The power of the Fellatas was here evidently very great. One of their number was styled chief, and had more authority and influence than the native ruler. They were obliged to make a present to each of these individuals, and other high and mighty personages were likewise desirous of obtaining a similar favour at their hands, but they made light of their conversation, and would not understand their enigmas. Before sunrise on the 5th October, their luggage was removed to the beach, and between six and seven o'clock they were once more upon the water. In the course of an hour after leaving Bajiebo, they passed by two towns of considerable extent, and in about an hour afterwards they arrived at an extensive town called Lechee, inhabited by Noufanchie, and said to be a place of considerable rank and consequence. Here they landed by express desire, and finding an empty grass hut near the spot, they entered and took possession of it, till such time as the chief should be made acquainted with their arrival. Here also their canoe men left them and returned to Bajiebo, where they had hired them.
They were not suffered to wait long, but in a few minutes received an invitation from the chief to come and see him; and having walked through a good part of the town, they at length approached his residence, and were introduced without ceremony or hindrance, into a large and lofty hut, where they discovered the chief sitting on a platform of mud, in great state, with about forty natives and Fellatas in earnest conversation on each side of him. He received them with great civility, and many demonstrations of gladness, and desired them to draw near his person, that he might have a better opportunity of looking at and talking to them. He appeared, however, unwilling for them to quit Lechee till the following day, and pressed them strongly to remain with him for the day, which, however, not all his solicitations nor importunities could induce them to accede to. After some trifling conversation, and a long and pithy harangue from a Fellata, they took their leave of him and his people, and instantly made their way back to the water side, where they waited in the grass hut for the appearance of the canoe men, with whom the chief had promised to supply them. After a considerable delay, a man for each canoe could only be procured, so that two of their own people were obliged to supply the place of others, as well as they could. Having got into their canoes, they pushed off from the shore, and proceeded at a good rate down the stream, along the side of a considerable island, which was within gunshot of the town, and after passing a large open village of respectable appearance, which was on the western bank, they put in at a small town, a few miles below, also on the Yarriba side of the river, where they were constrained to go in quest of other canoe men, because those from Lechee, though they had been with them only forty minutes, and had certainly not laboured very hard, had refused to proceed with them any further, nor could all their enticements induce them to forego the resolution which they had taken. The Landers were detained in their canoes for an hour and a half, exposed to a scorching sun, in order to obtain fresh canoe men. They at last proceeded on their journey, and in the evening arrived at a fishing town on a small island, which was called Madjie, and belonged to the Noufanchie. Here they were received with cheerfulness by the chief, who accommodated them with a roomy hut, sent them a quantity of dressed provisions, and otherwise treated them in the most hospitable manner.
At nine in the following morning, they landed near a small town to procure a fresh supply of canoe men, and having obtained them, they journeyed along the eastern side of the river, and in a few hours afterwards, they perceived the smoke of the far-famed Rabba ascending many miles before them. They stopped for a short time at a low, flat, swampy island called Belee, and visited a mean, dirty-looking town, where they were in a short time introduced to the chief, who, according to the report of their messenger, was a great, rich, and important personage. He informed them, that Mohammed, the magia's son, who had left them at Patashie, had returned from his father, in pursuance of his agreement, but instead of remaining at Rabba, as they had expected, he had come over to Belee, and had been waiting three days on the island in expectation of their arrival. The governor further informed them, that they would be obliged to remain at Belee, till the return of Mohammed to the island, for he had news of importance to communicate to them. "To-morrow," he said, "you will leave hence, and proceed to another island, which is further down the river, wherein it is arranged that you shall abide till your affairs be finally adjusted." There was some mystery about this information, which was unexpected by the Landers, and not very gratifying to them.
It was the evening before Mohammed returned to Belee, and he presented himself before them in a dripping state, with an excuse, that he had been upset in a canoe two or three times. After the first salutation was over, he informed them of his visit to his father, and its result. The magia had desired him to assure them of his best wishes in their welfare, and his determination to protect, support, and encourage them, as far as he was able. Mohammed then drew their attention to a young man, who had entered the hut with him, but whom they had not before observed, and introduced him as a messenger sent to them by the Fellata prince of Rabba. This man said, that his master, named Mallam Dendo, had commissioned him to acquaint them, that he heartily concurred with the king of Nouffie in the favourable opinions and sentiments which the latter entertained for them. With respect to their visiting Rabba, which he understood they were very much disinclined to do, he should not urge them, and rather imagined that they would be more comfortable and enjoy greater tranquillity, on an inland on the opposite side of the river, where he would recommend them to stop. The Fellata messenger concluded by observing, that they would be visited on the morrow by the king of the dark water, who would escort them to the island in question, of which he was the governor.
As early as five o'clock on the following morning, their canoes were loaded, and having breakfasted on a slice of yam, they were fully prepared to quit the island. But as it was not deemed either politic or proper to go away till the arrival of the great king of the dark water, who was hourly expected, and who might be inclined to construe their departure into contempt, they consented to await his coming. Rather, however, than remain in a close black hut, full of men, whose garments were generally covered with vermin, and rarely if ever cleaned, and who made it a common practice to sit on the mat where the two Landers slept, rather than undergo such a nuisance, they stepped into their canoes, and having pushed off from the land, they waited the arrival of the king of the dark water under the branches of a large tree, at a little distance from the town.
Between nine and ten, they heard a number of men singing, and keeping time to the motion of many paddles, and in a very few minutes, a canoe, which was paddled by a few men only, came in sight, and they knew by this that the water king was approaching. It was instantly followed by another, and much larger one, propelled by above twenty very fine young men, whose voices they had been listening to just before, and who were still continuing their song. The king of the dark water was with them. As the canoe drew nearer, they were not only surprised at its extraordinary length and uncommon neatness, but likewise at the unusual display of pomp and show which were observable in her. In the centre a mat awning was erected, which was variously decorated, and on the front of it hung a large piece of scarlet cloth, ornamented with bits of gold lace stitched on different parts of it. In the bow of the canoe were three or four little boys of equal size, who were clad with neatness and propriety; and in the stern sat a number of comely looking musicians, consisting of several drummers and a trumpeter, whilst the young men, who had the management of the boat, were not inferior to their companions either in decency of apparel or respectability of appearance.
As soon as their canoe arrived at the landing place, the water king came out from beneath the awning, and followed by the musicians and a suite of attendants, walked to the hut, in which all public matters were transacted, and whither in a few minutes the Landers were desired to repair. The chief of the island, with his elders and the more respectable of the people were seated, on their entrance, on each side of their important visitor, and the two Landers, as a mark of distinction, were invited to place themselves in front of him. When the usual compliments had passed on both sides, he informed them, with much solemnity, of his rank and title, he then alluded to the cause of his coming, which he said, was to do them honour, and repeated what had been previously told them by the king's son. This being done, he presented them with a pot of excellent honey, and two thousand cowries in money, with a large quantity of goora nuts, and which are held in such high esteem that the opulent and powerful alone have the means of procuring them. Having nothing further to say or do, they shook hands with his sable majesty, whose name was Suliken Rouah, expressed their acknowledgement for his handsome present, and returned to their boats.
It was exactly mid-day when Suliken Rouah re-embarked in his princely canoe, and quitted the island of Belee. Determined for once to make an attempt at a more respectable appearance, for heretofore it had been extremely mean and homely, they hastily constructed an awning of their sheets. It was the first time they had made use of such a thing, though they were without umbrellas, and till then had nothing but slight straw hats to protect their heads from the sun. Above the awning, they elevated a slender staff, on the top of which they fastened the national colours, the union flag, which was kindly given them by a gentleman on the coast, who was commandant of Anamaboo. When unfurled and waving in the wind, it looked extremely pretty, and it made their hearts glow with pride and enthusiasm as they looked on this solitary little banner. They thought it would also be of service to them, if they made as gay an appearance as the king and his followers, and accordingly Richard Lander put on an old naval uniform coat, which he had with him for state occasions, and John Lander dressed himself in as grotesque and gaudy a manner as their resources would afford. Their eight attendants also put on new white mahommedan tobes, so that their canoe, with its white awning, surmounted by the union flag, their canoe men in new dresses, and themselves appearing as officers, contributed not a little to the effect of the whole scene. The august king of the dark water, with his retinue in twenty canoes, condescendingly gave them the precedence, and theirs was the first that moved off from land, and led the way down the river towards Rabba.
For a little while, they continued to take the lead, but the chief soon went before them for two reasons, first, that he might have an opportunity of looking at them, and secondly, that they might have a fairer chance of seeing him in all his state, for which purpose, he had placed himself outside his awning, on an elevated and conspicuous seat. However, he only wished to get a few yards before them, for his canoe men soon lifted their paddles out of the water, and the boat fell back to its former situation. The musicians in the large canoe performed merrily on their instruments, and about twenty persons now sung at intervals in recitative, keeping excellent time with their paddles.
A brisk wind sprung up the river full in their faces, relieving them from the extreme heat of the weather, which was remarkably fine; the scene before them was very animating, and the whole of them were in high glee and spirits. Other canoes joined them, and never did the British flag lead so extraordinary a squadron. The king of the dark water might have been mistaken for a river god, and his wives, now and then showing their pretty black faces from under the awning, cast many an arch look at them with their sparkling, jetty eyes.