Remarks on the River — Intelligence of the fate of Mr. Park — His Gun
obtained — Visit to the Sultan — Unsuccessful Application for Mr. Park’s
Papers — The Kingdom and City of Yàoorie and its Natives — The Sultan’s
Son — Insurgents — The Sultan’s Daughters — Mischief of the Widow Zuma —
Application of the Travellers to the King of Boossà — Wars in Nouffie —
Provinces of Hàussa — Detention of the Travellers — The Sultan of
Yàoorie — His character — Farewell visit.
With the exception of the dangerous rocks at Boossà, we are informed
that, during our four days’ passage up the river, we have passed all the
most difficult places in it, neither rocks nor sand-banks, it is said,
being either above Yàoorie, or below Boossà. We have said nothing of the
course of the river, because it is pretty well understood that this city
lies nearly due north of Boossà; and also, that notwithstanding its
windings and the number and variety of its channels, the Niger or Quorra
flows past Boossà in a single undivided channel. In its natural bed,
when uninterrupted by rocks, and other impediments, the river runs at
this time of the year at the rate of between one and two miles in an
hour; whenever it is obstructed by them, however, the velocity of the
current is considerably increased. Although during the dry season, no
communication or intercourse is maintained by water between Boossà, and
the countries or states lower down the river, by reason of the dangerous
rocks which have been already alluded to more than once; yet in the wet
season, after the ‘Malca’ (or fourteen days’ incessant rain) has set in,
when all the rivers which are dry during the remainder of the year, pour
their overplus into the ‘Great Father of Waters,’ as the Niger is
emphatically styled, then canoes, it is said, pass to and fro, between
Yàoorie, Nouffie, Boossà, and Funda. It is immediately after the
‘Malca,’ also, that the Niger, by the depth and velocity of its current,
sweeps off the rank grass which springs up annually on its borders.
Every rock and every low island is then completely covered, and may be
passed over in canoes without difficulty, or even apprehension of
danger. The enterprising Mr. Park must have had a thousand difficulties
to overcome in his voyage down the Niger. It was about this time of the
year that he arrived at Yàoorie, and the river, it is said, was then
about the same height as it is at present. The canoe-men, who in all
probability were his slaves, were said to be chained to the canoe, in
order to prevent their running away; his pilot was unacquainted with the
river any further, and therefore he received his wages here in Yàoorie,
and returned to his own country; and Mr. Park, with a companion, and
three white boys, continued their journey down the Niger without any
person whatever to point out the safest channel, or warn them of their
danger. When the accident happened at Boossà by which they lost their
lives, it is said they preferred being drowned to avoid as they imagined
a more dreadful death.
Many years ago, a large boat arrived at Yàoorie on a trading voyage from
Timbuctoo. Having disposed of their merchandise, the boatmen returned to
their country by land, because they asserted that the exertion of
working their vessel back so great a distance against the stream, was
too much for them, and therefore they left it behind at Yàoorie.
_Monday, June 28th._—This morning we were visited by the chief of the
Arabs of this city, who (if such a title can be used with propriety) is
Prime Minister to the Sultan. He is a very old man, as dark as a native;
and was dressed in the costume of his countrymen, which is very
becoming. His beard was long, and as white as snow, and a singular tuft
of hair which was directly under the lower lip, did not look much unlike
the tail of a white mouse. Though toothless, the old man was yet very
communicative and intelligent, and among other things he informed us
that Mr. Park did not visit the city of Yàoorie, but remained in his
canoe at the village where we landed yesterday, and despatched a
messenger in his stead to the sultan, with a suitable present. This Arab
had been sent by the sultan to the village with presents in return, and
by his description of Mr. Park’s dress, he must have worn the laced tobe
that we received of the King of Boossà, and which may account for the
facility with which we obtained it, as well as the reluctance of the
king to enter into an explanation of the manner in which his ancestor
had got possession of it. Mr. Park is stated to have been drowned in
this same dress. The Arab informed us, that he had in his possession a
cutlass and a double-barrelled gun, which was part of Mr. Park’s present
to the sultan. We expressed a wish to look at these weapons, and they
were immediately sent for. The gun was very excellent, and handsomely
mounted; and we offered our own fowling-piece in exchange for it, which
was cheerfully agreed to, but not till after the sultan’s consent had in
the first place been obtained.
Not long after the old Arab had taken his leave of us, several of his
country-people of much fairer complexions, came to pay their respects;
and among them was a young man named _Ali_, who arrived in this city
yesterday, in ten days from Soccatoo, having stopped to trade on the
road.
The journey from hence to the city of Soccatoo, when no stoppage is made
on the road, may easily be accomplished in five days only; and this is
the regular time the natives take to go there. Koolfu is two days’
journey from Yàoorie. He represented himself as one of the Arabs that
accompanied Major Denham, Captain Clapperton, and their party over the
desert from _Mourzuk_, in Fezzan, to Bornou.
Last night the sultan sent us a bullock, a fine large sheep of a
peculiar species, the handsomest we ever saw; a great quantity of milk,
and several hundred weight of rice; and this evening we received a large
turkey and a bowl of rice from the chief of the Arabs.
_Tuesday, June 29th._—This evening, by desire, we went to pay our
respects to the sultan. We soon arrived at the palace, which is a very
large building, or rather a group of buildings inclosed by a high wall;
and dismounting, we were presently conducted through a low avenue formed
by pillars, which was as dark as a subterraneous passage. This led to a
large square yard, which we entered and found it to communicate with the
sultan’s apartments by the number of domestics that were hurrying about.
Several people were sitting on the ground, but we were obliged to stand
a long time, during which a profound silence was preserved, and no one
was polite enough to offer us a mat to sit on. At length we received a
summons to advance, and were introduced into another square, very much
resembling a clean farm-yard. Here we discovered the sultan sitting
alone in the centre of the square, on a plain piece of carpeting, with a
pillow on each side of him, and a neat brass pan in front. His
appearance was not only mean, but absolutely squalid and dirty. He is a
big-headed, corpulent, and jolly-looking man, well stricken in years;
and though there is something harsh and forbidding in his countenance,
yet he was generally smiling during the conference. The conversation
commenced in the usual complimentary way; and then our object in
visiting Yàoorie was briefly and indirectly hinted at. When we asked him
whether he did not send a letter to the late Captain Clapperton while
that officer was at Koolfu, in which he had affirmed that he had certain
books and papers in his possession which belonged to Mr. Park, he
appeared very much confused. After thinking and hesitating a good while,
he answered with an affected laugh, ‘How do you think that I could have
the books of a person that was lost at Boossà?’ and this was all he said
on the subject. He subsequently wished to know the reason that Captain
Clapperton refused to visit him when he passed through the country; but
more especially why, after his death, I had not paid him that mark of
respect on my return to the coast from Soccatoo. My reply to him was,
that I had been told he was the greatest monarch in the country, and
therefore I should have felt ashamed to have visited him with the
trifling present which I had to offer, as he might consider it an insult
to his dignity. A frown of disapprobation settled on his countenance at
hearing this, and he sharply rejoined, that he was perfectly well
acquainted with the nature and value of the presents which had been made
to the various chiefs I had visited; but that if I had nothing to offer
him, it was my duty, and should have been my first care, to have paid my
respects to him at Yàoorie. Here the conversation was abruptly ended;
the sultan was more than half inclined to be angry with us; and we were
not at all sorry to be reconducted to the open air.
_Wednesday, June 30th._—This morning I carried the sultan’s present to
him; but it was very coldly received. I stated, that by reason of the
selfishness and bad faith of the chief at the sea side, and the length
of the journey from thence, the presents we had brought from England
were nearly all expended; insomuch that we found it would be impossible
to reach Bornou without receiving an additional supply of goods, which
in our present situation we had no opportunity of obtaining; and that
this being the case, we had no other resource left but to get to the
salt water, when our wants would be promptly supplied. I observed that
going down the river in a canoe would be the easiest and best means of
effecting this object, to which the sultan replied that the price of a
canoe would be a hundred dollars; but he was told that we had not
property enough to purchase one. The road overland to Funda, by way of
Koolfu or Guarie, was then mentioned, and the sultan promised to send us
thither in two or three days. Here the conversation ended, and I took my
leave.
The young Arab from Soccatoo visited us again to-day, and presented us
with dried dates which he had brought from Fezzan, and a quantity of
trona. Ali is a handsome and intelligent young man, and is extremely
open and communicative. But all his good qualities are cast in the shade
by a mean and rapacious habit of begging, which he displays in common
with his countrymen who reside here, and which has disgusted and
displeased us more than once. He tells us that he is on his way to
Alòrie in Yarriba with goods and horses for sale; but he is suspected to
be a spy sent by Bello to examine the fortifications, and ascertain the
state of public feeling in the city, with intelligence of which he is to
return to him.
_Thursday, July 1st._—Yesterday nothing occurred worthy of observation,
nor has anything taken place to-day which requires more than a passing
remark. The sultan sent us ten old guns to clean and repair this
morning; we are unable to execute the latter part of his commands, but
fortunately the mulatto who accompanied us from Badàgry is fully
competent to the task, and in such cases always acts in our stead. The
sultan sent for Paskoe two hours afterwards, and desired him to ask us
for medicine to cure sore eyes, and complaints in the bowels. We are
pestered with such applications as these all day long. Paskoe embraced
the opportunity of making inquiries of the sultan concerning the lost
papers of Mr. Park, as we had desired him; but he shook his head, and
would say nothing about the matter, and immediately shifted the
conversation to another subject. This prince assumes more consequence
than any chief or monarch that we have yet seen; he never receives a
visit but he exacts from the visiter the most humiliating forms of
address; and even when the Arabs themselves obtain an audience, they are
obliged to deliver what they have to say to him on their knees. Perhaps
he expected a similar servile position from us, for such his countenance
seemed to indicate, but whatever might have been his expectation, we had
no notion of demeaning ourselves so grossly in his presence. Since our
arrival in this city, my brother and I have been very seriously
indisposed, as might be expected, for the air is humid and unwholesome,
being impregnated with all manner of noxious effluvia, from the swampy
nature of the soil at this season of the year, and the number of large
pools of impure water which exist more or less in every quarter of the
town.
_Friday, July 2d._—It is rather unfortunate for us, that so immense a
quantity of needles was distributed through the country by the last
mission; the market here is even now completely overstocked with them,
so that we find it difficult to dispose of ours for a quarter of their
value. In Yarriba and elsewhere, it was a general practice with us to
pay the carriers of our luggage with needles only, but here we are
endeavouring to dispose of them in order to purchase provisions for our
people. We brought with us from England nearly a hundred thousand
needles of various sizes, and amongst them was a great quantity of
‘Whitechapel sharps,’ warranted ‘superfine, and not to cut in the eye!’
Thus highly recommended, we imagined that these needles must have been
excellent indeed; but what was our surprise some time ago, when a number
of them which we had disposed of, was returned to us with a complaint
that they were all _eyeless_, thus redeeming with a vengeance the pledge
of the manufacturer, that they ‘would not cut in the eye.’ On an
examination afterwards, we found the same fault with the remainder of
the ‘Whitechapel sharps,’ so that to save our credit we have been
obliged to throw them away. Our best, and almost only resource, has been
in the metal buttons attached to our English clothes. These, when
polished brightly, look well and have completely won the people of all
ranks, from the sultan to the slave, who freely offer three or four
hundred cowries each for those with silver gilt, and double that sum for
one with gold gilt; whereas, for a good looking-glass we can only obtain
three hundred cowries. Our clothes are nearly all stripped of their
buttons; and we now place our dependence for future support principally
on a quantity of livery and soldiers’ buttons, which are, however,
rather dull and dirty, and will require many hours’ labour before they
attain any degree of brightness.
_Sunday, July 4th._—Yesterday was barren of incident of any kind. To-day
I visited the sultan to make a last application for Mr. Park’s papers.
He would give no decisive answer; but in the course of the day, he said
he would tell the chief of the Arabs everything relative to them, and
would send him to us with the information. Accordingly, in the
afternoon, the old man came as commanded; but instead of delivering the
expected communication, he said that we should certainly inspect the
books to-morrow; and in the mean time, the sultan would thank us to sell
him some gunpowder, and whatever red cloth we might have left. This
refinement in begging, or in other words, this mean rapaciousness on the
part of the sultan, was never more apparent than in this instance. He
had previously requested us to sell him a quantity of beads, &c., to
which he expressed a wish that we should affix our own price. We did so;
but on applying for payment, he has uniformly returned for answer, that
we had asked too large a sum for those articles. Notwithstanding this,
we gave the Arab the powder and red cloth which he had requested in the
name of his master, with a message that the sultan was at liberty to
give whatever he thought proper for them. Instead, however, of returning
us the money, he has kept the goods without making the slightest
acknowledgment; and sent an eunuch in the evening to beg a few needles,
which of course it would be impolitic to refuse.
_Monday, July 5th._—It has rained very heavily all day, insomuch that on
our parts we could not visit the sultan, nor could a messenger come from
him to us.
_Tuesday, July 6th._—This forenoon we sent Paskoe with a message to the
sultan, that we earnestly wished to receive a final and decisive answer
with regard to the restoration of Mr. Park’s papers, which we declared
to have been the sole object of our visiting him, and that it was our
desire to quit Yàoorie immediately. This bold, and to us unusual
language, seemed to have surprised and startled the sultan, and he
instantly despatched the old Arab to inform us, that ‘he declared to
G—d, in the most solemn manner, that he had never had in his possession,
nor seen, any books or papers of the white travellers that perished at
Boossà.’ The Arab likewise assured us that we were at liberty to proceed
on our journey whenever we should think proper. Thus, notwithstanding
all the false hopes which the sultan artfully held out to us, that Mr.
Park’s papers were actually in his possession, his letter to Captain
Clapperton, which expressly stated this to be the case, and the pitiful
shuffling which he has displayed to keep us so long in suspense with
respect to any true information, it appears then, without doubt, that he
has not, and never has had, a single book or paper in the English
language. His only motive for the dastardly conduct he has displayed,
could have been neither more nor less than the hope of getting us into
his power by misrepresentation and falsehood, in order to obtain some of
the European articles which we had in our possession. That the sultan
has succeeded so well with us has not been our fault entirely; but even
now he is by no means satisfied, nor is it likely that he will be whilst
we remain with him. It is a satisfaction at least for us to know that
the long-sought papers are at present no where in existence.
_Wednesday, July 7th._—Yàoorie is a large, flourishing, and united
kingdom. It is bounded on the east by Hàussa, on the west by Borgoo, on
the north by Cubbie, and on the south by the kingdom of Nouffie. The
crown is hereditary, and the government an absolute despotism. The
former sultan was deposed by his subjects for his violent measures and
general bad conduct; and the present ruler, who succeeded him, has
reigned for the long period of thirty-nine years. The sultan has a
strong military force, which has successfully repelled, it is said, the
repeated attacks which the ever-restless Falàtahs for a number of years
past made on the city and kingdom of Yàoorie; it is now employed in a
remote province in quelling a rising insurrection, occasioned partly
from the inability of the natives to pay their accustomed tribute, and
partly from the harsh measures adopted by the sultan to compel them to
do so. The city of Yàoorie is of prodigious extent, and is supposed to
be as populous as any other in the whole continent, or at least that
part of it which is visited by the trading Arabs. Its wall is high and
very excellent, though made of clay alone, and may be between twenty and
thirty miles in circuit; and it has eight vast entrance-gates or doors,
which are well fortified after the manner of the country. The
inhabitants manufacture a very coarse and inferior sort of gunpowder,
which, however, is the best, and we believe the only manufactory of the
kind in this part of the country; besides which they make very neat
saddles, country cloth, &c.; and they grow indigo, tobacco, onions,
wheat, and different kinds of grain; and vast quantities of rice, of
superior quality. The inhabitants have likewise horses, bullocks, goats,
&c., but notwithstanding their industry and the advantages which they
enjoy, they are very poorly clad, have little money, and are perpetually
complaining of their bad condition. An indifferent market is held in the
city daily under commodious sheds, in which the above articles are
offered for sale.
The better sort of women, or those that can afford time and money for
the purpose, wear their hair plated very ingeniously, and dyed blue with
indigo; their lips are likewise stained yellow and blue, which gives
them an inexpressibly odd appearance; and their eyes are blackened with
powdered antimony, or something of the same nature and properties, which
is imported from a place called _Jacoba_. This is in general use, not
only here, but in every other place which we have visited.
The use of hennah is as general at Yàoorie as elsewhere; the more
opulent females make use of this most beautiful dye in profusion: they
simply apply the pounded leaves of this plant to the teeth, and to the
finger and toe nails; for the latter it is made into a kind of poultice,
and in the evening is put on those parts, and remains till next morning.
The poorer sort of females, however, from necessity, we suppose, rather
than from inclination, make use of neither of these ornaments to enhance
their natural charms; and, save tattooing, they have no personal
embellishments whatever.
The sultan’s residence, as well as the houses of many of the principals
inhabitants of the city, are two stories in height, having thick and
clumsy stairs of clay leading to the upper apartments, which are rather
lofty; and, together with rooms on the ground-floor, have door-ways
sufficiently large to enable a person to enter them without putting
himself to the inconvenience of stooping. The principal part of the
houses are built in the circular or coozie fashion, but the inhabitants
have a few square ones; and the sultan’s are of no regular form
whatever. It may be considered somewhat singular that the generality of
the natives of western and central, and, we believe, also of northern
Africa, ‘moisten the floors of their huts and the inside of their walls
with a solution of cow-dung and water, two or three times a day, or as
often as they can find the materials.’ ‘Though disagreeable to the smell
of an European, this keeps the interior of a dwelling as cool as it is
dark.’ We should have thought that Dr. Johnson, from whom this quotation
is taken, was speaking of the native dwellings of this part of the
world, instead of those of the East Indies, so exactly does he describe
them.
Between the clusters or assemblages of huts in Yàoorie there is a
considerable quantity of fertile land, which is left for cattle to graze
on, or for the purposes of husbandry and agriculture.
There is a great variety of trees within the walls of the city,
consisting of the lime, the palm, the mi-cadania, and the date; but the
latter, though it appears very luxuriant, never was known to bear fruit.
The palm tree adorns the banks of the Niger, and increases in quantity
the further we advance up the river; yet that variety of it which bears
the cocoa-nut is nowhere to be seen, owing, most likely, to the distance
from the sea. For a reason, already given in a preceding part of this
Journal, no proper estimation can be formed of the number of inhabitants
which Yàoorie contains, but it is surprisingly great.
_Thursday and Friday, July 8th and 9th._—During both these days we have
been honoured with long visits from the sultan’s daughters, eldest son,
and sister; the faces of the former are familiar, because they come to
see us every day. The old Arab also visited us on Thursday morning, to
pay his respects, according to his custom; but when he entered the
apartment and discovered the heir apparent in conversation with us, he
seemed surprised and displeased, and immediately ordered the young man
to quit the apartment with his suite, which was instantly obeyed by the
prince, without a syllable of complaint or disapprobation at this
peremptory command. We subsequently desired an explanation of such
arbitrary conduct on the part of the Arab, and he informed us, in
answer, that it was done in order to prevent the young man from
soliciting us for poison, which he might employ in the destruction of
his father’s life,—so suspicious are the sovereigns of this country of
the intentions of even their own children.
The sultan has sent to inform us that he will be occupied three days in
writing to the king of England an explanation of his conduct with
respect to Mr. Park’s papers; and he would therefore thank us to remain
in Yàoorie till the expiration of that period.
A _fatàkie_, which left this city for Koolfu this (Friday) morning, had
orders from the sultan to return while they were on their journey; and
they accordingly re-entered Yàoorie in the afternoon. It is reported
that the ringleader of the insurgents in _Engarski_, the province in
which the customary tribute was refused to be paid, left the rebels a
short time ago to fight for themselves, and fled to the kingdom of
Nouffie. On his arrival he besought the Magīa to assist him against the
soldiers of Yàoorie, and succeeded so far, that assistance was promised
him by the Nouffie king; but as soon as this news had reached Engarski,
the sultan’s soldiers all deserted their posts, and returned to him
without delay. Both these days the men have been entering the city; and
they have brought with them only between forty and fifty slaves. This is
the reason that the fatàkie were stopped on their way to Koolfu; and in
all probability, if the news be true, it will likewise affect our
journey thither.
This evening the war-drum was sounded outside the sultan’s house; the
noise of which is not peculiarly loud or dissonant, and is a much more
_civilized_ kind of sound than the startling war-cry of the people of
Yarriba and Borgoo. The sultan has just sent word that he wishes to see
us to-morrow morning concerning the price of the red cloth which he
recently purchased of us; and at the same time he desires to see a
specimen of each kind of button in our possession, because he has a
great inclination to purchase a quantity, or the whole of them, for the
use of himself and family. By the man that brought us this message, he
sent us, for the first time, a number of goora nuts, alleging, as an
excuse for not offering us any before, that he did not imagine that
Christians liked them.
_Saturday, July 10th._—Horse-soldiers are continuing to arrive by one
and two at a time from Engarski, and the dead body of one of their
captains has likewise been brought into the city. This individual came
by his death in rather a mysterious manner, insomuch, that the public
opinion is divided on the subject; some saying that he fell by an arrow,
and others asserting with equal confidence that he was poisoned by his
wife, who, after the consummation of her crime, fled to the embraces of
an Arab who had been her lover before her marriage with the deceased.
During the war, which has continued these four months, the loss on the
part of Yàoorie has been about a half-dozen men killed, and the
slaughter on the part of the rebels, it is said, has been no less. This
sanguinary contest is a specimen of their warfare, so that there will
never be any great danger of depopulation from foreign wars or domestic
broils.
The sultan has been shut up in his house all day, and will not be spoken
to, owing to the ill-success of the Engarski expedition; but though this
circumstance is publicly known, the inhabitants of the city have shown
no inclination to mourn with their sovereign; on the contrary, they have
been employed in making a ‘_berka_’ (blessing) for the safe return of
the warriors, and feasting, rejoicing, and merriment were freely
indulged in, this evening, in consequence. In the midst of their
jollity, however, the people were thrown into confusion by a rumour,
that the ‘clashing of arms’ was heard in Koolfu,’ or in other words,
that preparations were making in that city for a _great_ war; that
Falàtahs and Nouffie men were assembling there from all quarters; and
that they were on the eve of making a fierce attack either on Wowow or
the metropolis of Engarski; but which of these cities is to be devoted
to destruction no one can tell. Groupes of people are expressing their
hopes and fears in whispers, in every part of the city.
_Sunday, July 11th._—Having been sent for, I visited the sultan to-day
with a piece of red cloth, two pair of scissors, a quantity of buttons,
and a canister of powder. When introduced, I found him cheerful and
merry, and his good humour continued throughout our interview. He
observed, that the war which was just terminated had cost him a great
deal of money, so that he regretted his inability to pay so large a sum
for the articles as I had demanded. At length, after a little civil
contention on both sides, a bargain was made, by the sultan’s agreeing
to give twenty-five thousand cowries for the powder, scissors, and red
cloth, and two hundred cowries for every _little_ button that we have,
which he prefers to the larger ones. Four hundred were asked; but as
these little buttons are the commonest sort, and have been besides much
worn, I did not long hesitate in acceding to his terms. In allusion to
our departure, the sultan observed, that the path was dangerous, but
when the obstacles should be removed, which would doubtless be in a few
days, and when his letter to the monarch of England should be written,
we might quit the city without further delay, for which intelligence I
thanked him and took my leave.
The sultan sent us a large ostrich a day or two ago, to look at, and
subsequently offered to give it to us, but as this immense bird would
require two or three men to take care of him on the road homewards, we
declined to take him, and could only thank the sultan for his intended
kindness.
_Monday, July 12th._—Nothing of consequence has occurred to-day in the
city. The greater part of the morning was employed in cleaning and
polishing the buttons promised to the sultan, who had sent for them
before they were finished. Two or three of his daughters are our daily
visitors, and they trifle a good deal of their time away in our company.
They sometimes bring with them a pleasant intoxicating liquor called
‘booza’ (a kind of beer), which they offer us to drink; but they
contrive to get tipsy with it themselves. These ladies are occasionally
so troublesome, that we are obliged to frighten them away with our
pistols.
_Tuesday, July 13th._—The ‘great war,’ for which there was said to have
been such mighty preparations in Nouffie, and which caused so much
consternation in this city an evening or two ago, has terminated in the
capture of a herd of the king of Wowow’s bullocks near the walls of his
town. The plunderers, it is said, were incited to undertake this
predatory excursion, by the representations of that wicked and turbulent
woman, widow Zuma, through the agency of her son, who, since his
elopement from Wowow, has been residing in some part of Nouffie. The
widow imagined that she was not safe in Boossà, after this malicious
act, and she left that city and fled to a town in the province of
Engarski. But the governor refused her his protection, and sent her back
again to Boossà with an escort; and the king, in all probability, will
either deliver her into the hands of the monarch of Wowow, in which case
she will lose her head, or he will have her severely punished at Boossà.
The sultan told us to-day in plain and decisive terms, that he can send
us neither by way of Koolfu nor Guârie, because the Falàtahs, he
affirms, are in both those places. He wishes, however, to be expressly
understood, that it is from no disinclination on his part to send us to
either of those places, but that his great regard for us will not permit
him to lead us into danger. Now we know very well that the Falàtahs have
neither the upper hand at Koolfu nor Guarie. The natives of the latter
state in particular, not long since cut off the heads of all the
Falàtahs that could be found in their country, and from that time they
have enjoyed the most perfect independence. The sultan of Yàoorie said
further, that the best thing he could do was to send us back again to
Boossà, and from thence he was sure we might have liberty to go any
where. The moment we found that this was his intention, we returned to
our house, and having formed our resolution, we instantly dispatched one
of our men with a message to the king of Boossà, to the following
effect:
‘That finding our presents insufficient to defray our expenses on the
road to Guarie and Bornou, we were under the necessity of returning to
the salt-water, to obtain more. That the chief of Badágry, who is
governor of that part of the coast, at which we had landed, had treated
us so very ill, while we were with him, that he would detain us in his
town for the remainder of our lives, if we were to return by the way we
had come, and by so doing that we should be unable to avoid falling into
his power. Besides which, the journey thither is so long, that we should
experience the same, or even greater inconvenience, than if we were to
proceed to Bornou through Catsheenah. Under these circumstances, we were
extremely desirous of travelling to the salt-water by a shorter and
safer route, and would therefore prefer going by Funda, as the easiest
and likeliest means of accomplishing that end. But as we had heard that
the road to that kingdom by land is infested with Falàtahs, who live by
plunder and violence, we should feel infinitely obliged to him (the king
of Boossà), if he could either sell or lend us a canoe to proceed
thither by water; and if so, that we would remunerate him to the utmost
of our ability.’
We sent away the messenger this morning on his errand, and shall await
his return with considerable anxiety. If an unfavourable answer be
returned, we are resolved, instead of proceeding to Boossà, to proceed
on to Guarie, and thence to Funda, as we originally intended, whatever
may be the consequence.
_Wednesday, July 14th._—We were favoured with visits this morning from
several respectable females, the wives and daughters of a number of
distinguished chiefs, whom they had accompanied to the late war. The
inhabitants of this place, as well as of many other towns, are of
opinion that it is in our power to cure every disorder under the sun.
Applications are daily made to us for medicine to cure a variety of
complaints; and more than one married lady has been intreating us to
remove the cause of barrenness from them. Other requests, equally
serious and equally absurd, have been made, with which of course it is
wholly out of our power to comply; but the applicants do not readily
believe our assertions, nor can we induce or compel them to leave our
house till something in the shape of medicine has been given them.
_Thursday, July 15th._—Falàtahs, it is said, have pillaged and burnt the
city of Engarski, and taken Koolfu, so that the road to Boossà is also
for the present denied us. These ‘setters up and pullers down of kings,’
for some reason, are offended with the Magīa, the present monarch of
Nouffie, and have determined to appoint his elder brother, the exiled
Ederesa, as ruler in his stead. Several revolutions have already taken
place in Nouffie, through the instrumentality of these ambitious
Falàtahs, which have all terminated in the confusion of the greater part
of that distracted country, and to the advancement of their deadliest
foes, who have now gained a footing in the land.
We have been repeatedly informed that Ederesa succeeded his father in
the government of Nouffie, and was acknowledged their legitimate monarch
by the whole nation. A rebellion, however,, headed by the Magīa,
(Ederesa’s younger brother,) broke out shortly after his accession; and
to aid his ambitious designs upon the liberties of the people, the
former made a journey to Soccatoo, to request the assistance of Bello.
This wily chief eagerly seized so fair an opportunity of promoting the
interests of his country, by meddling with the domestic policy of the
government of Nouffie; he had wisdom enough to foresee the advantages
which would in all probability accrue to him, by granting the Magīa his
request, and taking him under his protection; and he immediately
reinforced the rebels by a choice body of soldiers. This first civil war
was not of long continuance; Ederesa’s army was defeated by the
mercenary troops and their adherents; the whole country was soon overrun
and subjugated by these soldiers; Ederesa was obliged to flee from his
dominions, and the Magīa governed Nouffie in his stead. The chief
benefits resulting to Bello from the success of the rebels, were a half-
yearly tribute which the Magīa agreed to pay him, in slaves, and
handsome tobes of native manufacture; and what was of more consequence,
he gained a footing for his people in a flourishing and beautiful
kingdom, which may be styled the granary of this part of the continent.
The Falàtah soldiers remained in Nouffie to defend and support the
interests of the new king; but the country did not long enjoy peace and
tranquillity, for the foreigners observing their influence and numbers
considerably augmenting, found occasion to quarrel with the Magīa, which
was the occasion of another civil war. Turning from him whom they had
elevated to the throne, they recalled Ederesa, and succeeded, after an
ineffectual resistance on the part of his brother, in restoring him to
the dignity, of which they themselves had so eagerly stripped him only a
short time before. Ederesa subsequently formed the patriotic and
laudable resolution of expelling these dangerous and intriguing
strangers from his dominions; for he was convinced that his country
would never be at peace whilst they were suffered to remain in it. No
sooner, however, did he set about putting this project into execution,
than his watchful brother raised a party in opposition to it, and the
Falàtahs of course flew to his assistance. The fruit of this combination
was the total defeat of the king’s party, and the re-institution of the
Magīa into his former usurped rights. Meantime the Falàtahs increased
fast in Nouffie, they inhabited towns which they had not built, and
subsisted by the labour of others. The head of their party was a cousin
of Bello, named Mallam Dendo, who resided on the banks of the Niger, in
a large city of his own, which is called _Rabba_. He and the Magīa
divided the sovereignty of the kingdom between them till very recently,
and remained at peace with each other; but now, they say, there has been
a third quarrel, and the Falàtahs have taken possession of Koolfu, till
Ederesa shall have been made acquainted with the revolution in his
favour. The Magīa is too helpless and insignificant to offer the
slightest resistance to this intended change in his estate, and is
living in retirement at a town about a day and a half’s journey from
Koolfu. These domestic broils have been very prejudicial to the
interests of Nouffie, and the people greatly lament their misfortunes.
The Falàtahs are the only gainers by them; they are now in actual
possession of more than half of the kingdom, and have enslaved a very
large portion of its industrious population. Some of the finest and most
opulent of their towns have been sacked and destroyed, and others they
have taken for themselves. In this distracted state of affairs, Nouffie,
whose inhabitants, it is everywhere acknowledged, are the most ingenious
and industrious in all these parts, is fast falling to decay, and is
become a prey to all manner of abuses, and to every species of crime.
_Friday, July 16th._—Although the Falàtahs have been so successful in
Nouffie, and are gradually spreading themselves throughout the countries
composing Western Africa, so as to be near the sea, where it is the
great object of their ambition to get, they have within this year or two
suffered many defeats, and lost much ground in Hàussa, which is the
scene of their first operations, and they are likely to lose much more.
The following are the names of the kingdoms or states which form the
country called Hàussa. With the exception of _Kotonkora_ and _Womba_,
they were all conquered by Danfodid shortly after his first appearance
with the Falátahs; but those marked with an asterisk have regained their
independence since his decease. That marked with an F. is now in the
occupation of the conquerors; and those with F. and H. partly belong to
the Falátahs and partly to the original natives. Catsheenah was the head
or principal state, and all the others used to pay a small tribute to
its sovereign.
1. Catsheenah, F. H.
2. Cubbie, *
3. Guarie, *
4. Zumfra, F. H.
5. Kano, F.
6. Gober, *
7. Kotonkora, Natives.
8. Womba, Natives.
Catsheenah, the capital of Hàussa, in the state or kingdom of
Catsheenah, together with an insignificant town, are the only two places
at present in the possession of the Falátahs in that country. Soccatoo
stands on the extreme borders of Cubbie, yet it is not considered as
being in that province.
The natives of Guarie lately rose simultaneously, and cut off their
oppressors to a man, nor has Bello yet been able to revenge their loss.
_Zulamee_, and other towns of consideration in Zumfra, have within these
few months been retaken from the Falátahs. Properly speaking, the
province of Kano is in Hàussa; but previous to its conquest by the
Falátahs, it had, from time immemorial, been tributary to Bornou, so
that it is considered by many as belonging to that empire. The
inhabitants of the city and state of Gober, against which Bello was
directing all his power at the period of Captain Clapperton’s last visit
to Soccatoo, have successfully resisted every attack that has been made
against them, and are now enjoying tranquillity and independence.
Doncassà, who is the present king of Catsheenah, resides at a place
called _Maràdie_.
Doncassà is the hereditary prince of Hàussa, and notwithstanding his
former misfortunes and reverses, he is still very powerful, and his
strength daily increases. The Sheikh of Bornou assists him with men and
horses; and his son is also with him, fighting against the common enemy.
Doncassà, it is said, can bring no less than forty thousand horsemen
into the field at one time. Recently his military operations have been
attended with better success; and Bello, despairing of vanquishing him
and of subjugating the whole of his country, is turning his thoughts to
the conquest of Yarriba. His soldiers have already spread a panic
through that kingdom, and frightened the timid natives out of two or
three of their most important towns, and they will have very little
difficulty in depriving them of the whole. It is said that after the
rains the Falátah monarch will send a strong military force to complete
the conquest of Yarriba, and that experienced captains are already
nominated to accompany the expedition. In the mean time Bello is at war
with Bornou and some of the states of Hàussa; and many thousands of his
men, fearing no law, and having no ostensible employment, are scattered
over the whole face of the country. They commit all sorts of crimes;
they plunder, they burn, they destroy, and even murder, and are not
amenable to any earthly tribunal for their actions.
The boasted good government of Bello does not extend beyond the
precincts of Soccatoo. In other parts of his empire the civil department
of his administration is most wretchedly conducted, and hence the
predatory bands of Falátahs which annually go forth to ravage the
country.
_Saturday, July 17th._—The sultan’s daughters are very numerous; and in
accordance with the usual custom of the country, we have been obliged to
make them a present of a button, or a string of beads, or some such
trifle. Many of these ladies are not very young, for they have passed
the meridian of life; but notwithstanding their seniority, they have had
bitter disputes and quarrels with their sisters for the fancied better
place which the latter have in our good graces, and the consequent
kinder treatment which they have experienced at our hands. A breach is
thus made in the affections of the royal sisters towards each other, and
it may be years before domestic harmony is re-established among them.
One or other of these females complains to us every day of having been
engaged in wrangling or fighting with a sister, on the score of
jealousy; and we are obliged to muster all our patience and condole with
them in their little misfortunes, without, however, having the ability
to relieve them. The Arab, who appears to be the sultan’s factotum, came
to see us this morning, agreeably to his usual practice; and with joy
sparkling in his countenance, he informed us that his master had been
inquiring for a canoe in which we may return to Boossà. We wished to
know when the sultan would be inclined to give us permission to leave
Yàoorie. ‘What,’ said he, ‘is not the news I have told you sufficient
for one day?’
The Arabs in this place (Yàoorie) and all those that have passed through
the city since our arrival in it, who have had no connexion whatever
with each other, have assured us that the Niger flows from a place
called _Musser_ (query _Mesr_), where silks and other fine articles are
manufactured, and that the natives of that country trade to Timbuctoo in
large vessels, carrying thither their silks and manufactures.
We have neither been able to ascertain the European name of _Musser_,
nor its distance from Timbuctoo; we can only learn that the space
between the two cities is very great indeed.
In this part of Africa not the slightest jealousy exists in respect to
the Niger or any other river, for the people cheerfully answer every
inquiry concerning what they may happen to know of its course, &c.
_Sunday, July 18th._—Our man has not yet returned from Boossà, and
nothing has taken place to-day worthy of observation or remark.
_Monday, July 19th._—The premises which we occupy are situated at the
northern end of the city, and are the property of one of the sultan’s
married daughters, who, with her family, accompanied her husband to the
late war, and returned from thence only a few days ago.
They form a little circular enclosure of huts, one of which is two
stories high; and it has the convenience of three small yards, in which
is good stabling for the horses. From the distance of time which elapsed
after the departure of the sultan’s warlike daughter to the period of
our arrival at Yàoorie, the houses had fallen fast to decay, so that
when we were introduced into them, one or two of the roofs were entirely
wanting, and the rain, which fell daily, was freely admitted into all
the remainder for want of repair, that with two stories alone being an
exception. For our own comfort, therefore, we took possession of the
upper room of this hut, which is a long, narrow, and gloomy apartment,
having a solid clay floor, and five or six small apertures, like pigeon-
holes, for the purpose of admitting light and air.
As we have been unable, from the almost constant rain and the marshy
nature of the soil of Yàoorie, to walk abroad, this room has been, in a
great measure, our prison, for we have rarely stirred out of it. During
the first few days and nights after our arrival we were pretty
comfortable, and, every thing considered, we liked our quarters
tolerably well; but an envious wind having blown a swarm of mosquitoes
into our apartment, we have ever since been deprived of sleep at night.
And as if this were not an evil sufficiently annoying, we are likewise
visited by myriads of gnats, cockroaches, black ants, &c.; besides a
number of bats, which flutter even in our faces, and cause us much
uneasiness. Other descriptions of animals and insects intrude into our
apartment in the night season, which however do not molest us. Under
this pressure of grievances, my brother and I, finding it impossible to
sleep, either sit up or lie awake, and employ ourselves in doling away
the long and wearisome hours of the night in chatting about indifferent
matters, or in reading aloud, by lamp-light, some moral or religious
work. As soon as the light or dawn of the morning penetrates our dismal
chamber, our tormentors cease to molest us, and we generally find this
the most favourable time for procuring a little sleep. But then the
whole world is awake and abroad; and human visitors, whose society is
scarcely less tolerable than the visitation of our nightly companions,
intrude their unwelcome persons on our sleeping moments, and compel us
to listen and answer to their vexatious nonsense. Deprived of our
natural rest, the day is spent with scarcely more enjoyment than the
night;—we are heavy, languid, peevish, and uncomfortable, and wholly
unfit for exertion of any kind. The happy freedom from such torture as
this in Old England, can only be appreciated by those who have
experienced it; even an hour of such relief now would be worth more than
we could express.
This forenoon our Boossà messenger returned, and, to our unspeakable
joy, informed us that the king had consented to procure for us a canoe,
to proceed to Funda, provided the road by land could not be depended on.
He candidly stated, however, his inability to protect our persons from
insult and danger beyond his own territories; and that we must solicit
the good-will of the prince of Wowow and the other rulers on the banks
of the Niger; and further, that our own men alone must manage the canoe,
because no one at Boossà would be willing, for various reasons, to
accompany us in this journey. We are therefore in a fair way of
accomplishing the object of the expedition; and though we are convinced
that we shall be beset with dangers from the shore, yet we are in high
spirits, and humbly hope that, by attending to the necessary
precautions, we shall be able to overcome them.
_Tuesday, July 20th._—The news of the day is very agreeable to all ranks
of the good people of this city. A body of Falátahs, amounting to about
two hundred in number, which left Koolfu a few days since for the
purpose of attacking Engarski, or rather the remains of that body,
returned yesterday morning to that town, having been completely
unsuccessful in the object of their expedition, owing to the jealousy
and apprehension of the rebels. It appears, that whilst they were
besieging an insignificant _Cumbrie town_ in the above province, a
contagious disease broke out among them, and reduced fifty of their
number to a state of the greatest misery and helplessness. The
remainder, becoming alarmed at this frightful disorder, fled with the
utmost precipitation, and left their sick and languid companions to the
mercy of their enemies, who, however, showed them none, for as soon as
they became acquainted with the departure of their besiegers, a number
of them came out armed, and with savage coolness deliberately cut off
the heads of their helpless and prostrate foes, and immediately
despatched intelligence of the bloody exploit to the sultan of Yàoorie.
The road to Boossà is by this means once more declared to be open, and
we shall leave hence as soon as we receive permission. The sultan has
not yet paid the money he owed us, nor, since the sale of the buttons,
&c., have we heard a single sentence about the matter. Our cowries,
likewise, are nearly expended; and for this fortnight past we have
depended for subsistence on Paskoe’s success in shooting. Happily,
Guinea-fowl, of the most delicious flavour, and large doves, abound here
in amazing numbers; and a large species of wild duck, besides geese,
cranes, widgeons, herons, and other aquatic fowl, are most plentiful.
_Wednesday, July 21st._—Last night we were visited by an awful and
terrible tornado, which lasted for two or three hours. It commenced
about midnight with a gust of wind which threatened to overturn our
dwelling-house. Never since we have been in the country have we heard
thunder so loud and tremendous, nor seen lightning so excessively vivid.
Our hut rocked as if it had been shaken by an earthquake, and we were in
momentary apprehension of its falling with us to the ground; the tempest
however became less and less violent in the midst of our fears, and soon
after it ceased altogether, and an universal stillness prevailed.
Owing to the wet weather and the moist state of the atmosphere, most of
our friends the sultan’s daughters have caught slight colds, and they
have been very importunate to-day in their entreaties for medicine. We
hardly knew what to give them to ease their complaints, and we hesitated
a good deal about complying with their wishes; but as they are not very
delicate ladies, being stout withal, and masculine as Hercules, we at
length resolved to risk the consequences, and accordingly administered
to each of them a powerful dose of jalap.
The Falátahs in Nouffie are thrown into the utmost consternation by the
reported death of their chief and leader, Mallam Dendo, which is said to
have taken place at Rabba two or three days ago. The deceased was much
esteemed by Bello, and reverenced by his countrymen. A successor will be
immediately appointed, to counteract any fresh disturbance which may
take place in the country.
The sultan of this place puts off our departure from day to day, and
from week to week, under a variety of nonsensical excuses; and we are
persuaded that it is his intention to detain us here till he has drained
us of everything we have.
_Monday, July 26th._—For the last five days my brother has been laid up
with intermittent fever, which totally disqualified him from making the
slightest exertion whatever till this morning. The sultan continuing,
day after day, for so long a time to refuse his permission for us to
quit Yàoorie, on grounds the most inconsistent and contradictory that
can be imagined, we became rather apprehensive that he would detain us
for an indefinite period—much longer indeed than might suit our
convenience: but to-day, to our surprise and pleasure, a messenger from
the king of Boossà arrived in this city to ascertain the reason of such
unwarrantable conduct on the part of the sultan, and to request our
immediate release, so that it is supposed we shall leave hence in a day
or two at the latest. One of the _inducements_ urged by this monarch for
our longer stay with him, is rather whimsical. He has made us a present
of a quantity of worthless feathers, which he had caused to be plucked
from the body of a live ostrich; and because he entertained an opinion
that if others were added to them, they would altogether form a very
acceptable present to our gracious sovereign, he informed us that it
would be necessary we should wait till such time as the ostrich should
regain its plumage, in order for that part of its body which had not
been previously plucked to undergo a similar operation; for the weather,
he asserted, was much too cold for the bird to lose all its feathers at
one and the same time. And further, to encourage their growth, he would
order that two thousand cowries worth of butter (about twelve pounds
weight) should be diligently rubbed into the skin of the animal. This
money has actually been deducted by the sultan, for this express
purpose, from the sum which he was indebted to us, because he said he
did not approve of paying for the butter from his own pocket.
When a person entertains fear or suspicion of the intentions of another
towards him, it very commonly happens that every little thing which he
might have heard unfavourable to the character, or prejudicial to the
manners of the latter at any former period, rises fresh in his memory,
though he might have taken no notice of it at the time, and leads to the
establishment and confirmation of an opinion which had before been
unsettled and wavering in his mind. This has been very nearly our case
in regard to the sultan of Yàoorie; and owing most likely to ill health,
rather than any other cause, we had not only come to a conclusion,
before the arrival of the Boossà ambassador, that we were in ‘durance
vile’ here, but had conceived a thousand ways and means of making our
escape privately from the city! The violent detention of the six Dahoman
messengers within the walls of Yàoorie for a whole six months, without
any cause being assigned for it, has already been alluded to in Captain
Clapperton’s last narrative; and many similar injurious actions on the
part of the sultan have been related to us by some of his own people.
But he has been guilty of more treacherous and criminal deeds than these
both to native merchants and to Arabs who have visited this city for the
purposes of trade; and the following story, if it be true, argues very
unfavourably for the monarch’s sentiments of feeling, honesty, and
justice:—
An Arab, it is said, arrived here many years ago with three camel-loads
of merchandise from Tripoli, and according to the custom of the country
he displayed them all before the sultan of Yàoorie. His admiration of
them was very soon raised, and he purchased the whole of the Arab’s
goods on credit. The poor merchant made repeated and pressing
applications for his money, but in vain; and month after month, and year
after year passed away, without his ever having received a farthing, the
sultan deceiving him with promises continually. The Arab became at
length very uneasy at the sultan’s prevarication, and imagined that he
should never receive payment for his goods. He was therefore unable to
exercise his forbearance any longer, but was constrained to demand of
his creditor the restitution of his property, or the payment of his
debt, that he might depart from the city and return to his family. But
the covetous sultan pertinaciously refused his request, and sent him
away with abuse; and the Arab shortly after died of a broken heart, or,
as many say, of poison. He left behind him, however, at Yàoorie, his
eldest son, who had accompanied his father hither from Fezzan. This
person the sultan deluded with promises similar to those by which his
father had been deceived; and the young man abode in the city several
years in the anticipation of being able to procure the property which
had devolved to him on the Arab’s decease. He also died not long ago,
and the boy’s uncle (Moussa, of Koolfu), who was employed by Captain
Clapperton, is now the only surviving creditor. He has sent several
messengers here with the view of having the debt cancelled by the
sultan; but up to this day the money has never been paid, nor have the
Arab’s camels, nor any part of his property, been restored to his
surviving relative.
During our own short stay, even, the sultan has been guilty of several
petty offences, such as defrauding individuals of small sums, and the
like; and one poor fellow, belonging to a _fatàkie_ from Hàussa, has had
the imprudence to let him have some of his property, on the faith of his
word, in return for which he has met with nothing but promises and
refusals. The sultan did, indeed, command him to purchase whatever
things he might want at the market, and refer the seller to him for
payment; independent of this, as a mark of his favour, he sold the
merchant one of his own bullocks, which is however found to be diseased
and worth nothing. By such mean subterfuges does this great prince
procure the property of others; and in this manner does he treat every
merchant that may have occasion to pass through the city.
All these circumstances considered, it was with much pleasure that we
received notice of the king of Boossà’s kind interposition in our
behalf, which will at least accelerate our departure; for though, when
soberly considered, the behaviour of the Yàoorie monarch towards us has
not been on the whole unkind, forming a strange compound of generosity
and meanness, yet he might have been inclined to detain us here till the
only favourable moment at which we could descend the Niger should have
passed away, in which case we should have to retrace our steps the way
we have come without having accomplished the object for which we had
left England.
We have now only to arrange matters with this singular old chieftain,
which we foresee will be no very easy task. It is confidently affirmed,
that a canoe has been prepared for us, and two days hence, we have
little doubt, permission will be granted for us to leave this city to
return to Boossà.
_Thursday, July 29th._—The sultan has been complaining sadly of poverty
these two days, and has begged us to accept a female slave of him in
lieu of the money he owed us, and which he has declared his inability to
pay. We hesitated a good deal at first about the matter, but we soon
felt convinced it would be useless to demur, for the sultan was fixed in
his determination, and we have taken the girl, who is become Paskoe’s
wife. This unpleasant affair was not settled till this morning, owing to
the above cause.
We brought a quantity of new shillings with us from England, which are
vastly admired by all classes of people here, on account of their
shining property; and whilst the Spanish dollar sells for fifteen
hundred cowries only, one of these little pieces is purchased willingly
at a thousand. Each of these coins is attached to a ring, and worn on
the finger of a lady as an ornament.
Yàoorie has been visited with so much rain lately, that the corn is
rotting on the stalk, and it is by no means likely that the dry weather
will commence for some time to come. The corn is fully ripe, and only
wants a little sun to harden the grain in the ear; and the people are
sorely lamenting that they cannot obtain even this. Nevertheless, the
rice crops look well, and promise an abundant harvest; and the onions,
of which vast quantities are grown here, are also expected to produce
plentifully. At present, Yàoorie is little better than a complete swamp;
and, if possible, it will be worse after the _malca_, which is daily
looked for, shall have set in.
_Sunday, August 1st._—This morning the sultan sent a messenger to inform
us that we were at liberty to pay our respects and take our farewell of
him previous to our departure from the city, which we have been assured
will take place to-morrow without any further procrastination or delay.
We presently obeyed the summons, for such we considered it; and on our
arrival at the sultan’s residence, we were introduced into a large,
gloomy, uncomfortable apartment, wherein the monarch generally receives
his more distinguished visitors. A number of naked girls and boys, his
domestics, were continually passing through it to other parts of the
building, carrying dirty calabashes in their hands; a quantity of
swallows’ nests were attached to the ceiling of the room (for neither
here nor elsewhere are these birds ever molested), and their twittering
owners, which were flying about in all directions, fed their young
without interruption, and added not a little filthiness to the unswept
and unclean apartment. In the centre and opposite the door-way, the
ruler of Yàoorie was squatting on a platform, which was covered with
faded damask, and smoking from a pipe of huge dimensions. On each side
of him was a large pillow; and behind him, affixed to the wall, was a
large square piece of ancient-looking figured silk, very rich and of
various colours, with a beautiful deep fringe. It was, however, a little
tarnished, owing to the length of time it has been in the sultan’s
possession. This once splendid and valuable article is said to have been
brought from the celebrated _Musser_[1], a place of which every one here
speaks in the most rapturous and extravagant terms. The dress of the
sultan corresponded with the dirtiness of the apartment. Just before our
introduction we had been cautioned not to offer to shake hands with him,
for that would be considered too familiar on our parts, and would be
rejected by the monarch. Our compliments were therefore confined to
simple inquiries after his health. The conversation during the interview
was as uninteresting and spiritless as our conversations with other
native rulers have always been—a description of one being a sample of
the whole. The most important points were an urgent request on the part
of the sultan for one of our lancets which he had seen, and the promise
of a calabash of honey, which we received in the evening. We then took
our leave and returned home. Here we were soon intruded upon by the
sultan’s daughters and friends, who, finding that we were actually to go
on the morrow, had come to purchase buttons, beg medicine, and pay their
last respects; and we were not only subjected to the most wearisome and
provoking ceremonies in the world during the remainder of the Sabbath,
but we were likewise compelled to be bartering and wrangling with a
parcel of noisy women till sunset, when we ungallantly drove them away.
During our stay at Yàoorie, the thermometer of Fahrenheit has ranged
from 75° to 94° in our dwelling.