■ CHAPTER IV. The Construction of the Geography continued, A t Silla, M r . P a rk was informed that T om b u c to o was y e t fourteen jo u r - nies o f the caravan distant from h im ; and these he has calculated at 200 G . miles Only, in a direct lin e from S il la ; as it appears that a bend in the course o f the river, prevents a direct line o f route towards it. A s to the bearing, he unfortunately could no t, as at Ja rra, obtain a consistent account o f it. T h e natives always pointed along the general course of the river; although, as it may be supposed, it occasionally deviated to the right and left. I t has been seen, in the bearing o f Sego, how nearly it was giv en b y ju d gm e n t; but then the two cases differ v e ry widely. T h e route is entirely b y land, from Jarra to Sego, b y which the idea o f the general line o f direction is better p reserved, than when broken into so many small parts, b y a river navigation, the more ordinary mode o f communication (as it appears) between Silla and T om b u c to o . T h e re were, no doubt, people, could M r. P a rk have been able to meet with them, who having made the jo u rn e y b y land, could have furnished him with better information; but the reader, who already knows under wha t suspicious circumstances Mr. P a rk travelled in this quarter, will easily con c e ive that he was precluded from any communication with those, who alone could have given the information : that is, the Moorish merchants, and their dependants. T h e bearing o f T om b u cto o from Benowm, w as pointed out to M r . Park, b y a merchant o f some consideration, who had resided at W a le t, and had visited both T om b u c to o and Houssa. B u t the exceeding great distance o f T om b u c to o and Benowm, (it being nearly twice the distance o f Sego from J a r ra ), will not admit such a degree o f confidence in the rep or t, as to allow it to supersede all other authorities, h owe v e r it may aid the task o f approximating the position. B u t, notwithstanding, it will appear, that on the whole, it coincides most wonderfully with the o th e r data. T h e bearing in question, pointed o u t at different times, was commonly E b y S , b y compa s s : and Mr. P a rk neve r found his informant v a ry more than h a lf a point, which was to the southward; o r E b y S i S. B u t the idea left on his mind, was E b y S ; which, allowing 1 7 degrees variation, is ab out east h a lf n o r th ; or more co rrectly, E N . A n d h en ce , admitting the distance o f 200 G . miles between Silla and T om b u c to o , which supposes a space o f about 500 such miles between Benowm and T om b u c to o , this latter would fall at about 50 minutes o f latitude northward from Benowm (whose parallel is the same with that o f Jarra, 15° /¡'), and consequently in 15 ° 5 5 '. T h e obliquity o f the intermediate meridians, might increase the parallel some minutes, and we may call it roundly 160. S u ch then was the received opinion at Benowm, con c e rn in g the parallel o f T om b u c to o ; fo r, it w ill appear, that the distance on the Rhumb, which determines the difference o f latitude, cannot be taken lower, than has been stated. I f the general course o f the jo lib a , after its escape from the mountains, m ay be admitted to hav e any weight in the determination o f the question (since M r . Pa rk says, that they always pointed along it, to express the line o f d irection, in which T om b u c to o lay), this will point to a higher parallel, b y about h a lf a d egree, than the bearing from B e n ow m ; that is to i6 -| degrees. A n d , it may be remarked, that the difference between these results falls yet short o f what w o u ld h av e arisen o n an error o f 5 degrees in the bearing ; such as was experienced in that o f Sego from ja r r a . M r . P a rk was informed whilst at B en owm , that W a le t , the capital o f B e e roo , was ten journ ies distant, and this latter eleven jo u rn ie s short o f T om b u c to o . A c co rd in g to M r . P a rk ’s information, W a le t stands at about 240 G . miles, to the eastward o f B e n o w m ; (which would require no less than 24 such miles p e r day, and appears o u t o f ru le , unless meant fo r jo u r nies o f couriers, which is possible enough.) B u t what is most to our point, is , that b y the information he re c e iv ed , concerning the position o f W a le t, at appears to lie from Ben owm, in the same line o f direction which points
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