with disaster where we had fondly anticipated conquest. It shall discipline us to humility, caution, distrust of ourselves, reliance upon God, the necessity of a change of measures-anything and everything rather than the baseness of a cowardly and precipitous flight. Our white troops have been discomfited by an enemy, in contending with whom the greater their devotedness, the more disastrous and inevitable their defeat. We will raise new levies of native soldiers, who to the physical and constitutional capabilities of the southern, shall unite the knowledge and heroism of the northern man, and, by God's grace, the Christian principle, without which they would be a curse rather than a blessing. In a word, to drop the figure, we will build our expectations of success in the work of civilizing and Christianizing Africa, mainly upon her own sons*; and to fit them, so far as our ability may extend, for usefulness hereafter in this high vocation, shall be the great object at which we aim, and the animating hope of our brightest hours. The undertaking may be, nay, must be, one of time and patience. Its foundations will thus be all the deeper laid-its success all the more certain-its reward all the sweeter. Viewed in the light that the principle of employing an agency drawn from the country which it is designed to benefit, casts upon the subject, what immense importance attaches to our settlements upon the Western coast of Africa-to Sierra Leone-to the Gambia-to Cape Coast Castle -to Fernando Po. Instead of lamenting the many sacrifices which these have cost us, let us rather rejoice, that at this interesting crisis in the struggle between good and evil, we have them in possession; and let us bend every effort to strengthen the hands of those pious missionaries who are there engaged in doing our work-who are there preparing labourers for the ingathering of that harvest of good which is one day to ripen (none may doubt it) for the most isolated, and withal the most injured portion of the human family. We shall have, it is to be hoped, many future opportunities of entering into details of plans and operations. At present our design is to bring out into clear light, and to leave distinctly impressed upon the minds of our readers, this great principle, which analogy suggests, and all experience confirms, that THE REGENERATION OF AFRICA MUST be looked for through the agenCY OF AFRICANS THEMSELVES. *It is not intended that it should be understood that this is an expedient only now forced upon us by the pressure of adverse circumstances: on the contrary, it is a principle which we have had in view from the very first. All we mean to say is, that recent events have pressed it more strongly than ever upon our attention. THE NIGER, ITS BRANCHES [Continued from p. 34.] THE principal manufactures of Sakatú are of tanned leather, red and yellow, which is wrought into various articles at Kanó and Kashna; white cotton cloth, of which they make a considerable quantity both for home and foreign consumption; checked and red striped cloths, shoes and boots, bridles and saddles; whilst they cultivate dourra, millet, wheat, (first introduced by the Arabs,) barley, rice, (the best in Háusa,) onions, nitta trees, fruits of various kinds, indigo, and cotton, to a great extent. to join an officer of his own, to regulate on Bello's part seems by no means un- If there were buyers, they could export in considerable quantities, ivory, bullocks' hides, (now only worth sixpence each, tanned and all,) goat, antelope, and other skins, gum arabic, senna, bees' wax, indigo, and cotton; whilst the commodities best adapted in return might be various cloths, tape, unwrought silk, sewing needles, looking-ness or disrespect. glasses, earthenware with figures, camlet scarfs, paper, tin and copper pots and cups', rings, bracelets and anklets, earrings, &c., &c. That a strong and cordial feeling in favour of an intercourse with England exists in Sakatú, there can be no doubt. When Clapperton paid his first visit, in 1824, he was escorted to the city with the highest marks of respect, and received with hearty welcomes by the assembled multitude. The sultan and his vizier treated him with the utmost kindness, asked many questions about England, and especially on the condition of its inhabitants, expressed deep regret at the death of Dr. Oudney, for whom they had much wished, conversed repeatedly and anxiously upon the best means of establishing a permanent trade with our countrymen, and finally sent a letter to King George IV., desiring a consul to be sent to the Filátah town of Raka, with whom he promised 1 Provisions were regularly sent to Clapperton in pewter dishes, with the London stamp, and once in a white basin of English manufacture. He told Mr. Hamilton that he could have negotiated a bill on the Treasury of London, at Sakatú. His mistake as to the proximity of this town to the sea, is surely of much less consequence than To this may be added the sedulous insinuations of the Arabs, who might be supposed to dread the injury of their own commerce by the free introduction of European articles, yet in the very last conversation which they had together, there was no semblance of rudeness or hostility, but on the interruption of the interview by the entrance of some of the chief inhabitants, another day was appointed to give him the information which he desired with regard to his route. Soon after, our unfortunate countryman, exhausted by the constant fatigues of his protracted travel, suffering under the effects of an imprudent repose upon the damp earth when violently heated, and irritated by the distressing delay of his journey, expired in the arms of his faithful servant. Bello appeared a man of some learning, and rather puzzled the blunt sailor with his disposition towards such ships as might reach it, which Mr. Becroft indeed has shown to be no impossibility. 3 Especially considering the belief which he evidently entertained, that they were conveying arms and ammunition to the Sheikh, which (however insignificant they may appear to us,) must have been of vast consequence there. its deep bed by means of a bucket and lever; and in the neighbourhood of the markets the road is crowded with passengers and loaded bullocks. his questions upon theological subjects. He recognised the signs of the zodiac, some of the constellations, and many of the stars, upon a planisphere which was presented to him, expressed himself much pleased with an Arabic copy of Euclid, one like which, he said, his family had formerly possessed, and was very anxious to hear the English news-carried on at Kanó since the Filátah papers read. Nothing certainly has been manifested in his conduct which should discourage us from making another trial, considering the immense advantages which must result from securing a stable position in the heart of the second kingdom of Sudán, seated upon the great caravan route from east to west, and commanding or influencing all the centres of trade from the Desert to the sea". From Sakatú, the road to Kashna and Kanó passes through a most diversified country, covered with thick woods, and shagged with wild rocks, or opening into extensive plains, over which the herds of the Filátahs roam at large, broken with lakes and pools, and studded with villages, surrounded by their patches of cultivation, and enlivened by the stirring caravan. Crossing the dreaded "Guber Bush," a dense wood frequented by the troublesome rebels of Guber, the town of Zirmi appears, the capital of Zamfra, to which runaway slaves from all parts of Hausa fly with the certainty of welcome; and on the other hand, the large and populous town of Kutri, with a number of dye-pots in its outskirts. The plantations all along the banks of the river are carefully watered from 4 When Oldfield lay off Rabba, he was repeat. edly urged by the governor to visit Bello, who, he said, "would be glad to see them, and give them anything their hearts wished for." A report, however, arrived soon after that he was just dead. 5 Water communication may perhaps be obtained by the Zirmi, which in the month of February was found to be 60 yards broad, and 12 feet deep, with a current of 24 miles an hour, near Sa-katú. 6 Lander met one of above 4000 people, "of all ranks and of every nation; some going on a pilgrimage to Mecca; some to the sea-coast to purchase goora nuts; many Tuarik salt-merchants returning to Kilgris; but all bending their way to Kashna, whence they disperse in different directions."-ii. 90. 7 Sultan Bello mentions the superiority of the people of Guber, saying that they alone, of all the Hausa tribes, are free, being descended from the Copts, while the rest are the progeny of Bauwa, that is, a slave.-DENHAM and CLAPPERTON, appendix ii., 450. Shortly after we descry the lofty minarets of Kashna, and enter the town. This is still a place of considerable trade, although the chief commerce has been conquest. There are two daily markets in different parts of the town; the southern attended by the merchants of Ghadamis and Tuat, the northern by the Tuariks: the former bring unwrought silk, cotton and woollen cloths, beads, and a little cochineal, which they sell for cowries: these are sent to their agents at Kanó, to purchase blue tobes and turkadees, which are conveyed across the country to supply the fair of Gháts; and whatever they do not dispose of there to the Tuariks, they send to Tomboktú, in exchange for civet, gold, and slaves. The manufactures of Kashna are chiefly of leather, such as water-skins, red or yellow cushions, bridles of goats' skins, &c.; tanned bullocks' hides are also frequently carried to Fezzan and Tripoli. From Kashna a frequented track leads across the Desert by Agadez to Múrzúk and Ghadamis; and the town is a favourite resort of the Tuariks during the dry months, where, with the hire of their camels to the caravans crossing the Desert, and the sale of the salt which they bring with them, they provide themselves with grain and other necessaries for their sojourn in the wilds of the Sahrá'. Traversing a woody country with wide breaks of cultivated ground, the Káfilas halt at Duncami, "a moderatelysized walled town, with an overflowing population. I was both surprised and pleased to observe the neatness of this town, and the tidiness of its inhabitants. Every inch of spare ground was planted with tobacco, and tastefully fenced round with the dried stalks of that plant. The inhabitants at the northern quarter of the town manufacture large quantities of cotton cloths, which are neat and durable 10." 8 In the Desert, near Fezzan. The next station of importance is I to the sagacity and enterprise of the Kanó, which has been already de- Sheikh El Kanemy, its real ruler, who, scribed, (p. 31,) and which is seventeen co-operating with the rebellious natives days, or about 170 miles (at ten miles of Háusa, has succeeded in wresting a day) from Sakatú. several places of importance from Sultan Bello. The population is not less than five millions, and ten different languages are spoken within its borders. The principal towns, (which are large and well built,) are thirteen in number. The most valuable productions of the soil are senna, corn, indigo, and cotton, of which the two latter grow wild close to Lake Chad. The indigo is of superior quality, and forms a dye probably not excelled in any part of the world. But the present riches of the people consist in slaves, bullocks, and fine horses, of which last 2000 or 3000 are annually brought to Sudán. Bees' wax, ostrich feathers, ivory, hides, horns, skins, and civet, might be procured to any extent. Hence we proceed by the banks of the Koji, (in the rainy months a considerable stream",) through an open and well-cultivated country, with beautiful villages, and large herds of cattle, intersected occasionally by stripes of thick forest, on a road crowded with traders going to, or returning from Kanó, and travelling huxters offering various kinds of provision; by the town of Girkwa, in which a market is held, finer than that of Tripoli; the romantic village of Zangeia, Murmur, (where Dr. Oudney breathed his last,) Katagum, the ancient frontier of Bornú, where the cowry is seen for the last time, and native cloth, beads, or other commodities of standard price take its place, and slaves, grain, and bullocks, are the principal articles of trade; the pretty market of Sansan, Bediguna, surrounded by Kafirs, whom every good Mussulman thinks himself entitled to enslave; Bedikarfi, where travellers wait to join the Arab Kafilas for protection, and the nights are so cold, that Clapperton found the water in the vessels crusted with ice 12; Deltago, Bera, both with abundant markets, Old Birni, the ancient capital of Bornú 13, Damasak, and so to Kouka, the modern metropolis of this extensive and influential empire. Bornú, the most respected sovereignty in this part of Africa, extends for perhaps 400 miles from north to south, and the same from east to west, but its limits are liable to much variation from the occasional recovery of ancient dominions encroached on by the restless Filátahs. It owes its present greatness 11 Lander found it in May too swollen to ford. It falls into the Yeú, and was thought by Clapperton to be part of the river which the Arabs represented as flowing from Tomboktú to Egypt. 12 Journal, p. 9. 13 This city, destroyed in the Filátah invasion, and now lying in ruins, covered a space of five or six square miles, and is said to have had a population of 200,000 souls; the walls are still partly standing, well and strongly built. Near it stood the favourite residence of the former Sultan, Gambarú, upon the Yeú, here a noble stream, the ruins of which yet show that the buildings must have been of a princely character, and far superior to any. thing now to be seen in the country. Brass and copper vessels are brought from Barbary, and iron from Sudán and Mandara. Gold is scarcely known, as that brought from Ashanti is mostly carried by the Tuariks to Barbary and Egypt. Carpets and cushions are brought from Tripoli and Sudán. The usual calculation of a Moorish merchant is, that a camel load of merchandize, bought at Múrzúk for 150 dollars, will in Bornú bring a return of 500 clear. Persons in Fezzan will send three camel loads in charge of one man, and, after paying all expenses, give him a third of the remainder. All merchants who have gone amongst them have been treated with great liberality, and several have returned, in less than nine years, with fortunes of 15,000 or 20,000 dollars; yet the commodities they bring are mostly European, purchased in Tripoli at full 250 times their prime cost 1. The principal return which these traders obtain for their goods consists in slaves; for the wealth of Bornú principally depends on its presenting a mart or rendezvous for the Káfilas from Sudán. To the Moors, indeed, the traffic in slaves owes its origin, 14 Denham gives a long list of goods on which enormous profits might be obtained, and the desire for which is daily increasing, in which paper, carpets, silk and cotton goods, hold a distinguished place. P. 330. being made Sultan, and placed the brother of his former master on the throne. He built the town of New Birni for the monarch, and established himself at Angornu, three miles distant, and then at Kouka, retaining the dictatorship of the kingdom pro tempore. The sultanship is, indeed, but a name, although the court still keeps up considerable state, and adheres strictly to its ancient customs. He has taken the greatest pains, moreover, to settle and improve the country and the people, asked Major Denham many questions about printing, and gave him designs for three coins, for which he wished a stamp and apparatus, that he might be enabled to introduce a more convenient medium of exchange than that in use amongst them. One of these pieces he intended should be of gold, a second of silver, and the third of iron. and partly its continuance. They refuse ment. country. 16 His subsequent attacks probably directed Bello's attention to the less resisting nations of the South, where conquest was more easy and reward more certain. "Already the desire of exchanging whatever their country produces for the manufactures of the more enlightened nations of the north exists in no small degree amongst them; a taste for luxury, and a desire of imitating such strangers as visit them, are very observable, and the man of rank is ever distinguished by some part of his dress being of foreign materials, though sometimes of the most trifling kind. It is true that these propensities are not yet fully developed, but they exist, and give unequivocal proof of a tendency to civilization, and a desire to cultivate an intercourse with foreigners "." (To be concluded in our next.) 17 DENHAM, p. 331. There is every reason to believe, that we might have been enabled to keep up a continued correspondence with the Sheik, but for the treachery of Mukni, the Sultan of Fezzan, of whom all our travellers have had reason to complain. Mr. Consul Warrington having received a friendly answer to his first communication, wrote frequently to El Kanemi, but the letters, as Mr. Tyrwhitt's servant stated on his return from Bornú, were inva A letter, moreover, was sent from Tripoli to the Sheik, reproaching him bitterly for having shown such favour to the "Christian dogs,"-to which he replied, that so long as they paid for what they purchased, and behaved well, he would always receive them with kindness and hospitality; and if God were to punish him for this, why had he not already punished the people of Tripoli, where whole swarms of Christians were allowed to reside?Quarterly Review, July 1828, p. 108. |