Thomas Nelson

“ I visited the galleries at Gibraltar, and was highly pleased with the grandeur of the design. Your favourite fort, Malta, excited very little interest in my mind, not that the place is deficient in interest, but we were fretful from experiencing great harassment from individuals who ought to have forwarded our views, so that a disinclination to enjoy any thing was induced. On our arrival here, we found matters far beyond our expectation; far to the south of Bornou is [13] open to us, and almost entirely subject to the pasha of Tripoli. All our route is clear and free from danger. ”

“ These oscillations are caused by the disturbed condition of the atmosphere in front, and in the vicinity of the advancing gale. If the atmospheric fluid in which we live and breathe was visible to the eye, it would be seen on the approach of a Typhoon to move in great waves over the barometer, like the undulations of a troubled sea after a heavy gale of wind; and as the barometer measures exactly the weight of a perpendicular column of the air immediately above it, it in consequence rises and falls according as the atmospheric waves reach, pass over, and leave it. ”

“ My worthy friend Clapperton and I have been busily engaged ever since our arrival here. Within the last two months we have been travelling much, and have examined to the extent of at least 800 miles of country. We experienced little fatigue, and in place of being weakened, our health has been greatly improved. We have been among the Tuaricks, and have been treated by that independent and curious people with the greatest kindness and hospitality. They occupy all that dreary waste which you see in the maps called the ‘Great Sahara,’ and live on the milk and flesh of their camels. ”

“ He continues to describe the dust storm as follows:—“Some of them come on with great rapidity, as if at the rate of forty to sixty miles an hour. They occur at all hours, oftentimes near sunset.
The sky is clear and not a breath moving: presently a low bank of clouds is seen in the horizon, which you are surprised you did not observe before; a few seconds have passed, and the cloud has half filled the hemisphere, and there is no time to lose—it is a dust storm—and helter-skelter every one rushes to get into the house to escape being caught in it. ”

“ And as Clapperton had a natural talent for drawing, which he had cultivated with care, instead of doing this in the ordinary way, he represented the state of his ship’s canvass, at the hour required, by a spirited sketch. He likewise shewed, by the ingenious efforts of his pencil, the different headlands and the peculiar appearance of the coasts, together with their harbours, noting at the same time their soundings, and the mode of approaching them. ”

“ Nearly all writers agree that a typhoon is a circular storm-disc varying from one to ten miles in height, and in diameter from fifty to one thousand miles; and that the winds within the disc blow in circles—or nearly so—round a common centre, which is generally calm, and varying in size from one tenth to one fifth, and in some cases as much as one-fourth, of the whole diameter of the gale. ”

“ TO THE SAME. “Mourzuk, April 12, 1822.
“I arrived here on the seventh instant, in high spirits and the best health. Our journey to this place was exceedingly pleasant, and far surpassed my most sanguine expectations. The people have all been exceedingly kind, and have treated us in the best manner possible. Every respect has been shown us since we left Tripoli, and we have not experienced the slightest difficulty, or been exposed to the least danger. ”

“ Now as the severity of a typhoon is measured by the velocity of the winds within the storm-disc—and we admit on the first principles that the greater the rapidity with which the currents revolve around the focus, the greater the condensation of vapour there, and hence the more perfect the vacuum at the centre—we shall have an explanation of the reasons why the barometer falls lower in a severe, than in a more moderate gale. ”

“ MEMOIR
OF
DR. OUDNEY,
THE AFRICAN TRAVELLER. Although biography be the most attractive species of historical composition, as it gratifies the prying curiosity of our nature by making us acquainted with the origin and progress, and the retired habits, as well as the public pursuits, conduct, and character of distinguished individuals; yet there are few, comparatively speaking, of the human race, the actions of whose lives possess sufficient interest to engage the attention of their fellow-men, or are, on that account, worthy to be made the subject of biographical record. ”

“ This small Volume is respectfully inscribed by the Author, as a token of gratitude for his kindness to himself, as a Memorial of the friendship and patronage extended by him to the Gentlemen, the incidents of whose lives it records, and as a Testimony of the estimation in which his character is held for his assiduous cultivation of Physical Science in all its branches, and for his unwearied, enlightened, and generous efforts to inspire, not only the Students of his class, but the Public at large, with a love for the study of Nature. ”

“ The next thing worthy of notice is the fact that the barometer often rises just before the gale comes on; a fact which when properly understood will always put the seaman on his guard and give him timely warning, but a dangerous thing when not understood, as it tends to throw the seaman off his guard, and lull him to sleep, when he ought really to be wakeful and watching. ”

“ The pasha’s word is a law not to be disobeyed, and he has pledged himself to protect us fifty-seven days’ journey beyond Bornou. On our landing, that favourable intelligence made us leap for joy. The Mahometans here are a most liberal sort of men, and tolerate people of every religious persuasion—a circumstance almost unknown in any other Mahometan country. The police is admirable, so that a stranger may traverse every part of the city without the least apprehension. ”

“ Wherever such a mass should strike the Earth a hurricane might arise; and should two such masses meet in mid-air, a tornado of any degree of intensity on record might easily result from their combination.
Sir John Herschel further suggests that two great atmospheric undulations (which he terms barometric waves, because they are made evident by the fluctuations of the barometer) travelling in opposite directions and intersecting each other, from their opposing forces might cause the phenomena of hurricanes or rotary storms. ”

“ Oudney, on his return, found his mother and his young sisters residing in Edinburgh, and with these near relations, who ever were, and continued to the last to be, the objects of his duteous affection and tender solicitude, he once more domesticated; and while he treated his mother, now advancing into the vale of years, with the respectful attention and kindness which filial regard alone can dictate, he was to his sisters at once a father and a brother. ”

“ An extensive condensation of vapor going on in the centre, the air becomes lighter there than elsewhere in the revolving disc, and forms a kind of chimney for the denser air below to pass up through; and when this process has been going on for some time the air beneath is sufficiently exhausted to admit of the storm disc descending to the surface of the earth, after reaching which, it takes up a progressive motion and is impelled by magnetic attraction towards the magnetic poles. ”

“ In our excursion I do not expect to see much that is interesting, as all the country we have passed over is much the same. There are often thickets of trees with grass, which is all dried up. Near the town there are many open spaces, on account of the trees having been cut down for firewood. Near a great lake called Spad, elephants, hippopotami, and antelopes are met with in great numbers; my friend Clapperton has shot a great many of the latter. He is quite an enthusiast in the chase, and has been very successful. He enjoys the best of health, and is as stout as ever. ”

“ It seems worth inquiry, he says, whether hurricanes in tropical climates may not arise from portions of the upper currents prematurely diverted downwards before their relative velocity has been sufficiently reduced by friction on, and gradually mixing with, the lower strata; and so dashing upon the earth with that tremendous velocity, which gives them their destructive character, and of which hardly any rational account has yet been given.—Their course, generally speaking, is in opposition to the regular trade-wind, as it ought to be in conformity with this idea. ”

“ About noon I was awoke by one of my followers, who acquainted me that Amara was ready to hold a palaver with me, and desired my immediate attendance. In my way to his tent I visited Satin Lai, a designing Mandingo chief, possessing much power; he had been mainly instrumental in putting Amara on the throne, and was at this time the only staunch adherent to the king, who, by following too implicitly his advice, had lowered himself considerably in the opinion of his head men, who form the principal strength of an African king. ”

“ Our worthy friend Clapperton [11] gets on amazingly well. I am in high spirits respecting my mission; from all that I have been able to learn, very little danger, and scarcely any impediments, are to be apprehended. We have got excellent fowling-pieces and pistols, and a most valuable assortment of philosophical instruments. The former, I hope, except for the purposes of natural history, will scarcely be required—an agreement exists between the British government and the pasha of Tripoli respecting the conveying of travellers safe to Bornou, therefore, so far as he is concerned, all is safe. ”

“ If this had been done at the beginning of the gale, she would not have approached the centre nearer than 150 miles; for the winds drawing to the Eastward, as the gale advanced to the Westward, she would have made no drift to the Southward, and she would have been in a safe position to receive the shifts—as each one would have been more aft—and the ship, coming up to the wind, would have been riding head on to the heaviest sea. ”

“ I should have left Tripoli yesterday had the weather been favourable; and if it be fine to-morrow I shall go. Every circumstance promises a prosperous journey, and in a short period you may expect gratifying intelligence. Our cavalcade is large, consisting of thirty camels at least, and several horses and mules. We have abundance of every thing, and consequently expect to be very happy. Clapperton is well, and sends his best compliments to you. ”

“ But a man is often the last to know the sentiments entertained of him by others to whom he is known; and indeed, seldom knows them at all, unless when they happen to be revealed to him by accidental circumstances. And hence, as Clapperton was hoisted on board the ship, in an exhausted state, after being rescued from the perilous situation in which he had so long struggled for his life, he had his feelings strongly excited, on hearing the wives of the Scottish soldiers on board exclaiming, “Thank heaven, it is na our ain kintryman, the bonny muckle midshipman that’s drownded after a’!” ”

“ The people are really a fine race, and have uniformly treated us with the greatest kindness. Wherever I go, and every day that I remain in this town, I have numerous applications for medicines. Some of the applicants have very curious complaints, which, were I to state them to you, would make you laugh heartily. Many of them, however, are real, and for which I can in general prescribe something for their relief. We are much better here than we could have been in Tripoli. We meet every day with persons [22] from the country we are going to visit, and from those through which we have to pass. ”

“ The sheikh Canmi, governor of Bornou, has been like a father, granting every indulgence, and showing every kindness. At the end of the rains I hope to go into Soudan, to make discoveries there, the people are good, and the country very interesting. Our houses are not waterproof like yours. They are little round places of mud with straw roofs. There are neither stones nor lime in the whole kingdom, so that large substantial houses cannot be built for want of materials. The streets are frequently knee-deep with water from the rain of a few hours. ”

“ He very naturally remarks upon it as an interesting fact, “that a nation so far in the interior of Africa, should have so readily submitted, at the instigation of a white man, who was almost a stranger to them, to an operation against which so much prejudice existed for so many years in the most enlightened and civilized countries in Europe. When the general prevalence of superstitious fear from greegrees and fetishes is duly considered, this fact presents a strong proof of the confidence which the natives of Western Africa repose in the measures of white people to benefit them ”

“ To form and to cherish this generous principle in the minds of the young, constitutes a part of their religious education, and hence spring many of those pure and lofty virtues which are often seen exemplified even in the humblest walks of life, and which are nowhere depicted with more truth and feeling than in the immortal pages of Burns. This is a trait in the Scottish character which is truly ennobling, and which we fondly hope no change of manners will ever weaken or efface. ”

“ At stated times they hold assemblies, on which occasions, the country is in the greatest alarm, for notices are dispersed abroad concerning them, and the people are obliged to attend; they settle all differences, and inflict capital punishments, according to their pleasure, so that in fact, they are the governors of the country, and Lieutenant Laing says, “that from the nature of their power, and the purposes to which it is applied, they will probably be found a most serious obstacle to its civilization.” ”