The Former Was Reported To Be Unsafe, The Sultan Of The Country Being Out, Fighting The Fellatas. The Latter Crosses The Quorra At Comie, And Runs Direct To Koolfu, In Nyffee.

It was necessary, however, for Clapperton to proceed in the first instance to Boussa, to visit its sultan, to whom all this part of Borgoo is nominally subject.

They were also particularly anxious to see the spot where Park and his companions perished, and, if possible, to recover their papers.

Leaving Wawa at daybreak on the 30th March, the travellers passed over a woody country, and at length entered a range of low rocky hills, composed of pudding stone. At the end of an opening in the range was a beautiful sugar loaf mountain, overlooking all the rest, and bearing from the village half a mile E. S. E. The name of Mount George was given to it by Clapperton. The valleys were cultivated with yams, corn, and maize; and on the same day the travellers arrived at Ingum, the first village belonging to Boussa, situated on 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.

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