tinued, which his rank and situation demanded,
were the white men to leave his dominions and the country altogether,
without first coming to pay him their respects, and he would
therefore entreat them to pay a visit to Wowow for that purpose, or
if both of them could not leave Patashie, he requested that Richard
Lander would come and bid him adieu, because he had not done so when
his illness compelled him to leave his city.

The monarchs of Boossa and Wowow seemed to entertain very different
opinions regarding the journey of the Landers. The former insisting
on the necessity of their proceeding down the Niger on the eastern or
Nouffie side, and the latter making use of strong language to
persuade them that the Yarriba side of the river would be the most
convenient, the most agreeable, and the safest; and if they would
make up their minds not to attend to the king of Boossa's advice, he
would send a messenger with them, who should protect them even to the
sea. This difference of opinion, they were apprehensive would involve
them in a thousand perplexities, yet they could only be guided by
circumstances.

At Boossa, they experienced the greatest difficulty and trouble in
procuring the bare necessaries of life, but in the flourishing
Patashie, provisions were sent to them from the chiefs of the two
islands in such abundance, that half of them were thrown to the dogs.
The natives of all ages displayed the greatest anxiety to see the
white men, and large crowds assembled every day, and waited from
morning to night patiently till they had gained the object of their
visit. However, they were all as timid as hares, and if the Landers
happened to look fixedly in their faces for a moment, most of them,
more especially the females and the junior classes of both sexes,
started back with terror, as if they had seen a serpent in the grass;
and when the Landers attempted to walk near any of them, they ran
screaming away, as though they had been pursued by a lion, or were in
danger of falling into the jaws of a crocodile, so horrified were
these poor people at the bare sight of a white man, and so frightful
did their imaginations picture him to be.

On Friday, September 24th, Richard Lander landed for the purpose of
proceeding to Wowow, and took possession of a house on the banks of
the river, which had been prepared for him. The king of Wowow's
messenger accompanied him, and having got everything ready as soon as
he could, he com