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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The Following Is The Description Of Her Dress And
Escort:
- Preceding her marched a drummer, beating the instrument with
all his power, his cap being profusely decked with ostrich feathers.
A bowman walked on foot, at the head of her horse, a long train
following, consisting of tall, strong men, armed with spears, bows,
and swords.
She rode on a fine horse, whose trappings were of the
first order for this semi-civilized country; the head of the horse
was ornamented with brass-plates, the neck with brass bells, and
charms sewed in various coloured leather, such as red, green, and
yellow; a scarlet breast-piece, with a brass plate in the centre;
scarlet saddle-cloth, trimmed with lace. She was dressed in red silk
trousers and morocco boots; on her head a white turban, and over her
shoulders a mantle of silk and gold. For the purpose of properly
balancing her ponderous frame on the horse, she rode in the style of
the men, a-straddle; and perhaps a more unwieldy mass never pressed
upon the loins of an animal; had she, however, been somewhat younger,
and less corpulent, there might have been some temptation to head her
party, for she certainly had been a very handsome woman, and such as
would have been thought a beauty in any country in Europe.
The widow was summoned before the governor; went on her knees, and,
after a lecture on disobedience and vanity, was dismissed; but on
turning her back, she shook the dust off her feet with great
indignation and contempt; "and," says Clapperton, "I went home,
determined never to be caught in such a foolish affair in future."
The travellers, having secured their baggage, returned to the ferry,
and crossed the Quorra. They were now on the high-road to Koolfu, the
emporium of Nyffee. In the course of the first two stages, they came
to two villages full of blacksmiths' shops, with several forges in
each. They got their iron ore from the hills, which they smelt, where
they dig it. In every village they saw a fetish house in good repair,
adorned with painted figures of human beings, as also the boa, the
alligator, and the tortoise. The country is well cultivated with
corn, yams, and cotton; but the ant-hills were the highest the
travellers had ever seen, being from fifteen to twenty feet high, and
resembling so many gothic cathedrals in miniature.
In the afternoon of the third day, they crossed a stream called the
May Yarrow, opposite the town of Tabra, by a long narrow wooden
bridge of rough branches covered with earth, the first that they had
seen in Africa; it will not, however, bear a man and horse, nor can
two horses pass at once. Tabra, which is divided by the river into
two quarters, was at this time the residence of the queen-mother of
Nyffee, who was governor ad interim during the absence of her son.
It may contain from eighteen to twenty thousand inhabitants, who,
with a few exceptions, are pagans, and they all, men and women, have
the reputation of being great drunkards.
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