The Noise Made By These People On Their Starting, In Bawling To Their Fetish Through The Trumpets, Was Beyond All Description.

Their object was to secure them a safe journey, and most certainly, if noise could do so, they were pretty certain of it.

The villages that they passed in the course of the day, were very numerous, and not distant more than two or three miles from each other, on the banks of the river. They were surrounded by more cultivated land than they had seen for the previous fortnight; the crops consisting of yams, bananas, plantains, indian corn, &c. &c., not having seen so much since they left Kacunda. The villages had a pleasing appearance from the river. The houses seemed to be built of a light-coloured clay, and being thatched with palm branches, they very much resembled our own cottages. They were of a square form, with two windows on each side of the door, but have no upper rooms.

In many places they observed that the river had overflowed its banks, and was running between the trees and thick underwood. In the widest part, it did not seem more than a mile and a half across, in fact, its width, contrary to the usual course of rivers, when approaching the sea, was sensibly diminishing, and was dwindling away into an ordinary stream.

"Perhaps," says Richard Lander, "there cannot be a greater comfort under the sun, than sound and invigorating sleep to the weary, nor in our opinion, a greater grievance than the loss of it; because wakefulness at those hours, which nature has destined for repose, is, in nine cases out of ten, sure to be the harbinger of peevishness, discontent, and ill humour, and not unfrequently induces languor, lassitude, and disease. No two individuals in the world have greater reason to complain of disturbed slumbers or nightly watching, than ourselves. Heretofore, this has been occasioned chiefly by exposure to damps, rains, and dews, mosquito attacks, frightful and piercing noises, and over-fatigue, or apprehension or anxiety of mind. But now, in the absence of most of these causes, we are cramped, painfully cramped for want of room, insomuch, that when we feel drowsy, we find it impossible to place ourselves in a recumbent posture, without having the heavy legs of Mr. and Mrs. Boy, with their prodigious ornaments of ivory, placed either on our faces or on our breasts. From such a situation it requires almost the strength of a rhinoceros to be freed; it is most excessively teasing. Last night we were particularly unfortunate in this respect, and a second attack of fever, which came on me in the evening, rendered my condition lamentable indeed, and truly piteous. It would be ridiculous to suppose, that one can enjoy the refreshment of sleep, how much soever it my be required, when two or more uncovered legs and feet, huge, black, and rough, are traversing one's face and body, stopping up the passages of respiration, and pressing so heavily upon them at times, as to threaten suffocation. I could not long endure so serious an inconvenience, but preferred last night sitting up in the canoe. My brother was indisposed, and in fact unable to follow my example, and therefores I endeavoured, if possible, to render his situation more tolerable. With this object in view, I pinched the feet of our snoring companions, Mr. and Mrs. Boy, repeatedly, till the pain caused them to awake, and remove their brawny feet from his face, and this enabled him to draw backwards a few inches, and place his head into a narrow recess, which is formed by two boxes. However, this did not allow him liberty to turn it either way, and thus jammed, with no command whatever over his suffering limbs, he passed the hours without sleep, and arose this morning with bruised bones and sore limbs, complaining bitterly of the wretched moments, which the legs of Mr. and Mrs. Boy had caused him, with their ivory rings and heaps of yams."

They now arrived at a convenient place for stopping awhile, to give their canoe men rest from their labour, and at day break they launched out again into the river, and paddled down the stream. At seven in the morning, Boy and his wife having landed to trade, the Landers took advantage of their absence and slept soundly for two hours, without the risk of being disturbed by the brawny legs of either the gentleman or lady.

They continued their course down the river until two hours after midnight, when they stopped near a small village on the east side of the river. They made fast to the shore, and the people settled themselves in the canoe to sleep. Having sat up the whole of the previous night, for the best of all reasons, because they could find no room to lie down, in consequence of the crowded state of the canoe, and feeling themselves quite unequal to do the same, the Landers took their mats and went on shore, determined if possible, to sleep on the ground. Overcome by fatigue, the fear of being attacked by alligators, or any thing else, they selected a dry place and laid themselves down on their mats. They had nearly dropped asleep, when they were roused by several severe stings, and found themselves covered with black ants. They had got up their trousers, and were tormenting them dreadfully. At first they knew not which way to get rid of them. Their men, Pascoe, Sam, and Jowdie, seeing the condition they were in, landed from the canoe, and made large fires in the form of a ring, and they laid down in the midst of them and slept till daylight. The sting of a black ant is quite as painful as that of a wasp.

Towards the evening of the following day, they departed from the main river, and took their course up a small branch towards Brass Town, running in a direction about southeast from that which they had just left.

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