* * * * *
Ebo the celebrated fat Eunuch — The Yaribeans not very delicate in the
choice of what they eat — Dress of the different people in the interior
— Treatment of invalids — Tattoo marks of different nations — The Author
is urged to become Son-in-law to Mansolah, Generalissimo of his Forces,
and Prime Minister of State — Names of Towns — Departure from Katunga —
Anecdote of a gang of robbers — Mungo Park’s son — Arrival at Badagry.
Ebo, the noted eunuch who has so often been spoken of, and whose mal-
practices produced great uneasiness to us on our proceeding towards
Kano, had been taken into favour by his sovereign, during my absence
from Katunga, and promoted to the highest offices of the state. He came
to me, paunch and all, on the Sunday after my arrival at Katunga, and,
laughing heartily at his former frolics, told me he had no need to make
such shifts then in order to procure any delicacy he might want, for
that he had only to hint his wishes, when a bowl of dogs’ or asses’
flesh, a dish of fried caterpillars, or a saucepan of ants or locusts,
was smoking before him in a moment! I congratulated the lucky eunuch on
his good fortune, and the amplitude of his body, which he took very
good-humouredly; and, during my stay in the city, Ebo the fat gourmand
was my best friend.
We had heard in Nyffé that the same eunuch had attempted to poison us
through hired ruffians; but his conduct throughout was marked by so much
kindness and affability, that I did not give the rumour a moment’s
belief. There was one action of his, however, that I cannot pass by
without remark, although it detracts greatly from his good qualities; it
is as follows: After begging of me my remaining pistol, two dollars, and
a scarlet cap, he also wished to obtain my ass, to make a fetish, but I
refused to part with the animal, on the plea that I should want him
myself on my journey to Badagry. Ebo did not urge his request a second
time; but, in the evening, having sent for him from a neighbouring
pasture, I found the poor beast wounded in the side by two poisoned
arrows, which were still sticking in the flesh; and this malicious
action had, no doubt, been effected at the instigation of the
disappointed eunuch. The poison did not act so suddenly as I expected,
for the ass languished for six days; at the end of which time, being
reduced to a skeleton and in great agony, I ordered Jowdie and Pasko to
take him to a short distance and cut his throat; which was presently
complied with.
No sooner, however, had the king been made acquainted with the
circumstance, than he commanded the carcase to be cut into quarters, and
conveyed to his house; which having been promptly executed, (his majesty
himself superintending the roasting department, and having assembled his
wives and head-men,) they all squatted themselves on the earth, and made
a sumptuous meal on the diseased ass-flesh. Wishing to display his
gratitude for so delicious a treat, Mansolah sent me a goat and a
thousand cowries as an acknowledgment for the pleasure it had afforded
him.
Ebo one day showed me a small apartment in his house filled with cowries
(being worth about fifty dollars English money), and asked with an
exulting air, if the king of my country was half so rich as himself.
“Half so rich as yourself!” I rather indiscreetly replied; “Why, my
sovereign could purchase you, your monarch, and the whole of Yariba, and
not miss the money the purchase of it would require.” “Indeed,” rejoined
Ebo, angrily, “thou liest;” and without further ceremony was about to
fling me into the yard; when, hastily retracting my expression, I
assured the irascible eunuch that I spoke only in jest, to try his
temper; which apology somewhat appeased the gigantic black, who,
laughingly accusing himself of being rather too quick when his own honor
and that of his country were concerned, invited me to partake with him
of a dozen of stewed rats, and a calabash of _pitto_!
FOOD OF THE PEOPLE.
The people of Yariba are not very scrupulous in the choice of food,
eating indiscriminately whatever comes in their way; frogs, monkeys,
dogs, cats, with rats and mice, and various other kind of vermin;
nothing in fact is prohibited, and nothing is rejected by their hungry
maws. Locusts, and black ants, just as they are able to fly, are a great
luxury; and, as with the ancient Romans, caterpillars are in very high
estimation; the former are fried in butter or oil, and said to be
delicious, Pasko himself affirming that they were land-shrimps; whilst
the latter are stewed and eaten with yams and tuah, and consumed by all
ranks with the most astonishing avidity. Ass-flesh is even more esteemed
in Yariba than venison in England; and, like venison, the stronger the
odour it exhales, the more delicious is it to the refined palate of the
higher ranks; the lower orders being forbidden to eat of it in that
country.
On my journey from Wow Wow, halting near a small river, I was visited by
a party of Yaribeans, who had been at Nyffé purchasing hides for the
Katunga market, and were on their way to the capital. They solicited
permission to place themselves under my protection, and slept near me
for the night. A gaffle of merchants had rested on the same spot about a
week before, and had left a dead ass behind them, which emitting an
intolerable scent, the Yaribeans were soon sensible that so rich a prize
was at hand, and, snuffing up the tainted air, went immediately in quest
of it. Being guided by the powerful smell, they shortly after discovered
the corrupted carcase, and fell to blows as to which should have the
most approved joints; but the dispute being at length amicably adjusted
by a mutual agreement to roast the animal whole in its skin, a large
fire was instantly kindled, and when the body became warm through, it
was cut up on the grass, the party sitting in a circle round the smoking
beast. After they had made a hearty and savoury repast on its flesh, the
bones were carefully picked and preserved; for, as in the case of Moses’
brazen serpent amongst the Israelites, every person afflicted with a
disease of any kind, by simply looking at a tooth or a bone, was to be
immediately made whole: so ridiculous are the superstitions of the
Yaribeans.
People of that kingdom also go in companies into countries where the dog
is not eaten by the natives, to purchase that animal; and they return
with many hundreds annually to Katunga. They then confine the dogs so
procured in huts set apart for the purpose; and after fattening them,
publicly expose the flesh for sale in the market; and a fatted dog will
at all times fetch a higher price than the finest goat. Yaribeans
likewise visit Nyffé, and other nations and provinces, to purchase the
_hides_ of bullocks, horses, asses, &c. and having deprived them of hair
by the application of boiling water, they stretch and dry them in the
sun. When the moisture becomes evaporated by this means, the skin is cut
into small square pieces and stewed in corn and rice; in which state it
is is hawked through the streets of Katunga, and being esteemed by all
ranks as a dainty morsel, is eagerly purchased.
Cats are becoming so scarce in Yariba by reason of the bitter
persecution that is carried on against them unceasingly by the half-
starved slaves, that they are seldom seen, and in the course of a few
years, in all probability, these useful animals will be wholly
exterminated. Frogs also are much in request, and although they are
certainly not considered by the Yaribeans quite so delicious to the
palate as the French imagine them; their flesh is by no means regarded
as coarse eating. Some of these creatures are of extraordinary size, and
I saw one served up at Ebo’s table, which could not have weighed, I am
sure, much less than five pounds. The consumption of lizards is confined
almost solely to very poor people and slaves; for the latter being
allowed little to eat by their masters, are often necessitated (leaving
their inclination out of the question) to consume the most filthy
things; and nothing surely can be half so disgusting as a lizard roasted
whole in its skin, and smoking before a hungry Yaribean.
On feast days, however, both poor persons and slaves fare more
sumptuously, a couple of rats, tails and all, being no strangers to
their boards on such festivities; and sour milk may be had in abundance.
The mode of preparing food does not vary much in any of the interior
countries; but in no kingdom or land whatever is less taste and
refinement displayed in the selection of dishes, than in the empire of
Yariba.
The vegetable food of the Yaribeans consists of yams, plantains, rice,
seven or eight varieties of corn, &c. The yam is the general food of
both rich and poor, and by far the most useful vegetable of the whole.
It is cultivated to a considerable extent as far in the interior as
Nyffé; but it is no where to be met with after one leaves that kingdom.
When drawn from the earth, the root of the yam is cut into thin slices,
and dried in the sun, after which it is beat to a powder in huge wooden
mortars, and reserved as an agreeable and healthful summer food.
The manner in which the people prepare their food is either by roasting,
or boiling and stewing. Owing to the heat of the atmosphere, and the
inconvenience of smoke (the use of chimneys being as yet unknown to
them), fires are kindled by every individual in the yard surrounding his
hut, which is used for domestic purposes; but there are also persons who
obtain a decent livelihood by dressing victuals publicly in the market;
and these men are furnished with a kind of earthern stove, having large
holes in the bottom, in order to admit the fire which is kindled
underneath. On the top of the stove other apertures are formed at a
convenient distance from each other, so as to admit sufficient heat to
the earthern vessels, which, being filled with lizards, rats, cats,
frogs, &c. are placed on them, in order that their contents may be all
dressed in as short a time as possible.
During the rainy months fires are kindled in sheds purposely constructed
for the occasion, it being impossible for them to burn in the open air
by reason of the unabating violence of the weather. Mornings and
evenings are the periods generally allotted for the preparation of food,
and a fire is rarely seen in the intermediate hours of the day. The yam-
flour is usually made into a solid pudding by being mixed with water,
and boiled in much the same manner as common paste in England; and a
person is employed in stirring it over the fire with a stick till the
whole is sufficiently dressed, which done, the pudding is turned out
into a calabash or bowl, and a quantity of either honey, oil, or butter
from the maccadania tree being mixed with it, the paste is eaten with
the fingers. Animal food is roasted on a wooden stake thrust into the
earth before the fire, and after one side is properly dressed, the meat
is simply turned on the other, the use of the jack, or indeed any
article at all answering to it being unknown to the people of Western
and Central Africa.
In the vicinity of Katunga, and most other large towns, indigo is
cultivated to an extent of from five to six hundred acres. When ripe it
is cut and thrown into large circular pits, lined with clay, previously
hardened by fire; and a quantity of water being poured upon it, the
plant is suffered to rot and ferment, when the contents of the pit soon
becoming of the substance of a thick paste,—without any further
preparation, and without detaching the stalks and leaves from the seed,
it is taken out and made into irregular masses, about the size of a
man’s head. In this state it is left to dry in the sun, and when
sufficiently hard, is exposed for sale at the markets. Male and female
dyers are numerous in Yariba, and the process of dyeing is as simple as
can well be conceived. After the lumps of indigo are dissolved in water,
the liquid is strained through wicker baskets, till it becomes
sufficiently pure, when it is fit for immediate use. Cloths being
immersed in the dye, are suffered to remain in it for a period not
exceeding twenty-four hours, and are taken out and hung on lines
surrounding the work-shops. When perfectly dry, the articles are laid on
a large flat block of wood, smoothed by hatchets and knives, and a man
beats them with a wooden instrument, not unlike an English cricket-bat,
till they become sufficiently smooth and glossy; in which state they are
either offered for sale, or returned to their owners.
DRESS.
The apparel of the Yaribeans consists of full trousers, tied with a
running string to the waist, but extending no lower than the knee; a
short sleeveless tobe with large holes for the arms, made of country
cloth dyed with various colours; a fantastically-made cloth cap, and
leather boots; in addition to which the higher classes sometimes make
use of red, yellow, and purple silk velvet, obtained from Europeans on
the coast. The dress of the people from Badagry to Yariba differs very
little from that worn by the natives of the countries interjacent
between the latter kingdom and Houssa. Very poor people and slaves use
no other wearing apparel than the skins of goats, sheep, monkeys, or
other animals, fastened to the waist by a string; and these being
brought between the legs, are tied to the band behind. The more
respectable part of the community in Houssa wear very large full tobes
and trousers, made of extremely narrow country cloth, but beautifully
dyed; and a cap of white cotton. Mallams, however, have a red woollen
cap (instead of the white one), and a white turban. Boots, shoes, and
sandals, of red and yellow leather, are manufactured in a manner similar
to those of Yariba, and worn by poor and rich—mendicant and prince.
MANNER OF CROSSING STREAMS.
The people of Yariba have a singular mode of crossing rivers and
streams, when the violence and rapidity of their currents prevent them
from plying canoes on them with safety. Instead of the ordinary ferry-
boat, two calabashes, or gourds, of the largest size, are selected for
the purpose; and, the tops of each being previously cut off, the two
bodies are sewed together, and rendered water-proof by the application
of a kind of gum. The two gourds thus united form a hollow sphere; and
are tolerably well adapted for the conveyance of passengers, &c. even
through the swiftest currents, as will be seen by the annexed engraving.
The goods, of whatever nature they may be, are first placed on the
floating gourd, and their owner then grasps the latter firmly with both
arms; and a perfect equilibrium is preserved by the ferryman placing
himself opposite the passenger, and laying hold of both his arms. They
being thus, face to face, the owner of the fragile bark propels it
through the water with dexterity and despatch; and few instances are on
record of accidents occurring by this means, even in the height of the
rainy seasons, when the country is one immense swamp. In Houssa, &c. the
natives use bamboo rafts, which answer the same purpose as the above,
although not with equal ease or celerity.
[Illustration]
TATTOOING.
The operation of tattooing, by which the different races in Africa are
distinguished from each other much more easily than by any natural
peculiarity in the colour of the skin, or their general appearance, is
performed by a sharp iron instrument, somewhat larger than, but
certainly not unlike the blade of a common English pen-knife; and
children generally, at the age of six or seven years, undergo this
painful process, which indeed cannot be effected without putting the
poor creatures to excruciating torture. I saw two girls tattooed at
Katunga, in the following manner: The hands and feet of each being first
bound, the head was held by the father, and the operator began his work
by making five incisions on the forehead with the instrument above
described; the little sufferer uttering the most piercing screams, till
from hoarseness she was unable longer to cry aloud, or speak so as to be
understood. This being done, the man cut eight other deep gashes on the
left cheek; and the only means by which one could then judge of the
child’s distress was by observing a large pool of mingled blood and
tears on the ground, fed by a copious stream flowing from the face of
the little innocent.
The patients are invariably left to bleed till they become insensible;
and death frequently occurs in weakly cases. After some days, when their
strength is in a measure restored, they are privileged to beg in the
streets till their wounds completely heal; and this does not take place
oftentimes for four or five months after the operation, the children,
during that long period, carry slender branches of trees in their hands,
in order to scare away flies, which, on alighting upon the lacerated
face, cause considerable pain, and occasion it to swell prodigiously.
This imparts to the countenance an unsightly appearance; one than which
nothing can be more truly disgusting; and many of these pitiable objects
we observed in the deepest misery, wandering through the streets of
Katunga, and other cities, and almost starving for want of food.
When a Yaribean perpetrates ever so trivial a crime, the tattoo mark of
his nation is so crossed by other incisions, inflicted upon him by the
ministers of justice, that it becomes utterly undistinguishable, and the
impression of another people is substituted on the other side of the
face in its stead. With this brand, which can never be erased, he quits
his native country, in which he was looked upon as
------“A mark for Scorn
To point his slow unmoving finger at;”
and dies in a foreign land, unpitied and unknown.
Circumcision, which is generally performed on both sexes at an early
age, is universally adopted in all the interior countries.
The subjoined are the tattoo marks of the natives of the most
considerable countries in Western and Central Africa.
[Illustration: _Borghoo._ — _Nyffé._ — _Yariba._ — _Cuttum Cora._ —
_Houssa._]
The Bowchee people have no mark whatever on the face, but in lieu
thereof pierce the lobe of the ear, and the soft part of the septum of
the nose, with a sharp instrument; and hang divers ornaments from holes
so formed.
The wives of the great people of Katunga are distinguished by having the
hair cut and shaved into a number of small patches like the ace of
diamonds, but larger; and that of the wives of the humbler classes is
cut entirely off, leaving the head as bald and bright as a barber’s
basin.
In the empire of Yariba the sick are treated with neglect, and even
cruelty. The moment a man, woman, or child, is attacked with illness, no
matter what the nature of the complaint may be, they are instantly
conveyed by their relatives to the distance of half a mile from the
town, and left to lie along the bare ground, in a state of the most
perfect nudity, underneath the branches of trees; and the people are
acquainted with no remedy whatever to alleviate the virulence of their
disorder, or assuage the intensity of their sufferings. Food is
sometimes conveyed to them by their nearest of kin, the law obliging
them to do so; but sometimes they die from actual starvation. Often the
lower class of people are so very poor that they have not a sufficiency
to satisfy the appetites of their healthy offspring, and therefore feel
no disposition to part with the little they have, to those (perhaps aged
parents) who are sinking under the influence of a contagious disease. It
sometimes happens, too, that these miserable outcasts are snatched from
their insecure asylum under the trees, and devoured by wild beasts.
Native travellers are now and then moved to compassionate their
sufferings, by reason of the piteous lamentations which they make; but,
shrinking with terror from the distressed objects, they throw yams to
them at the distance of twenty or thirty yards, and never go near enough
to inquire into the nature of their malady, or further relieve their
wants. Whenever an unhappy invalid is carried off by wild beasts, his
countrymen believe him to have been a very wicked man, so bad indeed as
to have been unworthy the succour and protection of their gods, and
consequently deserving the fate which his supposed evil conduct and
irreligious life had so signally occasioned. Many of these poor
creatures, whose hollow groans and moanings of distress have attracted
me to the spot, have I seen in the last stage of existence, some of them
rolling in the dust, and convulsively writhing from excessive pain, and
some reduced to perfect skeletons for want of food, their bones jutting
out of their diseased flesh, and exhibiting a more ghastly spectacle
than can well we imagined: others again have I found speechless and
almost cold; and on one occasion in particular, whilst I was gazing on a
poor wretch who was far beyond the reach of succour, he fixed his hollow
eyes so piteously upon my countenance, seeming to implore me to let him
die in peace, that I could not refrain from shedding tears.
This barbarous and inhuman custom of exposing invalids in the open air,
under the shade of trees, is confined to Yariba, the people of Badagry,
and the natives of Borghoo, Nyffé, and Houssa, suffering their sick to
expire quietly in their own houses, if, after swallowing a liquid which
is prepared for them by their priests, or the expounders of the Moslem
faith, the patients derive no apparent benefit from the medicine. This
preparation consists either of a bowl of water into which a charm
written with ochre on a bit of wood, has been previously washed off, or
else a decoction of the bark of a tree, rendered holy by an incantation
of a fetish priest.
The Yaribeans have the reputation of being the best bowmen in Africa;
and the young men soon become excellent marksmen by frequent practice
and steady perseverance, which latter is a virtue that falls to the lot
of but few nations in the central parts. They amuse themselves daily by
attempting to discharge arrows through a small hole made for the purpose
in a wall, at a great distance from the standing ground, and I have
frequently seen individuals accomplish this difficult task three
successive times, when upwards of a hundred yards from the spot; but it
requires great and unceasing practice to attain to so much perfection in
the art. Quantities of muskets are procured from the coast, but they are
of comparatively little use to the people, who know not how to handle
them with effect; and it is not unusual for them to carry these weapons
to battle without either powder or ball. If worsted in an engagement,
however, in order to accelerate their speed, they throw them away, and
their enemies eagerly lay hold of the empty muskets for their own use.
Besides other sources of revenue, the King of Yariba levies a tax on
every one that enters the gates of Katunga with a load, of whatever it
may consist, and also appoints persons to collect a tribute from every
person attending the market with any saleable commodity. The amount of
duty is always governed by the value of the beast or article sold, which
is decided by accredited agents: for example, a handsome horse imported
from Borghoo, or any other country, is liable in the market to a tax of
two thousand cowries; whereas if the animal so exposed for sale be less
handsome, or of inferior value, the sum demanded decreases regressively
in amount. The same rule holds good in regard to bullocks, country
cloth, &c.
We were mistaken in supposing the crown of Yariba to be hereditary, the
chiefs invariably electing, from among the wisest and most sagacious of
their own body, an individual who is invested with the supreme dignity,
immediately after the decease of a monarch. On the dissolution of a
ruling prince, his eldest son, together with his favourite wife, and
several head men of the kingdom, voluntarily destroy themselves by
swallowing poison, and are inhumed in the same grave with their
sovereign, to assist him in his wanderings in the other world. At their
solemn sacrifices, the Yaribeans slay for the occasion old and infirm
persons, whose life, say they, is a burden to them; and who manifest no
reluctance whatever to yield up their pain and misery for the honour of
the gods. With this solitary exception, the people may be considered as
mild in their manners and charitable in their dealings.
The king strongly urged upon me to remain in Katunga with him, and tried
every means to accomplish his wishes. Amongst other inducements held
out, Mansolah was graciously pleased to introduce me to his daughters,
four of the most beautiful of whom he desired me to select, and make my
wives. He also offered me the enviable situations of prime minister and
great war-chief, or generalissimo of his forces (both of which offices
are highly respectable in Yariba), and in case I accepted them, his
majesty would make me a present of slaves, horses, and indeed every
thing needful to maintain an establishment correspondent to the
splendour of my rank, and the dignity of my appearance. It being
entirely out of my power to resist the pressing solicitations of the
king, I pointed at four of the princesses (who stood bolt upright before
me, giggling and laughing,) as being the most lovely of their sex, and
as worthy to share the bed and fortune of the prime minister of Yariba!
I desired that the ladies might resume their apparel, and take care of
themselves till my return from England, for that it was absolutely
necessary I should visit the country of my fathers before I could think
of settling permanently in a strange and distant land. “But will your
king,” eagerly inquired Mansolah, “will your king give you permission to
come back again?” “Without doubt,” I replied. “I shall then be master of
my own actions, and follow the bent of my inclination in all things.”
“That is right, that is right,” replied the monarch; “you shall be my
son-in-law, and have the administration of my affairs, both foreign and
domestic; you shall drive my adversaries from my country: it will then
be a good country, and peace will reign in the land.” I thanked Mansolah
for his kindness, and observed that I sincerely hoped, on my return, I
should not be dazzled by the acquisition of so much glory and power as
his good nature and condescension would necessarily confer upon me!
As soon as I had done speaking, a loud noise was heard of peals of
laughter, cracking of fingers, whistling, and clapping of hands,
proceeding from the quarter in which the princesses of the blood were
huddled together, who took the opportunity my silence afforded them, of
expressing the rapture they felt at the hope of my so soon becoming
their near relative, and of a white man superintending the domestic
policy of their government, and leading their countrymen to battle and
to victory. The favourite queen, who was present at the interview, as
soon as the tumult had subsided, begged me to bring her a looking-glass
from England; and Ebo, the fat eunuch, who was also present, evinced not
the least spark of jealousy, but hinted that a good sword from the same
country would be more than acceptable; whilst Mansolah, the heroic
prince of all the Yaribeans, was so much overpowered at the very idea of
my becoming his son-in-law, that he stood moping and whimpering by
himself, deprived of the power of asking for a single favour!
An Englishman, tired of his country, would be delighted with Yariba, for
it is a fine kingdom, peopled with a mild, affectionate, and unassuming
race, by whom he would be regarded almost as a deity, and amongst whom
he could end his days with pleasure. At the decease of the reigning
monarch, with very little art, and, I may venture to say, no opposition,
he might cause himself to be proclaimed king, and thus be sultan of the
mighty empire of Yariba! Becoming familiar with the usages of his sable
subjects, with two pieces of cannon he might drive every Falatah out of
his dominions, and restore the kingdom to its ancient splendour. But
above all things, if he felt so inclined, the slave-trade, by his
influence and example, would gradually be abhorred by his subjects, who,
if they saw that their monarch professed the same principles, would
besides eagerly embrace the mild and simple precepts of the Christian
religion. The people of Katunga had become so familiarized to me during
my residence amongst them, that I had ceased to excite that intense
curiosity displayed on my first arrival; and, next to their sovereign, I
was treated with the highest respect by all ranks and ages, and
interrupted in long rambles only by prostrations, and other
demonstrations of veneration, peculiar to the Yaribeans.
The names of towns in Africa, as well as of individuals, have something
descriptive and significant in them; for instance—_Wow Wow_, a great
fool;—_Inguazhilligee_, ferry-boat;—_Boussa_, a kind of
ale;—_Fullindushie_, a white stone;—_Kassagebubba_, a large fowl, &c.
&c. Slaves are called by all manner of names; sometimes from any
singularity in their appearance, or defect in their understandings—and
sometimes by terms expressive of abhorrence or contempt; but much more
frequently they have the names of birds, beasts, or reptiles, bestowed
upon them by their masters,—thus one is called simply “woman vulture,”
or “man vulture;”—“woman snake,” or “man snake;” and Pasko’s Soccatoo
wife was generally known by the elegant appellation of “woman elephant;”
whilst others are distinguished by the name of a certain river, tree,
mountain, or other natural object.
I remained at Katunga nearly a month, experiencing every species of
friendship and good nature from its inhabitants; and on the 21st, when I
intimated my desire to pursue my journey to the sea-coast, Mansolah sent
me four thousand cowries, with a quantity of trona to sell on the road.
The king also ordered his head messengers to accompany me, commanding
them to desire the chiefs of every town through which the main path lay,
to contribute, according to their ability, to the support of myself and
attendants; which command we afterwards found on various occasions to be
eminently serviceable.
The following morning early, I paid my respects to the prince, and
having taken an affectionate leave of him, once more continued my
course, in good spirits, and better health than I had enjoyed for a long
period previously. Journeying till the 8th of November, and meeting with
few incidents worth relating, we arrived at Engwâ, the town in which it
will be recollected Captain Pearce died and was buried, on his way to
Katunga. I found the railing and fence, which had been placed round the
grave, washed away by the rains, and the piece of wood, on which I had
engraved his name, &c., had disappeared, most probably from a similar
cause. The only means by which I was enabled to recognize the spot, was
the circumstance of the earth over the grave having sunk considerably,
and being quite destitute of vegetation, whilst the soil near it was
covered with luxuriant herbage. The chief told me that having received
no orders to repair the damage, occasioned by the floods, he had
suffered the fence to fall to decay; but, at my own suggestion, he
promised to erect a shed over the spot as soon as the sun had dried the
grass. I made him a trifling present to encourage him in his intention,
and preparations for that purpose had already commenced previously to my
departure from Engwâ.
Leaving Tschow, a day’s journey on the Katunga side of Jannah, on the
11th, I met, a few miles only from the town, a gaffle of merchants,
hastening with the utmost speed and confusion towards it. They suddenly
stopped on perceiving me, and a great number of them bawled out at the
same moment, that they had been attacked by a band of robbers, who had
overcome them, carrying off all their goods; and that if I did not go
back to Tschow, with them, I should be murdered in a few moments, as the
desperadoes were close at their heels. Instead of returning, however, I
entreated them to go on with me, assuring them that with their
assistance, the property, of which they had been so unlawfully deprived,
should be recovered, and restored within half an hour; but the timid
merchants, being afraid to expose their persons to so imminent a danger,
politely declined the invitation, on the plea of being too much
fatigued. My party consisted only of ten individuals, four of whom were
women, and all unarmed, with the exception of Pasko and myself, who were
furnished with a damaged pistol and an old rusty musket, borrowed of the
king of Katunga. With these weapons I resolved to proceed on the road at
all hazards, and had the good fortune, about twenty minutes afterwards,
to come in sight of the so much dreaded banditti. They were seated on
the grass, dividing their ill-gotten spoil, and appeared to take no
notice of me till I came within fifty or sixty yards of the spot, when,
desiring Pasko to fire, I struck spurs into the horse’s sides, making
him gallop with great swiftness, and the path being rocky and hollow,
the sound produced seemed as if a thousand horses were prancing over the
ground. At that moment, discharging my pistol, I completed the general
consternation of the highwaymen, who, without looking behind them, fled
in all directions, and concealed themselves in some rank grass, that was
growing at a short distance, to the height of nine or ten feet, leaving
their booty behind them, which consisted of upwards of three hundred
pounds of salt, besides country cloth, cowries, &c.; and the captured
articles, by the laws of the country, thus became my own property.
The merchants who had, unknown to me, followed at a respectful distance,
as soon as they saw the utter discomfiture of the thieves, made their
appearance, and asserted, with a most amusing solemnity, that having
determined to share my good or bad fortune, they were making all haste
to my assistance, when the freebooters, by their precipitate, and to
them unlucky retreat, had prevented them from displaying the courage
which animated every bosom. I accepted their courtly apology, and
praised their heroic resolution, but being determined not to give them
the value of a single cowry, ordered my party to return with the
captured goods to Tschow. The chief of that town himself purchased the
different articles, and Pasko and his companions divided the money
equally among themselves, I having refused to accept of any, although
urged to take the whole.
In the afternoon of the same day we arrived at Jannah, and instantly
visited the grave of Dr. Morrison, which I found in a perfect condition.
The king was to have been rewarded by Mr. Houtson, for preserving the
fence which surrounded it, from decay; but that gentleman having himself
died near Accra, on his return to the coast, the monarch had received no
acknowledgment for his trouble till my arrival at Jannah, when I fully
satisfied his demands.
On the 13th the horses which the kings of Wow Wow and Khiama had given
me, both died, and the one I had left was in a weak and diseased state.
The son of Mr. Park, the celebrated African traveller, died in a small
town two days’ journey in the interior from Accra, only three days
before my arrival on the coast. I first ascertained his name by reason
of a shirt sent in mistake for one of my own which I had given a female
to wash,—“Thomas Park,” being marked in legible characters at the
bottom. This young Englishman, on coming into the country, used no
precautions with regard to the preservation of his health, but, adopting
the habits of the people with whom he mingled, anointed his head and
body with clay and oil, ate unreservedly the food of the natives, and
exposed himself, with scarcely any clothing, to the heat of the sun by
day, and the influence of the pernicious dews by night,—in consequence
whereof, as might have been expected, he was attacked with fever, which
put an end to his existence after a very short illness. Mr. Thomas Park
had formed the pious resolution of discovering the spot where his
intrepid father had met his fate, and of ascertaining, if possible, the
cause and manner of his death; in which attempt he was defeated only by
his own dissolution. Had the young gentleman survived a few days longer,
I could have fully satisfied him in these particulars, and given him
directions, in case of his recovery, for proceeding to the island of
Boussa.
On the 21st of November we entered Badagry, having been a month on the
road from Katunga; and I am compelled to acknowledge that in no town
were we received with unkindness, the people every where welcoming us
back again with vociferous expressions of pleasure. Sometimes indeed,
particularly between Jannah and Badagry, they howled so dreadfully on
seeing me, that the horse on which I rode trembled with fear; but this
was the means which the natives took to congratulate me on my safe
return. Adólee the king of Badagry, was glad to see me, and resigned his
mansion (constructed of bamboo, and two stories in height) to me, whilst
he contented himself with a small miserable hut, in which he took up his
residence. Like every other prince in Africa, he was grieved to learn
the decease of Captain Clapperton, and expressed his sorrow in a feeling
manner. I gave his majesty my little horse, which had accompanied me the
whole of the way from Soccatoo, together with all the articles for
presents that were left, consisting of light blue scarlet damask,
scarlet and blue silk, and two dozen pairs of cotton stockings. A week
after my arrival, I waited on Captain Morrison, a Portuguese slave
merchant, and obtained of him goods, the value of which amounted to
ninety-four dollars, with a barrel of gunpowder, which I paid for
myself. With these presents I dismissed the messengers of the kings of
Jannah and Katunga, whom I could not afford to maintain any longer in
provisions, and they returned to their respective sovereigns in high
spirits.