16th.—In the afternoon an escort, consisting of fifty armed horsemen sent by Bello, arrived, to conduct me to Soccatoo. They brought with them my master’s two camels, to carry the goods, which, as I afterwards learnt, the Gadado had borrowed under false pretences. A messenger belonging to the sultan of Kano brought a letter from my master, unknown to the escort, and was on his way to Kano with it. The letter informs me of the total ignorance of my master of my having left Kano, and his expectations of seeing me there in a week or two. It struck me forcibly at the time that Bello wished to get me in his power, in order to put us out of the way, to become the sole possessor of the sheik of Bornou’s presents, &c. As soon as I had read the letter, I asked the Gadado’s brother, who commanded the escort, if it was the sultan’s intention to murder us on my arrival at Soccatoo, as my master knew nothing of the transaction. He answered, “Fear nothing, the king will not hurt you; as he has never seen but one Christian, he wishes to view a second.”
17th and 18th.—The Gadado’s brother came to me several times for money to buy goora nuts. I at length told him the money in my possession belonged to my father, who would not permit me to part with any, unless I had previously obtained his consent. This answer by no means pleased him: but on my telling him he should be handsomely rewarded on our safe arrival at Soccatoo, he became a little appeased.
19th.—Liberated old Pascoe in the morning, who had behaved peaceably since his imprisonment, and seemed truly sorry for the offence he had committed; and at two in the afternoon went out of the town, but was obliged to leave a bullock behind, being lamed and unable to proceed. Travelled till eleven o’clock the next night, when we arrived much fatigued at Magaria. The poor camels and horses could hardly stand, and suffered dreadfully from thirst, not having drank during this long journey.
21st and 22d.—The horses and camels not being sufficiently recovered to continue the journey, staid at Magaria both these days. Resided at a house belonging to the Gadado, who supplied me with abundance of provisions. Received a message from him to come to see him, with my gun, in order to show the head men of the town the manner in which birds were shot in my country. I soon gratified their curiosity by firing at a small bird, at a distance of fifty yards. The whole of them testified the greatest astonishment on taking it up, and would not for a long time believe it was really dead.
23d.—To my great joy I entered the gates of Soccatoo in the afternoon, about two o’clock, after a tedious and wearisome journey of nearly a month. Not having seen my master for three months, I hastened to his house; but not finding him at home, I went to the Gadado’s, where, I was told, he had gone. My master was in earnest conversation with the Gadado and an old Arab, and was much surprised when informed of the reason of my leaving Kano: he spoke with warmth of the artful and unhandsome conduct of the sultan; and after this act of duplicity on the part of Bello, to the hour of his death, I never observed him to smile. My master had been ill of dysentery before my arrival, but was then much better.
RESIDENCE AT SOCCATOO — MY MASTER’S DEATH — BURIAL.
On the 13th December, the day after my arrival, Sultan Bello sent for my master and myself to repair to his residence. As soon as we entered, he began to make inquiries of the nature of the presents I had with me, and was extremely desirous to know if I had left any with Hadji Ben Sallah for the sheik of Bornou. I replied, I had not. “Are you sure you have not?” said he. I again answered with firmness in the negative. The sultan then demanded the king of England’s letters to the sheik of Bornou, which my master reluctantly produced; but refused to accede to the sultan’s request to open and read them, observing that, when his king discovered, on his return to his country, he had so unfaithfully broken his trust, he would immediately be beheaded. The sultan himself took the letters, and waving his hand for us to withdraw, we left the apartment. We had not been in our hut more than a couple of hours when the Gadado, his brother, Hadji Ben Sallah, and several of the principal inhabitants of Soccatoo, entered, and demanded, in the name of Bello, the presents intended for the sheik of Bornou, together with all the arms and ammunition we did not want ourselves. My master became deeply agitated when he had heard their errand, and rising up from his couch, exclaimed with much energy and bitterness—“There is no faith in any of you; you are an unjust people; you are worse than highway robbers.” They cautioned him to be more guarded in his expressions, or it might cost him his head. “If I lose my head,” rejoined my master in the same determined manner, “I lose it for speaking for the just rights of my country only.” Ben Sallah and others entreated him to moderate his anger, or it might indeed be fatal to him. I also implored him to accede to the demands of the sultan, how unjust and tyrannic soever they might be, observing, that two debilitated white men stood no chance in holding out against the united force of so many Fellatas, who only waited the command of their sovereign to assassinate them. After much entreaty, and not without considerable reluctance, my master desired that they should be given to them; and said to the Gadado, on his leaving the hut, “Tell your sovereign I never wish to see him again; my business with him is now at an end.” A short time after Mallam Mudey returned with a message from the sultan, acquainting my master of his intention of writing to the king of England in explanation of his conduct. He desired Mallam Mudey to tell Bello that the king of England would not even look at a letter from him, after the treatment his subjects had received.
I took an opportunity one day of acquainting my master of Pascoe’s villany, who immediately dismissed him, without paying his wages. The old man went to a native lawyer to obtain advice in what manner he was to act; but instead of holding out the hope of obtaining the sum due to him, the learned Fellata expressed his astonishment that Abdullah had not cut off his head. Pascoe then turned snuff-merchant; but having given too extensive credit, soon became a bankrupt, and was finally obliged to cut wood from the adjoining country, and sell it in the market at Soccatoo, by which means he contrived to procure a precarious subsistence.
One day the Gadado came and begged me to lend him my camel to go to the war against the sheik of Bornou: knowing it would be impolitic to refuse, I let him have it. The animal was returned to me, about six weeks after, in a most shameful state, reduced to a mere skeleton, and having two immense holes in its back. I wished the Gadado to give me another in its stead, but he would not listen to me.
My master and myself enjoyed pretty good health for some time after my arrival at Soccatoo, and amused ourselves with going a shooting almost every day. At one shot my master brought down thirteen wild ducks, about two miles to the north-east of the city, ten of which were secured. We remained at Soccatoo much longer than was intended, believing the sultan would consent to our proceeding to Bornou when the war had become somewhat abated; but this he never granted.