Niger

venture as a glorified spree. Lieutenant Martyn
alone kept ominously sane and normal.
At Kayee the expedition disembarked, and the
Crescent turned about and departed. Mungo set to
work in search of an efficient guide. Finally, he
alighted on the person of one Isaaco, a Mandingo
c priest5 who was also a travelling merchant and
professed to have made many long journeys into
the interior. It is probable that he told the truth ;
but the exact degree of his truth-telling in relation
to the fortunes of the second expedition will always
remain uncertain. Mungo trusted him implicitly.
It was the 26th of April. Next day he determined
to set out on his march into the interior. He sat
down and wrote letters, official and unofficial,
including one to his Ailie in far Fowlshiels :
‘ Kayee, River Gambia,
April 26, 1805.
‘ I have been busy these three days in making prepara¬
tions for our journey, and I feel rather uneasy when I think
that I can receive no letters from you till I return to
England ; but you may depend on this, that I will avail
myself of every opportunity of writing to you, though from
the very nature of the undertaking, these opportunities
will be but few. We set off for the interior to-morrow
morning, and I assure you, that whatever the issue of the
present journey may be, everything looks favourable. We
have been successful thus far, beyond my highest expecta¬
tions.
‘ The natives, instead of being frightened at us, look on
us as their best friends, and the kings have not only
granted us protection, but sent people to go before us.
279