To the list of those
who have already fallen, may be added young Park, the son of the late
enterprising Mungo Park, and a midshipman of his majesty's ship Sybille.
He went out in this ship with a full determination to proceed on foot,
and alone, from the coast to the spot where his father perished, in the
hope of hearing some authentic and more detailed account of the
catastrophe than had yet been received. With leave of the commodore, he
set out from Accra, and proceeded as far as Yansong, the chief town of
Acquimbo, distant from the coast about one hundred and forty miles. Here
the natives were celebrating the Yam feast, a sort of religious ceremony,
to witness which Park got up into a Fetish tree, which is regarded by the
natives with fear and dread. Here he remained a great part of the day,
exposed to the sun, and was observed to drink a great quantity of palm
wine. In dropping down from one of the lower branches, he fell on the
ground, and said, that he felt a severe shock in his head. He was that
evening seized with a fever, and died in three days, on the 31st October,
1827. As soon as the king, Akitto, heard of his death, he ordered all his
baggage to be brought to his house, and instantly despatched a messenger
to Accra, first making him swear "by the head of his father," that he
would not sleep till he had delivered the message; it was to inform the
resident of the event, and that all the property of the deceased would be
forthwith sent down to Accra.
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