_The Coffle crosses the Jallonka Wilderness. — Miserable Fate of
one of the female Slaves; — arrives at Sooseeta; — proceeds to
Manna. — Some Account of the Jalonkas. — Crosses the main Stream
of the Senegal. — Bridge of a singular Construction. — Arrives
at Malacotta. — Remarkable Conduct of the King of the Jaloffs._
We continued at Kenytakooro until noon of the 22d of April,
when we removed to a village about seven miles to the westward;
the inhabitants of which being apprehensive of hostilities from the
Foulahs of Fooladoo, were at this time employed in constructing small
temporary huts among the rocks, on the side of a high hill close to
the village. The situation was almost impregnable, being every where
surrounded with high precipices, except on the eastern side, where
the natives had left a pathway sufficient to allow one person at a
time to ascend. Upon the brow of the hill, immediately over this path,
I observed several heaps of large loose stones, which the people told
me were intended to be thrown down upon the Foulahs, if they should
attempt the hill.
At daybreak, on the 23d, we departed from this village, and entered
the Jallonka Wilderness. We passed, in the course of the morning,
the ruins of two small towns, which had lately been burnt by the
Foulahs. The fire must have been very intense; for I observed that the
walls of many of the huts were slightly vitrified, and appeared at a
distance as if covered with a red varnish. About ten o’clock we came
to the river Wonda, which is somewhat larger than the river Kokoro;
but the stream was at this time rather muddy, which Karfa assured
me was occasioned by amazing shoals of fish. They were indeed seen
in all directions, and in such abundance, that I fancied the water
itself tasted and smelt fishy. As soon as we had crossed the river,
Karfa gave orders that all the people of the coffle should in future
keep close together, and travel in their proper station: the guides
and young men were accordingly placed in the van, the women and
slaves in the centre, and the free men in the rear. In this order,
we travelled with uncommon expedition, through a woody, but beautiful
country, interspersed with a pleasing variety of hill and dale, and
abounding with partridges, guinea-fowls, and deer, until sunset;
when we arrived at a most romantic stream called Co-meissang. My
arms and neck having been exposed to the sun during the whole day,
and irritated by the rubbing of my dress in walking, were now very
much inflamed and covered with blisters; and I was happy to embrace
the opportunity, while the coffle rested on the bank of this river,
to bathe myself in the stream. This practice, together with the
cool of the evening, much diminished the inflammation. About three
miles to the westward of the Co-meissang we halted in a thick wood,
and kindled our fires for the night. We were all, by this time, very
much fatigued; having, as I judged, travelled this day thirty miles;
but no person was heard to complain. Whilst supper was preparing,
Karfa made one of the slaves break some branches from the trees for
my bed. When we had finished our supper of kouskous, moistened with
some boiling water, and put the slaves in irons, we all lay down to
sleep; but we were frequently disturbed in the night by the howling
of wild beasts; and we found the small brown ants very troublesome.
April 24th. Before daybreak the Bushreens said their morning prayers,
and most of the free people drank a little _moening_ (a sort of gruel),
part of which was likewise given to such of the slaves as appeared
least able to sustain the fatigues of the day. One of Karfa’s female
slaves was very sulky, and when some gruel was offered to her, she
refused to drink it. As soon as day dawned we set out, and travelled
the whole morning over a wild and rocky country, by which my feet
were much bruised; and I was sadly apprehensive that I should not be
able to keep up with the coffle during the day; but I was, in a great
measure, relieved from this anxiety, when I observed that others
were more exhausted than myself. In particular, the woman slave,
who had refused victuals in the morning, began now to lag behind,
and complain dreadfully of pains in her legs. Her load was taken from
her, and given to another slave, and she was ordered to keep in the
front of the coffle. About eleven o’clock, as we were resting by
a small rivulet, some of the people discovered a hive of bees in a
hollow tree, and they were proceeding to obtain the honey, when the
largest swarm I ever beheld, flew out, and attacking the people of
the coffle, made us fly in all directions. I took the alarm first,
and I believe was the only person who escaped with impunity. When our
enemies thought fit to desist from pursuing us, and every person was
employed in picking out the stings he had received, it was discovered
that the poor woman abovementioned, whose name was Nealee, was not
come up; and as many of the slaves in their retreat had left their
bundles behind them, it became necessary for some persons to return,
and bring them. In order to do this with safety, fire was set to the
grass, a considerable way to the eastward of the hive, and the wind
driving the fire furiously along, the party pushed through the smoke,
and recovered the bundles. They likewise brought with them poor Nealee,
whom they found lying by the rivulet. She was very much exhausted,
and had crept to the stream, in hopes to defend herself from the
bees by throwing water over her body; but this proved ineffectual;
for she was stung in the most dreadful manner.
When the Slatees had picked out the stings as far as they could,
she was washed with water, and then rubbed with bruised leaves;
but the wretched woman obstinately refused to proceed any farther;
declaring, that she would rather die than walk another step. As
entreaties and threats were used in vain, the whip was at length
applied; and after bearing patiently a few strokes, she started up,
and walked with tolerable expedition for four or five hours longer,
when she made an attempt to run away from the coffle, but was so very
weak, that she fell down in the grass. Though she was unable to rise,
the whip was a second time applied, but without effect; upon which
Karfa desired two of the Slatees to place her upon the ass which
carried our dry provisions; but she could not sit erect; and the ass
being very refractory, it was found impossible to carry her forward
in that manner. The Slatees however were unwilling to abandon her,
the day’s journey being nearly ended: they therefore made a sort of
litter of bamboo canes, upon which she was placed, and tied on it with
slips of bark: this litter was carried upon the heads of two slaves,
one walking before the other, and they were followed by two others,
who relieved them occasionally. In this manner the woman was carried
forward until it was dark, when we reached a stream of water, at the
foot of a high hill called Gankaran-Kooro; and here we stopt for the
night, and set about preparing our supper. As we had only eat one
handful of meal since the preceding night, and travelled all day
in a hot sun, many of the slaves, who had loads upon their heads,
were very much fatigued; and some of them _snapt their fingers_,
which among the Negroes is a sure sign of desperation. The Slatees
immediately put them all in irons; and such of them as had evinced
signs of great despondency, were kept apart from the rest, and had
their hands tied. In the morning they were found greatly recovered.
April 25th. At daybreak poor Nealee was awakened; but her limbs were
now become so stiff and painful, that she could neither walk nor
stand; she was therefore lifted, like a corpse, upon the back of the
ass; and the Slatees endeavoured to secure her in that situation, by
fastening her hands together under the ass’s neck, and her feet under
the belly, with long slips of bark; but the ass was so very unruly,
that no sort of treatment could induce him to proceed with his load;
and as Nealee made no exertion to prevent herself from falling, she
was quickly thrown off, and had one of her legs much bruised. Every
attempt to carry her forward being thus found ineffectual, the general
cry of the coffle was, _kang-tegi, kang-tegi_, “cut her throat,
cut her throat;” an operation I did not wish to see performed,
and therefore marched onwards with the foremost of the coffle. I
had not walked above a mile, when one of Karfa’s domestic slaves
came up to me, with poor Nealee’s garment upon the end of his bow,
and exclaimed _Nealee affilita_ (Nealee is lost). I asked him whether
the Slatees had given him the garment, as a reward for cutting her
throat; he replied, that Karfa and the schoolmaster would not consent
to that measure, but had left her on the road; where undoubtedly she
soon perished, and was probably devoured by wild beasts.
The sad fate of this wretched woman, notwithstanding the outcry
beforementioned, made a strong impression on the minds of the whole
coffle, and the schoolmaster fasted the whole of the ensuing day, in
consequence of it. We proceeded in deep silence, and soon afterward
crossed the river Furkoomah, which was about as large as the river
Wonda. We now travelled with great expedition, every one being
apprehensive he might otherwise meet with the fate of poor Nealee. It
was however with great difficulty that I could keep up, although I
threw away my spear, and every thing that could in the least obstruct
me. About noon we saw a large herd of elephants, but they suffered us
to pass unmolested, and in the evening we halted near a thicket of
bamboo, but found no water; so that we were forced to proceed four
miles farther, to a small stream, where we stopt for the night. We
had marched this day, as I judged, about twenty-six miles.
April 26th. This morning two of the schoolmaster’s pupils complained
much of pains in their legs, and one of the slaves walked lame, the
soles of his feet being very much blistered and inflamed; we proceeded,
notwithstanding, and about eleven o’clock began to ascend a rocky
hill called Boki-Kooro, and it was past two in the afternoon before we
reached the level ground on the other side. This was the most rocky
road we had yet encountered, and it hurt our feet much. In a short
time we arrived at a pretty large river called Boki, which we forded:
it ran smooth and clear, over a bed of whinstone. About a mile to the
westward of the river, we came to a road which leads to the north-east
towards Gadou, and seeing the marks of many horses’ feet upon the
soft sand, the Slatees conjectured that a party of plunderers had
lately rode that way, to fall upon some town of Gadou; and lest they
should discover, upon their return, that we had passed, and attempt to
pursue us by the marks of our feet, the coffle was ordered to disperse,
and travel in a loose manner through the high grass and bushes. A
little before it was dark, having crossed the ridge of hills to the
westward of the river Boki, we came to a well called _cullong qui_
(white sand well), and here we rested for the night.
April 27th. We departed from the well early in the morning, and walked
on, with the greatest alacrity, in hopes of reaching a town before
night. The road, during the forenoon, led through extensive thickets of
dry bamboos. About two o’clock we came to a stream called Nunkolo,
where we were each of us regaled with a handful of meal, which,
according to a superstitious custom, was not to be eaten until it was
first moistened with water from this stream. About four o’clock we
reached Sooseeta, a small Jallonka village, situated in the district
of Kullo, which comprehends all that tract of country lying along the
banks of the Black river, or main branch of the Senegal. These were the
first human habitations we had seen, since we left the village to the
westward of Kenytakooro; having travelled in the course of the last
five days, upwards of one hundred miles. Here, after a great deal of
entreaty, we were provided with huts to sleep in; but the master of the
village plainly told us that he could not give us any provisions, as
there had lately been a great scarcity in this part of the country. He
assured us, that before they had gathered in their present crops,
the whole inhabitants of Kullo had been for twenty-nine days without
tasting corn; during which time, they supported themselves entirely
upon the yellow powder which is found in the pods of the _nitta_,
so called by the natives, a species of mimosa; and upon the seeds
of the bamboo cane, which, when properly pounded and dressed, taste
very much like rice. As our dry provisions were not yet exhausted,
a considerable quantity of kouskous was dressed for supper, and many
of the villagers were invited to take part of the repast; but they
made a very bad return for this kindness; for in the night they seized
upon one of the schoolmaster’s boys, who had fallen asleep under
the Bentang tree, and carried him away. The boy fortunately awoke
before he was far from the village, and setting up a loud scream,
the man who carried him, put his hand upon his mouth, and run with
him into the woods; but afterward understanding that he belonged
to the schoolmaster, whose place of residence is only three day’s
journey distant, he thought, I suppose, that he could not retain him
as a slave, without the schoolmaster’s knowledge; and therefore
stripped off the boy’s clothes, and permitted him to return.
April 28th. Early in the morning we departed from Sooseeta, and about
ten o’clock, came to an unwalled town called Manna; the inhabitants
of which were employed in collecting the fruit of the nitta trees,
which are very numerous in this neighbourhood. The pods are long and
narrow, and contain a few black seeds enveloped in the fine mealy
powder before mentioned; the meal itself is of a bright yellow colour,
resembling the flour of sulphur, and has a sweet mucilaginous taste:
when eaten by itself it is clammy, but when mixed with milk or water,
it constitutes a very pleasant and nourishing article of diet.
The language of the people of Manna, is the same that is spoken all
over that extensive and hilly country called Jallonkadoo. Some of the
words have a great affinity to the Mandingo, but the natives themselves
consider it as a distinct language: their numerals are these,
One --- _Kidding_.
Two --- _Fidding_.
Three --- _Sarra_.
Four --- _Nani_.
Five --- _Soolo_.
Six --- _Seni_.
Seven --- _Soolo ma fidding_.
Eight --- _Soolo ma sarra_.
Nine --- _Soolo ma nani_.
Ten --- _Nuff_.
The Jallonkas, like the Mandingoes, are governed by a number of petty
chiefs, who are, in a great measure, independent of each other: they
have no common sovereign, and the chiefs are seldom upon such terms
of friendship as to assist each other, even in war time. The chief
of Manna, with a number of his people, accompanied us to the banks of
the Bafing, or Black river (a principal branch of the Senegal) which
we crossed upon a bridge of bamboos, of a very singular construction;
some idea of which may be formed from the annexed engraving. The river
at this place is smooth and deep, and has very little current. Two
tall trees, when tied together by the tops, are sufficiently long to
reach from one side to the other; the roots resting upon the rocks,
and the tops floating in the water. When a few trees have been placed
in this direction, they are covered with dry bamboos, so as to form
a floating bridge, with a sloping gangway at each end, where the
trees rest upon the rocks. This bridge is carried away every year
by the swelling of the river in the rainy season, and is constantly
rebuilt by the inhabitants of Manna, who, on that account, expect a
small tribute from every passenger.
[Illustration: _J. C. Barrow del. from a sketch by M. Park._
_Engraved by W. C. Wilson._
A View of a Bridge over the Ba-fing or Black River.
Publish’d Jany. 1.1799. by G. Nicol, Pall Mall.]
In the afternoon we passed several villages, at none of which could
we procure a lodging; and in the twilight we received information
that two hundred Jallonkas had assembled near a town called Melo,
with a view to plunder the coffle. This induced us to alter our
course, and we travelled with great secresy until midnight, when
we approached a town called Koba. Before we entered the town, the
names of all the people belonging to the coffle were called over,
and a freeman and three slaves were found to be missing. Every person
immediately concluded that the slaves had murdered the freeman, and
made their escape. It was therefore agreed that six people should
go back as far as the last village, and endeavour to find his body,
or collect some information concerning the slaves. In the meantime
the coffle was ordered to lie concealed in a cotton field near a
large nitta tree, and nobody to speak, except in a whisper. It was
towards morning before the six men returned, having heard nothing
of the man or the slaves. As none of us had tasted victuals for the
last twenty-four hours, it was agreed that we should go into Koba,
and endeavour to procure some provisions. We accordingly entered the
town before it was quite day, and Karfa purchased from the chief man,
for three strings of beads, a considerable quantity of ground nuts,
which we roasted and eat for breakfast: we were afterwards provided
with huts, and rested here for the day.
About eleven o’clock, to our great joy and surprise, the freeman and
slaves, who had parted from the coffle the preceding night, entered the
town. One of the slaves, it seems, had hurt his foot, and the night
being very dark, they soon lost sight of the coffle. The freeman, as
soon as he found himself alone with the slaves, was aware of his own
danger, and insisted on putting them in irons. The slaves were at first
rather unwilling to submit, but when he threatened to stab them one by
one with his spear, they made no further resistance; and he remained
with them among the bushes until morning, when he let them out of
irons, and came to the town in hopes of hearing which route the coffle
had taken. The information that we received concerning the Jallonkas,
who intended to rob the coffle, was this day confirmed, and we were
forced to remain here until the afternoon of the 30th; when Karfa
hired a number of people to protect us, and we proceeded to a village
called Tinkingtang. Departing from this village on the day following,
we crossed a high ridge of mountains to the west of the Black river,
and travelled over a rough stony country until sunset, when we arrived
at Lingicotta, a small village in the district of Woradoo. Here we
shook out the last handful of meal from our dry provision bags; this
being the second day (since we crossed the Black river) that we had
travelled from morning until night, without tasting one morsel of food.
May 2d. We departed from Lingicotta; but the slaves being very much
fatigued, we halted for the night at a village about nine miles
to the westward, and procured some provisions through the interest
of the schoolmaster; who now sent forward a messenger to Malacotta,
his native town, to inform his friends of his arrival in the country,
and to desire them to provide the necessary quantity of victuals to
entertain the coffle for two or three days.
May 3d. We set out for Malacotta, and about noon arrived at a village,
near a considerable stream of water which flows to the westward; here
we determined to stop for the return of the messenger which had been
sent to Malacotta the day before; and as the natives assured me there
were no crocodiles in this stream, I went and bathed myself. Very few
people here can swim; for they came in numbers to dissuade me from
venturing into a pool, where they said the water would come over my
head. About two o’clock the messenger returned from Malacotta; and
the schoolmaster’s elder brother being impatient to see him, came
along with the messenger to meet him at this village. The interview
between the two brothers, who had not seen each other for nine years,
was very natural and affecting. They fell upon each other’s neck,
and it was sometime before either of them could speak. At length,
when the schoolmaster had a little recovered himself, he took his
brother by the hand, and turning round, “This is the man” (said
he, pointing to Karfa) “who has been my father in Manding; I would
have pointed him out sooner to you, but my heart was too full.”
We reached Malacotta in the evening, where we were well received. This
is an unwalled town; the huts for the most part are made of split
cane, twisted into a sort of wicker-work, and plastered over with
mud. Here we remained three days, and were each day presented with a
bullock from the schoolmaster; we were likewise well entertained by
the townspeople, who appear to be very active and industrious. They
make very good soap, by boiling ground nuts in water, and then adding
a ley of wood ashes. They likewise manufacture excellent iron, which
they carry to Bondou to barter for salt. A party of the townspeople
had lately returned from a trading expedition of this kind, and
brought information concerning a war between Almami Abdulkader,
King of Foota Torra, and Damel, King of the Jaloffs. The events
of this war soon became a favourite subject with the singing men,
and the common topic of conversation in all the kingdoms bordering
upon the Senegal and Gambia; and as the account is somewhat singular,
I shall here abridge it, for the reader’s information. The King of
Foota Torra, inflamed with a zeal for propagating his religion, had
sent an embassy to Damel, similar to that which he had sent to Kasson,
as related in page 79. The ambassador, on the present occasion, was
accompanied by two of the principal Bushreens, who carried each a large
knife, fixed on the top of a long pole. As soon as he had procured
admission into the presence of Damel, and announced the pleasure of
his sovereign, he ordered the Bushreens to present the emblems of his
mission. The two knives were accordingly laid before Damel, and the
ambassador explained himself as follows: “With this knife, (said he)
Abdulkader will condescend to shave the head of Damel, if Damel will
embrace the Mahomedan faith; and with this other knife, Abdulkader
will cut the throat of Damel, if Damel refuses to embrace it:—take
your choice.” Damel coolly told the ambassador that he had no choice
to make: he neither chose to have his head shaved, nor his throat cut;
and with this answer the ambassador was civilly dismissed. Abdulkader
took his measures accordingly, and with a powerful army invaded
Damel’s country. The inhabitants of the towns and villages filled up
their wells, destroyed their provisions, carried off their effects,
and abandoned their dwellings, as he approached. By this means he
was led on from place to place, until he had advanced three day’s
journey into the country of the Jaloffs. He had, indeed, met with no
opposition; but his army had suffered so much from the scarcity of
water, that several of his men had died by the way. This induced him
to direct his march towards a watering place in the woods, where his
men, having quenched their thirst, and being overcome with fatigue,
lay down carelessly to sleep among the bushes. In this situation they
were attacked by Damel before daybreak, and compleatly routed. Many of
them were trampled to death as they lay asleep, by the Jaloff horses;
others were killed in attempting to make their escape; and a still
greater number were taken prisoners. Among the latter, was Abdulkader
himself. This ambitious, or rather frantic prince, who, but a month
before, had sent the threatening message to Damel, was now himself
led into his presence as a miserable captive. The behaviour of Damel,
on this occasion, is never mentioned by the singing men, but in terms
of the highest approbation; and it was, indeed, so extraordinary, in an
African prince, that the reader may find it difficult to give credit to
the recital. When his royal prisoner was brought before him in irons,
and thrown upon the ground, the magnanimous Damel, instead of setting
his foot upon his neck, and stabbing him with his spear, according
to custom in such cases, addressed him as follows. “Abdulkader,
answer me this question. If the chance of war had placed me in your
situation, and you in mine, how would you have treated me?” “I
would have thrust my spear into your heart;” returned Abdulkader
with great firmness, “and I know that a similar fate awaits me.”
“Not so, (said Damel) my spear is indeed red with the blood of your
subjects killed in battle, and I could now give it a deeper stain,
by dipping it in your own; but this would not build up my towns,
nor bring to life the thousands who fell in the woods. I will not
therefore kill you in cold blood, but I will retain you as my slave,
until I perceive that your presence in your own kingdom will be no
longer dangerous to your neighbours; and then I will consider of the
proper way of disposing of you.” Abdulkader was accordingly retained,
and worked as a slave, for three months; at the end of which period,
Damel listened to the solicitations of the inhabitants of Foota Torra,
and restored to them their king. Strange as this story may appear,
I have no doubt of the truth of it; it was told me at Malacotta by
the Negroes; it was afterwards related to me by the Europeans on the
Gambia; by some of the French at Goree; and confirmed by nine slaves,
who were taken prisoners along with Abdulkader, by the watering place
in the woods, and carried in the same ship with me to the West Indies.