"I know that you will be pleased to hear that I am in good health, and going forwards with as much success as I could reasonably expect. In my letter to Lord Camden, I have given a short statement of my transactions since I left England, which I have requested his Lordship to shew to you. By that you will see that I have had but little time to attend to objects of natural history; but lest you should think that I have neglected this pursuit entirely, I have sent a few specimens in a trunk, which I hope will come safe; the most remarkable are,
"1st. The Fang jani, or self-burning tree of Gambia. This grows plentifully on the banks of the Gambia betwixt Yanimaroo and Kayee, and no where else. It is certainly burnt by some internal process, of which I am ignorant. Few of the natives have seen it actually burning; but every person who has sailed up the Gambia will allow that these bushes are burnt in places where no human being could set them on fire, and where the grass around them was not burnt. I have sent you a burnt stump, two tops, and a fruit.
"2d. The Kino, (so called by the natives), a branch and fruit of the original gum kino tree and a paper of the real gum; none of this gum is at present exported from Gambia, though it might be collected in some quantity.
"3d. The Tribo, a root with which the natives dye their leather of a yellow colour. It is not in flower at this season. [Footnote: See Appendix, No. V.]
"The wars which at present prevail in Bondou and Kasson, have prevented the merchants from bringing down the Shea butter; otherwise I would have sent you a pot of it. I have sent you as a specimen of African manufactures, a Mandingo cloth dyed from the leaves of the indigo, half a dozen small pots, and some Lefa's or calabash covers. I regret that I have not been able to procure any Bondou Frankincense.—Give my compliments to Major Rennell, and tell him that I hope to be able to correct my former errors. The course of the Gambia is certainly not so long as is laid down in the charts. The watch goes so correctly that I will measure Africa by feet and inches.
"In case any unfavourable reports should be raised respecting the termination of our journey, I request that you will endeavour as much as you can to prevent them from finding their way into the newspapers, or by any other manner reaching the ears of my dear wife and mother."
To Mrs. Park.
Kayee, River Gambia, April 26, 1805.
"I have been busy these three days in making preparations for our journey, and I feel rather uneasy when I think that I can receive no letters from you till I return to England; but you may depend on this, that I will avail myself of every opportunity of writing to you, though from the very nature of the undertaking these opportunities will be but few. We set off for the Interior tomorrow morning; and I assure you, that whatever the issue of the present journey may be, every thing looks favourable. We have been successful thus far, beyond my highest expectations.
"The natives instead of being frightened at us, look on us as their best friends, and the kings have not only granted us protection, but sent people to go before us. The soldiers are in the highest spirits; and as many of them (like me) have left a wife and family in England, they are happy to embrace this opportunity of returning. They never think about difficulties; and I am confident, if there was occasion for it, that they would defeat any number of Negroes that might come against us; but of this we have not the most distant expectation. The King of Kataba (the most powerful King in Gambia) visited us on board the Crescent on the 20th and 21st; he has furnished us with a messenger to conduct us safely to the King of Woolli.