Chapter XII (2)

The Niger is now completely full, and in many places its banks are already overflowed, so that it is extremely favourable for our proceeding down the river. With the change in the moon, however, we have had a constant succession of heavy showers, which have compelled us all day long to remain within doors, in a close, black, and smoky hut; having the disadvantage of damp, dirty walls, and of being pestered with myriads of black and white ants; and so long as the rains continue, we shall be able to take no other kind of exercise than that of moving round this miserable abode, like prisoners in a condemned cell. It is perhaps fortunate, after all, that our canoe has not been got ready so soon as we had anticipated, for constant exposure to the rains upon the water, in an open boat, would be extremely unpleasant. Yet it is time that we should leave Boossà, for in spite of the friendship of the king and queen, more especially of the latter, which is declining very fast indeed, their benevolent feelings are growing colder every day; our resources at the same time are diminishing rapidly, and when they are gone, we know not what we shall do. We now receive only a calabash of _caffas_ (a kind of dough or paste) from the king once in three days, so that we are compelled to eat them, at times, either in a state of putridity, or go without; and our men are half-famished, from the careless inattention, or perhaps from the wilful negligence of the midīki; we cannot, like the camelion, live upon air, and we have not a single cowrie to spare to purchase provisions. Our powder is reduced to a very small quantity, and in all probability we have not half so much as we shall require on the Niger; so that for some time past we have relinquished our sporting excursions altogether, though these once afforded us an ample supply of game for the consumption of our whole party.

Caffas are little cakes made of meal and water boiled together. There are several different kinds of corn at Boossà, all of which are also made into caffas. The method of separating the grain from the husk, is by cutting the ears from the stalk and placing them in a kind of wooden mortar, in which they are subjected to pressure from a heavy piece of wood. The whole is then exposed to the wind on an elevated situation, by which the husk is blown away. The process of grinding the corn is performed on a large stone slab, with another heavy stone which is worked by the hand. The slab is placed for the sake of convenience in an inclined position, and is sufficiently large only for the person to perform the operation on his knees, and it is one which requires no little exertion. Their only method of cooking the meal when thus prepared, is by boiling it with water to the consistency of thick paste, in which state it is poured out in small portions on leaves, and laid by for use.

_Wednesday, Sept. 8th._—Messengers from the king of Borgoo arrived this morning in the city from the metropolis of Niki, accompanied by a few of the principal merchants of a large _fatàkie_, which is now resting at Zalee, a small town about two hours’ walk to the westward of Boossà, and which we passed through on our journey. These men are on their way to the more easterly parts of the continent. They say here, that about twelve months since, a fatàkie consisting of an extraordinary number of traders, with horses and other beasts of burden, laden with merchandise, were travelling through Borgoo, on their route to Gonja, whither they were going to purchase the goora or kola nut. They were attacked, however, and plundered by the soldiers of Niki and Kiàma, who had laid in ambush for them; and rumour says, that the princes of those countries shared the booty between them. It happened that in the train of these merchants, and who in fact formed part of the fatàkie, were six men from Boossà; and when the news of their disaster and enslavement was communicated to their king, he is said to have been irritated in the highest degree, insomuch that he instantly despatched men with a peremptory message to the sultan of Borgoo, to liberate his captured subjects, and restore to them their horses and property, or prepare for the consequences of his resentment in case of a refusal. This message was treated with contemptuous indifference by the Niki sovereign, and he returned to the monarch of Boossà a haughty and disdainful answer. But as soon as the latter heard it, he assembled the priests of the ancient religion of the country of which he is the head, and by their joint assistance, it is said, he made a powerful enchantment, by which the legs and arms of his enemy became entirely useless. The king of Borgoo finding himself in this helpless state, and his conscience reproaching him with the cause of it, he immediately liberated the Boossà merchants, restored to them their horses and property, and forwarded the messengers we have already spoken of as having arrived to-day from Niki, to solicit forgiveness of the king of Boossà, for the crime which he had perpetrated, and implore that the spell which bound and was consuming him might be dissolved forthwith. The men came loaded with presents of goora-nuts, &c., and they have been joyfully received. Perhaps the Borgoo monarch hastened to make restitution for his offence, not on account of his enchantment, as these people imagine, but rather from public and political considerations; for, in consequence of the above quarrel, several of his towns had been taken possession of by the king of Boossà, which will now be abandoned, if the differences be amicably adjusted between the parties, that their inhabitants may be permitted to return to their former allegiance. The king of Boossà was restrained from making further conquests in Borgoo, only by the interference of the king of Wowow, who represented to him that the revenge he had already taken was more than proportionate to the offence that had been committed against him, and that he ought to rest satisfied therewith. The Niki messengers have been treated with the greatest respect, and the most generous hospitality.

Like all earthly things, the pleasure and satisfaction excited by the novelty of our persons have passed away, and we are no longer either the objects of care and attention from the king and his midīki, or of curiosity among the natives. If we stay here much longer, this neglect on the part of the former will become alarming. No provisions have been sent us to-day, and our wants have been entirely lost sight of in the important arrival of these messengers from Borgoo. All has been joy in consequence; music and its usual accompaniments of discordant sounds have been going forward since; and bustle and confusion prevail throughout the city. Our people alone are sad, for they have nothing to eat.

_Thursday, Sept. 9th._—The fatàkie mentioned yesterday as being at Zalee on the road to this city, arrived here this forenoon, preceded by a drummer on horseback, as usual, to animate the party by the sound of his instrument. They entered Boossà one by one, which is their usual method of travelling, and formed a very long train, the chief merchant of the whole bringing up the rear. This company consists of about four hundred individuals; and they have a great number of fine horses, a few mules, and two hundred asses, to carry their luggage. Their chief, and in fact their only merchandise, is the goora-nut, for which they have been to Gonja, a place only a few days’ journey from Accra.

Gonja was till very recently a province of Ashantee, and inhabited by a people between whom and the Ashantees there is no manner of difference whatever, the manners, language, religion, and pursuits of both being precisely the same. But these goora merchants report that it has lately been separated from that empire, and is now an independent state. They say, that preceding the commencement of hostilities between the Ashantees and the British at Cape Coast Castle, &c., and their allies the Fantees, the former power requested the assistance of the people of Gonja in a premeditated attack against their enemies, which was objected to on the ground that the British had not offended them, and therefore they disliked coming to an open rupture with our countrymen. Nothing was said at the time by the King of Ashantee concerning the refusal of the men of Gonja to assist him in the war; and when his subjects returned to Coomassie in triumph, after having defeated and slain Sir C. Macarthy, he seemed to have forgotten it altogether. For some time after his total defeat by the British at Cape Coast Castle, he was still silent. But when he had recovered from the wounds he had received at this sanguinary battle, and the harmony of his subjects had been completely restored, he considered that then was the most proper time for punishing Gonja for its disobedience. For this purpose, say the merchants, he assembled a body of ten thousand men, most of whom were armed with muskets, and sent them, under the command of chosen captains, against the devoted province. But in the mean time the people of Gonja had been by no means inactive, for having heard of the great preparations that were making at Coomassie, and being convinced that those preparations were designed against their own lives and liberties, they formed a plan of attacking their invaders and defeating their project, which succeeded to the utmost of their wishes, and even beyond their expectations. When they had learnt from a swift-footed messenger of the departure of the Ashantee army from Coomassie, and the road which they had taken, they stationed large bodies of stout, well-armed men in ambuscade at various places in the bush, close to the pathway, and awaited the coming of the foe. While the latter was drawing near to Gonja, not suspecting danger of any kind, and straggling about in imagined security, the men in ambush rushed out upon them, made a sudden and desperate attack on their whole force at the same moment, which threw the Ashantees into confusion, and the latter, dropping their arms, fled into the woods. The carnage is reported to have been dreadful. The conquerors gathered up the arms of their enemies, sung a song of victory, and returned in triumph to the city of Gonja.

The king of Ashantee, according to the accounts of the merchants, on being informed of this disastrous and unlooked for event, was more exasperated than ever against the successful party, and vowed revenge against them, their city, and their country. He therefore, very shortly after the failure of the first expedition, sent another army, stronger than the former, with a command to destroy the rebellious city, and annihilate its inhabitants entirely. This news spread consternation among all classes of people in Gonja, and alarmed the strangers that had located in the country, insomuch that, on the advance of this second formidable army, they could not command sufficient resolution to go out against it, but deserted their dwellings and dispersed themselves through all parts of the adjacent countries, till such time as their enemies should think proper to return to Coomassie. It is almost unnecessary to add, that the city of Gonja was set on fire by the Ashantee soldiers, in pursuance of their commands, and every house in it burnt to ashes. The people, however, fancying the king’s wrath to be sufficiently appeased, were beginning to return again from the places of their concealment, on the departure of the fatakie, and were busily engaged in reconstructing their habitations.

We do not place entire confidence in this tale, for almost every African is guilty of gross exaggeration in his statements, and too many of them are confirmed liars; so that, after all, the above story may only be _founded_ on fact.

_Friday, Sept. 10th._—Ever since the arrival of the Borgoo messengers, nothing else is heard in the city but music, which is continued from sunrise to sunset; and the long Arab trumpets are likewise sounded constantly in the middle of the night, the king taking this whimsical method of displaying his consequence and grandeur to the foreigners, which has amused us not a little. The dress of these Borgoo men differs but slightly from that which is worn by the people of Boossà and the neighbouring nations. We were favoured with a visit from them to-day, and their behaviour was remarkably decorous, though at first somewhat reserved. In their address they are extremely humble; and when they accost a superior, they prostrate themselves on the ground in the most abject and humiliating manner. Their chief is an elderly, quiet, respectable man, and professes the Mahomedan religion. On his entrance into our hut, this forenoon, he had so little confidence in himself, and was so timorous, that he could not speak; he shook like a leaf, and his lips also quivered from fear; indeed, the poor man was distressingly agitated,—perhaps he thought that we were going to devour him: but he regained his assurance when he found that such was not our intention, and in a very few minutes he became chatty, agreeable, and communicative.

We have received two messes from the king lately, one consisting of a dish of stewed elephant’s flesh, and the other of the flesh of an hippopotamus, which had been caught in the Niger a short time before. The latter was rank and fat, and bore a greater resemblance to pork than to any other meat with which we are acquainted, yet it is considered delicate and delicious eating.

The method adopted by the natives of destroying the elephant is very simple. A large harpoon is thrust into the ground, in the middle of a path which they are known to frequent in their nightly excursions to the river for water, leaving the ragged points of the instrument above the ground in an inclined position, and concealing them with straw or stubble. The heavy beast, unsuspicious of danger, pursues the usual track with his companions; he comes in contact with the harpoon, which enters his breast or belly, and having no sagacity to draw back, the elephant, smarting with pain, forces himself forwards with all his might, which causes the weapon to penetrate still more deeply into his body, and he thus becomes a prey to his destroyers. Considering the vast number of elephants which inhabit the woods on the banks of the Niger hereabouts, it is singular that so few of them are annually destroyed by the natives. Perhaps one reason is the little encouragement they receive for their trouble; for the flesh of these beasts, except when very young, is almost unsaleable, by reason of its toughness and rancid nature; their teeth also are valueless here, no use whatever being made of them.

_Saturday, September 11th._—Our ears were saluted just after day-break this morning, by a dreadful noise between a man and his wife, who were squabbling about some money matters, and, as is usual in such cases, they were surrounded by all their female neighbours, whose clatter exceeded, if possible, their own. They are slaves of the midīki, and reside in our yard, within a door or two of our hut. The quarrel terminated in blows and tears, which was instantly made known to the queen, who commanded the delinquents to appear before her, and having entered into all the circumstances of the case, the differences between them were adjusted on the spot. The woman accused her husband of having stolen from the place where she had concealed them, no less than four hundred cowries, which was the original cause of the dispute. The accusation could not be denied; and the man endeavoured to soothe his wife by gentle words, and bring her into good humour by flattery, and expressed contrition for his offence; but this aroused the anger of the furious woman, who abused her husband with all the reproachful epithets she could make use of; and though she was blubbering all the while, she would have gone a still greater length, if he had not stopped her mouth by a severe beating. So little tenderness or sociability exists between a married couple, particularly if they should happen to be slaves, that they have nothing in common; and though they eat and sleep in the same hut, they seek a separate livelihood.

Perhaps it would be speaking within compass to say, that four-fifths of the whole population, not only in this country, but likewise every other hereabouts, are slaves. Many of them are permitted to roam at large, provided they attend upon their masters when called upon; these procure their own subsistence, and devote part of their time to the service of their owners: others reside in the houses of their masters as domestic servants, and are likewise expected to contribute towards their own support. The Queen of Boossà has a great number of Falátah slaves; the men are constantly employed in taking care of her herds, and milking the cows, and the females dispose of the milk; half of the money obtained by this means, the Falátahs keep to maintain themselves. Thus are the slaves treated in their native country—they enjoy much freedom; are never overworked; have plenty of leisure time, and are rarely punished, and even then but slightly. If a slave run away from his master, and is afterwards taken and brought back, he is simply confined in irons a day or two for his offence; but he is sold to another the first opportunity. The natives have a strong antipathy to flogging, or severe chastisement of any kind, and very seldom have recourse to the means of punishment which they have in their power to inflict.

_Sunday, September 12th._—Our man, who has been expected with some anxiety and apprehension for his safety, arrived this afternoon from the city of Coulfò, but with very little money indeed, having disposed of the ass for less than half its value, and sold, comparatively speaking, a very small quantity of needles. The remainder, which were valued at thirty thousand cowries, were stolen from him, he asserts, a few days before his departure; but we strongly suspect that this is a falsehood, and that the fellow has converted them to his own use. Since the messenger to Rabba left Boossà on his errand, we have heard no intelligence whatever concerning him; and as every thing is now ripe for our enterprise, we begin to feel impatient and uneasy at our long, and to us, unnecessary detention in this place, and the irksomeness of our present dependent situation; for we are often troubled with painful apprehensions and surmises, that something unpleasant may yet intervene to frustrate our intentions, embarrass us with difficulties, and extinguish all our anticipations of success.

The king had not visited us for a fortnight, and therefore we sent a message to him this forenoon, intimating the great anxiety we felt to proceed on our journey, and our earnest hope that he would permit us to do so immediately, even before the return of his messenger from Nouffie. We complained that we were destitute of almost everything; that we were wearied out with repeated disappointments, and with having nothing to do for so long a time; that our health was fast declining, and our life wasting away; and concluded by assuring him, that if we did not quickly return to our country, the worst consequences might ensue, and then what would become of his good name? To this the king made answer, that it was our future welfare alone, which had induced him to take those measures and precautions which he perceived with sorrow we disapproved of and disliked so much; that we did not display our wisdom by our impatience; and that to attempt proceeding down the river before the return of his ambassador, would, in his opinion, be not only presumptuous and improper, but would likewise be highly injurious to our interests.

The king promised to come and see us in the evening, and talk over the matter with us himself. According to his promise, therefore, he paid us a visit at the time appointed, and recapitulated that which he had before told Paskoe, but added that it would be absolutely necessary for us to make a good present to the King of Nouffie, and another to the Falátah chief of Rabba. He then gave broad hints for one of our pistols, which he admired in the usual way; but as we were not _obliged_ to comprehend his enigmas, and as we could ill spare the pistol, we appeared very stupid, and would not understand his meaning. The king shortly afterwards took his leave, yet he was by no means angry at the failure of his ingenious device. In respect to his recommendation that we should endeavour all in our power to make friends of the King of Nouffie and the Chief of Rabba, we have nothing left worthy of their acceptance, and shall therefore attempt to shun one of these rulers at least.

_Monday, September 13th._—It is reported here, that _El Kanemee_, the celebrated Arab so often spoken of in Major Denham’s Journal, has fallen into disgrace with the Sultan of Bornou, who has had him imprisoned, and would have punished him with death, but for the interposition and remonstrances of the Mahomedan priests in the capital, who diverted him from his purpose by a solemn declaration, that if he should carry his resentment to such an extremity, there would be no rain in the country for seven years, for so their book, the Alcoran, had predicted; but that if the Sultan would be merciful, and resort to a milder punishment by liberating the Arab after a short confinement, these prophetic priests promised him that ‘his horse should certainly drink of the waters of the Quorra,’ that is, he should vanquish all his enemies that were at that time between Bornou and the Niger, at the end of three years. The superstitious prince hearkened to these sayings of the crafty priests, and set his minister at liberty after a short imprisonment. The Arab was accused by the sultan of treasonable practices, and of having in particular made various attempts to obtain the affection of the people, by caresses and flattery, and of enticing them to revolt, so that he might at a future day usurp the rights of his sovereign, and cause himself to be proclaimed sultan in his stead.

_Tuesday, September 14th._—The same superstitious notions and prejudices respecting witches, wizards, and ill-wishers, and the same belief in necromancy, prevail here at this day, as were current in enlightened Europe as recently as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The king sent a messenger this morning to request the favour of a couple of charges of powder, stating that two women had absconded to _Foco_, which is a town on the banks of the Niger, a little way below Inguâzhilligee, and that if it should be found necessary, the powder might be used to frighten the runagates into a compliance with the wishes of their pursuers. In the evening the women, who had surrendered themselves at Foco, landed here from a canoe, and were immediately put in confinement. We are told that these two poor old creatures resided on an island a little way up the Niger, and were lately accused by their town’s people of the crime of witchcraft, and with two old wizards, their neighbours and friends, of ‘_having eaten the spirits of five individuals_,’ who all are said to have died by this means. The men, aware of the persecution and the fate that awaited them should they be taken, succeeded in making their escape as soon as this crime was laid to their charge; but the females were not quite so fortunate, for the place of their concealment was made known to the king, and he caused them to be apprehended, as above mentioned. One of the reputed witches is a very aged woman, but her companion is not quite so old. The punishment that awaits them is perpetual slavery, whereas if the men had been caught, they would have been bound hand and foot, and flung into the Niger, and there left to perish. All witches, wizards, and ill-wishers, are treated in the same manner; the punishment of witches not being so rigorous as that of their male associates in the black art, in consideration of their sex. The belief in their power is very general, and instances of people fancying themselves bewitched, and suffering from their malignant incantations, are by no means uncommon.

_Saturday, September 18th._—During the last fourteen days my brother had been extremely indisposed from a slight attack of bilious fever, which has brought him to a very low and languid state, insomuch that I urged the king on Wednesday to send us away, to try if change of air and scene would not produce a beneficial effect on his health. The monarch, after many scruples and much hesitation, at length appointed the second day of the moon, that being, he pronounced, the happiest and luckiest of all days. He could not, however, forbear expressing his deep regret at our determination of leaving Boossà before the return of his messenger from Nouffie; it might be detrimental to our personal interests, and his own reputation also would suffer if any thing should befall us on the river, but he had already given his word for our departure, and from this promise he could not swerve. To-day is the second of the moon, but the Africans calculate upon it as the first only, because they never see that orb plainly till the second time of her appearance. This afternoon we wished to pay our respects to the king, previous to our departure, which we understood was to take place to-morrow morning, but to our surprise he asserted that the moon would not be discernible that evening, and therefore that Monday next will be the day which was specified. The moon, however, _did_ shine fairly in sight of all the people; nevertheless we have made no further remark to the prince on the subject, thinking it might confuse and irritate him.

_Sunday, September 19th._—This morning we were so unlucky as to upset a large bowl of milk, one of which we are daily supplied with from the king’s house. We sent to have it replenished, because in our present circumstances we could ill afford to lose so great a luxury. Instead of gratifying us in this particular, however, he expressed himself quite overjoyed at the circumstance, and asserted that it was the most happy omen in the world, and that we ought to consider ourselves as peculiarly favoured and fortunate. So we were obliged to content ourselves without breakfast, of which the accident had deprived us, because of the superstitious nonsense of the monarch.

Everything is now got ready for starting. As it is not our present intention to call at many inhabited places on the banks of the Niger, we have provided ourselves with a great quantity of provisions, which consists chiefly of three large bags of corn and one of beans. We have likewise a couple of fowls and two sheep, so that we are of opinion we shall have food enough for all hands for three weeks or a month at least. To add to our stock, the king and midīki between them have given us a considerable quantity of rice, honey, corn, and onions; and two large pots of vegetable butter, which weigh not less than a hundred pounds.

This afternoon, to our unspeakable joy, the long-expected and wished-for messenger arrived in this city from Rabba, accompanied by two messengers from the king of Nouffie, one of whom, a modest-looking, respectable young man, is his own son. These men are to be our guides as far as Rabba, after we have passed which city, all the Nouffie territory to the southward is under the _surveillance_ of Ederesa and his partisans. ‘The Magīa,’ says the Boossà ambassador, ‘was delighted with the intelligence that white men were to honour his dominions with their presence; he showed me the presents made him by Captain Clapperton three years ago, and said a great deal in his favour and commendation. And as a proof,’ continued the man, ‘of his friendly disposition towards you, and his interest in your welfare, he has not only sent his son as your companion and guide, but he has likewise despatched a messenger to every town on the banks of the Niger, either considerable or unimportant, even as far as Funda, which is beyond the limits of the empire; and he is commissioned to acquaint their inhabitants of the fact of your intention of proceeding down the river, and to desire them to assist you with their encouragement and support, so far as it lies in their power to do.’

After some little consideration, we knew not whether we ought to feel pleasure or regret, thankfulness or indifference, at the arrival of these men, and the occasion which brought them hither: at present we can only foresee that they will be a heavy burden on our funds; and as it happens that we have the utmost difficulty in the world in supporting ourselves, it will cause us additional trouble, expense, and uneasiness, in providing them with the bare necessaries of life. The king, however, had but one feeling on the subject, and that was unbounded delight; he capered around his hut with transport, when he saw our guides and heard their message; and after a burst of joy, he began to cry like a child, his heart was so full. ‘Now,’ said he, when he had become more composed, ‘whatever may happen to the white men, my neighbours cannot but acknowledge that I have taken every care of them, treated them as became a king, and done my best to promote their happiness and interests. They will not be able,’ continued the monarch with exultation, ‘they dare not have the effrontery to cast at me a reproach like that which they bestowed upon my ancestor. I can now safely entrust the white men to the care, protection, and hospitality of a neighbouring monarch, who, I am convinced, if not for my sake, at least for his own, will receive and entertain them with every mark of distinction and kindness. I know and feel that towards them I have done my duty, and let my neighbours see to it that they do theirs.’ And so he has, for though we have been his guests for so long a time, and been occasionally not a little troublesome to him with our importunity, yet we have observed nothing either in his manners or character to condemn, but much, very much, to approve of and admire. His disposition is open and ingenuous, and his sentiments candid and sincere; no child is more simple, innocent, and unsuspicious than he. The little we have had to complain of is owing to our detention here longer than we wished; but then, perhaps, we have been a little too hasty and petulant, and it must likewise be remembered that in regard to us the king’s reputation and honour were at stake, and after all he may be perfectly right in his opinions and conjectures.

This evening an old Mahomedan priest, whose countenance seemed to radiate with meekness, simplicity, loving-kindness, and good-nature, entered our dwelling, and entreated us with earnest importunity to give him before our departure a quantity of deadly poison, a very small portion of which he wished might destroy life in a few moments after it should be taken. The hoary old villain did not hesitate to confess, in confidence, that his motive for making this strange request arose from the desire he felt to administer the poisonous drug to a neighbour, whom he longed to put out of the world, because he had done him some slight imaginary wrong. Of course we execrated the horrid intention of the man, who, rather than listen longer to our reproaches, turned his face and walked away. In the night Boossà was visited by a thunder-storm. During the time we have been at Boossà, the thermometer has ranged between 76° and 93°, but it has most generally been between 80° and 90°, and the weather very oppressive.