"And Now," Said He
"White Men, All I Ask Is Your Forgiveness." "That You Shall Have Most
Heartily," Said The Travellers, Shaking Hands With Him Cordially; And
They Internally Returned Thanks To God For This Signal Preservation.
Fifty miles farther on, they came to Damugoo, the chief of which place
gave them a very kind reception, and sent a canoe, manned by some of his
subjects to accompany and guide them to the coast.
Yet he was a
tyrannical despot, and told the travellers to cut off the heads of his
people, if they annoyed them by crowding to see them. Here they saw
manifest traces of European intercourse; the natives wore Manchester
cottons, and the chief presented the travellers with a case bottle of
rum, a liquor which they had not tasted since they left Kiama.
About a mile from Damugoo, they saw two streams which appeared to be
branches of the Niger; one of which came from the eastward, while the
other flowed from the westward. At the junction formed by this latter
branch with the river, they saw a large town, called Kirree, in front of
which lay a great number of canoes. They appeared to be very large, and
had flags flying at the end of long bamboo canes. The travellers passed
without molestation; but in a short time came in contact with a fleet of
fifty war canoes, each of which had a six-pounder lashed to the stern,
and the crews were well provided with muskets. From their masts fluttered
a great number of European flags of various nations, among which the
British union bore a prominent place; some had also figures on them of a
man's leg, chairs, tables, decanters, glasses, &c. The crews were chiefly
dressed in European clothing. As the travellers came up separately, the
canoes of each were attacked and plundered. Their lives were in jeopardy,
and at length they were compelled to proceed to the town of Kirree. Here,
however, several of the well-disposed and more respectable inhabitants
espoused their cause, and that part of the stolen property which could be
recovered was ordered to be restored. It was at last decided that they
should be brought down the river, and placed at the disposal of Obie, the
king of the Eboe country. During the attack, Richard Lander's journal was
lost, but his brother John's notes were fortunately preserved. The most
valuable part of their property was likewise gone, and among the rest
their wearing apparel, Mr. Park's gun, all their other weapons, their
compass and thermometer, and their cowries and needles, so that they were
left completely destitute.
As the Landers were carried down the river, the country on the banks
completely changed its appearance, being low and swampy, covered with
vast entangled forests, which completely concealed the towns and
villages, of whose existence the travellers were nevertheless apprised by
the number of inhabitants who came to the beach to trade with the
canoemen. The people subsisted chiefly on the produce of the banana, the
plantain, and the yam, and on the fish which they caught in the river.
The chief article of traffic was palm-oil.
As they drew near to Eboe, they sailed through a large lake on the river,
which branched out into three broad streams, which take different
directions towards the south-west; whence they felt assured that they
were rapidly approaching the termination of the river's course in the
Gulf of Guinea. The pleasure which they felt in the hope of soon solving
the mysterious problem which had been hid for so many ages, was however
damped by the thought of their precarious situation, and the hostile
reception which they might meet with at Eboe.
They came to an extensive morass, intercepted by narrow channels in every
direction. Passing through one of these, they got into clear water, and
arrived in front of Eboe town. Here they found hundreds of canoes, some
of which were much larger than any they had hitherto seen, being
furnished with sheds and awnings, and affording habitations to a great
number of the people, who constantly reside in them. The travellers say
that one of these canoes, hollowed out of a single trunk, may accommodate
seventy individuals. The houses of the people of Eboe are of a superior
kind, and are constructed of yellow clay plastered over, thatched with
palm leaves, and surrounded by plantations. The people are a savage and
dissolute race, and the bad expression of their countenances is a true
index of their character.
King Obie determined to detain the Landers till he could extort a large
sum for their ransom. He demanded the sum of twenty _bars_ (each equal to
one slave or a cask of palm oil). The travellers had the prospect of
being detained for an indefinite period, had not King Boy of Brass-town,
Obie's son-in-law, undertaken to pay the amount, and convey them to the
coast, on condition of receiving a guarantee for thirty-five bars, being
determined to retain the difference as profit for his trouble. King Boy
then went to the mouth of the river with Richard Lander, John being left
at Brass-town. The English brig Thomas, commanded by Captain Lake, was
then lying at anchor in the Nun, and Richard Lander went on board, in the
hope that Lake would advance the sum, which was sure to be repaid by the
British Government. He, however, had no sympathy towards his distressed
countrymen, and peremptorily refused to grant them any assistance, and
King Boy was with difficulty prevailed upon to bring John Lander to the
brig, Richard trusting that the hard-hearted captain would by that time
relent. Both brothers were now on board, and were employing all the means
in their power to induce Lake to consent to the arrangement; but in place
of doing so, he set sail, leaving King Boy to exclaim against what he no
doubt considered the treachery of the travellers.
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