12th.—Crossed the river at nine o’clock this morning, the water reaching to our chins; and immediately proceeded towards Cuttup, where we arrived after three hours’ travelling. Having heard, on my route, so many different reports of Cuttup, its wealth, population, and celebrated market, I was rather surprised on finding it to consist of nearly five hundred small villages, almost adjoining each other; nearly the whole of which occupy a vast and beautiful plain, adorned with the finest trees. Here, for the first time since leaving the coast, I saw plantain, palm, and cocoa-nut trees, in great abundance, and in a flourishing condition; the country resembling, in a striking manner, some parts of Yariba. A considerable traffic is carried on here in slaves and bullocks; the latter are bred by Fellatas, a great number of whom reside here for no other purpose. Slaves, as well as bullocks and sheep, are exposed in the market, which is held daily; and also red cloth, gum, salt, goora nuts, trona, beads, tobacco, country cloth, rings, needles, cutlery articles, and honey, rice, milk, &c. People from the most distant parts of the country resort here in vast numbers, to purchase these various articles. The sultan being a very great man, I thought it necessary to make him a present worthy the representative (however humble) of the king of England. I accordingly gave him four yards of blue damask, the same quantity of scarlet ditto, a print of my own gracious sovereign, and one of his royal highness the Duke of York, with several more trifling articles. In return, I received from him a sheep, the humps of two bullocks, and stewed rice sufficient for fifty men. Ten of the king’s wives, on paying me a visit a day or two after my arrival, took a fancy to the gilt buttons on my jacket, which I cut off and presented to their sable majesties. Thinking them to be gold, they immediately stuck them in their ears. In this belief I took care not to undeceive them.
During my stay at Cuttup I was never in want of a bullock’s hump (by far the best part of the animal, weighing from twelve to fifteen pounds), for the king invariably receives, as a tax from the butchers, the hump of every bullock they slaughtered; and one or two was sent me by his wives each day. Being in want of money, I sent to the market and informed the people I had needles and beads to sell; on which several buyers came into my hut and purchased freely, giving me fifteen or twenty cowries each for the needles, whilst the Arabs could only get ten at most for theirs; but whether they conceived my needles to be superior, or whether it was the desire of obtaining something of a white man, I did not learn. Unlike the princes of Houssa, Borgoo, Nyffé, Cuttumkora, and other places in the interior, the sultan of Cuttup gives his wives unrestricted liberty.
An old woman came to me one afternoon, full of grief, informing me of her having frequently been robbed of the little money she had saved from her earnings, from holes in her hut, where she had hid it, by some of her neighbours and acquaintances. She entreated me to let her have a charm to prevent such dishonest acts in future. Being ever willing to oblige the simple-hearted Africans, I gave her a tea-spoonful of common sweet oil, in a small phial, telling her that she must, on her return to her hut, pour it into the hole in which she intended concealing her money; and that if any one but herself touched the money while there, without her permission, he would not long survive. I advised her by all means to give the virtues of this charm as extensive a circulation as possible, and I had no doubt she would not be robbed again. The poor old woman could not express the gratitude she felt for my kindness; she dropped on her knees before me, thanked me in the warmest terms, and pressed me to accept of forty cowries, the only money she had then in the world. Of course I refused to deprive the old woman of her substance, and sent her away highly pleased with the treatment she had received.
16th.—Having paid my respects to the king and his wives last evening, left Cuttup at six in the morning; and pursuing a south-west direction till half-past one, when we proceeded due south, arrived at Coogie, a small town, at half-past three in the afternoon. Owing to the bites and stings of myriads of flies, the asses, for the whole of the journey, were restive and unmanageable, frequently throwing off their loads, and detaining us on the way by their wanton pranks. The roads were of the very worst description; at one moment obliged to carry the loads ourselves over dangerous precipices, and at the next up to our waist in mud and water on the low grounds. Two Fellatas came to see me this day, but made no observations.
17th.—Pursuing our journey at half-past five in the morning, arrived at a town called Dungoora at two in the afternoon. It rained heavily during this day’s journey, and consequently got wet to the skin on halting. The water rushed in torrents through the valleys, and in some places on the hills the beasts sank to their knees in mud and dirt. Crossed a large river to-day, named Rary, flowing to the south-east, our course being to the south-south-west. The country traversed is hilly and thickly wooded; the soil rich and fertile. Not being able to obtain provisions, and every article being wet through, obliged to remain in our wet clothes all night, without fire or food.
18th.—At 6 A.M. proceeded on our journey, and arrived at Dunrora at 6 P.M. Our route, some parts of the day, lay over steep and craggy precipices, some of them being of a most awful height. On the summit of one of these places the path was barely wide enough for a single beast to pass. The horse that carried the portmanteaus, in which were the journal, papers, watches, &c. struck himself against a piece of rock projecting over the road, and was precipitated a distance of eighty yards, the ropes which were bound round the portmanteaus arresting his further progress. I was horror-struck on observing the poor little animal tumbling head over heels down the frightful declivity, and was much afraid he would be dashed to pieces, the portmanteaus broken, and their contents destroyed; but was most happy to see him entangled in some stunted trees which fortunately grew on the side of the precipice, which is seven hundred yards in height. This accident occasioned us two hours’ delay; but the horse was not materially hurt. We had been travelling about half an hour after leaving this spot, when we came to a place from which there was an extensive and beautiful prospect of the surrounding country; and eight days’ journey might plainly be seen before us. I halted for a moment to gaze upon the fine and noble scene around me. About half a day’s journey to the east stood a lofty hill, at the foot of which lay the large city of Jacoba. Mahomet affirmed that there is a river called Shar, or Sharry, about half a mile from that place, which derives its source from the lake Tchad; and that canoes can go from the lake to the Niger at any season of the year. The Sharry empties itself into the Niger at Funda; and the Niger, after leaving the towns of Cuttum Currijee, Gattoo, and Jibboo, joins the salt water, but at what particular place Mahomet could not rightly inform me, never having heard the word “Benin” mentioned before. Funda lies due west of Dunrora. Not being aware that the chief of Dunrora was so very great a man, I this day sent him only a pair of scissors and fifty needles, which were shortly afterwards returned to me with a request that I would give them to a less exalted personage. On asking the reason of this conduct, the people informed me I had insulted the dignity of their chief by offering so trifling a present, he being a mighty man. Not feeling disposed, however, to add any thing else to it, I sent back the messenger empty-handed. Dunrora contains 4000 inhabitants.
FROM DUNRORA BACK TO ZEGZEG.
19th.—This morning as I was loading my beasts, and preparing to depart, I perceived four armed men ride up at full gallop to the residence of the chief, their horses covered with foam and perspiration. The chief had no sooner been made acquainted with their errand than he came to me, followed by an immense multitude of people, and gave me to understand that I must immediately return with the messengers, who had just arrived, to the king of Zegzeg, who much wished to see me. I remonstrated with him on the injustice of the command, telling him it was a hard case I should go back to Zegzeg, having proceeded so far on my way unmolested: his only reply was, that if he suffered me to depart he should lose his head. Finding entreaty and persuasion useless, I consented, with a bad grace, to return with the messengers. Thus, after seventeen days’ perilous travelling from Kano, with a fair prospect of reaching Funda in twelve or thirteen more, from whence four days’ sail would bring me to the salt water, a new country opening before me, and filled with the most lively anticipations of solving the geographical problem which had for so long a time puzzled Europeans, of ascertaining whether the Niger actually joins the sea in that direction, was I obliged to abandon my fondest and long cherished hopes, and return to Zegzeg; from thence to be transported the Lord knew whither. I felt depressed and unhappy at this sudden turn in my affairs, and cared not much whether I lived or died. We left the town in the course of the day, and entered Cuttup by the same route I had taken on the 21st.
I was attacked with dysentery on my arrival, and remained at Cuttup four days, much against the inclination of my guards; suffering during that period, and indeed for several days after, more dreadfully than I can describe.
25th.—Left Cuttup by another route at eight in the morning, accompanied by two messengers on foot, in lieu of the horsemen, who, on finding me very tractable, and too ill to make the least exertion, had thought them strong enough to guard me. After proceeding in a northerly direction till twelve, reached an insignificant village, forming part of Cuttup. The country traversed level, but thickly wooded, and fertile.