They Dismounted At About 20 Yards Distance, And
Walked Up Close To The Monarch, Who Rose And Cordially Shook Hands With
Them, Repeatedly Vociferating, "Ako!
Ako!" which means, "How do you do?"
at which his chief men and wives gave loud cheers.
A house was assigned
to the English, and each day they received a plentiful supply of
provisions.
Under various pretences they were detained at this place for the space of
seven weeks. The Quorra or Niger was only about thirty miles distant to
the eastward; but though the king had promised to afford them every
facility for reaching it, one delay took place after another. He
endeavoured to deter them by false accounts of the dangerous nature of
the route, in consequence of an alleged incursion of the Fellatahs, and
insurrection of the Houssa slaves. At last, however, he suffered them to
set out, by the kingdom of Borgoo, towards Houssa.
They now entered the Borgoo country. They passed several villages which
had been pillaged and burnt by the Fellatahs; indeed, the whole country
bore testimony to the ravages of war. Lander gives a spirited account of
an adventure which happened to him in this part of the country. "We left
a village at four o'clock in the afternoon; and the horse on which I rode
being in better condition than the others, I was considerably in advance
of the rest of the party, when the animal came to a sudden halt, and all
my endeavours could not make him proceed. There he stood like a block of
marble, keeping his eye riveted on something that was approaching us, and
I had scarcely time to consider what it could be, when a fine antelope
bounded before me with incredible swiftness, and in the next moment two
huge lions, with mane and tail erect, crossed the path but a couple of
yards from the horse's head, almost with equal speed, and covered with
foam. A tremendous roar, which made the forest tremble, informed me in
another minute that the lions had overtaken their prey; but the
sudden - and unexpected appearance of these ferocious animals startled me
as much as it had intimidated the horse before, and I hastened back to
the party, my poor beast trembling violently the whole of the way.
Fortunately the lions, which were male and female, were so eager in the
chase that both the horse and its rider were unobserved by them,
otherwise it might have gone hard with me, for I saw not the slightest
chance of escaping. We halted in the woods that night; but fancying every
sound I heard was the roaring of a lion, I could not compose myself to
sleep."
Kiama, the next city at which they arrived, contains 80,000 inhabitants.
The king came to meet Clapperton, attended by a singular train. He rode
upon a handsome steed, followed by an admiring crowd; six young girls,
each flourishing spears, and who had only a fillet on their heads, ran by
his side as he galloped on. "Their light form, the vivacity of their
eyes, and the ease with which they appeared to fly over the ground, made
them appear something more than mortal." When the king entered the hut in
which the travellers sat, these damsels, having deposited their weapons
at; the door, and attired themselves in blue mantles, came in and waited
upon him.
They now crossed a river which was said to have its source in Nyffe, and
to flow into the Niger above Rakah. It abounded in alligators. The
scenery in the neighbourhood is said to be very fine. "Our ears," says
Lander, "were ravished by the warbling of hundreds of small birds, which,
with parrots and parroquets, peopled the branches of the trees in the
vicinity of the stream, whose delightful banks were thereby overshadowed;
and the eye met a variety of beautiful objects, - groves of noble trees,
verdant hills, and smiling plains, through which the river winded,
carrying fertility and beauty in its course, and altogether forming a
rich and charming landscape." They then arrived at Wa-wa, a large city,
through which the Houssa caravans pass, and which has a population of
15,000. The inhabitants are dissolute and extravagant, spending all their
money in drinking and festivity. The ladies were very attentive to the
English, especially a fat widow called Zuma, who even pressed marriage
upon Clapperton, after she had exhibited to him all her wealth. She
afterwards gave him a good deal of trouble by following him on the
journey at the head of a band of armed attendants, and he rejoiced much
when he finally got rid of her.
On their way to Comie, they visited Boussa, the scene of Park's tragical
end. The natives were extremely reserved upon the subject, but what they
told, bore out in every particular Amadi Fatouma's account. They said
that the attack was caused by the English having been mistaken for an
advanced guard of Fellatahs, who were then devastating Soudan. The King
of Boussa received Clapperton and Lander with great kindness. Here they
found boats lying ready for them, with a message from the Sultan of
Youri, requesting a visit, and promising, if they consented, to deliver
up some books and papers of Mungo Park, which he said he had in his
possession. Clapperton's arrangements, however, prevented him from paying
this visit.
They crossed the Niger, and on entering the kingdom of Nyffe, beheld
proofs of the effects of civil war. Two princes had struggled for the
ascendency, one of whom, by obtaining the help of the Fellatahs, had
overcome the other. As Clapperton travelled towards the camp of the
conqueror, he saw nothing but ruined villages, and plantations overgrown
with weeds. "This African camp consisted of a number of huts like
beehives, arranged in streets, with men weaving, women spinning, markets
at every green tree, holy men counting their beads, and dissolute slaves
drinking; so that, but for the number of horses and armed men, and the
drums beating, it might have been mistaken for a populous village." After
journeying along the banks of the Mayyarrow, and passing a walled village
called Gonda, they entered Coulfo, which is the most considerable
market-town in Nyffe.
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