They Arrived At Wowow On The 12th, And Had A
Favourable Interview With The Old Chief.
They then returned to Boussa to
complete their preparations, but the arrival of the vessel was delayed,
under various pretexts, until past the middle of September.
Early in the morning of the 20th, however, their goods were embarked in
two canoes, and they set off. Some of their Boussa friends implored a
blessing upon them before they started. They had not proceeded far before
they found that the smaller of the two canoes was so unsafe, that they
were compelled to lighten it much. After passing several towns of
considerable size, they reached a large and beautiful island called
Patashie, very fertile, and adorned with groves of lofty palm-trees. One
of the Landers went to Wowow to procure better canoes, while the other
remained on the island with the baggage. At length they succeeded in
their object, and were again borne along the river. For some time they
met with no obstacle; but at one part they came to a reef of rocks, to
clear which they had to proceed through a very narrow channel, overhung
with the branches of trees, and more than half filled with rushes and
tall grass. Soon after passing into the main river, they landed at the
town of Lever, or Layaba, which contains a great number of inhabitants,
and was then in the hands of the Fellatahs; here they remained till the
4th October. The river at this place ran deep, and was free from rocks.
Its width varied from one to three miles; the country on each side was
flat, and a few insignificant villages were scattered at intervals along
the banks.
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