Life and Travels of Mungo Park

by Mungo Park

From Park's return, to his Second Expedition.

Park's own narrative of his travels will now have informed the reader of all that wonderful train of events which the hardy and enterprising discoverer went through: of his captivity among the Moors—his escape—his discovery of the course of the Niger—of the African capital of Sego—his journey through Bambarra, and his toilsome and perilous return. On his arrival at Pisania, his kind and attentive friend Dr. Laidley was absent, but a countryman, Mr. Robert Ainslie, invited him to his house. In two days Dr. Laidley returned, and hailed Park with joy, receiving him as "one risen from the dead." As no European vessel was at that time expected to arrive at Gambia, Park embarked on the 15th June 1797, on board a slave-ship bound to America. This vessel was driven by stress of wind to the West Indies, and at length, after much difficulty, succeeded in making the island of Antigua; whence Park sailed on the 24th November, in the Chesterfield Packet, which, after a short but stormy passage, reached Falmouth on the 22d December. No intelligence had for a long time reached England of the wanderer's fate, and his bones were supposed to have been bleaching amid the sands of the desert.

Park arrived at London, before day-break, on the morning of the 25th; and, unwilling to disturb his brother-in-law's family at such an unseasonable hour, he wandered about for some time through the streets near Mr. Dickson's residence. As he strolled along, finding one of the entrances to the gardens of the British Museum accidentally left open, he entered and walked about there for some time. It chanced that Mr. Dickson, who superintended the gardens, had found occasion to go there thus early about some trifling matter or other. What must have been his astonishment at beholding, by the still weak light, the form—or as it had rather seemed—the vision, of that relative, who had ever been in his most anxious thoughts, and whose countenance he had never expected again to see, or even to learn tidings of his fate. A joyful welcome of course ensued, and Park's anxieties concerning his relations, were speedily set at rest.

The interest attached to his return was by no means confined to his relations and friends—the public at large, whose sympathies had followed the traveller on his arduous way, were gratified to learn that he had again returned, after having made important discoveries, and tracked a considerable portion of the course of the Niger. Rumours were also current of his "hair-breadth 'scapes," and the lovers of novelty and adventure were anxious to hear the particulars of his wanderings. The African Association triumphed in the success of his mission, and were proud that the assiduous diligence of Park had, under such unfavourable circumstances, collected a mass of information which so far outweighed the results of all previous expeditions, and that they could therefore claim justly more support from the public. They gave a substantial proof of their gratitude to Park, by permitting him to publish his travels for his own benefit; and a complete narrative of his journey from his own pen was speedily announced to be in preparation. An abstract, drawn up by Mr. Bryan Edwards, from Park's Notes, was printed for private circulation among the members of the Association in the meantime; it was also enriched by a valuable Memoir by Major Rennel, on African Geography. This publication afterwards formed the ground-work of the larger work, to the quarto edition of which Major Kennel's narrative was also appended.

During the remainder of that winter Park resided in London, arranging the materials of his work; he also required to be in constant communication with the members of the Association, while the memoirs we have alluded to were being drawn up. His engaging and unassuming manners gained him the friendship of Mr. Edwards, to whose country residence at Southampton he paid frequent visits. Repeated offers were made to him by Government, who then wished to procure a complete survey of New Holland; but this scene of action did not seem to present sufficient attractions to Park, for he declined it.

In June 1798, Park went to Scotland, and visited his relations at Fowlshiels, where he remained the whole of the ensuing summer and autumn. Great must have been the joy of his relatives, when he, who had been mourned for as dead, was again an inmate of their house. The fame which he had earned in other quarters by his daring heroism, must have been poor in value, compared with the admiration and interest with which his tales were listened to beneath the domestic roof; and the expressions of wonder which his adventures had extorted from strangers, must to his mind have seemed tame and heartless, when he beheld the astonishment and breathless interest depicted on the countenances, and glistening in the eyes of the family circle. All this time he was employed upon his travels, busying himself with his manuscripts almost the whole day, and only indulging himself in the evenings with a solitary walk. The work was difficult, and untried authorship he found almost as arduous as his journeyings. He was unaccustomed to writing; his notes were imperfect and scanty, so that he had frequently to draw upon memory; care, and correction, and retrenchment were necessary to render his work worthy of the interest which his adventures had excited; and he knew that it would be carefully sifted by each of the two contending parties, who were on the watch for information concerning the great controverted question of the slave-trade, so that the utmost nicety and exactness were requisite in stating the facts respecting it, which had fallen under his notice. The long-expected work at length appeared in April 1799, in quarto, and met with the greatest popularity. It was sought after with avidity, both on account of the novelty and importance of the information comprised in it, and the interesting manner in which the narrative was conducted. Two large impressions were soon disposed of, and numerous smaller editions and abridgments were from time to time called for. In a literary point of view, the book is of rare merit; the style is clear, simple and direct; and though the writer's personal adventures form the main topic, there is no trace of ostentation or egotism. It bears all the marks of fidelity and truthfulness, and has obtained the highest commendations from every judge capable of forming an estimate of it.

The circumstance of a portion of Mr. Edwards' Narrative having been incorporated into the Travels, and of Park's having acknowledged, in the Preface, his obligations to that gentleman's revision, gave rise to an unfounded report of his being the real author of the volume. This rumour, however, has been long since rejected, both from the letters of Park, published after Mr. Edwards' death, and also from the internal evidence of the style, which presents a remarkable contrast to the elaborate and ornate composition of Mr. Edwards' works.

There is another subject connected with the publication of his Travels, which has excited too much discussion to permit us to pass it over in silence; viz. his statements concerning the slave-trade. It has been supposed, without any adequate ground, that Park's sentiments were unfavourable to its abolition; but the strictly impartial nature and neutral tone of his statements on this subject, were sufficiently proved by the fact, that both parties confidently appealed to his pages, as supporting their particular views. Besides, there is at least one passage in the work which implies, that Park looked upon this iniquitous traffic with no favourable eye; though he might not be convinced, upon the whole, that the proper period had arrived for doing it away. And in justice to his memory, it ought to be stated, that his nearest relatives and most intimate friends had often heard him express himself strongly against the system. All that the most scrutinizing reader can infer from these passages, merely amounts to this, that some of the abolitionists, in their generous zeal, might possibly have overrated the immediate good effect which the discontinuance of the practice would produce. Moreover, it was no part of Park's business to enter upon a political or commercial discussion on this subject, for his object was to give a clear and simple account of his own observations, not to discuss other men's theories; and both delicacy and propriety concurred in rendering such a course proper, since Mr. Bryan Edwards, and some other members of the African Association; to whose kind attention and patronage he owed so much, were decided supporters of the slave-trade.

After the publication of his work, he at first seemed resolved to retire into domestic and professional life; There had been an attachment of long standing between him and a daughter of Mr. Anderson, with, whom he had served his apprenticeship. The marriage had been settled the preceding summer, and was only postponed till the publication of his Travels gave him leisure for enjoying the pleasures of connubial happiness. If, however, he had at any time formed the resolution of spending the remainder of his days at home, his mind soon changed; for soon after, we find him endeavouring, through various channels, to get his services accepted, either by the Association, or by Government. He had frequent communications with his steady friend, Sir Joseph Banks, upon this subject; and no opportunity of qualifying himself still farther for such an expedition was left unimproved. For two years he seemed not to have fixed upon any determinate course of life; sometimes considering the propriety of renting a form, and occasionally looking out for openings in the medical profession. In the meantime, the profits derived from his Travels secured him from want, and prevented him from proving burdensome to his family. Unknown to them, he seems to have been employing every means to get the master passion of his soul gratified; and he fondly trusted that it would be shortly in his power to add to the discoveries he had already made. He rejected a proposal made to him by Mr. Edwards, to superintend his property in the West Indies, evidently cherishing the hope of being again sent out by the African Association. About this time, the capture of Goree seemed to open a communication with Central Africa, and Park thought it a good opportunity for revisiting that country. He wrote a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, expressing a confident hope of success, provided the countenance of Government were obtained. His proposal was not at that time accepted; and in a letter to Sir Joseph, dated 31st July 1800, he thus writes,—"If such are the views of Government, I hope that my exertions, in some station or other, may be of use to my country. I have not yet found any situation in which I could practise to advantage as a surgeon; and unless some of my friends interest themselves in my behalf, I must wait patiently until the cloud that hangs over my future prospects is dispelled." Evidently he could not reconcile his taste either to farming, or to the dull and wearisome drudgery of a country surgeon's life; in fact, he seemed altogether discontented with his profession. But when he saw that his prospect of employment by the Association was by no means certain, and might be long deferred, he felt that, as an honest man, it was necessary to provide some certain means of support for a wife and family. In October 1801, an opening took place at Peebles, by the decease of one of the two regular practitioners in that town: he settled there, and soon acquired a practice which, if not particularly remunerating, was at least tolerably extensive. He was surrounded by a pastoral, and, in some places, uncultivated district; and had often to make long rides at night along bad roads, to afford aid to those whose poverty did not allow them to make any return for his skill and kindness. The rides of a country surgeon, near an unfrequented district, are dreary and long; "he is at the mercy of all who may demand his assistance within a circle of forty miles in diameter, untraversed by roads in many directions, and including moors, mountains, rivers, and lakes," generally for a very low recompense, and sometimes for none at all.

Sir Walter Scott has so well described a country surgeon's miseries, that we shall quote the passage, more especially as it bears particular reference to Park:—"Like the ghostly lover of Leonora, he mounts at midnight, and traverses in darkness paths which, to those less accustomed to them, seem formidable in daylight, through straits where the slightest aberration would plunge him into a morass, or throw him over a precipice, on to cabins which his horse might ride over without knowing they lay in his way, unless he happened to fall through the roofs. When he arrives at such a stately termination of his journey, where his services are required, either to bring a wretch into the world, or prevent one from leaving it, the scene of misery is often such, that, far from touching the hard saved shillings which are gratefully offered to him, he bestows his medicines as well as his attendance—for charity. I have heard the celebrated traveller Mungo Park, who had experienced both courses of life, rather give the preference to travelling as a discoverer in Africa, than to wandering, by night and day, the wilds of his native land in the capacity of a country medical practitioner. He mentioned having once upon a time rode forty miles, sat up all night, and successfully assisted a woman under influence of the primitive curse, for which his sole remuneration was a roasted potato and a draught of butter milk. But his was not the heart which grudged the labour that relieved human misery. In short, there is no creature in Scotland that works harder, and is more poorly requited than the country doctor, unless, perhaps, it may be his horse. Yet the horse is, and indeed must be, hardy, active, and indefatigable, ever liable to be unpleasantly interrupted, in spite of a rough coat and indifferent condition; and so you will often find in his master, under an unpromising and blunt exterior, professional skill and enthusiasm, intelligence humanity, courage, and science." Such was certainly the character of Park: having himself experienced what it was to suffer unrelieved, he was ready to sympathize with his suffering fellow-creatures, and to endure every hardship and privation when humanity called upon him to do so. But his liberality was a great enemy to his purse, and for a considerable time, all he could do was barely enough to earn a livelihood. Such difficulties every one, generally, who enters upon this arduous profession must lay his account with. His reputation as a discoverer, his modest and unassuming character, and the propriety of his conduct, however, gained Park many friends, some of whom were literary men of great eminence, such as Adam Ferguson and Dugald Stewart. In addition to the honour of attracting the notice of men so gifted in intellectual endowments, he was also on the best terms with many of the neighbouring gentry,—among others, with Sir Walter Scott, who had not then attained that high place among his contemporaries which he afterwards held. He had also formed many acquaintances in a humbler rank of life,—men of shrewdness and sagacity, in whose homely conversation Park felt much pleasure. He enrolled himself a member of a volunteer corps raised in the district, and proved a great acquisition to the mess-table. One thing was remarkable about Park, that, go where he would, he never introduced his own adventures, seldom ever answering queries concerning them, unless when asked by intimate friends. He shewed the true modesty of a brave man, in never reminding those around him that he had overcome great perils and distresses. Yet those who knew him best, describe him as always apparently cherishing a secret purpose in his bosom. His mind, in fact, seems never to have been diverted from its grand purpose; it was directed to the prospect of adding yet more claims to the notice of posterity: hence, he could neither bring himself down patiently to the ordinary routine of common-place life, nor take a great interest in the feelings and pursuits of the society with which he mingled. Often would his thoughts be wafted across the ocean to the burning deserts of Africa, and directed to the prospect of tracing out the windings of the mysterious Niger.