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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At This Time John Lander Seemed To Be Free From Any Kind Of Complaint
Whatever, And Enjoyed An Unusual Cheerfulness And Buoyancy Of
Spirits, Which Led His Brother To Form The Most Flattering
Anticipations.
In the course of a few minutes, however, his body was
overspread with a burning heat, and he suffered under another attack
of fever, more violent than any of the former.
He resorted to the
most powerful remedies, he could think of at the time. His brother
bled him, and applied a strong blister to the region of the stomach,
where the disorder seemed to be seated. It was swollen and oppressed
with pain, and he felt as if some huge substance lay upon his chest.
His mouth being dry and clogged, and his thirst burning and
unquenchable, he drank so much water that his body was greatly
swollen. Towards evening, his ideas became confused and he grew
delirious. He afterwards described to his brother the horrible
phantoms that disturbed him whilst in this state, and the delicious
emotion that ran through his whole frame, when the dreadful vision
had passed away. Tears gushed from his eyes, a profuse perspiration,
which had been so long checked, gave him immediate relief, and from
that moment his health began to improve.
During this illness of John Lander, the natives made a most hideous
noise by singing and drumming on the celebration of their fetish.
Richard went out with the hope of inducing them to be quiet, but they
only laughed at him, and annoyed them the more; having no compassion
whatever for the sufferings of a white man, and if they can mortify
him by any means, they consider it a praiseworthy deed. This day at
noon, the sun stood at 99 degrees of Fahrenheit.
Early on Saturday the 24th, a hammock was prepared for John Lander,
he being too weak to ride on horseback; and shortly wards they
quitted the town of Accadoo, in much better spirits, than
circumstances had led them to expect. The hammock-men found their
burden rather troublesome, nevertheless they travelled at a pretty
quick pace, and between eight and nine o'clock, halted at a pleasant
and comfortable village called Etudy. The chief sent them a fowl and
four hundred kowries; but they stopped only to take a slight
refreshment, and to pay their respects. They then proceeded through
large plantations of cotton, indigo, Indian corn, and yams, and over
stony fields, till between ten and eleven, when they entered the town
of Chouchou. They were almost immediately introduced to the chief,
and from him into a ruinous hut, in a more filthy state than can be
imagined. No pigstye was ever half so bad. Its late occupier had
incurred the displeasure and hatred of the chief, because he happened
to be very rich, and rather than pay a heavy fine, he ran away and
joined his former enemies, and this partly accounted for the
destitution and wretchedness around them.
Since leaving Jenna they met an incredible number of persons visited
with the loss of one eye.
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