The Lives of Celebrated Travellers Volume 3 (of 3) E-Book

James Augustus St. John

• Herausgeber: Word Well Books
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

James Augustus St. John (1795-1875) was a British journalist, author and traveller.  Born in Wales, the son of a shoemaker, he began his career as a journalist writing for various newspapers in London. He lived some years on the Continent. His books, Journal of a Residence in Normandy and Lives of Celebrated Travellers (3 vols.) were published in 1830. In 1832 he visited Egypt and Nubia, resulting in travel books, published under the titles, Egypt and Mohammed Ali, or Travels in the Valley of the Nile (2 vols., 1834), Egypt and Nubia (1844), and Isis, an Egyptian Pilgrimage (2 vols., 1853). Returning to London, he wrote for the Daily Telegraph under the pseudonym of Greville Brooke and wrote numerous books of history and biography, including a 1868 biography of Sir Walter Raleigh, based on his researches in Madrid and elsewhere.

Leseprobe

THE LIVES OF CELEBRATED TRAVELLERS

VOLUME 3 (OF 3)

JAMES AUGUSTUS ST. JOHN

Originally published in the United States in the year 1832

This text is in the public domain

Modern Edition © 2022 Word Well Books

The publishers have made all reasonable efforts to ensure this book is indeed in the Public Domain in any and all territories it has been published.

Created with Vellum

CONTENTS

1. MUNGO PARK.

2. PETER SIMON PALLAS.

3. CARSTEN NIEBUHR.

4. MARIE GABRIEL AUGUSTE FLORENT, LE COMTE DE CHOISEUL-GOUFFIER.

5. JOHN LEWIS BURCKHARDT.

6. CONSTANTIN FRANCOIS CHASSEBŒUF DE VOLNEY.

7. EDWARD DANIEL CLARKE.

8. FRANCOIS LE VAILLANT.

9. BELZONI.

10. DOMINIQUE VIVANT DENON.

11. REGINALD HEBER.

About the Author

1

MUNGO PARK.

BORN 1771.—DIED 1806.

This enterprising and distinguished traveller was born on the 10th of September, 1771, at Fowlshiels, a farm occupied by his father on the banks of the Yarrow, near Selkirk. In common with the greater number of the sons of Scottish yeomen, Mungo Park, notwithstanding that the number of his brothers and sisters amounted to no less than thirteen, received a respectable education, and at the age of fifteen was bound apprentice to a surgeon at Selkirk. At the close of this apprenticeship, in 1789, Park continued his medical studies at the university of Edinburgh, where, though nothing remarkable is recorded of him, he seems to have applied with great assiduity to his professional studies. His summer vacations, during one of which he made a tour to the Highlands, were devoted to botany.

Having completed his education, Park removed to London in search of professional employment. Here, through the kindness of Mr. Dickson, his brother-in-law, he had the good fortune to become known to Sir Joseph Banks, to whom so many other distinguished travellers have been indebted; and through whose recommendation he was appointed surgeon to the Worcester East Indiaman. In this capacity he made a voyage to Bencoolen, in Sumatra, the only fruits of which was a paper containing descriptions of eight new fishes from Sumatra, published in the third volume of the Linnæan Transactions.

Shortly after his return from this voyage, Park, learning that the African Association, of which his friend Sir Joseph Banks was a very active and zealous member, were desirous of engaging a person to replace Major Houghton, who, it was feared, had fallen a sacrifice to the climate, or perished in some contest with the natives, eagerly offered his services, which after due deliberation were accepted. The association, he observes, conducted itself with great liberality towards him. He forthwith prepared himself for the voyage, and on the 22d of May, 1795, sailed from Portsmouth in the brig Endeavour. His instructions, he says, were very plain and concise. He was directed, on his arrival in Africa, “to pass on to the river Niger, either by the way of Bambouk or by such other route as should be found most convenient; that I should ascertain the course, and, if possible, the rise and termination of the river. That I should use my utmost exertions to visit the principal towns or cities in its neighbourhood, particularly Timbuctoo and Houssa; and that I should afterward be at liberty to return to Europe, either by the way of the Gambia, or by such other route as under all the then existing circumstances of my situation and prospects should appear to me to be most advisable.”

On the 21st of June, after an agreeable voyage of thirty days, he arrived at Jillifica, a town on the northern bank of the Gambia, in the kingdom of Barra. From this place after a stay of two days he proceeded up the Gambia, in the waters of which were found prodigious numbers of fish of unknown species, together with alligators and hippopotami, whose teeth furnish excellent ivory. Park, having quitted the Endeavour at Jonkakonda, proceeded thence by land; and reaching Pisania, a small British factory in the King of Yam’s dominions, on the 5th of July took up his residence at the house of Dr. Laidley, until he should be able to prosecute his journey into the interior.

Our traveller’s first care now was to render himself master of the Mandingo language, which in this part of Africa is in general use; and to collect from every source within his power information respecting the countries he was about to visit. In the language his progress depended on his own application; but he soon found that little or no reliance could be placed on the accounts of the interior furnished him by the natives, who on the most material points were frequently in direct contradiction with each other. His anxiety to examine and judge for himself was therefore increased. However, besides that the rainy season, which had now commenced, rendered travelling impracticable, another equally insuperable bar to the speedy prosecution of his journey quickly presented itself. In observing on the 31st of July an eclipse of the moon, he imprudently exposed himself to the night dew, and next day he found himself attacked by fever and delirium, which were the commencement of an illness that with a very trifling intermission confined him during two months within doors. “The care and attention of Dr. Laidley contributed greatly,” says Park, “to alleviate my sufferings; his company and conversation beguiled the tedious hours during that gloomy season when the rain falls in torrents; when suffocating heats oppress by day, and when the night is spent by the terrified traveller in listening to the croaking of frogs (of which the numbers are beyond imagination), the shrill cry of the jackal, and the deep howling of the hyena; a dismal concert, interrupted only by the roar of such tremendous thunder as no person can form a conception of but those who have heard it.”

Having been disappointed in his expectations of proceeding with a slave caravan towards Bambarra, Park departed from Pisania on the 2d of December, 1795. He had been provided with a negro servant, named Johnson, who had been many years in Great Britain, and understood both the English and Mandingo languages; and with a negro boy, named Demba, the property of Dr. Laidley, who, as the highest inducement of good behaviour, promised him his freedom on his return. Besides these Park was accompanied by four other persons, who, though independent of his control, were made to understand that their safe return to the countries on the Gambia would depend on our traveller’s preservation. His equipment was by no means magnificent: a horse for himself, two asses for his servants, provisions for two days, a small assortment of beads, amber, and tobacco, a few changes of linen and other apparel, an umbrella, a pocket sextant, a magnetic compass, a thermometer, two fowling-pieces, two pair of pistols, and some other small articles. His friends at Pisania accompanied him during the first two days, and then, dismissing him on his way, took their leave, secretly persuaded they should never see him more.

He had scarcely lost sight of his European friends, and ridden off musing and somewhat melancholy into the wood, when a body of black people presented themselves in a clamorous manner before him, demanding custom-dues, in default of which they threatened to carry him before their king. To escape from this honour, which might have proved a costly one, Park presented them with a little tobacco, upon which they were of course contented, and he was allowed to proceed. On reaching Medina, the capital of Woolli, he judged it prudent, or perhaps absolutely necessary, to present himself at the king’s levee, when the venerable benevolent old chief not only granted him permission to traverse his dominions, but assured him he would offer up prayers for his safety, partly to secure which he furnished him with a trusty guide.

Having safely reached the frontiers of the Woolli dominions, Park dismissed his guide; and being about to enter a country interspersed with deserts, in which water is frequently not to be procured, he hired three negroes, experienced elephant-hunters, who were at once to serve as guides and water-bearers. While he was preparing to depart, however, one of these negroes, who had all received a part of their pay in advance, made his escape; and lest the remaining two should be disposed to follow his example, he immediately gave orders to fill their calabashes, or gourds, with water, and struck off into the wilderness, just as the sun was appearing above the horizon. Through this desert they proceeded until they reached Tallika, the frontier town of Bondou towards Woolli, where Park engaged a kind of custom-house officer to accompany him for a trifling present to Fatteconda, the residence of the king. In his company our traveller accordingly performed the journey to that city. On his arrival at Fatteconda he was received by the black chief with much apparent kindness, though Major Houghton, he had heard, in his passage through the country, had been both insulted and plundered by this same man. However, he soon discovered that the manifestations of a hospitable disposition observable in the king’s manner was not deceptive. It is true he was so completely captivated by our traveller’s best blue coat and gilt buttons, that he could not resist the temptation to beg it; but he endeavoured in some measure to remunerate him for the loss by a present of five drachms of gold, and by altogether abstaining from examining his baggage, or exacting any other present than what was voluntarily bestowed.

The territories of these petty African chiefs, whom we complaisantly denominate kings, are exceedingly limited in extent. Your road conducts you to-day through one kingdom, to-morrow through another, and the next day through a third; which, of all those circumstances that obstruct the movements of the traveller in Africa, is, perhaps, the most vexatious and the most difficult to overcome; as the rapacity of the first chiefs who lie in his way deprives him of the power of satisfying the equal rapacity of the remainder. This consideration alone would suffice to convince me that if ever Africa is to be properly explored, it must be by an armed force sufficiently powerful to carry terror through the country, and not by a solitary traveller, who, whatever may be his perseverance or courage, must either fall in the attempt, or return with notions hastily formed, picked up at random, or borrowed from the ignorant credulous natives. The perpetual state of captivity in which Park moved is a strong proof of this. He was never, unless when far removed from human society by woods or deserts, completely master of his own actions, or sufficiently respected to render it possible for him to contemplate the superior classes, even of these savages, from a proper level. To judge with impartiality, a man must neither be under the influence of fear nor of contempt, of anger nor of gratitude. He must feel himself perfectly on a level with those about him.

To proceed, however, with Park:—“In the afternoon,” says he, “my fellow-travellers informed me, that as this was the boundary between Bondou and Kajaaga, and dangerous for travellers, it would be necessary to continue our journey by night, until we should reach a more hospitable part of the country. I agreed to the proposal, and hired two people for guides through the woods, and as soon as the people of the village were gone to sleep (the moon shining bright) we set out. The stillness of the air, the howling of the wild beasts, and the deep solitude of the forest made the scene solemn and impressive. Not a word was uttered by any of us but in a whisper; all were attentive, and every one anxious to show his sagacity by pointing out to me the wolves and hyenas as they glided like shadows from one thicket to another. Towards morning we arrived at a village called Kimmoo, when our guides awakened one of their acquaintance, and we stopped to give our asses some corn, and roast a few ground-nuts for ourselves. At daylight we resumed our journey, and in the afternoon arrived at Joag in the kingdom of Kajaaga.”

On arriving at Joag, the frontier town of the kingdom of Kajaaga, our traveller (who had taken up his residence at the house of the dooty, or chief man of the town, a rigid but hospitable Mohammedan) was favoured with an opportunity of observing the genuine character of the negro. “The same evening,” says he, “Madiboo, the bushreen who had accompanied me from Pisania, went to pay a visit to his father and mother, who dwelt at a neighbouring town called Dramanet. He was joined by my other attendant the blacksmith; and as soon as it was dark, I was invited to see the sports of the inhabitants, it being their custom on the arrival of strangers to welcome them by diversions of different kinds. I found a great crowd surrounding a party who were dancing by the light of some large fires to the music of four drums, which were beat with great exactness and uniformity. The dances, however, consisted more in wanton gestures than in muscular exertion or graceful attitudes. The ladies vied with each other in displaying the most voluptuous movements imaginable.”

At Joag, while preparing to advance on his journey, he was suddenly honoured with a visit from the king’s son, accompanied by a troop of horse, who, pretending that by entering his father’s dominions he had forfeited the whole of his property, insisted upon examining his merchandise, of which he seized upon the moiety. Of the remnant that remained, particularly a little amber and a few beads, which he had succeeded in concealing, he was now so fearful of producing any portion, even for the purchase of food, lest he should once more awaken the cupidity of the authorities, that both he and his attendants determined on combating hunger for the day, “and wait some opportunity of purchasing or begging provisions.” In this extremity, while he was sitting down chewing straws, a female slave, who observed him in passing by, was moved with compassion, and presented him with a quantity of ground-nuts, which was a very seasonable supply. Scarcely had the old woman left him, before he received information that the nephew of the King of Kasson, who had been sent by his uncle on an embassy to the King of Kajaaga, and was now returning to his own country, was about to pay him a visit. He came accordingly, and upon Park’s representing to him his situation and distresses, kindly offered to be his guide and protector as far as Kasson. With him, therefore, our traveller now continued his route to the banks of the Senegal, upon crossing which, his royal guide, who, like other guides, required a present for his services, informed him they were in his uncle’s dominions, and in complete safety.

Safe or not safe, however, Park soon found that the stranger and the traveller were nowhere beyond the reach of extortion. Half of the little property which had escaped the fangs of the Kajaaga people, was here taken from him. He was then permitted to depart. Among the honest negroes with whom he had set out from Pisania, on the Gambia, there was a blacksmith from the interior, who, having amassed some little money upon the coast, was now returning to spend the remainder of his days in his native land. Shortly after quitting Teesee, the last place where our traveller had submitted to legal robbery, he and his companions came within sight of the blacksmith’s village. The news of his return had, it seems, preceded him. His brother, accompanied by a singing-man, came forth to welcome the wanderer home, and brought along with him a horse, that the blacksmith “might enter his native town in a dignified manner.” Park and his companions were desired to put a good charge of powder into their guns. The singing-man led the way; the two brothers followed; and the cavalcade was quickly joined by a considerable number of the inhabitants, who, by extravagant gestures and songs of triumph, testified their joy at the return of their townsman. “When we arrived at the blacksmith’s place of residence, we dismounted, and fired our muskets. The meeting between him and his relations was very tender; for these rude children of nature, freed from restraint, display their emotions in the strongest and most expressive manner.—Amid these transports, the blacksmith’s aged mother was led forth, leaning upon a staff. Every one made way for her; and she stretched out her hand to bid her son welcome. Being totally blind, she stroked his hands, and arms, and face with great care, and seemed highly delighted that her latter days were blessed by his return, and that her ears once more heard the music of his voice. From this interview, I was convinced, that whatever difference there is between the Negro and European in the conformation of the nose, and the colour of their skin, there is none in the genuine sympathies and characteristic feelings of our common nature.

“During the tumult of these congratulations, I had seated myself apart, by the side of one of the huts, being unwilling to interrupt the flow of filial and parental tenderness; and the attention of the company was so entirely taken up with the blacksmith, that I believe none of his friends had observed me. When all the people present had seated themselves, the blacksmith was desired by his father to give some account of his adventures; and silence being commanded he began; and after repeatedly thanking God for the success that had attended him, related every material occurrence that had happened to him from his leaving Kasson to his arrival at the Gambia; his employment and success in those parts; and the dangers he had escaped in returning to his native country. In the latter part of his narration, he had frequent occasion to mention me; and after many strong expressions concerning my kindness to him, he pointed to the place where I sat, and exclaimed, Affille ibi siring (see him sitting there). In a moment all eyes were turned upon me. I appeared like a being dropped from the clouds, every one was surprised that they had not observed me before; and a few women and children expressed great uneasiness at being so near a man of such an uncommon appearance. By degrees, however, their apprehensions subsided, and when the blacksmith assured them I was perfectly inoffensive, some of them ventured so far as to examine the texture of my clothes; but many of them were still very suspicious, and when by accident I happened to move myself, or look at the young children, their mothers would scamper off with them with the greatest precipitation. In a few hours, however, they all became reconciled to me.”

With these honest people Park remained during the whole of that day and the next, and then, accompanied by the worthy blacksmith, who declared he would not quit him during his stay in that part of the country, set forward towards Kooniakary. On his arrival at this city he obtained an audience of the king, a fine old man, who, for his conduct both in peace and war, was greatly beloved by his subjects. His behaviour towards the stranger was not inconsistent with this character. He informed him with apparent regret, that the direct route to Bambarra was about to be closed by war, but, after vainly advising his guest to retrace his footsteps, added, that there yet remained some hopes of peace, respecting the validity of which he should be able to pronounce an opinion in the course of four or five days. In the mean while he invited Park to remain in the neighbourhood.

On the 1st of February, 1796, the king’s messenger returned from the contiguous kingdom of Kaarta, bringing intelligence that the Bambarra army had not yet entered the country, and that it was possible the traveller might be enabled to traverse it before the invasion should take place. Accordingly, being provided with two guides by the king, Park took leave of his friend the blacksmith, and set forward on his dangerous journey. The country, at all times thickly peopled, now swarmed with fugitives, whom the fear of the Bambarrans had terrified from their homes. The scenery in many places was romantically wild. “On coming within sight of the mountains of Foolado, we travelled,” says Park, “with great difficulty down a stony and abrupt precipice, and continued our way in the bed of a dried river-course, where the trees meeting over our heads, made the place dark and cool. In a little time we reached the bottom of this romantic glen; and about ten o’clock emerged from between two rocky hills, and found ourselves on the level and sandy plains of Kaarta. At noon we arrived at a korree, or watering-place, where, for a few strings of beads, I purchased as much milk and corn-meal as we could eat; and indeed provisions are here so cheap, and the shepherds live in such affluence, that they seldom ask any return for what refreshment a traveller receives from them.”

From this place, having prevailed upon his landlord, a Mohammedan negro, to accompany him as a guide to Kemmoo, our traveller set forward on the 11th of February. He observes, “We had no sooner got into a dark and lonely part of the first wood, than he made a sign for us to stop; and taking hold of a hollow piece of bamboo that hung as an amulet round his neck, whistled very loud three times. I confess I was somewhat startled, thinking it was a signal for some of his companions to come and attack us; but he assured me it was done merely with a view to ascertain what success we were likely to meet with on our present journey. He then dismounted, laid his spear across the road, and having said a number of short prayers, concluded with three loud whistles; after which he listened for some time, as if in expectation of an answer, and receiving none, told us we might proceed without fear, for there was no danger.”

Adventures now appeared to crowd upon our traveller. The country through which their road lay being thickly sprinkled with wild fruit-trees, they amused themselves as they rode slowly along with picking and eating the fruit. “In this pursuit,” says Park, “I had wandered a little from my people, and being uncertain whether they were before or behind me, I hastened to a rising ground to look about me. As I was proceeding towards this eminence, two negro horsemen, armed with muskets, came galloping from among the bushes. On seeing them I made a full stop; the horsemen did the same; and all three of us seemed equally surprised and confounded at this interview. As I approached them their fears increased, and one of them, after casting on me a look of horror, rode off at full speed; the other, in a panic of fear, put his hand over his eyes, and continued muttering prayers until his horse, seemingly without his rider’s knowledge, conveyed him slowly after his companion. About a mile to the westward they fell in with my attendants, to whom they related a frightful story; it seems their fears had dressed me in the flowing robes of a tremendous spirit; and one of them affirmed, that when I made my appearance, a cold blast of wind came pouring down upon him from the sky, like so much cold water.”

Shortly after this they arrived at the capital of Kaarta, where he was an object of such extraordinary curiosity to the populace, the majority of whom had never before seen a white man, that they burst forcibly into his hut, crowd after crowd. Those who had beheld the monster giving way to those who had not, until, as he observes, the hut was filled and emptied thirteen different times. Here he found that the war with Bambarra had actually commenced; that all communication between the countries had consequently ceased; and that, if it was his determination to persevere, it would be necessary to take a circuitous route through the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar. The people of Kaarta were Mohammedans; but there is a variety in church discipline even among these inflexible fanatics; for, instead of the fine sonorous voice of the muezzin, by which the faithful are elsewhere summoned to their devotions, the hour of prayer was here announced by the beating of drums, and blowing through large elephant’s teeth, hollowed out in such a manner as to resemble buglehorns. The sound of these horns our traveller thought melodious, and approaching nearer to the human voice than any other artificial sound. Being very desirous to depart from the seat of war, Park presented his horse-pistols and holsters to the king; and on pressing to be dismissed, received in return an escort of eight horsemen to conduct him to Jarra. Three of the king’s sons, with two hundred horsemen, kindly undertook to accompany him a little way on his journey.

On his arrival at Jarra, in the kingdom of Ludamar, he despatched a messenger to Ali, who was then encamped near Benowm, soliciting permission to pass unmolested through his territories; and having waited fourteen days for his reply, a slave at length arrived from the chief, affirming that he had been instructed to conduct the traveller in safety as far as Goomba. His negro, Johnson, here refused to follow him any further, and signified his intention of pushing back without delay to Gambia; upon which Park, fearful of the success of his enterprise, intrusted him with a copy of his journal, reserving another for himself, directing him to deliver the papers to the English on the coast. A portion of his baggage and apparel he committed to the care of a slave-merchant at Jarra, who was known to Dr. Laidley. He then departed with his slave-boy, accompanied by the chief’s messenger. On the road our traveller was robbed once more by the Moors, who added insult to violence; and when he was nearly perishing for thirst, beat away his faithful slave from the wells, without permitting him to draw water.

However, after much fatigue and extraordinary privations, they arrived in Ali’s camp at Benowm, where Park was immediately surrounded by crowds of fanatical Moors, attracted partly by curiosity, partly from a desire to vent their fierce zeal against a Christian. “My arrival,” says he, “was no sooner observed than the people, who drew water at the wells, threw down their buckets; those in the tents mounted their horses, and men, women, and children came running or galloping towards me. I soon found myself surrounded by such a crowd, that I could scarcely move; one pulled my clothes, another took off my hat; a third stopped me to examine my waistcoat buttons, and a fourth called out ‘La illah el allah Mahamet rasowl allahi,’ and signified, in a threatening manner, that I must repeat those words. We reached at length the king’s tent, where we found a great number of people, men, women, and children, assembled. Ali was sitting on a black leathern cushion, clipping a few hairs from his upper lip—a female attendant holding up a looking-glass before him. He appeared to be an old man of the Arab cast, with a long white beard, and he had a sullen and indignant aspect. He surveyed me with attention, and inquired of the Moors if I could speak Arabic; being answered in the negative, he appeared much surprised, and continued silent. The surrounding attendants, and particularly the ladies, were abundantly more inquisitive; they asked a thousand questions, inspected every part of my apparel, searched my pockets, and obliged me to unbutton my waistcoat and display the whiteness of my skin; they even counted my toes and fingers, as if they doubted whether I was in truth a human being.”

Ali now, with the base idea of insulting an unprotected stranger, ordered a wild boar to be brought in, which he signified his desire that Park should kill and eat. This, well knowing their religious prejudices, he of course refused to do; upon which the boys who led in the boar were commanded to let it loose upon him, the Moors supposing that there exists an inveterate feud between pigs and Christians, and that it would immediately run upon and gore him. The boar, however, was more magnanimous. Scorning to attack a defenceless foreigner, he no sooner found himself at liberty than, brandishing his tusks at the natives, he rushed at them indiscriminately, and then, to complete the consternation, took shelter under the very couch upon which the tyrant was sitting. This bold proceeding of the unclean beast dissolved the assembly, and the traveller was led away to the tent of a slave, in front of which, not being permitted to enter, he received a little food. Here he likewise passed the night lying upon the sand, surrounded by the curious multitude. Next day, a hut, constructed with corn-stalks, was given him; but the abovementioned boar, which had been recaptured, was tied to a stake in the corner of it, as his fittest companion.

By degrees, however, the Moors began to conceive that the Christian might in one way or another be rendered useful, but could think of no better employment for him than that of a barber. In this capacity he made his first attempt, in the royal presence, on the head of the young prince of Ludamar. This dignified office he had no great desire to monopolize, and his unskilfulness in performing the operation, for he almost at the outset made an incision in the young prince’s head, quickly reduced him once more to the rank of a common mortal. Ali seemed by no means desirous, however, of dispensing altogether with his services, wishing perhaps to preserve him from the same motives which induce us to preserve a wild beast; and therefore, to render his escape the more impracticable, took possession of the whole of his baggage, including his gold, amber, watch, and one of his pocket compasses; the other he had fortunately buried in the sand composing the floor of his hut. The gold and amber were highly gratifying to Moorish avarice, but the pocket compass soon became an object of superstitious curiosity. “Ali was very desirous to be informed, why that small piece of iron, the needle, always pointed to the Great Desert, and I found myself somewhat puzzled to answer the question. To have pleaded my ignorance, would have created a suspicion that I wished to conceal the real truth from him; I therefore told him that my mother resided far beyond the sands of Sahara, and that while she was alive, the piece of iron would always point that way, and serve as a guide to conduct me to her; and that if she was dead, it would point to her grave. Ali now looked at the compass with redoubled amazement; turned it round and round repeatedly, but observing that it always pointed the same way, he took it up with great caution, and returned it to me, manifesting that he thought there was something of magic in it, and that he was afraid of keeping so dangerous an instrument in his possession.”

It now began to be debated between Ali and his advisers what should be done with their prisoner. Their decisions were very dissimilar. Some were of opinion that he should be put to death; others that he should merely lose his right hand; while a third party thought that his eyes ought to be put out. Ali himself, however, determined that matters should remain as they were until his queen Fatima, then in the north, had seen him. Meanwhile all these reports were related to our traveller, and tended not a little to distress and agitate his mind. His demand to be permitted to depart was formally refused. The accumulated horrors of his situation, united with the want of food and sleep, at length brought on a fever, by which his life was endangered. But his persecution from the Moors did not therefore cease. They plucked his cloak from him; they overwhelmed him with insults; they tortured him like some ferocious animal, for their amusement; and when, to escape from this detestable thraldom, he crawled away to a short distance from the camp, he was forced back by menaces and violence.

At length, after more than a month’s detention at Benowm, he was commanded to follow Ali to the northern encampment of Bubaker, on the skirts of the Great Desert, and on the way endured the extremity of hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Upon arriving at Bubaker, he was shown as a strange animal to Fatima; who, though far from being exempt from the Moorish prejudices against a Christian, or in any remarkable degree disposed to humanity, still treated him with somewhat greater lenity than the rest of the Moors; and, upon the departure of her husband for Jarra, not only obtained him permission to join the party, but prevailed upon the tyrant to restore him his horse, saddle, and bridle, together with a part of his apparel. His faithful black boy Demba, however, was taken from him, notwithstanding his animated remonstrances to Ali, who, upon his pressing the point rather warmly, only replied, that if he did not instantly mount his horse and depart, he should share the fate of his slave. “There is something in the frown of a tyrant,” says Park, “which rouses the most secret emotions of the heart; I could not suppress my feelings; and for once entertained an indignant wish to rid the world of such a monster. Poor Demba was not less affected than myself; he had formed a strong attachment towards me, and had a cheerfulness of disposition which often beguiled the tedious hours of captivity; he was likewise a proficient in the Bambarra tongue, and promised, on that account, to be of great use to me in future. But it was in vain to expect any thing favourable to humanity from a people who are strangers to its dictates. So having shaken hands with this unfortunate boy, and blended my tears with his, assuring him, however, I would do the best to redeem him, I saw him led off by three of Ali’s slaves towards the camp at Bubaker.”

Upon his arrival at Jarra, where he was shortly afterward transferred by Ali to tyrants of a lower grade, his condition, far from being improved, was only rendered the more intolerable. The city itself, moreover, was in a state of the utmost confusion. Malcontents from Kaarta having taken refuge here, had recently made an incursion into their native country, carried off a large quantity of plunder, and thus drawn the vengeance of their king against the city. All those who had reason to dread his resentment were now, therefore, preparing to fly into Bambarra; and Park, whose route lay in the same direction, became exceedingly desirous of effecting his escape from the Moors, that he might seize upon this fortunate occasion of fulfilling the object of his mission. “Their departure,” says he, speaking of the black fugitives, “was very affecting: the women and children crying, the men sullen and dejected, and all of them looking back with regret on their native town; and on the wells and rocks beyond which their ambition had never tempted them to stray, and where they had laid all their plans of future happiness; all of which they were now forced to abandon, and to seek shelter among strangers.”

Hoping to escape in this confused throng, he mounted his horse; and taking a bag of corn before him, rode slowly off along with the townspeople. On their arrival at Queira, a village at no great distance from the city, Park began to flatter himself that he had really eluded the vigilance of his persecutors; but before the agreeable idea had got a firm footing in his mind, he saw Ali’s chief slave, accompanied by four Moors, arrive, and take up their lodgings with the dooty. Johnson, our traveller’s interpreter, suspecting the design of this visit, sent two boys to overhear their conversation, by which means he learned that it was their intention to carry Park back to Bubaker. Upon this he at once came to the desperate resolution to effect his deliverance that very night from his pursuers, or to perish in the attempt. Johnson, who applauded this determination, but wanted the courage to imitate it, was nevertheless exceedingly well disposed to aid in effecting his master’s escape. He therefore undertook to keep watch upon the movements of the enemy, while Park was preparing for flight. About midnight he got all his apparel in readiness, which consisted of two shirts, two pair of trousers, two pocket-handkerchiefs, an upper and under waistcoat, a hat, a pair of half-boots, and a cloak. Besides these things he had not in his possession a single bead, or any other article, with which to purchase food for himself, or provender for his horse:—“About daybreak, Johnson, who had been listening to the Moors all night, came,” says he, “and whispered to me that they were all asleep. The awful crisis was now arrived when I was again either to taste the blessings of freedom, or languish out my days in captivity. A cold sweat moistened my forehead as I thought of the dreadful alternative, and reflected that one way or the other, my fate must be decided in the course of the ensuing day. But to deliberate was to lose the only chance of escaping. So taking up my bundle, I stepped gently over the negroes who were sleeping in the open air; and, having mounted my horse, I bade Johnson farewell, desiring him to take particular care of the papers I had intrusted him with, and inform my friends in Gambia that he had left me in good health on my way to Bambarra. I proceeded with great caution, surveying each bush, and frequently listening and looking behind me for the Moorish horsemen, until I was about a mile from the town, when I was surprised to find myself in the neighbourhood of a korree, belonging to the Moors. The shepherds followed me for about a mile, hooting and throwing stones after me; and when I was out of their reach, and had begun to indulge the pleasing hope of escaping, I was again greatly alarmed to hear somebody halloo behind me; and looking back I saw three Moors on horseback, coming after me at full speed, whooping and brandishing their double-barrel guns: I knew it was in vain to think of escaping, and therefore turned back and met them; when two of them caught hold of my bridle, one on each side, and the third, presenting his musket, told me I must go back to Ali.”

It soon appeared, however, that these gentlemen were merely private robbers, who were fearful that their master had not sufficiently pillaged the stranger; for, after examining his bundle, and plundering him of his cloak, they bade him begone, and follow them no further. Too happy to be rid of the villains at any rate, he immediately struck into the woods, and continued his journey. His joy at thus escaping from the Moors was quickly damped by the consideration that he must very soon be in want of both food and water, neither of which could he procure without approaching villages or wells, where he would almost inevitably encounter his old enemies. He therefore pushed on with all the vigour of which he was possessed, in the hope of reaching some town or village of the kingdom of Bambarra. But he already began to experience the tortures of thirst. His mouth was parched and inflamed; a sudden dimness, accompanied by symptoms of fainting, would frequently come over his eyes; and as his horse also was exceedingly fatigued, he began to apprehend that he should perish of thirst. Some shrubs, the leaves of which he chewed to relieve the burning pain in his mouth and throat, were all found to be bitter and of no service. “A little before sunset, having reached the top of a gentle rising,” says Park, “I climbed a high tree, from the topmost branches of which I cast a melancholy look over the barren wilderness, but without discovering the most distant trace of a human dwelling. The same dismal uniformity of shrubs and sand everywhere presented itself, and the horizon was level and uninterrupted as that of the sea.

“Descending from the tree, I found my horse devouring the stubble and brushwood with great avidity; and as I was now too faint to attempt walking, and my horse too much fatigued to carry me, I thought it but an act of humanity, and perhaps the last I should ever have it in my power to perform, to take off his bridle and let him shift for himself; in doing which, I was affected with sickness and giddiness; and, falling upon the sand, felt as if the hour of death was fast approaching. Here then (thought I), after a short but ineffectual struggle, terminate all my hopes of being useful in my day and generation—here must the short span of my life come to an end. I cast, as I believed, a last look on the surrounding scene, and while I reflected on the awful change that was about to take place, this world and its enjoyments seemed to vanish from my recollection. Nature, however, at length resumed its functions; and on recovering my senses I found myself stretched upon the sand, with the bridle still in my hand, and the sun just sinking behind the trees. I now summoned all my resolution, and determined to make another effort to prolong my existence: and, as the evening was somewhat cool, I resolved to travel as far as my limbs would carry me, in hopes of reaching (my only resource) a watering-place. With this view I put the bridle upon my horse, and driving him before me, went slowly along for about an hour, when I perceived some lightning from the north-east—a most delightful sight, for it promised rain. The darkness and lightning increased very rapidly; and in less than an hour I heard the wind roaring behind the bushes. I had already opened my mouth to receive the refreshing drops which I expected: but I was instantly covered with a cloud of sand, driven with such force by the wind as to give a very disagreeable sensation to my face and arms; and I was obliged to mount my horse and stop under a bush to prevent being suffocated. The sand continued to fly for near an hour in amazing quantities, after which I again set forward, and travelled with difficulty until ten o’clock. About this time I was agreeably surprised by some very vivid flashes of lightning, followed by a few heavy drops of rain. In a little time the sand ceased to fly, and I alighted and spread out all my clean clothes to collect the rain, which at length I saw would certainly fall. For more than an hour it rained plentifully, and I quenched my thirst by wringing and sucking my clothes.

“There being no moon, it was remarkably dark; so that I was obliged to lead my horse, and direct my way by the compass, which the lightning enabled me to observe. In this manner I travelled with tolerable expedition until past midnight; when the lightning became more distant, and I was under the necessity of groping along, to the no small danger of my hands and eyes. About two o’clock my horse started at something; and, looking round, I was not a little surprised to see a light at a short distance among the trees, and supposing it to be a town, I groped along the sand in hopes of finding corn-stalks, cotton, or other appearances of cultivation, but found none. As I approached, I perceived a number of other lights in different places, and began to suspect that I had fallen upon a party of Moors. However, in my present situation, I was resolved to see who they were, if I could do it with safety. I accordingly led my horse cautiously towards the light, and heard by the lowing of the cattle, and the clamorous tongues of the herdsmen, that it was a watering-place, and most likely belonged to the Moors. Delightful as the sound of the human voice was to me, I resolved once more to strike into the woods, and rather run the risk of perishing with hunger, than trust myself again in their hands; but being still thirsty, and dreading the approach of the burning day, I thought it prudent to search for the wells, which I expected to find at no great distance. In this pursuit I inadvertently approached so near one of the tents as to to be perceived by a woman, who immediately screamed out. The people came running to her assistance from some of the neighbouring tents, and passed so very near me that I thought I was discovered, and hastened again into the woods.

“About a mile from this place I heard a loud and confused noise, somewhere to the right of my course, and in a short time was happy to find it was the croaking of frogs, which was heavenly music to my ears. I followed the sound, and at daybreak arrived at some shallow muddy pools, so full of frogs that it was difficult to discern the water. The noise they made frightened my horse, and I was obliged to keep them quiet by beating the water with a branch until he had drunk. Having here quenched my thirst, I ascended a tree, and the morning being clear, I soon perceived the smoke of the watering-place which I had passed in the night, and observed another pillar of smoke, east-southeast, distant 12 or 14 miles.”

Towards this column of smoke, which, as he was informed, arose from a Foulah village, he now directed his course; but on arriving at the place, was inhospitably driven from every door, except that of an old woman, who kindly received him into her dwelling, and furnished him with food for himself and with provender for his horse. Even here, however, the influence of Ali pursued him like his evil genius. The people who had collected round him while he was eating, began, as he clearly discovered from their expressions, to form the design of carrying him back once more to Benowm or Bubaker. He therefore hastened his departure, and having wandered among the woods all day, passed the night under a tree. In this way he continued his journey, sometimes meeting with hospitality, but more frequently avoiding the dwellings of man, and subsisting upon the wild produce of the woods, and the water of a few pools, to which the croaking of the frogs directed him.

At length he entered the kingdom of Bambarra, where he found the people more hospitable in proportion as they were more opulent than their neighbours. Cultivation was here carried on in a spirited manner and on an extensive scale, and “hunger,” as the natives expressed it, “was never known.” The country itself was beautiful, intersected on all sides by rivulets, which, after a rain-storm, were swelled into rapid streams. Park’s horse was now so attenuated by fatigue that it appeared like a mere skeleton, which the traveller, fearing to mount, drove before him, as if to scare away the crows. The Bambarrans, whose hospitable disposition was accompanied by but little delicacy, were infinitely amused at this droll spectacle. Taking him for a Moor, they supposed from his appearance that he must be one of those religious mendicants who, having performed the pilgrimage to the holy cities, thenceforward consider themselves fully entitled to subsist upon the labours of their industrious coreligionists. “‘He has been at Mecca,’ said one; ‘you may see that by his clothes.’ Another asked if my horse was sick; a third wished to purchase it, &c. So that I believe the very slaves were ashamed to be seen in my company.”

However, in spite of all this laughter and ridicule, he proceeded on his way, and at length had the satisfaction to be informed that on the morrow he should see the Niger, denominated Joliba, or the “Great Water,” by the natives. Next morning, the 21st of July, after passing through several large villages, he saw the smoke ascend over Sego, the capital of Bambarra, and felt elate with joy at the thought of drawing near so important an object of his mission. “As we approached the town,” says Park, “I was fortunate enough to overtake the fugitive Kaartans, to whose kindness I had been so much indebted in my journey through Bambarra. They readily agreed to introduce me to the king, and we rode together through some marshy ground, where, as I anxiously looked around for the river, one of them called out Geo affilli (see the water); and, looking forward, I saw with infinite pleasure the great object of my mission,—the long sought for, majestic Niger, glittering to the morning sun, as broad as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly to the eastward. I hastened to the brink, and, having drunk of the water, lifted up my fervent thanks in prayer to the Great Ruler of all things for having thus far crowned my endeavours with success.”

Sego, the capital of Bambarra, consisted of four distinct towns, two on the northern, and two on the southern bank of the Niger. The king at this period resided on the southern bank, while Park had arrived on the opposite side. The communication between the different quarters of the city was kept up by means of large canoes, which were constantly passing and repassing; notwithstanding which, so great was the pressure of passengers, that Park was compelled to wait upwards of two hours before he could obtain even a chance of being ferried over. Meanwhile, the prospect before him was novel and striking in the highest degree. “The view of this extensive city,” he observes, “the numerous canoes on the river, the crowded population, and the cultivated state of the surrounding country formed altogether a prospect of civilization and magnificence which I little expected to find in the bosom of Africa.”

While he was thus waiting for a passage, the news was conveyed to Mansong that a white man was on the banks of the river coming to see him. The king, who seems to have been alarmed at this intelligence, immediately despatched a messenger, who was directed to inform the stranger that he would not be admitted into the royal presence until the purport of his mission were made known; and that, in the mean while, he was prohibited from passing the river. He was likewise told that the king desired him to seek lodgings in one of the villages in the vicinity of the capital. As there was no alternative, he at once set out for the village, where, to his great mortification, he found that no person would admit him into his house. “I was regarded with astonishment and fear,” he observes, “and was obliged to sit all day without victuals in the shade of a tree; and the night threatened to be very uncomfortable, for the wind rose, and there was great appearance of a heavy rain; and the wild beasts were so very numerous in the neighbourhood, that I should have been under the necessity of climbing up a tree, and resting among the branches. About sunset, however, as I was preparing to pass the night in this manner, and had turned my horse loose that he might graze at liberty, a woman returning from the labours of the field stopped to observe me, and, perceiving that I was weary and dejected, inquired into my situation, which I briefly explained to her; whereupon, with looks of great compassion, she took up my saddle and bridle, and told me to follow her. Having conducted me into her hut, she lighted up a lamp, spread a mat upon the floor, and told me I might remain there for the night. Finding that I was very hungry, she said she would procure me something to eat; she accordingly went out, and returned in a short time with a very fine fish, which, having caused to be half-broiled upon some embers, she gave me for supper. The rites of hospitality being thus performed towards a stranger in distress, my worthy benefactress, pointing to the mat, and telling me I might sleep there without apprehension, called to the female part of her family, who had stood gazing on me all the while in fixed astonishment, to resume their task of spinning cotton, in which they continued to employ themselves great part of the night. They lightened their labour by songs, one of which was composed extempore, for I was myself the subject of it; it was sung by one of the young women, the rest joining in a sort of chorus. The air was sweet and plaintive, and the words literally translated were these:—‘The winds roared, and the rains fell; the poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat under our tree; he has no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind his corn.’ Chorus:—‘Let us pity the white man, no mother has he,’ &c. Trifling as this recital may appear to the reader, to a person in my situation the circumstance was affecting in the highest degree. I was oppressed by such unexpected kindness that sleep fled my eyes. In the morning I presented my compassionate landlady with two of the four brass buttons which remained on my waistcoat, the only recompense I could make her.”

Although Mansong refused to admit our traveller into his presence, and seemed at first to neglect him, it soon appeared that this conduct did not arise from any churlish or inhospitable feelings; for while he persisted in his refusal to see him, and signified his pleasure that he should forthwith depart from the city, he sent him a present of five thousand cowries and a guide to Sansanding. Park immediately obeyed the royal command, and learned from the conversation of his guide on the way, that the king’s motives for thus dismissing him without an audience were at once prudent and liberal, since he feared that by the least show of favour he should excite the jealousy and envy of the Moorish inhabitants, from whose inveterate malice he might be unable to protect him.

With this guide he proceeded to Sansanding, where he was hospitably received by the dooty, and would, as the king’s stranger, have enjoyed much quiet and consideration, had he not had the misfortune to meet with some of his old enemies the Moors, who insisted on conducting him to the mosque, and converting him into a Mohammedan at once. However, the dooty, by exerting his authority, freed him from these fanatics, and ordered a sheep to be killed, and part of it dressed for his supper. “About midnight, when the Moors had left me,” says Park, “he paid me a visit, and with much earnestness desired me to write him a saphie. ‘If a Moor’s saphie is good,’ said this hospitable old man, ‘a white man’s must needs be better.’ I readily furnished him with one possessed of all the virtues I could concentrate, for it contained the Lord’s Prayer. The pen with which it was written was made of a reed, a little charcoal and gum-water made very tolerable ink, and a thin board answered the purpose of paper.”

From Sansanding he departed early in the morning, before the Moors were stirring. The road now lay through the woods, and the guide, who understood the dangers of the way, moved forward with the greatest circumspection, frequently stopping and looking under the bushes. Upon observing this, Park inquired the reason, and was told that lions were very plentiful in that part of the country, and very often attacked travellers in the woods. While they were conversing on this subject Park discovered a camelopard at a little distance, the fore-legs of which, from a hasty glance, appeared much longer than the hinder. “Shortly after this,” says he, “as we were crossing a large open plain where there were a few scattered bushes, my guide, who was a little way before me, wheeled his horse round in a moment, calling out something in the Foulah language which I did not understand. I inquired in Mandingo what he meant. ‘Wara billi billi’ (a very large lion)! said he, and made signs for me to ride away. But my horse was too much fatigued; so we rode slowly past the bush from which the animal had given us the alarm. Not seeing any thing myself, however, I thought my guide had been mistaken, when the Foulah suddenly put his hand to his mouth, exclaiming, ‘Soubah an alluhi’ (God preserve us)! and to my great surprise I then perceived a large red lion at a short distance from the bush, with his head couched between his fore-paws. I expected he would instantly spring upon me, and instinctively pulled my feet from my stirrups to throw myself on the ground, that my horse might become the victim rather than myself. But it is probable the lion was not hungry; for he quietly suffered us to pass, though we were fairly within his reach.”

About sunset they arrived at Moodiboo, “a delightful village on the banks of the Niger, commanding a view of the river for many miles, both to the east and west. The small green islands, the peaceful retreat of some industrious Foulahs, whose cattle were here secure from the attacks of wild beasts, and the majestic breadth of the river, which is here much larger than at Sego, render the situation one of the most enchanting in the world.” Park was now so worn out with fatigue and suffering, that his landlord, fearing he might die in his house, hurried him away, though he was scarcely able to walk, and his horse still less able to carry him. In fact, they had not proceeded far before the poor beast fell down, and could no more be made to rise; so that, taking off his saddle and bridle, our traveller with extreme reluctance abandoned him to his fate, and began to toil along on foot after his guide. In this way they reached Kea, a small fishing-village on the Niger, where Park embarked in a fisherman’s canoe which was going down the stream, while the guide returned to Sego.

In this canoe our traveller reached Moorzan, whence he was conveyed across the river to Silla, a large town on the opposite shore. It was with great difficulty that he here obtained admission into the strangers’ room of the dooty’s house, a damp, uncomfortable place, where he had a severe paroxysm of fever during the night. Here his resolution and energy, of which no traveller ever possessed a larger share, began at length to fail. No hope of success remained. He therefore, with extreme sorrow and anguish of mind, determined on returning whence he had come; but let me lay before the reader his own simple and manly account of the matter, which cannot fail to impress even the most insensible with veneration for a degree of courage and intrepidity amounting to heroism. “Worn down by sickness, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, half-naked, and without any article of value by which I might procure provisions, clothes, or lodging, I began,” says Park, “to reflect seriously on my situation. I was now convinced by painful experience that the obstacles to my further progress were insurmountable. The tropical rains had already set in with all their violence; the rice-grounds and swamps were already overflowed; and in a few days more travelling of every kind except by water would be completely obstructed. The cowries which remained of the King of Bambarra’s present were not sufficient to hire a canoe for any great distance; and I had but little hopes of subsisting by charity in a country where the Moors have such influence. But, above all, I perceived I was advancing more and more within the power of those merciless fanatics; and from my reception both at Sego and Sansanding, I was apprehensive that, in attempting to reach even Jeuné (unless under the protection of some man of consequence among them, which I had no means of obtaining), I should sacrifice my life to no purpose; for my discoveries would perish with me. The prospect either way was gloomy. In returning to the Gambia, a journey on foot of many hundred miles presented itself to my contemplation, through regions and countries unknown. Nevertheless, this seemed to be the only alternative; for I saw inevitable destruction in attempting to proceed to the eastward. With this conviction on my mind, I hope my readers will acknowledge I did right in going no farther. I had made every exertion to execute my mission in its fullest extent which prudence could justify. Had there been the most distant prospect of a successful termination, neither the unavoidable hardships of the journey nor the dangers of a second captivity should have forced me to desist. This, however, necessity compelled me to do.”