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 shed 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 two 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 in 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 bushy, 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 boars.

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

follow 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 salee_), 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 hat, 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 even 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

Satilé, 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 Satilé, 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 Satilé, 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 ruins 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 Jenné,

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

{41} I believe that similar charms or amulets, under the names of

_domini_, _grigri_, _fetich_, &c., are common in all parts of Africa.

{70} Maana is within a short distance of the ruins of Fort St. Joseph,

on the Senegal river, formerly a French factory.