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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He
Was Glad, He Said, To See White Men Coming To His Country, And Going
To See His King, Adding That He Never Expected To See This Day, And
That Now All The Wars And Bad Palavers Would Be Settled.
He presented
to them yams, eggs, a goat, a sheep, a fine fat turkey, and milk, and
a large pig was sent by the caboceer of a neighbouring town.
The
country was described as being on every side full of large towns. Its
aspect continued through the next stage very beautiful, and well
cultivated. The route lay in a parallel line with the hills as far as
the town of Yaboo, and then entered a fine plain, studded with
Fellata villages, extending to Ensookosoo. At Sadooli, half an hour
further, the range of hills was seen bearing from E. by S. to S. The
well cultivated country continued as far as Aggidiba, but a
considerable change then took place in its general aspect. The road
led through a wood of low, stunted, scrubby trees, on a soil of
gravel and sand, and the destructive ravages of the Fellatas now
became apparent, in the half deserted towns and ruined villages.
Akkibosa, the next town, was large, and surrounded inside the walls
with an impenetrable wood. It was here that Lander again had the
melancholy prospect of seeing himself a lonely wanderer in the wilds
of Africa, for Captain Clapperton became worse than he had been since
leaving Badagry. The pain in his side was relieved by rubbing the
part with a piece of cord, after some Mallegeta pepper chewed had
been applied to it. But the caboceer of Adja gave our traveller some
medicine, which was far more efficacious. It tasted like lime juice
and pepper, and produced nausea to such a degree, that Clapperton was
unable to stand for half an hour after; he then suddenly got well,
both as to the pain in his side, and a severe diarrhoea, which had
troubled him for some time. The worthy caboceer, who had shown
himself such an adept in practical pathology, was of the same opinion
with others of his species, that a preventive is better than a
remedy; but were this principle to be acted upon by the medical
caboceers of the metropolis of England, we should not see them
driving in their carriages from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. to convince a set
of dupes, that a few latinized words and hieroglyphics scrawled on a
scrap of paper, which is to produce for them a nauseous compound of
aperient drugs, are to save them from the jaws of death. Captain
Clapperton was in reality ill, and therefore the application of the
prescription of the scientific caboceer of Adja, was perhaps
advisable, on the ground that if it did not cure it would kill, but
the case was differently situated with Lander, for although his
health had sustained some severe shocks, yet it was good in
comparison to that of his master; but the prudent caboceer considered
that although he was not then actually ill, yet the possibility, and
even the probability existed that he might become so, and therefore
it was determined that the same medicine should be administered to
Lander, as had been done to his master.
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