Unfortunately Every One Here Styled Himself A Great And Powerful Man, And Hooper Himself Calls A Host Of Ragged Scoundrels

"Noblemen and gentlemen," each of whom he advised Lander to conciliate with presents, and especially spirituous liquors, in order to

Do away any evil impression they might secretly have received, and obtain their suffrages, though it should be at the expense of half the goods in their possession. There is hardly any knowing who is monarch here, or even what form of government prevails; independently of the king of kings himself, the redoubtable Adooley, four fellows assume the title of royalty, namely, the kings of Spanish-town, of Portuguese-town, of English-town, and of French-town, Badagry being divided into four districts, bearing the names of the European nations just mentioned.

Toward the evening, they received an invitation from the former of these chieftains, who by all accounts was originally the sole governor of the country, until his authority was wrested from him by a more powerful hand. He was then living in retirement, and subsisted by purchasing slaves, and selling them to Portuguese and Spanish traders. They found in him a meek and venerable old man, of respectable appearance. He was surrounded by a number of men and boys, his household slaves, who were all armed with pistols, daggers, muskets, cutlasses, swords, &c., the manufacture of various European countries. In the first place, he assured them, that nothing could give him more pleasure than to welcome them to Badagry, and he very much wondered that they had not visited him before. If they had a present to give him, he said, he would thank them; but if they had not, still he would thank them. A table was then brought out into the court before the house, on which decanters and glasses, with a burning liquor obtained from the Portuguese, were placed. In one corner of the yard was a little hut, not more than two feet in height, wherein had been placed a fetish figure, to preserve the chief from any danger or mischief, which their presence might otherwise have entailed upon him. A portion of the spirit was poured into one of the glasses, and from it emptied into each of the others, and then drunk by the attendant that had fetched it from the house. This is an old custom, introduced no doubt to prevent masters from being poisoned by the treachery of their slaves. As soon as the decanters had been emptied of their contents, other ardent spirits were introduced, but as Richard Lander imagined that fetish water had been mingled with it, they simply took a tea-spoonful into their mouths, and privately ejected it on the ground. The old chief promised to return their visit on the morrow, and lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, like a child in the attitude of prayer, he invoked the Almighty to preserve and bless them; they then saluted him in the usual manner, and returned well pleased to their own habitation.

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