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Title: Travels in the Interior of Africa - Volume 1

Author: Mungo Park

Release Date: March, 2004  [EBook #5266]
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[This file was first posted on June 20, 2002]
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TRAVELS IN AFRICA - VOLUME 1 ***




Transcribed from the 1893 Cassell & Company edition by David Price,
email [email protected]




TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA--VOLUME 1




INTRODUCTION



Mungo Park was born on the 10th of September, 1771, the son of a
farmer at Fowlshiels, near Selkirk.  After studying medicine in
Edinburgh, he went out, at the age of twenty-one, assistant-surgeon
in a ship bound for the East Indies.  When he came back the African
Society was in want of an explorer, to take the place of Major
Houghton, who had died.  Mungo Park volunteered, was accepted, and
in his twenty-fourth year, on the 22nd of May, 1795, he sailed for
the coasts of Senegal, where he arrived in June.

Thence he proceeded on the travels of which this book is the record.
He was absent from England for a little more than two years and a
half; returned a few days before Christmas, 1797.  He was then
twenty-six years old.  The African Association published the first
edition of his travels as "Travels in the Interior Districts of
Africa, 1795-7, by Mungo Park, with an Appendix containing
Geographical Illustrations of Africa, by Major Rennell."

Park married, and settled at Peebles in medical practice, but was
persuaded by the Government to go out again.  He sailed from
Portsmouth on the 30th of January, 1805, resolved to trace the Niger
to its source or perish in the attempt.  He perished.  The natives
attacked him while passing through a narrow strait of the river at
Boussa, and killed him, with all that remained of his party, except
one slave.  The record of this fatal voyage, partly gathered from
his journals, and closed by evidences of the manner of his death,
was first published in 1815, as "The Journal of a Mission to the
Interior of Africa in 1805, by Mungo Park, together with other
Documents, Official and Private, relating to the same Mission.  To
which is prefixed an Account of the Life of Mr. Park."

H. M.



CHAPTER I--JOURNEY FROM PORTSMOUTH TO THE GAMBIA



Soon after my return from the East Indies in 1793, having learned
that the noblemen and gentlemen associated for the purpose of
prosecuting discoveries in the interior of Africa were desirous of
engaging a person to explore that continent, by the way of the
Gambia river, I took occasion, through means of the President of the
Royal Society, to whom I had the honour to be known, of offering
myself for that service.  I had been informed that a gentleman of
the name of Houghton, a captain in the army, and formerly fort-major
at Goree, had already sailed to the Gambia, under the direction of
the Association, and that there was reason to apprehend he had
fallen a sacrifice to the climate, or perished in some contest with
the natives.  But this intelligence, instead of deterring me from my
purpose, animated me to persist in the offer of my services with the
greater solicitude.  I had a passionate desire to examine into the
productions of a country so little known, and to become
experimentally acquainted with the modes of life and character of
the natives.  I knew that I was able to bear fatigue, and I relied
on my youth and the strength of my constitution to preserve me from
the effects of the climate.  The salary which the committee allowed
was sufficiently large, and I made no stipulation for future reward.
If I should perish in my journey, I was willing that my hopes and
expectations should perish with me; and if I should succeed in
rendering the geography of Africa more familiar to my countrymen,
and in opening to their ambition and industry new sources of wealth
and new channels of commerce, I knew that I was in the hands of men
of honour, who would not fail to bestow that remuneration which my
successful services should appear to them to merit.  The committee
of the Association having made such inquiries as they thought
necessary, declared themselves satisfied with the qualifications
that I possessed, and accepted me for the service; and, with that
liberality which on all occasions distinguishes their conduct, gave
me every encouragement which it was in their power to grant, or
which I could with propriety ask.

It was at first proposed that I should accompany Mr. James Willis,
who was then recently appointed consul at Senegambia, and whose
countenance in that capacity, it was thought, might have served and
protected me; but Government afterwards rescinded his appointment,
and I lost that advantage.  The kindness of the committee, however,
supplied all that was necessary.  Being favoured by the secretary of
the Association, the late Henry Beaufoy, Esq., with a recommendation
to Dr. John Laidley (a gentleman who had resided many years at an
English factory on the banks of the Gambia), and furnished with a
letter of credit on him for 200 pounds, I took my passage in the
brig Endeavour--a small vessel trading to the Gambia for beeswax and
ivory, commanded by Captain Richard Wyatt--and I became impatient
for my departure.

My instructions were very plain and concise.  I was directed, on my
arrival in Africa, "to pass on to the river Niger, either by way of
Bambouk, or by such other route as should be found most convenient.
That I should ascertain the course, and, if possible, the rise and
termination of that river.  That I should use my utmost exertions to
visit the principal towns or cities in its neighbourhood,
particularly Timbuctoo and Houssa; and that I should be afterwards
at liberty to return to Europe, either by the way of the Gambia, or
by such other route as, under all the then existing circumstances of
my situation and prospects, should appear to me to be most
advisable."

We sailed from Portsmouth on the 22nd day of May, 1795.  On the 4th
of June we saw the mountains over Mogadore, on the coast of Africa;
and on the 21st of the same month, after a pleasant voyage of thirty
days, we anchored at Jillifrey, a town on the northern bank of the
river Gambia, opposite to James's Island, where the English had
formerly a small fort.

The kingdom of Barra, in which the town of Jillifrey is situated,
produces great plenty of the necessaries of life; but the chief
trade of the inhabitants is in salt, which commodity they carry up
the river in canoes as high as Barraconda, and bring down in return
Indian corn, cotton cloths, elephants' teeth, small quantities of
gold dust, &c.  The number of canoes and people constantly employed
in this trade makes the king of Barra more formidable to Europeans
than any other chieftain on the river; and this circumstance
probably encouraged him to establish those exorbitant duties which
traders of all nations are obliged to pay at entry, amounting to
nearly 20 pounds on every vessel, great and small.  These duties or
customs are generally collected in person by the alkaid, or governor
of Jillifrey, and he is attended on these occasions by a numerous
train of dependants, among whom are found many who, by their
frequent intercourse with the English, have acquired a smattering of
our language:  but they are commonly very noisy and very
troublesome, begging for everything they fancy with such earnestness
and importunity, that traders, in order to get quit of them, are
frequently obliged to grant their requests.

On the 23rd we departed from Jillifrey, and proceeded to Vintain, a
town situated about two miles up a creek on the southern side of the
river.  This place is much resorted to by Europeans on account of
the great quantities of beeswax which are brought hither for sale;
the wax is collected in the woods by the Feloops, a wild and
unsociable race of people.  Their country, which is of considerable
extent, abounds in rice; and the natives supply the traders, both on
the Gambia and Cassamansa rivers, with that article, and also with
goats and poultry, on very reasonable terms.  The honey which they
collect is chiefly used by themselves in making a strong
intoxicating liquor, much the same as the mead which is produced
from honey in Great Britain.

In their traffic with Europeans, the Feloops generally employ a
factor or agent of the Mandingo nation, who speaks a little English,
and is acquainted with the trade of the river.  This broker makes
the bargain; and, with the connivance of the European, receives a
certain part only of the payment, which he gives to his employer as
the whole; the remainder (which is very truly called the cheating
money) he receives when the Feloop is gone, and appropriates to
himself as a reward for his trouble.

The language of the Feloops is appropriate and peculiar; and as
their trade is chiefly conducted, as hath been observed, by
Mandingoes, the Europeans have no inducement to learn it.

On the 26th we left Vintain, and continued our course up the river,
anchoring whenever the tide failed us, and frequently towing the
vessel with the boat.  The river is deep and muddy; the banks are
covered with impenetrable thickets of mangrove; and the whole of the
adjacent country appears to be flat and swampy.

The Gambia abounds with fish, some species of which are excellent
food; but none of them that I recollect are known in Europe.  At the
entrance from the sea sharks are found in great abundance, and,
higher up, alligators and the hippopotamus (or river-horse) are very
numerous.

In six days after leaving Vintain we reached Jonkakonda, a place of
considerable trade, where our vessel was to take in part of her
lading.  The next morning the several European traders came from
their different factories to receive their letters, and learn the
nature and amount of her cargo; and the captain despatched a
messenger to Dr. Laidley to inform him of my arrival.  He came to
Jonkakonda the morning following, when I delivered him Mr. Beaufoy's
letter, and he gave me a kind invitation to spend my time at his
house until an opportunity should offer of prosecuting my journey.
This invitation was too acceptable to be refused, and being
furnished by the Doctor with a horse and guide, I set out from
Jonkakonda at daybreak on the 5th of July, and at eleven o'clock
arrived at Pisania, where I was accommodated with a room and other
conveniences in the Doctor's house.

Pisania is a small village in the king of Yany's dominions,
established by British subjects as a factory for trade, and
inhabited solely by them and their black servants.  It is situated
on the banks of the Gambia, sixteen miles above Jonkakonda.  The
white residents, at the time of may arrival there, consisted only of
Dr. Laidley, and two gentlemen who were brothers, of the name of
Ainsley; but their domestics were numerous.  They enjoyed perfect
security under the king's protection, and being highly esteemed and
respected by the natives at large, wanted no accommodation or
comfort which the country could supply, and the greatest part of the
trade in slaves, ivory, and gold was in their hands.

Being now settled for some time at my ease, my first object was to
learn the Mandingo tongue, being the language in almost general use
throughout this part of Africa, and without which I was fully
convinced that I never could acquire an extensive knowledge of the
country or its inhabitants.  In this pursuit I was greatly assisted
by Dr. Laidley.

In researches of this kind, and in observing the manners and customs
of the natives, in a country so little known to the nations of
Europe, and furnished with so many striking and uncommon objects of
nature, my time passed not unpleasantly, and I began to flatter
myself that I had escaped the fever, or seasoning, to which
Europeans, on their first arrival in hot climates, are generally
subject.  But on the 31st of July I imprudently exposed myself to
the night-dew in observing an eclipse of the moon, with a view to
determine the longitude of the place; the next day I found myself
attacked with a smart fever and delirium, and such an illness
followed as confined me to the house during the greatest part of
August.  My recovery was very slow, but I embraced every short
interval of convalescence to walk out, and make myself acquainted
with the productions of the country.

In one of those excursions, having rambled farther than usual, on a
hot day, I brought on a return of my fever, and on the 10th of
September I was again confined to my bed.  The fever, however, was
not so violent as before; and in the course of three weeks I was
able, when the weather would permit, to renew my botanical
excursions; and when it rained, I amused myself with drawing plants,
&c., in my chamber.  The care and attention of Dr. Laidley
contributed greatly to alleviate my sufferings; his company and
conversation beguiled the tedious hours during that gloomy season,
when the rain falls in torrents; when suffocating heats oppress by
day, and when the night is spent by the terrified travellers in
listening to the croaking of frogs (of which the numbers are beyond
imagination), the shrill cry of the jackal, and the deep howling of
the hyaena, a dismal concert, interrupted only by the roar of such
tremendous thunder as no person can form a conception of but those
who have heard it.

The country itself being an immense level, and very generally
covered with wood, presents a tiresome and gloomy uniformity to the
eye; but although Nature has denied to the inhabitants the beauties
of romantic landscapes, she has bestowed on them, with a liberal
hand, the more important blessings of fertility and abundance.  A
little attention to cultivation procures a sufficiency of corn, the
fields afford a rich pasturage for cattle, and the natives are
plentifully supplied with excellent fish, both from the Gambia river
and the Walli creek.

The grains which are chiefly cultivated are--Indian corn (zea mays);
two kinds of holcus spicatus, called by the natives soono and sanio;
holcus niger, and holcus bicolor, the former of which they have
named bassi woolima, and the latter bassiqui.  These, together with
rice, are raised in considerable quantities; besides which, the
inhabitants in the vicinity of the towns and villages have gardens
which produce onions, calavances, yams, cassavi, ground nuts,
pompions, gourds, water-melons, and some other esculent plants.

I observed likewise, near the towns, small patches of cotton and
indigo.  The former of these articles supplies them with clothing,
and with the latter they dye their cloth of an excellent blue
colour, in a manner that will hereafter be described.

In preparing their corn for food, the natives use a large wooden
mortar called a paloon, in which they bruise the seed until it parts
with the outer covering, or husk, which is then separated from the
clean corn by exposing it to the wind, nearly in the same manner as
wheat is cleared from the chaff in England.  The corn thus freed
from the husk is returned to the mortar and beaten into meal, which
is dressed variously in different countries; but the most common
preparation of it among the nations of the Gambia is a sort of
pudding which they call kouskous.  It is made by first moistening
the flour with water, and then stirring and shaking it about in a
large calabash, or gourd, till it adheres together in small granules
resembling sago.  It is then put into an earthen pot, whose bottom
is perforated with a number of small holes; and this pot being
placed upon another, the two vessels are luted together either with
a paste of meal and water, or with cows' dung, and placed upon the
fire.  In the lower vessel is commonly some animal food and water,
the steam or vapour of which ascends through the perforations in the
bottom of the upper vessel, and softens and the kouskous, which is
very much esteemed throughout all the countries that I visited.  I
am informed that the same manner of preparing flour is very
generally used on the Barbary coast, and that the dish so prepared
is there called by the same name.  It is therefore probable that the
negroes borrowed the practice from the Moors.

Their domestic animals are nearly the same as in Europe.  Swine are
found in the woods, but their flesh is not esteemed.  Probably the
marked abhorrence in which this animal is held by the votaries of
Mohammed has spread itself among the pagans.  Poultry of all kinds,
the turkey excepted, is everywhere to be had.  The guinea-fowl and
red partridge abound in the fields, and the woods furnish a small
species of antelope, of which the venison is highly and deservedly
prized.

Of the other wild animals in the Mandingo countries, the most common
are the hyaena, the panther, and the elephant.  Considering the use
that is made of the latter in the East Indies, it may be thought
extraordinary that the natives of Africa have not, in any part of
this immense continent, acquired the skill of taming this powerful
and docile creature, and applying his strength and faculties to the
service of man.  When I told some of the natives that this was
actually done in the countries of the East, my auditors laughed me
to scorn, and exclaimed, "Tobaubo fonnio!" ("A white man's lie!")
The negroes frequently find means to destroy the elephant by
firearms; they hunt it principally for the sake of the teeth, which
they transfer in barter to those who sell them again to the
Europeans.  The flesh they eat, and consider it as a great delicacy.

On the 6th of October the waters of the Gambia were at the greatest
height, being fifteen feet above the high-water mark of the tide,
after which they began to subside, at first slowly, but afterwards
very rapidly, sometimes sinking more than a foot in twenty-four
hours.  By the beginning of November the river had sunk to its
former level, and the tide ebbed and flowed as usual.  When the
river had subsided, and the atmosphere grew dry, I recovered apace,
and began to think of my departure, for this is reckoned the most
proper season for travelling.  The natives had completed their
harvest, and provisions were everywhere cheap and plentiful.

Dr. Laidley was at this time employed in a trading voyage at
Jonkakonda.  I wrote to him to desire that he would use his interest
with the slatees, or slave-merchants, to procure me the company and
protection of the first coffle (or caravan) that might leave Gambia
for the interior country; and, in the meantime, I requested him to
purchase for me a horse and two asses.  A few days afterwards the
Doctor returned to Pisania, and informed me that a coffle would
certainly go for the interior in the course of the dry season; but
that, as many of the merchants belonging to it had not yet completed
their assortment of goods, he could not say at what time they would
set out.

As the characters and dispositions of the slatees, and people that
composed the caravan, were entirely unknown to me--and as they
seemed rather averse to my purpose, and unwilling to enter into any
positive engagements on my account--and the time of their departure
being withal very uncertain, I resolved, on further deliberation, to
avail myself of the dry season, and proceed without them.

Dr. Laidley approved my determination, and promised me every
assistance in his power to enable me to prosecute my journey with
comfort and safety.

This resolution having been formed, I made preparations accordingly.

And now, being about to take leave of my hospitable friend (whose
kindness and solicitude continued to the moment of my departure),
and to quit for many months the countries bordering on the Gambia,
it seems proper, before I proceed with my narrative, that I should
in this place give some account of the several negro nations which
inhabit the banks of this celebrated river, and the commercial
intercourse that subsists between them, and such of the nations of
Europe as find their advantage in trading to this part of Africa.
The observations which have occurred to me on both these subjects
will be found in the following chapter.



CHAPTER II--LANGUAGE AND RELIGION OF THE NATIVES



The natives of the countries bordering on the Gambia, though
distributed into a great many distinct governments, may, I think, be
divided into four great classes--the Feloops, the Jaloffs, the
Foulahs, and the Mandingoes.  Among all these nations, the religion
of Mohammed has made, and continues to make, considerable progress;
but in most of them the body of the people, both free and enslaved,
persevere in maintaining the blind but harmless superstitions of
their ancestors, and are called by the Mohammedans kafirs, or
infidels.

Of the Feloops, I have little to add to what has been observed
concerning them in the former chapter.  They are of a gloomy
disposition, and are supposed never to forgive an injury.  They are
even said to transmit their quarrels as deadly feuds to their
posterity, insomuch that a son considers it as incumbent on him,
from a just sense of filial obligation, to become the avenger of his
deceased father's wrongs.  If a man loses his life in one of these
sudden quarrels which perpetually occur at their feasts, when the
whole party is intoxicated with mead, his son, or the eldest of his
sons (if he has more than one), endeavours to procure his father's
sandals, which he wears ONCE A YEAR, on the anniversary of his
father's death, until a fit opportunity offers of revenging his
fate, when the object of his resentment seldom escapes his pursuit.
This fierce and unrelenting disposition is, however, counterbalanced
by many good qualities:  they display the utmost gratitude and
affection towards their benefactors, and the fidelity with which
they preserve whatever is entrusted to them is remarkable.  During
the present war, they have more than once taken up arms to defend
our merchant vessels from French privateers; and English property of
considerable value has frequently been left at Vintain for a long
time entirely under the care of the Feloops, who have uniformly
manifested on such occasions the strictest honesty and punctuality.
How greatly is it to be wished that the minds of a people so
determined and faithful could be softened and civilised by the mild
and benevolent spirit of Christianity!

The Jaloffs (or Yaloffs) are an active, powerful, and warlike race,
inhabiting great part of that tract which lies between the river
Senegal and the Mandingo states on the Gambia; yet they differ from
the Mandingoes not only in language, but likewise in complexion and
features.  The noses of the Jaloffs are not so much depressed, nor
the lips so protuberant, as among the generality of Africans; and
although their skin is of the deepest black, they are considered by
the white traders as the most sightly negroes on this part of the
continent.

Their language is said to be copious and significant, and is often
learnt by Europeans trading to Senegal.

The Foulahs (or Pholeys), such of them at least as reside near the
Gambia, are chiefly of a tawny complexion, with soft silky hair, and
pleasing features.  They are much attached to a pastoral life, and
have introduced themselves into all the kingdoms on the windward
coast as herdsmen and husbandmen, paying a tribute to the sovereign
of the country for the lands which they hold.  Not having many
opportunities, however, during my residence at Pisania, of improving
my acquaintance with these people, I defer entering at large into
their character until a fitter occasion occurs, which will present
itself when I come to Bondou.

The Mandingoes, of whom it remains to speak, constitute, in truth,
the bulk of the inhabitants in all those districts of Africa which I
visited; and their language, with a few exceptions, is universally
understood and very generally spoken in that part of the continent.

They are called Mandingoes, I conceive, as having originally
migrated from the interior state of Manding, of which some account
will hereafter be given.

In every considerable town there is a chief magistrate, called the
alkaid, whose office is hereditary, and whose business it is to
preserve order, to levy duties on travellers, and to preside at all
conferences in the exercise of local jurisdiction and the
administration of justice.  These courts are composed of the elders
of the town (of free condition), and are termed palavers; and their
proceedings are conducted in the open air with sufficient solemnity.
Both sides of a question are freely canvassed, witnesses are
publicly examined, and the decisions which follow generally meet
with the approbation of the surrounding audience.

As the negroes have no written language of their own, the general
rule of decision is an appeal to ANCIENT CUSTOM; but since the
system of Mohammed has made so great progress among them, the
converts to that faith have gradually introduced, with the religious
tenets, many of the civil institutions of the prophet; and where the
Koran is not found sufficiently explicit, recourse is had to a
commentary called Al Sharra, containing, as I was told, a complete
exposition or digest of the Mohammedan laws, both civil and
criminal, properly arranged and illustrated.

This frequency of appeal to written laws, with which the pagan
natives are necessarily unacquainted, has given rise in their
palavers to (what I little expected to find in Africa) professional
advocates, or expounders of the law, who are allowed to appear and
to plead for plaintiff or defendant, much in the same manner as
counsel in the law-courts of Great Britain.  They are Mohammedan
negroes, who have made, or affect to have made, the laws of the
prophet their peculiar study; and if I may judge from their
harangues, which I frequently attended, I believe, that in the
forensic qualifications of procrastination and cavil, and the arts
of confounding and perplexing a cause, they are not always surpassed
by the ablest pleaders in Europe.  While I was at Pisania, a cause
was heard which furnished the Mohammedan lawyers with an admirable
opportunity of displaying their professional dexterity.  The case
was this:- An ass belonging to a Serawoolli negro (a native of an
interior country near the river Senegal) had broke into a field of
corn belonging to one of the Mandingo inhabitants, and destroyed
great part of it.  The Mandingo having caught the animal in his
field, immediately drew his knife and cut his throat.  The
Serawoolli thereupon called a palaver (or in European terms, brought
an action) to recover damages for the loss of his beast, on which he
set a high value.  The defendant confessed he had killed the ass,
but pleaded a SET-OFF, insisting that the loss he had sustained by
the ravage in his corn was equal to the sum demanded for the animal.
To ascertain this fact was the point at issue, and the learned
advocates contrived to puzzle the cause in such a manner that, after
a hearing of three days, the court broke up without coming to any
determination upon it; and a second palaver was, I suppose, thought
necessary.

The Mandingoes, generally speaking, are of a mild, sociable, and
obliging disposition.  The men are commonly above the middle size,
well-shaped, strong, and capable of enduring great labour.  The
women are good-natured, sprightly, and agreeable.  The dress of both
sexes is composed of cotton cloth of their own manufacture:  that of
the men is a loose frock, not unlike a surplice, with drawers which
reach half-way down the leg; and they wear sandals on their feet,
and white cotton caps on their heads.  The women's dress consists of
two pieces of cloth, each of which is about six feet long and three
broad.  One of these they wrap round their waist, which, hanging
down to the ankles, answers the purpose of a petticoat; the other is
thrown negligently over the bosom and shoulders.

This account of their clothing is indeed nearly applicable to the
natives of all the different countries in this part of Africa; a
peculiar national mode is observable only in the head-dresses of the
women.

Thus, in the countries of the Gambia, the females wear a sort of
bandage, which they call jalla.  It is a narrow strip of cotton
cloth wrapped many times round, immediately over the forehead.  In
Bondou, the head is encircled with strings of white beads, and a
small plate of gold is worn in the middle of the forehead.  In
Kasson the ladies decorate their heads in a very tasteful and
elegant manner with white seashells.  In Kaarta and Ludamar, the
women raise their hair to a great height by the addition of a pad
(as the ladies did formerly in Great Britain), which they decorate
with a species of coral brought from the Red Sea by pilgrims
returning from Mecca, and sold at a great price.

In the construction of their dwelling-houses the Mandingoes also
conform to the general practice of the African nations in this part
of the continent, contenting themselves with small and incommodious
hovels.  A circular mud wall, about four feet high, upon which is
placed a conical roof, composed of the bamboo cane, and thatched
with grass, forms alike the palace of the king and the hovel of the
slave.  Their household furniture is equally simple.  A hurdle of
canes placed upon upright sticks, about two feet from the ground,
upon which is spread a mat or bullock's hide, answers the purpose of
a bed; a water jar, some earthen pots for dressing their food; a few
wooden bowls and calabashes, and one or two low stools, compose the
rest.

As every man of free condition has a plurality of wives, it is found
necessary (to prevent, I suppose, matrimonial disputes) that each of
the ladies should be accommodated with a hut to herself; and all the
huts belonging to the same family are surrounded by a fence
constructed of bamboo canes, split and formed into a sort of wicker-
work.  The whole enclosure is called a sirk, or surk.  A number of
these enclosures, with narrow passages between them, form what is
called a town; but the huts are generally placed without any
regularity, according to the caprice of the owner.  The only rule
that seems to be attended to is placing the door towards the south-
west, in order to admit the sea-breeze.

In each town is a large stage called the bentang, which answers the
purpose of a public hall or town house.  It is composed of
interwoven canes, and is generally sheltered from the sun by being
erected in the shade of some large tree.  It is here that all public
affairs are transacted and trials conducted; and here the lazy and
indolent meet to smoke their pipes, and hear the news of the day.
In most of the towns the Mohammedans have also a missura, or mosque,
in which they assemble and offer up their daily prayers, according
to the rules of the Koran.

In the account which I have thus given of the natives, the reader
must bear in mind that my observations apply chiefly to persons of
FREE CONDITION, who constitute, I suppose, not more than one-fourth
part of the inhabitants at large.  The other three-fourths are in a
state of hopeless and hereditary slavery, and are employed in
cultivating the land, in the care of cattle, and in servile offices
of all kinds, much in the same manner as the slaves in the West
Indies.  I was told, however, that the Mandingo master can neither
deprive his slave of life, nor sell him to a stranger, without first
calling a palaver on his conduct, or in other words, bringing him to
a public trial.  But this degree of protection is extended only to
the native or domestic slave.  Captives taken in war, and those
unfortunate victims who are condemned to slavery for crimes or
insolvency--and, in short, all those unhappy people who are brought
down from the interior countries for sale--have no security
whatever, but may be treated and disposed of in all respects as the
owner thinks proper.  It sometimes happens, indeed, when no ships
are on the coast, that a humane and considerate master incorporates
his purchased slaves among his domestics; and their offspring at
least, if not the parents, become entitled to all the privileges of
the native class.

The earliest European establishment on this celebrated river was a
factory of the Portuguese, and to this must be ascribed the
introduction of the numerous words of that language which are still
in use among the negroes.  The Dutch, French, and English afterwards
successively possessed themselves of settlements on the coast; but
the trade of the Gambia became, and continued for many years, a sort
of monopoly in the hands of the English.  In the travels of Francis
Moore is preserved an account of the Royal African Company's
establishments in this river in the year 1730; at which the James's
factory alone consisted of a governor, deputy-governor, and two
other principal officers; eight factors, thirteen writers, twenty
inferior attendants and tradesmen; a company of soldiers, and
thirty-two negro servants; besides sloops, shallops, and boats, with
their crews; and there were no less than eight subordinate factories
in other parts of the river.

The trade with Europe, by being afterwards laid open, was almost
annihilated.  The share which the subjects of England at this time
hold in it supports not more than two or three annual ships; and I
am informed that the gross value of British exports is under 20,000
pounds.  The French and Danes still maintain a small share, and the
Americans have lately sent a few vessels to the Gambia by way of
experiment.

The commodities exported to the Gambia from Europe consist chiefly
of firearms and ammunition, iron-ware, spirituous liquors, tobacco,
cotton caps, a small quantity of broadcloth, and a few articles of
the manufacture of Manchester; a small assortment of India goods,
with some glass beads, amber, and other trifles, for which are taken
in exchange slaves, gold dust, ivory, beeswax, and hides.  Slaves
are the chief article, but the whole number which at this time are
annually exported from the Gambia by all nations is supposed to be
under one thousand.

Most of these unfortunate victims are brought to the coast in
periodical caravans; many of them from very remote inland countries,
for the language which they speak is not understood by the
inhabitants of the maritime districts.  In a subsequent part of my
work I shall give the best information I have been able to collect
concerning the manner in which they are obtained.  On their arrival
at the coast, if no immediate opportunity offers of selling them to
advantage, they are distributed among the neighbouring villages,
until a slave ship arrives, or until they can be sold to black
traders, who sometimes purchase on speculation.  In the meanwhile,
the poor wretches are kept constantly fettered, two and two of them
being chained together, and employed in the labours of the field,
and, I am sorry to add, are very scantily fed, as well as harshly
treated.  The price of a slave varies according to the number of
purchasers from Europe, and the arrival of caravans from the
interior; but in general I reckon that a young and healthy male,
from sixteen to twenty-five years of age, may be estimated on the
spot from 18 pounds to 20 pounds sterling.

The negro slave-merchants, as I have observed in the former chapter,
are called slatees, who, besides slaves, and the merchandise which
they bring for sale to the whites, supply the inhabitants of the
maritime districts with native iron, sweet-smelling gums and
frankincense, and a commodity called shea-toulou, which, literally
translated, signifies tree-butter.

In payment of these articles, the maritime states supply the
interior countries with salt, a scarce and valuable commodity, as I
frequently and painfully experienced in the course of my journey.
Considerable quantities of this article, however, are also supplied
to the inland natives by the Moors, who obtain it from the salt pits
in the Great Desert, and receive in return corn, cotton cloth, and
slaves.

In their early intercourse with Europeans the article that attracted
most notice was iron.  Its utility, in forming the instruments of
war and husbandry, make it preferable to all others, and iron soon
became the measure by which the value of all other commodities was
ascertained.  Thus, a certain quantity of goods, of whatever
denomination, appearing to be equal in value to a bar of iron,
constituted, in the traders' phraseology, a bar of that particular
merchandise.  Twenty leaves of tobacco, for instance, were
considered as a bar of tobacco; and a gallon of spirits (or rather
half spirits and half water) as a bar of rum, a bar of one commodity
being reckoned equal in value to a bar of another commodity.

As, however, it must unavoidably happen that, according to the
plenty or scarcity of goods at market in proportion to the demand,
the relative value would be subject to continual fluctuation,
greater precision has been found necessary; and at this time the
current value of a single bar of any kind is fixed by the whites at
two shillings sterling.  Thus, a slave whose price is 15 pounds, is
said to be worth 150 bars.

In transactions of this nature it is obvious that the white trader
has infinitely the advantage over the African, whom, therefore, it
is difficult to satisfy, for conscious of his own ignorance, he
naturally becomes exceedingly suspicious and wavering; and, indeed,
so very unsettled and jealous are the negroes in their dealings with
the whites, that a bargain is never considered by the European as
concluded until the purchase money is paid and the party has taken
leave.

Having now brought together such general observations on the country
and its inhabitants as occurred to me during my residence in the
vicinity of the Gambia, I shall detain the reader no longer with
introductory matter, but proceed, in the next chapter, to a regular
detail of the incidents which happened, and the reflections which
arose in my mind, in the course of my painful and perilous journey,
from its commencement until my return to the Gambia.



CHAPTER III--THE KINGDOM OF WOOLLI--JOURNEY TO BONDOU



On the 2nd of December, 1795, I took my departure from the
hospitable mansion of Dr. Laidley.  I was fortunately provided with
a negro servant who spoke both the English and Mandingo tongues.
His name was Johnson.  He was a native of this part of Africa, and
having in his youth been conveyed to Jamaica as a slave, he had been
made free, and taken to England by his master, where he had resided
many years, and at length found his way back to his native country.
As he was known to Dr. Laidley, the Doctor recommended him to me,
and I hired him as my interpreter, at the rate of ten bars monthly
to be paid to himself, and five bars a month to be paid to his wife
during his absence.  Dr. Laidley furthermore provided me with a
negro boy of his own, named Demba, a sprightly youth, who, besides
Mandingo, spoke the language of the Serawoollies, an inland people
(of whom mention will hereafter be made) residing on the banks of
the Senegal; and to induce him to behave well, the Doctor promised
him his freedom on his return, in case I should report favourably of
his fidelity and services.  I was furnished with a horse for myself
(a small but very hardy and spirited beast, which cost me to the
value of 7 pounds 10s), and two asses for my interpreter and
servant.  My baggage was light, consisting chiefly of provisions for
two days; a small assortment of beads, amber, and tobacco, for the
purchase of a fresh supply as I proceeded; a few changes of linen,
and other necessary apparel; an umbrella, a pocket sextant, a
magnetic compass, and a thermometer; together with two fowling-
pieces, two pair of pistols, and some other small articles.

A free man (a bashreen, or Mohammedan) named Madiboo, who was
travelling to the kingdom of Bambara, and two slatees, or slave
merchants, of the Serawoolli nation, and of the same sect, who were
going to Bondou, offered their services, as far as they intended
respectively to proceed, as did likewise a negro named Tami (also a
Mohammedan), a native of Kasson, who had been employed some years by
Dr. Laidley as a blacksmith, and was returning to his native country
with the savings of his labours.  All these men travelled on foot,
driving their asses before them.

Thus I had no less than six attendants, all of whom had been taught
to regard me with great respect, and to consider that their safe
return hereafter to the countries on the Gambia would depend on my
preservation.

Dr. Laidley himself, and Messrs. Ainsley, with a number of their
domestics, kindly determined to accompany me the first two days; and
I believe they secretly thought they should never see me afterwards.

We reached Jindey the same day, having crossed the Walli creek, a
branch of the Gambia, and rested at the house of a black woman, who
had formerly been the paramour of a white trader named Hewett, and
who, in consequence thereof, was called, by way of distinction,
seniora.  In the evening we walked out to see an adjoining village,
belonging to a slatee named Jemaffoo Momadoo, the richest of all the
Gambia traders.  We found him at home, and he thought so highly of
the honour done him by this visit, that he presented us with a fine
bullock, which was immediately killed, and part of it dressed for
our evening's repast.

The negroes do not go to supper till late, and, in order to amuse
ourselves while our beef was preparing, a Mandingo was desired to
relate some diverting stories, in listening to which, and smoking
tobacco, we spent three hours.  These stories bear some resemblance
to those in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, but, in general, are
of a more ludicrous cast.

About one o'clock in the afternoon of the 3rd of December, I took my
leave of Dr. Laidley and Messrs. Ainsley, and rode slowly into the
woods.  I had now before me a boundless forest, and a country, the
inhabitants of which were strangers to civilised life, and to most
of whom a white man was the object of curiosity or plunder.  I
reflected that I had parted from the last European I might probably
behold, and perhaps quitted for ever the comforts of Christian
society.  Thoughts like these would necessarily cast a gloom over my
mind; and I rode musing along for about three miles, when I was
awakened from my reverie by a body of people, who came running up,
and stopped the asses, giving me to understand that I must go with
them to Peckaba, to present myself to the king of Walli, or pay
customs to them.  I endeavoured to make them comprehend that the
object of my journey not being traffic, I ought not to be subjected
to a tax like the slatees, and other merchants, who travel for gain;
but I reasoned to no purpose.  They said it was usual for travellers
of all descriptions to make a present to the king of Walli, and
without doing so I could not be permitted to proceed.  As they were
more numerous than my attendants, and withal very noisy, I thought
it prudent to comply with their demand; and having presented them
with four bars of tobacco, for the king's use, I was permitted to
continue my journey, and at sunset reached a village near
Kootacunda, where we rested for the night.

In the morning of December 4th I passed Kootacunda, the last town of
Walli, and stopped about an hour at a small adjoining village to pay
customs to an officer of the king of Woolli; we rested the ensuing
night at a village called Tabajang; and at noon the next day
(December 5th) we reached Medina, the capital of the king of
Woolli's dominions.

The kingdom of Woolli is bounded by Walli on the west, by the Gambia
on the south, by the small river Walli on the north-west, by Bondou
on the north-east, and on the east by the Simbani wilderness.

The inhabitants are Mandingoes, and, like most of the Mandingo
nations, are divided into two great sects--the Mohammedans, who are
called bushreens, and the pagans, who are called indiscriminately
kafirs (unbelievers) and sonakies (i.e., men who drink strong
liquors).  The pagan natives are by far the most numerous, and the
government of the country is in their hands; for though the most
respectable among the bushreens are frequently consulted in affairs
of importance, yet they are never permitted to take any share in the
executive government, which rests solely in the hands of the mansa,
or sovereign, and great officers of the state.  Of these, the first
in point of rank is the presumptive heir of the crown, who is called
the farbanna.  Next to him are the alkaids, or provincial governors,
who are more frequently called keamos.  Then follow the two grand
divisions of free-men and slaves; of the former, the slatees, so
frequently mentioned in the preceding pages, are considered as the
principal; but, in all classes, great respect is paid to the
authority of aged men.

On the death of the reigning monarch, his eldest son (if he has
attained the age of manhood) succeeds to the regal authority.  If
there is no son, or if the son is under the age of discretion, a
meeting of the great men is held, and the late monarch's nearest
relation (commonly his brother) is called to the government, not as
regent, or guardian to the infant son, but in full right, and to the
exclusion of the minor.  The charges of the government are defrayed
by occasional tributes from the people, and by duties on goods
transported across the country.  Travellers, on going from the
Gambia towards the interior, pay customs in European merchandise.
On returning, they pay in iron and shea-toulou.  These taxes are
paid at every town.

Medina, the capital of the kingdom, at which I was now arrived, is a
place of considerable extent, and may contain from eight hundred to
one thousand houses.  It is fortified in the common African manner,
by a surrounding high wall built of clay, and an outward fence of
pointed stakes and prickly bushes; but the walls are neglected, and
the outward fence has suffered considerably from the active hands of
busy housewives, who pluck up the stakes for firewood.  I obtained a
lodging at one of the king's near relations, who apprised me that at
my introduction to the king I must not presume to SHAKE HANDS WITH
HIM.  "It was not usual," he said, "to allow this liberty to
strangers."  Thus instructed, I went in the afternoon to pay my
respects to the sovereign, and ask permission to pass through his
territories to Bondou.  The king's name was Jatta.  He was the same
venerable old man of whom so favourable an account was transmitted
by Major Houghton.  I found him seated upon a mat before the door of
his hut; a number of men and women were arranged on each side, who
were singing and clapping their hands.  I saluted him respectfully,
and informed him of the purport of my visit.  The king graciously
replied, that he not only gave me leave to pass through his country,
but would offer up his prayers for my safety.  On this, one of my
attendants, seemingly in return for the king's condescension, began
to sing, or rather to roar an Arabic song, at every pause of which
the king himself, and all the people present, struck their hands
against their foreheads, and exclaimed, with devout and affecting
solemnity, "Amen, amen!"  The king told me, furthermore, that I
should have a guide the day following, who would conduct me safely
to the frontier of his kingdom--I then took my leave, and in the
evening sent the king an order upon Dr. Laidley for three gallons of
rum, and received in return great store of provisions.

December 6.--Early in the morning I went to the king a second time,
to learn if the guide was ready.  I found his Majesty seated upon a
bullock's hide, warming himself before a large fire, for the
Africans are sensible of the smallest variation in the temperature
of the air, and frequently complain of cold when a European is
oppressed with heat.  He received me with a benevolent countenance,
and tenderly entreated me to desist from my purpose of travelling
into the interior, telling me that Major Houghton had been killed in
his route, and that if I followed his footsteps I should probably
meet with his fate.  He said that I must not judge of the people of
the eastern country by those of Woolli:  that the latter were
acquainted with white men, and respected them, whereas the people of
the east had never seen a white man, and would certainly destroy me.
I thanked the king for his affectionate solicitude, but told him
that I had considered the matter, and was determined,
notwithstanding all dangers, to proceed.  The king shook his head,
but desisted from further persuasion, and told me the guide should
be ready in the afternoon.

About two o'clock, the guide appearing, I went and took my last
farewell of the good old king, and in three hours reached Konjour, a
small village, where we determined to rest for the night.  Here I
purchased a fine sheep for some beads, and my Serawoolli attendants
killed it with all the ceremonies prescribed by their religion.
Part of it was dressed for supper, after which a dispute arose
between one of the Serawoolli negroes, and Johnson, my interpreter,
about the sheep's horns.  The former claimed the horns as his
perquisite, for having acted the part of our butcher, and Johnson
contested the claim.  I settled the matter by giving a horn to each
of them.  This trifling incident is mentioned as introductory to
what follows, for it appeared on inquiry that these horns were
highly valued, as being easily convertible into portable sheaths, or
cases, for containing and keeping secure certain charms or amulets
called saphies, which the negroes constantly wear about them.  These
saphies are prayers, or rather sentences, from the Koran, which the
Mohammedan priests write on scraps of paper, and sell to the simple
natives, who consider them to possess very extraordinary virtues.
Some of the negroes wear them to guard themselves against the bite
of snakes or alligators; and on this occasion the saphie is commonly
enclosed in a snake's or alligator's skin, and tied round the ankle.
Others have recourse to them in time of war, to protect their
persons against hostile weapons; but the common use to which these
amulets are applied is to prevent or cure bodily diseases--to
preserve from hunger and thirst--and generally to conciliate the
favour of superior powers, under all the circumstances and
occurrences of life. {1}

In this case it is impossible not to admire the wonderful contagion
of superstition, for, notwithstanding that the majority of the
negroes are pagans, and absolutely reject the doctrines of Mohammed,
I did not meet with a man, whether a bushreen or kafir, who was not
fully persuaded of the powerful efficacy of these amulets.  The
truth is, that all the natives of this part of Africa consider the
art of writing as bordering on magic; and it is not in the doctrines
of the prophet, but in the arts of the magician, that their
confidence is placed.  It will hereafter be seen that I was myself
lucky enough, in circumstances of distress, to turn the popular
credulity in this respect to good account.

On the 7th I departed from Konjour, and slept at a village called
Malla (or Mallaing), and on the 8th about noon I arrived at Kolor, a
considerable town, near the entrance into which I observed, hanging
upon a tree, a sort of masquerade habit, made of the bark of trees,
which I was told, on inquiry, belonged to Mumbo Jumbo.  This is a
strange bugbear, common to all the Mandingo towns, and much employed
by the pagan natives in keeping their women in subjection; for as
the kafirs are not restricted in the number of their wives, every
one marries as many as he can conveniently maintain--and as it
frequently happens that the ladies disagree among themselves, family
quarrels sometimes rise to such a height, that the authority of the
husband can no longer preserve peace in his household.  In such
cases, the interposition of Mumbo Jumbo is called in, and is always
decisive.

This strange minister of justice (who is supposed to be either the
husband himself, or some person instructed by him), disguised in the
dress that has been mentioned, and armed with the rod of public
authority, announces his coming (whenever his services are required)
by loud and dismal screams in the woods near the town.  He begins
the pantomime at the approach of night; and as soon as it is dark he
enters the town, and proceeds to the bentang, at which all the
inhabitants immediately assemble.

December 9.--As there was no water to be procured on the road, we
travelled with great expedition until we reached Tambacunda; and
departing from thence early the next morning, the 10th, we reached
in the evening Kooniakary, a town of nearly the same magnitude as
Kolor.  About noon on the 11th we arrived at Koojar, the frontier
town of Woolli, towards Bondou, from which it is separated by an
intervening wilderness of two days' journey.

The guide appointed by the king of Woolli being now to return, I
presented him with some amber for his trouble; and having been
informed that it was not possible at all times to procure water in
the wilderness, I made inquiry for men who would serve both as
guides and water-bearers during my journey across it.  Three
negroes, elephant-hunters, offered their services for these
purposes, which I accepted, and paid them three bars each in
advance; and the day being far spent, I determined to pass the night
in my present quarters.

The inhabitants of Koojar, though not wholly unaccustomed to the
sight of Europeans (most of them having occasionally visited the
countries on the Gambia), beheld me with a mixture of curiosity and
reverence, and in the evening invited me to see a neobering, or
wrestling-match, at the bentang.  This is an exhibition very common
in all the Mandingo countries.  The spectators arranged themselves
in a circle, leaving the intermediate space for the wrestlers, who
were strong active young men, full of emulation, and accustomed, I
suppose, from their infancy to this sort of exertion.  Being
stripped of their clothing, except a short pair of drawers, and
having their skin anointed with oil, or shea butter, the combatants
approached each other on all-fours, parrying with, and occasionally
extending a hand for some time, till at length one of them sprang
forward, and caught his rival by the knee.  Great dexterity and
judgment were now displayed, but the contest was decided by superior
strength; and I think that few Europeans would have been able to
cope with the conqueror.  It must not be unobserved, that the
combatants were animated by the music of a drum, by which their
actions were in some measure regulated.

The wrestling was succeeded by a dance, in which many performers
assisted, all of whom were provided with little bells, which were
fastened to their legs and arms; and here, too, the drum regulated
their motions.  It was beaten with a crooked stick, which the
drummer held in his right hand, occasionally using his left to
deaden the sound, and thus vary the music.  The drama is likewise
applied on these occasions to keep order among the spectators, by
imitating the sound of certain Mandingo sentences.  For example,
when the wrestling-match is about to begin, the drummer strikes what
is understood to signify ali bae see (sit all down), upon which the
spectators immediately seat themselves; and when the combatants are
to begin, he strikes amuta! amuta! (take hold! take hold!)

In the course of the evening I was presented, by way of refreshment,
with a liquor, which tasted so much like the strong beer of my
native country (and very good beer too), as to induce me to inquire
into its composition; and I learnt, with some degree of surprise,
that it was actually made from corn which had been previously
malted, much in the same manner as barley is malted in Great
Britain.  A root yielding a grateful bitter was used in lieu of
hops, the name of which I have forgotten; but the corn which yields
the wort is the holcus spicatus of botanists.

Early in the morning (the 12th) I found that one of the elephant-
hunters had absconded with the money he had received from me in part
of wages; and in order to prevent the other two from following his
example, I made them instantly fill their calabashes (or gourds)
with water; and as the sun rose, I entered the wilderness that
separates the kingdoms of Woolli and Bondou.

We continued our journey without stopping any more until noon, when
we came to a large tree, called by the natives neema taba.  It had a
very singular appearance, being decorated with innumerable rags or
scraps of cloth, which persons travelling across the wilderness had
at different times tied to the branches, probably at first to inform
the traveller that water was to be found near it; but the custom has
been so greatly sanctioned by time, that nobody now presumes to pass
without hanging up something.  I followed the example, and suspended
a handsome piece of cloth on one of the boughs; and being told that
either a well, or pool of water, was at no great distance, I ordered
the negroes to unload the asses, that we might give them corn, and
regale ourselves with the provisions we had brought.  In the
meantime, I sent one of the elephant-hunters to look for the well,
intending, if water was to be obtained, to rest here for the night.
A pool was found, but the water was thick and muddy, and the negro
discovered near it the remains of a fire recently extinguished, and
the fragments of provisions, which afforded a proof that it had been
lately visited, either by travellers or banditti.  The fears of my
attendants supposed the latter; and believing that robbers lurked
near as, I was persuaded to change my resolution of resting here all
night, and proceed to another watering-place, which I was assured we
might reach early in the evening.

We departed accordingly, but it was eight o'clock at night before we
came to the watering-place; and being now sufficiently fatigued with
so long a day's journey, we kindled a large fire and lay down,
surrounded by our cattle, on the bare ground, more than a gunshot
from any bush, the negroes agreeing to keep watch by turns to
prevent surprise.

I know not, indeed, that any danger was justly to be dreaded, but
the negroes were unaccountably apprehensive of banditti during the
whole of the journey.  As soon, therefore, as daylight appeared, we
filled our soofroos (skins) and calabashes at the pool, and set out
for Tallika, the first town in Bondou, which we reached about eleven
o'clock in the forenoon (the 13th of December).



CHAPTER IV--FROM TALLIKA TO KAJAAGA



Tallika, the frontier town of Bondou towards Woolli, is inhabited
chiefly by Foulahs of the Mohammedan religion, who live in
considerable affluence, partly by furnishing provisions to the
coffles, or caravans, that pass through the town, and partly by the
sale of ivory, obtained by hunting elephants, in which employment
the young men are generally very successful.  Here an officer
belonging to the king of Bondou constantly resides, whose business
it is to give timely information of the arrival of the caravans,
which are taxed according to the number of loaded asses that arrive
at Tallika.

I took up my residence at this officer's house, and agreed with him
to accompany me to Fatteconda, the residence of the king, for which
he was to receive five bars; and before my departure I wrote a few
lines to Dr. Laidley, and gave my letter to the master of a caravan
bound for the Gambia.  This caravan consisted of nine or ten people,
with five asses loaded with ivory.  The large teeth are conveyed in
nets, two on each side of the ass; the small ones are wrapped up in
skins, and secured with ropes.

December 14.--We left Tallika, and rode on very peaceably for about
two miles, when a violent quarrel arose between two of my fellow-
travellers, one of whom was the blacksmith, in the course of which
they bestowed some opprobrious terms upon each other; and it is
worthy of remark, that an African will sooner forgive a blow than a
term of reproach applied to his ancestors.  "Strike me, but do not
curse my mother," is a common expression even among the slaves.
This sort of abuse, therefore, so enraged one of the disputants,
that he drew his cutlass upon the blacksmith, and would certainly
have ended the dispute in a very serious manner, if the others had
not laid hold of him and wrested the cutlass from him.  I was
obliged to interfere, and put an end to this disagreeable business
by desiring the blacksmith to be silent, and telling the other, who
I thought was in the wrong, that if he attempted in future to draw
his cutlass, or molest any of my attendants, I should look upon him
as a robber, and shoot him without further ceremony.  This threat
had the desired effect, and we marched sullenly along till the
afternoon, when we arrived at a number of small villages scattered
over an open and fertile plain.  At one of these, called Ganado, we
took up our residence for the night; here an exchange of presents
and a good supper terminated all animosities among my attendants,
and the night was far advanced before any of us thought of going to
sleep.  We were amused by an itinerant SINGING MAN, who told a
number of diverting stories, and played some sweet airs by blowing
his breath upon a bow-string, and striking it at the same time with
a stick.

December 15.--At daybreak my fellow-travellers, the Serawoollies,
took leave of me, with many prayers for my safety.  About a mile
from Ganado we crossed a considerable branch of the Gambia, called
Neriko.  The banks were steep and covered with mimosas; and I
observed in the mud a number of large mussels, but the natives do
not eat them.  About noon, the sun being exceedingly hot, we rested
two hours in the shade of a tree, and purchased some milk and
pounded corn from some Foulah herdsmen, and at sunset reached a town
called Koorkarany, where the blacksmith had some relations; and here
we rested two days.

Koorkarany is a Mohammedan town surrounded by a high wall, and is
provided with a mosque.  Here I was shown a number of Arabic
manuscripts, particularly a copy of the book before mentioned,
called Al Sharra.  The maraboo, or priest, in whose possession it
was, read and explained to me in Mandingo many of the most
remarkable passages, and, in return, I showed him Richardson's
Arabic Grammar, which he very much admired.

On the evening of the second day (December 17) we departed from
Koorkarany.  We were joined by a young man who was travelling to
Fatteconda for salt; and as night set in we reached Dooggi, a small
village about three miles from Koorkarany.

Provisions were here so cheap that I purchased a bullock for six
small stones of amber; for I found my company increase or diminish
according to the good fare they met with.

December 18.--Early in the morning we departed from Dooggi, and,
being joined by a number of Foulahs and other people, made a
formidable appearance, and were under no apprehension of being
plundered in the woods.  About eleven o'clock, one of the asses
proving very refractory, the negroes took a curious method to make
him tractable.  They cut a forked stick, and putting the forked part
into the ass's mouth, like the bit of a bridle, tied the two smaller
parts together above his head, leaving the lower part of the stick
of sufficient length to strike against the ground, if the ass should
attempt to put his head down.  After this the ass walked along
quietly and gravely enough, taking care, after some practice, to
hold his head sufficiently high to prevent stones or roots of trees
from striking against the end of the stick, which experience had
taught him would give a severe shock to his teeth.  This contrivance
produced a ludicrous appearance, but my fellow-travellers told me it
was constantly adopted by the slatees, and always proved effectual.

In the evening we arrived at a few scattered villages, surrounded
with extensive cultivation, at one of which, called Buggil, we
passed the night in a miserable hut, having no other bed than a
bundle of corn-stalks, and no provisions but what we brought with
us.  The wells here are dug with great ingenuity, and are very deep.
I measured one of the bucket-ropes, and found the depth of the well
to be twenty-eight fathoms.

December 19.--We departed from Buggil, and travelled along a dry,
stony height, covered with mimosas, till mid-day, when the land
sloped towards the east, and we descended into a deep valley, in
which I observed abundance of whinstone and white quartz.  Pursuing
our course to the eastward, along this valley in the bed of an
exhausted river-course, we came to a large village, where we
intended to lodge.  We found many of the natives dressed in a thin
French gauze, which they called byqui; this being a light airy
dress, and well calculated to display the shape of their persons, is
much esteemed by the ladies.  The manners of these females, however,
did not correspond with their dress, for they were rude and
troublesome in the highest degree; they surrounded me in numbers,
begging for amber, beads, &c., and were so vehement in their
solicitations, that I found it impossible to resist them.  They tore
my cloak, cut the buttons from my boy's clothes, and were proceeding
to other outrages, when I mounted my horse and rode off, followed
for half-a-mile by a body of these harpies.

In the evening we reached Soobrudooka, and as my company was
numerous (being fourteen), I purchased a sheep and abundance of corn
for supper; after which we lay down by the bundles, and passed an
uncomfortable night in a heavy dew.

December 20.--We departed from Soobrudooka, and at two o'clock
reached a large village situated on the banks of the Faleme river,
which is here rapid and rocky.  The natives were employed in fishing
in various ways.  The large fish were taken in long baskets made of
split cane, and placed in a strong current, which was created by
walls of stone built across the stream, certain open places being
left, through which the water rushed with great force.  Some of
these baskets were more than twenty feet long, and when once the
fish had entered one of them, the force of the stream prevented it
from returning.  The small fish were taken in great numbers in hand-
nets, which the natives weave of cotton, and use with great
dexterity.  The fish last mentioned are about the size of sprats,
and are prepared for sale in different ways; the most common is by
pounding them entire as they come from the stream, in a wooden
mortar, and exposing them to dry in the sun, in large lumps like
sugar loaves.  It may be supposed that the smell is not very
agreeable; but in the Moorish countries to the north of the Senegal,
where fish is scarcely known, this preparation is esteemed as a
luxury, and sold to considerable advantage.  The manner of using it
by the natives is by dissolving a piece of this black loaf in
boiling water, and mixing it with their kouskous.

On returning to the village, after an excursion to the river-side to
inspect the fishery, an old Moorish shereef came to bestow his
blessing upon me, and beg some paper to write saphies upon.  This
man had seen Major Houghton in the kingdom of Kaarta, and told me
that he died in the country of the Moors.

About three in the afternoon we continued our course along the bank
of the river to the northward, till eight o'clock, when we reached
Nayemow.  Here the hospitable master of the town received us kindly,
and presented us with a bullock.  In return I gave him some amber
and beads.

December 21.--In the morning, having agreed for a canoe to carry
over my bundles, I crossed the river, which came up to my knees as I
sat on my horse; but the water is so clear, that from the high bank
the bottom is visible all the way over.

About noon we entered Fatteconda, the capital of Bondou, and in a
little time received an invitation to the house of a respectable
slatee:  for as there are no public-houses in Africa, it is
customary for strangers to stand at the bentang, or some other place
of public resort, till they are invited to a lodging by some of the
inhabitants.  We accepted the offer; and in an hour afterwards a
person came and told me that he was sent on purpose to conduct me to
the king, who was very desirous of seeing me immediately, if I was
not too much fatigued.

I took my interpreter with me, and followed the messenger till we
got quite out of the town, and crossed some corn-fields; when,
suspecting some trick, I stopped, and asked the guide whither he was
going.  Upon which, he pointed to a man sitting under a tree at some
little distance, and told me that the king frequently gave audience
in that retired manner, in order to avoid a crowd of people, and
that nobody but myself and my interpreter must approach him.  When I
advanced the king desired me to come and sit by him upon the mat;
and, after hearing my story, on which be made no observation, he
asked if I wished to purchase any slaves or gold.  Being answered in
the negative, he seemed rather surprised, but desired me to come to
him in the evening, and he would give me some provisions.

This monarch was called Almami, a Moorish name, though I was told
that he was not a Mohammedan, but a kafir or pagan.  I had heard
that he had acted towards Major Houghton with great unkindness, and
caused him to be plundered.  His behaviour, therefore, towards
myself at this interview, though much more civil than I expected,
was far from freeing me from uneasiness.  I still apprehended some
double-dealing; and as I was now entirely in his power, I thought it
best to smooth the way by a present.  Accordingly, I took with me in
the evening one canister of gunpowder, some amber, tobacco, and my
umbrella; and as I considered that my bundles would inevitably be
searched, I concealed some few articles in the roof of the hut where
I lodged, and I put on my new blue coat in order to preserve it.

All the houses belonging to the king and his family are surrounded
by a lofty mud wall, which converts the whole into a kind of
citadel.  The interior is subdivided into different courts.  At the
first place of entrance I observed a man standing with a musket on
his shoulder; and I found the way to the presence very intricate,
leading through many passages, with sentinels placed at the
different doors.  When we came to the entrance of the court in which
the king resides, both my guide and interpreter, according to
custom, took off their sandals; and the former pronounced the king's
name aloud, repeating it till he was answered from within.  We found
the monarch sitting upon a mat, and two attendants with him.  I
repeated what I had before told him concerning the object of my
journey, and my reasons for passing through his country.  He seemed,
however, but half satisfied.  When I offered to show him the
contents of my portmanteau, and everything belonging to me, he was
convinced; and it was evident that his suspicion had arisen from a
belief that every white man must of necessity be a trader.  When I
had delivered my presents, he seemed well pleased, and was
particularly delighted with the umbrella, which he repeatedly furled
and unfurled, to the great admiration of himself and his two
attendants, who could not for some time comprehend the use of this
wonderful machine.  After this I was about to take my leave, when
the king, desiring me to stop a while, began a long preamble in
favour of the whites, extolling their immense wealth and good
dispositions.  He next proceeded to an eulogium on my blue coat, of
which the yellow buttons seemed particularly to catch his fancy; and
he concluded by entreating me to present him with it, assuring me,
for my consolation under the loss of it, that he would wear it on
all public occasions, and inform every one who saw it of my great
liberality towards him.  The request of an African prince, in his
own dominions, particularly when made to a stranger, comes little
short of a command.  It is only a way of obtaining by gentle means
what he can, if he pleases, take by force; and as it was against my
interest to offend him by a refusal, I very quietly took off my
coat, the only good one in my possession, and laid it at his feet.

In return for my compliance, he presented me with great plenty of
provisions, and desired to see me again in the morning.  I
accordingly attended, and found in sitting upon his bed.  He told me
he was sick, and wished to have a little blood taken from him; but I
had no sooner, tied up his arm and displayed the lancet, than his
courage failed, and he begged me to postpone the operation till the
afternoon, as he felt himself, he said, much better than he had
been, and thanked me kindly for my readiness to serve him.  He then
observed that his women were very desirous to see me, and requested
that I would favour them with a visit.  An attendant was ordered to
conduct me; and I had no sooner entered the court appropriated to
the ladies, than the whole seraglio surrounded me--some begging for
physic, some for amber, and all of them desirous of trying that
great African specific, BLOOD-LETTING.  They were ten or twelve in
number, most of them young and handsome, and wearing on their heads
ornaments of gold, and beads of amber.

They rallied me with a good deal of gaiety on different subjects,
particularly upon the whiteness of my skin and the prominency of my
nose.  They insisted that both were artificial.  The first, they
said, was produced when I was an infant, by dipping me in milk; and
they insisted that my nose had been pinched every day, till it had
acquired its present unsightly and unnatural conformation.  On my
part, without disputing my own deformity, I paid them many
compliments on African beauty.  I praised the glossy jet of their
skins, and the lovely depression of their noses; but they said that
flattery, or, as they emphatically termed it, honey-mouth, was not
esteemed in Bondou.  In return, however, for my company or my
compliments (to which, by the way, they seemed not so insensible as
they affected to be) they presented me with a jar of honey and some
fish, which were sent to my lodging; and I was desired to come again
to the king a little before sunset.

I carried with me some beads and writing-paper, it being usual to
present some small offering on taking leave, in return for which the
king gave me five drachms of gold, observing that it was but a
trifle, and given out of pure friendship, but would be of use to me
in travelling, for the purchase of provisions.  He seconded this act
of kindness by one still greater, politely telling me that, though
it was customary to examine the baggage of every traveller passing
through his country, yet, in the present instance, he would dispense
without ceremony, adding, I was at liberty to depart when I pleased.

Accordingly, on the morning of the 23rd, we left Fatteconda, and
about eleven o'clock came to a small village, where we determined to
stop for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon my fellow-travellers informed me that, as this was
the boundary between Bondou and Kajaaga, and dangerous for
travellers, it would be necessary to continue our journey by night,
until we should reach a more hospitable part of the country.  I
agreed to the proposal, and hired two people for guides through the
woods; and as soon as the people of the village were gone to sleep
(the moon shining bright) we set out.  The stillness of the air, the
howling of the wild beasts, and the deep solitude of the forest,
made the scene solemn and oppressive.  Not a word was uttered by any
of us but in a whisper; all were attentive, and every one anxious to
show his sagacity by pointing out to me the wolves and hyaenas, as
they glided like shadows from one thicket to another.  Towards
morning we arrived at a village called Kimmoo, where our guides
awakened one of their acquaintances, and we stopped to give the
asses some corn, and roast a few ground-nuts for ourselves.  At
daylight we resumed our journey, and in the afternoon arrived at
Joag, in the kingdom of Kajaaga.

Being now in a country and among a people differing in many respects
from those that have as yet fallen under our observation, I shall,
before I proceed further, give some account of Bondou (the territory
we have left) and its inhabitants, the Foulahs, the description of
whom I purposely reserved for this part of my work.

Bondou is bounded on the east by Bambouk, on the south-east and
south by Tenda and the Simbani wilderness, on the south-west by
Woolli, on the west by Foota Torra, and on the north by Kajaaga.

The country, like that of Woolli, is very generally covered with
woods, but the land is more elevated, and, towards the Faleme river,
rises into considerable hills.  In native fertility the soil is not
surpassed, I believe, by any part of Africa.

From the central situation of Bondou, between the Gambia and Senegal
rivers, it is become a place of great resort, both for the slatees,
who generally pass through it on going from the coast to the
interior countries, and for occasional traders, who frequently come
hither from the inland countries to purchase salt.

These different branches of commerce are conducted principally by
Mandingoes and Serawoollies, who have settled in the country.  These
merchants likewise carry on a considerable trade with Gedumah and
other Moorish countries, bartering corn and blue cotton cloths for
salt, which they again barter in Dentila and other districts for
iron, shea-butter, and small quantities of gold-dust.  They likewise
sell a variety of sweet-smelling gums, packed up in small bags,
containing each about a pound.  These gums, being thrown on hot
embers, produce a very pleasant odour, and are used by the
Mandingoes for perfuming their huts and clothes.

The customs, or duties on travellers, are very heavy; in almost
every town an ass-load pays a bar of European merchandise, and at
Fatteconda, the residence of the king, one Indian baft, or a musket,
and six bottles of gunpowder, are exacted as the common tribute.  By
means of these duties, the king of Bondou is well supplied with arms
and ammunition--a circumstance which makes him formidable to the
neighbouring states.

The inhabitants differ in their complexions and national manners
from the Mandingoes and Serawoollies, with whom they are frequently
at war.  Some years ago the king of Bondou crossed the Faleme river
with a numerous army; and, after a short and bloody campaign,
totally defeated the forces of Samboo, king of Bambouk, who was
obliged to sue for peace, and surrender to him all the towns along
the eastern bank of the Faleme.

The Foulahs in general (as has been observed in a former chapter)
are of a tawny complexion, with small features and soft silky hair;
next to the Mandingoes, they are undoubtedly the most considerable
of all the nations in this part of Africa.  Their original country
is said to be Fooladoo (which signifies the country of the Foulahs);
but they possess at present many other kingdoms at a great distance
from each other; their complexion, however, is not exactly the same
in the different districts; in Bondou, and the other kingdoms which
are situated in the vicinity of the Moorish territories, they are of
a more yellow complexion than in the southern states.

The Foulahs of Bondou are naturally of a mild and gentle
disposition, but the uncharitable maxims of the Koran have made them
less hospitable to strangers, and more reserved in their behaviour,
than the Mandingoes.  They evidently consider all the negro natives
as their inferiors; and, when talking of different nations, always
rank themselves among the white people.

Their government differs from that of the Mandingoes chiefly in
this, that they are more immediately under the influence of
Mohammedan laws; for all the chief men, the king excepted, and a
large majority of the inhabitants of Bondou, are Mussulmans, and the
authority and laws of the Prophet are everywhere looked upon as
sacred and decisive.  In the exercise of their faith, however, they
are not very intolerant towards such of their countrymen as still
retain their ancient superstitions.  Religious persecution is not
known among them, nor is it necessary; for the system of Mohammed is
made to extend itself by means abundantly more efficacious.  By
establishing small schools in the different towns, where many of the
pagan as well as Mohammedan children are taught to read the Koran,
and instructed in the tenets of the Prophet, the Mohammedan priests
fix a bias on the minds, and form the character, of their young
disciples, which no accidents of life can ever afterwards remove or
alter.  Many of these little schools I visited in my progress
through the country, and I observed with pleasure the great docility
and submissive deportment of the children, and heartily wished they
had had better instructors and a purer religion.

With the Mohammedan faith is also introduced the Arabic language,
with which most of the Foulahs have a slight acquaintance.  Their
native tongue abounds very much in liquids, but there is something
unpleasant in the manner of pronouncing it.  A stranger, on hearing
the common conversation of two Foulahs, would imagine that they were
scolding each other.  Their numerals are these:-


One, Go.
Two, Deeddee.
Three, Tettee.
Four, Nee.
Five, Jouee.
Six, Jego.
Seven, Jedeeddee.
Eight, Je Tettee.
Nine, Je Nee.
Ten, Sappo.


The industry of the Foulahs, in the occupations of pasturage and
agriculture, is everywhere remarkable.  Even on the banks of the
Gambia, the greater part of the corn is raised by them, and their
herds and flocks are more numerous and in better condition than
those of the Mandingoes; but in Bondou they are opulent in a high
degree, and enjoy all the necessaries of life in the greatest
profusion.  They display great skill in the management of their
cattle, making them extremely gentle by kindness and familiarity.
On the approach of the night, they are collected from the woods and
secured in folds called korrees, which are constructed in the
neighbourhood of the different villages.  In the middle of each
korree is erected a small hut, wherein one or two of the herdsmen
keep watch during the night, to prevent the cattle from being
stolen, and to keep up the fires which are kindled round the korree
to frighten away the wild beasts.

The cattle are milked in the mornings and evenings:  the milk is
excellent; but the quantity obtained from any one cow is by no means
so great as in Europe.  The Foulahs use the milk chiefly as an
article of diet, and that not until it is quite sour.  The cream
which it affords is very thick, and is converted into butter by
stirring it violently in a large calabash.  This butter, when melted
over a gentle fire, and freed from impurities, is preserved in small
earthen pots, and forms a part in most of their dishes; it serves
likewise to anoint their heads, and is bestowed very liberally on
their faces and arms.

But although milk is plentiful, it is somewhat remarkable that the
Foulahs, and indeed all the inhabitants of this part of Africa, are
totally unacquainted with the art of making cheese.  A firm
attachment to the customs of their ancestors makes them view with an
eye of prejudice everything that looks like innovation.  The heat of
the climate and the great scarcity of salt are held forth as
unanswerable objections; and the whole process appears to them too
long and troublesome to be attended with any solid advantage.

Besides the cattle, which constitute the chief wealth of the
Foulahs, they possess some excellent horses, the breed of which
seems to be a mixture of the Arabian with the original African.



CHAPTER V--FROM KAJAAGA TO KASSON



The kingdom of Kajaaga, in which I was now arrived, is called by the
French Gallam, but the name that I have adopted is universally used
by the natives.  This country is bounded on the south-east and south
by Bambouk, on the west by Bondou and Foota-Torra, and on the north
by the river Senegal.

The air and climate are, I believe, more pure and salubrious than at
any of the settlements towards the coast; the face of the country is
everywhere interspersed with a pleasing variety of hills and
valleys; and the windings of the Senegal river, which descends from
the rocky hills of the interior, make the scenery on its banks very
picturesque and beautiful.

The inhabitants are called Serawoollies, or (as the French write it)
Seracolets.  Their complexion is a jet black:  they are not to be
distinguished in this respect from the Jaloffs.

The government is monarchical, and the regal authority, from what I
experienced of it, seems to be sufficiently formidable.  The people
themselves, however, complain of no oppression, and seemed all very
anxious to support the king in a contest he was going to enter into
with the sovereign of Kasson.  The Serawoollies are habitually a
trading people; they formerly carried on a great commerce with the
French in gold and slaves, and still maintain some traffic in slaves
with the British factories on the Gambia.  They are reckoned
tolerably fair and just in their dealings, but are indefatigable in
their exertions to acquire wealth, and they derive considerable
profits by the sale of salt and cotton cloth in distant countries.
When a Serawoolli merchant returns home from a trading expedition
the neighbours immediately assemble to congratulate him upon his
arrival.  On these occasions the traveller displays his wealth and
liberality by making a few presents to his friends; but if he has
been unsuccessful his levee is soon over, and every one looks upon
him as a man of no understanding, who could perform a long journey,
and (at they express it) "bring back nothing but the hair upon his
head."

Their language abounds much in gutturals, and is not so harmonious
as that spoken by the Foulahs.  It is, however, well worth acquiring
by those who travel through this part of the African continent, it
being very generally understood in the kingdoms of Kasson, Kaarta,
Ludamar, and the northern parts of Bambarra.  In all these countries
the Serawoollies are the chief traders.  Their numerals are:-


One, Bani.
Two, Fillo.
Three, Sicco.
Four, Narrato.
Five, Karrago.
Six, Toomo.
Seven, Nero.
Eight, Sego.
Nine, Kabbo.
Ten, Tamo.
Twenty, Tamo di Fillo.


We arrived at Joag, the frontier town of this kingdom, on the 24th
of December, and took up our residence at the house of the chief
man, who is here no longer known by the title of alkaid, but is
called the dooty.  He was a rigid Mohammedan, but distinguished for
his hospitality.  This town may be supposed, on a gross computation,
to contain two thousand inhabitants.  It is surrounded by a high
wall, in which are a number of port-holes, for musketry to fire
through, in case of an attack.  Every man's possession is likewise
surrounded by a wall, the whole forming so many distinct citadels;
and amongst a people unacquainted with the use of artillery these
walls answer all the purposes of stronger fortifications.  To the
westward of the town is a small river, on the banks of which the
natives raise great plenty of tobacco and onions.

The same evening Madiboo, the bushreen, who had accompanied me from
Pisania, went to pay a visit to his father and mother, who dwelt at
a neighbouring town called Dramanet.  He was joined by my other
attendant, the blacksmith.  As soon as it was dark I was invited to
see the sports of the inhabitants, it being their custom, on the
arrival of strangers, to welcome them by diversions of different
kinds.  I found a great crowd surrounding a party who were dancing,
by the light of some large fires, to the music of four drums, which
were beat with great exactness and uniformity.  The dances, however,
consisted more in wanton gestures than in muscular exertion or
graceful attitudes.  The ladies vied with each other in displaying
the most voluptuous movements imaginable.

December 25.--About two o'clock in the morning a number of horsemen
came into the town, and, having awakened my landlord, talked to him
for some time in the Serawoolli tongue; after which they dismounted
and came to the bentang, on which I had made my bed.  One of them,
thinking that I was asleep, attempted to steal the musket that lay
by me on the mat, but finding that he could not effect his purpose
undiscovered, he desisted, and the strangers sat down by me till
daylight.

I could now easily perceive, by the countenance of my interpreter,
Johnson, that something very unpleasant was in agitation.  I was
likewise surprised to see Madiboo and the blacksmith so soon
returned.  On inquiring the reason, Madiboo informed me that, as
they were dancing at Dramanet, ten horsemen belonging to Batcheri,
king of the country, with his second son at their head, had arrived
there, inquiring if the white man had passed, and, on being told
that I was at Joag, they rode off without stopping.  Madiboo added
that on hearing this he and the blacksmith hastened back to give me
notice of their coming.  Whilst I was listening to this narrative
the ten horsemen mentioned by Madiboo arrived, and coming to the
bentang, dismounted and seated themselves with those who had come
before--the whole being about twenty in number--forming a circle
round me, and each man holding his musket in his hand.  I took this
opportunity to observe to my landlord that, as I did not understand
the Serawoolli tongue, I hoped whatever the men had to say they
would speak in Mandingo.  To this they agreed; and a short man,
loaded with a remarkable number of saphies, opened the business in a
very long harangue, informing me that I had entered the king's town
without having first paid the duties, or giving any present to the
king; and that, according to the laws of the country, my people,
cattle, and baggage were forfeited.  He added that they had received
orders from the king to conduct me to Maana, {2} the place of his
residence, and if I refused to come with them their orders were to
bring me by force; upon his saying which all of them rose up and
asked me if I was ready.  It would have been equally vain and
imprudent in me to have resisted or irritated such a body of men; I
therefore affected to comply with their commands, and begged them
only to stop a little until I had given my horse a feed of corn, and
settled matters with my landlord.  The poor blacksmith, who was a
native of Kasson, mistook this feigned compliance for a real
intention, and taking me away from the company, told me that he had
always behaved towards me as if I had been his father and master,
and he hoped I would not entirely ruin him by going to Maana, adding
that as there was every reason to believe a war would soon take
place between Kasson and Kajaaga, he should not only lose his little
property, the savings of four years' industry, but should certainly
be detained and sold as a slave, unless his friends had an
opportunity of paying two slaves for his redemption.  I saw this
reasoning in its full force, and determined to do my utmost to
preserve the blacksmith from so dreadful a fate.  I therefore told
the king's son that I was ready to go with him, upon condition that,
the blacksmith, who was an inhabitant of a distant kingdom, and
entirely unconnected with me, should be allowed to stay at Joag till
my return.  To this they all objected, and insisted that, as we had
all acted contrary to the laws, we were all equally answerable for
our conduct.

I now took my landlord aside, and giving him a small present of
gunpowder, asked his advice in such critical a situation.  He was
decidedly of opinion that I ought not to go to the king:  he was
fully convinced, he said, that if the king should discover anything
valuable in my possession, he would not be over scrupulous about the
means of obtaining it.

Towards the evening, as I was sitting upon the bentang chewing
straws, an old female slave, passing by with a basket upon her head,
asked me IF HAD GOT MY DINNER.  As I thought she only laughed at me,
I gave her no answer; but my boy, who was sitting close by, answered
for me, and told her that the king's people had robbed me of all my
money.  On hearing this, the good old woman, with a look of
unaffected benevolence, immediately took the basket from her head,
and showing me that it contained ground nuts, asked me if I could
eat them.  Being answered in the affirmative, she presented me with
a few handfuls, and walked away before I had time to thank her for
this seasonable supply.

The old woman had scarcely left me when I received information that
a nephew of Demba Sego Jalla, the Mandingo king of Kasson, was
coming to pay me a visit.  He had been sent on an embassy to
Batcheri, King of Kajaaga, to endeavour to settle the disputes which
had arisen between his uncle and the latter; but after debating the
matter four days without success, he was now on his return, and
hearing that a white man was at Joag, on his way to Kasson,
curiosity brought in to see me.  I represented to him my situation
and distresses, when he frankly offered me his protection, and said
he would be my guide to Kasson (provided I would set out the next
morning), and be answerable for my safety.  I readily and gratefully
accepted his offer, and was ready with my attendants by daylight on
the morning of the 27th of December.

My protector, whose name was Demba Sego, probably after his uncle,
had a numerous retinue.  Our company, at leaving Joag, consisted of
thirty persons and six loaded asses; and we rode on cheerfully
enough for some hours, without any remarkable occurrence until we
came to a species of tree for which my interpreter Johnson had made
frequent inquiry.  On finding it, he desired us to stop, and
producing a white chicken, which he had purchased at Joag for the
purpose, he tied it by the leg to one of the branches, and then told
us we might now safely proceed, for that our journey would be
prosperous.

At noon we had reached Gungadi, a large town where we stopped about
an hour, until some of the asses that had fallen behind came up.
Here I observed a number of date-trees, and a mosque built of clay,
with six turrets, on the pinnacles of which were placed six ostrich
eggs.  A little before sunset we arrived at the town of Samee, on
the banks of the Senegal, which is here a beautiful but shallow
river, moving slowly over a bed of sand and gravel.  The banks are
high, and covered with verdure--the country is open and cultivated--
and the rocky hills of Fellow and Bambouk add much to the beauty of
the landscape.

December 28.--We departed from Samee, and arrived in the afternoon
at Kayee, a large village, part of which is situated on the north
and part on the south side of the river.

The ferryman then taking hold of the most steady of the horses by a
rope, led him into the water, and paddled the canoe a little from
the brink; upon which a general attack commenced upon the other
horses, who, finding themselves pelted and kicked on all sides,
unanimously plunged into the river, and followed their companion.  A
few boys swam in after them; and, by laving water upon them when
they attempted to return, urged them onwards; and we had the
satisfaction in about fifteen minutes to see them all safe on the
other side.  It was a matter of greater difficulty to manage the
asses; their natural stubbornness of disposition made them endure a
great deal of pelting and shoving before they would venture into the
water; and when they had reached the middle of the stream, four of
them turned back, in spite of every exertion to get them forwards.
Two hours were spent in getting the whole of them over; an hour more
was employed in transporting the baggage; and it was near sunset
before the canoe returned, when Demba Sego and myself embarked in
this dangerous passage-boat, which the least motion was like to
overset.  The king's nephew thought this a proper time to have a
peep into a tin box of mine that stood in the fore part of the
canoe; and in stretching out his band for it, he unfortunately
destroyed the equilibrium, and overset the canoe.  Luckily we were
not far advanced, and got back to the shore without much difficulty;
from whence, after wringing the water from our clothes, we took a
fresh departure, and were soon afterwards safely landed in Kasson.



CHAPTER VI--TIGGITY SEGO'S PALAVER



We no sooner found ourselves safe in Kasson than Demba Sego told me
that we were now in his uncle's dominions, and he hoped I would
consider, being now out of danger, the obligation I owed to him, and
make him a suitable return for the trouble he had taken on my
account by a handsome present.  This, as he knew how much had been
pilfered from me at Joag, was rather an unexpected proposition, and
I began to fear that I had not much improved my condition by
crossing the water; but as it would have been folly to complain I
made no observation upon his conduct, and gave him seven bars of
amber and some tobacco, with which he seemed to be content.

After a long day's journey, in the course of which I observed a
number of large loose nodules of white granite, we arrived at Teesee
on the evening of December 29th, and were accommodated in Demba
Sego's hut.  The next morning he introduced me to his father,
Tiggity Sego, brother to the king of Kasson, chief of Teesee.  The
old man viewed me with great earnestness, having never, he said,
beheld but one white man before, whom by his description I
immediately knew to be Major Houghton.

In the afternoon one of his slaves eloped; and a general alarm being
given, every person that had a horse rode into the woods, in the
hopes of apprehending him, and Demba Sego begged the use of my horse
for the same purpose.  I readily consented; and in about an hour
they all returned with the slave, who was severely flogged, and
afterwards put in irons.  On the day following (December 31st) Demba
Sego was ordered to go with twenty horsemen to a town in Gedumah, to
adjust some dispute with the Moors, a party of whom were supposed to
have stolen three horses from Teesee.  Demba begged a second the
time use of my horse, adding that the sight of my bridle and saddle
would give him consequence among the Moors.  This request also I
readily granted, and he promised to return at the end of three days.
During his absence I amused myself with walking about the town, and
conversing with the natives, who attended me everywhere with great
kindness and curiosity, and supplied me with milk, eggs, and what
other provisions I wanted, on very easy terms.

Teesee is a large unwalled town, having no security against the
attack of an enemy except a sort of citadel in which Tiggity and his
family constantly reside.  This town, according to the report of the
natives, was formerly inhabited only by a few Foulah shepherds, who
lived in considerable affluence by means of the excellent meadows in
the neighbourhood, in which they reared great herds of cattle.  But
their prosperity attracting the envy of some Mandingoes, the latter
drove out the shepherds, and took possession of their lands.

The present inhabitants, though they possess both cattle and corn in
abundance, are not over nice in articles of diet; rats, moles,
squirrels, snakes, locusts, are eaten without scruple by the highest
and lowest.  My people were one evening invited to a feast given by
some of the townsmen, where, after making a hearty meal of what they
thought fish and kouskous, one of them found a piece of hard skin in
the dish, and brought it along with him to show me what sort of fish
they had been eating.  On examining the skin I found they had been
feasting on a large snake.  Another custom still more extraordinary
is that no woman is allowed to eat an egg.  This prohibition,
whether arising from ancient superstition or from the craftiness of
some old bushreen who loved eggs himself, is rigidly adhered to, and
nothing will more affront a woman of Teesee than to offer her an
egg.  The custom is the more singular, as the men eat eggs without
scruple in the presence of their wives, and I never observed the
same prohibition in any other of the Mandingo countries.

The third day after his son's departure, Tiggity Sego held a palaver
on a very extraordinary occasion, which I attended; and the debates
on both sides of the question displayed much ingenuity.  The case
was this:- A young man, a kafir of considerable affluence, who had
recently married a young and handsome wife, applied to a very devout
bushreen, or Mussalman priest, of his acquaintance, to procure him
saphies for his protection during the approaching war.  The bushreen
complied with the request; and in order, as he pretended, to render
the saphies more efficacious, enjoined the young man to avoid any
nuptial intercourse with his bride for the space of six weeks.
Severe as the injunction was, the kafir strictly obeyed; and,
without telling his wife the real cause, absented himself from her
company.  In the meantime, it began to be whispered at Teesee that
the bushreen, who always performed his evening devotions at the door
of the kafir's hut, was more intimate with the young wife than he
ought to be.  At first the good husband was unwilling to suspect the
honour of his sanctified friend, and one whole month elapsed before
any jealousy rose in his mind, but hearing the charge repeated, he
at last interrogated his wife on the subject, who frankly confessed
that the bushreen had seduced her.  Hereupon the kafir put her into
confinement, and called a palaver upon the bushreen's conduct.  The
fact was clearly proved against him; and he was sentenced to be sold
into slavery, or to find two slaves for his redemption, according to
the pleasure of the complainant.  The injured husband, however, was
unwilling to proceed against his friend to such extremity, and
desired rather to have him publicly flogged before Tiggity Sego's
gate.  This was agreed to, and the sentence was immediately
executed.  The culprit was tied by the hands to a strong stake; and
a long black rod being brought forth, the executioner, after
flourishing it round his head for some time, applied it with such
force and dexterity to the bushreen's back as to make him roar until
the woods resounded with his screams.  The surrounding multitude, by
their hooting and laughing, manifested how much they enjoyed the
punishment of this old gallant; and it is worthy of remark that the
number of stripes was precisely the same as are enjoined by the
Mosaic law, FORTY, SAVE ONE.

As there appeared great probability that Teesee, from its being a
frontier town, would be much exposed during the war to the predatory
incursions of the Moors of Gedumah, Tiggity Sego had, before my
arrival, sent round to the neighbouring villages to beg or to
purchase as much provisions as would afford subsistence to the
inhabitants for one whole year, independently of the crop on the
ground, which the Moors might destroy.  This project was well
received by the country people, and they fixed a day on which to
bring all the provisions they could spare to Teesee; and as my horse
was not yet returned, I went, in the afternoon of January 4th, 1796,
to meet the escort with the provisions.

It was composed of about 400 men, marching in good order, with corn
and ground nuts in large calabashes upon their heads.  They were
preceded by a strong guard of bowmen, and followed by eight
musicians or singing men.  As soon as they approached the town the
latter began a song, every verse of which was answered by the
company, and succeeded by a few strokes on the large drums.  In this
manner they proceeded, amidst the acclamations of the populace, till
they reached the house of Tiggity Sego, where the loads were
deposited; and in the evening they all assembled under the bentang
tree, and spent the night in dancing and merriment.

On the 5th of January an embassy of ten people belonging to Almami
Abdulkader, king of Foota-Torra, a country to the west of Bondou,
arrived at Teesee; and desiring Tiggity to call an assembly of the
inhabitants, announced publicly their king's determination to this
effect:- 'That unless all the people of Kasson would embrace the
Mohammedan religion, and evince their conversion by saying eleven
public prayers, he, the king of Foota-Torra, could not possibly
stand neuter in the present contest, but would certainly join his
arms to those of Kajaaga.'  A message of this nature from so
powerful a prince could not fail to create great alarm; and the
inhabitants of Teesee, after a long consultation, agreed to conform
to his good pleasure, humiliating as it was to them.  Accordingly,
one and all publicly offered up eleven prayers, which were
considered a sufficient testimony of their having renounced
paganism, and embraced the doctrines of the prophet.

It was time 8th of January before Demba Sego returned with my horse;
and being quite wearied out with the delay, I went immediately to
inform his father that I should set out for Kooniakary early the
next day.  The old man made many frivolous objections, and at length
gave me to understand that I must not think of departing without
first paying him the same duties he was entitled to receive from all
travellers; besides which he expected, he said, some acknowledgment
for his kindness towards use.  Accordingly, on the morning of the
9th, my friend Demba, with a number of people, came to me, and said
that they were sent by Tiggity Sego for my present, and wished to
see what goods I had appropriated for that purpose.  I knew that
resistance was hopeless, and complaint unavailing:  and being in
some measure prepared by the intimation I had received the night
before, I quietly offered him seven bars of amber and five of
tobacco.  After surveying these articles for some time very coolly,
Demba laid them down, and told me that this was not a present for a
man of Tiggity Sego's consequence, who had it in his power to take
whatever he pleased from me.  He added, that if I did not consent to
make him a larger offering he would carry all my baggage to his
father, and let him choose for himself.  I had no time for reply,
for Demba and his attendants immediately began to open my bundles,
and spread the different articles upon the floor, where they
underwent a more strict examination than they had done at Joag.
Everything that pleased them they took without scruple:  and amongst
other things, Demba seized the tin box that had so much attracted
his attention in crossing the river.  Upon collecting the scattered
remains of my little fortune after these people had left me, I found
that, as at Joag I had been plundered of half, so here, without even
the shadow of accusation, I was deprived of half the remainder.  The
blacksmith himself, though a native of Kasson, had also been
compelled to open his bundles, and take an oath that the different
articles they contained were his own exclusive property.  There was,
however, no remedy, and having been under some obligation to Demba
Sego for his attention towards me in the journey from Joag, I did
not reproach him for his rapacity, but determined to quit Teesee, at
all events, the next morning.  In the meanwhile, in order to raise
the drooping spirits of my attendants, I purchased a fat sheep, and
had it dressed for our dinner.

Early in the morning of January 10th, therefore, I left Teesee, and
about mid-day ascended a ridge, from whence we had a distant view of
the hills round Kooniakary.  In the evening we reached a small
village, where we slept, and, departing from thence the next
morning, crossed in a few hours a narrow but deep stream called
Krieko, a branch of the Senegal.  About two miles farther to the
eastward we passed a large town called Madina, and at two o'clock
came in sight of Jumbo, the blacksmith's native town, from whence he
had been absent more than four years.  Soon after this, his brother,
who had by some means been apprised of his coming, came out to meet
him, accompanied by a singing man.  He brought a horse for the
blacksmith, that he might enter his native town in a dignified
manner; and he desired each of us to put a good charge of powder
into our guns.  The singing man now led the way, followed by the two
brothers, and we were presently joined by a number of people from
the town, all of whom demonstrated great joy at seeing their old
acquaintance the blacksmith by the most extravagant jumping and
singing.  On entering the town the singing man began an extempore
song in praise of the blacksmith, extolling his courage in having
overcome so many difficulties, and concluding with a strict
injunction to his friends to dress him plenty of victuals.

When we arrived at the blacksmith's place of residence we
dismounted, and fired our muskets.  The meeting between him and his
relations was very tender; for these rude children of nature, free
from restraint, display their emotions in the strongest and most
expressive manner.  Amidst these transports the blacksmith's aged
mother was led forth, leaning upon a staff.  Every one made way for
her, and she stretched out her hand to bid her son welcome.  Being
totally blind, she stroked his hands, arms, and face with great
care, and seemed highly delighted that her latter days were blessed
by his return, and that her ears once more heard the music of his
voice.

During the tumult of these congratulations I had seated myself apart
by the side of one of the huts, being unwilling to interrupt the
flow of filial and parental tenderness; and the attention of the
company was so entirely taken up with the blacksmith that I believe
none of his friends had observed me.  When all the people present
had seated themselves the blacksmith was desired by his father to
give them some account of his adventures; and silence being
commanded, he began, and after repeatedly thanking God for the
success that had attended him, related every material occurrence
that had happened to him from his leasing Kasson to his arrival at
the Gambia, his employment and success in those parts, and the
dangers he had escaped in returning to his native country.  In the
latter part of his narration he had frequently occasion to mention
me; and after many strong expressions concerning my kindness to him
he pointed to the place where I sat, and exclaimed, "Affille ibi
siring!"--("See him sitting there!")  In a moment all eyes were
turned upon me; I appeared like a being dropped from the clouds;
every one was surprised that they had not observed me before; and a
few women and children expressed great uneasiness at being so near a
man of such an uncommon appearance.

By degrees, however, their apprehensions subsided, and when the
blacksmith assured them that I was perfectly inoffensive, and would
hurt nobody, some of them ventured so far as to examine the texture
of my clothes; but many of them were still very suspicious; and when
by accident I happened to move myself, or look at the young
children, their mothers would scamper off with them with the
greatest precipitations.  In a few hours, however, they all because
reconciled to me.

With these worthy people I spent the remainder of that and the whole
of the ensuing day, in feasting and merriment; and the blacksmith
declared he would not quit me during my stay at Kooniakary--for
which place we set out early on the morning of the 14th of January,
and arrived about the middle of the day at Soolo, a small village
three miles to the south of it.

As this place was somewhat out of the direct road, it is necessary
to observe that I went thither to visit a slatee or Gambia trader,
of great note and reputation, named Salim Daucari.  He was well
known to Dr. Laidley, who had trusted him with effects to the value
of five slaves, and had given me an order for the whole of the debt.
We luckily found him at home, and he received me with great kindness
and attention.

It is remarkable, however, that the king of Kasson was by some means
immediately apprised of my motions; for I had been at Soolo but a
few hours before Sambo Sego, his second son, came thither with a
party of horse, to inquire what had prevented me from proceeding to
Kooniakary, and waiting immediately upon the king, who, he said, was
impatient to see me.  Salim Daucari made my apology, and promised to
accompany me to Kooniakary the same evening.  We accordingly
departed from Soolo at sunset, and in about an hour entered
Kooniakary.  But as the king had gone to sleep we deferred the
interview till next morning, and slept at the hut of Sambo Sego.



CHAPTER VII--INTERVIEW WITH KING DEMBA SEGO JALLA



About eight o'clock in the morning of January 15th, 1796, we went to
an audience of the king (Demba Sego Jalla), but the crowd of people
to see me was so great that I could scarcely get admittance.  A
passage being at length obtained, I made my bow to the monarch, whom
we found sitting upon a mat, in a large hut.  He appeared to be a
man of about sixty years of age.  His success in war, and the
mildness of his behaviour in time of peace, had much endeared him to
all his subjects.  He surveyed me with great attention; and when
Salim Daucari explained to him the object of my journey, and my
reasons for passing through his country, the good old king appeared
not only perfectly satisfied, but promised me every assistance in
his power.  He informed me that he had seen Major Houghton, and
presented him with a white horse; but that, after crossing the
kingdom of Kaarta, he had lost his life among the Moors, in what
manner he could not inform me.  When this audience was ended we
returned to our lodging, and I made up a small present for the king
out of the few effects that were left me; for I had not yet received
anything from Salim Daucari.  This present, though inconsiderable in
itself, was well received by the king, who sent me in return a large
white bullock.  The sight of this animal quite delighted my
attendants; not so much on account of its bulk, as from its being of
a white colour, which is considered as a particular mark of favour.
But although the king himself was well disposed towards me, and
readily granted me permission to pass through his territories, I
soon discovered that very great and unexpected obstacles were likely
to impede my progress.  Besides the war which was on the point of
breaking out between Kasson and Kajaaga, I was told that the next
kingdom of Kaarta, through which my route lay, was involved in the
issue, and was furthermore threatened with hostilities on the part
of Bambarra.  The king himself informed me of these circumstances,
and advised me to stay in the neighbourhood of Kooniakary till such
time as he could procure proper information respecting Bambarra,
which he expected to do in the course of four or five days, as he
had already, he said, sent four messengers into Kaarta for that
purpose.  I readily submitted to this proposal, and went to Soolo,
to stay there till the return of one of those messengers.  This
afforded me a favourable opportunity of receiving what money Salim
Daucari could spare me on Dr. Laidley's account.  I succeeded in
receiving the value of there slaves, chiefly in gold dust; and being
anxious to proceed as quickly as possible, I begged Daucari to use
his interest with the king to allow me a guide by the way of
Fooladoo, as I was informed that the war had already commenced
between the kings of Bambarra and Kaarta.  Daucari accordingly set
out for Kooniakary on the morning of the 20th, and the same evening
returned with the king's answer, which was to this purpose--that the
king had, many years ago, made an agreement with Daisy, king of
Kaarta, to send all merchants and travellers through his dominions;
but that if I wished to take the route through Fooladoo I had his
permission so to do; though he could not, consistently with his
agreement, lend me a guide.  Having felt the want of regal
protection in a former part of my journey, I was unwilling to hazard
a repetition of the hardships I had then experienced, especially as
the money I had received was probably the last supply that I should
obtain.  I therefore determined to wait for the return of the
messengers from Kaarta.

In the interim it began to be whispered abroad that I had received
plenty of gold from Salim Daucari, and, on the morning of the 23rd,
Sambo Sego paid me a visit, with a party of horsemen.  He insisted
upon knowing the exact amount of the money I had obtained, declaring
that whatever the sum was, one-half of it must go to the king;
besides which he intimated that he expected a handsome present for
himself, as being the king's son, and for his attendants, as being
the king's relations.  I prepared to submit; and if Salim Daucari
had not interposed all my endeavours to mitigate this oppressive
claim would have been of no avail.  Salim at last prevailed upon
Sambo to accept sixteen bars of European merchandise, and some
powder and ball, as a complete payment of every demand that could be
made upon me in the kingdom of Kasson.

January 26.--In the forenoon I went to the top of a high hill to the
southward of Soolo, where I had a most enchanting prospect of the
country.  The number of towns and villages, and the extensive
cultivation around them, surpassed everything I had yet seen in
Africa.  A gross calculation may be formed of the number of
inhabitants in this delightful plain by considering that the king of
Kasson can raise four thousand fighting men by the sound of his war-
drum.  In traversing the rocky eminences of this hill, which are
almost destitute of vegetation, I observed a number of large holes
in the crevasses and fissures of the rocks, where the wolves and
hyaenas take refuge during the day.

February 1.--The messengers arrived from Kaarta, and brought
intelligence that the war had not yet commenced between Bambarra and
Kaarta, and that I might probably pass through Kaarta before the
Bambarra army invaded that country.

February 3.--Early in the morning two guides on horseback came from
Kooniakary to conduct me to the frontiers of Kaarta.  I accordingly
took leave of Salim Daucari, and parted for the last time from my
fellow-traveller the blacksmith, whose kind solicitude for my
welfare had been so conspicuous, and about ten o'clock departed from
Soolo.  We travelled this day through a rocky and hilly country,
along the banks of the river Krieko, and at sunset came to the
village of Soomo, where we slept.

February 4.--We departed from Soomo, and continued our route along
the banks of the Krieko, which are everywhere well cultivated, and
swarm with inhabitants.  At this time they were increased by the
number of people that had flown thither from Kaarta on account of
the Bambarra war.  In the afternoon we reached Kimo, a large
village, the residence of Madi Konko, governor of the hilly country
of Kasson, which is called Sorroma.  From hence the guides appointed
by the king of Kasson returned, to join in the expedition against
Kajaaga; and I waited until the 6th before I could prevail on Madi
Konko to appoint me a guide to Kaarta.

February 7.--Departing from Kimo, with Madi Konko's son as a guide,
we continued our course along the banks of the Krieko until the
afternoon, when we arrived at Kangee, a considerable town.  The
Krieko is here but a small rivulet.  This beautiful stream takes its
rise a little to the eastward of this town, and descends with a
rapid and noisy current until it reaches the bottom of the high hill
called Tappa, where it becomes more placid, and winds gently through
the lovely plains of Kooniakary; after which, having received an
additional branch from the north, it is lost in the Senegal,
somewhere near the falls of Felow.

February 8.--This day we travelled over a rough stony country, and
having passed Seimpo and a number of other villages, arrived in the
afternoon at Lackarago, a small village which stands upon the ridge
of hills that separates the kingdoms of Kasson and Kaarta.  In the
course of the day we passed many hundreds of people flying from
Kaarta with their families and effects.

February 9.--Early in the morning we departed from Lackarago, and a
little to the eastward came to the brow of a hill from whence we had
an extensive view of the country.  Towards the south-east were
perceived some very distant hills, which our guide told us were the
mountains of Fooladoo.  We travelled with great difficulty down a
stony and abrupt precipice, and continued our way in the bed of a
dry river course, where the trees, meeting overhead, made the place
dark and cool.  In a little time we reached the bottom of this
romantic glen, and about ten o'clock emerged from between two rocky
hills, and found ourselves on the level and sandy plains of Kaarta.
At noon we arrived at a korree, or watering place, where for a few
strings of beads I purchased as much milk and corn-meal as we could
eat; indeed, provisions are here so cheap, and the shepherds live in
such affluence, that they seldom ask any return for what
refreshments a traveller receives from them.  From this korree we
reached Feesurah at sunset, where we took up our lodging for the
night.

February 10.--We continued at Feesurah all this day, to have a few
clothes washed, and learn more exactly the situation of affairs
before we ventured towards the capital.

February 11--Our landlord, taking advantage of the unsettled state
of the country, demanded so extravagant a sum for our lodging that,
suspecting he wished for an opportunity to quarrel with us, I
refused to submit to his exorbitant demand; but my attendants were
so much frightened at the reports of approaching war that they
refused to proceed any farther unless I could settle matters with
him, and induce him to accompany us to Kemoo, for our protection on
the road.  This I accomplished with some difficulty; and by a
present of a blanket which I had brought with me to sleep in, and
for which our landlord had conceived a very great liking, matters
were at length amicably adjusted, and he mounted his horse and led
the way.  He was one of those negroes who, together with the
ceremonial part of the Mohammedan religion, retain all their ancient
superstitions, and even drink strong liquors.  They are called
Johars, or Jowars, and in this kingdom form a very numerous and
powerful tribe.  We had no sooner got into a dark need lonely part
of the first wood than he made a sign for us to stop, and, taking
hold of a hollow piece of bamboo that hung as an amulet round his
neck, whistled very loud there times.  I confess I was somewhat
startled, thinking it was a signal for some of his companions to
come and attack us; but he assured me that it was done merely with a
view to ascertain what success we were likely to meet with on our
present journey.  He then dismounted, laid his spear across the
road, and having said a number of short prayers, concluded with
three loud whistles; after which he listened for some time, as if in
expectation of an answer, and receiving none, told us we might
proceed without fear, for there was no danger.  About noon we passed
a number of large villages quite deserted, the inhabitants having
fled into Kasson to avoid the horrors of war.  We reached Karankalla
at sunset.  This formerly was a large town, but having been
plundered by the Bambarrans about four years ago, nearly one-half of
it is still in ruins.

February 12.--At daylight we departed from Karankalla, and as it was
but a short day's journey to Kemmoo, we travelled slower than usual,
and amused ourselves by collecting such eatable fruits as grew near
the road-side.  About noon we saw at a distance the capital of
Kaarta, situated in the middle of an open plain--the country for two
miles round being cleared of wood, by the great consumption of that
article for building and fuel--and we entered the town about two
o'clock in the afternoon.

We proceeded without stopping to the court before the king's
residence; but I was so completely surrounded by the gazing
multitude that I did not attempt to dismount, but sent in the
landlord and Madi Konki's son, to acquaint the king of my arrival.
In a little time they returned, accompanied by a messenger from the
king, signifying that he would see me in the evening; and in the
meantime the messenger had orders to procure me a lodging and see
that the crowd did not molest me.  He conducted me into a court, at
the door of which he stationed a man with a stick in his hand to
keep off the mob, and then showed me a large hut in which I was to
lodge.  I had scarcely seated myself in this spacious apartment when
the mob entered; it was found impossible to keep them out, and I was
surrounded by as many as the hut could contain.  When the first
party, however, had seen me, and asked a few questions, they retired
to make room for another company; and in this manner the hut was
filled and emptied thirteen different times.

A little before sunset the king sent to inform me that he was at
leisure, and wished to see me.  I followed the messenger through a
number of courts surrounded with high walls, where I observed plenty
of dry grass, bundled up like hay, to fodder the horses, in case the
town should be invested.  On entering the court in which the king
was sitting I was astonished at the number of his attendants, and at
the good order that seemed to prevail among them; they were all
seated--the fighting men on the king's right hand and the women and
children on the left, leaving a space between them for my passage.
The king, whose name was Daisy Koorabarri, was not to be
distinguished from his subjects by any superiority in point of
dress; a bank of earth, about two feet high, upon which was spread a
leopard's skin, constituted the only mark of royal dignity.  When I
had seated myself upon the ground before him, and related the
various circumstances that had induced me to pass through his
country, and my reasons for soliciting his protections, he appeared
perfectly satisfied; but said it was not in his power at present to
afford me much assistance, for that all sort of communication
between Kaarta and Bambarra had been interrupted for some time past;
and as Mansong, the king of Bambarra, with his army, had entered
Fooladoo in his way to Kaarta, there was but little hope of my
reaching Bambarra by any of the usual routes, inasmuch as, coming
from an enemy's country, I should certainly be plundered, or taken
for a spy.  If his country had been at peace, he said, I might have
remained with him until a more favourable opportunity offered; but,
as matters stood at present, he did not wish me to continue in
Kaarta, for fear some accident should befall me, in which case my
countrymen might say that he had murdered a white man.  He would
therefore advise me to return into Kasson, and remain there until
the war should terminate, which would probably happen in the course
of three or four months, after which, if he was alive, he said, he
would be glad to see me, and if he was dead his sons would take care
of me.

This advice was certainly well meant on the part of the king, and
perhaps I was to blame in not following it; but I reflected that the
hot months were approaching, and I dreaded the thoughts of spending
the rainy season in the interior of Africa.  These considerations,
and the aversion I felt at the idea of returning without having made
a greater progress in discovery, made sue determine to go forward;
and though the king could not give me a guide to Bambarra, I begged
that he would allow a man to accompany me as near the frontiers of
his kingdom as was consistent with safety.  Finding that I was
determined to proceed, the king told me that one route still
remained, but that, he said, was by no means free from danger--which
was to go from Kaarta into the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar, from
whence I might pass by a circuitous route into Bambarra.  If I
wished to follow this route he would appoint people to conduct me to
Jarra, the frontier town of Ludamar.  He then inquired very
particularly how I had been treated since I had left the Gambia, and
asked, in a jocular way, how many slaves I expected to carry home
with me on my return.  He was about to proceed when a man mounted on
a fine Moorish horse, which was covered with sweat and foam, entered
the court, and signifying that he had something of importance to
communicate, the king immediately took up his sandals, which is the
signal to strangers to retire.  I accordingly took leave, but
desired my boy to stay about the place, in order to learn something
of the intelligence that this messenger had brought.  In about an
hour the boy returned, and informed me that the Bambarra army had
left Fooladoo, and was on its march towards Kaarta; that the man I
had seen, who had brought this intelligence, was one of the scouts,
or watchmen, employed by the king, each of whom has his particular
station (commonly on some rising ground) from whence he has the best
view of the country, and watches the motions of the enemy.

February 13.--At daylight I sent my horse-pistols and holsters as a
present to the king, and being very desirous to get away from a
place which was likely soon to become the seat of war, I begged the
messenger to inform the king that I wished to depart from Kemmoo as
soon as he should find it convenient to appoint me a guide.  In
about an hour the king sent his messenger to thank me for the
present, and eight horsemen to conduct me to Jarra.  They told me
that the king wished me to proceed to Jarra with all possible
expedition, that they might return before anything decisive should
happen between the armies of Bambarra need Kaarta.  We accordingly
departed forthwith from Kemmoo, accompanied by three of Daisy's
sons, and about two hundred horsemen, who kindly undertook to see me
a little way on my journey.



CHAPTER VIII--ADVENTURES BETWEEN KEMMOO AND JARRA



On the evening of the day of our departure from Kemmoo (the king's
eldest son and great part of the horsemen having returned) we
reached a village called Marina, where we slept.  During the night
some thieves broke into the hut where I had deposited my baggage,
and having cut open one of my bundles, stole a quantity of beads,
part of my clothes, and some amber and gold, which happened to be in
one of the pockets.  I complained to my protectors, but without
effect.  The next day (February 14th) was far advanced before we
departed from Marina, and we travelled slowly, on account of the
excessive heat, until four o'clock in the afternoon, when two
negroes were observed sitting among some thorny bushes, at a little
distance from the road.  The king's people, taking it for granted
that they were runaway slaves, cocked their muskets, and rode at
full speed in different directions through the bushes, in order to
surround them, and prevent their escaping.  The negroes, however,
waited with great composure until we came within bowshot of them,
when each of them took from his quiver a handful of arrows, and
putting two between his teeth and one in his bow, waved to us with
his hand to keep at a distance; upon which one of the king's people
called out to the strangers to give some account of themselves.
They said that "they were natives of Toorda, a neighbouring village,
and had come to that place to gather tomberongs."  These are small
farinaceous berries, of a yellow colour and delicious taste, which I
knew to be the fruit of the rhamnus lotus of Linnaeus.

The lotus is very common in all the kingdoms which I visited; but is
found in the greatest plenty on the sandy soil of Kaarta, Ludamar,
and the northern parts of Bambarra, where it is one of the most
common shrubs of the country.  I had observed the same species at
Gambia.

As this shrub is found in Tunis, and also in the negro kingdoms, and
as it furnishes the natives of the latter with a food resembling
bread, and also with a sweet liquor which is much relished by them,
there can be little doubt of its being the lotus mentioned by Pliny
as the food of the Libyan Lotophagi.  An army may very well have
been fed with the bread I have tasted, made of the meal of the
fruit, as is said by Pliny to have been done in Libya; and as the
taste of the bread is sweet and agreeable, it is not likely that the
soldiers would complain of it.

We arrived in the evening at the village of Toorda; when all the
rest of the king's people turned back except two, who remained with
me as guides to Jarra.

February 15.--I departed from Toorda, and about two o'clock came to
a considerable town, called Funingkedy.  As we approached the town
the inhabitants were much alarmed; for, as one of my guides wore a
turban, they mistook us for some Moorish banditti.  This
misapprehension was soon cleared up, and we were well received by a
Gambia slatee, who resides at this town, and at whose house we
lodged.

February 16.--We were informed that a number of people would go from
this town to Jarra on the day following; and as the road was much
infested by the Moors we resolved to stay and accompany the
travellers.

About two o'clock, as I was lying asleep upon a bullock's hide
behind the door of the hut, I was awakened by the screams of women,
and a general clamour and confusion among the inhabitants.  At first
I suspected that the Bambarrans had actually entered the town; but
observing my boy upon the top of one of the huts, I called to him to
know what was the matter.  He informed me that the Moors were come a
second time to steal the cattle, and that they were now close to the
town.  I mounted the roof of the hut, and observed a large herd of
bullocks coming towards the town, followed by five Moors on
horseback, who drove the cattle forward with their muskets.  When
they had reached the wells which are close to the town, the Moors
selected from the herd sixteen of the finest beasts, and drove them
off at full cell gallop.  During this transaction the townspeople,
to the number of five hundred, stood collected close to the walls of
the town; and when the Moors drove the cattle away, though they
passed within pistol-shot of them, the inhabitants scarcely made a
show of resistance.  I only saw four muskets fired, which, being
loaded with gunpowder of the negroes' own manufacture, did no
execution.  Shortly after this I observed a number of people
supporting a young man on horseback, and conducting him slowly
towards the town.  This was one of the herdsmen, who, attempting to
throw his spear, had been wounded by a shot from one of the Moors.
His mother walked on before, quite frantic with grief, clapping her
hands, and enumerating the good qualities of her son.  "Ee maffo
fenio!"  ("He never told a lie!") said the disconsolate mother as
her wounded son was carried in at the gate--"Ee maffo fonio abada!"
("He never told a lie; no, never!")  When they had conveyed him to
his hut, and laid him upon a mat, all the spectators joined in
lamenting his fate, by screaming and howling in the most piteous
manner.

After their grief had subsided a little, I was desired to examine
the wound.  I found that the ball had passed quite through his leg,
having fractured both bones a little below the knee:  the poor boy
was faint from the loss of blood, and his situation withal so very
precarious, that I could not console his relations with any great
hopes of his recovery.  However, to give him a possible chance, I
observed to them that it was necessary to cut off his leg above the
knee.  This proposal made every one start with horror; they had
never heard of such a method of cure, and would by no means give
their consent to it; indeed, they evidently considered me a sort of
cannibal for proposing so cruel and unheard-of an operation, which,
in their opinion, would be attended with more pain and danger than
the wound itself.  The patient was therefore committed to the care
of some old bashreens, who endeavoured to secure him a passage into
paradise by whispering in his ear some Arabic sentences, and
desiring him to repeat them.  After many unsuccessful attempts, the
poor heathen at last pronounced, "La illah el Allah, Mahamet rasowl
allahi"  ("There is but one God, and Mohammed is his Prophet"); and
the disciples of the Prophet assured his mother that her son had
given sufficient evidence of his faith, and would be happy in a
future state.  He died the same evening.

February 17.--My guides informed me that in order to avoid the
Moorish banditti it was necessary to travel in the night; we
accordingly departed from Funingkedy in the afternoon, accompanied
by about thirty people, carrying their effects with them into
Ludamar, for fear of the war.  We travelled with great silence and
expedition until midnight, when we stopped in a sort of enclosure,
near a small village; but the thermometer being so low as 68
degrees, none of the negroes could sleep on account of the cold.

At daybreak on the 18th we resumed our journey, and at eight o'clock
passed Simbing, the frontier village of Ludamar, situated on a
narrow pass between two rocky hills, and surrounded with a high
wall.  From this village Major Houghton (being deserted by his negro
servants, who refused to follow him into the Moorish country) wrote
his last letter with a pencil to Dr. Laidley.  This brave but
unfortunate man, heaving surmounted many difficulties, had taken a
northerly direction, had endeavoured to pass through the kingdom of
Ludamar, where I afterwards learned the following particulars
concerning his melancholy fate:- On his arrival at Jarra he got
acquainted with certain Moorish merchants who were travelling to
Tisheet (a place near the salt pits in the Great Desert, ten days'
journey to the northward) to purchase salt; and the Major, at the
expense of a musket and some tobacco, engaged them to convey him
thither.  It is impossible to form any other opinion on this
determination than that the Moors intentionally deceived him, either
with regard to the route that he wished to pursue, or the state of
the intermediate country between Jarra and Timbuctoo.  Their
intention probably was to rob and leave him in the desert.  At the
end of two days he suspected their treachery, and insisted on
returning to Jarra.  Finding him persist in this determination, the
Moors robbed him of everything he possessed, and went off with their
camels; the poor Major being thus deserted, returned on foot to a
watering-place in possession of the Moors, called Tarra.  He had
been some days without food, and the unfeeling Moors refusing to
give him any, he sank at last under his distresses.  Whether he
actually perished of hunger, or was murdered outright by the savage
Mohammedans, is not certainly known; his body was dragged into the
woods, and I was shown at a distance the spot where his remains were
left to perish.

About four miles to the north of Simbing we came to a small stream
of water, where we observed a number of wild horses they were all of
one colour, and galloped away from us at an easy rate, frequently
stopping and looking back.  The negroes hunt them for food, and
their flesh is much esteemed.

About noon we arrived at Jarra, a large town situated at the bottom
of some rocky hills.



CHAPTER IX--THE TOWN OF JARRA--DETAINED BY THE MOORS.



The town of Jarra is of considerable extent; the houses are built of
clay and stone intermixed--the clay answering the purpose of mortar.
It is situated in the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar; but the major part
of the inhabitants are negroes, from the borders of the southern
states, who prefer a precarious protection under the Moors, which
they purchase by a tribute, rather than continue exposed to their
predatory hostilities.  The tribute they pay is considerable; and
they manifest towards their Moorish superiors the most unlimited
obedience and submission, and are treated by them with the utmost
indignity and contempt.  The Moors of this and the other states
adjoining the country of the negroes resemble in their persons the
mulattoes of the West Indies to so great a degree as not easily to
be distinguished from them; and, in truth, the present generation
seem to be a mixed race between the Moors (properly so called) of
the north and the negroes of the south, possessing many of the worst
qualities of both nations.

Of the origin of these Moorish tribes, as distinguished from the
inhabitants of Barbary, from whom they are divided by the Great
Desert, nothing further seems to be known than what is related by
John Leo, the African, whose account may be abridged as follows:-

Before the Arabian conquest, about the middle of the seventh
century, all the inhabitants of Africa, whether they were descended
from Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, or
Goths, were comprehended under the general name of Mauri, or Moors.
All these nations were converted to the religion of Mohammed during
the Arabian empire under the Kaliphs.  About this time many of the
Numidian tribes, who led a wandering life in the desert, and
supported themselves upon the produce of their cattle, retired
southward across the Great Desert to avoid the fury of the Arabians;
and by one of those tribes, says Leo (that of Zanhaga), were
discovered, and conquered, the negro nations on the Niger.  By the
Niger is here undoubtedly meant the river of Senegal, which in the
Mandingo language is Bafing, or the Black River.

To what extent these people are now spread over the African
continent it is difficult to ascertain.  There is reason to believe
that their dominion stretches from west to east, in a narrow line or
belt, from the mouth of the Senegal (on the northern side of that
river) to the confines of Abyssinia.  They are a subtle and
treacherous race of people, and take every opportunity of cheating
and plundering the credulous and unsuspecting negroes.  But their
manners and general habits of life will be best explained as
incidents occur in the course of my narrative.

The difficulties we had already encountered, the unsettled state of
the country, and, above all, the savage and overbearing deportment
of the Moors, had so completely frightened my attendants that they
declared they would rather relinquish every claim to reward than
proceed one step farther to the eastward.  Indeed, the danger they
incurred of being seized by the Moors, and sold into slavery, became
every day more apparent; and I could not condemn their
apprehensions.  In this situation, deserted by my attendants, and
reflecting that my retreat was cut off by the war behind me, and
that a Moorish country of ten days' journey lay before me, I applied
to Daman to obtain permission from Ali, the chief or sovereign of
Ludamar, that I might pass through his country unmolested into
Bambarra; and I hired one of Daman's slaves to accompany me thither,
as soon as such permission should be obtained.  A messenger was
despatched to Ali, who at this time was encamped near Benowm; and as
a present was necessary in order to insure success, I sent him five
garments of cotton cloth, which I purchased of Daman for one of my
fowling-pieces.  Fourteen days elapsed in settling this affair; but
on the evening of the 26th of February, one of Ali's slaves arrived
with directions, as he pretended, to conduct me in safety as far as
Goomba, and told me I was to pay him one garment of blue cotton
cloth for his attendance.  My faithful boy, observing that I was
about to proceed without him, resolved to accompany me; and told me,
that though he wished me to turn back, he never entertained any
serious thoughts of deserting me, but had been advised to it by
Johnson, with a view to induce me to turn immediately for Gambia.

February 27.--I delivered most of my papers to Johnson, to convey
them to Gambia as soon as possible, reserving a duplicate for myself
in case of accidents.  I likewise left in Daman's possession a
bundle of clothes, and other things that were not absolutely
necessary, for I wished to diminish my baggage as much as possible,
that the Moors might have fewer inducements to plunder us.

Things being thus adjusted, we departed from Jarra in the forenoon,
and slept at Troomgoomba, a small walled village, inhabited by a
mixture of negroes and Moors.  On the day following (February 28th)
we reached Quira; and on the 29th, after a toilsome journey over a
sandy country, we came to Compe, a watering-place belonging to the
Moors; from whence, on the morning following, we proceeded to Deena,
a large town, and, like Jarra, built of stone and clay.  The Moors
are here in greater proportion to the negroes than at Jarra.  They
assembled round the hut of the negro where I lodged, and treated me
with the greatest insolence; they hissed, shouted, and abused me;
they even spat in my face, with a view to irritate me, and afford
them a pretext for seizing my baggage.  But finding such insults had
not the desired effect, they had recourse to the final and decisive
argument, that I was a Christian, and of course that my property was
lawful plunder to the followers of Mohammed.  They accordingly
opened my bundles, and robbed me of everything they fancied.  My
attendants, finding that everybody could rob me with impunity,
insisted on returning to Jarra.

The day following (March 2nd), I endeavoured, by all the means in my
power, to prevail upon my people to go on, but they still continued
obstinate; and having reason to fear some further insult from the
fanatic Moors, I resolved to proceed alone.  Accordingly, the next
morning, about two o'clock, I departed from Deena.  It was
moonlight, but the roaring of the wild beasts made it necessary to
proceed with caution.

When I had reached a piece of rising ground about half a mile from
the town, I heard somebody halloo, and, looking back, saw my
faithful boy running after me.  He informed me that Ali's men had
gone back to Benowm, and that Daman's negro was about to depart for
Jarra; but he said he had no doubt, if I would stop a little, that
he could persuade the latter to accompany us.  I waited accordingly,
and in about an hour the boy returned with the negro; and we
continued travelling over a sandy country, covered chiefly with the
Asclepias gigantea, until mid-day, when we came to a number of
deserted huts; and seeing some appearances of water at a little
distance, I sent the boy to fill a soofroo; but as he was examining
the place for water, the roaring of a lion, that was probably on the
same pursuit, induced the frightened boy to return in haste, and we
submitted patiently to the disappointment.  In the afternoon we
reached a town inhabited chiefly by Foulahs, called Samaming-koos.

Next morning (March 4th), we set out for Sampaka, which place we
reached about two o'clock.  On the road we observed immense
quantities of locusts; the trees were quite black with them.

Sampaka is a large town, and when the Moors and Bambarrans were at
war was thrice attacked by the former; but they were driven off with
great loss, though the king of Bambarra was afterwards obliged to
give up this, and all the other towns as far as Goomba, in order to
obtain a peace.  Here I lodged at the house of a negro who practised
the art of making gunpowder.  He showed me a bag of nitre, very
white, but the crystals were much smaller than common.  They procure
it in considerable quantities from the ponds, which are filled in
the rainy season, and to which the cattle resort for coolness during
the heat of the day.  When the water is evaporated, a white
efflorescence is observed on the mud, which the natives collect and
purify in such a manner as to answer their purpose.  The Moors
supply them with sulphur from the Mediterranean; and the process is
completed by pounding the different articles together in a wooden
mortar.  The grains are very unequal, and the sound of its explosion
is by no means so sharp as that produced by European gunpowder.

March 5.--We departed from Sampaka at daylight.  About noon we
stopped a little at a village called Dangali, and in the evening
arrived at Dalli.  We saw upon the road two large herds of camels
feeding.  When the Moors turn their camels to feed they tie up one
of their fore-legs to prevent their straying.  This happened to be a
feast-day at Dalli, and the people were dancing before the dooty's
house.  But when they were informed that a white man was come into
the town they left off dancing and came to the place where I lodged,
walking in regular order, two and two, with the music before them.
They play upon a sort of flute; but instead of blowing into a hole
in the side they blow obliquely over the end, which is half shut by
a thin piece of wood; they govern the holes on the side with their
fingers, and play some simple and very plaintive airs.  They
continued to dance and sing until midnight, during which time I was
surrounded by so great a crowd as made it necessary for me to
satisfy their curiosity by sitting still.

March 6.--We stopped here this morning because some of the
townspeople, who were going for Goomba on the day following, wished
to accompany us; but in order to avoid the crowd of people which
usually assembled in the evening we went to a negro village to the
east of Dalli, called Samee, where we were kindly received by the
hospitable dooty, who on this occasion killed two fine sheep, and
invited his friends to come and feast with him.

March 7.--Our landlord was so proud of the honour of entertaining a
white man that he insisted on my staying with him and his friends
until the cool of the evening, when he said he would conduct me to
the next village.  As I was now within two days' journey of Goomba,
I had no apprehensions from the Moors, and readily accepted the
invitation.  I spent the forenoon very pleasantly with these poor
negroes; their company was the more acceptable, as the gentleness of
their manners presented a striking contrast to the rudeness and
barbarity of the Moors.  They enlivened their conversation by
drinking a fermented liquor made from corn--the same sort of beer
that I have described in a former chapter; and better I never tasted
in Great Britain.

In the midst of this harmless festivity, I flattered myself that all
danger from the Moors was over.  Fancy had already placed me on the
banks of the Niger, and presented to my imagination a thousand
delightful scenes in my future progress, when a party of Moors
unexpectedly entered the hut, and dispelled the golden dream.  They
came, they said, by Ali's orders, to convey me to his camp at
Benowm.  If I went peaceably, they told me, I had nothing to fear;
but if I refused they had orders to bring me by force.  I was struck
dumb by surprise and terror, which the Moors observing endeavoured
to calm my apprehensions by repeating the assurance that I had
nothing to fear.  Their visit, they added, was occasioned by the
curiosity of Ali's wife Fatima, who had heard so much about
Christians that she was very anxious to see one:  as soon as her
curiosity should be satisfied, they had no doubt, they said, that
Ali would give me a handsome present, and send a person to conduct
me to Bambarra.  Finding entreaty and resistance equally fruitless,
I prepared to follow the messengers, and took leave of my landlord
and his company with great reluctance.  Accompanied by my faithful
boy (for Daman's slave made his escape on seeing the Moors), we
reached Dalli in the evening, where we were strictly watched by the
Moors during the night.

March 8.--We were conducted by a circuitous path through the woods
to Dangali, where we slept.

March 9.--We continued our journey, and in the afternoon arrived at
Sampaka.

Next morning (March 10th) we set out for Samaming-koos.  On the road
we overtook a woman and two boys with an ass; she informed us that
she was going for Bambarra, but had been stopped on the road by a
party of Moors, who had taken most of her clothes and some gold from
her; and that she would be under the necessity of returning to Deena
till the fast moon was over.  The same even the new moon was seen
which ushered in the month Ramadan.  Large fires were made in
different parts of the town, and a greater quantity of victuals than
usual dressed upon the occasion.

March 11.--By daylight the Moors were in readiness; but as I had
suffered much from thirst on the road I made my boy fill a soofroo
of water for my own use, for the Moors assured me that they should
not taste either meat or drink until sunset.  However, I found that
the excessive heat of the sun, and the dust we raised in travelling,
overcame their scruples, and made my soofroo a very useful part of
our baggage.  On our arrival at Deena, I went to pay my respects to
one of Ali's sons.  I found him sitting in a low hut, with five or
six more of his companions, washing their hands and feet, and
frequently taking water into their mouths, gargling and spitting it
out again.  I was no sooner seated than he handed me a double-
barrelled gun, and told me to dye the stock of a blue colour, and
repair one of the locks.  I found great difficulty in persuading him
that I knew nothing about the matter.  "However," says he, "if you
cannot repair the gun, you shall give me some knives and scissors
immediately;" and when my boy, who acted as interpreter, assured him
that I had no such articles, he hastily snatched up a musket that
stood by him, cocked it, and putting the muzzle close to the boy's
ear, would certainly have shot him dead upon the spot had not the
Moors wrested the musket from him, and made signs for us to retreat.

March 12.--We departed from Deena towards Benowm, and about nine
o'clock came to a korree, whence the Moors were preparing to depart
to the southward, on account of the scarcity of water; here we
filled our soofroo, and continued our journey over a hot sandy
country, covered with small stunted shrubs, until about one o'clock,
when the heat of the sun obliged us to stop.  But our water being
expended, we could not prudently remain longer than a few minutes to
collect a little gum, which is an excellent succedaneum for water,
as it keeps the mouth moist, and allays for a time the pain in the
throat.

About five o'clock we came in sight of Benowm, the residence of Ali.
It presented to the eye a great number of dirty-looking tents,
scattered without order over a large space of ground; and among the
tents appeared large herds of camels, cattle, and goats.  We reached
the skirts of this camp a little before sunset, and, with much
entreaty, procured a little water.  My arrival was no sooner
observed than the people who drew water at the wells threw down
their buckets; those in the tents mounted their horses, and men,
women, and children, came running or galloping towards me.  I soon
found myself surrounded by such a crowd that I could scarcely move;
one pulled my clothes, another took off my hat, a third stopped me
to examine my waistcoat-buttons, and a fourth called out, "La illah
el Allah, Mahamet rasowl allahi"--("There is but one God, and
Mohammed is his Prophet")--and signified, in a threatening manner,
that I must repeat those words.  We reached at length the king's
tent, where we found a great number of people, men and women,
assembled.  Ali was sitting upon a black leather cushion, clipping a
few hairs from his upper lip, a female attendant holding up a
looking-glass before him.  He appeared to be an old man of the Arab
cast, with a long white beard; and he had a sullen and indignant
aspect.  He surveyed me with attention, and inquired of the Moors if
I could speak Arabic.  Being answered in the negative, he appeared
much surprised, and continued silent.  The surrounding attendants,
and especially the ladies, were abundantly more inquisitive:  they
asked a thousand questions, inspected every part of my apparel,
searched my pockets, and obliged me to unbutton my waistcoat, and
display the whiteness of my skin; they even counted my toes and
fingers, as if they doubted whether I was in truth a human being.
In a little time the priest announced evening prayers; but before
the people departed, the Moor who had acted as interpreter informed
me that Ali was about to present me with something to eat; and
looking round, I observed some boys bringing a wild hog, which they
tied to one of the tent strings, and Ali made signs to me to kill
and dress it for supper.  Though I was very hungry, I did not think
it prudent to eat any part of an animal so much detested by the
Moors, and therefore told him that I never ate such food.  They then
untied the hog, in hopes that it would run immediately at me--for
they believe that a great enmity subsists between hogs and
Christians--but in this they were disappointed, for the animal no
sooner regained his liberty than he began to attack indiscriminately
every person that came in his way, and at last took shelter under
the couch upon which the king was sitting.  The assembly being thus
dissolved, I was conducted to the tent of Ali's chief slave, but was
not permitted to enter, nor allowed to touch anything belonging to
it.  I requested something to eat, and a little boiled corn, with
salt and water, was at length sent me in a wooden bowl; and a mat
was spread upon the sand before the tent, on which I passed the
night, surrounded by the curious multitude.

At sunrise, Ali, with a few attendants, came on horseback to visit
me, and signified that he had provided a hut for me, where I would
be sheltered from the sun.  I was accordingly conducted thither, and
found the hut comparatively cool and pleasant.

I was no sooner seated in this my new habitation than the Moors
assembled in crowds to behold me; but I found it rather a
troublesome levee, for I was obliged to take off one of my
stockings, and show them my foot, and even to take off my jacket and
waistcoat, to show them how my clothes were put on and off; they
were much delighted with the curious contrivance of buttons.  All
this was to be repeated to every succeeding visitor; for such as had
already seen these wonders insisted on their friends seeing the
same; and in this manner I was employed, dressing and undressing,
buttoning and unbuttoning, from noon till night.  About eight
o'clock, Ali sent me for supper some kouskous and salt and water,
which was very acceptable, being the only victuals I had tasted
since morning.

I observed that in the night the Moors kept regular watch, and
frequently looked into the hut to see if I was asleep; and if it was
quite dark, they would light a wisp of grass.  About two o'clock in
the morning a Moor entered the hut, probably with a view to steal
something, or perhaps to murder me; and groping about he laid his
hand upon my shoulder.  As night visitors were at best but
suspicious characters, I sprang up the moment he laid his hand upon
me; and the Moor, in his haste to get off, stumbled over my boy, and
fell with his face upon the wild hog, which returned the attack by
biting the Moor's arm.  The screams of this man alarmed the people
in the king's tent, who immediately conjectured that I had made my
escape, and a number of them mounted their horses, and prepared to
pursue me.  I observed upon this occasion that Ali did not sleep in
his own tent, but came galloping upon a white horse from a small
tent at a considerable distance; indeed, the tyrannical and cruel
behaviour of this man made him so jealous of every person around him
that even his own slaves and domestics knew not where he slept.
When the Moors had explained to him the cause of this outcry they
all went away, and I was permitted to sleep quietly until morning.

March 13.--With the returning day commenced the same round of insult
and irritation--the boys assembled to beat the hog, and the men and
women to plague the Christian.  It is impossible for me to describe
the behaviour of a people who study mischief as a science, and exult
in the miseries and misfortunes of their fellow-creatures.



CHAPTER X--A MOORISH WEDDING



The Moors, though very indolent themselves, are rigid task-masters,
and keep every person under them in full employment.  My boy Demba
was sent to the woods to collect withered grass for Ali's horses;
and after a variety of projects concerning myself, they at last
found out an employment for me:  this was no other than the
respectable office of barber.  I was to make my first exhibition in
this capacity in the royal presence, and to be honoured with the
task of shaving the head of the young prince of Ludamar.  I
accordingly seated myself upon the sand, and the boy, with some
hesitation, sat down beside me.  A small razor, about three inclines
long, was put into my hand, and I was ordered to proceed; but
whether from my own want of skill, or the improper shape of the
instrument, I unfortunately made a slight incision in the boy's head
at the very commencement of the operation; and the king, observing
the awkward manner in which I held the razor, concluded that his
son's head was in very improper hands, and ordered me to resign the
razor and walk out of the tent.  This I considered as a very
fortunate circumstance; for I had laid it down as a rule to make
myself as useless and insignificant as possible, as the only means
of recovering my liberty.

March 18.--Four Moors arrived from Jarra with Johnson my
interpreter, having seized him before he had received any intimation
of my confinement, and bringing with them a bundle of clothes that I
had left at Daman Jumma's house, for my use in case I should return
by the way of Jarra.  Johnson was led into Ali's tent and examined;
the bundle was opened, and I was sent for to explain the use of the
different articles.  I was happy, however, to find that Johnson had
committed my papers to the charge of one of Daman's wives.  When I
had satisfied Ali's curiosity respecting the different articles of
apparel the bundle was again tied up, and put into a large cow-skin
bag that stood in a corner of the tent.  The same evening Ali sent
three of his people to inform me that there were many thieves in the
neighbourhood, and that to prevent the rest of my things from being
stolen it was necessary to convey them all into his tent.  My
clothes, instruments, and everything that belonged to me, were
accordingly carried away; and though the heat and dust made clean
linen very necessary and refreshing, I could not procure a single
shirt out of the small stock I had brought along with me.  Ali was,
however, disappointed by not finding among my effects the quantity
of gold and amber that he expected; but to make sure of everything
he sent the same people, on the morning following, to examine
whether I had anything concealed about my person.  They, with their
usual rudeness, searched every part of my apparel, and stripped me
of all my gold, amber, my watch, and one of my pocket-compasses; I
had, fortunately, in the night, buried the other compass in the
sand--and this, with the clothes I had on, was all that the tyranny
of Ali had now left me.

The gold and amber were highly gratifying to Moorish avarice, but
the pocket-compass soon became an object of superstitious curiosity.
Ali was very desirous to be informed why that small piece of iron,
the needle, always pointed to the Great Desert; and I found myself
somewhat puzzled to answer the question.  To have pleaded my
ignorance would have created a suspicion that I wished to conceal
the real truth from him; I therefore told him that my mother resided
far beyond the sands of Sahara, and that whilst she was alive the
piece of iron would always point that way, and serve as a guide to
conduct me to her, and that if she was dead it would point to her
grave.  Ali now looked at the compass with redoubled amazement;
turned it round and round repeatedly; but observing that it always
pointed the same way, he took it up with great caution and returned
it to me, manifesting that he thought there was something of magic
in it, and that he was afraid of keeping so dangerous an instrument
in his possession.

March 20.--This morning a council of chief men was held in Ali's
tent respecting me.  Their decisions, though they were all
unfavourable to me, were differently related by different persons.
Some said that they intended to put me to death; others that I was
only to lose my right hand; but the most probable account was that
which I received from Ali's own son, a boy about nine years of age,
who came to me in the evening, and, with much concern, informed me
that his uncle had persuaded his father to put out my eyes, which
they said resembled those of a cat, and that all the bushreens had
approved of this measure.  His father, however, he said, would not
put the sentence into execution until Fatima, the queen, who was at
present in the north, had seen me.

March 21.--Anxious to know my destiny, I went to the king early in
the morning; and as a number of bushreens were assembled, I thought
this a favourable opportunity of discovering their intentions.  I
therefore began by begging his permission to return to Jarra, which
was flatly refused.  His wife, he said, had not yet seen me, and I
must stay until she came to Benowm, after which I should be at
liberty to depart; and that my horse, which had been taken away from
me the day after I arrived, should be again restored to me.
Unsatisfactory as this answer was, I was forced to appear pleased;
and as there was little hope of making my escape at this season of
the year, on account of the excessive heat, and the total want of
water in the woods, I resolved to wait patiently until the rains had
set in, or until some more favourable opportunity should present
itself.  But "hope deferred maketh the heart sick."  This tedious
procrastination from day to day, and the thoughts of travelling
through the negro kingdoms in the rainy season, which was now fast
approaching, made me very melancholy; and having passed a restless
night, I found myself attacked in the morning by a smart fever.  I
had wrapped myself close up in my cloak with a view to induce
perspiration, and was asleep, when a party of Moors entered the hut,
and with their usual rudeness pulled the cloak from me.  I made
signs to them that I was sick, and wished much to sleep, but I
solicited in vain; my distress was matter of sport to them, and they
endeavoured to heighten it by every means in their power.  In this
perplexity I left my hut, and walked to some shady trees at a little
distance from the camp, where I lay down.  But even here persecution
followed me, and solitude was thought too great an indulgence for a
distressed Christian.  Ali's son, with a number of horsemen, came
galloping to the place, and ordered me to rise and follow them.  I
begged they would allow me to remain where I was, if it was only for
a few hours; but they paid little attention to what I said, and,
after a few threatening words, one of them pulled out a pistol from
a leather bag that was fastened to the pommel of his saddle, and
presenting it towards me, snapped it twice.  He did this with so
much indifference, that I really doubted whether the pistol was
loaded.  He cocked it a third time, and was striking the flint with
a piece of steel, when I begged them to desist, and returned with
them to the camp.  When we entered Ali's tent we found him much out
of humour.  He called for the Moor's pistol, and amused himself for
some time with opening and shutting the pan; at length taking up his
powder-horn, he fresh primed it, and, turning round to me with a
menacing look, said something in Arabic which I did not understand.
I desired my boy, who was sitting before the tent, to inquire what
offence I had committed; when I was informed, that having gone out
of the camp without Ali's permission, they suspected that I had some
design of making my escape; and that, in future, if I was seen
without the skirts of the camp, orders had been given that I should
be shot by the first person that observed me.

In the afternoon the horizon to the eastward was thick and hazy, and
the Moors prognosticated a sand wind, which accordingly commenced on
the morning following, and lasted, with slight intermissions, for
two days.  The force of the wind was not in itself very great; it
was what a seaman would have denominated a stiff breeze; but the
quantity of sand and dust carried before it was such as to darken
the whole atmosphere.

About this time all the women of the camp had their feet and the
ends of their fingers stained of a dark saffron colour.  I could
never ascertain whether this was done from motives of religion, or
by way of ornament.

March 28.--This morning a large herd of cattle arrived from the
eastward, and one of the drivers, to whom Ali had lent my horse,
came into my hut with the leg of an antelope as a present, and told
me that my horse was standing before Ali's tent.  In a little time
Ali sent one of his slaves to inform me that in the afternoon I must
be in readiness to ride out with him, as he intended to show me to
some of his women.

About four o'clock, Ali, with six of his courtiers, came riding to
my hut, and told me to follow them.  I readily complied.  But here a
new difficulty occurred.  The Moors, accustomed to a loose and easy
dress, could not reconcile themselves to the appearance of my
NANKEEN BREECHES, which they said were not only inelegant, but, on
account of their tightness, very indecent; and as this was a visit
to ladies, Ali ordered my boy to bring out the loose cloak which I
had always worn since my arrival at Benowm, and told me to wrap it
close round me.  We visited the tents of four different ladies, at
every one of which I was presented with a bowl of milk and water.
All these ladies were remarkably corpulent, which is considered here
as the highest mark of beauty.  They were very inquisitive, and
examined my hair and skin with great attention, but affected to
consider me as a sort of inferior being to themselves, and would
knit their brows, and seem to shudder when they looked at the
whiteness of my skin.

The Moors are certainly very good horsemen.  They ride without fear-
-their saddles being high before and behind, afford them a very
secure seat; and if they chance to fall, the whole country is so
soft and sandy that they are very seldom hurt.  Their greatest
pride, and one of their principal amusements, is to put the horse to
its full speed, and then stop him with a sudden jerk, so as
frequently to bring him down upon his haunches.  Ali always rode
upon a milk-white horse, with its tail dyed red.  He never walked,
unless when he went to say his prayers; and even in the night two or
three horses were always kept ready saddled at a little distance
from his own tent.  The Moors set a very high value upon their
horses; for it is by their superior fleetness that they are enabled
to make so many predatory excursions into the negro countries.  They
feed them three or four times a day, and generally give them a large
quantity of sweet milk in the evening, which the horses appear to
relish very much.

April 3.--This forenoon, a child, which had been some time sickly,
died in the next tent; and the mother and relations immediately
began the death-howl.  They were joined by a number of female
visitors, who came on purpose to assist at this melancholy concert.
I had no opportunity of seeing the burial, which is generally
performed secretly, in the dusk of the evening, and frequently at
only a few yards' distance from the tent.  Over the grave they plant
one particular shrub, and no stranger is allowed to pluck a leaf, or
even to touch it--so great a veneration have they for the dead.

April 7.--About four o'clock in the afternoon a whirlwind passed
through the camp with such violence that it overturned three tents,
and blew down one side of my hut.  These whirlwinds come from the
Great Desert, and at this season of the year are so common that I
have seen five or six of them at one time.  They carry up quantities
of sand to an amazing height, which resemble, at a distance, so many
moving pillars of smoke.

The scorching heat of the sun, upon a dry and sandy country, makes
the air insufferably hot.  Ali having robbed me of my thermometer, I
had no means of forming a comparative judgment; but in the middle of
the day, when the beams of the vertical sun are seconded by the
scorching wind from the desert, the ground is frequently heated to
such a degree as not to be borne by the naked foot.  Even the negro
slaves will not run from one tent to another without their sandals.
At this time of the day the Moors lie stretched at length in their
tents, either asleep, or unwilling to move; and I have often felt
the wind so hot, that I could not hold my hand in the current of air
which came through the crevices of my hut without feeling sensible
pain.

April. 8.--This day the wind blew from the south-west; and in the
night there was a heavy shower of rain, accompanied with thunder and
lightning.

April 10.--In the evening the tabala, or large drum, was beat to
announce a wedding, which was held at one of the neighbouring tents.
A great number of people of both sexes assembled, but without that
mirth and hilarity which take place at a negro wedding.  Here was
neither singing nor dancing, nor any other amusement that I could
perceive.  A woman was beating the drum, and the other women joining
at times like a chorus, by setting up a shrill scream, and at the
same time moving their tongues from one side of the mouth to the
other with great celerity.  I was soon tired, and had returned into
my hut, where I was sitting almost asleep, when an old woman entered
with a wooden bowl in her hand, and signified that she had brought
me a present from the bride.  Before I could recover from the
surprise which this message created, the woman discharged tine
contents of the bowl full in my face.  Finding that it was the same
sort of holy water with which, among the Hottentots, a priest is
said to sprinkle a newly-married couple, I began to suspect that the
old lady was actuated by mischief or malice; but she gave me
seriously to understand that it was a nuptial benediction from the
bride's own person, and which, on such occasions, is always received
by the young unmarried Moors as a mark of distinguished favour.
This being the case, I wiped my face, and sent my acknowledgments to
the lady.  The wedding drum continued to beat, and the women to
sing, or rather whistle, all night.  About nine in the morning the
bride was brought in state from her mother's tent, attended by a
number of women who carried her tent (a present from the husband),
some bearing up the poles, others holding by the strings; and in
this manner they marched, whistling as formerly, until they came to
the place appointed for her residence, where they pitched the tent.
The husband followed, with a number of men, leading four bullocks,
which they tied to the tent strings; and having killed another, and
distributed the beef among the people, the ceremony was concluded.



CHAPTER XI--SUFFERINGS IN CAPTIVITY



One whole month had now elapsed since I was led into captivity,
during which time each returning day brought me fresh distresses.  I
watched the lingering course of the sun with anxiety, and blessed
his evening beams as they shined a yellow lustre along the sandy
floor of my hut; for it was then that my oppressors left me, and
allowed me to pass the sultry night in solitude and reflection.

About midnight a bowl of kouskous, with some salt and water, were
brought for me and my two attendants.  This was our common fare, and
it was all that was allowed us to allay the cravings of hunger and
support nature for the whole of the following day; for it is to be
observed that this was the Mohammedan Lent, and as the Moors keep
the fast with a religious strictness, they thought it proper to
compel me, though a Christian, to similar observance.  Time,
however, somewhat reconciled me to my situation.  I found that I
could bear hunger and thirst better than I expected; and at length I
endeavoured to beguile the tedious hours by learning to write
Arabic.

April 14.--As Queen Fatima had not yet arrived, Ali proposed to go
to the north and bring her back with him; but as the place was two
days' journey from Benowm it was necessary to have some refreshment
on the road; and Ali, suspicious of those about him, was so afraid
of being poisoned, that he never ate anything but what was dressed
under his own immediate inspection.  A fine bullock was therefore
killed, and the flesh being cut up into thin slices, was dried in
the sun; and this, with two bags of dry kouskous, formed his
travelling provisions.

Previous to his departure, the black people of the town of Benowm
came, according to their annual custom, to show their arms, and
bring their stipulated tribute of corn and cloth.  They were but
badly armed--twenty-two with muskets, forty or fifty with bows and
arrows, and nearly the same number of men and boys with spears only.
They arranged themselves before the tent, where they waited until
their arms were examined, and some little disputes settled.

About midnight on the 16th, Ali departed quietly from Benowm,
accompanied by a few attendants.  He was expected to return in the
course of nine or ten days.

April 18.--Two days after the departure of Ali a shereef arrived
with salt and some other articles from Walet, the capital of the
kingdom of Biroo.  As there was no tent appropriated for him, he
took up his abode in the same hut with me.  He seemed to be a well-
informed man, and his acquaintance both with the Arabic and Bambarra
tongues enabled him to travel with ease and safety through a number
of kingdoms; for though his place of residence was Walet, he had
visited Houssa, and had lived some years at Timbuctoo.  Upon my
inquiring so particularly about the distance from Walet to
Timbuctoo, he asked me if I intended to travel that way; and being
answered in the affirmative, he shook his head, and said it would
not do; for that Christians were looked upon there as the devil's
children, and enemies to the Prophet.  From him I learned the
following particulars:- That Houssa was the largest town he had ever
seen:  that Walet was larger than Timbuctoo, but being remote from
the Niger, and its trade consisting chiefly of salt, it was not so
much resorted to by strangers:  that between Benowm and Walet was
ten days' journey; but the road did not lead through any remarkable
towns, and travellers supported themselves by purchasing milk from
the Arabs, who keep their herds by the watering-places:  two of the
days' journeys was over a sandy country, without water.  From Walet
to Timbuctoo was eleven days more; but water was more plentiful, and
the journey was usually performed upon bullocks.  He said there were
many Jews at Timbuctoo, but they all spoke Arabic, and used the same
prayers as the Moors.  He frequently pointed his hand to the south-
east quarter, or rather the east by south, observing that Timbuctoo
was situated in that direction; and though I made him repeat this
information again and again, I never found him to vary more than
half a point, which was to the southward.

April 24.--This morning Shereef Sidi Mahomed Moora Abdalla, a native
of Morocco, arrived with five bullocks loaded with salt.  He had
formerly resided some months at Gibraltar, where he had picked up as
much English as enabled him to make himself understood.  He informed
me that he had been five months in coming from Santa Cruz; but that
great part of the time had been spent in trading.  When I requested
him to enumerate the days employed in travelling from Morocco to
Benowm, he gave them as follows:  To Swera, three days; to Agadier,
three; to Jinikin, ten; to Wadenoon, four; to Lakeneig, five; to
Zeeriwin-zerimani, five; to Tisheet, ten; to Benowm, ten--in all,
fifty days:  but travellers usually rest a long while at Jinikin and
Tisheet--at the latter of which places they dig the rock salt, which
is so great an article of commerce with the negroes.

In conversing with these shereefs, and the different strangers that
resorted to the camp, I passed my time with rather less uneasiness
than formerly.  On the other hand, as the dressing of my victuals
was now left entirely to the care of Ali's slaves, over whom I had
not the smallest control, I found myself but ill supplied, worse
even than in the fast month:  for two successive nights they
neglected to send us our accustomed meal; and though my boy went to
a small negro town near the camp, and begged with great diligence
from hut to hut, he could only procure a few handfuls of ground
nuts, which he readily shared with me.

We had been for some days in daily expectation of Ali's return from
Saheel (or the north country) with his wife Fatima.  In the
meanwhile, Mansong, king of Bambarra, as I have related in Chapter
VIII., had sent to Ali for a party of horse to assist in storming
Gedingooma.  With this demand Ali had not only refused to comply,
but had treated the messengers with great haughtiness and contempt;
upon which Mansong gave up all thoughts of taking the town, and
prepared to chastise Ali for his contumacy.

Things were in this situation when, on the 29th of April, a
messenger arrived at Benowm with the disagreeable intelligence that
the Bambarra army was approaching the frontiers of Ludamar.  This
threw the whole country into confusion, and in the afternoon Ali's
son, with about twenty horsemen, arrived at Benowm.  He ordered all
the cattle to be driven away immediately, all the tents to be
struck, and the people to hold themselves in readiness to depart at
daylight the next morning.

April 30.--At daybreak the whole camp was in motion.  The baggage
was carried upon bullocks--the two tent poles being placed one on
each side, and the different wooden articles of the tent distributed
in like manner; the tent cloth was thrown over all, and upon this
was commonly placed one or two women; for the Moorish women are very
bad walkers.  The king's favourite concubines rode upon camels, with
a saddle of a particular construction, and a canopy to shelter them
from the sun.  We proceeded to the northward until noon, when the
king's son ordered the whole company, except the tents, to enter a
thick low wood which was upon our right.  I was sent along with the
two tents, and arrived in the evening at a negro town called Farani:
here we pitched the tents in an open place at no great distance from
the town.

May 1.--As I had some reason to suspect that this day was also to be
considered as a fast, I went in the morning to the negro town of
Farani, and begged some provisions from the dooty, who readily
supplied my wants, and desired me to come to his house every day
during my stay in the neighbourhood.--These hospitable people are
looked upon by the Moors as an abject race of slaves, and are
treated accordingly.

May 3.--We departed from the vicinity of Farani, and after a
circuitous route through the woods, arrived at Ali's camp in the
afternoon.  This encampment was larger than that of Benowm, and was
situated un the middle of a thick wood, about two miles distant from
a negro town called Bubaker.  I immediately waited upon Ali, in
order to pay my respects to Queen Fatima, who had come with him from
Saheel.  He seemed much pleased with my coming, shook hands with me,
and informed his wife that I was the Christian.  She was a woman of
the Arab caste, with long black hair, and remarkably corpulent.  She
appeared at first rather shocked at the thought of having a
Christian so near her; but when I had, by means of a negro boy who
spoke the Mandingo and Arabic tongues, answered a great many
questions which her curiosity suggested respecting the country of
the Christians, she seemed more at ease, and presented me with a
bowl of milk, which I considered as a very favourable omen.

The heat was now almost insufferable--all nature seemed sinking
under it.  The distant country presented to the eye a dreary expanse
of sand, with a few stunted trees and prickly bushes, in the shade
of which the hungry cattle licked up the withered grass, while the
camels and goats picked off the scanty foliage.  The scarcity of
water was greater here than at Benowm.  Day and night the wells were
crowded with cattle, lowing and fighting with each other to come at
the troughs.  Excessive thirst made many of them furious; others,
being too weak to contend for the water, endeavoured to quench their
thirst by devouring the black mud from the gutters near the wells,
which they did with great avidity, though it was commonly fatal to
them.

One night, having solicited in vain for water at the camp, and been
quite feverish, I resolved to try my fortune at the wells, which
were about half a mile distant from the camp.  Accordingly I set out
about midnight, and being guided by the lowing of the cattle, soon
arrived at the place, where I found the Moors very busy drawing
water.  I requested permission to drink, but was driven away with
outrageous abuse.  Passing, however, from one well to another, I
came at last to one where there was only an old man and two boys.  I
made the same request to this man, and he immediately drew me up a
bucket of water; but, as I was about to take hold of it, he
recollected that I was a Christian, and fearing that his bucket
might be polluted by my lips, he dashed the water into the trough,
and told me to drink from thence.  Though this trough was none of
the largest, and three cows were already drinking from it, I
resolved to come in for my share; and kneeling down thrust my head
between two of the cows, and drank with great pleasure until the
water was nearly exhausted, and the cows began to contend with each
other for the last mouthful.

In adventures of this nature I passed the sultry month of May,
during which no material change took place in my situation.  Ali
still considered me as a lawful prisoner; and Fatima, though she
allowed me a larger quantity of victuals than I had been accustomed
to receive at Benowm, had as yet said nothing on the subject of my
release.  In the meantime, the frequent changes of the wind, the
gathering clouds, and distant lightning, with other appearances of
approaching rain, indicated that the wet season was at hand, when
the Moors annually evacuate the country of the negroes, and return
to the skirts of the Great Desert.  This made me consider that my
fate was drawing towards a crisis, and I resolved to wait for the
event without any seeming uneasiness; but circumstances occurred
which produced a change in my favour more suddenly than I had
foreseen, or had reason to expect.  The case was this:- The fugitive
Kaartans, who had taken refuge in Ludamar, as I have related in
Chapter VIII., finding that the Moors were about to leave them, and
dreading the resentment of their own sovereign, whom they had so
basely deserted, offered to treat with Ali for two hundred Moorish
horsemen, to co-operate with them in an effort to expel Daisy from
Gedingooma; for until Daisy should be vanquished or humbled they
considered that they could neither return to their native towns nor
live in security in any of the neighbouring kingdoms.  With a view
to extort money from these people by means of this treaty, Ali
despatched his son to Jarra, and prepared to follow him in the
course of a few days.  This was an opportunity of too great
consequence to me to be neglected.  I immediately applied to Fatima,
who, I found, had the chief direction in all affairs of state, and
begged her interest with Ali to give me permission to accompany him
to Jarra.  This request, after some hesitation, was favourably
received.  Fatima looked kindly on me, and, I believe, was at length
moved with compassion towards me.  My bundles were brought from the
large cow-skin bag that stood in the corner of Ali's tent, and I was
ordered to explain the use of the different articles, and show the
method of putting on the boots, stockings, &c.--with all which I
cheerfully complied, and was told that in the course of a few days I
should be at liberty to depart.

Believing, therefore, that I should certainly find the means of
escaping from Jarra, if I should once get thither, I now freely
indulged the pleasing hope that my captivity would soon terminate;
and happily not having been disappointed in this idea, I shall pause
in this place to collect and bring into one point of view such
observations on the Moorish character and country as I had no fair
opportunity of introducing into the preceding narrative.



CHAPTER XII--OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHARACTER AND COUNTRY OF THE MOORS



The Moors of this part of Africa are divided into many separate
tribes, of which the most formidable, according to what was reported
to me, are those of Trasart and Il Braken, which inhabit the
northern bank of the Senegal river.  The tribes of Gedumah, Jaffnoo,
and Ludamar, though not so numerous as the former, are nevertheless
very powerful and warlike, and are each governed by a chief, or
king, who exercises absolute jurisdiction over his own horde,
without acknowledging allegiance to a common sovereign.  In time of
peace the employment of the people is pasturage.  The Moors, indeed,
subsist chiefly on the flesh of their cattle, and are always in the
extreme of either gluttony or abstinence.  In consequence of the
frequent and severe fasts which their religion enjoins, and the
toilsome journeys which they sometimes undertake across the desert,
they are enabled to bear both hunger and thirst with surprising
fortitude; but whenever opportunities occur of satisfying their
appetite they generally devour more at one meal than would serve a
European for three.  They pay but little attention to agriculture,
purchasing their corn, cotton, cloth, and other necessaries from the
negroes, in exchange for salt, which they dig from the pits in the
Great Desert.

The natural barrenness of the country is such that it furnishes but
few materials for manufacture.  The Moors, however, contrive to
weave a strong cloth, with which they cover their tents; the thread
is spun by their women from the hair of goats, and they prepare the
hides of their cattle so as to furnish saddles, bridles, pouches,
and other articles of leather.  They are likewise sufficiently
skilful to convert the native iron, which they procure from the
negroes, into spears and knives, and also into pots for boiling
their food; but their sabres, and other weapons, as well as their
firearms and ammunition, they purchase from the Europeans, in
exchange for the negro slaves which they obtain in their predatory
excursions.  Their chief commerce of this kind is with the French
traders on the Senegal river.

The Moors are rigid Mohammedans, and possess, with the bigotry and
superstition, all the intolerance of their sect.  They have no
mosques at Benowm, but perform their devotions in a sort of open
shed, or enclosure, made of mats.  The priest is, at the same time,
schoolmaster to the juniors.  His pupils assemble every evening
before his tent; where, by the light of a large fire, made of
brushwood and cow's dung, they are taught a few sentences from the
Koran, and are initiated into the principles of their creed.  Their
alphabet differs but little from that in Richardson's Arabic
Grammar.  They always write with the vowel points.  Their priests
even affect to know something of foreign literature.  The priest of
Benowm assured me that he could read the writings of the Christians:
he showed me a number of barbarous characters, which he asserted
were the Roman alphabet; and he produced another specimen, equally
unintelligible, which he declared to be the Kallam il Indi, or
Persian.  His library consisted of nine volumes in quarto; most of
them, I believe, were books of religion--for the name of Mohammed
appeared in red letters in almost every page of each.  His scholars
wrote their lessons upon thin boards, paper being too expensive for
general use.  The boys were diligent enough, and appeared to possess
a considerable share of emulation--carrying their boards slung over
their shoulders when about their common employments.  When a boy has
committed to memory a few of their prayers, and can read and write
certain parts of the Koran, he is reckoned sufficiently instructed;
and with this slender stock of learning commences his career of
life.  Proud of his acquirements, he surveys with contempt the
unlettered negro; and embraces every opportunity of displaying his
superiority over such of his countrymen as are not distinguished by
the same accomplishments.

The education of the girls is neglected altogether:  mental
accomplishments are but little attended to by the women; nor is the
want of them considered by the men as a defect in the female
character.  They are regarded, I believe, as an inferior species of
animals; and seem to be brought up for no other purpose than that of
administering to the sensual pleasures of their imperious masters.
Voluptuousness is therefore considered as their chief
accomplishment, and slavish submission as their indispensable duty.

The Moors have singular ideas of feminine perfection.  The
gracefulness of figure and motion, and a countenance enlivened by
expression, are by no means essential points in their standard.
With them corpulence and beauty appear to be terms nearly
synonymous.  A woman of even moderate pretensions must be one who
cannot walk without a slave under each arm to support her; and a
perfect beauty is a load for a camel.  In consequence of this
prevalent taste for unwieldiness of bulk, the Moorish ladies take
great pains to acquire it early in life; and for this purpose many
of the young girls are compelled by their mothers to devour a great
quantity of kouskous, and drink a large bowl of camel's milk every
morning.  It is of no importance whether the girl has an appetite or
not; the kouskous and milk must be swallowed, and obedience is
frequently enforced by blows.  I have seen a poor girl sit crying,
with the bowl at her lips, for more than an hour, and her mother,
with a stick in her hand, watching her all the while, and using the
stick without mercy whenever she observed that her daughter was not
swallowing.  This singular practice, instead of producing
indigestion and disease, soon covers the young lady with that degree
of plumpness which, in the eye of a Moor, is perfection itself.

As the Moors purchase all their clothing from the negroes, the women
are forced to be very economical in the article of dress.  In
general they content themselves with a broad piece of cotton cloth,
which is wrapped round the middle, and hangs down like a petticoat
almost to the ground.  To the upper part of this are sewed two
square pieces, one before, and the other behind, which are fastened
together over the shoulders.  The head-dress is commonly a bandage
of cotton cloth, with some parts of it broader than others, which
serve to conceal the face when they walk in the sun.  Frequently,
however, when they go abroad, they veil themselves from head to
foot.

The employment of the women varies according to their degrees of
opulence.  Queen Fatima, and a few others of high rank, like the
great ladies in some parts of Europe, pass their time chiefly in
conversing with their visitors, performing their devotions, or
admiring their charms in a looking-glass.  The women of inferior
class employ themselves in different domestic duties.  They are very
vain and talkative; and when anything puts them out of humour they
commonly vent their anger upon their female slaves, over whom they
rule with severe and despotic authority, which leads me to observe
that the condition of these poor captives is deplorably wretched.
At daybreak they are compelled to fetch water from the wells in
large skins, called girbas; and as soon as they have brought water
enough to serve the family for the day, as well as the horses (for
the Moors seldom give their horses the trouble of going to the
wells), they are then employed in pounding the corn and dressing the
victuals.  This being always done in the open air, the slaves are
exposed to the combined heat of the sun, the sand, and the fire.  In
the intervals it is their business to sweep the tent, churn the
milk, and perform other domestic offices.  With all this they are
badly fed, and oftentimes cruelly punished.

The men's dress, among the Moors of Ludamar, differs but little from
that of the negroes, which has been already described, except that
they have all adopted that characteristic of the Mohammedan sect,
the turban, which is here universally made of white cotton cloth.
Such of the Moors as have long beards display them with a mixture of
pride and satisfaction, as denoting an Arab ancestry.  Of this
number was Ali himself; but among the generality of the people the
hair is short and busy, and universally black.  And here I may be
permitted to observe, that if any one circumstance excited among
them favourable thoughts towards my own person, it was my beard,
which was now grown to an enormous length, and was always beheld
with approbation or envy.  I believe, in my conscience, they thought
it too good a beard for a Christian.

The only diseases which I observed to prevail among the Moors were
the intermittent fever and dysentery--for the cure of which nostrums
are sometimes administered by their old women, but in general nature
is left to her own operations.  Mention was made to me of the small-
pox as being sometimes very destructive; but it had not, to my
knowledge, made its appearance in Ludamar while I was in captivity.
That it prevails, however, among some tribes of the Moors, and that
it is frequently conveyed by them to the negroes in the southern
states, I was assured on the authority of Dr. Laidley, who also
informed me that the negroes on the Gambia practise inoculation.

The administration of criminal justice, as far as I had
opportunities of observing, was prompt and decisive:  for although
civil rights were but little regarded in Ludamar, it was necessary
when crimes were committed that examples should sometimes be made.
On such occasions the offender was brought before Ali, who
pronounced, of his sole authority, what judgment he thought proper.
But I understood that capital punishment was seldom or never
inflicted, except on the negroes.

Although the wealth of the Moors consists chiefly in their numerous
herds of cattle, yet, as the pastoral life does not afford full
employment, the majority of the people are perfectly idle, and spend
the day in trifling conversation about their horses, or in laying
schemes of depredation on the negro villages.

Of the number of Ali's Moorish subjects I had no means of forming a
correct estimate.  The military strength of Ludamar consists in
cavalry.  They are well mounted, and appear to be very expert in
skirmishing and attacking by surprise.  Every soldier furnishes his
own horse, and finds his accoutrements, consisting of a large sabre,
a double-barrelled gun, a small red leather bag for holding his
balls, and a powder bag slung over the shoulder.  He has no pay, nor
any remuneration but what arises from plunder.  This body is not
very numerous; for when Ali made war upon Bambarra I was informed
that his whole force did not exceed two thousand cavalry.  They
constitute, however, by what I could learn, but a very small
proportion of his Moorish subjects.  The horses are very beautiful,
and so highly esteemed that the negro princes will sometimes give
from twelve to fourteen slaves for one horse.

Ludamar has for its northern boundary the great desert of Sahara.
From the best inquiries I could make, this vast ocean of sand, which
occupies so large a space in northern Africa, may be pronounced
almost destitute of inhabitants, except where the scanty vegetation
which appears in certain spots affords pasturage for the flocks of a
few miserable Arabs, who wander from one well to another.  In other
places, where the supply of water and pasturage is more abundant,
small parties of the Moors have taken up their residence.  Here they
live, in independent poverty, secure from the tyrannical government
of Barbary.  But the greater part of the desert, being totally
destitute of water, is seldom visited by any human being, unless
where the trading caravans trace out their toilsome and dangerous
route across it.  In some parts of this extensive waste the ground
is covered with low stunted shrubs, which serve as landmarks for the
caravans, and furnish the camels with a scanty forage.  In other
parts the disconsolate wanderer, wherever he turns, sees nothing
around him but a vast interminable expanse of sand and sky--a gloomy
and barren void, where the eye finds no particular object to rest
upon, and the mind is filled with painful apprehensions of perishing
with thirst.

The few wild animals which inhabit these melancholy regions are the
antelope and the ostrich; their swiftness of foot enabling them to
reach the distant watering-places.  On the skirts of the desert,
where water is more plentiful, are found lions, panthers, elephants,
and wild bears.

Of domestic animals, the only one that can endure the fatigue of
crossing the desert is the camel.  By the particular conformation of
the stomach he is enabled to carry a supply of water sufficient for
ten or twelve days; his broad and yielding foot is well adapted for
a sandy country; and, by a singular motion of his upper lip, he
picks the smallest leaves from the thorny shrubs of the desert as he
passes along.  The camel is therefore the only beast of burden
employed by the trading caravans which traverse the desert in
different directions, from Barbary to Nigritia.  As this useful and
docile creature has been sufficiently described by systematical
writers it is unnecessary for me to enlarge upon his properties.  I
shall only add that his flesh, though to my own taste dry and
unsavoury, is preferred by the Moors to any other; and that the milk
of the female is in universal esteem, and is indeed sweet, pleasant,
and nutritive.

I have observed that the Moors, in their complexion, resemble the
mulattoes of the West Indies; but they have something unpleasant in
their aspect which the mulattoes have not.  I fancied that I
discovered in the features of most of them a disposition towards
cruelty and low cunning; and I could never contemplate their
physiognomy without feeling sensible uneasiness.  From the staring
wildness of their eyes a stranger would immediately set them down as
a nation of lunatics.  The treachery and malevolence of their
character are manifest in their plundering excursions against the
negro villages.  Oftentimes without the smallest provocation, and
sometimes under the fairest professions of friendship, they will
suddenly seize upon the negroes' cattle, and even on the inhabitants
themselves.  The negroes very seldom retaliate.

Like the roving Arabs, the Moors frequently remove from one place to
another, according to the season of the year or the convenience of
pasturage.  In the month of February, when the heat of the sun
scorches up every sort of vegetation in the desert, they strike
their tents and approach the negro country to the south, where they
reside until the rains commence, in the month of July.  At this
time, having purchased corn and other necessaries from the negroes,
in exchange for salt, they again depart to the northward, and
continue in the desert until the rains are over, and that part of
the country becomes burnt up and barren.

This wandering and restless way of life, while it inures them to
hardships, strengthens at the same time the bonds of their little
society, and creates in them an aversion towards strangers which is
almost insurmountable.  Cut off from all intercourse with civilised
nations, and boasting an advantage over the negroes, by possessing,
though in a very limited degree, the knowledge of letters, they are
at once the vainest and proudest, and perhaps the most bigoted,
ferocious, and intolerant of all the nations on the earth--combining
in their character the blind superstition of the negro with the
savage cruelty and treachery of the Arab.



CHAPTER XIII--ESCAPE FROM CAPTIVITY



Having, as hath been related, obtained permission to accompany Ali
to Jarra, I took leave of Queen Fatima, who, with much grace and
civility, returned me part of my apparel; and the evening before my
departure, my horse, with the saddle and bridle, were sent me by
Ali's order.

Early on the morning of the 26th of May I departed from the camp of
Bubaker, accompanied by my two attendants, Johnson and Demba, and a
number of Moors on horseback, Ali, with about fifty horsemen, having
gone privately from the camp during the night.  We stopped about
noon at Farani, and were there joined by twelve Moors riding upon
camels, and with them we proceeded to a watering-place in the woods,
where we overtook Ali and his fifty horsemen.  They were lodged in
some low shepherd's tents near the wells.

May 28.--Early in the morning the Moors saddled their horses, and
Ali's chief slave ordered me to get in readiness.  In a little time
the same messenger returned, and, taking my boy by the shoulder,
told him in the Mandingo language, that "Ali was to be his master in
future;" and then turning to me, "The business is settled at last,"
said he; "the boy, and everything but your horse, goes back to
Bubaker, but you may take the old fool" (meaning Johnson the
interpreter) "with you to Jarra."   I made him no answer; but being
shocked beyond description at the idea of losing the poor boy, I
hastened to Ali, who was at breakfast before his tent, surrounded by
many of his courtiers.  I told him (perhaps in rather too passionate
a strain), that whatever imprudence I had been guilty of in coming
into his country, I thought I had already been sufficiently punished
for it by being so long detained, and then plundered of all my
little property; which, however, gave me no uneasiness when compared
with what he had just now done to me.  I observed that the boy whom
he had now seized upon was not a slave, and had been accused of no
offence; he was, indeed, one of my attendants, and his faithful
services in that station had procured him his freedom.  His fidelity
and attachment had made him fellow me into my present situation,
and, as he looked up to me for protection I could not see him
deprived of his liberty without remonstrating against such an act as
the height of cruelty and injustice.  Ali made no reply, but, with a
haughty air and malignant smile, told his interpreter that if I did
not mount my horse immediately he would send me back likewise.
There is something in the frown of a tyrant which rouses the most
secret emotions of the heart:  I could not suppress my feelings, and
for once entertained an indignant wish to rid the world of such a
monster.

Poor Demba was not less affected than myself.  He had formed a
strong attachment towards me, and had a cheerfulness of disposition
which often beguiled the tedious hours of captivity.  He was
likewise a proficient in the Bambarra tongue, and promised on that
account to be of great utility to me in future.  But it was in vain
to expect anything favourable to humanity from people who are
strangers to its dictates.  So, having shaken hands with this
unfortunate boy, and blended my tears with his, assuring him,
however, that I would do my utmost to redeem him, I saw him led off
by three of Ali's slaves towards the camp at Bubaker.

When the Moors had mounted their horses I was ordered to follow
them, and, after a toilsome journey through the woods in a very
sultry day, we arrived in the afternoon at a walled village called
Doombani, where we remained two days, waiting for the arrival of
some horsemen from the northward.

On the 1st of June we departed from Doombani towards Jarra.  Our
company now amounted to two hundred men, all on horseback, for the
Moors never use infantry in their wars.  They appeared capable of
enduring great fatigue; but from their total want of discipline our
journey to Jarra was more like a fox-chase than the march of an
army.

At Jarra I took up my lodging at the house of my old acquaintance,
Daman Jumma, and informed him of everything that had befallen me.  I
particularly requested him to use his interest with Ali to redeem my
boy, and promised him a bill upon Dr. Laidley for the value of two
slaves the moment he brought him to Jarra.  Daman very readily
undertook to negotiate the business, but found that Ali considered
the boy as my principal interpreter, and was unwilling to part with
him, lest he should fall a second time into my hands, and be
instrumental in conducting me to Bambarra.  Ali, therefore, put off
the matter from day to day, but withal told Daman that if he wished
to purchase the boy for himself he should have him thereafter at the
common price of a slave, which Daman agreed to pay for him whenever
Ali should send him to Jarra.

The chief object of Ali, in this journey to Jarra, as I have already
related, was to procure money from such of the Kaartans as had taken
refuge in his country.  Some of these had solicited his protection
to avoid the horrors of war, but by far the greatest number of them
were dissatisfied men, who wished the ruin of their own sovereign.
These people no sooner heard that the Bambarra army had returned to
Sego without subduing Daisy, as was generally expected, than they
resolved to make a sudden attack themselves upon him before he could
recruit his forces, which were now known to be much diminished by a
bloody campaign, and in great want of provisions.  With this view
they solicited the Moors to join them, and offered to hire of Ali
two hundred horsemen, which Ali, with the warmest professions of
friendship, agreed to furnish, upon condition that they should
previously supply him with four hundred head of cattle, two hundred
garments of blue cloth, and a considerable quantity of beads and
ornaments.

June 8.--In the afternoon Ali sent his chief slave to inform me that
he was about to return to Bubaker:  but as he would only stay there
a few days to keep the approaching festival (Banna selee), and then
return to Jarra, I had permission to remain with Daman until his
return.  This was joyful news to me; but I had experienced so many
disappointments that I was unwilling to indulge the hope of its
being true, until Johnson came and told me that Ali, with part of
the horsemen, were actually gone from the town, and that the rest
were to follow him in the morning.

June 9.--Early in the morning the remainder of the Moors departed
from the town.  They had, during their stay, committed many acts of
robbery; and this morning with the most unparalleled audacity, they
seized upon three girls who were bringing water from the wells, and
carried them away into slavery.

June 12.--Two people, dreadfully wounded, were discovered at a
watering-place in the woods; one of them had just breathed his last,
but the other was brought alive to Jarra.  On recovering a little he
informed the people that he had fled through the woods from Kasson;
that Daisy had made war upon Sambo, the king of that country; had
surprised three of his towns, and put all the inhabitants to the
sword.  He enumerated by name many of the friends of the Jarra
people who had been murdered in Kasson.  This intelligence made the
death-howl universal in Jarra for the space of two days.

This piece of bad news was followed by another not less distressing.
A number of runaway slaves arrived from Kaarta on the 14th, and
reported that Daisy, having received information concerning the
intended attack upon him, was about to visit Jarra.  This made the
negroes call upon Ali for the two hundred horsemen which he was to
furnish them according to engagement.  But Ali paid very little
attention to their remonstrances, and at last plainly told them that
his cavalry were otherwise employed.  The negroes, thus deserted by
the Moors, and fully apprised that the king of Kaarta would show
them as little clemency as he had shown the inhabitants of Kasson,
resolved to collect all their forces, and hazard a battle before the
king, who was now in great distress for want of provisions, should
become too powerful for them.  They therefore assembled about eight
hundred effective men in the whole, and with these they entered
Kaarta on the evening of the 18th of June.

June 19.--This morning the wind shifted to the south-west; and about
two o'clock in the afternoon we had a heavy tornado, or thunder-
squall, accompanied with rain, which greatly revived the face of
nature, and gave a pleasant coolness to the air.  This was the first
rain that had fallen for many months.

As every attempt to redeem my boy had hitherto been unsuccessful,
and in all probability would continue to prove so whilst I remained
in the country, I found that it was necessary for me to come to some
determination concerning my own safety before the rains should be
fully set in; for my landlord, seeing no likelihood of being paid
for his trouble, began to wish me away--and Johnson, my interpreter,
refusing to proceed, my situation became very perplexing.  I
determined to avail myself of the first opportunity of escaping, and
to proceed directly for Bambarra, as soon as the rains had set in
for a few days, so as to afford me the certainty of finding water in
the woods.

Such was my situation when, on the evening of the 24th of June, I
was startled by the report of some muskets close to the town, and
inquiring the reason, was informed that the Jarra army had returned
from fighting Daisy, and that this firing was by way of rejoicing.
However, when the chief men of the town had assembled, and heard a
full detail of the expedition, they were by no means relieved from
their uneasiness on Daisy's account.  The deceitful Moors having
drawn back from the confederacy, after being hired by the negroes,
greatly dispirited the insurgents, who, instead of finding Daisy
with a few friends concealed in the strong fortress of Gedingooma,
had found him at a town near Joka, in the open country, surrounded
by so numerous an army that every attempt to attack him was at once
given up; and the confederates only thought of enriching themselves
by the plunder of the small towns in the neighbourhood.  They
accordingly fell upon one of Daisy's towns, and carried off the
whole of the inhabitants; but lest intelligence of this might reach
Daisy, and induce him to cut off their retreat, they returned
through the woods by night bringing with them the slaves and cattle
which they had captured.

June 26.--This afternoon a spy from Kaarta brought the alarming
intelligence that Daisy had taken Simbing in the morning, and would
be in Jarra some time in the course of the ensuing day.  Early in
the morning nearly one-half of the townspeople took the road for
Bambarra, by the way of Deena.

Their departure was very affecting, the women and children crying,
the men sullen and dejected, and all of them looking back with
regret on their native town, and on the wells and rocks beyond which
their ambition had never tempted them to stray, and where they had
laid all their plans of future happiness, all of which they were now
forced to abandon, and to seek shelter among strangers.

June 27.--About eleven o'clock in the forenoon we were alarmed by
the sentinels, who brought information that Daisy was on his march
towards Jarra, and that the confederate army had fled before him
without firing a gun.  The terror of the townspeople on this
occasion is not easily to be described.  Indeed, the screams of the
women and children, and the great hurry and confusion that
everywhere prevailed, made me suspect that the Kaartans had already
entered the town; and although I had every reason to be pleased with
Daisy's behaviour to me when I was at Kemmoo, I had no wish to
expose myself to the mercy of his army, who might in the general
confusion mistake me for a Moor.  I therefore mounted my horse, and
taking a large bag of corn before me, rode slowly along with the
townspeople, until we reached the foot of a rocky hill, where I
dismounted and drove my horse up before me.  When I had reached the
summit I sat down, and having a full view of the town and the
neighbouring country, could not help lamenting the situation of the
poor inhabitants, who were thronging after me, driving their sheep,
cows, goats, &c., and carrying a scanty portion of provisions and a
few clothes.  There was a great noise and crying everywhere upon the
road, for many aged people and children were unable to walk, and
these, with the sick, were obliged to be carried, otherwise they
must have been left to certain destruction.

About five o'clock we arrived at a small farm belonging to the Jarra
people, called Kadeeja; and here I found Daman and Johnson employed
in filling large bags of corn, to be carried upon bullocks, to serve
as provisions for Daman's family on the road.

June 28.--At daybreak we departed from Kadeeja, and having passed
Troongoomba without stopping, arrived in the afternoon at Queira.  I
remained here two days, in order to recruit my horse, which the
Moors had reduced to a perfect Rosinante, and to wait for the
arrival of some Mandingo negroes, who were going for Bambarra in the
course of a few days.

On the afternoon of the 1st of July, as I was tending my horse in
the fields, Ali's chief slave and four Moors arrived at Queira, and
took up their lodging at the dooty's house.  My interpreter,
Johnson, who suspected the nature of this visit, sent two boys to
overhear their conversation, from which he learnt that they were
sent to convey me back to Bubaker.  The same evening two of the
Moors came privately to look at my horse, and one of them proposed
taking it to the dooty's hut, but the other observed that such a
precaution was unnecessary, as I could never escape upon such an
animal.  They then inquired where I slept, and returned to their
companions,

All this was like a stroke of thunder to me, for I dreaded nothing
so much as confinement again among the Moors, from whose barbarity I
had nothing but death to expect.  I therefore determined to set off
immediately for Bambarra, a measure which I thought offered almost
the only chance of saving my life and gaining the object of my
mission.  I communicated the design to Johnson, who, although he
applauded my resolution, was so far from showing any inclination to
accompany me, that he solemnly protested he would rather forfeit his
wages than go any farther.  He told me that Daman had agreed to give
him half the price of a slave for his service to assist in
conducting a coffle of slaves to Gambia, and that he was determined
to embrace the opportunity of returning to his wife and family.

Having no hopes, therefore, of persuading him to accompany me, I
resolved to proceed by myself.  About midnight I got my clothes in
readiness, which consisted of two shirts, two pairs of trousers, two
pocket-handkerchiefs, an upper and under waistcoat, a mat, and a
pair of half-boots; these, with a cloak, constituted my whole
wardrobe.  And I had not one single bead, nor any other article of
value in my possession, to purchase victuals for myself or corn for
my horse.

About daybreak, Johnson, who had been listening to the Moors all
night, came and whispered to me that they were asleep.  The awful
crisis was now arrived when I was again either to taste the blessing
of freedom or languish out my days in captivity.  A cold sweat
moistened my forehead as I thought on the dreadful alternative, and
reflected that, one way or another, my fate must be decided in the
course of the ensuing day.  But to deliberate was to lose the only
chance of escaping.  So, taking up my bundle, I stepped gently over
the negroes, who were sleeping in the open air, and having mounted
my horse, I bade Johnson farewell, desiring him to take particular
care of the papers I had entrusted him with, and inform my friends
in Gambia that he had left me in good health, on my way to Bambarra.

I proceeded with great caution, surveying each bush, and frequently
listening and looking behind me for the Moorish horsemen, until I
was about a mile from the town, when I was surprised to find myself
in the neighbourhood of a korree belonging to the Moors.  The
shepherds followed me for about a mile, hooting and throwing stones
after me; and when I was out of their reach, and had begun to
indulge the pleasing hopes of escaping, I was again greatly alarmed
to hear somebody holloa behind me, and looking back, I saw three
Moors on horseback, coming after me at full speed, whooping and
brandishing their double-barrelled guns.  I knew it was in vain to
think of escaping, and therefore turned back and met them, when two
of them caught hold of my bridle, one on each side, and the third,
presenting his musket, told me I must go back to Ali.  When the
human mind has for some time been fluctuating between hope and
despair, tortured with anxiety, and hurried from one extreme to
another, it affords a sort of gloomy relief to know the worst that
can possibly happen.  Such was my situation.  An indifference about
life and all its enjoyments had completely benumbed my faculties,
and I rode back with the Moors with apparent unconcern.  But a
change took place much sooner than I had any reason to expect.  In
passing through some thick bushes one of the Moors ordered me to
untie my bundle and show them the contents.  Having examined the
different articles, they found nothing worth taking except my cloak,
which they considered as a very valuable acquisition, and one of
them pulling it from me, wrapped it about himself, and, with one of
his companions, rode off with their prize.  When I attempted to
follow them, the third, who had remained with me, struck my horse
over the head, and presenting his musket, told me I should proceed
no farther.  I now perceived that these men had not been sent by any
authority to apprehend me, but had pursued me solely with a view to
rob and plunder me.  Turning my horse's head, therefore, once more
towards the east, and observing the Moor follow the track of his
confederates, I congratulated myself on having escaped with my life,
though in great distress, from such a horde of barbarians.

I was no sooner out of sight of the Moor than I struck into the
woods to prevent being pursued, and kept pushing on with all
possible speed, until I found myself near some high rocks, which I
remembered to have seen in my former route from Queira to Deena and,
directing my course a little to the northward, I fortunately fell in
with the path.



CHAPTER XIV--JOURNEY CONTINUED; ARRIVAL AT WAWRA



It is impossible to describe the joy that arose in my mind when I
looked around and concluded that I was out of danger.  I felt like
one recovered from sickness; I breathed freer; I found unusual
lightness in my limbs; even the desert looked pleasant; and I
dreaded nothing so much as falling in with some wandering parties of
Moors, who might convey me back to the land of thieves and murderers
from which I had just escaped.

I soon became sensible, however, that my situation was very
deplorable, for I had no means of procuring food nor prospect of
finding water.  About ten o'clock, perceiving a herd of goats
feeding close to the road, I took a circuitous route to avoid being
seen, and continued travelling through the wilderness, directing my
course by compass nearly east-south-east, in order to reach as soon
as possible some town or village of the kingdom of Bambarra.

A little after noon, when the burning heat of the sun was reflected
with double violence from the hot sand, and the distant ridges of
the hills, seen through the ascending vapour, seemed to wave and
fluctuate like the unsettled sea, I became faint with thirst, and
climbed a tree in hopes of seeing distant smoke, or some other
appearance of a human habitation--but in vain:  nothing appeared all
around but thick underwood and hillocks of white sand.

About four o'clock I came suddenly upon a large herd of goats, and
pulling my horse into a bush, I watched to observe if the keepers
were Moors or negroes.  In a little time I perceived two Moorish
boys, and with some difficulty persuaded them to approach me.  They
informed me that the herd belonged to Ali, and that they were going
to Deena, where the water was more plentiful, and where they
intended to stay until the rain had filled the pools in the desert.
They showed me their empty water-skins, and told me that they had
seen no water in the woods.  This account afforded me but little
consolation; however, it was in vain to repine, and I pushed on as
fast as possible, in hopes of reaching some watering-place in the
course of the night.  My thirst was by this time become
insufferable; my mouth was parched and inflamed; a sudden dimness
would frequently come over my eyes, with other symptoms of fainting;
and my horse being very much fatigued, I began seriously to
apprehend that I should perish of thirst.  To relieve the burning
pain in my mouth and throat I chewed the leaves of different shrubs,
but found them all bitter, and of no service to me.

A little before sunset, having reached the top of a gentle rising, I
climbed a high tree, from the topmost branches of which I cast a
melancholy look over the barren wilderness, but without discovering
the most distant trace of a human dwelling.  The same dismal
uniformity of shrubs and sand everywhere presented itself, and the
horizon was as level and uninterrupted as that of the sea.

Descending from the tree, I found my horse devouring the stubble and
brushwood with great avidity; and as I was now too faint to attempt
walking, and my horse too much fatigued to carry me I thought it but
an act of humanity, and perhaps the last I should ever have it in my
power to perform, to take off his bridle and let him shift for
himself, in doing which I was suddenly affected with sickness and
giddiness, and falling upon the sand, felt as if the hour of death
was fast approaching.  Here, then, thought I, after a short but
ineffectual struggle, terminate all my hopes of being useful in my
day and generation; here must the short span of my life come to an
end.  I cast, as I believed, a last look on the surrounding scene,
and whilst I reflected on the awful change that was about to take
place, this world with its enjoyment seemed to vanish from my
recollection.  Nature, however, at length resumed its functions, and
on recovering my senses, I found myself stretched upon the sand,
with the bridle still in my hand, and the sun just sinking behind
the trees.  I now summoned all my resolution, and determined to make
another effort to prolong my existence; and as the evening was
somewhat cool, I resolved to travel as far as my limbs would carry
me, in hopes of reaching--my only resource--a watering-place.  With
this view I put the bridle on my horse, and driving him before me,
went slowly along for about an hour, when I perceived some lightning
from the north-east--a most delightful sight, for it promised rain.
The darkness and lightning increased very rapidly, and in less than
an hour I heard the wind roaring among the bushes.  I had already
opened my mouth to receive the refreshing drops which I expected,
but I was instantly covered with a cloud of sand, driven with such
force by the wind as to give a very disagreeable sensation to my
face and arms, and I was obliged to mount my horse and stop under a
bush to prevent being suffocated.  The sand continued to fly in
amazing quantities for nearly an hour, after which I again set
forward, and travelled with difficulty until ten o'clock.  About
this time I was agreeably surprised by some very vivid flashes of
lightning, followed by a few heavy drops of rain.  In a little time
the sand ceased to fly, and I alighted and spread out all my clean
clothes to collect the rain, which at length I saw would certainly
fall.  For more than an hour it rained plentifully, and I quenched
my thirst by wringing and sucking my clothes.

There being no moon, it was remarkably dark, so that I was obliged
to lead my horse, and direct my way by the compass, which the
lightning enabled me to observe.  In this manner I travelled with
tolerable expedition until past midnight, when the lightning
becoming more distant, I was under the necessity of groping along,
to the no small danger of my hands and eyes.  About two o'clock my
horse started at something, and looking round, I was not a little
surprised to see a light at a short distance among the trees; and
supposing it to be a town, I groped along the sand in hopes of
finding corn-stalks, cotton, or other appearances of cultivation,
but found none.  As I approached I perceived a number of other
lights in different places, and began to suspect that I had fallen
upon a party of Moors.  However, in my present situation, I was
resolved to see who they were, if I could do it with safety.  I
accordingly led my horse cautiously towards the light, and heard by
the lowing of the cattle and the clamorous tongues of the herdsmen,
that it was a watering-place, and most likely belonged to the Moors.
Delightful as the sound of the human voice was to me, I resolved
once more to strike into the woods, and rather run the risk of
perishing of hunger than trust myself again in their hands; but
being still thirsty, and dreading the approach of the burning day, I
thought it prudent to search for the wells, which I expected to find
at no great distance.

In this purpose I inadvertently approached so near to one of the
tents as to be perceived by a woman, who immediately screamed out.
Two people came running to her assistance from some of the
neighbouring tents, and passed so very near to me that I thought I
was discovered, and hastened again into the woods.

About a mile from this place I heard a loud and confused noise
somewhere to the right of my course, and in a short time was happy
to find it was the croaking of frogs, which was heavenly music to my
ears.  I followed the sound, and at daybreak arrived at some shallow
muddy pools, so full of frogs, that it was difficult to discern the
water.  The noise they made frightened my horse, and I was obliged
to keep them quiet, by beating the water with a branch, until he had
drunk.  Having here quenched my thirst, I ascended a tree, and the
morning being calm, I soon perceived the smoke of the watering-place
which I had passed in the night, and observed another pillar of
smoke east-south-east, distant twelve or fourteen miles.  Towards
this I directed my route, and reached the cultivated ground a little
before eleven o'clock, where, seeing a number of negroes at work
planting corn, I inquired the name of the town, and was informed
that it was a Foulah village belonging to Ali, called Shrilla.  I
had now some doubts about entering it; but my horse being very much
fatigued, and the day growing hot--not to mention the pangs of
hunger, which began to assail me--I resolved to venture; and
accordingly rode up to the dooty's house, where I was unfortunately
denied admittance, and could not obtain oven a handful of corn
either for myself or horse.  Turning from this inhospitable door, I
rode slowly out of the town, and, perceiving some low, scattered
huts without the walls, I directed my route towards them, knowing
that in Africa, as well as in Europe, hospitality does not always
prefer the highest dwellings.  At the door of one of these huts an
old motherly-looking woman sat, spinning cotton.  I made signs to
her that I was hungry, and inquired if she had any victuals with her
in the hut.  She immediately laid down her distaff, and desired me,
in Arabic, to come in.  When I had seated myself upon the floor, she
set before me a dish of kouskous that had been left the preceding
night, of which I made a tolerable meal; and in return for this
kindness I gave her one of my pocket-handkerchiefs, begging at the
same time a little corn for my horse, which she readily brought me.

Whilst my horse was feeding the people began to assemble, and one of
them whispered something to my hostess which very much excited her
surprise.  Though I was not well acquainted with the Foulah
language, I soon discovered that some of the men wished to apprehend
and carry me back to Ali, in hopes, I suppose, of receiving a
reward.  I therefore tied up the corn; and lest any one should
suspect I had run away from the Moors, I took a northerly direction,
and went cheerfully along, driving my horse before me, followed by
all the boys and girls of the town.  When I had travelled about two
miles, and got quit of all my troublesome attendants, I struck again
into the woods, and took shelter under a large tree, where I found
it necessary to rest myself, a bundle of twigs serving me for a bed,
and my saddle for a pillow.

July 4.--At daybreak I pursued my course through the woods as
formerly; saw numbers of antelopes, wild hogs, and ostriches, but
the soil was more hilly, and not so fertile as I had found it the
preceding day.  About eleven o'clock I ascended an eminence, where I
climbed a tree, and discovered, at about eight miles' distance, an
open part of the country, with several red spots, which I concluded
were cultivated land, and, directing my course that way, came to the
precincts of a watering-place about one o'clock.  From the
appearance of the place, I judged it to belong to the Foulahs, and
was hopeful that I should meet a better reception than I had
experienced at Shrilla.  In this I was not deceived, for one of the
shepherds invited me to come into his tent and partake of some
dates.  This was one of those low Foulah tents in which there is
room just sufficient to sit upright, and in which the family, the
furniture, &c., seem huddled together like so many articles in a
chest.  When I had crept upon my hands and knees into this humble
habitation, I found that it contained a woman and three children,
who, together with the shepherd and myself, completely occupied the
floor.  A dish of boiled corn and dates was produced, and the master
of the family, as is customary in this part of the country, first
tasted it himself, and then desired me to follow his example.
Whilst I was eating, the children kept their eyes fixed upon me, and
no sooner did the shepherd pronounce the word Nazarani, than they
began to cry, and their mother crept slowly towards the door, out of
which she sprang like a greyhound, and was instantly followed by her
children.  So frightened were they at the very name of a Christian,
that no entreaties could induce them to approach the tent.  Here I
purchased some corn for my horse, in exchange for some brass
buttons, and having thanked the shepherd for his hospitality, struck
again into the woods.  At sunset I came to a road that took the
direction for Bambarra, and resolved to follow it for the night; but
about eight o'clock, hearing some people coming from the southward,
I thought it prudent to hide myself among some thick bushes near the
road.  As these thickets are generally full of wild beasts, I found
my situation rather unpleasant, sitting in the dark, holding my
horse by the nose with both hands, to prevent him from neighing, and
equally afraid of the natives without and the wild beasts within.
My fears, however, were soon dissipated; for the people, after
looking round the thicket, and perceiving nothing, went away, and I
hastened to the more open parts of the wood, where I pursued my
journey east-south-east, until past midnight, when the joyful cry of
frogs induced me once more to deviate a little from my route, in
order to quench my thirst.  Having accomplished this from a large
pool of rain-water, I sought for an open place, with a single tree
in the midst, under which I made my bed for the night.  I was
disturbed by some wolves towards morning, which induced me to set
forward a little before day; and having passed a small village
called Wassalita, I came about ten o'clock (July 5th), to a negro
town called Wawra, which properly belongs to Kaarta, but was at this
time tributary to Mansong, King of Bambarra.



CHAPTER XV--NEGRO CURIOSITY; A MESSAGE FROM THE KING



Wawra is a small town surrounded with high walls, and inhabited by a
mixture of Mandingoes and Foulahs.  The inhabitants employ
themselves chiefly in cultivating corn, which they exchange with the
Moors for salt.  Here, being in security from the Moors, and very
much fatigued, I resolved to rest myself; and meeting with a hearty
welcome from the dooty, whose name was Flancharee, I laid myself
down upon a bullock's hide, and slept soundly for about two hours.
The curiosity of the people would not allow me to sleep any longer.
They had seen my saddle and bridle, and were assembled in great
numbers to learn who I was and whence I came.  Some were of opinion
that I was an Arab; others insisted that I was some Moorish Sultan,
and they continued to debate the matter with such warmth that the
noise awoke me.  The dooty (who had formerly been at Gambia) at last
interposed in my behalf, and assured them that I was certainly a
white man; but he was convinced from my appearance that I was a poor
one.

July 6.--It rained very much in the night, and at daylight I
departed in company with a negro who was going to a town called
Dingyee for corn; but we had not proceeded above a mile before the
ass upon which he rode threw him off, and he returned, leaving me to
prosecute the journey by myself.

I reached Dingyee about noon, but the dooty and most of the
inhabitants had gone into the fields to cultivate corn.  An old
Foulah, observing me wandering about the town, desired me to come to
his hut, where I was well entertained; and the dooty, when he
returned, sent me some victuals for myself and corn for my horse.

July 7.--In the morning, when I was about to depart, my landlord,
with a great deal of diffidence, begged me to give him a lock of my
hair.  He had been told, he said, that white men's hair made a
saphie that would give to the possessor all the knowledge of white
men.  I had never before heard of so simple a mode of education, but
instantly complied with the request.

I reached a small town called Wassiboo, about twelve o'clock, where
I was obliged to stop until an opportunity should offer of procuring
a guide to Satile, which is distant a very long day's journey,
through woods without any beaten path.  I accordingly took up my
residence at the dooty's house, where I stayed four days, during
which time I amused myself by going to the fields with the family to
plant corn.  Cultivation is carried on here on a very extensive
scale; and, as the natives themselves express it, "Hunger is never
known."  In cultivating the soil the men and women work together.
They use a large sharp hoe, much superior to that used in Gambia,
but they are obliged, for fear of the Moors, to carry their arms
with them to the field.  The master, with the handle of his spear,
marks the field into regular plats, one of which is assigned to
every three slaves.

On the evening of the 11th eight of the fugitive Kaartans arrived at
Wassiboo.  They had found it impossible to live under the tyrannical
government of the Moors, and were now going to transfer their
allegiance to the King of Bambarra.  They offered to take me along
with them as far as Satile, and I accepted the offer.

July 12.--At daybreak we set out, and travelled with uncommon
expedition until sunset.  We stopped only twice in the course of the
day, once at a watering-place in the woods, and at another time at
the ruins of a town formerly belonging to Daisy, called Illa-compe
(the corn-town).  When we arrived in the neighbourhood of Satile,
the people who were employed in the corn-fields, seeing so many
horsemen, took us for a party of Moors, and ran screaming away from
us.  The whole town was instantly alarmed, and the slaves were seen
in every direction driving the cattle and horses towards the town.
It was in vain that one of our company galloped up to undeceive
them; it only frightened them the more; and when we arrived at the
town we found the gates shut, and the people all under arms.  After
a long parley we were permitted to enter, and, as there was every
appearance of a tornado, the dooty allowed us to sleep in his
baloon, and gave us each a bullock's hide for a bed.

July 13.--Early in the morning we again set forward.  The roads were
wet and slippery, but the country was very beautiful, abounding with
rivulets, which were increased by the rain into rapid streams.
About ten o'clock we came to-the rains of a village which had been
destroyed by war about six months before.

About noon my horse was so much fatigued that I could not keep up
with my companions; I therefore dismounted, and desired them to ride
on, telling them that I would follow as soon as my horse had rested
a little.  But I found them unwilling to leave me; the lions, they
said, were very numerous in those parts, and though they might not
so readily attack a body of people, they would soon find out an
individual; it was therefore agreed that one of the company should
stay with me to assist in driving my horse, while the others passed
on to Galloo to procure lodgings, and collect grass for the horses
before night.  Accompanied by this worthy negro, I drove my horse
before me until about four o'clock, when we came in sight of Galloo,
a considerable town, standing in a fertile and beautiful valley
surrounded with high rocks.

Early next morning (July 14th), having first returned many thanks to
our landlord for his hospitality, while my fellow-travellers offered
up their prayers that he might never want, we set forward, and about
three o'clock arrived at Moorja, a large town, famous for its trade
in salt, which the Moors bring here in great quantities, to exchange
for corn and cotton cloth.  As most of the people here are
Mohammedans, it is not allowed to the kafirs to drink beer, which
they call neodollo (corn spirit), except in certain houses.  In one
of these I saw about twenty people sitting round large vessels of
this beer with the greatest conviviality, many of them in a state of
intoxication.

On the morning of the 16th we again set forward, accompanied by a
coffle of fourteen asses, loaded with salt, bound for Sansanding.
The road was particularly romantic, between two rocky hills; but the
Moors sometimes lie in wait here to plunder strangers.  As soon as
we had reached the open country the master of the salt coffle
thanked us for having stayed with him so long, and now desired us to
ride on.  The sun was almost set before we reached Datliboo.  In the
evening we had a most tremendous tornado.  The house in which we
lodged being flat-roofed, admitted the rain in streams; the floor
was soon ankle-deep, the fire extinguished, and we were left to pass
the night upon some bundles of firewood that happened to lie in a
corner.

July 17.--We departed from Datliboo, and about ten o'clock passed a
large coffle returning from Sego with corn-hoes, mats, and other
household utensils.  At five o'clock we came to a large village
where we intended to pass the night, but the dooty would not receive
us.  When we departed from this place my horse was so much fatigued
that I was under the necessity of driving him, and it was dark
before we reached Fanimboo, a small village, the dooty of which no
sooner heard that I was a white man than he brought out three old
muskets, and was much disappointed when he was told that I could not
repair them.

July 18.--We continued our journey, but, owing to a light supper the
preceding night we felt ourselves rather hungry this morning, and
endeavoured to procure some corn at a village, but without success.

My horse becoming weaker and weaker every day, was now of very
little service to me; I was obliged to drive him before me for the
greater part of the day, and did not reach Geosorro until eight
o'clock in the evening.  I found my companions wrangling with the
dooty, who had absolutely refused to give or sell them any
provisions; and as none of us had tasted victuals for the last
twenty-four hours, we were by no means disposed to fast another day
if we could help it.  But finding our entreaties without effect, and
being very much fatigued, I fell asleep, from which I was awakened
about midnight with the joyful information Kinne nata! ("The
victuals are come")  This made the remainder of the night pass away
pleasantly, and at daybreak, July 19th, we resumed our journey,
proposing to stop at a village called Doolinkeaboo for the night
following.  My fellow-travellers, having better horses than myself,
soon left me, and I was walking barefoot, driving my horse, when I
was met by a coffle of slaves, about seventy in number, coming from
Sego.  They were tied together by their necks with thongs of a
bullock's hide, twisted like a rope--seven slaves upon a thong, and
a man with a musket between every seven.  Many of the slaves were
ill-conditioned, and a great number of them women.  In the rear came
Sidi Mahomed's servant, whom I remembered to have seen at the camp
of Benowm.  He presently knew me, and told me that these slaves were
going to Morocco by the way of Ludamar and the Great Desert.

In the afternoon, as I approached Doolinkeaboo, I met about twenty
Moors on horseback, the owners of the slaves I had seen in the
morning.  They were well armed with muskets, and were very
inquisitive concerning me, but not so rude as their countrymen
generally are.  From them I learned that Sidi Mahomed was not at
Sego, but had gone to Kancaba for gold-dust.

When I arrived at Doolinkeaboo I was informed that my fellow-
travellers had gone on, but my horse was so much fatigued that I
could not possibly proceed after them.  The dooty of the town at my
request gave me a draught of water, which is generally looked upon
as an earnest of greater hospitality, and I had no doubt of making
up for the toils of the day by a good supper and a sound sleep;
unfortunately, I had neither the one nor the other.  The night was
rainy and tempestuous, and the dooty limited his hospitality to the
draught of water.

July 20.--In the morning I endeavoured, both by entreaties and
threats, to procure some victuals from the dooty, but in vain.  I
even begged some corn from one of his female slaves, as she was
washing it at the well, and had the mortification to be refused.
However, when the dooty was gone to the fields, his wife sent me a
handful of meal, which I mixed with water and drank for breakfast.
About eight o'clock I departed from Doolinkeaboo, and at noon
stopped a few minutes at a large korree, where I had some milk given
me by the Foulahs, and hearing that two negroes were going from
thence to Sega, I was happy to have their company, and we set out
immediately.  About four o'clock we stopped at a small village,
where one of the negroes met with an acquaintance, who invited us to
a sort of public entertainment, which was conducted with more than
common propriety.  A dish, made of sour milk and meal, called
sinkatoo, and beer made from their corn, was distributed with great
liberality, and the women were admitted into the society, a
circumstance I had never before observed in Africa.  There was no
compulsion--every one was at liberty to drink as he pleased--they
nodded to each other when about to drink, and on setting down the
calabash commonly said Berka ("Thank you").  Both men and women
appeared to be somewhat intoxicated, but they were far from being
quarrelsome.

Departing from thence, we passed several large villages, where I was
constantly taken for a Moor and became the subject of much merriment
to the Bambarrans, who, seeing me drive my horse before me, laughed
heartily at my appearance.  "He has been at Mecca," says one, "you
may see that by his clothes;" another asked me if my horse was sick;
a third wished to purchase it, &c., so that, I believe, the very
slaves were ashamed to be seen in my company.  Just before it was
dark we took up our lodging for the night at a small village, where
I procured some victuals for myself and some corn for my horse, at
the moderate price of a button; and was told that I should see the
Niger (which the negroes call Joliba, or the Great Water) early the
next day.  The lions are here very numerous; the gates are shut a
little after sunset, and nobody allowed to go out.  The thoughts of
seeing the Niger in the morning, and the troublesome buzzing of
mosquitoes, prevented me from shutting my eyes during the night; and
I had saddled my horse, and was in readiness before daylight, but,
on account of the wild beasts, we were obliged to wait until the
people were stirring and the gates opened.  This happened to be a
market day at Sego, and the roads were everywhere filled with people
carrying different articles to sell.  We passed four large villages,
and at eight o'clock saw the smoke over Sego.

As we approached the town I was fortunate enough to overtake the
fugitive Kaartans, to whose kindness I had been so much indebted in
my journey through Bambarra.  They readily agreed to introduce me to
the king; and we rode together through some marshy ground, where, as
I was anxiously looking around for the river, one of them called
out, Geo affili! ("See the water!") and, looking forwards, I saw
with infinite pleasure the great object of my mission--the long-
sought-for majestic Niger, glittering in the morning sun, as broad
as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly to THE EASTWARD.  I
hastened to the brink, and having drunk of the water, lifted up my
fervent thanks in prayer to the Great Ruler of all things for having
thus far crowned my endeavours with success.

The circumstance of the Niger's flowing towards the east, and its
collateral points, did not, however, excite my surprise, for,
although I had left Europe in great hesitation on this subject, and
rather believed that it ran in the contrary direction, I had made
such frequent inquiries during my progress concerning this river,
and received from the negroes of different nations such clear and
decisive assurances that its general course was TOWARDS THE RISING
SUN, as scarce left any doubt on my mind, and more especially as I
knew that Major Houghton had collected similar information in the
same manner.

Sego, the capital of Bambarra, at which I had now arrived, consists,
properly speaking, of four distinct towns--two on the northern bank
of the Niger, called Sego Korro and Sego Boo; and two on the
southern bank, called Sego Soo Korro and Sego See Korro.  They are
all surrounded with high mud walls.  The houses are built of clay,
of a square form with flat roofs--some of them have two storeys, and
many of them are whitewashed.  Besides these buildings, Moorish
mosques are seen in every quarter; and the streets, though narrow,
are broad enough for every useful purpose, in a country where wheel
carriages are entirely unknown.  From the best inquiries I could
make, I have reason to believe that Sego contains altogether about
thirty thousand inhabitants.  The King of Bambarra constantly
resides at Sego See Korro.  He employs a great many slaves in
conveying people over the river, and the money they receive (though
the fare is only ten kowrie shells for each individual) furnishes a
considerable revenue to the king in the course of a year.  The
canoes are of a singular construction, each of them being formed of
the trunks of two large trees rendered concave, and joined together,
not side by side, but endways--the junction being exactly across the
middle of the canoe:  they are therefore very long, and
disproportionably narrow, and have neither decks nor masts:  they
are, however, very roomy, for I observed in one of them four horses
and several people crossing over the river.  When we arrived at this
ferry, with a view to pass over to that part of the town in which
the king resides, we found a great number waiting for a passage:
they looked at me with silent wonder, and I distinguished with
concern many Moors among them.  There were three different places of
embarkation, and the ferrymen were very diligent and expeditious;
but from the crowd of people I could not immediately obtain a
passage, and sat down upon the bank of the river to wait for a more
favourable opportunity.  The view of this extensive city--the
numerous canoes upon the river--the crowded population, and the
cultivated state of the surrounding country--formed altogether a
prospect of civilisation and magnificence which I little expected to
find in the bosom of Africa.

I waited more than two hours without having an opportunity of
crossing the river, during which time the people who had crossed
carried information to Mansong, the king, that a white man was
waiting for a passage, and was coming to see him.  He immediately
sent over one of his chief men, who informed me that the king could
not possibly see me until he knew what had brought me into his
country; and that I must not presume to cross the river without the
king's permission.  He therefore advised me to lodge at a distant
village, to which he pointed, for the night, and said that in the
morning he would give me further instructions how to conduct myself.
This was very discouraging.  However, as there was no remedy, I set
off for the village, where I found, to my great mortification, that
no person would admit me into his house.  I was regarded with
astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit all day without
victuals in the shade of a tree; and the night threatened to be very
uncomfortable--for the wind rose, and there was great appearance of
a heavy rain--and the wild beasts are so very numerous in the
neighbourhood that I should have been under the necessity of
climbing up a tree and resting amongst the branches.  About sunset,
however, as I was preparing to pass the night in this manner, and
had turned my horse loose that he might graze at liberty, a woman,
returning from the labours of the field, stopped to observe me, and
perceiving that I was weary and dejected, inquired into my
situation, which I briefly explained to her; whereupon, with looks
of great compassion, she took up my saddle and bridle, and told me
to follow her.  Having conducted me into her hut, she lighted up a
lamp, spread a mat on the floor, and told me I might remain there
for the night.  Finding that I was very hungry, she said she would
procure me something to eat.  She accordingly went out, and returned
in a short time with a very fine fish, which, having caused to be
half broiled upon some embers, she gave me for supper.  The rites of
hospitality being thus performed towards a stranger in distress, my
worthy benefactress (pointing to the mat, and telling me I might
sleep there without apprehension) called to the female part of her
family, who had stood gazing on me all the while in fixed
astonishment, to resume their task of spinning cotton, in which they
continued to employ themselves great part of the night.  They
lightened their labour by songs, one of which was composed
extempore, for I was myself the subject of it.  It was sung by one
of the young women, the rest joining in a sort of chorus.  The air
was sweet and plaintive, and the words, literally translated, were
these:- "The winds roared, and the rains fell.  The poor white man,
faint and weary, came and sat under our tree.  He has no mother to
bring him milk, no wife to grind his corn.  Chorus.--Let us pity the
white man, no mother has he," &c. &c.  Trifling as this recital may
appear to the reader, to a person in my situation the circumstance
was affecting in the highest degree.  I was oppressed by such
unexpected kindness, and sleep fled from my eyes.  In the morning I
presented my compassionate landlady with two of the four brass
buttons which remained on my waistcoat--the only recompense I could
make her.

July 21.--I continued in the village all this day in conversation
with the natives, who came in crowds to see me, but was rather
uneasy towards evening to find that no message had arrived from the
king, the more so as the people began to whisper that Mansong had
received some very unfavourable accounts of me from the Moors and
slatees residing at Sego, who, it seems, were exceedingly suspicious
concerning the motives of my journey.  I learned that many
consultations had been held with the king concerning my reception
and disposal; and some of the villagers frankly told me that I had
many enemies, and must expect no favour.

July 22.--About eleven o'clock a messenger arrived from the king,
but he gave me very little satisfaction.  He inquired particularly
if I had brought any present, and seemed much disappointed when he
was told that I had been robbed of everything by the Moors.  When I
proposed to go along with him, he told me to stop until the
afternoon, when the king would send for me.

July 23.--In the afternoon another messenger arrived from Mansong,
with a bag in his hands.  He told me it was the king's pleasure that
I should depart forthwith from the vicinage of Sego; but that
Mansong, wishing to relieve a white man in distress, had sent me
five thousand kowries, to enable me to purchase provisions in the
course of my journey:  the messenger added, that if my intentions
were really to proceed to Jenne, he had orders to accompany me as a
guide to Sansanding.  I was at first puzzled to account for this
behaviour of the king; but from the conversation I had with the
guide, I had afterwards reason to believe that Mansong would
willingly have admitted me into his presence at Sego, but was
apprehensive he might not be able to protect me against the blind
and inveterate malice of the Moorish inhabitants.  His conduct,
therefore, was at once prudent and liberal.  The circumstances under
which I made my appearance at Sego were undoubtedly such as might
create in the mind of the king a well-warranted suspicion that I
wished to conceal the true object of my journey.  He argued,
probably, as my guide argued, who, when he was told that I had come
from a great distance, and through many dangers, to behold the
Joliba river, naturally inquired if there were no rivers in my own
country, and whether one river was not like another.
Notwithstanding this, and in spite of the jealous machinations of
the Moors, this benevolent prince thought it sufficient that a white
man was found in his dominions, in a condition of extreme
wretchedness, and that no other plea was necessary to entitle the
sufferer to his bounty.



Footnotes:

{1}  I believe that similar charms or amulets, under the names of
domini, grigri, fetich, &c., are common in all parts of Africa.

{2}  Maana is within a short distance of the ruins of Fort St.
Joseph, on the Senegal river, formerly a French factory.




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