is rather scantily supplied with Guinea-corn, maize, yams,
sweet cassada, &c. although the soil is amazingly rich, yielding
abundantly all the necessaries of life. Notwithstanding its fertility,
however, cultivation is carried on to a very inconsiderable extent, and
the surrounding country is still thickly wooded.