It Was Five O'clock Before Park Obtained An Audience Of The King,
To Whom He Carried As Presents, A Pair
Of silver-mounted pistols, ten
dollars, some amber and coral; but his Majesty being covetous, and
considering it beneath his
Dignity to receive so little, Park was obliged
to add fifteen dollars more, and double the quantity of coral and amber.
The king also begged a blanket to shield his royal person from the rains,
which was sent to him. This was only a sample of the numerous extortions
to which they were exposed; and as the natives annoyed them much,
conceiving that they carried merchandise of great value, the utmost
vigilance was necessary to guard against their sly pilferings, as well as
the more violent attempts of the numerous bands of robbers who infested
the neighbourhood. They reached Kanipe, a straggling village, on the 13th
of May. Here the women had fallen upon an ingenious plan to extort amber
and beads. After many hours labour, they had drawn up all the water from
the wells and carried it away. They were fairly baffled, however, by the
travellers; for in the evening, one of the soldiers having, as if by
accident, dropped his canteen into the well, he was lowered down by a
rope to pick it up; and standing at the bottom of the well, filled all
the camp-kettles of the party, so that the women had to depart in grief
and mortification.
After having passed through Kussai, the country was wooded for five
miles, when the travellers reached a level plain almost destitute of
shade, along which some hundreds of antelopes, of a dark colour, and
nearly as large as bullocks, were bounding. At half-past ten they again
came to the banks of the Gambia, and halted, during the heat of the day,
under a large spreading tree. The river was here one hundred yards
across, its waters swarming with crocodiles; and, contrary to Park's
expectations, he found that it had a regular tide, rising four inches by
the shore. Here Park ascended a hill, which commanded a wide prospect of
the course of the Gambia, distinguished by a range of dark green trees,
which fringed its banks. At this place the first disaster of the
expedition occurred. John Walters, one of the soldiers, fell down in an
epileptic fit, and soon after died. They lay down to rest, apprehensive
of an attack from the natives, each man sleeping with his loaded musket
under his head.
For some days they travelled on a line with the banks of the river; they
then crossed the river Nerico, and on the 20th May, came to Bady, in the
territory of Tenda. The chief of that place behaved with great audacity
and violence; and some of his people having carried off the guide's
horse, and Isaaco demanding it in person, he was seized, flogged, and
detained as a prisoner. His disconsolate wife and child sat, in tears,
under a tree. It would, indeed, have been an easy matter for Park and his
companions to have set fire to the town in resentment for this ill usage,
but this would have brought destruction on the innocent, and might not
have produced the desired effect of the restoration of Isaaco. But they
determined next morning, should other means prove ineffectual, to employ
force. Early in the morning, however, Isaaco was sent back by the chief,
with the lame apology that he had no desire to quarrel with Park, and
merely wished the customary tribute to be paid him.
They went on, nearly along the same way by which Park had returned in
1797, and, having traversed the wilderness of Samarkara, came to a place
which they called Bee's Creek, from a singular accident which befel them
there. No sooner had they unsaddled their asses, and kindled a fire to
cook their supper, than an immense swarm of bees attacked both men and
asses so violently, that they took to flight precipitately in all
directions; while the burning embers set fire to some bamboos, and nearly
consumed the baggage. They, however, succeeded in snatching it up before
the flames reached it; but by this untoward accident, they lost six asses
and one horse, and most of the party were severely stung about the face
and hands.
On the 28th May, Park came to Bamboo, where he was compelled to disburse
presents to a large amount. Thence he sent two letters to England, by the
way of Gambia, - one addressed to his wife, and the other to Sir Joseph
Banks. To the former, he gave a brief account of his journey, and then
adds, "You must not imagine, my dear friend, from this hasty sketch, that
I have neglected astronomical observations. I have observed the latitude
every two or three days, and have observed three eclipses of Jupiter's
satellites, which settle the longitude, by the help of the watch, to the
nearest mile. I find that my former journeys by foot were underrated;
some of them surprise myself when I trace the same road on horseback. I
expect to reach the Niger by the 27th of June."
He thus writes to Mrs. Park, - "I am happy to inform you that we are half
through our journey without the smallest accident or unpleasant
circumstance. We all of us keep our health, and are on the most friendly
terms with the natives. I have seen many of my old acquaintances, and am
everywhere well received. By the 27th of June, we expect to have finished
all our travels by land; and when we have once got afloat on the river,
we shall conclude that we are embarking for England. I have never had the
smallest sickness, and Alexander (Mrs. Park's brother) is quite free from
all his stomach complaints. In fact, we have only had a pleasant journey,
and yet this is what we thought would be the worst part of it. I will
indulge the hope that my wife, children, and all friends are well.
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