PREPARATIONS FOR ASCENDING THE RIVER. 69 



The 211st of October was our first Sabbath in 

 the Niger, and Mr. Jordan read the usual pray- 

 ers. Mr. Lander came on board, and I was glad 

 to hear from him that he had recovered his 

 journal from the commander of the Susan. I 

 wished very much to see it, as the daily journal 

 of his adventurous voyage down the Niger from 

 Boussa must have been very interesting; but 

 unfortunately he had not brought it with 

 him, and I could never afterwards get a sight 

 of it. 



At daylight on the 22lnd, we commenced break- 

 ing out the main hold, preparatory to lightening 

 the vessel of all superfluous stores before proceed- 

 ing up the river. We had been frequently an- 

 noyed during the passage out by a disagreeable 

 vapour that came from the hold, and we now 

 found that it had been occasioned by the cocoa 

 being stowed in bags in the provision-room under 

 the cabin : the bags had rotted, and the cocoa 

 had fallen into the bilge-water, and there become 

 putrid. This I am of opinion was the principal 

 cause of the unhealthiness of the after part of the 

 vessel, — the two fatal cases of fever having oc- 

 curred in the poop, and no severe cases in the 



