Thursday, 7.—Light airs. At daylight we got under weigh, and came to an anchor, off the mouth of the Bonny river again, soon after sunset.
We had now examined the entrances of all the rivers between the Bonny, and Cape Formosa; all of which communicate with each other in the interior; some being navigable by vessels, but all by canoes; for instance, a vessel may go in at St. Nicholas, and by passing through a creek, come out at the St. John's. This piece of intelligence had the effect of occasionally placing us in some perplexity as to our movements; for, according to one person, a vessel freighted with slaves was on the point of coming out of one river; while, at the same time, agreeably to another informant, the same vessel was stated to be coming out of another river.
There is, however, but little doubt that the interior of the country is intersected by very extensive water communications lying between the bight of Benin and Biafra, and I heard Captain Owen say, that, in his opinion, the Niger would be found to discharge itself in one of these bights, a fact, which I have the satisfaction to learn, is now proved by the recent discovery of the Landers.
Friday, 8.—At daylight, we made sail. At ten, we received a pilot on board, and in three hours, entered the channel of the New Calabar river, which must be passed, before an entrance into the Bonny can be effected. This position of the Calabar is, however, on the coast usually denominated the Bonny, in reference to the superior trade of that river.
The pilot here requested the Captain's permission to make a "jhu jhu," which is a superstitious rite performed by the natives in these rivers. The object of the ceremony is to propitiate their deity for a safe passage and a good trade; the operation consists of spilling a wine glass full of rum, twice on the bowsprit (upon which the operator stands), and once on each side of it, into the water. They practise a similar rite when they anchor, cutting some bread and meat into small pieces, scattering it in like manner on the bowsprit, into the river, and also on the deck, while those who stand around, mingle in the act, by tasting their offerings. The objects worshipped by the people of the New Calabar, are the tiger and the shark; while the Bonny people worship the shark and the guana.
At half-past four, we anchored, for the night, off Foche Island, inside the first bar of the river, and the pilot went on shore. The town on this island had been burnt to the ground only a few days before we arrived, owing to the carelessness of some new slaves, and the people of the town had determined upon selling the woman to whom the slaves belonged, as a punishment for her own neglect.
The dogs on Foche Island were observed to bear a close resemblance to those of Fernando Po, (a common sort of small cur.) I mention this, because it has been thought that the Fernandians have had very little connection with the people of the Continent, as a proof of which, we have never found any one (out of all the varieties of the African nations) who could speak with, or understand, the language of the natives of Fernando Po.
Saturday, 9.—Soon after daylight the pilot returned on board. We found the natives of Foche Island very cautious in coming off, even the pilot would not reply to our signals, until we had sent a messenger to tell him what we were, nor would he even then consent to sleep on board. I have little doubt, from the timidity he exhibited, that the slave-vessels have occasionally enticed pilots and their people on board, and carried them off for slaves.
Our breakfast this morning consisted of smoked and dried herrings, corned mackerel, fresh prawns, beef steaks, cold roast beef, cold ham, roast and boiled yams, eggs, and toast: a supply that will not be thought despicable for the passengers of a merchant schooner, in the Bight of Biafra, where the sun was so powerful, that our anchor was hot enough to serve the purposes of a heated oven.
At four in the afternoon I accompanied Lieut. Badgeley, with six Kroomen in a small boat, to visit the town of Bonny, and the English shipping in the river. Soon after dark we went on board the Neptune, which was lying off the town of Bonny, and was the same vessel we had boarded outside the river. After refreshing ourselves with tea, we accompanied the Surgeon on shore, to look for Captain Cudd, whom we found visiting one of King Peppel's great men. We wished to call upon the King, but were informed that we could not be allowed to do so, as his Majesty was too drunk to receive company, and exceedingly dangerous in his cups; a state of bliss to which he commonly arrived by that hour, every evening. We, therefore, contented ourselves by passing the night at the house of the prime minister, with the intention of waiting upon his Majesty the following morning. I slept in the same apartment with the Doctor. Our beds, by courtesy so called, were made on a mud floor; they consisted merely of a mat spread for each, with a coya-cushion (the outside shell of the cocoa nut) for a pillow; fortunately the climate is too hot to require any covering; we therefore lay down without removing our nether garments; sleep was, however, quite out of the question, for so soon as the lights were out, the rats and mice came in, and assisted by myriads of cockroaches and ants, contrived to keep us constantly employed driving them away from our bodies, until we were in so feverish and exhausted a state that we anxiously longed for the return of day.