Journal of a second expedition into the interior of Africa, from the Bight of Benin to Soccatoo : $b To which is added, the journal of Richard Lander from Kano to the sea-coast, partly by a more eastern route.Clapperton, Hugh
History
Journal of a second expedition into the interior of Africa, from the Bight of Benin to Soccatoo : $b To which is added, the journal of Richard Lander from Kano to the sea-coast, partly by a more eastern route.
Clapperton, Hugh
Sudan (Region) -- Description and travel
Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening,
and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now
in the king of Badagry’s territory, but in a district of Eyeo, which
is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the
name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days’
journey. Finding we could get no men to carry the hammocks which they
supplied us with, I mounted my friend Ali’s small horse, without
a saddle, and Houtson and I agreed to ride and tie, as my feet were
cut and blistered with a pair of new boots I had mounted yesterday,
and I could only wear a pair of slippers. We set off in this state,
accompanied by the caboceer of Jannah’s messenger, named Acra,
and Mr. Houtson’s boys. Puka, which we are leaving, has once been a
large town, surrounded by a wall and deep ditch; the wall is now down,
and all the houses of the town in ruins. After leaving this place
it soon became dark, and we frequently lost our way. We could see,
however, that the road in the open part of the country was through
fine plantations of corn; the rest was through thick dark woods,
where we could not see the heaven over our heads, the path winding
in every direction. My slippers being down at the heels I soon lost
them off my feet, which were miserably cut; but I became so galled by
riding without a saddle, that I was compelled thus to walk barefooted,
which was the worst of the two; for whenever I crossed an ant path,
which were frequent, my feet felt as if in the fire, these little
animals drawing blood from them and from my ankles. We halted at a
village called Isako, after passing several others on the road: here
the people offered us a house for the night, but on their telling
us that our people had gone on to a town a short distance off, we
remained only a little while and set off again. They kindly gave us
guides with lamps to show us the way. Our short rest and ride had
had a bad effect on us, and the road only wanted thorns to make
our misery complete. However, after struggling on till midnight,
we arrived at a town called Dagmoo, where we found our servants with
the heavy baggage and the canteen, but our beds had gone further on,
so that we were obliged to sleep in the market-place, in the open air:
even this, with a little cold meat, was better than travelling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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