Sunday, 25th.—Our poor sick still remain much the same. I also have been very ill from a cold caught on the journey of yesterday. The country continues to be diversified with hill and dale, and in many places well cultivated. The approach to Emadoo is through a long, broad, and beautiful avenue of the tallest trees; a strong stockade eighteen feet high, with a wicker gate, and at one hundred paces from this another of the same kind, defends the entrance to the town. The road from Ega to Liabo was beautiful, rising ground, gentle hills and dales, a small stream of water running through each valley: the land partly in a state of cultivation, and sufficiently cleared of that thick forest which gives such a monotony to this part of Africa. At 9 A.M. halted at a town called Ekwa, where we received a present of yams, plantains, and a goat.
Monday, 26th.—Raw, cloudy morning. All the towns from Jannah to Ekwa are situated in the bosom of an inaccessible wood; the approach is through an avenue defended by three stockades with narrow wicket gates and only one entrance; but Liabo only had a mud wall and ditch in addition to the stockades.
Tuesday, 27th.—Morning clear for the first time since we left Jannah—a strong wind blowing—our sick and myself the same—had them well wrapped up in their hammocks. I suffered much from cold, being lightly dressed. After leaving Ekwa we crossed a deep ravine, and descended a hill on the ridge of which we travelled until we arrived at Engwa, at 9 A.M.
At 11 A.M. Pearce had become much worse and quite insensible; and at nine in the evening he breathed his last. From the moment of Captain Pearce’s being taken ill, his wonted spirits supported him through the progress of a disease that was evidently wasting his strength from day to day; but after Dr. Morrison left us, he became less sanguine of recovery, and wished Richard to remain in his room to keep him company, as my duties in attending to the business of the mission prevented me from being as much with him as I could have wished. On the morning of our leaving Tshow I gave him some bark, but afterwards the heat of his skin was so great, that I thought it prudent not to give him any more, and he was too weak to venture on any strong medicine. The death of Captain Pearce has caused me much concern, for independently of his amiable qualities as a friend and companion, he was eminently qualified by his talents, his perseverance, and his fortitude to be of singular service to the mission, and on these accounts I deplore his loss as the greatest I could have sustained, both as regards my private feelings and the public service.
Wednesday, 28th.—At eleven this morning I interred the remains of Captain Pearce, the whole of the principal people of the town attending, and all the servants. The grave was staked round by the inhabitants and a shed built over it: at the head of the grave, an inscription was carved on a board by Richard, I being unable to assist or even to sit up.
Saturday, 31st.—As I had heard nothing from Mr. Houtson as to the fate of Dr. Morrison, I determined to wait here until I should get a little stronger. In the evening, however, Mr. Houtson arrived, who informed me that Dr. Morrison had died at Jannah on the same day as Captain Pearce.
With the assistance (says Mr. Houtson) of old Accra, and the caboceer’s messenger, I had the body washed and dressed, and at 8 A.M. on the morning of the 28th buried him at the south-west end of the house we lived in; the king’s messenger and a number of people attending. I read the church of England service over his remains, and paid all the respect that circumstances permitted. I sent to Badagry for a head board with an inscription stating his name and the date and place of his death.
Tuesday, January 3d, 1826.—Left the town of Engwa in a hammock, and reached the town of Afoora, where we were well lodged, and had a present of yams, fowls, a goat, &c. The town is surrounded by a stockade; the state of the atmosphere much changed for the better.
Wednesday, 4th.—Clear and cool, all of us much better. At 7.50. left Afoora. The country clear, and rising into hill and dale: on the rising grounds large blocks of gray granite showed their heads above the earth; the plains were scattered with the female cocoa-nut, and covered with long high grass, which in many places had recently been burnt down. The view on leaving Afoora was beautiful from the hills; all the valleys being filled with streams of water running to the north-west, to join a larger river said to empty itself into the Lagos. Halted at the town of Assulah, and received plenty of yams, fowls, plantains, eggs, and a goat; the inhabitants were as usual very kind and civil, and may consist of five or six thousand people: the town is surrounded by a new made ditch, on account of the existing war, and they are building a number of houses; the women are very shy, and they say that adultery is punished with death.
Thursday, 5th.—Left the town of Assula, and passed through the village of Itallia. The country to-day very beautiful. Arrived at Assoudo: it is a walled town, and as far as my observation goes, at least 10,000 inhabitants. We received a plentiful supply of provisions, wood, and water. The people here are as curious as at other places, but very civil. Houtson and I rode out at sunset, and were surrounded by thousands; the men kept dancing and the women singing all night on account of our arrival.