Chapter XII (1)

Scandal of the Natives — Treaty for a Canoe — Defeats of the Falátahs at Catsheenah and Zaria — Measures of the King of Boossà for the future safety of the Travellers — Artifices for obtaining Presents from them — Preparations for Celebrating the Mahomedan Festival — The King’s Drummer — The Horse Race, and the King’s Speech — A troublesome Servant — Festivities at Boossà — The Eclipse — Version of it by the Arab Priests — Effects on the People — Messengers from Borgoo — Caffas — Mode of Preparing them — Arrival of a Fatakie — The Ashantees’ method of killing Elephants — Married Slaves — Their Treatment — Permission for Departure requested — El Kanemee the Arab — The King assents to the Travellers leaving Boossà — The Messenger from Rabba with the King’s Son — Joy of the King of Boossà at his arrival — Opinion of his general conduct towards the Travellers.

_Monday, August 23rd._—It was the earnest and oft-repeated desire of the chief of Wowow, while we resided in his town, that we should return from Boossà and spend the approaching holiday with him, to which we thought proper to accede; indeed the old man had behaved so well to us, that we did not like to make him an ungrateful return. But his sister, the Midīki, is already jealous of her brother, because, perhaps, we have given him so good a character, and she says that she is apprehensive he may procure from us more than she is willing that he should have; and so she has not only set her husband’s mind against the measure, but she has slandered and defamed the character of her brother to us most shamefully.

This is positively the worst trait in the character of the queen, for in other respects she is an amiable good kind of woman enough. In more civilized, or rather more polished countries, among the reasonable part of mankind, a mutual interchange of benevolent intentions produces a reciprocity of kind feeling, and we would hope that the present of yams from her brother would excite the Midīki’s more generous and affectionate sentiments for him. Yet this despicable vice of slander is universal in Africa; the people all speak ill of each other, from the monarch to the slave. We shall now be compelled to remain in Boossà, till the period arrives for our final departure from the country.

This afternoon the expected messenger arrived from Wowow, with full power to treat with the Midīki for the purchase of our canoe; and though we are the parties most concerned in this business, we are allowed to say nothing at all about it. We have just learnt that the bargain has been concluded; we are to give both our horses for the canoe; and if the king of Wowow should fancy the animals to be more than equivalent to the value of the boat, he has promised to send us the balance in money (cowries). This is infinitely better than we could have done ourselves; we should not have contrived matters half so well, for the youngest of the horses we had previously made a present of to the king of Boossà, but most likely, owing to Paskoe’s misrepresentation, or misinterpretation, the monarch was not made sensible of the circumstance. The canoe will be sent here in a day or two, when we shall begin to prepare her for the water without delay. Our men have made an attempt to drive the bullock, which was given us by the king of Wowow, from that city to Boossà, no less than four different times, but each time the ungovernable and furious animal has broken its ropes, gored the people and returned to Wowow. As we have no means of preserving its flesh, should we slaughter the bullock before we leave, we intend to sell it here, if by any means it can be brought into the town.

_Tuesday, August 24th._—Accounts have reached Boossà of the total discomfiture of the Falátahs in the kingdom of _Catsheenah_, where, it is said, there has lately been much fighting; and that every Falátah has been expelled from the city of Catsheenah, which had been occupied by that singular people, ever since the first successes of their prophet and general, Danfodio. Doncassà, who is the true and legitimate king of Hàussa, has been solicited to quit _Màradie_, wherein he has resided for many years, and invited to return to his ancient capital.

The reverses of the Falátahs have not ended here, for the people of the little but fertile kingdom of Zaria, of which Zeg Zeg is the capital, have also, with the assistance of the Bornouese, risen against their conquerors, defeated them in two or three engagements, driven out the Falátahs, and returned to the allegiance of their own native Prince, who was formerly, and will be again, tributary to the sheikh of Bornou. Zaria is not in Hàussa, but adjoins that country; the natives also have a different language from the people of Hàussa. It appears that the faith and confidence which the Falátahs had in the prophetic mission of Danfodio, and which infused in them a degree of boldness, courage, and impetuosity, which is not natural to their dispositions, has not been extended to Bello, his son and successor, and to this is attributed the serious reverses and defeats which they have lately experienced; for though they considered themselves invincible, they are constitutionally as spiritless and cowardly in war, and as indolent in peace, as the original inhabitants.

The sheikh of Bornou has recently issued a proclamation, that no slaves from the interior countries are to be sent for sale farther west than Wowow, so that none will be sent in future from thence to the sea-side. The greatest and most profitable market for slaves is said to be at Timbuctoo, whither their owners at present transport them to sell to the Arabs, who take them over the deserts of Zahara and Libya, to resell in the Barbary states. An Arab has informed us that many of his countrymen trade as far as Turkey in Europe, with their slaves, where they dispose of them for two hundred and fifty dollars each.

_Wednesday, Aug. 25th._—We despatched one of our men, named Ibrahim, this morning, to Coulfò, with our ass, and a quantity of needles to sell. With him the king has sent a messenger, who has been commissioned to visit all the towns and villages on the Nouffie side of the Quorra, as far as the Falátah town of _Rabba_, and to request their chiefs and governors, in the name of the king of Boossà, to suffer us to pass down the river without inquiry or molestation.

Rabba is reported to be four days’ journey from hence by water, and seven by land. It is said to be a fine handsome town, whose inhabitants are rich, numerous, and powerful, and that it is embellished all round with a vast quantity of graceful palm-trees. Indeed, all the palm-oil which is used in this country is brought from thence; and European salt is brought from towns a little farther down the Niger, so that Rabba cannot be a great way from the sea. The old Prince of Wowow intends following the example of the king of this place, by despatching a messenger as far down the Yarriba side of the river as he is acquainted with. Should any of the chiefs be averse to our travelling by water through their territories, they may have it in their power to annoy us and impede our progress, but if the measure should please them, they will be able to render us the most essential service. The Falátahs will be the most difficult people to deal with; they never approve of a foreigner or stranger of consequence coming into their dominions, unless he consent to visit their monarch at Soccatoo. We intended passing Rabba by night and so avoid meeting with any of its inhabitants; but now, as they will receive intelligence of the exact period of our departure from Boossà, and our consequent approach to their town, it is useless to think of shunning them. We never dreamt of requesting such a thing from the king; in fact it met with our decided disapprobation; but he would not listen to our objections, and observed that no exertion should be spared on his part to ensure our safety and promote our intentions, which he could not promise before he had officially acquainted the different chiefs on the banks of the river that the white men were under his protection, and had set out under his auspices, and therefore he hoped and believed, that our persons would be respected, and our property and people held sacred by them all. The messenger is not expected to return for a fortnight, for the journey is long and disagreeable; but whether we shall be obliged to wait till he comes back, we have not yet ascertained.

_Friday, August 27th._—This forenoon we sent Paskoe’s wife to the king for the favour of a little unadulterated salt, because there is such a great quantity of ashes and other spurious ingredients mixed up with that which is publicly sold in the market, that we could never eat it with pleasure. Both king and queen embraced the opportunity of admiring the shape and beauty of the salt-box, and spoke in rapturous terms of the lustre of its appearance, and the ingenuity of its contrivance. ‘Alla, how wonderful!’ said they; ‘even the most trifling articles belonging to the white men are fit for the use of the mightiest kings. Alas! Alla has given them all the glory and riches of the world, and its knowledge, and left none whatever for black men!’

The king was affected! He thrust the vessel into the pocket of his tobe, smoothed it down with his hand, looked melancholy, and said: ‘How nicely it fits! what a beautiful thing! how convenient it would be in travelling.’ He then took it out again, turned it round and round, opened and shut it repeatedly, and then bestowing on it a last commendation, as outrageously as any of the former, it was returned to us filled with genuine salt. Who could not understand the meaning of all this? Now this handsome salt-cellar is of latten, and was formerly a common round tinder-box; and because we had nothing better for the purpose, we deprived it of the candlestick on its cover a short time ago, and converted it to its present use. The tin, moreover, has been burnt off from many parts of it, and Paskoe’s wife not being an admirer of cleanliness, it has lost much of its original brightness. The king’s encomiums were therefore nothing more than an indirect and ingenious solicitation of the article for his own use, which was further apparent by desiring the woman to relate to us no part of the conversation that had passed between them, or in other words, that she should tell us every syllable. We could not help admiring the delicacy of the king, and sent back the tinder-box to him immediately. The bearer was rewarded handsomely for her trouble, and we received as many thanks as when he accepted the silver medal and chain which we had offered him.

It is by such means as this that the chiefs and rulers of this country, ashamed of making a direct application for anything in our possession to which they may have taken a fancy, endeavour to obtain it. If, however, the hint does not succeed in making a visible impression, less delicate measures are presently resorted to; and, when every other expedient fails, they cast aside the reserve and bashfulness which had influenced them at first, and express their meaning in language which cannot be misunderstood. In this respect the chiefs and governors are all alike from Badagry to the metropolis of Yàoorie.

_Tuesday, August 31st._—A messenger with a canoe arrived to-day from the king of Wowow, but it is so very small that it is wholly inadequate for our purpose. This is a most provoking circumstance, because a larger canoe must be procured, and this will occasion much loss of time. Between the chief of Wowow and his sister, the Midīki, we have been completely taken in. Boats of a considerable size, are kept, it is said, at a small town on the banks of the Niger, called _Lever_, and thither we have resolved to proceed as soon as the Boossà messenger shall have returned from Rabba, and get a canoe prepared with as much expedition as possible. The horses given in exchange to the prince of Wowow are large, handsome, and superior animals, worth in England at least sixty pounds, and their value here is little less; yet this canoe, which has been sent us is scarcely worth as many pence. There is infinitely more difficulty, and greater bustle and discussion in simply purchasing a canoe here, than there would be in Europe in drawing up a treaty of peace, or in determining the boundaries of an empire, such vast importance do the people attach to the most trifling matters in the world.

A man also arrived in this city to-day from a town near Jenna, in Yarriba, whither the king had sent him some time since. He reports that a vessel has lately arrived at Badágry, and by the man’s account, she is in all probability a slaver either from the Havana, or from the Brazils.

This is the eve of the much talked of Mahomedan festival, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages, resolving to enjoy themselves in the holidays, are already resorting here in great numbers. The disposition of every one appears to be softened into good nature, by the bare anticipation of the festival, and joy beams from their countenances. The very dogs, which at other times receive unkind treatment, and are always badly used, now run about wagging their tails with an air of cheerfulness and courage which they assume only on such important occasions as these, for they are days of grace and respite to them, poor brutes. Men and women, elated with the thoughts of the pleasure which awaits them to-morrow, are enjoying themselves in singing and dancing, and are seen talking and laughing in every corner; while the younger children, quite naked, are as frolicsome as their grandmothers, and are either rolling on the ground or skipping along the turf like ‘little playful fawns.’ On this extraordinary and momentous occasion, a bullock nearly half grown has been slaughtered by the Midīki, to supply the wants of the good people of Boossà, and those of a great influx of strangers and visiters, so that every one who can afford it may buy and eat. There has been also in the market a more than usual quantity of corn and rice,—indeed nothing is wanting to please the taste, and satisfy the appetite of all, and to render the festivities and rejoicings complete.

A circumstance, however, occurred this morning, which threw a damp and chill on the spirits of the king, and threatened to turn a day of gaiety and enjoyment into one of mourning and sorrow. It appears that a few weeks since, our _quondam_ host, the drummer, was guilty of criminal conversation with the wife of the king’s eldest son, who is governor of a town a few miles from Boossà, and since the affair happened, he has not visited the city till to-day. Nothing would either have been said or done to the drummer by way of censure or punishment, if he had not, like rakes of whiter faces, boasted of his gallantry, and spoken in disrespectful terms of his paramour. When this had reached the ears of the elderly females of the town, in order to vindicate the honour of their sex, and chastise the calumniator, they arose in a body, waylaid the unfortunate musician, and applied their hands and fists so vigorously to his face and person, that he will remember the drubbing as long as he lives. On the arrival of the prince to-day, he sought the drummer to slay him, for he felt his character injured and his honour tarnished; and therefore commanded his attendants to lay violent hands upon him the moment they could find him. Now the drummer had recovered from the effects of the women’s punishment, and was exercising his profession outside the king’s house, totally absorbed in the inspiring music of his instrument, when by the sudden appearance of the prince before him, he started as though he had been in the folds of a serpent. He was self-convicted, and trembled with fear; he knew and felt that no time was to be lost, so uttering a faint cry, he sprang from the spot, fled from the presence of his enemy, drum and all, and ran with astonishing celerity towards a corn-field, where he endeavoured to elude the vigilance of his pursuers. But his instrument was large and clumsy, and becoming entangled in the corn-stocks, he was confused and perplexed, and lost much time in casting it from him. Meantime he was chased by the prince’s servants, who were all armed with large heavy bludgeons, and by them he was soon overtaken. These applied their weapons with such good heart, and so effectually, on the person of the licentious, sinful drummer, that his head was broken, his countenance disfigured, his hands and arms rendered powerless, and the other parts of his body almost pommelled to a mummy. When they were tired of their task, the men desisted from further punishment; and the drummer, covered with blood, by the assistance of people that were passing near at the time, dragged his limbs after him to the king’s house. Here he made a long and grievous complaint to his master, who compassionated the musician, and was so infuriated against his son, that he commanded his servants to behead him instantly. The monarch, however, was restrained from repeating this sanguinary mandate by the supplications of his principal people, who had sided with the prince, and now attempted to justify his conduct, and together with every woman in the place, more especially his own wife, declared that the drummer richly deserved the chastisement which he had received. The wounded man refused at first to be comforted, but he was at length appeased by the condolence and encouraging words of the king, who has made him a present of a handsome tobe; and thus the affair was compromised, and joy again reigned in Boossà.

_Wednesday, September 1st._—Day was drawing to a close, and evening fast approaching, when the king came out of his residence to show himself to his people. He was attended by a number of his head men, with whom he perambulated the town; and afterwards proceeded outside the gates to offer up a short prayer with them to the gods of his religion, for he is still a pagan, as all his fathers were, though he employs Mahomedan priests to pray for his welfare, and intercede with their prophet in his behalf, agreeably to their form of worship. Several musicians were in attendance with drums, fifes, and long Arab trumpets of brass; these men preceded their sovereign, and played lustily on their instruments all the while he was returning to his house. He shortly came out again, and rode slowly up the race-course, attended by people of both sexes most uncouthly dressed, singing and dancing before him, and followed by a party of well-dressed men mounted on mettlesome horses, and equipped as if for war. On our saluting him, the monarch stopped and sent us a goora-nut, which, on such an occasion as this, is considered as a mark of great condescension, and a sign of peculiar favour; and he stayed opposite us at least ten minutes, to give us a fair opportunity of admiring his grandeur, and diverting ourselves by the frolicsome gambols of his attendants. Smiling at our wonderment, and gratified with the respect we paid him by discharging our pistols close to his person, he nodded and passed on. The king was mounted on a fine handsome grey horse, sumptuously caparisoned; while he himself is a noble and commanding figure on horseback, and was dressed extremely well, in a red cap and large turban of the same colour, a silk damask tobe of green and crimson, made full and flowing, red cloth trousers and Arab boots. Groups of well-dressed individuals were scaled under every tree with spears, quivers of arrows, long bows, and ornamented cows’ tails. These latter were flourished about as the people sang; their owners threw them high into the air, and danced at the same time in the most extraordinary manner, and flung their limbs about as though they had been actuated by a supernatural power. Every one was exhilarated and in motion,—both horseman and footman, woman and child. The musicians also, not satisfied by making the whole of Boossà echo with the most grating and outrageous sounds conceivable, both sung, or rather screamed and danced, twisting their mouths, with their exertions, into all manner of wry and comical shapes. The spectacle altogether was odd and grotesque beyond description, and such an one could never enter into the dreams or waking visions of an European. Guns were fired by the king’s followers, and other obstreperous and astounding noises were made by the people. Never did we see the king in a happier mood; his satisfaction seemed to be quite complete. He smiled graciously on all around him; and bestowed many an arch and significant look upon us, as if he would have said, ‘Can _your_ sovereign boast so splendid a retinue as mine, or display so much regal splendour?’

The ceremony was long and fatiguing; and though the king was screened from the sun’s rays by two large ponderous umbrellas, and though two men were standing by, constantly fanning him, yet perspiration stood in large drops upon his forehead, and he appeared nearly exhausted. After our curiosity had been amply gratified, the king rode away, preceded by his singing and dancing women, his musicians, his bowmen, and his spearmen, with all their noise and clamour, and instantly began to make preparations for a horse-race. The course was short, rough, and uneven, and the competition between the riders by no means animated. Indeed the race was of short duration, and very inferior to the horse-racing of either Kiáma or Wowow. The king is a graceful rider, and displayed his horsemanship to much advantage by galloping up and down the course; and, owing to his advantageous stature, his appearance was very becoming. The sun was then setting, and as soon as he had disappeared, the amusements ceased. The people, both strangers and inhabitants, were then collected together before the king’s house, for the purpose of hearing an oration from their monarch; for, in pursuance of an ancient and established practice, the king of Boossà annually harangues his people on the celebration of this festival. The sovereign is at least a head taller than any of his subjects, so that he was a remarkable and conspicuous object to every one of his audience. If such a comparison may be ventured on, the commencement of his speech was in its nature not much unlike that delivered on the opening of parliament by his Majesty of England. The king of Boossà began by assuring his people of the internal tranquillity of the empire, and of the friendly disposition of foreign powers towards him. He then exhorted his hearers to attend to the cultivation of the soil, to work diligently, and live temperately; and concluded with an injunction for them all to be abstemious in the use of beer. He declared that too much indulgence in it was the source of much evil and wretchedness, and the cause of most of the quarrels and disturbances that had taken place in the city. ‘Go; retire to rest soberly and cheerfully,’ said the king, ‘and do as I have requested you, when you will be an example to your neighbours, and win the good opinion and applause of mankind.’ The king’s speech lasted for three-quarters of an hour. He spoke vehemently and with much eloquence; his language was forcible and impressive, and his action appropriate and commanding; and he dismissed the assembly with a graceful and noble air. Instead of a sceptre the monarch flourished the tuft of a lion’s tail.

While the king was haranguing his subjects, and while all of them were listening with respect and attention to the precepts of morality and virtue which he recommended, two of our own men, one of whom was intoxicated, were fighting and blustering, and making a great uproar among the people: my brother endeavoured to separate them, but all his efforts were unavailing and abortive, and he only received severe blows on the breast for his pains. The fight was observed by the king, who seemed distressed and angry, and rode up to the men three different times, and commanded them to forbear and be quiet, but his interference was regarded with no more respect than my brother’s. My brother and I, perceiving that the principal of the fellows would not be pacified by any other means, gave directions that he might immediately be secured. But the people of Boossà are gentle and compassionate in their disposition, and they not only regretted that the man was to receive punishment, but were actually afraid to come near him, for he was wild as a maniac, and our own men were obliged to lay hold of him, and attempted to bind him with ropes. This was no easy matter, for he struggled hard with them; but after an hour’s desperate resistance, they succeeded in securing him, and he was subsequently confined in irons for the night, much against the wishes of the king and his people. This individual, whose name I forbear to mention, is a mulatto, and was born in the British colony of Nova Scotia, from whence he was removed in his childhood, with his parents, to Sierra Leone. While yet a boy, he was sent to sea; and before he had attained to maturity, he had filled the different characters of a slave, a seaman, a pirate, and the master of a vessel. He afterwards volunteered into the British navy, and became a man-of-war’s man; but for a serious misdemeanour, he was flogged through the fleet in the Mediterranean, and deserted in consequence. We found him at Badágry, where he had suffered a fortnight’s imprisonment, by order of Adooley, for theft. When we first saw him, he told us a long and pitiful story, of his having been born a British subject, but falling sick on board of a merchant vessel, which was trading on the coast, he was set on shore about five years ago by orders of his captain, and from that time up to the period of his joining our party at Badágry, he had been a slave to Adooley, for the captain had left him to his fate. As we knew the man would be extremely useful in a canoe, to the management of which he has been accustomed from his infancy, and that he also understood the cleaning and repairing of guns, besides other useful matters, and as we likewise believed his artful tale, we obtained the consent of the Badágrian chief, whose slave he was, to part with him, provided we would pledge ourselves to bring him back with us in safety. In Yarriba, we could by no means complain of his general conduct; he was always willing to do everything we required of him, and was by far the most diligent and useful man of the party. At Boossà and at Yàoorie, however, his evil propensities and bad conduct began to display themselves: he became idle, drunken, and careless, and purloined several little articles, which, intrinsically, were of no value; but in the reduced state of our finances, they were of great consequence to us. Besides which, he is one of the most abandoned creatures in the world; and it was a common practice with him to absent himself from our party several days together, so that we saw nothing of him, and when he returned, was accompanied by complaints from the native women. This man’s conduct has given us both much uneasiness, anxiety, and apprehension; we scarcely know what to do with him, he is so profligate and vicious: we thought of sending him back to Yarriba by a party of men who will leave hence for Keeshee in a day or two, but they dread the thoughts of his company, and refuse to take him along with them for any consideration. He has already threatened the lives of more than one of our men, and they begin to tremble with apprehension for their personal safety. In his sober moments he is quiet, orderly, and good-natured; and it is only when his furious passions are excited by drinking, that he becomes altogether ungovernable, and displays all his fiend-like disposition, to the danger of our lives. We are likewise apprehensive that the natives of the country will entertain but a despicable opinion of us, when they reflect upon the outrageous conduct of this man, for his features are cast in the European mould; he dresses in the English costume, like ourselves; he speaks our language with readiness, and writes it with facility.

_Thursday, September 2nd._—Yesterday was considered as a day of amusement and recreation for men on horseback only; but this has been devoted almost exclusively to dancing and singing, and other trifling diversions, which are more generally relished by people of all ranks, and of both sexes. At an early hour in the morning, the people of the city, with musicians in their train, assembled in large groups, and continued parading the streets all day, and singing and dancing were kept up without intermission till four o’clock in the afternoon. Nothing could surpass the hilarity and general good humour which prevailed among the people during the day. The features of every one were animated with joy. Theirs was no ordinary mirth; for being naturally of a warm- hearted, sanguine disposition, they entered into the sports of the day with a fervency which displayed itself in all manner of extraordinary tricks, gestures, and movements. This was a holiday for all, from the king to the meanest of his subjects. The old seemed to have forgotten their weight of years, the young knew no restraint, and those who before had talked of love in secret, now openly exchanged with each other

‘Quips and cranks, and wanton wiles,

Nods and becks, and wreathed smiles.’

A short relaxation from this tumultuous pastime was now obtained by some in making preparations for joining the king’s party, which was fast collecting at his house. Such diversions as theirs, so highly exciting and gratifying, are nevertheless wearisome to the strongest frame, and in this sultry climate must be particularly so to them. When they had all assembled, they presented a singular, grotesque, and striking appearance. A cluster of between sixty and seventy Falátahs, men, women, and children, were some standing and some sitting in front of the door- way, leading to the interior apartments. Their dresses were remarkably clean, neat, varied, and becoming; the long black hair of the women was ingeniously and prettily braided, and confined in nets and caps; and their flowing garments of striped cotton swept along the ground: the men wore red caps, loose white tobes, and full trousers; and their little children were pleasingly clad and decorated with all the finery and ornaments which their parents had been able to bestow on them. These well-looking Falátahs formed the most interesting and agreeable assemblage of the whole; they had likewise more vivacity in their looks, and more quickness of action than any of their companions. To the right of them, in an enclosure of mud, was seated the Queen of Boossà, dressed loosely, though not inelegantly, in rich English silks, as spectatress of the amusements; behind her were the king’s other wives, and her own female slaves, who were pretty numerous. They formed also a cleanly, decent group, inferior only to the former. On each side of the Falátahs, and behind them, was a great number of other spectators, of all ranks, many of whom were standing, and many sitting on the turf and reclining against the trunks of trees. Most of the men were clad in the Mahomedan costume, with cap, tobe, and trousers; and the majority of the women were dressed in neat and durable country-cloths, which were carelessly thrown over the left shoulder, and reached to the ground, leaving the right arm and shoulder, and part of the right leg, uncovered. A few among them, however, wore common Manchester cottons, of a large, showy, and vulgar pattern, which were infinitely surpassed by their own country cloth.

Although the king had not made his appearance, the amusements were carried on with much animation; and the dancers, far from being tired, seemed to imbibe fresh vigour and renewed activity; whilst the drummers, eight in number, with a fifer as an assistant, continued playing to them. A man first started from the crowd with a bundle of rushes in his hand, like a German broom, which he flourished over his head with inconceivable dexterity. After dancing awhile, he was joined by two Falátah women, who imitated his actions, and partook of his glee. One of them held a little girl by the hand; and the whole four individuals, man, women, and child, continued the dancing till they were completely fatigued, when they were succeeded by another party of three or four, and then another in like manner, so that there was not a moment’s pause in the dance at any time. They kept good time with the music and singing. But instead of the quick, lively motion which is generally observed on similar occasions, the dancers moved with a slow and measured step, in which there was nothing unbecoming or improper, and all seemed consistent with the rules of delicacy. For want of a proper fan, the females used neat round mats of various colours; and it afforded us no little entertainment to see them placed before the mouth whenever they wished to hide their faces, or attempt to conceal their laughter.

Meanwhile, the king was expected by every one with much anxiety and impatience, for as yet he had not been present to witness the diversions of his people; and it was not till past four in the afternoon that he showed himself from one of his huts. His arrival was welcomed by a spirited rally upon the drums, while he took his seat on a stool between the queen’s station and the group of Falátahs, and perceiving us among the crowd, he invited us to place ourselves near his person. Several attendants who had followed their master stood on each side of him, forming, if it may so be called, a ‘guard of honour.’ One of these men held two large bundles of spears, whose points or barbs were confined in caps of burnished brass, on which he rested his head with much solemnity, and with a slight inclination of the body; while from his temples was suspended a huge and enormous hat, made either of grass or rushes, which reached to the ground, and covered him like a shield. Others held loose bundles of spears, fans, and arrows, with the two prodigious Arab trumpets which have before been casually alluded to. Thus attended, the king entered into the spirit of the performances with a merry heart, and a determination to be pleased with them. He appeared to be by far the most delighted spectator of the whole, and signified his approbation by encouraging words and glances to those who danced or sung to his satisfaction. A cheerful smile animated his countenance during the whole time, and caused his features to assume an expression of good humour which it is a particular custom in him never to display so fully except on occasions of public festivity and enjoyment, though he is one of the pleasantest and best-tempered men that we have met with in Africa.

There was an elderly female who danced alone before the king, and by the peculiarity of her looks, and her ludicrous and uncommon gestures, afforded us very great amusement. This woman is a tall, awkward, masculine, and uncomely figure; yet she endeavoured to look so serious at the same time with so arch a countenance, and with a half-averted glance smiled with so much artfulness and loving-kindness on her sovereign and his attendants, dancing at the same time with such an extraordinary motion of her person, that she obtained universal applause. This was a fair challenge to the king; and as soon as she had finished, the monarch himself arose and stepped into the ring to display his acquirements in the art. Every one stood on his legs, out of respect to their sovereign, as well to applaud his dancing, as to obtain a fairer opportunity of beholding his person; and a great press was made by the crowd in consequence, that they might gain a better view of him. The king moved with much stiffness and stateliness, which is at all times unbecoming in a dance; but the populace expressed their admiration of his abilities in shouts of joy, and certainly his attempts to please and amuse them deserved the full extent of applause. To us, however, it does not appear that Nature, which has been so bountiful to this beloved monarch in other respects, has fitted him for so active an amusement as this; for though his size approaches to the majestic, though he walks and rides with equal ease, and though the exercise by no means requires the greatest flexibility of body, his dance to us at least was a complete failure; for he has a foot which may be compared to that of a dromedary in point of size, and his toe is anything but ‘light and fantastic.’ When his first dance, which was much the same as that performed by his people, was concluded, the king began a second by imitating the canter of a native horse when going to war. This, as may be supposed, was an inexpressibly odd and whimsical experiment, but it lasted a short time only; for in a very few minutes he disappeared from the spectators by cantering into one of his huts, followed by the cheers of admiration and the acclamations of every one present.

The sun had now set, and with the departure of the prince the singing and dancing ceased for the evening; nevertheless all the people patiently awaited his return to the spot. Now, of all the celebrated dancers in the country, none can excel or equal the king of Wowow in grace, elegance, and vivacity; and the fame of his skill in this amusement, which is thought so much of in this country, is gone abroad into all lands: every one, even his enemies, acknowledge his superiority in this polite accomplishment; and the envious and malicious are compelled to own that he is without a rival from Bornou to the sea. Yet, notwithstanding his renown as a dancer, the chief is a very aged man, having a most solemn and forbidding aspect; and though he has evidently, to use a common expression, one foot in the grave, he is as active as a boy, and indulges largely in this his favourite amusement every Friday. It was in order for us to witness his elegant dancing, we have been told, that he pressed us with so much earnestness and importunity to spend the holidays at Wowow, which we should certainly have consented to, but for the discouragement our project received from the king of Boossà, who was envious of his celebrity, and therefore compelled, rather than enticed us to remain here, that we might see his personal accomplishments to advantage, witness the public gaiety and festivities of his people, and in his imagination be struck with astonishment and admiration at his own perfection in the art of dancing.

The Boossà people did not wait long for the reappearance of their monarch, for shortly after he came out to them, followed by a boy with two calabashes full of cowries, which were to be distributed among the multitude. But first of all the king took up a handful, and gave to each of the singers, dancers, and musicians, that had contributed so essentially to his entertainment; nor was the tall old woman forgotten, who had danced alone before him, for she received a double allowance. We were rather pleased at this, for she is our next-door neighbour, a poor old woman, who is very chatty and flippant, and has fallen in love with one of our young men, named Antonio. This having been done to the apparent satisfaction of all parties, the remainder of the cowries were scattered by the king’s own hand among the crowd to be scrambled for, which occasioned the most animating and amusing sight that can be conceived. Parents and children, brothers and sisters, strangers and friends, were scrambling and tumbling over each other, some on their faces and some on their knees, both giving and receiving cuffs and kicks in the scuffle to get at the money. This scramble lasted about ten minutes, when the party before the king’s house broke up; but the good- natured monarch, to show his affection for his subjects, whom he indeed regards with as much tenderness as if they were his children, was unwilling to send them to their homes without giving them another last treat, so he danced sideways half way up the race-course and back again to his residence with much stateliness. This was indeed a royal attempt; the midīki smiled with delight that she had _such_ a spouse; the people were louder than ever in their shouts of approbation; all was noise, tumult, and confusion; their sovereign was more beloved than ever he had been; and as the evening closed in, silence was gradually restored, and the people retired to their homes. This was the last of the holidays, and the proceedings of this day have concluded their festivities.

About ten o’clock at night, when we were sleeping on our mats, we were suddenly awoke by a great cry of distress from innumerable voices, attended by a horrid clashing and clattering noise, which the hour of the night tended to make more terrific. Before we had time to recover from our surprise, old Pascoe rushed breathless into our hut, and informed us with a trembling voice that ‘the sun was dragging the moon across the heavens.’ Wondering what could be the meaning of so strange and ridiculous a story, we ran out of the hut half dressed, and we discovered that the moon was totally eclipsed. A number of people were gathered together in our yard, in dreadful apprehension that the world was at an end, and that this was but the ‘beginning of sorrows.’ We learnt from them that the Mahomedan priests residing in the city, having personified the sun and moon, had told the king and the people that the eclipse was occasioned through the obstinacy and disobedience of the latter luminary. They said that for a long time previously the moon had been displeased with the path she had been compelled to take through the heavens, because it was filled with thorns and briers, and obstructed with a thousand other difficulties; and therefore that, having watched for a favourable opportunity, she had this evening deserted her usual track, and entered into that of the sun. She had not, however, travelled far up the sky, on the forbidden road, before the circumstance was discovered by the sun, who immediately hastened to her in his anger, and punished her dereliction by clothing her in darkness, forcing her back to her own territories, and forbidding her to shed her light upon the earth. This story, whimsical as it may seem, was received with implicit confidence in its truth by the king and queen, and most of the people of Boossà; and the cause of the noises which we had heard, and which were still continuing with renewed vehemence, was explained to us by the fact that they were all ‘assembled together in the hope of being able to frighten away the sun to his proper sphere, and leave the moon to enlighten the world as at other times.’ This is much after the manner of many savage nations.

While our informant was yet speaking to us, a messenger arrived at our yard from the king, to tell us the above tale, and with an invitation to come to see him immediately. Therefore, slipping on the remainder of our clothes, we followed the man to the residence of his sovereign, from outside of which the cries proceeded, and here we found the king and his timid partner sitting on the ground. Their usual good spirits and cheerful behaviour had forsaken them entirely; both appeared overwhelmed with apprehension, and trembled at every joint. Like all their subjects, in the hurry of fear and the suddenness of the alarm, they had come out of their dwellings half dressed, the head and legs, and the upper part of their persons, being entirely exposed. We soon succeeded in quelling their fears, or at least in diminishing their apprehension. The king then observed, that neither himself nor the oldest of his subjects recollected seeing but one eclipse of the moon besides the one he was gazing at; that it had occurred exactly when the Falátahs began to be formidable in the country, and that it had forewarned them of all the wars, disasters, and calamities, which subsequently took place.

We had seated ourselves opposite to the king and queen, and within two or three feet of them, where we could readily observe the moon and the people without inconvenience, and carry on the conversation at the same time. If the royal couple shuddered with terror on beholding the darkened moon, we were scarcely less affected by the savage gestures of those within a few yards of us, and by their repeated cries, so wild, so loud, and so piercing, that an indescribable sensation of horror stole over us, and rendered us almost as nervous as those whom we had come to comfort. The earlier part of the evening had been mild, serene, and remarkably pleasant; the moon had arisen with uncommon lustre, and being at the full, her appearance was extremely delightful. It was the conclusion of the holidays, and many of the people were enjoying the delicious coolness of a serene night, and resting from the laborious exertions of the day; but when the moon became gradually obscured, fear overcame every one. As the eclipse increased, they became more terrified. All ran in great distress to inform their sovereign of the circumstance, for there was not a single cloud to cause so deep a shadow, and they could not comprehend the nature or meaning of an eclipse. The king was as easily frightened as his people, being equally simple and ignorant; he would not therefore suffer them to depart. Numbers sometimes beget courage and confidence, he thought; so he commanded them to remain near his person, and to do all in their power to restore the lost glory of the moon.

In front of the king’s house, and almost close to it, are a few magnificent cotton-trees, round which the soil had been freed from grass, &c., for the celebration of the games. On this spot were the terrified people assembled, with every instrument capable of making a noise which could be procured in the whole town. They had formed themselves into a large treble circle, and continued running round with amazing velocity, crying, shouting, and groaning with all their might. They tossed and flung their heads about, twisted their bodies into all manner of contortions, jumped into the air, stamped with their feet on the ground, and flourished their hands above their heads. No scene in the romance of Robinson Crusoe was so wild and savage as this; and a large wood fire, with a few men spitted and roasting before it, was alone wanting to render it complete! Little boys and girls were outside the ring, running to and fro, clashing empty calabashes against each other, and crying bitterly; groups of men were blowing on trumpets, which produced a harsh and discordant sound; some were employed in beating old drums; others again were blowing on bullock’s horns; and in the short intervals between the rapid succession of all these fiend-like noises, was heard one more dismal than the rest, proceeding from an iron tube, accompanied by the clinking of chains. Indeed, everything that _could_ increase the uproar was put in requisition on this memorable occasion; nor did it cease till midnight, when the eclipse had passed away. Never have we witnessed so extraordinary a scene as this. The diminished light, when the eclipse was complete, was just sufficient to enable us to distinguish the various groups of people, and contributed in no small degree to render the scene still more imposing. If an European, a stranger to Africa, were to be placed on a sudden in the midst of the terror-struck people, he would imagine himself to be among a legion of demons, holding a revel over a fallen spirit; so peculiarly unearthly, wild, and horrifying was the appearance of the dancing group, and the clamour which they made. It was perhaps fortunate for us that we had an almanac with us, which foretold the eclipse; for although we neglected to inform the king of this circumstance, we were yet enabled to tell him and his people the exact time of its disappearance. This succeeded in some measure in suppressing their fears, for they would believe anything we might tell them; and perhaps, also, it has procured for us a lasting reputation ‘and a name.’ ‘Oh,’ said the king, ‘there will be sorrow and crying this night from Wowow to Yàoorie. The people will have no one to comfort or condole with them; they will fancy this eclipse to be the harbinger of something very dreadful; and they will be in distress and trouble till the moon shall have regained her brightness.’ It was nearly one o’clock when we left the king and queen, to return to our hut; everything was then calm and silent, and we lay down to rest in peace.

_Friday, September 3d._—The king’s messenger came to us this morning with the intelligence that his master had caught cold by exposing himself the preceding night, and was confined to his apartment with severe pains in the bowels. We have also to complain of a similar indisposition. One of our men, who offended so grossly at the horse- racing two days ago, has been liberated, and appears ashamed of himself and truly penitent. He promises to abstain from drink in future, to deport himself soberly and orderly, to lay aside all thoughts of revenge, and to be ready and willing at all times to do anything which may be required of him. Notwithstanding his protestations, however, we are resolved to place our guns and ammunition beyond his reach, together with all edged instruments whatsoever; for heretofore his temper has been known to be sullen, furious, and unforgiving, which may yet lead to disastrous consequences, and may involve us in difficulties.

_Monday, September 6th._—The man we sent to Coulfò, a fortnight since, to sell our ass, needles, &c., is not yet returned to Boossà, though he has exceeded the period we had specified for his absence by three or four days. Fearing that something unpleasant may have happened to him, we this day despatched one of the king’s people to Coulfò, in order to ascertain the cause of his delay; and if nothing detains him more than a want of sale for his goods, he is to return instantly with this messenger, rather than put us to inconvenience by a longer stay in that city.