Landers Travels | Page 9

him and the commander of the
expedition, the latter stabbed the African prince on board his own
vessel. Whether this violent deed was prompted by the heat of passion,
or by well-grounded suspicions of the prince's fidelity, was never fully
investigated, but the king learned the event with great regret, and in
consequence, gave up his design of building a fort on the Senegal.
Embassies were, however, sent to the most powerful of the
neighbouring states, nor was any pause made in the indefatigable
efforts to trace the abode of Prester John. Amongst the great personages,
to whom an embassy was sent, are mentioned the kings of Tongubutue,
(Timbuctoo,) and Tucurol, a Mandingo chief named Mandimansa, and
a king of the Foulhas, with all of whom a friendly intercourse was
established. All endeavours were, however, vain as to the primary
object, but the Portuguese thereby gained a more complete knowledge
of this part of interior Africa than was afterwards attained in Europe till
a very recent period.
There is, however, one circumstance attending these discoveries of the
Portuguese, and the embassies, which they in consequence sent to the
native princes, which deserves particular attention. There is very little
doubt existing, but that the Portuguese were acquainted with the town
and territory of Timbuctoo; and the question then presents itself, by
what means did the Portuguese succeed in penetrating to a kingdom,
which, for centuries afterwards, baffled all the efforts of the most
enterprising travellers to arrive within some hundred miles of it. The
city of Timbuctoo, for instance, was, for a considerable length of time,
the point to which all the European travellers had directed their
attention; but so vague and indefinite were the accounts of it, that the
existence of Timbuctoo as a town, began to be questioned altogether, or
at least, that the extraordinary accounts, which had been given of it, had
little or no foundation in truth. From the time of Park to the present
period, we have information of only three Europeans reached
Timbuctoo, and considerable doubt still exists in regard to the truth of
the narrative of one of them. It is true that the intelligence of the
Portuguese embassies, as respecting the particulars of them, and the
manner in which they were conducted, has either perished, or still
remains locked up in the archives of the Lusitanian monarchy. But

when we look into the expeditions, which have been projected of late
years into the interior of Africa, we cannot refrain from drawing the
conclusion, that the character of the African people must have
undergone a change considerably for the worse, or that our expeditions
are not regulated on those principles so as to command success.
The Portuguese in the meantime continued to extend their discoveries
in another quarter, for in 1471, they reached the Gold Coast, when
dazzled by the importance and splendour of the commodity, the
commerce of which gave name to that region, they built the fort of
Elmina or The Mine, making it the capital of their possessions on that
part of the continent. Pushing onward to Benin, they received a curious
account of an embassy said to be sent at the accesion of every new
prince, to a court of a sovereign named Ogane, who was said to reside
seven or eight hundred miles in the interior. On the introduction of the
ambassadors, a silk curtain concealed the person of his majesty from
them, until the moment of their departure, when the royal foot was
graciously put forth from under the veil, and reverence was done to it
as a "holy thing." From this statement it appears that the pope of Rome
is not the only person, whose foot is treated as a "holy thing;" there is
not, however, any information extant, that the Portuguese ambassadors
kissed the great toe of the African prince, and therefore the superiority
of the pope in this instance is at once decided. The statement, however,
of the Portuguese ambassadors excited greatly the curiosity of the court
on their return, and it was immediately surmised by them, that this
mysterious potentate was more likely to be Prester John, than any
person whom they had yet heard of. It must, however, be remarked,
that it was a subject of great doubt and discussion to determine who
this Ogane really was.
Although in possession of the extensive coast of Africa, the Portuguese
had, as yet, no declared title to it, for that purpose, therefore, they
appealed to religion or rather the superstition of the age. It was a
maxim, which the bigots of the Vatican had endeavoured strongly to
inculcate, that whatever country was conquered from infidel nations,
became the property of the victors. This title was, however, not
completed until it was confirmed by a special grant