78 DEFENSIVE POSTURE OF THE NATIVES. 



four to five fathoms. We passed thirteen 

 branches or creeks running from it, one of 

 which leads to Brass Town, and is the same 

 that Mr. Lander and his brother passed through. 

 We now considered ourselves to be fairly on 

 the Niger, and felt that we had much reason 

 to be thankful for having escaped the plot laid 

 by King Boy for our destruction. 



In the morning of the 29th we were under 

 weigh soon after four, and found that the river 

 continued to deepen, but the banks were still 

 low and swampy. The course of it was very 

 serpentine, varying from north-west to north- 

 east and east, and sometimes to the southward 

 of east. We passed several small villages sur- 

 rounded with cocoa-nut trees and plantations of 

 bananas and plantains : in fact, wherever there 

 appeared solid ground it was crowded with huts. 

 The inhabitants all mustered in front of their 

 houses armed with muskets, and seemed, though 

 alarmed, ready to defend their homes. At 

 seven a.m. we passed a branch running to the 

 south-west ; and the river immediately widened 

 to six or seven hundred yards, and deepened to 

 ten fathoms. The reaches were longer, and 



