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 BEFORE THE 
 
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 JUNE llth, 1877, 
 
 BY THE RIGHT REV. 
 
 BISHOP CROWTHER. 
 
 AND 
 
 A Brief Account of Missionary Operations carried 
 on tender the Superintendence of 
 Bishop Crowther in the Niger Territory . 
 
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 CHURCH MISSIONARY HOUSE, 
 16, Salisbury Square, E.C. 
 
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THE RIVER NIGER. 
 
THE RIVER NIGER. 
 
 A PAPER READ BEFORE THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL 
 
 SOCIETY, i ith June, 1877, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 RIGHT REV. BISHOP CROWTHER; 
 
 It is now thirty-six years ago since I first visited the River Niger, 
 having in the year 1841 been appointed to join the expedition sent 
 out by the British Government, under the late Captain Trotter. It 
 may be remembered that that expedition followed the spirited, but 
 comparatively unsuccessful, effort of Laird and Oldfield, which in 
 its turn followed on the journey and discovery of the Landers, who, 
 embarking at Bous Sah in an open boat, descended the unknown 
 stream, were taken captive by King Obi, of Aboh, and ransomed by 
 the then King of Brass Town, near the mouth of the chief branch of 
 the Niger Delta. 
 
 The disastrous mortality amongst those engaged in the expedi¬ 
 tion of 1841 is familiar to all acquainted with the annals of West 
 African discovery. 
 
 Many years elapsed before any further attempts were made to 
 explore the Niger, and the populous countries through which it 
 flowed were for years shut out from intercourse with the civilised 
 world, owing to the dread of the malaria which infected its banks. In 
 1854, however, the Government were induced, by the urgent repre- 
 
4 
 
 sentations of the late Macgregor Laird, to attempt another expedition, 
 and one was sent in 1854, under the command of the late Doctor 
 Baikie, to explore the Tshadda Branch, from the confluence of this 
 and the Kwora, which, after staying in the river 118 days, returned 
 without the loss of a man, precautions having been taken to avoid 
 putting into the bunkers green wood, the noxious heated vapour 
 of which was supposed to have been injurious to the health of the 
 members of the expedition of 1841. 
 
 I had the honour of accompanying this expedition also, and a 
 very interesting exploration was at that time made of the Tshadda 
 Branch, in the course, of which we succeeded in reaching the 
 town of Hamarua, a distance of some 400 miles to the east of 
 the confluence. 
 
 The success of that expedition induced the Admiralty to enter 
 into a contract with Mr. Laird to explore the Niger and its tributaries, 
 and in 1857 an expedition was sent out under the command of the 
 late Doctor Baikie, which I again joined, when Lieutenant Glover, 
 now Sir John Glover, drew the chart of the Niger, now in use, but 
 the progress of this expedition was impeded by the wreck of the S. S. 
 “ Dayspring ” on a rock above Rabba, about 200 miles from the 
 confluence. Since that time I have been, I may say, almost every 
 year able to visit the Niger, sometimes in the expeditions of the 
 Admiralty, and when they ceased, in the various trading steamers 
 which now, to the number or five of six, make the annual ascent of 
 the river. During this time I have had, as may be supposed, many 
 varied opportunities of becoming acquainted with the geographical 
 features, not only of the river Niger itself, but also of the countries 
 which lie adjacent to it on either bank. I have twice marched from 
 the Niger at Rabbah and Bida, to the sea coast at Lagos, and I have 
 endeavoured to gather such information as I could, as to the peoples, 
 their habits, languages, and races, and also as to the chief directions 
 of the trade from and to the interior of the countries which lie to the 
 east of the Quarra, and to the north and south of the Tshadda 
 Branches. The traveller, Dr. Barth, has given so full an account of 
 those to the north of the Tshadda or Binue, that there is no occasion 
 for me to say anything of these, and I am rejoiced to learn that the 
 German traveller, Dr. Nachtigall, has explored the countries which 
 lie between the limits of Dr. Barth’s discoveries, and the territory 
 of Darfur. I shall therefore confine my remarks to what I know of 
 the river and its branches, and also of the adjacent countries. 
 
5 
 
 Two very marked divisions at once present themselves in 
 endeavouring to give a description of the Niger and its adjacent 
 countries, and these are the upper and lower Niger, or to speak more 
 correctly, the Delta of the river, and its course through the main 
 land. What the actual extent of the Delta of the Niger is remains 
 at present unknown, whether the Old Calabar river with its affluents 
 form any portion of the Delta is uncertain. But still it is not 
 improbable that there is a communication between the Tshadda and 
 Cross river, explored by the late Mr. Beacroft; at any rate, it is 
 remarkable that the Akpah tribes of Adamawa, seem to have found 
 their way down to Fernando Po by some short cut. But to the 
 west there is no doubt that the vast system of Marsh and 
 Lagoon, which reaches as far as Porto Novo, to the west of Lagos, 
 is more or less connected with the Delta of the river, though they 
 also owe their existence to the smaller streams, which also pour their 
 mud charged waters down from the higher levels of the Yoruba 
 country. Thus, what may be called the Delta of the Niger, is a 
 vast tract of marshy country extending along a coast line of some 
 120 miles, with a depth to the interior of about 150 miles at the 
 broadest part. 
 
 The recent explorations, begun by Sir John Glover, and Captain 
 Goldsworthy, and followed up by the Revs. Messrs. Maser and Roper 
 of the Church Missionary Society, have made us acquainted with the 
 characteristics of the western portion of the Niger Delta, and have 
 showed us that as regards the feature of the land there prevails a 
 monotonous uniformity of intricate canal and marsh, villages hidden 
 in the dense growth of reeds, the people partaking of all the charac¬ 
 teristics of the dwellers in African swamps, and all, as far as it was 
 possible to ascertain, speaking, even up to Benin, with slight modi¬ 
 fication, the Yoruba language, the same as is spoken at Badagry, 
 Abbeokuta, Ilorin, and Ibadan. 
 
 One interesting fact these explorers record, that far up in the 
 district of Oke Ondo they heard the women in the songs which 
 accompanied their work, chanting the praise of one who was always 
 a true friend, in every sense, of the African, and the burden of their 
 song was “ Gollibar, Gollibar/’ meaning thereby the late governor of 
 Lagos, Sir John Glover. 
 
 The character of the central portions of the Delta, as it presents 
 itself to the eye on approaching, is so well described by Captain 
 Allen, that I venture to quote his words here:— 
 
6 
 
 “The Rio Nun, the chief entrance, from its size, has the appear¬ 
 ance of an estuary, being more than a mile and a half wide and five 
 miles in length; the other outlets resemble this. The water is deep 
 in every part of it. The rise and fall at spring-tides is 5ft. 6in., and 
 at neaps 4ft. 8in. The ebb-tide sets out with a velocity of three 
 miles and three-quarters or four miles in the middle of the river. 
 
 “ The opposite sides of the river appear to be of different forma¬ 
 tion. Cape Nun, the termination of the right bank, has a long spit 
 of sand running into the sea about one mile and a half. The 
 shore of the right bank is generally swampy, formed by a deposit 
 of mud, brought down by the river, the outside of which presents a 
 sandy appearance ; and is intersected by innumerable channels of 
 water, of a brackish and putrid taste. Where dry spots are found, 
 they are cultivated by the natives from the other side. The bed of 
 the river is covered with a blue clay, rich in vegetable matter, and 
 coloured by oxide of iron, similar to the clay observed in the bed of 
 the sea outside the bar. Whenever the clay was broken by the 
 rapidity of the current, the pieces were immediately carried off by 
 the moving water; and it often happened that the spring tides 
 washed them ashore, in the shape of cylinders. These being left 
 behind by the retreating ocean, formed one of the peculiar characters 
 of the right bank of the river. 
 
 “ In the swampy parts of the right bank, the mangrove 
 abounds with its peculiar fructification. The numerous arching roots 
 of this tree are favourable for the deposition of sand and mud. 
 
 “ In the woods on this bank, the water was upwards of two feet 
 deep in most parts, and the air close and confined. The greater 
 portion of the underwood was mangrove. 
 
 “ The left bank of the river consists of sand, intermingled with 
 clay of a dirty yellow colour—less intersected by channels—in which 
 abundance of fresh and salt-water shells are found. 
 
 u This bank was firm, two feet above the high-water mark, 
 and consequently capable of cultivation. The plantations were chiefly 
 of plantains. Trees were found here more than one hundred feet 
 high, while palms of sixty or eighty feet in height expanded their 
 majestic leaves. 
 
 “ Passing through a narrow channel, it expands to a wide sheet of 
 water, with many islets, and several broad and promising channels 
 on the right and left. Nothing at this part was to be seen indicative 
 of anything like terra-firma. The visible boundaries of the river in 
 
7 
 
 all these branches being an endless confusion of the arching roots of 
 the mangrove, the only occupant of this swamp. At low water, 
 their roots are covered by slimy and stinking mud, with decayed 
 vegetable matter; to which may, not unreasonably, be attributed 
 the deadly character of the locality. 
 
 “ The Nun branch, soon after leaving Louis Creek, was scarcely 
 one hundred and twenty yards wide, but on advancing, we passed 
 several divergents, and the width and depth increased proportionally^ 
 as well as the strength of the current. 
 
 “ The banks began gradually to assume the appearance of 
 firmer land ; at first without any vestiges of the operations of man ; 
 but soon some small cultivated patches were seen ; bearing plantains, 
 a few fishing stakes and a small fishing hut, &c. The universal still¬ 
 ness of the scene was very imposing; unbroken as it was by any 
 sound, save the dashing of our own paddle-wheels, and the clear musical 
 cry of the leadsman, which aided the effect, falling on the ear in 
 measured cadence. The large and umbrageous trees, with their 
 festoons of Orchidece and purple and white Convolvuli hanging from 
 the branches, formed a combination of forest scenery, so striking, 
 novel, and interesting, as enabled us to forget that the much talked- 
 of Delta of the Niger had been fairly entered upon. The reeds gave 
 place more frequently to patches of cultivation, in the midst of which 
 were small granaries, raised from the ground on poles, to secure the 
 stored productions of the soil from the overflowing of the river, as 
 well as other more cunning depredators, as the proprietor lives in a 
 distant village. Sunday Island—twenty miles from the sea—is the 
 highest point to which the sea-tide reaches in the dry season, clearly 
 indicated by the gradual but rapid disappearance of the mangrove 
 trees. 
 
 “ Ferns, the Ficus , Mimoscs, and various shrubs and bushes of 
 small growth increase above Sunday Island; and the banks, which 
 previously were swampy, become somewhat firm ; and the eye— 
 wearied by the melancholy and monotonous hue of the mangrove— 
 is delighted to witness the rapidly increasing vegetation, which soon 
 assumes all the dignity of the tropical forest. 
 
 “ A few fishing-stakes and some small patches of plantains give 
 the earliest indications of approach to the habitations of man. The 
 first villages are composed of a very few mud huts, of a square or 
 oblong form, with thatched roofs and gable ends. 
 
 “At about 65 and 75 miles from the mouth of the main stream 
 
8 
 
 there are two important branch outlets, the first flowing to the west, 
 called the Wari branch, finding its way into the western portion of 
 the Delta; and it is believed that the Niger might be reached by 
 means of this branch, from the Lagoons at Lagos. The second 
 outlet leaves the Niger at Ndoni, and from what I have heard at 
 Bonny, I have good reason to believe, it communicates with the 
 outlets called the Bonny and New Calabar Rivers. Both these 
 important outlets are closed by the jealousy of the tribes on the river. 
 
 “ With respect to these various outlets from the upper countries, 
 into the Lagoons, though through the jealousy of the native chiefs 
 on the coast they have been closed up against navigation, yet, I 
 firmly believe that if the advantages to themselves of their opening 
 for general uses were properly pointed out and explained by proper 
 authorities, the chiefs would not insist upon their exclusive use . I 
 believe that the fault is not in the native chiefs alone, but in that 
 of civilized interested influence also, which has encouraged them in 
 their being closed up against competing opponents in trade on 
 the coast. This should not be permitted to continue by such a 
 Society as this, whose endeavours are, not to convey civilization and 
 commerce by present openings only, but also by a contemplated 
 giving an outlet to the sea to fill up the depression of the land in the 
 neighbourhood of Timbuctoo, for easier access into the interior for 
 extensive commerce ; and not only that, but also to construct a 
 railway across from east to west to attain the same end. While 
 contemplating these grand schemes for the future of Africa as a 
 producing continent, it will very much further the objects if, in the 
 meantime, openings made by nature were utilized, if all the outlets 
 to the sea on the west coast, from the Volta to Old Calabar, were 
 explored and*thrown open for general navigation as water transits as 
 far as they are navigable into the interior countries, such water 
 transits would greatly facilitate communications with the interior 
 countries from what point one may wish to ascend, whether from the 
 Volta, the Benin, the Bonny, or the Old Calabar, into the interior 
 countries, as the Niger is now available already about 600 miles 
 inland from the mouth of the Nun. Having attained the uppermost 
 navigable limits of these outlets, through which railway apparatuses 
 might be conveyed with ease, the inland roads might be advanta¬ 
 geously commenced to be constructed east or south-eastward, as may 
 be desired. The chiefs of the interior, the producing countries, are 
 very desirous of such openings through their countries. The chief of 
 
9 
 
 Ibo in the Yoruba country had earnestly begged me to represent the 
 necessity of opening the Oshon stream, which runs close to his 
 capital, and empties itself into the Lagoon below Lagos, for com¬ 
 mercial purposes ; what a vast amount of wealth such streams might 
 be conveying down from year to year, but which at present is shut 
 up for want of water conveyance, or railroads. 
 
 The Warree Branch was called the Benin by Lander, because 
 by it the town of Benin may be reached. This branch has been 
 explored recently by the steamers of the West African Company 
 which reached the river. 
 
 It is also supposed that from the Ndoni Branch there is a con¬ 
 nection with the river Jumna, or the old Calabar or Cross River, 
 explored by Beacroft in 1841. 
 
 Up to these points the Niger flows between low clay banks ; the 
 whole country around is flat and swampy. Here, however, at some 
 little distance from the stream, gently rising hills are seen on either 
 side, indicating that we have passed the Delta proper, and are 
 now entering on the main stream of the river. The character of 
 the river here changes ; instead of the numerous and rapid windings 
 of the lower reaches, its course is nearly straight, and the breadth 
 is about a mile and a half. At this point, also, a change in the 
 character of the people takes place. On the eastern side of the main 
 stream they are almost from the mouth of the Ibo or Idzo, tribes 
 entirely pagan, with various forms of idol and fetish worship, two 
 marked features being the idea of sacrifice, ordinary victims being 
 domestic animals, and on special occasions single human beings, but 
 with no such indiscriminate slaughter as at Dahomey or in Ashanti. 
 The town of Adda-Mugu is the point also where a new territory— 
 that of Igara—begins. This was the town of that Abokko who was 
 so friendly to the traveller Lander; and his sons, or kinsmen, are 
 chiefs of the country up as far as the confluence. One of these sons, 
 with whom I had been on friendly terms for some time, took advan¬ 
 tage of an attempt I made to ascend the river in a small boat, to 
 make me a prisoner in 1868. I was rescued by Vice-Consul Fell, 
 but in the scuffle he was struck by a poisoned arrow, and died. 
 
 At Adda-Mugu, also, the character of the dwellings changes. 
 Here, for the first time, are seen the circular conical roofed huts; which 
 prevail in the interior, the dwellings up to this point are the usual 
 square or oblong low huts. 
 
 About forty miles above Adda-Mugu is the town of Iddah. This 
 
 5 
 
IO 
 
 town I first visited in 1841, and have subsequently visited it on 
 several occasions. The river here flows through a low chain of 
 hills formed of red sandstone, and the cliffs of this material on 
 either side of the river are an entirely new feature in the river 
 scenery. They rise to the height of 185 feet, on the summit are the 
 conical huts of part of the town of Iddah. From the summit a 
 splendid view is obtained ; to the North and South the river is seen 
 extending for many miles, while on the Western there is seen an 
 undulating country, bounded on the far west by the mountains of the 
 Yoruba country. The town of Iddah, the largest and most impor¬ 
 tant in the kingdom of Igara, is built on the summit of the cliff on 
 the East bank of the river. There are about 2,000 huts, and about 
 8,000 inhabitants. Nearly all the dwellings are the usual circular 
 huts, the walls rise about six feet and are built of clay and 
 stone, the roof is conical and thatched with palm leaves. It is gene¬ 
 rally supported in the centre by a pole or wooden piller. The eaves 
 of the roof form a low verandah. When there is a door, it is carved 
 in an elaborate manner, with a rude sketch of an alligator or some 
 other animal; the fastening is a bolt and a rough padlock, these are, 
 however, seldom required. The furniture and utensils are few, and 
 generally lying about the court, such as large earthenware jars for 
 water. The cooking apparatus are small calabashes and earthen pots 
 of various form. 
 
 “ The huts of the higher persons, as Mallams, chiefs, or judges, 
 are painted blue or white outside, and have occasionally a small 
 space in front paved with pieces of granite, or even shells. The 
 sleeping-places are simply raised banks of clay, having mats and 
 some dry grass spread over them ; the low wooden-seats sometimes 
 met with were articles of particular luxury. Everything inside the 
 building is kept remarkably clean and dry. 
 
 “ The streets are very irregular and numerous; the principal 
 market is held on a clear level space, shaded by numerous trees. 
 It is arranged according to the directions of the chiefs, all articles 
 being properly classed and exposed for sale on the ground, or on 
 mats. There was a great variety of vegetables, yams, ground-nuts, 
 palm-nuts, cassada, kola-nuts, plantains, Indian corn, Sugar cane 
 cocoa nuts, rice, shea butter, calabash pumpkins ; various native 
 manufactures of cotton, for tobes and body clothes; red and 
 blue cotton and grass threads, raw cotton of very short staple ; 
 native made swords, knives, spears, and little calabashes of dye 
 
powders, tephrosia , oxides of iron and camwood, as also brass and 
 ivory ornaments for the body, and pipes of clay, or iron, very 
 neatly made. 
 
 “ The most common manufacture is that of cotton cloths, 
 practised by a great number of females. In spinning, the primitive 
 distaff is used, such as is usually seen in Italy, or in some of our 
 own mountain districts, where the spinning wheel is not always 
 obtainable. The thread is rough and uneven, but when carefully 
 woven into narrow stripes by a rude machine—very like the earliest 
 of our hand-looms—it forms a strong and durable cloth, much 
 dearer than the English cottons brought there, and, of course, only 
 within reach of wealthy people. 
 
 “The Government of the Eggarah county is monarchical, and 
 vested in the Attkh, or King of Iddah, the succession is hereditary 
 in the female line, the eldest son of the sister taking precedence 
 of the many children of the former King. Under certain circum¬ 
 stances, which we could not ascertain, the sovereign has the right 
 of nominating a succcessor. 
 
 “ The whole of the religious power is confided to the Mallams 
 or priests, who are all unlettered Mahommedans, but who have had 
 the advantage of travelling in other parts of Africa, where, in addition 
 to a few sentences of the Koran, and an imperfect knowledge of the 
 great Prophet’s doctrines, they have picked up a good idea of 
 business, which they combine with the duties of their office. 
 
 “ They also monopolize the medical branch, in which they are 
 as ignorant as their more sacred one. Another of their most lucrative 
 sources is the sale of amulets, or charms against the visitation of 
 sickness and the agency of evil spirits ; they are made up of any 
 written paper which may come in their way, and usually enclosed in 
 neatly plaited strips of leather to be suspended from the neck. 
 
 “ The greater proportion of the Iddah people are Pagans, though 
 with a confused impression of Mahomedanism, which obtains more 
 among the richer persons, who can afford to pay the Mallams for 
 such limited instruction as they can convey orally. No public idols 
 are allowed, yet most of them have little amulets, which hold much 
 the same place in their estimation as the wooden Fetiches of the 
 Ibous and other tribes.” 
 
 After leaving Iddah, the river continues to flow between sandstone 
 cliffs and sloping banks, behind which are table-lands and gently 
 rising hills. In about forty miles another region seems to be reached. 
 
12 
 
 Large rocks of quartz are seen, and the mountains on the Eastern 
 side are steep and conical. Down their sides are deep ravines 
 which, in the rainy season, are mountain torrents. Continuing to the 
 North the mountains close in upon the river, until at last the con¬ 
 fluence is reached, the junction of the two rivers, Quorra and Binue. 
 
 When I made the ascent of the river in 1854 with Dr. Baikie, we 
 together ascended the hill, called Mount Patteh, opposite the con¬ 
 fluence. I cannot do better than use Dr. Baikie’s words to describe 
 the scene we saw. “ From an elevation of 400 feet we saw im¬ 
 mediately beneath us the pretty green topped Mount Stirling ; on 
 our left was a deep ravine separating us from another flat crowned 
 hill; on our right lay the land purchased in 1841 for the model 
 farm, bounded to the southward by steep and rugged mountains. 
 
 “ Flowing from our left, and meandering round the base of the 
 chain of hills on which we stood, came the narrow Quorra, while full 
 before us came journeying from the eastward the broad straight- 
 coursed Binue, the mingling waters of the two mighty streams 
 forming the lake-like confluence, its surface dotted with islets and 
 banks, or rippled by contending currents, while in the distance on 
 the right the united rivers rushed impetuously to the sea through the 
 deep defile by which we had ascended. 
 
 “ Along the banks numerous villages could be discerned. Far as 
 the eye could reach, for miles and miles, the ground teemed with the 
 exuberant vegetation. Such a fruitful soil in other climes, and with 
 a happier population, would yield support and employment to 
 thousands, and long ere this have proved the source of untold 
 wealth. The peninsula formed by the junction of the two rivers is a 
 minature Delta, low, swampy, and intersected by numerous streamlets. 
 The natives fancy there is a difference in the colour of the two 
 streams, and call the Quorra the white water, while the Binue is 
 known as the black water.” 
 
 The furthest point to which I have been upon the Quorra branch 
 is the town of Rabbuh. Along the western shores of the river 
 there extend ranges of hills which are, in reality, the fringe of the 
 high table-land which stretches towards the Yoruba country, while 
 similar hills are on the Northern and Eastern banks of the Quorra 
 branch. 
 
 The countries and tribes from Iddah to this point are Igara, 
 Igbira, Kakanda, and Nupe. 
 
 One remarkable characteristic of the Niger river is the varying 
 
!3 
 
 character of its channel, caused, no doubt, by the remarkable rise 
 and fall of its waters from the tropical rains. One result of this is 
 that it is almost impossible to navigate the river except at flood time, 
 unless in vessels specially adapted with a very light draught of 
 water. There are parts where sand-banks so obstruct the channel, 
 that not more than four or five feet of water is found during the 
 dry season, and on this account it is most important that attention 
 should be directed to the establishment of a route by land from 
 Lagos to the confluence. This is an existing and long-established 
 route, and I have myself twice traversed it. The last time was in the 
 year 1871, when it was found impossible to return in the steamer, 
 the river having fallen so rapidly as to render the attempt hopeless. 
 
 In the year 1871, both the vessels on which I depended for return 
 to the coast were stranded in the river, and I had to arrange for a 
 return to Lagos by land: therefore, preparations were made for a 
 journey to Bida from Lokoja, by the hilly country, till we got to 
 Gori, on the river-side above Muye. About 8 a.m. on the 6th of 
 November, we started for the journey, some on horseback, others on 
 foot, because horses could not be got for all; we travelled about 
 three miles along the river. 
 
 After going up and down two or three abrupt small hills and 
 valleys, we came to the foot of the great mountain, Pati Aba, where 
 there was a spring of water; here all rested and took refreshments, 
 preparatory to the great ascent; this done we betook ourselves to climb. 
 About an hour’s climbing, all got to the top of the mountain, where 
 there was water in hollows of rocks. Though to us the ascent seemed 
 formidable, yet the carriers, both male and female, with loads of from 
 56 to 60 lbs. on their heads, ascended it patiently with their burdens; 
 it was a hard labour for them, though they had been accustomed to 
 travel on it, there was no other way to get to these hilly countries. 
 
 We had the satisfaction to think that the inhabitants of Lokoja, 
 being regarded as the king’s warriors, were paid for carrying our 
 loads over this great mountain, and were not compelled to do it 
 gratuitously to serve the king. 
 
 All our party having got to the top of the mountain, we rested 
 awhile ; then we travelled on the level rocky plateau for the rest of 
 the day, till we arrived at the town of Agbaja, fortified with walls, and 
 situated at the edge of a deep valley, in shape like an oval dish- 
 cover, and well cultivated ; native plants of every description were 
 growing in it; besides which, it was adorned with a forest of stately 
 
14 
 
 palm trees, and other trees of full, green foliage, resembling a gentle¬ 
 man's plantations in this country. A spring of water issued out 
 of the mountain. Other similar valleys were passed. The plateau 
 is sandstone, covered with shallow earth, from about six inches to 
 two feet deep, for miles. In many parts the rock is quite bare. 
 In consequence of the stony character of this part of the mountain, 
 and scarcity of water, except in the valleys, it is very thinly inhabited ; 
 besides this, the country being in possession of King Masaba, to 
 whom it is tributary, his soldiers are very oppressive; many are 
 therefore glad to get out of their way to other parts of the country 
 to escape frequent exactions. The inhabitants are poor and miserable. 
 
 As we were perfect strangers in this part of the country, and 
 having no control over circumstances, we had to follow the carriers, 
 who, according to custom, carried our loads free of expense, because 
 we were the king’s strangers, till we came to the next town, 
 called Ikushemi, about mid-day, where the carriers left the loads to 
 their neighbours to carry in their turn, and returned to Agbaja. We 
 travelled on a parallel line with the river on the plateau for about 
 eight miles, when we descended the mountain on the north-east side, 
 and travelled about four miles on the lowland plain of Ikushemi : 
 total about twelve miles. Our way now lay north-east towards the 
 river, in very bad, swampy grass-fields. In some places we had to 
 dismount and cross the swamps and streams on foot to the middle, 
 because not safe riding. 
 
 We crossed the river at Gori in canoes, and reached Bida on the 
 27 th November. We had interviews with King Masaba about our 
 journey to Lagos. He stated that there had been threatening 
 messages exchanged between him and the king of Ilorin, on account 
 of opening the way to the coast, through the Yoruba country, which 
 they had intended to block up against traders from the Niger 
 countries; but that since their tone had been much softened down, 
 and their policy changed. He wanted nothing but an open inter¬ 
 course between this and the coast. He hoped that we saw fully the 
 reason of the caution he was using for our safety; that the Queen 
 lias delivered her subjects doing business on the Niger to his 
 protection, and it would be a great neglect in him not to take every 
 precaution to make the way good before we leave for the coast; so a 
 messenger was despatched to inform them at Ilorin that we should 
 lie passing through their town to the coast. He was to return back 
 with answer in the course of fourteen days. As we could not push 
 

 our departure faster than the King could arrange, we thought it 
 better to leave the whole arrangements with him ; this being the 
 Ramadan fast month, one could not push business very rapidly at 
 this season. 
 
 The festival being over, the King also having received 
 all the information he wanted, to-day he called and presented 
 each of us with a horse for the journey, seven to the members 
 of the S.S. “Victoria,” and five to those of the “Rio Formoso,” 
 twelve in number, assigning this as his reason for doing so, because 
 Saraonia (the Queen) has been showing him special kindness since 
 the last nine years, and he had not been able to make any suitable 
 returns ; now this was an opportunity for showing his appreciation 
 of the Queen’s kindness to him. 
 
 From Bida we travelled along the eastern bank of the river, 
 passing through a hilly country, until we reached the ferry at Shonga. 
 This is the present starting-point from the Kowara for Ilorin and the 
 Yoruba country; since the revolution in Nupe some six years ago, 
 which gave King Masaba much trouble to subdue, the ferry by way 
 Rabba has been stopped to caravans; all must now cross from Poto 
 by way of Lafiaji or Shonga, nearer the eye of King Masaba. 
 
 From Shonga we marched to Saregi. At the gate of Saregi we 
 came to the point of the road from Rabba, the way by which I came 
 from Rabba in 1859. Shonga is about twenty miles below Rabba ; 
 travellers starting from either of the lower points of the two angles, 
 Rabba or Shonga, will meet at the upper sharp point of the triangle 
 at the gate of Saregi town, which is the highway from the Niger to 
 the Yoruba country. 
 
 From Saregi we marched to Ilorin, which is a large and impor¬ 
 tant town of about 120,000 inhabitants. 
 
 The population are a mixture of Fulahs, Yorubas, Hausas, and 
 Nupes. 
 
 The route from this to the coast lies through the towns of 
 Ogbomosto, Ozo, Ibadan, and Abeokuta to Lagos. In the neigh¬ 
 bourhood of Ilorin, Ogbomosto, and Ozo, the country is very 
 undulating, covered in some parts with thick grass, in others with 
 close, dense forests of a low spreading tree, with a bark like that of 
 the Cork Tree. A remarkable feature of the country is the frequent 
 appearance of high abrupt masses of granite rock, sometimes with 
 precipitous sides. 
 
 They seem to shoot up from the plain as if forced through from 
 
16 
 
 below, and yet without disturbing the level of the surrounding country. 
 As Abeokuta is neared, the country becomes flatter. The rocks at 
 Abeokuta are also granite, and the prevailing character of the soil 
 is a rich loam, with gravel in some parts. From Abeokuta to Lagos 
 the land is almost level; at one place there are some slight hills. 
 
 I now propose to return to the Binue or Tshadda branch, which 
 I explored in company with Dr. Baikie in 1854. We found the 
 river, after leaving the confluence, of a considerable breadth, but the 
 channel very tortuous. Here, as also lower down the river, a fresh 
 strong breeze, which always, except during squalls, blows up the 
 river. The scenery daily increased in beauty as we advanced up the 
 stream, until at a point about 70 miles above the confluence, the 
 river presents a noble appearance, far exceeding in breadth any part 
 we had yet seen. The banks are clothed with tall palms and other 
 graceful trees, numerous green islands diversifying the scene, and 
 green hills stand out against the dark mountains in the background. 
 Our vessel drew seven feet of water, and the numerous shoals and 
 sand-banks rendered navigation very difficult. 
 
 Having noticed several streams running from the southern interior 
 of the Niger, and falling into the Lagoon on the coast, I may also 
 notice several streams from the northern interior of the Niger which 
 are tributary to it, such as the Kaduna, partially explored in 1857 
 by Lieutenant, now Capt. Sir John Glover, 13 miles from its conflu¬ 
 ence with the Kwora. Capt. East had also ascended this stream in 
 Her Majesty’s Gun-boat, the Pioneer, a few years ago. Its navigable 
 limit north-ward has not yet been ascertained. This stream which 
 runs to the Niger, west of the capital of Nupe, brings one about 10 or 
 12 miles close to it, which is about 32 miles in a straight line from the 
 north bank of the Kwora. Another stream which runs from the 
 north 8 miles close to Bida, and is tributary to the Kwora, is called 
 Tsantsagga. By this stream, mercantile houses trading at Egga, con¬ 
 vey merchandize into the capital by suitable steam launches, which 
 answer remarkable well. The navigable limit of Tsantsagga, like the 
 Kaduna north-ward, is not yet ascertained. The same is applicable 
 to the Tshadda branch of the Niger and its tributary steam Faro, 
 both running west-ward from far eastern countries. Their navigable 
 limits have not yet been ascertained. These streams will open both 
 to science and commerce far more extensive fields of knowledge and 
 wealth than they can imagine. 
 
 The fiscal appearance of the country from the upper parts of the 
 
*7 
 
 Delta may be briefly described. It is generally undulating ; now and 
 then masses of granite rocky hills shew themselves, and then a dry 
 well drained slope and level lands stretch along. The soil composed 
 of loose red sandstone gravels. Now and then quartz is met with, 
 and the bed of the ground is red clay. Further inland, through which 
 the rivers run, they are hemmed in by high lands or table mountains 
 from 400 to 600 feet in height, to a considerable distance, which in 
 some places confine the river to a narrow passage of about 440 yards 
 wide, with strong current, rocky beds, which is a good test to the 
 power of a river steamer ascending. In many places the lands rise in 
 gentle slopes ; for instance, as at Onitsha, the Confluence, Idda, Kipo 
 Hill Slope on the Kwora, and countries of Hamarua and Adamawa 
 on the Tshadda Branch. Such lands are walked up with easy ascent 
 to a distance of two or three miles, when on looking towards the 
 the river it stretches below like a white belt between the slopes. 
 
 What is wanting to bring out the beauty of the scenery is the hand 
 of civilization to lay out the land in regular towns and villages, and 
 Christianity to adorn them with churches with towering spires as 
 crowns of Christian civilization. 
 
 This then is the appearance of the country of the interior, as 
 far as I have been, which from imperfect knowledge has been 
 regarded as barren sandy desert, or low swampy regions, uninhabited 
 by human beings; but the reverse is the case. 
 
 The next subject I may touch upon is cattle. Horses, mules, 
 donkeys, and bullocks, are plentiful, which can be used at once as 
 beasts of burden for carts and waggons when roads are made. Even 
 now, without a regularly made road, Hausa merchants from the north 
 and east countries use these animals as beasts of burden to fetch 
 ivory and other merchandize to the south and west, to Egga market 
 from the interior. 
 
 When the S. S. “ Dayspring ” was wrecked on a rock above Rabba 
 in 1857, and I had to encamp near that town for 12 months, one 
 caravan crossed at one time to the south side of the Kwora for the 
 Yoruba country and Borgoo with a large number of cattle. At my 
 request, two European visitors to my encampment estimated the 
 heads of cattle to be crossed at that time, including goats and sheep, 
 to be no less than 3,000, and that only of one caravan. As a proof from 
 other eye-witness than mine alone, the same continues. to be to the 
 present time. Umoru, King of Nupe, a subordinate to the Sultans 
 of Gondu and Sokoto, can turn out if required 3,000 horses at any 
 
18 
 
 time; but with him, unlike the Hauser, they are not used as beasts 
 of burden to carry loads, but merely to ride. Last September, at my visit 
 to him at his capital, Bida, accompanied by a European missionary, 
 Mr. J. H. Ashcroft, the king entertained us most liberally. At our 
 departure he determined to escort us in person to the gate of the city 
 with no less than a retinue of 50 horses and about 500 on foot, to do us 
 honour as his guests, notwithstanding every attempt I made to 
 dissuade him from troubling himself thus on our account. There 
 are butcher stalls at Bida daily. 
 
 One remark I may also add, that is, I think it would be useless to 
 attempt for the present, to teach the natives manufacturing of cotton 
 goods, for the purpose of improving upon their own; that will follow 
 in course of years as a natural sequence; but first open to them good 
 roads and easy water transit, and then supply them largely with 
 European merchandize, which industry and skill have already manu¬ 
 factured, in exchange for the produce of their soil, to the production 
 of which their attention should be mainly directed; thus both the 
 manufactures and native produce from the soil will be mutually and 
 amply remunerated. 
 
 The introduction of legitimate commerce will prove a silent but a sure 
 death blow in course of time to the existing domestic slavery in the 
 interior countries. To my personal knowledge, since legitimate com¬ 
 merce has been introduced at Lagos, which has very greatly influenced 
 the interior countries, upwards of a thousand slaves have purchased 
 their own liberations, through extra labour and earning, in their 
 allowed time for amusement and rest, from their own farms, or by 
 collecting palm oil, or shea-butter nuts, which they sold, and thus 
 collect enough to purchase their own ransom, and that of any of 
 their relatives in slavery. The settlement of Lagos, to the present 
 time, swarms with hundreds such men as free labourers in the 
 merchants’ establishments, as the Kroomen has been, and the Cooleys 
 are now, employed in other countries. 
 
 The district along the north side of the Binue, as far as we had 
 come, was known by the name of Igbira, its extent being, from the 
 confluence eastward, about fifty miles. The chief town was Panda, 
 now destroyed, and to distinguish the country and its people from 
 another tribe which I shall hereafter allude to, it is often styled 
 Igbira-Panda, Igbira-Ihi, or Igbira-Egu. The country has been 
 represented, but wrongly, as being called Panda, which is properly 
 confined to the town. The people are highly civilised, friendly, 
 
19 
 
 civil, and most industrious, and with whom it is of much importance 
 to keep on good terms, as a great deal of trade is carried on by their 
 means. A few Muhammadans are to be found among them, but 
 the great majority are Pagans, but with fewer barbarous rites than 
 any other heathen tribe we encountered. Tattooing is not practised, 
 nor have they any distinctive mark. In person they are rather tall, 
 and well-made, with a sub-typical negro countenance, and they 
 generally keep the body well covered with clothes. They use a 
 peculiar language, differing from the Igara, and having mixed affini¬ 
 ties, chiefly with Nupe and Yoruba. 
 
 The country on both banks of the river is covered with forest. 
 Numerous towns and villages are placed along the banks, sometimes 
 visible and sometimes hidden. Some of the scenery was occasionally 
 varied by the appearance of ranges of hills, while in the various 
 reaches of the noble river numerous wooded islands were passed as 
 we ascended. 
 
 Above Ojogo the current ran nearly three knots, the river being 
 for a short distance confined between banks, behind which was finely 
 wooded rising land, where also oil-palms were noted for the last 
 time. Along the river edge, generally partially embedded in the 
 banks, were large, unshapely looking blocks of rock, bearing evident 
 marks of igneous action. A little further on a fine range of hills 
 ran nearly parallel with the river on the north side, one extremity 
 touching the water. Just beyond the current runs very strongly, 
 averaging four knots, and the river takes a northerly bend. The 
 banks on the south side are very high, and along the top, pictu¬ 
 resquely placed nearly at the foot of a table-mountain, we could see 
 a village. Behind we discovered another prettily shaped hill. 
 
 Dr. Baikie, in his narrative of the expedition, says, “ In this beauti¬ 
 ful locality, favoured as it seemingly is in situation and in soil, 
 secured by its elevation from the rising of the river, free from swamps, 
 and abounding in healthy situations, not a trace of a human habita¬ 
 tion could be seen, nor was there visible the smallest attempt at 
 cultivation. Many hills near this place have a very peculiar aspect, 
 some being quite isolated and rising with steep sides almost suddenly 
 from flat land near the river. Fresh breezes blowing daily up the 
 stream, we got a spare forecastle awning fitted as a temporary fore¬ 
 sail, which sensibly affected our progress. Though no towns or 
 villages could be seen to enliven the prospect, yet everything around 
 us wore a smiling aspect. The river, still upwards of a mile in 
 
 4 
 
20 
 
 breadth, preserved its noble appearance, the neighbouring soil teemed 
 with a diversified vegetation, and the frequent recurrence of hill and 
 dale pleased and gratified the eye. Nor was animal life wanting, for 
 from out mast-head we enjoyed the novel sight of a large herd of 
 elephants, upwards of an hundred in number, crossing a little stream¬ 
 let, not much more than a mile from us.” 
 
 Near this place we came upon a settlement of Fulatas, on the 
 south bank. The district is named Zhibfi, and there are three 
 towns : Gandiko, Gankera, and Ghibu. This settlement originated 
 in a Fulata expedition sent to attack Wukari, a large town on the 
 south bank, but it failed, so instead of returning to the northern 
 shore they founded these towns, and inter-married with the inhabi¬ 
 tants of the district, the Djukus. The languages spoken are princi¬ 
 pally Pulo and Djuku, but Hausa is also understood by many. 
 About one-half of the people are nominal Muhammadans, the 
 remainder being Pagans. 
 
 In these towns the huts are less crowded, and have about them 
 little plots of ground planted with vegetables, being the first signs of 
 horticulture we had met with. On the sides and roofs of the huts 
 were trained pumpkins, gourds, and other cucurbitaceous species, 
 while in their gardens were numerous plants with still unripe fruit. 
 In a little market we found women bartering beer for bundles of 
 corn of different kinds. Hearing that there were horses we asked to 
 see them, and were accordingly shown several fine Arabs, nicely 
 groomed and cared for, and in fine condition. In each stable hung 
 oval-shaped shields, made of elephants’ hides, large enough to cover 
 and protect both rider and steed. The possession of horses is one 
 of the distinguishing marks of the Pulo tribes, one too which adds 
 greatly to their power and to the terror of their name. Most of the 
 inhabitants were clad in native-made clothes, but some appeared in 
 garments made of goat-skins, while a few wore still more scanty 
 coverings of green leaves. 
 
 Pursuing our course up the river, we come to Zhibu. The town 
 is about a mile from the river, situated on a rising ground, command¬ 
 ing a fine view of the Binue and the country around, and appears to 
 be of greater extent than Idda in Igara, compact and thickly 
 populated. The chief said it would take us eight months to go as 
 far as Hamaruwa, and the river would rise during this month only, 
 and begin to fall the next, and in a little time it would not be deeper 
 than a man’s waist, so that our ship being large, would not have 
 
21 
 
 water enough for the voyage downwards. When the chief was asked 
 if a bullock could be purchased, he said they had plenty, but they 
 were with their masters. He was asked who these masters were, but 
 gave an evasive answer ; but we had learnt from the people that they 
 were slaves of the Filanis, or Foulahs, who came from Yola and 
 Hamaruwa. 
 
 The kinds of grain grown here are maize, or Indian corn, guinea 
 corn, and the straight-headed grain, called gero, and dawuro; rice is 
 grown, but in very small quantity, though thousands of bushels of it 
 might be produced yearly on the irrigated banks of this river, which 
 would supply millions of people with wholesome food. In conse¬ 
 quence of the men being chiefly occupied in marauding expeditions, 
 the infirm male and female slaves are generally employed in the 
 cultivation of the soil. No yams, plantains, bananas, coco’s, oranges, 
 cocoa-nuts, or pine-apples, are to be obtained—these plants not being 
 cultivated. No eatables are hawked about the streets by girls and 
 women, nor are there any places of refreshment, or eating houses 
 under sheds ; in short, there is no market in this country like those 
 met with on the west bank of the Niger. They barter one thing for 
 another, corn for beer, and beer for corn, ground-nuts for rice, &c., 
 but some people took cowries for ivory, to be carried to the Haussa 
 country, where they are current. There is a total absence of palm- 
 trees here, and consequently no palm-oil, and soap is a very scarce 
 article. The people, with very few exceptions, are scantily clothed, 
 ragged and dirty. Clothes are consequently in great request, so that 
 in exchange for fowls, goats, sheep, ducks (of which they possess 
 many), and for mats and corn, they ask cloth. 
 
 About forty miles from Zhibu, the Binue, after passing through 
 flat and then undulating country, receives its first affluent, which 
 comes from the north. It then becomes extremely narrow, being 
 hemmed in by rising ground, especially on the right side, for about a 
 quarter of a mile. The depth was not less than five fathoms, and 
 the whole volume of the Binue having to pass this narrow gorge, the 
 current became so rapid, that it was difficult to stem it. After 
 rounding Lynslager Point, we found the river spread its noble stream 
 over as extensive a bed as before. 
 
 For some distance the river keeps its breadth, but there is plenty 
 of water, from three to four fathoms. A new range of hills showed 
 itself at a great distance on the left side of the river, consisting of 
 many lofty conical mountains. It lay behind a long ridge of high 
 
22 
 
 lands, running to a considerable distance, almost parallel with the 
 river, which presented a very picturesque appearance. The tops of 
 some of these mountains are covered with luxuriant woods and 
 jungles, and others are quite bare and rocky. 
 
 About thirty miles further up the river, we came to the town of 
 Zliiru, on the southern bank, and landed ; we found this to be 
 another Fulah settlement, as in Gandiko, the conquering race reducing 
 to slavery the aboriginal inhabitants. These are the Akpoh, or Balni 
 Djukus, who are also met at Fernando Po. The old people retain 
 their primitive costume of a few leaves; the younger having learnt 
 from their conqueror to adopt a more becoming style of clothing. 
 
 Pursuing our journey, we anchored off the village of Tshomo-, from 
 which the capital town of Harmaruwa is about fourteen miles distant. 
 Hamaruwa is beautifully situated on a hill, rising on the south side 
 of the range of the Muri mountains on the west side of the Binue. 
 It commands a fine and extensive view. The river is seen stretching 
 along like a narrow strip of white cloth, between the shades of light 
 green grass, which fringes the water’s edge, and a little further back 
 is the darker green of trees, and then the blue ranges of Fumbina, 
 with the lofty Mauranu mountain in Adamawa, on the left, and the 
 Muri mountain in Hamaruwa, with their many fanciful peaks, on the 
 right side, each at a distance of twelve miles from the river. In the 
 valleys below the town, from one to two hundred beautiful cattle 
 were feeding, and this gave life to the scenery. The houses are 
 round, with conical roofs, built mostly of mud, about twenty or 
 twenty-four feet in diameter. Many of these round houses are built 
 in the premises of each master or head of a family, and enclosed with 
 platted grass or fences, which screen the whole group from the gaze 
 of passers by. A narrow public street runs from one end of the town 
 to the other, fenced in on both sides with grass, with now and then 
 a lane or cross street. Except where the fences had been neglected, 
 the inner yard of a group of huts was not visible from the street. 
 Now and then the front of some premises is open to the street, and 
 the people pass their time there in the heat of the day, under the 
 shade of trees. If the town of Hamaruwa were regularly laid out, 
 according to the plan of a civilized country, it would present a very 
 delightful appearance ; but at the time of our visit, many houses had 
 fallen in, and the sites were overgrown with grass ; others were planted 
 with guinea corn, while a large portion were only partially fenced in 
 and cultivated. The town, though situated on a hill, with a rocky 
 
23 
 
 substratum, is yet sandy, and thus dries immediately after the fall of 
 the rain ; and though situated at the foot of the Muri range, yet is 
 not so near as to suffer any inconvenience from it. At night there 
 was perfect silence in the town, no singing or drumming was heard, 
 and the absence of light in the houses added to the dead stillness of 
 the night. The inhabitants have no palm-oil, shea butter, nor nut 
 oil for lights, and their sauce is made with cow butter. Cowries are 
 not used, nor any other medium of circulation, but all is done by 
 exchange, as in Zhibh. I had not time enough to inspect their 
 market, but I think it must be very poor, and nothing like those held 
 on the banks of the Kowara, and westward to the sea-coast. They 
 procure water at the foot of the mountains, at a distance of nearly 
 half-an-hour, and it is brought by the women in earthern pitchers, 
 borne on the shoulder, because the mode of dressing their hair, 
 plaited like a ridge, does not allow them to carry loads on their 
 heads; many, however, who are not so circumstanced as to keep 
 th eir hair always dressed in that manner, bear burdens on their head. 
 Very few goats and sheep were seen in the town, and no fowls ; 
 perhaps, all these creatures are kept at their farms under the care of 
 their slaves, but from the difficulty of purchasing any for the use of 
 the ship, I think they can possess very few. The difficulty in getting 
 horses to carry us from Hamaruwa to the river side, may, in like 
 manner, be taken as a proof that they do not possess many, or else 
 they did not wish to hire out their war horses for such a journey. 
 Their slaves are chiefly employed in their plantations of Indian and 
 guinea corn ; but there is very little rice, although thousands of 
 bushels of the latter might be cultivated to feed millions of people, 
 the banks of the Binue being particularly adapted for the cultivation 
 of this plant, after the fall of its mighty 'waters. The Filani them¬ 
 selves being military men, do not make agriculture their chief 
 employment. They are very dirty in their apparel. It would seem 
 that from the time tobes, shirts, trousers, and other garments are put 
 on new, they are never wetted, except it be by rain, till they are worn 
 to rags. With the majority, the tobes and shirts constitute their 
 apparel by day, and their covering by night, and the trousers are 
 often used as bags, in which corn or other things are carried. The 
 females are cleaner in their apparel, and bestow more pains in plaiting 
 their hair, and ornamenting it with flat pieces of brass, and lead, and 
 copper rings, which are fastened on them in a fanciful manner. 
 Large brass, lead, or iron ear-rings are suspended in their ears, and 
 
24 
 
 larger and ponderous rings of the same metals are worn round their 
 arms, wrists, and legs, according to the means of the wearers ; these 
 metals, and some silver come across from the desert to the Bornu 
 and Haussa countries, whence they are purchased from Moorish 
 merchants, and brought to this part of the country, the traders 
 receiving in return slaves and ivory. Many of the rings are manu¬ 
 factured in Kano and Katshina, in the Haussa country, and there 
 are some Kano brass-workers even at Hamaruwa, who are carrying 
 on their trade with much success; some specimens were bought from 
 them. Traders from Kano and Katshina visit Hamaruwa in large 
 caravans, and sometimes pass onward with other parties to Adamawa, 
 where they purchase slaves and ivory, the former carrying the latter, 
 and both are sold to the Moors in Kano or Bornu. In this way tons 
 of ivory are yearly carried away from the banks of the Binue, and 
 the country is depopulated by the slave-dealing Filanis. Sometimes 
 the ivory and slaves find their way to the west of the Kowara, and 
 thence to the coast. Two routes to Yola from Hamaruwa were given 
 us by Ibrahim ; the one of fourteen stages, of nearly a day’s journey 
 each, round the Fumbina mountains, circuitous but safe, being 
 occupied by, or under the influence of the Filanis, and the other 
 very short, of only four days’ journey along the left side of the Binue, 
 but dangerous. 
 
 Although this period, the latter part of September, was not, as we 
 afterwards found, that of the highest rise of the river, a temporary 
 fall alarmed us, and preparations for a return were made ; but, in 
 the meantime, the bodies of the party had gone up the river in a 
 boat, and had reached a point called Dulti, about thirty miles above 
 Tshomo, and about 420 miles from the confluence. 
 
 One object of our expedition had been to enquire for the traveller 
 Dr. Barth, and, though we heard of white men, we did not know that, 
 three years previously, he had crossed the Binue at its junction with 
 the Faro, not more than seventy miles from the limit of our expedition. 
 It is interesting to remember his description of the noble stream. 
 He says :—“ The principal river, the Benuwe, flowed here from 
 east to west, in a broad and majestic course, through an entirely open 
 country, from which only here and there detached mountains started 
 forth. The banks on our side rose to twenty-five, and in some places 
 to thirty feet, while just opposite to my station, behind a pointed 
 headland of sand, the Faro rushed forth, appearing, from this point, 
 not much inferior to the principal river, and coming in a fine sweep 
 
25 
 
 from the south-east. The river, where we crossed it, was, at the very 
 least, 800 yards broad, and in its channel generally eleven feet deep, 
 and was liable to rise, under ordinary circumstances, at least thirty, 
 or even at times fifty feet higher. The second river, the Faro, is 
 stated to come from Mount Labul, about seven days’ march to the 
 south. It was at present about 600 yards broad, but generally not 
 exceeding two feet in depth, although almost all my informants had 
 stated to me that the Faro was the principal river. The current of 
 the Faro was extremely violent, far more so than that of the Benuwe, 
 approaching, in my estimation, a rate of about five miles, while I 
 would rate the former at about three and a-half miles an hour ; the 
 current of the Faro plainly indicating that the mountainous region 
 whence it issued was at no great distance.” 
 
 At this point we leave the River Benuwe. What is its origin 
 remains at present unknown, but we have sufficient data to guide us 
 to some general conclusions. From its vast volume, its collecting 
 area must be large. From its extraordinary and rapid rise and fall, 
 that collecting area is probably a mountainous region, and from the 
 comparatively slow current, the fall for a very considerable distance 
 above Tepe must be very gradual. The River Welle, discovered by 
 the German traveller Schweinfurth, would seem to answer to these 
 conditions, although he assigns this to the system of the Shary, 
 because no other region could supply the volume of water which that 
 river pours into Lake Tsad. If this is so, the source of the Benuwe 
 must be sought still more to the south. Now, if the Welle becomes 
 the Shary, which at Lake Tsad has almost exactly the volume and 
 current of the Benuwe at Tepe, it is not improbable, when we remem¬ 
 ber the rain-fall of this part of Central Africa, that the course of the 
 Benuwe is about the same length as that of the Shary and Welle. 
 Then removing its sources sufficiently to the south to allow room for 
 two collecting areas of equal magnitude, we are almost driven to place 
 its sources about 3 south, and in longitude about ^25 east, which is 
 not more than 100 miles from Nyangue, on the River Lualaba. Is 
 it possible that the unknown Lake Sankorra may find one outlet in 
 the Benuwe ? Iam strengthened in this belief by the information 
 furnished me by an Arab trader at Eggan, to which I shall presently 
 refer. 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that in the course of a journey of 700 
 miles, we come in contact with no less than thirteen different languages. 
 Ten of them are apparently of the same family, and bespeak aboriginal 
 
26 
 
 tribes. One, the Mitshi, is apparently aboriginal, but the language 
 is entirely peculiar, while two are languages whose original homes 
 are remote, they have reached the Niger and Binue, the one accom¬ 
 panying Mohammedan conquest, the other in the path of trade. 
 
 The people we passed in our ascent of the river are the Oru and Abo 
 in the Delta, the Igara on the left of the Niger, the Kakanda at the 
 confluence of the Kowara and Tshadda, the Igbira, Bassa, Doma, 
 Mitshi, and Djuku, otherwise called Apa, or Akpa, or Baibai, the 
 language of Kororofa, and the Fulah on the Binue. 
 
 1. The Oru, or Ijo, or Udso of Koelle are identical with Brass, at 
 the mouth of the Nun, on the coast, otherwise called Itebu or Nempe, 
 by their Ibo neighbours. This language is spoken to the extent of 
 ioo miles from the mouth of the Nun, to the boundary of Abo 
 territory: how far inland towards Benin, on the right, and towards 
 the Ibo country, on the left of the Niger, is yet unknown. 
 
 2. The Abo is a dialect of the Ibo language, commencing from 
 abou t e Benin branch of the Niger, and extending to Asaba (Onia 
 market of Trotter). It comprises a district of about fifty or sixty 
 miles along the banks of the Niger, and is very extensively spoken in 
 its various dialects in the countries inland, on the left bank of the 
 Niger, as far as we could ascertain, from the information we collected, 
 to Cross River, on the back of Old Calabar; the Calabar or Efik and 
 Bonny trade with the Ibo in the interior,—Isuama seems to be the 
 leading or popular dialect of this language. 
 
 3. The next country after the Ibo, on the banks of the Niger, is 
 Igarra; the language of Igarra is the same as the Akpotto, and is 
 spoken from Adamuga to the confluence of the Kowara and Tshadda, 
 to the extent of no miles on the banks of the Niger. It is also 
 extensively spoken inland on the left bank of the Niger, to the 
 Mitshi country, on the left bank of the Binue—about the longitude 
 of Ojogo. 
 
 4. The Kakanda is the next country on the banks of the Niger, 
 and the language is a dialect of Yoruba. This people have been so 
 much driven about, that the limits of their country are very difficult 
 to ascertain; they inhabited the mountains on the right side of the 
 Kowara and border on Nupe : at present they inhabit chiefly the left 
 banks of the Niger, below the confluence, since they were expelled 
 from their mountain holds, by Dasaba, King of Nupe. 
 
 5. The next country after the Kakanda is Nupe, now governed by 
 King Umoru, with whom we are on most friendly terms. 
 
27 
 
 6. From the confluence on the right side of the Binue, is the 
 Igbira country, called Koto by the Haussa, and Kotokori by the 
 Yoruba; since their country has been overrun by the Fulah, they 
 have removed to the left side of the river, in the country of Akpotto. 
 Their language is different from Igarra. 
 
 7. The next country after Igbira, on the right side of the Binue, 
 is Bassa, whose language appears to be a distant dialect of the Nupe. 
 Their country has also been overrun by the Fulah, and they were 
 obliged to seek refuge in Akpotto land, after the example of their 
 neighbours the Igbira. 
 
 8. The next country on the right side of the Binue, is Doma, 
 also called Arago, a tribe of which is called Agatu, inhabiting 
 Akpotto land on the left side of the Binue, to which they had been 
 driven by the Fulah. 
 
 9. The next country on the left side of the Binue, is the Mitshi, 
 whose language is very little known and very peculiar to itself. The 
 Mitshi country commences as it appears opposite Ojogo, and is 
 mixed with the Akpotto and with Kororofa, from which it is difficult 
 to distinguish the boundaries. They are chiefly independent, but 
 some portion of them pay tribute to Wukari, King of Kororofa. 
 
 10. The next country after the Mitshi, is extensive,—Kororofa 
 having Wukari for its capital, and the language spoken is Djuku, 
 commonly called Akpa, but they call themselves Baibai. The 
 language is spoken as far as Hamaruwa, now under the government 
 of Mohamma, the Fulah Sultan of that country. 
 
 11. The next language we met with on the Binue, is the Fulah. 
 
 12. The most important of all is the Haussa, the commercial 
 language of Central Africa. 
 
 With regard to the Hausa language, from the prefatory remarks to 
 Schon’s Hausa vocabulary we learn that the territory in which the 
 Hausa is the vernacular language may with some limitation be said 
 to be the Soudan. A glance at the map in Dr. Barth’s most instructive 
 Travels will show that the territory in which the Hausa is the 
 vernacular language is of considerable extent, probably greater than 
 that occupied by any other language in Central Africa. It is, more¬ 
 over, not only in those parts that this language is known and 
 understood, and serving as the medium of communication : it has, 
 from various causes, such as the dispersion of Hausas among other 
 nations, through the slave-trade, the commercial pursuits of the 
 natives of the Soudan, and the beauty of the language itself, become, 
 
28 
 
 as it were, to Africa, what the French is to Europe. Sierra Leone 
 contains many of every province of Hausa. Near Cape Coast a 
 little village was pointed out to me inhabited by Hausas, and I have 
 met some at the island of Fernando-Po. At Cape Coast, Lander 
 engaged his faithful Paskoe, the Hausa interpreter, with whom he 
 commenced his travels at Badagry ; and there is every reason to 
 conclude that the Hausa language has been the only medium of 
 communication and intercourse with people, chiefs, and kings, from 
 Badagry to Borgou, Rabba, Boosa, Yaouri, Egga, and down the 
 Niger to the Ibo country. No native words are found in Lander’s 
 three interesting volumes except such as are Hausa, and the author 
 himself very frequently refers to the extent of the Hausa language. 
 “It is understood,” he says, “by the generality of the natives of 
 Borgou, both young and old, almost as well as their mother tongue, 
 and it is spoken by the majority of them with considerable fluency.” 
 At Gunga only it was that even the Hausa language was not under¬ 
 stood. I can corroborate the above statement from my own experience 
 and observation in the River Niger as far as Eggan. 
 
 Leaving the west, and passing to the north, it has there also spread 
 far and wide, and obtained the same notoriety as in the west, every 
 traveller bearing testimony to this fact. Clapperton’s incidental 
 allusions to the importance of the Hausa language are numerous. 
 Oberweg congratulates the Expedition in having met with an inter¬ 
 preter who was master of Afnu, that is, the Hausa language. Barth, 
 writing to Professor Lepsius from Ai-Salah, speaks of the absolute 
 necessity of mastering the Hausa language, and of his inability on 
 that account to pay much attention to the Tuareg, observing that it 
 was the less to be regretted, since all Asbenawas spoke the Hausa, 
 and used it even more generally than the Targia. 
 
 As to the countries along the Niger and Binue, I found that from 
 the confluence to Hamaruwa, a distance of three hundred miles , the 
 Hausa was understood, and of immense service to the Expedition. 
 
 At Oru, in the Delta, we already commenced meeting with solitary 
 opportunities of communicating with the people through Hausa 
 slaves. From Abo we engaged a Hausa interpreter, who was very 
 serviceable to us throughout the Expedition. At Idda we found that 
 the Hausa language was becoming more generally spoken by the 
 inhabitants : salutations in that language generally sounded in our 
 ears. At Igbegbe, near the confluence, the Hausa is one of the 
 prevailing languages spoken by the mixed population of that market 
 
29 
 
 
 town, and it is the chief medium of communication in commercial 
 transactions, though Igbira is the language of the place. 
 
 At Yimaha in the Igbira country, at Oruku in the Bassa country, 
 at Doma, also among the hitherto unknown Mitshis, among the 
 inhabitants of the extensive Kororofo, and with the Fulanis of 
 Hamaruwa, the Hausa language was the chief medium of commu¬ 
 nication, both with the chiefs and with the people whom we visited 
 during the late Expedition ; and I was told that the knowledge of 
 Hausa will bring any one to Mecca. 
 
 All the Mohammedans understand and speak the Hausa language, 
 and through it the Koran is explained and interpreted in their own 
 mosques throughout Yoruba; so that from Lagos, Badagry, and 
 Porto Novo, and upwards to the Niger, where Mohammedans are 
 found, the Hausa language is spoken by them. Now, if we glance at 
 the map, it will at once be seen to what extent the language is spoken, 
 and how generally useful a knowledge of it is likely to be. 
 
 The other important language of this part of Africa, is the Fulah 
 or Pulo, or Filani, a remarkable people who are found at Timbo 
 and Falaba, on the west coast and have pushed their conquests as 
 far as Yola, to the south of the Binue. Those of the natives who 
 reside in the colony of Sierra Leone, call themselves Fula-men, and 
 their language the Fulah Language. The proper and indigenous 
 name for the Fulahs, as we have called them, is Pulo, in.plural Fulbe. 
 Dr. Barth was told by the natives of the interior of the existence, in 
 bygone days, of an ancient kingdom of Ghanata, with a central town, 
 Kazaka. The name of the nation must have been Azer. At a primi¬ 
 tive period of their history they were led to leave their paternal abodes 
 to find a more congenial homestead in the fertile plains that form the 
 rich water-shed between the upper course of the river Jaliba and the 
 Maio Balleo, in the west. It would appear that their wanderings 
 towards the west had taken place about the sixteenth century. We 
 now find a strong Pulo empire in a north-westerly direction, from the 
 upper course of the Jaliba, with a government town of Hamd-Allah. 
 This court, with the numerous warmen at its command, is called by 
 the rulers and people of the principality of Futa Jallo and Toro 
 Hubube. But the larger stream of this inland emigration must have 
 spread higher up; thus the extent of land, now occupied by the 
 western Fulbe, between the young Niger on the one hand, and the 
 Senegal on the other, is called, by the territorial names of Futa Jallo 
 and Futa Toro, with the seat of government at Timbo. These regions 
 
30 
 
 
 the emigrated Fulbe appear to have regarded as the land marks to 
 their western progress, and, although after their conversion to Islam, 
 they conquered many more countries in obedience to the dictates of 
 their newly embraced religion, they maintain their domiciles within 
 these confines to the present day. 
 
 In the course of time when, by the zeal of the ruling wall's, the 
 doctrine of the Prophet had become the national creed of Futa land, 
 the Fulbe, in obedience to the dictates of Alquoran, and emboldened 
 by the increase of numerical strength, agreed upon a Holy war, for the 
 coercion of their heathenish, and as yet unbelieving, neighbours and 
 fellow-countrymen. An opportunity soon presented itself at a 
 heathenish feast and dance, when one of the Moslem priests tore up 
 the drum of an unbeliever, and the offence thus given to the idolaters 
 was received as an uncalled for provocation. An endeavour on the 
 part of the heathenish populace to resent the outrage committed on 
 their hereditary practices, was eagerly seized upon by the fanatic 
 Fulbe, who regarded this incident as the propitious moment for 
 entering upon the Jihade, or Holy war against the unbelievers. 
 Thus a crusade began, which extended to the neighbouring tribes, 
 when a number of nationalities, one after the other, were forced to 
 accept the crescent in exchange for their hereditary and traditional 
 superstitions. The Fulbe, hitherto ruled by Alfas and priests, 
 resolved then to choose a king to take the supreme command of their 
 armed hosts in their frequent warfare, because after the Moslem 
 tradition the wars of the faithful with unbelievers to the intent of their 
 conversion, is unlawful without a king or supreme head. The royal 
 dignity was then, by a plebiscitum, conferred upon the Alfa of Timbo, 
 an official person who unites the office of magistrate with the authority 
 of a high priest. From henceforth this dignitary assumed the two¬ 
 fold authority of Imam and king, and possessed the prerogatives of 
 watching over the interests of the faithful in spiritual matters, and 
 of taking the leadership in their politics. The first attempt of the 
 Fulbe to suppress heathenism became successful, and with the 
 introduction of the doctrine of the Prophet, also the political 
 supremacy of the Futa dynasty over the surrounding territories, 
 became established and finally acknowledged. Gradually the warlike 
 spirit of this gifted nation led them to greater success among many 
 contiguous nationalities; their influence is great and their name 
 respected on the banks of the Senegal, the Rio Pongas, the Nunez, 
 the Searcies; they influence the trade far into the interior, at Sego, 
 
3 1 
 
 Buria, Sangara, the so-called gold countries; their importance is felt 
 among the Bambaras and Mandingoes; in the Suleiman, Limba and 
 Koranko countries, and has paved itself open roads and easy ways 
 through the Susus to the Mellacoure, and they have obtained welcome 
 passes through the Timane and Sherbro countries to the British 
 settlement of Sierra Leone. As enterprising traders, they convey 
 the gold dust and ivory, obtained from the distant Serankules, 
 to the French colonists of the Senegal and to the stores of the 
 European and mercantile population of Freetown, in Sierra Leone. 
 The Fulbe in their further conquests seem to have been satisfied with 
 the establishment of their imported religion and the expulsion of 
 heathenism, and then after receiving guarantees for the acceptance 
 of their Protectorate, to have withdrawn their numerous armies to the 
 confines of their fertile homes of Futa Jallo and Toro. 
 
 Anything like even a vague estimate as to the numerical strength 
 of the Pulo nation we have at no time been able to obtain, since we 
 never met with any African traveller far and long enough to under¬ 
 take a reliable estimation. Suffice it to say that this interesting 
 nation occupies a territory, both irregular and widespread, towards 
 the interior; according to Dr. Barth, there is a considerable part of 
 them in Adamawa; they are in power at Sokoto, and there is ample 
 proof of their being largely mixed with the Hausa nation. 
 
 Ever since the times of Denham and Clapperton, the warlike 
 Fulahs or Filani have continued their hostile and predatory attacks 
 on the more peaceful tribes—towns are still destroyed, and it is their 
 frequent attacks which unsettle the tribes, and render them suspicious 
 of the presence of strangers. 
 
 I now beg to offer a few remarks on the trade routes which meet 
 at Eggan, on the Niger. The chief routes are those which come 
 from the north, from Tripoli, across the Sahara, bringing European 
 produce on camels as far as Kano, and thence by donkeys to the 
 Nupe Kingdom, whence the goods are dispersed into the adjoining 
 countries. Another route comes from the far East, apparently from 
 the countries on the Upper Nile. With one of these caravans we 
 saw two camels which bore the English broad arrow, and we under¬ 
 stood they had been used in the Abyssinian Expedition. Other 
 caravans trade to the south-east. When I was in Eggan in 1872, I 
 met a Haussa trader, who told me he had seen an old white man in 
 a canoe on a lake; that he saluted him; and the white man had 
 come to him and asked him why he saluted him. He described the 
 
3 2 
 
 white man as wearing white whiskers and having a red shirt and 
 overall boots. I did not at the time gather from him how long before 
 that it was that he had seen the white man, but I found last year 
 that the journey must have occupied nearly two years, so that it may 
 have been in 1869 or 1870 that he saw the traveller. Thinking it 
 might possibly be the traveller Livingstone, I gave the trader a letter 
 with instructions to deliver it and bring me back the reply. I never 
 heard again of the man until last September ; when I was at Eggan, I 
 found that the man had returned. My son saw him, and on asking 
 about the letter, he told him that he had been to the same place, and 
 there he had been told the white man was dead, so he brought back 
 the letter. My son asked him some questions; among others, what 
 was the name of the water where he had seen the traveller, and the 
 answer was, Tanganyika. The people at the side of the lake he 
 described as very wild and fierce. The route taken seemed to be on 
 the northern and western shore ; then, turning southwards, was along 
 the bank of the Binue, and no large river or mountain chain seems 
 to have been crossed. If this is so, it would seem that the Binue 
 turns to the south-east, running parallel to the upper course of the 
 Bahi Kuta, or Welle. 
 
 In conclusion, I would remark that so good is the feeling towards 
 the English among the rulers, to the north of the Binue, that there 
 is every opportunity for the introduction to a larger extent of British 
 commerce ; and though the Government have not continued the 
 Niger expeditions, and have withdrawn the Consular authority from 
 the Conference, the fruit of the former policy is now being found. 
 
 Further attempts carefully planned, and entrusted to men who 
 would conciliate and not alarm the natives, would carry geographical 
 discovery far to the interior, while the labours of Messrs. Schon and 
 Reichardt, in reducing the Haussa and Fulah languages, have 
 rendered most important assistance to the future traveller in these 
 regions. 
 
tsskrnaqj (Sgcrrrtwrcs 
 
 IN 
 
 THE NIGER TERRITORY. 
 
 The Niger Native Bishopric Fund, having been replenished in 
 1873 by kind Christian friends who had so liberally contributed to it, 
 I feel it my duty to give them a condensed report showing how it 
 has been expended in aiding to extend our stations in the Niger 
 Mission. I must here thankfully state that the salaries of the Native 
 Agents, Ordained and Lay, employed in working the stations at 
 Bonny, Brass, and Akassa, previously established and supported 
 through the means of the Bishopric Fund, have been, by the special 
 request of the Donor, paid from the Walter Jones Fund. Being 
 thus relieved, the Niger Native Bishopric Fund has been employed 
 in taking up new stations, and, with the aid of local contributions, 
 has enlarged several places of worship in the Mission, and secured 
 them from destruction by covering them with galvanized iron roofing 
 sheets in place of frail and combustible grass thatch, liable to 
 be burnt down at any time, either by incendiary or accidental 
 fire. 
 
 New Calabar Mission .—The first place of extension was the New 
 Calabar Mission, got up at the invitation of the king and chiefs, 
 where a Boarding School-house capable of holding 70 children has 
 been put up, a Mission House for the Native Minister, and a cottage 
 for the Catechist, all of boards and covered with incombustible 
 galvanized iron roofing sheets. 
 
 According to the plan pursued in Bonny and Brass, I got the king 
 and chiefs to grant ^200 towards the buildings in the Mission^ 
 which is being paid in Palm Oil. There are 35 boys, boarders at 
 School, towards the support of whom the parents and guardians have 
 
34 
 
 paid, in Palm Oil and trade goods, the amount of ^132. At present 
 the Boarding room is used to hold religious services in, till a preach¬ 
 ing place is built. This station forms another centre from which the 
 surrounding villages are visited to hold religious intercourse with the 
 people in New Calabar River district. 
 
 Brass Mission .—The Church of the Brass Mission being too 
 small for the congregation, it was lengthened by 30 feet, which now 
 makes room for upwards of 400 people ; it is even now filled on 
 Sundays when the people are at home from the markets. To accom¬ 
 plish this work the Native chiefs and converts contributed in building 
 materials and money to the amount of ^250, and the European 
 Supercargoes in the River to about ^50, to aid the Fund. This 
 Church, St. Barnabas, is now covered with galvanized iron roofing 
 sheets, safe from fire, and neatly painted. 
 
 Besides other converted chiefs, towards the end of the year 1876 
 Ockiya, the king of Brass, publicly renounced idolatry, and became 
 an adherent to Christianity. To prove to his people his earnestness, 
 and the helplessness of the idols, he delivered up his three large 
 household gods to Mr. Johnson, the minister. The three images are 
 to be seen in this country, as trophies of the triumph of the Gospel, 
 which is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth. 
 
 Bo?iny Mission .—Before proceeding further it is due to acknow¬ 
 ledge the Christian liberal interest manifested by the gentlemen 
 Supercargoes of Bonny River, which is of no ordinary kind among 
 merchants on the West Coast of Africa. In order to give oppor¬ 
 tunity to the shipping and all connected with it to attend Divine 
 worship on the Lord’s Day, they voluntarily contributed money and 
 materials, and built a small Church, St. Clement’s, which cost 
 about ^350, in which those who feel inclined, both Europeans and 
 Natives, now assemble to attend Divine service on the morning of 
 the Lord’s Day : this is a noble example set by Christian merchants 
 before heathen chiefs. Such Christian acts, combined with commerce 
 wherever it is established, give it power to become a civilizer of the 
 world. 
 
 This was not all. A few months ago it was proposed by these 
 gentlemen, and there and then agreed upon, to build a School-room 
 in connection with St. Clement’s Church, and a cottage for a resident 
 schoolmaster, for the benefit of their pantry boys, coopers, and 
 carpenters in their employ, in which they may occupy their time 
 more profitably when at leisure, instead of roving about the town, by 
 
35 
 
 improving their minds in reading and writing, and thus be kept from 
 mischief ; to this object they most readily voted £120, and building 
 materials. These are some of the results of the Niger Native 
 Bishopric Fund. 
 
 To proceed. The present openings on the coast having been 
 thus secured and generously supported, the applioation of the Fund 
 is transferred to the Upper Niger, where the people are very poor, 
 not having the means to contribute as those in Oil Rivers. In these 
 upper stations, two places of worship have been enlarged at Lokoja. 
 The Onitsha capacious Church has been secured from accidental 
 fire by being covered with galvanized iron roofing sheets. Four 
 other School Chapels are being put up, one at each new station, 
 Osamare, Alenso, Asaba in Onitsha district, and the fourth at Kipo 
 Hill, the last of our stations, 350 miles from the coast. We are 
 also invited to re-occupy Gbebe. 
 
 The following facts will illustrate the friendly disposition of kings 
 and chiefs with whom I have come in contact, and the openings 
 that seem to exist for extension on the Upper Niger. 
 
 When the S.S. Victoria stranded on the Niger in 1871, King Masaba, 
 of Bida, in Nupe, out of gratitude to, and respect for, Her Majesty's 
 Government, for its yearly friendly intercourse with him, through 
 Commissioners, very kindly and voluntarily aided our getting down 
 to the coast by the overland route, a distance of about 250 miles 
 across from the bank of the Niger, by presenting the travelling party 
 with twelve horses, and carriage of packages free, to the limits of his 
 territory, because we were the subjects of his great friend, the 
 English Government. 
 
 His successor, King Umoru, is not less friendly disposed: though 
 a Mohammedan monarch, yet he has given me permission to 
 establish a Mission Station in the neighbourhood of his trading 
 capital, Egga, the limit of the Great Expedition commanded by 
 the late Captain Trotter, R.N., in 1841 ; and has also contributed 
 100 palmyra scantlings towards the buildings of the Mission station, 
 on Kipo Hill slope, above alluded to. 
 
 At this place we come in frequent intercourse with the Hausa 
 ivory traders from south eastward countries. One of these ivory 
 merchants informed us at Egga, about four years ago, that he had 
 seen an old white man in that direction, with long white beard, that 
 he wore a red shirt, and long boots, and peaked cap; that he was 
 paddled about a sheet of water by a savage tribe who bedaubed 
 
36 
 
 themselves with palm oil, &c. Supposing the person seen might be 
 in all probability the great traveller, the late Dr. Livingstone, I wrote 
 a note at Egga, which I entrusted to the ivory merchant to deliver to 
 the white man or any other he might again meet with. But last 
 year, the merchant sent back the letter by his son, and expressed 
 regret that on his arrival at the country, he was informed that the 
 white man was dead. Whoever it might be, the trial to communicate 
 was worth making. 
 
 The Tshadda branch of the Niger was explored by the late Dr. 
 Baikie in 1854. I myself reached Hamarua, a distance of about 300 
 miles from Lokoja, the confluence of the two rivers Kwora and 
 Tshadda; the chiefs on the banks of which were very anxious to 
 have intercourse with civilized nations; some of them have sent 
 messages to me to open Mission stations among them. The navi¬ 
 gable limits of this branch Tshadda or Binue, and its tributary stream 
 Faro, from south eastward, have not yet been reached. 
 
 With these objects in view, I believe the time is now come to make 
 efforts to secure the openings before us, and take advantage of the 
 present friendly disposition of the chiefs and people toward us, who 
 are inviting us to visit their towns and villages, and put Mission 
 stations among them. 
 
 In order, however, to work the whole Mission more efficiently, 
 as well as to extend it beyond our present limits, it has become 
 absolutely necessary to place under our control the use of a small 
 steamer of very light draft. 
 
 This will enable us to halt during the visitation at every 
 station, and spend as much time as may be found necessary to 
 examine and organize the working of the same, and then leisurely 
 proceed from one station to another, without being obliged, as we 
 now are, to stay longer than necessary at one station, and hurry 
 past others, as we are now compelled to do, being dependent for 
 passage on the trading steamers. 
 
 It will also enable us to visit and open intercourse with tribes 
 beyond our present stations on both branches of the river, the Kwora 
 and the Binue, better known as the Tshadda branch of the Niger. 
 This cannot be done by depending upon trading steamers, which 
 move up and down the River on their own business, landing cargoes 
 at the trading stations, and conveying produce to the coast, without 
 stopping at intermediate stations, during the time the River is work¬ 
 able for large steamers. 
 
37 
 
 A small steamboat is very necessary for protection in moving up 
 and down the river, because some wild and savage natives have taken 
 advantage of open boats, which they have attacked and plundered, 
 and kept the crews as prisoners to be ransomed by enormous sums 
 of money. 
 
 With these openings before the Church, and with the Mission 
 stations at Lokoja, at the Confluence, and Kipo Hill, opposite Egga, 
 fresh starting points inland, is it chimerical to say, we, from the 
 West, might, in God's good providence, in due time, shake hands 
 midway with our Missionary brethren, who are even now advancing 
 from the East? 
 
 To carry out these objects the Fund will need to be liberally 
 replenished. God has graciously permitted it to be the means of 
 accomplishing great results on the coast. Let us hope that He will 
 materially aid us to make further progress among the Natives of the 
 interior countries. 
 
 S. A. CROWTHER, 
 
 Bishop, Niger Territory. 
 
 Contributions to the Niger Native Bishopric Fund, for the purpose 
 of carrying on the work of the Stations supported by the Fund, or to 
 the Niger Steamer Fund, towards the purchase of a suitable vessel 
 for visiting the Stations on the river, will be thankfully received at 
 the Church Missionary House, 16, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, 
 London. 
 

 
DATE DUE 
 
 APR 2 5 '69 
 
 
 
 
 MAR 2 6 71 
 
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 MAY 2 6 ■; 
 
 4 
 
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 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S A. 
 

 
 
 
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