Finding no hopes of escape, Park took hold of one of the white men and jumped into the water, and Martyn did the same, hoping to reach the shore, but were drowned in the attempt. The only slave remaining in the boat, seeing the natives persist in throwing their weapons, entreated them to stop. On this they took possession of the canoe and the man, and carried them to the king. Amadi, after being kept in irons three months, was liberated, and on finding the slave who had been taken in the canoe, learned from him the manner in which Mr Park and his companions had perished. The only article left in the canoe had been a sword-belt, which Isaaco, who was afterwards despatched to learn particulars of the tragedy, obtained--the sole relic of the expedition. Park could not have been aware of the numerous rapids and other difficulties he would have had to encounter on descending the upper portion of the Niger. In all probability his frail and ill-constructed vessel would have been wrecked before he had proceeded many miles below the spot where he lost his life. Had he, however, succeeded in passing that dangerous portion, he might have navigated the mighty stream to its mouth. Although at first the account of Park's death was not believed in England, subsequent enquiries left no doubt that all the statements were substantially correct. Thus perished, in the prime of life, that heroic traveller, at the very time when he had good reason to believe that he was about to solve the problem of the Niger's course. CHAPTER FIVE. TRAVELS OF DENHAM AND CLAPPERTON. PRECEDED BY HORNEMAN--ROENTGEN--TUCKEY AND OTHERS--MAJOR LAING'S JOURNEY--LIEUTENANT CLAPPERTON AND DR. OUDNEY, JOINED BY MAJOR DENHAM, LEAVE TRIPOLI--DIFFICULTIES WITH THE PACHA--DENHAM SAILS FOR ENGLAND-- THE PACHA SENDS AFTER HIM--BOO-KHALOUM APPOINTED CONDUCTOR--JOURNEY ACROSS THE DESERT--ILLNESS OF CLAPPERTON AND OUDNEY--NUMBERLESS SKELETONS OF SLAVES--ARABS' ILL-TREATMENT OF THE NATIVES--LAKE CHAD-- EMPIRE OF BORNOU--RECEPTION AT KOUKA BY THE SHEIKH--BODY-GUARD OF THE SHEIKH--BARCA GANA, HIS GENERAL--VISIT TO THE SULTAN OF BIRNIE--ELEPHANT AND BUFFALO HUNTING--DENHAM JOINS AN EXPEDITION UNDER BACA GANA--MEET THE SULTAN OF MANDARA--ATTACK ON THE FELATAHS--DENHAM NEARLY LOSES HIS LIFE--BOO-KHALOUM KILLED--BARCA GANA'S TROOPS TAKE TO FLIGHT--THE MAJOR KINDLY TREATED BY A DEPOSED PRINCE--RETURNS TO KOUKA. Between Park's two expeditions, several travellers endeavoured to solve some of the many problems connected with the geography of Africa. The first person sent out by the Association was a young German, Frederick Horneman, in the character of an Arab merchant. He travelled from Alexandria to Cairo, where he was imprisoned by the natives on the news arriving of Bonaparte's landing in the country. He was, however, liberated by the French, and set out on the 5th of September, 1798, with a caravan destined for Fezzan.