King Abdulkader Himself, With A Great Number Of His Followers, Being Taken Prisoners.

The behaviour of the king of the Jaloffs on this occasion we shall relate in Mr. Park's own words.

"When his royal prisoner was brought before him in irons, and thrown upon the ground, the magnanimous Damel, instead of setting his foot upon his neck, and stabbing him with his spear, according to custom in such cases, addressed him as follows: - 'Abdulkader, answer me this question. If the chance of war had placed me in your situation, and you in mine, how would you have treated me ?' - 'I would have thrust my spear into your heart,' returned Abdulkader, with great firmness, 'and I know that a similar fate awaits me.' - 'Not so,' said Damel; 'my spear is indeed red with the blood of your subjects killed in battle, and I could now give it a deeper stain, by dipping it in your own; but this would not build up my towns, nor bring to life the thousands, who fell in the woods; I will not, therefore, kill you in cold blood, but I will retain you as my slave, until I perceive that your presence in your own kingdom will be no longer dangerous to your neighbours, and then I will consider of the proper way of disposing of you.' Abdulkader was accordingly retained, and worked as a slave for three months, at the end of which period, Damel listened to the solicitations of the inhabitants of Foota Torra. and restored to them their king."

The coffle resumed their journey on the 7th May, and having crossed a branch of the Senegal, proceeded to a walled town, called Bentingala, where they rested two days. In one day more, they reached Dindikoo, a town at the bottom of a high ridge of hills, which gives the name of Konkodoo to this part of the country; at Dindikoo was a negro of the sort called in the Spanish West Indies, Albinos, or white negroes. His hair and skin were of a dull white colour, cadaverous and unsightly, and considered as the effect of disease.

After a tedious day's journey, the coffle arrived at Satadoo, on the evening of the 11th. Many inhabitants had quitted this town, on account of the plundering incursions of the Foulahs of Foota Jalla, who frequently carried off people from the corn fields and wells near the town.

The coffle crossed the Faleme river on the 12th, and at night halted at a village called Medina, the sole property of a Mandingo merchant, who had adopted many European customs. His victuals were served up in pewter dishes, and his houses were formed in the mode of the English houses on the Gambia.

The next morning they departed, in company with another coffle of slaves, belonging to some Serawoolli traders, and in the evening arrived at Baniserile, after a very hard day's journey.

Mr. Park was invited by one of the slatees, a native of this place, to go home to his house. He had been absent three years, and was met by his friends with many expressions of joy. When he had seated himself upon a mat near the threshold of his door, a young woman, his intended bride, brought some water in a calabash, and, kneeling before him, requested him to wash his hands. This being done, the young woman drank the water; an action here esteemed as the greatest proof that can be given of fidelity and affection.

Mr. Park now arrived on the shores of the Gambia, and on the 10th June 1797 reached Pisania, where he was received as one risen from the dead; for all the traders from the interior had believed and reported, that, like Major Houghton, he was murdered by the Moors of Ludamar. Karfa, his benefactor, received double the stipulated price, and was overpowered with gratitude; but when he saw the commodious furniture, the skilful manufactures, the superiority in all the arts of life, displayed by the Europeans, compared with the attainments of his countrymen, he was deeply mortified, and exclaimed "Black men are nothing," expressing, at the same time his surprise, that Park could find any motive for coming to so miserable a land as Africa.

Mr. Park had some difficulty in reaching home. He was obliged to embark on the 15th June, in a vessel bound to America, and was afterwards driven by stress of weather, into the island of Antigua, whence he sailed on the 24th November, and on the 22nd December landed at Falmouth. He arrived in London before dawn on the morning of Christmas day, and in the garden of the British Museum accidentally met his brother-in-law, Mr. Dickson. Two years having elapsed since any tidings had reached England, he had been given up for lost, so that his friends and the public were equally astonished and delighted by his appearance. The report of his unexpected return, after making such splendid discoveries, kindled throughout the nation a higher enthusiasm than had perhaps been excited by the result of any former mission of the same nature. The Niger had been seen flowing eastward, into the interior of Africa, and hence a still deeper interest and mystery were suspended over the future course and termination of this great central stream. Kingdoms had been discovered, more flourishing and more populous than any formerly known on that continent; but other kingdoms, still greater and wealthier, were reported to exist in regions, which Mr. Park had vainly attempted to reach. The lustre of his achievements had diffused among the public in general an ardour for discovery, which was formerly confined to a few enlightened individuals; it was, however, evident that the efforts of no private association could penetrate the depths of this vast continent, and overcome the obstacles presented by its distance, its deserts, and its barbarism.

CHAPTER IX.

It was now thought advisable to trace, without interruption the interesting career of Mr. Park, from its commencement to its close. The enthusiasm for discovery was, however, not confined solely to England; for the return of Park had no sooner reached Germany, than Frederick Horneman, a student of the university of Gottingen, communicated to Blumenbach, the celebrated professor of natural history, his ardent desire to explore the interior of Africa under the auspices of the British African Association.

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