Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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They Left Brass In Their Own Canoe, Quite
Dejected And Out Of Heart, And Antonio, The Young Man Who Volunteered
To Accompany Us From His Majesty's Brig, Clinker, At Badagry, Went
Along With Them, On His Return To His Country, From Which He Has Been
Absent Two Or Three Years.
"The following day, one or two crafty little urchins, who are slaves
to King Boy, brought us a few plantains as a gift.
They had been
engaged in pilfering tobacco leaves from an adjoining apartment, to
which our people were witnesses, and the juvenile depredators,
fearing the consequences of a disclosure, bribed them to secrecy in
the manner already mentioned. Boy's women have also been guilty,
during the temporary absence of their lord and master, of stealing a
quantity of rum from the store room, and distributing it amongst
their friends and acquaintance, and they have resorted to the same
plan as the boys, to prevent the exposure, which they dreaded. One of
them, who acts as a duenna, is the favourite and confidante of Boy,
and she wears a bunch of keys round her neck in token of her
authority. She has likewise the care of all her master's effects, and
as a further mark of distinction, she is allowed the privilege of
using a walking-stick with a knob at the end, which is her constant
companion. This woman is exceedingly good-natured, and indulges our
men with a glass or two of rum every day.
"Last evening, King Boy stripped to the skin, and having his body
most hideously marked, ran about the town like a maniac with a spear
in his hand, calling loudly on Dju dju, and uttering a wild,
frantic cry at every corner.
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