On the 22nd of December, the anxiety of Lander for his brother's safety made him extremely unhappy, and during the whole of the day he was on the look out for him; Lake, observing the distress he was in, told him not to trouble himself any more about him, adding, that he was sure he was dead, and that he need not expect to see him again. "If he had been alive," said Lake, "he would have been here by this time, to-morrow morning I shall leave the river." Such inhuman and unfeeling conduct from this man only tended to increase Lander's dislike for him, and without paying him any attention, he kept looking out for his party. So great was his anxiety that he was on the look out long after dusk, nor could he sleep during the whole of the night.
The 23rd arrived, the day fixed for the departure, but to the great joy of Lander, and the mortification of Lake, the sea breeze was so strong that it raised a considerable surf on the bar, and prevented them from getting out. This was a most anxious time for Lander, and the whole of the day his eyes were riveted to the part of the river where he knew his brother must come. The whole day passed in tedious watching, and the night was far spent without any tidings of him. About midnight he saw several large canoes making their way over to the west bank of the river, in one of which he imagined that he could distinguish his brother. He observed them soon after landing, and saw by the fires which they made, that they had encamped under some mangrove trees. All his fears and apprehensions vanished in an instant, and he was overjoyed with the thoughts of meeting his brother in the morning.
The captain of the brig having observed them, suddenly exclaimed, "Now we shall have a little fighting to-morrow, go you and load seventeen muskets, and put five buck shot into each. I will take care that the cannon shall be loaded to the muzzle with balls and flints, and if there is any row, I will give them such a scouring as they never had." He then directed Lander to place the muskets and cutlasses out of sight, near the stern of the vessel, and said to him, "The instant that your people come on board, call them aft, and let them stand by the arms. Tell them, if there is any row to arm themselves directly, and drive all the Brass people overboard." This was summary work with a vengeance, and every thing betokened that Lake was in earnest. Lander saw clearly that he was resolved on adopting severe measures, and he appeared to possess all the determination necessary to carry them through.
Lander could not help feeling otherwise than distressed and ashamed of leaving the Brass people in this manner, but he had no alternative, there was no one to whom he could apply for assistance in his present situation, except the captain of the vessel, and to him he had applied in vain. His entreaties were thrown away on him, and even the certainty of an ample recompense by the British government, which had been held out to him, had been treated with contempt. He, therefore, had no hopes from that quarter. Boy had refused to take them to Bonny, asserting that if he could not be paid here, he should not be paid there, and to go back to Brass Town would be deliberately returning to starvation. His last resource, therefore, was to put the best face on the business which he could, and as no other plan was left him, to get away by fair means or foul, and let the blame fall where it was incurred.
Early on the following morning, Lander was on the look out for his brother, and soon observed him and the people get into the canoe. They were no sooner embarked than they all landed again, which could be accounted for in no other way, than by supposing that it was the intention of Boy to keep them on shore, until he had received the goods. He was, however, not long in this state of anxiety, for about seven o'clock, they embarked and were brought on board.
The following is the account which John Lander gave, of the events which fell under his notice at Brass Town, and his proceedings during the time that he was separated from his brother.
Wednesday, November 17th. "This morning, my brother, attended by one of our men, quitted this town with King Boy and suite, leaving the remainder of the party and myself behind, as hostages for the fulfilment of the conditions, which we entered into with him in the Eboe country. For myself, though greatly chagrined at this unforeseen arrangement, I could not from my heart, altogether condemn the framer of it; for it is quite natural to suppose that a savage should distrust the promises of Europeans, when he himself is at all times guilty of breach of faith and trust, not only in his trading transactions with foreigners, but likewise in familiar intercourse with his own people. Forday is the cause of it, and he displays all the artifice, chicanery, and low cunning of a crafty and corrupt mind. Therefore, after a moment's reflection, I was not much surprised at the step which King Boy has taken, nor can I be very angry with him, and I am resolved to await with composure his return, and consequently my release from this miserable place, though I have begun to consider with seriousness, what will become of us, in the event of Lake's refusal to honour the bill which we have sent him. Besides, I am rather uneasy on our people's account, for during these two or three days past, they have had scarcely any thing to eat, and we are now left entirely destitute, nor do I know where to obtain relief. The Damaggoo people are with us likewise, and they are interested in my brother's return, equally as much as myself. Instead of being our guides and protectors, these poor creatures have shared in our calamity; their little all has either been lost or stolen, or else expended in provisions, and like us, they are reduced to great distress and wretchedness. They will remain here, in order to receive the few things which we have promised them and their chief, but should Lake object to part with his goods, we shall give them a note to the master of any English vessel at Bonny, whither they are destined to go, requesting him to pay the poor strangers their demands.
"After a good deal of solicitation and importunity, we received this morning four small yams from the wives of King Boy, who informed us that the same number of yams will be given us daily. Our people having nothing else to eat, made a kind of broth with this vegetable; at first it was, of course, a most insipid mess, but with the addition of a little salt, it is rendered more palatable. We sent to King Forday in the afternoon, for a few plantains, or any thing that could be eaten, but the gloomy old savage shook his head, folded his arms, and refused.
"Nothing could exceed my regret and consternation on the perusal of the letter which I received from my brother, and somehow, I almost dreaded to meet with King Boy. Well knowing how much it would influence his behaviour towards us, we had been careful to represent to that individual, the thanks and cheering which he would receive from our countrymen, the moment he should take us on board the English brig, that he would be favoured and caressed beyond measure, and receive plenty of beef, bread, and rum. His face used to shine with delight on anticipating so luxurious a treat, and he had uniformly been in a better humour, after listening to these promises of ours, than any thing else could have made him. The contrast between his actual reception on board Lake's ship, to that which his own fancy and our repeated assurances had taught him to expect, was too dreadful to think on even for a moment, and for this reason, as much as any other, I looked forward with something of apprehension and anxiety to an interview with this savage, because I knew, that after the cutting disappointment which he had experienced, he would be under the influence of strongly excited feelings, and stormy passions, over which he exercises no control. I was convinced too, that the whole weight of his resentment, and the fury of his rage, would fall upon me, for I am completely in his power.
"The interesting moment at length arrived. We heard King Boy quarrelling with his women, and afterwards walking through their apartments towards ours, muttering as he went along. He entered it, and stood still; I was reposing, as I usually do for the greater part of the day, upon a mat which is placed on the seat of wet clay, but on perceiving him, I lifted my head without arising, and reclined it on my hand. He looked fixedly upon me, and I returned his glance with the same unshrinking steadfastness. But his dark eye was flashing with anger, whilst his upturned lip, which exposed his white teeth, quivered with passion. No face in the world could convey more forcibly to the mind the feeling of contempt and bitter scorn, than the distorted one before me. It was dreadfully expressive, drawing up the left angle of his mouth in a parallel with his eyes, he broke silence, with a sneering, long-drawn 'Eh!' and almost choked with rage, he cursed me; and in a tone and manner, which it is infinitely out of my power to describe, he spoke to the following effect: 'You are thief, man; English captain, no will! You assured me, when I took you from the Eboe country, that he would be overjoyed to see me, and give me plenty of beef and rum; I received from him neither the one nor the other. Eh! English captain, no will! I gave a quantity of goods to free you from the slavery of Obie; I took you into my own canoe; you were hungry, and I gave you yam and fish; you were almost naked, I was sorry to see you so, because you were white men and strangers, and I gave each of you a red cap and a silk handkerchief; but you are no good, you are thief, man. Eh! English captain, no will; he no will. You also told me your countrymen would do this (taking off his cap, and flourishing it in circles over his head,) and cry hurra! hurra! on receiving me on board their vessel; you promised my wife a necklace, and my father, four bars. But eh! English captain, no will! he tell me he no will: yes, I will satisfy your hunger with plenty more of my fish and yams, and your thirst I will quench with rum and palm wine. Eh! you thief man, you are no good, English captain, no will!' He then stamped on the ground, and gnashing at me with his teeth like a dog, he cursed me again and again.