Chapter XI

Horse-racing at Wowow on the Mahometan Sabbath — Indignation of the King of Wowow against the King of Kiáma — Religious Procession of Females — Policy of the King of Wowow — Richard Lander taken ill — leaves his brother at Wowow, and returns to Boossà — Narrative of John Lander — The Blessing of the Priestess — Religious Sects — Their Creeds and Ideas of a Future State — Funeral and Marriage Ceremonies — Park’s Books — the States of Borgoo — The last of Park’s effects — Farewell to the King of Wowow — Departure — Village — Apprehensions of the Natives — the Travellers meet at Boossà.

_Friday, August 13th._—To-day is the Mahomedan Sabbath, which is constantly kept as a holiday by the inhabitants for public recreations and festivities. The king’s musicians were engaged in playing a very few simple airs during the whole of the morning. For native music it was certainly excellent; elsewhere we have heard nothing equal to it, not even at Katunga, Kiàma, or Yàoorie. Boossà seems to have little music, and few amusements of any kind—no city is so dull and lifeless as that. In the evening, the weekly horse-racing commenced by a run of eight or ten ponies, as handsome as they were swift, and the competition between them was most spirited. It was not till after this contest had been concluded, that the king made his appearance at the lower end of the race-course; and from thence he rode slowly towards the starting-place, preceded by singing and dancing women, who bawled and capered before him. When he came up to it he was saluted with a report from a few guns and pistols. The king was more appropriately attired, or rather his clothes seemed to sit more easily and gracefully on his person, than those of any other prince we have seen. His horse was gaily, if not richly caparisoned; it was a noble beast, and both horse and rider looked extremely well. As he passed us he neither turned his head aside nor even honoured us with a single glance, from a desire to make an impression on our minds by pomp and show, perhaps he thought it would have been degrading to have given us a familiar look.

The weather was not so favourable as could have been wished; and to this circumstance was owing the few horses, comparatively speaking, which had been brought to the sport. The horses were rode chiefly by little boys, one of whom was the king’s son: when they galloped past their sovereign, they invariably doffed their caps as a mark of respect. This race was by no means so well contested as the former, and indeed was unworthy of the name; and as soon as it was over, the king returned to his residence, and his example was presently followed by the prince and the other part of his household. But all these were obliged to return by a different path, because it is against the rules of etiquette for any one of the natives to attend the footsteps of his sovereign on the celebration of any public amusement. After their departure the music ceased, and terminated the entertainments of the day.

The king’s head drummer, a little Nouffie man, came to see us this afternoon; he informed us that he was one of the followers of prince Ederesa, and had fled hither, with a host of fellow-fugitives, from the resentment of the successful Magīa and his allies, the Falàtahs. The other day, his emigrant companions divided themselves into two unequal parties: the weaker left Wowow to join the standard of the Magīa, and the stronger that of his brother Ederesa; the drummer however had preferred to remain behind and serve the king in his present capacity. He stated, in answer to our inquiries, that the _Tshadda_ (Shary) flows into the Niger at Funda, and a regular intercourse is kept up with the natives on its banks, for the purposes of trade, by means of very large canoes. The sheikh, he said, resided very near the _Tshadda_, which, in Bornou, spreads into a large body of water. He further informed us, that canoes, capable of containing five hundred men in each, and having ‘thatched houses’ in them, are taken to _Binnie_ (Benin), with great quantities of cotton cloths, &c., by his countrymen, who sell them to the natives; and that Funda is very near the salt water; yet the drummer appears to know nothing of _any_ river which runs to Bornou.

This morning, I carried the few things, which we had brought from Boossà for that purpose, to the king. The monarch appeared well pleased and cheerful, and expressed himself perfectly satisfied with the present, though in a few minutes afterwards he despatched a messenger to inquire if we had not brought any coral beads with us from England. The articles forming the present consisted of two pair of silver bracelets, a piece of coarse muslin, sufficient for a couple of turbans, a tobacco-pipe, two razors, a new gilt button, two small and inferior looking-glasses, a clasp knife, a pair of scissors, and two combs. In compliance with my request, the king informed me, that he would sell us a canoe with the greatest pleasure. He was convinced, he said, that we should return in safety to our country by way of the Niger, which did not contain a single rock from _Inguâzhilligee_ to Funda. He had heard of the refusal of the prince of Kiàma to send us by the road of Wowow to his friend the king of Boossà, and his recommending us a path through a dreary wilderness, which had caused the destruction of all our horses, and in which we ourselves had narrowly escaped with life. He had felt for us in that situation, and his heart had been touched with grief at the recital of our misfortunes. After the rains should be over, he was determined to resent the affront which had been thus offered him by the ruler of Kiàma, and make him repent his cruelty. It had been his intention, he continued, to despatch a body of soldiers for the purpose of escorting us to his city in a handsome and becoming manner, but he had been deterred from his purpose by the information which he had received of our having plenty of guns and ammunition with us, which he feared we might have employed against the escort, under the mistaken opinion of its being a band of robbers. He rejoiced, however, to see us, because it would convince his neighbours that the white men neither disliked nor despised him. ‘I am now infinitely happy,’ he concluded, ‘for surely I could not have left the world in peace if you had departed from the country without having visited the old king of Wowow.’ When this long explanation was concluded, I was permitted to take my leave. Guns were subsequently fired off in compliment of our arrival; and the king and his wives, elated with joy, passed the day in dancing, laughing, and singing.

In the evening, several of their daughters favoured us with a visit; and after their departure the monarch’s brother and his friend came to pay us the compliments of the day, and salute us in the country fashion. The _avoikin sullikee_ (king’s friend) is a very important and influential personage in Borgoo and other countries, and in point of rank is considered the second man in the empire. He transacts all the public business for the king when the latter is incapable of attending to it, from indisposition or any other accidental cause.

_Saturday, August 14th._—Yesterday morning a messenger was despatched in haste to Inguâzhilligee, which is a town and ferry on the banks of the Niger, where the king’s boats are kept, to ascertain if a large canoe can be appropriated to our use, without interfering with or interrupting the business of the ferry. He returned at a late hour last night, so that we had no opportunity of speaking to him; but this morning he informed us, that we shall be able to have the best and most commodious canoe in the place, because a new canoe had very recently been made for the ferry, on account of the old one, which has since been recovered, having drifted down the river. Another individual was sent by the king this morning to settle the business about the purchase-money, but he is not expected to return from Inguâzhilligee till to-morrow.

This day a long and gay procession, formed by the female followers of the ancient religion of the country, passed through the town, walking and dancing alternately, with large spreading branches of trees in their hands. The priestess, at the time we saw her, had just swallowed fetīsh- water, and was carried on the shoulders of one of the devotees, who was assisted by two female companions, supporting the trembling hands and arms of their mistress. Her body was convulsed all over, and her features shockingly distorted, whilst she stared wildly and vacantly on the troop of enthusiasts and other objects which surrounded her. The priestess was then believed to be possessed with a demon; indeed, to us they all appeared to be so, for not one of them seemed in their sober senses, so indescribably fantastic were their actions, and so unseemly did they deport themselves. A younger woman was likewise borne on the shoulders of a friend, and carried along in the same manner as her mistress but she was by no means so uncouth a figure, nor was her agitation so great as that of the priestess, by whom she was preceded. The whole of the women forming this strange procession might amount to between ninety and a hundred; they were clad in their ‘holiday best:’ their motions were regulated at times by the sound of drums and fifes, and to this music they joined their wild shrill voices. They were arranged in couples, and with the branches of trees shaking in the air, presented one of the most extraordinary and grotesque spectacles that the human mind can conceive.

The king of Wowow is making new roads and repairing and widening the old ones leading to and from the city. This is the only instance we have yet seen wherein even the slightest attention has been paid by a chief to the state of the public pathway, during the whole of the journey from Badàgry to Yàoorie; and the reason urged by the ruler of this place for undertaking the business is somewhat singular, though shrewd and just. ‘If,’ says he, ‘an enemy were to come towards my gates with a hostile intention, and find the roads broken up or overgrown with weeds, would they not say among themselves, “Oh, this king of Wowow is a careless, slothful, cowardly governor; his town contains but few inhabitants, for see, the path is green and untrodden by human feet; let us go and attack it, for it will easily fall into our hands?” But,’ he continued, ‘should they find it of convenient width, smooth, and free from grass, they would immediately say,—“This road is trodden by the feet of many people; the town must be populous, strong, and flourishing, and its monarch watchful and brave; if we venture to make an assault, we foresee that we shall be overpowered and slain; it is better for us all to turn back while we are yet undiscovered and unharmed, lest some evil fall upon us when it is too late to retreat.”’

Thus the talkative old king argues with his people, that they may throw off that laziness which is natural to them, and be animated to industry and labour in the common cause.

A greater quantity of yams is cultivated in the vicinity of Wowow than is grown in all the other principalities of Borgoo put together. It is a common question on the path when the natives meet a stranger, ‘What! are you going to Wowow to eat yams?’ And the King of Boossà jocosely observed to us in parting, ‘That after we had tasted of the yams of his relative, he was apprehensive we should be inclined to remain a longer period in Wowow than he had proposed, for that they were a powerful inducement.’

Rice and corn are also cultivated to an unlimited extent here, and two species of beans, so that the necessaries of life are very plentiful and cheap. Reaping has commenced, and the wet season, it is said, is nearly over. As in most other places, indigo and cotton are yearly produced at Wowow in abundance.

_Sunday, August 15th._—Yesterday, and this morning, I was seized with giddiness of the head and other symptoms, which are the usual precursors of fever in this country. We had left our medicine-chest behind at Boossà, and as I was apprehensive that I should be laid up in this city, if I remained in it longer, my brother agreed with me in opinion that it would be advisable for me to return without delay to Boossà, and leave him here to settle the business respecting the canoe, &c. I therefore got on horseback as soon as the vertigo had passed away, and without stopping to bid adieu to the king, immediately departed on my journey with two attendants. My brother furnished me afterwards with the following account of the events which fell under his own observation, during the time we were absent from each other.

‘A very few minutes after my brother had departed from Wowow, the prince sent me a young bullock and a number of yams; and his brother likewise presented me with a quantity of milk, rice, and a fatted goat.

‘About mid-day the female worshippers of the ancient gods, who have already been alluded to, performed a second mystical ceremony, which is enjoined by their religion, and afterwards paraded the streets in the same order as on the former occasion. When it was over and the procession had dispersed, without intimating their intention, several of them paid me a visit, attended by musicians with drums, flutes, and guitars, and a great number of little boys and girls. I was sitting in a shed outside our hut at the time, with a sheet spread before me to keep off the eyes of the curious; and when it was pulled up by the priestess herself, who was fantastically dressed in man’s apparel, and when, with her large rolling eyes, and phrenzied countenance and manner, she performed her antics before me, uttering at the same time a piercing yell, more dismal than a dog’s at midnight, I started and shuddered a moment, for I was quite unprepared to witness such an object. But the poor enthusiast had no evil intention, for she fell down on her knees, gazed at me with tears in her eyes, and with a look of tenderness, held out her hand as a token of friendship, blessed me, and then arose and went out to make room for her principal attendants, who shrieked like her, and offered their hand in the same manner. Our Boossà messenger, and other individuals, who had come in before this most singular method of salutation was ended, subsequently received the benediction of the devotees, which was bestowed on them by the elder of the females. The method of doing it was novel and peculiar: in the first place the man was placed in a stooping position, the female then twisted his left arm, and pulled it over the back with all her might; it was then let go, to the great relief of the man; and she placed both her hands on his shoulders, which she pressed down with great energy, muttering between her teeth during the time the blessing which he had sought; but this was so inaudible that it could not be understood. It was not the woman, said the bystanders, but a spirit within her that spoke, and that influenced her and her companions in all their actions. So the people went away confirmed in this belief, and quite happy.

‘The religion which these enthusiasts profess, and which was not long since the prevailing religion of the country, is still held in great reverence here; so much so indeed, that the king’s daughters were early initiated into its mysteries, and invariably attend the celebration of all its superstitious rites and ordinances; in fact the priestess herself is one of them. Their parent also is still favourable towards the religion of his fathers, which is blended with Arab fables and traditions (for the Mahomedan creed in its purity is unknown here), and these form the foundation and superstructure of his faith.

‘The priestess and her followers believe in the existence of a God, and a heaven wherein he resides; that this glorious and almighty Being superintends the destinies of man in this life, and in a future one rewards or punishes him according to his deserts. Yet of a hell or a place of eternal torment they have no idea whatever. The souls of good men, say they, are translated into a tranquil, happy, and beautiful region, wherein but one monkey is permitted to reside, and where they remain for ever; whereas the wicked, before they can be allowed to participate in so much felicity and enjoyment, are forced to endure sorrow, pain, and punishment:—a variety of tortures is in store for them, such as scourging and beating, till it is considered sufficient punishment has been inflicted for their misdeeds, when they are exalted to a happier state of being.

‘Others, who waver between the Mahomedan religion and the ancient faith, believe that at the end of the world a voice will sound from heaven to invite all black men to the world of bliss, but that these will be too much unconcerned and too lazy to embrace the offer—a second voice will then proclaim the same invitation to white men, who will spring up with alacrity and transport, and enter the celestial regions before them with books in their hands. They profess to believe also that two men were originally created, one black and the other white, from whom the whole world is descended.

‘The professors of the ancient superstition sacrifice a bullock, a sheep, or a black goat to their divinities, but they shudder at the very idea of a human offering. Instead of agreeing with us that the world will be destroyed by fire, they suppose that its Divine Maker will roll it up like a parchment scroll, and put it aside for a future occasion.

‘It is somewhat remarkable that in Hàussa the people have a tradition that the name of our great forefather was _Adam_ (pronounced exactly in the same manner as we pronounce the word). _Da Adam_, in the same language, signifies an object when observed indistinctly at a distance, bearing the least resemblance to a man. The mother of the human race is called _Ameenatoo_, in Hàussa.

‘_Monday, August 16th._—The more respectable classes of society in Wowow and Boossà, after their decease, are buried in the yard of the house in which they resided when alive; whilst the people in the common walks of life are interred in a spot of ground selected for the purpose in a thick wood, which is at some distance from the city, and answering to our own places of burial. The friends of the former, as soon as they are made acquainted with his dissolution, resort to his house, and make lamentation for him for the space of seven days, wearing during that period their very worst apparel. But the relatives of a poor man attend his remains to the burying ground, and abide in the wood till their grief is assuaged and the time of mourning expired.

‘Marriage among free people is exceedingly simple, and is attended with little mirth or festive recreation of any kind. The intended husband is allowed to have nothing to do in the affair, though it concerns him so nearly, and the parents of the girl are equally out of the question. When the parties become attached to each other, the female goes immediately to acquaint her _grandmother_ of the circumstance, and coaxes the old woman to give her consent for her to live henceforward with her suitor, for she alone has the power of giving the maiden away. If it happens, however, that she has no grandmother, the girl is at liberty to act as she pleases. Several days are always allowed for the old woman to reflect and ponder over the whole matter in her mind; and this interval is generally embraced by the man in making her trifling presents, and doing her other little acts of kindness, in the hope of gaining her over to his interests. When a free man forms an affection for a female who is a slave, and he has money sufficient for the purpose, he goes to her master, whoever he may be, unbosoms his mind to him, and informs him of his intention of taking the woman to wife, if he will give him permission. Should the owner of the girl approve of the connexion, the suitor pays him twenty thousand cowries for his consent to the match, though a smaller sum is oftentimes offered and accepted; and the object of his affections from that time becomes his spouse. Yet the children which she may bear him cannot be retained by the father, but are considered the exclusive property of the wife’s master, who lays claim to them and takes them away as soon as they are able to run about. Nor does the marriage ceremony break the bonds of the woman’s slavery, for she is liable to be called upon whenever the master thinks proper, when she is obliged to serve him in the same manner as if she had remained in a single state. The union of slaves amongst each other depends entirely upon the will and pleasure of their owners.

‘A man is at liberty to return his wife to her parents at any time, and without adducing any reason for his dislike and dissatisfaction. When this is his intention, he treats his spouse with disrespect and unkindness, which she soon understands the meaning of, and of her own accord she goes back to her friends, and tells them of what has occurred. These subsequently repair in a body to the husband’s house, and question him in a formal manner whether it is his desire that his wife should continue to abide with them. If so, the connexion is forthwith dissolved, and she is again considered in the light of an unmarried woman. The children (if any) the mother is by no means permitted to take along with her, but they are left behind with their father, who delivers them over to the care of his other women.

‘The king of Wowow daily inquires after my health, and sends me a quantity of yams, milk, and eggs, every morning. Although this old chief has received a present infinitely smaller than we have given any other ruler, yet his treatment of us has been more generous than that of all of them together. His brother, also, and one or two other respectable individuals, have been equally kind, and have endeavoured all in their power to render our stay among them perfectly agreeable. They expect nothing in return for their hospitality, for we have nothing but a few needles to offer them, and we have told them so again and again—nevertheless their attention and kindness do not diminish.

‘_Tuesday, August 17th._—I was taken extremely unwell this morning with an indescribable and very unpleasant sensation in the head, which made me so lifeless and stupid that I could scarcely keep my eyes open for the remainder of the day, and obliged me to lie on my mat till evening, where I dozed away the hours more uncomfortably than I can describe. It is very remarkable that hitherto in the evening preceding the day on which we have been taken ill we have ever been surprisingly brisk and lively, with an unnatural flow of spirits; and we are so well aware of this that we always anticipate what is sure to follow, when we find ourselves in this merry mood, namely, an attack of illness on the ensuing morning.

‘The messenger sent by the king to procure us a canoe is not yet returned from Inguâzhilligee; another was despatched after him yesterday, and this morning a third, it is said, has left the town on the same errand; so at least people have informed us. The object of the first of these men is not confined to his visiting the ferry; but if he could not meet with a canoe to his satisfaction there, he has been desired to proceed further down the Quorra until he should see one that would answer our purpose. He is also to examine and report the appearance of a _reef of rocks like that at Boossà, which runs across the river below Inguâzhilligee_[2], and collect monies and duties owing to his master. It is therefore not much to be wondered at that he is not yet returned to Wowow. In the evening one of our men arrived from my brother at Boossà; he informed me by letter of his convalescence, and of his intention of returning to this city yesterday, which however had been frustrated by desire of the king. The letter stated further that the Midīki would settle with her brother, the prince of Wowow, for the canoe which he has promised to sell us; and therefore that I was at liberty to take my leave of him whenever I might think proper. Also in the evening I received an intimation from the king to remain in the city till his messenger, who is hourly expected, shall have returned from the banks of the Niger. Indeed it is more than unlikely, if my present indisposition continue, that I shall be able to undergo the fatigues of a journey to Boossà, for a day or two at least; so that this restraint of the King I shall scarcely feel.

‘_Wednesday, August 18th._—My curiosity has again been highly and perhaps painfully excited by hearing to-day that a certain man in the town was known to have had in his possession several books which he had picked up from the Niger at the period of Mr. Park’s dissolution. As soon as I had learnt this I instantly sent to the man’s house to ascertain the truth or falsehood of the rumour, but he happened to be from home, and it was not till night, after his return from the bush, that I heard with disappointment and sorrow that the report was indeed well founded, but that the books had all been recently destroyed. The man said he had shown them to the Arabs who were in the habit of visiting the town, but they could not understand the language in which they were written, and merely conjectured that their contents related to money matters, and were therefore of no kind of use whatever to any one. Yet notwithstanding their uselessness the man is reported to have kept the books carefully concealed in his house till the arrival of Captain Clapperton at Wowow, but when he found that this officer made no inquiries for such books, he neglected to pay any further attention to them, and they were destroyed shortly after; or, to use his own words, they “dropped or fell to pieces.” By the description which has been given of one of the books alluded to, I am inclined to believe that it must have been either Mr. Park’s journal, or a book of manuscripts of some sort. Thus have all our inquiries for the recovery of the lost papers of this traveller ended in disappointment: even when we had made almost sure of them, and our feelings excited to their highest pitch on more than one occasion, we have felt all the bitterness of hope suddenly extinguished.

‘A number of visiters has called to see me to-day; but owing to my indisposition I have been unable to remain in a sitting posture longer than a very few minutes at a time, and therefore these visits have been agreeably short.

‘_Thursday, August 19th._—I have learned with some surprise to-day, that Boossà and Wowow are not considered as being in the empire of Borgoo, but that they actually form a separate and distinct country, where a different language is spoken, and different manners prevail. The principality of Kiàma, however, is included by the natives in the former country, but owing to the long-continued and unceasing intercourse which has been maintained between it and Boossà, &c., the original Borgoo language has given place to the Boossà and Wowow tongue; and the customs and amusements of the people likewise bear at this time so great a similarity to those of their neighbours, as not to be distinguished from them. Yet a stranger can scarcely fail to remark a surprising difference between the demeanour of the more respectable inhabitants of Kiàma, and the behaviour of the same class of people at Boossà and Wowow. The former are bold, haughty, fierce, and rapacious, the latter are mild, humble, and sedate;—the former are held in no better light by merchants and traders, than a band of robbers,—whereas the latter are respected everywhere, and held in high reputation for honesty, integrity, and honour. Kiàma, it is said, formerly paid a tax to the king of Niki, but now it has sworn allegiance to the Falátahs.

‘The following is a statement of the names of the different states, which form the extensive country called Borgoo. The monarch of Niki, as a title of distinction and eminence, is styled “King or Sultan of Borgoo,” viz.:—

1. Niki

2. Buoy

3. Kiáma

4. Sandero

5. Kingka

6. Korokoo

7. Loogoo

8. Pundi

‘These follow in the order of the importance in which they are held by the people. Niki pays a small tribute to the king of Boossà as an acknowledgment of his superiority; Wowow does the same, “because,” said an intelligent man of that city, “in the beginning of the world the Almighty appointed his ancestor monarch of the whole of western Africa.” The present king of Boossà is, notwithstanding, too feeble to enforce payment of this tribute: it was originally offered voluntarily, and it has been continued by courtesy to the present time, though Niki and Wowow begin to be indifferent about the matter.

‘The relative position of the five first states of Borgoo with respect to each other, may be thus expressed: the letters N, W, S, E, indicating the positions of the four cardinal points of the compass.

Buoy.
N.
Kingka W.—Niki—E. Kiama.
S.
Sandero.

‘_Niki_ is seven days’ journey nearly west of Wowow, and the four states surrounding it as above, are each three days’ journey from it in the direction in which they are placed.

‘_Korokoo_ is sixteen days’ journey west of Wowow.

‘_Loogoo_ twenty days’ journey south-west of Wowow.

‘_Pundi_ twenty days’ west of Wowow.

‘It is, however, hardly possible for a native of Wowow to give the exact situation of a country remote from his own, when it is considered that he has neither a compass, nor indeed any instrument whatever to assist him in his observations, the sun alone being his guide in such cases. It is therefore likely enough that the individuals who furnished me with the preceding information might have erred, perhaps, as much as two or three points of the compass; and consequently, it would be better, instead of east, west, north, &c., to read _easterly, westerly, northerly_, &c.

‘Niki is the largest and most powerful of the Borgoo states. Its capital, which is extremely populous, is of the same name, and though unwalled, it is of immense extent, and said to be of equal size to the city of Yàoorie. Its monarch has a thousand horses, which are all his private property, and he is, in other respects, wealthy and affluent. His soldiers, who form a good part of the population of the capital, are reputed to be brave, bold, and enterprising men; those on foot have one side of the head shaved to distinguish them from their fellow-subjects. These are like the “half-heads” of the king of Dahomey. Niki is almost the only country in the west, against which the Falátahs have not yet dared “to lift the spear.”

‘There is reported to be not less than _seventy_ considerable and important towns dependent on the state of Niki, all of which have several smaller towns and villages under their control and management. The chiefs of each of these large towns present to their sovereign, once in their lifetime, a young and pretty woman to be his wife, by which means his seraglio is always kept full. Yet, if the girl fail to win the affections of the king, and she be not liked, or if, after she becomes his mistress, any fault is found with her, or any personal blemish or defect, she is instantly dismissed, and the chief of the town from whom she had been received, is obliged to supply her place by sending another girl. This is an odd and singular kind of tribute, but it is slight, and the inhabitants of the “seventy” pay no other. The next state in rank, extent, and importance to Niki, and the great rival to that country, is _Buoy_, which, like the former, has seventy towns of much consequence, that acknowledge its supremacy, and pay a tax of ladies to the monarch in something the same manner as their neighbours of Niki. There is great plenty of horses in the state of _Buoy_, and in _Sandero_; but the states of _Kingha_, _Loogoo_, and _Korokoo_, are destitute of a single animal of this description. With the exception of Loogoo, these latter states are said to be excessively poor, and their inhabitants to live in a pitiable state of penury and wretchedness; but the people of Loogoo have the necessaries of life in greater abundance, and they are enriched by the thousands of merchants who trade to Gonja for the goora nut, &c., and who pass annually through their country. Their chief, or king, is the most opulent ruler in the whole of Borgoo, having obtained by this means more money than the monarch of Niki or Buoy ever had in his possession. _Pundi_ was at one time a dependency of Niki, but the natives have recently thrown off the yoke, and formed themselves into an independent power; but with the acquisition of their liberty they soon lost the little sense of right and wrong which they once had, and having no leader for whom they cared, and no law which they obeyed, they threw off all manner of restraint, and from robbing each other, they turned to plundering the property of their neighbours, and waylaying every unprotected stranger or traveller that had occasion to pass through their country. The same unruly, outrageous, and turbulent spirit, and desperate conduct prevail among the natives of Pundi to the present time; and similar acts of rapacity and violence are consummated by them every day, so that their country is dreaded and shunned by every one acquainted with their character and habits. Even among their bad neighbours, these people are regarded as the worst in the world; but perhaps the fears of strangers and enemies cause them to misrepresent and exaggerate the depraved manners of the people of Pundi.

‘This evening, the king’s _first_ messenger returned from Inguâzhilligee, and has succeeded in obtaining a large new canoe for our use, which it is understood will be sent up the river to Boossà as soon as the queen shall have paid the purchase-money to her brother, the chief of Wowow. We had much rather bargain for it ourselves, but the desires of the meddling Midīki are imperious, and it would not be prudent on our part to balk her wishes.—Very unwell all day.

‘_Friday, August 20th._—The widow Zuma has left a son at Wowow, who is about thirty years of age, and is suffered to reside here only because he is at variance with his captious mother, and disapproves and condemns all her measures. This young man has been a constant daily visiter to me, and brings me occasionally a dish of pounded yam and palm-oil, a few goora nuts, or some such trifle. At our request he has busied himself surprisingly in endeavouring to procure information respecting the papers of Mr. Park. Though nearly blind, _Abba_ (for that is his name) is a handsome and intelligent young man, of an equable temper, and of a mild, modest, and amiable disposition, which has rendered him a great favourite with us. From the information with which he has supplied us, we learn that the late King of Wowow, who was father to the present ruler, became possessed of much of Mr. Park’s property, amongst which was a great quantity of guns and ammunition, particularly musket balls, which we have seen. Before this monarch’s dissolution, he left them to be divided amongst his sons. Abba ascertained yesterday that a large fat woman, belonging to the king, had a great pillow which her deceased husband had snatched, amongst other things, from the Niger, near Boossà, and with which he had fled to Wowow, where he continued to reside till his death. This pillow, as it is called, had perhaps been used for a seat, for it was covered with bullock’s hide, and strengthened by ribs of iron; but the covering having been worn into holes with age and use, it was yesterday pulled to pieces by its owner, who found it to be stuffed with rags and cloth cut into small bits. In the centre of the pillow, however, to the woman’s surprise, she discovered a little bag of striped satin, and feeling something like a book, as she says within it, she was afraid to open it herself, but presently sent word to Abba of the circumstance, who forthwith came and imparted it to me, bringing the little bag along with him. On opening it I found a little iron frame, round which had been wound, with much ingenuity and care, a great quantity of cotton thread, which encompassed it perhaps not less than ten thousand times; and in consequence of its entangled state, it was provokingly troublesome to take off. Affixed to the little iron instrument, which is said to be a child’s handcuff of foreign manufacture, and underneath the cotton, was an old manuscript, which according to Abba’s opinion is a native charm. But as I mistrusted his knowledge of the Arabic language, and doubted his ability to give a proper interpretation of the contents of the paper, in my own judgment, I was induced to believe it to be neither more nor less than a charm of some kind. Therefore, I purchased the manuscript, because it might be of greater consequence than I imagined, and because the bag in which it had been enveloped was of European satin, and the ink with which it had been written very different from that which is used by the Arabs, resembling our own so closely, that the difference in the colour of both cannot be distinguished. We were advised by no means to intimate to the king the nature of Abba’s inquiries, for the people are all afraid of him, and declare that if he knew of any individual that had secreted ever so trifling a part of Mr. Park’s property, he would be beheaded without mercy.

‘I felt considerably better this morning, and therefore determined to remain no longer in Wowow, but to leave as soon as my horse should be got ready. Accordingly I went to the king to pay my respects and take my farewell of him before my departure. I expressed my acknowledgments for the good reception and generous hospitality my brother and I had experienced from him and his subjects, and then requested permission to take my leave. But the monarch was unwilling to part with me so easily, and detained me in his company rather longer than I liked, conversing on matters foreign to my purpose. I related to him, at his own request, an account of the power, the riches, and the glory of England, and kept him in an ecstasy and silent wonderment for some time. “Is all this true?” said the old man to Paskoe, who was at my side. “It is true,” answered Paskoe, “for I have seen it.” “Wonderful people!” said the king. We then chatted for a long time about other things. The canoe, he observed, which he had procured for us, was an excellent one; he much admired the appearance of the horse he had often seen me ride, and said that, as that animal could be of no service to us on the water, he had no objection to exchange his excellent canoe for him; and if one should be of greater value than the other, he would cheerfully give the difference in cowries, provided we would consent to the same measure if the horse was of less value. All this I told him was undoubtedly very fair, but as the Midīki herself had agreed to take all the trouble of making the bargain, it was useless on our parts to enter into any arrangements with him; indeed he was candid enough to tell me so, yet he wished to beguile the time away as well as he could, and he continued the conversation for no other purpose; whereas I was weary of it, and impatient to be gone, for the sun was already high, and the day promised to be oppressively hot.

‘Before I was suffered to leave him, however, he endeavoured with energy to impress upon my mind the high sense he entertained of Europeans, who were so widely different, he said, from the Arabs; so much kinder, so much better, so much superior in every way. He loved white men of the west, because good fortune was always sure to attend their footsteps wherever they went; all lands which they had visited had been blessed in them; and he had no doubt that after our departure Wowow would be similarly favoured. He would pray to God, therefore, to prosper us in our undertaking, and he felt assured that we should reach our native country, and he should see us at Wowow again before he died. Then thanking the old king again for the various kindnesses he had shown us, and likewise for his good wishes, which I returned fourfold, we shook hands heartily, and having taken my farewell, I rode out of the city.

‘The journey was long and irksome, and the weather proved, as we had prognosticated, inexpressibly warm; but at three o’clock in the afternoon we entered and halted for awhile under a tree at a rural little village embosomed in magnificent trees, which is peopled with emigrants from Nouffie, and as I was exhausted by fatigue, and too unwell to travel further, we agreed to tarry here for the night. The poor harmless villagers, loving quiet and tranquillity rather than noise and disturbance, fled some few years ago from the persecutions and exactions of the Magīa, and from all the horrors of a civil war, which was ravaging their country like a consuming fire, and desolating all the most beautiful of her provinces, and sought refuge in this peaceful village, which lies in one of the most sequestered vallies in the world. They have now sons and daughters, who seem to enjoy with them the delights of privacy and retirement which they had been so solicitous to obtain; for here these simple blessings are in their fullest perfection. They seldom see the face of a stranger, because their hamlet is situated at a good distance from the road-side, and because the way to it from thence is dark, difficult, and lonely; nevertheless a traveller sometimes strays to their dwellings, and when that is the case they receive him with hospitality, and endeavour to make him comfortable by kindness. A river flows near the village, which is said to be full of fish, and this is a source of employment to some of its inhabitants, and of advantage to all. The men are not only skilful fishermen, but they understand husbandry as well as their neighbours; they cultivate large quantities of grain, and grow beans, indigo, and yams in abundance. They likewise keep poultry, and have flocks of sheep and goats: so that though their dress be poor and mean, yet they are rich as regards the necessaries of life, and have the means of enjoying a few of what are considered in this country as its luxuries.

‘In the evening, when the sun was going down, and when the birds, recovering from the sultry heat of the day, had begun to warble in the coolness of evening, the elders of the village assembled under the spreading branches of a noble tree to spend an hour or two in familiar chat, in pursuance of their common practice. To promote their cheerfulness and assist their conversation, large calabashes of strong home-brewed beer were placed by the side of them. Having swallowed two or three large draughts, the old men drew close to each other, and the venerable chronicler of the hamlet, in an under tone, started a conversation respecting their guest, the fearful white man of the west; and various and horrible were the conjectures of each on the cannibalism of his countrymen; their mysterious supernatural powers, and their partiality for the blood of black men in particular. Their conversation became more serious as the beer begun to operate on the old men, and as the dusk of evening came on, they drew still closer together; their legs, which had before been stretched out carelessly and comfortably at full length on the ground, were now gathered up under them; and every now and then they ventured to look back over their shoulders to steal a glance at me, for I was not far off, but this only seemed to inspire them with greater fear than before. The younger natives were about this time returning to the village from their usual occupations by the river side, and in the fields, and they stopped to join the company of the old men. The latter were almost naked, and the young men and girls were perfectly so, as well as the children of both sexes, which had been attracted to the party, and stood listening to the tales of horror which were related. One of our men had been sitting all the while with them, partaking of their beer, and had been silent till he conceived it almost time to retire, when he endeavoured to undeceive them in regard to their opinion of the unnatural propensities of white men, and to overthrow all the visions of bloody adventures which they had imbibed in their infancy, and cherished in their old age, and which had this evening been strengthened almost to realities by my presence, assisted by the effects of the beer they had drunk. But their love for the marvellous could not so easily be eradicated from their minds, and they turned a deaf ear to his remarks. The children shunned my hut as if it contained a serpent or a scorpion, and one or two of them that met me by accident, started, then looked anxiously, eagerly, and entreatingly at me for a moment, as if overcome by terror, and then shrieked aloud and ran away.

‘The elderly men of the village perform no manner of work, but reserve it for their children and grand-children, who labour for them without reluctance. The former lounge away their existence chiefly under the large tree above-mentioned, where they may be seen at all hours of a fine day, sitting in a group, the very picture of indolence, ease, peace, and comfort, and where they chat away the hours as thoughtlessly as if they were to live in this world for ever. They have no troubles, no difficulties, and no cares to interrupt their enjoyment. With what tranquillity and happiness does their life pass away! How smoothly and serenely do they go down to the grave!

‘_Saturday, August 21st._—We breakfasted early this morning on a cold fowl and yam, which was last night sent me by a blacksmith; but we found it impossible to leave the village as early as could have been wished, owing to a heavy shower which was falling. As soon as the rain had ceased, we set out on our journey. Four men, sent by the king of Wowow, and three other individuals, amongst whom was his brother, accompanied us to Boossâ for eye-water, which they had induced us to promise them by their importunities and solicitations. Another man was in our train, who was the bearer of a present from the king of Wowow to his sister, the queen of Boossà. This present consisted of seven or eight yams, which are just the value of double the number of kidney potatoes in England! Thus attended we journeyed to the river side, which is only a short distance from the village. A large quantity of fish had just been inclosed, which was announced by loud drumming from the fishermen, as a signal to their companions at the hamlet to come and assist in securing them. The river happened to be rather shallow, but it was interspersed with dark projecting rocks, that would render it impossible for any one to proceed even in a canoe either up or down the stream; yet we crossed it with little or no difficulty.

‘We found the road to be overgrown with rank grass and luxuriant vegetation, and so intricate, that we were obliged to travel very slowly, and my horse stumbled and fell with me repeatedly. In crossing the next river, where there is a ferry, for the first time since we have been in Africa, we saw a mother beating her child very unmercifully. The woman was wild with passion, but we succeeded in reconciling her to the object of her cruelty. Between eleven and twelve o’clock we came in sight of the walls of Boossà; it was raining, and one of our men, who had been sent by my brother for that purpose, met us on the road with a change of apparel for myself. I was rejoiced to find my brother perfectly recovered from his indisposition, and we felt as much pleasure in the meeting as friends that had long parted. On my entrance he was busily engaged in making preparations for our voyage down the Niger. The king of Boossà’s messenger is expected here in a day or two, when we hope and expect that everything will be settled to our satisfaction.’