"_To Mr. Thomas Anderson, Surgeon, Selkirk, North Britain._"
In spite of all the confidence which these letters express, Park was so well aware of the extreme danger of the expedition that his mind must have been filled with the most harassing and anxious thoughts. We have already said, that the soldiers who accompanied him were below the ordinary standard even of African troops. Their constitutions were worn out by the climate, and by debauchery; and they seem to have been utter strangers to sobriety and good discipline. But Park had a still more serious cause of alarm arising from the repeated delays which had taken place before the expedition was sent out, which rendered it scarcely possible for them to reach the Niger before the rainy season set in. There was besides, the positive certainty of encountering the great tropical heats and tornadoes, which invariably precede and follow that time, and prove a source of the greatest inconvenience, and sometimes even of danger, to caravans. There were just two courses before him: he might go forward upon the journey at all hazards, straining every nerve to reach the Niger before the rainy season came on in full violence; or he might wait till the middle of November, the proper period for travelling. The latter alternative was one which his ardent spirit could ill brook; and even could he himself have submitted to this penance, the spending so many months in idleness and inactivity might excite the severe displeasure of his employers. He had no reason to suppose that they had calculated upon this great additional expense. He considered moreover that such a contingency had not been provided for in his instructions. The eyes of his countrymen anxiously watched his progress--delay might be visited with severe censures. Accordingly, he unhappily departed from the course which prudence would have pointed out, and adopted the alternative most agreeable to his own feelings. Having once formed his plan, he adhered to it with vigour and perseverance, resolutely facing every obstacle, and resolved to fulfil the object of his mission, or perish in the attempt. Whatever might be his own misgivings and apprehensions, he concealed them from his comrades, resolved that no disclosure of them should damp their confidence, or weaken their efforts.