The expedition set out on the following morning, and after passing through a beautiful plain, began to penetrate the mighty chain of mountains, which form the southern border of the kingdom. Alpine heights rising around them in rugged magnificence, and gigantic grandeur, presented scenery which our traveller had never seen surpassed. The passes of Hairey and of Horza, amid a superb amphitheatre of hills, closely shut in by overhanging cliffs, more than two thousand feet high, were truly striking. Here for the first time in Africa, did nature appear to the English to rival in the production of vegetable life. The trees were covered with luxuriant and bright green foliage, and their trunks were hidden by a crowd of parasitical plants, whose aromatic blossoms perfumed the air. There was also an abundance of animal life of a less agreeable description. Three scorpions were killed in the tent, and a fierce but beautiful panther, more than eight feet long, just as he had gorged himself by sucking the blood of a newly-killed negro, was attacked and speared. The sultan and Barca Gana were attended by a considerable body of Bornou and Mandara cavalry, whose brilliant armour, martial aspect, and skilful horsemanship, gave confidence to the European officer, who had not seen them put to the proof.
It was the third day, when the expedition came in view of the Fellata town of Dirkulla. The Arabs, supported by Barca Gana, and about one hundred spearmen marched instantly to the attack, and carried first that place, and then a smaller town beyond it, killing all who had not time to escape. The enemy, however, then entrenched themselves in a third and stronger position, called Musfeia, enclosed by high hills, and fortified in front by numerous swamps and palisades. This was likewise attacked and all its defences forced. The guns of the Arabs spread terror, while Barca Gana threw eight spears with his own hand, every one of which took effect. It was thought, that had the two bodies of cavalry, made even a show of advancing, the victory would have been at once decided, but Major Denham was much surprised to see those puissant warriors, keeping carefully under cover, behind a hill, on the opposite side of the stream, where not an arrow could reach them. The Fellatas seeing that their antagonists were only a handful, rallied on the top of the hills, were joined by new troops, and turned round. Their women behind cheered them on, continually supplied fresh arrows, and rolled down fragments of rock on the assailants. These arrows were tipped with poison, and wherever they pierced the body, in a few hours became black, blood gushed from every orifice, and the victim expired in agony. The condition of the Arabs soon became alarming, scarcely a man was left unhurt, and their horses were dying under them. Boo Khaloom and his charger were both wounded with poisoned arrows. As soon as the Fellatas saw the Arabs waver, they dashed in with their horse, at the sight of which all the heroic squadrons of Bornou and Mandara put spurs to their steeds, the sultan at their head, and the whole became one mass of confused and tumultuous flight. Major Denham saw too late the peril into which he had inconsiderately plunged. His horse, wounded in to the shoulder, could scarcely support his weight, but the cries of the pursuing Fellatas urged him forward. At last the animal fell twice, and the second time threw him against a tree, then, frightened by the noise behind, started up and ran off. The Fellatas were instantly up, when four of his companions were stabbed beside him, uttering the most frightful cries. He himself fully expected the same fate, but happily his clothes formed a valuable booty, through which the savages were loath to run their spears. After inflicting some slight wounds, therefore, they stripped him to the skin, and forthwith began to quarrel about the plunder. While they were thus busied, he contrived to slip away, and though hotly pursued, and nearly overtaken, succeeded in reaching a mountain stream, gliding at the bottom of a deep and precipitous ravine. Here he had snatched the young branches issuing from the stump of a large over-hanging tree, in order to let himself down into the water, when beneath his hand, a largesiffa,the most dangerous serpent in this country, rose from its coil, as in the very act of darting upon him. Struck with horror, Major Denham lost all recollection, and fell headlong into the water, but the shock revived him, and with three strokes of his arm, he reached the opposite bank, and felt himself for the moment in safety. Running forward, he was delighted to see his friends Barca Gana and Boo Khaloom, but amidst the cheers with which they were endeavouring to rally their troops, and the cries of those who were falling under the Fellata spears, he could not for some time make himself heard. Then Maramy, a negro appointed by the sheik to attend upon him, rode up and took him on his own horse. Boo Khaloom ordered a bornouse to be thrown over the major—very seasonably, for the burning sun had began to blister his naked body. Suddenly, however, Maramy called out, "See! see! Boo Khaloom is dead," and that spirited chief, overpowered by the wound of a poisoned arrow, dropped from his horse and spoke no more. The others now only thought of pressing their flight, and soon reached a stream, where they refreshed themselves by copious draughts, and a halt was made to collect the stragglers. Major Denham here fell into a swoon, during which, as he afterwards learned, Maramy complained that the jaded horse could scarcely carry the stranger forward, when Barca Gana said, "By the head of the prophet! believers enough have breathed their last to-day, why should we concern ourselves about a Christian's death." Malem Chadily, however, so bitter as a theological opponent, showed now the influence of a milder spirit, and said, "No, God has preserved him; let us not abandon him;" and Maramy declared, his heart told him what to do. They therefore moved on slowly till about midnight, when they passed the Mandara frontier, in a state of severe suffering, but the major met with much kindness from a dethroned prince, Mai Meagamy, who seeing his wounds festering under the rough woollen cloak, which formed his only covering, took off his own trousers and gave them to him.
The Arabs lost forty-five of their number, besides their chief; the survivors were in a miserable plight, most of them wounded, some mortally, and all deprived of their camels, and the rest of their property. Renouncing their pride, they were obliged to supplicate from Barca Gana a handful of corn to keep them from starving. The sultan of Mandara, in whose cause they had suffered, treated them with the utmost contumely, which, perhaps, they might deserve, but certainly not from him. Deep sorrow was afterwards felt in Fezzan, when they arrived in this deplorable condition, and reported the fall of their chief, who was there almost idolized. A national song was composed on the occasion, which the following extract will show to be marked by great depth of feeling, and not devoid of poetical beauty:—
"Oh trust not to the gun and the sword: the spear of the unbeliever prevails!
"Boo Khaloom, the good and the brave, has fallen! Fallen has he in his might! Who shall now be safe? Even as the moon amongst the little stars, so was Boo Khaloom amongst men! Where shall Fezzan now look for her protector? Men hang their heads in sorrow, while women wring their hands, rending the air with their cries! As a shepherd is to his flock, so was Boo Khaloom to Fezzan.
"Give him songs! Give him music! What words can equal his praise! His heart was as large as the desert! His coffers were like the rich overflowings from the udder of the she camel, comforting and nourishing those around him.
"Even as the flowers without rain perish in the field, so will theFezzaners droop; for Boo Khaloom returns no more.
"His body lies in the land of the heathen! the poisoned arrow of the unbeliever prevails!
"Oh trust not to the gun and the sword! The spear of the heathen conquers! Boo Khaloom, the good and the brave, has fallen! Who shall now be safe?"
The sheik of Bornou was considerably mortified by the result of this expedition, and the miserable figure made by his troops, though he sought to throw the chief blame on the Mandara part of the armament. He now invited the major to accompany an expedition against the Mungas, a rebel tribe on his outer border, on which occasion he was to employ his native band of Kanemboo spearmen, who, he trusted, would redeem the military reputation of the monarchy. Major Denham was always ready to go wherever he had a chance of seeing the manners and scenery of Africa. The sheik took the field, attended by his armour-bearer, his drummer, fantastically dressed in a straw hat with ostrich feathers, and followed by-three wives, whose heads and persons were wrapped up in brown silk robes, and each led by a eunuch. He was preceded by five green and red flags, on each of which were extracts from the Koran, written in letters of gold. Etiquette even required that the sultan should follow with his unwieldy pomp, having a harem, and attendance much more numerous; while frumfrums, or wooden trumpets, were continually sounding before him. This monarch is too distinguished to fight in person; but his guards, the swollen and overloaded figures formerly described, enveloped in multiplied folds, and groaning beneath the weight of ponderous amulets, produced themselves as warriors, though manifestly unfit to face any real danger.
The route lay along the banks of the river Yeou, called also Gambarou, through a country naturally fertile and delightful, but presenting a dismal picture of the desolation occasioned by African warfare. The expedition passed through upwards of thirty towns, completely destroyed by the Fellatas in their last inroad, and of which all the inhabitants had been either killed or carried into slavery. These fine plains were now overgrown with forests and thickets, in which grew tamarind and other trees, producing delicate fruits, while large bands of monkeys, called by the Arabs "enchanted men," filled the woods with their cries. Here, too, was found old Birnie, the ancient but now desolate capital, evidently much larger than any of the present cities, covering five or six miles with its ruins. They passed also Gambarou, formerly the favourite residence of the sultans, where the remains of a palace and two mosques gave an idea of civilization superior to any thing that had yet been seen in interior Africa. There were left in this country only small detached villages, the inhabitants of which remained fixed to them by local attachment, in spite of constant predatory inroads of the Tuaricks, who carried off their friends, their children, and cattle. They have recourse to one mode of defence, which consists in digging a number ofblaquas,or large pits; these they cover with a false surface of sods and grass, into which the Tuarick with his horse plunges before he is aware, and is received at the bottom upon sharp-pointed stakes, which often kill both on the spot. Unluckily, harmless travellers are equally liable to fall into these living graves. Major Denham was petrified with horror, to find how near he had approached to several of them; indeed one of his servants stepped upon the deceitful covering, and was saved only by an almost miraculous spring. It seems wonderful that the sheik should not have endeavoured to restore some kind of security to this portion of his subjects, and to re-people those fine but deserted regions.
The troops that had been seen hastening in parties to the scene of action were mustered at Kobshary, a town which the Mungas had nearly destroyed. The sheik made a review of his favourite forces, the Kanemboo spearmen, nine thousand strong. They were really a very savage and military-looking host, entirely naked, except a girdle of goat-skin, with the hair hanging down, and a piece of cloth wrapped round the head. They carried large wooden shields, shaped like a gothic window, with which they warded off the arrows of the enemy, while they pressed forward to attack with their own spears. Unlike almost all other barbarous armies, they kept a regular night-watch, passing the cry every half-hour along the line, and, at any alarm, raising a united yell, which was truly frightful. At the review they passed in tribes before the sheik, to whom they showed the most enthusiastic attachment, kneeling on the ground, and kissing his feet. The Mungas again were described as terrible antagonists, hardened by conflicts with the Tuaricks, fighting on foot with poisoned arrows, longer and more deadly than those of the Fellatas.
The sultan, however, contemplated other means of securing success, placing his main reliance on his powers as a mohammedan doctor and writer. Three successive nights were spent in inscribing upon little scraps of paper figures or words, destined to exercise a magical influence upon the rebel host, and their effect was heightened by the display of sky-rockets, supplied by Major Denham. Tidings of his being thus employed were conveyed to the camp, when the Mungas, stout and fierce warriors, who never shrunk from an enemy, yielded to the power of superstition, and felt all their strength withered. It seemed to them that their arrows were blunted, their quivers broken, their hearts struck with sickness and fear, in short, that to oppose a sheik of the Koran, who could accomplish such wonders, was alike vain and impious. They came in by hundreds, bowing themselves to the ground, and casting sand on their heads, in token of the most abject submission. At length, Malem Fanamy, the leader of the rebellion, saw that resistance was hopeless. After vain overtures of conditional submission, he appeared in person, mounted on a white horse, with one thousand followers. He was clothed in rags, and having fallen prostrate, was about to pour sand on his head, when the sultan, instead of permitting this humiliation, caused eight robes of fine cotton cloth, one after another, to be thrown over him, and his head to be wrapped in Egyptian turbans till it was swelled to six times its natural size, and no longer resembled any thing human. By such signal honours the sheik gained the hearts of those whom his pen had subdued, and this wise policy enabled him not only to overcome the resistance of this formidable tribe, but to convert them into supporters and bulwarks of his power.
Major Denham, who always sought, with laudable zeal, to penetrate into every corner of Africa, now found his way in another direction. He had heard much of the Shary, a great river flowing into lake Tchad, on whose banks the kingdom of Loggun was situated. After several delays, he set out on the 23d January 1824, in company with Mr. Toole, a spirited young volunteer, who, journeying by way of Tripoli and Mourzouk, had thence crossed the desert to join him. The travellers passed Angornou and Angola, and arrived at Showy, where they saw the river, which really proved to be a magnificent stream, fully half a mile broad, and flowing at the rate of two or three miles an hour. They descended it through a succession of noble reaches, bordered with fine woods and a profusion of variously tinted and aromatic plants. At length, it opened into the wide expanse of the Tchad, after viewing which, they again ascended, and reached the capital of Loggun, beneath whose high walls the river was seen flowing in majestic beauty. Major Denham entered, and found a handsome city, with a street as wide as Pall-Mall, and bordered by large dwellings, having spacious areas in front. Having proceeded to the palace, for the purpose of visiting the sovereign, he was led through several dark rooms into a wide and crowded court, at one end of which a lattice opened, and showed a pile of silk robes, stretched on a carpet, amid which two eyes became gradually visible; this was the sultan. On his appearance, there arose a tumult of horns and frumfrums, while all the attendants threw themselves prostrate, casting sand on their heads. In a voice, which the court fashion of Loggun required to be scarcely audible, the monarch inquired Major Denham's object in coming to this country, observing that, if it was to purchase handsome female slaves, he need go no further, since he himself had hundreds, who could be afforded at a very easy rate. This overture was rejected on other grounds than the price; yet, notwithstanding so decided a proof of barbarism, the Loggunese were found to be a people more advanced in the arts of peace than any hitherto seen in Africa. By a studied neutrality they avoided involving themselves in the dreadful wars, which had desolated the neighbouring countries; manufacturing industry was honoured, and the cloths woven here were superior to those of Bornou, being finely dyed with indigo, and beautifully glazed. There was even a current coin, made of iron, somewhat in the form of a horse-shoe, and rude as this was, none of their neighbours possessed any thing similar. The ladies were handsome, intelligent, and of a lively air and carriage; but, besides pushing their frankness to excess, their general demeanour was by no means scrupulous. They used, in particular, the utmost diligence in stealing from Major Denham's person every thing that could be reached, even searching the pockets of his trousers, and when detected, only laughed, and called to each other, how sharp he was. But the darkest feature of savage life was disclosed, when the sultan and his son each sent to solicit poison "that would not lie," to be used against each other. The latter even accompanied the request with a bribe of three lovely black damsels, and ridiculed the horror which was expressed at the proposal.
The Loggunese live in a country abounding in grain and cattle, and diversified with forests of lofty acacias, and many beautiful shrubs. Its chief scourge consists in the millions of tormenting insects, which fill the atmosphere, making it scarcely possible to go into the open air at mid-day, without being thrown into a fever, indeed, children have been killed by their stings. The natives build one house within another to protect themselves against this scourge, while some kindle a large fire of wet straw, and sit in the smoke; but this remedy seems worse than the evil it is meant to obviate.
Major Denham was much distressed on this journey by the death of his companion, Mr. Toole; and he could no longer delay his return, when he learnt that the Begharmis, with a large army, were crossing the Shary to attack Bornou. Soon after his arrival at Kouka, the sheik led out his troops, which he mustered on the plain of Angola, and was there furiously attacked by five thousand Begharmis, led by two hundred chiefs. The Begharmi cavalry are stout, fierce-looking men, and both riders and horses still more thoroughly cased in mail than those of Bornou; but their courage, when brought to the proof, is nearly on a level. The sheik encountered them with his Kanemboo spearmen and a small band of musketeers, when, after a short conflict, the whole of this mighty host was thrown into the most disorderly flight; even the Bornou cavalry joined in the pursuit. Seven sons of the sultan, and almost all the chiefs fell; two hundred of their favourite wives were taken, many of whom were of exquisite beauty.
Mr. Tyrwhit, a gentleman sent out by government to strengthen the party, arrived on the 20th May, and on the 22nd delivered to the sheik a number of presents, which were received with the highest satisfaction. In company with this gentleman, Major Denham, eager to explore Africa, still further took advantage of another expedition, undertaken against a tribe of Shouaa Arabs, distinguished by the name of La Sala, a race of amphibious shepherds, who inhabit certain islands along the south-eastern shores of the Tchad. These spots afford rich pasture; while the water is so shallow, that, by knowing the channels, the natives can ride without difficulty from one island to the other. Barca Gana led one thousand men on this expedition, and was joined by four hundred of a Shouaa tribe, called Dugganahs, enemies to the La Salas. These allies presented human nature under a more pleasing aspect than it had yet been seen in any part of central Africa. They despise the negro nations, and all who live in houses, and still more in cities, while they themselves reside in tents of skin, in circular camps, which they move periodically from place to place. They live in simple plenty on the produce of their flocks and herds, celebrate their joys and sorrows in extemporary poetry, and seem to be united by the strongest ties of domestic affection. Tahr, their chief, having closely examined our traveller, as to the motives of his journey, said, "And have you been three years from your home? Are not your eyes dimmed with straining to the north, where all your thoughts must ever be? If my eyes do not see the wife and children of my heart for ten days, they are flowing with tears, when they should be closed in sleep." On taking leave, Tahr's parting wish was, "May you die at your own tents, and in the arms of your wife and family." This chief might have sitten for the picture of a patriarch; his fine, serious, expressive countenance, large features, and long bushy beard, afforded a favourable specimen of his tribe.
The united forces now marched to the shores of the lake, and began to reconnoitre the islands on which the Shouaas, with their cattle and cavalry, were stationed; but the experienced eye of Barca Gana soon discerned, that the channel, though shallow, was full of holes, and had a muddy deceitful appearance. He proposed therefore to delay the attack, till a resolute band of Kanemboo spearmen should arrive and lead the way. The lowing, however, of the numerous herds, and the bleating of the flocks on the green islands, which lay before them, excited in the troops a degree of hunger, as well as of military ardour, that was quite irrepressible. They called out, "What! be so near them, and not eat them?—No, no, let us on; this night, these flocks and women shall be ours." Barca Gana suffered himself to be hurried away, and plunged in amongst the foremost. Soon, however, the troops began to sink into the holes, or stick in the mud; their guns and powder were wetted, and became useless; while the enemy, who knew every step, and could ride through the water as quickly as on land, at once charged the invaders in front, and sent round a detachment to take them in the rear. The assault was accordingly soon changed into a disgraceful flight, in which those who had been the loudest in urging to this rash onset set the example. Barca Gana, who had boasted himself invulnerable, was deeply wounded through his coat of mail and four cotton tobes, and with difficulty rescued by his chiefs from five La Sala horsemen, who had vowed his death. The army returned to their quarters in disappointment and dismay, and with a severe loss. During the whole night, the Dugganah women were heard bewailing their husbands, who had fallen, in dirges composed for the occasion, and with plaintive notes, which could not be listened to without the deepest sympathy. Major Denham was deterred by this disaster from making any further attempt to penetrate to the eastern shores of the Tchad.
The Beddoomahs are another tribe who inhabit extensive and rugged islands, in the interior of the lake, amid its deep waters, which they navigate with nearly a thousand large boats. They neither cultivate the ground, nor rear flocks and herds, while their manners appeared to Major Denham, the rudest and most savage observed even among Africans—the Musgows always excepted. They have adopted as a religious creed, that God having withheld from them corn and cattle, which the nations around enjoy, has given in their stead strength and courage, to be employed in taking these good things from all in whose possession they may be found. To this belief they act up in the most devout manner, spreading terror and desolation over all the shores of this inland sea, no part of which, even in the immediate vicinity of the great capitals, is for a moment secure from their ravages. The most powerful and warlike of the Bornou sovereigns, finding among their subjects neither the requisite skill nor experience in navigation, make no attempt to cope with the Biddoomahs on these watery domains, and thus give up the lake to their undisputed sway.
While Major Denham was thus traversing in every direction Bornou, and the surrounding countries, Lieutenant Clapperton and Dr. Oudney were proceeding through Houssa, by a route less varied and hazardous indeed, but disclosing forms both of nature and society fully as interesting. They departed from Kouka on the 14th December 1823, and passing the site of old Birnie, found the banks of the Yeou fertile, and diversified with towns and villages.
On entering Katagum, the most easterly Fellata province, they observed a superior style of culture; two crops of wheat being raised in one season by irrigation, and the grain stored in covered sheds, elevated from the ground on posts. The country to the south was covered with extensive swamps and mountains, tenanted by rude and pagan tribes, who furnish to the faithful an inexhaustible supply of slaves. The practice of travelling with a caravan was found very advantageous, from the help it afforded, as well as from the good reports spread by the merchants, respecting their European companions. In Bornou, these last had been viewed with almost unmingled horror, and for having eaten their bread under the extremest necessity, a man had his testimony rejected in a court of justice. Some young Bornouese ladies, who accosted Major Denham, having ventured to say a word in his favour, an attendant matron exclaimed, "Be silent, he is an uncircumcised kafir—neither washes nor prays, eats pork, and will go to hell." Upon which the others screamed, and ran off. But in Houssa, this horror was not so great, and was mingled with the belief, that they possessed supernatural powers. Not only did the sick come in crowds expecting to be cured, but the ladies solicited amulets to restore their beauty, to preserve the affections of their lovers, and even to destroy a hated rival. The son of the governor of Kano, having called upon Clapperton, stated it was the conviction of the whole city and his own, that the English had the power of converting men into asses, goats, and monkeys, and likewise that by reading in his book, he could at any time commute a handful of earth into gold. The traveller having declared to him the difficulty he often found in procuring both asses and gold, induced him with trembling hands to taste a cup of tea, when he became more composed, and made a sort of recantation of his errors.
As the caravan proceeded they met many other travellers, and found sitting along the road, numerous females selling potatoes, beans, bits of roasted meat, and water with an infusion of gussub-grains; and when they stopped at any place for the night, the people crowded in such numbers as to form a little fair. Clapperton attracted the notice of many of the Fellata ladies, who, after examining him closely, declared, that had he only been less white, his external appearance might have merited approbation.
The travellers passed through Sansan, a great market place, divided into three distinct towns, and Katagum, the strongly fortified capital of the province, containing about eight thousand inhabitants. Thence they proceeded to Murmur, where the severe illness under which Dr. Oudney had long laboured, came to a crisis. Though now in the last stage of consumption, he insisted on continuing his journey and with the aid of his servant had been supported to his camel, when Clapperton, seeing the ghastliness of death on his countenance, insisted on replacing him in his tent, where, soon after, without a groan, he breathed his last. His companion caused him to be buried with the honours of the country. The body was washed, wrapped in turban shawls, and a wall of clay built round the grave, to protect it from wild beasts; two sheep were also killed and distributed amongst the poor.
Katungwa, the first town of Houssa proper, and the next on the route, is situated in a country well enclosed, and under high cultivation. To the south is an extensive range of rocky hills, amid which is the town of Zangeia, with its buildings picturesquely scattered over masses of rocks. Clapperton passed also Girkwa, near a river of the same name, which appears to come from these hills, and to fall into the Yeou.
Two days after, he entered Kano, the Ghana of Edrisi, and which is now, as it was six hundred years ago, the chief commercial city of Houssa, and of all central Africa. Yet it disappointed our traveller on his first entry, and for a quarter of a mile scarcely appeared a city at all. Even in its more crowded quarters, the houses rose generally in clusters, separated by stagnant pools. The inhabited part on the whole, did not comprise more than a fourth of the space enclosed by the walls, the rest consisted of fields, gardens, and swamps; however, as the whole circuit is fifteen miles, there is space for a population moderately estimated, to be between thirty or forty thousand. The market is held on a neck of land, between two swamps, by which, during the rains, it is entirely overflowed, but in the dry season it is covered with sheds of bamboo, arranged into regular streets. Different quarters are allowed for the several kinds of goods; some for cattle, others for vegetables, while fruits of various descriptions, so much neglected in Bornou, are here displayed in profusion. The fine cotton fabrics of the country are sold either in webs, or in what are called tobes and Turkadees, with rich silken strips or borders ready to be added. Amongst the favourite articles are goora or kolla nuts, which are called African coffee, being supposed to give a peculiar relish to the water drunk after them; and crude antimony, with the black tint of which every eyebrow in Houssa must be dyed. The Arabs also dispose here of sundry commodities that have become obsolete in the north; the cast-off dresses of the mamelukes and other great men, and old sword-blades from Malta. But the busiest scene is the slave market, composed of two long ranges of sheds, one for males and another for females. These poor creatures are seated in rows, decked out for exhibition. The buyer scrutinizes them as nicely as a purchaser with us does a horse, inspecting the tongue, teeth, eyes, and limbs; making them cough and perform various movements, to ascertain if there be any thing unsound, and in case of a blemish appearing, or even without assigning a reason, he may return them within three days. As soon as the slaves are sold, the exposer gets back their finery, to be employed in ornamenting others. Most of the captives purchased at Kano, are conveyed across the desert, during which their masters endeavour to keep up their spirits, by an assurance, that on passing its boundary, they will be set free and dressed in red, which they account the gayest of colours. Supplies, however, often fail in this dreary journey, a want first felt by the slaves, many of whom perish with hunger and fatigue. Clapperton heard the doleful tale of a mother, who had seen her child dashed to the ground, while she herself was compelled by the lash to drag on an exhausted frame. Yet, when at all tolerably treated, they are very gay, an observation generally made in regard to slaves, but this gaiety, arising only from the absence of thought, probably conceals much secret wretchedness.
The regulations of the market of Kano seem to be good, and strictly enforced. A sheik superintends the police, and is said even to fix the prices. Thedylalasor brokers, are men of somewhat high character; packages of goods are often sold unopened bearing merely their mark. If the purchaser afterwards finds any defect, he returns it to the agent, who must grant compensation. The medium of exchange is not cloth as in Bornou, nor iron as in Loggun, but cowries or little shells, brought from the roast, twenty of which are worth a halfpenny, and four hundred and eighty make a shilling, so that in paying a pound sterling, one has to count over nine thousand six hundred cowries. Amid so many strangers, there is ample room for the trade of therestaurateur,which is carried on by a female seated on the ground, with a mat on her knees, on which are spread vegetables, gussub water, and bits of roasted meat about the size of a penny; these she retails to her customers squatted around her. The killing of a bullock forms a sort of festival at Kano; its horns are dyed red with henna, drums are beaten, and a crowd collected, who, if they approve of the appearance and condition of the animal, readily become purchasers.
Boxing in Houssa, like wrestling in Bornou, forms a favourite exercise, and the grand national spectacle. Clapperton, having heard much of thefancyof Kano, intimated his willingness to pay for a performance, which was forthwith arranged. The whole body of butchers attended, and acted as masters of the ceremonies; while, as soon as the tidings spread, girls left their pitchers at the wells; the market people threw down their baskets, and an immense crowd were assembled. The ring being formed, and drums beaten, the performers first came forward singly, plying their muscles, like a musician tuning his instrument, and each calling out to the bystanders—"I am a hyena." "I am a lion." "I can kill all that oppose me." After about twenty had shown off in this manner, they came forward in pairs, wearing only a leathern girdle, and with their hands muffled in numerous folds of country cloth. It was first ascertained that they were not mutual friends; after which they closed with the utmost fury, aiming their blows at the most mortal parts, as the pit of the stomach, beneath the ribs, or under the ear; they even endeavoured to scoop out the eyes; so that in spite of every precaution, the match often terminated in the death of one of the combatants. Whenever Clapperton saw the affair verging to such an issue, he gave orders to stop, and after seeing six parties exhibit, he paid the hire, and broke up the meeting.
The negroes here are excessively polite and ceremonious, especially to those advanced in years. They salute one another by laying the hand on the breast, making a bow, and inquiring,Kona lafia? ki ka ky kee—Fo fo da rana:How do you do? I hope you are well. How have you passed the heat of the day? The last question corresponds in their climate to the circumstantiality, with what our country folks inquire about a good night's rest.
The unmarried girls, whether slaves or free, and likewise the young unmarried men, wear a long apron of blue and white check, with a notched edging of red woollen cloth. It is tied with two broad bands, ornamented in the same way, and hanging down behind to the very ankles. This is peculiar to Soudan, and forms the only distinction in dress from the people of Bornou.
Their marriages are not distinguished by any great form or ceremony. When a bride is first conducted to the house of the bridegroom, she is attended by a great number of friends and slaves, bearing presents of melted fat, honey, wheat, turkadees, and tobes as her dower. She whines all the way,"Wey kina! wey kina! wey lo!"O my head! My head! Oh! dear me. Notwithstanding this lamentation, the husband has commonly known his wife some time before marriage. Preparatory to the ceremony of reading the fatah, both bridegroom and bride remain shut up for some days, and have their hands and feet dyed for three days successively, with henna. The bride herself visits the bridegroom, and applies the henna plasters with her own hands.
Every one is buried under the floor of his own house, without monument or memorial, and among the commonalty the house continues occupied as usual, but among the great there is more refinement, and it is ever after abandoned. The corpse being washed, the first chapter of the Koran is read over it, and the interment takes place the same day. The bodies of slaves are dragged out of town, and left a prey to vultures and wild beasts. In Kano they do not even take the trouble to convey them beyond the walls, but throw the corpse into the morass, or nearest pool of water.
Major Denham was now informed that the sultan had sent a messenger express, with orders to have him conducted to his capital, and to supply him with every thing necessary for his journey. He now begged him to state what he stood in need of. The major assured him that the king of England, his master, had liberally provided for all his wants, but that he felt profoundly grateful for the kind offer of the sultan, and had only to crave from him the favour of being attended by one of his people as a guide. He instantly called a fair-complexioned Fellata, and asked the major if he liked him; the answer was given in the affirmative, and Major Denham took his leave. He afterwards went by invitation, to visit the governor of Hadyja, who was here on his return from Sockatoo, and lived in the house of the Wanbey. He found this governor of Hadyja, a black man, about fifty years of age, sitting amongst his own people, at the upper end of the room, which is usually a little raised, and is reserved in this country for the master of the house, or visitors of high rank. He was well acquainted with the major's travelling name, for the moment he entered, he said laughing, "How do you do, Abdallah? Will you come and see me at Hadyja on your return?"
"God be willing," answered the major, with due moslem solemnity.
"You are a Christian, Abdallah?" asked the governor. "I am," replied the major.
"And what are you come to see?" inquired the governor. "The country," replied the major, "its manners and customs." "What do you think of it?" asked the governor. "It is a fine country," said the major, "but very sickly." At this the governor smiled, and again asked, "would you Christians allow us to come and see your country?"
"Certainly," said the major, "and every civility and kindness would be shown to you."
"Would you force us to become Christians?" asked the governor.
"By no means," answered the major, "we never meddle with a man's religion."
"What!" he exclaimed, "and do you ever pray?" "Sometimes," said the major. "Our religion commands us to pray always, but we pray in secret, and not in public, except on Sundays."
One of his attendants here abruptly asked, what a Christian was "Why, a kafir," rejoined the governor. "Where is your Jew servant?" he asked, "you ought to let us see him."
"Excuse me," said the major, "he is averse from it, and I never allow my servants to be molested for their religious opinions."
"Well, Abdallah," said the governor, "thou art a man of understanding, and must come and see me at Hadyja."
The major then retired, and the Arabs afterwards told him, that he was a perfect savage, and sometimes put a merchant to death for the sake of his goods, but this account, if true, is less to be wondered at, from the notorious villainy of some of them.
From Kano, Lieutenant Clapperton set out, under the guidance of Mohammed Jollie, leader of a caravan intended for Sockatoo, capital of the sultan of the Fellatas. The country was perhaps the finest in Africa, being under high cultivation, diversified with groves of noble trees, and traversed in a picturesque manner by ridges of granite. The manners of the people, too, were pleasing and pastoral. At many clear springs, gushing from the rocks, young women were drawing water. As an excuse for engaging in talk, our traveller asked several times for the means of quenching his thirst. Bending gracefully on one knee, and displaying, at the same time, teeth of pearly whiteness and eyes of the blackest lustre, they presented a gourd, and appeared highly delighted, when he thanked them for their civility, remarking to one another, "Did you hear the white man thank me?" But the scene was changed on reaching the borders of the provinces of Goobar and Zamfra, which were in a state of rebellion against Sockatoo. The utmost alarm at that moment prevailed; men and women, with their bullocks, asses, and camels, all struggled to be foremost, every one crying out, "Woe to the wretch that falls behind; he will be sure to meet an unhappy end, even at the hands of the Goobarites!" There was danger of being even thrown down and trampled to death by the bullocks, which were furiously rushing backward and forward; however, through the unremitting care of the escort, Clapperton made his way safely, though not without much fatigue and annoyance, along this perilous frontier.
The country was now highly cultivated. The road was crowded with passengers and loaded bullocks, going to the market of Zimrie, which town was passed a little to the southward about noon, when the country became more wooded. In the evening, a halt was made at a town called Quarra, where Clapperton waited upon the governor, who was an aged Fellata. Here Clapperton was unluckily taken for a fighi, or teacher, and was pestered at all hours of the clay to write out prayers by the people. His servants hit upon a scheme to get rid of their importunities, by acquainting them, that, if he did such things, they must be paid the perquisites usually given to the servants of other fighis. Clapperton's washerwoman positively insisted on being paid with a charm in writing, that would entice people to buy earthen-ware of her, and no persuasion of his could either induce her to accept of money for her service, or make her believe that the request was beyond human power. In the cool of the afternoon, he was visited by three of the governor's wives, who, after examining his skin with much attention, remarked, compassionately, it was a thousand pities he was not black, for then he would have been tolerably good looking. He asked one of them, a buxom young girl of fifteen, if she would accept of him for a husband, provided he could obtain the permission of her master, the governor. She immediately began to whimper, and on urging her to explain the cause, she frankly avowed,she did not know what to do with his white legs.He gave to each of them a snuff-box, and, in addition, a string of white beads to the coy maiden. They were attended by an old woman and two little female slaves, and, during their stay, made very merry; but he feared much that their gaiety soon fled on returning to the close custody of their old gaoler.
Clapperton now tried every thing in his power to induce his guide to proceed, without waiting for the escort; but El Wordee and the shreef, who were the most pusillanimous rascals he ever met with, effectually dissuaded him from it.
He was much amused with a conversation he overheard between the blind shreef and his servant, respecting himself and his intended journey. "That Abdallah," says the servant, "is a very bad man; he has no more sense than an ass, and is now going to lead us all to the devil, if we will accompany him. I hope, master, you are not such a fool."
"Yes," ejaculated the shreef, "it was a black day when I joined that kafir; but if I don't go with him; I shall never see the sultan; and when I return to Kano without any thing, the people will laugh at me for my pains."
"Why did you not talk to him," said the servant, "about the dangers of the road?"
"D—n his father!" replied the shreef; "I have talked to him, but these infidels have no prudence."
Clapperton now called out, "A thousand thanks to you, my lord shreef."
"May the blessings of God be upon you!" exclaimed the shreef. "Oh! Rais Abdallah, you are a beautiful man. I will go with you wherever you go. I was only speaking in jest to this dog."
"My lord shreef," said Clapperton, "I was aware of it from the first; it is of no importance, but, if the escort does not arrive to-morrow, I may merely mention to you, I shall certainly proceed, without further delay, to Kashna."
This Clapperton said by way of alarming the shreef, who liked his present quarters too well, from the number of pious females, who sought edification from the lips of so true a descendant of the prophet; besides the chance such visits afforded of transmitting to their offspring the honour of so holy a descent.
The small-pox was at this time raging in the country to an alarming degree. The treatment of the disease is as follows:—When the disease makes its appearance, they anoint the whole body with honey, and the patient lies down on the floor, previously strewed with warm sand, some of which is also sprinkled upon him. If the patient be very ill, he is bathed in cold water early every morning, and is afterwards anointed with honey, and replaced in the warm sand. This is their only mode of treatment; but numbers died every day of this loathsome disease, which had now been raging for six months.
Clapperton had now his baggage packed up for his journey to Kashna, to the great terror of El Wordee, the shreef, and all his servants, who earnestly begged him to remain only a day longer. A party of horse and foot arrived from Zirmee the same night. It was the retinue of a Fellata captain, who was bringing back a young wife from her father's, where she had made her escape. The fair fugitive bestrode a very handsome palfrey, amid a groupe of female attendants on foot. Clapperton was introduced to her on the following morning, when she politely joined her husband in requesting Clapperton to delay his journey another day, in which case, they kindly proposed they should travel together. Of course, it was impossible to refuse so agreeable an invitation, to which Clapperton seemed to yield with all possible courtesy. Indeed he had no serious intention of setting out that day. The figure of the lady was small, but finely formed, and her complexion of a clear copper colour, while, unlike most beautiful women, she was mild and unobtrusive in her manners. Her husband, too, whom she had deserted, was one of the finest looking men Clapperton ever saw, and had also the reputation of being one of the bravest of his nation.
A humpbacked lad, in the service of the gadado, or vizier of Bello, who, on his way from Sockatoo, had his hand dreadfully wounded by the people of Goober, was in the habit of coming every evening to Clapperton's servants to have the wound dressed. On conversing with Clapperton himself, he told him that he had formerly been on an expedition under Abdecachman, a Fallata chief. They started from the town of Labogee, or Nyffee, and, crossing the Quarra, travelled south fourteen days along the banks of the river, until they were within four days journey of the sea, where, according to his literal expression, "the river was one, and the sea was one," but at what precise point the river actually entered the sea, he had no distinct notion.
Early in the morning of the 13th March, Clapperton commenced his journey, in company with the Fellata chief. El Wordee and the shreef were evidently in much trepidation, as they did not consider their present party sufficiently strong, in case of attack; but they had not proceeded far on their route, when they were agreeably surprised by meeting the escort, which they expected. It consisted of one hundred and fifty horsemen, with drums and trumpets. Their leader, with his attendants, advanced to Clapperton in full gallop, and bade him welcome to the country in the name of his master, the sultan, who, he said, was rejoiced to hear he was so near, and had sent him to conduct the travellers to his capital.
They continued to travel with the utmost speed, but the people soon began to fag, and the lady of the Fellata chief, who rode not far from Clapperton, began to complain of fatigue. In the evening they halted at the wells of Kamoon, all extremely fatigued, and on the following morning, they discovered that all their camels had strayed away in quest of food; they were, however, recovered by the exertions of the escort, to the commander of which Clapperton made a handsome present, consisting of some European articles, and to his officers a present of minor value.
On the following day, Clapperton left the wells of Kamoon, followed by his escort and a numerous retinue, and a loud flourish of horns and trumpets. Of course, this extraordinary respect was paid to him as the servant of the king of England, as he was styled in the sheik of Bornou's letter. To impress them still farther with his official importance, Clapperton arrayed himself in his lieutenant's coat, trimmed with gold lace, white trousers, and silk stockings, and to complete his finery, he wore Turkish slippers and a turban. Although his limbs pained him extremely, in consequence of their recent forced march, he constrained himself to assume the utmost serenity of countenance, in order to meet, with befitting dignity, the honours they lavished on him as the humble representative of his country.
From the top of the second hill after leaving Kamoon, they at length saw Sockatoo. A messenger from the sultan met them here to bid the travellers welcome, and to acquaint them that the sultan was at a neighbouring town, on his return from a ghrazzie or expedition, but intended to be in Sockatoo in the evening. At noon they arrived at Sockatoo, where a great number of people were assembled to look at the European traveller, and he entered the city amid the hearty welcomes of young and old. He was immediately conducted to the house of the gadado or vizier, where apartments were provided for him and his servants. The gadado, an elderly man named Simnon Bona Lima, arrived near midnight, and came instantly to see him. He was excessively polite, but would on no account drink tea with Clapperton, as he said, he was a stranger in their land, and had not yet eaten of his bread. He told Clapperton that the sultan wished to see him in the morning, and repeatedly assured him of experiencing the most cordial reception. He spoke Arabic extremely well, which he said he learned solely from the Koran.
After breakfast on the following morning, the sultan sent for Clapperton, his residence being at no great distance. In front of it there is a large quadrangle, into which several of the principal streets of the city lead. They passed through three coozees, as guardhouses, without the least detention, and were immediately ushered into the presence of Bello, the second sultan of the Fellatas. He was seated on a small carpet, between two pillars supporting the roof of a thatched house, not unlike one of our cottages. The walls and pillars were painted blue and white, in the moorish taste and on the back wall was sketched a fire screen, ornamented with a coarse painting of a flower-pot. An arm-chair with an iron lamp standing on it, was placed on each side of the screen. The sultan bade Clapperton many hearty welcomes, and asked him if he were not much tired with his journey from Burderewa. Clapperton told him it was the most severe travelling he had experienced between Tripoli and Sockatoo, and thanked him for the guard, the conduct of which he did not fail to commend in the strongest terms.
The sultan asked him a great many questions about Europe, and our religious distinctions. He was acquainted with the names of some of the more ancient sects, and asked whether we were Nestorians or Socinians. To extricate himself from the embarrassment occasioned by this question, Clapperton bluntly replied, we were called Protestants. "What are Protestants?" said he. Clapperton attempted to explain to him, as well as he was able, that having protested more than two centuries and a half ago, against the superstition, absurdities, and abuses practised in those days, we had ever since professed to follow simply what was written "in the book of our Lord Jesus," as they call the New Testament, and thence received the name of Protestants. He continued to ask several other theological questions, until Clapperton was obliged to confess himself not sufficiently versed in religious subtleties, to resolve these knotty points, having always left that task to others more learned than himself.
The sultan was a noble-looking man, forty-four years of age, although much younger in appearance, five feet ten inches high, portly in person, with a short curling black beard, a small mouth, a fine forehead, a grecian nose, and large black eyes. He was dressed in a light blue cotton tobe, with a white muslin turban, the shawl of which he wore over the nose and mouth, in the Tuarick fashion.
In the afternoon Clapperton repeated his visit, accompanied by the Gadado, Mahomed El Wordee, and Mahomed Gomsoo, the principal Arab of the city, to whom he had a letter of introduction from Hat Salah, at Kano. The sultan was sitting in the same apartment in which he received him in the morning, and Clapperton laid before him the presents, in the name of his majesty the king of England. Amongst these presents, the compass and spy glass excited the greatest interest, and the sultan seemed highly gratified when Clapperton pointed out, that by means of the former he could at any time find out the east, to address himself in his daily prayers. He said "Every thing is wonderful, but you are the greatest curiosity of all," and then added, "What can I give that is most acceptable to the king of England?" Clapperton replied, "The most acceptable service you can render to the king of England, is to cooperate with his majesty, in putting a stop to the slave trade on the coast, as the king of England sends every year large ships to cruise there, for the sole purpose of seizing all vessels engaged in this trade, whose crews are thrown into prison, and of liberating the unfortunate slaves, on whom lands and houses are conferred, at one of our settlements in Africa."
"What!" said the sultan, "have you no slaves in England."
"No," replied Clapperton, "whenever a slave sets his foot on England, he is from that moment free."
"What do you do then for servants?" asked the sultan.
"We hire them for a stated period," replied Clapperton, "and give them regular wages; nor is any person in England allowed to strike another, and the very soldiers are fed, clothed, and paid by government."
"God is great!" exclaimed the sultan, "you are a beautiful people."
Clapperton now presented the sheik of Bornou's letter. On perusing it, the sultan assured Clapperton that he should see all that was to be seen within his dominions, as well as in Youri and Nyffee, both of which Clapperton informed him, he was most anxious to visit. This interview terminated very satisfactory to Clapperton, as through the influence and power of the sultan, he hoped to be able to accomplish his design of penetrating further into the country, but the sequel will show, that the knowledge which Clapperton had as yet entertained of the African character, was very limited and superficial.
In describing the events which took place during the residence of Clapperton at Sockatoo, we shall be obliged in several instances to be very circumstantial, as they have all a reference proximate or remote to the affairs which took place, when he visited the place at a future period, in company with Richard Lander, in whose papers some highly interesting information is contained, respecting the conduct of the sultan and the natives, both prior and subsequent to the death of Clapperton, and from which in some degree resulted the death of that amiable and highly spirited officer.
On the morning of the 19th March, Clapperton was sent for by the sultan, and desired to bring with him "the looking glass of the sun," the name which they gave to the sextant. He was on this occasion conducted further into the interior of his residence, than on his two former visits. Clapperton first exhibited a planisphere of the heavenly bodies. The sultan knew all the signs of the zodiac, some of the constellations, and many of the stars by their Arabic names. The looking glass of the sun was then brought forward, and occasioned much surprise. Clapperton had to explain all its appendages. The inverting telescope was an object of intense astonishment, and Clapperton had to stand at some little distance, to let the sultan look at him through it, for his people were all afraid of placing themselves within its magical influence. He had next to show him how to take an observation of the sun. The case of the artificial horizon, of which Clapperton had lost the key, was sometimes very difficult to open, as happened on this occasion, and he asked one of the people near him for a knife to press up the lid. The person handed him one much too small, and he quite inadvertently asked for a dagger for the same purpose. The sultan was instantly thrown into a fright; he seized his sword, and half drawing it from the scabbard, placed it before him, trembling all the time like an aspen leaf. Clapperton did not deem it prudent to take the least notice of this alarm, although it was himself who had in reality the greatest cause of fear. On receiving the dagger, Clapperton calmly opened the case, and returned the weapon to its owner with apparent unconcern. When the artificial horizon was arranged, the sultan and all his attendants had a peep at the sun, and the breach of etiquette which Clapperton had committed, seemed to be entirely forgotten. In the evening the sultan sent him two sheep, a camel load of wheat and rice, and some of the finest figs which Clapperton had ever tasted in Africa.
On the following day, Clapperton returned the visit of Mahomed Gomsoo, the chief of the Arabs, of whose excessive greediness he had been warned at Kano, but at the same time recommended to make him a handsome present, and to endeavour by all means to keep him in good humour, on account of his great influence. On receiving the presents, Gomsoo promised to give Clapperton a letter to the sultan of Youri, who was his particular friend, and with whom he had lived many years. From this person Clapperton obtained the following information respecting the death of Mr. Park, and which confirmed the previous reports which had been obtained respecting him. Gomsoo said he was at Youri when the English came down in a boat from Timbuctoo, and were lost, which circumstance he related in the following manner:—They had arrived off a town called Boosa, and having sent a gun and some other articles as presents to the sultan of Youri, they sent to purchase a supply of onions in the market. The sultan apprised them of his intention to pay them a visit, and offered to send people to guide them through the ledges of rock, which run quite across the channel of the river a little below the town, where the banks rise into high hills on both sides. Instead of waiting for the sultan, they set off at night, and by daybreak next morning, a horseman arrived at Youri, to inform the sultan that the boat had struck upon the rocks. The people on both sides of the river then began to assail them with arrows, upon which they threw overboard all their effects, andtwo white men,arm and arm, jumped into the water, two slaves only remaining in the boat, with some books and papers, and several guns. One of the books was covered with wax-cloth, and still remained in the hands of the sultan of Youri. Gomsoo also told Clapperton, and his account was confirmed by others, that the sultan of Youri was a native of Sockna, in the regency of Tripoli, and prided himself extremely on his birth, but that he was such a drunkard, whenever any person of consequence came to visit him, that nothing proved so acceptable a present as a bottle of rum.
On Clapperton's return home from Gomsoo's, he found a message had been left for him to wait upon the sultan, which he complied with immediately after breakfast. He received him in an inner apartment, attended only by a few slaves. After asking Clapperton how he did, and several other chit chat questions, he was not a little surprised, without a single question being put to him on the subject, to hear, that if he wished to go to Nyffee, there were two roads leading to it, the one direct, but beset by enemies; the other safer, but more circuitous; that by either route he would be detained during the rains, in a country at present in a state of rebellion, and therefore that he ought to think seriously of these difficulties. Clapperton assured the sultan that he had already taken the matter into consideration, and that he was neither afraid of the dangers of the roads nor of the rains. "Think of it with prudence," the sultan replied, and they parted.
From the tone and manner in which the sultan pronounced the latter sentence, Clapperton felt a foreboding that his intended visit to Youri and Nyffee was at an end. He could not help suspecting the intrigues of the Arabs to be the cause, as they knew well, if the native Africans were once acquainted with English commerce by the way of the sea, their own lucrative inland trade would from that moment cease. He was much perplexed during the whole of the day, to know how to act, and went after sunset to consult Mahomed Gomsoo. Clapperton met him at the door of his house, on his way to the sultan, and stopped him to mention what had passed, and how unaccountably strange it appeared to him, that the sultan, after having repeatedly assured him of being at liberty to visit every part of his dominions, should now, for the first time, seem inclined to withdraw that permission, adding, that before he came to Sockna, he never heard of a king making a promise one day and breaking it the next. All this, he knew, would find its way to the sultan. Gomsoo told Clapperton that he was quite mistaken; for that the sultan, the gadado, and all the principal people, entertained the highest opinion of him, and wished for nothing so much as to cultivate the friendship of the English nation. But, said Clapperton, on leaving him, it is necessary for me to visit those places, or else how can the English get here? As Clapperton anticipated, Gomsoo repeated to the sultan every word he had said, for he was no sooner at home, than he was sent for by the sultan, whom he found seated with Gomsoo and two others. He was received with great kindness, and Gomsoo said he had made the sultan acquainted with their conversation. Clapperton thanked him, and expressed his earnest hope, that he had neither done nor said any thing to offend him. The sultan assured him that his conduct had always met with his approbation, and although he was freely disposed to show him all the country, still he wished to do so with safety to him. An army, he added, was at this moment ravaging the country, through which he had to pass, and until he heard from it, it would be unsafe to go, he expected, however, further information in three or four days. He drew on the sand the course of the river Quarra, which he informed Clapperton entered the sea at Fundah. By his account the river ran parallel to the sea coast for several days' journey, being in some places only a few hours, in others a day's journey distant from it. After questioning Clapperton on some points connected with the English trade, the sultan said, "I will give the king of England a place on the coast to build a town, only I wish a road to be cut to Rakah, if vessels should not be able to navigate the river." Clapperton asked him, if the country which he had promised, belonged to him. "Yes," said he, "God has given me all the lands of the infidels." This was an answer that admitted of no contradiction.
The sultan informed Clapperton, that some timbers of Park's boat, fastened together with nails, remained a long time on the rocks of the river, and that a double-barrelled gun, taken in the boat, was once in his possession, but it had lately burst. His cousin, Abderachman, however, had a small printed book, taken out of the boat; but he was now absent on an expedition to Nyffee. The other books were in the hands of the sultan of Youri, who was tributary to him. Clapperton told the sultan, if he could procure these articles for the king of England, they would prove a most acceptable present, and he promised to make every exertion in his power.
The direct road to Youri is only five days' journey; but on account of the rebellious state of the country, it was necessary to take a circuitous route of twelve days. Numbers of the principal people of Sockatoo came to Clapperton, to advise him to give up the idea of going, all alleging that the rains had already commenced it Youri, and that the road was in the hands of their enemies. They repeated the same tales to the servants who were to accompany him, and threw them all into a panic at the prospect of so dangerous a journey. Clapperton discovered also, that the Arabs were tampering with his servants, and some of them absolutely refused to go, from some information that was given to them, that, if they met with no disasters on the route to Youri, the sultan there would assuredly sell them, and that they would never be allowed to return.
The journey to Youri now appeared to engross the whole of Clapperton's attention, and the sultan sent for him, to consult with him about the guide, who was to accompany him to that place. One man had already refused, and he had to tempt another with a promise of forty thousand kowries unknown to the sultan, who kindly took much pains to impress upon Clapperton the necessity of his return within twenty-six days, on account of the capricious character of the people of the place.
Clapperton now began to see that no chance existed of his prosecuting his journey to Youri; but it must be admitted, that some of the suspicions which he entertained were groundless, for the state of the country was afterwards found to be, if possible, worse than had been described; and the ravages of the Fellatas so terrible, that any one coming from amongst them was likely to experience a very disagreeable reception. Indeed it may be suspected, that the sultan must have been a good deal embarrassed by the simplicity with which his guest listened to his pompous boasting as to the extent of his empire, and by the earnestness with which he entreated him to name one of his seaports, where the English might land, when it was certain that he had not a town which was not some hundred miles distant from the coast. To prevent the disclosure of this fact, which must have taken place, had Clapperton proceeded in that direction, might be an additional motive for refusing his sanction. In short, it was finally announced to Clapperton, that no escort could be found to accompany him on so rash an enterprise, and that he could return to England only by retracing his steps.
One morning, Clapperton was surprised at a visit from Ateeko, the brother of the sultan, to whom he had sent a present of a scarlet jacket, breeches, and bornouse. When he was seated, and the usual compliments were over, Clapperton apologized, on the score of ill health, for not having already paid him a visit. He now told him he had a few things belonging to the Englishman who was at Musfeia with the late Boo Khaloom, but as no person knew what they were, he would gladly sell them to him, ordering his servant, at the same time, to produce a bundle he held under his arm. The servant took from the bundle a shirt, two pair of trousers, and two pieces of parchment used for sketching by Major Denham. The only other articles, Ateeko said, were a trunk, a broken sextant, and a watch; the latter had been destroyed, as he alleged, in their ignorant eagerness to examine its structure. He then invited Clapperton to visit him on the following morning, when they might fix the price of what he wished to buy, to which Clapperton assented; but on reconsidering the matter, he thought it prudent first to consult the gadado, particularly as the sultan had gone on an expedition, and was not expected to return for five days. Clapperton began to fear lest a bad construction might be put upon his visit to this mean prince, who, on the death of his father, Bello the First, had aspired to the throne, and even had himself proclaimed sultan in Sockatoo; from the mere circumstance of his brother Bello, the present sultan, having expressed the intention, during his father's lifetime, of resigning the splendour of royalty for the tranquillity of a holy and learned life. Ateeko had even the audacity to enter his brother's house, preceded by drums and trumpets; and when Bello inquired the cause of the tumult, he received the first intimation of his brother's perfidy in the answer, "The sultan Ateeko is come." Bello, nowise disconcerted, immediately ordered the usurper into his presence, when Ateeko pleaded, in vindication of his conduct, his brother's proposed disinclination to reign; to which the sultan only deigned to reply, "Go and take off these trappings, or I will take off your head." Ateeko, with characteristic abjectness of spirit, began to wring his hands, as if washing them in water, and called God and the prophet to witness that his motives were innocent and upright, since which time he has remained in the utmost obscurity. According, however, to another authority, Bello confined him to the house for twelve months, and then a reconciliation took place between them. We are apt to speak of the sovereigns of barbarous and uncivilized nations as deficient in those virtues for which civilized sovereigns are or ought to be distinguished; but we suspect that few of the latter would have acted towards the usurper of his throne with the same magnanimity as was displayed by the Fellata sovereign.
On visiting the gadado, he told Clapperton by no means to go to Ateeko whilst the sultan was absent, as his visit at this juncture might be regarded with a very jealous eye by the people, who would not hesitate to charge him with a plot to place Ateeko on the throne, by the assistance of England. The gadado undisguisedly expressed his contempt at Ateeko's conduct, and assured him that it was entirely without the sanction of the sultan.
On the return of the sultan from the army, permission was given to Clapperton to purchase from Ateeko the sorry remains of Major Denham's baggage; accompanied, therefore, by El Wordee, he went to the prince's house, and after waiting for some time in the porch of a square tower, they were introduced into an inner coozee, hung round with blue and yellow silk, in sharp-pointed festoons, not unlike gothic arches. Ateeko soon made his appearance, and after a few compliments, they proceeded to business. He brought out a damaged leathern trunk, with two or three shirts, and other articles of dress, much the worse for wear, and the sextant and parchment already mentioned. The former was completely demolished, the whole of the glasses being taken out, or, where they could not unscrew them, broken off the frame, which remained a mere skeleton. Ateeko seemed to fancy that the sextant was gold, in which Clapperton soon undeceived him; and selecting it, with the parchment and one or two flannel waistcoats and towels, likely to be useful to Major Denham, he offered the prince five thousand kowries, at which he appeared much surprised and mortified. El Wordee whispered into Clapperton's ear, "Remember he is a prince, and not a merchant." But Clapperton said, loud enough for his highness to hear, "Remember, that when a prince turns merchant, he must expect no more than another man; and as that is the value of the articles, it is a matter of indifference to me whether I buy them or not." Ateeko frequently repeated his belief of the sextant being gold; but at length the bargain seemed to be concluded, and Clapperton requested the prince to send a slave to his house with the articles he had picked out, to whom also he would pay the money. The slave, however, was recalled before he got half-way, and his suspicious master took back the sextant-frame, in dread of being overreached by the purchaser in its value, which Clapperton did not fail to deduct from the price agreed on.
The prince stated, that he kept two hundred civet cats, two of which he showed Clapperton. These animals were extremely savage, and were confined in separate wooden cages. They were about four feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail, and, with the exception of a greater length of body and a longer tail, they very much resembled diminutive hyenas. They are fed with pounded guinea corn and dried fish made into balls. The civet is scraped off with a kind of muscle shell every other morning, the animal being forced into a corner of the cage, and its head held down with a stick during the operation. The prince offered to sell any number of them which Clapperton might wish to have; but he did not look upon them as very desirable travelling companions. Ateeko was a little spare man, with a full face, of monkey-like expression. He spoke in a slow and subdued tone of voice, and the Fellatas acknowledge him to be extremely brave, but at the same time avaricious and cruel. "Were he sultan," say they, "heads would fly about in Soudan."
One evening, on paying the gadado a visit, Clapperton found him alone, reading an Arabic book, one of a small collection he possessed. "Abdallah," said he, "I had a dream last night, and am perusing this book to find out what it meant. Do you believe in such things?"
"No, my lord gadado. I consider books of dreams to be full of idle conceits. God gives a man wisdom to guide his conduct, while dreams are occasioned by the accidental circumstances of sleeping with the head low, excess of food, or uneasiness of mind."
"Abdallah," he replied, smiling, "this book tells me differently." He then mentioned, that, in a few days, the sultan was going on another expedition, and wished him to join it; but that he preferred remaining, in order to have a mosque, which was then building, finished before the Rhamadan, lest the workmen should idle away their time in his absence.
Previously to the sultan's departure, he sent Clapperton a present of two large baskets of wheat, who now began to think seriously of retracing his steps to Kano. He was sitting in the shade before his door, with Sidi Sheik, the sultan's fighi, when an ill-looking wretch, with a fiend-like grin on his countenance, came and placed himself directly before Clapperton, who immediately asked Sidi Sheik who he was. He immediately answered, "The executioner." Clapperton instantly ordered his servants to turn him out. "Be patient," said Sidi Sheik, laying his hand upon that of Clapperton; "he visits the first people in Sockatoo, and they never allow him to go away without giving him a few goora nuts, or money to buy them." In compliance with this hint, Clapperton requested forty kowries to be given to the fellow, with strict orders never again to cross his threshold. Sidi Sheik now related a professional anecdote of Clapperton's uninvited visitor. Being brother of the executioner of Yacoba, of which place he was a native, he applied to the governor for his brother's situation, boasting of superior adroitness in the family vocation. The governor coolly remarked, "We will try; go and fetch your brother's head." He instantly went in quest of his brother, and finding him seated at the door of his house, without noise or warning, he struck off his head with a sword at one blow; then carrying the bleeding head to the governor, and claiming the reward of such transcendent atrocity, he was appointed to the vacant office. The sultan being afterwards in want of an expert headsman, sent for him to Sockatoo, where, a short time after his arrival, he had to officiate at the execution of two thousand Tuaricks, who, in conjunction with the rebels at Goober, had attempted to plunder the country, but were all made prisoners. It may be added, that the capital punishments inflicted in Soudan are beheading, impaling, and crucifixion; the first being reserved for Mahometans, and the other two practised on pagans. Clapperton was told, that wretches on the cross generally linger three days before death puts an end to their sufferings. Clapperton was for some time delayed in completing his arrangements for his departure from Sockatoo, on account of the fast of the Rhamadan, which the Fellatas keep with extreme rigour. The chief people never leave their houses, except in the evening to prayer; and the women frequently pour cold water over their backs and necks. Under the idea, that the greater the thirst they appear to endure, the better entitled they become to paradise; though Clapperton was inclined to believe that they made a parade of these privations, in a great measure, to obtain the reputation of extraordinary sanctity.