Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 2.djvu/252

546 an answer from the king to a letter which he had brought from the sultan Bello of Jackatoo, and with a letter to El Kanemy, the Shiekh of Bornou, Clapperton left England with his company, on the 27th August, not three months from the time of his return. Mr Dickson having been, at his own request, landed at Whydah, the rest disembarked, on the 28th of November, at Badagry in the Bight of Benin.

The journey into the interior was commenced on the 7th of December, and Clapperton soon had the pain of seeing his two companions, Pearce and Morrison, fall a sacrifice to its hardships. Accompanied by a merchant named Houtson, who joined him as a volunteer, he pursued his enterprise, and on the 15th of January 1826, arrived at Katunga, the capital of Youriba. From this point Mr Houtson returned without molestation, leaving Clapperton and Lander to pursue their journey alone. They soon after crossed the Quorra, or Niger, at Boussa, the place where Park had met his untimely fate. In July, the travellers reached Kano, a large city on the line of road which Clapperton had formerly traversed, and here, on the 24th, the latter individual left his servant with the baggage, while he proceeded by himself to Soccatoo. This parting in the wilderness is affectingly described by Mr Lander. " Every arrangement having been previously made, my master came to bid me adieu, and gave me final instructions relative to proceeding to Bornou and Tripoli, in case of his death, or of any unforeseen accident that might befall him. On this occasion each of us was much moved. Our little party had left their native country full of hope and enterprising spirit, and we had seen them sicken and die by our sides without being in a condition to mitigate their sufferings, or ' smooth down their lonely pillow.' Like the characters in Mozart's 'Farewell,' they had dropped one by one ; and they were buried in a strange land, far from the graves of their fathers, with scarce a memento to point out the solitary spot. These were my thoughts at the moment of separation from my valued master. I knew that it was by no means unlikely we might never meet again, and we were well assured, that in the event of our dissolution when apart, no one would be found to close cur eyes, still less to perform the rites of Christian burial over our remains. My master therefore left me with emotion. For my own part, I was yet, if possible, more sensibly agitated : as soon as the captain was out of sight, I threw myself upon my couch, from which I did not again arise for twenty-four hours,"

It was the wish of Clapperton to obtain permission from sultan Bello to visit Timbuctoo, and revisit Bornou. But all his plans were frustrated in consequence of Bello having engaged in a war with the Shiekh of Bornou. Clapperton, in his former visit, had presented the latter individual with several Congreve rockets, which he had employed effectually in setting fire to some of the sultan's towns. The traveller also bore, on this occasion, some considerable presents from the king of England to the Shiekh of Bornou; and thus every circumstance conspired to introduce jealousy into the mind of the sultan. Clapperton was detained for several months at Soccatoo in bad health, and Lander was inveigled by the sultan to come also to that city, along with the baggage, in order that the presents intended for Bornou might be intercepted. Lander reached Soccatoo in November, to the surprise of his master, and immediately their baggage was seized in the most shameless manner, and the travellers expressly forbidden to proceed to Bornou.

To pursue the narrative of Lander: "My master and myself enjoyed tolerable health for some weeks after my arrival, I say tolerable, for perfect health we felt not even a single day in Africa. We variously employed our leisure hours, as inclination or circumstances might guide our choice. We