$7^ park's first journey* 
fore his arrival, he had the inexpressible satisfac- 
tion of beholding the long-sought majestic Niger, 
glittering to the morning-sun, as broad as the 
Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly Jrom 
west to east. Mr Park immediately hastened to 
the brink, and, having drank of the water, re- 
turned fervent thanks to God, for having crown- 
ed his labours thus far with success. Sego, the 
capital of Bambarra, which lies in N. lat. 14° 10^ 
and W. long. 2° 26' ; 618 miles from Medina, the 
capital of Woolli, contains about 30,000 inhabi- 
tants. It consists of four distinct towns, two of 
which are situated on the northern, and two on 
the southern bank of the Niger. They are sur-^ 
rounded with high mud walls ; the houses are of 
a square form, with flat roofs, and are built of 
clay ; some of them consist of two stories, and 
many are white-washed. The streets are narrow, 
and Moorish mosques appear in every quarter. 
It was a market-day when Mr Park arrived at 
Sego, and such crowds were crossing the river, 
that he waited above two hours for a passage. 
In the meantime, Mansong, the king, was in- 
formed that a white man was coming to see him ; 
and, having been prepossessed against him by the 
Moors and Slatees residing at Sego, sent one of 
his chief men to forbid him to pass the river, till 
the king was informed concerning the object of 
his journey. The messenger directed him to 
