ANOTHER MESSENGER FROM ATTAH. 14.7 



as his credentials a porter-bottle, which he dis- 

 played with great gravity and importance, utter- 

 ing at the same time the magic monosyllable 

 'rum.' He informed me that his master had 

 collected four hundred teeth, and wished us to 

 return and buy them. Mr. Lander proposed to 

 go down in the launch ; to which I strongly ob- 

 jected, as it was evidently a ruse of the old rascal 

 to get a white man in his power. The visit of 

 this emissary terminated in our filling his bottle 

 with rum as a sign that he had been with us, 

 and we despatched him to his master with a 

 message, saying we would send old Pascoe down. 

 Mr. Lander returned to the Alburkah in the 

 evening. 



In the afternoon of the 10th, I went to the 

 Alburkah, and arrived at midnight completely 

 exhausted, having been five hours in going as 

 many miles. 



On the following day I went on shore, with 

 Mr. Lander, to examine a situation preparing for 

 a house to contain our goods. It was on a small 

 hill about two hundred and fifty feet above the 

 river, that commands the junction of the Shary 

 and Niger. The view from it is very fine, and 

 I do not think that a more desirable spot could 



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