In The Year 1788, The African Institution Was Formed:
Its object was to
send persons properly qualified to make discoveries in the interior of
Africa.
The first person engaged by them was Mr. Ledyard; and, from all
accounts of him, no person could have been better qualified for such an
arduous enterprise: he was strong, healthy, active, intelligent,
inquisitive, observant, and undaunted; full of zeal, and sanguine of
success; and, at the same time, open, kind, and insinuating in his looks
and manners. At Cairo he prepared himself for his undertaking, by visiting
the slave market, in order to converse with the merchants of the various
caravans, and learn all the particulars connected with his proposed
journey, and the countries from which they came. But be proceeded no
farther than Cairo: here he was seized with an illness, occasioned or
aggravated by the delay in the caravans setting out for Sennaar, which
proved fatal.
Mr Lucas was the next person employed by the African Institution. In
October, 1788, he arrived at Tripoli, from whence he set out with two
shereefs for Fezzan, by the way of Mescerata. On the fourth day after his
departure, he reached Lebida, on the sea coast, the Leptis Magna of the
Romans. He found, on his arrival at Mescerata, that he should not be able
to procure the number of camels necessary to convey his goods to Fezzan;
and was obliged to abandon his enterprize. From the information which he
derived, at Mescerata, confirmed as it was by what the Association had
learnt from the narrative of a native of Morocco, the geography of Africa
was extended from Fezzan, across the eastern division of the Desert, to
Bornou, Cashna, and the Niger.
In a year or two after the return of Mr. Lucas, the African Association,
who were indefatigable in endeavouring to obtain information from all
sources, learnt some interesting and original circumstances from an Arab.
This person described a large empire on the banks of the Niger, in the
capital of which, Housa, he had resided two years: this city he rather
vaguely and inconsistently described as equalling London and Cairo in
extent and population. As it was necessary to scrutinize the truth and
consistency of his narrative, what he related was at first received with
caution and doubt, but an incidental circumstance seemed to prove him
worthy of credit; for in describing the manner in which pottery was
manufactured at Housa, which he did by imitating the actions of those who
made it, it was remarked that he actually described the ancient Grecian
wheel.
In order to learn whether the accounts of this man were true and accurate,
the African Institution sent out Major Houghton: he was instructed to
ascertain the course, and, if possible, the rise and termination of the
Niger; to visit Tombuctoo and Housa, and to return by the Desert.
Accordingly he sailed up the Gambia to Pisania, and thence he proceeded to
Medina, the capital of the Mandingo kingdom. His course from this city was
north-east, which led him beyond the limit of European discovery, to the
uninhabited frontier which separates Bondou and Mandingo. After some time
spent in endeavouring to ingratiate himself with the king of the latter
country, but in vain, he resolved to proceed into Bambouk. On arriving at
Firbanna, the capital, he was hospitably treated by the king. Here be
formed a plan to go with a merchant to Tombuctoo; but on his way he was
robbed, and either perished of hunger, or was murdered: the exact
particulars are not known. To Major Houghton we are indebted for our first
knowledge of the kingdom of Bondou; and for the names of several cities on
the Niger, as well as the course of that river.
Mr. Park was next employed by the African Association; and what he learnt,
observed, did, and suffered, fully justified them in the choice of such a
man. "His first journey was unquestionably the most important which any
European had ever performed in the interior of Africa. He established a
number of geographical positions, in a direct line of eleven hundred miles
from Cape de Verde: by pointing out the positions of the sources of the
Senegal, Gambia, and Niger, he has given a new aspect to the physical
geography of this continent; he has fixed the boundaries of the Moors and
Negroes; unfolded to us the empire of Ludamar; and described, from personal
observation, some important towns on the banks of the Niger, or Joliba. The
information which he has communicated concerning this part of Africa, and
their manners, is equally new and interesting. He has traced with accuracy
the distinction betwixt the Mahometans and Pagans." This journey was
accomplished between the 2d of December, 1795, when he left Pisania, a
British factory two hundred miles up the Gambia, and the 10th of June,
1797, when he returned to the same place, an interval of eighteen months.
Notwithstanding the dangers and fatigues which he had undergone;
notwithstanding that, on his return to his native country, he had married,
and entered on a life which promised him competence and domestic happiness;
yet his mind yearned for a repetition of those scenes and adventures to
which he had lately been accustomed. No sooner, therefore, did he learn
that another mission to Africa was in contemplation, than he set his
inclination on undertaking it, if it were offered to him. This it was: he
accepted the offer; and on the 30th of January, 1805, he left Portsmouth.
It is surprising and lamentable, that notwithstanding his knowledge and
experience of the climate of the country to which he was going, he should
have begun his expedition at a time when her was sure to encounter the
rainy season long before he could reach the Niger.
The expedition was most unfortunate: Mr. Park perished in it, after having
undergone dreadful hardships, and witnessed the death of several of his
companions; and of one of them who was his most intimate friend.
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