Chapter IX

Remarks on the River — Intelligence of the fate of Mr. Park — His Gun obtained — Visit to the Sultan — Unsuccessful Application for Mr. Park’s Papers — The Kingdom and City of Yàoorie and its Natives — The Sultan’s Son — Insurgents — The Sultan’s Daughters — Mischief of the Widow Zuma — Application of the Travellers to the King of Boossà — Wars in Nouffie — Provinces of Hàussa — Detention of the Travellers — The Sultan of Yàoorie — His character — Farewell visit.

With the exception of the dangerous rocks at Boossà, we are informed that, during our four days’ passage up the river, we have passed all the most difficult places in it, neither rocks nor sand-banks, it is said, being either above Yàoorie, or below Boossà. We have said nothing of the course of the river, because it is pretty well understood that this city lies nearly due north of Boossà; and also, that notwithstanding its windings and the number and variety of its channels, the Niger or Quorra flows past Boossà in a single undivided channel. In its natural bed, when uninterrupted by rocks, and other impediments, the river runs at this time of the year at the rate of between one and two miles in an hour; whenever it is obstructed by them, however, the velocity of the current is considerably increased. Although during the dry season, no communication or intercourse is maintained by water between Boossà, and the countries or states lower down the river, by reason of the dangerous rocks which have been already alluded to more than once; yet in the wet season, after the ‘Malca’ (or fourteen days’ incessant rain) has set in, when all the rivers which are dry during the remainder of the year, pour their overplus into the ‘Great Father of Waters,’ as the Niger is emphatically styled, then canoes, it is said, pass to and fro, between Yàoorie, Nouffie, Boossà, and Funda. It is immediately after the ‘Malca,’ also, that the Niger, by the depth and velocity of its current, sweeps off the rank grass which springs up annually on its borders. Every rock and every low island is then completely covered, and may be passed over in canoes without difficulty, or even apprehension of danger. The enterprising Mr. Park must have had a thousand difficulties to overcome in his voyage down the Niger. It was about this time of the year that he arrived at Yàoorie, and the river, it is said, was then about the same height as it is at present. The canoe-men, who in all probability were his slaves, were said to be chained to the canoe, in order to prevent their running away; his pilot was unacquainted with the river any further, and therefore he received his wages here in Yàoorie, and returned to his own country; and Mr. Park, with a companion, and three white boys, continued their journey down the Niger without any person whatever to point out the safest channel, or warn them of their danger. When the accident happened at Boossà by which they lost their lives, it is said they preferred being drowned to avoid as they imagined a more dreadful death.

Many years ago, a large boat arrived at Yàoorie on a trading voyage from Timbuctoo. Having disposed of their merchandise, the boatmen returned to their country by land, because they asserted that the exertion of working their vessel back so great a distance against the stream, was too much for them, and therefore they left it behind at Yàoorie.

_Monday, June 28th._—This morning we were visited by the chief of the Arabs of this city, who (if such a title can be used with propriety) is Prime Minister to the Sultan. He is a very old man, as dark as a native; and was dressed in the costume of his countrymen, which is very becoming. His beard was long, and as white as snow, and a singular tuft of hair which was directly under the lower lip, did not look much unlike the tail of a white mouse. Though toothless, the old man was yet very communicative and intelligent, and among other things he informed us that Mr. Park did not visit the city of Yàoorie, but remained in his canoe at the village where we landed yesterday, and despatched a messenger in his stead to the sultan, with a suitable present. This Arab had been sent by the sultan to the village with presents in return, and by his description of Mr. Park’s dress, he must have worn the laced tobe that we received of the King of Boossà, and which may account for the facility with which we obtained it, as well as the reluctance of the king to enter into an explanation of the manner in which his ancestor had got possession of it. Mr. Park is stated to have been drowned in this same dress. The Arab informed us, that he had in his possession a cutlass and a double-barrelled gun, which was part of Mr. Park’s present to the sultan. We expressed a wish to look at these weapons, and they were immediately sent for. The gun was very excellent, and handsomely mounted; and we offered our own fowling-piece in exchange for it, which was cheerfully agreed to, but not till after the sultan’s consent had in the first place been obtained.

Not long after the old Arab had taken his leave of us, several of his country-people of much fairer complexions, came to pay their respects; and among them was a young man named _Ali_, who arrived in this city yesterday, in ten days from Soccatoo, having stopped to trade on the road.

The journey from hence to the city of Soccatoo, when no stoppage is made on the road, may easily be accomplished in five days only; and this is the regular time the natives take to go there. Koolfu is two days’ journey from Yàoorie. He represented himself as one of the Arabs that accompanied Major Denham, Captain Clapperton, and their party over the desert from _Mourzuk_, in Fezzan, to Bornou.

Last night the sultan sent us a bullock, a fine large sheep of a peculiar species, the handsomest we ever saw; a great quantity of milk, and several hundred weight of rice; and this evening we received a large turkey and a bowl of rice from the chief of the Arabs.

_Tuesday, June 29th._—This evening, by desire, we went to pay our respects to the sultan. We soon arrived at the palace, which is a very large building, or rather a group of buildings inclosed by a high wall; and dismounting, we were presently conducted through a low avenue formed by pillars, which was as dark as a subterraneous passage. This led to a large square yard, which we entered and found it to communicate with the sultan’s apartments by the number of domestics that were hurrying about. Several people were sitting on the ground, but we were obliged to stand a long time, during which a profound silence was preserved, and no one was polite enough to offer us a mat to sit on. At length we received a summons to advance, and were introduced into another square, very much resembling a clean farm-yard. Here we discovered the sultan sitting alone in the centre of the square, on a plain piece of carpeting, with a pillow on each side of him, and a neat brass pan in front. His appearance was not only mean, but absolutely squalid and dirty. He is a big-headed, corpulent, and jolly-looking man, well stricken in years; and though there is something harsh and forbidding in his countenance, yet he was generally smiling during the conference. The conversation commenced in the usual complimentary way; and then our object in visiting Yàoorie was briefly and indirectly hinted at. When we asked him whether he did not send a letter to the late Captain Clapperton while that officer was at Koolfu, in which he had affirmed that he had certain books and papers in his possession which belonged to Mr. Park, he appeared very much confused. After thinking and hesitating a good while, he answered with an affected laugh, ‘How do you think that I could have the books of a person that was lost at Boossà?’ and this was all he said on the subject. He subsequently wished to know the reason that Captain Clapperton refused to visit him when he passed through the country; but more especially why, after his death, I had not paid him that mark of respect on my return to the coast from Soccatoo. My reply to him was, that I had been told he was the greatest monarch in the country, and therefore I should have felt ashamed to have visited him with the trifling present which I had to offer, as he might consider it an insult to his dignity. A frown of disapprobation settled on his countenance at hearing this, and he sharply rejoined, that he was perfectly well acquainted with the nature and value of the presents which had been made to the various chiefs I had visited; but that if I had nothing to offer him, it was my duty, and should have been my first care, to have paid my respects to him at Yàoorie. Here the conversation was abruptly ended; the sultan was more than half inclined to be angry with us; and we were not at all sorry to be reconducted to the open air.

_Wednesday, June 30th._—This morning I carried the sultan’s present to him; but it was very coldly received. I stated, that by reason of the selfishness and bad faith of the chief at the sea side, and the length of the journey from thence, the presents we had brought from England were nearly all expended; insomuch that we found it would be impossible to reach Bornou without receiving an additional supply of goods, which in our present situation we had no opportunity of obtaining; and that this being the case, we had no other resource left but to get to the salt water, when our wants would be promptly supplied. I observed that going down the river in a canoe would be the easiest and best means of effecting this object, to which the sultan replied that the price of a canoe would be a hundred dollars; but he was told that we had not property enough to purchase one. The road overland to Funda, by way of Koolfu or Guarie, was then mentioned, and the sultan promised to send us thither in two or three days. Here the conversation ended, and I took my leave.

The young Arab from Soccatoo visited us again to-day, and presented us with dried dates which he had brought from Fezzan, and a quantity of trona. Ali is a handsome and intelligent young man, and is extremely open and communicative. But all his good qualities are cast in the shade by a mean and rapacious habit of begging, which he displays in common with his countrymen who reside here, and which has disgusted and displeased us more than once. He tells us that he is on his way to Alòrie in Yarriba with goods and horses for sale; but he is suspected to be a spy sent by Bello to examine the fortifications, and ascertain the state of public feeling in the city, with intelligence of which he is to return to him.

_Thursday, July 1st._—Yesterday nothing occurred worthy of observation, nor has anything taken place to-day which requires more than a passing remark. The sultan sent us ten old guns to clean and repair this morning; we are unable to execute the latter part of his commands, but fortunately the mulatto who accompanied us from Badàgry is fully competent to the task, and in such cases always acts in our stead. The sultan sent for Paskoe two hours afterwards, and desired him to ask us for medicine to cure sore eyes, and complaints in the bowels. We are pestered with such applications as these all day long. Paskoe embraced the opportunity of making inquiries of the sultan concerning the lost papers of Mr. Park, as we had desired him; but he shook his head, and would say nothing about the matter, and immediately shifted the conversation to another subject. This prince assumes more consequence than any chief or monarch that we have yet seen; he never receives a visit but he exacts from the visiter the most humiliating forms of address; and even when the Arabs themselves obtain an audience, they are obliged to deliver what they have to say to him on their knees. Perhaps he expected a similar servile position from us, for such his countenance seemed to indicate, but whatever might have been his expectation, we had no notion of demeaning ourselves so grossly in his presence. Since our arrival in this city, my brother and I have been very seriously indisposed, as might be expected, for the air is humid and unwholesome, being impregnated with all manner of noxious effluvia, from the swampy nature of the soil at this season of the year, and the number of large pools of impure water which exist more or less in every quarter of the town.

_Friday, July 2d._—It is rather unfortunate for us, that so immense a quantity of needles was distributed through the country by the last mission; the market here is even now completely overstocked with them, so that we find it difficult to dispose of ours for a quarter of their value. In Yarriba and elsewhere, it was a general practice with us to pay the carriers of our luggage with needles only, but here we are endeavouring to dispose of them in order to purchase provisions for our people. We brought with us from England nearly a hundred thousand needles of various sizes, and amongst them was a great quantity of ‘Whitechapel sharps,’ warranted ‘superfine, and not to cut in the eye!’ Thus highly recommended, we imagined that these needles must have been excellent indeed; but what was our surprise some time ago, when a number of them which we had disposed of, was returned to us with a complaint that they were all _eyeless_, thus redeeming with a vengeance the pledge of the manufacturer, that they ‘would not cut in the eye.’ On an examination afterwards, we found the same fault with the remainder of the ‘Whitechapel sharps,’ so that to save our credit we have been obliged to throw them away. Our best, and almost only resource, has been in the metal buttons attached to our English clothes. These, when polished brightly, look well and have completely won the people of all ranks, from the sultan to the slave, who freely offer three or four hundred cowries each for those with silver gilt, and double that sum for one with gold gilt; whereas, for a good looking-glass we can only obtain three hundred cowries. Our clothes are nearly all stripped of their buttons; and we now place our dependence for future support principally on a quantity of livery and soldiers’ buttons, which are, however, rather dull and dirty, and will require many hours’ labour before they attain any degree of brightness.

_Sunday, July 4th._—Yesterday was barren of incident of any kind. To-day I visited the sultan to make a last application for Mr. Park’s papers. He would give no decisive answer; but in the course of the day, he said he would tell the chief of the Arabs everything relative to them, and would send him to us with the information. Accordingly, in the afternoon, the old man came as commanded; but instead of delivering the expected communication, he said that we should certainly inspect the books to-morrow; and in the mean time, the sultan would thank us to sell him some gunpowder, and whatever red cloth we might have left. This refinement in begging, or in other words, this mean rapaciousness on the part of the sultan, was never more apparent than in this instance. He had previously requested us to sell him a quantity of beads, &c., to which he expressed a wish that we should affix our own price. We did so; but on applying for payment, he has uniformly returned for answer, that we had asked too large a sum for those articles. Notwithstanding this, we gave the Arab the powder and red cloth which he had requested in the name of his master, with a message that the sultan was at liberty to give whatever he thought proper for them. Instead, however, of returning us the money, he has kept the goods without making the slightest acknowledgment; and sent an eunuch in the evening to beg a few needles, which of course it would be impolitic to refuse.

_Monday, July 5th._—It has rained very heavily all day, insomuch that on our parts we could not visit the sultan, nor could a messenger come from him to us.

_Tuesday, July 6th._—This forenoon we sent Paskoe with a message to the sultan, that we earnestly wished to receive a final and decisive answer with regard to the restoration of Mr. Park’s papers, which we declared to have been the sole object of our visiting him, and that it was our desire to quit Yàoorie immediately. This bold, and to us unusual language, seemed to have surprised and startled the sultan, and he instantly despatched the old Arab to inform us, that ‘he declared to G—d, in the most solemn manner, that he had never had in his possession, nor seen, any books or papers of the white travellers that perished at Boossà.’ The Arab likewise assured us that we were at liberty to proceed on our journey whenever we should think proper. Thus, notwithstanding all the false hopes which the sultan artfully held out to us, that Mr. Park’s papers were actually in his possession, his letter to Captain Clapperton, which expressly stated this to be the case, and the pitiful shuffling which he has displayed to keep us so long in suspense with respect to any true information, it appears then, without doubt, that he has not, and never has had, a single book or paper in the English language. His only motive for the dastardly conduct he has displayed, could have been neither more nor less than the hope of getting us into his power by misrepresentation and falsehood, in order to obtain some of the European articles which we had in our possession. That the sultan has succeeded so well with us has not been our fault entirely; but even now he is by no means satisfied, nor is it likely that he will be whilst we remain with him. It is a satisfaction at least for us to know that the long-sought papers are at present no where in existence.

_Wednesday, July 7th._—Yàoorie is a large, flourishing, and united kingdom. It is bounded on the east by Hàussa, on the west by Borgoo, on the north by Cubbie, and on the south by the kingdom of Nouffie. The crown is hereditary, and the government an absolute despotism. The former sultan was deposed by his subjects for his violent measures and general bad conduct; and the present ruler, who succeeded him, has reigned for the long period of thirty-nine years. The sultan has a strong military force, which has successfully repelled, it is said, the repeated attacks which the ever-restless Falàtahs for a number of years past made on the city and kingdom of Yàoorie; it is now employed in a remote province in quelling a rising insurrection, occasioned partly from the inability of the natives to pay their accustomed tribute, and partly from the harsh measures adopted by the sultan to compel them to do so. The city of Yàoorie is of prodigious extent, and is supposed to be as populous as any other in the whole continent, or at least that part of it which is visited by the trading Arabs. Its wall is high and very excellent, though made of clay alone, and may be between twenty and thirty miles in circuit; and it has eight vast entrance-gates or doors, which are well fortified after the manner of the country. The inhabitants manufacture a very coarse and inferior sort of gunpowder, which, however, is the best, and we believe the only manufactory of the kind in this part of the country; besides which they make very neat saddles, country cloth, &c.; and they grow indigo, tobacco, onions, wheat, and different kinds of grain; and vast quantities of rice, of superior quality. The inhabitants have likewise horses, bullocks, goats, &c., but notwithstanding their industry and the advantages which they enjoy, they are very poorly clad, have little money, and are perpetually complaining of their bad condition. An indifferent market is held in the city daily under commodious sheds, in which the above articles are offered for sale.

The better sort of women, or those that can afford time and money for the purpose, wear their hair plated very ingeniously, and dyed blue with indigo; their lips are likewise stained yellow and blue, which gives them an inexpressibly odd appearance; and their eyes are blackened with powdered antimony, or something of the same nature and properties, which is imported from a place called _Jacoba_. This is in general use, not only here, but in every other place which we have visited.

The use of hennah is as general at Yàoorie as elsewhere; the more opulent females make use of this most beautiful dye in profusion: they simply apply the pounded leaves of this plant to the teeth, and to the finger and toe nails; for the latter it is made into a kind of poultice, and in the evening is put on those parts, and remains till next morning. The poorer sort of females, however, from necessity, we suppose, rather than from inclination, make use of neither of these ornaments to enhance their natural charms; and, save tattooing, they have no personal embellishments whatever.

The sultan’s residence, as well as the houses of many of the principals inhabitants of the city, are two stories in height, having thick and clumsy stairs of clay leading to the upper apartments, which are rather lofty; and, together with rooms on the ground-floor, have door-ways sufficiently large to enable a person to enter them without putting himself to the inconvenience of stooping. The principal part of the houses are built in the circular or coozie fashion, but the inhabitants have a few square ones; and the sultan’s are of no regular form whatever. It may be considered somewhat singular that the generality of the natives of western and central, and, we believe, also of northern Africa, ‘moisten the floors of their huts and the inside of their walls with a solution of cow-dung and water, two or three times a day, or as often as they can find the materials.’ ‘Though disagreeable to the smell of an European, this keeps the interior of a dwelling as cool as it is dark.’ We should have thought that Dr. Johnson, from whom this quotation is taken, was speaking of the native dwellings of this part of the world, instead of those of the East Indies, so exactly does he describe them.

Between the clusters or assemblages of huts in Yàoorie there is a considerable quantity of fertile land, which is left for cattle to graze on, or for the purposes of husbandry and agriculture.

There is a great variety of trees within the walls of the city, consisting of the lime, the palm, the mi-cadania, and the date; but the latter, though it appears very luxuriant, never was known to bear fruit. The palm tree adorns the banks of the Niger, and increases in quantity the further we advance up the river; yet that variety of it which bears the cocoa-nut is nowhere to be seen, owing, most likely, to the distance from the sea. For a reason, already given in a preceding part of this Journal, no proper estimation can be formed of the number of inhabitants which Yàoorie contains, but it is surprisingly great.

_Thursday and Friday, July 8th and 9th._—During both these days we have been honoured with long visits from the sultan’s daughters, eldest son, and sister; the faces of the former are familiar, because they come to see us every day. The old Arab also visited us on Thursday morning, to pay his respects, according to his custom; but when he entered the apartment and discovered the heir apparent in conversation with us, he seemed surprised and displeased, and immediately ordered the young man to quit the apartment with his suite, which was instantly obeyed by the prince, without a syllable of complaint or disapprobation at this peremptory command. We subsequently desired an explanation of such arbitrary conduct on the part of the Arab, and he informed us, in answer, that it was done in order to prevent the young man from soliciting us for poison, which he might employ in the destruction of his father’s life,—so suspicious are the sovereigns of this country of the intentions of even their own children.

The sultan has sent to inform us that he will be occupied three days in writing to the king of England an explanation of his conduct with respect to Mr. Park’s papers; and he would therefore thank us to remain in Yàoorie till the expiration of that period.

A _fatàkie_, which left this city for Koolfu this (Friday) morning, had orders from the sultan to return while they were on their journey; and they accordingly re-entered Yàoorie in the afternoon. It is reported that the ringleader of the insurgents in _Engarski_, the province in which the customary tribute was refused to be paid, left the rebels a short time ago to fight for themselves, and fled to the kingdom of Nouffie. On his arrival he besought the Magīa to assist him against the soldiers of Yàoorie, and succeeded so far, that assistance was promised him by the Nouffie king; but as soon as this news had reached Engarski, the sultan’s soldiers all deserted their posts, and returned to him without delay. Both these days the men have been entering the city; and they have brought with them only between forty and fifty slaves. This is the reason that the fatàkie were stopped on their way to Koolfu; and in all probability, if the news be true, it will likewise affect our journey thither.

This evening the war-drum was sounded outside the sultan’s house; the noise of which is not peculiarly loud or dissonant, and is a much more _civilized_ kind of sound than the startling war-cry of the people of Yarriba and Borgoo. The sultan has just sent word that he wishes to see us to-morrow morning concerning the price of the red cloth which he recently purchased of us; and at the same time he desires to see a specimen of each kind of button in our possession, because he has a great inclination to purchase a quantity, or the whole of them, for the use of himself and family. By the man that brought us this message, he sent us, for the first time, a number of goora nuts, alleging, as an excuse for not offering us any before, that he did not imagine that Christians liked them.

_Saturday, July 10th._—Horse-soldiers are continuing to arrive by one and two at a time from Engarski, and the dead body of one of their captains has likewise been brought into the city. This individual came by his death in rather a mysterious manner, insomuch, that the public opinion is divided on the subject; some saying that he fell by an arrow, and others asserting with equal confidence that he was poisoned by his wife, who, after the consummation of her crime, fled to the embraces of an Arab who had been her lover before her marriage with the deceased.

During the war, which has continued these four months, the loss on the part of Yàoorie has been about a half-dozen men killed, and the slaughter on the part of the rebels, it is said, has been no less. This sanguinary contest is a specimen of their warfare, so that there will never be any great danger of depopulation from foreign wars or domestic broils.

The sultan has been shut up in his house all day, and will not be spoken to, owing to the ill-success of the Engarski expedition; but though this circumstance is publicly known, the inhabitants of the city have shown no inclination to mourn with their sovereign; on the contrary, they have been employed in making a ‘_berka_’ (blessing) for the safe return of the warriors, and feasting, rejoicing, and merriment were freely indulged in, this evening, in consequence. In the midst of their jollity, however, the people were thrown into confusion by a rumour, that the ‘clashing of arms’ was heard in Koolfu,’ or in other words, that preparations were making in that city for a _great_ war; that Falàtahs and Nouffie men were assembling there from all quarters; and that they were on the eve of making a fierce attack either on Wowow or the metropolis of Engarski; but which of these cities is to be devoted to destruction no one can tell. Groupes of people are expressing their hopes and fears in whispers, in every part of the city.

_Sunday, July 11th._—Having been sent for, I visited the sultan to-day with a piece of red cloth, two pair of scissors, a quantity of buttons, and a canister of powder. When introduced, I found him cheerful and merry, and his good humour continued throughout our interview. He observed, that the war which was just terminated had cost him a great deal of money, so that he regretted his inability to pay so large a sum for the articles as I had demanded. At length, after a little civil contention on both sides, a bargain was made, by the sultan’s agreeing to give twenty-five thousand cowries for the powder, scissors, and red cloth, and two hundred cowries for every _little_ button that we have, which he prefers to the larger ones. Four hundred were asked; but as these little buttons are the commonest sort, and have been besides much worn, I did not long hesitate in acceding to his terms. In allusion to our departure, the sultan observed, that the path was dangerous, but when the obstacles should be removed, which would doubtless be in a few days, and when his letter to the monarch of England should be written, we might quit the city without further delay, for which intelligence I thanked him and took my leave.

The sultan sent us a large ostrich a day or two ago, to look at, and subsequently offered to give it to us, but as this immense bird would require two or three men to take care of him on the road homewards, we declined to take him, and could only thank the sultan for his intended kindness.

_Monday, July 12th._—Nothing of consequence has occurred to-day in the city. The greater part of the morning was employed in cleaning and polishing the buttons promised to the sultan, who had sent for them before they were finished. Two or three of his daughters are our daily visitors, and they trifle a good deal of their time away in our company. They sometimes bring with them a pleasant intoxicating liquor called ‘booza’ (a kind of beer), which they offer us to drink; but they contrive to get tipsy with it themselves. These ladies are occasionally so troublesome, that we are obliged to frighten them away with our pistols.

_Tuesday, July 13th._—The ‘great war,’ for which there was said to have been such mighty preparations in Nouffie, and which caused so much consternation in this city an evening or two ago, has terminated in the capture of a herd of the king of Wowow’s bullocks near the walls of his town. The plunderers, it is said, were incited to undertake this predatory excursion, by the representations of that wicked and turbulent woman, widow Zuma, through the agency of her son, who, since his elopement from Wowow, has been residing in some part of Nouffie. The widow imagined that she was not safe in Boossà, after this malicious act, and she left that city and fled to a town in the province of Engarski. But the governor refused her his protection, and sent her back again to Boossà with an escort; and the king, in all probability, will either deliver her into the hands of the monarch of Wowow, in which case she will lose her head, or he will have her severely punished at Boossà.

The sultan told us to-day in plain and decisive terms, that he can send us neither by way of Koolfu nor Guârie, because the Falàtahs, he affirms, are in both those places. He wishes, however, to be expressly understood, that it is from no disinclination on his part to send us to either of those places, but that his great regard for us will not permit him to lead us into danger. Now we know very well that the Falàtahs have neither the upper hand at Koolfu nor Guarie. The natives of the latter state in particular, not long since cut off the heads of all the Falàtahs that could be found in their country, and from that time they have enjoyed the most perfect independence. The sultan of Yàoorie said further, that the best thing he could do was to send us back again to Boossà, and from thence he was sure we might have liberty to go any where. The moment we found that this was his intention, we returned to our house, and having formed our resolution, we instantly dispatched one of our men with a message to the king of Boossà, to the following effect:

‘That finding our presents insufficient to defray our expenses on the road to Guarie and Bornou, we were under the necessity of returning to the salt-water, to obtain more. That the chief of Badágry, who is governor of that part of the coast, at which we had landed, had treated us so very ill, while we were with him, that he would detain us in his town for the remainder of our lives, if we were to return by the way we had come, and by so doing that we should be unable to avoid falling into his power. Besides which, the journey thither is so long, that we should experience the same, or even greater inconvenience, than if we were to proceed to Bornou through Catsheenah. Under these circumstances, we were extremely desirous of travelling to the salt-water by a shorter and safer route, and would therefore prefer going by Funda, as the easiest and likeliest means of accomplishing that end. But as we had heard that the road to that kingdom by land is infested with Falàtahs, who live by plunder and violence, we should feel infinitely obliged to him (the king of Boossà), if he could either sell or lend us a canoe to proceed thither by water; and if so, that we would remunerate him to the utmost of our ability.’

We sent away the messenger this morning on his errand, and shall await his return with considerable anxiety. If an unfavourable answer be returned, we are resolved, instead of proceeding to Boossà, to proceed on to Guarie, and thence to Funda, as we originally intended, whatever may be the consequence.

_Wednesday, July 14th._—We were favoured with visits this morning from several respectable females, the wives and daughters of a number of distinguished chiefs, whom they had accompanied to the late war. The inhabitants of this place, as well as of many other towns, are of opinion that it is in our power to cure every disorder under the sun. Applications are daily made to us for medicine to cure a variety of complaints; and more than one married lady has been intreating us to remove the cause of barrenness from them. Other requests, equally serious and equally absurd, have been made, with which of course it is wholly out of our power to comply; but the applicants do not readily believe our assertions, nor can we induce or compel them to leave our house till something in the shape of medicine has been given them.

_Thursday, July 15th._—Falàtahs, it is said, have pillaged and burnt the city of Engarski, and taken Koolfu, so that the road to Boossà is also for the present denied us. These ‘setters up and pullers down of kings,’ for some reason, are offended with the Magīa, the present monarch of Nouffie, and have determined to appoint his elder brother, the exiled Ederesa, as ruler in his stead. Several revolutions have already taken place in Nouffie, through the instrumentality of these ambitious Falàtahs, which have all terminated in the confusion of the greater part of that distracted country, and to the advancement of their deadliest foes, who have now gained a footing in the land.

We have been repeatedly informed that Ederesa succeeded his father in the government of Nouffie, and was acknowledged their legitimate monarch by the whole nation. A rebellion, however,, headed by the Magīa, (Ederesa’s younger brother,) broke out shortly after his accession; and to aid his ambitious designs upon the liberties of the people, the former made a journey to Soccatoo, to request the assistance of Bello. This wily chief eagerly seized so fair an opportunity of promoting the interests of his country, by meddling with the domestic policy of the government of Nouffie; he had wisdom enough to foresee the advantages which would in all probability accrue to him, by granting the Magīa his request, and taking him under his protection; and he immediately reinforced the rebels by a choice body of soldiers. This first civil war was not of long continuance; Ederesa’s army was defeated by the mercenary troops and their adherents; the whole country was soon overrun and subjugated by these soldiers; Ederesa was obliged to flee from his dominions, and the Magīa governed Nouffie in his stead. The chief benefits resulting to Bello from the success of the rebels, were a half- yearly tribute which the Magīa agreed to pay him, in slaves, and handsome tobes of native manufacture; and what was of more consequence, he gained a footing for his people in a flourishing and beautiful kingdom, which may be styled the granary of this part of the continent.

The Falàtah soldiers remained in Nouffie to defend and support the interests of the new king; but the country did not long enjoy peace and tranquillity, for the foreigners observing their influence and numbers considerably augmenting, found occasion to quarrel with the Magīa, which was the occasion of another civil war. Turning from him whom they had elevated to the throne, they recalled Ederesa, and succeeded, after an ineffectual resistance on the part of his brother, in restoring him to the dignity, of which they themselves had so eagerly stripped him only a short time before. Ederesa subsequently formed the patriotic and laudable resolution of expelling these dangerous and intriguing strangers from his dominions; for he was convinced that his country would never be at peace whilst they were suffered to remain in it. No sooner, however, did he set about putting this project into execution, than his watchful brother raised a party in opposition to it, and the Falàtahs of course flew to his assistance. The fruit of this combination was the total defeat of the king’s party, and the re-institution of the Magīa into his former usurped rights. Meantime the Falàtahs increased fast in Nouffie, they inhabited towns which they had not built, and subsisted by the labour of others. The head of their party was a cousin of Bello, named Mallam Dendo, who resided on the banks of the Niger, in a large city of his own, which is called _Rabba_. He and the Magīa divided the sovereignty of the kingdom between them till very recently, and remained at peace with each other; but now, they say, there has been a third quarrel, and the Falàtahs have taken possession of Koolfu, till Ederesa shall have been made acquainted with the revolution in his favour. The Magīa is too helpless and insignificant to offer the slightest resistance to this intended change in his estate, and is living in retirement at a town about a day and a half’s journey from Koolfu. These domestic broils have been very prejudicial to the interests of Nouffie, and the people greatly lament their misfortunes. The Falàtahs are the only gainers by them; they are now in actual possession of more than half of the kingdom, and have enslaved a very large portion of its industrious population. Some of the finest and most opulent of their towns have been sacked and destroyed, and others they have taken for themselves. In this distracted state of affairs, Nouffie, whose inhabitants, it is everywhere acknowledged, are the most ingenious and industrious in all these parts, is fast falling to decay, and is become a prey to all manner of abuses, and to every species of crime.

_Friday, July 16th._—Although the Falàtahs have been so successful in Nouffie, and are gradually spreading themselves throughout the countries composing Western Africa, so as to be near the sea, where it is the great object of their ambition to get, they have within this year or two suffered many defeats, and lost much ground in Hàussa, which is the scene of their first operations, and they are likely to lose much more. The following are the names of the kingdoms or states which form the country called Hàussa. With the exception of _Kotonkora_ and _Womba_, they were all conquered by Danfodid shortly after his first appearance with the Falátahs; but those marked with an asterisk have regained their independence since his decease. That marked with an F. is now in the occupation of the conquerors; and those with F. and H. partly belong to the Falátahs and partly to the original natives. Catsheenah was the head or principal state, and all the others used to pay a small tribute to its sovereign.

1. Catsheenah, F. H.

2. Cubbie, *

3. Guarie, *

4. Zumfra, F. H.

5. Kano, F.

6. Gober, *

7. Kotonkora, Natives.

8. Womba, Natives.

Catsheenah, the capital of Hàussa, in the state or kingdom of Catsheenah, together with an insignificant town, are the only two places at present in the possession of the Falátahs in that country. Soccatoo stands on the extreme borders of Cubbie, yet it is not considered as being in that province.

The natives of Guarie lately rose simultaneously, and cut off their oppressors to a man, nor has Bello yet been able to revenge their loss.

_Zulamee_, and other towns of consideration in Zumfra, have within these few months been retaken from the Falátahs. Properly speaking, the province of Kano is in Hàussa; but previous to its conquest by the Falátahs, it had, from time immemorial, been tributary to Bornou, so that it is considered by many as belonging to that empire. The inhabitants of the city and state of Gober, against which Bello was directing all his power at the period of Captain Clapperton’s last visit to Soccatoo, have successfully resisted every attack that has been made against them, and are now enjoying tranquillity and independence. Doncassà, who is the present king of Catsheenah, resides at a place called _Maràdie_.

Doncassà is the hereditary prince of Hàussa, and notwithstanding his former misfortunes and reverses, he is still very powerful, and his strength daily increases. The Sheikh of Bornou assists him with men and horses; and his son is also with him, fighting against the common enemy. Doncassà, it is said, can bring no less than forty thousand horsemen into the field at one time. Recently his military operations have been attended with better success; and Bello, despairing of vanquishing him and of subjugating the whole of his country, is turning his thoughts to the conquest of Yarriba. His soldiers have already spread a panic through that kingdom, and frightened the timid natives out of two or three of their most important towns, and they will have very little difficulty in depriving them of the whole. It is said that after the rains the Falátah monarch will send a strong military force to complete the conquest of Yarriba, and that experienced captains are already nominated to accompany the expedition. In the mean time Bello is at war with Bornou and some of the states of Hàussa; and many thousands of his men, fearing no law, and having no ostensible employment, are scattered over the whole face of the country. They commit all sorts of crimes; they plunder, they burn, they destroy, and even murder, and are not amenable to any earthly tribunal for their actions.

The boasted good government of Bello does not extend beyond the precincts of Soccatoo. In other parts of his empire the civil department of his administration is most wretchedly conducted, and hence the predatory bands of Falátahs which annually go forth to ravage the country.

_Saturday, July 17th._—The sultan’s daughters are very numerous; and in accordance with the usual custom of the country, we have been obliged to make them a present of a button, or a string of beads, or some such trifle. Many of these ladies are not very young, for they have passed the meridian of life; but notwithstanding their seniority, they have had bitter disputes and quarrels with their sisters for the fancied better place which the latter have in our good graces, and the consequent kinder treatment which they have experienced at our hands. A breach is thus made in the affections of the royal sisters towards each other, and it may be years before domestic harmony is re-established among them. One or other of these females complains to us every day of having been engaged in wrangling or fighting with a sister, on the score of jealousy; and we are obliged to muster all our patience and condole with them in their little misfortunes, without, however, having the ability to relieve them. The Arab, who appears to be the sultan’s factotum, came to see us this morning, agreeably to his usual practice; and with joy sparkling in his countenance, he informed us that his master had been inquiring for a canoe in which we may return to Boossà. We wished to know when the sultan would be inclined to give us permission to leave Yàoorie. ‘What,’ said he, ‘is not the news I have told you sufficient for one day?’

The Arabs in this place (Yàoorie) and all those that have passed through the city since our arrival in it, who have had no connexion whatever with each other, have assured us that the Niger flows from a place called _Musser_ (query _Mesr_), where silks and other fine articles are manufactured, and that the natives of that country trade to Timbuctoo in large vessels, carrying thither their silks and manufactures.

We have neither been able to ascertain the European name of _Musser_, nor its distance from Timbuctoo; we can only learn that the space between the two cities is very great indeed.

In this part of Africa not the slightest jealousy exists in respect to the Niger or any other river, for the people cheerfully answer every inquiry concerning what they may happen to know of its course, &c.

_Sunday, July 18th._—Our man has not yet returned from Boossà, and nothing has taken place to-day worthy of observation or remark.

_Monday, July 19th._—The premises which we occupy are situated at the northern end of the city, and are the property of one of the sultan’s married daughters, who, with her family, accompanied her husband to the late war, and returned from thence only a few days ago.

They form a little circular enclosure of huts, one of which is two stories high; and it has the convenience of three small yards, in which is good stabling for the horses. From the distance of time which elapsed after the departure of the sultan’s warlike daughter to the period of our arrival at Yàoorie, the houses had fallen fast to decay, so that when we were introduced into them, one or two of the roofs were entirely wanting, and the rain, which fell daily, was freely admitted into all the remainder for want of repair, that with two stories alone being an exception. For our own comfort, therefore, we took possession of the upper room of this hut, which is a long, narrow, and gloomy apartment, having a solid clay floor, and five or six small apertures, like pigeon- holes, for the purpose of admitting light and air.

As we have been unable, from the almost constant rain and the marshy nature of the soil of Yàoorie, to walk abroad, this room has been, in a great measure, our prison, for we have rarely stirred out of it. During the first few days and nights after our arrival we were pretty comfortable, and, every thing considered, we liked our quarters tolerably well; but an envious wind having blown a swarm of mosquitoes into our apartment, we have ever since been deprived of sleep at night. And as if this were not an evil sufficiently annoying, we are likewise visited by myriads of gnats, cockroaches, black ants, &c.; besides a number of bats, which flutter even in our faces, and cause us much uneasiness. Other descriptions of animals and insects intrude into our apartment in the night season, which however do not molest us. Under this pressure of grievances, my brother and I, finding it impossible to sleep, either sit up or lie awake, and employ ourselves in doling away the long and wearisome hours of the night in chatting about indifferent matters, or in reading aloud, by lamp-light, some moral or religious work. As soon as the light or dawn of the morning penetrates our dismal chamber, our tormentors cease to molest us, and we generally find this the most favourable time for procuring a little sleep. But then the whole world is awake and abroad; and human visitors, whose society is scarcely less tolerable than the visitation of our nightly companions, intrude their unwelcome persons on our sleeping moments, and compel us to listen and answer to their vexatious nonsense. Deprived of our natural rest, the day is spent with scarcely more enjoyment than the night;—we are heavy, languid, peevish, and uncomfortable, and wholly unfit for exertion of any kind. The happy freedom from such torture as this in Old England, can only be appreciated by those who have experienced it; even an hour of such relief now would be worth more than we could express.

This forenoon our Boossà messenger returned, and, to our unspeakable joy, informed us that the king had consented to procure for us a canoe, to proceed to Funda, provided the road by land could not be depended on. He candidly stated, however, his inability to protect our persons from insult and danger beyond his own territories; and that we must solicit the good-will of the prince of Wowow and the other rulers on the banks of the Niger; and further, that our own men alone must manage the canoe, because no one at Boossà would be willing, for various reasons, to accompany us in this journey. We are therefore in a fair way of accomplishing the object of the expedition; and though we are convinced that we shall be beset with dangers from the shore, yet we are in high spirits, and humbly hope that, by attending to the necessary precautions, we shall be able to overcome them.

_Tuesday, July 20th._—The news of the day is very agreeable to all ranks of the good people of this city. A body of Falátahs, amounting to about two hundred in number, which left Koolfu a few days since for the purpose of attacking Engarski, or rather the remains of that body, returned yesterday morning to that town, having been completely unsuccessful in the object of their expedition, owing to the jealousy and apprehension of the rebels. It appears, that whilst they were besieging an insignificant _Cumbrie town_ in the above province, a contagious disease broke out among them, and reduced fifty of their number to a state of the greatest misery and helplessness. The remainder, becoming alarmed at this frightful disorder, fled with the utmost precipitation, and left their sick and languid companions to the mercy of their enemies, who, however, showed them none, for as soon as they became acquainted with the departure of their besiegers, a number of them came out armed, and with savage coolness deliberately cut off the heads of their helpless and prostrate foes, and immediately despatched intelligence of the bloody exploit to the sultan of Yàoorie. The road to Boossà is by this means once more declared to be open, and we shall leave hence as soon as we receive permission. The sultan has not yet paid the money he owed us, nor, since the sale of the buttons, &c., have we heard a single sentence about the matter. Our cowries, likewise, are nearly expended; and for this fortnight past we have depended for subsistence on Paskoe’s success in shooting. Happily, Guinea-fowl, of the most delicious flavour, and large doves, abound here in amazing numbers; and a large species of wild duck, besides geese, cranes, widgeons, herons, and other aquatic fowl, are most plentiful.

_Wednesday, July 21st._—Last night we were visited by an awful and terrible tornado, which lasted for two or three hours. It commenced about midnight with a gust of wind which threatened to overturn our dwelling-house. Never since we have been in the country have we heard thunder so loud and tremendous, nor seen lightning so excessively vivid. Our hut rocked as if it had been shaken by an earthquake, and we were in momentary apprehension of its falling with us to the ground; the tempest however became less and less violent in the midst of our fears, and soon after it ceased altogether, and an universal stillness prevailed.

Owing to the wet weather and the moist state of the atmosphere, most of our friends the sultan’s daughters have caught slight colds, and they have been very importunate to-day in their entreaties for medicine. We hardly knew what to give them to ease their complaints, and we hesitated a good deal about complying with their wishes; but as they are not very delicate ladies, being stout withal, and masculine as Hercules, we at length resolved to risk the consequences, and accordingly administered to each of them a powerful dose of jalap.

The Falátahs in Nouffie are thrown into the utmost consternation by the reported death of their chief and leader, Mallam Dendo, which is said to have taken place at Rabba two or three days ago. The deceased was much esteemed by Bello, and reverenced by his countrymen. A successor will be immediately appointed, to counteract any fresh disturbance which may take place in the country.

The sultan of this place puts off our departure from day to day, and from week to week, under a variety of nonsensical excuses; and we are persuaded that it is his intention to detain us here till he has drained us of everything we have.

_Monday, July 26th._—For the last five days my brother has been laid up with intermittent fever, which totally disqualified him from making the slightest exertion whatever till this morning. The sultan continuing, day after day, for so long a time to refuse his permission for us to quit Yàoorie, on grounds the most inconsistent and contradictory that can be imagined, we became rather apprehensive that he would detain us for an indefinite period—much longer indeed than might suit our convenience: but to-day, to our surprise and pleasure, a messenger from the king of Boossà arrived in this city to ascertain the reason of such unwarrantable conduct on the part of the sultan, and to request our immediate release, so that it is supposed we shall leave hence in a day or two at the latest. One of the _inducements_ urged by this monarch for our longer stay with him, is rather whimsical. He has made us a present of a quantity of worthless feathers, which he had caused to be plucked from the body of a live ostrich; and because he entertained an opinion that if others were added to them, they would altogether form a very acceptable present to our gracious sovereign, he informed us that it would be necessary we should wait till such time as the ostrich should regain its plumage, in order for that part of its body which had not been previously plucked to undergo a similar operation; for the weather, he asserted, was much too cold for the bird to lose all its feathers at one and the same time. And further, to encourage their growth, he would order that two thousand cowries worth of butter (about twelve pounds weight) should be diligently rubbed into the skin of the animal. This money has actually been deducted by the sultan, for this express purpose, from the sum which he was indebted to us, because he said he did not approve of paying for the butter from his own pocket.

When a person entertains fear or suspicion of the intentions of another towards him, it very commonly happens that every little thing which he might have heard unfavourable to the character, or prejudicial to the manners of the latter at any former period, rises fresh in his memory, though he might have taken no notice of it at the time, and leads to the establishment and confirmation of an opinion which had before been unsettled and wavering in his mind. This has been very nearly our case in regard to the sultan of Yàoorie; and owing most likely to ill health, rather than any other cause, we had not only come to a conclusion, before the arrival of the Boossà ambassador, that we were in ‘durance vile’ here, but had conceived a thousand ways and means of making our escape privately from the city! The violent detention of the six Dahoman messengers within the walls of Yàoorie for a whole six months, without any cause being assigned for it, has already been alluded to in Captain Clapperton’s last narrative; and many similar injurious actions on the part of the sultan have been related to us by some of his own people. But he has been guilty of more treacherous and criminal deeds than these both to native merchants and to Arabs who have visited this city for the purposes of trade; and the following story, if it be true, argues very unfavourably for the monarch’s sentiments of feeling, honesty, and justice:—

An Arab, it is said, arrived here many years ago with three camel-loads of merchandise from Tripoli, and according to the custom of the country he displayed them all before the sultan of Yàoorie. His admiration of them was very soon raised, and he purchased the whole of the Arab’s goods on credit. The poor merchant made repeated and pressing applications for his money, but in vain; and month after month, and year after year passed away, without his ever having received a farthing, the sultan deceiving him with promises continually. The Arab became at length very uneasy at the sultan’s prevarication, and imagined that he should never receive payment for his goods. He was therefore unable to exercise his forbearance any longer, but was constrained to demand of his creditor the restitution of his property, or the payment of his debt, that he might depart from the city and return to his family. But the covetous sultan pertinaciously refused his request, and sent him away with abuse; and the Arab shortly after died of a broken heart, or, as many say, of poison. He left behind him, however, at Yàoorie, his eldest son, who had accompanied his father hither from Fezzan. This person the sultan deluded with promises similar to those by which his father had been deceived; and the young man abode in the city several years in the anticipation of being able to procure the property which had devolved to him on the Arab’s decease. He also died not long ago, and the boy’s uncle (Moussa, of Koolfu), who was employed by Captain Clapperton, is now the only surviving creditor. He has sent several messengers here with the view of having the debt cancelled by the sultan; but up to this day the money has never been paid, nor have the Arab’s camels, nor any part of his property, been restored to his surviving relative.

During our own short stay, even, the sultan has been guilty of several petty offences, such as defrauding individuals of small sums, and the like; and one poor fellow, belonging to a _fatàkie_ from Hàussa, has had the imprudence to let him have some of his property, on the faith of his word, in return for which he has met with nothing but promises and refusals. The sultan did, indeed, command him to purchase whatever things he might want at the market, and refer the seller to him for payment; independent of this, as a mark of his favour, he sold the merchant one of his own bullocks, which is however found to be diseased and worth nothing. By such mean subterfuges does this great prince procure the property of others; and in this manner does he treat every merchant that may have occasion to pass through the city.

All these circumstances considered, it was with much pleasure that we received notice of the king of Boossà’s kind interposition in our behalf, which will at least accelerate our departure; for though, when soberly considered, the behaviour of the Yàoorie monarch towards us has not been on the whole unkind, forming a strange compound of generosity and meanness, yet he might have been inclined to detain us here till the only favourable moment at which we could descend the Niger should have passed away, in which case we should have to retrace our steps the way we have come without having accomplished the object for which we had left England.

We have now only to arrange matters with this singular old chieftain, which we foresee will be no very easy task. It is confidently affirmed, that a canoe has been prepared for us, and two days hence, we have little doubt, permission will be granted for us to leave this city to return to Boossà.

_Thursday, July 29th._—The sultan has been complaining sadly of poverty these two days, and has begged us to accept a female slave of him in lieu of the money he owed us, and which he has declared his inability to pay. We hesitated a good deal at first about the matter, but we soon felt convinced it would be useless to demur, for the sultan was fixed in his determination, and we have taken the girl, who is become Paskoe’s wife. This unpleasant affair was not settled till this morning, owing to the above cause.

We brought a quantity of new shillings with us from England, which are vastly admired by all classes of people here, on account of their shining property; and whilst the Spanish dollar sells for fifteen hundred cowries only, one of these little pieces is purchased willingly at a thousand. Each of these coins is attached to a ring, and worn on the finger of a lady as an ornament.

Yàoorie has been visited with so much rain lately, that the corn is rotting on the stalk, and it is by no means likely that the dry weather will commence for some time to come. The corn is fully ripe, and only wants a little sun to harden the grain in the ear; and the people are sorely lamenting that they cannot obtain even this. Nevertheless, the rice crops look well, and promise an abundant harvest; and the onions, of which vast quantities are grown here, are also expected to produce plentifully. At present, Yàoorie is little better than a complete swamp; and, if possible, it will be worse after the _malca_, which is daily looked for, shall have set in.

_Sunday, August 1st._—This morning the sultan sent a messenger to inform us that we were at liberty to pay our respects and take our farewell of him previous to our departure from the city, which we have been assured will take place to-morrow without any further procrastination or delay. We presently obeyed the summons, for such we considered it; and on our arrival at the sultan’s residence, we were introduced into a large, gloomy, uncomfortable apartment, wherein the monarch generally receives his more distinguished visitors. A number of naked girls and boys, his domestics, were continually passing through it to other parts of the building, carrying dirty calabashes in their hands; a quantity of swallows’ nests were attached to the ceiling of the room (for neither here nor elsewhere are these birds ever molested), and their twittering owners, which were flying about in all directions, fed their young without interruption, and added not a little filthiness to the unswept and unclean apartment. In the centre and opposite the door-way, the ruler of Yàoorie was squatting on a platform, which was covered with faded damask, and smoking from a pipe of huge dimensions. On each side of him was a large pillow; and behind him, affixed to the wall, was a large square piece of ancient-looking figured silk, very rich and of various colours, with a beautiful deep fringe. It was, however, a little tarnished, owing to the length of time it has been in the sultan’s possession. This once splendid and valuable article is said to have been brought from the celebrated _Musser_[1], a place of which every one here speaks in the most rapturous and extravagant terms. The dress of the sultan corresponded with the dirtiness of the apartment. Just before our introduction we had been cautioned not to offer to shake hands with him, for that would be considered too familiar on our parts, and would be rejected by the monarch. Our compliments were therefore confined to simple inquiries after his health. The conversation during the interview was as uninteresting and spiritless as our conversations with other native rulers have always been—a description of one being a sample of the whole. The most important points were an urgent request on the part of the sultan for one of our lancets which he had seen, and the promise of a calabash of honey, which we received in the evening. We then took our leave and returned home. Here we were soon intruded upon by the sultan’s daughters and friends, who, finding that we were actually to go on the morrow, had come to purchase buttons, beg medicine, and pay their last respects; and we were not only subjected to the most wearisome and provoking ceremonies in the world during the remainder of the Sabbath, but we were likewise compelled to be bartering and wrangling with a parcel of noisy women till sunset, when we ungallantly drove them away.

During our stay at Yàoorie, the thermometer of Fahrenheit has ranged from 75° to 94° in our dwelling.