Lander's Travels eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,054 pages of information about Lander's Travels.

Lander's Travels eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,054 pages of information about Lander's Travels.
the north-eastern side of the hills.  At four hours from Ingum, they halted at a village of the Cumbrie or Cambric, an aboriginal race of kaffirs, inhabiting the woods on both sides of the river.  About an hour further, they arrived at the ferry over the Menai, where it falls into another branch of the Quorra, and in about a quarter of an hour’s ride from the opposite bank, they entered the western gate of Boussa.  The walls, which appeared very extensive, were undergoing repair.  Bands of male and female slaves, singing in chorus, accompanied by a band of drums and flutes, were passing to and from the river, to mix the clay they were building with.  Every great man had his own part of the wall to build, like the Jews when they built the walls of Jerusalem, every one opposite to his own house.

The city of Boussa is situated on an island formed by the Quorra, in latitude 10 deg. 14’ N. longitude 6 deg. 11’ E. It stands nearest the westernmost branch of the Menai, which is about twenty yards in breadth, and runs with a slow and sluggish current.  The place pointed out to Lander as the spot where Park perished, is in the eastern channel.  A low flat island about a quarter of a mile in breadth, lies between the town of Boussa and the fatal spot, which is in a line from the sultan’s house with a double trunked tree, with white bark, standing singly on the low flat island.  The bank, at the time of Lander’s visit, was only ten feet above the level of the stream, which here breaks over a great slate rock, extending quite across to the eastern shore, which rises into gentle hills of grey slate, thinly scattered with trees.

The following statement of the circumstances attending the lamented fate of Mr. Park, was given to the travellers by an eyewitness, and together with all the information which they could collect, tallies with the story, disbelieved at the time, which Isaaco brought back from Amadi Fatooma.  The informant stated “that when the boat came down the river, it happened unfortunately just at the time that the Fellatas had risen in arms, and were ravaging Goober and Zamfra; that the sultan of Boussa, on hearing that the persons in the boat were white men, and that it was different from any that had ever been seen before, as she had a house at one end, called his people together from the neighbouring towns, attacked and killed them, not doubting they were the advanced guard of the Fellata army, then ravaging Soudan, under the command of Malem Danfodio, the father of sultan Bello.  That one of the white men was a tall man, with long hair; that they fought for three days before they were all killed, that the people in the neighbourhood were very much alarmed, and great numbers fled to Nyffee, and other countries, thinking that the Fellatas were certainly coming amongst them; that the number of persons in the boat were only four, two white men and two black; that they found great treasure in the boat, but that the people had all died, who ate of the meat that was found on board.”

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Lander's Travels from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.