38^ mark's first journey. 
stirrups, in order to throw himself on the ground, 
but, while his eyes were rivetted upon the animal, 
his horse carried him slowly to a considerable dis- 
tance, and the lion calmly retained his position. 
Soon after leaving Modiboo, his horse stumbled 
on the rough clayey ground, and, as he could not 
raise him up, he was forced to leave him, with the 
sad presage, that he should soon lie down and pe- 
rish in the same manner, exhausted by hunger and 
fatigue. When he reached Kea, a small fishing 
village, he entreated the protection of the Dooty, 
who informed him coolly, that he paid no atten- 
tion to fine speeches, and that he should not enter 
his house. From Kea he was transported in a 
canoe to Moorzan, a fishing town on the northern 
bank, whence he was conveyed across the Niger 
to Silla, a large town, situated in N. lat. 14"^ 48', 
and W. long. 1° ^4/, about 1090 British miles east 
of Cape Verd, and in the same parallel. At Silla 
Mr Park found himself exhausted with sickness, 
hunger, and fatigue, half-naked, and without any 
article of value to procure provisions, clothes, or 
lodging. The intolerant fanaticism of the Moors, 
whose influence increased as he advanced, and 
the violence of the tropical rains^ by which the 
swamps and rice-grounds were already inundated, 
presented insuperable obstacles to his progress. 
Inevitable destruction menaced him on the one 
hand, and the dangers of a journey on foot, for 
