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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When This Crime Was Perpetrated,
The Whole Nation Seemed To Be Terror-Struck, And The People Rose Up
In Arms, As If A Public Enemy Were Devastating Their Country, And
Slaughtering Its Inhabitants Without Mercy.
This is the only instance
they ever heard of a young man entertaining a strong attachment for a
female.
Marriage is celebrated by the natives as unconcernedly as
possible. A man thinks as little of taking a wife as of cutting an
ear of corn; affection is altogether out of the question.
A village in ruins, and a small town called Nama, where they halted
for a short time, were the only inhabited places they passed through
during the day, till their entrance into the town of Leoguadda, which
was surrounded by a double wall, and in which they passed the night.
The governor happened to be in his garden on their arrival, so that
they were completely wearied with waiting for him, but as he did not
make his appearance, they themselves found a convenient and
comfortable hut; and though they were assailed by a volley of abuse
from the mouths of half a dozen women, they succeeded in sending them
away, and they remained in tranquil possession of their quarters. In
the centre of their yard was a circular enclosure without a roof,
within which was an alligator that had been confined there for seven
years. This voracious animal was fed with rats only, of which he
generally devoured five a day. One of the inhabitants perceiving that
John Lander was rather inquisitive, volunteered to go to a river in
the vicinity of the town, and to return in a few minutes with as many
young crocodiles as he might wish for; but as he had no opportunity
of conveying animals of that description through the country, he
declined the man's offer. The inhabitants of Leoguadda, having
probably no vegetable poison, make use of the venom of snakes on the
tips of their arrows. The heads of those serpents, from which they
extract this deadly substance, are exposed on the sticks, which are
thrust into the inside of the thatch of their dwellings as a kind of
trophy.
Leoguadda is almost surrounded by rugged hills, formed by loose
blocks of granite; these added to a number of tall trees, always
green and growing within the walls, render the town inconceivably
pleasant and romantic. Immense tracts of land are cultivated in the
vicinity of the town with corn, yams, &c., and abundance of swine,
poultry, goats, and sheep are bred by its inhabitants. Formerly, also
herds of cattle were to be seen in the meadows, but they belonged to
Fellatas, who, they were told, fled from Leoguadda some time since,
to join their countrymen at Alorie.
They left Leoguadda early in the morning of 11th May, and about the
middle of the forenoon reached a walled town of some extent called
Eetcho. This place is of importance on account of a large weekly
market which is held in it.
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