The
Sand Is Then Covered With The Water, Carefully Crumbled Down And Shaken
In The Calabash, And The Lighter Parts Thrown Out, Till All That Remains
Is A Black Substance, Called Gold-Rust.
The shaking is then repeated, and
the grains of gold are sought out.
Two pounds of gravel yield about
twenty-three particles of gold, some of which are very small; and the
bulk of gold-rust is about forty times that of the gold. The washing only
takes place at the time of the rains.
They next proceeded along the mountains of Konkodoo to Dindikoo, where
they saw a number of gold-pits, sunk about twelve feet deep, with notches
in the sides for steps. The mountains were lofty and steep, composed of a
coarse species of red granite, but cultivated to the very tops, and the
villages built in their glens were singularly romantic. "The
inhabitants," says Park, "have plenty of water, and grass at all seasons;
they have cattle enough for their own use, and their superfluous grain
purchases all their little luxuries; and while the thunder rolls in awful
grandeur over their heads, they can look from their tremendous precipices
over all that wild and woody plain, which extends from the Faleme to the
Black River." This plain was about forty miles in extent; the lions
abounded in the plain, but none were seen among the hills. On the 18th
they had great difficulty in getting the sick forward, though all the
spare horses and asses were reserved for their use. The ass which bore
the telescope and several other articles of consequence was missing; but
was brought on the following day by one of the natives who had caught it.
Park now began to be "very uneasy about their situation;" half of the
party were on the sick list, among whom were Messrs. Anderson and Scott,
and he himself was by no means well. They rested for one day at Fankia.
On the 15th their road lay along a steep and rocky pass in the mountains
of Tambaura. During this toilsome march they were in a state of dreadful
confusion. There were few drivers for the asses, which were overburdened
with the sick and baggage. The natives, seeing their weak state, followed
them, seizing every opportunity for pillage. At Serimanna, two of the men
were left behind. At Gambia, the natives having heard that the white men
were sickly, rose up in arms, and attempted to plunder the caravan. One
seized the Serjeant's horse, but on a pistol being presented, quitted his
hold. Others tried to drive away the asses with their loads. But the
soldiers stood firm, loaded their pieces with ball, and fixed bayonets;
upon which the natives hesitated, and the soldiers having placed the
asses in safety on the other side of a rivulet, returned. Park then
demanded of the Dooty that he should be suffered to proceed in peace. To
this after a little he consented, in consequence of the determined front
shown by the British, and to avoid farther molestation, Park deemed it
prudent to present him with four bars of amber. Near Sullo, the eyes of
the jaded and weary travellers were a little revived by the
picturesqueness of the scenery, which presented all the possible
diversities of rock, towering up like ruined castles, spires, and
pyramids. One place bore a very striking resemblance to a ruined Gothic
abbey, - the niches, windows, and staircase, having all counterparts in
the natural rock. Mr. Park describes the banks of the Ba-Fing and Ba-Lee,
two tributaries of the Senegal, to be rugged and grand beyond any thing
he had seen.
In crossing the Ba-Fing the canoe was upset, with three men in it, one of
whom was drowned. Park's efforts to restore animation were unavailing,
and he was buried on the banks of the river. The people on the banks were
a set of thieves, and endeavoured to make off with the medicine-chest.
Not a day now passed but one or other of the soldiers died of fever, or
was left behind. At Koeena, on the 2d July, they were much annoyed by
three lions, which, after prowling about all day, at midnight attacked
the asses, which broke their ropes, and rushed in among the tents. One of
the lions approached so near that the sentry made a cut at it with his
sword. They could not sleep, because of the noise of the hippopotami
which infested that part of the river. At this time several of the
soldiers strayed, and never came up with the party again, though muskets
were frequently fired to give intimation of the route. Next day one of
the soldiers became so exhausted that he could not sit upon the ass. He
was fastened on it, and held upright; he became more and more faint, and
shortly after died. His body was brought forward to a place where the
front of the coffle had halted to allow the rear to come up. "Here," says
Park, "when the coffle had set forwards, two of the soldiers with their
bayonets, and myself with my sword, dug his grave in the wild desert, and
a few branches were the only laurels that covered the tomb of the brave."
When Park came up to the halting-place, which was near a pool of water,
shaded with ground palm-trees, he found that two more of the soldiers
were missing. Lights were set up, partly to scare away the lions and also
to guide those who had not come up; and Park himself went back a
considerable part of the way in search of them, but only one came up,
who, next day, lagged behind through fatigue. Search was then made for
him, but he could not be found; and they supposed that he had been
devoured by the wild beasts.
On the 4th July they crossed the river Wonda; but as they had only one
canoe, the passage was both dangerous and tedious.
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