He
Afterwards Recovered By The Care Of His Companions, Though Several
Splinters Of Bone Were Extracted From His Head.
Undismayed by this
unpropitious accident, he after a short delay resumed his journey, and
reached Tombuctoo on the 18th August, 1826.
There he resided for a month,
during which several letters from him reached England. He described the
city as every way equal, except in size, to his expectation. It was not
above four miles in circumference. During his short residence, he had
collected much valuable information concerning the geography of Central
Africa. He was obliged to depart in consequence of instructions reaching
the governor of the city that the Christian must instantly remove. He
accordingly engaged a merchant, called Barbooshi, to guide him to the
coast. Before he had advanced three days journey from Tombuctoo, the
treacherous Moor murdered him at night, and seized his baggage and
journal. His papers were reported to have been carried to Tripoli; but
they have never since been recovered.
[Illustration: Burial of Clapperian.]
[Illustration: Body Guard, of the Sheik, of Bornoiu.]
The next traveller was a Frenchman, M. Caillie, who, after having
previously resided some years at Senegal, returned to Africa in 1824.
Disguised as a Mahomedan, he departed for the interior on the 19th of
April, 1827, and arrived at Tangier in safety in the following August.
His countrymen rewarded him with a pension and the cross of the legion of
honour, and claimed for him a high place among distinguished travellers.
Doubts have been thrown upon the authenticity of his narrative, some
having gone so far as to say that the greater part of it is a
fabrication.
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