Travels of Richard and John Lander into the interior of Africa, for the discovery of the course and termination of the Niger / From unpublished documents in the possession of the late Capt. John William Barber Fullerton ... with a prefatory analysis of the previous travels of Park, Denham, Clapperton, Adams, Lyon, Ritchie, &c. into the hitherto unexplored countries of Africa

by Robert Huish

CHAPTER XXXI.

It was on Tuesday, the 31st March, that the Landers bade adieu to the chief of Badagry, and during the whole of that day they were employed packing up their things preparatory to their departure. They repaired to the banks of the river at sunset, expecting to find a canoe, which Adooley had promised should be sent there for their use; but having waited above two hours, and finding it had not arrived, they placed their goods in two smaller canoes, which were lying on the beach. These soon proved to be leaky, and as no other resource was at hand, they were fain to wait as patiently as they could for the canoe promised them. Every thing betrayed the lukewarmness and indifference of the chief, who had received so much from them, and who expected so much more, but they had answered his purpose, and therefore he took no further notice of them. In two more hours, Hooper made his appearance in Adooley's war canoe, which he had prevailed on him to lend them. This was placed directly between the two others, and their contents speedily transferred into it. It was between ten and eleven o'clock at night that they were fairly launched out into the body of the river. The canoe was above forty feet in length; it was propelled through the water by poles instead of paddles, and moved slowly and silently along. It was a clear and lovely night; the moon shone gloriously as a silver shield, and reflecting the starry firmament on the unruffled surface of the water, the real concave of heaven with its reflection seemed to form a perfect world. The scenery on the borders of the river appeared wild and striking, though not magnificent. In the delicious moonshine it was far from uninteresting: the banks were low and partially covered with stunted trees, but a slave factory and, a fetish hut were the only buildings which were observed on them. They could not help admiring at some distance ahead of their canoe, when the windings of the river would permit, a noble and solitary palm tree with its lofty branches bending over the water's edge; to them it was not unlike a majestical plume of feathers nodding over the head of a beautiful lady.

Proceeding about ten miles in a westerly direction, they suddenly turned up a branch joining the river from the northward, passing on the left the village of Bawie, at which Captain Clapperton landed. They saw several small islands covered with rank grass, interspersed in different parts of the river. They were inhabited by myriads of frogs, whose noise was more hoarse and stunning than ever proceeded from any rookery in Christendom. As they went up the river the canoe men spoke to their priests, who were invisible to them, in a most sepulchral tone of voice, and were answered in the same unearthly and doleful manner. These sounds formed their nocturnal serenade. Notwithstanding the novelty of their situation and the interest they took in the objects, which surrounded them, they were so overcome with fatigue, that they wrapped a flannel around them, and fell fast asleep.

The hard and uncomfortable couch, on which they had reposed the preceding night, made their bodies quite sore, and occasioned them to awake at a very early hour in the morning. At six o'clock A.M. they found themselves still upon the river, and their canoe gliding imperceptibly along. From half a mile in width, and in many places much more, the river had narrowed to about twenty paces; marine plants nearly covered its surface, and marsh miasmata, loaded with other vapours of the most noxious quality, ascended from its borders like a thick cloud. Its smell was peculiarly offensive. In about an hour afterwards, they arrived at the extremity of the river, into which flowed a stream of clear water. Here the canoe was dragged over a morass into a deep but narrow rivulet, so narrow indeed that it was barely possible for the canoe to float, without being entangled in the branches of a number of trees, which were shooting up out of the water. Shortly after, they found it to widen a little; the marine plants and shrubs disappeared altogether, and the boughs of beautiful trees, which hung over the banks, overshadowed them in their stead, forming an arch-like canopy, impervious to the rays of the sun. The river and the lesser stream abound with alligators and hippopotami, the wild ducks and a variety of other aquatic birds resorting to them in considerable numbers. In regard to the alligator, a singular fraud is committed by the natives of the coast, who collect the alligators' eggs in great numbers, and being in their size and make exactly resembling the eggs of the domestic fowl, they intermix them, and sell them at the markets as the genuine eggs of the fowls; thus many an epicure in that part of the world, who luxuriates over his egg at breakfast, fancying that it has been laid by some good wholesome hen, finds, to his mortification, that he has been masticating the egg of so obnoxious an animal as the alligator.

The trees and branches of the shrubs were inhabited by a colony of monkeys and parrots, making the most abominable chattering and noise, especially the former, who seemed to consider the travellers as direct intruders upon their legitimate domain, and who were to be deterred from any further progress by their menaces and hostile deportment. After passing rather an unpleasant, and in many instances an insalubrious night, the travellers landed, about half-past eight in the morning, in the sight of a great multitude, that had assembled to gaze at them.

Passing through a place, where a large fair or market is held, and where many thousands of people had congregated for the purpose of trade, they entered an extensive and romantic town, called Wow, which is situated in a valley. The majority of the inhabitants had never before had an opportunity of seeing white men, so that their curiosity, as may be supposed, was excessive. Two of the principal persons came out to meet them, preceded by men bearing large silk umbrellas, and another playing a horn, which produced such terrible sounds, that they were glad to take refuge, as soon as they could, in the chief's house. The apartment, into which they were introduced was furnished with a roof precisely like that of a common English barn inverted. In the middle of it, which reached to within a few inches of the floor, a large square hole had been made to admit air and water to a shrub that was growing directly under it. The most remarkable, if not the only ornament in the room, were a number of human jaw bones, hung upon the side of the wall, like a string of onions. After a form and ceremonious introduction, they were liberally regaled with water from a calabash, which is a compliment the natives pay all strangers, and then they were shown into a very small apartment. Here Richard Lander endeavoured to procure a little sleep having remained awake during the whole of the preceding night; but they were so annoyed by perpetual interruptions and intrusions, the firing of muskets, the garrulity of women, the unceasing squall of children, the drunken petition of men and boys, and a laugh, impossible to describe, but approximating more to the nature of a horse-laugh than any other, that it was found impossible to sleep for ten minutes together.

The market of this place is supplied abundantly with Indian corn, palm oil, &c., together with trona, and other articles brought hither from the borders of the Great Desert, through the medium of the wandering Arabs. According to the regulations of the fetish, neither a white man nor a horse is permitted to sleep at Wow during the night season: as to the regulations respecting the horses, they knew not what had become of them; they were, according to the orders of Adooley, to have preceded them to this place, but they had not then arrived. With respect to themselves, they found it necessary, in conformity to the orders of the fetish, to walk to a neighbouring village, and there to spend the night. Their course to Wow, through this creek, was north-by-east; and Badagry, by the route they came, was about thirty miles distant.

A violent thunder-storm, which on the coast is called a tornado, visited them this afternoon, and confined them to the "worst hut's worse room" till it had subsided, and the weather become finer. At three p.m. they sallied forth, and were presently saluted by hootings, groanings, and hallooings from a multitude of people of all ages, from a child to its grandmother, and they followed closely at their heels, as they went along, filling the air with their laughter and raillery. A merry-andrew at a country town in England, during the Whitsuntide holidays, never excited so great a stir as did the departure of the travellers from the town of Wow. But it is "a fool's day," and, no doubt, some allowance ought to be made for that. They had not proceeded more than a dozen paces from the outskirts of the town, when they were visited by a pelting shower, which wetted them to the skin in a moment. A gutter or hollow, misnamed a pathway, was soon overflowed, and they had to wade in it up to their knees in water, and through a most melancholy-looking forest, before they entered a village. It was called Sagba, and was about eight miles from Wow. They were dripping wet on their arrival, and the weather still continuing unpleasant, it was some time before any one made his appearance to invite them into a hut. At length the chief came out to welcome them to his village, and immediately introduced them into a long, narrow apartment, wherein they were to take up their quarters for the night. It was built of clay, and furnished with two apertures, to admit light and air into the room. One end was occupied by a number of noisy goats, whilst the travellers took possession of the other. Pascoe and his wife lay on mats at their feet, and a native Toby Philpot, with his ruddy cheek and jug of ale, belonging to the chief, separated them from the goats. The remainder of the suite of the travellers had nowhere whatever to sleep. The walls of their apartment were ornamented with strings of dry, rattling, human bones, written charms, or fetishes, sheep skins, and bows and arrows. They did not repose nearly so comfortably as could have been desired, owing to the swarms of mosquitoes and black ants, which treated them very despitefully till the morning.

Between six and seven on the morning of the 2nd April, they continued their route through woods and large open patches of ground, and at about eleven in the forenoon, they arrived at the borders of a deep glen, more wild, romantic, and picturesque than can be conceived. It was enclosed and overhung on all sides by trees of amazing height and dimensions, which hid it in deep shadow. Fancy might picture a spot so silent and solemn as this, as the abode of genii and fairies, every thing conducing to render it grand, melancholy, and venerable, and the glen wanted only a dilapidated castle, a rock with a cave in it, or something of the kind, to render it the most interesting place in the universe. There was, however, one sight more beautiful than all the rest, and that was the incredible number of butterflies fluttering about like a swarm of bees, and they had no doubt chosen this glen as a place of refuge against the fury of the elements. They were variegated by the most brilliant tints and colourings imaginable: the wings of some of them were of a shining green, edged and sprinkled with gold; others were of a sky-blue and silver, others of purple and gold a lightfully blending into each other, and the wings of some were like dark silk velvet, trimmed and braided with lace.

The appearance of the travelling party was romantic in the extreme, as they winded down the paths of the glen; with their grotesque clothing and arms, bundles, and fierce black countenances, they might have been mistaken for a strange band of ruffians of the most fearful character. Besides their own immediate party, they had hired twenty men of Adooley, to carry the luggage, as there are not any beasts of burthen in the country, the natives carrying all their burthens upon their heads, and some of them of greater weight than are seen carried by the Irishwomen from the London markets. Being all assembled at the bottom of the glen, they found that a long and dangerous bog or swamp filled with putrid water, and the decayed remains of vegetable substances intersected their path, and must necessarily be crossed. Boughs of trees had been thrown into the swamp by some good-natured people to assist travellers in the attempt, so that their men, furnishing themselves with long poles which they used as walking sticks, with much difficulty and exertion, succeeded in getting over, and fewer accidents occurred to them, than could have been supposed possible, from the nature of the swamp. John Lander was taken on the back of a large and powerful man of amazing strength. His brawny shoulders supported him, without any apparent fatigue on his part, and he carried him through bog and water, and even branches of tress, no bigger than a man's leg, rendered slippery with mud, in safety to the opposite side. Although he walked as fast and with as much ease as his companions, he did not set him down for twenty minutes; the swamp being, as nearly as they could guess, a full quarter of a mile in length. They then walked to a small village called Basha, whence, without stopping, they continued their journey, and about four in the afternoon, passed through another village somewhat larger than the former, which is called Soato. Here they found themselves so much exhausted with over fatigue and want of food, that they were compelled to sit down and rest awhile. The people, however, were a very uncourteous and clownish race, and teazed them so much with their rudeness and begging propensities, that they were glad to prosecute their journey to save themselves from any further importunities.

Having passed two other swamps, in the same manner as they had done before, they were completely tired, and could go no further, for they had been walking during the whole of the day in an intricate miserable path, sometimes exposed to the sun, and sometimes threading their way through a tangled wood. Some of the people were sent to the next town, to fetch the horses promised by Adooley, during the absence of whom, the two Landers reposed themselves under a grove of trees, which was in the neighbourhood of a body of stagnant water, in which women were bathing, who cast long side glances at the two white men, who were observing all their motions. It was a low, marshy, and unwholesome spot; and although a village was not many miles ahead, yet they were unable to walk to it. Under these circumstances, they had no other alternative than to rest there for the night, and they had made fires of dried wood and fallen leaves, and had prepared to repose for the night under a canopy of trees, and were in fact actually stretched at full length on the turf for that purpose, when they were agreeably surprised by the arrival of four of their men from the village with hammocks, for although sleeping in the open air, with Heaven for their canopy, in a dark wood, may be all very romantic and pretty in description, yet in reality nothing could be more disagreeable, for the crawling of ants, black worms, &c., over their faces was sufficient to dispel every delightful fancy, which might have been engendered in the brain. These hammocks were highly acceptable, and they were lifted into them with very grateful feelings. It was also exceedingly pleasant, after a long day's journey on foot, to be carried along so easily, and to see the parrots and other birds, with a number of grinning, chattering monkeys, capering from the lofty branches of the trees, and making the woods resound with their hideous screams.

After a charming journey of eight or ten miles, they entered the large and populous town of Bidjie, where the Landers first crossed Clapperton's route, and where Captain Pearse and Dr. Morrison fell sick on the last expedition. About a quarter of a mile from the town they were met by a fellow with a cow's horn, who, chiming in with a trumpeter, who had accompanied them from Wow, produced a harmony surpassing all that they had as yet heard. Two men followed the Bidjie musician with umbrellas of variegated silk, and, thus honoured and escorted, they were set down, amidst a crowd of people, in the centre of the town. As usual, the natives testified the wild delight they felt at the visit of the white men, by clapping of hands and loud shouts of laughter. In a short time, the noise of three or four drums was heard, which was an announcement that the chief was prepared to receive them, on which the multitude quitted them simultaneously, and rushed to the spot where he was sitting, and to which, they were also desired to proceed. The chief shook hands with them in great good humour; and they remarked with pleasure, or they fancied they did, that not only his laugh, but that of the people, was a more social and civilized kind of sound, than what of late they had been accustomed to hear. Nevertheless, when John Lander shook hands with the chief's son, which act was not very diverting in itself, the bystanders set up so general a roar of laughter, that the town rang with the noise; and when Lander ventured further to place his hand on his head, they were yet more amazingly pleased, and actually "shrieked like mandrakes torn out of the earth."

As soon as the ceremony of introduction was over, and the admiration of the people was confined within rational bounds, they wished the chief a pleasant night's rest, and were conducted into a comfortable airy hut, which had a verandah in front. The chief shortly afterwards sent them a goat for supper.

They were now in momentary expectation of hearing some account of their horses from Badagry, and indeed they waited the whole of the day at Bidjie for that purpose, and in order that the men with the luggage might have time to overtake them, for they had been hindered by the swamps and quagmires, which they themselves found so much difficulty in crossing. Just about sun-set, however, two fellows arrived from Badagry with the mortifying intelligence, that their horses would not remain on the water in canoes, but having upset one of them, and kicked out the bottom of another, had swam ashore and been led back to Badagry. They were fully convinced that this story was made up for the occasion, and thus by the bad faith of Adooley they were deprived of their horses. They had put themselves in a fever by walking a journey of two days in one, and were likely to walk the remainder of the way to Jenna in the glare and heat of the sun, for they had no umbrellas to screen themselves from his rays. Richard Lander paid eighty dollars for one of the horses, but Adooley forgot to return the coin, and likewise kept for his own use a couple of saddles which were purchased at Accra. Late in the evening the expected carriers arrived with the luggage, some of which had been wetted and damaged in the marshes. They were now informed that horses would be sent them on the following day from Jenna. During the greater part of the afternoon, Richard Lander amused himself in teaching the simple hearted chief to play on a child's penny Jews-harp, many of which they had brought with them as presents; but his proficiency, owing to a wonderfully capacious mouth, and teeth of extraordinary size, was not near so flattering as could have been wished. His people, however, who had assembled in extraordinary numbers, were of a different opinion, and when they heard their chief draw the first sound from the little instrument, "shouts of applause ran rattling to the skies."

A traveller in England, who enjoys the goodness of the roads, does not often murmur at the demands which are made upon his purse by the turnpike-keepers, but in Africa the frequency of the turnpikes on the road from Badagry to Bidjie, was a matter of some surprise to the Landers. Human beings carrying burthens are the only persons who pay the turnpikes, for as to a horse or a carriage passing through them, it would be a scene of the greatest wonder. The Landers, however, enjoyed the same privilege as the royal family of England, for being under the protection of the government, they as well as all their suite and baggage passed toll free.

On Sunday, April 4th, they arose at sunrise to make the necessary arrangements for leaving Bidjie, which was no easy task, and shortly after they sent to signify their intention to the chief. He expressed a desire to see them as soon as they could conveniently come, accordingly after breakfast, they repaired to his habitation, which was contiguous to their own. After being conducted through a number of yards and huts, inhabited only by goats and sheep, which were tethered to posts, and a number of tame pigeons, they perceived the object of their visit squatting on a leopard's skin, under a decent looking verandah. He was surrounded by his drummers, and other distinguished persons, who made room for the travellers as they drew near. But the chief arose as soon as he saw them, and beckoning them to follow him, they were ushered through a labyrinth of low huts, and still lower doors, till at last they entered the innermost apartment of the whole suite, and here they were requested to sit down and drink rum. The doors they had seen were covered with figures of men, which exactly resembled certain rude attempts at portraying the human body, which may still be observed in several old chapels and churches in the west of England. The chief informed them that they were at liberty to quit Bidjie, as soon as the heat of the sun should have somewhat abated, but previously to their departure he promised to return their visit. On leaving the place he followed them, though without their knowledge; but finding that they walked faster than he did, and that he could not keep pace with them, being a very bulky man, he hastily despatched a messenger to inform them that kings in Africa, whatever they may do elsewhere, always walk with a slow and measured step, and that the strides of the travellers being long and vulgar, he would thank them to lessen their speed, and stop awhile to enable him to come up with them, which was of course agreed to by the travellers with great good will. A few minutes afterwards he reached their house, dressed in a tobe of green silk damask, very rich and showy, and a skull cap made of purple and crimson velvet. With the exception of strings of white beads, which encircled his arms, he used no personal ornaments. He remained chattering with them for a long time.

Many of the women of Bidjie have the flesh on their foreheads risen in the shape of marbles, and their cheeks are similarly cut up deformed. The lobes of their ears are likewise pierced, and the holes made surprisingly large, for the insertion of pieces of and ivory into them, which is a prevailing fashion with all ranks.

The church service was read this morning agreeably to their general custom. The natives, of whose society they were never able to rid themselves, seemed to attach great awe and reverence to their form of worship, for they had made them understand what if they were going about, which induced them to pay a high degree of silent attention to the ceremony, and set at rest for the time, that peculiar continuous laugh by which they are distinguished from their neighbours. In the afternoon, or as the natives express it, when the sun had lost its strength, they departed from the town of Bidjie, accompanied by its good natured, happy governor, and in a very few minutes afterwards reached the banks of a rivulet called Yow. Butterflies were here more numerous than could be imagined, millions of them fluttered around them, and literally hid from their sight every thing but their own variegated and beautiful wings.

Here on the banks of the Yow they took a last farewell of the affectionate old chief, who implored the "Great God," to bless them, and as the canoes in which they had embarked moved from the spot, a loud long laugh, with clapping of hands from the lower classes, evinced the satisfaction they felt at having seen the white men, and their hearty wishes for their welfare.

The Yow is an extremely narrow rivulet, not more than a few feet in breadth, and flows in a serpentine direction through a flat country, covered with rushes, and tall, rank grass. Crocodiles are said to resort here in great numbers, indeed the low bark or growl of these rapacious animals was heard distinctly, and in some instances quite close to them; after they had been pushed along against the stream by poles for five or six miles, between four and five o'clock in the afternoon they landed at a narrow creek, which ran a little way into a thick and gloomy forest. They had not proceeded more than two hundred yards on the pathway, when they were met by a messenger from Jenna, who informed them that the owners of all the horses in the town, had ridden out to welcome their chief, and escort him to his residence, so that they should be obliged to walk the remainder of the way. A few minutes, however, only had elapsed before they descried a horse approaching them in the path, this was a goodly sight to them, who were already becoming wearied and sore with the exertions they had made during the day, for they did not reflect a moment that the animal might not after all be for their use. However, they soon met, and the rider immediately declared that he had left Jenna purposely on their account. The head of the horse was loaded with charms and fetishes, enveloped in pieces of red and blue cloth. His saddle was of Houssa manufacture, and uncommonly neat; in the interior such an article is only used by the principal people, and his bridle also was of curious workmanship. The horseman had an extravagant idea of his own consequence, and seemed to be a prodigious boaster. He wore abundance of clothing, most of which was superfluous, but it made him excessively vain. He informed the travellers that he had been despatched by the king of Jenna, to meet them in the path, and to escort them to the capital; but understanding that Adooley had supplied them with horses, he did not conceive it necessary to send others. The messenger, however, dismounted and offered them his horse, and the Landers agreed that they should ride him in turns. They therefore immediately proceeded, and traversed a rich and various country, abounding plentifully with wood and water. A fine red sand covered the pathway, which they found to be in much better condition than any they had before seen. Sometimes it winded through an open, level tract of fine grazing land, and then it again diverged through forests so thick and deep, that the light of the moon was unable to penetrate the gloom, and they were frequently left in comparatively midnight darkness. It is scarcely possible to give an adequate description of the magnificence, solemnity, and desolate repose of the awful solitudes through which they passed on this evening. They were, however, at times enlightened by the appearance of glow worms, which were so luminous that they could almost see to read by their golden splendour, and sometimes by the moonbeams, which trembled upon the leaves and branches of the trees. A fragrance also was exhaled from the forest, more odiferous than the perfume of violets or primroses, and they might almost fancy, when threading their way through scenery, which cannot be surpassed for beauty in any part of the world, that they were approaching those eternal shades, where, in ancient time, the souls of good men were supposed to wander. The woods rang with the song of the nightbirds, and the hum of the insects, which continued to salute them with little intermission till about ten o'clock at night, when they entered Laatoo, a large and pleasant town. Here they were informed that no house would be offered them, the fetish priest having declared that the moment a white man should enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, they would be seized by their enemies and enslaved. They arrived thirsty and exhausted, but for a long time could not procure even a drop of water. Their tent had been left on the road for want of carriers, and they had made up their minds to rest under a tree, when about two hours afterwards it was fortunately brought into the town. They fixed it immediately, and having succeeded in procuring some wood from the inhospitable inhabitants, they kindled a fire in front of it, and whilst their attendants laid themselves in groups outside, the Landers attempted to sleep within their tent, but it was in vain, so tormented were they with the mosquitoes and the ants.

Before sunrise, on the morning of the 5th of April, they were all on the alert, and struck their tent at a very early hour, they then sent the carriers onwards with the luggage and hastily left the town, without bidding adieu either to the chief or any of his people, on account of their inhospitality, and in an hour's time reached the extensive and important town of Larro. On dismounting, they were first led to a large cleanly swept square, wherein was preserved the fetish of the place, which is the model of a canoe, having three wooden figures with paddles in it. After waiting in the shade for an hour, surrounded by an immense multitude of people of all ages, the chief's approach was announced by a general rush from their quarters, to the other end of the square, where he was walking. They went towards him in order to pay him the accustomed salutation of shaking hands, &c., but one of his followers fancying that John Lander kept his master's hand clasped in his, longer than the occasion warranted, looked fiercely in his face, and snatched away his hand eagerly and roughly, without, however, uttering a word. "I could have pulled the fellow's ears with the greatest goodwill, in the world," says John Lander, "had not the fear of secret revenge deterred me. As it was, I smothered my rising choler, and with my brother quietly followed the chief, to his principal hut, under whose verandah we were served with goora nuts in a huge pewter platter."

Presently the chief squatted himself down on a handsome rush mat, of native manufacture, and they were desired to sit by him, on an elegant Turkey carpet, which had been laid there for the purpose. He was rather fancifully dressed; and wore two tobes, the one nearest the skin being of black silk velvet, and the other of crimson velvet, lined with sarsenet; his boots were of yellow leather, neatly worked, and his wrists were loaded with bracelets of silver and copper. The countenance of the chief betrayed much seriousness and solidity, and the diverting laugh of his countrymen was suspended by a sober cheerfulness. Many of his wives sat behind him in rows, some of whom were of a bright copper colour, indeed a great number of the inhabitants of Larro have fairer complexions than mulattoes. The yard of the hut was crammed full of curious and inquisitive people, who stood with open mouths during the audience. The chief wished to imprint strongly on their minds his own dignity and power; he said he was greater than the governor of Jenna, inasmuch as the latter was a slave to the king of Katunga, but himself was a free man. He would give them permission to depart to-morrow, he continued, and in the mean time would supply them with provisions. The chief was as good as his word, for shortly after they had quitted the hut they received a goat and some game, and he returned their visit in the cool of the evening. It appeared that it was not his general practice to drink spirituous liquors in presence of his people, as it may be against the law to do so, for having carefully excluded all prying eyes from their dwelling, and ordered a mat to be hung over the door-way, he even then turned his face to the wall, whenever he attempted to swallow the brandy that was offered to him. He remained with them rather better than an hour. On the presentation of the chief to them, a religious ceremony was performed, which was not observed in any other part of the country. A chapter from the Koran was repeated to him by a mahommedan priest, to which both he and his people seemed to pay great attention.

Public schools are established in the town of Larro, for the avowed purpose of teaching the rising generation the rudiments of the mahommedan religion.

A singular custom prevails in the town, of compelling children at the breast to swallow a quantity of cold water from a calabash. An infant was nearly choked on this morning by the injection of more than a pint of water down its throat. Whether the mothers follow this custom for the purpose of curing the children of any imaginary complaints, or, as is more probable, in the hope of rendering them less eager for their natural food, was not exactly to be ascertained.

The inhabitants possess horses, asses, and mules, though not in any considerable numbers, they have, however, great abundance of sheep and goats, which are bred in the town; and their yards and huts are the common place of resort for those animals, indeed they may be said to grow up and live with the children of their owners. The Landers amused themselves during the greater part of the day, in looking at the gambols of some very handsome goats, which had strayed into their abode, but the sheep were not near so tame or frolicsome, repelling all the advances towards a more familiar acquaintance, by timidity and ill nature. Shrimps and fish, which are caught in the streams in the vicinity of the town, are daily exposed for sale, and the inhabitants appear to be in possession of a greater share of the necessaries and comforts of life, than their neighbours of the sea coast.

They this day observed the country to be sensibly rising, and agriculture appeared to be conducted on a regular system, which was an evident proof of the active and industrious habits of the people.

The gloomy fastnesses and wildnesses of nature, such as they passed on the first day or two of their journey from Badagry, were less common as they advanced, and open glades with plantations of bananas, fields of yams and Indian corn, all neatly fenced, met their view from the path of yesterday as well as on the present day. The inhabitants of Larro also exhibit greater cleanliness of person and tidiness of apparel than the tribes nearer the sea-shore. Those pests also, the unfortunate beggars, entirely disappeared, for the inhabitants of Larro appeared to possess too much pride to beg.

It was at Larro that the two brothers began to feel the relaxing influence of the climate, but still their hearts were good, and they hoped, by the blessing of Heaven, that their progress through the country might not be impeded by sickness.

On Tuesday, April 6th, the sun had scarcely risen above the horizon, and the mists of the morning yet hung upon the hills, than they quitted the town of Larro, and pursued their journey on horseback. Three horsemen from Jenna followed them on the path, and they were enlivened by the wild jingling of their animals' bells, till they got within a mile of that town, where they alighted at a kind of turnpike, and fired a salute of two muskets. Here they were met by a number of fellows with horns, who blew on them with the accustomed energy of the natives; these men preceded them over a bridge, which was thrown across a moat that surrounds Jenna into the centre of the town, where they again alighted, and waited the chief's pleasure in an open shed. They had not been seated many seconds before an immense crowd of people pressed in upon them on every side, subjecting them to the accustomed inconvenience of want of air, strong unwholesome smells, and a confused hubbub, that defies description. Never were the people more eager to behold a white man; the little ones formed themselves into a ring close to the shed, then followed those of maturer age, after them came a still older class, and the last circle consisted of people as tall as steeples; most of whom held infants in their arms. Altogether a large amphitheatre was formed of black woolly heads, and white teeth set in jetty faces, and although the Landers felt rather amazed at their innocent curiosity, and were obliged to wait a considerable time for the new chief, they could not help being highly diverted with the spectacle around them; at length, to their great relief and joy, intelligence was brought that the chief was ready to receive them. It appears that the principles of etiquette at the royal courts, whether of Europe or of Africa, are not definitively settled, for that which at the court of a William the fourth, would be considered as the extreme of rudeness and disrespect, is at the African courts construed into the most decisive testimony of good breeding and politeness. It may be difficult to determine to which the preference ought to be given, but as etiquette is an essential in all courts, no matter how far it departs from common sense and reason, we do not see why, as amongst the many fooleries which are enacted at courts, the African system should not be introduced. It happens, however, that the etiquette of the European and African are decidedly dissimilar: to make an individual wait is certainly considered in the former, as a breach of good manners, whereas in the latter, the longer a person is made to wait before the introduction takes place, the greater is the honour done him, and the higher is the rank of that person supposed to be, who exacts that ungracious duty. They discovered the chief, or rather governor, sitting on a piece of leather, under a large verandah at one end of a commodious square yard. He was clad in the prevailing finery of crimson velvet tobe and cap, both edged with gold lace. At his right hand sat his wives and women, and the brothers were desired to place themselves on his loft. The women sang the praises of their master in a loud unpleasant voice, in which they were assisted by the music, equally inharmonious, of drums, fifes, clarionets, and horns. On their wishing the chief all the happiness in the world, all the people who had flocked into the yard after them, and every one near the chief, prostrated themselves on the ground, and clapped their hands. Goora nuts were now presented to them in water, and a profusion of compliments passed on both sides; but the dignity of the newly-made governor seemed to sit rather awkwardly upon him for he was as shy and bashful as a maiden, and really appeared agitated, and afraid of his white-faced visitants. Strange as it may appear, the patience of the most patient people in the world was completely exhausted, as might be seen by the desertion of the premises before the travellers quitted them, notwithstanding the few words that had passed between them and the chief. The ceremony being over, they bade adieu to the chief, and having visited the grave of Dr. Morrison on their way, they repaired to a hut which had been got ready for their reception.

The former governor of Jenna, who it will be recollected treated the gentlemen composing the last mission so handsomely, died about fifteen months before the arrival of the Landers, and the king of Youriba chose one of the meanest of his slaves as his successor. This appears, however, to be an invariable rule with the sovereigns of that country, of which Jenna is a province; for they fear as its distance from the capital is very great, that a person of higher rank, if possessed of talents and spirit, could easily influence the natives to throw off the yoke, and declare themselves independent of Youriba. The then governor was a Houssa man, and was raised to the dignity he then held, in all probability, on account of his childish simplicity, and artlessness, for a person with a countenance more indicative of innocence, and perhaps stupidity also, they never recollected to have seen. The qualities of his heart were, however, said to be excellent, and his manners were mild and amiable. He had been twelve months in coming from Katunga to Jenna; being under the necessity of stopping at every town between that place and the capital, to receive the applause and congratulations of the inhabitants, and to join in their festivities and amusements.

The showers were now becoming heavier, and fell more frequently than heretofore, indeed the rainy season may be said fairly to have commenced, the thermometer, on the 6th of April, fell suddenly from 94° to 78", and remained stationary there for the whole of the day.

On the 7th April they carried a present to the governor, which he received with every mark of satisfaction and gratitude; but he declared with sorrow that he should be obliged to send some of it to the king of Katunga, who would not allow him to wear red cloth, till he had been a longer time established in his new situation.

It is related in Captain Clapperton's journal, that one of old Pascoe's wives eloped from him in Katunga, whilst he was asleep, taking with her the trinkets Mr. Belzoni had given him, and said that she was never afterwards heard of. This woman had the effrontery to introduce herself into the house of the Landers with an infant, whereof she asserted with warmth that Pascoe was the father, and that she was determined to leave it upon his hands. She had prevailed upon a number of Houssa women to accompany her, that they might endeavour to induce her quondam husband, who was a countryman of theirs, to receive the child, and make up the breach between them; but the infant not being more than nine or at most twelve months old, and three or four years having elapsed since the elopement took place, they were convinced that, independently of the age and infirmities of Pascoe, it could not by any rule or law be his. Accordingly, notwithstanding the uproar occasioned by the women's tongues, which, whether in Africa or elsewhere, is a very serious matter, the mother with her spurious offspring, and the ladies who came to aid and abet her imposition, were turned out of the yard without any ceremony, to the great relief of Pascoe, and his present wife, who felt rather uncomfortable, whilst the palaver was carrying on.

The fetish priest of the town came dancing into the hut, shortly after the ladies had retired, looking exceedingly wild, and roaring as if possessed by an evil spirit. They paid little attention to the fellow's fooleries, who, not liking his reception, left the hut, after he had received the accustomed fee of a few kowries. The person and dress of the man, together with his whimsical ornaments, were admirably adapted to impose on the credulity and superstition of the inhabitants; although many people of the town, influenced perhaps by the spreading doctrines of Mahomet, spoke their minds pretty freely, calling him a scoundrel and a devil. There was something peculiar in this priest's countenance, which could not be defined. On his shoulders he bore a large club, carved at one end with the figure of a man's head. A vast number of strings of kowries were suspended on this weapon, which were intermixed with shells, broken combs, small pieces of wood with rude imitations of men's faces cut on them, large sea-shells, bits of iron and brass, nut shells, &c. &c. Perhaps, the number of kosries on his person did not fall far short of twenty thousand, and the weight of his various ornaments almost pressed him to the ground. After this fellow had left their apartment, three or four others came to torment them with drums, whistles, and horns, and began and ended the evening's serenade to their own infinite delight and satisfaction. The native drum answers the purpose of a tambourine, and bagpipe as well, and is of peculiar formation. Its top is encircled with little brass bells, and is played upon with one hand, whilst the fingers of the other were employed at the same time in tapping on its surface. The instrument itself was held under the left arm, but instead of an outer wooden case, strings alone were used from end to end, which being pressed against the musician's side, sounds somewhat similar to those of a Scotch bagpipe, but very inferior, are produced. The drummers, with their companions of the horns and whistles, subsist entirely on the charity of the public, who require their services on all occasions of general merriment and jollity.

On the morning of the 8th of April, the two messengers who arrived at Badagry whilst the Landers were there, and stated that they had been employed for the purpose by the governor of Jenna, were discovered to be impostors, and put in irons accordingly. But as the poor fellows had really been of essential service to them, inasmuch as by their representations, they had prevailed upon Adooley to give them leave to proceed on their journey much sooner than they themselves could have done; they thought proper to intercede, in their behalf, and although they were to have been sold for their deception, they were set at liberty. The person also who had met them with a horse after crossing the river Yow near Bidjie, proceeded thither on his own account, without the knowledge or consent of the governor, but as he was a Fellata and a respectable man, little was said or done about that matter. The only motive, which could have influenced these three men in their projects of assisting the travellers, had been without doubt in the expectation of receiving a trifling remuneration, and of this, notwithstanding an injunction to the contrary from the governor, they did not disappoint them, their services were well timed and very acceptable, and amply deserved the reward of a few needles and scissors.

The travellers were this morning witnesses to a specimen of native tumbling and dancing, with the usual accompaniments of vocal and instrumental music; by far the most diverting part of the entertainment was the dancing, but even this did not at all answer the expectations they had formed of it. The dancers were liberally supplied with country beer, and like most amusements of the kind, this one ended in wrangling and intoxication.

The fellows who accompanied them as guides from Badagry, and who, in their native place would sell their birthright for a glass of rum, had now washed themselves, and thrown aside their rags, appearing in all public places in borrowed finery. They now never left their habitations without Adooley's sword, which they had with them, and a host of followers. On this morning, they attended the celebration of the games in showy apparel, with silk umbrellas held over their heads; and amongst other articles of dress, the principal of them wore an immense drab-coloured quaker's hat of the coarsest quality. So great were their ostentation and pride, that they would scarcely deign to speak to a poor man.

It was now they learned with great regret, that all the horses of the late governor of Jenna, had been interred according to custom with the corpse of their master, and they consequently began to be apprehensive that they should be obliged to walk the whole of the way to Katunga, as the present ruler was not the owner of a single beast of burthen. This piece of ill news was carefully withheld from the travellers, until the presents had been all duly delivered to the governor and his head men; but in this instance, the latter alone were to blame. Matters being thus unpleasantly situated, they sent a messenger to the chief of Larro, informing him of the circumstance, and entreating him to redeem his promise of lending them a horse and mule; and another messenger was sent to Adooley, requesting him to despatch immediately, at least one of their horses from Badagry, for they had found it impossible to proceed without them. It was not supposed that he would pay any attention to the request; and yet on the other hand, it was scarcely to be imagined that he would carry his chicanery so far, because he must fear that the variety of orders they had given him, to receive valuable presents from England, would never be honoured by their countrymen, if he refused to fulfil his engagements with them.

Since the demise of the late governor, it was calculated that Jenna had lost more than five hundred of its population, chiefly by wars, intestine broils, &c. and all for want of a ruler. It must not, however, be imagined, that because the people of this country are almost perpetually engaged in conflicts with their neighbours, the slaughter of human beings is therefore very great. They pursue war, as it is called, partly as an amusement, or "to keep their hands in it," and partly to benefit themselves by the capture of slaves. As they were sailing down the coast, they were informed that the natives of La Hoo, and Jack-a-jack, had been warring for three years previously, and were still at variance, but during that long period only one single decrepit old woman, who found it no easy matter to run as fast as her countrymen, was left behind, and became the solitary victim of a hundred engagements. Much after the same fashion are the bloodless wars of Jenna. Success depends much more on the cunning and address of the parties, than on any extraordinary display of intrepidity, and living not dead subjects are sought after, so that it is their interest to avoid hard blows, and enrich themselves by the sale of their prisoners. Perhaps the extraordinary decrease in the population of Jenna, has arisen principally from the desertion of slaves, who embrace the opportunity, whilst their masters are from home, engaged in predatory excursions, of running away; and thus the latter often become losers instead of gainers by their unnatural passion for stealing their fellow creatures. The individuals captured are sent to the coast, and the chiefs of those unsettled and barbarous tribes that inhabit it, are appointed agents to regulate the sale of them, for which they receive half the profits.

Late in the evening, the young Fellata already mentioned, paid them a visit, and offered his horse for sale. He was a mahommedan priest, and was accompanied by a countryman of the same persuasion, but neither of the holy men appeared in their dealing to understand the meaning of truth or justice. An agreement was made and thirty dollars paid. The merchant implored them not to tell his father, who was the real owner of the horse, that he had sold him for less money than he had received, and in this request, he was seconded by his more venerable friend, because he said he wanted a small sum for his private use, which he knew his parent would refuse him. The words were hardly out of their mouths, before the two Mussulmans publicly went through their ablutions in front of the house, where, turning their faces to the east, they seemed to pray very devoutly to the founder of their faith. When this was concluded, they sang an Arabic hymn with great solemnity, and the whole had a wonderful and immediate effect on the feelings of many of their followers in the yard, who, mistaking loudness of voice for fervour, and hypocritical seriousness for piety, made the two worshippers a present of money. The Fellatas are generally supposed to be spies from Soccatoo, but although this is a very prevalent opinion, no measures whatever have yet been taken either to watch their motions, or question them as to their intentions.

The women of Jenna employ themselves generally either in spinning cotton, or preparing Indian corn for food. Much of the former material grows in the vicinity of the town, but the cultivation of the plant is not carried on with that spirit which it deserves. Silk, which is brought over land from Tripoli, the inhabitants sometimes interweave in their cotton garments, but such being very expensive, are only worn by the higher class of people. They have abundance of sheep, bullocks, pigs, goats, and poultry, but they prefer vegetable food to animal; their diet, indeed, is what we should term poor and watery, consisting chiefly of preparations of the yam and Indian corn, notwithstanding which a stronger or more athletic race of people is nowhere to be met with. Burdens with them, as with the natives of many parts of the continent, are invariably carried on the head, which, it is more than likely, occasions that dignified uprightness of form, and stateliness of walk, so often spoken of by those acquainted with the pleasing peculiarities, of the African female. The weight of a feather is borne on the head in preference to its being carried in the hand; and it not infrequently requires the united strength of three men to lift a calabash of goods from the ground to the shoulder of one, and then, and not till then, does the amazing strength of the African appear. The greater part of the inhabitants of Jenna have the hair of their head and their eyebrows shaven. But the governor's ministers and servants wear their hair in the shape of a horse shoe as a mark of distinction. It is confined to the crown of the head by large daubs of indigo, and none of the people presuming to imitate it, it answers the purpose of a livery.

The early part of the morning of April 10th, was obscured by a mist or haze, which was as thick, and at least as unwholesome, as a London fog in November, but between nine and ten o'clock it dispersed; and the sun shone out with uncommon lustre. The hut which they occupied was in a large square yard, and was the property of the late governor's wife, whose story is rather romantic. Each of its sides was formed by huts, which had all at one time been inhabited, but a fire having broken out in one of them by some accident, the greater part perished. A few huts were only then standing, together with black, naked walls, and stakes, which supported the verandahs, the latter reduced to charcoal. The tenantable buildings were inhabited by the female slaves of the owner of the square, and the travellers and their suite.

It is the custom in this place, when a governor dies, for two of his favourite wives to quit the world on the same day, in order that he may have a little, pleasant, social company in a future state; but the late governor's devoted wives had neither ambition nor inclination to follow their venerable husband to the grave, not having had or got, according to their opinion, enough of the good things of this world; they therefore went, and hid themselves before the funeral ceremonies were performed, and had remained concealed ever since with the remainder of their women. On this, day, however, one of these unfortunates, the individual to whom the house belonged, which the travellers resided, was discovered in her hiding place at the present governor's, and the alternative of a poisoned chalice, or to have her head broken by the club of a fetish priest, was offered her. She chose the former mode of dying, as being the less terrible of the two; and she, on this morning, came to their yard, to spend her last hours in the society of her faithful slaves, by whom she was addressed by the endearing name of mother. Poor creatures! as soon as they learnt her misfortune, they dropped their spinning; the grinding of corn was also relinquished; their sheep, goats, and poultry were suffered to roam at large without restraint, and they abandoned themselves to the most excessive and poignant grief; but now, on the arrival of their mistress, their affliction seemed to know no bounds. There is not to be found in the world perhaps, an object more truly sorrowful, than a lonely defenceless woman in tears; and on such an occasion as this, it may very easily be conceived that the distress was more peculiarly cutting. A heart that could not be touched at a scene of this nature, must be unfeeling indeed. Females were arriving the whole day, to condole with the old lady, and to weep with her, so that the travellers neither heard nor saw any thing but sobbing and crying from morning to the setting of the sun. The principal males in the town likewise came to pay their last respects to their mistress, as well as her grave-digger, who prostrated himself on the ground before her. Notwithstanding the representations and remonstrances of the priest, and the prayers of the venerable victim to her gods, for fortitude to undergo the dreadful ordeal, her resolution forsook her more than once. She entered the yard twice to expire in the arms of her women, and twice did she lay aside the fatal draught, in order to take another walk, and gaze once more on the splendour of the sun and the glory of the heavens, for she could not bear the idea of losing sight of them forever. She was for some time restless and uneasy, and would gladly have run away from death, if she durst; for that imaginary being appeared to her in a more terrible light, than our pictures represent him with his shadowy form and fatal dart. Die she must, and she knew it; nevertheless she tenaciously clung to life till the very last moment. In the mean time her grave was preparing, and preparations were making for a wake at her funeral. She was to be buried in one of her own huts, the moment after the spirit had quitted the body, which was to be ascertained by striking the ground near which it might be lying at the time, when, if no motion or struggle ensued, the old woman was to be considered as dead. The poison used by the natives on these occasions, destroys life, it is reported, in fifteen minutes.

The reason of the travellers not meeting with a better reception when they slept at Laatoo, was the want of a chief to that town, the last having followed the old governor of Jenna, to the eternal shades, for he was his slave. Widows are burnt in India, just as they are poisoned or clubbed at Jenna, but in the former country no male victims are destroyed on such occasions. The original of the abominable custom at Jenna, of immolating the favourite wives, is understood to have arisen from the dread on the part of the chiefs of the country in olden times, that their principal wives, who alone were in possession of their confidence, and knew where their money was concealed, might secretly attempt their life, in order at once to establish their own freedom, and become possessed of the property; that, so far from entertaining any motive to destroy her husband, a woman might on the contrary have a strong inducement to cherish him as long as possible, the existence of the wife was made to depend entirely on that of her lord, and this custom has been handed down from father to son even to the present time. But why men also, who can have no interest to gain on the death of their prince, should be obliged to conform to the same rite, is not to be so easily accounted for. The individual, who was governor of Jenna at the time of the visit of the Landers, must of necessity go down to the grave on the first intelligence of the demise of the king of Youriba, and as that monarch was a very aged man, the situation of the former was not the most enviable in the world.

Previously to her swallowing the poison, the favourite wife of a deceased chief or ruler destroys privately all the wealth, or rather money of her former partner, in order that it may not fall into the hands of her successor. The same custom is observed at Badagry also, and although the king's son may be of age at the period of his father's death, he inherits his authority and influence only. He is left to his own sagacity and exertions to procure wealth, which can seldom be obtained without rapine, enslavement, and bloodshed.

Whenever a town is deprived of its chief, the inhabitants acknowledge no law; anarchy, troubles, and confusion immediately prevail, and until a successor is appointed, all labour is at an end. The stronger oppress the weak, and perpetrate every species of crime, without being amenable to any tribunal for their actions. Private property is no longer respected, and thus, before a person arrives to curb its licentiousness, a town is not unfrequently reduced from a flourishing state of prosperity and of happiness to all the horrors of desolation.

Considerable surprise was now excited at the delay of the messenger, who was sent to Badagry for the horses, on which they placed so much value, for he had not yet returned, although he promised to be back in four days from the time of his departure. As he had exceeded the time by a whole day, and being a native of Badagry, the travellers had given up all hopes of again seeing either him or the horse, or even the message sword they had lent him as a token that he had been sent by them. Positive assurances were given them that leave would be granted to depart from Jenna on the following week, but as they had only one horse, they would be obliged to take it in turns to ride, or procure a hammock, which it would be a difficult thing to get, and attended with considerable expense.

In the mean time, the devoted old queen dowager engrossed the chief part of their attention, although her doom was inevitably fixed, yet her cheerfulness appeared rather to increase, and she seemed determined to spin out her thread of life to its utmost limit; spies were now set over her, and she was not permitted to go out of the yard.

On Monday the 12th of April, the travellers had the customary visit to their yard of a long line of women, who came every morning with rueful countenances and streaming eyes to lament the approaching death of the old widow. They wept, they beat their breast and tore their hair; they moaned, and exhibited all manner of violent affliction at the expected deprivation. Perhaps their sorrow was sincere, perhaps it was feigned; at all events their lamentations were ungovernable and outrageous; the first woman in the line begins the cry, and is instantly followed by the other voices; the opening notes of the lamentation were rather low and mournful, the last wild and piercing.

The principal people of the place finding the old lady still obstinately bent on deferring her exit, sent a messenger to her native village, to make known to her relatives, that should she make her escape, they would take all of them into slavery, and burn their town to ashes, in conformity to an established and very ancient law. They therefore strongly advised the relatives of the old woman for their own sakes, and for the sake of the public, to use all their endeavours to prevail upon her to meet her fate honourably and with fortitude. A deputation was expected from the village on the morrow, when no doubt, after a good deal of crying and condoling, and talking and persuading, the matter will eventually be decided against the old lady. It was well understood that she had bribed a few of the most opulent and influential inhabitants of Jenna with large sums of money, to induce them to overlook her dereliction from the path of duty, and by their representations that she had obtained the tacit consent of the king of Katunga to live out the full term of her natural life. But the people for many miles round, horror-struck at such impiety and contempt for ancient customs, rose to enforce the laws of her country against her.

On Tuesday April 13th, the town of Jenna was visited by one of those terrific thunder storms, which are so prevalent in those latitudes. The thatched hut in which the Landers resided, afforded but an insecure and uncertain asylum against its fury. Part of the roof was swept away, and the rain admitted freely upon their beds, whence the most awful lightning flashes could be seen, making "darkness visible." It appeared as if the genius of the storm were driving through the murky clouds in his chariot of fire to awaken the slumbering creation, and make them feel and acknowledge his power. It was, indeed, a grand lesson to human pride, to contemplate the terrors of a tornado through the trembling walls and roof of a gloomy dilapidated hut in the interior of Africa. It is scenes like these, which make the traveller think of his home, his friends, and his fireside enjoyments, and by comparison, estimate the blessings which are his portion in his native land. In civilized countries, when men are visited by an awful calamity of this kind, the distinctions of rank are levelled, and numbers flock together, for the purpose of keeping each other in countenance, and strengthening each other's nerves; but here all was naked, gloomy, desolate.

They passed the night, as may be supposed, in a very uncomfortable state. The roof of their dwelling had long been infested with a multitude of rats and mice; and these vermin being dislodged from their haunts, by the violence of the wind and rain, sought immediate shelter between their bed-clothes; and to this very serious inconvenience was added another still greater, viz. the company of lizards, ants, mosquitoes, besides worms and centipedes, and other crawling, creeping, and noxious things, which the tempest seemed to renovate with life and motion. After a long, long night, the morning at length appeared, and the terrors of the storm were forgotten.

Not long after sunrise, two fresh legions of women entered their yard, to mourn with their old mistress, and the shrieks and lamentations of these visitors, were more violent than any of their predecessors. It made them shudder to hear their cries. The piercing cries, that assailed the ears of Telemachus, at his entrance into the infernal regions, were not more dolorous or fearful. Their eyes were red with weeping; their hands were clasped on the crown of the head; their hair was in frightful disorder, and two channels of tears were plainly seen flowing down over the naked bosom of each of the women. In this manner they passed before the threshold of the hut in two close lines, and were observed to bend the knee to the venerable matron, without uttering a word. They then rose and departed, and their cries could be heard long after they were out of sight.

Matters were now arranged for their departure, and after breakfast they went to pay their last respects to the governor. Of course they were obliged to wait a tiresome length of time outside his residence, before admittance was obtained; but when the doors were opened, the band that were in attendance inside, played a native tune as a token of welcome. A greater number of drummers were observed than on any former occasion. Some of their instruments were something in the shape of a cone, and profusely ornamented with plates and figures of brass. On one of these was represented the busts of two men, with a tortoise in the act of eating out of the mouth of one of them. The tortoise had a cock by its side, and two dogs standing as guardians of the whole. These figures were ail ingeniously carved in solid brass. Both ends of the larger drums were played on with the palms of the hand; hundreds of little brass bells were suspended round the edges for ornament rather than use; for being without clappers, they could not produce any sound. The common native drum is beaten on one of its ends only, and with a stick shaped like a bow.

After a little conversation, the chief and his principal people shook the Landers affectionately by the hand, and wished them every blessing; and as soon as they got outside the yard, they mounted their horses and rode out of the town. The chief of Larro had broken his promise, but they were fortunate enough to meet with and purchase another horse that morning, so that they cared little about it. Their pathway led through a champaign country, partially wooded; and after a pleasant ride of three quarters of an hour, they entered the small village of Bidjie. Here their carriers dropped their loads, nor could they be induced to resume them by the most pressing solicitations. Nor would the villagers, as their duty required, take them up; but when they were begged to do so, they laughed at them, so that they were compelled to remain at Bidjie until the following day. This was very provoking, but such was the tiresome mode of travelling through this country. No consideration can induce the natives to shake off their habitual indolence, not if a voice from heaven were to be heard, would they do it. Pleasure and sloth are with them synonymous terms, and they are scarcely alive to any other gratification. In the mean time, the chief, who appeared to be a very good sort of man, although he had little authority over his people, sent them a fatted goat; and being in good health, and having very encouraging prospects held out to them as to their future progress, they were determined to forget their little troubles and vexations, and spend the evening as cheerfully as they could.

Hawks and vultures are exceedingly numerous both at Jenna and this place, the former are bold and disgusting birds, but the latter are so hungry and rapacious that they pounce fearlessly in the midst of the natives when at their meals. Whilst the Landers were at supper, one of them darted at a piece of meat, which one of their men held between his fingers, and snatched it from him whilst he was conveying it to his mouth.

At an early hour of Wednesday the 14th April, to the infinite surprise and pleasure of the Landers, the man from Badagry made his appearance with one of their horses and an English saddle. The latter was as acceptable to them as the horse, for on the preceding day, for want of a saddle, they were obliged to substitute a piece of cloth, and the back of the animal being as sharp as a knife, it was no very pleasant thing to ride him; walking would have been the far less irksome exercise of the two. Pascoe, whose sagacity and experience proved of infinite service to them, was lamed in his endeavours to walk as fast as the rest of the party, and as he had the misfortune of having one leg shorter than the other he became the general butt and laughing stock of his more robust companions. This day, however, they mounted him on the extra horse, on the back of which he retorted their revilings, and the whole of them became as envious of his dignity, as they were before facetious at his expense.

They took their departure from Bidjie while the morning was yet cool and pleasant, and arrived at Chow before eleven o'clock in the forenoon. The natives have an unaccountable fancy that white men are fond of poultry to an excess, insomuch that whenever they entered a town or village, all the fowls were immediately seized and confined in a place of security until their departure.

Several strangers accompanied them from town to town, for the purpose of evading the duty which is exacted at the turnpike gates, by stating themselves to be of the number of their attendants. Women also placed themselves under the protection of their men from Cape Coast Castle, in order that they might enjoy a similar advantage; in return for this favour, they showed a great willingness to do for them many little kind offices, and they were found particularly useful in making fires, preparing food, &c. for the whole of the party.

Their journey throughout the whole of this day was extremely pleasant. At one time the path ran in a serpentine direction through plains covered with green turf, at another it led them amidst large groves of stately trees, from whose branches a variety of playful chattering monkeys diverted them by their mischievous tricks, and the grey parrot, with its discordant, shrill scream, and other beautiful birds, "warbled their native wood notes wild."

The chief of Chow, who received and entertained Captain Clapperton, had been dead some time, and was succeeded by a humble, good natured, and active individual, who treated the white men more like demi-gods than human beings. At the time of their arrival, he was engaged in superintending the slaves at his corn and yam plantations, but he hastened to them the moment he was informed of the circumstance. He possessed a number of horses, one of which was the smallest and most beautiful animal they ever beheld.

In the evening, the chief visited them again with a present of provisions, and a few goora nuts. Richard Lander took the opportunity of playing on a bugle horn in his presence, by which he was violently agitated, under the supposition that the instrument was nothing less than a snake.

For the first time since their landing they observed the loom in active operation; the manufacture of cotton cloth is, however, carried on exclusively by women, the men appearing too slothful and indolent to undertake any labour, which might subject them to fatigue.

On the following day the path wound through a country charmingly diversified by hill and dale, woods and open glades, and watered by streams flowing over beds of fine white sand. A horseman from Katunga met them about ten o'clock in the morning, whose dress and accoutrements were highly grotesque. He neither stopped nor spoke, but couched his lance as he gallopped past them. It was supposed that he was the bearer of a message to the chief of Jenna, from the king of Katunga, and that it had some reference to themselves, but whether it was an act of caution or of compliment could not be ascertained.

They met a number of people of both sexes in the path, who were returning from Egga to Chow, and several naked boys on their way to the coast, under the care of guardians. These were slaves, and would be most likely sold at Badagry. Some of the woman bore burdens on their heads, that would have tired a mule and broken the neck of a Covent Garden Irish woman, and children not more than five or six years old trudged after them with loads that would have given a full grown person in Europe the brain fever.

They departed from Chow before sunrise; a surprising dew had fallen during the night and distilled from the leaves and branches in large drops. They passed during the forenoon, over three or four swampy places, covered with reeds, rushes, and rank grass, which were inhabited by myriads of frogs of prodigious size. On crossing the streams, they were invariably saluted by a loud and unaccountable hissing, as if from a multitude of serpents. They could not account for this extraordinary noise in any other way, than by supposing it to have proceeded from some species of insects, whose retreats they had invaded.

With very trifling manual labour, the path, which was little better than a mere gutter formed by repeated rains, might be converted into a good and commodious road; and were a tree simply thrown over them, the streams and morasses might be crossed with ease and safely. But the natives appeared to have no idea whatever of such improvements, and would rather be entangled in thick underwood, and wade through pools of mud and water, than give themselves any trouble about repairing the road. But the native, however, says to himself, and not unjustly, cui bono? neither in England or in Africa are individuals to be found, who will undertake a work of difficulty and fatigue gratuitously, merely for the benefit and accommodation of others; characters of that description are very rarely to be found, and perhaps the interior of Africa is the last place in the world where we should look for them. An Englishman might find it to be his interest to repair the roads on which he is frequently obliged to travel; but what benefit can accrue to the uncivilized African, and particularly the slave, who has not a blade of grass under the canopy of Heaven, which he can call his own, to trouble himself about the repair of a road, on which he might never have occasion to travel, and which, with the great uncertainty which is always hanging over his future condition in life, he may never fee again. Trees not unfrequently fall across the pathway, but instead of removing them, the people form a large circuit round them, even a small ant hill is an object too mighty to be meddled with, and it is left in the centre of the narrow road, to be jumped over, or to be travelled round, according to the option of the traveller.

Several women, with little wooden figures of children on their heads, passed them in the course of the morning; they were mothers, who, having lost a child, carry these rude imitations of them about their persons for an indefinite time, as a symbol of mourning. Not one of them could be induced to part with one of these little affectionate memorials.

They entered Egga, which is a very large town, in the early part of the afternoon. On their arrival, they were introduced into the house occupied by Captain Clapperton on his last journey, in the yard of which, repose the remains of an Englishman, named Dawson, who died here of a fever when that officer passed through the country. Both the hut and yard were soon tilled with people, and were in a state of filth, which baffles all description. They could not by any means rid themselves of sheep, goats, and fowls, with their train; in spite of all their attempts to remove them, they were determined to be their companions, and this grievance, added to the tongues of a hundred visitors, made their situation all but intolerable.

Egga is the principal market town in this part of Africa, and is attended by buyers and sellers for many miles round. Women here are the chief, if not the only traders, most of them are of graceful and prepossessing exterior, and they all practise those petty tricks and artifices in their dealings, with which the market women of more civilized countries are not unacquainted.

This day, April 16th, was one of the hottest they ever remember to have felt. They found the path in much better condition, than that on which they had previously travelled, and it lay almost entirely through plantations of yams, calavances and pumpkins, and three or four different varieties of corn, which a number of labourers were employed in weeding, &c. The hoe is the only implement of husbandry in use, and indeed they can well dispense with every other, because the soil, during the rainy months, is so soft and light, that but very little manual exertion in working it is required. Population is abundant, labourers may be hired to any number; and it may be affirmed that he introduction of the plough would scarcely be a blessing, but on the contrary, it would furnish fresh encouragement to the general sin of indolence.

Having crossed at noon a small but agreeable river flowing from east to west, in which several females were bathing and washing clothes, they shortly afterwards entered the capacious and populous town of Jedoo. Here they were informed that the chief had been in the grave more than a twelvemonth; and that no one having yet been nominated to succeed him, every thing continued in a state of confusion and misrule. They were conducted, after having waited a little, into a large yard belonging to the late governor, and in a short time received a visit from his brother, in company with all the elders of the place; their conversation was, however, very unpleasant, and their whole behaviour much cooler than was agreeable, the more so as such a reception had been entirely unexpected.

The yard in which they resided, was perfectly circular, and walled with huts, all tenanted by the late chiefs widows, who employ their time and earn their livelihood by spinning and weaving. Not less than a hundred of the king of Katunga's ladies were lodging in the yard with them. They had all passed the bloom of life, and had lately arrived with loads of trona and country cloth, which they barter for salt, and various articles of European manufacture, particularly beads; with these they return home, and expose them for sale in the market, and afterwards the profits are taken to their husbands. These royal ladies are distinguished from their countrywomen only by a peculiar species of cloth, which is wrapped round their goods, and which no one dared to imitate on pain of perpetual slavery. This severe punishment is often inflicted, for, as the king's wives pay no tribute or turnpike dues whatever, and must besides be entertained by the chiefs of every town through which they pass, strong inducements are offered for others to attempt to deceive, by using the forbidden cloth, and hence examples are necessary. As a contrast to the afflicted females of Jenna, the wives of the king of Katunga all fell to crying for joy this evening, on recognizing a few old acquaintance in the yard, who soon joined them in the melancholy music. It was highly ridiculous to see them, for after the first burst had subsided, they began to chat with a garrulity far beyond that of the most talkative of their European sisters. The conversation lasted more than an hour, till at last it resolved itself into a violent quarrel, which lasted during the remainder of the day.

It was now ten o'clock, and the women were still sitting in groups round the several wood fires. The travellers themselves only occupied a small verandah, which was simply the projection of the roof of a thatched hut. Their horses were fastened to wooden stakes in the centre of the yard; their men were lying round them, warming themselves at their own fires. Sheep, beautiful sheep with tinkling bells hung round their necks, were chewing the cud in peace and happiness. But notwithstanding it was the hour of repose, the tongues of the female travellers were making a clatter which all the women of Billingsgate could not rival, and together with the squalling of brats innumerable, completely spoiled the emotions, which the wild and pleasing scene around them would otherwise have awakened in their breasts. The sheep here are regarded with as much partiality, and treated much in the same manner as ladies lap dogs are in England. Great care is taken to keep them clean and in good condition; they are washed every morning in soap and water; and so greatly are they attached to their masters or mistresses, that they are constantly at their meals, following them in doors and out, from town to town, and in all their peregrinations. Goats, sheep, swine and poultry are in great plenty here, and in the possession of every one, notwithstanding which they are always excessively dear, because the people take a pride in displaying the number and quality of their domesticated animals.

The inhabitants of Jeado are in general very decently dressed in cotton dresses of their own manufacture. In their persons, they are much more agreeable, than those who reside near the sea. European goods are brought hither from Dahomey and Badagry, but more especially from Lagos, and are daily exposed for sale in the markets of Jadoo and Egga. Several chiefs on the road, questioned the travellers to account to them for the Portuguese not purchasing so many slaves as formerly, and they made very sad complaints of the stagnation of that branch of traffic. It would perhaps have been as much as their heads were worth, to have told them the true reason.

Hippopotami abound in the rivers in the vicinity of the town, when young, the flesh and skin of these animals are sold as food, and whips and other articles are made of the skins of the old ones. At the usual hour of the following day, April 17th, they quitted Jadoo, and in the middle of the day arrived at a clean, pretty little village, called Pooya. The appearance of the country between these places is extremely fine, resembling a magnificent orchard. On their way they met several hundreds of people of both sexes and all ages, with a great number of bullocks, sheep, and goats, together with fowls and pigeons, which were carried on the head in neat wicker baskets. Several of the travellers were loaded with country cloth, and indigo in large round balls. They were all slaves, and were proceeding to the coast from the interior, to sell the goods and animals under their charge. One old woman had the misfortune to let a large calabash of palm oil fall from her head: on arriving at the spot, they found a party of females, her companions in slavery, wringing their hands and crying. The affliction of the old woman was bitter indeed, as she dreaded the punishment which awaited her on her return to the house of her master. John Lander compassionated her distress, and gave her a large clasp knife, which would more than recompense her for the loss of the oil, on which the women wiped away their tears, and fell down on the dust before them, exhibiting countenances more gladsome and animated than could be conceived.

The mortality of children must be immense indeed here, for almost every woman they met with on the road, had one or more of those little wooden images, already mentioned. Wherever the mothers stopped to take refreshment, a small part of their food was invariably presented to the lips of these inanimate memorials. The daughters of civilization may boast of the refinement of their feelings, but under what circumstances did they ever exhibit a stronger instance of maternal affection than these rude, untutored mothers of interior Africa evinced to our travellers. The English mother will frequently deposit her child in the grave, and a few days afterwards will be seen joining in all the pleasures and vanities of the world. Whirled about in a vortex of dissipation, the mother of civilization bears no memorial about her of the infant that is in its grave; but the uncivilized African carries about with her the image of her child, and, in the full force of her maternal affection, feeds not herself until in her imagination she has fed the being who once was dear to her. There was something beautifully affectionate in the mother offering the food to the images of her children, and had a whole volume been written in display of the African female character, a more forcible illustration could not have been given of it.

Although Pooya is considered by the natives to be a day's journey from Jadoo, they only halted to pay their respects to the chief, and then continued their journey over gentle hills, and through valleys watered by streams and rivulets, so as to reach Engua in the afternoon. The soil between the two towns is mostly dry and sterile, and large masses of ironstone, which looked as if they had undergone the action of fire, presented themselves almost at every step. The day was oppressively hot, and as they had been exposed to the sun for a great number of hours, when they reached Engua, their skin was scorched and highly inflamed, which proved very painful to them. Richard Lander was comparatively inured to the climate, but his brother now begun to feel it severely, he was sore, tired, and feverish, and longed to be down in a hut, but they were obliged to remain under a tree for three hours, before they could be favoured with that opportunity, because the chief of that town was engaged in making a fetish, for the purpose of counteracting any evil intentions that the white men might entertain towards him. All their people were fatigued and exhausted on the road, complaining much of the heat, and one of them was brought to them in the evening in a high fever. Engua is the town where the lamented Captain Pearce breathed his last, and here also Captain Clapperton felt quite disheartened, and almost despaired of penetrating further into the interior of the country. The chief sent them only a little Indian corn and water, and obstinately refused to sell them either a goat, sheep, or any other animal, although there were many thousands in the town.

Their reception at Engua was so truly inhospitable, that they arose at a much earlier hour than they generally did, and proceeded on their way by starlight. In place of the ironstone which they had observed on the preceding day, the country was now partially covered with large and unshapely masses of granite. Mountains and elevated hills were observed to the right of them, the sides of which were thickly wooded, and their summits reaching above the clouds. At nine o'clock, they passed through a neat and cleanly village named Chakka, which had lately lost its chief, and an hour afterwards crossed a small river called Akeeney, which was full of sharp and rugged rocks, and is reported to fall into the Lagos. They were carried over on men's shoulders without much difficulty, but the horses were a long time in getting across. Hence the path winded up a high and steep hill, which they ascended, and entered the town of Afoora about mid-day. The governor gave them a hearty welcome, and said it made him so extremely happy to see them, which was also expressed by the joy and animation of his countenance. The best hut in the town, which was the most airy and commodious of any they had seen, was presently got ready for them, and shortly after they had taken possession of it, they received a quantity of excellent provisions from the chief.

This was the first day of his government; his father, the late chief, had been dead some time, but from motives of delicacy he refused to take upon himself his authority until this morning. In honour of the event, a large company of women were dancing, rejoicing, and making merry all the evening, outside their hut. It appeared as rather a strange circumstance to Richard Lander, that the chief or governor of almost every town through which they had passed since leaving Badagry, who was alive and well on his return to the coast three years ago, had been either slain in war or had died from natural causes. Scarcely one of them was alive on his present expedition.

On April 19th, an easy pleasant ride of three hours brought them to the first walled town they had seen, which was called Assinara. The wall was of clay and so diminutive, that a person might easily jump over it; a dry ditch about eighteen inches deep, and three or four feet in width also surrounds the town. Over this a single plank is thrown, which answers the purpose of a draw-bridge, and is the only means the inhabitants have of getting in and out of the place. Assinara had also lately lost its chief in some battle, and all business was transacted by a benevolent elderly man, who volunteered his services till a successor should be appointed. From him the Landers received the warmest reception, and the most hospitable treatment.

The climate now began to have a most debilitating effect upon John Lander, and from a state of robust health and vigour, he was now reduced to so great a degree of lassitude and weakness, that he could scarcely stand a minute at a time. Every former pleasure seemed to have lost its charm with him. He was on this day attacked with fever, and his condition would have been hopeless indeed, had his brother not been near to relieve him. He complained of excessive thirst. Ten grains of calomel were administered to him, and afterwards a strong dose of salts. On the following day, April 20th, he was much better and free from fever, but too weak to travel, their stay, therefore, at Assinara was unavoidably protracted.

The acting governor visited them with a very long face, and entreated the Landers to discover a certain wizard, whom he imagined to be concealed somewhere in the town. By the influence of this sorcerer, a number of people, it was said, pined away and died, and women with child were more especially the object of his malevolence. These victims dropped down suddenly, without the slightest warning, and the deaths had lately been so numerous, that the old man himself was grievously alarmed, and begged a charm to preserve him and his family.

On the 23rd, John Lander finding himself considerably invigorated and refreshed by a day's rest at Assinara, and sufficiently recovered to pursue their journey, all hands were in readiness to start at an early hour. The morning was cool and pleasant, and they travelled onwards in excellent spirits. Without meeting any thing particular in the path, or perceiving any object sufficiently interesting or novel to demand attention, they entered the town of Accadoo in the forenoon, having had an agreeable ride of a few hours duration only.

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. They assigned no other reason for their misfortune, than the heat and glare of the rays of the sun.

During the whole of this night it rained most heavily; but their hut, although of the very worst description, had a pretty good thatched roof, and sheltered them better than they could have expected. There are seasons and periods in our life-time, in which we feel a happy complacency of temper and an inward satisfaction, cheerfulness, and joy, for which we cannot very well account, but which constrain us to be at peace with ourselves and our neighbours, and in love with all the works of God. In this truly enviable frame of mind, Richard Lander says he awoke on this morning, to proceed onwards on horseback. It was a morning, which was fairly entitled to the epithet of incense breathing; for the variety of sweet-smelling perfumes, which exhaled after the rain, from forest flowers and flowering shrubs, was delicious and almost overpowering. The scenery which gratified their eyes on this day, was more interesting and lovely, than any they had heretofore beheld. The path circled round a magnificent, cultivated valley, hemmed in on almost every side with mountains of granite of the most grotesque and irregular shapes, the summits of which were covered with stunted trees, and the hollows in their slopes occupied by clusters of huts, whose inmates had fled thither as a place of security against the ravages of the warmen who infest the plains. A number of strange birds resorted to this valley, many of whose notes were rich, full, and melodious, while others were harsh and disagreeable, but, generally speaking, the plumage was various, splendid, and beautiful. The modest partridge appeared in company with the magnificent balearic crane, with his regal crest, and delicate humming birds hopped from twig to twig, with others of an unknown species; some of them were of a dark, shining green; some had red silky wings and purple bodies; some were variegated with stripes of crimson and gold, and these chirped and warbled from among the thick foliage of the trees. In the contemplation of such beautiful objects as these, all so playful and so happy, or the more sublime ones of dark waving forests, plains of vast extent, or stupendous mountains, that gave the mind the most sensible emotions of delight and grandeur, leading it insensibly

"To look from nature up to nature's God."

Speaking on these subjects, Lander very feelingly expresses himself, "For myself," he says, "I am passionately fond of them, and have regretted a thousand times, that my ignorance incapacitated me from giving a proper representation of them, or describing the simplest flower that adorns the plains, or the smallest insect that sparkles in the air. This consideration gives me at times many unhappy reflections, although my defective education arose from circumstances over which my boyhood had no control."

Having passed through the immense valley already mentioned, they had not travelled far before they arrived and halted at a large village called Tudibu; here they rested a while, and then continuing their journey for two hours over even ground between high hills, they rode into the town of Gwen-dekki, in which they purposed passing the night. The chief was either very poor or very ill natured, for the only thing he sent them was a little boiled yam, with a mess of unpalatable gravy, which he would not have given, if he had not expected ten times its value in return. Divine service, it being Sunday, was performed in the course of the day, and this was a duty, which to persons in their situation, was found inconceivably pleasant. It rendered them happy and resigned in the midst or their afflictions and privations; reposing their confidence in the all-protecting arm of that beneficent Being, who is the author and disposer of their destinies, and in whom alone, thus widely separated as they were from home, and kindred and civilization, the solitary wanderer can place his trust.

On the morning of Monday the 26th April, a thick mist obscured the horizon, and hid in deep shade the mountains and the hills; every object indeed was invisible, with the exception of the pathway and the trees growing on each side, which they could hardly distinguish as they passed along. It continued hazy for two hours after leaving Gwen-dekki, when the mist dispersed and the atmosphere became clear. Preparatory to ascending a steep granite hill, they halted to refresh their horses under the branches of a high spreading tree, near a town called Eco. Here they were visited by several of the inhabitants, who, as soon as they were informed of their arrival, came flocking to the spot. They formed themselves into a line to pay their respects, and entreated them to wait a little for the arrival of their chief, who was momentarily expected. But after staying as long as they conveniently could, and no chief appearing, they mounted their beasts and began the toilsome ascent. On attaining the summit of the hill, the coup d'oeil was magnificent indeed, and the fog having been dispersed by the sun, the eye was enabled to range over an extensive horizon, bounded by hills and mountains of wonderful shapes. Some of them bore a very striking resemblance to the Table mountain at the Cape of Good Hope, and another was not unlike the Lion's Head and Rump of the same place. Their course was north-east, and those two mountains bore due west from them. There was no continued range of hills, but numbers of single unconnected ones, with extensive valleys between them. In some places, several were piled behind each, and those most distant from them appeared like dark indistinct clouds. Nothing could surpass the singularity, and it may be added the sublimity of the whole view from the top of the granite hill which they had ascended, and they contemplated it silence for a few seconds, with emotions of astonishment and rapture.

Descending the hill, they continued their journey over a noble plain, watered with springs and rivulets, and in the afternoon entered Dufo, a most extensive and populous town. The inhabitants appeared to be industrious and very opulent, as far as regarded the number and variety of their domestic animals, having abundance of sheep, goats, swine, pigeons, and poultry, amongst the latter of which were observed for the first time, turkeys and guinea-fowl. They had likewise horses and bullocks. The chief did not make his appearance for a long time, but as soon as he had introduced himself, he desired them to follow him into a cleanly swept square, where was the house which he intended them to occupy. Presently after his departure, he sent them a quantity of yams, a basket of ripe bananas, and a calabash of eggs, which they soon discovered to be good for nothing, although sand had been mixed with them, that they might feel heavier than they really were.

They were on this evening visited by four Burgoo traders, who informed them that they had crossed the Niger at Inguazhilligie, not more than fourteen days ago, and that although the rains had commenced, the river had as yet received no great addition to its waters.

The travellers were early on horseback, on the morning of the 27th, and preceded by the carriers of their luggage, they rode out of the town of Dufo. The country, indeed, appeared inferior, as to the boldness and beauty of its scenery, to that which they had traversed on the preceding day but still it possessed features of no common interest. Another table mountain was observed to the left of their path in the course of the morning, as well as another lion's head and rump. Ponderous masses of granite rock overhung the road way; they were almost black, and seemed to have been washed by the rains of a thousand years; in many of them were deep and gloomy caverns, which, were they in Cornwall instead of in central Africa, they would be selected by some novel-monger, as the scene of some dark and mysterious murder, or as the habitation of a gang of banditti, or perhaps of the ghost of some damsel, who might have deliberately knocked her brains out against some rocky protuberance, on account of a faithless lover. They were followed a long while by hundreds of the natives, and who annoyed them so much by their noises and curiosity, that they were compelled to resort to violent measures to drive them away; but this was a line of conduct rarely adopted towards them, and never without extreme reluctance. They were at length frightened away, and they saw them no more. About eight miles from Dufo, they arrived at a large straggling village, called Elokba, where they halted a little, as the path had been so stony, rugged, and irregular, that a few minutes rest was absolutely necessary to recruit themselves. From this place the road became excellent, not at all inferior to a drive round a nobleman's park in England, and continued to be good till they came in sight of a capacious walled town, called Chaadoo, which they entered about mid-day. Outside the walls is a small Fellata village, the huts of which are constructed in the circular or coozie form. Its inhabitants employ themselves solely in the breeding of cattle, an occupation to which they are passionately addicted. They are simple in their manners, and extremely neat in their dress and appearance.

Not long after their arrival, three or four young Fellata shepherdesses from the village came to pay their respects to the travellers, who felt much pleased with their society, for they were extremely well-behaved and intelligent; they remained, however, a very short time, their customary avocation not permitting a longer stay. The hair of these females was braided in a style peculiarly tasteful and becoming, and the contour of their oval faces was far from disagreeable. Their manners also were innocent and playful; the imaginary shepherdesses of our pastorals were not more modest, artless, and engaging in description, than these were in reality; they left behind them an impression very favourable, both as regards their morals, naiveté, and rustic simplicity.

On the road from Dufo, Richard Lander unthinkingly shot a crane, which fell in an adjoining field. The report of his gun brought out a number of natives from "the bush," who being in continual dread of an attack from "the war men of the path," imagined it to be a signal of one of these marauders. They were all armed like their countrymen with bows and arrows, and with a threatening aspect would have lodged a few shafts in the person of Richard Lander, had it not been for the timely interference of one of their Jenna messengers, who fortunately happened to be with him at the time, and who gave an immediate and satisfactory explanation. The head of the party then sought for and picked up the bird, but Richard took it from him, after he had rewarded him liberally for his trouble. The man, however, was neither satisfied nor pleased, but roughly demanded the bird as his own, because it had fallen on his land. As there were no game laws here, Richard Lander would not admit his claim, and was retiring, when the fellow begged with much importunity that the head and legs of the animal, at least, might be given him to make a fetish of. This was likewise objected to, at which the man was out of all patience, and went off foaming with passion. In the evening, the crane was dressed for supper, and a similar request was made by a eunuch from Katunga, who being a good-natured fellow, his wish was readily complied with. The chief of Chaadoo, however, presently sent a messenger to request the said precious head and legs, and to him they were finally committed by the disappointed eunuch, who could hardly forbear weeping on the occasion; these relics are considered extremely valuable as a charm.

The chief sent them a goat, a quantity of bananas, a dish of pounded or rather mashed yam with gravy, and a large basket of caffas. These are a kind of pudding, made into little round balls from bruised Indian corn, which is first boiled to the consistence of thick paste. From being made entirely of coarse flour and water, they have an insipid taste when new, but when kept for a day or two, they become sour, and in this state are eaten by the natives. There are several deep wells in the town, but most of them are dried up, so that water is exceedingly scarce, and it is sold in the market-place to the inhabitants. They were daily accosted on the road with such salutations as these, "I hope you go on well on the path," "success to the king's work," "God bless you white men," "a blessing on your return, &c."

They remained the whole of the 28th at Chaadoo, in order to give the carriers with the luggage, time to come up with them, having been unavoidably detained by the roughness and unevenness of the road from Dufo to Elokba. The Katunga eunuch already mentioned, was sent by the king of that place to receive the customary tribute of the governors of various towns on the road between Katunga and Jenna. This man was treated with much respect both by the governor of Chaadoo and his people, who prostrated themselves to the eunuch, before addressing him.

Being in want of money, they sent some needles this morning to the market to sell. It is a custom in Youriba, that after a buyer has agreed to pay a certain sum for an article, he retracts his expression, and affirms that he only promised to give about half the sum demanded. This occasioned violent altercations between the Landers' people and the natives, but it is an established custom, from which there is no appeal.

The mother of the governor was buried this afternoon, at a neighbouring village, and the funeral was attended by all his wives or women as mourners. They were dressed in their holiday attire and looked tolerably smart. The mourners exhibited no signs of grief whatever, on the contrary, they were as lively as a wedding party; attended by a drummer, they passed through their yard on their return to the governor's house, which was only a few steps distant, and they kept up singing and dancing during the whole of the day, to the noise of the drum.

The inhabitants of the town have immense numbers of sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry, but bullocks are in the possession of Fellatas alone. It was believed, that the natives have not a single animal of that description. Like many other places, the market was not held here till the heat and toil of the day are over, and buyers seldom resort to it, till eight o'clock in the evening.

On the morning of the 29th April, it commencing raining at a very early hour, and continued with uncommon violence, till between ten and eleven o'clock, when it suddenly ceased, and they quitted Chaadoo. Before their departure, however, the credulous governor, who in common with his people, imagine that white men possess an influence over the elements, paid them a visit with a calabash of honey as a present, to thank them he said, for the rain that had fallen, of which the country was greatly in want, and invoked blessings on them. The kindness of this good old man was remarkable; he never seemed weary of obliging them, regretted his inability to do more, and solicited them very pressingly to remain with him another day.

They traversed a mountainous country intersected with streams of excellent water, and at noon entered a small, but pleasant picturesque village, which was ornamented with noble and shady trees. Here they waited a very short time, and continuing their route, arrived towards evening at a capacious walled town, called Row, wherein they passed the night. In many places, the wall, if it be deserving the name, was no more than twelve or fourteen inches from the ground, and the moat was of similar dimensions. The yard to which they were conducted, shortly after their arrival, was within three or four others, and so intricate were the passages leading to it, that after a stranger gets in, he would be sadly puzzled to find his way out again without a guide. Nevertheless, this was no security against interruption, for the yard was speedily invaded by five or six hundred individuals, who had been induced to visit them from curiosity. As usual, they annoyed the travellers for a long time to the best of their ability, till they completely wearied them out by their importunity and forwardness. They then hung sheets round the door-way of their dwelling, and laid down on their mats; and then only, the natives began to disperse, and left them at their ease.

The governor of the town was a morose, surly, and ill-natured man. He sent them only a few bananas, and a calabash of eggs, which were all stale and unfit to be eaten, so that some of their people were obliged to go supperless to bed. The governor ascribed the badness of his fare to extreme poverty, yet his vanity exacted from their Jenna messengers the most abject method of salutation, with which they were acquainted. These men walked backwards from him several yards, to throw dirt on their heads, and with the dust and filth still clinging to their hair, they were compelled to address the chief with their faces to the ground. The apartment of the travellers unfortunately communicated with his, and the restless tongues of his numerous wives prevented either of the Landers from dosing their eyes long after sunset. In the centre of their yard grew a tree, round which several stakes were driven into the ground. This tree was a fetish tree, and the stakes also fetish, and therefore a strong injunction was issued not to tie the horses to either of them. Calabashes, common articles of earthenware, and even feathers, egg-shells, and the bones of animals; indeed any kind of inanimate substance is made fetish by the credulous, stupid natives, and like the horse-shoe, which is still nailed to the door of the more superstitious of English peasantry, these fetishes are supposed to preserve them from ghosts and evil spirits. It is sacrilege to touch them, and to ridicule them, would be dangerous.

It was between seven and eight o'clock of the 30th April, before carriers could be procured, and every thing got in readiness for their departure. The sun was excessively hot, and the sky brilliantly clear. They crossed two or three rivulets of cool delicious water, as they had done on the preceding day, and then passed through an insignificant village, whose chief sent them a calabash of bruised corn, mixed with water, to drink. At noon, they arrived at the foot of a very elevated hill, and perceived a town perched on its summit, and knew it to be the same to which they had been directed. They dismounted, and after a laborious ascent, which occupied them three quarters of an hour, at length reached the top. Stones and blocks of granite interrupted their path, so that it became a very difficult matter to force the horses along before them; they fell repeatedly, but without materially injuring themselves.

The name of the town was Chekki; their arrival was rather unexpected, and therefore the governor was not prepared to receive them, and they sat down under a tree, until they were tired of waiting. At length, a man came to conduct them to his residence, which was but a little way from the tree, under which they were reposing, when a tumultuous rush was made by the inhabitants to precede them into the yard, and notwithstanding the presence of their chief, they so surrounded the travelling party as to prevent a particle of fresh air from reaching them. The governor received them with bluntness, but not unkindly, though without much demonstration of good-will. While in his yard, he regaled them with water, and afterwards sent them a large calabash of foorah sweetened with honey to their lodgings, which did not taste unlike thick gruel or burgoo, as it is termed in Scotland. It is made of a corn called goorah, is very palatable, and is in general use with the natives of these parts. A quantity of bananas from the chief soon followed the foorah, and something more substantial than either, was promised them.

It was observed to be a general practice here, as well as in every other town through which the Landers passed, for children until the age of seven years to go naked, with perhaps a string of kowries tied round the loins, and clumsy bracelets, either of brass or tin enclosing the wrist. Grown-up people, however, dress somewhat neatly, if not gracefully; the men wear a cap, tobe and trousers, mostly blue, and the women wear a large loose cotton cloth, which is thrown over the left shoulder, and comes down mantling below the knee. The right arm and feet alone are bare. People of both sexes are infinitely more grave and serious in their manners, than those nearer the coast, nor was the loud vacant laugh so prevalent, as at the commencement of their journey.

They quitted Chekki on the 1st of May, and rode on pleasantly until, at the expiration of four hours, they arrived at Coosoo, a large and important town. A Fellata hamlet stands near it, the inhabitants of which, subsist by following pastoral occupations alone. They are much esteemed by the Youribans, who behave to them without suspicion or reserve.

Shortly after their arrival, a man stole a sword from one of the attendants on the travellers; he was pursued to the chief, and asserted that he had found it; as he laid the weapon at his feet. The sword was restored to them by the governor, but without the slightest allusion being made to the means by which he obtained it. A company or goffle of merchants from Hano, were at this time in the town, who had travelled thus far on their way to Gonga, which is the Selga of Cape Coast Castle and Accra. Their merchandise consists chiefly of elephants' teeth, trona, rock salt, and country cloths. This, the Landers were told, is a new route, the road formerly taken being considered unsafe, on account of private broils and disturbances amongst the natives. The goffle consisted of more than four hundred men; but a company of merchants that passed through the town ten days previously, amounted to twice that number. Other merchants were also in the town, and were to leave on the morrow on their way to Yaoorie, to which place they were destined.

The palm tree became scarce as they advanced into the country, and, consequently, the oil obtained hereabouts, is only in very small quantities. But nature, ever bountiful, supplies its place with the mi-cadania or butter tree, which yields abundance of a kind of vegetable marrow, pleasant to the taste, and highly esteemed by the natives. It is used for lights and other domestic purposes. The tree from which it is obtained, is not much unlike our oak in appearance, and the nut it produces is enveloped in an agreeable pulpy substance. The kernel of this nut is about the size of our chestnut. It is exposed in the sun to dry, after which it is pounded very fine and boiled in water. The oily particles which it contains, soon float on the surface; when cool, they are skimmed off, and then made into little cakes for use, without any further preparation. Two individuals appeared before the chief this day, in consequence of an accusation of theft that had been made against them. The method adopted of proving the guilt or innocence of the parties, was, by compelling them to swallow the fetish water.

In the evening, the travellers received a fat goat, a basket of caffas, a calabash of bananas, a vast quantity of yams, and a bowl of milk from the governor. He appeared to be a sober, kind, and benevolent old man, and generally beloved by his people. To the Landers, he was particularly attentive and obliging. He informed them, that the common path to Katunga was unsafe, in consequence of a serious quarrel between the inhabitants of Coosoo, and those of a neighbouring town. "Therefore," said he, "I entreat you to remain here until to-morrow, in order that I may make arrangements to send you by a different road." This intelligence was not very agreeable to the Landers, but they were convinced of its importance, and therefore thankfully accepted the chiefs offer.

The market which was held this evening in the town, had a most imposing and brilliant appearance, from the immense of lamps used by the trades-people.

Their visitors, who continued with them until late in the evening, were innumerable, and the noise of the women's tongues was as loud and disagreeable as ever. For some time nothing could quiet them: threats and entreaties were disregarded or laughed at, till at last, they were compelled to resort to the childish expedient of spurting water in their faces from a large syringe. On seeing and feeling the effects of this fearful instrument, they became alarmed and ran away.

On the following day, May 2nd, a fetish priest came to see them, and was about to treat them with the usual harangue of his profession, but they contrived to put a stop to it, by bribing him with a few needles. Nothing particular was observed in this fellow's ornaments or dress, but his person presented a strange and singular appearance. The colour of his skin was like that of whitish brown paper; his eyebrows and eyelashes were of a silvery whiteness, and his eyes of a bright blue, notwithstanding which, the negro features were strongly and distinctly marked on his countenance. The man's parents were both natives, and quite black, and it was found impossible to ascertain the reason of this extraordinary deviation from the common laws of nature.

They received an abundance of kindness from the good old chief of this place, and his endeavours to make them comfortable were imitated by many of the more respectable inhabitants.

The path recommended by the friendly chief of Coosoo, lay due east from the town, and they pursued their journey on it, on the morning of the 3rd of May. Robbers were stated to be lurking about, and therefore they conceived it prudent, if not absolutely necessary, to take every precaution for the safety of the mission, they, therefore, loaded their own guns and pistols, and armed all their men with swords and muskets. Their Jenna messengers being unacquainted with the new route, the governor of Coosoo had furnished them with two armed foot guides, whose weapons were bows and arrows, besides a horseman, armed at all points, to bring up the rear of the party. With all these warlike preparations and equipments, a few harmless women, who were terrified at the appearance of the travellers, were the only individuals whom they met with on the path during a ride of two hours, which brought them to a town called Acboro. The town itself was very small, but its dilapidated walls, which enclose an immense extent of ground, would lead the observer to suppose, that it was formerly of much greater magnitude. Within the walls, were three granite hills, two on one side, and the other on the opposite side of the town. All their bases were of solid stone, but their summits consisted of loose blocks, from the interstices of which, trees and stunted vegetation shot forth. Besides these hills, immense masses of granite rock were seen piled upon each other in different parts. On the whole, Acboro was one of the wildest and most venerable looking places that the human mind could conceive; the habitations of the people alone, lessening that romantic and pleasing effect, which a first sight of it produces.

Shortly after their arrival, the governor sent them a sucking pig and some other presents, and seemed highly pleased that circumstances had thrown them in his way. "White men do nothing but good," said he, "and I will pray that God may bless you, and send more of your countrymen to Youriba."

Instead of the people running and scrambling to see them, the good-natured ruler of this place excluded the mass of them from visiting their yard, and came very civilly to ask their permission for a few of his friends to look at them. John Lander was too weak and indisposed to gratify their curiosity by rising from his couch, so his brother went out to exhibit his person, and suffered himself to be examined rather minutely, which must have had a very ludicrous effect, to see the European undergoing an examination by a posse of black inquisitors, just as if he had been a horse or a bullock at Smithfield. They, however, separated tolerably well pleased with each other.

On May the 4th, three men, inhabitants of Acboro, were captured by a gang of restless, marauding scoundrels, who are denominated here, as elsewhere, "War-men of the path," but who are, in reality, nothing more nor less, than highway robbers. They subsist solely by pillage and rapine, and waylaying their countrymen. The late governor of Acboro was deposed and driven from the town by his own people, for his indifference to their interest, and the wanton cruelty, with which he treated them and their children. At different times he seized several individuals of both sexes, and sold them as slaves, without assigning any cause for the act. This drew on him the vengeance of the friends and relatives of the sufferers, who prevailed on the town's people to arise with them and punish the aggressor. The latter soon found that his party were too weak to withstand the attacks of the exasperated populace, and he fled to a remote village, where he was residing at the time of the arrival of the Landers. The inhabitants of Acboro immediately elected a more humane and benevolent governor in his stead.

They rose this morning at an early hour, and John Lander finding himself sufficiently recovered to ride on horseback, they bade farewell to the governor of Acboro, and quitted the town by sunrise, taking care to use the same precaution against robbers as on the preceding day. In an hour and three quarters, they entered an open and delightful village called Lazipa. An assemblage of Fellata huts stood near it, by which their beautiful cattle were grazing. Many of the bullocks were as white as snow, others were spotted like a leopard's skin, and others again were dotted with red and black on a white ground. A Fellata girl presented them with a bowl of new milk, which was very agreeable and refreshing, and after drinking it, they bade adieu to the Fellatas and their cattle for ever.

They had not travelled a great way from Lazipa, before they had to cross a large morass, on the borders of which a very large and handsome species of water-lily flourished in great perfection. They crossed this morass without difficulty or trouble, and with the same facility also two small streams, which intersected the road. At nine A.M., they arrived at Cootoo, which like Lazipa is an open village, but the former is by far the most extensive of the two. A person, who may have travelled from Penzance in Cornwall to the Land's End, and observed the nature of the soil, and the blocks of granite which are scattered over its surface, will have a very good idea of the country between Acboro and Cootoo, only that in the latter, it is much more woody.

After leaving Cootoo, however, the aspect of the surrounding scenery speedily changed, and became infinitely more pleasing. The soil was more rich and deeper; patches of verdure and cultivated land were more frequent, the latter being neatly fenced; fine handsome trees, with their spreading branches and thick foliage, embellished the country in every direction, and extended to the eastern horizon. It might have been supposed that these trees had been carefully planted by the hand of man, for they grew at equal distances from each other, and none seemed to interfere with the order, beauty, and regularity of its neighbour. The soil between them was covered with a soft green turf, which rendered the whole view remarkably pleasant. It was over this delightful landscape that they travelled; the morning was cooled by a refreshing south-east wind, and the travellers, which is not often the case, were both on good terms with themselves, and gratified by everything around them. At length, they came in sight of numerous herds of fine cattle, attended by little boys, and shortly afterwards, they arrived at a clean and neat Fellata village, the inhabitants of which were employed in feeding calves, and other occupations connected with an African farm. They then crossed a small stream, and entered a town of prodigious extent, called Bòhoo, which was fortified with a triple wall and moats. Without being exposed to the customary tiresome formalities, they were immediately conducted to the residence of the governor. The usual conversation passed between them, and after they had returned to their hut, a bullock was sent them, with yams, bananas, and a huge calabash of new milk, which did not contain less than six gallons, and the travellers sat down to enjoy themselves in perfect good humour.

In the afternoon, a message was delivered to them, signifying that the governor's head minister would be very glad to see them, and would thank them to visit him in the course of the day. John Lander, however, having experienced a relapse, his sufferings were such as to prevent him leaving the hut, and his brother was, therefore, obliged to go alone. After a pleasant walk of about two miles, he arrived at the habitation of the minister, by whom he was very kindly received. The compliments of the day only were exchanged between them, and the numerous wives, and large family of the master of the house, who are on these occasions generally exhibited to a stranger, having amply gratified their curiosity by an examination of his person, the interview terminated and he presently returned to his abode, after promising to visit the minister again on the following day.

Bòhoo lies north-east of Acboro, and is built on the slope of a very gentle and fertile hill, at whose base flows a stream of milk-white water, and behind which is the Fellata hamlet already mentioned. Its immense triple wall is little short of twenty miles in circuit; but besides huts and gardens, it encloses a vast number of acres of excellent meadow land, in which bullocks, sheep, and goats feed indiscriminately. By the hasty view obtained of it, the town in some degree resembled Kano, but there is no large swamp like that which intersects the latter city. Bòhoo was formerly the metropolis of Youriba, but about half a century ago, the reigning prince preferring the plain at Katunga, the seat of government was transferred there, since which Bòhoo has materially declined in wealth, population, and consequence, although it is still considered a place of great importance, and the second town in the kingdom. It is bounded on all sides by hills of gradual ascent, which are prettily wooded, and commands an extensive horizon. The land in the vicinity of the town presents a most inviting appearance, by no means inferior to any part of England in the most favourable season of the year. It appears to be duly appreciated by the Fellatas, so great a number of whom reside with their flocks in different parts, that the minister candidly declared he could not give any information of their amount. These foreigners sell their milk, butter, and cheese in the market at a reasonable rate. The latter is made into little cakes about an inch square, and when fried in butter is very palatable. It is of the consistence and appearance of the white of an egg, boiled hard.

Agreeably to the promise which Richard Lander made to the chief, he left his brother to the care of old Pascoe and his wife, and hastened to pay his respects to the chief's head man or minister. It appears that this man was placed in his present situation by the king of Katunga, as a kind of spy on the actions of the governor, who can do nothing of a public nature, without in the first place consulting him, and obtaining his consent to the measure. Yet he conducted himself so well in his disagreeable office, that he won the good will, not only of the governor of the town, but also its inhabitants. A kind of rivalry existed between the minister and his master, but then it was a rivalry in good and not in bad actions. Hearing that the governor had sent the travellers a bullock, and something besides, he presented Richard Lander with a similar one, and a large calabash of Pitto (country beer,) which Lander distributed amongst those who had accompanied him. A bottle of honey completed the list of presents, and they were forthwith forwarded to their habitation, but Richard Lander remained a considerable time afterwards with the chief. He was filled with amazement at the formation and ticking of Lander's watch, which he gazed on and listened to with transport. The spurs which he wore, also excited his eager curiosity, and he examined them with the greatest attention. He hoped, he said, that God would bless them both, and that they had his best wishes for their safety. He remarked further, that white men worshipped the great God alone, and so did black men also, and that every blessing of life was derived from that source.

On the return of Richard, he found his brother extremely ill, he had been so faint and sick during his absence, that his recovery seemed doubtful, but in a few hours afterwards he became better. In the afternoon they sent to the governor and the minister, who had behaved so handsomely to them, three yards of fine red cloth, a common looking-glass, tobacco pipe, a pair of scissors, snuffbox, and a large clasp knife. The tobacco pipe was much admired, but the red cloth was the most valued; with the whole, however, they were both perfectly well pleased, and were extravagant in their expressions of gratitude.

One of the bullocks was slaughtered this morning, and about two thirds of it distributed by the governor and his chief man to the poor in the town; the remainder of the carcass was divided equally amongst the attendants of the travellers, who appeared by no means anxious to leave the place, while their present, unusually good fare, was to be had.

John Lander was now so far recovered as to excite a hope that they might be able to proceed on their journey, on the following day. His recovery was, however, considerably retarded by the continual noises to which he was subject. Perhaps, of all evils that can afflict a sick person, noises of any kind are the greatest. In Africa, whether a person be ill or well, it is exactly the same, nothing like peace or quiet is any where to be found; independently of the continual fluttering of pigeons, which roosted close to their ears, the bleating of sheep and goats, and the barking of numerous half-starved dogs, they were still more seriously annoyed by the incessant clatter of women's tongues, which pursued them every where, and which it was believed nothing less than sickness or death on their part could eventually silence. The shrillness of their voices drowns the bleating of the sheep, and the yellings of the canine race; and notwithstanding all the exertions of Richard Lander, seconded by those of their attendants, their noise in this town considerably retarded the recovery of his brother. A person in England might be inclined to think lightly of this matter, but it is indeed a grievance, which can ill be borne by an invalid languishing under a wasting disease, and who has equally as much need of rest and silence as of medicine. Besides those grievances, the shouts of the people outside the yard, and the perpetual squalling of children within it, the buzzing of beetles and drones, the continual attacks of mosquitoes and innumerable flies, form a host of irritating evils, to which a sick person is exposed, and to which he is obliged patiently to submit, until by a relief from his disorder, he is obliged to stand upon his legs, and once more take his own part. But even then noises assail his ear, and he does not enjoy the happiness of perfect silence unless he enters a grove or forest.

They were this morning, visited by a party of Fellatas of both sexes. They differed but little either in colour or feature from the original natives of the soil. In dress and ornaments, however, there was a slight distinction between them. They displayed more taste in their apparel, and wore a greater number of ornaments round the neck and wrists; they paid also great attention to their hair, which the women plait with astonishing ingenuity. Like that of the young woman, whom they met at Jenna, their heads exactly resembled a dragoon's helmet. Their hair was much longer of course than that of the negro, which enables the Fallatas to weave it on both sides of the head into a kind of queue, which passing over each cheek is tied under the chin.

Another company of Fellatas came to them in the evening, for they had never beheld a white man, and curiosity had led them to their habitation. They brought with them a present of a little thick milk, of which they begged the travellers' acceptance, and then went away highly gratified with the interview. The behaviour of the whole of them was extremely reserved and respectful; nothing in the persons of the travellers excited their merriment, on the contrary, they seemed silently to admire their dress and complexion, and having examined them well at a distance, seemed grateful for the treat.

In the mean time, the kindness and generosity of the governor of Bòhoo continued unabated; instead of diminishing, it seemed to strengthen; he literally inundated them with milk, and he was equally lavish with other things. It gave them unmixed pleasure to meet with so much native politeness and attention from a quarter, where they the least expected it, and at a time also, when it was the most required.

After they had retired to rest, a Fellata woman came to their dwelling, bringing with her a number of eggs of the guinea-hen, and a large bowl of milk fresh from the cow, as a return for a few needles they had given her in the afternoon. This circumstance is mentioned merely to show the difference between the Fellatas and the Youribeans, in point of gratitude for favours which they may have received. The latter are very seldom grateful, and never acknowledge gratitude as a virtue. The indifference, unconcern, and even contempt, which they often evinced on receiving the presents which the Landers made them, was a proof of this, and with a very few exceptions, they never observed a Youribean to be sincerely thankful for any thing.

On the following morning, John Lander was able to sit on horseback, and as they were on the point of taking their departure, the governor came out to bid them farewell, and presented them with two thousand kowries to assist them on their journey.

Two hours after leaving Bòhoo, they passed through an agreeable, thinly inhabited village called Mallo, and in somewhat less than an hour after, arrived at Jaguta, a large and compact town, fortified by a neater and more substantially built wall than any they had yet seen.

Jaguta lies E. S. E. of Bòhoo, from which it is distant, as nearly as the Landers could guess, from twelve to thirteen miles. In the course of the journey, they met a party of Nouffie traders from Coulfo, with asses carrying trona for the Gonja market. Among them, were two women, very neatly clad in their native costume, with clean white tobes outside their other apparel, resembling as nearly as possible the chemise of European ladies. These asses were the first beasts they had observed employed in carrying burdens, for hitherto, people of both sexes and of all ages, especially women and female children, had performed those laborious duties.

The governor of Jaguta came to apologize in the evening, for not having attended them the greater part of the day, on the plea that he had been engaged in the country with his people, in making a fetish for the prosperity of the king of Katunga. The return of the governor and his procession to the town, was announced by a flourish of drums, fifes, &c., with the usual accompaniments of singing and dancing. The musicians performed before him, for some time, in a yard contiguous to that where the Landers resided, and their ears were stunned for the remainder of the night, by a combination of the most barbarous sounds in the world.

They were here daily assured that the path was rendered exceedingly dangerous by banditti, and the governor of Jaguta endeavoured with a good deal of earnestness, to persuade them that their goods would not be respected by them. It will, however, scarcely be believed, that this universal dread originates from a few Borgoo desperadoes, who, although only armed with powder and a few broken muskets, can put a whole legion of the timid natives to flight. The inhabitants of the town kept firing the whole of the evening, to deter their formidable foe from scaling the wall and taking possession of their town.

On the night of Saturday May 8th, they were visited by thunder storms, from which, however, they did not receive any great annoyance. The natives as usual imputed the seasonable weather to their agency alone, and in consequence, their arrival at many places was hailed with transport, as the most fortunate thing that could have happened.

Extraordinary preparations were made by the governor of Jaguta, to ensure the safety of the travellers on the dreaded pathway; and a horseman armed with sword and spear, in company with four foot soldiers, who were equipped with bows, and several huge quivers full of arrows, were in readiness to offer them their protection. The horseman preceded the party, and played off a variety of antics to the great amusement of the Landers. He seemed not a little satisfied with himself; he flourished his naked sword over his head; brandished his spear; made his horse curvet and bound, and gallop alternately; and his dress being extremely grotesque, besides being old and torn, gave him an appearance not unlike that of a bundle of rags flying through the air. But with all this display of heroism and activity, the man would have fled with terror from his own shadow by moonlight, and it was really regretted by the travellers, that a few defenceless women were the only individuals that crossed their path to put his courage to the test, the formidable "war men" not being at that time in that part of the country.

Their journey this day was vexatiously short, not having exceeded four miles, for it was utterly beyond the power of either of the Landers to persuade the superstitious natives, who conform only to their fetish in these matters, that the robbers would be afraid even to think of attacking white men. They halted at a small town called Shea, which was defended by a wall. It appeared to possess a numerous population, if any opinion could be formed from the vast number of individuals that gathered round them, immediately on their entrance through the gateway. A stranger, however, cannot give anything like a correct estimate of the population of any inhabited place, in this part of Africa, for as he can only judge of it by the number of court-yards a town or village may contain; and as the one court yard there may be residing at least a hundred people, and in the one adjacent to it, perhaps not more than six or seven, the difficulty will be immediately perceived. Generally speaking, the description of one town in Youriba, would answer for the whole. Cleanliness and order and establish the superiority of one place over another, which may likewise have the advantages of a rich soil, a neighbourhood, and be ornamented with fine spreading and shady trees; but the form of the houses and squares is every-where the same; irregular and badly built clay walls, ragged looking thatched roofs, and floors of mud polished with cow-dung, form the habitations of the chief part of the natives of Youriba, compared topmost of which, a common English barn is a palace. The only difference between the residence of a chief and those of his subjects, lies in the number and not in the superiority of his court yards, and these are for the most part tenanted by women and slaves, together with flocks of sheep and goats, and abundance of pigs and poultry, mixed together indiscriminately.

Shea lies four miles E. by S. of Jaguta. The governor of the town presented them with a pig, and a quantity of country beer, and they also received little presents of provisions from a few of the people.

May the 9th was on a Sunday, and they were invited to witness an exhibition of tumbling; it was with great reluctance that the invitation was accepted, not only on account of the sanctity of the day, but for the delay which it would occasion them. They, however, considered it politic to lay aside their religious scruples, and they attended the exhibition mounted on their horses. As soon as it was over, they were escorted out of the town by beat of drum, preceded by an armed horseman, and an unarmed drummer, and continued their journey, followed by a multitude of the inhabitants.

They passed through a very large walled town called Esalay, about six miles from Shea, but its wall was dilapidated, and the habitations of the people in ruins, and almost all deserted. This town, which was not long since well inhabited, has been reduced to its present desolate and miserable state, by the protection which its ruler granted to an infamous robber, whose continued assaults on defenceless travellers, and his cruelty to them, at length attracted the notice of the king of Katunga. But previously to this, the inhabitants of another town not far off, many of whom had at different times suffered from his bold attacks, called in a number of Borgoo men, who bore no better reputation for honesty than the robber himself, and resolved to attempt the capture of the ruffian in his strong hold, without any other assistance. Their efforts, however, were unavailing; the governor, entrenched in his walled town, and supported by his people, sheltered the miscreant and compelled his enemies to raise the siege. About this time a messenger arrived at Esalay from the king of Katunga, with commands for the governor to deliver up the robber to punishment, but instead of obeying them, he privately warned the man of his danger, who took immediate advantage of it, and made his escape to Nouffie. The governor was suspected of aiding the escape of the robber, and a second messenger soon after arrived from Katunga, with orders for the guilty chief either to pay a fine to the king, of 120,000 kowries, or put a period to his existence by taking poison. Neither of these commands suiting the inclination of the governor of Esalay, he appointed a deputy, and privately fled to the neighbouring town of Shea, there to await the final determination of his enraged sovereign. The Landers saw this man at Shea, dressed in a fancifully made tobe, on which a great number of Arab characters were stitched. He walked about at perfect liberty, and did not seem to take his condition much to heart. The inhabitants of Esalay, however, finding that their ruler had deserted them, that they were threatened by the king of Katunga, and that the Borgoo men emboldened by the encouragement they received from that monarch, were also lurking about the neighbourhood, and ready to do them any mischief, took the alarm, and imitating the example of their chief, most of them deserted their huts, and scattered themselves amongst the different towns and villages in the neighbourhood. Very few people now resided at Esalay; and this town, lately so populous and flourishing, was on the visit of the Landers little better than a heap of ruins.

After passing through Esalay, they crossed a large morass and three rivers, which intersected the roadway. The croaking from a multitude of frogs which they contained, in addition to the noise of their drum, produced so animating an effect on their carriers, that they ran along with their burdens doubly as quick as they did before. They then arrived at an open village called Okissaba, where they halted for two hours under the shadow of a large tree, to allow some of their men who had been loitering behind to rejoin them, after which the whole party again set forward, and did not stop until they arrived at the large and handsome walled town. Atoopa, through which Captain Clapperton passed in the last expedition. During their ride, they observed a range of wooded hills, running from N.N.E. to S.S.W., and passed through a wilderness of stunted trees, which was relieved at intervals by patches of cultivated land, but there was not so much cultivation as might be expected to be found near the capital of Youriba.

The armed guides were no longer considered necessary, and, therefore, on the 10th May, they set out only with their Badagry and Jenna messengers and interpreters. On leaving Atoopa, they, crossed a river, which flowed by the foot of that town, where their travellers overtook them, and they travelled on together. The country through which the path lay, was uncommonly fine; it was partially cultivated, abounding in wood and water, and appeared by the number of villages which are scattered over its surface, to be very populous. As they rode along, a place was pointed out to them, where a murder had been committed about seven years ago, upon the person of a young man. He fell a victim to a party of Borgoo scoundrels, for refusing to give up his companion to them, a young girl, to whom he was shortly to be married. They, at first endeavoured to obtain her from him by fair means, but he obstinately refused to accede to their request, and contrived to keep the marauders at bay, till the young woman had made her escape, when he also ran for his life. He was closely pursued by them, and pierced by the number of arrows which they shot at him; he at length fell down and died in the path, after having ran more than a mile from the place where the first arrow had struck him. By the care with which this story is treasured up in their memory, and the earnestness and horror with which it is related, the Landers were inclined to believe, that although there is so great a fuss about the Borgoo robbers, and so manifest a dread of them, that a minder on the high-way is of very rare occurrence. 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. Eetcho had recently been more than half consumed by fire, and would not, it was supposed, regain its former condition for some time. Like most large trading-towns, it is in as unsettled and filthy a state as can be conceived. This day's journey was highly agreeable, the path lay through a beautiful country, varied in many places by hills of coarse granite, which were formed by blocks heaped on each other. Trees and shrubs of a beautiful green grew from their interstices, and almost hid the masses of stone from the view.

The governor of Eetcho welcomed them to his town very civilly; yet his kindness was not of any great extent, and although in all probability, he was as opulent as most chiefs on the road, yet he did not follow their example in giving them provisions, but left them to procure what they wanted for themselves, in the best manner they were able. It is the general custom here, when any stranger of consequence approaches Katunga, to send a messenger before him, for the purpose of informing the king of the circumstances; and as they were considered to be personages of consequence, one of their Jenna guides was deputed to set out on the morrow, and in the mean time they were to remain at Eetcho until a guard of soldiers should be sent to escort them to Katunga. They, however, having no inclination for the honour, as it would expose them to a thousand little inconveniences, determined to avoid them all by leaving the place by moonlight.

An extraordinary instance of mortality is here mentioned by Richard Lander, who says, "that not less than one hundred and sixty governors of towns and villages, between this place and the seacoast, all belonging to Youriba, have died from natural causes, or have been slain in war, since I was last here, and that of the inhabited places through which we have passed, not more than half a dozen chiefs are alive at this moment, who received and entertained me on my return to Badagry three years ago."

On the night of the 12th, they were visited by a tornado, and in the morning it rained so heavily, that even if they had not been obliged to remain in Eetcho that day, it would have been next impossible to have pursued their journey. The celebrated market of this place may be said to commence about mid-day, at which time, thousands of buyers and sellers were assembled in a large open space in the heart of the town, presenting the most busy, bustling scene imaginable. To say nothing of the hum and clatter of such a multitude of barbarians, the incessant exertions of a horrid band of native musicians rendered their own voices inaudible. People from Katunga and other towns of less importance, flocked into Eetcho to attend the market held on this day, which they were informed was not so well attended as on former occasions; the rain that had fallen, and the alleged danger which besets the path, having prevented many thousands from leaving their own abodes. Country cloth, indigo, provision, &c., were offered for sale, but they observed nothing in the market worthy of notice. Orders were given by the governor that the town should be well guarded during the night, for fear of its being attacked whilst the travellers were in it, and it was given out that any one found loitering outside the walls after sunset, would be seized without ceremony, and his effects taken from him.

A very ungallant custom prevails at Eetcho, which is, that every woman, who attends the market for the purpose of selling any article, is obliged to pay a tax of ten kowries to the governor, whilst any individual of the other sex is allowed to enter the town, and vend commodities publicly without paying any duty whatever.

On Thursday May 13th, they arose at a very early hour to undertake the journey to Katunga, which was rather long, and they hoped not only to reach that city before the heat became oppressive, but also to avoid, if possible the escort, which they had every reason to suppose the king would send out to meet them. Notwithstanding, however, their most strenuous exertions, it was six o'clock before they were all ready to depart. The air was cooler than they had felt it since landing from the Clinker, the thermometer being as low as 71° in the shade. The natives appeared to feel this severity of the weather most keenly, for although they huddled themselves up in their warmest cotton dresses, they were yet shivering with cold. Hundreds of people, and it would perhaps not be overrating the number to say thousands, preceded and followed them on the pathway; and as they winded through thick forests, along narrow roads, their blue and white clothing contrasted with the deep green of the ancient trees, produced an eminently pleasing effect. After a hasty ride of two hours, they came in sight of the town of Eetcholee, outside of which were numerous trees, and underneath their widely spreading branches, were observed various groups of people seated on the turf taking refreshment. They joined the happy party, partook of a little corn and water, which was their usual travelling fare, and then renewed their journey in good spirits. They had not, however, proceeded a great way, when the escort, about which they had been so uneasy, was descried at a distance, and as they approached at a rapid pace, they joined the party in a very few minutes. There was no great reason after all, for their modesty to be offended either at the splendour or numbers of their retinue, for happily it consisted only of a few ragged individuals on foot, and eight on horseback; with the latter was a single drummer, but the former could boast of having in their train, men with whistles, drums and trumpets.

Richard Lander sounded his bugle, at which the natives were astonished and pleased; but a black trumpeter jealous of the performance, challenged a contest for the superiority of the respective instruments, which terminated in an entire defeat of the African, who was hooted and laughed at by his companions for his presumption, and gave up the trial in despair. Amongst the instruments used on this occasion, was a piece of iron, in shape exactly resembling the bottom of a parlour fire shovel. It was played on by a thick piece of wood and produced sounds infinitely less harmonious than "marrow-bones and cleavers."

The leader of the escort was a strange looking, powerful fellow, and might very well serve the writer of a romance as the hero of his tale, in the character of keeper of an enchanted castle, when fierce, scowling looks, terrific frowns, and a peculiarly wild expression of countenance are intended to be naturally described, for the man's stature was gigantic; his eyes large, keen, piercing, and ever in motion, his broad nose squatted over both cheeks; his lips immensely large, exposing a fine set of teeth; the beard was thick, black and gristly, and covering all the lower part of his face, reached to his bosom; the famous Blue Beard was nothing to him; and in gazing on his features, the observer might almost be inclined to believe, that all the most iniquitous and depraved passions of human nature were centered in his heart. Yet, with so unlovely and forbidding an appearance, this man was in reality as innocent and docile as a lamb. He wore on his head a small rush hat, in shape like a common earthenware pan inverted, or like the hats, which are worn by the lower class of the Chinese. His breast was enveloped in a coarse piece of blue cloth; from his left shoulder hung a large quiver of arrows, and in his right hand he held a bow, which he brandished like a lance; a short pair of trousers covered his thighs, and leathern boots, fantastically made, incased his feet and legs. His skin was of jetty blackness, his forehead high, but his tremendous beard, which was slightly tinged with grey, contributed, perhaps, more than any thing else, to impart that wildness and fierceness to his looks, which at first inspired the travellers with a kind of dread of their leader.

Thus escorted they travelled onwards, and after a hasty ride of six hours from Eetcho, they beheld from a little eminence, those black naked hills of granite, at whose base lay the metropolis of Youriba. About an hour afterwards, they entered the gates of that extensive city. As being consistent with etiquette, they halted under a tree just inside the walls, till the king and the eunuchs were informed of their arrival, which having been done after a wearisome delay, they rode to the residence of the chief eunuch Ebo, who, next to the king, was the most influential man in the place. They found this personage a great fat, round, oily man, airing himself under the verandah of his dwelling. Other eunuchs of similar appearance were sitting on the ground with him, and joining him in welcoming both of the travellers, but particularly Richard, to Katunga, with every appearance of sincerity, heartiness, and good-will. An uninteresting conversation now took place, which lasted for some time, after which, they walked altogether to the king's house, which was at the distance of half a mile from that place.