MOORZAN TO TAFFARA.
HAVING, for the reasons assigned in the last chapter, determined to
proceed no farther eastward than Silla, I acquainted the dooty with my
intention of returning to Sego, proposing to travel along the southern
side of the river; but he informed me that, from the number of creeks and
swamps on that side, it was impossible to travel by any other route than
along the northern bank, and even that route, he said, would soon be
impassable on account of the overflowing of the river. However, as he
commended my determination to return westward, he agreed to speak to some
one of the fishermen to carry me over to Moorzan. I accordingly stepped
into a canoe about eight o’clock in the morning of July 30th, and in
about an hour was landed at Moorzan. At this place I hired a canoe for
sixty kowries, and in the afternoon arrived at Kea, where, for forty
kowries more, the dooty permitted me to sleep in the same hut with one of
his slaves. This poor negro, perceiving that I was sickly, and that my
clothes were very ragged, humanely lent me a large cloth to cover me for
the night.
_July_ 31.—The dooty’s brother being going to Modiboo, I embraced the
opportunity of accompanying him thither, there being no beaten road. He
promised to carry my saddle, which I had left at Kea, when my horse fell
down in the woods, as I now proposed to present it to the king of
Bambarra.
We departed from Kea at eight o’clock, and about a mile to the westward
observed on the bank of the river a great number of earthen jars piled up
together. They were very neatly formed, but not glazed, and were
evidently of that sort of pottery which is manufactured at Downie (a town
to the west of Timbuctoo), and sold to great advantage in different parts
of Bambarra. As we approached towards the jars my companion plucked up a
large handful of herbage, and threw it upon them, making signs for me to
do the same, which I did. He then, with great seriousness told me that
these jars belonged to some supernatural power; that they were found in
their present situation about two years ago; and as no person had claimed
them, every traveller as he passed them, from respect to the invisible
proprietor, threw some grass, or the branch of a tree, upon the heap, to
defend the jars from the rain.
Thus conversing, we travelled in the most friendly manner, until
unfortunately we perceived the footsteps of a lion, quite fresh in the
mud, near the river-side. My companion now proceeded with great
circumspection; and at last, coming to some thick underwood, he insisted
that I should walk before him. I endeavoured to excuse myself, by
alleging that I did not know the road; but he obstinately persisted, and,
after a few high words and menacing looks, threw down the saddle and went
away. This very much disconcerted me; but as I had given up all hopes of
obtaining a horse, I could not think of encumbering myself with the
saddle, and, taking off the stirrups and girths, I threw the saddle into
the river. The negro no sooner saw me throw the saddle into the water
than he came running from among the bushes where he had concealed
himself, jumped into the river, and by help of his spear, brought out the
saddle and ran away with it. I continued my course along the bank; but
as the wood was remarkably thick, and I had reason to believe that a lion
was at no great distance, I became much alarmed, and took a long circuit
through the bushes to avoid him.
About four in the afternoon I reached Modiboo, where I found my saddle.
The guide, who had got there before me, being afraid that I should inform
the king of his conduct, had brought the saddle with him in a canoe.
While I was conversing with the dooty, and remonstrating against the
guide for having left me in such a situation, I heard a horse neigh in
one of the huts; and the dooty inquired with a smile if I knew who was
speaking to me. He explained himself by telling me that my horse was
still alive, and somewhat recovered from his fatigue; but he insisted
that I should take him along with me, adding that he had once kept a
Moor’s horse for four months, and when the horse had recovered and got
into good condition, the Moor returned and claimed it, and refused to
give him any reward for his trouble.
_August_ 1.—I departed from Modiboo, driving my horse before me, and in
the afternoon reached Nyamee; where I remained three days, during which
time it rained without intermission, and with such violence that no
person could venture out of doors.
_August_ 5.—I departed from Nyamee; but the country was so deluged that I
was frequently in danger of losing the road, and had to wade across the
savannas for miles together, knee-deep in water. Even the corn ground,
which is the driest land in the country, was so completely flooded that
my horse twice stuck fast in the mud, and was not got out without the
greatest difficulty.
In the evening of the same day I arrived at Nyara, where I was well
received by the dooty; and as the 6th was rainy I did not depart until
the morning of the 7th; but the water had swelled to such a height, that
in many places the road was scarcely passable, and though I waded
breast-deep across the swamps I could only reach a small village called
Nemaboo, where however, for a hundred kowries, I procured from some
Foulahs plenty of corn for my horse and milk for myself.
_August_ 8.—The difficulties I had experienced the day before made me
anxious to engage a fellow-traveller, particularly as I was assured that,
in the course of a few days, the country would be so completely
overflowed as to render the road utterly impassable; but though I offered
two hundred kowries for a guide, nobody would accompany me. However, on
the morning following, August 9th, a Moor and his wife, riding upon two
bullocks, and bound for Sego with salt, passed the village, and agreed to
take me along with them; but I found them of little service, for they
were wholly unacquainted with the road, and being accustomed to a sandy
soil, were very bad travellers. Instead of wading before the bullocks to
feel if the ground was solid, the woman boldly entered the first swamp,
riding upon the top of the load; but when she had proceeded about two
hundred yards the bullock sunk into a hole, and threw both the load and
herself among the reeds. The frightened husband stood for some time
seemingly petrified with horror, and suffered his wife to be almost
drowned before he went to her assistance.
About sunset we reached Sibity, but the dooty received me very coolly;
and when I solicited for a guide to Sansanding he told me his people were
otherwise employed. I was shown into a damp old hut, where I passed a
very uncomfortable night; for when the walls of the huts are softened by
the rain they frequently become too weak to support the weight of the
roof. I heard three huts fall during the night, and was apprehensive
that the hut I lodged in would be the fourth. In the morning, as I went
to pull some grass for my horse, I counted fourteen huts which had fallen
in this manner since the commencement of the rainy season.
It continued to rain with great violence all the 10th; and as the dooty
refused to give me any provisions, I purchased some corn, which I divided
with my horse.
_August_ 11.—The dooty compelled me to depart from the town, and I set
out for Sansanding without any great hopes of faring better than I had
done at Sibity; for I learned, from people who came to visit me, that a
report prevailed, and was universally believed, that I had come to
Bambarra as a spy; and as Mansong had not admitted me into his presence,
the dooties of the different towns were at liberty to treat me in what
manner they pleased. From repeatedly hearing the same story I had no
doubt of the truth of it; but as there was no alternative I determined to
proceed, and a little before sunset I arrived at Sansanding. My
reception was what I expected. Counti Mamadi, who had been so kind to me
formerly, scarcely gave me welcome. Every one wished to shun me; and my
landlord sent a person to inform me that a very unfavourable report was
received from Sego concerning me, and that he wished me to depart early
in the morning. About ten o’clock at night Counti Mamadi himself came
privately to me, and informed me that Mansong had despatched a canoe to
Jenné to bring me back; and he was afraid I should find great difficulty
in going to the west country. He advised me therefore to depart from
Sansanding before daybreak, and cautioned me against stopping at Diggani,
or any town near Sego.
_August_ 12.—I departed from Sansanding, and reached Kabba in the
afternoon. As I approached the town I was surprised to see several
people assembled at the gate, one of whom, as I advanced, came running
towards me, and taking my horse by the bridle, led me round the walls of
the town, and then, pointing to the west, told me to go along, or it
would fare worse with me. It was in vain that I represented the danger
of being benighted in the woods, exposed to the inclemency of the weather
and the fury of wild beasts. “Go along!” was all the answer; and a
number of people coming up and urging me in the same manner, with great
earnestness, I suspected that some of the king’s messengers, who were
sent in search of me, were in the town, and that these negroes, from mere
kindness, conducted me past it with a view to facilitate my escape. I
accordingly took the road for Sego, with the uncomfortable prospect of
passing the night on the branches of a tree. After travelling about
three miles, I came to a small village near the road. The dooty was
splitting sticks by the gate, but I found I could have no admittance, and
when I attempted to enter, he jumped up, and with the stick he held in
his hand, threatened to strike me off the horse if I presumed to advance
another step.
At a little distance from this village (and further from the road) is
another small one. I conjectured that, being rather out of the common
route, the inhabitants might have fewer objections to give me house-room
for the night; and having crossed some cornfields, I sat down under a
tree by the well. Two or three women came to draw water, and one of
them, perceiving I was a stranger, inquired whither I was going. I told
her I was going for Sego, but being benighted on the road, I wished to
stay at the village until morning, and begged she would acquaint the
dooty with my situation. In a little time the dooty sent for me, and
permitted me to sleep in a large baloon.
_August_ 13.—About ten o’clock I reached a small village within half a
mile of Sego, where I endeavoured, but in vain, to procure some
provisions. Every one seemed anxious to avoid me; and I can plainly
perceive, by the looks and behaviour of the inhabitants, that some very
unfavourable accounts had been circulated concerning me. I was again
informed that Mansong had sent people to apprehend me, and the dooty’s
son told me I had no time to lose if I wished to get safe out of
Bambarra. I now fully saw the danger of my situation, and determined to
avoid Sego altogether. I accordingly mounted my horse, and taking the
road for Diggani, travelled as fast as I could till I was out of sight of
the villagers, when I struck to the westward, through high grass and
swampy ground. About noon I stopped under a tree to consider what course
to take, for I had now no doubt that the Moors and slatees had
misinformed the king respecting the object of my mission, and that people
were absolutely in search of me to convey me a prisoner to Sego.
Sometimes I had thoughts of swimming my horse across the Niger, and going
to the southward for Cape Coast, but reflecting that I had ten days to
travel before I should reach Kong, and afterwards an extensive country to
traverse, inhabited by various nations with whose language and manners I
was totally unacquainted, I relinquished this scheme, and judged that I
should better answer the purpose of my mission by proceeding to the
westward along the Niger, endeavouring to ascertain how far the river was
navigable in that direction. Having resolved upon this course, I
proceeded accordingly, and a little before sunset arrived at a Foulah
village called Sooboo, where, for two hundred kowries, I procured lodging
for the night.
_August_ 14.—I continued my course along the bank of the river, through a
populous and well-cultivated country. I passed a walled town called
Kamalia {35} without stopping, and at noon rode through a large town
called Samee, where there happened to be a market, and a number of people
assembled in an open place in the middle of the town, selling cattle,
cloth, corn, &c. I rode through the midst of them without being much
observed, every one taking me for a Moor. In the afternoon I arrived at
a small village called Binni, where I agreed with the dooty’s son, for
one hundred kowries, to allow me to stay for the night; but when the
dooty returned, he insisted that I should instantly leave the place, and
if his wife and son had not interceded for me, I must have complied.
_August_ 15.—About nine o’clock I passed a large town called Sai, which
very much excited my curiosity. It is completely surrounded by two very
deep trenches, at about two hundred yards distant from the walls. On the
top of the trenches are a number of square towers, and the whole has the
appearance of a regular fortification.
About noon I came to the village of Kaimoo, situated upon the bank of the
river, and as the corn I had purchased at Sibili was exhausted, I
endeavoured to purchase a fresh supply, but was informed that corn was
become very scarce all over the country, and though I offered fifty
kowries for a small quantity, no person would sell me any. As I was
about to depart, however, one of the villagers (who probably mistook me
for some Moorish shereef) brought me some as a present, only desiring me
to bestow my blessing upon him, which I did in plain English, and he
received it with a thousand acknowledgments. Of this present I made my
dinner, and it was the third successive day that I had subsisted entirely
upon raw corn.
In the evening I arrived at a small village called Song, the surly
inhabitants of which would not receive me, nor so much as permit me to
enter the gate; but as lions were very numerous in this neighbourhood,
and I had frequently, in the course of the day, observed the impression
of their feet on the road, I resolved to stay in the vicinity of the
village. Having collected some grass for my horse, I accordingly lay
down under a tree by the gate. About ten o’clock I heard the hollow roar
of a lion at no great distance, and attempted to open the gate, but the
people from within told me that no person must attempt to enter the gate
without the dooty’s permission. I begged them to inform the dooty that a
lion was approaching the village, and I hoped he would allow me to come
within the gate. I waited for an answer to this message with great
anxiety, for the lion kept prowling round the village, and once advanced
so very near me that I heard him rustling among the grass, and climbed
the tree for safety. About midnight the dooty, with some of his people,
opened the gate, and desired me to come in. They were convinced, they
said, that I was not a Moor, for no Moor ever waited any time at the gate
of a village without cursing the inhabitants.
_August_ 16.—About ten o’clock I passed a considerable town, with a
mosque, called Jabbee. Here the country begins to rise into hills, and I
could see the summits of high mountains to the westward. About noon I
stopped at a small village near Yamina, where I purchased some corn, and
dried my papers and clothes.
The town of Yamina at a distance has a very fine appearance. It covers
nearly the same extent of ground as Sansanding, but having been plundered
by Daisy, king of Kaarta, about four years ago, it has not yet resumed
its former prosperity, nearly one-half of the town being nothing but a
heap of ruins. However, it is still a considerable place, and is so much
frequented by the Moors that I did not think it safe to lodge in it, but
in order to satisfy myself respecting its population and extent, I
resolved to ride through it, in doing which I observed a great many Moors
sitting upon the bentangs, and other places of public resort. Everybody
looked at me with astonishment, but as I rode briskly along they had no
time to ask questions.
I arrived in the evening at Farra, a walled village, where, without much
difficulty, I procured a lodging for the night.
_August_ 17.—Early in the morning I pursued my journey, and at eight
o’clock passed a considerable town called Balaba, after which the road
quits the plain, and stretches along the side of the hill. I passed in
the course of this day the ruins of three towns, the inhabitants of which
were all carried away by Daisy, king of Kaarta, on the same day that he
took and plundered Yamina. Near one of these ruins I climbed a
tamarind-tree, but found the fruit quite green and sour, and the prospect
of the country was by no means inviting, for the high grass and bushes
seemed completely to obstruct the road, and the low lands were all so
flooded by the river, that the Niger had the appearance of an extensive
lake. In the evening I arrived at Kanika, where the dooty, who was
sitting upon an elephant’s hide at the gate, received me kindly, and gave
me for supper some milk and meal, which I considered (as to a person in
my situation it really was) a very great luxury.
_August_ 18.—By mistake I took the wrong road, and did not discover my
error until I had travelled nearly four miles, when, coming to an
eminence, I observed the Niger considerably to the left. Directing my
course towards it, I travelled through long grass and bushes with great
difficulty until two o’clock in the afternoon, when I came to a
comparatively small but very rapid river, which I took at first for a
creek, or one of the streams of the Niger. However, after I had examined
it with more attention, I was convinced that it was a distinct river, and
as the road evidently crossed it (for I could see the pathway on the
opposite side), I sat down upon the bank in hopes that some traveller
might arrive who would give me the necessary information concerning the
fording-place—for the banks were so covered with reeds and bushes that it
would have been almost impossible to land on the other side, except at
the pathway, which, on account of the rapidity of the stream, it seemed
very difficult to reach. No traveller however arriving, and there being
a great appearance of rain, I examined the grass and bushes for some way
up the bank, and determined upon entering the river considerably above
the pathway, in order to reach the other side before the stream had swept
me too far down. With this view I fastened my clothes upon the saddle,
and was standing up to the neck in water, pulling my horse by the bridle
to make him follow me, when a man came accidentally to the place, and
seeing me in the water, called to me with great vehemence to come out.
The alligators, he said, would devour both me and my horse, if we
attempted to swim over. When I had got out, the stranger, who had never
before seen a European, seemed wonderfully surprised. He twice put his
hand to his mouth, exclaiming, in a low tone of voice, “God preserve me!
who is this?” but when he heard me speak the Bambarra tongue, and found
that I was going the same way as himself, he promised to assist me in
crossing the river, the name of which he said was Frina. He then went a
little way along the bank, and called to some person, who answered from
the other side. In a short time a canoe with two boys came paddling from
among the reeds. These boys agreed for fifty kowries to transport me and
my horse over the river, which was effected without much difficulty, and
I arrived in the evening at Taffara, a walled town, and soon discovered
that the language of the natives was improved from the corrupted dialect
of Bambarra to the pure Mandingo.