TUCKEY. 121 



did a military or naval armament, by which the most splen- 

 did victories were expected to be achieved, excite a deeper 

 interest than this, which seemed destined to triumph over 

 the darkness that had so long enveloped the vast interi jr of 

 the African continent. 



The expedition to the Congo was intrusted to Captain 

 Tuckey, an officer of merit and varied services, and who 

 had pubHshed several works connected with geography and 

 navigation. Besides a crew of about fifty individuals, in- 

 cluding marines and mechanics, he was accompanied by 

 Mr. Smith, an eminent botanist, who likewise possessed 

 some knowledge of geology ; Mr. Cranch, a self-taught but 

 able zoologist ; Mr. Tudor, a good comparative anatomist ; 

 Mr. Lockhart, a gardener from Kew ; and Mr. Galwey, an 

 intelligent person who volunteered to join the party. They 

 sailed from Deptford on the 16th February, 1816, and 

 reached Malemba on the 30th June, where they met with a 

 most cordial reception from the mafook, or king's merchant, 

 in the belief that they were come to make up a cargo of 

 slaves. The chiefs, on being reluctantly convinced of the 

 contrary, burst into the most furious invectives against the 

 crowned heads of Europe, particularly our own most gra- 

 cious sovereign, whom they denominated " the Devil," im- 

 puting chiefly to him the stop put to this odious but lucra- 

 tive traffic. A few days thereafter brought the English into 

 the channel of the Congo ; which, to their great surprise, 

 instead of exhibiting the stupendous magnitude they had 

 been taught to expect, scarcely appeared a river of the se- 

 cond class. The stream, it is true, was then at the lowest, 

 but the depth being still more than 150 fathoms, made 

 it impossible to estimate the mass of water which its 

 channel might convey to the ocean. The banks were 

 swampy, overgrown with mangrove trees ; and the deep 

 silence and repose of these immense forests made a solemn 

 impression upon the mind. At Embomma, the emporium 

 of the Congo, much interest was excited by the discovery 

 that a negro officiating as cook's mate was a prince of the 

 blood. He was welcomed with rapture by his father, and 

 with a general rejoicing by the whole vilkige. The young 

 savage was soon arrayed in full African pomp, having on 

 an embroidered coat very much tarnished, a silk sash, and 

 a black glazed-hat, surmounted by an enormous tieathe... 

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