Wars among the natives of the interior were most disastrous to the explorer. At best, his life, interesting and exciting as we might suppose it to have been, could certainly not have been an enviable one. Only dauntless courage and boundless enthusiasm could have led him into regions where he must suffer not only fatigue, but privation; not only danger from wild beasts hungry for their prey, but from cruel, treacherous savages lurking on every side.
The countries watered by the Niger offered an immense field for exploration. Inviting as this region was to the explorer, it afforded many difficulties. Savage beasts and treacherous natives were foes that might be overcome, but who could withstand the attacks of fever and malaria, unsuspected foes to health and life, in this region of pestilence and disease?
Mungo Park, a Scotch explorer, relates that, out of a party of forty-four, but four survived the exploration, owing to the unhealthy character of the climate. He relates that he received various kinds of treatment at the hands of the natives. The women, however, were for the most part kindly disposed and benevolent.
At one time the king of the region of Bambarra, through which he was passing, forbade him to cross the Niger. He was obliged to remain over night in one of the villages. None of the natives would receive him into their huts. Finally, he took shelter in the branches of a tree. He was worn out from hunger and fatigue. A storm came up, from which he was wholly unprotected, but he was befriended by a woman, who was passing on her way from her daily work in the field. She took him home to her hut, kindly cared for him, and did all she could to make him comfortable.
It is the custom of the women to lighten their labor by singing songs as they work. On this occasion Park was made the subject of this song which was sung by one of the young women of the village. The melody was sweet and rather plaintive; the words simple.
"The winds roared and the rain fell.
The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree.
He has no mother to bring him milk; no wife to grind his corn."
To this a refrain was added, in which all the women joined.
"Let us pity the white man;
No mother has he to bring him milk;
No wife has he to grind his corn."
It was to Richard Lander that the geographical students were indebted for much information about the Niger. He encountered many dangers, and, with his followers, was finally taken prisoner by the natives.
Only on the promise of a heavy ransom were they allowed their freedom. By the offer of heavy bribes, he made arrangements with the natives to convey him, with his party, to the sea. The journey was by way of the Niger, and proved to Lander that water communication could be opened into the interior of Africa. Thus he solved one of the greatest problems in the geography of the continent.