Life and Travels of Mungo Park

by Mungo Park

They had now arrived at Julifunda, the chief of which place extorted from Park goods to the value of two hundred bars, before he would suffer the party to proceed. The next day, being his Majesty's birthday, Park halted, pitched one of the tents, and purchased a bullock and a calf for the soldiers, who were drawn up in the afternoon, and fired a salute. They made this as much a day of festivity as circumstances would admit of, though they were under the necessity of drinking the king's health in water, in the absence of any more stimulating and genial fluid. At Baniserile, a Mahometan town, they met with a most hospitable reception from the chief man, Fodi Braheima, to whom Park presented a copy of the New Testament, in Arabic. On the 6th June, one of the carpenters, who had been sick of the dysentery ever since they had crossed the Nerico, became very ill. On the 7th the sick man was so ill that he had to be mounted on an ass, which was driven forward by two soldiers; next day he threw himself from the beast, and expressed a wish to be left alone to die, and could only be held on by force. About noon they arrived at Medina, and halted upon the banks of the Falemé, which the rain had discoloured, but little increased in volume. At this place it ran over rocks, at the rate of about four miles the hour. It abounded with fish of a great size. In the afternoon the soldiers were quite worn out with carrying the baggage across the river, and up the steep bank. The carpenter being in a dying state was left with the Dooty, to whom Park gave ten bars, and also directed a soldier to remain with him. Next morning the soldier came up to the party at Sadadoo, and told them that the carpenter had died during the night, and that he, with the assistance of some negroes, had buried him. On the 9th, five of the soldiers, who had not gone into the tent, but had remained during the rain under a tree, complained much of headache and sickness. During the night some of the canteens had been stolen. They left Sadadoo at sunrise, journeying over a hard rocky soil, towards the mountains, and the advanced party reached Shrondo at sunset; but Park did not come up to the place till eight o'clock, having mounted one of the sick men on his horse, and assisted in driving in the wearied asses, four of which he was compelled to leave in the woods. Here they were overtaken by a dreadful tornado, which drenched them completely: this proved to them indeed the "beginning of sorrows." Its dreadful effects were immediately manifested in the sickness of the soldiers, many of whom were, before the rain had fallen three minutes, seized with vomiting; while others fell asleep, and looked as if they had been half intoxicated. Next morning twelve of the party were sick. Before this Park had fondly hoped that he would reach the Niger, with a moderate loss; but now, for the first time, do we find stated in his journal, a feeling of distrust and apprehension: "The rain," he says, "had set in, and I trembled to think that we were only half way through, our journey." From that period the horrors of fatal disease were superadded to those of toilsome and dangerous journey. Many of the beasts of burden sank down or strayed, so that an additional load had to be put upon those that remained. The track was intersected by frequent torrents, and the sick had to be placed upon the horses and spare asses; those whose strength disease had not yet wasted, were worn out in endeavouring to urge on the staggering beasts. Their footsteps were tracked by plunderers, who watched every opportunity of pilfering. The sick soldiers would throw themselves at the foot of a tree, declaring that they were content to perish; even had they been suffered to remain, a quiet death could not have been expected, as the beasts of prey were prowling about, and their feverish rest at night was often broken by their distant howling. In the midst of all this complication of difficulties, it is impossible not to be struck with the nobleness of Park's conduct, facing boldly difficulties however arduous, and endearing himself to his men by the greatest attention and kindness,—himself enduring toil that they might have rest, lingering behind the party to help on some exhausted soldier, or mounting him upon his own horse, comforting the desponding, and in their last hour consoling and soothing the dying.

The party rested a day at Shrondo, but the distressing circumstances in which they were involved did not prevent Park from visiting the gold mines in the neighbourhood, and he gives in his journal a curious account of the method in which the gold is obtained. He was guided by a woman to a meadow where there were dug about thirty pits. Beside these lay heaps of sand and gravel, to be conveyed to circular wash-pits, which were lined with clay. Two calabashes are used, one large, into which the gravel is put; the other small, with which the water is poured in. The sand is then covered with the water, carefully crumbled down and shaken in the calabash, and the lighter parts thrown out, till all that remains is a black substance, called gold-rust. The shaking is then repeated, and the grains of gold are sought out. Two pounds of gravel yield about twenty-three particles of gold, some of which are very small; and the bulk of gold-rust is about forty times that of the gold. The washing only takes place at the time of the rains.

They next proceeded along the mountains of Konkodoo to Dindikoo, where they saw a number of gold-pits, sunk about twelve feet deep, with notches in the sides for steps. The mountains were lofty and steep, composed of a coarse species of red granite, but cultivated to the very tops, and the villages built in their glens were singularly romantic. "The inhabitants," says Park, "have plenty of water, and grass at all seasons; they have cattle enough for their own use, and their superfluous grain purchases all their little luxuries; and while the thunder rolls in awful grandeur over their heads, they can look from their tremendous precipices over all that wild and woody plain, which extends from the Falemé to the Black River." This plain was about forty miles in extent; the lions abounded in the plain, but none were seen among the hills. On the 18th they had great difficulty in getting the sick forward, though all the spare horses and asses were reserved for their use. The ass which bore the telescope and several other articles of consequence was missing; but was brought on the following day by one of the natives who had caught it.

Park now began to be "very uneasy about their situation;" half of the party were on the sick list, among whom were Messrs. Anderson and Scott, and he himself was by no means well. They rested for one day at Fankia. On the 15th their road lay along a steep and rocky pass in the mountains of Tambaura. During this toilsome march they were in a state of dreadful confusion. There were few drivers for the asses, which were overburdened with the sick and baggage. The natives, seeing their weak state, followed them, seizing every opportunity for pillage. At Serimanna, two of the men were left behind. At Gambia, the natives having heard that the white men were sickly, rose up in arms, and attempted to plunder the caravan. One seized the Serjeant's horse, but on a pistol being presented, quitted his hold. Others tried to drive away the asses with their loads. But the soldiers stood firm, loaded their pieces with ball, and fixed bayonets; upon which the natives hesitated, and the soldiers having placed the asses in safety on the other side of a rivulet, returned. Park then demanded of the Dooty that he should be suffered to proceed in peace. To this after a little he consented, in consequence of the determined front shown by the British, and to avoid farther molestation, Park deemed it prudent to present him with four bars of amber. Near Sullo, the eyes of the jaded and weary travellers were a little revived by the picturesqueness of the scenery, which presented all the possible diversities of rock, towering up like ruined castles, spires, and pyramids. One place bore a very striking resemblance to a ruined Gothic abbey,—the niches, windows, and staircase, having all counterparts in the natural rock. Mr. Park describes the banks of the Ba-Fing and Ba-Lee, two tributaries of the Senegal, to be rugged and grand beyond any thing he had seen.

In crossing the Ba-Fing the canoe was upset, with three men in it, one of whom was drowned. Park's efforts to restore animation were unavailing, and he was buried on the banks of the river. The people on the banks were a set of thieves, and endeavoured to make off with the medicine-chest. Not a day now passed but one or other of the soldiers died of fever, or was left behind. At Koeena, on the 2d July, they were much annoyed by three lions, which, after prowling about all day, at midnight attacked the asses, which broke their ropes, and rushed in among the tents. One of the lions approached so near that the sentry made a cut at it with his sword. They could not sleep, because of the noise of the hippopotami which infested that part of the river. At this time several of the soldiers strayed, and never came up with the party again, though muskets were frequently fired to give intimation of the route. Next day one of the soldiers became so exhausted that he could not sit upon the ass. He was fastened on it, and held upright; he became more and more faint, and shortly after died. His body was brought forward to a place where the front of the coffle had halted to allow the rear to come up. "Here," says Park, "when the coffle had set forwards, two of the soldiers with their bayonets, and myself with my sword, dug his grave in the wild desert, and a few branches were the only laurels that covered the tomb of the brave." When Park came up to the halting-place, which was near a pool of water, shaded with ground palm-trees, he found that two more of the soldiers were missing. Lights were set up, partly to scare away the lions and also to guide those who had not come up; and Park himself went back a considerable part of the way in search of them, but only one came up, who, next day, lagged behind through fatigue. Search was then made for him, but he could not be found; and they supposed that he had been devoured by the wild beasts.

On the 4th July they crossed the river Wonda; but as they had only one canoe, the passage was both dangerous and tedious. Isaaco, the guide, exerted himself much, endeavouring to drive six of the asses through a little below where the party crossed, as the stream was there not so deep. He had reached the middle of the river, when a crocodile rose, seized him by the left thigh, and dragged him under water. With wonderful presence of mind, however, he felt the head of the animal, and thrust his finger into its eye. The monster quitted its hold for a moment, but then seized his other thigh, and again pulled him under water. Isaaco again thrust his fingers into its eyes. This proved effectual. The crocodile rose to the surface, dashed about a while as if stupified, and then swam down the middle of the river. Isaaco landed on the other side, bleeding copiously. He was so much lacerated as for a time to be unfit for travelling; and as his guidance was indispensable to the party, they waited four days, to give his wounds time to heal.

On the 11th July they came to Keminoom, the strongest fortified town Park had seen in Africa,—whence they were very desirous to depart, as they found the inhabitants to be "thieves to a man," committing depredations upon the travellers with the greatest coolness and impudence, in which the King and his thirty sons formed accomplished models for the subjects to look up to. Here they were subjected to the most vexatious extortions, and a number of articles were stolen from the baggage. On the 14th they set out from this place, one of the king's sons on horseback with them as a protector; but had not got a gun-shot from the town, when a bag was stolen from one of the asses; Park and Martyn ran after the offender, and recovered the bag; but before they returned to the coffle, another had made off with a musket. About two miles from this town some of the asses fell down. Park rode forward to look out for an easier ascent. As he held his musket carelessly in his hand, two of the king's sons came up, one of whom begged Park to give him a pinch of snuff. Park turned round to assure him he had none; upon which the other stole behind him, snatched the musket from his hand, and ran off. Park sprang from his saddle with his sword drawn, and Mr. Anderson got within musket-shot of the thief, but was unwilling to fire on this scion of royalty. The thief escaped up the rocks, and when Park returned to his horse, he found that the other descendant of royalty had stolen his great-coat. Park complained to the king's son who accompanied them as guide; he told him that the best course would be for the people to fire upon the delinquents. The natives seeing their preparations hid themselves behind the rocks, and only occasionally peeped through the crevices. The sky became overcast with clouds, and before they were five miles from the town, a heavy tornado came on. During the rain, another of the royal family ran off with a musket and a pair of pistols, which a soldier had laid down while reloading his ass. As they halted for a little, the natives nearly drove off four of the asses. At length Park gave the soldiers directions to shoot every one who came near the baggage, and they cleared the difficult passes of the rocks by sunset, without sustaining any farther loss. During the 18th a great number of articles, and one of the asses, were stolen from the sick soldiers, who had scarcely strength to defend themselves; and one of the party not having come up, Park supposed, with too much probability, that he had been stripped and murdered. During that and the following day they had three tornados. So many of the beasts of burden had been stolen, that the men were obliged to carry part of the loads. Park himself put a knapsack on his back, and his horse had a heavy load of articles to bear.

They found great difficulty in crossing the banks of the Ba-Woolima, a narrow, rapid, and deep river, which was then much swollen by the rains, They first endeavoured to throw across trunks of trees, but these were carried away by the stream. They next attempted a raft; but after the logs had been cut, the sick people were not able to drag them to the water side. But the negroes who were with them constructed a bridge in the most ingenious manner. It was formed of two ranges of a number of upright forked sticks, of sufficient length. Across each of the ranges of forks were placed two trees tied together. These beams were then connected with cross sticks. To prevent this structure from being carried away by the current, two large trees, fastened together, were fixed to both banks, their roots being tied with ropes to the trees growing there; they were allowed to sink in the water, so that the current could not bear away the forks whose ends sloped down the stream, and the current itself kept in their places those whose roots slanted up the stream. Here another of the party died of fever.

On the 22d they came to Bangassi, a large fortified town; where the king gave them a bullock and two calabashes of sweet milk, receiving in return a number of presents. Nevertheless, he seemed somewhat suspicious, and questioned Park closely concerning the object of his journey. On parting, he offered Park the protection of his son as far as Sego, whither he intended to proceed in a few days; but Park was too anxious to reach the Niger, to submit to any delay. The health of the soldiers became still worse, one died, and another was left behind at Bangassi. They had not gone far from the town when four men lay down, and declared themselves unable to proceed. Park himself felt very sick and faint; but his spirits were revived, and he almost felt a return of strength, when, upon ascending an eminence, he saw some distant mountains to the southeast. "The certainty that the Niger washed the southern base of these mountains, made him forget his fever; and he thought of nothing but how to climb their blue summits."

On the 27th, July, they reached Nummasoolo, a large ruined town, which had been destroyed by war. They had scarcely time to pitch the tent before the rain came upon them in torrents, and threatened to destroy the merchandise: two days were spent in drying it. Two more of the men died, and one was left behind at this place, concerning whom there is the following entry in Park's journal:—"Was under the necessity of leaving here William Allen sick. Paid the Dooty for him as usual. I regretted much leaving this man; he had naturally a cheerful disposition, and he used often to beguile the watches of the night with the songs of our dear native land." Their route now lay through ruined towns and villages. The last of the forty asses they had brought from St. Jago perished of fatigue. On the 9th August they had to pass a rapid stream, and a number of their beasts of burden were nearly drowned. Both Mr. Scott and Lieutenant Martyn were suffering from fever; and Park's brother-in-law, Mr. Anderson, was found lying under a bush, seemingly in a dying state. Park lifted him up, carried him on his back across a stream which came up to his middle, then placed him on his own horse, and again proceeded to help in carrying over the loads. He crossed the stream sixteen times; then loaded his ass, walked on foot to the next village, killing the horse on which Anderson was, and driving the ass before him. In the two last marches they had lost four men; and on the 12th none of the Europeans were able to lift a load. As they went on, Park led Mr. Anderson's horse by the bridle, to give him more ease. They passed an ass deserted by the driver, who was never more heard of. A sick man, who had been mounted on Park's horse, also lay on the ground. About twelve, Anderson's strength seemed quite exhausted, and Park laid him under a bush, and sat down near him. Two hours after he again made an effort to proceed, but was compelled to desist. Park allowed the horse to graze, and sat down beside his dying friend. About five o'clock Anderson faintly intimated his desire of being mounted, and Park led forward the horse as quickly as possible, in the hope of reaching Koomikoomi before night. They had only got on about a mile when they heard a noise like the barking of a huge mastiff, ending in a prolonged hiss like that of an angry cat. Park thought at first that it was a large monkey, and observed to Anderson, "what a bouncing fellow that must be," when another bark was heard nearer, and then one close at hand accompanied with a growl. Immediately they saw three large lions all abreast, bounding over the long grass towards them. Park was apprehensive lest, if he allowed them to come too near, and his piece should miss fire, the lions would spring upon them. He therefore let go the bridle, and walked forward to meet them. As soon as he came within long shot he fired at the centre one, but did not seem to hit him; the lions halted, looked at each other, then bounded away a few paces, and one of them again stopped and looked at Park, who was busily loading his piece; at length, to his great joy, the last of them slowly marched off among the bushes. About half a mile farther on, another bark and growl proceeded from the bushes, quite close to them. This was probably one of the lions who had continued to track them; and Park, fearing that they would follow him till dark, when they would have too many opportunities for springing secretly upon them, took Anderson's call, and made as load a whistling and noise as he could. Amidst the gullies, Park, after it became dark, could no longer distinguish the footprints of the asses which marked the way along which, the party had proceeded; and as the road became steep and dangerous, he resolved to halt till morning. A fire was lighted, Anderson wrapt in his cloak, while Park watched all night, in case the lions, whom he knew to abound in the neighbourhood, should attack them.