Chapter XI

The Author resumes his Narrative — African huts — Recreations and evening amusements of his Master and himself — Illness of Captain Clapperton — His sufferings — Perfect resignation under them — His death — Burial — Character.

My master and myself enjoyed tolerable health for some weeks after my arrival in Soccatoo, I say _tolerable_, for _perfect_ health we felt not even a single day in Africa. We variously employed our leisure hours as inclination or circumstances might guide our choice. We each went a-shooting repeatedly: this was Captain Clapperton’s favourite amusement, and almost the only out-of-door exercise he was at all eager to cultivate. He frequently went out with his gun at an early hour in the morning, and returned not till the evening was pretty far advanced. On all of these occasions the Captain was dressed in the costume of the country, which consisted, besides other articles, of a large, flowing tobe, and a red cap with a white muslin turban: the tobe was confined to his waist by a broad belt, in which a brace of pistols and a short dagger were stuck;—thus accoutred, my master looked more like a mountain robber setting out on a predatory excursion, than a British naval officer. His beard, also, which he had permitted quietly to grow, had undisputed possession of his chin, and was of a truly patriarchal length, extending even below his breast. This imparted to his countenance a venerable expression, and to his general appearance a degree of dignity, that excited the envy and admiration of the Arabs and Falatahs, who attach great importance to large bushy beards, which they all strive to obtain by various means.

The hut in which we resided was a round building, about thirty yards in circumference, having so small an entrance that we were obliged to stoop on going into it, and its appearance very much resembled an immense bee- hive. It had no window or other aperture whatever, besides the door-way already alluded to, so that light was admitted only from that channel; and the heat of the apartment was from the same cause rendered almost insupportable, being nearly ten degrees higher than in the shade outside. The hut was inclosed in a square yard, at one end of which the horses were confined, and the camels at another; and sheds were erected close to it, as sleeping apartments for the servants and slaves.

For the erection of the walls of their huts, the natives use clay and earth, without hair, or any other substance. The mortar is made into round masses, somewhat larger than a skittleball, which being dried and hardened in the sun, are fit for use, and placed in tiers like bricks in England. As soon as the walls are raised to the usual height, the roof is constructed and placed on them; and the interstices between the tiers of balls and the balls themselves being filled up with moistened clay, the whole surface is plastered over with the same material by the hands of the workman, which, like the tail of the beaver, is his only tool, and the hut is then fit to be inhabited.

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Before retiring to rest of an evening, cigars we had brought from England with us were generally produced; and we inhaled their grateful fragrance oftentimes for an hour or two. This was the only luxury left us; our tea and sugar had been consumed long before, and we fared in every respect like the Falatahs themselves. Squatted on mats in our huts, we spent the lingering hours in reading aloud, or chatting of our respective homes, and reciting village anecdotes; and it is really incredible to believe to what a ridiculous consequence the most trivial incident in the world was magnified in these our solitary conversations; and how often we laughed at jests which had been laughed at a thousand times before. But this can only be felt in an equal degree by persons similarly circumstanced with ourselves; every other avenue to enjoyment had been effectually blocked up; nor could we derive any pleasure from the society of the treacherous Arab or interested Falatah.

Sometimes, although neither of us was gifted with a voice of much power or compass, we attempted to sing a few English or Scotch tunes; and sometimes I played others on my buglehorn. How often have the pleasing strains of “Sweet, sweet Home,” resounded through the melancholy streets of Soccatoo? How often have its inhabitants listened with breathless attention to the music of the white-faced strangers? and observed to each other, as they went away, “Surely those Christians are sending a blessing to their country and friends!” Any thing that reminded my master of his native Scotland was always heard with interest and emotion. The little poem, “My native Highland home,” I have sung scores of times to him, as he has sat with his arms folded on his breast opposite to me in our dwelling; and notwithstanding his masculine understanding, and boasted strength of nerve, the Captain used to be somewhat moved on listening to the lines:

“Then gang wi’ me to Scotland dear,

We ne’er again will roam;

And with thy smile, so bonny, cheer

My native Highland home!

“For blithsome is the breath of day,

And sweet ’s the bonny broom,

And pure the dimpling rills that play

Around my Highland home.”

Thus our lonely evenings were spent; and when the time, the place, and the thousand other circumstances, are considered, the puerility of our amusements may surely be pardoned us. Such entertainments could not fail of awakening melancholy but pleasing associations within us; and to picture to our imaginations when in the bosom of Africa, and surrounded by wretches who sought our destruction, our own free and happy country, its heathy hills and flowery fields, and contrast them with the withering aspect of existing scenes, afforded us many an hour of delight and sorrow, gladness and gloom—although filling us with hopes that proved delusive, and expectations that we found, by fatal experience, to be in the highest degree visionary;—for, like the beautiful apple said to grow on the borders of the Red Sea, our hopes wore a fair and promising outside, but produced only bitter ashes.

For two months our manner of living and occupation were nearly unvaried. The Sheikh of Bornou had entered Houssa, during this period, with a multitude of men, and was reported to have laid siege to Kano, after the fall of which city he was to march to Soccatoo. This news terrified the inhabitants of the latter place to so great a degree, that every individual of consequence in it fled to the more secure and remote town of Magaria; and we were obliged to follow their example; but, events not turning out agreeably to anticipation, we returned to Soccatoo in about a week or fortnight afterwards.

On the 12th of March all thoughts of further enjoyment ceased, through the sudden illness of my dear kind master, who was attacked with dysentery on that day. He had been almost insensibly declining for a week or two previously, but without the slightest symptoms of this frightful malady. From the moment he was first taken ill, Captain Clapperton perspired freely, large drops of sweat continually rolling over every part of his body, which weakened him exceedingly; and, being unable to obtain any one, even of our own servants, to assist, I was obliged to wash the clothes, kindle and keep in the fire, and prepare the victuals with my own hands. Owing to the intense heat, my master was frequently fanned for hours together: indeed, all my leisure moments were devoted to this tedious occupation; and I have often held the fan till, from excessive weakness, it has fallen from my grasp.

Finding that, from increasing debility, I was unable to pay that unremitting attention to the numerous wants of the invalid which his melancholy state so peculiarly demanded, I sent to mallam Mudey on the 15th, entreating him to lend me a female slave to perform the operation of fanning. On her arrival the girl began her work with alacrity and cheerfulness; but soon becoming weary of her task, ran away, and never returned to our hut. I was therefore obliged to resume it myself; and, regardless of personal inconvenience and fatigue, strained every nerve, in order to alleviate, as much as possible, the sufferings occasioned by this painful disorder. My master daily grew weaker, and suffered severely from the intolerable heat of the atmosphere, the thermometer being, in the coolest place, 107 at twelve at noon, and 109 at three in the afternoon.

At his own suggestion I made a couch for him outside our dwelling, in the shade, and placed a mat for myself by its side. For five successive days I took him in my arms from his bed to the couch outside, and back again at sunset, after which he was too much debilitated to encounter even so trifling an exertion. He expressed a wish to write once, and but once, during his illness, but before paper and ink could be handed to him, he had fallen back on his bed, completely exhausted by his ineffectual attempt to sit up.

Fancying by certain suspicious symptoms, that my sick master had inadvertently taken poison, I asked him one day whether he thought that in any of his visits to the Arabs or Tuaricks in the city, any venomous ingredient had been secretly put into the camel’s milk they had given him to drink, of which he was particularly fond. He replied, “No, my dear boy, no such thing has been done, I assure you. Do you remember,” he continued, “that when on a shooting excursion in Magaria, in the early part of February, after walking the whole of the day, exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, I was fatigued, and for some time lay under the branches of a tree? The soil on that occasion was soft and wet, and from that hour to the present I have not been free from cold. This has brought on my present disorder, from which, I believe, I shall never recover.”

For twenty days the Captain remained in a low and distressed state, and during that period was gradually but perceptibly declining; his body, from being strong and vigorous, having become exceedingly weak and emaciated, and, indeed, little better than a skeleton. There could not be a more truly pitiable object in the universe than was my poor dear master, at this time. His days were sorrowfully and ignobly wasting in vexatious indolence; he himself languishing under the influence of a dreadful disease, in a barbarous region, far, very far removed from his tenderest connections, and beloved country; the hope of life quenched in his bosom; the great undertaking, on which his whole soul was bent, unaccomplished; the active powers of his mind consumed away; and his body so torn and racked with pain, that he could move neither head, hand, nor foot without suppressed groans of anguish; while the fire and energy that used to kindle in his eye had passed away, and given place to a glossy appearance—a dull saddening expression of approaching dissolution.

In those dismal moments, Capt. Clapperton derived considerable consolation from the exercise of religious duties; and, being unable himself to hold a book in his hand, I used to read aloud to him daily and hourly some portions of the Sacred Scriptures. At times a gleam of hope, which the impressive and appropriate language of the Psalmist is so admirably calculated to excite, would pierce the thick curtain of melancholy that enveloped us; but, like the sun smiling through the dense clouds of a winter’s day, it shone but faintly; and left us in a state of gloomier darkness than before.

Abderachman, an Arab from Fezzan, intruded himself one day into our hut, and wished to read some Mohammedan prayers to my master, but was instantly desired to leave the apartment, with a request that he would never enter it again. This individual was the only stranger that visited him during his sickness.

The Captain’s sleep was uniformly short and disturbed, and troubled with frightful dreams, in which he often reproached the Arabs with emphasis and bitterness; but being myself almost a stranger to the language (Arabic) I could not distinctly understand the tenor of his remarks.

The unceasing agitation of mind, and exertion of body, which I had myself undergone in my unremitting duties, (never having in a single instance slept out of my clothes,) weakened me greatly; and a fever having come on me not long before my master’s death, hung upon me for fifteen days, and brought me to the very verge of the grave. Almost at the commencement of this illness, there being no other person to assist me in the manner I could wish, I obtained permission to take Pasko again into our service. As soon as he entered the hut, the repentant old man fell upon his knees before the couch of his sick master, and intreated so piteously to be forgiven for the offences of which he had been guilty, that he was desired to rise, with a promise to overlook all that had passed, if his after-conduct should correspond with his apparent penitence.

By this means, the washing and all the drudgery were taken from my shoulders, which enabled me to devote my whole time and attention to my affectionate master’s person; and, indeed, all my energies were required to bear me up under the pressure that almost bowed me to the dust. I fanned the invalid nearly the whole of the day, and this seemed to cool the burning heat of his body, of which he repeatedly complained. Almost the whole of his conversation reverted to his country and friends, although I never heard him regret his having left them; and he was patient and resigned to the last, a murmur of disappointment never escaping his lips.

On the first of April the patient became considerably worse; and, although evidently in want of repose, the virulence of his complaint prevented him from enjoying any refreshing slumbers. On the 9th, Maddie, a native of Bornou whom my master had retained in his service, brought him about twelve ounces of green bark, from the butter-tree, recommended to him by an Arab in the city; and assured us that it would produce the most beneficial effects. Notwithstanding all my remonstrances, a decoction of it was ordered to be prepared immediately, the too- confiding invalid remarking that no one would injure him. Accordingly, Maddie himself boiled two basons full, the whole of which stuff was swallowed in less than an hour.

On the following day he was greatly altered for the worse, as I had foretold he would be, and expressed regret for not having followed my advice. About twelve o’clock at noon, calling me to his bed-side, he said,

“Richard! I shall shortly be no more; I feel myself dying.” Almost choked with grief, I replied,

“God forbid! my dear master; you will live many years to come.”

“Do not be so much affected, my dear boy, I intreat you,” rejoined he; “you distress me by your emotion; it is the will of the Almighty; and therefore cannot be helped. Take care of my journal and papers after my decease; and when you arrive in London, go immediately to my agents, and send for my uncle, who will accompany you to the Colonial office, and see you deposit them with the Secretary. After my body is laid in the earth, apply to Bello, and borrow money to purchase camels and provisions for crossing the desert to Fezzan in the train of the Arab merchants. On your arrival at Mourzuk, should your money be expended, send a messenger to Mr. Warrington, our Consul for Tripoli, and wait till he returns with a remittance. On your reaching the latter place, that gentleman will further advance you what money you may require, and send you to England the first opportunity. Do not lumber yourself with my books, but leave them behind, as well as my barometer and sticks, and indeed every heavy or cumbersome article you can conveniently part with; you may give them to mallam Mudey, who will preserve them. Remark whatever towns or villages you may pass through, and put on paper any thing remarkable that the chiefs of the different places may say to you.”

I said, as well as my agitation would permit me, “If it be the will of God to take you, Sir, you may confidently rely, as far as circumstances will permit me, on my faithfully performing all that you have desired; but I hope and believe that the Almighty will yet spare you to see your home and country again.”

“I thought at one time,” continued he, “that that would be the case, but I dare not entertain such hopes now; death is on me, and I shall not be long for this world; God’s will be done.” He then took my hand betwixt his, and looking me full in the face, while a tear glistened in his eye, said in a tremulous, melancholy tone:

“My dear Richard, if you had not been with me I should have died long ago. I can only thank you with my latest breath for your devotedness and attachment to me; and if I could live to return to England with you, you should be placed beyond the reach of want; the Almighty, however, will reward you.”

This pathetic conversation, which occupied almost two hours, greatly exhausted my master, and he fainted several times whilst speaking. The same evening he fell into a slumber, from which he awoke in much perturbation, and said that he had heard with peculiar distinctness the tolling of an English funeral bell; but I entreated him to be composed, observing that sick people frequently fancy things which in reality can have no existence. He shook his head, but said nothing.

About six o’clock on the morning of the 11th April, on my asking him how he did, my master replied in a cheerful tone, that he felt much better; and requested to be shaved. He had not sufficient strength to lift his head from the pillow; and after finishing one side of the face I was obliged myself to turn his head in order to get at the other. As soon as he was shaved, he desired me to fetch him a looking-glass which hung on the opposite side of the hut; and on seeing the reflection of his face in it, observed that he looked quite as ill in Bornou on his former journey, and that as he had borne his disorder for so long a time, there was some possibility of his yet recovering. On the following day he still fancied himself to be convalescent, in which belief I myself agreed, as he was enabled to partake of a little hashed guinea fowl in the course of the afternoon, which he had not done before during the whole of his confinement, having derived his sole sustenance from a little fowl soup and milk and water.

These flattering anticipations, however, speedily vanished, for on the morning of the 13th, being awake, I was greatly alarmed on hearing a peculiar rattling noise issuing from my master’s throat, and his breathing at the same time was loud and difficult. At that moment, on his calling out “Richard!” in a low, hurried, and singular tone, I was instantly at his side, and was astonished beyond measure on beholding him sitting upright in his bed (not having been able for a long time previously to move a limb), and staring wildly around. Observing him ineffectually struggling to raise himself on his feet, I clasped him in my arms, and whilst I thus held him, could feel his heart palpitating violently. His throes became every moment less vehement, and at last they entirely ceased, insomuch that thinking he had fallen into a slumber, or was overpowered by fain tings, I placed his head gently on my left shoulder, gazing for an instant, on his pale and altered features; some indistinct expressions quivered on his lips, and whilst he vainly strove to give them utterance, his heart ceased to vibrate, and his eyes closed for ever!

I held the lifeless body in my arms for a short period, overwhelmed with grief; nor could I bring myself to believe that the soul which had animated it with being, a few moments before, had actually quitted it.

I then unclasped my arms, and held the hand of my dear master in mine; but it was cold and dead, and instead of returning the warmth with which I used to press it, imparted some of its own unearthly chillness to my frame, and fell heavily from my grasp. O God! what was my distress in that agonizing moment? Shedding floods of tears, I flung myself along the bed of death, and prayed that Heaven would in mercy take my life!

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The violence of my grief having subsided, Pasko and Mudey, whom my exclamations had brought into the apartment, fetched me water, with which I washed the corpse, and with their assistance, carried it outside the hut, laid it on a clean mat, and wrapped it in a sheet and blanket. After leaving it in this state nearly two hours, I put a large neat mat over the whole, and sent a messenger to make Bello acquainted with the mournful event, as well as to obtain his permission to have the body buried after the manner of my own country; and also to learn in what particular place the Sultan would wish to have it interred. The man soon returned with a favourable answer to the former part of my request, and about twelve o’clock on the morning of the same day, a person came into the hut, accompanied by four slaves, to dig the grave; and wished me to follow him with the corpse. Accordingly, saddling my camel, the body was placed on the animal’s back, and throwing a British flag over it, I requested the men to proceed. Having passed through the dismal streets of Soccatoo, we travelled almost unobservedly, at a solemn pace, and halted near Jungavie, a small village, built on a rising ground about five miles south-east of the city. The body was then taken from the camel’s back, and placed in a shed, whilst the slaves were employed in digging the grave. Their task being speedily accomplished, the corpse was borne to the brink of the pit, and I planted the flag close to it; then, uncovering my head, and opening a prayer-book, amidst showers of tears, I read the impressive funeral service of the Church of England over the remains of my valued master—the English flag waving slowly and mournfully over them at the same moment. Not a single soul listened to this peculiarly distressing ceremony; for the slaves were quarrelling with each other the whole of the time it lasted.

This being done, the flag was taken away, and the body slowly lowered into the earth; and I wept bitterly as I gazed, for a last time, on all that remained of my intrepid and beloved master. The grave was quickly closed, and I returned to the village, about thirty yards to the eastward of it, and giving the most respectable inhabitants of both sexes a few trifling presents, entreated them to let no one disturb the ashes of the dead; and also offered them a sum of money to erect a shed over the spot, which having accepted, they promised to do.

Thus perished, and thus was buried, Captain Hugh Clapperton in the prime of life, and in the strength and vigour of his manhood. No one could be better qualified than he by a fearless, indomitable spirit, and utter contempt of danger and death, to undertake and carry into execution an enterprise of so great importance and difficulty, as the one with which he was entrusted. He had studied the African character in all its phases—in its moral, social, and external form; and like Alcibiades accommodated himself with equal ease to good, as well to bad fortune—to prosperity, as well as to adversity. He was never highly elated at the prospect of accomplishing his darling wishes—the great object of his ambition—nor deeply depressed when, environed by danger—care, disappointment, and bodily suffering which hanging heavily upon him, forbade him to indulge in hopeful anticipations. The negro loved him, because he admired the simplicity of his manners, and mingled with pleasure in his favourite dance; the Arab hated him, because he was overawed by his commanding appearance, and because the keen penetrating glance of the British Captain detected his guilty thoughts, and made him quail with apprehension and fear.

Captain Clapperton’s stature was tall; his disposition was warm and benevolent; his temper mild, even, and cheerful; while his ingenuous, manly countenance, pourtrayed the generous emotions that reigned in his breast. In fine, he united the figure and determination of a man, with the gentleness and simplicity of a child; and, if I mistake not, he will live in the memory of many thousands of Africans, until they cease to breathe, as something more than mortal; nor have I the least doubt that the period of his visiting their country will be regarded by some as a new era, from which all events of consequence, that affect them, will hereafter be dated.

The grave was dug on a naked piece of ground, with no remarkable object near it to invite attention;—no mournful cypress or yew weeps over the lonely spot—no sculptured marble shines above all that remains of heroic enterprize and daring adventure! But the sleeper needs no funereal emblem to perpetuate his name and actions, having erected for himself a nobler and far more imperishable mausoleum in the breasts of his countrymen and the civilized world, than all the artists in the universe could rear over his ashes.

Returning, after the funeral, disconsolate and oppressed, to my solitary habitation, I leaned my head on my hands, and could not help being deeply affected with my lonesome and dangerous situation. A hundred and fifteen days’ journey from the sea-coast; surrounded by a selfish and barbarous race of strangers;—my only friend and protector, and last hope, mouldering in his grave, and myself suffering dreadfully from fever: I felt as if I stood alone in the world, and wished, ardently wished, I had been enjoying the same deep, undisturbed, cold sleep as my master, and in the same grave. All the trying evils I had encountered—all the afflictions I had endured—all the bereavements I had experienced, never affected me half so much as the bitter reflections of that distressing period. After a sleepless night, I went alone to the grave, and found that nothing had been done to it, nor did there seem to be the least inclination on the part of the inhabitants of the village to redeem their pledge. Knowing it would be useless to remonstrate with such wretches, I hired two slaves in Soccatoo the next day, who went to work immediately, and the shed over the grave was finished on the 15th.