Jobson arrived in the Gambia, in November, 1620, and left his ship at Cassau, a town situate on the banks of that river. Here, however, his progress was impeded by the machinations of the Portuguese, and so great was the dread of the few persons belonging to that nation, who remained at Cassan after the massacre of Thompson, that scarcely one could be found, who would take upon himself the office of a pilot to conduct his vessel higher up the river. In this extremity he had no other resource than to take to his boats, but, on ascending the river, he found his merchandise in comparatively little request, and repented that he had not laden his boats with salt. He soon afterwards met with Brewer, who had accompanied Thompson to Tenda, and remained with the English factory established up the river. He also filled Jobson with "golden hopes." Wherever the English stopped, the negro kings, with their wives and daughters, came down to the river side to buy, or rather to beg for trinkets, and still more for brandy. They also showed themselves by no means ignorant of the art of stealing, but their thefts were, in some degree, obliged to be winked at, for fear of offending the royal personages, and drawing down upon themselves the secret vengeance of the uncivilized hordes. On Christmas day Tirambra, a negro prince, a great friend of the English, sent them a load of elephant's flesh, which was accepted with tokens of the greatest respect and gratitude, although the whole gift was secretly thrown away.
After a navigation in boats of nearly thirty days, Jobson reached the rapids of Barraconda, the highest point to where the tide flows, and where he found himself involved in great difficulties. The ascent was to be made against a current running with the greatest rapidity; the great number of hidden rocks made it dangerous to pursue their course during the night, the same time, that in attempting to avoid the rocks, they struck upon sand banks and shallows, which often obliged the crew to strip and go into the water, for the purpose of clearing the boats from the sands. In the performance, however, of this task, the greatest danger was run from the vast number of crocodiles, that infested the river, and which, in several instances, seemed to be in waiting for any prey with which the boats could supply them. The river was also filled with "a world of sea-horses, whose paths, as they came on shore to feed, were beaten with tracts as large as a London highway." The land on either side of the river was covered with immense forests of unknown trees, which appeared to team with living things, feathered and quadruped, making a roar sometimes, which was sufficient to instil terror into the stoutest heart. Amongst the latter, the baboons appeared to hold the sovereignty of the woods, and whenever the navigation of the river obliged the travellers to keep close in shore, where the banks were covered with trees; the baboons posted themselves on the branches, and kept up a regular attack upon the navigators, throwing at them the largest branches, which they could break from the trees, and apparently holding a palaver with each other, as to the best mode of prosecuting the attack against the lawless intruders into their territory. They appeared actually to be aware when a branch hit one of the navigators, for they immediately up a shout of triumph, screaming hideously, and "grinning ghastly a horrible smile," as if expressive of their victory. The voices of the crocodiles calling, as it were, to each other, resembling the sound "of a deep well," might be heard at the distance of a league, whilst the elephants were seen in huge hordes, raising their trunks in the air, and snorting defiance to all who dared approach them. The latter are objects of great fear to the natives, scarcely one of whom dare approach them, but they appeared to have an instinctive sense of the superiority of the English, for they no sooner made a movement against them, than they hurried away with the speed of the forest deer, and were soon lost in the depths of their native forests. Three balls were lodged in one of the animals, but he made off with them; he was, however, soon after found dead by the negroes. The most formidable animals, however, were the lions, ounces, and leopards, which were seen at some distance, but the sailors could not obtain a shot at them. At one of their halting places, the baboons appeared like an army consisting of several thousands, some of the tallest placed in front, marshalled under the guidance of a leader, the smaller ones being in the middle, and the rear brought up by the larger ones. The sailors showed some disposition to enter into an acquaintance with the leader of the army, but the desire was by no means mutual, for nature has very kindly infused into the hearts of these creatures a strong distrust in the friendly advances of their brother bipeds, knowing them to be, in many of their actions, false, hollow, and deceitful, a proof of which, one of the leaders of the army received in a very striking and forcible manner, in the shape of a bullet, which passed directly through his body. The baboons were, however, determined that their treacherous friends should not obtain possession of the body of their murdered leader, for before the sailors could arrive at the spot where the deceased general lay, his indignant and patriotic companions had carried his body away. On following these creatures to their haunts in the recessess of the forest, places were found, where the branches had been so intertwined, and the ground beaten so smoothly, as to make it rather difficult to believe that the labour had not been accomplished by human hands.
On the 26th of January, Jobson arrived at Tenda, and he immediately despatched a messenger to Buckar Sano, the chief merchant on the Gambia, who soon after arrived with a stock of provisions, which he disposed of at reasonable prices. In return for the promptitude, with which Buckar Sano had replied to his message, Jobson treated him with the greatest hospitality, placing before him the brandy bottle as the most important object of the entertainment. Buckar Sano seemed by no means unwilling to consider it in that character, for he paid so many visitations to it that he became so intoxicated, that he lay during the whole of the night dead drunk in the boat. Buckar Sano, however, showed by his subsequent conduct, that drunkenness was not a vice, to which he was naturally addicted, and that the strength of the spirit had crept upon him, before he was aware of the consequences that were likely to ensue. On any subsequent occasion, when the brandy bottle was tendered to him, he would take a glass, but on being pressed to repeat it, he would shake his head with apparent tokens of disgust; after the exchange of some presents, and many ridiculous ceremonies, Buckar Sano was proclaimed the white man's alchade, or mercantile agent. Jobson had, however, some reason to doubt his good faith, from the accounts which he gave of a city four months journey in the interior, the roofs of the houses of which were covered with sheets of gold. It must, however, be considered, in exculpation of the supposed exaggerated accounts of Buckar Sano, that the Europeans at that time possessed a very circumscribed knowledge of the extent of the interior of Africa, and that a four months journey, to a particular city, would not be looked upon at the time as transgressing the bounds of truth. It is most probable that Buckar Sano alluded to Timbuctoo, a place that has given rise to more extraordinary conjectures, and respecting which, more fabulous stories have been told than of Babylon, or of Carthage of ancient history.
The circumstance of a vessel having arrived in the river for the purpose of traffic, caused a strong sensation throughout the country, and the natives flocked from all the neighbouring districts, anxious not only to obtain a sight of the white men, but to commence their commercial dealings. They erected their huts on the banks of the river, which in a short time resembled a village, and for the first time, the busy hum of trade was heard in the interior of Africa. The natives, with whom Jobson commenced his commercial dealings, appeared to possess some traces of civilization, nor were they deficient in many of the arts, which are known amongst the civilized nations, and which, even at that time, were with them but in their infancy.
To these people, however, succeeded a different race of visitors, far more rude and uncivilized, whose bodies were covered with skins of wild animals, the tails hanging as from the beasts. The men of this race had never seen a white man before, and so great was their fear, when Jobson presented himself amongst them, that they all ran away, and stationed themselves at some distance from the river. They were, however, soon tempted back again, at the sight of a few beads, and the most friendly relations were afterwards established between them.
Jobson found that in Tenda, as elsewhere, salt was the article chiefly in demand, but he had unfortunately omitted to provide himself with any great quantity of that article. Iron wares met with a ready sale, though these were supplied at a cheaper rate by a neighbouring people. The sword-blade of Buckar Sano, and the brass bracelets of his wife, appeared to Jobson to be specimens of as good workmanship as could be seen in England. Jobson, from very prudential motives, abstained from mentioning gold; but Buckar Sano, who knew perhaps what Europeans most coveted, told him, that if he continued to trade with Tenda, he could dispose of all his cargoes for gold. The negro merchant affirmed, that he had been four times at a town in which the houses were all covered with gold, and distant a journey of four moons. Jobson was informed that six days journey from St. John's Mart, the name which he gave to the factory at Tenda, was a town called Mombar, where there was much trade for gold. Three stages farther was Jaye, whence the gold came. Some of the native merchants, finding that Jobson had not any salt with him, refused to enter into any commercial dealings with him, and returned highly dissatisfied. For the commodities which he did dispose of, he obtained, in exchange, gold and ivory; he could have obtained hides in abundance, but they were too bulky a commodity to bear the expense of conveyance.
Jobson wisely adapted his carriage to the negro customs; he danced and sung with the natives, and entered with a proper spirit into all their entertainments. He remarks, that the water of the Gambia above Barraconda has such a strong scent of musk, from the multitude of crocodiles, that infest that part of the river, as to be unfit for use. The torpedo also abounds in the river about Cassan, and at first caused not a little terror and amazement to the crew.
Amongst other acts of kindness, which Buckar Sano showed to the Englishman, he offered to introduce him at the court of Tenda. This, in a commercial point of view, was an advantage not to be overlooked, independently of the knowledge, which he would acquire of the internal geography of the country. On reaching the king's presence, an example was witnessed of the debasing homage, which is usually paid to negro princes, and of which some striking examples will be given in the journey of Clapperton. The great and wealthy merchant, on appearing in the presence of the king, first fell on his knees, and then throwing off his shirt, extended himself naked and flat on the ground, whilst his attendants almost buried him beneath dust and mud; after grovelling like a beast for some time in this position, he suddenly started up, shook off the mud from him, in which operation he was assisted by two of his wives, who then assisted him in equipping himself in his best attire, with his bow and quiver, and all the other paraphernalia of a person of rank and consequence. He and his attendants, after having made a semblance of shooting at Jobson, laid their bows at his feet, which was understood to be a token of homage. The king even assured the English captain, that the country, and every thing in it, were then placed at his disposal, "which bounty, observes Jobson, could require no less than two or three bottles of my best brandy, although the English were not sixpence the better for the grant."
The dry season had now commenced, and Jobson observed that the waters of the river were gradually sinking lower and lower; but the city, the roofs of which were plates of gold, haunted the busy fancy of Jobson, and he used every endeavour to ascend the river, in order that he might discover the sources from which the plates of gold were made. It was evident to him, that Buckar Sano had either practised an imposition upon him, or that he had grossly exaggerated the treasures of the wonderful city; but in regard to the former, he could not divine any motive by which Buckar Sano could be actuated in imposing upon him; and in regard to the latter, making every allowance for exaggeration, it might eventually transpire, that the country abounded with the precious metal, although perhaps not exactly in the extraordinary degree as reported by Buckar Sano. After encountering many difficulties, he was obliged to relinquish the farther ascent of the river, nor did he even reach the point where the previous discoveries of Thompson terminated, which may be considered as the utmost boundary of the discoveries of that period; indeed many years elapsed before any travellers passed the limits at which Thompson or Jobson had arrived. The latter gives a strange report, which, however, was in some degree partially circulated before him, of a silent traffic being carried on in the interior between the moors and a negro nation, who would not allow themselves to be seen. "The reason," he adds, "why these negroes conceal themselves, is, that they have lips of an unnatural size, hanging down halfway over their breasts, and which they are obliged to rub with salt continually, to keep them from putrefaction." Thus even the great salt trade of the interior of Africa is not wholly untinged with fable.
The stream became at last so shallow, that Jobson could not ascend any farther, and he began his voyage downwards on the 10th February, intending to return at the season when the periodical rains filled the channel. He was, however, never able to execute this purpose, as he and the company became involved in a quarrel with the merchants, whom he visits with his highest displeasure, representing them as persons alive only to their own immediate interests, and utterly regardless of any of those honourable motives with which all commercial dealings ought to be characterised.