The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-28 00:00:00

1 }IE SUN, LONDON, FitiD JAWililt J 8; 1841

THE NIGER EXPEDITION.
REPORT OF CAPTAIN TROTTER.

Sir—l have only time, on landing front the Warre
merchant Biidditet (ill hider hi SaVe a post)4 to beg you
inform the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
of my arrival from Fernando Po, which I left on the
23d of November, at the recommendation of the medi-
cal officers; for the re=establishment of my health.
Althalgh now almost entirely recovered, tendency to
attacks of ague make it advisable that I should not tra-
vel by night, but I hope to be able to report myself at
the Admitalty the day after to-morrow at furthest.
I regret to be obliged to report the death of Lieute-
nant Sterthottse,:Mr. Woodhouse, assistant-surgeon, and
Mr. Wilmot, clerk of the Albert, and one seaman and a
marine belonging to the same ship, since I last wrote to
their Lordships, on the 25th of October, besides a sea-
man of the Soudan, on the passage home with me from
Africa ; but the remainder of the crew of the Albert, I
am happy to say, were all getting better, and are by this
time, I hope, safely arrived at Ascension.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,

Liverpool, Jan. 2.. H. D. TROTTER, Captain.
To the Secretary of the Admiralty.

tier Majesty's steam-vessel Albert, Clarence-cove,
Fernando Po, Oct. 25, 1841.
_ _

Sir—My last letter to you, dated the 18th of Septem-
ber, from the confluence of the Niger and Tchadda,
would acquaint the Lords Commissioners of the Admi-
ralty that fever had broken out on board the vessels of
the expedition, and that I had found it necessary to des-
patch the Soudan to the sea with all the cases the sur-
geons deemed to require a change of climate, directing
Lieutenant ]'ishbourne to take charge of her in the
absence of Comniander Allen, engaged in his duty
its pit inissioner.

I also informed their Lordships in the same • letter
that the Albert was about to proceed up the Niger and
the Wilberfore up. the Tehaddi; in prosectition of the
objects of the misoielis
Atta the departure ot the Soudan, however, two of
the engineers of the Wilberforce were taken ill, and the
crew had become so weakened by an increased number
of cases of fever that Commander William Allen fduitd
it impossible to proceed Up the Tchadcla, and I accord-
ingly Ordtlred him to take his vessel forthwith to the
sea, and, if necessary, on to Ascension.
As there was still an engineer quite %veil on board the
Albert, and another convalescent, and I considered the
ship in other respects quite able to continue longer up
the river, and as Dr. MqVilliani, the surgeon, thought
the fever, when we reached higher up the stream, might
probably assume a milder character, and the change of
air might soon restore the patients still remaining on
board, who were not desirous ot going in.. the Wilber-
force to the sea and it being of importance to reach
Rabbah this rear, to finish the chain of treaties with
chiefs on the banks of the Niger, I deemed it my duty
to try the experiment, and accordingly I weighed at the
same time with the Wilberforce, on the 2tst of Septem-
ber, and the Albert proceeded up the river.while she
moved down.

The cases of sickness however, continued to increase,

till at length, when we got to Egga, on the 28th of
September, the only remaining engineer was taken ill,
and no officers, except Dr. M‘William, Mr. Willie, mate,
and myself, were free from fever. We continued wood-
ing and preparing to return down the river till the 4th
of October, when I was myself seized with fever, and
Mr. Willie a day or two afterwards.
On the sth of October Mr. Willie weighed and dropped
down the river, but was soon prevented by sickness from
carrying on duty ; and Dr. M`Williani, assisted by only
one white seaman, lately recovered from the fever, took
charge of the vessel, not thinking it right, in my state of
fhver, to report Mr. Willie's illness.
From want of engineers we should have had to drop
down the whole length of the river without steam, had
not 1)r. Stanger, the geologist, in the most spirited man-
ner, after consulting Tredgold's work on steam, and
getting some little instruction from the convalescent en-
gineer, undertaken to work the engine himself. The
heat of the engine-room affected the engineer so much
as to throw him back in his convalescence, and prevent
him rendering any further assistance, but Dr. Stanger
took the vessel safely below Eboe, without anything
going wrong with the machinery, while Dr. M`William,
in addition to his enormous press of duty, as a medical
officer, conducted the ship down the river in the most
able and judicious manner. I may here remark that the
Doctor steered the ship entirely by Commander Wm.
Allen's excellent chart of the Niger, of the correctness
of which we had a good opportunity of judging on as-
cending the river, and which proved eminently useful on
the passage down ; and Mr. Brown, clerk, a native of
Africa, who had been up the river before, also rendered
him considerable assistance in the pilotage.
When about 100 miles from the sea Captain Becroft
happily made his appearance in the ./Ethiope steamer,
having been requested to ascend the river and communi-
cate with us by Commander William Allen, of the Wil-
berforce ; and it was really a providential mercy that he
arrived when he did, for had any accident, however tri-
vial, happened to the engines, they could not have been
worked any longer, as Dr. Sanger had no knowledge of
the manner of rectifying it. Fever still prevented my
going on deck, and there was no executive officer to take
the vessel over the bar, and only one convalescent sailor
doing duty, and no black sailor who could properly take
the helm. Captain Becroft, however, came on board
with an engineer, and not only took the vessel over the
bar, but brought her all the way across to this anchorage
(a distance of 160 miles), where we arrived in safety on

the 17th instant.
The assistance rendered by Captain Becroft, indepen-
dent of the services of his vessel, the Athiope, was, I
can assure their Lordships, almost indispensable to the
safety of the Albert ; and I consider it to have been so
highly conducive to the preservation of many valuable
lives, which might have been sacrificed, had we run
aground in the Delta, and remained there even for a few
days, that I 'shall present him with 1051., and his engi-
neer with 101. 10s., by bins on the Accountant-General
of the Navy ; and I trust their Lordships will sanction
this expenditure when they take the circumstances of the
case, and the highly meritorious conduct of Captain Be-
croft, into consideration.
The morning after our arrival here the sick were all
landed in comfortable quarters, provided for the officers
and men in the most kind and prompt manner by the
agent of the West African Company ; and we have
reason to believe the climate to be healthy for the pre-
sent. The air is cooler thlan the Niger by about twelve
degrees.
I omitted to mention that off the bar of the Nun we
met the Soudan, about to re-ascend the river, under
charge of Lieutenant Strange, in the absence of Lieute-
nant Fishbourne, who had been sent sick to Ascension.
She was in a very inefficient state, and returned with us
to this anchorage. Mr. Strange is at present in charge
of the Albert, as well as the Soudan, the officers of this
ship of every rank being in sick quarters, with the ex-
ception of Mr. Mouat, assistant clerk; doing duty at the
hospital.

fregret to state, that in addition to the loss of Mr.
Nightingale, assistant-surgeon, and four seamen, as
mentioned in my letter of the 18th of September, be-
tween the Confluence and Egga, Mr. Lodge, the second
engineer, threw himself overboard in a fit of delirium,
and was drowned ; and that afterwards two seamen and
one marine of this ship died, and Mr. Kingdon, seamen's
schoolmaster of the Soudan ; and that Mr. Willie, mate,
and the purser's steward, have died here since our ar-
rival ; and it is my painful duty to add that the death of
Commander Bird Allen, of the Soudan, has been this
moment reported to me, and that Mr. D. 11. Stenhouse,
acting Lieutenant of the Albert, is lying in a most pre-
carious state. For several days after Mr. Willie was
taken ill he insisted occasionally upon getting out of his
cot (which was on deck) and giving orders, and I fear
the extra exertions of this zealous young officer contri-
buted much to aggravate his case.
I am happy to say there is a general improvement
taking place in the remainder of the sick, with the ex-
ception-of-Dr. M'William and Mr. Woodhouse, assis-
tant-surgeon, who have lately been taken ill, the latter
with the " river fever," and Dr. M‘William, it is feared,
may prove to be so likewise ; but these cases, I trust,
will not prove severe, now that we are iu a better and
cooler climate. I hope all the patients will be so far
improved, and the engineers so much recovered, as in a
short time to be able to proceed with the Albert to
Ascension.

I call the disease the " river fever," because the sur-
geons report it to be of a nature that is not treated of
in anv work on the subject, and it has such peculiarities
as they appear never before to have witnessed either in
African or West Indian fever. _ _

The Soudan, as alluded to before, left the Confluence
on her passage down the river on the 19th of September,
under charge of Lieutenant Fishbourne, with the mas-
ter, a mate, and the second engineer able to do a little
duty ; but on the following day these officers were too ill
to afford Mr. Fishbourne any assistance. He had, how-
ever, two stokers able to drive the engines, who were for
a time well enough to do duty, and he reached the mouth
of the Nun in the short space of two days afterwards.
During the last 24 hours before reaching Fernando Po
he was compelled to work the engines and do every other
duty himself. Such exertions could not fail to hurt his
health, and he was seized with fever at this place after
his arrival, though lam happy to say he was doing well
on board the Wilberforce when she sailed for Ascension.
I beg strongly to recommend the zeal and exertions
of this officer for the favourable consideration of their
Lordships.
The Sotidan opportunely met the Dolphin at the mouth
of the Nun, snd received prompt assistance from her
commander, who embarked 35 patients (all that were fit
to be removed), and sailed with them fur Ascension, un-
der charge of Mr. Sterling, assistant-surgeon of the Wil-
berforce.
Before the Soudan reached Fernando Po, Mr. Mar-
shall, acting-surgeon, and Mr. Waters, clerk in charge,
fell a sacrifice to the climate, and a stoker of the Soudan,
and the seamen's schoolmaster of the Albert, died after
their arrival. -
Mr. Thompson, Assistant. Surgeon of the Wilberforce,
had charge of the sick on board the Soudan on her pas-
sage down the river, and his exertions and fatigue,
from which he is now suffering, were only equalled by
those of Mr. Fishbourne. _ _

The Wilberforce left the Confluence on the 21st of
September, but, owing to the necessity of cutting fuel,
did not reach the mouth of the Nun until the 25th, nor
Fernando Po till the Ist of October. Dr. Pritchett, the
Acting-Surgeon of that ship, had 26 cases under treat-
ment when she left the Confluence, and the number in-
creased afterwards, and I can assure their Lordships
that the exertions of that officer were of no ordinary
kind, and his duties on the way to Ascension, now that
be has no assistant, are likely to be still more arduous;
this officer's services, as well as those of Mr. Thomp-
son, Acting-Surgeon of the Soudan, render them highly
deserving o itheir Lordships' consideration for promo-
tion. The Inspector of Fleets and Naval Hospitals will,
when he receives their reports, be well able to judge of
their merits and arduous services on this expedition.
The Wilberforce, during her passage down and at
Fernando Po, had the misfortune to lose her purser, Mr.

Cyrus Wakeham, and Peter Fitzgerald,.a stoker; also
Mr: Harvey, Acting Master of file Albert; tend
tOleniani Acting Assistant-Surgeon of the Soudan.
I hate before mentioned the exertions and judgment
displayed by Dr. M‘Williain, the surgeon of this vessel,
in bringing her down the greater.part of the Niger in
safety ; but this would be considered the more remark-
able if it were possible to convey to their Lordships the
exertions and fatigue he had to go through in his at-
tendance upon :he sick. I cannot 'speak too much in
praise of this valuable officer, nor feel thankful enough
that a man of so much talent and energy was appointed
to the expedition.

I have already alluded to Dr. Stanger's praise-worthy
conduct in his acquiring a knowledge of the steam-en-
gine, by which we were enabled to get down the river so
much more spgedily than we otherwise could have done ;
but this gentleman was, if possible, still more useful in
the medical assistance which he rendered to Dr. M'Wil-
liam, who latterly had no assistant-surgeon to relieve him
in his duties. lam sorry to say that 1)r. Stanger is be-
ginning to feel the effect of his exertions, having had
fever (although slightly) within the last two days.
I must also mention Mr. Mouat, assistant-clerk, who,
having served several years with a surgeon in London,
was able to render great assistance in the medical de-
partment up the river, and is particularly of use at this
moment, when Dr. M'William and Mr. Woodhouse,
assistant-surgeon, are ill. I beg- to recommend to their
Lordships' consideration the propriety of remunerating
this gentleman for his services, more particularly as his
pay as clerk's assistant is so very small.
In bringing before their Lordships' notice the ad-
mirable conduct of the surgeon and acting-surgeons of
the expedition, I wish by no means to disparage the
exertions of Mr. Woodhouse, the assistant-surgeon of
this ship or of Mr. Sterling, the assistant-surgeon of
the Wilberforce, or those*of the deceased medical offi-
cers, which were very great, though not of so responsible
a nature as those of Dr: M'William and Dr. Pritchett,
Of or Mr. Thonfpgafi, who before he descended the river
with the large umber of sick in the &Alba was for a
length of time doing duty in that vessel during the pro-
tracted illness of the late acting surgeon, Mr. Marshall.
'The hhinher of deaths that has happened after the
vessels got through the Delta tifitll the sailing of the
Wilberforce hence for Ascension is shown in the enclosed
paper. I have no exact return of the number taken ill
in the Wilberforce, but I believe it may be stated that
only five white persons escaped the fever in that vessel,
whilst there are only four who have not been attacked
in the Albert up to the present time, and no white per-
son iu the Soudan escaped it ; and• when I add that Dr.
M'William is of opinion that few, if any, will be fit to
return to the coast of Africa who have had the fever,
and that ever Lieutenant excepting Mr. Strange, all
the medical officers but Dr. Pritchett and Mr. Thompson
(it is doubtful yet whether Dr. M'William has the river
fever or not), all the mates, masters, second masters, and
clerks, the whole of the engineers and stokers of the
expedition, and the gunner of the Albert (the only ves-
sel that has an officer of that rank), have been attacked,
their Lordships will be able to form an idea of the pa-
ralyzed state of the steam-vessels.
It will be impossible for me to inform their Lordships
as to the efficiency of the expedition for future opera-
tions until I can get to Ascension. I may, however, ob-
serve, that it will be found scarcely possible to officer
and man more than one of the steam-vessels, unless as-
sistance be sent from England, or obtained from the
strength of the African squadron.
As the lEthioPe will probably go home in April next,
I have obtained the promise of Captain Becreft to leave
his surgeon behind, if he can be spared, who would take
an acting order as assistant-surgeon, and willingly go up
the Niger again, and if he can spare his black engineer
also, he will endeavour to induce him to remain out with
the view of joining the expedition.
Could their Lordships obtain assistant-surgeons and
black engineers in England to volunteer for the expedi-
tion it would be most desirable, as it is quite a contin-
gency our obtaining the individuals alluded to belonging
to the )Ethiope.
Dr. M'William is quite of opinion, as far as he can
judge, that the Niger is not fit for white constitutions,
and I shall take care to keep this in view when making
arrangements at Ascension, so that the fewest possible
number of white men may be continued in the steam-
vessels.

Captain Becroft, whose knowledge of the river exceeds
that of any other person, is of opinion (and I quite concur
with him on the subject) that the Niger should not be
entered before the beginning of July, as it is doubtful
whether the river will have sufficiently risen to insure
the passage up without detention, so that their Lordships
may calcuate upon the Albert and Wilberforce remain-
ing at Ascension till the Ist of June.
It will be necessary for one steam vessel to go up the
Niger next year, as I left the Amelia tender at the
Confluence of the Niger and the Tchadda, for the pro-
tection of.the people of the model farm. Not thinking it
right to leave up the river any white person after the
fatal sickness we had experienced, I placed the vessel in
charge of a trustworthy black, with twelve other natives
of Africa under him, all intelligent steady men.
Their Lordships will remember that they Bare per-
mission for the utensils of the model farm to be carried
out by the expedition, which were landed at the desire
of Mr. Can, the superintendent, at a spot which he se-
lected for the site of the farm, situated immediately op-
posite to the Confluence ; and as Mr. Can made a re-
quest for naval protection to his people in the absence of
the steamers, which I considered very reasonable, I ob-

tamed volunteers to remain there in the Amelia before
the Albert went to Egga ; and on my return to the
Confluence I was too ill to do duty, but Dr. M'William,
at my desire, sent nine months' provisions on board, and
cowries were left to buy several months' more. In our
distressed state it would have been impossible to tow the
Amelia down the river, but independently of that con-
sideration,.it was, I conceive, necessary to leave a vessel
for the protection of the farm people.
It is also very desirable that a vessel should get up to
Rabbah, if possible, next year, not only to complete a
series of treaties which have been already commenced,
but to show the people of Rabbah that a man-of-war can
get up to the town; and the presence of one of her Ma-
jesty's vessels there might, I conceive, have a beneficial
effect in the future treatment of the Nufi nation, whom we

found much oppressed by the Felatahs, and also tend
much to the extinction of the slave trade in the upper
part of the Niger. This, however, cannot be deter-
mined until I meet with my brother Commissioners at
Ascension.

Should only one of the steamers ascend the Niger next
year, I would prefer one of the larger ones to be selected,
from their superior velocity and stowage. Under pre-
sent circumstances, I would countermand the coals which
I requested might be forwarded to Bonny, though, if
already shipped, they will doubtless prove very useful ;
for it is more difficult to procure wood in that than in
most other African rivers, owing to the prejudice against
Kroomen cutting it. _ _

I conceive it will be my duty to go to England by the
first opportunity from Ascension after my arrival, in
order to lay the exact condition of the expedition before
their Lordships, and I have every reason to think I shall
be able to arrive in March, which would give me ample
time to rejoin the expedition should their Lordships re-
quire my further services.

I may state, for their Lordships' information, that the
Albert and Wilberforce could not proceed to England
with safety excepting in the summer months, and 1 con-
sider the Soudan as quite incapable of returning to
Europe at all. lam preparing to leave the Soudan in
this sheltered harbour, in charge of native-ship keepers;
and as Captain Becroft has promised to make his engi-
neer light the fires occasionally, and work the engine,
and as Lieutenant Blount. of the Pluto, will be able to
do the same when he comes into port, there is every
probability of the machinery being kept in good order.
I am in daily expectation of the arrival of the Golden
Spring, with fuel from England, of which there is scarcely
enough remaining here to fill the Albert's bunkers, the
Pluto having used a large quantity of our store. I hope
a supply of luel may have been sent to Ascension before
this time, so as to enable us to keep the machinery of the
vessels in good order at that island.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient ser-
vant, H. D. TROTTER, Captain.

The following are the names of officers and men of
the Niger expe:lition who have died between the Ist of
September, 1841 (the time of the vesi;els getting through
the Delta of the Niger, on the passage up, and of the first
breaking out of the " river fever" on board the Soudan),
anti the 25th of October, 1841. The list does not include
any who may have died on the passage to Ascension in
the Dolphin or Wilberforce :
HER MAJESVII'S STEAM-VESSELS ALBERT, WILBER
FORCE, AND SOUDAN.
RA NE.

NAMES. .... DATE OF
ALBERT : DECEASE.
F. D. Nightingale.... Assistant-surgeon
G. B. Harvey Acting-master Died in the
Wilberforce.
W. C. R illie Mate Oct. 18, 1841.
Albion Lodge Second engineer Oct. 7, 1841.
John Peglar Armourer ...Sept. 6, 1841.
,s
crew
......... Sept.se)t. 1
14,1 ll 814411 .
John Burgess ...... ....Sailmaker.
G, orge Powell... ...... Cooper
James Robertson ...... Stoker Sept. 17, 1841.
John Fuge .............. Ship's c00k.........
George Symes ......... Caulker ...........0ct. 17, 1841.
Robert Millward.. ••••Purser's steward ...... ....Oct. 22, 1841.
Lewis J. Wolfe ........ Seaman's schoolmaster... Sept. 27, 1841;
died in the
WILBERFORCE:— Soudan.
Cyrus Wakeham .....purser ................... ..
Kneebone ..... ...A.B
Rablin
Fitzgerald .........Stoker ............... ...„,

SounAw—
Bird Allen , Commander ...............Oct. 25, 1841.
W. B. Marshall Acting-surgeon
__Sept. 21, 1841.
H. Coleman ..... Assistant-surgeon
N. Waters ............Clerk in Charge
...... Sept. 22, 1841.
W. Levinge ..Captain's 5teward.........
James Thomas Carpenter's crew ......... Sept. 21, 1841.
Christopher Bigley Stoker ........... . ......... Oct. 2, 1841.
William Kingdon Seamen's schoolmaster... Oct. 12, 1841;
died in the Albert.
H. D. TROTTER, Captain.

WYCOMBE ABBEY.—A large party of Lord
Carrington's tenantry assembled here on Tuesday last,
to partake of a sumptuous dinner provided by his Lord-
ship in celebration of the christening of the Prince of
Wales. John Neale, Esq., in the chair. Mr. Fitzwil.
Liam attended from London, and enlivened the company
by many of his comic songs. The labourers and work-
men on the estate had also a substantial dinner on the
occasion, and the Staff of the Royal Bucks Militia dined
together at the expense of their Noble Colonel.
Lord Ashburton's
departure on his special mis-
sion to Washington was fixed for to-day, but, owing
to the tempestuous state of the weather, his Lordship's
embarkation has been postponed for a few days.
Mrs. Beaumont Smith is now living near Fitz-
roy-square, and on Tuesday was to leave town for Ports-
mouth, to visit her wretched husband previous to his de-
parture from our shores. She was a widow when he mar-
ried her, and has a son by her former husband, Her own
property is secured upon her,

MISFORTUNES AND FAILURES

OF EXPEDITIONS TO THE NIGER.
( FROM MARLIEST TO THE PRESENT TIME.)
Of the undiscovered tracts and countries which
form the immense area of Interior Africa, though
centuries have gone by, and Romans, Arabs, Por-
tuguese, and English have endeavoured to pene-
trate into their circuits, yet it is astonishing how
little at the present day is known, to satisfy the in-
quiring mind. All that we know, may be almost
contained in the description given by the mallam
or learned priest of the Sultan Bello, who, when
Clapperton asked him, answered, that "Of the
great river, we know not its source, nor of any one
who has seen it. It rushes and precipitates itself
through the country from left to right, and con-
tains many islands inhabited by fishermen, herds-
men, husbandmen, and settlers. As to the variety
of its animals, birds, and fish, it is only known
to the Lord Creator."
Among the most formidable difficulties in this
country to travellers, there are none more alarming
and insuperable than those arising from climate.
Imminent dangers arising from the presence of sa-
vage men or animals are of a transient nature,
and capable of being guarded against by vigilance
and strength ; but the secret and devastating opera-
tions of a pestilential climate are too subtle and
deadly to permit in almost any shapg of device for
counteraction. The treachery of the tribes of
Africa has done little towards destroying travellers
and explorers, compared with the destructive and
exterminating influences of her noxious clime ; and
it is almost solely to this that the slow progress of
African discovery is to be attributed, The banks
of the Joliba, Quorra, or Niger, seem invisibly gen-
._

tinelled by an ever...repelling power.
In the ensuing paper, a brief recapitulation of
all former and modern attempts to discover the
source of the Niger, and the misfortunes, failures,
and partial successes that have attended upon the
travels and investigations of inquirers, will show
the absolute fatality, attending in some shape or
other all expeditions of a similar nature to that
which has just dispatched homeward its new ad-
dition to the catalogue of calamities which have
already been its precursors.
The first notice in history on this point, appears
in Herodotus, who states in his 4. Geography of
Africa," that some young Nasamonians, a people
who dwelt on the borders of the Mediterranean,
travelled in a westerly direction from Egypt, until
they came to a large river full of crocodiles, and
flowing towards the rising sun, and they were con-
ducted by the natives to a considerable city, situated
on its banks. The difficulty of determining the ex-
pression due west at this period of time, leaves the
passage doubtful. Colonel Leake, however, in a
recent letter read by him to the Geographical
Society, considers that they travelled along the
Niger, and the city to which they were conducted
was Timbuctoo.

Strabo speaks little of the Niger, but Pliny
largely ; he traces it through Mauritania, but falls
into the error of Herodotus, who considers the
Nile and Niger one river. Mela was the most
reasonable geographer, and coincides as to the
general opinion of the source of the Niger, but
with proper candour acknowledges, that no one
knew what became of it at the centre of the con-

tinent. Ptolemy, whose account of the Niger is
very vague, closes all that the ancients knew of it.
From the Arabians some fuller accounts of the
geograpy of the country are to be gleaned. Abul-
feda and Edrisi knew it, and state that it assumed
a westerly course across the continent, until it
reached the Atlantic Ocean, or " Sea of Dark-
ness," and to distinguish it from the Nile, called it
the " Nile of the Negroes."
The maritime enterprise of the Portuguese led
them early into the interior, but though they ob-
tained a considerable store of information respect-
ing the Niger, they turned it but to little account.
In their maps a remarkable circumstance is ob-
servable regarding the position of Timbuctoo.
This city is placed so near the sea, as to excite
suspicion of it being the same as that on the Niger,
and another place called Tamboucanee, on the
Senegal, is mentioned as answering their Tim-
buctoo.

The source of the Niger, however, as well as its
course, remained in obscurity till English geogra-
phers and travellers took the field. With Great
Britain, a new era in the progress of African geo-
graphy commenced, and in 1788, a number of
wealthy and philanthropic individuals formed them-
selves into a Society for the express purpose of pro-
moting discovery in that country.
Mr. John Ledyard, was the first person de-
spatched under the auspices of the " African Asso-
ciation" upon this mission; he had already been
round the world with Captain Cook, and had
undergone hardships and privations in a journey
through Russia, which, as the exploits of a single
traveller, stand unrivalled. In June, 1788, he de-
parted, and reached Cairo in the month of August
following—when, becoming impatient and vexed by
the delay of the caravan with which he was
to have travelled, his anxious mind sunk under
disappointment, and death quickly terminated his
career. His instructions were, to have penetrated
into Africa by way of Egypt, and to traverse the
Continent in the latitude of the Niger.
Mr. Lucas was the next who went to explore
the Niger. The journey of this traveller is remark-
able for the additions he contributed to African
geography, but he did not penetrate further than
to the south of Mesurata, five days' journey from
ripoli. In bus account of the Fezzan merchants,
who crossed the Niger at a ferry two miles south of
Cassena, may probably be discerned the ferry of
Comie, below Boossa.
Major Houghton, on the part of the African
Association, next undertook the task. Travelling
as far as Jarra, he was plundered and deserted by
the Moors who accompanied him, and he died,
after several days' wandering, from hunger and
exhaustion.

Mulig° Park, in 1795, next took up this
hazardous enterprise.
The terrible sufferings that Park underwent are
related in his own Journal. In his first journey,
he nearly fell a prey. Having encountered all the
horrors of the rainy season, and being worn down
with fatigue, his health had, at different times, been
seriously affected. But soon after his arrival at
Kamalia, he fell into a severe and dangerous fit

of sickness, by which he was closely confined for
upwards of a month. His life was preserved by
the hospitality and benevolence of Karfa Taura, a
negro, who received him into his house, and at-
tended him with the kindest solicitude.

In Park's second expedition, arranged with the
Secretary for Colonial Affairs, the plan was to
send him with a detachment of soldiers, and a few

seamen and carpenters, to construct vessels for the
navigation of the Niger. With these 25 soldiers,
their Lieutenant, and the others, he arrived at the
wished-for-point, ready to embark on the Niger,
but the rains destroyed his men with a fatal rapi-
dity. He lost the whole of his companions,
except Lieutenant Martyn and three soldiers, of
whom one was in a state of mental derangement.
The death of his friend and brother-in-law, Mr.
Anderson, affected him most deeply. " Nu event,"

says he, " ever threw the smallest gloom over my
mind, till I laid Mr. Anderson in the grave ; I
then felt myself as if left a second time lonely and
friendless amidst the wilds of Africa."

Of this melancholy affair, he writes to Lord
Camden thus,--,4 Your Lordship will recollect
that I always spoke of the rainy Season with
horror, as being extremely fatal to Europeans; and
our journey from the Gambia to the Niger will
furnish a melancholy proof of it. We had no
contest with the natives, nor were any of us killed
by wild animals, or any other accident ; and yet, I
am sorry to say, that of 44 Europeans who left the
Gambia in perfect health, five only are at present
alive."—Dated Sansanding, Nov. 17, 1805.
At this most trying moment, however, his habi-
tual constancy did not forsake him. Though about
to embark on a vast and unknown river, through
the midst of savage nations, and a long succession
of rapids and cataracts, this voyage, one of the
most formidable ever attempted, was to be under-
taken by him in a crazy and ill-appointed vessel,
which, principally by his own labour, he had con-
structed of two old patched and worn-out canoes,
manned only by a few negroes and four Europeans.
From Sandansing, Park embarked with the in-
tention of descending the river to its mouth ; but,
on reaching Boossa, was attacked by the natives
and killed, after having previously suffered impri-
sonment more than three months.
The strong determination of Park to persevere in
'his design of tracing the course of the river to its
termination, is thus expressed in one of his letters
from this place :.......14 Though all the Europeans
who are with me shall die, and though I myself

were half-dead, I would still persevere ; and if I
' t-ould not succeed in the object of my journey, I
would at Intst die in the Niger.'
M. Hornemann, a German traveller, wag cent
out by the Association, but he contributed little to
the knowledge on the Niger. At the same time,
and by the same parties, another German, M.
Roeutzen set out, but he is supposed to have been
murdered by his servant, a person of suspicious
character.
The next person who is supposed to have visited
Timbuctoo, was an American seamen, named
Adams, but his narrative throws no additional
light on the course of the Niger.
In 1816, Captain Tuckey, of the Royal Navy,
with an expedition under his direction, was sent
out to penetrate into Africa by the river Congo,
and so to arrive at the Niger. The fate of this
expedition was the counterpart of its followers ;
280 miles from the coast was the extent of its
progress, and the question was as far as ever from
being decided. At the same time, another party,
consisting of 100 men, were placed under the di-
rection of Major Peddle, to reach the Niger by
Park's route from the Gambia; this party ascended
the river Nunez, but were equally unfortunate with
the Congo expedition.
Captain Clapperton's expedition was disastrous
at its very outset. Himself, Captain Pearce, and
Dr. Morrison, had the imprudence to sleep in the
open air for two successive nights, on the swampy
and unwholesome coast, by which they were all at-
tacked with fever, and the two latter fell victims in
the course of a fortnight, leaving Captain Clap-
perton to proceed alone. Clapperton, accompanied
by Lander, visited Boossa, the place of Park's
death, He had imbibed a strong aversion to des-
cending the Niger, and made no secret of it to
Lander. His firm conviction was, that whoever
attempted to go down this river would fall by the
attacks of the natives. Clapperton crossed the
river at Comiex, below Boossa, and arrived soon
after at Socatoo.
The successful progress of Clapperton through
the interior thus far is well known ; but, sad to say,
the first lesson that led to the death of his two
friends was quite disregarded, and though athletic
of frame, yet, on his arrival at Socatoo, being
overcome with fatigue, he laid down unguardedly
on a damp spot in the open air, giving rise to an
attack of dysentery, which became aggravated, and
ended in his death. This occurred in the presence
of his attached servant Richard Lander. "Richard,"
said Clipperton, " I shall shortly be no more ; I
feel myself dying." Almost choked with grief,
Lander replied, " God forbid, my dear master, you
will live many years yet." " Don't be so much
affected, my dear boy, I entreat you," said he, " it
is the will of the Almighty, it cannot be helped."
lie then delivered to Lander his papers, with di-
rections for his, guidance, and shortly after died.
M. Lacaille s safety, who, inspired by the pre-
mium proposed by the French Society of Geogra-
phy, has since penetrated to Timbuctoo, and thence
to Morocco, appears to have been insured by his
following the example of Hornemaun and Burek-
hardt, in assuming the character of a Mahometan.
Major Laing was another victim to these expe-
ditions ; and he met with a more tragical fate than
any of his predecessors. The bigotry and rapacity
of the Moors first put him in peril of his life.
Laing was first surprised in the Desert by a party
of Tuaricks, who plundered and left him for dead,
having inflicted twenty-four sabre-wounds on him,
from which he almost miraculously recovered. At
Timbuctoo he found a kindly reception from th e
Sheik Boubokar, so long as he had power to pro-
tect him, but the fortune of war had thrown this
city into the hands of another chief, to whom
Boubokar was obliged to act as viceroy, and who
dispatched him an order which compelled him to
send off Major Laing as expelled from the country.
The good old chief accordingly put Major Laing
under the charge of Barbooski, an Arab chief,
who undertook to conduct him in safety as far as
Arawan ; but that traitor, on finding Major Laing
completely in his power, murdered him, end took
possession of all his property.
The spirit of intolerance displayed by some of
the African tribes is not, however, unrelieved by
instances of genuine pity. Once, when Lander
was lying at the foot of a tree, almost expiring with
fatigue and thirst, he implored numerous pas-
sengers for a drop of water, but they said to each
other, "Heis a Kaffer—let him die." Yet there
was found at last a good Samaiitan, who, amid
the reproaches of his countrymen, relieved a suffer-
ing fellow-mortal.
The Lander expedition is of too recent date to
need our entering into particulars. The mournful
assassination of Richard Lander was coupled with
strange circumstances. " White man will never
reach Eboe this time," was an exclamation that
greeted his ears from King Jacket, a relative of
King Boy, and one of the heartless and sullen
chiefs who ruled over the marsh country on the
banks of the Brass River, uttered while his eyes
sparkled with malignity. The subsequent am-
buscades of the natives lower down the river, and
the murderous discharges of musketry while the
boats were pushing off, fully showed the meaning
of the threat, and, from the effects of the musket-
wounds he received, Lander died on his arrival at
Fernando Po.

The last expedition, the lamentable accounts of
which have just reached us, adds to these records
of fatality perhaps a more frightful instance than
any that have preceded it. In former cases, a
single and valuable life has been sacrificed, or in
cases where numbers constituted the expeditions,
the largest average of lives sacrificed was in the
second expedition under Park ; but when souls,
exceeding more than half a hundred, have been
rashly hazarded and sacrificed, as in the present
case, it is to be feared that so appalling an instance
will, from its alarming nature, be the strongest
preventive, both on the minds of individuals and
the feeling of this or future Governments, towards
attempting a similar undertaking.