_THE TERMINATION OF THE NIGER._
Unhappily for the stay-at-home geographer, no matter how skilfully he
may set forth the discoveries made in his study, his triumph can only
come after they have been demonstrated by actual travel, and even then
the credit that falls to his share is small. The case of M‘Queen is one
in point. We have no evidence that his theory regarding the Niger’s
termination made any special impression upon the general opinion of the
time. Unfortunately for him, too, his views were published immediately
after several disastrous attempts from the West Coast to settle the
question he had so ably worked out, so that Government and people alike
were disposed to fight shy of the fatal region.
Yet with every succeeding failure the attraction of the mysterious
river seemed ever to become greater, and a stubborn determination was
evinced to break through the deadly belt which hedged in the countries
of the interior. Conquered and rebuffed in one direction, there was
nothing for it but to try another, and once more the Arab caravan route
from Tripoli to the Sudan was thought of. As has been elsewhere shown,
attempts in this direction had already been made by other travellers,
and all had alike failed. Of these Horneman alone had penetrated beyond
the northern borderland of the desert, only, however, to disappear
for ever. In every other case these expeditions had failed at the
outset through fatal fevers and Oriental obstructiveness--what, then,
had the traveller to expect, who, surmounting these initial dangers,
found himself face to face with the terrors of the great Sahara, where
nature in its fiercest aspects reigned supreme, and man was represented
only by wild roving tribes savage as their environment.
Nevertheless men there were ready and eager to try this route, as had
been others before them to brave the dangers of the West Coast.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON.]
In 1820 Britain held an exceptionably favourable position in the
councils of the Court of Tripoli, while at the same time the Basha,
thanks to his guns, exercised a very marked influence over all the
Arab, Berber, and Tibbu tribes lying between his country and the
far-distant regions of the Sudan. Hence any one starting under the
protection of the Basha had a fair guarantee of success, provided he
could withstand the possible onslaughts of disease, and the terrible
privations incidental to desert marches.
Encouraged by this favourable state of matters, the British Government
determined to make another attempt to explore by the Arab route the
regions which they had so signally failed to reach from the Atlantic.
Lieutenant Clapperton--like Park, a Scottish borderer--Dr. Oudney,
and Major Denham, were selected for the task, and the 18th November
1821 saw them landed in Tripoli. Little time was lost in making their
preparations and in setting forth for Murzuk in Fezzan, where they
were to make their final arrangements before plunging into the dread
Sahara. Here, though received kindly enough by the Sultan, they were
threatened with the system of Oriental delays which had proved fatal
to previous travellers. This, however, they were not the men to brook,
and Major Denham promptly returned to Tripoli to lay a complaint before
the Basha. As promptly he started for England on getting nothing but
promises. This was sufficient to throw the Basha and his Court into
consternation, and vessel after vessel was despatched to bring back the
indignant traveller. They succeeded in catching him up at Marseilles,
and induced him to return. On his arrival in Tripoli he was informed
that already his escort awaited him at Sokna, on the borders of the
Tripolitan desert.
Murzuk was triumphantly re-entered on the 30th October 1822. Clapperton
and Oudney were found much reduced by the fevers, which were here so
prevalent that even amongst the natives anything like a healthy-looking
person was a rarity. To get away from this dangerously unhealthy
place, Bu Khalum, the leader of the caravan, exerted himself with
most unoriental and praiseworthy energy, though the task of gathering
together the various elements of such a company as his was no small
matter.
When ready, the party consisted of four Europeans, and servants to the
number of ten, an Arab escort of 210, gathered from the most obedient
tribes under the rule of Tripoli, and a number of merchants and freed
slaves, who brought up the roll to about 300.
It was the 29th November before the whole party was ready for the road.
The Europeans were in no very promising plight. They were all more or
less down with fever, and Oudney and Hillman, a carpenter, were in
a specially hopeless condition, considering what was before them.
Nevertheless each one was eager and determined to go on, always hoping
in the future, as is the manner of enthusiasts.
Almost with the disappearance of the walls, mosques, and date-trees
of Murzuk in their rear, the desert rose up grim and terrible before
them. The second day saw them among wild wastes of burning billowy
sands, where was seen no living thing, nor other sound heard than the
melancholy sweep of the wind over the endless tracts of sand. For some
days, however, watering-places were not unfrequent, while here and
there small oases gave a temporary relief to the monotonous landscape,
and afforded a scanty subsistence to Tibbu or Berber inhabitants, who
preferred to face the terror of the wilderness rather than live under
the harsh rule of Arab masters. With the continued advance southward
the wells grew more scarce, and it became a matter of congratulation
when the day’s march ended beside one. With the wells went the
date-trees and the cultivated oases, the prowling beast and the
wandering native--only a great yellow expanse perpetually unrolled its
vastness and monotony beneath the brazen canopy of a cloudless sky.
Into this realm of Desolation and Death the caravan now passed,
their route marked out by the skeletons of human beings, ominously
indicative of the dangers ahead and the horrors of the slave trade.
As many as 107 such skeletons were counted by the wayside in a single
march, and 100 were found around one well. At some places the numbers
were beyond calculation. For days together now there was nothing but
desert--hummocky mounds, painful stone-strewn stretches of barrenness,
and shattered ribs of rock, grim, gaunt, and terrible. The wind came
like blasts from a furnace, and from the cloudless sky the sun poured
down its burning rays in a painful flood. Under the influences of heat,
thirst, and fatigue, no word was spoken--even the camels uttered not a
groan, as if conscious of the dire alternative to not pushing on. At
times the horses’ hoofs crunched through the bones of human beings who
had perished on the march. Night only brought relief from the hardships
of the route. Then came the clear soothing darkness lit by a myriad
stars, the cool refreshing breezes, and the soft couch of sand, so
inexpressibly welcome to the weary, parched, and blinded wayfarers.
Thus the year passed away, and 1823 was ushered in, bringing promise of
a successful issue to the enterprise. The explorers had now reached a
scantily populated Tibbu country, where, in equal danger from drought,
famine, sandstorms, and the murderous raids and plundering onslaughts
of Berber tribes and passing caravans, men somehow contrived to wring
from the flinty, almost arid, bosom of mother earth the wherewithal to
keep body and soul together.
On leaving Bilma, the chief centre of this district, another desert
tract had to be crossed, necessitating long and harassing marches,
under the hardships of which as many as twenty camels would sink down
exhausted in a single day. This dread region was at length also safely
traversed, and infinite was the relief and thankfulness of all when
towards the end of January the approach to more fertile tracts was
indicated by the appearance of clumps of grass, and further on of a few
scattered and stunted trees. This miserable and dingy vegetation looked
delightful and refreshing to travellers who for over two weary months
had been in a land of death and desolation. Tibbu inhabitants, with
their flocks and herds, reappeared with the vegetation, and fresh meat
and camel’s milk were to be had in abundance.
The caravan had this time reached no mere oasis. With each day’s
march south the country improved in appearance, till the party found
themselves in charming valleys shaded by leafy trees, festooned with
creeping vines of the Colocynth, while underneath the sheltering canopy
the ground was aglow with many-hued and brilliantly-coloured flowers.
Nor was there lack of animal life to give animation and variety to
the scene. Hundreds of twittering birds fluttered from tree to tree,
careless of the vultures and kites which gracefully circled far up
in the heavens. From a distance shy gazelles watched the newcomers
with their beautiful eyes wide-stretched, but ready, if alarmed, to
bound away at a moment’s notice to their forest haunts. The very sky
reflected the softer conditions of nature, and showed a brighter blue
cloud-speckled; and the natives in their smiling faces and hospitality
harmonised with the happier conditions under which they lived, though
from time to time the ruthless acts of the Arab caravan sent them
flying in terror.
There was no mistaking the fact that the Sudan--the country known by
hearsay for over four centuries, but which so far had baffled all
attempts to explore it--had at last been reached. On the 4th February
1823 the travellers’ eyes were greeted with a sight “so gratifying and
inspiring that it would be difficult for language to convey an idea
of its force. The great lake Chad, glowing with the golden rays of
the sun in its strength, appeared within a mile of the spot on which
we stood. My heart bounded within me at the prospect, for I believed
this lake to be the key to the great object of our search (presumably
the Niger), and I could not refrain from silently imploring Heaven’s
continued protection, which had enabled us to proceed so far in health
and strength even to the accomplishment of our task.”
Nine days later the river Yeou was discovered flowing from the west.
The name given to it by the Arabs unlocked the secrets of many
geographical misconceptions. But that it was neither the true Nile
nor the Niger was soon made patent--for, on the one hand, its course
ended in the Chad; and, on the other, its size, and the reports of the
natives, made it clear that it drained only the eastern Haussa States.
February 17 was a momentous date in the history of the expedition, for
on that day they reached Kuka, the capital of Bornu.
Their entry was made in great state, worthy the traditions of a
powerful semi-civilised Sultan. Several thousand well equipped and
marvellously caparisoned horsemen awaited the strangers outside
the town, and on seeing them, charged as if with the intention of
annihilating the little band. Suddenly, while at full gallop, they
pulled up right in the faces of the newcomers, almost smothering them
with clouds of dust, and putting them in some danger from the crowding
of horses and clashing of spears.
The Sultan’s negroes, as they were called, were specially conspicuous,
“habited in coats of mail composed of iron chain, which covered them
from the throat to the knees, dividing behind and coming on each side
of the horse. Some of them had helmets, or rather skull caps, of the
same metal, with china pieces all sufficiently strong to ward off the
shock of a spear. Their horses’ heads were also defended by plates of
iron, brass, and silver.”
It would be difficult to give the faintest idea of the strange sights
and scenes which now opened up before our travellers in the centre of
the ancient empire of Bornu. Nothing more remarkable had ever been
seen by any European explorer--at least in Africa. From the Sultan
and his much-robed courtiers down to the scantily-draped country
people, all were alike interesting. The teeming life in all its varied
forms--Arab, Berber, Fulah, and negro of twenty different tribes--made
up a picture of strange attractiveness. Not less interesting were
the curious customs, the industries, the mixture of a considerable
degree of civilisation and religious elevation with the lowest depths
of barbarism and degrading superstition. These were the more marked,
inasmuch as when the English travellers saw Bornu and its remarkable
court, it was just re-emerging from a temporary eclipse of its national
glory. Only a short time before it had thrown off the temporary
domination of the Fulahs, to whom it had succumbed in their first
irresistible onrush.
The reception of Clapperton and Denham was exceedingly promising, and a
bright career of discovery seemingly lay open to them.
Matters assumed a worse aspect, however, when differences of opinion
arose among the Arabs of the caravan. They had been despatched as an
escort to the travellers, it is true, but they were not placed directly
under their command. To do absolutely nothing but look after the
safety of the Europeans was as alien to their conception of duty as the
idea of travelling all the way to Bornu without turning the journey
to profitable account. The majority of them not being merchants, and
therefore not supplied with goods for barter, had only their weapons
to depend upon to recoup them for their trouble. A slave raid was
therefore determined on, in spite of the opposition and remonstrances
of Bu Khalum and the Europeans. As the Arabs were not to be turned
aside from their project, the leader reluctantly agreed to go with
them, and Denham, finding himself helpless, resolved to join the party
likewise in order to extend his knowledge of the region.
The mountains of Mandara, to the south of Bornu, were chosen as the
most suitable spot for a slave hunt, and thither the raiders proceeded,
accompanied by a considerable contingent of the Bornu army.
Leaving Kuka in the middle of April, they reached Mandara towards the
end of the month, without any misadventure. Here they found themselves
surrounded with mountain scenery, which could scarcely be exceeded for
beauty and richness. On all sides interminable chains of hill closed in
the view in rugged magnificence and picturesque grandeur. Here, too,
nature revelled in its most luxuriant forms among giant trees almost
masked under the wealth of creepers which wound around the trunks
and branches, or hung in graceful festoons swaying responsive to the
passing breeze. Native villages were everywhere to be seen perched
airily, like eagles’ nests, far up on the rocks and mountain tops,
or nestling in the valleys, hidden like the wild deer’s lair in the
depths of the forest. Such was the lovely district into which the Arabs
had come to bring death, ruin, and slavery. But for once they had
miscalculated their powers, or depended too much on the co-operation
of the Bornu contingent. At the first attack the invaders drove the
natives before them, but soon they were outnumbered. Bu Khalum was
severely wounded along with the leader of the Bornuese, and Denham
received a wound in the face. Beaten on all sides, the only safety of
the survivors lay in flight.
A frightful scene ensued. Denham passed through a series of the most
marvellous escapes, but at last, unhorsed and unarmed, was seized and
stripped, receiving several wounds from spear thrusts in the process.
Seeing nothing but a cruel death before him, he resolved to make one
more effort to escape, and putting the thought into action, he slipped
below a horse, and started for the woods, pursued by two Fulah.
Reaching the shelter of the trees, hope revived on his seeing a ravine
opening in front of him, and offering a further chance of life. As he
was on the point of letting himself down the cliff into the stream, a
puff-adder raised its head to strike. He recoiled horror-stricken, and
fell headlong into the ravine, his fall fortunately made harmless by
a deep pool of water, where, recovering his presence of mind, three
strokes of his arms sent him to the opposite side, and placed him in
comparative safety among the dense vegetation.
Shortly after, he met the remnants of the defeated party, and six days
later they re-entered Kuka, after enduring great hardships.
For the next few months little of importance was done to elucidate
the geography of the Chad Region. An expedition westward to Manga was
accomplished with less disastrous results than that to the Mandara
mountains; and then the rainy season set in, threatening for a time to
end the days of the European travellers by the fevers which accompanied
it. With the return of the dry season came renewed health and renewed
determination to add further to their discoveries.
On the 14th December, Clapperton and Oudney set forth to visit Kano and
the Haussa States in the company of a trading caravan.
Two days later a Mr. Toole arrived at Kuka with fresh supplies for the
expedition, at a moment when they were much needed.
In the beginning of the year 1824 Denham and Toole started for the
district of Logun with the object of visiting the Shari River. The
project was safely accomplished, and they found a majestic river 400
yards broad, flowing from the south and south-west into the Chad.
The difficulty of obtaining correct geographical information from the
natives was well illustrated in their case, it being clear that they
confounded with the Shari a great river (the Benué) they heard of as
flowing _from_ the south and south-west of Mandara, whereas in reality
the latter flows _to_ the west. It is extremely probable, however, that
some sort of connection exists between them in the wet season.
At Logun Mr. Toole died.
Meanwhile Clapperton and Oudney were travelling towards Kano, and
giving shape and form to the confused and conflicting accounts
over which geographers had quarrelled for a couple of centuries.
Unfortunately on this journey, Oudney, who had never enjoyed good
health from the day he left Tripoli, gradually became worse, and
died on the 12th January 1824. Left to himself, Clapperton passed on to
Kano, which he found to be a town of 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, and
chiefly important as a trading and industrial centre, it being famed as
such from the most remote times.
[Illustration: VIEW IN SOKOTO.]
On the 16th of March he reached Sokoto, the capital of the new Fulah
Empire, and there was hospitably received by Bello, son and successor
of the founder. From Sokoto he hoped to make his way to Yauri and Nupé,
to clear up as far as possible the question of the course of the Niger.
At first everything looked favourable for his plans, but gradually his
hopes vanished, as every one set about dissuading him from attempting
the journey.
At last the Sultan himself withdrew his promise of protection, on the
plea of excessive danger to his guest. In the face of such a decided
veto it was useless to attempt to proceed, though for several weary
weeks Clapperton waited on in the hope that something would turn up
which would open a way for him. No change for the better occurred,
however, and at length he took leave of Sultan Bello, and returned to
Bornu.
On September 3rd a caravan having been got together, the homeward
journey was commenced.
In the course of the next four months the Sahara was safely recrossed,
and Tripoli re-entered on the 26th January, the travellers having been
absent nearly three years on their arduous undertaking.
This must be considered the most successful African expedition up to
that period--successful alike in its scientific results and in the
extent of country explored for the first time. Once for all it settled
the question as to the direction in which the mouth of the Niger
must be looked for. Certainly it neither flowed east, nor did it end
in any known desert or lake. Yet curiously enough, to judge from the
travellers’ maps, they were still some way behind M‘Queen in their
knowledge of the general geography of the great eastern tributary of
the Niger. Through a misunderstanding on Clapperton’s part as to the
direction of the Benué, the River Shari was represented as draining its
waters from the west instead of from the south and east. But perhaps
the most valuable result of the expedition was, that for the first time
form and coherence were given to the geography of the Arab writers
and traders, and exact information collected regarding the remarkable
kingdoms forming the Central Sudan.