Chapter XXV (1)

Having now completed our preparatory analysis of the principal travels for the exploration of the interior of Africa, we proceed to enter upon those in which Richard Lander was remotely or closely connected, as the coadjutor or the principal, and to whose perseverance and undaunted courage, we are indebted for some of the most important information respecting the interior of Africa, particularly in the solution of the great geographical problem of the termination of the Niger. At the time when Lander was ransomed by Captain Laing, of the Maria of London, belonging to Messrs. Forster and Smith, the papers, which he had with him respecting the travels which he had performed, as the servant of Captain Clapperton, who had been promoted on his return from his first expedition, were not very voluminous. In our personal intercourse with him, however, he unreservedly dictated to us many interesting particulars respecting his travels, whilst in the service of Captain Clapperton, which are not to be found in his published narrative, and particularly of the occurrences which took place at Whidah, in the kingdom of Dahomey, on their passage through that territory, in fulfilment of the object of their mission to sultan Bello of Sockatoo.

Although the second expedition of Clapperton is ostensibly published under his name, yet it is generally known, that but for the information given by Lander on his return, after the death of Captain Clapperton, very little would have transpired relative to any discoveries which had been made, or towards an elucidation of those geographical and statistical objects, for which the expedition was undertaken. We are therefore more disposed to award the merit where it is most particularly due, for although in accordance with the received notion, that whatever was accomplished in the second expedition, is to be attributed to Clapperton, yet, from our private resources, we are enabled not only to supply many deficiencies in the published accounts of Clapperton's second expedition, gathered from the oral communication of Lander himself, but also to give a description of many interesting scenes, which throw a distinct light upon the character of the natives, their progress towards civilisation, and the extent of their commercial relations.

It may be remembered that when Clapperton took his leave of the sultan at Sockatoo, he delivered into his hands a letter for the king of England, in consequence of several conversations that had passed between him and Clapperton, touching the establishment of some commercial relations between England and the central kingdoms of Africa. In that letter the sultan proposed three things:--the establishment of a friendly intercourse between the two nations by means of a consul, who was to reside at the _seaport_ of Raka; the delivery of certain presents described, at the port of Fundah, supposed to be somewhere near Whidah, and the prohibition of the exportation of slaves, by any of the Houssa merchants, to Atagher, Dahomy, or Ashantee.

No doubt whatever rested on the mind of Lander, that Clapperton was in some respects made the dupe of the pride, pomposity, and deception of the African sultan. It may be remembered that the sultan offered him land on the sea coast, on which to form a settlement, when it was subsequently discovered, that he was not in possession of an inch of territory within several hundred miles of the sea; the _seaport_ of Raka was nearly similar to Sancho Panza's Island Barrataria, it was not to be found in any existing map, and it will be seen in the sequel, that the people resident on the sea coast knew as little of sultan Bello of Sockatoo, as he knew of them, although, according to his own report, the greater part of the sea coast belonged to him.

On the arrival of Clapperton in England, Lord Bathurst, then secretary of state for the colonies, conceived the proposals contained in the sultan's letter, to afford a fair opportunity for endeavouring to carry into effect objects of such considerable importance, and Clapperton immediately volunteered his services for the occasion. He had arranged with sultan Bello, that his messengers should about a certain time be at Whidah, to conduct the presents and the bearers to Sockatoo. Clapperton was allowed to take with him on this novel and hazardous enterprise two associates, one of whom was Captain Pearce of the navy, an excellent draughtsman, and the other Dr. Morrison, a surgeon in the navy, well versed in various branches of natural history; and at his particular request, a fellow countryman of the name of Dickson, who had served as a surgeon in the West Indies, was added to the list; Richard Lander accompanying Captain Clapperton in the capacity of a servant.

The travellers embarked on board his majesty's ship Brazen, on the 25th August 1825, and arrived off Whidah on the 26th of the following November. Mr. Dickson landed at Whidah, for reasons which do not appear in the narrative of Clapperton's expedition, but which have been fully stated to us by Lander, to whom we are indebted for the information which we now lay before our readers of the kingdom of Dahomy, its natives, customs, natural productions, and commercial advantages.

Mr. Dickson, accompanied with a Portuguese of the name of De Sousa, proceeded from Whidah to Dahomy, where the latter had resided for some time. Here he was well received, and sent forward with a suitable escort to a place called Shar, seventeen days' journey from Dahomy, where he also arrived in safety, and thence proceeded with another escort towards Youri, but has not since been heard of.

It was in consequence of the inquiries that were set on foot relative to Mr. Dickson, that Lander obtained the following highly interesting information relative to a part of Africa, which was at one time, the emporium of the slave trade on the sea-coast, but the interior of which was but very little known.

Whidah was once an independent kingdom, but in the year 1727 was conquered by Guadja Trudo, the king of Dahomy. Grigwee, the present capital, lies a few miles up from the sea coast, and may contain about twenty thousand inhabitants. Dahomy, including the subjugated districts, extends at least a hundred and fifty miles into the interior, the principal town of which is Abomey, lying in about 3° east longitude.

Dahomy produces in perfection all the immense variety of fine fruits found within the torrid zone, and amongst others one of a most singular quality. It is not unlike a ripe coffee berry, and does not at first appear to have a superior degree of sweetness, but it leaves in the mouth so much of that impression, that a glass of vinegar tastes like sweet wine, and the sourest lemon like a sweet orange; sugar is quite an unnecessary article in tea or coffee; in fact, the most nauseous drug seems sweet to whomever chews this fruit, and its effect is not worn away until after several meals. It is generally called the miraculous berry, and whoever eats of it in the morning, must be content at least for that day to forego the flavour of every kind of food, whether animal or vegetable, for all will be alike saccharine to the palate, and the most ridiculous effect is often produced by playing tricks upon those, who are not aware of its peculiar property. Lander himself was one of the dupes, and he relates, that the first time he partook of one of these berries, he thought himself under the influence of witchcraft--the fowl of which he partook at dinner seemed to him as if it had been soaked in a solution of sugar--the lime juice appeared to him as if it were mixed with some saccharine matter--his biscuit tasted like a bun--and although he was convinced that he had not put any sugar into his grog, it seemed to him as if it had been sweetened by the first maker of punch in his native country.

The beasts of prey are numerous and dangerous, and often commit great havoc amongst the sheep, and other live stock, notwithstanding every precaution to put them in a place of security at night. The tigers and leopards are not contented with what they actually carry off, but they leave nothing alive which comes within the reach of their talons. During the residence of Lander in the country, a good mode of astonishing a tiger was practised with success. A loaded musket was firmly fixed in a horizontal position, about the height of his head, to a couple of stakes driven into the ground, and the piece being cocked, a string from the trigger, first leading a little towards the butt, and then turning through a small ring forwards, was attached to a shoulder of mutton, stuck on the muzzle of the musket, the act of dragging off which, drew the trigger, and the piece loaded with two balls, discharged itself into the plunderer's mouth, killing him on the spot.

Elephants are common in Dahomy, but are not tamed and used by the natives, as in India, for the purposes of war or burthen, being merely taken for the sake of their ivory and their flesh, which is, on particular occasions, eaten.

An animal of the hyena tribe, called by the natives tweetwee, is likewise extremely troublesome; herds of these join together, and scrape up the earth of newly-made graves, in order to get at the bodies, which are not buried here in coffins. These resurrection men, as Lander termed them, make, during the night, a most dismal howling, and often change their note to one very much resembling the shriek of a woman in some situation of danger or distress.

Snakes of the boa species are here found of a most enormous size, many being from thirty to thirty-six feet in length, and of proportional girth. They attack alike wild and domestic beasts, and often human kind. They kill their prey by encircling it in their folds, and squeezing it to death, and afterwards swallow it entire; this they are enabled to do by a faculty of very extraordinary expansion in their muscles, without at the same time impairing the muscular action or power. The bulk of the animals which these serpents are capable of gorging would stagger belief, were the fact not so fully attested as to place it beyond doubt. The state of torpor in which they are sometimes found in the woods, after a _stuffing_ meal of this kind, affords the negroes an opportunity of killing them. Lander informed us, that there is not in nature a more appalling sight than one of these monsters in full motion. It has a chilling and overpowering effect on the human frame, and it seems to inspire with the same horror every other animal, even the strongest and most ferocious; for all are equally certain of becoming victims, should the snake once fasten itself upon them.

The religion of this country is paganism. They believe in two beings, equal in power; the one doing good, the other evil; and they pray to the demon to allow them to remain unmolested by the magicians, who are constantly endeavouring to injure them.

In Whidah, for some unaccountable reason, they worship their divinity under the form of a particular species of snake called daboa, which is not sufficiently large to be terrible to man, and is otherwise tameable and inoffensive. These daboas arc taken care of in the most pious manner, and well fed on rats, mice, or birds, in their fetish houses or temples, where the people attend to pay their adoration, and where those also who are sick or lame apply for assistance.

The tiger is also an object of religious regard in Dahomy Proper; but they deem it the safest mode of worship to perform their acts of devotion to his skin only after death, which is stuffed for that purpose.

The people of Whidah occasionally imagine themselves inspired by the divinity, or, as they term it, are seized by the fetish; and in such cases, it becomes necessary, from the frantic manner in which they run about, to secure and place them under the charge of the fetisheers, or priests, until this fit of inspiration be over, and they become themselves again.

The political management of Whidah is entrusted to a viceroy, who is called the Yavougah, or captain of the white men. This officer, at the time of Lander's visit to the country, was a man of majestic stature, and possessed an uncommon share of dignity, mingled with complacency of manner. His dress was generally a large hat, somewhat resembling that of a Spanish grandee, tastefully decorated, and a piece of damask silk, usually red, thrown over one shoulder, like a Scotch plaid, with a pair of drawers; but his arms and legs were bare, except the bracelets of silver, which encircled the arm above the elbow, with manillas of the same sort, and rows of coral round the wrist.

When he had any message to deliver from the king, or other public affairs to transact with the Europeans, it was done with much ceremony and state; his guards, musicians, and umbrella-bearers, and a numerous retinue, always attending him. The most polished courtier of Europe could not have deported himself more gracefully on public occasions than this man, or have carried on a conference with greater ease and affability. He was master, besides his own, of the English, French, and Portuguese languages, having resided from his birth chiefly in the vicinity of the European forts, and in his younger days had been much connected with them, officially as a linguist.

Although, therefore, he understood perfectly what was said to him by the Europeans, who accompanied Lander, yet it was etiquette for the viceroy to be spoken to through an interpreter, and it was often amusing to see the bungling efforts of the latter in the performance of a task, which the yavougah himself so much better understood, and which he good humouredly, and in an under tone, assisted him to complete. After the business of ceremony was finished, he laid aside all formality, and conversed in a familiar manner upon general subjects, the whole party joining convivially in a collation, or repast, which was always served up on such occasions.

The government of Dahomy is, in the fullest sense of the word, despotism. It is a monarchy the most unlimited and uncontrolled on the face of the earth, there being no law but the king's will, who may chop off as many heads as he pleases, when he is "i' the vein," and dispose of his subjects' property as he thinks fit, without being accountable to any human tribunal for his conduct. He has from three to four thousand wives, a proportion of whom, trained to arms, under female officers, constitute his body-guards. As may naturally be supposed, but a few of these wives engage his particular attention.

The successor to the throne is not announced during the king's lifetime; but the moment his decease is known, the proclamation is made with all possible despatch by the proper officers; for all is murder, anarchy, and confusion in the palace until it takes place; the wives of the late king not only breaking the furniture and ornaments, but killing each other, in order to have the honour of attending their husband to the grave.

The choice usually falls on the eldest son of the late sovereign's greatest favourite, provided there exists no particular reason for setting him aside. There seem to be no rank nor privileges annexed to any branches of the royal family; the king, in his own person, absorbing the undivided respect of the people. Those of his relations whom his majesty may deign to patronise, will, of course, be more noticed by their fellow-slaves; but are all alike the slaves of the king.

His palace at Abomey is walled round, and consists, according to the report of Lander and others, who had an opportunity of visiting its interior, of numerous courts connected with each other, occupying, in the whole, a space full as large as St. James' Park.

The first minister is called the _tamegan,_ and he is the only man in the country whose head the king cannot cut off at pleasure. By some ancient regulation, he who attains this rank has that very essential part of his person secured to him, perhaps that he may honestly speak his mind to the king, without fear of consequences. The second, or mahou, is the master of the ceremonies, whose office it is to receive and introduce all strangers, whether black or white, and also to take care of them during their stay at court, and to see that they are well fed and lodged, with all their attendants. The third officer in the state is the yavougah of Whidah; and the fourth is the jahou, or master of the horse, who is likewise the chief executioner, and has the duty of superintending the numerous decapitations, which occur in various ways.

There are entertained about the court a number of king's messengers, called half-heads, because one side of their head is always shaved, whilst the hair on the other is allowed to grow to its full length. They are men, who have distinguished themselves in battle, and wear, as the badge of their office, strings of the teeth of those enemies they have actually killed with their own hands, slung round their necks, like the collar of an order.

These extraordinary-looking couriers, when sent on any mission, are never permitted to walk, but run at full speed, and are relieved at certain distances on the road by relays of others, who push on in the same manner, on receiving their orders, which they transfer from one to the other with the greatest exactness. The general officers in the Dahomian army are distinguished by large umbrellas, and when any of that class are killed in action, they say figuratively, that, on such an occasion, we lost so many umbrellas.

In delivering what is termed the king's word, the messenger, as well as all those around him, fall prostrate on the ground, and cover their heads with dust, or with mud, if it rains; so that they often display very hideous figures, with their black bodies and the wool of their heads thus bedaubed with red puddle.

The ministers of state, in communicating with the king, approach within a certain distance of him, crawling on their hands and knees, at last they prostrate themselves, kiss the ground, cover their heads with dust, then make their speech, and receive his reply. His majesty usually sits on public occasions, as he is represented in our engraving, under a rich canopy, on a finely carved stool or throne, surrounded by his women, some with whisks driving away the flies, one with a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and another on her knees, holding a gold cup to spit in, as he smokes.

Their marriages, like those of most barbarous nations, are settled by the bridegroom paying a certain sum for the woman, which is calculated at the rate of one or more slaves, or moveable property in shells, cloth, or other articles, to the amount of the specified number of slaves. Polygamy is allowed to any extent, and it is generally carried as far as the means of the gentlemen will admit, as, after a short period, or honeymoon, the women are employee in the fields and plantations, and usually are no better situated than the common servants of their husbands.

Adultery is punished by slavery, or the value of a slave, by the offender, and the lady likewise subjects herself to be sold, but it is remarked that this measure is seldom resorted to, and it sometimes happens that a handsome wife is repeatedly turned to advantage by her husband, in alluring the unwary into heavy damages.

The state of women is upon the whole very abject in Dahomy. Wives approach their husbands with every mark of the humblest submission. In presenting him even with a calabash containing his food, after she has cooked it, she kneels and offers it with an averted look, it being deemed too bold to stare him full in the face. By their constantly practising genuflexion upon the bare ground, their knees become in time almost as hard as their heels.

A mutinous wife or a vixen, sometimes the treasure and delight of an Englishman; the enlivener of his fireside, and his safeguard from ennui, is a phenomenon utterly unknown in Dahomy--that noble spirit, which animates the happier dames in lands of liberty, being here, alas! extinguished and destroyed.

In most nations a numerous progeny is considered a blessing, as being likely to prop the declining years of their parents, but in Dahomy, children are taken from their mothers at an early age, and distributed in villages remote from the places of their nativity, where they remain with but little chance of being ever seen, or at least recognized by their parents afterwards. The motive for this is, that there may be no family connexion nor combinations; no associations that might prove injurious to the king's unlimited power. Hence each individual is detached and unconnected, and having no relative for whom he is interested, is solicitous only for his own safety, which he consults by the most abject submission. Paternal affection, and filial love, therefore, can scarcely be said to exist. Mothers, instead of cherishing, endeavour to suppress those attachments for their offspring, which they know will be violated, as soon as their children are able to undergo the fatigue of being removed from them.

At a particular period of the year, generally in April or May, a grand annual festival is held, which may with much propriety be termed a _carnival._ On this occasion the chief magistrates or caboceers of the different towns and districts, the governors of the English, French, and Portuguese settlements, are expected to attend at the capital, with their respective retinues; and the captains of ships, and factors trading at Whidah, usually take this opportunity of paying their respects to the king. A great part of the population, in fact; repair to Abomey, which resembles some great fair, from the number of booths and tents erected in it for various purposes.

It is at this time also that the revenue is collected; all the people either bringing or sending their respective quotas to the royal treasury. White men are received there with every mark of respect, and even saluted by the discharge of cannon. There appears to be an extraordinary mixture of ferocity and politeness in the character of these people; though terrible and remorseless to their enemies, nothing can exceed their urbanity and kindness to strangers.

Should any white person be taken ill at Abomey, the king sends the mayhou, or some other great officer, to make daily inquiries about the state of his malady, and desiring to know in what way he can assist or promote his recovery.

Notwithstanding, the king exacts from his own subjects the most humiliating and abject prostrations, on approaching his person, yet he admits Europeans to his presence without the least scruple, requiring only from them those marks of respect which they may think fit to perform, in the style of salutation they have been accustomed to in their own countries. They are allowed to be seated in his company, and he personally pays them great attention. Cooks are procured, who understand the mode of preparing European dishes; even table cloths, with knives and forks, although never used by themselves, are furnished, and in short every thing which can contribute to their comfort, is provided with eastern hospitality.

They are likewise entertained with feasts, music, public dances, processions of the king's women, and the exhibition of sports and games.

But amidst this general enjoyment of festivity and mirth, deeds are done from which the civilized mind recoils with horror, and which it cannot contemplate without feeling an ardent desire, to see mankind raised from that state of savage ignorance and superstition, which leads to acts so monstrous and unnatural.

In order to _water_ with their blood the graves of the king's ancestors, and to supply them with servants of various descriptions in the other world, a number of human victims are annually sacrificed in solemn form, and this carnival is the period at which these shocking rites are publicly performed.

Scaffolds are erected outside the palace wall, and a large space fenced in round them. On these the king, with the white strangers who think proper to attend, are seated, and the ministers of state are also present in the space beneath. Into this field of blood the victims are brought in succession, with their arms pinioned, and a fetisheer, laying his hand on the devoted head, pronounces a few mystical words, when another man, standing behind, with a large scymitar severs the sufferer's head from his body, generally at a single blow, and each repetition of this savage act is proclaimed by loud shouts of applause from the surrounding multitude, who affect to be highly delighted with the power and magnificence of their sovereign.

His bards, or laureats, join also at this time in bawling out his strong names, (their term for titles of honour,) and sing songs in his praise. These scenes are likewise enlivened by a number of people engaged in a savage dance round the scaffolds; should the foot of one of these performers slip, it is considered an ill omen; the unfortunate figurante is taken out of the ring, and his head instantly struck off, whilst the dance continues without interruption, as if nothing unusual had occurred.

The people thus sacrificed are generally prisoners of war, whom the king often puts aside for this purpose, several months previously to the celebration of his horrid festival; should there be any lack of these, the number is made up from the most convenient of his own subjects. The number of these victims sometimes amount to several hundred, but about seventy are the average number.

Their bodies are either thrown out into the fields, to be devoured by vultures and wild beasts, or hung by the heels in a mutilated state upon the surrounding trees, a practice exceedingly offensive in so hot a climate. The heads are piled up in a heap for the time, and afterwards disposed of in decorating the walls of the royal _simbonies,_ or palaces, some of which are two miles in circumference, and often require a renewal and repair of these ornaments.

An anecdote is related of king Adahoouza, who, on a successful attack upon Badagry, having a great number of victims to sacrifice, ordered their heads to be applied to the above purpose. The person to whom the management of this business was committed, having neglected to make a proper calculation of his materials, had proceeded too far with his work, when he found that there would not be a sufficient number of skulls to adorn the whole palace; he therefore requested permission to begin the work, as the lawyers would say, _de novo,_ in order that he might, by placing them farther apart, complete the design in a regular manner; but the king would by no means give his consent to this proposal, observing that he would soon find a sufficient number of Badagry heads to render the plan perfectly uniform, and learning that a hundred and twenty seven were required to complete this extraordinary embellishment, he ordered that number of captives to be brought forth and slaughtered in cold blood.

On visiting the bed-chamber of Bossa Ahadee, the passage leading to it was found to be paved with human skulls. They were those of his more distinguished adversaries, captured at different times, and placed in that situation that he might nightly enjoy the savage gratification of trampling on the heads of his enemies. The top of the little wall, which surrounded this detached apartment, was adorned likewise with their jaw-bones. In some more civilized minds there is an instinctive dread on viewing the remains of a human being; but it cannot be laid to the charge of these savages, that the fear of ghosts and hobgoblins forms any part of their character.

The immolation of victims is, however, not confined to this particular period; for at any time, should it be necessary to send an account to his forefathers of any remarkable event, the king despatches a courier to the shades, by delivering his message to whomsoever may happen to be near him, and then ordering his head to be chopped off immediately; and it has not unfrequently happened, that as something new has occurred to the king's mind, another messenger, as Mr. Canning very justly observed of the postscript of a letter, has instantly followed on the same errand, perhaps in itself of the most trivial kind.

It is considered a high honour where his majesty personally condescends to become the executioner in these feats of decapitation, an office in which the king, at the time of the visit of Lander to Abomey, considered himself as a most expert proficient. The Europeans were present on one occasion, when a poor fellow, whose fear of death outweighing the sense of the honour conferred on him, on being desired by the king to carry some message to his father, who was in the shades below, humbly declared on his knees that he was ignorant of the way, on which the tyrant vociferated, "I'll show you the way," and with one blow made his head fly many yards from his body, highly indignant that there should have been the least expression of reluctance.

The performance of the annual sacrifice is considered a duty so sacred, that no allurement in the way of gain, no additional price which the white traders can offer for slaves, will induce the king to spare even a single victim of the established number; and he is equally inexorable with respect to the chiefs of his enemies, who are never, on any account, permitted to live if they fall into his hands.

In illustration of the above, the following narrative is highly characteristic, and serves at once to a clear exposition of the savage and relentless feelings of the uncivilized negro. In a warlike excursion towards the Mahee or Ashantee borders, an enemy's town was surprised, and a great number of the inhabitants were either killed or made prisoners; but especial care was taken that the head of the prince of that district should be sent to Abomey, and that every branch of his family should, if possible, be exterminated, for it was one which had often given the Dahomian forces a great deal of trouble. A merciless massacre, therefore, of these individuals took place, in obedience to strict injunctions to that effect; and it was believed that not one of the breed was left alive.

A youth, however, about seventeen years of age, one of the sons of the obnoxious prince, had managed to conceal his real quality, and not being pointed out, succeeded in passing among the crowd of prisoners to the Dahomian capital, where, after selecting that portion thought necessary for the ensuing sacrifices, the captors sent the remainder to Grigwee, to be sold at the factories. This young man happened to be purchased by Mr. M'Leod, and he lived thenceforth in the fort, as a sort of general rendezvous, or trunk, as it is called, for those belonging to that department.

In a short time after this transaction, it some how transpired at Abomey that there yet lived the remnant of the enemy's family, and in order to trace him out, the king fell upon a scheme, which strongly displays that species of cunning and artifice so often observed among savages.

Some of his half-heads, who may very appropriately be termed his mortal messengers, in contradistinction to the immortals sent to the shades, arrived at the fort, and, with the Coke, a stern and hardhearted villain, who, in the absence of the yavougah, was the next caboceer, demanded admittance in the king's name, prostrating themselves as usual, and covering their heads with dust. On entering, they proceeded immediately to that quarter where the slaves were, and repeated the ceremony of kissing the ground before they spoke the _king's word,_ that is to say, delivered his message. The Coke then made a long harangue, the purport of which was to signify the king's regret that animosity should have so long existed between him and the chief of that country which he had just despoiled, and to express his sorrow for the fate of a family, which had suffered from his displeasure, through false accounts and misrepresentations. For this reason, he was now most anxious to make every reparation in his power to a son yet remaining of that prince, and would readily re-establish him in the rank and possessions of his father, could he only find him out. Completely duped by this wile, the unsuspecting lad exultingly exclaimed, "I am the son of the prince!"--"Then," replied the Coke, with a hellish joy at having succeeded in his object, "you are just the person we want." Upon which these half-heads seized him, and began to bind his hands. Finding by this time the real state of the case, which at first it was impossible to comprehend, Mr. M'Leod strongly protested against their seizing a slave whom he had regularly purchased, and complained loudly of the insult offered to the company's fort; but all in vain. He then earnestly entreated them to offer the king his own price, or selection of goods, and to beg as a favour from Mr. M'Leod, that he might be spared, strongly urging the plea also, that, when once embarked, he would be as free from every apprehension, respecting him, as if he had killed him.

The Coke coolly replied, that Mr. M'Leod need not give himself any further trouble to make any proposals, for he dared not repeat one of them to the king; and, after an ineffectual struggle, Mr. M'Leod was at last compelled to witness, with the most painful emotion, this ill-fated youth dragged off in a state of the gloomiest despair, a despair rendered more dismal from the fallacious glimpse of returning happiness, by which he had been so cruelly entrapped.

The party not being able to obtain the slightest information respecting Mr. Dickson, retraced their steps, and rejoined Captain Clapperton in the river Benin, where they met with an English merchant, of the name of Houston, who advised them by no means to think of proceeding by that river, a circuitous track, and covered with pestilential swamps; and more particularly as the king bore a particular hatred to the English for their exertions in putting an end to the slave-trade, nor did he, Mr. Houston, know how far, or in what direction, that river might lead them. He recommended Badagry as the most convenient point on the coast to start from, and he offered to accompany them across the mountains to Katunga, the capital of Youriba. His offer was accepted, and Lander's journal commences with their starting from Badagry, on the 7th December. They were also attended by a Houssa black, of the name of Pascoe, who had been sent from one of the king's ships to accompany the late enterprizing traveller Belzoni, as interpreter, in his last and fatal journey.

It appears, that during their stay at Whidah, every inquiry was made after Bello and his messengers, but without the slightest success, and equally so as to Funda and Raka, names never heard of on that part of the coast. It is now known that these places are nearly two hundred miles inland, and that Raka is not even on the banks of any river, and that neither of them was then under the dominion of Bello.

Badagry, the capital of a small territory, is situated at the mouth of the Lagos river, in latitude 6° 20', and is much frequented by the Portuguese slave-merchants, who have five factories there. Canoes being obtained, the party proceeded slowly up a branch of this river, as far as the mouth of the Gazie creek, which comes from the north-west, running through part of the kingdom of Dahomy, having its rise in the country called Keeto. They ascended this creek for about a mile and a half, and then landed on the western bank, at a place called Bawie, where a market is held for the people of Badagry and the adjacent towns. The very first night, they were guilty of a fatal imprudence. The banks of both these streams are low and covered with reeds; the soil a red clay mixed with sand; and the surrounding country is covered with forests of high trees and jungle. Not a hum of a single mosquito was to be heard. Every circumstance combined to create an atmosphere fatal to animal life, and the consequence of the unaccountable disregard of all precaution on the part of the travellers was too soon apparent. The seeds of those diseases were here sown, in the very first night of their journey, which speedily proved fatal to two of the party, and had nearly carried off the whole. How an old naval surgeon and two experienced naval officers could commit such an imprudence, in such a climate, is to us most surprising, when most dreadful consequences are well known to have almost invariably resulted from such a practice in tropical climates,

On the 9th of December, they again slept in the open air, in the market-place of Dagmoo, a large town, where they might have had as many houses as they wanted. This reckless indifference to the preservation of their health can only be accounted for on the principle, that on an expedition attended by so many difficulties and privations, it was deemed justifiable to attempt to inure the constitution to the noxious influences of the climate, and to look down with contempt upon any act which had the least tendency to effeminacy, or a scrupulous attention to personal comfort. The constitution of Clapperton was well known to have been of an iron nature; it had already withstood the pestilential climate of some parts of Soudan, in his previous travels, and, with that impression upon his mind, he regarded, perhaps, with indifference, or more likely with inattention, any effect which might arise from the marshy and swampy country through which the party travelled in the commencement of their journey. The disastrous sequel will, however, soon manifest itself.

One morning, Captain Clapperton walked forward with Mr. Houston to the town of Puka, the first place in the Youriba territory, where they were civilly received, and they were visited by one of the Eyeo war-chiefs, who came in state. He was mounted on a small horse, as were two of his attendants; the rest of the cavalcade were on foot. His dress was most grotesque, consisting of a ragged red coat, with yellow facings, and a military cap and feather, apparently Portuguese. He came curvetting and leaping his horse, until within the distance of a hundred yards, when he dismounted, and, approaching the travellers, seated himself down on the ground. Captain Clapperton, by the hand of Lander, sent him his umbrella, as a token that he wished him well, on the receipt of which the drums were beaten, and hands were clapped and fingers cracked at a great rate. It must be observed, that the latter motion is the method of salutation practised by the natives of Dahomy and Eyeo. The chief now came up to them, capering and dancing the whole of the way, and shook them by the hand, a few of his attendants accompanying him. Lander informed us that he was not on this occasion honoured by the salute of the Eyeo chief, and he attributed it to the nigh notion which the chief entertained of his own dignity and importance, and that it would be in him an act of great condescension to notice an individual who was evidently but a subordinate, and an attendant upon his superior. He, however, did not hesitate to steal a handkerchief belonging to Lander, which perhaps he considered to be also an act of condescension in him. Like other great men, who sometimes speak a great deal, without much meaning or sense being discoverable in their oration, the Eyeo chief began his speech by saying that he was very glad that he now saw a white man, and he doubted not that white man was equally glad to see him, and then, pointing to the various parts of his dress, he said, "This cloth is not made in my country; this cap is of white man's velvet; these trousers are of white man's nankeen; this is a white man's shawl; we get all good things from white man, and we must therefore be glad when white man come to visit our country." Although not cheered at the conclusion of his speech, like other great speakers, yet, on the other hand, like them in general, he appeared to be very well satisfied with himself; and Captain Clapperton, by his demeanour, fully gave him to understand that he fully approved of the sentiments which flowed from his lips, and that they were perfectly worthy of a chief of the Eyeo nation.

The two men, who appeared next in authority to himself, were stout good-looking men, natives of Bornou; they were dressed in the fashion of that country, with blue velvet caps on their heads. Being Mahometans, they could not be prevailed on to drink spirits, but the captain and his men drank two drams.

They paid a visit to the caboceer, or chief man of the town, whom they found seated in the midst of his elders and women. He was an ancient, tall, stupid-looking man, dressed in a long silk tobe, or long shirt; on his head was a cap, made of small glass beads of various colours, surrounded with tassels of small gold-coloured beads, and three large coral ones in front. The cap was the best part of the man, for it was very neat; in his hand he held a fly-flapper, the handle of which was covered with beads. After a number of compliments, they were presented with goroo nuts and water. They told him of their intention to proceed to Eyeo; that they were servants of the king of England; and that they wanted carriers for themselves and baggage.

The baggage, however, had not come up from the coast, and Captain Pearce had to return to the beach and see after it. They remained here for the night, and the old caboceer, their host, sent them a present of a sheep, a basket of yams, and some firewood. But when, the next morning, application was made to him for carriers, not a single man could be obtained. After a great deal of palavering, the Eyeo captain loaded his own people. They could not procure any bearers for the hammocks, but they nevertheless set off, having only one horse, which Captain Clapperton and Mr. Houston agreed to ride alternately. The former, however, who had almost crippled himself the preceding day, with a pair of new boots, and could only wear slippers, became so galled by riding without a saddle, that he was soon reduced to walk bare-foot, and whenever he crossed an ant path, his feet felt as if on fire, these insects drawing blood from them and his ankles.

After a most toilsome and distressing march, part of which wound through thick and dark woods, the morning proved raw, cold and hazy; the travellers had nothing to eat, and when at noon they reached the town of Humba, Captain Clapperton had a slight fit of ague. On the following day, bearers were with some difficulty procured, and he was carried forward in a hammock. At Bedgie, which they reached on the 12th, Dr. Morrison became very unwell with symptoms of fever. This place stands on the banks of a river about a quarter of a mile in width, full of low swampy islands and floating reeds. On the 14th, Captain Pearce and Richard Lander were taken ill.

They had by this, time reached Laboo, a town situated on a rising ground, where the country begins to undulate in hill and dale. Its distance from the coast is not specified, but it can hardly be so much as fifty miles, as Lagos can be reached in one day by a messenger, yet the journey had occupied the travellers no fewer than seven days. The delay seems partly to have been occasioned by the heavy baggage and stores, and by the difficulty of obtaining bearers. The Eyeo people, as they were afterwards told, are unaccustomed to carry hammocks, and they ought to have proceeded on horseback, in fact, Lander did not hesitate to express himself in rather severe terms, in regard to the manner in which the early part of the expedition was conducted; for, had the plan been adopted of making use of horses for the conveyance of the baggage, and not have allowed themselves to be delayed by the difficulty of procuring human assistance; had the whole party pressed forward to Laboo, and there attempted to recruit their strength, it is highly probable that they would have altogether escaped the poisonous effects of the miasmata.

The country thus far appears to have been an almost perfect level; in some places swampy, for the most part covered with dense forests, but partially cultivated, and very populous. Towns and villages were numerous, and everywhere on the road they were met by numbers of people, chiefly women, bearing loads of produce on their heads, always cheerful and obliging, and delighted to see white men. At Humba, the inhabitants kept up singing and dancing all night, in the true negro style, round the house allotted to the white men. Their songs were in chorus, and, as Lander expressed himself, "not unlike some church-music that I have heard."

On leaving Laboo, they were attended for some distance by the caboceer of the town, at the head of the whole population, the women singing in chorus, and holding up both hands as they passed, while groupes of people were seen kneeling down, and apparently wishing them a good journey. The road now lay over an undulating country, through plantations of millet, yams, and maize, and at three hours from Laboo, led to Jannah, which was once a walled town, but the gate and fosse are all that remain of the fortifications. It is situated on a gentle declivity, commanding an extensive prospect to the westward; to the eastward the view is interrupted by thick woods. The inhabitants may amount to from eight hundred to a thousand souls. The account which Lander gave us of the natives of this district was highly favourable. He had only to complain of the eternal loquacity of the women, by which he was exceedingly annoyed; in addition to which, they appeared sometimes to be highly offended because, as he was ignorant of their language, he very often committed the most extraordinary blunders, in the answers which he gave by signs, and which were wholly opposite to what they had every reason to expect, from the significant language which they made use of. The women here are, however, not much better treated than in more central Africa; not only the domestic duties are performed by them, but in all matters of industry the labour appears to be imposed upon them, whilst their husbands or owners are loitering away their time, telling unaccountable stories to each other, or sleeping under the shade of some of the beautiful trees which adorn this part of the country.

Very differently is it constituted with the canine species; for here the dog is treated with respect, and made the companion of man; here he has collars round his neck, of various colours, and ornamented with kowries; he sits by his master, and follows him in all his journeys and visits. The great man is never without one; and it appeared to Lander that a boy was appointed to take care of him. In no other country in Africa is this faithful animal treated with common humanity.

The general character of the people of Eyeo appears to be good and amiable, and, as a proof of their honesty, to which all the travellers bore ample testimony, they had now travelled sixty miles in eight days, with a numerous and heavy baggage, and about ten different relays of carriers, without losing so much as the value of a shilling, public or private; a circumstance evincing not only somewhat more than common honesty in the inhabitants, but a degree of subordination and regular government, which could not have been supposed to exist among a people hitherto considered as barbarous. It appears, however, that the Eyeo captain, Adamooli, had not quite so high an opinion of their spontaneous honesty; for he told the travellers, at Puka, to keep a good look-out after their things, as the people there were great thieves.

In some branches of the arts they possess an extraordinary skill. They are great carvers; their doors, drums, and every thing of wood being carved. In the weaving of cloth and linen they also evinced considerable skill. Eight or ten looms were seen at work in one house; in fact it was a regular manufactory. Captain Clapperton visited several cloth manufactories, and three dye-houses, with upwards of twenty vats in each, all in full work. The indigo is of excellent quality, and the cloth of a good texture; some of it very fine. The women are the dyers, the boys the weavers, the men, in general, lookers on. The loom and shuttles are on the same principle as the common English loom, but the warp is only four inches wide. They also manufacture earthen-ware, but prefer that of Europe, which they obtain from Badagry. In walking through the town, the strangers were followed by an immense crowd, but met with not a word nor a look of disrespect. The men took off their caps as they passed, and the women remained kneeling. The market was well supplied with raw cotton, cloths, oranges, limes, plantains, bananas, onions, pepper, and gums for soup, boiled yams, and acassous, a paste made of maize and wrapped in leaves.

A country finely cleared, and diversified with hill and dale, extends from Jannah to Tshow, distant two short stages. The route then again entered upon a thickly-wooded tract, with only patches of corn land, and the roads were dreadfully bad, being partially flooded by heavy rains. Captain Clapperton here caught a fresh cold, and all the patients became worse. Dr. Morrison, after being carried in a hammock as far as Tshow, finding himself grow no better, was left behind, under the charge of Mr. Houston, who was to see him safe back to the coast. He, however, expired at Jannah on the 27th. On the same day, at a town called Engwa, Captain Pearce breathed his last. On this occasion, Captain Clapperton says, "The death of Captain Pearce has caused me much concern; for, independently of his amiable qualities as a friend and companion, he was eminently fitted by his talents, perseverance, and fortitude, to be of singular service to the expedition, and on these accounts I deplore his loss, as the greatest I could have sustained, both as regards my private feelings and the public service."

On the following morning, the remains of this lamented officer were interred, in the presence of all the principal people of the town. The grave was staked round by the inhabitants, and a shed built over it. An inscription was carved on a board, and placed at the head of the grave by Lander, Captain Clapperton being unable to sit up, or to assist in any manner in the mournful ceremony. Thus did Captain Clapperton see himself bereft of his comrades, and left to pursue his journey in very painful and distressing circumstances, with only Richard Lander as his servant, who stood by him in all his fortunes, and Pascoe, not a very trusty African, whom he had hired at Badagry. Two days after the interment of Captain Pearce, Mr. Houston joined Captain Clapperton from Jannah, bearing the intelligence of the death of Dr. Morrison.

These unfortunate officers had been conveyed thus far, about seventy miles, in hammocks, by the people of the country, every where experiencing the kindest attention, lodged in the best houses, and supplied with every thing that the country afforded. The fear, however, that continually preyed upon the mind of Lander was excessive; for the general appearance of Captain Clapperton indicated that he would soon join his comrades in the grave; he was able occasionally to ride on horseback, and sometimes to walk, but he was greatly debilitated, and subject to a high degree of fever. By anticipation, Lander saw himself a solitary wanderer in the interior of Africa, bereft of all those resources with which Clapperton was liberally supplied, and his only hope of deliverance resting on his being able to accomplish his return to Badagry, literally as a Christian mendicant. Lander describes the country between Badagry and Jannah, the frontier town of the kingdom of Youriba, as abounding in population, well cultivated with plantations of Indian corn, different kinds of millet, yams, plantains, wherever the surface was open and free from the noxious influence of dense and unwholesome forests.