On the 20th April M. Caillie entered Tombuctoo. His feelings at the sight of this celebrated city were those of disappointment. Perhaps in his wanderings he had fed his imagination with dreams of a flourishing and splendid capital reared amid the waste. He thus describes it:—"The spectacle before me did not answer my expectation. At first sight it presents but a heap of houses, neither so large nor so well peopled as I expected. Its commerce is less considerable than is stated by public report, a great concourse of strangers coming from every part of Soudan. I met in the streets only the camels coming from Kabra. The city is inhabited by negroes of the Kissour nation. They form the principal population. The city is without any walls, open on all sides, and may contain 10,000 or 12,000 inhabitants, including the Moors." The houses are built of brick; and there are seven mosques, the principal one of great size, having a tower fifty feet high. The city depends exclusively on trade, which is entirely in the hands of the Moors. The chief article of commerce is salt, which is dug out of the mines of Sahara; but other articles, both of European and native manufacture, are likewise sold. The goods are embarked for Jenne, and bartered for gold, slaves, and provisions. The city is surrounded with plains of moving sand. "The horizon is of a pale red. All is gloomy in nature. The deepest silence reigns—not the song of a single bird is heard."
On the 4th May, M. Caillie departed from Tombuctoo, and in a few days arrived at Aroan, a town containing 3000 inhabitants, on the route to which neither herb nor shrub was seen; and their only fuel was the dung of camels. On the 19th May he prepared to cross the desert, along with a large caravan. Scarcely a drop of water could be found, and many of the wells were dried up. "Before us appeared a horizon without bounds, in which our eyes distinguished only an immense plain of burning sand, enveloped by a sky on fire. At this spectacle the camels raised long cries, and the slaves mournfully lifted up their eyes to heaven." They suffered much from thirst during this dreary march, and their strength was almost exhausted before they reached the springs of Telig. After many days harassing toil, they came to the frontiers of Morocco, and M. Caillie, having crossed the Atlas, contrived to make his way to Tangier.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Lander's Journey.
In the preceding chapter the reader must have admired the fortitude and resolution manifested by Lander, when, after the death of Clapperton, he had to travel to the coast alone. His attempt to reach the Niger shewed that his disposition was ardent and enterprising, and that, but for untoward circumstances, he would have effected his object. On his return to England, he again offered his services to government, and accompanied by his brother John, embarked from Portsmouth on the 9th January 1830, and reached Cape Coast Castle on the 22d of the following month.
Having hired several native attendants, one of whom, called Pascoe, was well qualified to act as an interpreter, the travellers sailed to Badagry, and landed on the 22d. They resided some days at this place, the chief being unwilling to part from them till he had obtained as presents almost every article which he coveted. As if in contrast with the beauty of the country, the inhabitants of Badagry are a dissolute, sensual, and greedy race. While they resided in the town, the Landers were invited to visit the spot where the Mahomedans perform some of their religious rites. Two Mussulmen guided them to the place, which was about a mile distant. They came to a bare space of sandy ground, surrounded with trees; here they found the Mussulmen engaged in prostration and ablution. Each group as it arrived, was received with flourishes of musical instruments. Every one was clad in his best apparel. "Loose robes, with caps and turbans, striped and plain, red, blue, and black, were not unpleasingly contrasted with the original native costume of fringed cotton thrown loosely over the shoulders, and immense rush hats. Manchester cloths, of the most glaring patterns, were conspicuous amongst the crowd; but these were cast in the shade, by scarfs of green silk ornamented with leaves and flowers of gold, and aprons covered with silver spangles." No sooner were the religious ceremonies finished, than there was a general discharge of fire-arms; and clarionets, drums, and strings of bells betokened the joy felt on the occasion.
The soil of Badagry is fertile, and consists of a layer of fine white sand over loam, clay, and earth; the sand is so deep as to render walking difficult. The inhabitants depend for subsistence on fishing, and the cultivation of the yam and Indian corn. They fish with nets and spears, and also with a peculiarly formed earthen pot, which they bait with the palm nut. The more wealthy possess bullocks, sheep, goats, and poultry. The houses, which are neatly constructed of bamboo, and thatched with palm leaves, contain several rooms; almost all have yards attached to them, to the cultivation of which some little attention is paid.
On the night of the 31st March they set sail from Badagry in the chief's war canoe, which was about forty feet long, and propelled by poles. The banks of the river were low, covered with stunted trees; and a slave-factory and fetish hut were the only buildings visible. At intervals, at a winding of the river, they saw "a noble and solitary palm-tree, with its lofty branches bending over the water's edge." At this point, the atmosphere is loaded with pestilential miasmata. For a considerable way the water is almost hid by a profusion of marine plants, but these gradually disappear, and the boughs of beautiful trees hang over the banks, and screen the travellers from the sun's rays. A number of aquatic birds resort to this place; and the ear is absolutely stunned with the noise of parrots and monkeys. They landed, and walked on to Wow, which is an extensive town. After passing through several villages, their route lay through woods and patches of open ground, till they came to a beautiful and romantic glen in the very heart of a wood. It abounded in butterflies, whose shining wings displayed an infinity of colours.
The Landers now followed nearly the same route which Clapperton had pursued on his second journey. On the 6th April, they arrived at Jenne, where they were well received by the governor, who had recently been appointed to his office by the king of Badagry. The inhabitants are industrious and temperate, living chiefly on vegetable food. The chief labour, however, is devolved upon the females, who carry merchandize from place to place upon their heads, and bear with great patience their heavy burdens. Their path continued to lie through a most beautiful and fertile region, covered with exuberant vegetation. With the slightest attention and care, the soil would yield an abundant return; but the people are satisfied if they merely supply the cravings of nature, contenting themselves with slightly turning up the ground with the hoe. As they left Chouchow, a delightful morning following a rainy night, caused the flowers and shrubs to exhale delicious perfumes. On each side of the path were granite mountains of irregular shapes, the tops of which were covered with trees, and in the hollows of their slopes were clusters of huts. A great number of birds frequented the valley, and the delightful notes of a few were strangely contrasted with the harsh and discordant croaking of others. "The modest partridge appeared in company with the magnificent Balearic crane, with his regal crest; and delicate humming birds hopped from twig to twig with others of an unknown species; some of them were of a dark shining green; some had red silky wings and purple bodies; some were variegated with stripes of crimson and gold; and these chirped and warbled from among the thick foliage of the trees."
They arrived at Katunga on the 18th May, and immediately had an interview with king Mansolah. His head was ornamented with a turban resembling in shape a bishop's mitre, to which many strings of coral were attached. "His robe was of green silk, crimson silk damask, and green silk velvet, which were all sewn together like pieces of patchwork. He wore English cotton stockings, and neat leathern sandals of native workmanship. A large piece of superfine light blue cloth, given him by the late Captain Clapperton, served as a carpet." The monarch, after some hesitation, granted them permission to visit Botissa and the neighbourhood, and said he would dispatch a messenger to the neighbouring princes, to facilitate the progress of the travellers through their dominions. The city had a melancholy and cheerless aspect; the walls had fallen to decay, and the streets were nearly deserted.