CLAPPERTON'S SECOND JOURNEY. 183 



fniTC and steady aim, the enemy directed against them. 

 From time to time indeed a doughty warrior, well covered 

 with armour, rode up, calling, " Shields to the wall ! Why 

 don't you come on!" but he instantly and quickly rode 

 back, amid the derisive shouts of his countrymen. The 

 only parties who exposed themselves to real danger were a 

 few chiefs, in quilted armour, ornamented with gaudy robes 

 and ostrich plumes, and of such weight that two men were 

 required to lift them on horseback : several of them were 

 brought down by the fire of one well-directed musket from 

 the walls. Evening closed without any thing being effected 

 by this band of heroes ; and in the middle of the night, an 

 alarm being raised of a sally from the garrison, the whole 

 besieging army began a tumultuous flight, tumbling over 

 each other and upsetting every thing in their way, thinking 

 only how they might soonest escape from danger. The 

 retreat was continued through the whole of the following 

 day and night, no halt having taken place till ten of the 

 second morning. Thus closed this memorable campaign. 



Clapperton, at the sultan's suggestion, repaired to Sack- 

 atoo (which he now calls Soccatoo) ; the monarch himself 

 remaining behind at Magaria, a neighbouring town, which 

 he was raising into a new capital. The traveller's time 

 was spent between the two places. He found, however, 

 an entire change in the feelings of kindness and cordiality 

 towards himself, which had been so remarkably displayed 

 in the former journey. Jealousies had begun to fester in 

 the breasts of the African princes. They dreaded some am- 

 bitious design in those repeated missions sent by England 

 without any conceivable motive ; for, that men should un- 

 dertake such long journeys out of mere curiosity, they could 

 never imagine. The sultan accordingly had received a 

 letter from the court of Bornou, warning him that, by this 

 very mode of sending embassies and presents, which the 

 English were now following towards the states of Central 

 Africa, they had made themselves masters of India, and 

 trampled on all its native princes. The writer, therefore, 

 gave it as his opinion that Clapperton should immediately 

 be put to death. An alarm had, in fact, been spread 

 throughout Sackatoo that the English were coming to in- 

 vade Houssa. The panic was groundless ; no European 

 potentate would at present dream of attempting to conquer 



