Volume 3 > Half-Volume 5

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the water several times, but from which he at last
got free, much lacerated. At another time they
were encountered by three large lions, but which
took to flight at the sound of Mr. Park's musket.
At last the miserable remnant of the party�only
nine out of forty-four, and these nine all sick, and
some in a state of mental derangement�reached
Bambakoo, on the Niger. Here Mr. Scott was left
behind on account of sickness, of which he shortly
died; while the rest proceeded to Sego, the capital
of  Bambarra, which they reached on the 19th of
September. Mansong was still king, and was so
highly gratified with the presents brought to him,
that he gave them permission to build a boat, and
promised to protect them as far as lay in his power.
Mr. Park forthwith opened a shop for the sale of his
European goods, which immediately obtained such
demand, that his shop was crowded with customers
from morning till night, and one day he turned over
no less than 25,756 cowries. Here, however, he
lost his brother-in-law Mr. Anderson, a circumstance
which afflicted him greatly, and made him feel, as
he himself expressed it, "as if left a second time
lonely and friendless amidst the wilds of Africa."
But not all the sufferings he had undergone�the loss
of his companions, or the dismal condition of the
remainder, and the perilousness of his situation�
nothing could damp the native ardour of his mind.
Having got a sort of schooner constructed and rigged
out, he prepared for setting out on his formidable
journey, previously to which, however, he took care
to bring his journal up to the latest hour, and wrote
several letters to his friends and relatives in Britain.
These were intrusted to his faithful guide Isaaco, to
carry back to the Gambia, whence they were trans-
mitted to England. His letter to Mrs. Park, ex-
cepting that part of it which mentions the death of
her brother and Mr. Scott, was written in a cheering
and hopeful strain; speaks with confidence of his
reaching the ocean in safety, and of the probability
of his being in England before the letter itself ! His
companions were now reduced to four, viz. Lieu-
tenant Martyn and three soldiers, one of whom was
deranged in his mind; and with this miserable rem-
nant, and a guide named Amadi Fatouma, he set
sail, as near as could be ascertained, on the 19th of
November, 1806. The progress of the unfortunate
travellers after this period, and their ultimate fate,
so long a mystery, are now familiarly known, although
there are many circumstances attending the unhappy
closing scene which are yet shrouded in doubt and
uncertainty.
Vague rumours of the death of Park and his com-
panions were brought by some of the natives to the
British settlements on the coast even so early as the
end of 1806; but no information could be got for
several years of a nature to be at all relied on, during
which time the suspense of his friends and of the
public at large, but more particularly of his afflicted
family, was of the most painful nature. At length,
in 1810, Colonel Maxwell, governor of Senegal,
despatched Isaaco, Park's former guide, into the in-
terior, in order to ascertain the truth or falsehood of
the reports which prevailed. After an absence of a
year and eight months this individual returned, and
the many facts of the narrative which he gave as
the result of his labours, are not only but too probable
in themselves, but seem to have been thoroughly
confirmed by the investigations of subsequent trav-
ellers. Isaaco stated that he had fallen in with Mr.
Park's guide, Amadi Fatouma, at Medina, near
Sansanding, who, on seeing Isaaco, and hearing the
name of Park, began to weep, saying, "They are all
dead;" and was with great difficulty induced to detail
the melancholy circumstances of the catastrophe.
The account which he gave is too long to be intro-
duced entire here, but the substance of it was as
follows:�After leaving Sansanding, Mr. Park navi-
gated his way down the Niger, as far as Boussa, in
the kingdom of Yaour, which Avas more than two-
thirds of the distance between the ocean, or Gulf of
Guinea, and where the river is termed by the natives
Quorra. They had frequent skirmishes with the
natives, particularly in passing Timbuctoo, where
several of the natives were killed. On reaching
Yaour Mr. Park sent Amadi Fatouma ashore with
various presents, some of which were to the chief or
governor of the place, but the most valuable portion
for the king, to whom the chief was requested to
send them. A short while after, the latter sent to
inquire if Mr. Park intended to come back; and on
being answered that he could return no more, the
treacherous chief appropriated the presents intended
for the king to his own use. This piece of knavery
proved fatal to the unfortunate travellers. The
king, indignant at the supposed slight cast on him,
assembled a large army at the above-mentioned
village of Boussa, where a large high rock stretches
across the whole breadth of the river, the only pas-
sage for the river being through an opening in the
rock in the form of a door. The army posted them-
selves on the top of the rock, and on Mr. Park's
attempting to pass, assailed him with lances, pikes,
arrows, stones, and missiles of every description.
The beleagured travellers defended themselves for a
long time, till all were either killed or severely
wounded; when, seeing the uselessness of further
resistance, Mr. Park, Lieutenant Martyn, and one
or two more, jumped out of the boat, and were
drowned in attempting to get ashore. Only one
slave was left alive. Such was the narrative of
Amadi Fatoumi, who had left Mr. Park at Yaour,
where his engagement with him terminated, and
where he was for many months afterwards confined
in irons on suspicion of having purloined the presents
intended for the king, which had been made away
with by the treacherous chief. Amadi had obtained
the accounts of the fatal scene from those who had
taken a part in it. The natives afterwards endea-
voured to account for the disappearance of Park, to
the inquiries of subsequent travellers, by saying that
his vessel had foundered against the rock, and that
he and his companions were drowned by accident.
But there is now not the shadow of a doubt that the
above narrative of Amadi is substantially true.
So perished Mungo Park, in the thirty-fifth year
of his age�a man whose natural enthusiasm, scien-
tific acquirements, undaunted intrepidity, patience
of suffering, and inflexible perseverance�in short,
every quality requisite for a traveller in the path he
adopted�have never been surpassed, and who, had
he survived, would no doubt have reaped those
laurels which more fortunate successors in the same
career have won. To these qualities in his public
character, it is pleasing to be able to add those of
amiable simplicity of manners, constancy of affection,
and sterling integrity in private life.
Mr. Park's papers were, with the exception of a
few scraps,1 unfortunately all lost with him, and this
is much to be regretted, as, notwithstanding the im-
portant discoveries of the Landers, who subsequently
1 These were an old nautical publication (of which the title-
page was amissing, and its contents chiefly tables of logarithms),
with a few loose memoranda of no importance between the
leaves. One of these papers, however, was curious enough, from
the situation and circumstances in which it was found. It was
a card of invitation to dinner, and was in the following terms:�
" Mr. and Mrs. Watson would be happy to have the plea-