Chapter II: Introduction

When the late Captain Clapperton made his way to Soccatoo for the first time, in the year 1824, he received the most flattering attentions, and every mark of kindness, from Bello, the sultan of the Fellans, as they call themselves, or Fellatas, as they are called by the people of Soudan. This chieftain may be said to rule over almost the whole of that part of North Africa which is distinguished by the name of Houssa, though he appears to have lost a considerable portion of what his father, Hatman Danfodio, first overran; and many of the petty chiefs still continue in a state of rebellion, some of them within a day’s journey of his capital. In the course of frequent conversations held with this chief, at his usual residence of Soccatoo, Clapperton was given to understand, that the establishment of a friendly intercourse with England would be most agreeable to him; that he wished particularly for certain articles of English manufacture to be sent out to him to the sea-coast, where there was a place of great commerce belonging to him, named Funda: he also expressed a wish that an English physician and a consul should be appointed to reside at another sea-port, called Raka; to the former of which places, he said, he would despatch messengers to bring up the articles from England; and to the latter he would send down a proper person to transact all matters of business between the two governments, through the intervention of the English consul; and he made no difficulty in declaring his readiness to adopt measures for putting an entire stop to that part of the slave-trade supposed to be carried on by his subjects with foreigners.

On the arrival of Clapperton in England, Lord Bathurst, then secretary of state for the colonies, considering this so favourable an opportunity of establishing an intercourse with the interior of Africa, and probably of putting an effectual check, through this powerful chief, to a large portion of the infamous traffic carried on in the Bight of Benin, and also for extending the legitimate commerce of Great Britain with this part of Africa, and at the same time adding to our knowledge of the country, did not hesitate in adopting the arrangement which Clapperton had made with Bello. Accordingly it was determined to send him out again to that chief, by the way of Benin, with suitable companions and presents, in order that a communication might be opened between Soccatoo and the sea-coast, and an attempt made to carry into effect the objects to which Bello was supposed to have given his hearty assent.

It had been arranged that, after a certain period agreed upon, Bello should send down his messengers to Whidah, on the coast, to meet Captain Clapperton and his companions. On their arrival, however, in the Bight of Benin, they could neither gain any intelligence of Bello’s messengers, nor did any of the people there know any thing of such names as Funda or Raka, the places which were pointed out by Bello as lying on the sea-coast. The country of Houssa, however, was well known by name, and as the precise geographical position of Soccatoo had been ascertained, our enterprising travellers could have no difficulty in knowing what direction to take; but the spot from whence it would be most advisable to start was a point not so easily to be determined. They finally, however, selected Badagry, for reasons that will be briefly stated; and proceeding northerly, from one chief to another, the survivors met with some delay, but no serious impediments, in reaching the spot of their destination.

The conduct, however, of Bello, though at first kind, was afterwards changed to every thing the reverse, for reasons which will appear in the course of the journal. His desire for establishing an amicable intercourse was not even hinted at, nor one word respecting the physician, the consul, or the slave-trade; and, either through ignorance or design (the former, in all probability), Bello had totally misled Clapperton as to the position of the city or district of Funda; which, instead of being on the sea-coast, as stated by him, is now ascertained to be at least 150 miles from the nearest part of the coast; and the other city, Raka, still farther in the interior. Indeed, one would almost suspect that Clapperton, from not being sufficiently acquainted with the Fellata language, must have mistaken the meaning of Bello on his former visit, had not the letter in Arabic, which he brought home from the latter, addressed to the king of England, borne him out in his representation of the proposals made or assented to by this chieftain. In this letter he says, “We agreed with him upon this (the prohibition of the exportation of slaves), on account of the good which will result from it, both to you and to us; and that a vessel of yours is to come to the harbour of Raka, with two cannons, and the quantities of powder, shot, &c. which they require, as also a number of muskets: we will then send our officer to arrange and settle every thing with your consul, and fix a certain period for the arrival of your merchant ships; and when they come, they may traffic and deal with our merchants. Then, after their return, the consul may reside in that harbour (namely, Raka) as protector, in company with our agent there, if God be pleased.”

It is clear, from this letter, that Bello understood what was proposed and accepted, but, with regard to the geographical position of his two sea-ports, he was evidently most grossly ignorant; for, admitting the ambiguity of the Arabic word _bahr_, which signifies any great collection of water, whether sea, lake, or river, merchant ships could not get up to Raka, which is an inland town, not situated on any coast or river. Be this as it may, an expedition, as already stated, was planned without loss of time, at the head of which Clapperton was placed. He was allowed to take with him, as a companion, a fellow-countryman of the name of Dickson, who had been brought up as a surgeon, in which capacity he had served in the West Indies, but had recently been studying the law. This person considered himself to be inured to a tropical climate, and was supposed to have a sufficient knowledge of medicine to take care of himself and the rest of the party.

In an enterprise of this novel and hazardous nature, it was deemed advisable to unite two other gentlemen to those above-mentioned; in order that, when once at Soccatoo, two of them might be spared to set out from thence, and explore the country of Soudan in various directions. For this purpose, Captain Pearce of the navy, and Dr. Morrison, a naval surgeon, were selected; the former an active and accomplished officer, and a most excellent draughtsman; the latter well versed in various branches of natural history. Unhappily, it was not their good fortune to live long enough to put their respective talents in practice for the benefit of the public, or the gratification of their friends; having each of them, on the same day, fallen a sacrifice to the pestilential climate, at a very early period of their journey in Africa.

The presents intended for the Sultan of the Fellatas, and also for the Sheik of Bornou, being all ready, the four gentlemen, with their servants, embarked in his majesty’s ship Brazen on the 27th August, 1825, and, after touching at Teneriffe and St. Jago, arrived in the Bight of Benin on the 26th November, 1825. Mr. Dickson being desirous of making his way alone to Soccatoo, for what reason it does not appear, was landed at Whidah, where a Portuguese gentleman, of the name of De Sousa, offered to accompany him as far as Dahomey, where he had resided for some time in the employ of the king. The offer was accepted, and Dickson, taking with him a mulatto of the name of Columbus, who had been a servant to Lieutenant-Colonel Denham on the former expedition to Bornou, departed on the 26th November, arrived safe at Dahomey, where he was well received, and sent forward to a place called Shar, seventeen days’ from Dahomey, under a suitable escort, where he also arrived safely, and had an escort given him from thence on his intended journey to Youri, since which no account of him whatever has been received. By some Dahomey messengers, which Clapperton met with at Wawa, he sent a letter to Dickson; but it is evident they did not fall in with him, as the letter was some months afterwards sent down to the coast. It may here be observed, that though Whidah was the port to which Bello was ultimately understood to say he would despatch his messengers to convey the travellers, and their presents and baggage, to Soccatoo, it did not appear that any inquiries had been made there respecting them; nor did any person there seem to know more about Bello or Soccatoo, than was known, further on, of Funda or Raka.

The rest of the travellers proceeded towards the river of Benin, where they encountered an English merchant of the name of Houtson, who advised them by no means to think of ascending that river, in their way into the interior, as the king of that country was well known to bear a particular hatred to the English, for their exertions in endeavouring to put a stop to the slave-trade, by which his greatest profits had been derived: nor had he any knowledge how far, or in what direction that river might convey them; he mentioned Badagry as a place far more preferable, as being equally near to Soccatoo, and the chief of which was favourable to the English; said that he would, no doubt, afford them protection and assistance on their journey, as far as his country extended, which was to the frontier of the kingdom of Yourriba. As Mr. Houtson had resided on this part of the coast for many years, and was well acquainted with the customs of the people, Captain Clapperton engaged him to accompany the party as far as the city of Eyeo or Katunga, the capital of Yourriba. Having, therefore, arranged matters with Captain Willis of the Brazen, as to sending after them the heavy baggage, and keeping up, for a certain time, a communication with them, they landed on the 29th November at Badagry; and, under the sanction of the king, commenced their long journey on the 7th December, the details of which will be found in the following Journal.

On his arrival at the encampment of Bello, at a short distance from Soccatoo, Clapperton had every reason to be satisfied with his reception. While at Kano, he had received a letter from that chief, congratulating him on his first arrival there, and inviting him to Soccatoo; and when he discovered, soon after his arrival at that city, that Clapperton had left at Kano the presents intended for the Sheik of Bornou, he again wrote to him, in a friendly manner, very civilly informing him of the impossibility of his allowing the warlike stores to be sent to one with whom he was in a state of hostility: he told him, also, that he had letters from a most respectable quarter, putting him on his guard against Christian spies. These circumstances seem, by the servant’s account, to have preyed very much on Clapperton’s mind; and that, when seized with dysentery and inflammation of the bowels, which, after thirty-six days’ illness, carried him off, Bello’s coolness and suspicion tended very much to depress his spirits and increase his disorder.

To Clapperton’s Journal is appended that of his servant, Richard Lander, giving an account of his return journey from Kano, after his master’s death, a great part of the way by a more easterly route. This journal of a very intelligent young man will be read with interest. Accompanied by two or three slaves, and a black man of Houssa, of the name (English) of Pascoe, who once belonged to a British ship of war, and had been engaged to attend Belzoni as interpreter, with a scanty supply of money, and without presents of any kind (so necessary in this country), he not only made his way among the various tribes he had to pass through, but brought with him, in safety, a large trunk belonging to his master, containing his clothes and other property; three watches, which he secreted about his person, to preserve from the rapacity of Bello; and all his master’s papers and journals, with which, after a journey of nine months, he arrived in safety on the sea-coast.

The friendship and kind feeling which Clapperton entertained for this valuable servant is evinced in various letters written to him while he remained in Kano, with the presents intended for the Sheik of Bornou; but which were first decoyed to Soccatoo, and afterwards meanly seized by the Sultan Bello, on the pretext of their being, many of them, arms to be put into the hands of his enemy, he being then in a state of war with the sheik. In one of these letters he says, “I hope you ride out every day, and amuse yourself in shooting and stuffing birds, as this will tend to keep you in good health. Attend strictly to the duties of religion; rely firmly on the assistance and mercy of Heaven; and, in all your difficulties and distress, this will bear you up like a man;” and he signs himself, “his sincere friend and master.” In another letter, dated from Soccatoo, he says, “Pray to Heaven night and morning, and read the church service every Sunday; for a firm reliance on the justice and mercy, and assistance of Heaven, will bear you up with cheerfulness and courage, when all earthly friends and things fail. Farewell, and believe me your sincere friend and master.”

Clapperton was, in fact, a kind-hearted and benevolent man, of a cheerful disposition, not easily put out of temper, and patient under disappointments; a virtue, indeed, which was frequently put to the test in the course of his long peregrinations in Africa. Both he and his servant suffered much from frequent attacks of fever and dysentery. His last illness continued for thirty-six days, during which he was attended by his faithful Richard; who has given a painful and interesting account of his death, of the mode in which he had him interred, of his own affliction, and the mournful state of solitude in which he was left among a set of unfeeling wretches, who regarded Christians in no better light than their dogs. His own situation is described in a letter which he addressed from Kano, after the death of his master, to Mr. Consul Warrington, of Tripoli. It is as follows:—

“_Kano, 27th May_, 1827.
“HONOURED SIR,

“With sorrow I have to acquaint you of the death of my master, Captain Clapperton. He departed this life at Soccatoo, on the 13th of April, at six o’clock in the morning, after thirty-six days’ illness, with a severe inflammation in the inside, much regretted by me, as he had always behaved like a father to me since I left England. I buried him at Jungavie, a small village five miles east of Soccatoo, at three o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, according to the rites of the church of England. He was carried on one of his own camels, and followed by no one but myself, and five people who went with me to dig the grave.

“We arrived at this place (Kano) on the 20th of July, 1826, and were treated with the greatest respect, and the persons in power were well pleased with their presents, until master asked to go to Bornou: after this we were treated like spies. I was left in Kano to take care of the baggage, and my master proceeded to Soccatoo, with the presents to Bello. When master asked permission to go to Bornou, Bello despatched a messenger off to Kano, with orders to bring me, with all the things, instantly to Soccatoo. I left Kano on the 25th of November, and arrived at Soccatoo the 20th of December. On the 21st, the sultan demanded the Sheik of Bornou’s letters. Master gave them to him. He desired master to open them. He said it was more than his head was worth, to open his king’s letters. He said, ‘Then I will.’ He then told him that he had received letters, from several respectable persons, to say that we were spies. Master said he must see those letters; but he would not show them. He waved his hand for us to go. We went home, and in the afternoon of the same day, the king’s head men came, and demanded the Sheik of Bornou’s present and the spare arms. My master said, ‘There is no faith in you; you are worse than highway robbers.’ They said, ‘Take care, or you will lose your head.’ He said, ‘If I do lose it, it is for the rights of my country.’ They then took the presents and arms, and went off; and, soon after, the sultan sent to say we must go by the desert, or by the way we came; we must not go to Bornou.

“I left Soccatoo the 4th of May, and arrived at Kano the 21st of May. I am waiting here for two hundred and forty-five thousand cowries, for different articles purchased by the Sultan of Soccatoo. As soon as I receive these, which I expect in ten days, I proceed to the sea-side by the way we came, or else by a nearer way by thirty-five miles, ten days due south of Kulfu, called Funda, which I expect is the Bight of Benin, as the Quorra runs to it. This river is called by us the Niger. If the Sultan of Kulfu assures me of the road being safe, I will go, as it will be a great advantage to the English. I send the copy of the Journal from Katunga to this town by an Arab, whom I have told that, on delivering them safe, you will give him thirty dollars.

I remain, &c.
(Signed) “RICHARD LANDER,
“Servant to the late Captain Clapperton.

“Mr. Consul-General Warrington.”

With regard to the Journal of Clapperton, it may be necessary to observe, that it is written throughout in the most loose and careless manner; all orthography and grammar equally disregarded, and many of the proper names quite impossible to be made out; full of tautology, so as to have the same thing repeated over and over again daily, and even on the same day. Much, therefore, has been left out, in sending it to the press, but nothing whatever is omitted, that could be considered of the least importance; and the only change that has been made is that of breaking it into chapters, which is always a relief to the reader. Clapperton was evidently a man of no education; he nowhere disturbs the progress of the day’s narrative by any reflections of his own, but contents himself with noticing objects as they appear before him, and conversations just as they were held; setting down both in his Journal without order, or any kind of arrangement. This may, perhaps, in one respect be considered as an advantage. The reader sees the naked facts as they occurred, and is left free to draw his own inference from them. There is no theory, no speculation, scarcely an opinion advanced throughout the whole of his Journal. He has not contributed much to general science, but, by his frequent observations for the latitude and longitude of places, he has made a most valuable addition to the geography of Northern Africa; and it may now be said of him, what will most probably never be said of any other person, that he has traversed the whole of that country, from the Mediterranean to the Bight of Benin.

The map that accompanies the Journal was constructed entirely from the latitudes and longitudes in a table annexed to that document. That portion of it which shows the route pursued by Richard Lander on his return, till stopped by the Fellatas at Dunrora, and from thence back again to Zegzeg, was laid off from the bearings and distances marked down by this intelligent young man; and no better proof is wanting of its general accuracy than that of his return route closing in with the fixed point Zaria, or Zegzeg, within ten miles.

It is greatly to be regretted, that the premature deaths of Captain Pearce and Dr. Morrison have deprived the world of many beautiful specimens of art, and many valuable acquisitions to the stores of natural history. Among the vegetable products of the tropical regions of North Africa, which, from the general descriptions here and there given, are of great beauty and fertility, there are no doubt to be found many new and valuable species; the whole line from the Bight of Benin to Soccatoo being entirely untrodden ground, consisting of every variety of feature, mostly left in a state of nature, and a great portion of it covered with magnificent forests.

Various notices are given, in the Journal, of two objects of peculiar interest, which are still left open for further investigation; the course and termination of the river which has been (improperly, as it now appears) called the Niger, and the recovery of the papers, which still exist, of the late Mungo Park. The exact spot on which he perished, and the manner of his death, are now ascertained with precision. The former of these inquiries will now be considered, perhaps, to have lost much of its original interest, by the deflection which that river takes from its easterly into that of a southerly course; and which, in point of fact and strict propriety, has destroyed every pretension to its continuing the name of Niger. It cannot be supposed that either Herodotus, or Ptolemy, or Pliny, or any Greek or Roman writer whatever, could have had the slightest intimation of such a river as this, so far to the westward and to the southward of the Great Desert, of the crossing of which by any of the ancient travellers there does not exist the slightest testimony. The name of Quorra, or Cowarra, by which it is known universally in Soudan, and probably also to the westward of Timbuctoo, ought now, therefore, to be adopted on our charts of Africa.

With regard to its termination, the reports continue to be contradictory, and the question is still open to conjecture. Its direction, as far as has now been ascertained, points to the Bight of Benin; but there is still a considerable distance, and a deep range of granite mountains intervening, between the point to which with any certainty it has been traced, and the sea-coast. If, however, it be the fact, that the river of Benin has been traced as high up as is marked on the chart (and it is taken from an old chart of the year 1753, stated to have been engraved for Postlethwayte’s Dictionary), that distance, between the lowest ascertained point of the Quorra and the highest of the Benin, is reduced to little more than a degree of latitude, or about seventy miles; but it is seventy miles of a mountainous country. By our occupation of the beautiful and fertile island of Fernando Po, and the extension of African commerce which may be anticipated in consequence thereof, there can be little doubt that this question of their identity or otherwise will ere long be decided.

From a variety of notices obtained by Clapperton, it is pretty clear, that the particulars of the death of Mungo Park, and the spot where the fatal event happened, are not very different from what was originally reported by Amadoo Fatima, and has since been repeated in various parts of the continent. The following correspondence, which was found in one of Clapperton’s memorandum books, and translated from the Arabic by Mr. Abraham Salamé, is highly interesting; and the more important, from the avowal of an individual, that he is in possession of the books of that enterprising traveller, and is ready to deliver them up to any person duly authorised by the sovereign of England to receive them.

TRANSLATION OF SOME DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO MUNGO PARK’S DEATH AND PAPERS.

No. 1.

“Praise is due to God alone!—As to the subject of the Christians who were drowned in the river of Boossy, they consisted of two freemen, and two slaves, their own property. The event thus happened in the month of Rajab: As their ship or vessel was proceeding down the river, it came to a narrow place or creek, into which they pushed it, and remained there three days; but the people of Boossy, having observed them, assembled, and went and fought them for three days. When the fight became severe, they (the Christians) began to take up their goods, and throw them into the river, till they had thrown a great quantity; and on the fight becoming still more severe (desperate), one of them got out, and threw himself into the river, and died; and, in the same manner, the other followed him, leaving their two slaves imprisoned in the ship; so that the hands of the people of Boossy did not reach so far as to kill them (_i. e._ they died in drowning, and were not murdered). Thus I have heard, and do herein write it myself.

“THE SHARIF OF BOKHARY.”

No. 2.

_Arabic Letter from Clapperton to the Lord of Boossy._

Translation.—“Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be unto his apostle. From Abdallah, the English ràis (captain), to the lord of Boossy, named Moosa (Moses), with regard and salutation; and that he has heard that the writings of his brethren, who were slain by the people of your country, have come into your hands. He therefore wishes you to give them up to him, either by purchase, or as a gift, or by exchange for a book of your own (the Koràn), or, at least, to let him see them only. We conjure thee, O lord, by God, by God, by God! and Sàlàm to you.”

The reply to this does not appear among Clapperton’s papers; but, from the following letter, it may be concluded that he was referred to the Lord of _Yàoury_.—A. S.

No. 3.

_Arabic Letter from Clapperton to the Lord of Yàoury._

Translation.—“Praise be to God alone. From Abdallah, the English captain, to the Lord of Yàoury. Hence respecting the book of the Christians who were seized by the people of Boossy, he wishes you to give it to him, that he may deliver it to his master, the Great Lord of the English nation. This only is his desire; and Sàlàm be to you.”

No. 4.

_Reply to the above._

Translation.—“This is issued from the Prince or Lord of Yàoury to Abdallah, the English captain: salutation and esteem. Hence your messenger has arrived and brought us your letter, and we understand what you write. You inquire about a thing that has no trace with us. The Prince or Lord of Boossy is older (or greater) than us, because he is our grandfather. Why did not you inquire of him about what you wish for? You were at Boossy, and did not inquire of the inhabitants what was the cause of the destruction of the ship and your friends, nor what happened between them of evil; but you do now inquire of one who is far off, and knows nothing of the cause of their (the Christians’) destruction.

“As to the book which is in our hand, it is true, and we did not give it to your messenger; but we will deliver it to you, if you come and show us a letter from your lord. You shall then see it and have it, if God be pleased. And much esteem and Sàlàm be to you, and prayer and peace unto the last of the apostles.”—(Mohammed.)

No. 5.

The following is a letter from Clapperton to some prince or grandee, whose name is blotted out of the copy book, complaining of the above refusal of the Lord of Yàoury.

Translation.—“Hence, my lord, I have written to the Lord of Boossy about the Christian book, whose owner was destroyed by the inhabitants; but when I heard that it was in the hands of the Lord of Yàoury, I wrote to him to give it to me, and he has refused. I have therefore written to you.”

It cannot be doubted for a moment, that volunteers enough will be found ready to proceed on an enterprise of so much interest; and for an object, the recovery of which is not only due to the reputation of the lamented traveller, but to the nation to which he belonged, and to the government under whose auspices he undertook to make discoveries in Africa. If Clapperton’s servant could find his way, alone and unprotected, through three times the distance it would be necessary to travel for the object in question, how much more likely would a duly accredited agent, bearing some trifling presents, and a letter from the King of England, be certain of making good his way, without difficulty, in the same track which has so recently been trodden, without molestation, by Christians and white men. A few presents, and but a few, and of trifling value, would only be necessary to secure the protection and assistance of the native chieftains on the road.

It is much to be regretted that Clapperton himself did not personally wait upon the Sultan of Yaoury, whose residence is not more than twenty-five or thirty miles northward of Boossy, and who appears to have been most anxious to see the Christian traveller, and pay him every possible attention. He sent messengers with presents, and boats to convey him up the river to Yaoury. Clapperton, however, had, no doubt, sufficient reasons for not visiting that chieftain at this time: it might be on account of the delay it would occasion at a time he was most anxious to get to Kano, to avoid the rains; or, for the sake of keeping clear of the belligerent parties who were ravaging the country in that direction. Perhaps he thought that, not being furnished with a letter to the sultan of that country, he would not have given up the papers to him. And, after all, it is not quite certain, from what he afterwards learned, that the Sultan of Yaoury has in his possession any thing more than some printed books; for on Clapperton inquiring of one of the sultan’s people, if there were any books like his own Journal, the man said there was one, but that his master had given it to an Arab merchant ten years ago; but that the merchant was killed by the Fellatas on his way to Kano, and what had become of that book afterwards he did not know.

The death of Dr. Morrison, at an early period of the journey, deprived the scientific world of all information on the subject of natural history, of which, as might well be supposed, neither Clapperton nor his servant had any knowledge. It will be matter of regret to some, that they had not, which they might easily have done, collected specimens of the language of the several districts through which they passed. The little that is added to the Appendix is all that was found among the papers of the deceased commander on this subject; and the state of the thermometer and barometer at different hours of the day, as observed on the journey, and also by Lander at Kano and Soccatoo, is not quite complete.

J. B.

=EXPEDITION=
FOR
THE DISCOVERY OF THE INTERIOR
OF
=NORTHERN AFRICA.=

_Published as the Act directs Novr. 1828 by John Murray, Albemarle Street London._

_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._]

_Published by John Murray, Albemarle Street London._

_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._]

=EXPEDITION=
FOR
THE DISCOVERY OF THE INTERIOR
OF
=NORTHERN AFRICA.=

* * * * *