O'er deserts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white-bosomed stranger!"
CHAPTER XXX.
_Tuckey, Peddie, and Gray's Expeditions_.
The fatal termination of Park's second journey by no means damped the
ardent desire of acquiring fresh knowledge concerning the interior of
Africa. The question as to whether the Niger finally proved to be
identical with the Congo, was undetermined; and Government resolved to
organize a large expedition for the purpose of deciding it. To attain
this object, there were to be two parties sent out, one of which was to
descend the Niger, and the other to ascend the Congo or Zaire river; and
if the hypothesis proved to be true, it was expected that both would form
a junction at a certain point. The expedition excited much interest, and
from the scale on which it was planned, and the talents of the officers
engaged in it, seemed to have a fair promise of success.
Captain Tuckey, an experienced officer, was to command the Congo
expedition; his party consisted of fifty seamen, marines, and mechanics,
with several individuals skilled in the various branches of natural
history. They sailed from Deptford in the middle of February 1816, and
arrived at Malemba about the end of June. The mafouk, or king's chief
minister of the place, gave them at first a cordial reception, but soon
showed hostility, when he learnt that they had no intention of purchasing
slaves. Soon after, they entered the Congo, which much disappointed their
expectations, on account of the shallowness of its channel. The river,
however, was then at a low ebb; its banks were marshy, and its waters
moved slowly and silently between forests of mangrove trees. The air was
filled with the discordant croak of innumerable parrots, diversified
somewhat by the notes of a few singing birds. As they proceeded, the
river, instead of diminishing, seemed to increase in volume. At Embomma,
much interest was excited among the natives, by the discovery that their
cook's mate was the son of a native prince. His arrival was the signal
for general rejoicing, and the enraptured father hastened to welcome his
heir. During the night the village resounded with music and songs. "Next
day the ci-devant cook appeared in all the pomp of African royalty, with
a tarnished silk embroidered coat, a black glazed hat with an enormous
feather, and a silk sash; he was carried in a hammock by two slaves, with
an umbrella over his head."
On the 27th July, Captain Tuckey was introduced to the Chenoo or
sovereign, who sat in full divan, with his councillors around him,
beneath a spreading tree, from the branches of which were suspended two
of his enemies' skulls. He was dressed in a most gaudy fashion. He could
not be made to comprehend the objects of the expedition, and for two
hours reiterated the two questions, - "Are you come to trade?" and "Are
you come to make war?" After he had exacted a promise that they would not
interfere with the slave-trade, a keg of rum was emptied with great
satisfaction by the monarch and his attendants.
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