599 
P A 
Ganifarra, a fTtiall beggarly village. On the 9th, they 
crofted the Ba Woolli, a very deep river, flowing at the 
rate of four or five miles an-hour. 
They purfued their route, until, on the 13th, thofe of 
them who furvived readied Koomikoomi, where they 
halted; lat. 13. 16. 29. N. 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 18 th to Toniba ; 
and from thence they afcended the mountains fouth of 
it, till, having attained the fummit of the ridge which 
feparates the Niger from the remote branches of the Se¬ 
negal, Mr. Park had the fatisfaClion of once more feeing 
the Niger rolling its immenfe ftream along the plains. 
But this fatisfaClion was accompanied by the mortifying 
refledion, 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 condudinga party of Europeans, 
with immenfe baggage, through an extent of more than 
500 miles, he had always been able to preferve the molt 
friendly terms with the natives; and hence he was war¬ 
ranted to infer, that, with common prudence, any quan¬ 
tity of merchandife may be tranfported from the Gambia 
to the Niger, without danger of being robbed by the 
natives; and that this journey may be performed, in the 
dry feafon, with a probability of not lofing more than 
three or at moll four out of fifty. But Mr. Park was un¬ 
fortunate in undertaking fuch a journey with the prof- 
ped of the rainy feafon ; and the event proved, that this 
feafon fet in before his journey to the Niger was more 
than half completed. 
When he reached the Niger at Bambakoo, where the 
river begins to be navigable, on the 19th of Augulf, 
there remained out of thirty-four foldiers and four car¬ 
penters, who left the Gambia, only fix foldiers and one 
carpenter; and the principal perfons who compofed the 
expedition, beiides Mr. Park himfelf, were three, viz. 
Mr. Anderfon, Mr. Scott, and lieutenant Martyn, who 
were more or lefs affeded 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 (lightly affeded ; and it is 
wonderful, that the anxiety and fatigue which he mud 
have experienced did not break down both his fpirits and 
his flrength. 
Having arrived at the Niger, Mr. Park, and the few 
companions that remained, embarked in a canoe on the 
22d of Augufl, and were borne away by the current at 
tlie rate of about five knots an-hour. 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 dif'patched 
to Sego, the capital of Bambara, to negociate with Man- 
fong, the fovereign, for a free paffage through his domi¬ 
nions. Whillt Mr. Park waited for his return, he was 
feized with a dyfentery that threatened the termina¬ 
tion of all his proje&s ; but, by the aid of medicine and 
the advantage of a good conllitution, he was foon reftored 
to health. Many difficulties and delays occurred in the 
negotiation, which was conducted on the part of Mr. 
Park with Angular judgment and addrefs; but at length, 
after many unfavourable rumours, which kept his mind 
in a ftate of diftrefting l'ufpenfe, Manfong deputed a mef- 
fenger to conduCt him towards Sego. Under his efcort, 
he left Koolikorro (lat. 12. 52. N.) on the 13th of Septem¬ 
ber, 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 ruffled with a 
gentle breeze, but at all times fweeping us along at the 
rate of fix or (even miles an-hour.” On the 14th, they 
R K. 
departed from Deena, where they had lodged, and ar¬ 
rived at Yamina, (lat. 13. 15.) where they halted on the 
15th ; and on the 16th reached Samee, (lat. 13. 17.) 
Here 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 undertaking. 
His ftatement was fatisfa&ory to the grandees that had 
executed this commiflion ; and Mr. Park was afl'ured of 
permiflion to purfue his voyage, and of protection from 
Manfong as tar as his power extended. 7 ’he king and 
his courtiers were much gratified by the prefents which 
they received on.the occafion. Accordingly, on the26th 
of September, Mr. Park proceeded from Samee to San- 
fanding, which is twenty-five miles north-eaft of Sego. 
Here he intended to provide a proper veflel for his fur¬ 
ther navigation down the Niger; but it was with diffi¬ 
culty that he procured from Manfong and his fon, in re¬ 
turn for the prefents he had given them, two decayed 
canoes, which merely afforded him materials for con- 
ftruCling, with his own hands, and fome afliftance 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 mean while 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 OCtober. The fen- 
fibility he expreiled on this occafion did honour to his 
feelings; and yet, confidering his prefent perilous fitua- 
tion, and the dreary and dilcouraging profpefts which 
prefented themfelves with regard to the projects of his 
undertaking, he mull have pofleffed a very high degree 
of equanimity, firmnefs, and felf-pofleffion. On the 16th 
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 wrote feveral letters to his 
friends and kindred in England and Scotland. In thefe 
letters, we difcover traces of that deliberate and inflexi¬ 
ble refolution, without effort or oftentation, which was 
a dillinguifhing feature of his character. From this pe¬ 
riod, we have no flriClly-authentic information concern¬ 
ing Mr. Park, or the progrefs and termination of his ex¬ 
pedition. In the courfe of the year 1806, conjectures 
and reports agitated the public mind ; and the agitation 
was aggravated by intelligence communicated by the 
native traders from the interior of Africa to the Britifh 
fettlements on the coall; whence it was concluded, that 
Mr. Park and his companions were killed. In confe- 
quence of thefe unfatisfaCtory and alarming rumours, 
lieutenant-general Maxwell, then governor of Senegal, 
obtained permiflion from government to engage a proper 
perfon to inveftigate and afcertain the truth of thefe ru¬ 
mours. Accordingly, fie engaged Ifaaco, Mr. Park’s 
guide, to conduit this bufinefs. In January 1810, Ifaaco 
left Senegal; and returned on the 1 ft of September, 1811, 
fully confirming the reports of Mr. Park’s death. His 
journal, including another from Amadi Fatouma, the 
guide who had accompanied Park from Sanfanding down 
the Niger, was delivered to the governor, and tranlfnitted 
by him, after having been tranflated from Arabic to 
Englifh, to the fecretary of ftate for the colonial depart¬ 
ment. 
From Amadi Fatouma’s journal we learn, that the con¬ 
ductors of the expedition went from Sanfanding to Silla, 
where Mr. Park had ended his firll voyage; and that from 
thence Mr. Park, Martyn, three other white men, three 
(laves, and Amadi as guide and interpreter, nine in num¬ 
ber, proceeded in a canoe to Ginny ; and, as they palled 
Sibby, or Dibbie, they were attacked by an armed force 
in three canoes, which they repulled. Again at Rakbara, 
or Kabra, they repelled another aflault; and, in paffing 
TombuCtoo, they refilled another fimilar attack, efcaping 
by force and by the (laughter of many of the natives. As 
they 
