MEDITATED TREACHERY. 75 



against all his enemies. The process was merely 

 dressing the vessel with blue lights and firing 

 a few sky-rockets ; in consequence of which the 

 Quorra was always afterwards called the fetish 

 ship, and I found great difficulty in getting any 

 of the natives to venture on board till I had 

 passed Eboe. 



On the 27th, we were busy in our preparations 

 for going up the river. The black pilot that 

 had been placed on board the Alburkah by 

 King Boy informed Mr. Lander that he had 

 been desired by the king to take us up a branch 

 of the river that was full of shoals, and, if possi- 

 ble, to run us aground. In consequence of this 

 information, Mr. Lander went up in the Alburkah 

 to examine the branch said by the pilot to be 

 most eligible. It proved to have from two to 

 three fathoms water in it, and, although narrow, 

 was free from shoals. Both Boy and his father, 

 Forday, were greatly enraged on our determin- 

 ing to attempt this channel, which, in my opi- 

 nion, proved that they were meditating trea- 

 chery. They both departed in high dudgeon, 

 but promised to be on board by cock-crow the 

 next morning. 



On the morning of the 28th, however, the 



