The
information which he has communicated concerning this part of Africa, and
their manners, is equally new and interesting. He has traced with accuracy
the distinction betwixt the Mahometans and Pagans." This journey was
accomplished between the 2d of December, 1795, when he left Pisania, a
British factory two hundred miles up the Gambia, and the 10th of June,
1797, when he returned to the same place, an interval of eighteen months.
Notwithstanding the dangers and fatigues which he had undergone;
notwithstanding that, on his return to his native country, he had married,
and entered on a life which promised him competence and domestic happiness;
yet his mind yearned for a repetition of those scenes and adventures to
which he had lately been accustomed. No sooner, therefore, did he learn
that another mission to Africa was in contemplation, than he set his
inclination on undertaking it, if it were offered to him. This it was: he
accepted the offer; and on the 30th of January, 1805, he left Portsmouth.
It is surprising and lamentable, that notwithstanding his knowledge and
experience of the climate of the country to which he was going, he should
have begun his expedition at a time when her was sure to encounter the
rainy season long before he could reach the Niger.
The expedition was most unfortunate: Mr. Park perished in it, after having
undergone dreadful hardships, and witnessed the death of several of his
companions; and of one of them who was his most intimate friend.
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