VOYAGE TO THE NIGER. 65 
met with them in abundance, floating on the Quorra (Niger). 
In the afternoon I went again to Stirling hill, and explored 
it for a short time; but found the soil to consist of sand- 
stone, impregnated with iron, and therefore bad. A few 
spots only exhibited vegetable soil, formed of decomposed 
plants. 
Tuesday, September 14.— At six o'clock we climbed 
Mount Pattéh. It is rather steep, difficult of ascent, and 
covered with many boulders of red iron sandstone. The 
pea-like formation is remarkable. There were single strata 
of quartz. The cultivation of Yams, Capsicum, Guinea-grain, 
(now without blossom or fruit) a bean or Dolichos, and a few 
Bananas, continued to the summit. A streamlet, running 
down from somewhere about midway of the mount, had a 
hed of clay, which is also more or less mixed with the soil 
generally ; and along this channel the chief brushwood grew. 
Largish isolated trees are met over the whole declivity, pro- 
bably remnants of former forests. It looks as if the useful 
trees had been preserved. Four species occurred particularly 
often; Baobab; Parkia, now without fruit or blossom, but 
with foliage ; Sarcocephalus, sometimes a stately tree, but 
with long branches showing a disposition to climb; and the 
Hog-plum (Spondias), but this chiefly at the summit. The 
barometer gave 1200 feet, according to a hasty calculation, 
(subsequently 1150), above the level of the Niger. On the 
top is table-land (level plateau) much cultivated, and covered 
often with brushwood and a tree with yellow flowers, I think 
Beauvois’ Spathodea ;* another tree, of which blossomt and 
fruit are preserved in acid, a shrubby Mimosa and species of 
Ficus, without fructification. A species of Tephrosia was fre- 
quently cultivated. I saw no Palm. The natives appeared, as 
yet, to have had no communication with Europeans : they were 
armed with bows and arrows, much like those of the country 
* A handsome tree, with dark scarlet flowers, of the same genus, was 
frequent on the declivity. 
+ A high, much branched, leafless Euphorbia, the juice of which is 
Said to cause blindness. 
F 
