Agreeably to our promise at the close of the _Memoir of Captain
Clapperton_, prefixed to Vol. XI. of THE MIRROR, we subjoin the
following very interesting narrative of the death of this enterprizing
traveller, as narrated by Richard Lander, his servant. It forms,
perhaps, the most attractive portion of the _Journal of the Second
Expedition_, just published; and to the readers of the foregoing
memoir, will afford still further illustration of all that we have
there said of the high character of Clapperton, and his faithful
attendant, Lander.
On the 12th of March 1827, I was greatly alarmed on finding my dear
master attacked with dysentery. He had been complaining a day or two
previously of a burning heat in his stomach, unaccompanied, however,
by any other kind of pain. From the moment he was taken ill he perspired
freely, and big drops of sweat were continually rolling over every part
of his body, which weakened him exceedingly. It being the fast of
Rhamadan, I could get no one, not even our own servants, to render
me the least assistance. I washed the clothes, which was an arduous
employment, and obliged to be done eight or nine times each day, lit
and kept in the fire, and prepared the victuals myself; and in the
intermediate time was occupied in fanning my poor master, which was also
a tedious employment. Finding myself unable to pay proper attention to
his wants in these various avocations, I sent to Mallam Mudey, on the
13th, entreating him to send me a female slave to perform the operation
of fanning. On her arrival I gave her a few beads, and she immediately
began her work with spirit; but she soon relaxed in her exertions, and
becoming tired, ran away, on pretence of going out for a minute, and
never returned. Alla Sellakee, a young man my master had purchased
on the road from Kano to take care of the camels, and whom he had
invariably treated with his usual kindness, and given him his freedom,
no sooner was made acquainted with his master's illness than he became
careless and idle, and instead of leading the camels to the rich
pasturage in the vicinity of Soccatoo, let them stray whereever they
pleased, whilst he himself either loitered about the city, or mixed with
the most degraded people in it: by this means the camels became quite
lean; and being informed of the reason, I told my master, who instantly
discharged him from his service.
My master grew weaker daily, and the weather was insufferably hot, the
thermometer being, in the coolest place, 107 at twelve in the morning,
and 109 at three in the afternoon. At his own suggestion I made a couch
for him outside the hut, in the shade, and placed a mat for myself by
its side. For five successive days I took him in my arms from his bed in
the hut to the couch outside, and back again at sunset, after which time
he was too much debilitated to be lifted from the bed on which he lay.
He attempted to write once, and but once, during his illness; but before
paper and ink could be brought him, he had sunk back on his pillow,
completely exhausted by his ineffectual attempt to sit up in his bed.
Fancying by various symptoms he had been poisoned, I asked him one day
whether he thought that, in any of his visits the Arabs or Tuaricks, any
poisonous ingredients had been put into the camel's milk they had given
him, of which he was particularly fond. He replied, "No, my dear boy; no
such thing has been done, I assure you. Do you remember," he continued,
"that when on a shooting excursion at Magaria, in the early part of
February, after walking the whole of the day, exposed to the scorching
rays of the sun, I was fatigued, and lay down under the branches of a
tree for some time? The earth was soft and wet, and from that hour to
the present I have not been free from cold: this has brought on my
present disorder, from which, I believe, I shall never recover."
For twenty days my poor master remained in a low and distressed state.
He told me he felt no pain; but this was spoken only to comfort me, for
he saw I was dispirited. His sufferings must have been acute. During
this time he was gradually, but perceptibly, declining; his body,
from being robust and vigorous, became weak and emaciated, and indeed
was little better than a skeleton. I was the only person, with one
exception, he saw in his sickness. Abderachman, an Arab from Fezzan,
came to him one day, and wished to pray with him, after the manner of
his countrymen, but was desired to leave the apartment instantly. His
sleep was uniformly short and disturbed, and troubled with frightful
dreams. In them he frequently reproached the Arabs aloud with much
bitterness; but being an utter stranger to the language, I did not
understand the tenor of his remarks. I read to him daily some portions
of the New Testament, and the 95th Psalm, which he was never weary of
listening to, and on Sundays added the church service, to which he
invariably paid the profoundest attention. The constant agitation of
mind and exertions of body I had myself undergone for so long a time,
never having in a single instance slept out of my clothes, weakened me
exceedingly, and a fever came on not long before my master's death,
which hung upon me for fifteen days, and ultimately brought me to the
very verge of the grave. Finding myself unequal to pay that attention
to my master's wants which his situation so particularly required,
I solicited and obtained his consent to have old Pascoe once more to
assist me. On entering the hut, he fell on his knees, and prayed to
be forgiven, promising to be faithful to my master's service. Master
immediately pardoned him, and said he would forget all that had passed,
if he conducted himself well: by this means the washing and all the
drudgery was taken from my shoulders, and I was enabled to devote all
my time and attention to my master's person. I fanned him for hours
together, and this seemed to cool the burning heat of his body, of which
he repeatedly complained. Almost the whole of his conversation turned
upon his country and friends, but I never heard him regret his leaving
them; indeed he was patient and resigned to the last, and a murmur of
disappointment never escaped his lips.
On the 1st of April, he became considerably worse, and though
evidently in want of repose, his sleep became more and more disturbed.
He swallowed eight drops of laudanum, four times a day, for three days;
but finding it did him not the least benefit, he discontinued taking it
altogether: this, with the exception of two papers of Seidlitz powders
and four ounces of Epsom salts, was the only medicine he had during
his illness. On the 9th, Maddic, a native of Bornou, whom master had
retained in his service, brought him about twelve ounces of green
bark from the butter tree, and said it would do him much good.
Notwithstanding all my remonstrances, master immediately ordered a
decoction of it to be prepared, observing, "No man will injure me."
Accordingly Maddie himself boiled two basins-full, the whole of which
he drank in less than an hour. Next morning he was much altered for the
worse, and regretted his not having followed my advice. About twelve
o'clock of the same day, he said, "Richard, I shall shortly be no more;
I feel myself dying." Almost choked with grief, I replied, "God forbid,
my dear master: you will live many years yet." "Don't be so much
affected, my dear boy, I entreat you," said he: "it is the will of the
Almighty; it cannot be helped. Take care of my journal and papers after
my death; and when you arrive in London, go immediately to my agents,
send for my uncle, who will accompany you to the colonial office, and
let him see you deposit them safely into the hands of the secretary.
After I am buried, apply to Bello, and borrow money to purchase camels
and provisions for your journey over the desert, and go in the train of
the Arab merchants to Fezzan. On your arrival there, should your money
be exhausted, send a messenger to Mr. Warrington, our consul at Tripoli,
and wait till he returns with a remittance. On reaching Tripoli, that
gentleman will advance what money you may require, and send you to
England the first opportunity. Do not lumber yourself with my books;
leave them behind, as well as the barometer, boxes, and sticks, and
indeed every heavy article you can conveniently part with; give them to
Malam Mudey, who will take care of them. The wages I agreed to give you
my agents will pay, as well as the sum government allowed me for a
servant; you will of course receive it, as Columbus has never served me.
Remark what towns or villages you pass through; pay attention to
whatever the chiefs may say to you, and put it on paper. The little
money I have, and all my clothes, I leave you: sell the latter, and put
what you may receive for them into your pocket; and if, on your journey,
you should be obliged to expend it, government will repay you on your
return." I said, as well as my agitation would permit me, "If it be the
will of God to take you, you may rely on my faithfully performing, as
far as I am able, all that you have desired; but I trust the Almighty
will spare you, and you will yet live to see your country." "I thought
I should at one time, Richard," continued he; "but all is now over;
I shall not be long for this world; but God's will be done." He then
took my hand betwixt his, and looking me full in the face, while a tear
stood glistening in his eye, said, in a low but deeply affecting tone,
"My dear Richard, if you had not been with me, I should have died long
ago; I can only thank you, with my latest breath, for your kindness and
attachment to me, and if I could have lived to return with you, you
should have been placed beyond the reach of want; but God will reward
you." This conversation occupied nearly two hours, in the course of
which my master fainted several times, and was distressed beyond
measure. The same evening he fell into a slumber, from which he awoke
in much perturbation, and said he had heard with much distinctness the
tolling of an English funeral bell: I entreated him to be composed, and
observed that sick people frequently fancy they hear and see things
which can possibly have no existence. He made no reply.
About six o'clock in the morning of the 11th, on asking how he did, my
master answered he was much better, and requested me to shave him. He
had not sufficient strength to lift his head from the pillow; and after
finishing one side of the face, I was obliged to turn his head, in order
to shave the other. As soon as it was done, he desired me to fetch him a
looking-glass which hung on the other side of the hut. On seeing himself
in it, he observed that he looked quite as ill at Bornou, on his former
journey: and as he had borne his disorder so long a time, he might yet
recover. On the following day he still fancied himself getting better.
I began to flatter myself, also, that he was considerably improved. He
eat a bit of hashed guinea-fowl in the day, which he had not done before
since his illness, deriving his sole sustenance from a little fowl-soup
and milk and water. On the morning of the 13th, however, being awake,
I was much alarmed by a peculiar rattling noise, proceeding from my
master's throat, and his breathing was loud and difficult; at the same
instant he called out, "Richard!" in a low and hurried tone. I was
immediately at his side, and was astonished at seeing him sitting
upright in his bed, and staring wildly around. I held him in my arms,
and placing his head gently on my left shoulder, gazed a moment on his
pale and altered features; some indistinct expressions quivered on his
lips; he strove, but ineffectually, to give them utterance, and expired
without a struggle or a sigh. When I found my poor master so very ill,
I called out with all my strength, "O God, my master is dying!" which
brought Pascoe and Mudey into the apartment. Shortly after the breath
had left his body, I desired Pasco to fetch some water, with which I
washed the corpse. I then got Pascoe and Mudey to assist me in taking it
outside of the hut, laid it on a clean mat, and wrapped it in a sheet
and blanket. Leaving it in this state two hours, I put a large clean mat
over the whole, and sent a messenger to Sultan Bello, to acquaint him of
the mournful event, and ask his permission to bury the body after the
manner of my own country, and also to know in what particular place
his remains were to be interred. The messenger soon returned with the
sultan's consent to the former part of my request; and about twelve
o'clock at noon of the same day a person came into my hut, accompanied
by four slaves, sent by Bello to dig the grave. I was desired to follow
them with the corpse. Accordingly, I saddled my camel, and putting
the body on its back, and throwing a union-jack over it, I bade them
proceed. Travelling at a slow pace, we halted at Jungavie, a small
village, built on a rising ground, about five miles to the south-east
of Soccatoo. The body was then taken from the camel's back, and placed
in a shed, whilst the slaves were digging the grave; which being quickly
done, it was conveyed close to it. I then opened a prayer-book, and,
amid showers of tears, read the funeral service over the remains of
my valued master. Not a single person listened to this peculiarly
distressing ceremony, the slaves being at some distance, quarrelling and
making a most indecent noise the whole of the time it lasted. This being
done, the union-jack was taken off, and the body was slowly lowered into
the earth, and I wept bitterly as I gazed for the last time upon all
that remained of my generous and intrepid master. The pit was speedily
filled, and I returned to the village, about thirty yards to the east of
the grave, and giving the most respectable inhabitants, both male and
female, a few trifling presents, entreated them to let no one disturb
its sacred contents, I also gave them 2,000 cowries to build a house,
four feet high, over the spot, which they promised to do. I then
returned, disconsolate and oppressed, to my solitary habitation, and
leaning my head on my hand, could not help being deeply affected with my
lonesome and dangerous situation; a hundred and fifteen days' journey
from the sea-coast, surrounded by a selfish and cruel race of strangers,
my only friend and protector mouldering in his grave, and myself
suffering dreadfully from fever. I felt, indeed, as if I stood alone in
the world, and earnestly wished I had been laid by the side of my dear
master: all the trying evils I had endured never affected me half so
much as the bitter reflections of that distressing period. After a
sleepless night, I went alone to the grave, and found that nothing had
been done, nor did there seem the least inclination on the part of the
inhabitants of the village to perform their agreement. Knowing it would
be useless to remonstrate with them, I hired two slaves at Soccatoo the
next day, who went immediately to work, and the house over the grave
was finished on the 15th.
One instance, out of many of the kindness and affection with which my
departed master uniformly treated me, occurred at Jenna, on our journey
into the interior. I was dangerously ill with fever in that place, when
he generously gave up his own bed to me, and slept himself on my mat,
watched over me with parental assiduity and tenderness, and ministered
to all my wants. No one can express the joy he felt on my recovery; and
who, possessing a spark of gratitude, could help returning it but by the
most inviolable attachment and devoted zeal? It was his sympathy for me
in all my sufferings that had so powerful a claim on my feelings and
affections, and taught me to be grateful to him in hours of darkness and
distress, when pecuniary recompense was entirely out of the question.
The great sufferings, both mental and bodily, I had undergone at the
death and burial of my master, and the constant agitation in which
I was kept, occasioned a rapid increase in my disorder; and on the
16th I could with difficulty crawl round my hut, and was obliged to
lay myself on my mat, from which I had not strength to arise till the
27th; old Pascoe, during that period, being very kind and attentive
to me.
In the course of this day (27th) the Gadado, Malem Moodie, and Sidi
Sheik, came with a commission from the sultan to search my boxes, as he
had been informed they were filled with gold and silver; but, to their
great amazement, found I had not sufficient money to defray my expenses
to the sea-coast. They, however, took an inventory of all my articles,
and carried it to Bello. The gold watch intended for him, and the
private watches of Captains Clapperton and Pearce, I had taken the
precaution to conceal about my person. In a short time the Gadado
and his companions returned with a message from the sultan, commanding
me to deliver to them the following articles, viz. a rifle-gun,
double-barrelled ditto, two bags of ball, a canister of powder, a bag
of flints, a ream and a half of paper, and six gilt chains, for which
he promised to give me whatever I might ask. I consequently charged him
245,000 cowries, which I was to receive from Hadji Hat Sallah, at Kano;
and an order was given me to receive this sum, and, what more I might
require in my journey over the Great Desert. A letter was also sent by
me to Hadji Hat Sallah.
* * * * *