Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa Part 26

The hard and uncomfortable couch, on which they had reposed the preceding night, made their bodies quite sore, and occasioned them to awake at a very early hour in the morning. At six o'clock A.M. they found themselves still upon the river, and their canoe gliding imperceptibly along. From half a mile in width, and in many places much more, the river had narrowed to about twenty paces; marine plants nearly covered its surface, and marsh miasmata, loaded with other vapours of the most noxious quality, ascended from its borders like a thick cloud. Its smell was peculiarly offensive. In about an hour afterwards, they arrived at the extremity of the river, into which flowed a stream of clear water. Here the canoe was dragged over a mora.s.s into a deep but narrow rivulet, so narrow indeed that it was barely possible for the canoe to float, without being entangled in the branches of a number of trees, which were shooting up out of the water. Shortly after, they found it to widen a little; the marine plants and shrubs disappeared altogether, and the boughs of beautiful trees, which hung over the banks, overshadowed them in their stead, forming an arch-like canopy, impervious to the rays of the sun. The river and the lesser stream abound with alligators and hippopotami, the wild ducks and a variety of other aquatic birds resorting to them in considerable numbers. In regard to the alligator, a singular fraud is committed by the natives of the coast, who collect the alligators'

eggs in great numbers, and being in their size and make exactly resembling the eggs of the domestic fowl, they intermix them, and sell them at the markets as the genuine eggs of the fowls; thus many an epicure in that part of the world, who luxuriates over his egg at breakfast, fancying that it has been laid by some good wholesome hen, finds, to his mortification, that he has been masticating the egg of so obnoxious an animal as the alligator.

The trees and branches of the shrubs were inhabited by a colony of monkeys and parrots, making the most abominable chattering and noise, especially the former, who seemed to consider the travellers as direct intruders upon their legitimate domain, and who were to be deterred from any further progress by their menaces and hostile deportment. After pa.s.sing rather an unpleasant, and in many instances an insalubrious night, the travellers landed, about half-past eight in the morning, in the sight of a great mult.i.tude, that had a.s.sembled to gaze at them.

Pa.s.sing through a place, where a large fair or market is held, and where many thousands of people had congregated for the purpose of trade, they entered an extensive and romantic town, called Wow, which is situated in a valley. The majority of the inhabitants had never before had an opportunity of seeing white men, so that their curiosity, as may be supposed, was excessive. Two of the princ.i.p.al persons came out to meet them, preceded by men bearing large silk umbrellas, and another playing a horn, which produced such terrible sounds, that they were glad to take refuge, as soon as they could, in the chief's house. The apartment, into which they were introduced was furnished with a roof precisely like that of a common English barn inverted. In the middle of it, which reached to within a few inches of the floor, a large square hole had been made to admit air and water to a shrub that was growing directly under it. The most remarkable, if not the only ornament in the room, were a number of human jaw bones, hung upon the side of the wall, like a string of onions. After a form and ceremonious introduction, they were liberally regaled with water from a calabash, which is a compliment the natives pay all strangers, and then they were shown into a very small apartment. Here Richard Lander endeavoured to procure a little sleep having remained awake during the whole of the preceding night; but they were so annoyed by perpetual interruptions and intrusions, the firing of muskets, the garrulity of women, the unceasing squall of children, the drunken pet.i.tion of men and boys, and a laugh, impossible to describe, but approximating more to the nature of a horse-laugh than any other, that it was found impossible to sleep for ten minutes together.

The market of this place is supplied abundantly with Indian corn, palm oil, &c., together with _trona,_ and other articles brought hither from the borders of the Great Desert, through the medium of the wandering Arabs. According to the regulations of the fetish, neither a white man nor a horse is permitted to sleep at Wow during the night season: as to the regulations respecting the horses, they knew not what had become of them; they were, according to the orders of Adooley, to have preceded them to this place, but they had not then arrived. With respect to themselves, they found it necessary, in conformity to the orders of the fetish, to walk to a neighbouring village, and there to spend the night. Their course to Wow, through this creek, was north-by-east; and Badagry, by the route they came, was about thirty miles distant.

A violent thunder-storm, which on the coast is called a tornado, visited them this afternoon, and confined them to the "worst hut's worse room" till it had subsided, and the weather become finer. At three p.m. they sallied forth, and were presently saluted by hootings, groanings, and hallooings from a mult.i.tude of people of all ages, from a child to its grandmother, and they followed closely at their heels, as they went along, filling the air with their laughter and raillery. A merry-andrew at a country town in England, during the Whitsuntide holidays, never excited so great a stir as did the departure of the travellers from the town of Wow. But it is "a fool's day," and, no doubt, some allowance ought to be made for that.

They had not proceeded more than a dozen paces from the outskirts of the town, when they were visited by a pelting shower, which wetted them to the skin in a moment. A gutter or hollow, misnamed a pathway, was soon overflowed, and they had to wade in it up to their knees in water, and through a most melancholy-looking forest, before they entered a village. It was called _Sagba,_ and was about eight miles from Wow. They were dripping wet on their arrival, and the weather still continuing unpleasant, it was some time before any one made his appearance to invite them into a hut. At length the chief came out to welcome them to his village, and immediately introduced them into a long, narrow apartment, wherein they were to take up their quarters for the night. It was built of clay, and furnished with two apertures, to admit light and air into the room. One end was occupied by a number of noisy goats, whilst the travellers took possession of the other. Pascoe and his wife lay on mats at their feet, and a native Toby Philpot, with his ruddy cheek and jug of ale, belonging to the chief, separated them from the goats. The remainder of the suite of the travellers had nowhere whatever to sleep. The walls of their apartment were ornamented with strings of dry, rattling, human bones, written charms, or fetishes, sheep skins, and bows and arrows.

They did not repose nearly so comfortably as could have been desired, owing to the swarms of mosquitoes and black ants, which treated them very despitefully till the morning.

Between six and seven on the morning of the 2nd April, they continued their route through woods and large open patches of ground, and at about eleven in the forenoon, they arrived at the borders of a deep glen, more wild, romantic, and picturesque than can be conceived. It was enclosed and overhung on all sides by trees of amazing height and dimensions, which hid it in deep shadow. Fancy might picture a spot so silent and solemn as this, as the abode of genii and fairies, every thing conducing to render it grand, melancholy, and venerable, and the glen wanted only a dilapidated castle, a rock with a cave in it, or something of the kind, to render it the most interesting place in the universe. There was, however, one sight more beautiful than all the rest, and that was the incredible number of b.u.t.terflies fluttering about like a swarm of bees, and they had no doubt chosen this glen as a place of refuge against the fury of the elements.

They were variegated by the most brilliant tints and colourings imaginable: the wings of some of them were of a s.h.i.+ning green, edged and sprinkled with gold; others were of a sky-blue and silver, others of purple and gold a lightfully blending into each other, and the wings of some were like dark silk velvet, trimmed and braided with lace.

The appearance of the travelling party was romantic in the extreme, as they winded down the paths of the glen; with their grotesque clothing and arms, bundles, and fierce black countenances, they might have been mistaken for a strange band of ruffians of the most fearful character. Besides their own immediate party, they had hired twenty men of Adooley, to carry the luggage, as there are not any beasts of burthen in the country, the natives carrying all their burthens upon their heads, and some of them of greater weight than are seen carried by the Irishwomen from the London markets. Being all a.s.sembled at the bottom of the glen, they found that a long and dangerous bog or swamp filled with putrid water, and the decayed remains of vegetable substances intersected their path, and must necessarily be crossed.

Boughs of trees had been thrown into the swamp by some good-natured people to a.s.sist travellers in the attempt, so that their men, furnis.h.i.+ng themselves with long poles which they used as walking sticks, with much difficulty and exertion, succeeded in getting over, and fewer accidents occurred to them, than could have been supposed possible, from the nature of the swamp. John Lander was taken on the back of a large and powerful man of amazing strength. His brawny shoulders supported him, without any apparent fatigue on his part, and he carried him through bog and water, and even branches of tress, no bigger than a man's leg, rendered slippery with mud, in safety to the opposite side. Although he walked as fast and with as much ease as his companions, he did not set him down for twenty minutes; the swamp being, as nearly as they could guess, a full quarter of a mile in length. They then walked to a small village called Basha, whence, without stopping, they continued their journey, and about four in the afternoon, pa.s.sed through another village somewhat larger than the former, which is called Soato. Here they found themselves so much exhausted with over fatigue and want of food, that they were compelled to sit down and rest awhile. The people, however, were a very uncourteous and clownish race, and teazed them so much with their rudeness and begging propensities, that they were glad to prosecute their journey to save themselves from any further importunities.

Having pa.s.sed two other swamps, in the same manner as they had done before, they were completely tired, and could go no further, for they had been walking during the whole of the day in an intricate miserable path, sometimes exposed to the sun, and sometimes threading their way through a tangled wood. Some of the people were sent to the next town, to fetch the horses promised by Adooley, during the absence of whom, the two Landers reposed themselves under a grove of trees, which was in the neighbourhood of a body of stagnant water, in which women were bathing, who cast long side glances at the two white men, who were observing all their motions. It was a low, marshy, and unwholesome spot; and although a village was not many miles ahead, yet they were unable to walk to it. Under these circ.u.mstances, they had no other alternative than to rest there for the night, and they had made fires of dried wood and fallen leaves, and had prepared to repose for the night under a canopy of trees, and were in fact actually stretched at full length on the turf for that purpose, when they were agreeably surprised by the arrival of four of their men from the village with hammocks, for although sleeping in the open air, with Heaven for their canopy, in a dark wood, may be all very romantic and pretty in description, yet in reality nothing could be more disagreeable, for the crawling of ants, black worms, &c., over their faces was sufficient to dispel every delightful fancy, which might have been engendered in the brain. These hammocks were highly acceptable, and they were lifted into them with very grateful feelings. It was also exceedingly pleasant, after a long day's journey on foot, to be carried along so easily, and to see the parrots and other birds, with a number of grinning, chattering monkeys, capering from the lofty branches of the trees, and making the woods resound with their hideous screams.

After a charming journey of eight or ten miles, they entered the large and populous town of Bidjie, where the Landers first crossed Clapperton's route, and where Captain Pea.r.s.e and Dr. Morrison fell sick on the last expedition. About a quarter of a mile from the town they were met by a fellow with a cow's horn, who, chiming in with a trumpeter, who had accompanied them from Wow, produced a harmony surpa.s.sing all that they had as yet heard. Two men followed the Bidjie musician with umbrellas of variegated silk, and, thus honoured and escorted, they were set down, amidst a crowd of people, in the centre of the town. As usual, the natives testified the wild delight they felt at the visit of the white men, by clapping of hands and loud shouts of laughter. In a short time, the noise of three or four drums was heard, which was an announcement that the chief was prepared to receive them, on which the mult.i.tude quitted them simultaneously, and rushed to the spot where he was sitting, and to which, they were also desired to proceed. The chief shook hands with them in great good humour; and they remarked with pleasure, or they fancied they did, that not only his laugh, but that of the people, was a more social and civilized kind of sound, than what of late they had been accustomed to hear. Nevertheless, when John Lander shook hands with the chief's son, which act was not very diverting in itself, the bystanders set up so general a roar of laughter, that the town rang with the noise; and when Lander ventured further to place his hand on his head, they were yet more amazingly pleased, and actually "shrieked like mandrakes torn out of the earth."

As soon as the ceremony of introduction was over, and the admiration of the people was confined within rational bounds, they wished the chief a pleasant night's rest, and were conducted into a comfortable airy hut, which had a verandah in front. The chief shortly afterwards sent them a goat for supper.

They were now in momentary expectation of hearing some account of their horses from Badagry, and indeed they waited the whole of the day at Bidjie for that purpose, and in order that the men with the luggage might have time to overtake them, for they had been hindered by the swamps and quagmires, which they themselves found so much difficulty in crossing. Just about sun-set, however, two fellows arrived from Badagry with the mortifying intelligence, that their horses would not remain on the water in canoes, but having upset one of them, and kicked out the bottom of another, had swam ash.o.r.e and been led back to Badagry. They were fully convinced that this story was made up for the occasion, and thus by the bad faith of Adooley they were deprived of their horses. They had put themselves in a fever by walking a journey of two days in one, and were likely to walk the remainder of the way to Jenna in the glare and heat of the sun, for they had no umbrellas to screen themselves from his rays.

Richard Lander paid eighty dollars for one of the horses, but Adooley forgot to return the coin, and likewise kept for his own use a couple of saddles which were purchased at Accra. Late in the evening the expected carriers arrived with the luggage, some of which had been wetted and damaged in the marshes. They were now informed that horses would be sent them on the following day from Jenna.

During the greater part of the afternoon, Richard Lander amused himself in teaching the simple hearted chief to play on a child's penny Jews-harp, many of which they had brought with them as presents; but his proficiency, owing to a wonderfully capacious mouth, and teeth of extraordinary size, was not near so flattering as could have been wished. His people, however, who had a.s.sembled in extraordinary numbers, were of a different opinion, and when they heard their chief draw the first sound from the little instrument, "shouts of applause ran rattling to the skies."

A traveller in England, who enjoys the goodness of the roads, does not often murmur at the demands which are made upon his purse by the turnpike-keepers, but in Africa the frequency of the turnpikes on the road from Badagry to Bidjie, was a matter of some surprise to the Landers. Human beings carrying burthens are the only persons who pay the turnpikes, for as to a horse or a carriage pa.s.sing through them, it would be a scene of the greatest wonder. The Landers, however, enjoyed the same privilege as the royal family of England, for being under the protection of the government, they as well as all their suite and baggage pa.s.sed toll free.

On Sunday, April 4th, they arose at sunrise to make the necessary arrangements for leaving Bidjie, which was no easy task, and shortly after they sent to signify their intention to the chief. He expressed a desire to see them as soon as they could conveniently come, accordingly after breakfast, they repaired to his habitation, which was contiguous to their own. After being conducted through a number of yards and huts, inhabited only by goats and sheep, which were tethered to posts, and a number of tame pigeons, they perceived the object of their visit squatting on a leopard's skin, under a decent looking verandah. He was surrounded by his drummers, and other distinguished persons, who made room for the travellers as they drew near. But the chief arose as soon as he saw them, and beckoning them to follow him, they were ushered through a labyrinth of low huts, and still lower doors, till at last they entered the innermost apartment of the whole suite, and here they were requested to sit down and drink rum. The doors they had seen were covered with figures of men, which exactly resembled certain rude attempts at portraying the human body, which may still be observed in several old chapels and churches in the west of England. The chief informed them that they were at liberty to quit Bidjie, as soon as the heat of the sun should have somewhat abated, but previously to their departure he promised to return their visit. On leaving the place he followed them, though without their knowledge; but finding that they walked faster than he did, and that he could not keep pace with them, being a very bulky man, he hastily despatched a messenger to inform them that kings in Africa, whatever they may do elsewhere, always walk with a slow and measured step, and that the strides of the travellers being long and vulgar, he would thank them to lessen their speed, and stop awhile to enable him to come up with them, which was of course agreed to by the travellers with great good will. A few minutes afterwards he reached their house, dressed in a tobe of green silk damask, very rich and showy, and a skull cap made of purple and crimson velvet. With the exception of strings of white beads, which encircled his arms, he used no personal ornaments. He remained chattering with them for a long time.

Many of the women of Bidjie have the flesh on their foreheads risen in the shape of marbles, and their cheeks are similarly cut up deformed. The lobes of their ears are likewise pierced, and the holes made surprisingly large, for the insertion of pieces of and ivory into them, which is a prevailing fas.h.i.+on with all ranks.

The church service was read this morning agreeably to their general custom. The natives, of whose society they were never able to rid themselves, seemed to attach great awe and reverence to their form of wors.h.i.+p, for they had made them understand what if they were going about, which induced them to pay a high degree of silent attention to the ceremony, and set at rest for the time, that peculiar continuous laugh by which they are distinguished from their neighbours. In the afternoon, or as the natives express it, when the sun had lost its strength, they departed from the town of Bidjie, accompanied by its good natured, happy governor, and in a very few minutes afterwards reached the banks of a rivulet called Yow. b.u.t.terflies were here more numerous than could be imagined, millions of them fluttered around them, and literally hid from their sight every thing but their own variegated and beautiful wings.

Here on the banks of the Yow they took a last farewell of the affectionate old chief, who implored the "Great G.o.d," to bless them, and as the canoes in which they had embarked moved from the spot, a loud long laugh, with clapping of hands from the lower cla.s.ses, evinced the satisfaction they felt at having seen the white men, and their hearty wishes for their welfare.

The Yow is an extremely narrow rivulet, not more than a few feet in breadth, and flows in a serpentine direction through a flat country, covered with rushes, and tall, rank gra.s.s. Crocodiles are said to resort here in great numbers, indeed the low bark or growl of these rapacious animals was heard distinctly, and in some instances quite close to them; after they had been pushed along against the stream by poles for five or six miles, between four and five o'clock in the afternoon they landed at a narrow creek, which ran a little way into a thick and gloomy forest. They had not proceeded more than two hundred yards on the pathway, when they were met by a messenger from Jenna, who informed them that the owners of all the horses in the town, had ridden out to welcome their chief, and escort him to his residence, so that they should be obliged to walk the remainder of the way. A few minutes, however, only had elapsed before they descried a horse approaching them in the path, this was a goodly sight to them, who were already becoming wearied and sore with the exertions they had made during the day, for they did not reflect a moment that the animal might not after all be for their use.

However, they soon met, and the rider immediately declared that he had left Jenna purposely on their account. The head of the horse was loaded with charms and fetishes, enveloped in pieces of red and blue cloth. His saddle was of Houssa manufacture, and uncommonly neat; in the interior such an article is only used by the princ.i.p.al people, and his bridle also was of curious workmans.h.i.+p. The horseman had an extravagant idea of his own consequence, and seemed to be a prodigious boaster. He wore abundance of clothing, most of which was superfluous, but it made him excessively vain. He informed the travellers that he had been despatched by the king of Jenna, to meet them in the path, and to escort them to the capital; but understanding that Adooley had supplied them with horses, he did not conceive it necessary to send others. The messenger, however, dismounted and offered them his horse, and the Landers agreed that they should ride him in turns. They therefore immediately proceeded, and traversed a rich and various country, abounding plentifully with wood and water. A fine red sand covered the pathway, which they found to be in much better condition than any they had before seen.

Sometimes it winded through an open, level tract of fine grazing land, and then it again diverged through forests so thick and deep, that the light of the moon was unable to penetrate the gloom, and they were frequently left in comparatively midnight darkness. It is scarcely possible to give an adequate description of the magnificence, solemnity, and desolate repose of the awful solitudes through which they pa.s.sed on this evening. They were, however, at times enlightened by the appearance of glow worms, which were so luminous that they could almost see to read by their golden splendour, and sometimes by the moonbeams, which trembled upon the leaves and branches of the trees. A fragrance also was exhaled from the forest, more odiferous than the perfume of violets or primroses, and they might almost fancy, when threading their way through scenery, which cannot be surpa.s.sed for beauty in any part of the world, that they were approaching those eternal shades, where, in ancient time, the souls of good men were supposed to wander. The woods rang with the song of the nightbirds, and the hum of the insects, which continued to salute them with little intermission till about ten o'clock at night, when they entered Laatoo, a large and pleasant town. Here they were informed that no house would be offered them, the fetish priest having declared that the moment a white man should enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, they would be seized by their enemies and enslaved. They arrived thirsty and exhausted, but for a long time could not procure even a drop of water. Their tent had been left on the road for want of carriers, and they had made up their minds to rest under a tree, when about two hours afterwards it was fortunately brought into the town.

They fixed it immediately, and having succeeded in procuring some wood from the inhospitable inhabitants, they kindled a fire in front of it, and whilst their attendants laid themselves in groups outside, the Landers attempted to sleep within their tent, but it was in vain, so tormented were they with the mosquitoes and the ants.

Before sunrise, on the morning of the 5th of April, they were all on the alert, and struck their tent at a very early hour, they then sent the carriers onwards with the luggage and hastily left the town, without bidding adieu either to the chief or any of his people, on account of their inhospitality, and in an hour's time reached the extensive and important town of Larro. On dismounting, they were first led to a large cleanly swept square, wherein was preserved the fetish of the place, which is the model of a canoe, having three wooden figures with paddles in it. After waiting in the shade for an hour, surrounded by an immense mult.i.tude of people of all ages, the chief's approach was announced by a general rush from their quarters, to the other end of the square, where he was walking. They went towards him in order to pay him the accustomed salutation of shaking hands, &c., but one of his followers fancying that John Lander kept his master's hand clasped in his, longer than the occasion warranted, looked fiercely in his face, and s.n.a.t.c.hed away his hand eagerly and roughly, without, however, uttering a word. "I could have pulled the fellow's ears with the greatest goodwill, in the world," says John Lander, "had not the fear of secret revenge deterred me. As it was, I smothered my rising choler, and with my brother quietly followed the chief, to his princ.i.p.al hut, under whose verandah we were served with goora nuts in a huge pewter platter."

Presently the chief squatted himself down on a handsome rush mat, of native manufacture, and they were desired to sit by him, on an elegant Turkey carpet, which had been laid there for the purpose. He was rather fancifully dressed; and wore two tobes, the one nearest the skin being of black silk velvet, and the other of crimson velvet, lined with sa.r.s.enet; his boots were of yellow leather, neatly worked, and his wrists were loaded with bracelets of silver and copper. The countenance of the chief betrayed much seriousness and solidity, and the diverting laugh of his countrymen was suspended by a sober cheerfulness. Many of his wives sat behind him in rows, some of whom were of a bright copper colour, indeed a great number of the inhabitants of Larro have fairer complexions than mulattoes. The yard of the hut was crammed full of curious and inquisitive people, who stood with open mouths during the audience. The chief wished to imprint strongly on their minds his own dignity and power; he said he was greater than the governor of Jenna, inasmuch as the latter was a slave to the king of Katunga, but himself was a free man. He would give them permission to depart to-morrow, he continued, and in the mean time would supply them with provisions. The chief was as good as his word, for shortly after they had quitted the hut they received a goat and some game, and he returned their visit in the cool of the evening. It appeared that it was not his general practice to drink spirituous liquors in presence of his people, as it may be against the law to do so, for having carefully excluded all prying eyes from their dwelling, and ordered a mat to be hung over the door-way, he even then turned his face to the wall, whenever he attempted to swallow the brandy that was offered to him. He remained with them rather better than an hour. On the presentation of the chief to them, a religious ceremony was performed, which was not observed in any other part of the country. A chapter from the Koran was repeated to him by a mahommedan priest, to which both he and his people seemed to pay great attention.

Public schools are established in the town of Larro, for the avowed purpose of teaching the rising generation the rudiments of the mahommedan religion.

A singular custom prevails in the town, of compelling children at the breast to swallow a quant.i.ty of cold water from a calabash. An infant was nearly choked on this morning by the injection of more than a pint of water down its throat. Whether the mothers follow this custom for the purpose of curing the children of any imaginary complaints, or, as is more probable, in the hope of rendering them less eager for their natural food, was not exactly to be ascertained.

The inhabitants possess horses, a.s.ses, and mules, though not in any considerable numbers, they have, however, great abundance of sheep and goats, which are bred in the town; and their yards and huts are the common place of resort for those animals, indeed they may be said to grow up and live with the children of their owners. The Landers amused themselves during the greater part of the day, in looking at the gambols of some very handsome goats, which had strayed into their abode, but the sheep were not near so tame or frolicsome, repelling all the advances towards a more familiar acquaintance, by timidity and ill nature. Shrimps and fish, which are caught in the streams in the vicinity of the town, are daily exposed for sale, and the inhabitants appear to be in possession of a greater share of the necessaries and comforts of life, than their neighbours of the sea coast.

They this day observed the country to be sensibly rising, and agriculture appeared to be conducted on a regular system, which was an evident proof of the active and industrious habits of the people.

The gloomy fastnesses and wildnesses of nature, such as they pa.s.sed on the first day or two of their journey from Badagry, were less common as they advanced, and open glades with plantations of bananas, fields of yams and Indian corn, all neatly fenced, met their view from the path of yesterday as well as on the present day. The inhabitants of Larro also exhibit greater cleanliness of person and tidiness of apparel than the tribes nearer the sea-sh.o.r.e. Those pests also, the unfortunate beggars, entirely disappeared, for the inhabitants of Larro appeared to possess too much pride to beg.

It was at Larro that the two brothers began to feel the relaxing influence of the climate, but still their hearts were good, and they hoped, by the blessing of Heaven, that their progress through the country might not be impeded by sickness.

On Tuesday, April 6th, the sun had scarcely risen above the horizon, and the mists of the morning yet hung upon the hills, than they quitted the town of Larro, and pursued their journey on horseback.

Three hors.e.m.e.n from Jenna followed them on the path, and they were enlivened by the wild jingling of their animals' bells, till they got within a mile of that town, where they alighted at a kind of turnpike, and fired a salute of two muskets. Here they were met by a number of fellows with horns, who blew on them with the accustomed energy of the natives; these men preceded them over a bridge, which was thrown across a moat that surrounds Jenna into the centre of the town, where they again alighted, and waited the chief's pleasure in an open shed. They had not been seated many seconds before an immense crowd of people pressed in upon them on every side, subjecting them to the accustomed inconvenience of want of air, strong unwholesome smells, and a confused hubbub, that defies description. Never were the people more eager to behold a white man; the little ones formed themselves into a ring close to the shed, then followed those of maturer age, after them came a still older cla.s.s, and the last circle consisted of people as tall as steeples; most of whom held infants in their arms. Altogether a large amphitheatre was formed of black woolly heads, and white teeth set in jetty faces, and although the Landers felt rather amazed at their innocent curiosity, and were obliged to wait a considerable time for the new chief, they could not help being highly diverted with the spectacle around them; at length, to their great relief and joy, intelligence was brought that the chief was ready to receive them. It appears that the principles of etiquette at the royal courts, whether of Europe or of Africa, are not definitively settled, for that which at the court of a William the fourth, would be considered as the extreme of rudeness and disrespect, is at the African courts construed into the most decisive testimony of good breeding and politeness. It may be difficult to determine to which the preference ought to be given, but as etiquette is an essential in all courts, no matter how far it departs from common sense and reason, we do not see why, as amongst the many fooleries which are enacted at courts, the African system should not be introduced. It happens, however, that the etiquette of the European and African are decidedly dissimilar: to make an individual wait is certainly considered in the former, as a breach of good manners, whereas in the latter, the longer a person is made to wait before the introduction takes place, the greater is the honour done him, and the higher is the rank of that person supposed to be, who exacts that ungracious duty. They discovered the chief, or rather governor, sitting on a piece of leather, under a large verandah at one end of a commodious square yard. He was clad in the prevailing finery of crimson velvet tobe and cap, both edged with gold lace. At his right hand sat his wives and women, and the brothers were desired to place themselves on his loft. The women sang the praises of their master in a loud unpleasant voice, in which they were a.s.sisted by the music, equally inharmonious, of drums, fifes, clarionets, and horns.

On their wis.h.i.+ng the chief all the happiness in the world, all the people who had flocked into the yard after them, and every one near the chief, prostrated themselves on the ground, and clapped their hands. Goora nuts were now presented to them in water, and a profusion of compliments pa.s.sed on both sides; but the dignity of the newly-made governor seemed to sit rather awkwardly upon him for he was as shy and bashful as a maiden, and really appeared agitated, and afraid of his white-faced visitants. Strange as it may appear, the patience of the most patient people in the world was completely exhausted, as might be seen by the desertion of the premises before the travellers quitted them, notwithstanding the few words that had pa.s.sed between them and the chief. The ceremony being over, they bade adieu to the chief, and having visited the grave of Dr. Morrison on their way, they repaired to a hut which had been got ready for their reception.

The former governor of Jenna, who it will be recollected treated the gentlemen composing the last mission so handsomely, died about fifteen months before the arrival of the Landers, and the king of Youriba chose one of the meanest of his slaves as his successor. This appears, however, to be an invariable rule with the sovereigns of that country, of which Jenna is a province; for they fear as its distance from the capital is very great, that a person of higher rank, if possessed of talents and spirit, could easily influence the natives to throw off the yoke, and declare themselves independent of Youriba. The then governor was a Houssa man, and was raised to the dignity he then held, in all probability, on account of his childish simplicity, and artlessness, for a person with a countenance more indicative of innocence, and perhaps stupidity also, they never recollected to have seen. The qualities of his heart were, however, said to be excellent, and his manners were mild and amiable. He had been twelve months in coming from Katunga to Jenna; being under the necessity of stopping at every town between that place and the capital, to receive the applause and congratulations of the inhabitants, and to join in their festivities and amus.e.m.e.nts.

The showers were now becoming heavier, and fell more frequently than heretofore, indeed the rainy season may be said fairly to have commenced, the thermometer, on the 6th of April, fell suddenly from 94 to 78", and remained stationary there for the whole of the day.

On the 7th April they carried a present to the governor, which he received with every mark of satisfaction and grat.i.tude; but he declared with sorrow that he should be obliged to send some of it to the king of Katunga, who would not allow him to wear red cloth, till he had been a longer time established in his new situation.

It is related in Captain Clapperton's journal, that one of old Pascoe's wives eloped from him in Katunga, whilst he was asleep, taking with her the trinkets Mr. Belzoni had given him, and said that she was never afterwards heard of. This woman had the effrontery to introduce herself into the house of the Landers with an infant, whereof she a.s.serted with warmth that Pascoe was the father, and that she was determined to leave it upon his hands. She had prevailed upon a number of Houssa women to accompany her, that they might endeavour to induce her quondam husband, who was a countryman of theirs, to receive the child, and make up the breach between them; but the infant not being more than nine or at most twelve months old, and three or four years having elapsed since the elopement took place, they were convinced that, independently of the age and infirmities of Pascoe, it could not by any rule or law be his. Accordingly, notwithstanding the uproar occasioned by the women's tongues, which, whether in Africa or elsewhere, is a very serious matter, the mother with her spurious offspring, and the ladies who came to aid and abet her imposition, were turned out of the yard without any ceremony, to the great relief of Pascoe, and his present wife, who felt rather uncomfortable, whilst the palaver was carrying on.

The fetish priest of the town came dancing into the hut, shortly after the ladies had retired, looking exceedingly wild, and roaring as if possessed by an evil spirit. They paid little attention to the fellow's fooleries, who, not liking his reception, left the hut, after he had received the accustomed fee of a few kowries. The person and dress of the man, together with his whimsical ornaments, were admirably adapted to impose on the credulity and superst.i.tion of the inhabitants; although many people of the town, influenced perhaps by the spreading doctrines of Mahomet, spoke their minds pretty freely, calling him a scoundrel and a devil. There was something peculiar in this priest's countenance, which could not be defined. On his shoulders he bore a large club, carved at one end with the figure of a man's head. A vast number of strings of kowries were suspended on this weapon, which were intermixed with sh.e.l.ls, broken combs, small pieces of wood with rude imitations of men's faces cut on them, large sea-sh.e.l.ls, bits of iron and bra.s.s, nut sh.e.l.ls, &c. &c. Perhaps, the number of kosries on his person did not fall far short of twenty thousand, and the weight of his various ornaments almost pressed him to the ground. After this fellow had left their apartment, three or four others came to torment them with drums, whistles, and horns, and began and ended the evening's serenade to their own infinite delight and satisfaction. The native drum answers the purpose of a tambourine, and bagpipe as well, and is of peculiar formation. Its top is encircled with little bra.s.s bells, and is played upon with one hand, whilst the fingers of the other were employed at the same time in tapping on its surface. The instrument itself was held under the left arm, but instead of an outer wooden case, strings alone were used from end to end, which being pressed against the musician's side, sounds somewhat similar to those of a Scotch bagpipe, but very inferior, are produced. The drummers, with their companions of the horns and whistles, subsist entirely on the charity of the public, who require their services on all occasions of general merriment and jollity.

On the morning of the 8th of April, the two messengers who arrived at Badagry whilst the Landers were there, and stated that they had been employed for the purpose by the governor of Jenna, were discovered to be impostors, and put in irons accordingly. But as the poor fellows had really been of essential service to them, inasmuch as by their representations, they had prevailed upon Adooley to give them leave to proceed on their journey much sooner than they themselves could have done; they thought proper to intercede, in their behalf, and although they were to have been sold for their deception, they were set at liberty. The person also who had met them with a horse after crossing the river Yow near Bidjie, proceeded thither on his own account, without the knowledge or consent of the governor, but as he was a Fellata and a respectable man, little was said or done about that matter. The only motive, which could have influenced these three men in their projects of a.s.sisting the travellers, had been without doubt in the expectation of receiving a trifling remuneration, and of this, notwithstanding an injunction to the contrary from the governor, they did not disappoint them, their services were well timed and very acceptable, and amply deserved the reward of a few needles and scissors.

The travellers were this morning witnesses to a specimen of native tumbling and dancing, with the usual accompaniments of vocal and instrumental music; by far the most diverting part of the entertainment was the dancing, but even this did not at all answer the expectations they had formed of it. The dancers were liberally supplied with country beer, and like most amus.e.m.e.nts of the kind, this one ended in wrangling and intoxication.

The fellows who accompanied them as guides from Badagry, and who, in their native place would sell their birthright for a gla.s.s of rum, had now washed themselves, and thrown aside their rags, appearing in all public places in borrowed finery. They now never left their habitations without Adooley's sword, which they had with them, and a host of followers. On this morning, they attended the celebration of the games in showy apparel, with silk umbrellas held over their heads; and amongst other articles of dress, the princ.i.p.al of them wore an immense drab-coloured quaker's hat of the coa.r.s.est quality.

So great were their ostentation and pride, that they would scarcely deign to speak to a poor man.

It was now they learned with great regret, that all the horses of the late governor of Jenna, had been interred according to custom with the corpse of their master, and they consequently began to be apprehensive that they should be obliged to walk the whole of the way to Katunga, as the present ruler was not the owner of a single beast of burthen. This piece of ill news was carefully withheld from the travellers, until the presents had been all duly delivered to the governor and his head men; but in this instance, the latter alone were to blame. Matters being thus unpleasantly situated, they sent a messenger to the chief of Larro, informing him of the circ.u.mstance, and entreating him to redeem his promise of lending them a horse and mule; and another messenger was sent to Adooley, requesting him to despatch immediately, at least one of their horses from Badagry, for they had found it impossible to proceed without them. It was not supposed that he would pay any attention to the request; and yet on the other hand, it was scarcely to be imagined that he would carry his chicanery so far, because he must fear that the variety of orders they had given him, to receive valuable presents from England, would never be honoured by their countrymen, if he refused to fulfil his engagements with them.

Since the demise of the late governor, it was calculated that Jenna had lost more than five hundred of its population, chiefly by wars, intestine broils, &c. and all for want of a ruler. It must not, however, be imagined, that because the people of this country are almost perpetually engaged in conflicts with their neighbours, the slaughter of human beings is therefore very great. They pursue war, as it is called, partly as an amus.e.m.e.nt, or "to keep their hands in it," and partly to benefit themselves by the capture of slaves. As they were sailing down the coast, they were informed that the natives of La Hoo, and Jack-a-jack, had been warring for three years previously, and were still at variance, but during that long period only one single decrepit old woman, who found it no easy matter to run as fast as her countrymen, was left behind, and became the solitary victim of a hundred engagements. Much after the same fas.h.i.+on are the bloodless wars of Jenna. Success depends much more on the cunning and address of the parties, than on any extraordinary display of intrepidity, and living not dead subjects are sought after, so that it is their interest to avoid hard blows, and enrich themselves by the sale of their prisoners. Perhaps the extraordinary decrease in the population of Jenna, has arisen princ.i.p.ally from the desertion of slaves, who embrace the opportunity, whilst their masters are from home, engaged in predatory excursions, of running away; and thus the latter often become losers instead of gainers by their unnatural pa.s.sion for stealing their fellow creatures. The individuals captured are sent to the coast, and the chiefs of those unsettled and barbarous tribes that inhabit it, are appointed agents to regulate the sale of them, for which they receive half the profits.

Late in the evening, the young Fellata already mentioned, paid them a visit, and offered his horse for sale. He was a mahommedan priest, and was accompanied by a countryman of the same persuasion, but neither of the holy men appeared in their dealing to understand the meaning of truth or justice. An agreement was made and thirty dollars paid. The merchant implored them not to tell his father, who was the real owner of the horse, that he had sold him for less money than he had received, and in this request, he was seconded by his more venerable friend, because he said he wanted a small sum for his private use, which he knew his parent would refuse him. The words were hardly out of their mouths, before the two Mussulmans publicly went through their ablutions in front of the house, where, turning their faces to the east, they seemed to pray very devoutly to the founder of their faith. When this was concluded, they sang an Arabic hymn with great solemnity, and the whole had a wonderful and immediate effect on the feelings of many of their followers in the yard, who, mistaking loudness of voice for fervour, and hypocritical seriousness for piety, made the two wors.h.i.+ppers a present of money.

The Fellatas are generally supposed to be spies from Soccatoo, but although this is a very prevalent opinion, no measures whatever have yet been taken either to watch their motions, or question them as to their intentions.

The women of Jenna employ themselves generally either in spinning cotton, or preparing Indian corn for food. Much of the former material grows in the vicinity of the town, but the cultivation of the plant is not carried on with that spirit which it deserves. Silk, which is brought over land from Tripoli, the inhabitants sometimes interweave in their cotton garments, but such being very expensive, are only worn by the higher cla.s.s of people. They have abundance of sheep, bullocks, pigs, goats, and poultry, but they prefer vegetable food to animal; their diet, indeed, is what we should term poor and watery, consisting chiefly of preparations of the yam and Indian corn, notwithstanding which a stronger or more athletic race of people is nowhere to be met with. Burdens with them, as with the natives of many parts of the continent, are invariably carried on the head, which, it is more than likely, occasions that dignified uprightness of form, and stateliness of walk, so often spoken of by those acquainted with the pleasing peculiarities, of the African female. The weight of a feather is borne on the head in preference to its being carried in the hand; and it not infrequently requires the united strength of three men to lift a calabash of goods from the ground to the shoulder of one, and then, and not till then, does the amazing strength of the African appear. The greater part of the inhabitants of Jenna have the hair of their head and their eyebrows shaven. But the governor's ministers and servants wear their hair in the shape of a horse shoe as a mark of distinction. It is confined to the crown of the head by large daubs of indigo, and none of the people presuming to imitate it, it answers the purpose of a livery.

The early part of the morning of April 10th, was obscured by a mist or haze, which was as thick, and at least as unwholesome, as a London fog in November, but between nine and ten o'clock it dispersed; and the sun shone out with uncommon l.u.s.tre. The hut which they occupied was in a large square yard, and was the property of the late governor's wife, whose story is rather romantic. Each of its sides was formed by huts, which had all at one time been inhabited, but a fire having broken out in one of them by some accident, the greater part perished. A few huts were only then standing, together with black, naked walls, and stakes, which supported the verandahs, the latter reduced to charcoal. The tenantable buildings were inhabited by the female slaves of the owner of the square, and the travellers and their suite.

It is the custom in this place, when a governor dies, for two of his favourite wives to quit the world on the same day, in order that he may have a little, pleasant, social company in a future state; but the late governor's devoted wives had neither ambition nor inclination to follow their venerable husband to the grave, not having had or got, according to their opinion, enough of the good things of this world; they therefore went, and hid themselves before the funeral ceremonies were performed, and had remained concealed ever since with the remainder of their women. On this, day, however, one of these unfortunates, the individual to whom the house belonged, which the travellers resided, was discovered in her hiding place at the present governor's, and the alternative of a poisoned chalice, or to have her head broken by the club of a fetish priest, was offered her. She chose the former mode of dying, as being the less terrible of the two; and she, on this morning, came to their yard, to spend her last hours in the society of her faithful slaves, by whom she was addressed by the endearing name of mother. Poor creatures! as soon as they learnt her misfortune, they dropped their spinning; the grinding of corn was also relinquished; their sheep, goats, and poultry were suffered to roam at large without restraint, and they abandoned themselves to the most excessive and poignant grief; but now, on the arrival of their mistress, their affliction seemed to know no bounds.

There is not to be found in the world perhaps, an object more truly sorrowful, than a lonely defenceless woman in tears; and on such an occasion as this, it may very easily be conceived that the distress was more peculiarly cutting. A heart that could not be touched at a scene of this nature, must be unfeeling indeed. Females were arriving the whole day, to condole with the old lady, and to weep with her, so that the travellers neither heard nor saw any thing but sobbing and crying from morning to the setting of the sun. The princ.i.p.al males in the town likewise came to pay their last respects to their mistress, as well as her grave-digger, who prostrated himself on the ground before her. Notwithstanding the representations and remonstrances of the priest, and the prayers of the venerable victim to her G.o.ds, for fort.i.tude to undergo the dreadful ordeal, her resolution forsook her more than once. She entered the yard twice to expire in the arms of her women, and twice did she lay aside the fatal draught, in order to take another walk, and gaze once more on the splendour of the sun and the glory of the heavens, for she could not bear the idea of losing sight of them forever. She was for some time restless and uneasy, and would gladly have run away from death, if she durst; for that imaginary being appeared to her in a more terrible light, than our pictures represent him with his shadowy form and fatal dart. Die she must, and she knew it; nevertheless she tenaciously clung to life till the very last moment. In the mean time her grave was preparing, and preparations were making for a wake at her funeral. She was to be buried in one of her own huts, the moment after the spirit had quitted the body, which was to be ascertained by striking the ground near which it might be lying at the time, when, if no motion or struggle ensued, the old woman was to be considered as dead. The poison used by the natives on these occasions, destroys life, it is reported, in fifteen minutes.

The reason of the travellers not meeting with a better reception when they slept at Laatoo, was the want of a chief to that town, the last having followed the old governor of Jenna, to the eternal shades, for he was his slave. Widows are burnt in India, just as they are poisoned or _clubbed_ at Jenna, but in the former country no male victims are destroyed on such occasions. The original of the abominable custom at Jenna, of immolating the favourite wives, is understood to have arisen from the dread on the part of the chiefs of the country in olden times, that their princ.i.p.al wives, who alone were in possession of their confidence, and knew where their money was concealed, might secretly attempt their life, in order at once to establish their own freedom, and become possessed of the property; that, so far from entertaining any motive to destroy her husband, a woman might on the contrary have a strong inducement to cherish him as long as possible, the existence of the wife was made to depend entirely on that of her lord, and this custom has been handed down from father to son even to the present time. But why men also, who can have no interest to gain on the death of their prince, should be obliged to conform to the same rite, is not to be so easily accounted for. The individual, who was governor of Jenna at the time of the visit of the Landers, must of necessity go down to the grave on the first intelligence of the demise of the king of Youriba, and as that monarch was a very aged man, the situation of the former was not the most enviable in the world.

Previously to her swallowing the poison, the favourite wife of a deceased chief or ruler destroys privately all the wealth, or rather money of her former partner, in order that it may not fall into the hands of her successor. The same custom is observed at Badagry also, and although the king's son may be of age at the period of his father's death, he inherits his authority and influence only. He is left to his own sagacity and exertions to procure wealth, which can seldom be obtained without rapine, enslavement, and bloodshed.