The Rider Was Armed
With A Large Spear And He Had To Be Assisted To Mount His Horse, As His
Quilted cloak was too heavy; it required two men to lift him on, and
there were six of them belonging
To each governor, and six to the Sultan.
I at first thought the foot would take advantage of going under cover of
these unwieldy machines; but no, they went alone as fast as the poor
horses could bear them, which was but a slow pace. They had one musket in
Coonia, and it did wonderful execution, for it brought down the foremost
of the quilted men, who fell from his horse like a sack of corn thrown
from a horse's back at a miller's door, but both horse and man were
brought off by two or three footmen. He had got two balls through his
breast: one went through his body and both sides of the robe, the other
went through and lodged in the quilted armour opposite the shoulders."
Clapperton was desired by the sultan to repair to Sockatoo, where he
found the same house in which he had formerly lodged prepared for his
reception. He resided there six months, harassed by disappointment, and
worn down by severe illness. No farther was this gallant and intrepid
traveller to be permitted to advance; in the midst of his discoveries he
was to be cut down, his dying couch tended by none but his faithful and
kind companion and servant, the depth and fidelity of whose attachment is
attested by the affectionate manner in which he speaks of his master.
The feelings of the natives and of the king seemed to have undergone a
most unfavourable change towards the travellers. The Africans entertained
some vague suspicion, that the King of England, in sending the white men
to their country, had some sinister object in view. A letter had reached
the sultan from Bornou, intimating, that in sending missions to Africa,
the English were acting in the same manner as they had done, in order to
subdue the Indian princes, and even advising that Clapperton should be
put to death. Bello evidently put some faith in this ridiculous
assertion. He seized Clapperton's baggage, under the pretence that he was
conveying arms and warlike stores to the sultan of Bornou, and ordered
Lord Bathurst's letter to that prince to be given up to him. Clapperton's
remonstrances against this unfair treatment were vain; grief preyed upon
his ardent spirit, and though the sultan, some time afterwards began to
treat him more favourably, this returning kindness came too late. He was
attacked with dysentery, brought on by a cold, caught by lying down under
a tree on soft and wet ground, when fatigued and heated with walking.
"Twenty days," says Lander, "my poor master continued in a low and
distressed state. His body, from being robust and vigorous, became weak
and emaciated, and indeed was little better than a skeleton." Towards the
beginning of April, his malady increased in violence. His sleep was short
and disturbed, broken by frightful dreams. One day he called Lander to
his bedside, and said, "Richard, I shall shortly be no more, - I feel
myself dying." Almost choked with grief, Lander replied, "God forbid, my
dear master, - you will live many years yet." "Do not be so much affected,
my dear boy, I entreat you," said he; "it is the will of the Almighty,
and cannot be helped." Lander promised strict attention to his directions
concerning his papers and property. "He then," says Lander, "took my hand
within his, and looking me full in the face, while a tear stood
glistening in his eye, said in a low but deeply affecting tone; 'My dear
Richard, if you had not been with me I should have died long ago; I can
only thank you with my latest breath for your kindness and attachment to
me; and if I could have lived to return with you, you should have been
placed beyond the reach of want; but God will reward you.'"
He lingered a few days, and even seemed to rally a little. But on the
morning of the 13th April, Lander was alarmed by hearing a peculiar
rattling sound in his throat. He called out "Richard," in a low and
hurried tone. Lander hastened to his side, and found him sitting upright,
and staring wildly around. He clasped his master in his arms, and felt
his heart palpitating violently; he leant his head upon his shoulder to
catch his last words, but only "some indistinct expressions quivered on
his lips, and as he vainly strove to give them utterance, his heart
ceased to vibrate, and his eyes closed for ever." Bello permitted Lander
to bury the, body near a village about five miles from the town. The
grave was dug by two slaves, and Lander, having saddled his camel, placed
the body upon it, covered it with the British flag, and having reached
the grave, read over it the funeral service of the Church of England,
"showers of tears" falling from his eyes upon the book. He then gave the
natives a sum of money to erect a shed over the spot, to preserve it from
the wild beasts.
Lander returned in sadness from the grave of that master to whom he was
so justly attached. Bello allowed him to depart, and he resolved to make
his way to the coast by the negro countries. In spite of the limited
nature of his resources, he even attempted the solution of the great
problem of the Niger's termination. He proceeded to Kano, and struck off
to the eastward of his former route, passing on his way several towns,
the inhabitants of which all treated him kindly. He travelled through the
beautiful plain of Cuttup, which contains five hundred little villages,
situated near to each other, and surrounded by groves of trees, among
which towered the plantain, the palm, and the cocoa-nut.
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