PARK. 



31ft, they halted at Sobee, a town, the walled part of 

 which ferves as a citadel. On the 2d of Auguft, 

 they halted at Balanding ; and on the 3d, at Balandoo ; 

 and on the 4th reached Koolihori, a town partly walled, 

 but having the greater part of its huts without the walls. 

 On the 6th, they reached Ganifarra, a fmall beggarly 

 village. On the 9th, they crofled the Ba Woolli, a very 

 deep river, flowing at the rate of four or five miles per hour. 

 They purfued their route, until on the 13th, thofe of them 

 who furvived reached Koomikoomi, where they halted ; 

 lat. 13= 16' 29". On the 15th, they reached Doombila, 

 where Mr. Park met with an old friend, Karfa Taura, a 

 worthy negro whom he had known, and whofe kindnefs 

 he had experienced in his former travels. From Doombila, 

 they proceeded on the 1 8th to Toniba, and from thence they 

 afcended the mountains fouth of it, till having attained the 

 fummit of the ridge which feparatcs the Niger from the 

 remote branches of the Senegal, Mr. Park had the fatif- 

 faftion of once more feeing the Niger rolling its im- 

 menfe ftream along the plains. But this fatisfaftion was 

 accompanied by the mortifying refleftion, that three-fourths 

 of the foldiers had died on their march, and that in their 

 •weakly ftate, they had no carpenters to build the boats in 

 which they propofed to profecute their difcoveries. It 

 ■was, however, a pleafing confideration, that in condufting 

 a party of Europeans, with immenfe baggage, through an 

 extent of more than 500 miles, he had always been able 

 to preferve the moll friendly terms with the natives ; and 

 hence he was warranted to infer, that with common pru- 

 dence, any quantity of merchandize may be tranfported 

 from the Gambia to the Niger, without danger of being 

 robbed by the natives ; and that this journey may be per- 

 formed in the dry feafon, with a probability of not lofmg 

 more than three or at moft four out of fifty. But Mr. Park 

 ■was unfortunate in undertaking fuch a journey with the 

 profpeA of the rainy feafon, and the event proved, that 

 this feafon fet in before his journey to the Niger was 

 more than half completed. The effeft produced on the health 

 of the foldiers by a violent rain, preceded and accom- 

 panied by tornadoes, on the i8th of June, was almoft 

 mftantaneous ; twelve of them at once were dangeroufly ill, 

 and from this time, the great mortality commenced, which 

 was ultimately fatal to the expedition. When he reached the 

 Niger at Bambakoo, where the river begins to be navigable, 

 on the 19th of Auguft, there remained out of thirty -four 

 foldiers and four carpenters, who left the Gambia, only 

 fix foldiers and one carpenter, and the principal perfons 

 who compofed the expedition, befides Mr. Park himfelf, 

 were three, -uiz. Mr. Anderfon, Mr. Scott, and heutenant 

 Martyn, who were more orlefs affefted by the difeafe of the 

 climate ; the two former very ferioufly, fo that Mr. 

 Scott was left behind at Koomikoomi, and died without 

 reaching the Niger. Mr. Park had been flightly affected, 

 and it is wonderful, that the anxiety and fatigue which he 

 muft have experienced did not break down both his fpirits 

 and his ftrength. 



Having arrived at the Niger, Mr. Park, and the few 

 companions that remained, embarked in a canoe on the 

 22d of Auguft, and were borne away by the current at 

 the rate of about five knots per hoiu-. The river is at the 

 point of embarkation an Englifh mile broad, and at the 

 rapids, of which there are three principal ones, it fpreads 

 out to nearly twice that breadth. On the 23d, they 

 arrived at Marraboo, where they were joined by thofe 

 who came by land. Ifaaco was immediately difpatched to 

 Sego, the capital of Bambara, to negociate with Manfong, 

 the fovereign, for a free paffage through his dominions, and 



Vol. XXXIX. 



whilft Mr. Park waited for his return, he was feized with the 

 dyfentery, that threatened the termination of all his projects. 

 But by the aid of medicine and the advantage of a good 

 conftitution, he was foon reftored to health. Many diffi- 

 culties and delays occurred in the negociation, which was 

 conduced on the part of Mr. Park with fingular judg- 

 ment and addrefs ; but at length, after many unfavourable 

 rumours, which kept his mind in a ftate of diftreffing 

 fufpenfe, Manfong deputed a mefTenger to conduft him 

 towards Sego. Under his efcort, he left Koolikorro 

 (N. lat. 12- 52') on the 13th of September, and enjoyed 

 the beautiful views which his voyage afforded him ; " the 

 river," as he fays, " being fometimes as fmooth as a 

 mirror, at other times rufHed with a gentle breeze, but 

 at all times fweeping us along at the rate of fix or feveii 

 miles per hour." On the 14th, they departed from Deena, 

 where they had lodged, and arrived at Yamina, (lat. 13° 15',) 

 where they halted on the 15th; and on the i6th reached 

 Samee (lat. 13^ i?')- -A. deputation of Manfong's friends 

 vifited Mr. Park, in order to hear from himfelf a ftatement 

 of his views and purpofes in the voyage he was under- 

 taking. His ftatement was fatisfaftory to the grandees 

 that had executed this commifTion, and Mr. Park was 

 affiired of permiflion to purfue his voyage, and of pro- 

 teftion from Manfong as far as his power extended. The 

 king and his courtiers were much gratified by the prefents 

 which they received on the occafion. Accordingly, on the 

 26th of September, Mr. Park proceeded from Samee to 

 Sanfand'mg; which fee. Here he intended to provide a 

 proper veffel for his further navigation down the Niger ; 

 but it was with difticidty that he procured from Manfong 

 and his fon, in return for the prefents he had given them, 

 two decayed canoes, which merely afforded him materials 

 for conftrufting with his own hands, and fome affiftance 

 from one of the furviving foldiers, a flat -bottomed boat, to 

 which he gave the founding title of His Majefty's Schooner, 

 the Joliba. In the meanwhile, Mr. Park was informed of 

 the death of Mr. Scott, and he had now occafion 

 to lament the lofs of his friend Mr. Anderfon, who 

 died, after a lingering attack of four months, on the 

 26th of Oftober. The fenfibility he expreffed on this 

 occafion did honour to his feelings, and yet confidering 

 his prefent perilous fituation, and the dreary- and dif- 

 couraging profpecls which prefented themfelves with 

 regard to the projefts of his undertaking, he muft 

 poffefs a very high degree of equanimity, firmnefs, and 

 felf-pofTeffion. On the 1 6th of November, the fchooner 

 having been completed, and every thing in Mr. Park's 

 power to command being ready for the voyage, he clofes 

 his journal ; and in the courfe of the fucceeding days 

 previous to his embarkation, which was on the 19th, he 

 wTote feveral letters to his friends and kindred in England 

 and Scotland. In thefe letters, we difcover traces of that 

 deliberate and inflexible refolution, without effort or often- 

 tation, which proved a diftinguifhing feature of his cha- 

 rafter. From this period, we have no ftriftly authentic 

 information concerning Mr. Park, or the progrefs and 

 termination of his expedidon. In the courfe of the yeai- 

 1806, conjeftures and reports agitated the public miiid ; 

 and the agitation was aggravated, by inteUigence commu- 

 nicated by the native traders from the interior of Africa 

 to the Britifh fettlements on the coaft ; whence it was 

 concluded, that Mr. Park and his companions were killed. 

 In confequence of thefe unfatisfadory and alarming rumours, 

 lieutenant colonel Maxwell, then governor of Senegal, 

 obtained permiflion from government to engage a proper 

 perfon to inveftigate and afcertain the truth of thefe 

 '^ 4 G rumours. 



