_Account of Kajaaga. — Serawoollies — their Manners and
Language. — Account of Joag. — The Author is ill treated, and
robbed of half of his Effects, by Order of Batcheri, the King. —
Charity of a female Slave. — The Author is visited by Demba Sego,
Nephew of the King of Kasson, who offers to conduct him in safety to
that Kingdom. — Offer accepted. — The Author and his Protector,
with a numerous Retinue, set out and reach Samee, on the Banks of
the Senegal. — Proceed to Kayee, and crossing the Senegal, arrive
in the Kingdom of Kasson._
The kingdom of Kajaaga, in which I was now arrived, is called by the
French, Gallam; but the name that I have adopted is universally used
by the natives. This country is bounded on the south-east and south
by Bambouk; on the west by Bondou and Foota Torra; and on the north
by the river Senegal.
The air and climate are, I believe, more pure and salubrious than at
any of the settlements towards the Coast; the face of the country is
every where interspersed with a pleasing variety of hills and vallies;
and the windings of the Senegal river, which descends from the rocky
hills of the interior, make the scenery on its banks very picturesque
and beautiful.
The inhabitants are called Serawoollies, or (as the French write it)
_Seracolets_. Their complexion is a jet black: they are not to be
distinguished in this respect from the Jaloffs.
The government is monarchical; and the regal authority, from what I
experienced of it, seems to be sufficiently formidable. The people
themselves, however, complain of no oppression; and seemed all very
anxious to support the king, in a contest he was going to enter into
with the sovereign of Kasson. The Serawoollies are habitually a trading
people; they formerly carried on a great commerce with the French,
in gold and slaves, and still maintain some traffic in slaves with
the British factories on the Gambia. They are reckoned tolerably fair
and just in their dealings, but are indefatigable in their exertions
to acquire wealth, and they derive considerable profits by the sale
of salt, and cotton cloth, in distant countries. When a Serawoolli
merchant returns home from a trading expedition, the neighbours
immediately assemble to congratulate him upon his arrival. On these
occasions the traveller displays his wealth and liberality, by making
a few presents to his friends; but if he has been unsuccessful,
his levee is soon over; and every one looks upon him as a man of no
understanding, who could perform a long journey, and (as they express
it) _bring back nothing but the hair upon his head_.
Their language abounds much in gutturals, and is not so harmonious
as that spoken by the Foulahs: it is, however, well worth acquiring
by those who travel through this part of the African continent; it
being very generally understood in the kingdoms of Kasson, Kaarta,
Ludamar, and the northern parts of Bambara. In all these countries
the Serawoollies are the chief traders. Their numerals are,
One --- _Bani_.
Two --- _Fillo_.
Three --- _Sicco_.
Four --- _Narrato_.
Five --- _Karrago_.
Six --- _Toomo_.
Seven --- _Nero_.
Eight --- _Sego_.
Nine --- _Kabbo_.
Ten --- _Tamo_.
Twenty --- _Tamo di fillo_.
We arrived at Joag, the frontier town of this kingdom on the 24th of
December; and took up our residence at the house of the chief man,
who is here no longer known by the title of _Alkaid_, but is called
the _Dooty_. He was a rigid Mahomedan, but distinguished for his
hospitality. This town may be supposed, on a gross computation, to
contain two thousand inhabitants. It is surrounded by a high wall,
in which are a number of port holes, for musquetry to fire through,
in case of an attack. Every man’s possession is likewise surrounded
by a wall; the whole forming so many distinct citadels; and amongst
a people unacquainted with the use of artillery, these walls answer
all the purposes of stronger fortifications. To the westward of the
town is a small river, on the banks of which the natives raise great
plenty of tobacco and onions.
The same evening Madiboo the Bushreen, who had accompanied me from
Pisania, went to pay a visit to his father and mother, who dwelt
at a neighbouring town called Dramanet. He was joined by my other
attendant the blacksmith; and as soon as it was dark, I was invited
to see the sports of the inhabitants, it being their custom on the
arrival of strangers, to welcome them by diversions of different
kinds. I found a great crowd surrounding a party who were dancing,
by the light of some large fires, to the music of four drums, which
were beat with great exactness and uniformity. The dances, however,
consisted more in wanton gestures, than in muscular exertion or
graceful attitudes. The ladies vied with each other in displaying
the most voluptuous movements imaginable.
December 25th. About two o’clock in the morning a number of horsemen
came into the town, and having awakened my landlord, talked to him for
some time in the Serawoolli tongue; after which they dismounted, and
came to the Bentang on which I had made my bed. One of them thinking
that I was asleep, attempted to steal the musket that lay by me on the
mat; but finding that he could not effect his purpose undiscovered,
he desisted; and the strangers sat down by me till daylight.
I could now easily perceive, by the countenance of my interpreter,
Johnson, that something very unpleasant was in agitation. I
was likewise surprised to see Madiboo and the blacksmith so soon
returned. On inquiring the reason, Madiboo informed me that as they
were dancing at Dramanet, ten horsemen belonging to Batcheri, king of
the country, with his second son at their head, had arrived there,
inquiring if the white man had passed; and on being told that I
was at Joag, they rode off without stopping. Madiboo added, that on
hearing this, he and the blacksmith hastened back to give me notice
of their coming. Whilst I was listening to this narrative, the ten
horsemen mentioned by Madiboo arrived; and coming to the Bentang,
dismounted and seated themselves with those who had come before, the
whole being about twenty in number, forming a circle round me, and each
man holding his musket in his hand. I took this opportunity to observe
to my landlord, that as I did not understand the Serawoolli tongue,
I hoped, whatever the men had to say, they would speak in Mandingo. To
this they agreed, and a short man, loaded with a remarkable number of
saphies, opened the business in a very long harangue, informing me that
I had entered the king’s town without having first paid the duties,
or giving any present to the king, and that, according to the laws
of the country, my people, cattle, and baggage were forfeited. He
added, that they had received orders from the king to conduct me to
Maana,[9] the place of his residence; and if I refused to come with
them, their orders were to bring me by force; upon his saying which,
all of them rose up and asked me if I was ready. It would have been
equally vain and imprudent in me to have resisted or irritated such a
body of men; I therefore affected to comply with their commands, and
begged them only to stop a little until I had given my horse a feed
of corn, and settled matters with my landlord. The poor blacksmith,
who was a native of Kasson, mistook this feigned compliance for a real
intention, and taking me away from the company, told me, that he had
always behaved towards me as if I had been his father and master; and
he hoped I would not entirely ruin him, by going to Maana; adding,
that as there was every reason to believe a war would soon take
place between Kasson and Kajaaga, he should not only lose his little
property, the savings of four years’ industry, but should certainly
be detained and sold as a slave, unless his friends had an opportunity
of paying two slaves for his redemption. I saw this reasoning in its
full force, and determined to do my utmost to preserve the blacksmith
from so dreadful a fate. I therefore told the king’s son that I was
ready to go with him, upon condition that the blacksmith, who was an
inhabitant of a distant kingdom, and entirely unconnected with me,
should be allowed to stay at Joag, till my return; to this they all
objected, and insisted that as we had all acted contrary to the laws,
we were all equally answerable for our conduct.
I now took my landlord aside, and giving him a small present of
gunpowder, asked his advice in so critical a situation: he was
decidedly of opinion that I ought not to go to the king: he was fully
convinced, he said, that if the king should discover any thing valuable
in my possession, he would not be over scrupulous about the means of
obtaining it. This made me the more solicitous to conciliate matters
with the king’s people; and I began by observing, that what I had
done did not proceed from any want of respect towards the king, nor
from any wish to violate his laws, but wholly from my own inexperience
and ignorance, being a stranger, totally unacquainted with the laws and
customs of their country; I had indeed entered the king’s frontier,
without knowing that I was to pay the duties beforehand, but I was
ready to pay them now: which I thought was all they could reasonably
demand. I then tendered them, as a present to the king, the five drams
of gold which the King of Bondou had given me; this they accepted, but
insisted on examining my baggage, which I opposed in vain. The bundles
were opened; but the men were much disappointed in not finding in them
so much gold and amber as they expected: they made up the deficiency,
however, by taking whatever things they fancied; and after wrangling
and debating with me till sunset, they departed; having first robbed
me of half my goods. These proceedings dispirited my people, and
our fortitude was not strengthened by a very indifferent supper,
after a long fast. Madiboo begged me to turn back; Johnson laughed
at the thoughts of proceeding without money, and the blacksmith was
afraid to be seen, or even to speak, lest any one should discover him
to be a native of Kasson. In this disposition, we passed the night
by the side of a dim fire, and our situation the next day was very
perplexing: it was impossible to procure provisions without money,
and I knew that if I produced any beads or amber, the king would
immediately hear of it, and I should probably lose the few effects I
had concealed. We therefore resolved to combat hunger for the day; and
wait some favourable opportunity of purchasing or begging provisions.
Towards evening, as I was sitting upon the Bentang, chewing straws,
an old female slave, passing by with a basket upon her head, asked
me _if I had got my dinner_. As I thought she only laughed at me,
I gave her no answer; but my boy, who was sitting close by, answered
for me; and told her, that the King’s people had robbed me of all my
money. On hearing this, the good old woman, with a look of unaffected
benevolence, immediately took the basket from her head, and shewing
me that it contained ground-nuts, asked me if I could eat them; being
answered in the affirmative, she presented me with a few handfuls,
and walked away, before I had time to thank her for this seasonable
supply. This trifling circumstance gave me peculiar satisfaction. I
reflected with pleasure on the conduct of this poor untutored slave,
who, without examining into my character or circumstances, listened
implicitly to the dictates of her own heart. Experience had taught her
that hunger was painful, and her own distresses made her commiserate
those of others.
The old woman had scarcely left me, when I received information that
a nephew of Demba Sego Jalla, the Mandingo King of Kasson, was coming
to pay me a visit. He had been sent on an embassy to Batcheri, King of
Kajaaga, to endeavour to settle the disputes which had arisen between
his uncle and the latter; but after debating the matter four days
without success, he was now on his return; and hearing that a white
man was at Joag, in his way to Kasson, curiosity brought him to see
me. I represented to him my situation and distresses; when he frankly
offered me his protection, and said he would be my guide to Kasson
(provided I would set out the next morning), and be answerable for my
safety. I readily and gratefully accepted his offer; and was ready,
with my attendants, by daylight on the morning of the 27th of December.
My protector, whose name was Demba Sego, probably after his uncle,
had a numerous retinue. Our company at leaving Joag, consisted of
thirty persons and six loaded asses; and we rode on cheerfully enough
for some hours, without any remarkable occurrence, until we came to a
species of tree, for which my interpreter, Johnson, had made frequent
inquiry. On finding it, he desired us to stop; and producing a white
chicken, which he had purchased at Joag for the purpose, he tied it by
the leg to one of the branches, and then told us we might now safely
proceed, for that our journey would be prosperous. This circumstance
is mentioned merely to illustrate the disposition of the Negroes, and
to shew the power of superstition over their minds; for although this
man had resided seven years in England, it was evident that he still
retained the prejudices and notions he had imbibed in his youth. He
meant this ceremony, he told me, as an offering, or sacrifice, to the
spirits of the woods; who were, he said, a powerful race of beings
of a white colour, with long flowing hair. I laughed at his folly,
but could not condemn the piety of his motives.
At noon we had reached Gungadi, a large town, where we stopped about an
hour, until some of the asses that had fallen behind came up. Here I
observed a number of date trees, and a mosque built of clay, with six
turrets, on the pinnacles of which were placed six ostrich eggs. A
little before sunset we arrived at the town of Samee, on the banks
of the Senegal, which is here a beautiful, but shallow river, moving
slowly over a bed of sand and gravel. The banks are high, and covered
with verdure; the country is open and cultivated; and the rocky hills
of Felow and Bambouk, add much to the beauty of the landscape.
December 28. We departed from Samee, and arrived in the afternoon
at Kayee, a large village, part of which is situated on the north,
and part on the south side of the river. A little above this place
is a considerable cataract, where the river flows over a ledge
of whin-stone rock, with great force: below this, the river is
remarkably black and deep; and here it was proposed to make our
cattle swim over. After hollooing, and firing some muskets, the
people on the Kasson side observed us, and brought over a canoe to
carry our baggage. I did not, however, think it possible to get the
cattle down the bank, which is here more than forty feet above the
water; but the Negroes seized the horses, and launched them one at a
time, down a sort of trench or gully, that was almost perpendicular,
and seemed to have been worn smooth by this sort of use. After the
terrified cattle had been plunged in this manner to the waters edge,
every man got down as well as he could. The ferryman then taking hold
of the most steady of the horses by a rope, led him into the water,
and paddled the canoe a little from the brink; upon which a general
attack commenced upon the other horses, who finding themselves pelted
and kicked on all sides, unanimously plunged into the river, and
followed their companion. A few boys swam in after them; and by laving
water upon them when they attempted to return, urged them onwards;
and we had the satisfaction, in about fifteen minutes, to see them
all safe on the other side. It was a matter of greater difficulty to
manage the asses: their natural stubbornness of disposition made them
endure a great deal of pelting and shoving before they would venture
into the water; and when they had reached the middle of the stream,
four of them turned back, in spite of every exertion to get them
forwards. Two hours were spent in getting the whole of them over;
an hour more was employed in transporting the baggage; and it was
near sunset before the canoe returned, when Demba Sego and myself
embarked in this dangerous passage-boat, which the least motion was
like to overset. The king’s nephew thought this a proper time to
have a peep into a tin box of mine, that stood in the fore part of
the canoe; and in stretching out his hand for it, he unfortunately
destroyed the equilibrium, and overset the canoe. Luckily we were
not far advanced, and got back to the shore without much difficulty;
from whence, after wringing the water from our clothes, we took a
fresh departure, and were soon afterwards safely landed in Kasson.
[Footnote 9: Maana is within a short distance of the ruins of Fort
St. Joseph, on the Senegal river, formerly a French factory.]