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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However, This Did
Not Allow Him Liberty To Turn It Either Way, And Thus Jammed, With No
Command Whatever Over
His suffering limbs, he passed the hours
without sleep, and arose this morning with bruised bones and sore
limbs, complaining
Bitterly of the wretched moments, which the legs
of Mr. and Mrs. Boy had caused him, with their ivory rings and heaps
of yams."
They now arrived at a convenient place for stopping awhile, to give
their canoe men rest from their labour, and at day break they
launched out again into the river, and paddled down the stream. At
seven in the morning, Boy and his wife having landed to trade, the
Landers took advantage of their absence and slept soundly for two
hours, without the risk of being disturbed by the brawny legs of
either the gentleman or lady.
They continued their course down the river until two hours after
midnight, when they stopped near a small village on the east side of
the river. They made fast to the shore, and the people settled
themselves in the canoe to sleep. Having sat up the whole of the
previous night, for the best of all reasons, because they could find
no room to lie down, in consequence of the crowded state of the
canoe, and feeling themselves quite unequal to do the same, the
Landers took their mats and went on shore, determined if possible, to
sleep on the ground. Overcome by fatigue, the fear of being attacked
by alligators, or any thing else, they selected a dry place and laid
themselves down on their mats. They had nearly dropped asleep, when
they were roused by several severe stings, and found themselves
covered with black ants. They had got up their trousers, and were
tormenting them dreadfully. At first they knew not which way to get
rid of them. Their men, Pascoe, Sam, and Jowdie, seeing the condition
they were in, landed from the canoe, and made large fires in the form
of a ring, and they laid down in the midst of them and slept till
daylight. The sting of a black ant is quite as painful as that of a
wasp.
Towards the evening of the following day, they departed from the main
river, and took their course up a small branch towards Brass Town,
running in a direction about southeast from that which they had just
left. They had not proceeded far on this course, when to their great
satisfaction, they found themselves influenced by the tide. They had
previously observed an appearance of foam on the water, which might
have been carried up by the flood tide from the mouth of the river,
but they now felt certain of being within its influence. They were
constantly annoyed by the canoe running aground on a bank, or
sticking fast in the underwood, which delayed their progress
considerably, and the men were obliged to get out to lighten and lift
the canoe off them. Their tract was through a narrow creek, arched
over by mangroves, so as to form a complete avenue, which in many
places was so thick as to be totally impenetrable by the light above.
A heavy shower of rain came on and wetted them thoroughly, and after
this was over, the dripping from the trees, which overhung the canoe,
kept them in constant rain nearly the whole of the night.
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