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 PRESENTED BY 
 
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• IB®2LAJRI TZ3S EAar^'S'AK i.WT[J3r32)ag . 
 
«^DC 
 
 TRAVEl^S 
 
 IN 
 
 WESTERN AFRICA, 
 
 IN THE YEARS 1818, 19, 20, AND 21, 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 RIVER GAMBIA, THROUGH WOOLLI, BONDOO, GALAM, 
 
 KASSON, KAARTA, AND 
 
 FOOLIDOO, TO THE RIVER NIGER. 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR WILLIAM GRAY, 
 
 AND THE LATE 
 
 STAFF SURGEON DOCHARD. 
 
 WITH A MAP, DRAWINGS, AND COSTUMES, ILLUSTRATIVE 
 OF THOSE COUNTRIES. 
 
 Quod si defieiant vires, audacia eerte 
 Laus erit in magnis, et voluisse sat est. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXV. 
 
sig^uPf iJicsif f 
 
 «. F. ffflii IIMY 
 
 WITH SENTIMENTS OF THE HIGHEST RESPECT 
 
 AND THE MOST SINCERE GRATITUDE, 
 
 THE AUTHOR OF THE FOLLOWING PAGES 
 
 HAS;, BY PERMISSION, DEDICATED THEM 
 TO THE 
 
 RIGHT HON. THE EARL BATHURST, 
 
 HIS majesty's principal secretary or STATE 
 FOR THE COLONIES. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In offering to the public the following pages, it 
 may be necessary to state the moiives which 
 operated to my acceptance of that important 
 command, which it will be their business to 
 disclose. Though not born in the camp, nor 
 altogether educated in the field, I have beer 
 early taught in that frankness which generally 
 characterises the soldier, and, I trust, it will be 
 found that, in all I describe, I have never devi- 
 ated from strictly acting on that honourable and 
 faithful basis. 
 
 I had reached the shores of Africa, in my tour 
 of service, well remembering on my passage the 
 labours and researches of the informed and the 
 brave who perished in the exalted struggle of 
 benefiting their country and the benighted 
 Africans ; while, at the same time, I could not 
 help reflecting on the disappointing results which 
 often attend the best directed human exertions. 
 The brave and the scientific were gone ; their 
 country consecrated their labours, though par- 
 tially abortive ; and the enterprising mind felt 
 no alarm in tracing their progress, w^hile a chance 
 
VIU PREFACE. 
 
 remained of redeeming their fate by more suc- 
 cessful exertions. Greece and Rome alternately 
 fought and conquered, and were subdued by 
 arms, the short summary of most nations' his- 
 tory, while it remained for the British Govern- 
 ment alone to extend their empire through the 
 enlightened agency of moral sway, of civil in- 
 stitutes, and Christian regulations, and convey 
 to the hapless, the neglected, and the enslaved, 
 the highest blessings which can dignify, improve, 
 or adorn man. 
 
 Warmed with those feelings, I felt an honour- 
 able pride in being entrusted with a command 
 to explore the uncultivated regions of Western 
 Africa. It was a task of peril, but the measure 
 of danger was the measure of honour ; and with 
 a strong distrust of my own capacity I accepted 
 the office of conducting the expedition. As 
 soon as I became acquainted with its objects, it 
 may be naturally supposed that I felt some un- 
 easiness ; but such were the measures taken by 
 a superior commander, now no more, that any 
 insufficiency on my part was compensated by 
 the wisdom of a gallant and enlightened officer. 
 The objects of the mission were not the mere 
 acquisition of territory, or the unfair advantage 
 of commerce ; they were the improvement of 
 science, the enlargement of trade, and the con- 
 sequent diffusion of increased happiness to the 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 African population. The sceptic in religion, 
 and the would-be renovator of politics, may 
 think differently on this subject ; but every ra- 
 tional individual must feel that British life, 
 British talent, and British treasure, would not 
 be employed in such a quarter if there were 
 not every wish to benefit and improve the con- 
 dition of our degraded fellow creatures. 
 
 In undertaking this mission I was not em- 
 ployed to create a fabulous history, or describe 
 romantic scenery ; I was employed to glean and 
 collect facts ; to effect discovery when it was 
 possible y to note down nothing which might not 
 lead to some useful result ; and, in the end, to 
 draw such honest inferences as will, I humbly 
 venture to trust, be found throughout these 
 pages. 
 
 With the wisdom of all the previous plans 
 adopted in exploring Western Africa I have 
 nothing to do, and for that in which I was en- 
 gaged,-! only feel myself responsible as far as 
 the resources placed within my reach. A dif- 
 ficult duty was assigned me ; I attempted its 
 execution ; and, be the results satisfactory or not, 
 I can safely say that my best exertions were in 
 no case wanting to meet the views of those 
 high authorities at home and abroad who con- 
 fided its performance to me. If I have par- 
 tially failed, the failure is attributable to circum- 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 stances, which will be fully developed in the 
 sequel. I shall say nothing of my sufferings 
 and privations ; but after all I have witnessed, I 
 feel deeply impressed with the generous senti- 
 ments and wishes of his Majesty's Government 
 towards all who need their aid, and I entertain 
 a fervent hope that to future travellers in Africa 
 my humble endeavours may prove a source of 
 more ample success than it has fallen to my lot 
 to achieve. 
 
 I cannot conclude, without regretting the 
 premature death of my friend and companion 
 Staff Surgeon Dochard, who but a few months 
 after my return from Africa, fell a victim to the 
 consequences of the sufferings and privations he 
 endured on the missions under the command of 
 Major Peddie, Captain Campbell, and myself. 
 I particularly felt the want of that assistance in 
 preparing our several notes for the press, which 
 he was so fully able to afford me. The importance 
 of his notes have not, however, been altogether 
 lost, though they are still deprived of much of 
 that value which his reconsideration would no 
 doubt have imparted to them. Such as he left 
 them, they are faithfully preserved, and have 
 been used in the narrative with the same atten- 
 tion as my own. 
 
 \V. GRAY, Major. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TAGE 
 
 Arrival of the Expedition at Senegal — Delay there — A 
 Messenger despatched to Sego — Departure from Sene- 
 galj and Arrival at the Rio Nunez — Town of Talla- 
 bunchia — Major Peddie's Death — Sickness of the Men 
 and Officers — Departure from Robugga^ Difficulties 
 on the March — Arrival at the Panjetta 1 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Halt at the Panjetta— Return of Messengers sent to the 
 Capital — His Majesty's Answer — Great Scarcity of 
 Provisions — Another Messenger sent, with Presents to 
 the King — Captain Campbell's interview with Onier- 
 hoo Kano — Reports about the Intentions of the Expe- 
 dition — Captain Campbell goes to see the King — Ar- 
 rival of the Messenger from Sego — Captain Campbell's 
 Return — No satisfactory Answer — Illness of the Offi- 
 cers — Lieutenant Stokoe and Mr. Kummer sent to the 
 Coast — Captain Campbell decides on retracing his steps 
 — Departure from the Panjetta — Arrival at Kakundy 
 — Death of Captain Campbell — Departure for, and 
 Arrival at Sierra Leone — Description of Foota Jallon. 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Major Gray takes the Command — Departure from Sierra 
 Leone— Arrival at Bathurst St. Mary's— Occurrences 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 there — Departure for, and Arrival at Kuyaye — De- 
 scription of a tribe of wandering Foolahs — Description 
 of Kayaye^ the surrounding Country, and Inhabitants 
 — Their Amusements, &c. — Visit to Katoha — The 
 King's Visit to us — Arrival of Camels from Senegal 
 — Our Guide's proposal respecting the path — My De- 
 cision, and Reasons — Fatality among our Animals — 
 Arrival of IMr. Partarrieau from St. Mary's — Arrange- 
 ments for Departure 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Expedition leaves Kayaye — Difficulty in procuring 
 Water at Jaroomy — Arrival and Halt at Coonting 
 — Description of that Town and surrounding Country 
 — Civility of the Chief — Departure from Coonting — 
 Deaths among the Animals, and difficulty of procuring 
 Carriers — Arrival at the Wallea Creek — Attempt of 
 some People to stop us — Pass the Creek — Cane Bridge 
 — Attempt at Murder by one of our native Civilians, 
 and his Desertion —Enter the Kingdom of Woolli — 
 Arrival at Madina, the Capital — Transactions and dif- 
 ficulties there — Description of the Town, and the 
 INIumbo Jumbo Ceremony — Departure from Madina, 
 and theft by the Natives — Arrival at Kussaye. 63 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Dej)arturc from Kussaye — Pass through the Simbani 
 Woods— Loss of Camels — Ruins of Muntobc — Leave 
 Muntobe — Arrive at Sansanding — Halt there — Our 
 Woolli guides leave us — Discharge of Corporal Harrop 
 — Arrival at Sabee, the first Tcwn of Bondoo — Loss of 
 Animals — Opposition on the part of our Guides to our 
 moving thence — Arrival at Loonchca —Death of tlie 
 Camels — Supply of iimvisioiis from Almamy — Mr- 
 
CONTENTS. Xin 
 
 TACZ 
 
 Dochard sent in advance with a present to Almamy — 
 Departure from Loonchea — Arrival at Dachadoonga — 
 Difficulty and delay in carrying forward the Baggage — 
 Description of the Red Water, and its use — Arrival at 
 Goodeerri — I\Ir. Dochard returns from the Capital — 
 A.rrival of Almamy's eldest Son — Transactions with 
 Almamy and difficulty in arranging matters with him 
 — Departure from Goodeerri, and arrival at Boolibany, 
 the Capital of Bondoo 94 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Description of Boolibany — Delays and Disappointments 
 there — Scarcity of Provisions — Death of Private 
 Pickard — My decision of passing the rains ii} the 
 Country, and Departure for Samba Contaye to select 
 a position for winter quarters — Arrival of the Expe- 
 dition from Boolibany — Mr. Pilkington and men left 
 there sick — Death of Lieutenant Burton, and Sickness 
 of the men — Preparations for Mr. Dochard's Depar- 
 ture for Sego— -Almamy's Arrival near our Camp — 
 Difficulties about the Guide — Mr. Dochard's Departure 
 — The Object of his Embassy — Mr. Partarrieau's 
 Departure for the Coast — Mr. Nelson's weak state 
 — A regular Market established — Mr. Pilkington's 
 Arrival from the Capital — IMr. Nelson's Death — My 
 own Indisposition — Deaths among the Men — Extra- 
 ordinary Ceremony at the Killing of a Lioness- 
 Lion's Attack on the Horse — Account from Mr. 
 Dochard — Return of the Messengers — Almamy's un- 
 just Conduct, and its Results 124 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Unfortunate Aifair at Samba Contaye — Almamy's Deci- 
 sion — Purchase of a Slave—Arrival of the French 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 I'Aor 
 
 Expedition at Galam — Mr. Pilkington's determina- 
 tion of leaving the Mission — His Departure for the 
 Coast — Visit to the Senegal — Conversation with Al- 
 mamy — Messenger sent to Mr. Dochard — Fires at the 
 Camp — Death of Almamy Amady 157 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Description of Bondoo — Extent — Boundaries — Face of 
 the Country — Productions — Commerce — Manufac- 
 tures — Government — Revenues — Religion, its influ- 
 ence on the Inhabitants — Their Description, Dress, and 
 Manner of Living — Military Equipments — Force — 
 Mode of Warfare— Cause of War with Kaarta — Al- 
 mamy's sanguinary Conduct — Attack of the Kaartans 
 on Boolibany 179 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Message from Almamy — My Visit to Boolibany — Sub- 
 ject of Interview with him — His hostile Conduct and 
 peremptory demand for my leaving Samba Contaye — 
 The Necessity of my Compliance — Return to the 
 Camp accompanied by an Escort— Preparations for 
 the IMarch — Departure for Boolibany — Arrival there 
 — Almamy endeavours to make us enter the Town — 
 My Refusal, and Selection of a Position for the Camp 
 — Return of my first Messenger to Mr. Dochard~His 
 Misfortune and Failure —False Alarm at the Capital, 
 and its Consequences — Indecision of Almamy and the 
 Chiefs 208 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Arrival of Mr. Partarrieau from the Coast— Interview 
 with Almamy — Arrangements with, and Presents 
 made to him — His false and deceitful Conduct — 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PACK 
 
 My determination and Retreat from Boolibany— Dif- 
 ficulties on the ]March— Want of Water, and breach of 
 oath on the part of our Guides — Enter Foota Toro — 
 Difficulties there— My March to, and Return from 
 Baquelle— Affair with the Foolahs— My Captivity- 
 Departure of the Party for Baquelle— My disappoint- 
 ment on finding the Camp deserted — My own Return 
 to Baquelle 219 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Description of the Plain of Hourey — Occurrences there 
 — Departure and Arrival at Baquelle — Unfavourable 
 Accounts from I\Ir. Dochard — Kingdom of Galam. ... 248 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Report of Mr. Dochard's Arrival in Kaarta — My De- 
 parture for St. Joseph, and Meeting with Mr. D. — 
 Return to Baquelle — Messenger sent to Sego — Arrival 
 of Fleet from St. Louis— Mr. D.'s Return to the 
 Coast, and my final Determination — Visit to St. Jo- 
 seph — Conduct of Almamy Bondoo — Return from 
 St. Joseph — State of Ajffairs at Baquelle — Depar- 
 ture from thence — Delay at St. Joseph — Assembly 
 of Chiefs, &c. &c 271 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Retreat from Kaarta — Difficulties and Annoyances there 
 — ^ Arrival at Fort St. Joseph — Delay and Occurrences 
 at Baquelle — Return to the Coast — Arrival at Sierra 
 Leone — Visit to the captured Negro Establishments... 323 
 
 Conclusion 337 
 
 Appendix 365 
 
PLATES. 
 
 VACE 
 
 Frontispiece. Portrait of Eokari the Kartan Guide. 
 
 1. Hut at Tallabunchia 5 
 
 2. Swinging Bridge over the Tingalinta 12 
 
 3. Wandering Foolah 49 
 
 4. Kongcorong, and Kaartan ceremonial dress /)6 
 
 5. Cane Bridge over the Wallia creek 73 
 
 6. Madina, capital of WooUi 80 
 
 7. Boolibany — Capital of Bondoo 125 
 
 8. Mosque and Place of Assembly at Galam 282 
 
 9. Musical Instruments 301 
 
 IMap to face title-page. 
 
 Botanical drawings after page 396. 
 
 N. B. For the nature and amount of presents, see Ap- 
 pendix. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 
 26 
 
 For 
 
 Tumbo read Teembo. 
 
 75 
 
 — 
 
 Sindey read .Jindey. 
 
 77 
 
 — 
 
 Somkeys read Sonikeys. 
 
 87 
 
 — 
 
 Mausafarra read Mansafarra. 
 
 103 
 
 — 
 
 85"^ 22' 6". &c. read 14M0' .->8 
 
 235 
 
 — 
 
 Thurno read Thierno. 
 
 264 
 
 — 
 
 Falutne read Fa-lemme. 
 
 Thermometer in shade 100'' 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Arrival of the Expedition at Senegal — Delay there-^-A 
 Messenger despatched to Sego — Departure from Senegal;, 
 and Arrival at the Rio Nunez — Town of Tallabunchia — 
 Major Peddie's Death— Sickness of the Men and Officers 
 — Departure from Robugga — Difficulties on the March — 
 Arrival at the Panjetta. 
 
 It is no doubt in the recollection of many of 
 my readers, that an expedition destined to ex- 
 plore the interior of Africa, from its western 
 coast to the river Niger, the course and termi- 
 nation of which was its ultimate, and indeed 
 grand object, left England in the latter end of 
 1815, under the command of Brevet- Major Ped- 
 dle, of the 12th Foot, having with him Captain 
 Campbell, of the Royal Staff Corps, and Staff- 
 Surgeon Cowdrey ; the latter, an officer who had 
 some years before explored part of the country 
 in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hc^e, and 
 all three fully qualified to the importance of the 
 service entrusted to their care. 
 
 On their arrival at Senegal in the month of 
 
2 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 November, 1815, so many obstacles presented 
 themselves to the immediate departure of the 
 expedition for the interior, that Major Peddie, 
 having proceeded to Sierra Leone for the pur- 
 pose of consulting with his Excellency the Go- 
 vernor, decided on remaining at Senegal until 
 the ensuing year. 
 
 They had not been long there, when StafF- 
 Surgeon Cowdrey took iU, and in a few days fell 
 a victim to the climate, much regretted by his 
 brother officers, who were thus left without a 
 medical assistant, and deprived not only of his 
 society, but of his invaluable services as a natu- 
 ralist and astronomer. 
 
 To fill the situation thus left vacant, at least 
 in the capacity of a medical officer, I was ap- 
 plied to by Major Peddie; and although I felt 
 that I possessed few of the qualifications requi- 
 site to the discharge of the duties of so import- 
 ant a situation, I nevertheless accepted the 
 offer, with a determination that no exertion 
 should be wanting on my part to forward the 
 services of the expedition, which I joined at Se- 
 negal, in February, 1816. 
 
 Major Peddie's first step was to despatch a 
 messenger with a letter to the king of Sego, in- 
 forming him of our intention to visit him, and 
 begging he would send some of his chiefs to Se- 
 negal, to conduct us into his territories. The 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 3 
 
 person employed, whose name was Lamina, was 
 a native of Sego, and promised to return with 
 the king's answer in three months. 
 
 Captain Campbell went to Sierra Leone in 
 March, 1816, for the purpose of acquiring in- 
 formation respecting the path through Foota 
 Jallon, and on his return so strongly urged Ma- 
 jor Peddie to enter the country for the interior 
 from the Rio Nunez, that he decided on doing 
 so, and fixed the middle of November for their 
 departure from Senegal. The interim was em- 
 ployed in collecting information respecting the 
 countries through which we were to travel, and 
 selecting from the regiment serving on the coast, 
 a detachment of non-commissioned officers and 
 men fitted to the peculiarity of such a service, 
 and purchasing animals for the transport of the 
 baggage. 
 
 All these preparations being completed, we 
 embarked on board four vessels, hired for the 
 purpose, and sailed from Senegal on the 17th of 
 November, I8I6. 
 
 The expedition was then composed of Ma- 
 jor Peddie, Captain Campbell, Mr. Adolphus 
 Kummer, a German, as naturalist, Mr. Partar- 
 rieau, a native of Senegal (possessing consider- 
 able knowledge of the Arabic and Moorish 
 languages, with some of the native African 
 tongues), and myself, having with us a party of 
 
 B 2 
 
4 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 soldiers and civilians, amounting to 100 indivi- 
 duals, and a train of 200 animals. We called at 
 Goree, where we remained until the 26th, when 
 being joined by a vessel from the Cape de 
 Verde Islands, having on board some horses and 
 mules for our use, we proceeded and arrived, 
 after a tedious passage of sixteen days, at Ka- 
 kundy, a factory belonging to a Mr. Pearce, on 
 the left bank of the Rio Nunez. 
 
 While waiting for the tide at the mouth of 
 that river, we visited a small island formed by 
 the alluvial matter brought down with the 
 stream, and collected by a ridge of rocks which 
 run nearly across its embouchure. It is called 
 Sandy Island, from its soil being almost wholly 
 composed of that substance. It is about a mile 
 in length, and from a quarter to half a mile in 
 breadth, having a gentle rise towards the centre, 
 where it is covered by a grove of palm trees. 
 We met on it a party of about twenty of the 
 Bagoo tribe, who had come thither to collect 
 palm wine, for the celebration of a mournful ce- 
 remony over one of their chiefs, who had died 
 a short time before. At a little distance from 
 the spot where we met them, there is an ar- 
 bour, on approaching which we were stopped, 
 and told the place was sacred, as it contained 
 their idols ; of those we could not obtain even 
 an indistinct view. 
 
AHATIf'^Tlg UVT ATT TAEaAlSTUUSIHIIA . 
 
 TFA<S SIIMiri.]! 
 
 'J-^(^ ®H fHS WAEaLS ®)P Tfflm scT^rr 
 
 /,<■/' /■[ ./I'H^t Jifiirrui-.Xt'^id4^ 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. O 
 
 Tallabunchia, which we also visited, is si- 
 tuated on the north bank of the river, about 
 four miles above Sandy Island, in a plain, beau- 
 tifully shaded with lofty palm trees, and a 
 great profusion of orange, lime, plantain, and 
 bananas. The town is straggling and irregular, 
 and contains about 200 inhabitants. The 
 houses are about sixteen feet high, and divided, 
 by a partition of split cane, into two apart- 
 ments, one of which serves as a store for their 
 rice, &c. and the other for a dwelling. The 
 men are strong and well formed, but of an ex- 
 tremely savage appearance ; their whole apparel 
 consists of a fathom of cotton cloth wrapped 
 round their waists ; they practise cutting the 
 incisor teeth and tattooing the breasts and 
 arms; holes are pierced through the whole 
 circle of the ear, in which are inserted bits of a 
 coarse kind of grass. The dress of the women is 
 still less decent or becoming ; a strip of cotton 
 bound round the loins, in the shape of what 
 surgeons call a T bandage, is their only cover- 
 ing ; a band of twisted grass round the upper 
 parts of the thigh, one immediately above, and 
 another below the knee, with one over the 
 ankle, constituted the female ornaments. The 
 children were quite naked, and had large cop- 
 per rings hanging from the cartilage of the nose. 
 
 On the morning of the l^th. Captain Camp- 
 
d TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 bell, who had again proceeded to Sierra Leone, 
 on matters connected with the service, joined us 
 at Kakundy, where the whole of the men, ani- 
 mals, and baggage were landed. We encamped 
 on an elevated piece of ground, cleared for the 
 purpose, and overlooking the factory. There 
 sickness soon began to prevail amongst the Eu- 
 ropeans, few of whom escaped without one or 
 two attacks of fever, and, such was their weak 
 state, that, on the 24th of December, it was 
 thought expedient to remove them about four 
 miles east of Kakundy, to Robugga, a factory 
 belonging to a Mr. Bateman, who politely gave 
 up his house for their accommodation. On 
 that day Major Peddiewas attacked with violent 
 fever, from which he experienced little relief 
 until the morning of the 1st of January, 18 17, 
 when, thinking himself better, he left his bed, 
 but was soon obliged to resume it, and in a few 
 hours breathed his last. 
 
 This was a sad commencement of the new 
 year, and the melancholy event cast a heavy 
 gloom on the minds of every individual connect- 
 ed with the expedition. It made so deep an 
 impression on some, that it was with much diffi- 
 culty they could be prevailed on not to abandon 
 the enterprise. Never was a man more sincerely 
 beloved, nor more truly regretted by all who 
 knew him. His remains were deposited, amidst 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 7 
 
 the heartfelt regrets of his friends and compa- 
 nions, on the following day, in the court-yard of 
 Mr. Bateman, under the shade of two orange 
 trees ; and an appropriate epitaph, written by 
 Captain Campbell, and carved on a slab of na- 
 tive mahogany, was placed on his grave. 
 
 The day previous to his death, the expedition 
 was joined by Lieutenant Stokoe, of the Royal 
 Navy, and Hospital-assistant Nelson. They were 
 accompanied by Lieutenant M*E.ae, of the 
 Royal African Corps, and Thomas Buckle, 
 Esq.* ; the latter was sent by his Excellency, 
 Sir Charles McCarthy, to afford every facility to 
 our departure from Kakundy, and was the bear- 
 er of presents to Mr. Pearce (the nominal king 
 of Kakundy having no power whatever in the 
 country), without consulting whom nothing is 
 done in that river even by the European traders. 
 
 Lieutenant M'Rae, hearing on his arrival of 
 Major Peddie's illness, and the little hope we en- 
 tertained of his recovery, came forward with the 
 most disinterested zeal, and told Captain Camp- 
 bell that if his services were likely to be of any 
 use to the expedition, he would readily accom- 
 pany it ; indeed he left Sierra Leone partly with 
 that intention : and notwithstanding the great 
 want of officers in that garrison at the time, and 
 
 ^ Member of the Council of Sierra Leone. 
 
8 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 that he filled some very important situations, 
 his Excellency, with that alacrity he had all 
 along shewn to comply with whatever was cal- 
 culated to forward the views of the expedition, 
 most willingly agreed to his proceeding, should 
 his services be required. After Major Peddie's 
 death, they were considered very acceptable, 
 and he was immediately added to our number. 
 He did not, however, long survive our lamented 
 commander ; he was attacked with fever, for 
 the first time since his arrival on the coast, on 
 the 13th of January, and died on the 21st, 
 deeply regretted by us all. 
 
 The convalescents, and in which condition 
 were nearly all the Europeans, being in a very 
 debilitated state, were moved forward, under 
 the care of Mr. Nelson, to the borders of the 
 Foota country, on the Tingalinta river, whence 
 they might be easily sent back were they not 
 sufficiently recovered by the time the whole 
 might have moved forward. 
 
 We left Robugga in the afternoon of the 1st 
 of February, and after a most fatiguing march 
 of four hours reached Harrimakona, a small 
 slave village belonging to a Mandingo chief, 
 named Kirra Mahomadoo, who lives near Ka- 
 kundy. 
 
 On the morning of the 2d, Lieutenant Sto- 
 koe was added to the sick list, and being unable 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 9 
 
 to render any assistance, rode forward to the 
 Tingalinta. We left Harrimakona at two, p. m. 
 and got on tolerably well until we arrived at a 
 difficult pass in a wood, where those in front dis- 
 turbed a swarm of bees, which made so violent 
 an attack on both men and animals, that all 
 were thrown into confusion. On my being 
 made acquainted with the cause, I considered it 
 a very frivolous excuse for allowing the horses 
 and asses to run about in all directions, throw- 
 ing off their loads ; and was reprimanding the 
 men for their carelessness, when I was attacked 
 by so dense a swarm of those insects, that I was 
 obliged to retreat, and suffer the mortification of 
 exhibiting myself in the same predicament with 
 those I had just been reproving. It was sunset 
 before the bees dispersed, or we could collect 
 the animals, many of whom suffered severely, 
 from the bees getting into their eyes, ears, and 
 nostrils ; one of our best horses di^d on the 
 spot, and some of the asses were unable to rise 
 from the ground. We reached the Changeballe 
 stream at nine o'clock, but the darkness of the 
 night, and the difficulty of the passage prevent- 
 ed our crossing. 
 
 From the number of animals stung by the bees 
 on the 2d, we were in a bad state for travelling 
 on the morning of the 3rd ; the third and fourth 
 divisions, however, moved forward to the Tinga- 
 
w 
 10 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 linta^ leaving the second and first, which arrived 
 about noon from Robugga, at the ChangebalJe, 
 where we found it necessary to halt, until the 
 arrival of some animals from the divisions in 
 advance enabled us to move, in the cool of the 
 evening, to the Pompo stream, where we passed 
 the night. 
 
 The following morning, we started at eight, 
 and at ten reached a fine stream, the Falgori, 
 which we were more than an hour in crossing. 
 The difficulty did not arise from the depth of 
 water, but from the acclivity of the hill on the 
 east bank, up which some of the animals could 
 not carry their loads without the assistance of 
 two men. After passing this hill we entered a 
 barren rocky waste, over which we travelled, for 
 nearly twelve miles, without meeting water. 
 
 We were here met by Mahomedoo Maria- 
 ma, a messenger sent by Major Peddie from Se- 
 negal in the preceding August, with a letter to 
 the Almamy or king of Teembo. He was ac- 
 companied by' Abdul Hamed, one of Almamy's 
 brothers, and three other chiefs, with their 
 wives and attendants. We reached the Tingalin- 
 ta village at four, p. m. and encamped for the 
 night on the east side of a hill overlooking the 
 river. The men were all extremely fatigued, 
 and, although we had only travelled thirty miles, 
 we had all had four days' hard work, in conse- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 11 
 
 qiience of the difficulties of the path, and the 
 accidents among our animals. The general ap- 
 pearance of the country we travelled over was 
 extremely barren, and our course south-east. 
 We found that the convalescents sent forward to 
 the Tingalinta with Mr. Nelson, were still in a 
 very weak state, and the scarcity of rice under 
 which we laboured, tended to keep them so. 
 We were in hourly expectation, however, of a 
 supply from Kakundy. A little milk was all we 
 could procure at the village which takes its 
 name from the river, and contains about 100 in- 
 habitants, principally slaves, belonging to Mr. 
 Pearce, who has allowed them to settle there for 
 the purpose of cultivation, and to keep up an 
 intercourse with Foota Jallon. The rice, to the 
 amount often men's loads [ten cwts.], arrived on 
 the 8th, and eight of those men, natives of the 
 neighbourhood of Kakundy, were engaged to 
 carry loads to Laby. 
 
 On the morning of the 9th, Abdul Hamed 
 informed Captain Campbell it was Almamy's 
 orders, that a white man should be sent on in 
 advance to Teembo, to explain to him the object 
 we had in view in entering his dominions, and 
 at the same time forbidding our nearer ap- 
 proach until he should be perfectly satisfied on 
 that subject. I took the opportunity of offering 
 my services to go with an interpreter, to make 
 
12 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 any arrangements with that chief which might be 
 thought necessary, but Captain Campbell did 
 not conceive it requisite to send an officer; and, 
 therefore, despatched one of our native Ser- 
 jeants*, who had been before employed by the 
 governor of Sierra Leone on similar occasions. 
 He left us on the 10th of February, and was ac- 
 companied by Abou Baccary, one of the princes 
 in Abdul Hamed's train. 
 
 In the evening, the animals and baggage were 
 removed across the Tingalinta, which, at that 
 place is about 110 feet wide and from two to 
 three deep, with a bottom of small round peb- 
 bles. At a little distance below the ford was a 
 swinging bridge, composed of cane and bark 
 ropes, by which it was attached, at about twenty- 
 four feet above the water, to the branches of the 
 trees which grew on the banks, and afforded 
 during the rainy season and periodical floods, a 
 safe, though apparently slight and tottering, 
 passage for people on foot. 
 
 We were in motion at three o'clock on the 
 morning of the 12th, but the Kakundy people, 
 who had been hired as carriers, refused to cross 
 the Tingalinta, assigning as a reason that they 
 were afraid of being seized, and retained as 
 slaves by the Foolas, who had some years be- 
 
 * WiUiam Tuft. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. IS 
 
 fore obliged them to quit that country, which 
 formerly belonged to themselves. This delayed 
 us a considerable time, and it was not until 
 eleven o'clock that we left the ground on which 
 we passed the night. The path by which we 
 travelled was so extremely rugged and broken, 
 that we had much labour and difficulty in keep- 
 ing the animals from lying down under their 
 loads. This arose from their not being shod, 
 and from never having travelled on so hard a 
 soil before ; that in the vicinity of Senegal and 
 Goree being a light moveable sand. On reaching 
 a place where the path separates, one branch 
 leading direct to Teembo, and the other to 
 Laby, a halt was made until Captain Campbell 
 came up, when, after some conversation between 
 him and Abdul Hamed, he ordered us to follow 
 that leading to Laby, in opposition to the advice 
 of the prince. The reason assigned by Captain 
 Campbell for his choice, was the expectation of 
 the assistance of the chief of Laby, who had 
 considerable power and influence in that quar- 
 ter. At one, p. M. we passed a small stream * 
 running north, and which, from the steep, 
 rocky, and narrow nature of the path leading to 
 and from its banks, occupied much time. At 
 six, the rear reached the halting-place, which 
 
 * Diudilicouric. 
 
14 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 was situate on the ridge of a rising ground, about 
 two miles east of the stream, but so extremely 
 barren that we could not find, for a considerable 
 distance round us, a single blade of grass for 
 the animals. Here again some bees, that were 
 flying about in search of water, fastened on the 
 animals' backs as soon as the pack-saddles were 
 removed 5 but on this occasion, we applied some 
 dry sand, which absorbed the profuse perspira- 
 tion that evidently attracted the thirsty bees, and 
 by this means we got rid of our troublesome visit- 
 ors. Abdul Hamed made himself very useful 
 during this day's march, and on finding that we 
 expressed ourselves sensible of his attention, 
 he presented Captain Campbell with his bow and 
 arrows, modestly insinuating that a musket in 
 return would be most acceptable ; and this was 
 given him. 
 
 It was eight o'clock on the morning of the 
 13th, before the rear moved forward. We 
 marched over a gently descending plain for a 
 mile and a half, when we came to a small 
 brook named Calling Ko. The asses were as 
 usual stubborn, and evinced a most determined 
 dislike to wet their feet, which caused us much 
 trouble and loss of time. The country here be- 
 gan to wear a more fertile, or, rather, a less 
 barren appearance. It was thinly sprinkled with 
 large trees and shrubs, and produced an abund- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 15 
 
 ance of better grass than we had met before. 
 We halted for the night at another small brook, 
 a short distance from the Calling Ko, having 
 abandoned during the day's march six asses and 
 one bullock. 
 
 On the following morning, we started at eight 
 o'clock, and, in about twenty minutes, passed a 
 fine brook called Sappacourie, running--««».jy/v"/- 
 the path more rocky and difficult than before. 
 At eleven we perceived, distant about a quar- 
 ter of a mile to the right, a broad lake, thickly 
 skirted with wood ; it is called Silla Dharra *. 
 At noon, we passed another smaller lake, and at 
 one, p. M. arrived at the Cogan, a beautiful 
 stream, which we crossed, and halted for the 
 night on its eastern bank. It is about fifty yards 
 wide, two feet deep, and runs rapidly to the 
 north, over a rough stony bottom. 
 
 Though we were at work at three o'clock on 
 the morning of the 15th, it was eleven before 
 the last division left the top of the hill. The 
 path led us over the most barren country I 
 ever saw, until three, p. m. when we entered a 
 rich valley, in which, at some distance to our 
 right, stood a small town, the first we passed 
 since we left the Tingalinta. At half after four, 
 we arrived at the Serriwoomba, where we were 
 
 * A Mandingo word, signifying " a prosperous journey." 
 
16 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 obliged to halt, in order to cut a passage through 
 the thicket of cane, which covered its banks. 
 We were all so much fatigued that we could 
 scarcely keep our eyes open ; indeed many of 
 the men fell asleep on the path. A few shots 
 were fired, to apprise the inhabitants of the 
 neighbouring villages of our arrival, and in 
 about two hours, they made their appearance 
 from different directions, bringing corn, rice, 
 and pistacios for sale. 
 
 Both men and animals were so much ex- 
 hausted, that it was found necessary to halt un- 
 til the 18th, when we moved forward at eight, 
 A. M. and, travelling east for about two miles up 
 hill, we passed a deserted town, from which we 
 continued marching on a level barren plain for 
 six miles, and then descending gently for 
 about four miles more, we arrived at the Ru- 
 ling, a fine sti'eam running nne. We crossed 
 it, and halted on its eastern bank for the night. 
 We had scarcely unloaded the animals when the 
 long dry grass to windward of our position was 
 set fire to, and nothing but the greatest exertion 
 on the part of the men could have prevented it 
 from destroying the whole of our baggage. 
 
 It behoves travellers in that country to be ex- 
 tremely guarded in their choice of a halting- 
 place, for the path generally lies through grass 
 six or seven feet long, and so dry at that season. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 17 
 
 that the smallest spark of fire is sufficient to set 
 it in a blaze for miles. One of our animals that 
 had not come up with the rear, lay down with his 
 load, within range of the burning grass, which 
 soon communicated with some gunpowder, and 
 blew the whole to pieces. On the morning of 
 the 19th, we moved forward at eight o'clock. 
 The first hour's march lay along the side of a 
 steep hill, rendered doubly difficult for the ani- 
 mals by being covered with small rough stones. 
 At ten we descended to a plain, and crossed 
 three small brooks, the first running nne. and 
 the two latter s. and by w. Several of the 
 European non-commissioned officers and sol- 
 diers were so ill during this march, that they 
 lay down under some trees on the path-side. I 
 prevailed on two of them to move slowly for- 
 ward, but the others requested to be allowed to 
 rest until the cool of the evening. My own 
 horse, and every animal in the division, were so 
 heavily laden, that we could not afford them any 
 assistance. At one, p. m., we began to ascend 
 some rocky hills, where we were obliged to 
 abandon three animals. At the bottom of those 
 hills, Y/e passed the dry bed of a rocky water- 
 course, and, shortly after, had considerable dif- 
 ficulty in crossing another of the kind, near 
 which we halted, in a small valley by the side 
 of a brook called Bontong Ko. 
 
18 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 On the 20th, a messenger was despatched 
 with small presents to Almamy and the men in 
 authority about him, and to advise him of our 
 approach. He was accompanied by a young 
 chief, one of the prince's suit, likewise the bear- 
 er of a message to the king from his brother. 
 Finding it impossible, with the assistance of all 
 the carriers we could procure, to move the 
 whole of our baggage with any degree of regu- 
 larity or safety, we decided on abandoning our 
 two small field guns, with their shot and grape, 
 and, having buried them about three feet beneath 
 the surface, we made a fire, to conceal where 
 the ground had been broken. By this means 
 we got rid of three very heavy loads. Captain 
 Campbell thought it better to dispose of them in 
 that way than to make a present of them to Al- 
 mamy, for although it was not likely he could 
 make any use of them, yet the very circum- 
 stance alone of possessing such destructive en- 
 gines, and of having received them from us, 
 might induce those nations with whom he occa- 
 sionally wages war (and through which we were 
 likely to travel), to entertain unfavourable opi- 
 nions of us. 
 
 When about to move on the forenoon of the 
 20th, the prince commenced a long palaver with 
 Captain Campbell on the subject of our proceed- 
 ing without giving him previous notice. It had 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. IQ 
 
 never been done j and why he should have ex- 
 pected it on this occasion, was no less matter of 
 surprise than his haughty language and de- 
 portment. After much conversation, little of 
 which was relevant to the question, he consent- 
 ed to our moving, which we did at four, p. m., 
 and ascending a steep hill, so closely covered 
 with cane that we had more difficulty in passing 
 it than any former part of our path, the dry 
 leaves of the cane with which it was covered, 
 rendered the ground so slippery, that the men 
 with difficulty kept their feet; and that nothing 
 might be wanting to complete our confusion, 
 the Foolahs set fire to the dry grass and roots, 
 in which the place abounded. We fortunately 
 escaped without any injury, save the loss of two 
 asses that lay down unable to move further. It 
 was dark when we began to descend the east- 
 ern side of the hill, which, from the animals fre- 
 quently falling, occupied two hours. We reached 
 the Poosa, a small stream, at eleven, p. m., and 
 encamped on its banks. Our want of the means 
 of conveyance was every day, nay every hour, be- 
 coming more distressing ; carriers could not be 
 procured for all the loads of the animals that 
 died or were abandoned ; we therefore destroyed 
 two of our tents and a large quantity of flints 
 and musket balls. 
 
 The prince, observing Captain Campbell seat- 
 
 c 2 
 
20 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 ed on a mat outside his tent, approached the 
 spot, accompanied by one of his attendants, 
 named Salihou, and, without further ceremony, 
 seating themselves near him, began to destroy 
 a portion of the vermin with which even royalty 
 in that country is covered. They opened a con- 
 versation on the dangerous part of the country 
 we were then in, and the difficulty of preventing 
 the natives from robbing and otherwise annoy- 
 ing us, adding that we should not have left the 
 Bontong Ko without consulting them. 
 
 Although we were aware that the object of all 
 this was to induce Captain Campbell to make 
 the prince a present, he nevertheless took no 
 notice of them. Salihou then, taking hold of 
 the prince's trowsers (which, by the way, were 
 in very bad repair), and holding them up, asked 
 if it was a fit dress for the brother of Almamy to 
 appear in before the white people ? But even this 
 failing to produce the desired effect, they closed 
 the conversation, and, at the same time, their 
 more disgusting occupation. 
 
 On the following morning, we left the Poosa 
 at nine o'clock, and at eleven, entered a valley 
 of great beauty and fertility. The light co- 
 loured sandy and rocky soil, which, with little 
 variation, we passed over since entering the 
 Foolah country, here changed to a rich dark 
 mould 5 hills on all sides, rising gently one 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 21 
 
 above another, and covered with large clumps 
 of trees, bounded this luxuriant spot. Having 
 passed it, we entered a deep gully, in the bottom 
 of which the brook Lagoody runs to the ne. 
 The path on both sides is extremely broken and 
 rocky, forming a nearly perpendicular precipice 
 of about one hundred and sixty feet ; down 
 which two of the animals, a horse and ass, rolled 
 into the brook, and, strange to say, received 
 little or no injury. We soon reached the plain 
 of Parow^ell, where we encamped for the night. 
 During this march, one of the Foolah carriers 
 absconded with a portmanteau, containing seve- 
 ral articles of value, and, although the prince 
 sent one of his men in search of him, he effected 
 his escape unmolested. 
 
 On the morning of the 28rd, we moved for- 
 ward at eight o'clock. In half an hour we 
 passed another deep ravine, and crossed a plain 
 about a mile long, from whence the path conti- 
 nued along the side of a hill, rising to a ridge, 
 of steep ascent ; the east side being very steep, 
 narrow, and rocky. It was so broken before the 
 last division reached, that we were obliged to 
 make much use of the pickaxe, in order to 
 clear a passage for the horses, one of which 
 fell over the precipice, and was much hurt. We 
 continued descending, until we arrived at the 
 Koba stream, running north, over a rocky bot- 
 
22 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 torn ; here we encamped for the night. We were 
 all much fatigued, and one of our sick, being 
 unable to walk, was most cruelly treated by 
 some Foolahs who were hired to carry him. 
 They obliged him to walk to the Parowell, 
 where, had he not met Mr. Stokoe, who lent 
 him his horse, he must have sunk from weak- 
 ness and fatigue. When he reached the camp, 
 he was so much exhausted, that his pulse was 
 scarcely perceptible, and he was covered with a 
 cold clammy perspiration. 
 
 We left the Koba at eight o'clock on the 
 morning of the 24th, and, passing some large 
 unconnected lumps of rock of from ^ve to 
 twenty feet perpendicular height, crossed the 
 Yangally, a small stream running to the east 
 over stones and small gravel. Soon after, we 
 entered a valley, which, although an apparent 
 good soil, bore no marks of cultivation. It is 
 bounded on the right by bold rocky cliffs, be- 
 hind which, at no great distance, rise a chain of 
 lofty mountains running se. and nw. At two 
 p. M. we crossed a small brook that joins the 
 Dunso, and shortly after heard the noise of the 
 waterfall, which we were informed was caused 
 by the junction of that river with the Thoominea. 
 At three, we reached the former, running with 
 great rapidity to the nnw., and having crossed 
 it at a ford about thirty yards wide, halted for 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 23 
 
 the night. At about four miles ne. from our 
 camp, was a lofty perpendicular rock of sand- 
 stone, bearing a strong resemblance to the ruins 
 of a cathedral. 
 
 We left the Dunso at half after seven on the 
 morning of the 26th, and travelled through a 
 valley bounded by lofty mountains and perpen- 
 dicular cliffs of sand- stone. At eleven, we passed 
 a small stream running e. by s., and in an hour 
 after arrived at the Kankeenhang stream, run- 
 ning N. by w., where we encamped. 
 
 In consequence of some hesitation on the 
 part of the prince to accompany us farther, un- 
 til, as he said, a white man had visited Almamy, 
 we halted at the Kankeenhang until the 2d, 
 when, not being able to procure a sufficient 
 supply of rice or other provisions, we moved 
 forward, much against the advice of the prince, 
 who plainly told us we were doing so altogether 
 on our own responsibility. 
 
 A march of four hours, rendered extremely 
 painful and tedious from the swampy nature of 
 part of the path, and a no less number than 
 fourteen streams crossed, brought us to the 
 Panjetta river, which we also crossed, and halt- 
 ed on its east bank. Abdul Hamed, on seeing 
 us cross the last, thought we were going to con- 
 tinue our march ; and, although he had been 
 told that such was not our intention, he would 
 
S4 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 not allow the Foolah carriers to move their loads 
 from the west bank. Our own men soon reme- 
 died the evil, much to the temporary annoyance 
 of the prince, who, on seeing us encamp, ex- 
 pressed his regret at having doubted us. Our 
 situation was now become truly alarming 5 a 
 scarcity of provisions had existed for some 
 days, and on the 3d the men had none at all : 
 and as the prince could not be prevailed upon 
 to allow our moving from the Panjetta, until 
 the king's sanction could be obtained, Captain 
 Campbell determined on sending Lieutenant 
 Stokoe, with presents to him and two of his 
 principal chiefs, requesting permission to pass 
 through the country without any further delay. 
 
25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Halt at the Panjetta — Return of Messengers sent to the 
 Capital — His Majesty's Answer — Great Scarcity of Pro- 
 visions — Another Messenger sent, with Presents to the 
 King — Captain Campbell's interview with Omerhoo Ka- 
 no — Reports about the Intentions of the Expedition 
 — Captain Campbell goes to see the King — Arrival 
 of the Messenger from Sego — Captain Campbell's Re- 
 turn — No satisfactory Answer — Illness of the Officers 
 — Lieutenant Stokoe and Mr. Kummer sent to the Coast 
 —Captain Campbell decides on retracing his steps — De- 
 parture from the Panjetta — Arrival at Kakundy — Death 
 of Captain Campbell — Departure for, and Arrival at 
 Sierra Leone — Description of Foota Jallon. 
 
 When Lieutenant Stokoe was about to move, 
 on the morning of the 4th of March, Sergeant 
 Tuft and Abou Baccary, the messengers sent 
 to the king from the TingaHnta, made their ap- 
 pearance, and informed Captain Campbell that 
 having delivered the presents, and made known 
 to his majesty the purport of their message, he 
 told them that he could not permit us to pass 
 through Foota Jallon until he had consulted his 
 chiefs, to whom he could not address himself 
 on th^ subject before Captain Campbell thought 
 fit to make them suitable presents : the messen- 
 gers also said, it appeared that many unfavour- 
 
26 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 able reports, respecting the objects of the expe- 
 dition, had been made to the king, who never- 
 theless expressed himself well disposed towards 
 us, and said he should be extremely sorry if any 
 thing unfortunate happened to us in his terri- 
 tories. 
 
 The arrival of those messengers, and the re- 
 sult of Tuft's interview with the king, rendered 
 it necessary, in Captain Campbell's opinion, 
 that Tuft should return to Tumbo in the place of 
 Lieutenant Stokoe. A dispute now arose be- 
 tween Salihou, who was to have accompanied 
 the latter, and Abou Bacary, as to which of them 
 should be Tuft's companion. The latter insist- 
 ed that Almamy directed him to attend all mes- 
 sengers from Captain Campbell, and the for- 
 mer, knowing that whoever went must receive 
 some present, urged his claim with much obsti- 
 nacy. It was at length determined that both 
 should go, in consequence of the prince not 
 wishing to entrust Abou Bacary with his com- 
 mands. Although from Salihou's conduct we 
 could not expect him to report very favourably 
 of us, yet he had been so troublesome, and his 
 wife, a sister of Almamy's, so beggarly and im- 
 portunate, that we were glad to get rid of them. 
 We were now in the district of Laby, the chief 
 of which (who, as before stated, has much in- 
 fluence in the country) sent one of his head men, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 27 
 
 named Mode-Duran, to remain with us, and 
 prevent our being imposed on by the natives of 
 the surrounding villages. 
 
 Sergeant Tuft, being furnished with large 
 presents for the king, and a host of chiefs, mi- 
 nisters, and favourites, left us on the 5th, to 
 meet his majesty at Pappadarra, a village near 
 Laby, where he was assembling his army, for 
 the purpose, as was reported, of invading the 
 Gaba country, on the southern bank of the 
 Gambia. We were reduced since our arrival 
 at the Panjetta, to a very small daily allowance 
 of provisions, and from which there appeared 
 no prospect of relief, at least as far as we could 
 foresee ; a pint of rice between four men was 
 our usual ration, and even that scanty pittance 
 failed us on the evening of the 6th. 
 
 In this state we could not have remained long ; 
 and although we were daily enabled to purchase 
 enough from the natives to keep body and soul 
 together, yet our sufferings were great indeed. 
 The health of the Europeans was rendered 
 worse than it had been, in consequence of their 
 eating unripe fruit, and even that they could 
 not procure in sufficient quantities to satisfy 
 their appetites. 
 
 On the 7th, a chief named Omerhou Kano 
 arrived at our camp, and having seated himself 
 with all pomp imaginable under a tree at a short 
 
28 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 distance from it, where he was surrounded by 
 his followers to the number of three hundred 
 armed men, sent to summon Captain Campbell to 
 appear before him. This was complied with, 
 when, after the usual compliments, he stated 
 that he had been sent by Almamy to ascertain 
 and make a faithful report on the state and num- 
 bers of the expedition, and the objects it had in 
 view in entering the country, which he said the 
 king suspected had all been misrepresented by 
 the former messengers. This he repeated several 
 times, and concluded by advising us to wait 
 with patience until he returned to Almamy, 
 when arrangements agreeable to our wishes 
 would be effected. He left us on the 8th, after 
 having examined with the most scrutinizing cu- 
 riosity every thing in or about our «amp. 
 
 Every day brought us some messenger from the 
 king, but none of them were the bearers of any 
 satisfactory answer. One stated that we were or- 
 dered to return to Kakundy, and another, that 
 the king had received a letter from Mahomedoo 
 Mariama, informing him that our object in en- 
 tering the country was the subversion of their 
 religion, for which purpose we had provided 
 ourselves with machines that could kill at any 
 distance, and that we were accompanied by one 
 hundred large dogs, each able to fight one hun- 
 dred men. These, with other similar reports, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 29 
 
 were in circulation ; but it is scarcely possible 
 that a being of the most ignorant and unsophis- 
 ticated nation on earth could believe them. 
 
 On the 13th, Sergeant Tuft, who was still at 
 the king's camp, sent Brahima to inform Captain 
 Campbell that as there did not yet appear any 
 probability of obtaining permission to proceed, 
 he recommended that he should himself see Al- 
 mamy, with as little delay as possible ; and it 
 appearing to Captain Campbell, as well as all 
 the other officers, that some decisive answer 
 should be obtained from the king, he left the 
 camp on the morning of the l6th, accompanied 
 by Mr. Partarrieau, and four men (natives) with 
 a train of carriers, amounting in all to about 
 eighteen persons ; they were soon followed by 
 the prince and his suite. They had not gone 
 long when we received a letter from Lamima, 
 the messenger sent to Sego from Senegal in 
 1816, apprising us that he, together with some 
 men from the king, were on their way to meet 
 us. It was time that some decisive step should 
 be taken : our animals were dying fast ; provi- 
 sions were extremely scarce ; and the wet sea- 
 son had that evening set in, by visiting us with 
 a heavy shower of rain, which lasted for an 
 hour, and proved that our huts were not calcu- 
 lated to secure us from a wetting. 
 
 Captain Campbell did not return before the 
 
30 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 27th, and then without having obtained any- 
 very satisfactory answer from Almamy, whom 
 he met at a village called Dhoontoo, on the eve 
 of commencing a campaign against some of the 
 neighbouring chiefs. He said, that being 
 obhged to lead the army himself, and consider- 
 ing his reputation at stake for our safety, he 
 could not allow us to proceed during his ab- 
 sence, which would not be long, and as he un- 
 derstood we had lost the greater number of our 
 animals, he had given directions that we should 
 be provided with men to carry our baggage to 
 Woonde, a town near Laby, where we were to 
 await his return. On the following morning, the 
 prince returned, accompanied by Sergeant Tuft 
 and thirteen carriers, which not being near half 
 the number required, having lost eighty-five ani- 
 mals since we left Robugga, the prince said 
 the remainder would soon follow ; and imme- 
 diately ordered all strangers, except Foolahs, to 
 quit the vicinity of our camp. The object of 
 this we could not ascertain, but it deprived us 
 of many persons whom we had found extremely 
 useful in collecting provisions for the party. 
 
 In this state we remained until the 7th of 
 April, when we were for a moment inclined to 
 think that a sufficient number of carriers would 
 be furnished us, by the arrival of another party 
 of men for that purpose, but we were much sur- 
 
I I I lilTvlv UllUhl-li 
 
 travels' i^ ^■i^iiCA^{\'^^ 31 
 
 prised and disappointed to find, that on the fol- 
 lowing day, not only those, but the thirteen who 
 came with the prince, had decamped without 
 any previous notice of such being their inten- 
 tion. Abdul Hamed despatched one of his fol- 
 lowers, on the 9th, to recal them, but as they 
 did not obey the summons, — he sent, on the 
 10th, to request Almamy to issue fresh orders 
 concerning them. 
 
 Brahima, who had been absent from the camp 
 for some days, watching Almamy's manoeuvres 
 (by Captain Campbell's orders), returned and 
 informed us that many debates had arisen, 
 and various proposals been made with respect 
 to what conduct they should pursue towards the 
 expedition. Some of the chiefs proposed plun- 
 dering us, to which Almamy would not consent, 
 but said we should pay well before he would al- 
 low us to pass. A third party insisted that the 
 country was already polluted by the presence of 
 so large a body of Cafirs*, and that their offence 
 against the will of their prophet, in allowing us 
 to pass, with such valuables as we possessed, to 
 their enemy, the king of Sego, who was himself 
 a Cafir, would be much aggravated. By this it 
 was evident that the general feeling on the sub- 
 ject of our going to Sego, was not favourable, 
 
 * Infidels. 
 
32 travels" IN AFRICA. 
 
 and that if we should succeed at all, it would 
 probably be at a period when the advanced state 
 of the season must render our doing so ex- 
 tremely difficult, if not wholly impracticable. 
 
 Our situation was daily becoming more alarm- 
 ing ; provisions were not only scarce, but al- 
 most impossible to be procured even in small 
 quantities, and at exorbitant prices ; and sick- 
 ness increased rapidly since the rains set in. 
 Captain Campbell, Lieutenant Stokoe, and Mr. 
 Kummerwere added to the list since the 12th ; 
 the two latter continued to decline until the 
 26th, when, seeing no chance of their imme- 
 diate recovery, they were prevailed on to return 
 to the coast. Mr. Kummer left us on that 
 day, and Lieutenant Stokoe on the 28th. The 
 mode adopted for their conveyance (for they 
 were unable to ride ) was cradles, or long bas- 
 kets of cane, at each end of which was a loop, 
 or long handle, for the purpose of receiving a 
 pole, that served the same use as the pole of pa- 
 lanquins, and supported a curtain to defend 
 them from the rays of the sun. Two men could 
 easily carry one of these with a person of ordi- 
 nary size in it, but, in order that no delay 
 should arise from want of carriers for them- 
 selves or their baggage, five accompanied each. 
 
 On the 2d of May, Lamina, accompanied by 
 one of the chiefs, named Abou Hararata, and 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 33 
 
 a long train of attendants, came to the camp^ 
 and informed Captain Campbell that Almamy 
 sent them to say he had given permission to La- 
 mina, in consequence of his being the messen- 
 ger of the king of Sego, to conduct us through 
 the country by whatever path he chose, and 
 had also given directions to Abou Hararata to 
 collect carriers for the conveyance of our bag- 
 gage. This, however plausible in w^ords, was not 
 acted upon, and as nothing could be obtained 
 from them but promises which they never in- 
 tended performing, with the view of detaining 
 us until the state of the country, occasioned 
 by the rains, would prevent us moving in any 
 direction. Captain Campbell, who was himself 
 very ill, came to the decision of retracing his 
 steps to the coast, and made known the same to 
 Almamy, who sent us word that, although we 
 were returning, it was not his desire that we 
 should do so, as his country was open to us 
 in any way we wished. This was his last effort 
 to detain us, but, finding it would not answer, 
 he ordered that we should be provided with 
 carriers. 
 
 It was not, however, until the 18th of May, 
 that a sufficient number were collected, and even 
 then, we found so much difficulty in putting 
 them to their work, that we were obliged to 
 
 D 
 
34 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 hold out to them promises of large rewards on 
 their arrival at Kakiindy. 
 
 Our retreat was by far more painful and dif- 
 ficult than our advance 5 the carriers required 
 more attendance than even the fatigued and sulky 
 asses ; and what with the sick men and officers, 
 my time and exertions were so completely taken 
 up, that I found myself, on the 20th of May, in 
 a state that rendered me unable, however will- 
 ing, to afford myself the assistance, so many 
 others wanted from me. 
 
 From that date to the 1st of June, I remained 
 in a state of insensibility to the objects around 
 me, and was conveyed, in a basket similar to 
 those already described, to the house of Mr. 
 Bateman, where, on coming to my senses (an 
 event which those about me did not expect), I 
 was informed of Mr. Rummer's death, and the 
 departure of Lieutenant Stokoe for Sierra Leone. 
 
 Captain Campbell, who, although a little bet- 
 ter than I was, still continued very weak, wished 
 on the 10th to proceed down the river, for the 
 purpose of hiring a vessel to convey the expe- 
 dition to Sierra Leone, but he was in that state 
 which I conceived must, in case of his moving, 
 prove of serious consequence, and I therefore 
 persuaded him to remain quiet, and send Mr. 
 Nelson in his place. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 35 
 
 On the ISth, I again visited him, and was 
 sorry to find him worse, so much so, that he 
 could not speak to me, and so debihtated that 
 I much doubted the possibiHty of his recovery. 
 My fears were unfortunately but too well 
 grounded ; he breathed his last on the following 
 morning, sincerely regretted by every indivi- 
 dual of the expedition. We deposited his re- 
 mains on the 14th, by the side of those of his 
 highly- valued friend and companion. Major Ped- 
 dle, amidst the tears and lamentations of all 
 present, and which were greatly aggravated by 
 the painful recollection of the untimely death of 
 our former and much-beloved commander. 
 
 Thus ended the mortal career of two distin- 
 guished officers, who, in the prime of life, and 
 scorning a state of inactivity at home, entered on 
 an enterprise of the most difficult and truly for- 
 lorn nature; and who, by their anxiety and exer- 
 tions for the advancement of the arduous ser- 
 vice committed to their care, fell early victims 
 to that inhospitable climate, leaving their bones 
 in the sands of Africa, a sad memento of their 
 own melancholy fate, and of the unfortunate 
 issue of the expedition under their command. 
 To express my own feelings on that occasion, 
 would, indeed, be impossible ; the service lost 
 a gallant officer, and I lost a sincere friend. 
 
 d2 
 
36 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 The sick, who were left at the Panjetta, 
 joined us in safety, and, in order to avoid starva- 
 tion at Kakundy, and to obtain that relief and 
 rest of which we were all so much in want, we 
 sailed immediately for Sierra Leone, where we 
 did not arrive until our provisions were nearly 
 exhausted, and then, with the loss of two men 
 and nearly all our remaining animals. 
 
 On landing at Free Town, his Excellency Sir 
 Charles McCarthy omitted nothing that could 
 tend in any way to relieve our wants and suffer- 
 ings, and it is with particular satisfaction that I 
 take this opportunity of offering my gratefid ac- 
 knowledgments for his marked kindness and at- 
 tention to myself. 
 
 Lieutenant Stokoe, on whom the command 
 then devolved, as soon as he had recovered from 
 the effects of his late illness and fatigues, al- 
 though in the depth of the rainy season, set out 
 by the Port Logo path, with the intention of 
 going to Teembo, in order to enter into arrange- 
 ments, if possible, with Almamy, and obtain from 
 him hostages for the free and unmolested pas- 
 sage of the expedition through his country to 
 the Niger. In this, however, he failed, and re- 
 turned to the colony, to wait until the ensuing 
 dry season would admit of his endeavouring to 
 penetrate by some other route j but he, like his 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 37 
 
 predecessors, was not doomed to see his projects 
 realized, and died at Sierra Leone, after a few 
 days' illness. 
 
 Foota Jallon, of which Teembo is the capital, 
 is a country of considerable extent, lying be- 
 tween the Sierra Leone and Gambia rivers. When 
 it was in the possession of the aboriginal inhabit- 
 ants, the Jallonkeas, it bore the name of Jallonk, 
 which has been gradually softened into Jallo, to 
 which was prefixed the name of Foota, signify- 
 ing together the Foolahs of Jallo, or Foota Jallo. 
 The Jallonkeas are now subject to the Foolahs, 
 who conquered the country, under the direction 
 of a family from Massina, consisting of the fa- 
 ther, two sons, and a few followers. One of 
 the sons was a Mahomedan priest, and gradually 
 gained such influence among the Jallonkeas, 
 that he converted many of them to his own 
 faith, and by means of his wealth (of which he 
 is said to have possessed much), strongly at- 
 tached them to his interest. A few years en- 
 abled them to make so many converts to their 
 religion, and their riches procured them so much 
 favor, that they planned and carried into exe- 
 cution the subjugation of the Jallonkeas, at least 
 of such as would not embrace the Mahomedan 
 faith ; and the usurpation of the supreme go- 
 vernment of their country, the first exercise of 
 which was, to oblige those who still adhered to 
 
38 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 paganism, to pay them a yearly tribute or quit 
 the country which had for ages been their own. 
 From that family is descended the present 
 Alinamy. Karamoka Alpha was the first Al- 
 mamy of Teembo, and was surnamed Moudoo, or 
 the great, being at the same time acknowledged 
 as the chief Iman and defender of their religion. 
 He was succeeded by his son, Yoro Padde, sur- 
 named Soorie, at whose death the regal power 
 was assumed by Almamy Saadoo, who was de- 
 posed by Ali Bilmah and Alpha Salihou, and to 
 whose sanguinary intrigues he afterwards fell a 
 victim. Salihou was next proclaimed king, and 
 distinguished his reign by a succession of pre- 
 datory excursions against several Cafir or pagan 
 tribes of the neighbouring states, many of whom 
 he destroyed, plundered, or rendered tributary. 
 He was succeeded by Abdulahi Ba Demba, who, 
 having a dispute with Ali Bilmah, sent him in 
 irons to Bondoo, where he vainly thought he 
 could not injure him ; but Ali Bilmah contrived 
 to keep up a secret communication with his 
 friends, and was eventually instrumental in re- 
 moving his tyrannical sovereign from the throne, 
 which was next occupied by Abdoolghader. Ba 
 Demba then retired to Toogumba, a village at 
 some distance north-west of Teembo, and, with 
 the assistance of a few friends, assembled an 
 army lor the purpose of attempting to regain his 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 39 
 
 crown, which Abdoolghader on his side prepared 
 to defend ; for which purpose the latter marched 
 with a large army to give Ba Demba battle and 
 decide the affair. The latter, aware of his own 
 inferiority in point of number, retreated 5 but, 
 being pursued and overtaken by his enemies, 
 was killed, together with one of his sons. In 
 an affair which then took place on the banks of 
 the Tingussoo river, his second son would have 
 shared the same fate, had he not been protected 
 by Abdoolghader, who considered himself se- 
 cured in his possession of the crown, by the 
 death of the father, and he has reigned unmo- 
 lested to the present time. 
 
 The Foolahs, according to their own account, 
 have had possession of Foota Jallo for about 
 sixty years. The government is of a mixed 
 kind, partaking more of the nature of a republic 
 than a monarchy, and is composed of the states 
 of Teembo, Laby, and Teembee, with their 
 dependencies. Almamy, although he has the 
 chief power, cannot decide upon any thing of 
 importance to the country without the consent 
 of those chiefs, each of whom has a voice in 
 the cabinet. 
 
 The religion is Mahomedan, and so strict is 
 their observance of its ceremonies that they pray 
 regularly five times every day, and should any 
 one be prevented by unavoidable engagements 
 
40 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 from attending to his devotions at the stated 
 periods, he must compensate for it by repeating 
 the whole ceremony the exact number of times 
 he omitted it. 
 
 Their manufactures are the same as those of 
 Bondoo, as will be described hereafter. The ve- 
 getable productions are indigo, cotton, rice, 
 maize, yams, cassada, shalots, andpompions; and 
 their fruits are oranges, lemons, plantains, ba- 
 nanas, tamarinds, and nittas, or the locust fruit; 
 the latter is a kind of mimosa, very much resem- 
 bling the tamarind tree. The flowers or blossoms 
 are produced at the extremities of the branches, 
 and are succeeded by pods similar to those of a 
 garden bean, with the exception of their being 
 from nine to twelve inches long, and one broad; 
 each pod contains from nine to twelve black 
 stones, resembling those of the tamarind in size 
 and shape, but are enveloped in a fine farina- 
 ceous powder of the appearance of sublimed sul- 
 phur. Its taste is not unlike liquorice-root pow- 
 der, and, when mixed with milk, affords a very 
 palatable and nutritious diet ; and although some 
 of the men, who swallowed the stones of this 
 fruit? were affected with sickness at stomach, 
 bad as our situation was from the scarcity of 
 provisions, it would have been exceedingly ag- 
 gravated, had the nittas not been ripe before we 
 left the Panjetta. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 41 
 
 The men are of the middle stature, well- 
 formed, very active and intelligent, and are 
 dressed nearly in the same manner as those of 
 Bondoo ; the cap is of a different form, and most 
 frequently made of scarlet cloth ; they wear 
 sandals, and usually carry a long cane or spear. 
 Thus equipped they strut about, with all the air 
 and affected dignity of men of the first conse- 
 quence. They are characterised by a high de- 
 gree of cunning, duplicity, self-interestedness, 
 and avarice ; to gratify which they are neither 
 deterred by shame nor fear. This renders it ex- 
 tremely difficult for strangers to guard against 
 the crafty devices they have recourse to in all 
 their dealings of whatever kind, or to elude the 
 rapacious advantages they are always on the 
 alert to take of them, either by imposition or 
 theft. 
 
 The women are good figures, have a lively and 
 graceful air, and prominent features, much re- 
 sembling the European. They are at great pains 
 to preserve their teeth of a pearly white, by 
 constantly rubbing them with a small twig of the 
 tamarind tree, which is an admirable substitute 
 for the tooth-brush. They are, like all other 
 African females, extremely fond of amber, coral, 
 and glass beads, which they bestow in profiision 
 on their heads, necks, arms, waists, and ancles. 
 
 The commerce of Foota Jallon may be di- 
 
42 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 vided into two heads; namely, first, that in 
 slaves, now nearly extinct, at least as far as ex- 
 portation is concerned, in consequence of the 
 constant surveillance of the British cruisers on 
 the coast, and the unremitted exertions of the 
 government of Sierra Leone to lead the people 
 of that country to a more intimate connexion 
 with the colony, and a more valuable employ- 
 ment of their time, in cultivating and bringing 
 into our market there the other productions of 
 their own and surrounding countries, which may 
 be considered as the second head under which 
 their commercial pursuits can be classed. The 
 Rio Nunez and Pongas, which were formerly 
 infested by slave dealers and their emissaries, 
 are now freed from the odious burden of such a 
 party, and those who still retain factories there, 
 although they would smile at the revival of that 
 unnatural trade, see so little prospect of its ever 
 again being open to them, that they begin to 
 think of other and less nefarious means of 
 amassing wealth. 
 
43 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Major Gray takes the Command — Departure from Sierra 
 Leone — Arrival at Bathurst^ St. Mary's — Occurrences 
 there — Departure for, and Arrival at Kayaye — Descrip- 
 tion of a tribe of wandering Foolahs — Description of 
 Kayaye, the surrounding Country, and Inhabitants— 
 Their Amusements, &c. — Visit to Katoha — The King's 
 Visit to us — Arrival of Camels from Senegal — Our 
 Guide's proposal respecting the path — My Decision, and 
 Reasons — ^Fatality among our Animals — Arrival of Mr. 
 Partarrieau from St. Mary's — Arrangements for Depar- 
 ture. 
 
 Such was the state of the expedition, when, in 
 the month of November, 1817, 1 volunteered my 
 services to conduct it. Mr. Dochard, who was 
 second in command, had been despatched some 
 time before, on board a transport to the Cape 
 Verde Islands, to procure animals, and from 
 thence proceed to Bathurst, St. Mary's, river 
 Gambia j but although Mr. Stokoe had packed, 
 previous to his death, and sent forward with that 
 officer, a part of the baggage, much yet remained 
 at Sierra Leone in a confused state, the arrang- 
 ing and packing of which, together with select- 
 ing from amongst the men who composed the 
 former expedition, such as were both willing and 
 
44 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 able to proceed on a second attempt, and equip- 
 ping them, occupied so much time that it was 
 not before the 14th of December, 1817, that we 
 sailed, on board the colonial brig Discovery, 
 from Sierra Leone for the Gambia. 
 
 We had been but a week at sea, when we for- 
 tunately found that the casks, which contained 
 the water for our use, and that of eleven 
 horses, were in so leaky a state that a few days 
 more would have left us without a drop. This 
 obliged us to put into the Isles des Loss, where, 
 with the assistance of a Mr. Lee, then resident 
 there, we soon remedied the evil, and again put 
 to sea. 
 
 A strong north-west wind, and a heavy sea, 
 opposed our progress for several days, and, as if 
 all things combined to retard us in the very first 
 stage of our proceedings, the brig sprung a leak, 
 and nearly carried away her mainmast in a squall. 
 In this state, with constant work at the pumps, 
 we were kept out until the 13th of January, 
 when we reached Cape St. Mary's, with only 
 one day's half allowance of water on board. Our 
 horses (one of which died) were reduced to the 
 very last stage of want, having subsisted, for se- 
 veral days, on a little rice and biscuit dust, with a 
 very small quantity of water. 
 
 On landing at Bathurst, St. Mary's, I found 
 Mr. Dochardhad arrived there from the islands, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 45 
 
 where he could not procure more than ten 
 horses and six mules, and he was in such very bad 
 health, and apparently so ill calculated to under- 
 go a second series of the exposures, privations, 
 watchings, and disappointments incident to such 
 a service, that I almost despaired of his being 
 able to accompany me. 
 
 He had, a few days before my arrival, de- 
 spatched Ensign Pattoun a second time to the 
 islands, in order to procure if possible a few 
 more horses. 
 
 I proceeded myself to Goree, to endeavour 
 to obtain a few of any description at the towns 
 on the opposite main. I so far succeeded as to 
 purchase seven horses, and was fortunate enough 
 to meet there fifteen camels that had been pur- 
 chased at Senegal, by Governor McCarthy's or- 
 ders, for the use of the expedition, and had ar- 
 rived there the day only before I intended leav- 
 ing it. 
 
 On my return to the Gambia, I found Ensign 
 Pattoun had arrived, having purchased eighteen 
 horses ; but as we had not yet a sufficient num- 
 ber, I sent Ensign Burton, of the Royal African 
 Corps (who had volunteered to accompany the 
 mission), up the river, to try if any could be pro- 
 cured there. I was, in the mean time, enabled 
 to collect a few on the island, and having de- 
 spatched Mr. Nelson on the l6th of February, 
 
46 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and made all the necessary preparations, we left 
 Bathurst on the 3rd of March. 
 
 On our voyage up the river, we called at 
 Tendebar, where we were enabled to pur- 
 chase three small horses. I also landed at Ka- 
 wour in the Salum country. The ground for some 
 distance in the vicinity of this town, bore the 
 marks of cultivation, but at that season was com- 
 pletely destitute of verdure ; the soil, which was 
 a mixture of brown mould and light-colored 
 sand, appeared good ; a few small onions were 
 the only vegetable I observed growing, and 
 those were regularly watered morning and even- 
 ing. 
 
 The town is a considerable one, and may con- 
 tain from 500 to 800 inhabitants. Their huts 
 are composed of cane reeds and long dry grass, 
 and are very neat and comfortable. The natives, 
 who are a mixture of Jaloffs and Soosoos, are a 
 peaceable inoffensive race, and are chiefly en- 
 gaged in trade, except when the approach of 
 the rains summons them to the corn and rice 
 grounds. 
 
 We lost one of our native soldiers in conse- 
 quence of a slight cut in the hand, which caused 
 mortification ; the existence of which, and of 
 cold spasms and rigours, deterred Mr. Dochard 
 from performing amputation. 
 
 The country in the immediate vicinity of the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 47 
 
 river, is very low, and bears the evident marks 
 of inundation during the rains. It is much 
 wooded, some of which is large, and no doubt 
 fitted for general use. 
 
 The hippopotamus and alligator are to be 
 found in great numbers in the river, and are 
 hunted by the natives, who make use of their 
 flesh as food, and consider it a delicacy. The 
 river swarms with a great variety of fish, but the 
 natives are either unacquainted with the proper 
 mode of taking them, or too indolent to take 
 advantage of so valuable a supply, at least to 
 the extent they might. 
 
 Soon after leaving Kawour, I went on shore 
 on the right bank of the river, with the inten- 
 tion of walking to Yani Maroo, accompanied by 
 Lamina, and two of my men armed. At about 
 half a quarter of a mile from the water-edge, 
 we came to a range of hills, running parallel 
 with the river. On ascending them, I found they 
 were flat on the top to a considerable distance, 
 and covered with wood and long dry grass ; 
 they were composed of a red compact clay, light 
 sand of the same colour, and large masses of 
 red sand-stone. At the foot of one of the hills 
 forming this range, I observed some small huts, 
 in the vicinity of which was feeding a herd 
 of black cattle, but I could not discern any 
 people. I therefore descended to the huts. 
 
48 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 where I found an old man, the only person 
 there. He, with much apparent apprehension 
 for his own safety, desired me to keep off, which 
 requisition he seemed determined to enforce, 
 for he laid hold of his bow, and snatched up 
 one of a few arrows that were lying at his side 
 on the ground. By means of my interpreter, I 
 endeavoured to- explain to him his fears were 
 without cause, and that chance only, not inten- 
 tion, led us to his retreat. This, however, did 
 not convince him ; he still desired us to keep off. 
 A little tobacco, and a few beads, in exchange 
 for which we requested some milk, induced him 
 to think more favourably of us. It was, neverthe- 
 less, with much difficulty I convinced him of his 
 error, and prevailed on him to go in search of 
 his companions, who, on our approach, had ran 
 into the woods, driving their cattle before them. 
 In about fifteen minutes, he returned, and in a 
 few more, the whole tribe made its appearance. 
 The women and children, however, could not 
 be induced to approach nearer than three hun- 
 dred yards of us. Their numbers did not exceed 
 four men, as many women, and ten or twelve 
 children ; the latter totally naked. They are of 
 a dark copper colour, and belong to the Dhyan- 
 gele tribe, the chief of which resides in a wilder- 
 ness of three days' journey, lying in latitude 14° 
 and 15% between the kingdoms of Joloff and 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 49 
 
 Bondoo. There they always remain during the 
 rains, at which time they find a sufficiency 
 of pasturage and water for their cattle, but are 
 obhged to wander in search of both after Janu- 
 ary 5 the banks of the rivers are their last re- 
 source. Their appearance is extremely filthy 
 and poor. They subsist chiefly on milk, a little 
 corn, which they obtain in exchange for butter 
 when in the vicinity of towns, and such game 
 as they can kill. 
 
 Their only furniture consists of a few mats to 
 lie on, some wooden bowls and calabashes, and 
 a few leather bags ; the latter serve them as 
 churns, and to carry water in when encamped 
 at a distance from where it is to be found. 
 
 Their dress is very plain, being nothing more 
 than a piece of cotton cloth, about two and a 
 half yards long and three quarters wide, wrapped 
 round the waist, and descending a little below 
 the knees, with another of the same kind thrown 
 over the shoulders. The men wear a cotton 
 cap besmeared with grease, to which is some- 
 times added, by way of ornament, the end of a 
 cow's tail, died blue or red. Like all other pa- 
 gans, they are very superstitious, and wear a 
 great number of grigres, or charms, round 
 their necks, arms and legs. They are inordi- 
 nately fond of red cloth, which they make use 
 of in covering those charms. Their weapons are 
 
 E 
 
50 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 long spears, bows and arrows, and occasionally a 
 long gun. They are good marksmen with all 
 these, and seldom throw away a shot ; but this 
 arises more from the difficulty they find in ob- 
 taining powder, ball, and small shot, than from 
 any dislike to miss their mark. 
 
 We also visited the town of Yanimaroo. It is 
 beautifully situated at a short distance from the 
 river-side, on an elevated spot, thinly sprinkled 
 with large shady trees of the mahogany kind, 
 and interspersed with evergreens and other 
 shrubs, and a great number of that kind of palm 
 from which is extracted the palm wine. 
 
 The greater proportion of the inhabitants are 
 pagans ; a few, however, profess the Mahome- 
 dan religion, retaining many of their pagan su- 
 perstitions. The latter are much respected, and 
 enjoy a considerable degree of influence over 
 their unenlightened brethren. The soil about 
 Yanimaroo is a light yellow sand, mixed with 
 stiff clay of the same colour, except where there 
 are groves of palm trees, and then it is invariably 
 a dark, rich, vegetable mould, mixed with a 
 light red or white sand. 
 
 There are, on the banks of the river, a little 
 above Yanimaroo, a great number of the self- 
 consuming tree. We never saw any of them o^ 
 fire, nor yet smoking, but their appearance would 
 lead a person to suppose they had been burnt. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 51 
 
 On our arrival at Kayaye, we landed our 
 men, animals, and baggage, and encamped on 
 an elevated spot between the river and the 
 town, which are distant from each other about 
 half a quarter of a mile. 
 
 Mr. Bellaby, a British merchant resident 
 there, accommodated us with a large mud 
 house, which served at the same time as quarters 
 for the officers, and a store for some of our bag- 
 gage. 
 
 Kayaye is but a very small and insignificant 
 village, and is remarkable for nothing but its si- 
 tuation, and the residence of a Mulatto lady, 
 who possesses considerable influence in the 
 country. The town does not contain above fifty 
 huts ; its inhabitants are all either relatives to, 
 or dependants on Madame Eliza Tigh, whose 
 name the place takes, being called by the na- 
 tives Tigh Cunda, or the town of Tigh. The 
 people of Kayaye, and the neighbouring towns, 
 are a mixture of Mandingoes and Sousous ; the 
 former from a country in the interior so called, 
 and the latter from the south bank of the 
 river. They are chiefly engaged in trade and 
 agriculture, and are a very shrewd active race, 
 subject to the king of Katoba, and professing the 
 Mahomedan religion ; but I believe the greater 
 proportion of them do so, not from any religious 
 motive, but in order to ensure to themselves that 
 
 E 2 
 
62 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 protection which the followers of Mahomet in- 
 variably meet with, wherever they go in their 
 trading excursions. Caravans from the interior 
 frequently stop there, on their way to the settle- 
 ments on the coast, and dispose of their goods 
 to the masters of some of the small trading ves- 
 sels from St. Mary's, or to the native merchants, 
 who carry on at tliat place, and the towns lower 
 down the river, a very considerable trade in 
 gold, ivory, and bees' wax ; in exchange for 
 which they receive fire-arms, powder, India- 
 goods, coral, amber, glass beads, iron, tobacco, 
 rum, and cutlery. 
 
 The dress of these people is far from being in- 
 elegant or inconvenient : the men wear on the 
 head a white cotton cap, very neatly worked 
 with different coloured silks or worsteds ; a close 
 shirt of white cotton, with short sleeves, next 
 the skin, covers the body from the neck to the 
 hips, and is surmounted by a very large one of 
 the same materials, with long loose sleeves, not 
 unlike a surplice ; this descends below the knees, 
 and is embroidered, in the same way as the cap, 
 about the shoulders and breast. The small- 
 clothes, which are very roomy above, descend 
 about two inches below the knee, where it is 
 only sufficiently large not to be tight. This part 
 of their dress is generally blue. They wear their 
 hair cut close, and make use of none of the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 53 
 
 grease or rancid butter of which the JolofF men 
 are so lavish. Sandals or slippers protect their 
 feet from the heat of the sand, and from thorns; 
 and complete the catalogue of their wardrobe. 
 
 The dress of the women is neither so decent 
 nor so clean. The body, from the waist upward, 
 is almost always naked, except when enceinte , 
 in which case a sort of short chemise, without 
 sleeves, covers the neck and stomach. They 
 plat their hair neatly into a profusion of small 
 braids, but are so lavish of butter or palm oil on 
 them and their skins (which are generally of a 
 very fine black) that they cannot be approached 
 without experiencing the very unpleasant effects 
 of such anointings, rendered doubly offensive by 
 the addition of profuse and constant perspira- 
 tion. 
 
 The huts and yards of these people are ex- 
 tremely clean, and, although small, are compa- 
 ratively comfortable. The walls of both are, for 
 the most part, composed of split cane formed 
 into a sort of wicker work resembling hurdles. 
 The roofs of the former are conical, and covered 
 with long dry grass, fastened on with a small 
 line made from the inner bark of the monkey- 
 bread tree. On the whole, their houses have a 
 very neat appearance. 
 
 The amusements of these people are confined 
 to dancing and music, which take place almost 
 
54 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 every fine evening at a late hour, in the centre 
 of the village, where, when the moon does not 
 afford them light, a large fire is made for that 
 purpose. 
 
 The young of both sexes, dressed in their 
 gayest attire, attend on these occasions ; a ring 
 is formed by them and the spectators, and the 
 former dance in regular succession by pairs. 
 The instrument which accompanies this dance is 
 called a ballafo *, and affords better music than 
 might be expected from such rude materials ; it 
 is composed of cane and wood, in the following 
 manner. A frame, three feet long, eighteen 
 inches wide at one end, and nine at the other, is 
 made of cane, split very thin, and supported at 
 the corners, about nine inches from the ground, 
 by four upright sticks of nearly an inch diame- 
 ter ; across this frame are laid twenty pieces of 
 hard wood, diminishing in size in the same pro- 
 portion progressively, from one end to the other, 
 as the frame to which they are slightly attached 
 with thin twine. Under each of these cross 
 pieces, is suspended an empty gourd, of a size 
 adapted to the tone of note required, having a 
 hole in the part where it comes in contact with 
 the stick, and another at the bottom ; the latter 
 is covered with a thin piece of dried sheep's gut. 
 
 * See figure Ij plate 9. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 55 
 
 It is played on with two small sticks, by a man 
 who sits cross legged on the ground, and is ac- 
 companied by one or more small drums. 
 
 I also observed here a sort of amusement, or ra- 
 ther inquisitorial exhibition, called by the natives 
 Kongcorong. It was thus : a man, covered from 
 head to foot with small boughs of trees, made his 
 appearance in the afternoon near the town, and 
 gave notice to the young women and girls that 
 he would pay them a visit after sunset. At the 
 appointed time he entered the village, preceded 
 by drums, and repaired to the assembly place, 
 where all were collected to meet him with the 
 music and singing. He commenced by saying 
 that he came to caution the ladies to be very 
 circumspect in their conduct towards the whites, 
 meaning the men of the Expedition, and related 
 some circumstances, with which he said he was 
 acquainted, little to their credit : — but, as it was 
 his first time, he would neither mention names, 
 nor inflict the usual punishment, namely, flog- 
 ging. He, however, would take advantage of 
 the first opportunity which they would be impru- 
 dent enough to afford him. 
 
 All he said was repeated by the girls in a 
 sort of song, accompanied by the music and 
 clapping of hands. Every one who had any 
 thing to fear from his inquisitorial authority, 
 made him a present j and I observed that not 
 
56 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 one of the girls withheld this proof of their fear 
 of his tongue, or of their own consciousness of 
 guilt. He remained with them until near mid- 
 night. 
 
 An instance of the manner in which the 
 young men of that country obtain wives, also 
 came under our observation. One of the inha- 
 bitants of the neighbouring villages, having 
 placed his affections, or rather desires, on a 
 young girl at Kayaye, made the usual present of 
 a few colas to her mother, who, without giving 
 her daughter any intimation of the affair, con- 
 sented to his obtaining her in any way he could. 
 Accordingly when the poor girl was employed 
 preparing some rice for supper, she was seized 
 by her intended husband, assisted by three or 
 four of his companions, and carried off by force. 
 She made much resistance, by biting, scratching, 
 kicking, and roaring most bitterly. Many, both 
 men and women, some of them her own rela- 
 tions, who witnessed the affair, only laughed at 
 the farce, and consoled her by saying that she 
 would soon be reconciled to her situation. 
 
 Soon after our arrival at Kayaye, we paid a 
 visit to the chief, or, as he is there called, the 
 king of Katoba. He resides at a town of that 
 name distant from Kayaye about twenty miles 
 north. The road or path to it lies over a flat un- 
 cultivated country thinly covered with brush 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 57 
 
 wood and stunted trees. The soil, for the most 
 part, is an ocre-coloured clay intermixed here 
 and there with small fragments of ferruginous 
 stone, which, in several places, makes its appear- 
 ance above the surface in the form of large rocks. 
 Some small eminences are entirely composed of 
 this rock, which the natives say contains a large 
 proportion of iron, but, from the facility the river 
 affords them of procuring an abundant supply 
 of that metal from the English merchants, they 
 do not now think it worth the trouble of extract- 
 ing. The blacksmiths of the country say, that 
 it is more malleable than English iron, and better 
 suited to all their wants, were the process of ob- 
 taining it not so difficult. 
 
 The king received us hospitably, and, on being 
 made acquainted with the purport of our visit, 
 promised every protection and assistance he 
 could afford us, adding that whenever we wished 
 to proceed on our journey, he would furnish 
 us with a guide to WooUi. 
 
 On our way to this town, which is a walled 
 one, of no very great extent or respectable ap- 
 pearance, we passed only two small villages, one 
 of which is about a mile from Kayaye, and is 
 solely inhabited by Mahomedan priests (bush- 
 reens). 
 
 From the very great want we were in of a 
 sufficient number of animals, to transport our 
 
58 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 baggage, in consequence of the death of all our 
 camels and some of our horses, since our arrival 
 at Kayaye, and the difficulty, nay impossibility, 
 of procuring a supply there, we had determined 
 on leaving behind us a large proportion of it, 
 and moving without delay ; for which purpose 
 it became necessary to open the greater number 
 of the packages, to select the most valuable ar- 
 ticles. This had scarcely been begun, when Mr. 
 Partarrieau, whom I had sent from Bathurst to 
 Senegal to purchase camels, arrived, bringing 
 intelligence that he had despatched a moor, 
 named Bon-ama, from that place before he had 
 left it, with ten camels and five horses, whom I 
 rnight expect to see in a few days, as he was 
 coming by the shortest land route from Senegal, 
 namely, through Kayor and Salum. 
 
 All preparations being made, we only waited 
 the arrival of Bon-ama, who not making his ap- 
 pearance on the 15th, I began to apprehend that 
 some accident had happened, either to himself, 
 or the animals. The 17th, however, brought him 
 to Kayaye, having had two of his horses killed 
 by lions, and been obliged to leave two of the 
 camels sick at a village about fifteen miles from 
 us. His arrival at that moment was particularly 
 fortunate, as it enabled us to take forward the 
 whole of our baggage, and a good supply of rice, 
 which we had just received from St. Mary's. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 59 
 
 On the 18th, the king, whose presence we had 
 requested, in order to make him a present, ar- 
 rived, accompanied by about fifty people, armed 
 with guns and spears. He was himself mounted 
 on a most wretched animal in the shape of a 
 horse, and was attended by a troop of drums 
 and singing people (JallikeasJ, making a most 
 hideous attempt at instrumental and vocal mu- 
 sic, intended to inspire their royal master with a 
 high idea of his own dignity. 
 
 In a few minutes we went to see him ; he 
 was seated in a small hut, surrounded by his 
 followers, but the place was so crowded and in- 
 tolerably hot (not to say any thing of the impu- 
 rity of the air) from tobacco smoke, and other 
 vapours, that we were obliged to request he 
 would move to one of our huts. This being done, 
 we mentioned to him our intention of leaving 
 Kayaye in a few days, and requested that he 
 would appoint a guide to conduct us to Medi- 
 na, the capital of WooUi. He made some objec- 
 tions, of an irrelevant nature, but at length con- 
 sented, in consideration of a present, amounting 
 to about one hundred bars in baft, muslin, coral, 
 amber, tobacco, scarlet cloth, and a pair of pis- 
 tols. He was drunk and extremely vociferous. 
 The interview, however, terminated amicably, 
 and his majesty was present at a dance which 
 the inhabitants of the village brought forward 
 
60 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 in honour of his arrival, and in order to amuse 
 him. 
 
 We had seen several of the chiefs of Western 
 Africa, both moors and negroes, but never saw 
 any so wretchedly poor and unlike what he in- 
 tended to represent as this man ; he is intole- 
 rably fond of rum, and would be for ever drunk 
 if he could obtain the means of being so ; his 
 last demand was for two bottles of it, which I 
 gave him. He left us on the 19th, in a state of 
 excessive inebriety, as were most of his follow- 
 ers. 
 
 Aware of the great respectability Bon-ama, 
 in his character of Mahomedan priest, would 
 enjoy in all the countries in the interior, and of 
 his having before offered his services to Gover- 
 nor McCarthy, we endeavoured to prevail on him 
 to accompany us to Sego, Tombuctoo, or fur- 
 ther, but it was not without much difficulty and 
 objection on his part, together with the pro- 
 mise of a very large reward, that he could be 
 induced to do so. He, however, at length agreed, 
 in consideration of a recompense of five hun- 
 dred pounds British, to accompany us to Tom- 
 buctoo or Jinne, but no sum, however large, 
 or other advantage, he said, would induce him 
 to go further. He made it a previous article in 
 his agreement, to be allowed to return to Cayor, 
 to arrange some private affairs, and promised to 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 61 
 
 join US in Bondoo. We did every thing in our 
 power to induce him to give up this point, but to 
 no effect: it was his sme qua non. We bought a 
 camel from him, and hired two moors, who came 
 along with him, to conduct and have the care 
 of those animals as far as we went. 
 
 Lamina, our Sego guide, told us, on the 
 20th, that it was now time he should inform us, 
 that as he was sent by the king of Bambarra, to 
 conduct the expedition to that country, he felt it 
 his duty to say, that the road leading through 
 WooUi, Bondoo, Kasson, and Fooledoo, was 
 the only one in which he thought it safe to 
 take us, as there were, in all those countries, 
 people belonging to his master waiting to es- 
 cort us ; that he had himself received from those 
 in Bondoo, a horse to ride, and six asses to 
 carry his baggage. As there appeared nothing 
 in this request but what was fair, and, as we 
 conceived (in case of any unforeseen delay, we 
 should be obliged to make a halt during the 
 rains), that Bondoo, from its high situation and 
 its vicinity to the river Senegal, would be most 
 advantageous for that purpose, we acceded to 
 his proposal, and were moreover induced to take 
 this step in consequence of the very high and 
 upright character we were taught, by Mr. Par- 
 tarrieau, who had been before in that country, 
 to entertain of Almamy Isata, the king : the re- 
 
60. TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 suit will prove how much our informant was 
 himself deceived in his opinion of that man, and 
 how little confidence can be placed in any in- 
 formation but that obtained by the most strict 
 self observation, in all matters connected with 
 this unfortunate country. 
 
 Our means of transport decreased daily ; we 
 had lost since the 2d, one camel, one mule, and 
 four horses, and there was no possibility of pro- 
 curing any at Kayaye ; the camels left on the 
 road by Bon-ama, had not yet come up, although 
 we had despatched a man to bring them. Every 
 thing, however, being ready, we fixed the 25th 
 for our departure. 
 
G3 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Expedition leaves Kayaye — Difficulty in procuring 
 Water at Jaroomy— Arrival and Halt at Coonting — 
 Description of that Town and surrounding Country- 
 Civility of the Chief — Departure from Coonting — Deaths 
 among the Animals, and difficulty of procuring Carriers 
 — Arrival at the Wallea Creek— Attempt of some People 
 to stop us— Pass the Creek — Cane Bridge— Attempt at 
 Murder by one of our native Civilians, and his Desertion 
 —Enter the Kingdom of Woolli — Arrival at Madina, 
 the Capital — Transactions and Difficulties there — De- 
 scription of the Town, and the Mumbo Jumbo Ceremony 
 — Departure from IMadina, and theft by the Natives — 
 Arrival at Kussaye. 
 
 The first division * left Kayaye on the morning 
 of the 27th, at seven o'clock, and the second 
 and third t followed immediately after. I did 
 not myself leave Kayaye until evening, in ex- 
 pectation of the arrival of the camels. This not 
 taking place, I moved forward, with the part of 
 that division v/hich was ready, and left Mr. 
 Partarrieau, with two loads, to await the arrival 
 of those left behind by Bon-ama, and to follow 
 me as soon as possible. We travelled along 
 nearly east at the rate of two miles an hour over 
 
 * Having twenty-two animals' loads, 
 t With nineteen each. 
 
64 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 a flat country thinly covered with baobabs, ta- 
 marinds, rhamnus lotus, and other fruit trees, 
 within a short distance of the river ; between us 
 and which lay a low tract of land, annually inun- 
 dated, where rice is cultivated by the natives 
 when the water retires after the periodical rains. 
 
 About nine, p. m., we reached a small village, 
 called Jaroomy, where I found that Mr. Doch- 
 ard had halted the front divisions in order to 
 await our coming up. During this short march, 
 one of the horses died, and another was left be- 
 hind, unable to move. 
 
 Here difficulties began to present themselves ; 
 the chief of the village refused to allow water to 
 be drawn from the wells, without receiving 
 payment for it, to which Mr. Dochard, very 
 prudently, would not submit, sending the ani- 
 mals to the river, which was distant about two 
 miles. This convinced the fellow that he was 
 wrong; and he came in the evening to apo- 
 logize, by saying, that he was afraid the wells 
 would be run dry by us. He was told his ex- 
 cuse was a bad one, and his conduct was such 
 as would prevent us from giving him any thing. 
 
 The country, for some distance round this 
 village, has the marks of cultivation ; there were 
 some extensive cotton and indigo plantations ; 
 and, although no rain falls at that season, they 
 looked green and well. The soil, though sandy. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 65 
 
 appeared good, and well fitted to produce all 
 tropical grains, vegetables, kc, in perfection. 
 
 We left Jaroomy at six o'clock on the 26th, 
 and travelled east over a gently ascending coun- 
 try, beautifully wooded, until half-past seven, 
 when we came to a small town called Jonkacon- 
 da, inhabited by Bushreens, and very prettily si- 
 tuated on a little hill under the shade of some 
 few large trees, somewhat resembling the horse 
 chestnut, except that the trunk is covered with 
 large sharp protuberances in the shape of thorns. 
 It produces a quantity of silky cotton, in pods 
 of an oval shape, about five inches long and 
 four in circumference 5 these burst when ripe, 
 and contain each about half an ounce of this 
 cotton. The natives do not make any use of it; 
 they prefer the common cotton, from which they 
 manufacture all their clothes. There the path 
 turned a little to the south of east, and led us 
 over a country similar to that already men- 
 tioned, with this difference, that the wood was 
 rather closer. 
 
 At half after eight, we reached another small 
 village (Lemaine), the chief of which, a good- 
 looking young man, was very civil, and made us 
 a present of some palm wine, in return for which 
 we gave him three bars in amber beads, &c. 
 He paid us a visit at our bivouac under some 
 shady trees. He was attended by about fifteen 
 
66 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 people, preceded by a Jallikea, singing man, 
 vociferating the praises of his master, who, al- 
 though very communicative and good-humoured, 
 did not seem to have a mean idea of himself. 
 The river is distant from this village a mile 
 and a half, ssw. 
 
 After a few hours' rest to the men and ani- 
 mals, and of which all were much in need, par- 
 ticularly the horses, we moved forward at two, 
 p. M., and reached Coonting at half after five, 
 all much fatigued. We passed two small vil- 
 lages, likewise, at the foot of some hills, and dis- 
 tant from each other about two miles and a half. 
 Their general appearance was extremely neat 
 and comfortable, and the ground about them ap- 
 peared well cultivated. Some large enclosures 
 of cotton and indigo, were extremely well-look- 
 ing, and shewed much regularity. The path, 
 for the most part of the way, was extremely 
 narrow and inconvenient, in consequence of the 
 closeness of the wood, which is low and stunted, 
 the soil being a mixture of dark red sand, and 
 small iron stone gravel, large masses of which 
 rose above the surface in all directions. The 
 face of the country was, in general, covered 
 with low wood, except in the vicinity of the 
 towns, where it has been cleared, either for the 
 purpose of cultivation or for fuel. 
 
 Coonting is a considerable town, partly sur- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 67 
 
 rounded with a mud wall, about six feet high. 
 It is in three divisions, each separated from the 
 other by a clear space of about two hundred 
 yards, in which stand some fine large evergreen 
 trees, in whose shade the natives spend the 
 most part of the day, engaged in conversation, 
 playing a game somewhat resembhng draughts, 
 at which they are very clever, and sleeping, a 
 very general recreation in that country. Here 
 also is held the assembly of the head men and 
 chiefs, when any matter of importance requires 
 their attention. Each of those divisions is go- 
 verned by a head man, who is under the con- 
 trol of a chief, subject to the king of Katoba, 
 The town is pleasantly situate in an extensive 
 plain, and bears the marks of cultivation to a 
 considerable distance, surrounded on all sides, 
 except the sw., by gently rising hills, covered 
 with wood. The town is plentifully supplied 
 with water of a good quality, from wells nine 
 fathoms deep, at the bottoms of which is a stra- 
 tum of solid rock. 
 
 Here we decided on waiting the arrival of 
 Mr. Partarrieau with the camels, as the place af- 
 forded an abundance of forage and water for 
 the animals, and an opportunity of procuring a 
 small quantity of rice, pistacios, cassada, and 
 small beans, for ourselves. The chief priest of 
 the town paid us a visit, making a present of a 
 
 F 2 
 
68 TRAVELS I*N AFRICA. 
 
 fowl and two bottles of milk, or, as they call it, 
 giving us service, that is a complimentary visit, 
 which we returned in the evening. We found 
 him seated in a large circular mud hut, sur- 
 rounded by about twenty-five boys, from the 
 age of seven to fourteen, learning to read and 
 write Arabic. The Koran was the only book 
 from which they were taught, and their educa- 
 tion was generally considered completed when 
 they could read and expound any passage in 
 it. The most of the people there are Mahome- 
 dans. 
 
 The old gentleman received us kindly, and 
 conducted us to the Alcaid, or chief, a venera- 
 ble looking old man, who, on our informing him 
 of the object of our travelling in his country, 
 said that he perfectly recollected seeing Mr. 
 Park when he last went to the east, but was ex- 
 tremely sorry to hear he never returned to his 
 own country, a fate which he prayed to God 
 might not be ours. We made him a small pre- 
 sent, and one to the priest, for which they ap- 
 peared very grateful. Two of the European 
 and one of the native soldiers had attacks of in- 
 termittent fever this day, but were nevertheless 
 able to come on. 
 
 Mr. Partarrieau joined us in the afternoon, 
 bringing with him only one camel; the other 
 having died before it reached Kayaye, he was 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 69 
 
 obliged to hire men to carry that proportion of 
 the baggage left behind, which was intended as 
 a load for it. 
 
 We left Coonting at four o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of the S8th, and travelled east. Two of 
 the horses were unable to rise from the ground 
 this morning, and were left to their fate. At 
 about a mile from Coonting, we entered a 
 thicket composed of underwood and cane, which 
 was so close that we were obliged to cut down 
 the branches and some trees, for a considerable 
 distance, in order to admit of the camels pass- 
 ing with the loads. The face of the country 
 begins to rise here considerably, and to be di- 
 versified by hill and dale — the former high and 
 covered with wood, and the latter apparently 
 very fertile. The soil, too, changed from light 
 sand to a hard yellow clay, intermixed with 
 small quartz pebbles. For about two miles the 
 road led us over hilly and broken ground within 
 a few yards of the river side. 
 
 At mid-day we reached a small walled town, 
 Kolicorri, but which had such a wretched ap- 
 pearance that we were deterred from halting 
 at it ; we therefore continued our march ese. 
 about two miles further, when we arrived at 
 Tandicunda, a very respectable town, defended 
 by a strong stake fence interwoven with thorny 
 bushes, and wholly inhabited by Bushreens. Two 
 more of the horses gave up during this march, 
 
70 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and were left on the path in a dying state. To 
 transport the loads of those animals we were 
 obliged to hire carriers, a sufficient number of 
 which we had much difficulty in procuring. 
 Our own men were obliged to assist. The town 
 of Pisania, which formerly stood within a short 
 distance of Tandicunda, was then a heap of 
 ruins, having been some years since abandoned 
 by Mr. Amsley, in consequence of the annoy- 
 ance he frequently experienced from the people 
 of Bondoo and Woolli. Its situation was ex- 
 tremely beautiful, being close to the river- side, 
 on an elevated spot shaded with large trees, and 
 most conveniently placed for commercial pur- 
 poses. 
 
 We left Tandicunda at five o'clock on the 
 morning of the S9th, and travelled to the east, 
 over a country beautifully diversified, to Samee, 
 a small walled town containing about a hun- 
 dred and twenty huts. The inhabitants are 
 Sonikeas or Pagans. Dyeing with indigo is here 
 carried on to some extent. About a quarter 
 of a mile to the south-east, by a small creek 
 or branch of the Gambia, its water good and 
 plentiful, we halted, under a large tree, which 
 afforded the most grateful shelter to all from the 
 excessive heat of the sun. One of our moors 
 had so severe an attack of remittent fever as to 
 be unable to keep up ; one of the native civi- 
 lians was left with him. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 71 
 
 When the intense heat of the sun had dimi- 
 nished in a small degree, we again moved for- 
 ward to the ene.- over an open and well -culti- 
 vated country. We saw, at a short distance, on 
 the right of our path, a Foolah encampment. 
 Some of the women and children, the latter en- 
 tirely naked, came close to the path,, and stared 
 with astonishment at our white skins, and not 
 less so at the camels, which appeared to excite 
 much v/onder. The animals were much fatigued, 
 and many of them in a very weak state. We 
 arrived at Jindey, a small village situate on an 
 eminence, within less than a quarter of a mile 
 west from the Wallia Creek. Here we halted 
 under some large trees south of the village, for 
 the night, having travelled to-day about fifteen 
 miles. We had scarcely placed the tentmills, 
 and retired to rest, when one of our guides came 
 from the village to say, that a number of Foo- 
 lahs had just arrived there, and from some part 
 of their conversation he had overheard, he was 
 inclined to think they had an intention of en- 
 deavouring to steal some of our horses during 
 the night. Had such really been their wish or 
 not, I cannot say, but the morning arrived with- 
 out any attempt of the kind being made. It was 
 more than probable our guide only circulated 
 such a report, in order to make his attention to 
 our interest appear to greater advantage, and 
 
72 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 which he, naturally enough, supposed would en- 
 title him to, or at least, induce us to give him, an 
 adequate reward. 
 
 The chief of Wallia (a province of Katoba, 
 but over which the king has little control) 
 lives about five miles south of this place. As he 
 was a person of some consequence in the coun- 
 try, and might be of use, we sent him our com- 
 pliments, with a present of eight bars in tobacco, 
 amber, and beads, and, having made the chief 
 of Jindey another, we moved towards the Creek 
 at six o'clock on the morning of the 30th, but 
 had not proceeded one hundred yards, when 
 the horses in front were stopped by some people, 
 stating that they were sent by the Wallia chief, 
 to say, that unless we would pay him his regular 
 customs, in the same way as the vessels which 
 ascend the river on trading voyages, we should 
 not be allowed to proceed. We laughed at the 
 idea of three or four men saying they would not 
 allow us to pass, and told them we had already 
 despatched a messenger to their master, with a 
 present, and to which we would make an addi- 
 tion of four bars for themselves. This was not 
 satisfactory enough, and they again insinuated 
 that we should not move until the chief himself 
 should arrive. We ordered the whole to halt, and 
 the men to load their muskets ; we asked where 
 were those people who wished to dispute our pas- 
 
'3 ' "I 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^S 
 
 sage ? None appearing, we moved on without 
 further molestation to the Creek, which we 
 reached in about twenty minutes. The tide 
 was nearly full, but still running up at the rate 
 of about a mile per hour. 
 
 There is over this creek, which is about two 
 hundred and sixty feet wide, four feet deep, with 
 clay and mud bottom, a cane bridge, supported 
 by two rows of forked stakes, on which are laid 
 cross pieces ; these are covered with small 
 pieces of Bamboo, which, further strengthened 
 by being interwoven with the smaller branches 
 of the cane, affords a safe, though shaking pas- 
 sage for two or three people on foot. The banks 
 of the creek are covered with a kind of man- 
 grove, some acacias, and a great number of the 
 mimosas. Having -unloaded the animals, and led 
 them through the water to the opposite side, the 
 men waded across, carrying the baggage on their 
 heads, which was completed without any acci- 
 dent in about an hour. From the eastern bank, 
 where we halted to cook dinner and give the 
 men an opportunity to wash their clothes, I had 
 a very good view of the bridge, the village, and 
 the surrounding country ; the latter, though 
 much parched from the total want of rain for 
 many months, and the almost continued in- 
 fluence of the dry east wind, accompanied by a 
 scorching sun, has not altogether lost its ver- 
 
74 TRAVELS IN AFKICA. 
 
 dure. Great numbers of evergreen trees and 
 shrubs, afford a pleasing and refreshing relief to 
 the eye, wearied from beholding a light coloured 
 sand reflecting the rays of a vertical sun unob- 
 structed by clouds. The thermometer stood at 
 97° in the shade, open air, and at 80° in the water, 
 which is very muddy, though sweet and good. 
 There were fish in the creek, for I saw them 
 rise. We do not know what species, but from 
 the skeleton of one which had been devoured by 
 a hawk, we concluded some of them to be cat- 
 fish. 
 
 This creek joins the Gambia about Rve miles 
 from where we crossed it, and is navigable for 
 boats to twice that distance above the bridge, 
 where, on both sides of it, are situate towns 
 with which an advantageous trade in all the pro- 
 ductions of the country might be carried on. 
 
 At half after four, the object of our halt being 
 effected, we marched for Pakeba, distant three 
 miles and a half, where we arrived at six, and 
 halted for the night. The whole distance from 
 the creek to this town is well cultivated j some 
 enclosures of cotton and indigo had a flourishing 
 appearance. The town is a small one, contain- 
 ing about one hundred and fifty huts, and de- 
 fended by a strong mud wall, seven feet high, 
 and a stake fence outside. The inhabitants are 
 Sonikeas or Pagans, and are subject to Katoba, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^S 
 
 at least nominally so ; for in Africa, the further 
 a town is removed from the capital, the less con- 
 trol the king has over it, and, in almost all 
 cases, those towns are exclusively governed by 
 their own chiefs. 
 
 Our animals were daily diminishing in num- 
 ber, and there had not as yet appeared any op- 
 portunity of replacing them ; four horses died, 
 or were abandoned as useless, since our depar- 
 ture from Tandicunda, and many more would, 
 I feared, soon follow. We had, however, but 
 
 ^ not without much difficulty, procured a few 
 carriers from among the natives ; and some of 
 our own native soldiers and civilians took for- 
 ward that part of the baggage for which we 
 had no other means of conveyance. 
 
 One of the men from the Wallia chief came 
 to our bivouac in the evening, and told us that 
 his master was extremely sorry for what had 
 taken place in the morning, and particularly so, 
 as his people had no orders to that effect ; he 
 had only sent them to request that we might re- 
 
 5f main at Sindey until ten o'clock in the forenoon, 
 at which hour he intended coming to pay us his 
 respects. 
 
 We were enabled here to purchase two bul- 
 locks, together with a small quantity of rice and 
 corn. The former cost fourteen bars each ; value 
 about one pound sterling. 
 
76 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 We left Pakeba on the 1st of May, at six in 
 the morning, and travelled ne. by e. until 
 nine, when we reached Sandoo Madina. The 
 path good, over a sandy soil, mixed with small 
 iron-stone gravel, thinly covered with thorny 
 underwood and dry grass. Two more horses 
 were abandoned at Pakeba, as useless, and one 
 left behind on the path. Our moor continued 
 very unwell. In addition to fever, he had a very 
 severe pulmonic attack, and on the whole so 
 weak, that I almost despaired of his recovery. 
 
 At three in the morning, previous to leaving 
 Pakeba, we were alarmed by screams, appa- 
 rently of some person in agony. We imme- 
 diately repaired to the spot, accompanied by 
 some of the watch. There we found the wife of 
 Yarra Comba, one of the native civilians from 
 Sierra Leone, weltering in her blood, having re- 
 ceived three very severe wounds on the head 
 from her husband, who, exasperated at her re- 
 fusing to desert with him (a step, he told her, 
 he was about to take), and fearing, we supposed, 
 that she would give the alarm, after thus bru- 
 tally attempting to seal her lips, by taking her 
 life, made his escape ; in accomplishing which 
 he succeeded, being favoured by a dark night, 
 and an intricately wooded country. 
 
 The wounds appeared to be all but fatal ; the 
 exterior membrane of the brain, was visible in 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 77 
 
 one of them, and the other two were very deep. 
 When every attention in the dressing, &c., had 
 been paid, and I found that there was no hope 
 ofgettingholdof the savage who inflicted them, 
 I sent her to the chief of the town, to whom we 
 gave ten bars for her support, until she might 
 be able to return to Kayaye. As an inducement 
 to make this man act kindly to her, we gave 
 him a further sum of ten bars for himself, and 
 offered a handsome reward for the apprehen- 
 sion of her husband. 
 
 About three miles before we reached this 
 town, we observed some stones of curious form 
 and composed of red sand-stone, in which were 
 encrusted small silicious pebbles. They had 
 much the appearance of broken pillars j some 
 were standing upright, and others lying flat on 
 the surface. From the space inside them, and its 
 form, which was an oblong square, we are in- 
 clined to think they must, at some former pe- 
 riod, have supported a roof. The largest of 
 them is as four feet in circumference, and seven 
 feet high. 
 
 Sandoo Madina is a very small walled village, 
 inhabited by Jomkeys, and is subject to Katoba, 
 but more immediately under the control of the 
 Wallia chief, who is himself nominally subject 
 to the former. This subjection is however not 
 easily defined : a slave running away from one 
 
78 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 finds an asylum with the other, who (on both 
 sides) does not hesitate to acknowledge his hav- 
 ing kept him in despite of the other's remon- 
 strances. 
 
 At a short distance to the nw. is a small un- 
 walled Bushreen town called Coota Cunda; the 
 water good and plentiful, and every appearance 
 of extensive cultivation. 
 
 We received a visit from the chief of Jam- 
 baroo, a small independent province of JalofF 
 WooUi, situate about fifteen miles north of this 
 village. We bought from him a small strong- 
 horse for eighty-five bars in amber and coral, 
 the value of which did not exceed five pounds 
 sterling. We made him a small present. 
 
 Corporal Richmond, a native, was added to 
 the sick list, with a severe pulmonic attack. 
 Some of the men who have had slight attacks of 
 intermittent fever appear to recover rapidly ; on 
 the whole, the health of the party might be 
 then considered good. Mr. Nelson was the only 
 one of the officers who was at all delicate ; Mr. 
 Pilkington was recovering rapidly. 
 
 Having left Sandoo Madina at four o'clock in 
 the morning of the 2d, we had a pleasant march 
 to the next town, Fodia Cunda, the first of 
 Woolli, which we reached at half after nine, 
 having passed the ruins of two towns, both de- 
 stroyed by the people of Bondoo in their wars 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 79 
 
 with this country. The animals travelled very 
 badly, being too heavily loaded, and which could 
 not be avoided, in consequence of the very ra- 
 pid decrease of their numbers, and the impossi- 
 bility of replenishing them ; five died or were 
 abandoned this day's march. 
 
 We here procured a plentiful supply of milk 
 and butter, such as it was, and more than a suf- 
 ficiency of corn to give the horses, camels, &c. 
 as much as they could eat, and which they were 
 much in want of, not having had more than one 
 good feed since we left Kay aye. The country 
 about this village, although much parched, was 
 beautifully picturesque, being thickly covered 
 with wood, and agreeably diversified by hill and 
 dale. There were numbers of wandering Foo- 
 lahs with large herds of cattle, in the vicinity 
 of this village : those people supply the inha- 
 bitants of the towns who keep no cattle them- 
 selves with milk and butter, in exchange for 
 which they receive cotton cloths, glass beads, 
 and tobacco. 
 
 From Fodia Cunda I despatched Lamina, our 
 Sego guide, to the town of Slatee Modiba, to 
 request him to meet us at Madina to-morrow ; 
 this man being a relative of the king's, with 
 whom he has considerable influence, advising 
 him in all affairs of importance, and well known 
 to Lamina, we considered it right to secure his 
 
80 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 interest, by sending him a small present, and 
 holding out the promise of a suitable reward, 
 should he act in compliance with our wishes. 
 
 We left Fodia Cunda at six, on the morning 
 of the 3d, and travelled east, at a smart pace, 
 over a flat country, little wooded and for the 
 most part cultivated ; the soil was of a darker 
 colour, and contained more mould and clay than 
 any we had seen since leaving Kayaye. We ar- 
 rived at Madina at nine, and bivouacked under 
 a large tree, about five hundred yards north of 
 the town. 
 
 Madina is a respectable walled town, contain- 
 ing about two hundred and fiitj huts, and from 
 eight hundred to a thousand inhabitants, all So- 
 nikeas; it is the capital of the kingdom of Wool- 
 li, and the residence of the king. Outside the 
 walls is a strong stake or palisade fence, about 
 ^ve feet high, which gave to the place the 
 appearance of a large fortified redoubt. The 
 interior of the town was beautifully shaded with 
 large trees of the fig and palm kind, and altoge- 
 ther had a very good outward appearance. 
 There are three gates to it ; tw^o in the north, 
 and one in the east, which are shut every night. 
 The interior of the town does not at all accord 
 with its external appearance, being filled with 
 small round grass, and mud huts jumbled toge- 
 ther without any regard to order or regularity. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 81 
 
 and between which are heaps on heaps of filth 
 of every description. The house of the king is 
 separated from those of his subjects by a mud 
 wall about nine feet high, and stands nearly in 
 the centre of the town ; that of his son, and some 
 of the chief men are similarly inclosed, but the 
 walls of the latter are not so high. Two wells si- 
 tuate within the wall at the east end of the town, 
 of tolerably good water, supply the inhabitants 
 with that necessary article in sufficient abun- 
 dance. The ground, to the extent of half a mile 
 all round the town, was cleared, and bore the 
 marks of cultivation. A few large shady ever- 
 green trees, scattered over this plain, relieves 
 the otherwise fatiguing prospect of such ah ex- 
 tent of arid surface. At a short distance to the 
 south, lay a large Bushreen town, called Barra 
 Cunda, which might contain from one thou- 
 sand to one thousand five hundred inhabitants, 
 and was surrounded by a slight stake fence, in- 
 terwoven with thorny bushes, which is the only 
 defence the followers of Mahomet in this coun- 
 try adopt. This arises from their not engaging 
 in war, and never meeting with any other at- 
 tack from an invading army than on their pro- 
 visions, with which they are in general abun- 
 dantly supplied, being more industrious and 
 more abstemious than the Pagans ; a large pro- 
 portion of whose corn, rice, &c., goes in the 
 
 G 
 
82 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 purchase of inebriating liquors. The dress of 
 the latter also is neither so good nor so cleanly 
 as that of the former, which is, almost inva- 
 riably, white or blue. The Sonikeys are careless 
 about their dress or persons, and what with 
 smoking, drinking, and dirt, they are the most 
 filthy set we ever saw. 
 
 We observed hanging on a stake, outside the 
 walls of the town, a dress composed of the bark 
 of a tree torn into small shreds, and formed so 
 as to cover the whole body of the person wear- 
 ing it, who is a sort of bugbear, called Mum- 
 bo Jumbo, that occasionally visits all the Man- 
 dingo towns, for the purpose of keeping the 
 married women in order. I have been told that 
 the husband who has occasion to find fault with 
 one of his wives, for here every man has as many 
 as his circumstances will admit, either puts on 
 this dress himself, or gets one of his friends to 
 do it, and having made known his intended visit 
 to the town, by shrieking and howling in the 
 woods near it, arrives after sunset at the as- 
 sembly place, where all the inhabitants are 
 obliged to meet him, with music, singing, and 
 dancing, which continues for some hours, and 
 terminates by his seizing the unfortunate wo- 
 man, and flogging her most unmercifully in 
 presence of the whole assembly, who only laugh 
 at this horrid performance. We have never had 
 
TRAVELS IN AFI{ICA. 83 
 
 an opportunity of seeing this ourselves, but 
 have heard it from so many, and with sucli 
 corroborative exactness of description, that we 
 have no doubt of its existence to a much greater 
 extent of blind savage superstition than has 
 been described to us. 
 
 Immediately on our arrival, we sent to apprize 
 the king, and requested to be informed at what 
 hour he could receive our visit. We were, how- 
 ever, told that he was then drunk, and could 
 not be seen on business. 
 
 Slatee Modiba arrived, bringing us a present 
 of a fine bullock. He also told us the same 
 story, but said he hoped the evening would find 
 the king in a state to receive us. 
 
 At length, about five in the afternoon, we 
 went, accompanied by Mr. Burton, Lamina, and 
 Sergeant Tuft ; the latter served as interpreter. 
 We found his majesty (if we may so prostitute 
 the title), seated on a low wooden stool, outside 
 the walls of his house, surrounded by all the 
 great men of the town, who, with himself, did 
 not appear to have entirely recovered from the 
 effects of their morning's debauchery. Having 
 made him a small present, which it is the cus- 
 tom of this country to do, previous to addressing 
 the king on our business, we told him in as few 
 words as possible, the object we had in view^ in 
 travelling through the country, and the advan- 
 
 G 2 
 
S4f TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 tages its inhabitants would derive from the exist- 
 ence of a friendly and direct intercourse with the 
 English, who, should no serious difficulties pre- 
 sent themselves, would soon make trading voyages 
 into the interior, and furnish them with all Eu- 
 ropean merchandize at a much cheaper rate than 
 they could at present procure them. The only 
 answer we received, was made by his friend Mo- 
 diba (for he did not say a word himself), and, 
 although expressed in many words, and in very 
 ambiguous terms, might be construed into this, 
 that he always thought the English were tlie 
 friends of Africa, and would do every thing in 
 his power to facilitate the attainment of their 
 wishes. 
 
 As nothing but the common routine of a for- 
 mal visit of ceremony could, consistent with 
 their customs, take place at the first interview, 
 even had the king been compos mentis, we were 
 obliged to take our leave without anything more 
 having been said as to the terms on which we 
 might expect his protection. Modiba, however, 
 told us he would take care that no rum should 
 be drank by Mansa ^' in the morning, previous to 
 our seeing him, and requested we would shew 
 him the present we intended to give ; which we 
 promised to do, when it could be ptepared, 
 
 * Title of the kings of WoolH. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. S5 
 
 During the night, one of the natives made an 
 attempt to steal something from one of the tents, 
 and would have succeeded, had not Sergeant 
 Major Lee, observing the bale stirring, fired in 
 the direction, but I believe without effect. This 
 served, at least, to deter others from a similar 
 attempt. 
 
 Having selected the present, consisting of am- 
 ber, coral, bafts blue and white, silver, guns, &c., 
 in all amounting to upwards of five hundred 
 bars, thirty pounds sterling, and submitted them 
 to the inspection of Modiba, who appeared to 
 be pleased with them, we waited on the king 
 on the morning of the 4th, and were shewn into 
 the inner inclosure of the palace, which was, if 
 any thing, more filthy than the rest of the town. 
 Here we found him seated on a lion's skin, to 
 which were attached a number of grigris, under 
 the shade of a miserable hovel in the shape of a 
 balcony, outside the door of his bed-room, sur- 
 rounded by four or five of his head men or mi- 
 nisters; and, notwithstanding Modiba's promise 
 to the contrary, the rum bottle had been in use, 
 to what extent we cannot say, but he, on this 
 occasion, favoured us with his conversation, 
 asking several questions about our country, the 
 Expedition^ its object, &c. ; all which we an- 
 swered as briefly and explicitly as possible. 
 When the present was laid before him, he conde- 
 
86 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 fecended to smile at tlie amber, but on looking at 
 die dollars and coral for some time, with an air 
 of the greatest indifference, he said sometliing 
 to his own people, and told us that he would not 
 accept of so trifling an offer from such great 
 men, particularly as he had been told we had 
 given more to the king of Katoba, whom he 
 looked on as a very petty chief indeed. Modiba 
 said much to induce him to take it, but to no ef- 
 fect. We therefore returned to the camp leaving 
 him, great as was his avarice, paying more at- 
 tention to the rum bottle than what had been 
 going forward. 
 
 While we were talkino; to Modiba on the best 
 means of satisfying Mansa, and at the same 
 time those about him, the former made his ap- 
 pearance, coming from the town, attended by 
 about fifty people singing and beating drums. 
 He seated himself under a tree, at a short dis- 
 tance from our camp, and sent Modiba, who 
 had gone to meet him, to let us know he came 
 to pay his respects. When we went to him, he 
 beckoned me to sit beside him, which I did in 
 apparent good humour ; after the usual saluta- 
 tions, he begged a piece of muslin to make a 
 dress. This was complied with, when he said, 
 he had brought a bullock for supper, but added 
 that we did not shew ourselves inclined to think 
 well of him, in giving hun so poor a present. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 87 
 
 This, with a great deal more noisy irrelevant 
 matter from himself and attendants, took up 
 nearly half an hour, much to our annoyance. 
 He ended, however, by telling us that he had 
 left tlie settHng of the affair to Modiba, and re- 
 turned to the town. 
 
 In order that more time should not be lost 
 here, we made an addition to the former pre- 
 sent of forty-five bars, coral and dollars, and 
 gave it to Modiba to present, as all we would or 
 could give him. He was then drunk, and not 
 to be seen. 
 
 In a short hour after this, Mausafarra, the 
 king's eldest son, came galloping from the town 
 into our camp, attended by five or six people, 
 armed with guns and spears, and, apparently in 
 a great rage, said that he was offended at our 
 not paying him our respects in person, and, al- 
 though we might think little of him, he was, ne- 
 vertheless, of as much consequence in the coun- 
 try as his father. We endeavoured to pacify him 
 by appearing in good humour, and was going to 
 give him our hands, when he rode off, in as 
 great a hurry as he came, having first made one 
 of his men throw down a pile of our arms, which 
 was standing near them. He was not contented 
 with this indifference on our part, and shortly 
 returned on foot, attended as before. The first 
 person he met was Private Robinson, lying on 
 
88 TRAVELS IN AFJilCA. 
 
 the ground. To him he gave two or thi^ee kicks, 
 and would have fired his musket at him, had he 
 not been prevented by some of his own people. 
 On this occasion, w^e, with much difficulty, kept 
 our temper, but as the fellow w^as beastly drunk, 
 and we were aware of the serious consequences 
 that might arise from any violence offered to 
 one of the royal family, we overlooked the in- 
 sult, and merely directed the men to st-and 
 to their arms, and take no notice of him. He 
 did not like the appearance things bore at that 
 moment, and went off as before. 
 
 The people of the town, seeing us pay such 
 httle attention to the insult offered by their 
 prince, no doubt thought they might follow his 
 example with impunity, and therefore endea- 
 voured to run away with every thing they could 
 lay their hands on. This was too much. We 
 could bear it no longer, and ordered the men to 
 load and fall in, and, as it was nearly sunset, we 
 had the whole of the baggage removed to some 
 distance from the tree we had been sitting un- 
 der, and placed triple sentinels. While the men 
 were employed at this, the natives stole two 
 horses, one ass, a bullock, and a goat. The 
 horses, ass, and goat were recovered, but the bul- 
 lock we never heard of. 
 
 A strict watch during the night prevented 
 the possibility of any attempt at theft, and on 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 89 
 
 the morning of the 5th, Modiba came at an 
 early hour, to say that the king was not satisfied 
 at the addition made to the present, and, unless 
 we gave him more, he would send his people to 
 help themselves. Entreaties were to be borne 
 with, but threats, and of this nature too, required 
 decisive steps. We consequently directed Mo- 
 deba to let the king know he might come as 
 soon as he pleased, when we should be ready to 
 give him the reception his appearance might 
 merit. The bugles then sounded to arms ; the 
 animals were collected ; and the men formed a 
 hollow square round them and the baggage. 
 
 Modiba, who was more than astonished at our 
 answer and preparations, went off without saying 
 a v/ord ; but returned in a few minutes, to re- 
 quest we would give him ten dollars for himself, 
 in part payment of two horses we had purchased 
 from him the day before, and for which he had 
 agreed to take an order on the Commissariat 
 Officer at St. Mary's, River Gambia. This we 
 complied with, and are satisfied he gave them to 
 Mansa. We however did not let him know, that 
 we thought so. At length we were informed 
 that guides would be provided for us, and we 
 might proceed in the morning. In the evening, 
 Mansa sent us a bullock, in place of the one 
 which was stolen. 
 
 The guides joined us in the morning of the 
 
90 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 6th, and all things being ready, we commenced 
 moving from Madina, that nest of thieves ; but 
 the front division had scarcely left the ground, 
 when an immense mob collected, in order 
 to plunder if possible. Messrs. Dochard and 
 Partarrieau remained with the camel division, 
 which was to bring up the rear, and had much 
 difficulty in keeping the natives from actually 
 forcing some things out of our men's hands. A 
 small medicine-chest was purloined by one of 
 them, who had run some distance with it before 
 it was missed. Private Ferrier overtook and 
 knocked the fellow down, and would have shot 
 some others who came to his assistance, had not 
 Mr. Dochard prevented him by laying hold of 
 his firelock. Such a barefaced and determined 
 set of thieves we never met. 
 
 We travelled se. and by e. thirteen miles, to 
 the village of Bambako. The path this day was 
 over a hard yellow clay soil, mixed with small 
 quartz pebbles, and much broken into deep ruts 
 by the rains ; the whole distance, to within a 
 quarter of a mile, covered with loose brushwood 
 and a few large trees of the acacia species. 
 
 Corporal Pickard, a European, was so ill as 
 to be unable to walk, and private Richmond, a 
 native soldier, was nearly as bad ; they were 
 carried forward on two of the officers' horses. 
 Bambako is a very miserable village indeed, not 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 91 
 
 containing more than twenty huts of the poorest 
 description : the situation of it, however, in 
 some measure made up for its wretched appear- 
 ance ; it was on the summit of an elevated plain, 
 beautifully covered with some of those large 
 trees which bear the cotton, already mentioned, 
 and a great number of baobabs, tamarinds, and 
 palm trees ; and it is plentifully supplied with 
 good water, from wells twelve fathoms deep. 
 We were able to purchase there one horse, two 
 asses, three goats, and some corn for the ani- 
 mals. The horses and asses were a very wel- 
 come and necessary supply at that moment, as 
 we had lost by death, during the day's march, 
 three horses. 
 
 We passed the night there, and moved for- 
 ward to the ssE. at seven on the morning of 
 the 7 th. The soil and appearance of the coun- 
 try the same as that of the preceding day's 
 march. The path was not so much broken, and 
 the animals travelled better. We reached Ca- 
 nope at eleven, a. m., where we halted in order 
 to refresh the men and animals, and to purchase, 
 if possible, a few asses, which we were told by 
 our guides were here in great numbers. Large 
 prices, in amber, coral, and blue baft, induced 
 the natives to sell us seven very good ones. We 
 had much difficulty in procuring water here, not 
 in consequence of any want of it at the place. 
 
92 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 but because the people would not allow us to 
 approach the wells, alleging that it was their 
 property, and we must pay for it as well as for 
 the other commodities of life. Remonstrance, 
 and an inclination to force on our part, together 
 with the interference of our guides, at length 
 obtained it ; not, however, before it was much 
 wanted. 
 
 We left that inhospitable village at three, p. 
 M., the same day, and travelled in the same di- 
 rection over a very finely diversified country, 
 for two hours, when we arrived at a small vil- 
 lage called Kussaye, or Metofodia Cunda, hav- 
 ing passed, about two miles before it, the ruins 
 of a very large walled town, called Maja Cunda. 
 This was formerly the residence of Modiba, the 
 man who assisted us at Woolli, but was de- 
 stroyed and abandoned by him, in consequence 
 of the surrounding soil not producing good 
 crops ; it is very light and sandy, and mixed 
 with lumps of a stiff white clay, having much 
 the appearance of pipe-clay. 
 
 The occurrences at Madina, the hurry at 
 leaving it, and the very great want of means of 
 conveyance which we experienced, together with 
 the confused state of the baggage in conse- 
 quence of such want, and the indisposition of 
 some of the men, induced us to determine on 
 halting here for a day, in order to set all things 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 93 
 
 right : we therefore took up our bivouac under 
 the shade of some large trees outside the town, 
 the chief of which was extremely kind and at- 
 tentive to all our wants, inasmuch as his cir- 
 cumstances would admit. 
 
94 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Departure from Kussaye — Pass through the Simbarri 
 Woods — Loss of Camels — Ruins of Muntobe — Leave 
 Muntobe — Arrive at Sausanding — Halt there — Our 
 Woolli guides leave us — Discharge of Corporal Harrop 
 — Arrival at Sabee, the first Town of Bondoo — Loss of 
 Animals— Opposition on the part of our Guides to our 
 moving thence— Arrival at Loonchea — Death of the 
 Camels — Supply of provisions from Almamy — Mr. Do- 
 chard sent in advance with a present to Almamy — De- 
 parture from Loonchea — Arrival at Dachadoonga — Dif- 
 ficulty and delay in carrying forward the Baggage — De- 
 scription of the Red Water, and its use — Arrival at 
 Goodeerri — Mr. Dochard returns from the Capital — Ar- 
 rival of Almamy 's eldest Son — Transactions with Al- 
 mamy and difficulty in arranging matters with him — De- 
 parture from Goodeerri, and arrival at Boolibany, the 
 Capital of Bondoo. 
 
 Having put the baggage in order, and fed the 
 animals well on pistacio tops and corn, since 
 our arrival here, we moved forward at six 
 o'clock on the morning of the 9th, at a slow 
 rate to the ene., over a much wooded coun- 
 try, until noon, when we halted at the ruins of 
 a town called Bantanto, in the Simbarri woods, 
 where the well, though very deep, thirteen 
 fathoms, was still in repair, and supplied us 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^S' 
 
 with great plenty of water, but of a bad taste and 
 smell, occasioned by its not being much used. 
 Mr. Nelson, Corporal Pickard, and Privates 
 Nicholson and Richmond had attacks of fe- 
 ver since the evening of the 7th ; with these 
 exceptions, the party continued to enjoy good 
 health. We could not say as much for our 
 animals : three horses died since our arrival at 
 Metafodia Cunda, and more than one half 
 of the remaining ones were unable to carry 
 their loads, for the transport of which it was 
 found impossible to procure a sufficient number 
 of carriers from among the natives : some of 
 our own African soldiers, however, very cheer- 
 fully supplied their places, and we managed, 
 in one way or other, to take all forward, but 
 not without considerable trouble and fatigue. 
 The many men we were obliged to employ as 
 carriers, left the animals without a sufficient 
 number to guide them and keep their loads 
 from falling off, an occurrence which took 
 place at every twenty yards with some one or 
 other of them. The asses we had procured on 
 the path were very good, but whether we did 
 not understand the proper way of loading them, 
 or that our bales, from being nearly round, were 
 ill calculated to sit steady on their round backs, 
 we could not determine 5 it appeared, however, 
 
96 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 something was wrong, the consequence of which 
 was much trouble and delay. 
 
 We moved from Bantanto at six o'clock on 
 the morning of the 10th, but one of our camels 
 having been either stolen, or strayed from the 
 place where they had been feeding, I remained 
 behind with that division until four, p. m., up 
 to which time a fruitless search had been made 
 for it in all directions. I then went forward 
 alone, leaving Mr. Partarrieau to wait until the 
 following morning, in hopes of recovering it, as 
 it was a loss we could but badly afford at that 
 moment. 
 
 I joined the front at the ruins of Montobe, at 
 nine o'clock. The situation of this town, which 
 must have been a very large one, is beautiful : it 
 was in two parts, that where we halted being 
 the smallest, and built on a hill shaded with 
 fine large trees, the other is in the centre of 
 an extensive plain, bearing the marks of cul- 
 tivation, surrounded on all sides, at the dis- 
 tance of nearly a quarter of a mile, by woods ; 
 both are plentifully supplied with water, from 
 wells only three or four feet deep, but which, 
 in consequence of being neglected, had fallen in 
 so much that we were obliged to clear them out 
 before a sufficient quantity of water could be 
 obtained. The soil appeared to be better than 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 97 
 
 any I had before seen ; it was composed of dark- 
 brown mould, intermixed with white sand and 
 sand-stone. The walls and many of the houses 
 were both strongly and well built with yellow 
 clay, raised from about four feet below the sur- 
 face, and intermixed with cut straw or withered 
 grass and cow-dung. 
 
 It was destroyed about twelve months before 
 by the people of Bondoo, in one of their plun- 
 dering excursions, and many of its inhabitants 
 were either killed or made prisoners (slaves), a 
 fate but too common in this country, w^here the 
 strongest party always finds an excuse for mak- 
 ing war on the weaker, not unfrequently carry- 
 ing off whole towns of miserable inoffensive 
 beings, without either any previous intimation 
 of their hostile intentions, or indeed any cause 
 given by those wretched objects of their avari- 
 cious encroachments. On all such occasions, 
 the only object in view is the attainment of 
 money, as they call it, and in this they suc- 
 ceed by selling their unfortunate fellow-crea- 
 tures, and, what is still more unnatural, their 
 compatriots, to slave-dealers. 
 
 A multitude of ideas, bringing with them the 
 conviction of how much Englishmen, and in- 
 deed all civilized nations, are favoured by Di- 
 vine Providence, in enjoying freedom and se- 
 curity against such unwarranted and barbarous 
 
 H 
 
98 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 practices, rushed on my mind, as we surveyed 
 the silent and awful remains of some human 
 bodies which lay outside the walls of this once 
 respectable and no doubt happy town, the in- 
 habitants of which were torn by unrelenting 
 savages from that native spot, so dear to all 
 mankind. Even the strongest ties of nature 
 riven asunder, and all this to gratify the brutal 
 desires of some neighbouring tyrant, or to enrich 
 a set of savages, who are daily exposed to a 
 similar fate themselves, at least as long as they 
 can find people ready to purchase their unna- 
 tural booty. 
 
 Mr. Partarrieau not having come up, we left 
 Muntobe at six o'clock on the morning of the 
 11th, and travelled slowly to the east until 
 noon, when we reached Sansanding, a small 
 town, the last of the kingdom of WooUi, beau- 
 tifully situated on an eminence surrounded by 
 high grounds, through the valleys of which winds 
 a branch of the Gambia, now nearly dry j its 
 banks are covered with cane, acacias, and mi- 
 mosas, which afforded us an agreeable shelter 
 from the intense heat of the sun. Here we de- 
 cided on halting one day, in order to i%st the 
 animals, particularly the camels, which were 
 become very weak for the last two days, owing 
 to an insufficiency, indeed a scarcity, of that spe- 
 cies of food on which they are used to feed. One 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 99 
 
 gave up on the path, and died in a few hours, 
 which the moors said resulted from having eaten 
 some poisonous weed in which that country 
 abounds. The men also wanted the opportunity 
 of washing their Hnen, which this place afford- 
 ed. We eagerly took advantage of it as a great 
 distance of uninhabited country (which from a 
 want of water it was necessary to get over as 
 quick as possible) lay between us and the frontier 
 town of Bondoo. Private Pickard, too, was so 
 ill as to be unable to ride, and was left on the 
 path, under the shade of a tree, until the after- 
 noon, when we sent eight men with a hammock 
 to bring him up. He had, however, before they 
 reached him, recovered sufficiently to come for- 
 ward on Mr. Partarrieau's horse. The camel 
 lost at Bantanto was stolen by one of the king 
 of WooUi's people, and was traced as far back 
 as Kussaye by our men who went in search of it : 
 the thief, however, effected his escape with his 
 prize, leaving Mr. Partarrieau with only one 
 camel to bring up the two loads. The asses, 
 although heavily loaded, travelled well, and 
 were, if properly managed, better adapted to this 
 service than either horses or camels. 
 
 Our guide refused to accompany us beyond 
 this town, giving, as a reason, his fear of being 
 detained in Bondoo, should he enter that coun- 
 try. I was sorry for it, as the fellow^ really was 
 
 H ^ 
 
100 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 very accommodating and attentive ; but no en- 
 treaties could induce him to go on. 1 believe 
 he was afraid that if we got him into one of the 
 towns in Bondoo, he would be detained until our 
 camel should be returned. In this he was de- 
 ceived ; for although such a step had been talked 
 of by tUe officers as likely to have a good effect, 
 we never had the least intention of doing so. I 
 therefore dismissed him with a present of twen- 
 ty-two bars. 
 
 We here discharged Corporal Harrop, a na- 
 tive of Woolli, who had been sold as a slave, 
 when very young, and liberated by some of the 
 British cruizers on the coast. He met his mo- 
 ther at Medina, and expressed a wish to remain 
 there, a refusal to comply with which we were 
 aware would be useless, as he had it in his 
 power to desert, and thereby deprive us of the 
 opportunity, which was thus offered, of acting 
 in a mannfjr likely to convince the people of 
 that part of the interior, that our intentions to- 
 wards them were liberal and humane. The man 
 himself seemed very thankful, and said he would 
 never forget the English, to whose settlements 
 on the Gambia he would return, in order to lay 
 out the money we had then given him as pay 
 and allowance up to that date. He took a cor- 
 dial farewel of all his companions, and returned 
 to Medina with the guide, to glad the heart of 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 101 
 
 an aged mother, who no doubt looked on her 
 son as one risen from the dead. 
 
 We tasted some drink made from honey and 
 millet, somewhat like mead ; but from its acidity, 
 acquired by fermentation, and the non use of bit- 
 ters in its composition, it had a very unpleasant 
 effect on the stomach. 
 
 Having purchased here six asses, we started 
 at six o'clock in the forenoon of the 13th, and 
 entered the wilderness, through which we tra- 
 velled at a smart pace to the east until near mid- 
 day, when we came to a watering place in an 
 open space in the woods, which bore evident 
 marks of inundation during the rains, and was 
 said to be the resort of large herds of elephants, 
 which come thither in search of water. This 
 was evidently the case, as their foot-tracks were 
 visible in all directions ; indeed, one of our 
 men, who had gone some distance from the 
 path, said he had seen two of them. 
 
 A town belonging to Woolli formerly stood 
 here ; but little or no proof of its having ever ex- 
 isted now remained. We however took advan- 
 tage of the only one, namely, the shade of the 
 large trees which are in or near all the towns we 
 have seen in Africa. It is called Sabee Looroo. 
 
 As the distance from this last place to the 
 frontier of Bondoo was destitute of water, and 
 
102 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 too great to attempt marching it in the. heat of 
 the day, without a plentiful supply of that ne- 
 cessary article, we moved forward at six in the 
 evening, having filled all our soofroos*, and 
 marched very expeditiously in an east and by 
 north direction, through wood, until half after 
 ten, when we were obliged to halt, in conse- 
 quence of its being very dark, and many of 
 the animals being much fatigued and consider- 
 ably in the rear. Four horses were left in a dy- 
 ing state, and Mr. Pilkington and four men re- 
 mained with their loads, until asses could be 
 sent to bring them up : they did not arrive at 
 our bivouac until day-light the following morn- 
 ing. We lost six horses during that march, and 
 were likely to lose more every day : our provi- 
 sions, too, were becoming scarce; but the pros- 
 pect of being able to replenish all our wants in 
 Bondoo, did not allow things to appear as bad 
 as they really were. 
 
 We reached Sabee at seven on the morning 
 of the 14th, and took up our position on an ele- 
 vated spot to the NE. and distant about half a 
 quarter of a mile from the town, which is a very 
 large one, walled, and situated in an extensive 
 plain, gently rising to the ese., in which direc- 
 tion it is bounded by mountains : through it 
 
 * Leather bags. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 103 
 
 runs a small watercourse, now nearly dry, and 
 which the natives call the Neerico. 
 
 The inhabitants of this town are all Mahome- 
 dans^ who are Surrawoollies, and came originally 
 from Kajaga or Galam : they appeared a mild 
 inoffensive race, and were not only better clothed, 
 but cleaner in their persons than the people of 
 WoolU. Their provisions, also, were in greater 
 plenty. We purchased from them three asses, 
 three small bullocks, and a goat, together with 
 some fowls, milk, butter, and eggs. Latitude of 
 Sabee, by meridian altitude, sun's lower limb, 
 85° 22' &' ; thermometer, in shade, 14° 10' 58". 
 
 They cultivate, on the banks of the Neerico, 
 in moist places,, a sort of tobacco, which is of a 
 small growth and a pale green colour, bearing a 
 yellow blossom : it is manufactured into snuff, 
 in which state alone that sort is used. They 
 also cultivate a larger kind, more resembling the 
 American tobacco in size and colour : this bears 
 a white blossom, and when dried is used in 
 smoking. These, with millet, maize, two other 
 varieties of corn, rice, cotton, indigo, and a few 
 small onions and pompions, are the productions I 
 noticed here, and for which the ground appeared 
 w^ell adapted. 
 
 When we were about moving on the morning 
 of the 15th, Masiri Cabba, a man who had come 
 from Bondoo to Lamina, and joined us at Ka- 
 
104 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 yaye, came to say that a messenger had just ar- 
 rived from Almamy, to direct that we should 
 not advance further into his country, until we 
 had sent a person to him. As we conceived 
 this to be all a plan between Masiri Cabba and 
 Lamina, for we saw them talking together a few 
 minutes before, we paid no attention to it, and 
 moved on, at half after six, to the south of east, 
 over a fine open country, much cultivated, and 
 more diversified by hill and dale than we had 
 before met with : we reached a large straggling 
 village, Jumjoury, situate on a rising ground, 
 without any defence whatever. There appeared 
 to be large quantities of cotton grown here, and 
 the plantations looked in fine order. The chief 
 here made us a present of a goat and some cous 
 cous, in return for which he received double 
 their value : indeed, taking those presents is a 
 bad plan, but it would be wrong to insult those 
 people, and they would certainly regard a refusal 
 of any thing offered by them, only in such a 
 point of view. We purchased here two fine 
 sheep, £ve goats, and some corn. 
 
 Having left Jumjoury at six, on the morning 
 of the l6th, and travelled east over a fine, open, 
 and, for the most part, well cultivated country, 
 to Deedey, a small village, which we passed, 
 and arrived at Loonchea, lying ese. from the 
 former. The camels travelled badly this day ; 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 105 
 
 one died shortly after our arrival, and the re- 
 mainder looked very sickly. We halted under 
 some large trees on the side of a considerable 
 gully or ravine, having a mud bottom, at that 
 time dried up, but which, during the rains, was 
 the bed and course of a torrent running to the 
 ssw. 
 
 The supply of rice we brought from Kayaye 
 was here exhausted, with the exception of a few 
 pints, and we had not as yet been able to pro- 
 cure a sufficiency of either cous cous or meal to 
 make a full allowance, for two days. The only 
 provisions we could find here was a little milk 
 and some fowls. 
 
 One of the camels, having every appearance 
 of approaching death, was killed, and the meat 
 made use of by our men. We tasted it, and 
 found it as good as any beef we could procure. 
 This gave a sufficiency for the day. 
 
 The chief of the town called on us in the af- 
 ternoon, and told us that he had received direc- 
 tions from Almamy to provide us with some 
 corn, which he was ready to deliver ; but, as it 
 was not in a state to be made use of, we request- 
 ed him to have it converted into cous cous and 
 meal, which he undertook to have done. The 
 necessity we were under of waiting for this sup- 
 ply, and the loss of three of our camels by death, 
 since our arrival here, obliged us to make a halt. 
 
106 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 I had also determined on sending Mr. Dochard 
 from this place to the capital, in order to see 
 Almamy, and arrange with him for our passage 
 through his country, and his protection and as- 
 sistance while in it. 
 
 I accordingly despatched him on the morning 
 of the 18th, accompanied by Masiri Cabba 
 Dharra (one of the king of Sego's men), and 
 four of our own people. He took with him 
 some large amber as a present for the king. 
 
 Having received from the master of the town 
 a quantity of cous cous and meal, sufficient for 
 six days, and divided the loads of the three ca- 
 mels that died here among the remaining ones 
 and the other animals, we moved forward at five 
 in the afternoon to the ene. over a flat country 
 much intersected by the dry beds of torrents, 
 the banks of which are covered with acacias and 
 mimosas : one of them was very deep, and so 
 difficult to pass, that most of the asses fell and 
 threw their loads, which delayed us some time. 
 One of the camels died on the path ; this also 
 delayed us considerably, and we did not reach 
 Gongally until near midnight, all very much fa- 
 tigued. In the course of the forenoon of the 
 19th, I purchased two asses, being all that I 
 could induce the inhabitants of this town to part 
 w4th, although they had many more, and the 
 prices I offered were large. I was therefore 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 107 
 
 obliged to hire some more carriers ; a most 
 troublesome mode of transport, for it required 
 a good look-out to prevent those fellows from 
 running away with their loads. We left Gon- 
 gally at four in the afternoon, and arrived at 
 Dachadoonga, after a very fatiguing march of 
 three hours and a half, over a much broken coun- 
 try covered with wood. The chief of this town, 
 which is a small one, is married to one of Alma- 
 my's daughters. 
 
 The few remaining horses, and the camels, 
 were become so weak as to be unable to carry, 
 and we had not yet been able to purchase a suf- 
 ficient number of asses for the whole of the 
 baggage ; I therefore sent Mr. Burton forward 
 to Goodeerie, on the 20th, with as much of it as 
 all the asses would carry, and directed him to 
 send them back next morning to bring forward 
 the remainder, but from some mistake of their 
 guides, or from having straggled too much, they 
 took different paths, which led them all (with 
 the exception of two or three) much out of their 
 way, and it was not until eight o'clock in the 
 afternoon of the 21st, after despatching La- 
 mina to conduct them into the right path, that 
 the asses returned. Having purchased three 
 very good asses here, we left it at seven o'clock 
 on the morning of the 22d, and arrived at Ga- 
 nado, another small village, at eleven. Messrs. 
 
108 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Nelson andPilkington had gone on to Goodeerie, 
 when, not finding any of the party, they returned 
 to Ganado, where we passed the night, and lost 
 four horses and (six) all our sheep, in conse- 
 quence of their having eaten the leaves of a 
 tree (called Talee, by the natives) which is com- 
 mon throughout this country. It is a strong 
 poison, and has a very sweet taste. The pagan 
 natives of some parts of Africa, make use of an 
 infusion of the bark of this tree to ascertain whe- 
 ther a person among them, suspected of witch- 
 craft, be guilty or not. The accused is obliged 
 to drink a quantity of this liquor, and which, 
 according to its strength, sooner or later pro- 
 duces nausea, vomiting, and pain in the stomach 
 and abdomen, and not unfrequently terminates 
 in the death of the person ; in which case he 
 is considered to have been guilty: but should 
 the person recover, either in consequence of 
 the weakness of the dose (sometimes arising 
 from a large bribe administered to the person 
 who made it), or a great strength of constitution 
 and timely antidotes, he is declared innocent. 
 This horrid method is seldom practised by the 
 Mahomedan natives of Africa. 
 
 On the morning of the 23d, I again sent 
 forward Mr. Burton (being the only officer now 
 with me, able to do duty) to Goodeerie, with all 
 the asses, loaded, and directions to send them 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 109 
 
 back to me in the evening. He left us at four 
 o'clock, and the asses returned at nine the same 
 afternoon. The country about this town is 
 really beautifully diversified with hill and dale, 
 both covered with wood, some of which is very 
 large. At a short distance to the se. is the 
 dry bed of a stream which, during the rains, 
 runs to the sw. and joins the Gambia. The in- 
 habitants here had commenced preparing their 
 corn and rice grounds, in consequence of the 
 very great appearance of approaching rain for 
 the last two or three days, during which we had 
 some thunder and lightning, accompanied with 
 a perfect calm and intense heat of the sun and 
 atmosphere. 
 
 Little trouble is indeed necessary in this 
 country for the purpose of cultivation; the 
 ground is merely cleared of the old corn stalks, 
 and such weeds and young wood as have sprung 
 up during the dry weather ; all which are 
 burnt, and the ashes strewed on the surface. 
 Small holes are then made in the ground, distant 
 from each other about a foot or eighteen inches, 
 and two or three grains of corn dropped into 
 each, which is filled by pushing a portion of the 
 earth and the ashes before mentioned into it. In 
 this state it remains, until it arrives at about two 
 feet above the surface, when the ground be- 
 tween is hoed up and cleared of weeds, a pro- 
 
110 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 cess which takes place as often as the growth 
 of the weeds renders it necessary, and which, 
 in this country, wiiere vegetation is so rapidly 
 going on during the rains, grow apace. 
 
 We left Ganado at seven o'clock on the 
 morning of the 24th, passed two small villages, 
 situated in an open and well cultivated country, 
 and reached Goodeerie at noon, having met an 
 immense host of black monkeys, who, on our ap- 
 proach, set up a hideous barking noise, and 
 scampered into the woods. Some of them were 
 as large as a mastiff dog. 
 
 Goodeerie is a small straggling village, inhabit- 
 ed by Surrawoollies and Foulahs. Masiri Cabba, 
 who is chief of it, accommodated us with a suffi- 
 cient number of huts to shelter both the men 
 and baggage from rain, which was fast approach- 
 ing. As I feared it was likely we should have 
 to remain a few days here, in order to the ar- 
 rangement of matters with Almamy, I cheer- 
 fully accepted his offer, and now, for the first 
 time since our leaving Kayaye, we entered and 
 took up quarters inside a town. 
 
 I was here informed that Almamy was not at 
 the capital when Mr. Dochard went there, and 
 that it was probable he might have to wait there 
 some time before he could see him, as he was 
 absent on some business connected with the 
 war between him and the people of Galam. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Ill 
 
 Mr. Dochard, however, arrived on the ^st, 
 without having seen Almamy. He was accom- 
 panied by Almady Gay (one of Ahuamy's ne- 
 phews), who was sent to procure for us a supply 
 of bullocks and corn. Almamy sent Mr. Dochard 
 word that he was extremely glad to hear of our 
 arrival in his country, and would give us every 
 assistance and protection in his power as far as 
 Foolidoo, to which country we should be ac- 
 companied by one of his chiefs, who would be 
 a sufficient safeguard to us. He further request- 
 ed that we would remain where we were until 
 he could come to see us, which should be in a 
 very few days. The prospect of being thus de- 
 layed even for a few days, as I then thought, 
 was irksome in the extreme, as the rains were 
 fast approaching, and, in the space of another 
 month, travelUng would become, if not wholly 
 impossible, at least very difficult and dangerous. 
 But so it was, that attempting to move through 
 this country without having first arranged mat- 
 ters with Almamy, would have been madness. 
 We were therefore obliged to submit with pa- 
 tience. 
 
 Since our arrival here, we were beset by a 
 multitude of beggars of all descriptions. Princes 
 and their wives without number, came to make 
 to us trifling presents, with the hope of receiving 
 in retiuni double their value, and tlieir attendants 
 
112 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 were not less troublesome. Goulahs, or singing 
 people, who in Africa always flock around those 
 who have any thing to give, no doubt thought 
 this a good opportunity to turn to good account 
 their abilities in music, and we were continually 
 annoyed by their horrid noise. Dozens of them 
 would, at the same moment, set up a sort of 
 roaring extempore song in our praise, accompa- 
 nied by drums and a sort of guitar, and we 
 found it impossible to get rid of them by any 
 other means than giving something. They were 
 not, however, to be put off with a trifle. People 
 who lived by that sort of gain, and not unfre- 
 quently received from their own chiefs presents 
 to the amount of several slaves, were not to be 
 put off with trifles, particularly by persons with 
 (apparently to them) so much riches as we had. 
 The consequence was, we were in a continual 
 state of uproar with those wretches. Never did 
 I find my patience so much tired as on those oc- 
 casions. 
 
 On the 31st a man arrived from Boolibany, 
 to say that Almamy would be at Goodeerie on 
 the following day, but it was not until the 5th 
 of June that we heard any thing more of him. 
 During this time we were plagued out of our 
 lives by a host of his nephews, nieces, cousins, 
 &c. all begging. 
 
 On the 5th, Saada, Almamy's eldest son, ac- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 118 
 
 companied by two of his majesty's ministers 
 and three other grandees of the country, came 
 to announce his father's arrival at a small town 
 of the same name as this, distant about five 
 miles east. They made some objections to call 
 on me first, and I would have waved all cere- 
 mony in favour of the expediting in the least our 
 business ; but Lamina said it was their place to 
 call on me : they were the bearers of a message 
 from Almamy, and to deliver it they must come 
 to me, and not I to them. This they did, and 
 entered on the business with all the indifference 
 and hauteur imaginable. Sanda himself would 
 not uncover his mouth or nose, which he had 
 closely wrapped up in a part of his turban which 
 hung down, for fear he might inhale the air 
 breathed by an infidel. Many words, expressed 
 in a strangely slow and authoritative manner, 
 went to say that Almamy had arrived, and 
 would see me whenever I wished to call upon 
 him, or w^ould come himself to see me if I pre- 
 ferred it. The former I adopted, as I was aware 
 that his presence here would draw around us a set 
 of beggars, whose importunities would be insup- 
 portable, and therefore decided on going, with- 
 out delay, to see him. Messrs. Dochard and 
 Partarrieau accompanied me. Lamina, Masiri 
 Cabba, and one of my own men to act as inter- 
 preter, composed the whole of our attendants. 
 
114 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 On our arrival at the village, we had to wait 
 nearly half an hour before we could obtain an 
 interview. After the usual compliments of sa- 
 lutation, &c., I explained to him, by means of 
 my interpreter, in as few words as possible, the 
 object we had in view in travelling through his 
 country, and requested that we might be de- 
 tained as short a time as possible. He said that 
 we might depend on his doing all in his power to 
 forward our views, and that the time of our stay 
 chiefly depended on ourselves. By this he meant 
 to say, that if we paid him handsomely, he would 
 allow us to pass. He said much about the 
 trifling nature of the present I sent him by Mr. 
 Dochard, insinuating that it was scarcely lit for 
 one of his Goulas. 
 
 We took the hint and requested that people 
 might be sent to receive the present I intended 
 for him. These were soon nominated, and with 
 them and Saada, who was sent to remain with 
 us (as Almamy said, to see we were well treated, 
 but^ we believe, as a spy on our actions), we re- 
 turned to our quarters* 
 
 Having laid out a considerable present, 
 amounting to more than ten times that given 
 to the king of Woolli, we showed it to the per- 
 sons sent for that purpose, on the morning of 
 the 6th, and made Saada a very handsome pre- 
 sent indeed, for which he appeared very thank- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 115 
 
 fill, but said that we should first settle with his 
 father. We were asked if what we had laid be- 
 fore them was intended merely as service (as 
 they call it), meaning thereby a present or dou- 
 ceur, or as all we intended to give him ; and 
 we answered that we intended it as the full 
 amount of present. To which they replied, they 
 were only directed to receive service, that 
 was then shewn, and objected to, as too small. 
 After much conversation on both sides, with- 
 out being able to arrange with those fellows, we 
 determined on again going to Almamy, to en- 
 deavour to settle with him personally. In this, 
 however, we were deceived ; he was, if possible, 
 more difficult to please than his ministers, and 
 told us, that as we did not choose to act in com- 
 pliance with their wishes, he should not wait 
 where he was any longer, but return to his 
 house, where we might come to see him when 
 we thought proper to act consistently with, 
 what he considered, our duty, namely, the in- 
 creasing of the present ; that as all the sur- 
 rounding kings were averse to our going to the 
 east, and even his own chiefs did not like it, he 
 was taking a great responsibility on himself in 
 allowing us to do so. This, and much more of 
 the same nature, too tedious to mention, closed 
 the interview. We therefore, to avoid more dc- 
 
 i^ 
 
Il6 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Jay, determined on giving those insatiable ras- 
 cals as much as we could afford, and thereby, if 
 possible, get rid of them. The rains had already 
 commenced, and no time was to be lost, which 
 could, in any way, consistently with the future 
 safety of the expedition, be avoided. 
 
 Having selected an enormous present, we 
 despatched Mr. Partarrieau to lay it before 
 his majesty, and it was not until the 9th that 
 he returned, having, in some measure, satisfied 
 the avaricious appetite of the great man, who, 
 however, still said much about receiving six 
 bottles of gunpowder and a musket for each 
 ass load ; and insinuated that he had been in- 
 formed we had loads composed entirely of gold 
 and silver. Fresh demands were continually 
 made, and we were not able, before the 13th, 
 finally to settle with him. This was done by 
 our giving him an order on the Gambia for one 
 hundred and twenty bottles of gunpowder, 
 twenty common guns and a blunderbuss. 
 
 He came to see us in a friendly way, as he 
 said, on the 14th, accompanied by a host of mi- 
 nisters, chiefs, &c., who all expected no doubt 
 to receive something. On this occasion he ap- 
 peared to be perfectly satisfied with what had 
 been given him and his followers, and promised 
 we should have a guide wherever we wished to 
 
TRAVELS JN AFRICA. 117 
 
 move, and in whatever direction we pleased* 
 This, however, we could not obtain until the 
 17th, and then he would not listen to our pur- 
 suing any route but that through Kasson, the 
 chief of which country was his friend, which we 
 knew to be the case, but we feared he was only 
 too much so, and ready to put in execution any 
 plan Ahiiamy might devise to annoy and delay 
 us, and ultimately frustrate the object we had 
 in view. 
 
 Notwithstanding Almamy's having sent his 
 nephew to procure supplies for us, since our arri- 
 val at Goodeerie we had been very scantily sup- 
 plied with provisions, although large prices were 
 offered, and men sent in all directions to collect 
 corn, rice, or any kind of food that could be pro- 
 cured. 
 
 A fine moor boy, about eight years of age, a 
 slave, was sent us by the king, to purchase bul- 
 locks with, but hungry as we were we preferred 
 remaining so, to eating that procured at the ex- 
 pense of liberty to a fellow-creature, who, from 
 his horrified appearance, no doubt thought we 
 were going to eat him. He spoke the language 
 well, by which means we explained to him the 
 happy change that hadtaken place in his situa- 
 tion, but he did not appear to believe it for 
 some days. 
 
 In some instances the princes and chiefs who 
 
118 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 flocked round us in hopes of receiving presents 
 (and they invariably got something, but which 
 was not as great as they either expected or 
 could have wished), prevented the natives from 
 bringing to market even the scanty supply 
 which their reduced means at that time of the 
 year would have enabled them to do. 
 
 For several days we submitted to a very 
 scanty allowance indeed, and we had no appear- 
 ance of obtaining a more plentiful supply by 
 any other means than that of arranging matters 
 to the satisfaction of Almamy, which we were at 
 length (by means of considerable presents to 
 him and his followers) enabled to do. Indeed 
 the latter, a set of cringing liars, and aJl either 
 Goulas (singing people) or Bilos (blacksmiths), 
 were as difficult to be pleased as their master, 
 with whom they had such influence that no 
 matter was decided on, or step taken, without 
 their advice, and whose interest it was absolute- 
 ly necessary to purchase, though, I believe, to 
 little purpose ; as they will make the fairest pro- 
 mises to attain their end, and then betray their 
 benefactor ; or, at least, in their private confer- 
 ences with Almamy, give him advice directly 
 contrary to that expressed as their opinion in 
 public, and by no means conducive to the at- 
 tainment of our wisJies. No sooner was one 
 promise made by him and them, on the proviso 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 119 
 
 of receiving a present, and those terms complied 
 with on our part, than some contrary construc- 
 tion was put on the same, and we were left to 
 devise such other means of attaining our object 
 as the moment might suggest. It is really im- 
 possible for a person not conversant with such 
 affairs, or acquainted with such people, to have 
 any idea of the irksome and perplexing nature 
 of their duplicity and falsehood, or of the situa- 
 tion a man finds himself placed in, when depend- 
 ent in a great measure on their will and plea- 
 sure for the common necessaries of life. 
 
 Such was our situation on the l6th, when we 
 went to Almamy's residence, in order to endea- 
 vour, by any possible means, to gain permission 
 to choose our own route. But in this, however, 
 we were unfortunately not able to succeed, and 
 consequently submitted with an apparent good 
 grace, for any other line of conduct would have 
 tended to no good purpose j telling him that we 
 would be ready to move on the 18th, and as he 
 seemed to think he could protect us more effec- 
 tually in that road than any other, we requested 
 that guides might be immediately appointed to 
 conduct us. This was directly complied with ; 
 when we returned to our huts, and made the 
 arrangements necessary in consequence of so 
 long and unpleasant delays. 
 
 We left Goodeerie at half after five in the 
 
120 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 evening of the 18th June, and halted for the 
 night at the village where Almamy had been. 
 We were under the disagreeable necessity (now, 
 for the first time,) of leaving one of the party 
 behind (Private Pickard), who was reduced to 
 such a state of debility and emaciation from dy- 
 sentery, that he was not only unable to ride, but 
 reported, by Mr. Dochard, as unlikely to reco- 
 ver. Two men were left with him, and direct- 
 ed, in case of his getting better in a few days, 
 to bring him forward to Booiibany, where we 
 intended halting, to procure provisions ; and in 
 case of his death to bury him, and follow us with 
 as much expedition as possible. A supply of the 
 means of procuring subsistence was given them, 
 and I really felt much at abandoning to his fate 
 one of the most active and useful men we had. 
 
 Messrs. Nelson and Pilkington were also in a 
 very bad state of health, and many of the Euro- 
 pean soldiers, although not decidedly unwell, 
 were occasionally complaining of headaches and 
 pains in their limbs, indicating the approach of 
 fever and dysentery. 
 
 Much rain had already fallen, and vegetation 
 was going on most rapidly in consequence of the 
 intense heat of the sun and humidity of the soil. 
 To the north of Goodeerie, was a range of high 
 hills, covered with wood, and running from ne. 
 to sw. About half way between where we left 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. V2l 
 
 and it, we crossed the partly dry bed of a tor- 
 rent, which, at this time, comes from some hills 
 lying south of east from our path, and running, 
 with many windings, to the west of north, to 
 empty itself into the Senegal. 
 
 We left Goodeerie (there are many towns of 
 the same name in that district, named after a peo- 
 ple who came from a town in Galam formerly so 
 called,) at seven o'clock on the morning of the 
 19th ; and after a march of five hours and a 
 half to the north of east, over a well cultivated 
 and thickly inhabited country, we arrived at a 
 large town, or rather a large collection of small 
 villages, called Baigh Baigh, beautifully situated 
 on eminences rising gently on either side of a 
 narrow valley, in which ran a considerable tor- 
 rent of water, collected by the neighbouring 
 hills, and contributing to the periodical over- 
 flowing of the Senegal. The corn grounds 
 were beginning to look green, and the entire 
 face of the country, which had for some months 
 presented a most arid and fatiguing prospect, 
 was now progressively assuming all the varied 
 gaiety of spring. The natives, too, were busily 
 employed in cultivation, which, in Africa, is in- 
 discriminately carriedon by men and women. 
 
 Many of our men did not come up before 
 night. The march was a long one, and the day 
 excessively hot and calm, with every appearance 
 
1^2 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 of rain, of which we had a smart fall during the 
 night. 
 
 On the following morning, we moved for- 
 ward to the north of east, over a gently rising 
 country, beautifully diversified by hill and dale, 
 and thickly covered in every direction with 
 small villages, in the vicinity of which, cultiva- 
 tion appeared to be carrying on to a considerable 
 extent. We crossed, about five miles west of 
 Boolibany, a range of small hills, running nearly 
 north and south, covered with stunted under- 
 wood, and composed of a dark brown stone re- 
 sembling volcanic eruption, and having a strong 
 magnetic attraction. One piece, bearing a high 
 metallic polish, drew to it small needles from 
 the distance of three quarters of an inch. From 
 those hills the natives procure a large supply of 
 iron, which they esteem much for its goodness, 
 and which is extracted from the ore, or stone 
 containing it, in the manner mentioned by Mr. 
 Park. 
 
 We readied Boolibany at noon, and were 
 accommodated with huts in the town, a divi- 
 sion of which was given up entirely for our use, 
 and from which Almamy, who paid us a visit in 
 the afternoon, desired us to keep off the mob, 
 in the same way we should do were we in an 
 English fort. This, however, we found much 
 difficulty in accomplishing against a host of vi- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 123 
 
 sitors of all ages and descriptions, coming to 
 see, for the first time in their lives, a white man. 
 Shortly after our arrival some of the king's 
 wives sent us two or three large calabashes, full 
 of fine milk and cous cous, which was not at all 
 a despicable present. 
 
 Many of the great men of the town paid us 
 visits of ceremony and curiosity ; all which we 
 would have most willingly dispensed with, but 
 they were not to be sent off in a hurry, and we 
 were often reduced to the necessity of walking 
 out of our huts, in hopes of their doing so too. 
 But even this did not always succeed, and we 
 were necessitated to submit wdth an apparent 
 good grace to their importunities for presents. 
 I do believe they thought that asking alone was 
 necessary to the filling of their pockets with am- 
 ber, &c., and covering their backs with silks, 
 bafts, &c. ; for the procuring of all of which they 
 seldom brought any more valuable articles than 
 a little milk, or some rice, or corn. Indeed we 
 wanted nothing else, but the miserable handfuls 
 which they presented, were scarcely worth the 
 trouble of receiving, mucli less giving more than 
 the value in return. 
 
124 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Description of Boolibany — Delays and Disappointments 
 there — Scarcity of Provisions— Death of Private Pickard 
 -—My decision of passing the rains in the Country, and 
 Departure for Samba Contaye to select a position for 
 winter quarters — Arrival of the Expedition from Booli- 
 bany — INIr. Pilkington and men left there sick — Death 
 of Lieutenant Burton, and Sickness of the IMen — Prepa- 
 ratiims for INIr. Dochard's Departure for Sego— Almamy's 
 Arrival near our Camp — Difficulties about the Guide — 
 Mr. Dochard's Departure — The Object of his Embassy — 
 Mr. Partarrieau's Departure for the Coast — Mr. Nelson's 
 weak state — A regular Market established — Mr. Pil- 
 kington's Arrival from the Capital — i^Ir. Nelson's Death 
 — My ownlndisposition — Deaths amongst the Men — Ex- 
 traordinary Ceremony at the killing of a lioness — Lions' 
 Attack on the Horse — Accounts from i\Ir. Dochard — Re- 
 turn of the Messengers — Almamy's unjust Conduct, and 
 its Results. 
 
 Boolibany, the capital of Boiidoo, stands in 
 an extensive plain at the foot of a range of 
 rocky hills, which are distant from it about a 
 quarter of a mile east : to the west, the dry 
 bed of a considerable torrent winds along the 
 plain, and, in the season of the rains, conducts 
 the water, which descends in a thousand streams 
 from the hills, to the Faliuie and Senegal. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 125 
 
 Here is the residence of the king, or Alma- 
 my, but it is by no means so large a town as we 
 expected to see in the capital of so thickly in- 
 habited a country. The number of souls do 
 not exceed fifteen or eighteen hundred ; the 
 greater number are either the relatives, slaves, 
 tradesmen, or followers of Almamy, or those of 
 the royal family. 
 
 The town is surrounded by a strong clay 
 wall, ten feet high and eighteen inches thick * ; 
 this is pierced with loop-holes, and is so con- 
 structed that, at short intervals, projecting 
 angles are thrown out, which enable the be- 
 sieged to defend the front of the wall by a flank- 
 ing fire, and answers all the purposes of defence 
 where nothing but small arms is made use of. 
 
 The gates, of which there are five, and some 
 of the intermediate parts of the wall, are sur- 
 mounted by small embattled turrets, nine or ten 
 feet square ; those are likewise pierced with 
 loop-holes, and give to the place a better forti- 
 fied appearance than any town we had before 
 seen. 
 
 Within these outer walls, at the west end of 
 the town, and surrounded by stronger and high- 
 er ones of the same materials and form, are the 
 
 * It waS;, when we saw it, in bad repair, not having been 
 rebuilt since it was partly destroyed by the Kartan army in 
 I8I7. 
 
126 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 palaces of Almamy, his son Saada, and his ne- 
 phew Moosa Yoro Malick, all joining each 
 other, but having no internal communication. 
 
 The mosque, by no means a good one, stands 
 in an open space in the south-west end of the 
 town. It was in very bad repair, being nearly 
 destitute of thatch. It is a large oblong clay 
 building, lying east and west, the walls about 
 nine feet high, and the roof, which is com- 
 posed of rough timber, is supported in the cen- 
 tre by three strong forked stakes, about eight- 
 teen feet high. The ends of this roof extend 
 five or six feet over the walls, on which it rests, 
 and is there supported by forked stakes five feet 
 high, forming a sort of piazza. Public prayers 
 are performed in it five times a day, with the 
 greatest apparent devotion. 
 
 The town is divided by streets, or more pro- 
 perly lanes, which are very narrow, dirty, and 
 irregular. The outside of the walls too, in con- 
 sequence of the want of public places of conve- 
 nience, is nothing but a continued heap of filth, 
 which emits, particularly during the rains, an 
 overpowering and unpleasant effluvia. 
 
 The huts or houses are of different forms : 
 some entirely composed of clay and rough tim- 
 ber, are square and flat roofed ; others are 
 round, having the walls of the same material as 
 the former, but are covered with a conical roof, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 1^7 
 
 formed of poles and thatched with long dry 
 grass ; the third and last are entirely composed 
 of wood and dry grass, in the form of a half 
 splaire. The doors of all are inconveniently 
 low, particularly the latter, which is rendered 
 the more unpleasant by its serving, at the same 
 time, as door, window, and chimney. 
 
 Those of Almamy, his son, nephew, and some 
 of the princes, display the same variety of form, 
 and, with the exception of being larger, are 
 equally inconvenient. The interior of each of 
 these palaces may contain about an English 
 acre, divided, by low clay walls, into several 
 small courts, in some of which are the chambers 
 of their wives and concubines, and in others the 
 magazines of arms, ammunition, merchandize, 
 and corn. The exterior walls are about thirteen 
 feet high, and are lined, nearly all round in- 
 side, with a range of square clay hovels, serving 
 as cooking places, stables, slave rooms, and 
 other stores, all which have flat roofs, where, 
 in case of attack, a number of armed men, the 
 best marksmen, are placed, and being there de- 
 fended by that part of the outside walls which 
 rises above the roofs, in form of parapets, they 
 can do much against an attacking enemy. 
 
 At a short distance to the sw. are situated the 
 ruins of a town nearly as large as Boolibany, and 
 of which it at one time formed a part j but was 
 
128 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 destroyed by the Kartan army in one of tlieir 
 attacks on Almamy — which must have been san- 
 guinary, as the ground for a considerable dis- 
 tance round it is thickly strewed with the now 
 whitened bones of the slain, whose bodies were 
 allowed to putrify on the spot where they fell, 
 or be devoured by the birds and beasts of prey. 
 
 The mother of the boy given to us by Alma- 
 my, came to our huts to see her son, w^hom we 
 had by this time so convinced of his real situ- 
 ation, that he implored us on his knees and with 
 tears in his eyes to work the same change in his 
 unfortunate mother's situation, who together 
 with his brother, an infant, were in the most de- 
 plorable state of slavery, in the possession of 
 Moosa Yeona Malick. The poor woman herself 
 was too much pleased with the respectable ap- 
 pearance of her son, and with the account he 
 gave her of the comparative happiness of his 
 present situation, to prevent a gleam of satisfac- 
 tion from making itself evident, through the 
 otherwise truly miseiable and desponding evi- 
 dence of her feelings but too strongly depicted 
 in her face and actions; the former being bathed 
 in tears, and the latter more becoming of a per- 
 son imploring assistance or protection from the 
 divine, than a human being. 
 
 It is needless to say we promised her every 
 exertion in her favour, and fulfilled the promise, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 129 
 
 but alas ! without effect : — the answer we got 
 from her inhuman master to an offer of three 
 times the value of a prime slave, or indeed any 
 price he might demand, was " that it was much 
 fitter for us to make him a present of the son, 
 who would thereby be enabled to enjoy the so- 
 ciety of his mother and brother." 
 
 The poor woman was a constant visitor at our 
 huts, where she every day got one good meal, 
 but it would have been useless to give her any 
 thing else, as her master would not have left it 
 (let it be of never so little value) with her. 
 
 Since our arrival at Boolibany we had been as 
 badly supplied with provisions as at Goodeerie. 
 Almamy made us a present of a bullock, but we 
 found it impossible to purchase any, and as to 
 rice or corn it was extremely scarce and dear. 
 So small was the quantity of milk purchased that 
 the officers were stinted to a few spoonfulls each, 
 which, with as limited a quantity of rice, meal, 
 or meat, constituted our daily bill of fare. 
 
 To add to the unpleasantness of our situation 
 nearly all the European soldiers were affected 
 with fever or dysentery, two of the officers, 
 Messrs. Nelson and Pilkington, were likewise ill, 
 and we found it impossible to obtain from AI- 
 mamy the fulfilment of his promises. At one 
 time he would say he was preparing for us some 
 provisions ; at another, that he was only waiting 
 
 K 
 
130 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 the return of a messenger he had sent to ascer- 
 tain the state of the path by which we were to 
 travel, and with many such frivolous excuses he 
 put us off from day to day until the 23rd of 
 June, when he appointed a guide, and told us 
 we might depart when we pleased. Preparations 
 were made for moving on the following morning, 
 and we had determined that not a moment 
 should be lost in getting out of Almamy's power. 
 We were however again to suffer disappointment 
 and delay, for the same night at a late hour Al- 
 mamy sent his son Saada, to let us know that in 
 consequence of his having received information 
 of the destruction of several of the towns of 
 Kasson by the Kartans, he could not allow us 
 to proceed until he had sent a messenger to as- 
 certain its truth. I endeavoured to shew Saada 
 that I thought better of the report, and said that 
 I would, if Aim amy allowed me, go on even with- 
 out a guide ; but it would not do : he said his 
 father (who now considered us his friends and 
 strangers) dare not permit us to run into danger 
 when he could prevent it. This was a very plau- 
 sible excuse no doubt, but we were aware that 
 the whole was a plan to keep us in his country 
 as long as he could. We nevertheless told Saada 
 that we would wait a day or two longer in order 
 to give his father's messenger time to return. 
 The men who had been left at Goodeerie to 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 131 
 
 take care of Pickard returned on the 23rd, 
 having committed his body to the earth at that 
 place on the 21st, the day of his death. 
 
 On the 25th, not hearing any thing of the 
 messenger's return or any more reports about 
 the circumstance, I and all the officers waited 
 on Almamy, to endeavour, if possible, to obtain 
 leave to proceed. We found him seated in a large 
 straw hut, in one of the inner courts of his palace, 
 surrounded by some of his ministers and chiefs. 
 He evaded giving a direct answer to our request, 
 by relating some of his youthful achievements 
 in a very jocular strain, until the call to prayers 
 obliged us to leave his royal presence, and re- 
 turn as we went, to submit to delay and disap- 
 pointment for another day, which, however, 
 only made things appear as less likely to be ar- 
 ranged to our satisfaction than they had hitherto 
 been. He asked those about him many ques- 
 tions respecting the path through Kasson to 
 Foolidoo, which he seemed to be well ac- 
 quainted with, and made much objection when 
 we had told him the disappointment we expe-. 
 rienced in his conduct to us, and the seeming 
 disinclination on his part to forward our views, 
 notwithstanding his promise to do so in conse- 
 quence of the very large and handsome presents 
 we had given him and his people. His son Saada 
 told us "there was no use in much words, but 
 
 K 2 
 
132 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 that, if we would satisfy Almamy, he should sa- 
 tisfy us," which was merely hinting, if we would 
 give Almamy presents until he should say he had 
 enough, we should be then allowed to proceed. 
 We did not pretend to understand his meaning, 
 and finding that nothing was to be obtained from 
 them, we left the place, in order to consult with 
 the officers, and decide on the step to be taken. 
 After taking into consideration the then ad- 
 vanced state of the season, the illness of almos 
 the whole of the Europeans, and the reduced 
 state of our means of subsistence, in consequence 
 of the very great expenditure incurred to replace 
 our animals (all those we had on leaving Kayaye 
 having died), and the exorbitant presents to 
 Almamy and his chiefs, ministers, &c., we came 
 to the determination of remaining in Bondoo 
 until after the rains, and sending forward an 
 officer to Sego, to apprize the King of our being 
 stopped by Almamy, and to ascertain beyond a 
 doubt his intentions towards our intended en- 
 trance into his country. A train of incidents, 
 as tedious to relate as uninteresting to peruse, 
 occurred between our making known to Al- 
 mamy this our intention, and our establishing 
 ourselves at Samba Contaye^, which we were 
 
 * A small village, about twenty-seven miles north from 
 Boolibany, and fifteen miles from the Senegal, at BaguUe, a 
 village of Lower Kajaga or Galam. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 133 
 
 enabled to do, after much toil and trouble, by 
 the 17th of July. 
 
 Our position was on an elevated plain, lying 
 about half a quarter of a mile west of the village, 
 between us and which ran a copious stream of 
 water, occasionally swollen to a considerable size 
 by the rains. Around a clear spot, of about two 
 acres, we erected several huts. We soon found, 
 however, they were neither sufficiently solid 
 to withstand the violence of the tornados, nor 
 well enough thatched to keep out the rain, in 
 consequence of which the men were continually 
 getting wet, and falling sick. Mr. Burton and 
 Mr. Nelson, and nearly all the Europeans, were 
 labouring under fever and dysentery. On the 
 18th, the former was reduced to the very last 
 stage, and Mr. Pilkington, and three men, were 
 so ill when we left Boolibany, that they could not 
 be moved. Had we been able to continue our 
 journey to the east, those officers and men must 
 have been left behind ; and to this, unpleasant 
 ^s it might have been to our feelings, we must in 
 that case have submitted. Mr. Burton's suffer- 
 ings, however, were of short duration ; he died 
 on the 19th, having been only a few days ill. 
 This sudden and melancholy event appeared to 
 Cast a gloom over all, and, when his remains 
 were committed to their last abode, every Euro- 
 pean present shewed evident symptoms of ap- 
 
134 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 prehension that such might be his own fate in 
 a few days. 
 
 As it was necessary that the officer we in- 
 tended sending to Sego should be accompanied 
 by a guide and messenger from Almamy, I had, 
 previous to leaving Boolibany on the 20th, ob- 
 tained a promise from him that he would come 
 to Samba Contaye in a few days, and bring with 
 him a person fitted for that service. He did 
 not, however, m.ake his appearance until the 
 21st, when I was informed that he had arrived 
 at Wooro Samba, a small village, or rather farm, 
 belonging to one of his own relations, about a 
 mile south of our camp. There I w^ent to see 
 him, when he immediately named a person to 
 accompany Mr. Dochard * to Sego, and said 
 that it would be my business to clothe and sub- 
 sist him during the journey, which of course 
 I made no difficulty in consenting to. 
 
 On the following day, the guide came to our 
 camp, and having said much about the unplea- 
 santness of such a long journey, the dangers 
 and privations to be encountered, &c., told me 
 that he wished some stated reward to be held 
 out to him on his return, in default of which he 
 would not go. Although I was much astonished 
 
 * In addition to its being his own wish to proceed on this 
 service, he was the only officer then capable of so hazardous 
 an undertaking. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 135 
 
 at this declaration, I thought it better to let him 
 vsuppose it was my intention to give him some- 
 thing, and therefore said, that the nature and 
 amount of his reward must altogether depend 
 on his own conduct, and his exertions to forward 
 our business, which, if he did to my satisfaction, 
 he should be well rewarded. He, however, did 
 not like this mode of payment " after his trouble 
 was over''; insinuating that I might then give 
 him little or much as I wished, and that, more- 
 over, it was quite " optional with him whether 
 he went or not, as he was no slave of Alma- 
 my's". 
 
 I went immediately to mention this affair to 
 the King, and to request that another man 
 might be appointed, as I neither liked the man- 
 ner nor appearance of the first. He very good 
 humouredly said that the fellow was a fool, and 
 therefore not fit to accompany Mr. Dochard, 
 and he would immediately send to Boolibany 
 for one of his own people to replace him. But 
 as it was likely that two or three days would 
 elapse before he could be ready, I told the 
 King that Mr. Dochard should move on to- 
 wards the frontier, which, before he reached, 
 the man might no doubt overtake him. This 
 being arranged, I next informed Almamy, it was 
 my wish to send a person to the coast, in order 
 to procure, with as little delay as possible, the 
 
136 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 articles I had promised to him, and some few 
 things I was myself in want of; and as my mes- 
 senger purposed going to Senegal through the 
 Foota Toro country, I wished him to give let- 
 ters of recommendation to the chiefs there, in 
 order to ensure his safety while in it, and also 
 requested him to appoint some person to accom- 
 pany Mr. Partarrieau, and remain with him un- 
 til his return. All this he very readily con- 
 sented to, concluding upon this, as on all other 
 occasions, by asking for something or other ; a 
 little tobacco was then the object of his wishes, 
 and with them I complied. 
 
 On my return to the camp I found that Mr. 
 Dochard had completed all his preparations, and 
 was only waiting my presence to move forward. 
 His party consisted of one sergeant, seven rank 
 and file, one civilian, and his own servant, to- 
 gether with Lamina and two of his people. He 
 took with Iiim a very handsome present for 
 Dhaa, the king of Sego, and some inferior, yet 
 respectable ones, for his chiefs ; these, together 
 with a small tent, two trunks of his own, and 
 some provisions, loaded five asses, at least suffi- 
 ciently so to admit of their travelling with expe- 
 dition. The most active, wilhng, and well con- 
 ducted men were selected for this service ; and, 
 although the prospect of a journey of several 
 hundred miles through a country oflering many 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 137 
 
 difficulties, both from the disposition of the na- 
 tives and the advanced state of the season, was 
 sufficiently gloomy to make the bravest despond, 
 and the most sanguine entertain doubts of suc- 
 cess, — they nevertheless all appeared cheerful 
 and happy in being selected to the service. 
 
 To Mr. Dochard's own discretion and judg- 
 ment I left altogether the means, as well as 
 mode, of entering into arrangements with Dhaa 
 for our passage through, and protection in his 
 country ; and from my knowledge of Mr. Do- 
 chard's extreme anxiety and determination to 
 bring (inasmuch as lay in his power) our enter- 
 prize to a happy conclusion, I felt satisfied that 
 I could not have entrusted this service into more 
 able or patient hands ; the latter being an ac- 
 complishment most necessary, indeed indispen- 
 sably so, in that country. 
 
 The party left the camp on the 23d, at four 
 o'clock in the afternoon. I accompanied them 
 some distance, and, when taking leave of them, 
 I felt that I had myself more occasion to appre- 
 hend their never returning than they appeared 
 to entertain; indeed I felt, when giving Mr. 
 Dochard the parting shake of the hand, that 1 
 was bidding adieu for ever, as it were, to the 
 nearest and dearest friend I had in the world. 
 In order to induce Lamina to forward our views 
 (it Sego, and to conduct himself with kindness 
 
138 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and attention to Mr. Dochard, and the men 
 with him, I made him a handsome present, and 
 gave him an account of the reward which had 
 been promised to him, in case of his fulfilhng 
 the terms of his engagement, an advance of 
 merchandize to the amount of fifteen pounds 
 sterling. 
 
 Although I had my doubts as to this man's 
 being a servant or officer of the king's, I was 
 nevertheless aware that much depended on his 
 reports in the country respecting us, and there- 
 fore endeavoured, by all means within my power, 
 and consistent with prudence, to keep the fel- 
 low in our interest. His wife, too, who travelled 
 in his train, received many small presents from 
 us, and on this occasion was dashingly equipped 
 for the journey, in order, as Lamina said, not to 
 reflect discredit on those white men belonging 
 to a Great White King, with whom they had 
 been so long associated. 
 
 My next object was to despatch Mr. Par- 
 tarrieau (the only person holding the rank of 
 an officer then in good health) to the coast, to 
 procure the articles for Almamy, and a supply 
 of merchandize for the use of the expedition, 
 which so long a halt had rendered absolutely ne- 
 cessary. Almamy still remained at Wooro Samba, 
 where I paid him another visit, and made him a 
 small present. On the 25th, he informed me 
 
TBAVELS IN AFRICA. 139 
 
 that he was going to a village about five miles 
 Nw. from our camp, to arrange some matters 
 relative to the succession of a chief, where, as 
 the place lay in Mr. Partarrieau's road, he could 
 meet him. The same day he visited the camp, 
 and received from him a letter to the Almamy 
 of Foota Toro, which would ensure Mr. Par- 
 tarrieau a safe passage through that country. 
 
 Mr. Partarrieau having received my instruc- 
 tions how to act during his absence, and such 
 letters and other papers as I was sending to 
 England and the coast, left the camp the 27th 
 July. His party consisted of two soldiers, four 
 civilians, and two moors. I furnished him with 
 some small presents for Almamy and the chiefs 
 of Foola. 
 
 On the same day I sent a party of eight na- 
 tive soldiers, with a sergeant, to the capital, with 
 directions that, if Mr. Pilkington should not be 
 well enough to ride his horse, they were to con- 
 struct a litter, and bring him forward. 
 
 Mr. Nelson was daily getting worse, and the 
 soldiers, seven in number, left on the sick list by 
 Mr. Dochard, had no appearance whatever of re- 
 covery. One died on the S^d, and some of the 
 others appeared likely soon to follow him. All 
 that could be done, situated as we were, was done 
 for them. The disease, however, was stronger 
 than the remedies, and they continued getting 
 
140 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 worse every day. In prescribing for them, I was 
 assisted by Private Kenyon, who, from having 
 served seven years as orderly man in the hospi- 
 tal at Senegal, had become acquainted with the 
 medicine susually administered ; in some cases, 
 I had recourse to the remedies made use of by 
 the natives of Africa, and whenever tliose were 
 resorted to in time, the disease soon gave way. 
 The rains were then so frequent and heavy, that 
 scarcely a dry day occurred once in the week, 
 which had a very strikingly bad effect on the 
 health and spirits of all. The plentiful supply 
 of provisions, however, which we were enabled 
 to procure since our arrival at Samba Contaye, 
 in some measure alleviated our sufferings; and a 
 little labour, with more solidity in the materials 
 employed, provided us with huts, if not as com- 
 fortable as we might have wished, at least suffi- 
 ciently so to afford us shelter from the inclemen- 
 cies of the season. 
 
 A regular market for the purchase of corn, 
 rice, milk, butter, eggs, fowls, and game, was 
 established, and well attended by the inhabit- 
 ants of all the surrounding villages, to the dis- 
 tance of seven or eight miles ; and were it not 
 that the prospect of remaining in a state of 
 inactivity for so long a time as some months at 
 least, added to the uncertainty of the result of 
 Mr. Dochard's mission to Sego, and the sickly 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 141 
 
 state of the Europeans, we might have been 
 comparatively happy. 
 
 Mr. Pilkington arrived from Boolibany on 
 the 29th, and although he was much better than 
 when we left him, he was still in so weak a state 
 as to be unable to take any exercise, and con- 
 sequently was incapable of affording me society 
 in my excursions through the country. Mr. 
 Nelson, too, continued to decline, and on the 
 6th of August, he was reduced to a complete 
 inanimate skeleton ; in this state he remained 
 until the 9th, when he breathed his last, with- 
 out a struggle. His remains were buried close 
 by the side of Mr. Burton's, under the shade of 
 two large tamarind trees, about four hundred 
 yards west of the camp. 
 
 My feelings on this occasion (whether from 
 a weak state of body in consequence of some 
 attacks of fever which I had lately experienced, 
 or from other motives, I cannot pretend to say) 
 were so much affected, that I could with difficulty 
 witness the last sad offices to the remains of one 
 of my companions, who, without disparagement 
 to the others, was by no means the least worthy 
 or useful member of the expedition. The conse- 
 quence of this was, I had a severe relapse, 
 which confined me to my bed for three weeks ; 
 at the end of which time 1 could scarcely stand 
 upright. 
 
142 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 On my recovery, I employed myself in learn- 
 ing the Foolah language, and making frequent 
 excursions to the adjacent towns, as the wea- 
 ther, which was then not quite so wet, permitted. 
 
 Our supply of provisions, such as they were, 
 continued abundant ; and having completed a 
 strong fence round the camp, we were, in some 
 degree, defended both from the encroachments 
 of the wild beasts, which nightly serenaded us, 
 and the not less troublesome daily visits of the 
 inhabitants of the town ; whom, previous to the 
 fence being made, we found impossible to keep 
 out of our huts, and from which, on their de- 
 parture, some one thing or other was always 
 missing. 
 
 The fever and dysentery still continued to do 
 their work of destruction. Private Watzer died 
 on the 19th ; Fallen on the S2d ; and Corporal 
 Howell on the 25th of August, and many more 
 vere fast declining. To divert, as much as pos- 
 sible, the minds of the men from reflecting on 
 the scenes of death around them, I had recourse 
 to amusements and employments of all kinds. 
 Hunting the game in which the country abound- 
 ed, afforded an ample range for those, who w^ere 
 able to partake of it, to employ their time to 
 advantage. Wild hogs, antelopes, guinea fowls, 
 and partridges, were constantly brought in. Du- 
 ring one of our excursions we met, and sue- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 143 
 
 ceeded in killing, a large lioness, which had, for 
 some time, been disturbing the neighbourhood 
 of the village. On this occasion, we were accom- 
 panied by some of the inhabitants of Samba 
 Contaye, one of whom gave the first wound to 
 the animal ; in consequence of which he was 
 disarmed by the rest of his companions, and led 
 prisoner (his hands tied behind his back) to the 
 town, at whose outer approach they were met by 
 all the women, singing and clapping hands. The 
 dead animal, covered with a white cloth, was car- 
 ried by four men on a bier constructed for the 
 purpose, accompanied by the others of their 
 party, shouting, firing shots, and dancing, or ra- 
 ther playing all sorts of monkey tricks. As I was 
 not a little surprised at seeing the man, whom 
 I conceived ought to be rewarded for having 
 first so disabled the animal as to prevent it from 
 attacking us, thus treated, I requested an expla- 
 nation; and was informed that being a subject 
 only, he was guilty of a great crime in killing 
 or shooting a sovereign, and must suffer this pu- 
 nishment until released by the chiefs of the 
 village, who knowing the deceased to have been 
 their enemy, would not only do so immediately, 
 but commend the man for his good conduct. I 
 endeavoured to no purpose to find out the origin 
 of this extraordinary mock ceremony, but could 
 only gain the answer, frequently given by an 
 
144 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 African, *' that his forefathers had always done 
 
 so." 
 
 This, with a hyena, shot by a sentinel when 
 attempting to take away one of our asses, were 
 the only animals of the kind killed by us. In a 
 few nights after this, we were surprised by three 
 lions, which, in despite of the strength of our 
 fence, and of the centinels, who fired several 
 shots at them, forced their way into the camp, 
 and succeeded in mangling one of our horses, 
 which was tied to a stake within fifteen yards of 
 our huts, in such a dreadful manner, that 1 
 thought it best, by means of a pistol ball, to. put 
 an end to the poor animal's sufferings. 
 
 Those animals are very troublesome, particu- 
 larly at the time of year when the corn and 
 grass, being nearly the lieight of a man, afford 
 them means of concealing themselves near the 
 towns, and of making nightly attacks on the 
 herds of black cattle and goats belonging to the 
 natives, who keep up large fires in the folds, 
 and occasionally fire off their muskets, to deter 
 them from approaching ; — but in this they do 
 not unhappily always succeed. 
 
 Not having heard any intelligence of Mr. 
 Dochard since his departure, I began to be un- 
 easy for his safety, and thought of despatching 
 a person in the direction he went, in order to 
 ascertain, if possible, how far he had got, w^hen 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 145 
 
 I was agreeably surprised by the arrival of one 
 of his men whom he had sent back from Kasson 
 with letters, giving an account of his transac- 
 tions since his departure, and requiring some 
 suppUes. He stated that on the 25th he reached 
 Nayer, a town of Bondoo, on the banks of the 
 Fa-lemme, distant from Samba Contaye thirty- 
 four miles ; there he had to await the arrival of 
 Almamy's guide, who joined him on the 27th, 
 but having then refused to proceed unless pro- 
 vided with a horse and a fine dress, which ar- 
 ticles Mr. Dochard neither could nor would 
 give him, he returned. Mr, Dochard gave him 
 a note to me, but the fellow did not dehver it, 
 nor did I see him until I met him by accident 
 at Boolibany some days after ; when he told me 
 that he had received a letter from Mr. Dochard, 
 in which was contained an order on me for a 
 new dress, but that he had lost it in crossing the 
 Fa-lemme; this I knew to be false, and told him 
 that I could not take his word. Almamy had 
 then sent another man to join Mr. Dochard, 
 who crossed the Fa-lemme on the 27th, and ar- 
 rived at Mamier,the residence of Hawah Demba, 
 a prince of Kasson, on the 1st of August, having 
 found much difficulty in crossing some streams 
 running to the Senegal, and being much dis- 
 turbed by wild beasts. He stated this place to be 
 upwards of eighty miles from the Fa-lemme, and 
 
146 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 to be a very small village, the occasional residence 
 of that prince, who had tlien been there some 
 weeks, and who detained Mr. Dochard under 
 the pretence of not having received a sufficiently 
 large present, until the 17th, on which day he 
 again moved forward accompanied by one of 
 Hawah Demba's men, sent to escort him into 
 Foolidoo, about four miles from Mamier. He 
 ascended some steep and rugged hills, from the 
 top of which he had a fine view of the Senegal, 
 distant about a mile to the north. On descend- 
 ing into the valley, he travelled over a solid bed 
 of rock for more than a mile, when he reached 
 an extensive plain lying along the banks of the 
 river, by the side of which he travelled through 
 villages and large corn-grounds, until he arrived 
 at Savusuru, another town of Kasson, Here he 
 met a division of Hawah Demba's army, going 
 on a plundering excursion into some of the 
 neighbouring states. It was his intention to 
 leave Savusirie on the following day, but it rained 
 so incessantly, and the innumerable brooks and 
 rivers he had to cross were so swollen, that he 
 could not move before the 21st, and even then 
 he dia so contrary to the advice of the natives, 
 which proved to be well founded, as he had not 
 travelled above four miles when he came to a 
 stream called the Tangina, running into the 
 Senegal, and so deep and rapid that to attempt 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 147 
 
 crossing it without canoes, of which there were 
 Done at the place, would have been madness ; he 
 was therefore, however reluctantly, obliged to 
 return to a small town called Jamoonia, about 
 a mile from the river. 
 
 Here he remained, in consequence of the con- 
 tinuance of rain and the still swollen state of the 
 river, until the 25th, during which time he, to- 
 gether with some of his men, had a severe attack 
 of fever, but on that day were sufficiently re- 
 covered to attempt crossing the stream, then re- 
 duced to nine feet water, and in which they suc- 
 ceeded, by felling a large tree which stood on 
 the bank, and when down reached across, form- 
 ing a passage sufficiently solid to admit of the 
 baggage being carried over on the men's heads : 
 the animals swam across with much difficulty, 
 owing to the rapidity of the stream. The re- 
 mainder of that day's journey was rendered ex- 
 tremely difficult and tedious, by the marshy 
 nature of the ground over which their path 
 lay. They halted for the night at a walled 
 town called Dhiamu, having passed several small 
 villages during the day. On leaving this place 
 they had another considerable stream to cross j 
 it was much wider than the former but not so 
 deep, having only from three to five feet water, 
 with a rough stony bottom. The path on the 
 other side was good and solid : in the vicinity of 
 
 l2 
 
148 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 it were several extraordinary high rocks, bearing 
 in their form more the appearance of art than 
 nature. They halted for that night at Tenakie, 
 a large walled town belonging to a prince named 
 Sego Amadi, who calls himself king, and in 
 which light he is treated by the people of his 
 own town, and by them only. The town is situate 
 in a fertile valley, surrounded by high rocky 
 mountains. Here again a very great fall of rain, 
 and the importunities of the chief for customs 
 and presents, with the usual threat of not being 
 allowed to pass without paying, obliged him to 
 halt until the 29th, when he reached and crossed 
 the Bangayko, a considerable stream running 
 north ; having been obliged for nearly a mile 
 previous to reaching it to travel through a marsh, 
 in which the animals and men sunk up to their 
 knees, and over which the latter carried the loads 
 with difficulty. Mr. Dochard's own horse was 
 obliged to be carried through on poles. The 
 march of the 30th was not less fatiguing than 
 that of the 29th ; low swampy valleys, and liigh 
 rocky hills, were in their turn to be waded 
 through or scrambled over. They passed the 
 night at a small village, situate in a valley be- 
 tween too high hills, on the highest of which, 
 accessible by only one narrow and rugged path, 
 the chief of the town had his residence, from 
 whence he had an uninterrupted view of the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 149 
 
 surrounding country to a considerable distance, 
 and where he dwelt in perfect security from 
 his enemies : this place is called Moosa Care. 
 
 The huts in which Mr. Dochard and his men 
 were accommodated, being badly thatched, let in 
 the rain, which fell in torrents during the night, 
 and put out their fires, the smoke of which, 
 although exceedingly unpleasant in itself, had 
 the good effect of keeping off the sand-flies and 
 musquitoes, which at that time of the year are in 
 swarms in all low situations, and render it im- 
 possible for any person not defended by smoke 
 or close curtains to sleep. Indeed the former, 
 although the most unpleasant, is by no means 
 the least effectual remedy, particularly against 
 the sand-flies, which are so small that it is next 
 to an impossibility to keep them out with the 
 closest curtains. 
 
 On the morning of the 31st of August, he 
 moved forward at seven o/ clock, and travelled 
 without halting over ground similar to that of 
 the two last days, until three in the afternoon, 
 when they reached a river called the Gooloo- 
 kucko, which it was impossible to pass without 
 the assistance of canoes, and that could not be 
 procured nearer than a village six miles from the 
 opposite bank ; but all were so much fatigued 
 that none would venture to swim the river that 
 night in search of one : they were therefore 
 
150 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 obliged to halt, and secure themselves as well as 
 one small tent enabled them. They found it 
 necessary to keep up large fires during the night 
 to deter the wild beasts, which infest that country 
 in vast numbers, from approaching too near. 
 They were not a little disappointed, on the morn- 
 ing of the 1st of September, to find that the per- 
 son who had gone to the village returned, accom- 
 panied by a number of men carrying large cala- 
 bashes, intended to serve the purpose of canoes — 
 even one of which useful articles those people 
 were not provided with. With much difficulty, 
 and not without considerable danger, particu- 
 larly to those who could not swim, of whom Mr. 
 Dochard was one, they effected the passage of 
 this river, which was 150 yards wide, and very 
 deep and rapid. 
 
 The manner in which this navigation is carried 
 on is not at all calculated to inspire confidence. 
 One of these large calabashes is placed in the 
 water, and filled with whatever articles are to be 
 transported, two men then go into the water and 
 taking hold of it, one on each side, swim on, 
 pushing it or rather dragging it between them. 
 When a person who cannot swim is to be taken 
 over, he lays hold of the calabash with both hands, 
 one on each side ; this supports him from sinking, 
 while a man swims with him, and pushes the ca- 
 labash forward. In this manner Mr. Dochard and 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 151 
 
 two of his men, who could not swim, were ferried 
 over the rivers, much to the amusement of the 
 inhabitants of the country, who, in common with 
 all the natives of the interior parts of Africa, 
 think that we live in the water, and are therefore 
 much astonished when they see any white man 
 who cannot swim. 
 
 They reached a small scattered village, Dia- 
 perey, on the bank of the Bafing, at a late hour, 
 and having passed that night and the following 
 day there, in order to rest the animals, crossed 
 the river, which being at that place 500 yards 
 wide, and extremely rapid, they found much dif- 
 ficulty in doing, and at so late an hour, in con- 
 sequence of heavy rain all the forenoon, that 
 they could only reach a small town of the same 
 name as the latter, distant about half a mile 
 from the river, where they passed the night. 
 
 On the 4th they reached Sambula, a town of 
 Kasson, having passed several small villages 
 during the day, and travelled over a country 
 more open and elevated than that of the three 
 former days. 
 
 In crossing the last river, nearly all the bag- 
 gage was wet, the canoe having been upset. This 
 rendered it necessary to have the trunks opened, 
 and the things in them dried ; from which, on re- 
 packing, it was found that a parcel containing 
 dollars was missing, and as they belonged to 
 
15^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Lamina, the guide, who had given them to Mr. 
 Dochard to keep for him, and who would no 
 doubt demand them at Sego, it became abso- 
 lutely necessary that they should be replaced. 
 To effect this, Mr. Dochard despatched one 
 of his men, accompanied by one of Lamina's, 
 back to me, giving, as I before said, this account 
 of all that had taken place since his leaving 
 Samba Contaye up to the 7th of September. 
 
 In that short march he experienced all the 
 difficulties which the state of the country at 
 that time of the year, and the disposition of the 
 natives, could possibly throw in his way to im- 
 pede his progress. He appeared, however, thus 
 far to have surmounted them all, and to have 
 been going on as well as might be expected. 
 
 The men who came from him had taken more 
 time to perform this journey than would have 
 been necessary had they both been swimmers. 
 This was not the case, his own man did not 
 swim at all, and the other could do so but bad- 
 ly. To obviate, therefore, a similar delay in 
 his receiving the articles he required, I selected 
 a man to replace the former, and having made a 
 small parcel of the dollars, together with some 
 amber and beads, secured well with tarpaulin, 
 and provided the men with means of subsist- 
 ence till they could overtake Mr. Dochard, 
 I despatched them on the 21st of September. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 153 
 
 Affairs were going on very amicably between 
 Almamy and myself, since the moment of Mr. 
 Dochard's departure, until the early part of Oc- 
 tober, previous to which I had purchased some 
 horses and asses; a step, I told Almamy some 
 time before, I should be obliged to take, in or- 
 der to replace those I had lost by death, &c., to 
 which he then made no objection. 
 
 The last purchased was a fine Arabian mare, 
 brought to me by a man from Foota Toro, 
 whom I had, early in the preceding month, com- 
 missioned to that effect. In a few days after 
 the arrival of this animal at our camp, Almamy 
 sent one of his vassals to let me know, that in 
 consequence of my having purchased several 
 horses without previously asking his permission, 
 he expected I would pay him a custom or duty 
 thereon, and until I might think fit to do so, he 
 had given directions that none of the inhabitants 
 of the country should dare, under any pretence 
 whatever, to bring provisions to us. On this, 
 as on all other occasions of messengers to me 
 from Almamy, the chief of the town, Osman 
 Comba, was present, but could not, in answer to 
 a question of mine respecting the nature and 
 amount of such custom, say more than it was 
 the first time he had ever heard of any such 
 custom being demanded by Almamy. Several 
 of the oldest inhabitants of the town were ap- 
 
154 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 pealed to as to the justice of the demand. Their 
 answer was, that they were not aware of any 
 such custom having been before paid in Bon- 
 doo, but that Ahuamy, as chief of the country, 
 might, on all occasions, demand such tribute or 
 duty as he thought proper. 
 
 Osman called me aside, and told me, that had 
 I only bought the small horses and asses of the 
 country, Almamy would never have asked a 
 duty from me, and which, he said, was evident 
 by his never having done so before I bought 
 this mare ; but she being so fine a creature, he 
 was jealous of seeing her in my possession, and 
 although he could not, in any justice, demand 
 a duty, he took advantage of the circumstance 
 to occasion a disagreement between us, to 
 arrange which, he supposed I should either give 
 him the mare in question, or find it necessary to 
 make him a present likely to answer his purpose 
 as well. The former I of course would not listen 
 to ; not that I fixed any particular value on that 
 animal more than another, but I was aware that, 
 had I yielded to his wishes on this occasion, I 
 could not be safe on any future one of this kind. 
 I therefore told his messenger, who was extreme- 
 ly haughty and impertinent (all which I bore 
 with extreme sang froid), to return and let his 
 master know I should send a person to speak 
 with him on the subject in a few days. The 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 155 
 
 fellow, with much reluctance, left our camp, 
 and appeared evidently disappointed at not 
 going home loaded with presents. 
 
 Although I was satisfied that Almamy had 
 sent this fellow with some message to me about 
 the horses purchased, I doubted his having given 
 orders to the people of the country not to bring 
 provisions to us, and therefore delayed sending 
 any one to see Almamy until I might be enabled 
 to ascertain, by a few days' experience, if the 
 market would be attended as usual. No altera- 
 tion appearing for three days, I sent Charles 
 Jow to Boolibany, to inform Almamy of what 
 his messenger had said, and, in case he had 
 been instructed by him to bring that message, 
 to say I felt very much annoyed at such treat- 
 ment, particularly as it appeared to me he did 
 it merely to get something from me which was 
 not his due, and to prevent me from replacing 
 those animals which had died and were stolen in 
 his country. 
 
 On his return the following day, he brought 
 for answer, that Almamy insisted on getting a 
 duty, the amount or nature of which he would 
 not specify, but if I did not give what pleased 
 him, I might eat my merchandize, and he 
 would eat his corn, meat, &c. I again waited a 
 few days, to see whether his threats, with respect 
 to the market, would be put in execution, when, 
 
156 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 finding a little milk was the only article offered 
 for sale, and that after sunset, and at exorbitant 
 prices, I was reduced to the necessity of endea- 
 vouring, by means of a considerable present, to 
 make peace with him. This, however, took some 
 time, and put me to much inconvenience in 
 sending messengers to him. 
 
 Although I had a month's corn in store, I 
 conceived it much better to arrange matters 
 thus, than remain at variance with a man who 
 had so many opportunities of annoying me, and 
 who, the longer I resisted him, would become 
 the more difficult to be satisfied. 
 
 The present amounted to three hundred and 
 fifty bars, being nearly double what I had paid 
 for the mare. Thus is a man, when in the 
 power of these chiefs, subject to every species 
 of imposition and insult, both of which it would 
 not only be improper, but unsafe, to resent 
 on some occasions. 
 
157 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Unfortunate Affair at Samba Contaye — Almamy's Decision 
 —Purchase of a Slave — Arrival of the French Expedi- 
 tion at Galam — Mr. Pilkington's determination of leav- 
 ing the Mission — His Departure for the Coast — Visit to 
 the Senegal — Conversation with Almamy — Messenger 
 sent to Mr. Dochard— Fires at the Camp — Death of Al- 
 mamy Amady. 
 
 Another circumstance occurred during this 
 month, which, although wholly accidental, was 
 by no means calculated to inspire the natives 
 with a friendly feeling towards us, and would, I 
 feared, previous to its being arranged, have only 
 furnished Almamy with a second opportunity of 
 falling out with us. In this, however, I was for- 
 tunately mistaken, as he not only judged the 
 affair impartially, but expressed his sorrow that 
 I should have punished the man even by con- 
 finement for a few days. 
 
 It was on the morning of the 25th, when sit- 
 ting outside the door of my hut, half asleep from 
 extreme debility, I was aroused by the report of 
 a musket within the fence of the camp, followed 
 
158 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 by the shrieks of women and the bustle of my 
 men running from all quarters, where they had 
 been either on duty or amusing themselves, and 
 seizing their arms. Such preparations on their 
 part led me to suppose we had been attacked. 
 I therefore ran into my Imt for my arms, and 
 without delay proceeded to the spot where all 
 seemed to be directing their steps. 
 
 On my arrival at the place where the market 
 was usually held, under the shade of a large aca- 
 cia, about two hundred yards outside our fence, 
 I found a woman lying dead, a musket ball 
 having passed through her head. She had just 
 disposed of a little corn, and was sitting on the 
 ground in the crowd, tying up a few beads she 
 had received in exchange, when she received 
 the fatal wound. 
 
 On my inquiring by whom it was done, one 
 of my own men (Shaw, a black soldier), an- 
 swered from within his hut, that it was his rifle 
 which went off while he was cleaning the brasses 
 of it. Some men of the town who were present, 
 and armed, as they always are, shewed symp- 
 toms of wishing to take steps of retaliation, 
 under the impression, no doubt, that it had been 
 done designedly. One or two Marabouts, who 
 were also present, and on whom I called to as- 
 sist me in preventing unnecessary effusion of 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 159 
 
 blood, persuaded them to desist, assuring them 
 that every satisfaction would be given. My 
 first step was to order Shaw into confinement, 
 and send for Osman, to consult what was ne- 
 cessary to be done. On his arrival at my hut, 
 where the Marabouts were awaiting him at my 
 request, I stated the unfortunate occurrence 
 precisely as it had taken place, pointing out to 
 him the position of the deceased in the market, 
 and that of the prisoner in his hut, through the 
 side of which, being composed of straw, the 
 ball had passed. 
 
 The Marabouts fully corroborated my state- 
 ment, by relating every circumstance with the 
 most minute exactness, and gave it as their 
 opinion, that the thing occurred wholly by acci- 
 dent : but as the deceased was a slave belonging 
 to some of the inhabitants of a neighbouring 
 village, it would be necessary for me to send a 
 person to acquaint them with the affair, and de- 
 spatch without delay a messenger to Almamy, 
 requesting him to have the business tried and 
 decided on immediately. Both these injunc- 
 tions I complied with at the moment, and gave 
 the prisoner into the hands of Osman, who ex- 
 pressed a wish that I might keep him myself, 
 which I could have done, but I preferred acting 
 otherwise, as I was aware that the inhabitants 
 
160 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 of the country at large, and particularly those 
 people to whom the woman belonged, would be 
 more satisfied by his being in their own hands, 
 at least in those of one of their chiefs. The 
 poor fellow himself, was at first much frightened, 
 and would, I am convinced, have willingly given 
 up his own life to restore that of the woman, 
 were it then possible. Osman told him, although 
 the accident was of an extremely unpleasant na- 
 ture to all concerned, and particularly to him 
 (Shaw), it was, nevertheless, one which so 
 purely evinced the hand of the Almighty God, 
 that he had nothing to fear, as he was sure Al- 
 mamy would see the thing in its proper light, 
 and judge accordingly. 
 
 The following morning, the men, both free 
 and slaves, of the village to which the unfortu- 
 nate woman belonged, came to our camp, to the 
 number of sixty or seventy, all armed, and in a 
 very haughty manner demanded justice, which 
 one of them, an old man, who appeared to be 
 their speaker, said was nothing more than hand- 
 ing over the prisoner to them, to be treated as 
 they might think fit ; as in this case, the law 
 said, " when one slave," in which light they 
 looked upon all my men, both black and white, 
 *' killed another, the survivor became the pro- 
 perty of the person to whom the deceased be- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. l6l 
 
 longed, who might either kill, sell, or keep 
 him." 
 
 I had much difficulty in persuading them that 
 all my men were as free as myself, and that I 
 could not now take any step, until I had re- 
 ceived an answer from Almamy, to whom I had 
 sent a messenger. Osman, who had heard of 
 their arrival, came up at that moment, and find- 
 ing them much inclined to add violence to in- 
 solent language, ordered them, in a very pe- 
 remptory tone, to return to their village, and 
 leave the settlement of the affair exclusively to 
 him, who alone, from its having happened in 
 his district and with his strangers (meaning us), 
 had the right of interfering. Although they 
 went away immediately, I was sorry to see them 
 do so with so much reluctance, and with such 
 evident dissatisfaction at the unfortunate affair, 
 as well as at the indifferent reception they met 
 with. I therefore requested Osman to accom- 
 pany them for a short distance, and endeavour 
 to convince them that it was my wish to render 
 every satisfaction the laws of the country de- 
 manded, and make the owner of the deceased as 
 ample recompense as it was in my power to do. 
 
 In a few minutes, the old man, who acted as 
 their speaker, returned with Osman, and com- 
 ing into my hut, offered me his hand, which I 
 accepted, and sat down, telling me that he was 
 
 M 
 
l62 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 perfectly satisfied with my conduct in tliis af- 
 fair, and would wait patiently and peaceably for 
 Almamy's decision ; and to convince me of the 
 truth of what he asserted, he would send the 
 women of his village to the market as usual to- 
 morrow. 
 
 The messenger to Almamy did not return be- 
 fore the evening of the 28th, when he was ac- 
 companied by one of his ministers, a chief priest, 
 or, as they call it, Alpha or thierno, bringing his 
 sovereign's decision, which, although conveyed 
 in many more words than necessary, merely 
 went to say, as it appeared to Almamy and his 
 good men ^% as they call his chiefs and ministers 
 (a very ill-placed appellation), that the woman 
 came by her death accidentally, I had nothing 
 more to do than procure a slave woman of as 
 nearly the same age of the deceased as possible, 
 and hand her over to Osman. Almamy also 
 desired Alpha Mamadoo to say, that he was ex- 
 tremely sorry I should have thought it necessary 
 to put my child, meaning Shaw (for so he al- 
 ways called all my men) in prison, from whence 
 he now desired him to be released. 
 
 I represented to Alpha the dislike I had to 
 any thing like purchasing a fellow creature, and 
 requested that I might be allowed to give the 
 
 * Imbev mojubov. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. l6S 
 
 value of a prime slave. In this, he said, he Could 
 not interfere ; that what he had told me was by 
 order of Almamy, and he could not alter it ; 
 but should the man to whom the slave belonged 
 wish to take the value in merchandize, he was 
 certain Almamy could have no objection. Much 
 entreaty on my part, added to the promise of a 
 present, would no doubt have had the desired 
 effect, were it not that the owner of the deceased 
 was afraid, in case he should accept of mer- 
 chandize, that Almamy would persuade, nay 
 force him, to give it to him in purchase of a 
 slave, which, most probably, he might never re- 
 ceive. 
 
 I was, therefore, reduced to the disagreeable 
 necessity of employing a person for the sole 
 purpose of going round the country in search of 
 a woman slave, and which he, with much diffi- 
 culty, procured, not in consequence of the 
 scarcity of those poor wretches in the country, 
 but of the enormous price demanded, arising no 
 doubt from their knowledge of the obligation I 
 was under of providing one without delay. 
 
 This transaction I could not bring myself to 
 negotiate, as the idea alone of deahng in human 
 flesh was more than sufficiently disagreeable to 
 allow me to see the poor wretch, who, although 
 only changing master, and, from what I could 
 learn, getting a good for a bad one, was never- 
 
 M 2 
 
l64 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 theless a slave bought and sold. Osman, who 
 had no scruples of that kind, very willingly un- 
 dertook to do it for me, and I have no doubt 
 made something by it. 
 
 Thus terminated an unfortunate affair which, 
 although wholly providential, was certainly of 
 such an unpleasant nature as to cause deep re- 
 gret to all our party ; but which did not appear 
 to make any more impression on the minds of 
 the natives, than if the deceased had been a bul- 
 lock ; so little is the life of a slave noticed in 
 that country. 
 
 The weather had then begun to be more set- 
 tled and dry, and the sick, with the exception of 
 three Europeans (a sergeant and two privates), 
 were improving rapidly. The approach, too, of 
 the dry season, which was daily making itself 
 more evident, and the hope of being thereby 
 enabled to resume our march to the east, in a 
 great measure alleviated the disagreeable na- 
 ture of our halt, which had then become ex- 
 tremely irksome to all. The arrival of the 
 French trading fleet from St. Louis, at Galam, 
 commanded by an officer whom I had the plea- 
 sure of knowing at Senegal, and who, on his 
 way to Boolibany, had called to see me, also 
 tended, in a great degree, to give new vigour to 
 our proceedings. The idea alone of having 
 near, if not with us, people of our own colour. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. l65 
 
 with whom we may occasionally associate, af- 
 fords a pleasure which none but those who have 
 experienced the absence, can duly appreciate. 
 I was the more pleased at this arrival of the 
 French to settle near us, for such was their in- 
 tention, as Captain DechasteUeu told me he had 
 it in command from the officer administering 
 the government at St. Louis, to afford me every 
 service it might be in his power to do ; and, in 
 justice to those officers, I must say that, on all 
 occasions, I received the most cordial assistance 
 from them. 
 
 By this fleet I received information that Mr. 
 Partarrieau had arrived at St. Louis, but, in 
 consequence of illness and some difficulties he 
 met with in passing through Foota Toro, he did 
 not reach there in time to forward to me, by 
 those vessels, some articles of merchandize I 
 wanted for myself, or the things promised to 
 Almamy. This, however, was not of much con- 
 sequence, as I was in hopes that his knowledge 
 of the want I must soon be in of the articles sent 
 for, and of my anxiety to continue my march 
 towards Sego, would urge him to make his ut- 
 most endeavours to 'expedite the service he had 
 been entrusted with, and join me without unne- 
 cessary delay. 
 
 Mr. Pilkington, who was rapidly recovering 
 from the effects of the fever he had at Boolibany, 
 
166 TRAVELS IN AFRICA; 
 
 expressed so strong an aversion to accompatiy 
 the mission any further, and appeared so deter- 
 jnined on returning to the coast, that I found it 
 necessary to consent to his doing so, being aware 
 that with such a feeUng on his part, his future 
 services (were I to oppose him) would not be 
 satisfactory. Private Nicholson too, who had la- 
 boured for several months under chronic dysen- 
 tery, and was reduced to a perfect skeleton, re- 
 quested the like indulgence, and was in like man- 
 ner permitted to return ; and as I was informed 
 by Captain Dechastelieu, that one of his vessels 
 would return to St. Louis in a few days, I took 
 advantage of an invitation from him, in the 
 name of the other officers of his fleet, to repair 
 to Conghell, a town of Galam, on the banks of 
 the Senegal, (about fourteen miles from our 
 camp), where they then were, in order to obtain 
 a passage for them, and which was offered by the 
 officer commanding the vessels, in the most hand- 
 some manner, before I had time to ask it. 
 
 On my return to the camp, I apprised Mr. 
 Pilkington of the readiness expressed by the of- 
 ficer commanding the French vessels to accom- 
 modate him in every way possible, and, having 
 placed in his charge some effects belonging to 
 the deceased officers, directed to his Excellency 
 the Governor of Sierra Leone, he left the camp 
 on the 4th of November, accompanied by the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. . l67 
 
 sergeant-major, whom I sent to receive some 
 refreshments, which Captain Dechastelieu very 
 kindly offered to supply me with for myself and 
 men, and of which we were much in want, to 
 remove the ill effects and remains of fever and 
 dysentery, from which none had escaped. 
 
 Almamy, who was about paying a visit to the 
 vessels, sent a messenger to me on the 7th of 
 November, to request I would accompany him, 
 and name a day for the purpose. Although I 
 was by no means satisfied with his conduct 
 towards me, and would willingly have dispensed 
 with his company, I nevertheless suppressed 
 my feeling of dislike to his royal presence, and 
 consented to meet him at my own camp, on 
 any day he might choose. The messenger was 
 evidently afraid of my refusal, and had re- 
 quested Osman to use his influence with me to 
 yield ; but this, from my ready compliance, 
 was now unnecessary. This, no doubt, arose 
 from a consciousness, on the part of Almamy, 
 of his having treated me badly, and of the ne- 
 cessity there now was of his inducing me, by 
 such a mark of what he thought royal favour, 
 to forget the past, and sound his praises with 
 his new visitors, with whom he fancied I had 
 great influence, and who, he thought, would pro- 
 portion their presents to the report I should 
 make of him. I am satisfied that such was Al- 
 
168 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 mamy's idea j but he was much deceived, as I 
 was determined that his conduct towards me 
 should be clearly stated to those officers, in order 
 to put them on their guard in their transactions 
 with him. He arrived at a small village near our 
 camp on the 11th, and on the following morning, 
 I accompanied him to Guinion, a village of 
 Bondoo, within about four miles of Conghell. 
 During the ride, we had much conversation on 
 the subject of the arrival of the French at Ga- 
 1am, and, on a report which he said he had re- 
 ceived by letter from Senegal, as to the inten- 
 tions, not only of their expedition, but of mine, 
 both of which had been stated to him to be fit- 
 ted out for the purpose of affording assistance to 
 his enemies the Kartans. I endeavoured to as- 
 sure him that, although Europeans in general re- 
 gretted to see so much warfare going on in 
 Africa, it was, nevertheless, very immaterial to 
 them whether the one or the other were vic- 
 torious ; and, that the only object the king of 
 England (for whom I could vouch) had in view, 
 was the civilization of Africa, and the introduc- 
 tion of commerce on a more extensive and libe- 
 ral scale than at present existed. He, however, 
 insinuated that he believed all Europeans to be 
 more the friends of the pagan, than the Moslem 
 inhabitants of Africa y in consequence of the 
 more ready conversion of the former to Chris- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 169 
 
 tianity ; and, without taking into consideration 
 the difference between the two nations, he ad- 
 verted to an engagement which he said he knew 
 had been entered into between the commandant 
 of Senegal, when that place was in possession of 
 the French several years before, and Daisey, 
 the king of Karta, who had sworn an inviola- 
 ble oath that neither himself nor his successors 
 would ever give peace to the countries lying be- 
 tween them and St. Louis, until a woman with 
 a basket on her head could travel unmolested 
 from one place to the other. It was to no pur- 
 pose I endeavoured to convince him that such 
 an improbable arrangement had never been en- 
 tered into between any European governor of 
 Senegal and his enemies ; and I likewise as in- 
 effectually brought forward to support my as- 
 sertion the friendly intercourse which had so 
 long subsisted between the several English go- 
 vernors of Senegal and himself, and the very 
 handsome and rich presents he, as well as his 
 predecessors, had received from them and the 
 vessels trading in the river. To all this he only 
 answered in a general way, and finishing with 
 the usual African expression of " All is in the 
 hands of God." 
 
 He was extremely ill, and so weak that he 
 could not sit on his horse without the assistance 
 
170 TRAVELS IN AFKICA. 
 
 of two men, who walked on each side, and on 
 whose shoulders he placed his hands. 
 
 The country over which we travelled was 
 thickly inhabited and well cultivated, the corn 
 w^as then ripe, and the natives were busily em- 
 ployed in getting it in. 
 
 Almamy having halted at Guinion, I left him 
 there, and went on to Conghell, w^here I was cor- 
 dially w^elcomed by the French officers, one of 
 whom. Captain Dechastelieu, was very ill, in 
 consequence of which and my wish to return to 
 the camp as soon as possible, I only remained 
 two days with them, during which time they had 
 moved to Baquelle, another town of Galam, 
 about six miles lower down the river, where they 
 intended building a fort, and forming a commer- 
 cial establishment. This spot, being centrically 
 situated between Foota, Bondoo, Gidemagh, 
 Karta, Kasson, and Bambouk, was admirably 
 calculated for such a purpose. The Moors too of 
 the Dwoiish tribe, who were great gum-holders, 
 would there find a more convenient market for 
 that as well as all the other productions of their 
 country than at the marts lower down the river. 
 On my return to the camp, I called to see Al- 
 mamy, and make him a small present. I found 
 him extremely ill, lying on a mat, in the centre 
 of a small hut, surrounded by three or four of 
 his favourites, who were all conscious of his ap- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. I?! 
 
 proaching end, and were endeavouring to get 
 from him all they could before that event should 
 take place. Soon after my entering the hut, he 
 ordered them all to leave him as he had something 
 particular to say to me. When they had gone 
 out, he called me to his bed-side, by no means an 
 agreeable situation, and placing his mouth to my 
 ear, said, " They are all rogues ; I did not know 
 it before. I see I must soon die, but when I am 
 gone, many, who now fear me, will then wish 
 me back to no purpose." He next asked me 
 what I thought of the French, my new friends, 
 as he called them ; and, on receiving a favourable 
 report, expressed his astonishment that people, 
 who were so lately at war with each other, could 
 so soon be such good friends. 
 
 Having explained to him the reason of my 
 not being able to present him with the articles 
 which I had promised at Goodeerie, with which 
 he appeared well satisfied, I made him the small 
 present, and, taking leave for the last time, re- 
 turned to the camp, where I found all had gone 
 on well during my absence. 
 
 The length of time that had again elapsed 
 since I had heard from Mr. Dochard made me 
 very uneasy on his account, and induced me to 
 despatch a person to gain, if possible, some in- 
 telligence respecting him, or, in case of his hav- 
 ing got to Sego with his party in safety, to fol- 
 
17^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 low him thither, and bring back such letters 
 as Mr. Dochard might have to send me. The 
 person I selected for this purpose was a man 
 named Bakoro, a native of Nyamima, who had 
 been left by Lamina to officiate in his place as 
 the messenger of Dha, and who, from his re- 
 spectability and know^ledge of the country, could 
 travel through it with less difficulty than any of 
 my own men. I also sent with him as a compa- 
 nion, in case of accident, a man named Ismeina, 
 who had been attached to the mission as a car- 
 rier ; and in order that the journey might be 
 performed as quickly as possible, I furnished 
 them with a horse each, and, having provided 
 them with a few articles of merchandize to en- 
 able them to procure provisions, and make small 
 presents to those chiefs or others who might as- 
 sist them on the road, they left the camp on the 
 S5th November, and promised to make all pos- 
 sible haste. 
 
 The weather had for some time assumed that 
 settled mild state which, in that country, always 
 takes place after the rains, and is so admirably 
 adapted for travelling. I regretted exceedingly 
 that the absence of Mj . Partarrieau, and of those 
 supplies I had sent for by him, prevented my 
 taking advantage of it by moving slowly on with 
 the w^hole expedition in the direction of Sego. 
 I was then however so sanguine in my hope that 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. l^S 
 
 the middle of December would bring him back 
 to me, that I looked forward to that period with 
 patient suspense, which was rendered the more 
 supportable by occasional visits to the French 
 officers, who, in common with myself, had to la- 
 ment the loss of some of their companions from 
 the effects of the late season, and were them- 
 selves so constantly subject to fever and ague, 
 that they had not been able to commence their 
 operations for the building of their fort, in the 
 selection and purchase of a spot for which they 
 had hitherto found as much difficulty as I had 
 in the prosecution of my journey. 
 
 The latter end of December was fast ap- 
 proaching, and no information had been received 
 by me respecting Mr. Partarrieau, whose delay 
 so long beyond the time I expected caused me 
 many sleepless nights and uneasy moments ; 
 this, added to the uncertainty I was in with re- 
 spect to Mr. Dochard's proceedings, had such 
 an effect on my spirits that, had I not enjoyed 
 the advantage of the occasional and agreeable 
 society of the French officers at Baquelle, I 
 must have sunk under the load. 
 
 The Christmas which I spent at Baquelle 
 rolled over without any intelligence from him, 
 and the first day of January 1819, being that on 
 which I had fondly hoped to prosecute my jour- 
 ney eastward, found me at Samba Contaye with 
 
174^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 as bad prospects of being able to do so during 
 that month as in the preceding. 
 
 A circumstance, too, took place in the early 
 part of December, which tended materially to 
 render my situation more unpleasant, not to say 
 alarming, than even the former state of suspense 
 and anxiety could possibly have done 5 this was 
 a fire which broke out in one of the huts occu- 
 pied by the men, and must have inevitably con- 
 sumed the whole camp and baggage, were it not 
 for the timely exertions of the men and the pro- 
 vidential existence of a calm, which had only 
 succeeded a strong breeze a few minutes before. 
 From the precautions which had been always 
 taken to prevent such an accident, I was the 
 more astonished at any thing of this kind oc^ 
 curring, and from the impossibility of ascertain- 
 ing by what means the hut took fire, the men 
 who occupied it being all out, I began to suspect 
 that some evil-disposed person had done it ; this 
 however was only surmise, unsupported by any 
 evidence whatever : but what made it the more 
 suspicious was the position of the hut, which 
 w^as a long distance from the cooking-place, and 
 the nearest to our store. Two days, however, had 
 only elapsed when it again took fire in the same 
 way, and was entirely consumed, but as the wind 
 was then blowing strongly from the east, the 
 store, which was in that direction, again provi- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. IJS 
 
 dentially escaped being totally destroyed, for 
 had the fire once communicated with it, ail exer- 
 tions to save any thing must have been rendered 
 ineffectual, by the parched state of the straw or 
 long grass of which it was entirely composed, 
 and the quantity of gunpowder which was in 
 almost every package ; a circumstance that 
 alone would have deterred every person from 
 approaching it had it taken fire, and in the 
 event of which we should have been deprived 
 of the very means of subsistence. 
 
 Almamy Amady had continued to decline 
 daily since his return from the Senegal, and died 
 on the 8th January, leaving the succession 
 which, consistent with the law and custom of 
 the country ought to descend to the eldest male 
 branch of the family, to be disputed by three 
 persons; one, his own cousin, Malick Samba To- 
 many, being the lawful heir, and two of his ne- 
 phews, Tomany Moody and Moosa Yeoro, all 
 men advanced in years, and each possessed of 
 considerable influence in the country. Moosa 
 Yeoro, however, was at first unwilling to oppose 
 the right heir, and would have certainly declined 
 doing so, both from motives of respect for the 
 person, who was much older than himself, and 
 want of confidence in his own popularity, had 
 not Tomany Moody induced him to it by proffers 
 
17^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 of his support, and threats of commencing a civil 
 war in case of his refusal. 
 
 The reason which led to this line of conduct 
 on the part of Tomany Moody, was founded on 
 a circumstance which had occurred some years 
 before, and which was nothing less than that 
 Tomany, who had always been a haughty, vio* 
 lent, and powerful prince, had, in a dispute with 
 the brother of Malick Samba Tomany, caused 
 him to be murdered, and feared, if Malick came 
 to the throne, he would revenge himself on him 
 for the death of his brother, if not by taking his 
 life at least by seizing on his property, and oblig- 
 ing him to leave the country which he was in 
 hopes of one day reigning over himself, and 
 which he would really now do through MoosaYe- 
 oro, who would only be a mere instrument in his 
 hands : thus in Africa, as in all other parts of the 
 world, does self predominate, and lead men to 
 act parts little creditable to themselves, or pro- 
 fitable to the cause which they pretend to sup- 
 port. 
 
 The election did not take place until the 20th 
 of the month; and although the opposing parties 
 were near coming to blows on the occasion, the 
 whole affair was terminated in a more peaceable 
 manner than is generally the case in Africa, 
 where the interregnum is almost always taken 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 177 
 
 advantage of by the evil-disposed, to commit all 
 manner of crimes, and for which they cannot be 
 punished, as, during that period the laws are not 
 in force in consequence of the non-existence of 
 a king, with whom they also are considered de- 
 funct. 
 
 A few days after his election, I paid him a 
 congratulatory visit, accompanied as usual by a 
 present. He received me with marked attention 
 and hospitality, and told me that I might now 
 depend on his doing every thing to forward my 
 views, to which he was bound by a request to 
 that effect of the late Almamy a short time be- 
 fore his death. 
 
 He was not attended by the ministers of the 
 late king, for they attached themselves to Saada 
 in hopes, no doubt, of drawing from him all the 
 treasure left him by his father, about the divi- 
 sion of whose slaves a dispute arose between 
 him and the new Almamy, in consequence of 
 Saada' s not wishing to give him that proportion 
 of them which he was desired by his father to do. 
 The chief slaves too, like the ministers, prefer- 
 red remaining, and for the same reason, with Saa- 
 da, and consequently advised him not to submit 
 to Almamy's demand. The time however was 
 not far distant, when both ministers and slaves, 
 being disappointed in their expectations from 
 Saada, left him, and attached themselves to Al- 
 
 N 
 
178 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 mamy, who, glad of the opportunity of en- 
 rolling in his cause such powerful personages, 
 received them in a manner calculated to bind 
 them, at least for a time, to his interest ; for 
 there, like elsewhere, " money makes the mare 
 go", and which, as long as he could command, 
 would ensure him their services. 
 
179 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Description of Bondoo — Extent — Boundaries — Face of the 
 Country — Productions — Commerce — Manufactures—' 
 Government — Revenues — Religion^ its influence on the 
 Inhabitants — Their Description, DresS;, and Manner of 
 Living — Military Equipments — Force — Mode of War- 
 fare — Cause of War with Karta — Almamy's sanguina- 
 ry conduct — Attack of the Kartans on Boolibany. 
 
 Bondoo, which is situate between 14"* and 15° 
 latitude north, and 10" and IS" longitude west, 
 is bounded on the north by the kingdom of Ka- 
 jaga, on the south by Tenda and Dentilla, on the 
 east by the Fa-lemme, Bambouk and Logo, and 
 on the west by Foota Toro, the Simbani Woods, 
 and Woolli ; its greatest extent from east to 
 west does not exceed ninety British miles, and 
 from north to south sixty. 
 
 The whole face of the country is in general 
 mountainous, but particularly so in the northern 
 and eastern parts. Those mountains which are 
 chiefly composed of rock are small, and for the 
 most part thinly covered with low stunted wood, 
 little of it being fit for any other use than that 
 of fuel. 
 
 The valleys, wherein are situated the towns 
 
 N 2 
 
180 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and villages, are for the most part cleared for the 
 purpose of cultivation, to which the soil, being 
 a light sand mixed with brown vegetable mould, 
 seems well adapted. Innumerable beds of tor- 
 rents intersect these valleys in all directions, and 
 serve during the rains, being dry at all other 
 times, to conduct the water collected by the high 
 grounds to the Fa-lemme and Senegal. Great 
 numbers of tamarinds, baobabs, rhamnus lotus, 
 and other fruit-trees, are beautifully scattered 
 over these valleys, which are rendered still more 
 picturesque by the frequent appearance of a 
 village or walled town, in whose vicinity are al- 
 ways a number of cotton and indigo plantations. 
 
 The proportion of land cultivated is small, 
 but sufficient to supply the inhabitants abun- 
 dantly with all the productions of the country ; 
 these are corn in four varieties, together with 
 rice, pumpions, water-melons, gourds, sorrell, 
 onions, tobacco, red pepper, pistacios, cotton, 
 and indigo. 
 
 The commerce, and in which the greater pro- 
 portion of the inhabitants are engaged, consists in 
 the exchange of the cotton cloths manufactured 
 in the country, and the superabundance of their 
 provisions, for gold, ivory, and slaves brought 
 thither by the people of Bamboak, Kasson, and 
 Foota Jallon ; and for European merchandize, 
 such as fire-arms, gunpowder, India goods, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 181 
 
 hardware, amber, coral, and glass beads, with 
 ail which they are supplied by the merchants in 
 the Gambia and Senegal. 
 
 The manufactures, although few, are well cal- 
 culated to supply the natives with clothing, the 
 different articles of household furniture which 
 they require, together with implements of hus- 
 bandry, carpenters', blacksmiths', and leather 
 workers' tools, and knives, spear and arrow 
 heads, bridle bits, stirrups, and a variety of small 
 articles, such as pickers, tweezers, turnscrews, 
 &c. ; all which, taking into consideration the very 
 rough materials and tools employed, are finished 
 in a manner which evinces much taste and in- 
 genuity on the part of the workmen, who, in all 
 cases, work sitting on the ground cross-legged. 
 
 The people of those several trades are by far 
 the most respectable of the class which I have 
 met with in i^frica; so much so, that the minis- 
 ters, favourites, and officers are chiefly chosen 
 from amongst them 5 but this, I believe, arises 
 in part from their being more finished courtiers 
 and flatterers than are to be met with amongst 
 the other classes of the people. 
 
 The government of Bondoo is monarchical, 
 the whole authority being vested in the hands of 
 the almamy or king. He is, however, in most 
 cases, guided by the laws of Mahomet, which 
 are interpreted by the Imans, or chief priests. 
 
182 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 who, being much in his power, and from exam- 
 ple and habit of a crouching mean disposition, 
 in all cases where his Majesty's interest is con- 
 cerned, decide in his favour. 
 
 The revenues, which are solely the property 
 of the King, at least wholly at his disposal, are 
 considerable, and consist in a tenth of all agri- 
 cultural produce, and a custom or duty paid by 
 the travelling merchants who pass through the 
 country. This latter amounts to seven bottles 
 of gunpowder, and one trade musket, or their 
 value in other articles, for each ass load of Eu- 
 ropean goods ; and must be accompanied by a 
 present to the king and his head men. A refusal 
 on the part of any of those merchants to com- 
 ply with the exorbitant demands of these people, 
 would inevitably lead to their being plundered, ' 
 and probably to personal ill treatment. This, 
 however, seldom takes place, as those merchants 
 always endeavour, by some means or other, to 
 conceal the most valuable part of their goods, 
 cither about their persons or in the house of 
 their host, (whom it is also necessary, to bribe) 
 before they entrust the remainder to the inspec- 
 tion of tlie people appointed by the king for 
 that purpose. 
 
 He derives also considerable emolument from 
 a tenth of the salt imported from the coast by 
 the natives of the country, and from an annual 
 
* TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 183 
 
 custom, or tribute, paid him by the Senegal 
 Company's vessels trading in the river, and the 
 French Government establishment at Baquelle, 
 where, as will appear in a subsequent article on 
 Galam, he has of late years acquired consider- 
 able influence and authority. 
 
 The peace offerings and presents from all 
 those who have any business to transact with 
 the king, or favour to ask from him, although 
 not limited to any particular amount, do not 
 compose the least valuable part of his income: 
 slaves, horses, cattle, poultry, rice, corn, cotton 
 cloths, gold, and indeed all the productions of 
 the country, are incessantly presented as dou- 
 ceurs. 
 
 The religion is Mahomedan, but its precepts 
 are not so strictly attended to in Bondoo as 
 in some of the other states of Western Africa. 
 There are mosques of one kind or other in every 
 town ; some of them, however, are nothing more 
 than small square spaces enclosed with stakes, 
 and kept cleanly swept. Here, as in all the 
 others, prayers are publicly said five times every 
 day ; the usual Mahomedan ceremonies of ab- 
 lution, &c., are attended to. When praying, 
 they strip off all implements of war, or recepta- 
 cles of money, tobacco, or snuff, and make use 
 of a string of beads or rosary, which they count 
 frequently after each act of devotion. This 
 
184 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 consists in facing the east, and bowing the body 
 several times, so as to allow the forehead to toucli 
 the ground, at the same time repeating some 
 short prayers from the Koran, and frequently 
 ejaculating the name of the Prophet in the most 
 apparently devout manner. 
 
 Had Almamy Amady, in embracing this reli- 
 gion, bad and unsound as it is, been actuated by 
 any other principle than that of self-interest, 
 and the desire of attaching to his cause the 
 people of Foota Toro and Jallon, he might have 
 (at least by personal example) inspired his sub- 
 jects with a reverence for the divine character, 
 and an inclination to please him, by a just and 
 upright line of conduct, to both which they are 
 entire strangers ; evincing, in all their concerns, 
 both among themselves and with their neigh- 
 bours, a low deceitful cunning, which they en- 
 deavour to cloak by rehgious cant. In fact, I 
 have never seen a people who have more of the 
 outward show of religion with less of its inward 
 influence. 
 
 There are schools in almost every town, for 
 the instruction of those youths who intend mak- 
 ing theMahomedan religion their profession, and 
 in the principles and practice of which, and 
 reading and writing Arabic from their sacred 
 book, the Koran, tliey are solely instructed. 
 Numbers and their uses are unknown ; they 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 185 
 
 can scarcely add two simple numbers together 
 without having recourse to the usual African 
 methods, namely, counting the fingers, or mak- 
 ing strokes in the sand. The student or scholar 
 is, in all cases, the servant of his teacher, w^ho 
 may employ him in any menial capacity what- 
 ever. They go about, when not at their lessons, 
 begging, and sewing the country cloths together, 
 for any w^io may want to employ them : the 
 produce of those callings are brought to the 
 master, wlio is always a priest, and appropriated 
 to his use. 
 
 The people of Bondoo are a mixture of Foo- 
 lahs, Mandingoes, SerrawoUies, and JolofFs, re- 
 taining, however, more of the manners and cus- 
 toms of the first, and speaking their language 
 exclusively. They are of the middle size, well 
 made, and very active, their skin of a light cop- 
 per colour, and their faces of a form approach- 
 ing nearer to those of Europe than any of the 
 other tribes of Western Africa, the Moors ex- 
 cepted. Their hair, too, is not so short or 
 woolly as that of the black, and their eyes are, 
 with the advantage of being larger and rounder, 
 of a better colour, and more expressive. The 
 women in particular, who, without the assistance 
 of art, might vie, in point of figure, with those 
 of the most exquisitely fine form in Europe, are 
 of a more lively disposition, and more delicate 
 
18G TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 form of face than either the Serrawollies, Man- 
 dingoes, or JolofFs. They are extremely neat 
 in their persons and dress, and are very fond of 
 amber, coral, and glass beads, of different co- 
 lours, with which they adorn or bedeck their 
 heads, necks, wrists, and ancles profusely; gold 
 and silver, too, are often formed into small but- 
 tons, which are intermixed with the former on 
 the head, and into rings and chains worn on the 
 wrists and ancles. They always wear a veil 
 thrown loosely over the head : this is manufac- 
 tured by themselves from cotton, and is intended 
 to imitate thin muslin, at which they have not 
 by any means made a bad attempt. The other 
 parts of their dress are precisely the same as that 
 already described to be worn by tjie inhabitants 
 of Kayaye, and, with few exceptions of silk and 
 printed cotton which they obtain from the coast, 
 are entirely of their own manufacture. They 
 are exceedingly fond of perfumes of every kind, 
 particularly musk, attar of roses, or lavender, but 
 they can seldom procure these, and therefore 
 substitute cloves, which they pound into pow- 
 der, and mix up with a kernel, having something 
 the flavour of a Tonquin bean, which they like- 
 wise reduce to powder, and, with a little gum- 
 water, form it into beads about the size of a 
 common garden pea. These they string and 
 hang round the neck ; they sometimes string 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 187 
 
 the cloves themselves, and wear them in the 
 same manner ; but the way in which they prefer 
 wearing them is sewed up in small bags made of 
 rich coloured silk, a number of which are hung 
 round the neck. The hair, which is neatly 
 braided into a profusion of small plaits, hangs 
 down nearly to the shoulders, and is confined 
 (together with the strings of amber, coral, and 
 beads, which decorate it) round the forehead 
 with a few strings of small beads by the young 
 girls, and, by the married, with a narrow strip 
 of silk, or fine cotton cloth, twisted into a string 
 about as thick as a finger. To complete their 
 dress, a pair of large gold ear-rings dangle al- 
 most to touch the shoulders, and, in conse- 
 quence of their great weight, would tear their 
 ears were they not supported by a little strap of 
 thin red leather, which is fastened to one ear- 
 ring by a button, and passes over the top of the 
 head to the other. The w^alk of these ladies is 
 peculiarly majestic and graceful, and their whole 
 appearance, although strange to a European ob- 
 server, is far from being inelegant. 
 
 The dress of the men, with the exception of 
 being smaller and more convenient, is precisely 
 the same as that of the people at Kayaye. Blue 
 and white are the favourite colours. With the 
 rich, the manufacture of the country is replaced 
 by India bafts and muslins, both which are em- 
 
188 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 broidered neatly with different coloured silks or 
 worsteds round the neck, and down the back 
 and chest. The cap, which is always white, is 
 of a very graceful form, and is also embroidered, 
 but with white only. The Maroboos, and men 
 advanced in years, wear white turbans, with 
 red or blue crowns, occasionally a hat made of 
 a sort of rush or grass, having a low conical 
 crown, with a broad rim. When on horseback, 
 or going to war, the large sleeves of their gowns 
 are tied together behind the neck, being brought 
 over the shoulders; and the bodies, which would 
 be otherwise extremely inconvenient from being 
 very loose, are secured round the middle with a 
 girdle, which, at the same time, confines their 
 powder horn and ball bag on the right side, and 
 their grigri, or amulet case, on the left. These 
 are all suspended by strong cords of red, yellow, 
 or green silk or worsted, and are crossed in the 
 same manner as the belts of our soldiers. A 
 dirk, about nine inches or a foot long, hangs at 
 the right side from the running string or strap, 
 which, at the same time, serves to tighten the 
 trowsers above the hips. A single, or double- 
 barrelled gun, completes their equipment in ge- 
 neral y some of the princes and chiefs, however, 
 add a sword, confined at the right side by their 
 girdle, and one or two pistols which hang dang- 
 ling in thin leather holsters, variously coloured, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 189 
 
 at the pummel or front horn of their saddle. 
 One leather bag, to contain water, and another, 
 a small store of dried cous cous, for their own 
 provision, together with a nose bag, and a fetter 
 of the same material, for their horse, make up 
 the catalogue of their marching baggage, and 
 are all fastened, by leather straps, to the back 
 part of the saddle, which is at best but a bad 
 one, being chiefly composed of pieces of wood, 
 tied together by thongs of raw cow hide, and 
 which, when wet, stretches so as to allow the 
 wood to come in contact with the horse's back, 
 and wound it in a shocking manner. 
 
 The disposable force of Bondoo from all the 
 information I could collect, does not exceed from 
 500 to 600 horse, and from 2000 to 3000 foot. 
 When Aim amy finds it necessary to call this army 
 to the field for the protection of the country, 
 or with the intention of invading the territories 
 of some of his neighbours, he repairs with his own 
 immediate followers to some village at a short 
 distance from the capital, and there beats the war 
 drum *, which is repeated by each village, and 
 
 * This is composed of a large wooden bowl^ nearly three feet 
 diameter, covered with three skins, one of which is said to 
 be that of a human being, another a hyena's, and the third, 
 or outside one, a monkey's ; this latter is covered with Arabic 
 characters and passages from the Koran. See fig- % pi- 9. 
 
190 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 in this manner the call to arms is circulated over 
 the country. 
 
 The chief of each town or village with as lit- 
 tle delay as possible assembles his followers (or 
 division, if it may be so called), and proceeds 
 to head-quarters, where those chiefs consult 
 with the king on the plan of attack or defence. 
 No regular division of the army takes place, nor 
 is there any provision made for its support or 
 equipment ; each man provides for himself such 
 means of support, arms, and ammunition, as 
 he can afford, and so badly are they furnished 
 with the two latter, that when 1 saw the army 
 assembled, a great many indeed had no other 
 weapons than a knife and a bludgeon of hard 
 wood. On some occasions, a favoured few receive 
 two or three charges of powder and ball with a 
 couple of flints : and in some very solitary in- 
 stances indeed, his majesty confers marks of his 
 royal favour on one, by a present of a horse, and 
 on another a gun. Provisions they find as they 
 can, and woe to the stores and cattle of that town 
 where they are assembled for any time. 
 
 Whenever the object of the campaign is not 
 decided on within a few days, the least effective 
 persons disappear, and may be said to reduce the 
 whole force one-third, and even then many 
 might be found, who remain with no other ob- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 191 
 
 ject in view, than that of begging from Almamy ; 
 amongst those are generally the priests and gri- 
 ots, or goulas. 
 
 When the king decides on sending a part on- 
 ly of the army to plunder the frontier towns of 
 some neighbouring state, a chief to command 
 the party is selected from amongst his own rela- 
 tives, or favourites, and few (if any) but the 
 immediate followers of the k^'ng and the chief 
 chosen to command, or rather conduct this 
 party, accompany it. Their destination is 
 known only to the king, his ministers, and the 
 commander, who seldom imparts to any of his 
 attendants until they are close to the scene 
 of action. The general object of these detach- 
 ments is, the attack of some small town or vil- 
 lage, the inhabitants of which, together with 
 their cattle, they carry off. Sometimes, how- 
 ever, information of their coming reaches the 
 village in sufficient time before them, to enable 
 the women and children to retreat towards the 
 interior of the country, taking with them the 
 cattle, and leaving the men to oppose the ene- 
 my, who not unfrequently come off with the loss 
 of one or more of their party, and the failure of 
 their attempt. 
 
 Several of these parties were sent out during 
 our stay in Bondoo, and with one or two excep- 
 tions, came ojff victorious, if the word can be 
 
19^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 made use of with propriety, in describing the 
 exploits of a horde of plunderers, whose chief 
 object is invariably the obtaining of slaves, for 
 whom they always find a market, either with the 
 travelling merchants of the country, or the Se- 
 negal vessels at Galam. 
 
 AVoolli, Tenda,Dentilla, and Bambouk, are the 
 frequent scenes of these unnatural depredations, 
 and in their turn often furnish Almamy with 
 ample means of procuring supplies of arms, am- 
 munition horses, and the different articles of Eu- 
 ropean merchandize in demand in his dominions. 
 To the frequency of these predatory excursions, 
 and the insecure nature of the lives and proper- 
 ties of the inhabitants in consequence, may be 
 attributed, in a great degree, the desertion of 
 many of the frontier towns in those states, and 
 their subsequent occupation by the Bondoo 
 people, who of late years have extended their 
 dominions considerably in these directions. 
 
 Bondoo in its turn has often been attacked 
 by its more powerful neighbours, and suffered 
 dreadfully, but an instance of retaliation on the 
 part of those weak states rarely occurs. 
 
 Many of the natives of Kayaye, Joloff, and 
 Woolli, have settled in Bondoo, and embraced 
 the Mahomedan faith. Their towns are chiefly on 
 the western frontier, and are preeminent for their 
 extent, riches, and productive cultivation. The 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. IQS 
 
 most effective division of Almamy^s army is en- 
 tirely composed of the Joloff and Woolli people, 
 who are proverbial for bravery. The greater 
 number of those of Kayaye being priests are ex- 
 empt from the field by the payment of a large 
 yearly present to Almamy, who, in addition to 
 the present, often trespasses, in the form of a 
 request (but which they dare not refuse), on 
 their stores of provisions and their herds of cat- 
 tle, with both which they are better supplied 
 than any other class of people in that country. 
 But this is not the only advantage they possess, 
 for they enjoy a degree of respect and inde- 
 pendence even in their connexions with the 
 princes, who look upon all belonging to them 
 as sacred, Almamy alone, being the head of 
 the church, daring to infringe on their rights 
 and privileges. 
 
 Bondoo has been, for some years, involved in 
 a war with the king of Karta, which arose, as most 
 of the wars in Africa do, in an act of aggression 
 in this case on the part of Bondoo, to explain 
 which, it will be necessary to detail, at some 
 length, the circumstances which led to the 
 act itself. This will, at the same time, serve to 
 give a just idea of the politics of those people, 
 and to prove how well they are versed in the 
 principles of self interest and aggrandizement, 
 
 o 
 
194 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 the natural consequence of the comparative state 
 of civiUzation to which they have attained. 
 
 About forty years previous to the time we 
 visited Bondoo, Abdoolghader, a Mahomedan 
 priest, and chief of a tribe of Foolahs that had 
 come from Massina, and settled in Toro (then 
 ruled by the Dileankey family), made so many 
 converts to this faith among the people of that 
 country, and acquired such influence with them, 
 that he succeeded in leading them to dethrone 
 that family, and proclaim him king or almamy. 
 
 At the time Karta was invaded by the Sego 
 Barabarras, and its chiefs, and many of the in- 
 habitants obliged to leave it for a short time, a 
 large detachment of them, under the command 
 of a prince, arrived at Galam, where they were 
 well received, and whence they despatched mes- 
 sengers to Abdoolghader to apprize him of their 
 intention to put his hospitality to the test, but 
 which they were prevented from doing by his 
 assembling his army, and marching to attack 
 them. They, having received early information 
 of his intentions, left Galam, and, on their re- 
 turn to Karta, destroyed some towns belong- 
 ing to Gedumah, in revenge upon the inhabit- 
 ants of that country for having refused to assist 
 them against their Sego enemies. 
 
 The chief of one of those towns, an Iman, of 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 195 
 
 considerable respectability in the country, called 
 on Abdoolghader, at his camp in Bondoo (where 
 he made some stay, with a part of his army, 
 after the retreat of the Kartans), and preferred 
 a complaint against Sega, the reigning chief of 
 Bondoo, for having assisted the Kartans in the 
 destruction of his town, and carried oiFhis wife 
 and daughter, both of whom he added to the list 
 of his concubines, and for having destroyed his 
 religious books, written by himself, and said to 
 be so voluminous as to be a sufficient load for 
 an ass. He expatiated on the enormity of these 
 crimes, and called on Abdoolghader, in the 
 name of God and their prophet, to obtain for 
 him the satisfaction to which he conceived him- 
 self so justly entitled. 
 
 Abdoolghader being himself a Mahomedan 
 prelate of the first rank, and anxious to give 
 every proof of his attachment to his religion, 
 immediately summoned Sega to appear before 
 the laws of Mahomet. This prince, whether 
 from being too well aware of Abdoolghader's 
 power to force his compliance, or from being 
 badly advised by some who wanted to compass 
 his fall, made his immediate appearance before 
 the angry monarch, who, without hearing half 
 what Sega had to say in his defence, judged the 
 afiair against him, and sentenced him to be ba- 
 nished to Toro, where he was to be taught how 
 
 o 2 
 
196 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 to live 5 but, on their departure from Marsa*, 
 they had not gone one hundred yards from the 
 walls, when Sega was barbarously murdered by 
 some of Abdoolghader's followers, and his body 
 thrown, without further ceremony, into a ravine. 
 A prince, named Amadi Pate, was chosen 
 (by the influence of Abdoolghader) to succeed 
 the deceased, to whom he also was an inveterate 
 enemy. This step was taken contrary to the 
 wishes of a powerful party in Bondoo, under 
 the command of Amadi Isata, a brother of the 
 deceased, and caused a civil war, which termi- 
 nated in the death of Pate, and the succession 
 of Isata, who was assisted, during the struggle, 
 by Samba Congole, a prince of Upper Kajaga or 
 Galam. Amadi Isata's first step was to secure 
 himself from the attacks of Abdoolghader, by 
 attaching to his cause the Kartan king, to whom 
 he agreed to pay a yearly tribute of a moulo t 
 of gold, and who was himself anxious for an op- 
 portunity to revenge himself on Abdoolghader, 
 who, on hearing of this act of Isata's, assembled 
 part of his army, and marched towards the fron- 
 tier of Bondoo, where he remained several days 
 in anxious expectation of the arrival of the re- 
 
 * The town of Bondoo^ where Abdoolghader had been so;- 
 journing. 
 
 t A measure used in Africa for corn, and containing about 
 two quarts. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 197 
 
 mainder of his forces, under the command of 
 their several chiefs. He was, however, sadly 
 disappointed ; for they were so averse to his 
 government, and anxious for an opportunity to 
 throw off their allegiance to him, that, instead of 
 joining him, they prepared to oppose his return. 
 Abdoolghader being thus foiled in his in- 
 tended attack on Isata, and incapable, from the 
 very limited number of his attendants, to re- 
 sume his authority at home, crossed the Sene- 
 gal, and sought refuge amongst the Gedumah- 
 as, where he remained for some time, but was 
 at length recalled by some of the chiefs of Toro, 
 who, having chosen another king during his ab- 
 sence, and disapproved of his conduct, also were 
 now glad to have a man of such acknowledged 
 abilities as he was, to head them in forcing the 
 other, named Moctar Coodega, from the throne. 
 On his return to Toro, he was accompanied by 
 a small army, under Hawah Demba, a prince of 
 Kasson, and a few Gedumahas. They reached 
 Woro Sogee, a small village of Toro, where they 
 were attacked and beaten by the friends of Moc- 
 tar Coodega. The check they received, in their 
 first step, threw such a damp on the ardour of 
 those who solicited his return, that they were 
 not only afraid to join him, but actually declared 
 against him, which obliged him to return to his 
 friends the Gedumahas, amongst whom were 
 
198 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 several of the Dileankeys, whose country had 
 been usurped by this very man, and to whom 
 he was so obnoxious that, finding his life in dan- 
 ger, he was obliged to leave that country. He 
 then repaired to Moodeerie, a town of Galam, 
 inhabited by priests. 
 
 About that time, Almami Isata had entered 
 into an alliance with the chiefs of Foota Toro, 
 and of a part of Kajaga, to annihilate Abdool- 
 ghader, who, from his great reputation as a 
 Maraboo, was much respected and feared in the 
 country. Modiba, the king of Karta, who, as 
 I before said, wished for such an opportunity, 
 brought a considerable force to their assistance. 
 
 Hawah Demba, who was with Abdoolghader 
 at Moodeerie, seeing so many powerful chiefs 
 assembled for the purpose of attacking his 
 friend, feared his own safety, and- advised him 
 to seek shelter in the desert amongst the Moors, 
 where, from the scarcity of water, so large an 
 army could not follow him. This advice he re- 
 jected, and was deserted by Hawah Demba, who 
 returned to Kasso. Abdoolghader repaired to 
 Goorick, a town of Toro, there to await pa- 
 tiently the arrival of his enemies, and defend 
 himself to the last with the few followers, whom 
 even all the reverses he had met with could not 
 deter from sharing with him his last adversities. 
 
 Almamy Amadi, accompanied by the Kartan 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 199 
 
 army, and part of his own, soon met him, when 
 a bloody, though unequal conflict, ensued, end- 
 ing in the death or capture of every one of Ab- 
 doolghader's men. He himself descended from 
 his horse, and sat down on the ground to count 
 his beads and say his prayers, in which situation 
 he was found by Almamy Amadi, who, having 
 saluted him three times in the usual manner 
 without receiving an answer, said, ** Well ! Ab- 
 doolghader, here you are ; you little thouglit, 
 when you murdered my brother, Amadi Sega, 
 that this sun would ever dawn on you; but, 
 here, take this, and tell Sega, when you see 
 him, that it was Amadi Isata sent you" ; and, 
 drawing out a pistol, put an end to his exist- 
 ence. He is said to have received the ball with 
 all the indifference imaginable. He was up- 
 wards of eighty years of age. 
 
 When Modiba, king of Karta, was informed of 
 this, he was so exasperated that he told Amadi 
 Isata that, were it not that he was his friend in- 
 deed, he should treat him in the same way, 
 and recalled to his recollection the noble con- 
 duct of Damel*, king of Cayor, when the de- 
 ceased had fallen into his hands. To wash out 
 the stain, Modiba desired that Bondoo should 
 pay him as much gold as would fit in Abdool- 
 ghader's scull, when divested of its flesh and 
 
 ^ Park's First Travels. 
 
SOO TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 brains by boiling ; but this very circumstance, 
 and the haughty language used by Modiba on 
 the occasion, was one of the prominent reasons 
 for the breach between these two chiefs. 
 
 A general peace, or cessation of hostilities, 
 which followed this barbarous act, did not last 
 long. 
 
 The people of Foota, fearing that Amadi 
 Isata's connexion with so powerful a pagan chief 
 as Modiba would militate against the advance 
 of the Mahomedan faith in Bondoo, and might 
 ultimately lead the Kartans into their country, 
 called a general assembly, and required the at- 
 tendance of Amadi Isata and Samba Congole. 
 The former obeyed the summons, but the latter, 
 either not wishing to go, knowing the object of 
 the assembly, or not thinking himself safe in do- 
 ing so, sent one of his brothers. 
 
 The Foota chiefs proposed that all parties 
 should break off intercourse or alliance with the 
 Kartans (whose assistance they were not now 
 in want of, in consequence of the death of Ab- 
 doolghader), and collectively oppose their again 
 entering those countries on any pretence. 
 
 Almamy Amadi smarting under the disgrace 
 hje felt at Modiba's treatment of him, for his 
 brutal conduct to Abdoolghader, and finding 
 himself strengthened by this alliance with Toro, 
 readily consented, and pressed much the neces- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^01 
 
 sity of the Galam prince's following his exam- 
 ple. To this, however, Samba's brother would 
 not consent, assuring the assembly that Samba, 
 and the part of Kajaga under his control, 
 would never break their alliance with the Kar- 
 tans as long as they conducted themselves to 
 his satisfaction. The assembly broke up; but 
 Almamy Amadi displeased with Samba for his 
 non-compliance with the terms of Toro, and 
 wishing, in consequence, for an opportunity to 
 fall out with him, granted to some of the Bon- 
 doo people a piece of corn-ground in Samba's 
 territories, and, when remonstrated with, gave 
 an answer not at all satisfactory. 
 
 This, added to some difference which arose 
 shortly after about a horse, gave Samba such an 
 opinion of Almamy's injustice and wish to quar- 
 rel, that he sent him word not to meddle with 
 his affairs in future. 
 
 In this state things remained until the year 
 1815, when Modiba sent his messengers to Bon- 
 doo to receive the customary tribute, which was 
 refused by Almamy, and who, to crown his 
 other barbarous atrocities, put to death the two 
 chief messengers, and sold all their attendants 
 as slaves, with the exception of one, whom he 
 sent back to let Modiba know that the only tri- 
 bute he might ever expect to receive from him, 
 
202 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 would be bullets from the muskets of Bon- 
 doo. 
 
 Almamy, however, did not give the messen- 
 ger time to reach Modiba's town in Karta, but 
 assembled his army and marched to Kasson, for 
 the purpose of being joined by the forces of 
 Hawah Demba, and entering Modiba's territo- 
 ries with as little delay as possible. 
 
 Modiba, being advised of this movement, also 
 assembled his army, and, instead of waiting to 
 receive Almamy, left a detachment to defend 
 the frontier, and made forced marches to Dra- 
 manet, where he crossed the Senegal, and rested 
 a few hours in order to give Samba time to col- 
 lect his forces and accompany him. 
 
 On entering Bondoo they found nearly all the 
 villages had been deserted by the few men Al- 
 mamy had left behind, and the women and chil- 
 dren ; they, therefore, met no opposition until 
 they arrived at Boolibany, and even then so lit- 
 tle resistance was made, that they soon laid the 
 whole town in waste, with the exception of Al- 
 mamy's palace, which was so resolutely defend- 
 ed by a handful of men that all attempts to re- 
 duce it proved fruitless. 
 
 They had, however, made a great number of 
 slaves, particularly women and children, and 
 had collected immense herds of black cattle, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 203 
 
 sheep, and goats, together with an abundant 
 supply of corn for their horses, all which they 
 secured within the half-ruined walls of a part 
 of the town ; and, having repaired that part of 
 them, and supposing that Almamy would never 
 dare to face them, sat down to amuse themselves 
 with their captive ladies, occasionally sending 
 small parties in different directions through the 
 country to collect cattle, corn, &c., and pick up 
 all stragglers. In this state they thought of no- 
 thing but plunder, in their pursuit of which, and 
 their wanton and barbarous cruelties to the poor 
 defenceless inhabitants who came within their 
 merciless grasp, they expended their small store 
 of ammunition. 
 
 Modiba, whose avarice was as great as his 
 cruelty, made many attempts to reduce Alma- 
 my's palace, but always failed, in consequence 
 of an ill-judged, threat to all those he brought 
 against it, that if any of them should lay hands 
 on the smallest particle of the treasure he fan- 
 cied it contained, he would take off their heads. 
 This, instead of urging his men to great ex- 
 ertions, had the very opposite effect^ and deter- 
 red them from exposing their lives for an object, 
 the attainment of which could be of no advan- 
 tage to a people who enter the field of war from 
 no other motive than that of acquiring riches. 
 The consequence was, the chiefs gave it as their 
 
204 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 opinion the thing was impossible, and dispersed 
 themselves through the country in search of 
 every thing they could remove. 
 
 It was in this situation that Almamy, who got 
 intelligence of Modiba's leaving Karta for Bon- 
 doo, found them on his return (a circumstance 
 so unexpected by the Kartans that they did not 
 even secure the prisoners they had taken by send- 
 ing them to Toobab-en-Cane* whence Almamy 
 could never have recovered them), and succeed- 
 ed in gaining possession of his own palace, be- 
 ing but feebly opposed by those who remained 
 as a sort of body-guard over Modiba. 
 
 In this situation both armies remained some 
 days, exchanging shots from the turrets of their 
 respective stations, but the Kartan army hav- 
 ing totally expended their ammunition, and a 
 supply sent for to Toobab-en-Cane not having ar- 
 rived, Almamy made so spirited and determined 
 an attack on their position, that they were un- 
 able to withstand it, and retreated in the utmost 
 confusion, leaving such an immense number of 
 stragglers all over the country, so ignorant of what 
 had taken place, that the very women of Bon- 
 doo made some of them prisoners, all of whom, 
 on this occasion, and in retaliation for similar 
 conduct on the part of Modiba towards every 
 
 * Samba Cougolc's Town. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 205 
 
 male his army had taken, were inhumanly but- 
 chered. This affair took place in the spring of 
 I8I7. 
 
 Early in the following year Almamy, taking 
 advantage of the absence of the Kartan army, 
 laid siege to Toobab-en-Cane, having first fruit- 
 lessly attempted to storm two of Samba's towns. 
 So active were the besiegers, that the besieged 
 found it impossible to obtain water from the river, 
 although distant only thirty yards from the walls 
 of the town, and so great was their want of that 
 necessary article, that they dug wells within the 
 walls upwards of forty feet deep. 
 
 Samba, feeling that a much longer continuance 
 in that state must become insupportable from the 
 want of provisions, contrived means to despatch 
 two horsemen by night to demand relief from 
 Modiba, and, in eight days after, four hundred 
 horse made their appearance on the opposite 
 bank of the river. 
 
 Almamy supposing the whole Kartan army 
 had again made its appearance, did not think 
 prudent to wait their nearer approach, raised 
 the siege, and retreated to Lanel, a strong town 
 of Samba's, commanded by his brother-in-law, 
 who basely gave it up, allowing the enemy of the 
 country to defend himself in it. 
 
 When the Kartans had crossed the river, they 
 advised Samba to attack Almamy without delay, 
 
206 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and accordingly marched, amounting with his 
 force to about nine hundred or one thousand 
 men. On theh' arrival before the town they 
 found Almamy so well defended, not only by 
 the strong mud walls of the place, but his su- 
 perior numbers increased by the men of it, that 
 they thought it impossible to dislodge him, and 
 returned to Toobab-en-Cane to wait the arrival 
 of a large body of foot which was hourly ex- 
 pected from Karta. Almamy, on his side, sent 
 to require reinforcements from Toro and Hawaii 
 Demba, but nearly a month elapsed before the 
 reinforcements on either side arrived. 
 
 Samba's army was then composed of all his 
 own men, the Gedumahas of three towns on 
 the right bank of the river, the Kartan army, 
 and a detachment under Saferi, a prince of Kas- 
 son, in all amounting to about two thousand five 
 hundred or three thousand men. 
 
 Almamy's, which was said to be nearly dou- 
 ble that number, consisted of his own army, 
 strong detachments from Foota Toro, and 
 Lower Kajaga, and a considerable body under 
 Hawah Demba, who was nephew to Saferi, and 
 the same who has been mentioned before. 
 
 They met in April 1818, when a bloody con- 
 flict ensued, ending in the defeat of Almamy, 
 who made a hasty retreat to Foota Toro, leav- 
 ing upwards of a hundred muskets on the field. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 207 
 
 The Kartan horse immediately entered Bon- 
 doo, where they again laid every thing waste 
 that came in their way, and, making some pri- 
 soners, returned to their home. 
 
 Almamy, on his side, did every thing in his 
 power to induce the chiefs of Foota Toro, to 
 employ all their force, and oblige Samba to quit 
 his own country, and retire to Karta. They 
 were, however, too well aware of the difficulty 
 of such an undertaking, and, instead of giving 
 him any hopes of assistance from them, advised 
 him strongly to think rather of making peace 
 with that chief than to prolong a war, the issue 
 of which must be very doubtful. A general 
 assembly was consequently called to meet at 
 Marsa, and one of the Foota chiefs was sent to 
 commence a negociation with Samba for peace, 
 which was concluded during the time we were 
 in the country. 
 
208 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Message from Almamy — My Visit to Boolibany — Subject 
 of Interview with him — His hostile Conduct and per- 
 emptory Demand for my leaving Samba Contaye — The 
 Necessity of my Compliance — Return to the Camp ac- 
 companied by an Escort — Preparations for the March — 
 Departure for Boolibany — Arrival there — Almamy en- 
 deavours to make us enter the Town — My Refusal^ and 
 Selection of a Position for the Camp — Return of my 
 first Messenger to Mr. Dochard — His Misfortune and 
 Failure — False Alarm at the Capital, and its Conse- 
 quences — Indecision of Almamy and the Chiefs. 
 
 The month of January, 1819, also rolled over 
 without any intelligence from either Mr. Do- 
 chard or Mr. Partarrieau, and what could detain 
 the latter from joining me, or prevent the for- 
 mer from sending some person to make me ac- 
 quainted with his proceedings and their result at 
 Sego, I was at a loss to conjecture. Had the lat- 
 ter, however, either joined or forwarded the sup- 
 plies which I was so much in want of, I would 
 have endeavoured to reach Sego with the whole 
 expedition, and try if it were not possible, by 
 some means or other, to obtain Dha's permission 
 to erect boats, and embark on the Niger, but to 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. QOQ 
 
 Imve gone there without the means necessary to 
 induce him and his chiefs to forward my views 
 would have been fruitless work. 
 
 Another reason, too, prevented me taking this 
 step without waiting Mr. Partarrieau's return, 
 namely, the impossibility of leaving Bondoo 
 without paying to Almamy the articles promised 
 his predecessor, and which, even with the assist- 
 ance of the French officers at Galam, I could 
 not have accomplished. 
 
 To add to these difficulties, one of a still more 
 unpleasant nature, and attended with circum- 
 stances which clearly evinced a change in Al- 
 mamy's intentions towards us, occurred early in 
 February. 
 
 One evening, on my return from Baquelle, 
 where I had gone to procure some beads from 
 the French merchants for the purchase of pro- 
 visions, I found at the camp a messenger from 
 Almamy to request my immediate attendance at 
 Boolibany, where he had some business of such 
 importance to communicate that he could not 
 entrust it with any of his people. 
 
 What this might have been I could not readi- 
 ly imagine, but from some words that escaped 
 from the messenger, I was inclined to think it 
 was some information he had received concern- 
 ing Mr. Dochard, and which appeared the more 
 likely, as at that very time a large coffle of tra- 
 
 p 
 
^10 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 veiling merchants with slaves arrived at the ca- 
 pital from Sego. 
 
 My anxiety for Mr. Dochard's safety, added 
 to an intention I had of proposing to Almamy 
 to be allowed to remove my camp to Baquelle, 
 induced me to obey the summons without de- 
 lay, but my surprise and disappointment may 
 be more easily conceived than I can possibly 
 express, when, on being admitted into the royal 
 presence, where were assembled all the ministers, 
 chiefs, &c., Almamy told me that I must, with- 
 out delay, remove my camp from Samba Con- 
 taye to the capital, where, as he was in daily ex- 
 pectation of the arrival of the Kartan army, 
 I would be more secure under his own protec- 
 tion than I possibly could be elsewhere. 
 
 Although I must acknowledge that this speech 
 conveyed to my mind a very different idea from 
 that which he intended it to do, I nevertheless 
 endeavoured to hide any effect it might have 
 had on the expression of my countenance, and, 
 at the same time that I thanked him for his con- 
 sideration for my safety, expressed a wish, in ap^ 
 parent good humour, to be allowed to remain 
 where 1 was ; as it would put me to much incon- 
 venience indeed, both to remove my baggage 
 which was then all open, and to form a new 
 camp which would probably not be finished be- 
 fore Mr. Partarrieau would return from the coast. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 211 
 
 In answer to these remonstrances on my part, 
 he said that he would afford me every assistance 
 I might require, both in removing my baggage 
 and forming a new camp, if I did not wish to 
 take up my quarters within the walls of the 
 town, where I should be accommodated with as 
 much room as I might want. 
 
 This I decidedly objected to, from a conviction 
 that I would find much difficulty in again get- 
 ting out of it, and was about making some fur- 
 ther objections to the move he proposed, or ra- 
 ther dictated, when he ordered me to leave him, 
 and, in a very angry tone indeed, said he would 
 take no excuse whatever, as if I did not imme- 
 diately comply, he would force me to it. 
 
 A refusal at that moment would have been 
 highly imprudent as I was in his power, and 
 which he said he should exercise by keeping me 
 where I was until I should write to my head man 
 at Samba Con t aye, and direct him to join me 
 wdthout delay with all the men and baggage. 
 This I positively refused to do, but, as the only 
 means left in my power of getting out of his 
 hands, I promised to comply with his wishes of 
 moving my camp, on condition that he should al- 
 low me to return there immediately to make the 
 necessary preparations. To this he made some 
 objections, but finding I was determined not to 
 comply on any other terms, he at length con- 
 
 p 2 
 
S12 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 sented, adding, however, that I should be ac- 
 companied by a strong detachment to enforce 
 the fulfilment of the promise I had made. This 
 surprised me much indeed, as in all our former 
 transactions he had implicitly relied on my 
 word ; but I must acknowledge in this instance 
 I did not purpose keeping it, as I had formed a 
 determination to make a forced march to Ba- 
 quelle the night of my return to the camp, and 
 thereby put it out of Almamy's power to serve 
 me such a trick again. But he was too well 
 aware of the advantage he now possessed over 
 me to trust any longer to my word, and there- 
 fore had recourse to the most efficacious means 
 of forcing me to compliance. 
 
 I really cannot give an idea of the state of my 
 mind during the remainder of that night; suffice 
 it to say that, for the first time since leaving the 
 coast, I began to suspect treachery, and a pre- 
 determination on the part of Almamy and his 
 chiefs to oppose our further progress. I still 
 however had hopes, faint ones indeed, that time, 
 patience, large presents, and explanatory con- 
 versation with Almamy in private, would obtain 
 the desired permission to proceed eastward. 
 
 The following morning, after waiting nearly 
 an hour for his highness Saada, who undertook 
 to carry Almamy's orders into effect, we left 
 Boolibany, accompanied by a party of about one 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 215 
 
 hundred horse and foot, which augmented at 
 every village we passed through. When about 
 half way, Saada, who complained much of be- 
 ing fatigued from the heat of the sun ! ! ! halted, 
 and wished me to follow his example, to which, 
 as I would not consent, he sent forward some of 
 his party with me. 
 
 Two days were spent in the preparations ne- 
 cessary for the march, which we commenced at 
 five o'clock in the morning of the 13th of Fe- 
 bruary. We halted that night at Gamby, and 
 reached the capital the following morning at 
 half after eight. Almamy, who, with some of 
 his train, came out to meet us, wished us to en- 
 ter the town and remain there, as he said, till 
 huts could be prepared for us ; but, as I would 
 not listen to his proposal under any pretence 
 whatever, he proceeded with me to select a site 
 for our camp convenient to water. A little emi- 
 nence, the summit of which was shaded by a 
 large tamarind tree, and within a few yards of 
 some wells, west of the town, from which it was 
 distant about two musket shots, offered more 
 advantages than any other spot around Booliba- 
 ny. We therefore, having unloaded the animals, 
 and arranged the baggage under the tree, com- 
 menced, on the following morning, to surround 
 our post with a strong fence of stakes and thor- 
 ny bushes, which, with our huts and the addi- 
 
•214* TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 lion of a new well about fifteen feet deep, wo 
 completed in a few days ; during which his ma- 
 jesty paid me some visits, and made us a present 
 of a bullock, asking, however, in return, a piece of 
 baft to make a dress which was double its value. 
 
 We had not been long here when Alley Lowe, 
 the man fhad sent from Samba Contaye with 
 the dollars and other articles to Mr. Dochard, 
 returned, not having been able to pass Kasson, 
 where he was robbed, and from where he with dif- 
 ficulty escaped with his life. Dheangina, the man 
 who accompanied him, was taken ill with the 
 Guinea worm at a very early part of their march, 
 in which state he remained so long unable to 
 move, that Alley Lowe endeavoured to prose- 
 cute the journey alone, but in which he unfortu- 
 nately failed. He had neither seen nor heard any 
 thing of Bakoro or the man I sent with him ; I 
 was therefore in hopes they had been able to 
 pass 5 but alas ! those hopes soon vanished, and 
 I had the mortification of seeing them return 
 in a short time equally unsuccessful. Their 
 case however was not that of Alley Lowe, who 
 would have got on if the possibility of his doing 
 so had existed. 
 
 They had idled so much of their time at the 
 towns and villages they passed on the road, that 
 their stock of articles for the purchase of provi- 
 sions was soon exhausted, and they were reduced 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 215 
 
 to the necessity of selling one of their horses to 
 procure subsistence. Ismena, too, had been ill 
 some time; but Bakoro, who was well and might 
 have gone on without him, had he felt the least 
 inclination to do so, squandered both his time 
 and money until the means of proceeding were 
 completely exhausted. 
 
 This second failure in the attainment of an 
 object I had so much at heart, and the impossi- 
 bility which presented itself of inducing any of 
 the natives of the country to imdertake such a 
 voyage, had I even promised them the whole 
 baggage of the expedition, added to my anxiety 
 for the arrival of Mr. Partarrieau, had such an 
 effect on my spirits that I could with difficulty at 
 times force myself to take the exercise necessa- 
 ry for my health, which, in spite of all those 
 annoyances and the effects of the late season, 
 continued unimpaired. 
 
 The month of March was spent in anxious 
 suspense on these subjects, and in visiting the 
 country about Boolibany, which is beautifully 
 diversified by hill and dale thinly covered with 
 wood. 
 
 Almamy during this month received a hasty 
 report from the north-east frontier that the Kar- 
 tan army was within a day's march of the ca- 
 pital, where the utmost confusion prevailed in 
 consequence of the inhabitants from all the 
 
216 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 neighbouring villages having fled to it for pro-' 
 tection. So great was the crowd that many could 
 not find room to lie down in the streets. 
 
 On one occasion when all the women were 
 busily employed drawing water from the wells, 
 where were also many of the men endeavouring 
 to procure for their horses a share of the scanty 
 and muddy supply they afforded, the alarm was 
 given by some people who had been attending 
 herds of cattle to tlie eastward of the town, from 
 which direction they were seen running in the 
 utmost confusion, the altercations at the wells, 
 and the busy scene going on there, soon closed 
 by one of a still more extraordinary and con- 
 fused nature. The supposed approach of the 
 enemy was no sooner made known amongst 
 them, than they all, as if by magic, dropped 
 their jars, calabashes, and leather bags, and ran 
 with all their might to the nearest gate of the 
 town, which, being rather narrow, was so much 
 crowded, that an old man and a girl about eight 
 years of age were trampled to death. 
 
 A council of war, composed of some of the 
 princes and their followers, withAlmamy at their 
 head, assembled between our camp and the 
 town. I attended to witness their proceedings, 
 wliich were carried on with the utmost contempt 
 to the rules of order or regularity ; every one pre- 
 sent proposing yome plan of his own, and rt^ject- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 217 
 
 ing that of his companions. I had been all this 
 time sitting on horseback unobserved by Alma- 
 my, who had scarcely said a word on the sub- 
 ject. When he perceived that I was present he 
 beckoned me to approach him, and, with much 
 earnestness and anxiety depicted on his counte- 
 nance, asked my opinion, which I hesitated in 
 giving ; but being requested by the whole coun- 
 cil to do so, I said that I thought it would be 
 advisable, previous to deciding on any plan either 
 of attack or defence, to reconnoitre for the pur- 
 pose of ascertaining beyond a doubt the ene- 
 my's strength and position, in case they were 
 really in the country, but which I much doubt- 
 ed. 
 
 My opinion was favourably received by the 
 whole assembly, but nobody could be found to 
 undertake the task which to them was a new one. 
 Saada, although a young man, and better mount- 
 ed than any other person in the town, was the 
 first to refuse. At length a JolofF man, one of 
 Almamy's suite, offered to undertake it, if his 
 majesty would provide him with a horse, and 
 appoint some person to accompany him. The 
 horse was brought, but not even one of the 
 king's slaves could be found willing to go — the 
 Joloff man therefore set off alone. He had not 
 been gone an hour when it was found that the 
 alarm had been given by Saada's herdsman, who. 
 
218 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 seeing such crowds about the wells, knew if he 
 did not adopt that means of driving them away, 
 he should not be able to procure water for the 
 cattle during the day, and, although the death 
 of the man and girl killed at the gate was, in 
 addition to the false alarm, the consequence of 
 his cleverness, he was nevertheless permitted to 
 escape with impunity — nay, he was not so much 
 as called to an account for his conduct. Saada 
 was so pleased with his slave's adroit stratagem, 
 that he not only laughed at the affair, but, when 
 spoken to by the friends of the deceased, told 
 them they were rightly served. The scene of 
 confusion and uproar which for several days ex- 
 isted at Boolibany, from the immense numbers 
 of people who flocked to it for security from 
 the unwalled towns, was beyond any thing I 
 had ever witnessed. It, however, ended in a 
 scarcity of provisions which necessitated them 
 to return to their homes. 
 
219 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Arrival of Mr. Partarrleau from the Coast — Interview with 
 Ahnamy — Arrangements with^ and Presents made to him 
 — His false and deceitful conduct — My Determination 
 and Retreat from Boolibany — Difficulties on the March 
 — Want of Water, and breach of oath on the part of our 
 Guides — Enter Foota Toro — Difficulties there — My 
 March to, and Return from, Baquelle — Affair with the 
 Foolahs — My Captivity — Departure of the Party for 
 Baquelle — My disappointment on finding the Camp de- 
 serted—My own Return to Baquelle. 
 
 On the 30th of April I received a letter from 
 Mr. Partarrieau, announcing his arrival at Balla, 
 whence he could not move in consequence of 
 the loss of a great many of the camels, until I 
 should send some men and asses to his assistance. 
 I therefore despatched without delay eleven 
 men with thirty of the latter, and, having ob- 
 tained from Almamy one of his nephews as a 
 guide for them, they left the camp at an early 
 hour the following morning. 
 
 About nine o'clock that night, Almamy paid 
 me a private visit, and, after many congratula- 
 tory words on the safe arrival of my friend (as 
 he called him), said he wished to be informed 
 whether the articles I had promised to the late 
 
220 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
 
 Almamy were to become his property or that of 
 Saada, who contested that he alone had a right to 
 them. When I had told him that it was to the 
 Almamy of Bondoo I had promised them, and to 
 whom only I could give them, he took me by 
 the hand, and said that he then felt convinced I 
 was really his friend, and he should therefore 
 forward my views in every way he could, adding 
 that if I remained two days in Bondoo after Mr. 
 Partarrieau's arrival, it should be my own fault. 
 This last speech however said nothing more than 
 if I satisfied his avarice he would be my friend; 
 but to me this was nothing new, for ever since I 
 had entered the country I found that those peo- 
 ple were actuated by no other principle than 
 that of self-interest and ingratitude. 
 
 As I had found some difficulty in procuring 
 a sufficient supply of provisions at the capital, 
 on the 3rd of May I sent a sergeant and one 
 man to Samba Contaye to purchase corn, rice, 
 and cattle, and went myself with four men to 
 assist in bringing up the caravan with Mr. Par- 
 tarrieau. On the following morning I met them 
 at Patako, a small village about thirty miles wsw. 
 from the capital, which place we reached on the 
 6th at 9 p. m. During Mr. Partarrieau's march 
 from the coast he experienced the kindest treat- 
 ment from the kings of Kayor and JolofF, and 
 was accompanied by a chief from the latter. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^^1 
 
 On the morning of the 7th we waited on AU 
 mamy, whom we found seated in a small store- 
 room attended by only two of his slaves. After 
 the usual exchange of compliments, I informed 
 him of Mr. Partarrieau's arrival, and that of the 
 present I had promised to his predecessor, which, 
 together with one I purposed giving himself, I 
 wished to deliver without delay, and in a few 
 days continue my journey, adding, that I trust- 
 ed he would now prove himself to be the friend 
 he so often professed ; to which he answered that 
 he was ready to forward my views in any way 
 I might require. 
 
 The JolofF chief then addressed Almamy, say- 
 ing he was directed by the Bourba Joloff to tell 
 him, that in handing us over to his care and pro- 
 tection he requested we might be treated in the 
 same manner by him (Almamy), as Mr. Partar- 
 rieau was by his master and Damel, the king of 
 Kayor, and at the same time to inform him that 
 we were the messengers of a very great white 
 king, who had it in his power to reward those 
 handsomely who merited it from him, or to pu- 
 nish any who should ill-treat his messengers, 
 whose only object in visiting Africa was the es- 
 tablishing of a friendly intercourse between the 
 two countries. In answer to this, Almamy made 
 a long speech, which he ended by promising 
 that his conduct should be such towards us as 
 
22^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 would merit not only the approbation of the 
 white king, but of all the surrounding chiefs of 
 Africa. 
 
 Plaving told Almamy that I wished him to 
 send persons to receive the presents I intended 
 giving him (which he promised to do without 
 delay), we returned to the camp. Those persons 
 did not however arrive till near midnight, when 
 it was too late to begin such an affair, particu- 
 larly as I had determined that not an article 
 should be removed before I should be satisfied, 
 by an agreement drawn up in Arabic and signed 
 by Almamy, that the assistance and protection 
 I might require, while in Bondoo and in the pro- 
 secution of my journey, would be afforded. 
 
 It was not till the 9th that I could arrange 
 with them the amount of the presents and the 
 form of agreement, when, the latter being sign- 
 ed by Almamy and some of his chiefs, the for- 
 mer were delivered*, together with a handsome 
 double barrelled gun, which was sent by his Ex- 
 cellency Sir Charles Mac Carthy as a pledge of 
 his esteem for Almamy. 
 
 With this paper in my possession, and the hi- 
 therto apparent inclination of Almamy to com- 
 ply with its contents, I conceived that nothing 
 remained to prevent our departure, and there- 
 
 * For the form of agreement and amount of presents, see 
 Appendix, Articles 6 and 7- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. S^S 
 
 fore having made every preparation necessary, I 
 went (on the evening of the 10th of May) to in- 
 form him that it was my wish to proceed the fol- 
 lowing morning to Baqiielle, where, with some 
 assistance from the French, in the way of paint, 
 rope, &c., of which I wag in want, to put my 
 baggage in a proper state to withstand the rains, 
 I intended making my final arrangements. But 
 I was sadly disappointed when he told me that 
 he could not allow me to go there, as the people 
 of that country, although at peace with him, were 
 not his friends. I endeavoured to no purpose 
 to convince him that in going there my only ob- 
 ject was what I had just stated, and not to inter- 
 fere in the concerns of Bondoo, where I had al- 
 ready been but too long detained. 
 
 From that day until the 21st, every means 
 which I conceived at all likely to obtain permis- 
 sion to proceed, were tried without effect ; pre- 
 sents were given to all the chiefs * unknown to 
 each other, in order to induce them to urge Al- 
 mamy to compliance, and I even offered to leave 
 hostages in his hands for my return (after I had 
 arranged my baggage) to Boolibany, whence I 
 would take my final departure for the Niger. All 
 would not do. The only thing he would listen to 
 was that of our immediately following a path in 
 
 * Article 7, Appendix. 
 
2S4i TRAVELS IN AFRICA* 
 
 which we should not only have to contend witli 
 a number of petty princes, all his friends and in 
 league with him to oppose our progress, but 
 where it would have been impossible to procure 
 provisions, and extremely difficult to travel, in 
 consequence of the number of rivers to be 
 crossed. 
 
 All this, added to his having assembled his 
 army in front of our camp, and prevented us 
 for a whole day from drawing water from the 
 wells, and his having in every instance broken 
 liis promise, nay oath, bore such convincing 
 proofs of his hostile intentions that I at length 
 determined on endeavouring to gain my point 
 by indirect means, and therefore told him it was 
 my intention to return to the coast through the 
 Foota Toro country. 
 
 My object in adopting this plan was the possi- 
 bility that presented itself of being able (when I 
 had once left Bondoo) to change the direction of 
 march from west to north-east and thereby gain 
 the Senegal, and, by crossing it, both get out of 
 the power of Almamy, and reach Baquelle un- 
 molested. 
 
 From Baquelle I could have travelled in safe- 
 ty to Karta, where I was in hopes of meeting 
 some people from Mr. Dochard, and of receiv- 
 ing permission from Modiba, king of that coun- 
 try, to proceed to Sego. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. SS5 
 
 In addition to Almamy's other acts of injus- 
 tice and falsehood, he had given orders that the 
 people, whom I had sent to Samba Contaye to 
 purchase provisions, should be arrested and put 
 in irons, and I had much difficulty indeed in ob- 
 taining their release. 
 
 We left Boolibany on the 2M May at half af- 
 ter six in the morning. We were accompanied 
 by Almamy and part of his suite as far as Lewa, 
 a village, near which we halted for the night. 
 
 Here again we were to experience the du- 
 plicity and falsehood of this chief, who, not 
 contented with the delays and inconveniences 
 to which he had already subjected us, would not 
 now give us the guides he at first named, and 
 who were the only two of the princes we had 
 found worthy of confidence, but appointed two 
 men whom we had never before seen, and who 
 (were we to judge from their appearance) were 
 ready to comply with their sovereign's order in 
 any way. When I remonstrated on this further 
 palpable breach of honour, he said that he could 
 not then dispense with the presence of two of 
 his war-men (generals) but would allow one of 
 them to accompany the guides he had named^ 
 and directed the other (who was the very man 
 we wanted) to quit our camp. This person, 
 named Omar Moosa, a nephew of Almamy's, 
 was so indignant at this peremptory order, that 
 
 Q 
 
226 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 he told his royal uncle he should not be ordered 
 by him or any other man in Bondoo, and would 
 not leave our camp until he pleased, and then, 
 coming to our tent, told us to be cautious as to 
 the path we took, for it was Almamy's instruc- 
 tions to the guides to conduct us into Upper Ferlo, 
 a province of Bondoo on the south-west frontier, 
 so badly supplied with water that the inhabitants 
 were frequently obliged to leave it during that 
 time of the year : he also advised us not to move 
 from Lewa until Almamy should return to Boo- 
 libany, when all those who accompanied him, 
 and were attracted by the hopes of being able to 
 plunder us of something, would leave us. This 
 timely information, and the loss of nearly all our 
 camels, induced me to remain at Lewa until the 
 morning of the 24th, having, the preceding night, 
 destroyed all the men's old clothing, and furnished 
 them with new. Some musket-balls and other 
 articles of little value, amongst which were nearly 
 ail my own and Mr. Partarrieau's clothes, were 
 also destroyed in order to lighten the baggage 
 as much as possible. 
 
 Incredible as it may appear to a person unac- 
 quainted with those people, it is equally true 
 that Almamy, when about leaving us on the 
 evening of the 23d, came with all possible com- 
 posure to wish us a safe journey, and requested 
 me to give him a small present, which he could 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 2^7 
 
 keep in remembrance of me. Such was the im- 
 pudent and teasing importunity of this man that 
 he obtained one from me merely to rid myself 
 of such an unwelcome visitor. When gone, we 
 found he had made free with a snuff-box of Mr. 
 Partarrieau's which was laid on the mat on 
 which we were sitting : this, although of little value, 
 evinced a disposition on his part to turn his 
 abilities in that way to every possible advantage. 
 
 We left Lewa at six o'clock in the morning, 
 and, having travelled west over a dreadfully 
 parched and uncultivated country for twelve 
 miles, we reached Giowele, a miserable village, 
 at ten, w^here a scanty supply of water was, by 
 means of a large price, purchased for ourselves 
 and the animals. 
 
 At a late hour in the evening I called one of 
 our new guides, named Doka, to my tent, and, 
 having drawn from him an acknowledgement 
 that he had received Almamy's directions to 
 conduct us by the path leading into Upper Ferlo, 
 I pointed out to him another lying more norther- 
 ly, through a village called Dindoody, whither, 
 in case he would consent to conduct us in safety, 
 I would make him a handsome present. He ob- 
 jected, on the ground that he feared the other 
 guide would not listen to it, but we told him to 
 leave that to us, which he did. Macca, w^ho was 
 one of those guides chosen by myself, readily con- 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 sented to our proposal, and, on the morning of 
 the 25 th, he led us into a path in the very opposite 
 direction from the one pointed out for us. A 
 march of eleven miles nw. brought us to the vil- 
 lage of Gwina, where we halted close to the 
 wells, which supplied us with excellent water 
 without any difficulty. 
 
 Private Dohonoe, who had been affected with 
 dysentery since his arrival from the coast with 
 Mr. Partarrieau, was so ill during the last two 
 days' march as to be barely able to sit on horse- 
 back. 
 
 As we were about to move on the morning of 
 the SGth, an armed party of about forty men 
 came running into our camp. They were met by 
 our guides, who conducted them to me, when 
 their leader said they had been sent by Almamy 
 to ascertain the truth or flilsehood of a report 
 which was in circulation of our having quarrelled 
 with our guides, and refused to follow the path 
 appointed by him. We referred them to Doka 
 and Macca, who assured them the report was 
 false. I did not believe they were sent by Al- 
 mamy, but I had strong reason to suppose they 
 were assembled by the guides with a view of de- 
 terring us from following the path we were pur- 
 suing. I was the more certain of this being the 
 case from my having received information that 
 they had set on foot a false report of one of the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 2^9 
 
 princes having an army at a short distance watch- 
 ing our movements. An account was brought us 
 in the afternoon by one of our own men (who 
 had been at the village and overheard some con- 
 versation ), that it was the intention of the men in 
 this posse, headed by our guides, to attack us 
 during the night. Improbable as it appeared, I 
 placed triple centinels, and kept on foot myself the 
 whole night, which we passed very quietly, and, 
 at half after six the following morning, moved 
 forward to the north. We had not proceeded, how- 
 ever, above three miles, when a tornado came on 
 so rapidly and violently from the ese. that we had 
 scarcely time to secure the baggage by covering 
 it with green leafy boughs of trees. It conti- 
 nued raining nearly an hour and a half, when, 
 having cleared a little, we resumed our march 
 to the west of north for two hours ; this brought 
 us to a small miserable village called Gari-Eli, 
 where we halted for the night. Dohonoe was so 
 ill when we moved in the morning that he was 
 unable to sit upright. I was therefore obliged 
 to leave him in care of the chief of Gwina, 
 with means of subsistence, and directions, in 
 case of recovery, to send him to Baquelle. 
 
 We had not been long at our bivouac, when 
 another nephew of Almamy's, named Amady 
 Samba, made his appearance, and said he was 
 sent by his uncle to enforce compliance with his 
 
230 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 orders respecting the path, but to which I only 
 answered that I would not pursue any path but 
 that I was then foil owning. On this he went off 
 apparently much displeased, for which I cared 
 the less — as I was determined not to listen to the 
 tales of those soi-disant messengers, who haunted 
 our march, merely in hopes of exacting some- 
 thing from us, or plundering (if occasion pre- 
 sented itself) from our baggage. 
 
 We left Gari-Eli at half after six on the morn- 
 ing of the 28th, and travelled ten miles north 
 by east, over an extremely close country to Bokey 
 Guiley, a small village. There we halted for the 
 night, and had considerable difficulty in obtain- 
 ing a supply of muddy water, the only quality 
 which the place afforded. 
 
 When loading the animals the following 
 morning, Macca sent one of his satellites to 
 say that as he was ill and could not accompany 
 us if we moved; he requested us to remain at 
 Bokey Guiley until the following morning. As 
 I was aware that this was an excuse dictated by 
 Amady Samba to detain us, so I refused to 
 comply, and, having sent Mr. Partarrieau to urge 
 Macca's coming on, we moved forward at se- 
 ven o'clock, but had not proceeded above a mile 
 when one of the men who accompanied Mr. 
 Partarrieau came running in a great hurry to let 
 me know that the people of the village, at the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^31 
 
 instigation of our guides, seemed inclined to 
 oppose his following the caravan. I immediately 
 selected one sergeant and fifteen men, and had 
 proceeded about a quarter of a mile towards the 
 village, when I met the guides and Amady Sam- 
 ba, (and, in a few minutes after, Mr. Partarrieau,) 
 who informed me that many objections were 
 made to his joining me, in accomplishing which 
 he had nearly come to blows with the guides and 
 villagers. 
 
 Shortly after this, a large bullock which had 
 been bought at Gari-Eli, and conducted since it 
 left that place by a Foolah hired for the purpose, 
 having nearly killed one of our men, was order- 
 ed to be shot, which was not effected until many 
 shots had been fired at him. This circumstance 
 so trivial in itself was nearly the cause of very 
 serious consequences, as the men of the villages 
 in the vicinity of our road heard the shots, and, 
 knowing that we had nearly fought with our 
 guides in the morning, thought that such was 
 then actually the case, and came running up from 
 all quarters ready for action, — which they were 
 with difficulty prevented from commencing by 
 the intercession of Macca. Many of them, how- 
 ever, accompanied us to Dindoody, where we 
 arrived at noon, having travelled ten miles nne. 
 Although the day was excessively hot, and 
 both men and animals were much in want of wa- 
 ter, we were obliged to endure the privation, hav- 
 
^32 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 ing a well within a few yards of our bivouac ; but 
 this we were not allowed to touch before seven 
 o*clock in the evening, and, having paid dearly 
 for the indulgence, we found also, on return- 
 ing from the well to tie up the asses for the night, 
 that two of them had been stolen. Macca pro- 
 mised to have them restored, but we never saw 
 them afterwards. 
 
 It appeared to me that our guides were at 
 the bottom of all this hindrance from water and 
 objections to the path, in which the inhabitants 
 of all the towns we passed through joined them, 
 (but particularly those of Dindoody, where we 
 spent tlie whole of the 30th in palaver with them), 
 I conceived it better to make them a large pre- 
 sent ^ to induce their acting in compliance with 
 our wishes, to which they consented, binding 
 themselves by an oath on the Koran, to which, 
 although little regard had been paid by Alma- 
 my, I trusted, however, that they would remain 
 faithful. 
 
 We therefore again set forward to the ne., and, 
 in about two hours, reached a small village call- 
 ed Loogoonoody, where we found that the oaths 
 of our guides were of as little avail as that of 
 their sovereign and his ministers, for we were 
 again obliged to pay for water before the inha- 
 bitants would allow us to approach their wells. 
 
 * Article 9, Appendix. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 235 
 
 We were met here by two men who stated 
 themselves to be messengers sent by the chiefs 
 of Foota Toro to conduct us into that country j 
 but, as the path they pointed out led too much 
 to the west to answer our purpose, we signified 
 to them that it was our wish to proceed more 
 eastward, to a town called Gawde Bofe, where 
 we proposed remaining until a person whom we 
 should send to consult with the chiefs of Toro 
 could return. To this they would not consent, 
 and intimated that if we did not comply with 
 their wishes they had orders to oppose us. 
 
 As I was well aware of the difficulties we 
 should experience in travelling through that part 
 of Foota, at a moment when the lawless disposi- 
 tion of the inhabitants was completely divested 
 of any restraint by the existence of an interreg- 
 num of some duration, which arose from dissen- 
 sions among its chiefs, I thought it more ad- 
 viseable to move back from Bokey Guiley, where 
 I should be certainly out of the power at least of 
 the people of Foota, who were even more to be 
 dreaded by us than those of Bondoo : and I was 
 also in hopes that my returning there, would by 
 our appearing to have more confidence in our 
 Bondoo guides, induce them to act more honour- 
 ably towards us. I was however deceived, for, dur- 
 ing the return to Bokey Guiley, which was part- 
 ly performed by night, we were .robbed by them 
 
234 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 of two asses with their loads and many small 
 articles. 
 
 From the first to the fourth of June was spent 
 in fruitless endeavours to arrange matters with 
 these two parties, who at length became jealous 
 of each other, and, by that means, afforded us 
 an opportunity of turning their differences to our 
 advantage. As it was from the Foota people we 
 had most to apprehend, we proposed their con- 
 ducting us to Gowde Bofe, where we promised 
 to remain until the return of our messenger 
 whom we intended sending from that place with 
 them to their chiefs; but told them that in case 
 they did not consent, I would destroy the whole 
 of my baggage, and fight my way to Baquelle. 
 This had the desired effect; they acceded to 
 our proposal, and the Bondoo guides, finding 
 that we would no longer listen to them, de- 
 camped. 
 
 Thereupon we left Bokey Guiley at half after 
 five on the afternoon of the 4th, and, having 
 halted for the night at Dindoody, at eight the fol- 
 lowing morning reached Loogoonoody, whence 
 we despatched one of our own men, accompa- 
 nied by two of the Foota people, with a small 
 present^ to the chiefs of that country, request- 
 ing them to appoint two or more of their re- 
 
 * wirticle 10, Appendix. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 235 
 
 spectable personages to meet us at Gowde Bofe, 
 in order to make arrangements for our passing 
 through their country; (which in truth was not 
 at all my intention), but I took that step in order 
 to make the Foota people suppose we really did 
 purpose entering their country, and thereby lull 
 their suspicions about our going to Baquelle. 
 These people left us on the 5th, and on the fol- 
 lowing morning at ^ve o'clock, we moved in an 
 easterly direction over a parched and barren 
 country until near ten, when we reached Siendoo, 
 a considerable town, where we had as usual much 
 difficulty in obtaining a supply of water, and 
 where we were met by a strong detachment of 
 armed men, whose chief informed us that he was 
 sent by Thurno Bayla (the chief of Hourey, a dis- 
 trict of Foota) to oblige us to take the path to 
 his own town. This I positively refused to com- 
 ply with, and told them if they felt inclined to 
 carry their orders into effect I was ready to re- 
 ceive them. They removed to a short distance 
 from our bivouac, and remained under arms all 
 night, the greater part of which was spent by us 
 in endeavours to arrange matters amicably with 
 them, but which we found a most difficult affair; 
 for what they at one moment consented to, they 
 refused the next. At length it was settled that 
 we should send one of our guides with one of 
 them to Goude Bofe, to know if the chief of 
 
236 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 that village would allow us to remain there, as we 
 had proposed, until the return of the messenger 
 from Foota. They returned at a late hour the 
 same evening, 7th, bringing for answer that 
 Thierno Amadoo had consented to receive us as 
 friends at his village, where we might remain as 
 long as we wished. This did not appear to 
 please the other chief and his party, who went 
 off grumbling. 
 
 I made small presents to all who interested 
 themselves in our behalf at Seindoo, and, hav- 
 ing passed a comparatively quiet night, left it 
 at half after six on the morning of the 8th June, 
 and reached Looboogol at nine ; but here we 
 found such difficulty in obtaining a very li- 
 mited supply indeed of water the first day, that 
 the men had scarcely enough, and the animals 
 none at all. 
 
 Thierno Bayla, the chief who had sent the par- 
 ty to Seindoo, came to Looboogol on the 9th, 
 attended by a large body of horse and foot. He 
 paid us a visit in the course of the day, and de- 
 manded to be made acquainted with our inten- 
 tions in entering the country. I told him that 
 having been deceived and plundered by Alma- 
 my and the princes of Bondoo, I had decided 
 on returning to the coast through Foota j but, as 
 there was no reigning Almamy in that country, 
 I did not think it safe to enter it without per- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^3? 
 
 mission from the chiefs, to whom I had de- 
 spatched messengers, whose return I intended 
 awaiting at Gowde Bofe. 
 
 He objected to our going there, and expressed 
 a wish that we should accompany him to his 
 own town, which lay about twenty-five miles in 
 the opposite direction to that we wished to pur- 
 sue. On our refusal he went off to the village, 
 and, having directed that none of the inhabitants 
 should dare to supply us with a drop of water, 
 stationed several small parties at short distances 
 round our camp, to enforce the strictest com- 
 pliance with this order, and to watch our move- 
 ments. 
 
 A tornado with heavy rain, which would at 
 any other time or under any other circumstances 
 have been an unpleasant visitor, was now the 
 thing most to be wished for, as it would have 
 served the double office of supplying us with 
 water, and of driving from their posts those par- 
 ties, who, not supposing we would (or rather 
 knowing we never did) travel during the rain, 
 would still have abandoned their posts, and have 
 gone to the village, in which case (having pre- 
 pared every thing to enable us to move in a mo- 
 ment), we would have loaded the animals, and 
 taken the direct road to Baquelle, which we com- 
 puted to be distant about forty miles. Judge then 
 our disappointment when a tornado, which bore 
 
238 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 ev^ery appearance of an approaching deluge of 
 rain, blew off without a drop. It was about six p. m, 
 when our situation became extremely unpleasant, 
 not to say alarming. The animals had no water 
 since the 7th, and the men who had but a scanty 
 supply on the 8th, had none at all on that day, 
 the 9th, and how to procure it without proceed- 
 ing to extremities alone remained to be decided 
 upon. I had too many invalids and weak animals 
 to authorize my forcing my way to Baquelle with 
 such incumbrances and in absolute want of wa- 
 ter ; and to destroy either the whole or even a 
 proportion of my baggage and animals, was an 
 act which I conceived should be my last resource. 
 In this dilemma I determined on going myself 
 to Baquelle, in order to obtain twenty or thirty 
 men from the French vessels then there, and 
 return with them immediately, either to force 
 our way to that place, or, by the appearance of 
 such a reinforcement, to intimidate the natives 
 into compliance with my wishes. I left Mr, 
 Partarrieau in command of the party, with direc- 
 tions to endeavour by any means to keep those 
 people at arm's length, and procure a supply of 
 water until my return, which I settled should be 
 at a late hour on the evening of the 12th. I 
 was accompanied by two of the native soldiers. 
 We left the camp at half after seven, and, hav- 
 ing passed two villages during the night and an- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 239 
 
 Other at day-break, arrived at Tuabo, the capital 
 of Lower Galam, at eight on the morning of the 
 10th, whence we proceeded without delay to 
 Baquelle, which we found to be more than fifty 
 miles from Looboogol. 
 
 I met a most cordial reception from the 
 French officers and merchants, who, being in- 
 formed of the object of my visit, said in the most 
 handsome manner that I should have every 
 assistance in their power. 
 
 At Baquelle I met Isaaco *, the same individual 
 who accompanied Mr. Park in his last attempt. 
 He proposed accompanying me on my return to 
 Looboogol and bringing with him three of his 
 own men, whom I furnished with arms for the 
 purpose. I received fifteen volunteers from his 
 Most Christian Majesty's brig Argus, and five 
 from the Senegal Company's vessel trading there, 
 and, having hired eight moors with eleven car- 
 rying bullocks for the transport of water, left 
 Baquelle in a boat at half after two in the even- 
 ing of the 11th, and landed at Jowar, a town of 
 Galam, on the south bank of the Senegal, at 
 half after seven, having found much difficulty 
 in passing the shallows, which had then only 
 eighteen inches water. The moors and their bul- 
 
 * Properly called Siacco. 
 
S40 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 locks crossed the river at Tuabo, and arrived 
 about half an hour before us. 
 
 We remained at Jowar until two o'clock on 
 the morning of the 12th, when, being favored by 
 a fine moonlight night, and having loaded the bul- 
 locks with soofras of water, we commenced our 
 march to the w^est of south until daylight, when 
 w^e passed two small villages, and soon after ar- 
 rived in sight of Gowde Bofe, where Isaaco 
 (to whom being lame I lent my horse) proposed 
 going to gain some information with respect to 
 Mr. Partarrieau's movements, and give water to 
 the horse. I pointed out to him the improbabili- 
 ty of his again finding us, as we did not pursue 
 the beaten path, but he assured me he could, as 
 he knew all that country well* 
 
 At half after nine we passed the village of 
 Gangele, and soon entered a wood which I knew 
 to be the same I had traversed the evening I 
 left the camp, and which was not more by my 
 reckoning than three or four miles from us. It 
 was then noon, and exceedingly hot, but as, by 
 continuing our march, w^e should reach the camp 
 at too early an hour, we halted in the woods, and 
 sent two men back to Gangele to procure some 
 water, and, if possible, a guide to conduct us by 
 the shortest path to the camp. We waited their 
 return with impatience until half after three, 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 241 
 
 when the atmosphere to the east became over- 
 spread, and bearing every appearance of an ap- 
 proaching tornado. I moved back slowly towards 
 the village, with the hope of meeting them, but 
 the tornado came on with such rapidity and vio- 
 lence, that all was soon complete darkness, and 
 the path, which was previously not very distinctly 
 marked, now became imperceptible. We con- 
 tinued marching east for some time without meet- 
 ing the men, to whom I began to fear some- 
 thing unpleasant had happened ; but nevertheless 
 we marched on in hopes of meeting them as long 
 as we could perceive our way by the compass. 
 During the violence of the rain, four of the men 
 with the moors, and three bullocks, separated 
 themselves from the remainder of the party, and, 
 although I fired several shots as soon as I dis- 
 covered they were not with us, I did not again 
 see them. 
 
 It being quite dark at eight o'clock, we halted 
 in the woods and lighted a fire, at which we 
 spent the night, and half dried our clothes which 
 were completely drenched with the rain ; and at 
 daylight the following morning again moved 
 forward to the east, and in about an hour heard 
 the lowing of cattle in that direction ; fifteen 
 minutes more brought us clear of the wQod, 
 when we perceived a village at a short distance. 
 On our arrival at it we were informed that Mr. 
 
 R 
 
242 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Partarrieau had removed from Looboogol to a 
 village about four miles from where we then were. 
 Having procured a guide we moved on at a 
 smart pace, and soon arrived in front of the vil- 
 lage, where were assembled a number of armed 
 men apparently waiting our arrival ; for on our 
 approaching them, they desired us to keep off^ 
 and would have proceeded to force had not our 
 guide told them our intentions were good. 
 One of the villagers, apparently a chief, then 
 came forward, and, offering me his hand, invited 
 me to the shade of a tree, where we were no 
 sooner arrived than surrounded by a crowd of 
 armed men, who without further ceremony at- 
 tempted to tear the clothes off my men's backs, 
 and their arms out of their hands. This sort of 
 treatment was too rough to be borne with sang 
 froid. My men, eleven in number, therefore 
 made some resistance, and removed in a body 
 to a short distance from where I was stand- 
 ing, but had scarcely moved when the war- 
 cry was set up by the Foolahs, and afire of mus- 
 quetry opened by them on my men, whose arms 
 were almost useless from the rain of the preced- 
 ing night, and consequently they w^ere unable to 
 make the resistance they might otherwise have 
 done. Three of them were already wounded, as 
 were three of the Foolahs, when Thierno Bayla ar- 
 rived from the village and offering me his hand 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. S4S 
 
 said, that if I would go quietly with him, no one 
 should molest me. I complied, as resistance 
 would have been vain ; but notwithstanding all 
 he could say or do, the rabble endeavoured to 
 tear my clothes from my back, and my sword 
 from my side. Bayla to no purpose endeavoured 
 to keep them off. They were become so out- 
 rageous, that three of them snapped their guns 
 at me, but, from the careless manner in which 
 they did it, I doubted their being loaded. 
 
 On entering the town, we were conducted into 
 a hut, and a man placed at the door to keep off 
 the crowd. By that time Mr. Partarrieau had 
 been informed of what had taken place, and 
 came to the hut where we v/ere. He informed 
 me that Isaaco had arrived only the day before, 
 and, having informed Bayla that I was coming 
 with an army, and left my horse in his hands, re- 
 turned to Baquelle. He next told me that he 
 had agreed with Bayla to be allowed to go to the 
 village of Fadgar, about ten miles from Gowde 
 Bofe, and there await the return of our messen- 
 gers from Foota. The first thing however to be 
 thought of was my own release and that of the 
 men with me, and for that purpose Bayla accom- 
 panied Mr. Partarrieau to the camp, where it was 
 settled that we should be permitted to go that 
 evening or the next morning, and that all tjie 
 
 R 2 
 
244 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 things taken from me or the men would be re- 
 stored on our arrival at Fadgar. 
 
 We left our prison at seven in the morning of 
 the 14th, as I supposed to go to our camp, but 
 were not a little surprised at finding that it was 
 not the intention of Bayla to permit our doing 
 so. I demanded of him the fulfilment of his 
 promise, but the only answer I received was an 
 order to mount a miserable looking horse, held 
 by one of his followers. To refuse would have 
 been useless. Bayla was mounted on mine, and 
 attended by about one hundred armed men. We 
 moved towards the camp, where all were ready 
 to move, and apparently waiting our arrival ; 
 but we were not allowed to join them. Having 
 marched at a very smart pace until two p. m., we 
 reached a large straggling village, which on en- 
 quiry I found to be called Samba Jamangele, 
 and distant twelve miles west of Fadgar, the 
 place agreed on, and whither Mr. Partarrieau 
 was gone. This annoyed me a little, but there 
 was now no remedy, except patiently awaiting 
 the issue. 
 
 On our approach to the village, we were met 
 by the women and children, who came forth in 
 hundreds to welcome the return of their hus- 
 bands, fathers, brothers, &c. Many of the young 
 men and boys, who had never apparentlv seen a 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 245 
 
 white man before, approached me, and after ex- 
 amining my face with evident surprise and fear, 
 favoured me with the epithets of * unbeliever', 
 *son of a hog', * hater of God', and * offspring of an 
 unlawful connexion'. One old woman, apparently 
 very short-sighted, and no doubt mistaking me 
 for one of the people of the village, approached 
 my horse's side, and was in the act of giving me 
 her hand, when she perceived mine to be white, 
 and, shrieking, she almost fell to the ground with 
 fright. 
 
 Bayla, who had gone to Fadgar with Mr. 
 Partarrieau, called in the afternoon, and told me 
 that he would call again the following morning, 
 and allow me to return with my men to our 
 camp. But his promises were made to be broken ; 
 I did not see him until the l6th, when he ap- 
 pointed a person to conduct us to Fadgar. 
 
 I left Samba Jamangele at two o'clock on the 
 morning of the 17th of June, and arrived at the 
 camp at half after five, which, to my astonish- 
 ment, I found deserted. The tents were stand- 
 ing, and some weak asses, and other articles 
 which would necessarily impede their march, 
 were left behind. 
 
 The idea that they had gone for Baquelle, 
 and what place they must at that hour have been 
 near, could alone compensate for the disappoint- 
 ment I felt at their unexpected absence. 
 
246 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Bayla's men, who appeared more taken up 
 with searching the tents, and every thing else 
 they could lay their hands on, in hopes of find- 
 ing money, as they call it, than with the de- 
 parture of the mission, wished me to follow Mr. 
 Partarrieau's steps, which I would willingly have 
 done could I have prevailed on even one of 
 them to accompany me. But the hope they en- 
 tertained of finding some valuables in the camp, 
 was too sanguine to admit of their leaving it ; in 
 consequence of which I declined doing so, as I 
 was not only ignorant of the path, but aware 
 that the inhabitants of the first village I might 
 come to, finding me unattended by any of Bayla's 
 people, would stop me, and most probably treat 
 me worse than he had done. I therefore proposed 
 our immediate return to Samba Jamangele, where 
 I should endeavour so to arrange matters with 
 Bayla, as to obtain from him permission to pro- 
 ceed, and guides to conduct me to Baquelle. 
 
 It was some time before I could prevail on 
 these people to return with me, they were so 
 absorbed in their work of plunder, but that, 
 not turning out as well as they expected, they 
 gave up with much apparent disappointment. 
 
 On our return to Samba Jamangele, a man 
 was sent to acquaint Bayla with what had taken 
 place, and to request, at my desire, that he would 
 come without delay to arrange matters for my 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 247 
 
 departure and that of my men. He called on me 
 in the evening on his return from Fadgar, whi- 
 ther he had gone to secure such things as were 
 left behind by Mr. Partarrieau, and promised 
 that he would appoint people to conduct us on 
 the following morning to Baquelle, where he 
 had been told, that Mr. Partarrieau with the 
 whole party had arrived in safety. 
 
 In this, as in all other instances of promises 
 made by this man, I was disappointed, but to 
 which, from its almost daily occurrence, I was 
 become nearly insensible. 
 
 I saw nothing of him until a very late hour 
 on the night of the 20th June, when, by means 
 of a small present of two gold rings which I had 
 with me, and the promise of a few other things 
 by the return of the man he should send with 
 me to Baquelle, I induced him to name a per- 
 son for that purpose, and to fix the following 
 morning for our departure. 
 
248 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Description of the Plain of Hourey — Occurrences there- 
 Departure and Arrival at Baquelle — Unfavourable Ac- 
 counts from IMr. Dochard — Kingdom of Galam. 
 
 The village of Samba Jamangele, which is of 
 considerable extent, is one of many which com- 
 pose the district of Hourey, and is, with all the 
 others, situate in an extensive plain of that 
 name, the view of which is finely terminated in 
 the south and west by a range of hills covered 
 with wood. To the north are a few isolated hills, 
 and to the east the eye loses itself over a gently 
 undulating surface of some miles thinly sprinkled 
 with large trees. 
 
 The inhabitants, whose numbers do not ex- 
 ceed 3000, are descended from the Foolahs 
 (who some years since possessed themselves of 
 that country) and such of the former proprietors 
 and their vassals as embraced the Mahomedan 
 faith. They are governed by Bayla, who is a priest 
 and a minister of the council of Foota, which is a 
 sort of republic, headed by an almamy, but who 
 reigns only during the pleasure of the council, 
 and it is not at all uncommon to see this chief 
 changed two or three times within one year. 
 These people have every appearance of being 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 249 
 
 comparatively happy. A very small share of field 
 labour supplies them over-abundantly with rice, 
 corn, and all the other vegetable productions of 
 the country ; vast herds of cattle afford them milk, 
 butter, and occasionally meat, and what with 
 their poultry and game, they are seldom without 
 some addition to their cous-cous. 
 
 They do not cultivate as large a quantity of 
 cotton as their Bondoo neighbours, but are well 
 supplied with clothing both by them and the 
 French merchants at Senegal, in their commu- 
 nications with whom they have invariably acted 
 with the most base self-interestedness and du- 
 plicity, not unfrequently terminating their dif- 
 ferences in the assassination of a master of a small 
 vessel, or the plunder of his cargo. 
 
 Here again does the pernicious effect of the 
 Mahomedan faith make itself evident ; for those 
 people are taught by their priests to regard the 
 murder of an infidel, or the destruction of his 
 property, as a meritorious act in the eyes of their 
 prophet : — but of this in another place. 
 
 We left Samba Jamangele at two o'clock on 
 the morning of the 21st of June, and after a 
 most fatiguing march of eight hours we reached 
 a small village called Bunjuncole, where we 
 halted until half after two. 
 
 We were hospitably received by the chief of 
 the village, whose wife, having been a concubine 
 
250 TUAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 of the late almamy of Bondoo, amongst other 
 royal visitors, received a small present from me 
 on our first entering that country, and in re- 
 turn for which she now gave us a reception that 
 evinced a sense of gratitude, which was rendered 
 doubly acceptable by the situation we were then 
 placed in, and the rare occurrence of such a 
 return for the many many presents I had made 
 while in that country. 
 
 We reached Jouar at six in the evening, and 
 would have proceeded that night to Baquelle, 
 had I not been so fatigued from having walked 
 the whole way, near fifty miles, that when I was 
 once seated, I found it impossible to move far- 
 ther. On the following morning (the master of 
 Jouar, at whose house we passed the first com- 
 fortable night since we left Boolibany, and 
 whose mild and hospitable behaviour formed a 
 pleasant contrast with the insolent and unfriendly 
 treatment we had so lately and so generally ex- 
 perienced at the hands of Bayla and Almamy, 
 having accommodated me with a horse for my- 
 self, and procured another for Charles Jowe, 
 who had voluntarily remained with me ever since 
 the unfortunate affair of the 13th, we proceeded 
 along the banks of the river to Baquelle, where 
 I arrived at half after nine, and was cordially 
 welcomed by the French officers, and Mr. Par- 
 tarrieau, who (not expecting that Bayla would let 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 251 
 
 me go so easily) were concerting measures for 
 my release and that of the men with me, but 
 these were now rendered unnecessary. 
 
 On the following morning I gave to the men 
 who accompanied me as guides, half a piece of 
 baft each, and in fulfilment of my promise, de- 
 livered to them for Bayla, a present, amounting 
 to fifty bars or thereabouts. They were thankful 
 for the former, and seemed surprised on receiv- 
 ing the latter, for they decidedly thought I should 
 decline giving any thing, at least, so consider- 
 able as what I had done, when once removed 
 from the power of their master. 
 
 The men since their arrival at Baquelle had 
 been encamped on the north bank of the river, 
 and had commenced forming huts on that side ; 
 but I found the situation so low, and liable to 
 inundation during the rains which had then so 
 completely set in that the river had risen some 
 feet, that I took up another and better po- 
 sition on the south bank, on a rock, elevated 
 about sixty feet above the river, and surrounded 
 partly by the then unfinished walls of the French 
 fort, and partly by the half demolished ones 
 of a part of the town of Baquelle, which for- 
 merly stood there. In taking up this position 
 I was also influenced by a report which was 
 in circulation that Almamy Bondoo had pri- 
 vately assembled a large force at Conghel, for 
 
25^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 the purpose of attacking our post on the oppo- 
 site side of the river. In settling ourselves in 
 our new quarters we received the most ready 
 and cordial assistance from Messrs. Dupont and 
 Dusault, and the gentlemen of the Senegal 
 Company's vessels then trading there, and which 
 was most acceptable at that moment, as a great 
 many of our native soldiers were affected with 
 Guinea Worm, and the Europeans were so fa- 
 tigued from the effects of the late retreat, that 
 they were unable to do much. 
 
 Almamy, who was not yet satisfied with 
 throwing difficulties in the way of my progress, 
 thinking that I should without delay take the 
 road through Kaarta, made preparations to op- 
 pose me ; but here I would have put his abilities 
 to the test, as I should have ascended the river 
 in boats, had not the state of the season, and 
 the losses we had experienced in our retreat 
 from Bondoo, and particularly that from Fadgar, 
 rendered it imprudent, nay impossible, to pro- 
 ceed. 
 
 The uncertainty I was in with respect to Mr. 
 Dochard's proceedings at Sego, although of a 
 very perplexing nature, would not then have 
 prevented my moving on towards that place, 
 and which I would have attempted, had not the 
 foregoing insurmountable difficulties presented 
 themselves. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 253 
 
 The S8th of June brought letters from him 
 bearing date 10th of May, which, however, gave 
 no prospect of a favourable answer from the 
 king. 
 
 He informed me that he reached Dhaba, a 
 town of Bambarra, on the 9th of November, where 
 Lamina left him, and went forward, accompanied 
 by Private Wilson, to acquaint the king with his 
 arrival, and promised to be back in ten days at 
 farthest. It was not however until the 21st that 
 Wilson returned. He stated that Lamina, who 
 left him at Sego Korro, and went to see the king 
 at Sego See Korro, despatched him to acquaint 
 Mr. Dochard that his brother, who was the king's 
 treasurer and receiver of customs, having died 
 three days after his arrival there, he could not 
 return until his affairs should be settled. This 
 although unpleasant news was to be borne with, 
 for it was useless to attempt putting those people 
 out of their usual routine of business. 
 
 In this state of anxious suspense he remained 
 until the 12th of December, when he moved 
 forward to Ko, a small village within a few miles 
 of Nyamina, where he arrived on the 9th of 
 January, 1819 ; and on the 11th received a 
 message from the king to halt at Ko until he 
 should see people from him. Those people did 
 not, however, make their appearance until the 
 14th February, when Lamina, accompanied by 
 
854 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 three of the king's men, arrived, and stated that 
 they were sent by his majesty to apologize for 
 having detained Mr. D. so long, and to see the 
 present he brought for him. Mr. Dochard imme- 
 diately complied with their request ; when each 
 article was strictly examined, and seemed to 
 give much satisfaction, but they said that Dha 
 had directed them to be also submitted to the 
 inspection of a Bushreen, who would see them 
 on the following day. 
 
 This man made his appearance on the 15th, 
 and having examined the present in the same 
 way as the others had done, and expressed his 
 approbation of the different articles, left Mr. 
 Dochard to deliver it to the persons sent by 
 Dha, whose orders they said it was that Mr. 
 Dochard should go to Bamakoo, and there re- 
 main until he should decide on what answer to 
 give in reference to the business which brought 
 the " white people " to Bambarra. 
 
 Mr. Dochard in vain made many objections 
 to moving so far from Sego, to which the only 
 answer given was, that " It was the king s orders, 
 and must be obeyed." They stated, however, 
 that his reason for acting in that manner was his 
 fear that his enemies (the Massina Foolahs) 
 would hear of the arrival of the whites. 
 
 This said nothing : and all that could be done 
 wus to comply. Mr. Dochard, therefore, on the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 255 
 
 17th, moved towards the river, where a canoe 
 was to be in readiness to conduct them to Ba- 
 makoo. He reached Cumeney on the south 
 bank of the Niger (having crossed it in canoes) 
 on the 18th February, and on the same day 
 ascended the river, then nearly half a mile 
 wide. 
 
 In their progress they were much impeded by 
 the falls, which had then very little water on 
 them ; and having passed several towns on each 
 bank, reached Kooli-Korro on the 20th, and 
 arrived at Manaboogoo, at noon on the 21st. 
 
 The population of Kooli-Korro, which is a 
 considerable town, is entirely composed of mur- 
 derers, thieves, and runaway slaves, who live 
 there exempt from the punishment their crimes 
 merit in consequence of their wearing about 
 their persons, a stone (taken from a hill in the 
 vicinity of the town), and which, from a super- 
 stitious belief amongst the Bambarras, would 
 immediately kill any one who should touch them; 
 and such is the dread entertained of this place, 
 that the very name must not be mentioned in 
 presence of the king. 
 
 As the river was not at that season navigable 
 any higher up, they disembarked, and marched 
 to Bamakoo, where they were accommodated 
 with huts. 
 
 Lamina, who with one of Dha's men accom- 
 panied Mr. Dochard to Bamakoo, being directed 
 
256 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 to acquaint his majesty with our views in entering 
 and our wish to pass through his country, and to 
 request that he would, as soon as possible, give 
 his answer, returned to Sego on the 26th, pro- 
 mising to use his influence with the king in our 
 favour. 
 
 It was not until the 25th of April, 1819, that 
 the man (Dhangina) I sent with Alley Low% 
 from Samba Contaye, in Sept. 1818, reached 
 Baraakoo, with my letters to Mr. Dochard, who 
 up to that period had not received any decisive 
 answer from Sego, although he had repeatedly 
 sent messengers requesting to be made ac- 
 quainted with the cause of the delay, which he 
 was led to understand arose from the unsettled 
 state of the war with the Massina Foolahs. 
 
 That was saying nothing to our purpose : but 
 as patience and perseverance offered us the only 
 chance of success, both Mr. Dochard and myself 
 were determined to make every sacrifice to the 
 attainment of the object the British government 
 had in view. 
 
 In this state of anxious suspense did things 
 remain with me at Baquelle, whence I de- 
 spatched Dhangina a second time with letters 
 and supplies to Mr. Dochard. The effects of 
 our late retreat began to make themselves evi- 
 dent in the health of the party ; many of the 
 Europeans (one of whom was killed by lightning 
 on the 20th of June) were dangerously ill with 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. <257 
 
 fever and dysentery, and more than half the 
 native soldiers, as I have already observed, were 
 partially crippled by the Guinea-worm, which 
 had visited Mr. Partarrieau so severely, that he 
 was confined to his bed for some weeks. 
 
 The chiefs of Foota having been made ac- 
 quainted with the manner in which we had been 
 treated by Bayla (who had neither consulted 
 with them on that occasion, nor divided with 
 them what he had received and plundered from 
 us), and supposing that such was the cause of 
 our not pursuing the road through their country 
 to the coast, and consequently of their not re- 
 ceiving large presents, &c., were actuated by a 
 feeling of jealousy, which led them to request 
 we would give to their messengers (who arrived 
 at Baquelle on the 8th of July) a detailed ac- 
 count of his conduct towards us, and the losses 
 we had sustained in consequence, all which, 
 they promised, should be laid before the tribu- 
 nals of the country, and judged impartially. 
 
 Although I felt convinced that these chiefs 
 were only acting from an impulse of self-interest, 
 which they knew would, in some degree, be gra- 
 tified by the presents, which their apparent 
 efforts to render me satisfaction for the inju- 
 ries received at the hands of one of them, 
 would draw from me, I nevertheless thought 
 it a fit opportunity of putting their justice to 
 
 s 
 
558 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 the test, and (if decided in our favour) of proving 
 to the people of that part of the country, that 
 although we had been treated ill by Almamy 
 Bondoo and this chief, their conduct had been 
 contrary to their own laws, and as such dis- 
 graceful only to themselves. I was in hopes 
 also that a favourable decision in this case would 
 lead to an investigation of Almamy Bondoo's 
 treatment of us, and induce him, if he had any 
 honor left, to evince it in making restitution for 
 the losses we sustained in his country. 
 1 I therefore delivered to the messengers a 
 etter to those chiefs, in which I gave the infor- 
 mation they required, and requested their im- 
 mediate decision, and having made them a small 
 present each, and appointed Charles Joe to ac- 
 company them, they left us on the 19th of July. 
 The month of August passed over without 
 any remarkable occurrence, save the death of 
 one of the European civilians (Hudson), who 
 died of fever on the 14th. 
 
 On the 12th of September, I paid a visit to 
 the Tonca of Tuabo (the capital of Lower Ga- 
 1am), and made him a small present. The river 
 was then so swollen that its banks were no 
 longer capable of containing its waters, which 
 had completely overflowed all the low grounds 
 in its vicinity, and destroyed a large proportion 
 of the corn that was just then coming into ear. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 259 
 
 Many of the towns had suffered much in their 
 walls and houses, which being wholly composed 
 of clay, w^hen once wet tumbled to the ground. 
 The view of Tuabo at that moment was pecu- 
 liarly striking : it had all the appearance of a 
 floating town, rendered the more picturesque 
 by being beautifully shaded with dates, tamarind, 
 and other large trees. The inhabitants were in 
 the utmost consternation lest it should rise 
 higher, in which case they would have been 
 obhged to leave the town. 
 
 It is impossible to convey an accurate idea of 
 the grandeur of the scene. The Senegal, which 
 is there nearly half a mile wide, and then higher 
 than remembered by the oldest inhabitant of 
 the country, was hurrying along at the rate 
 of four miles an hour, covered with small float- 
 ing islands and trees, on both which were seen 
 standing large aigretts, whose glaring white 
 feathers, rendered doubly so by a brilliant sun, 
 formed a pleasing contrast with the green reeds 
 around them, or the brown trunks of trees 
 whereon they stood. 
 
 The mountains on either side of the river, to 
 whose bases the inundation reached, (forming an 
 extensive sheet of water, on the surface of which 
 appeared the tops of trees nearly covered,) were 
 clothed with the most luxuriant verdure, and, 
 
 s 2 
 
260 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 although not very high, added much to the rich- 
 ness of the scene. 
 
 On tlie evening of the 7tli of October, Charles 
 Joe returned from Foota, bringing witli him the 
 animals, and some of the articles belonging to 
 the mission, which had been left at Fadgar, and 
 gave the following account of his embassy. 
 
 On his arrival at Chuloigne, the capital of 
 Foota, he was obliged to wait until the election 
 of an Almamy took place. This delayed him six 
 weeks j when Thieno Biram, a known friend 
 to Europeans, was chosen, and a general assem- 
 bly of the chiefs then present called, before whom 
 the affair was brought, and, after much discus- 
 sion, given against Bayla, who was declared to 
 have committed a crime worthy death, but 
 which, in this instance, should be mitigated into 
 banishment from the country. Bayla endea- 
 voured to excuse himself, by saying, that he was 
 instigated to treat us as he had done by Almamy 
 Bondoo ; whose letters to that eifect he was go- 
 ing to produce, when he was told by Almamy 
 Foota, that, as he was not a subject of Bondoo, 
 nor amenable, in any way, to the laws of that 
 country, he was unwarranted in carrying into 
 effect the orders of its chief, who should have 
 been ashamed of his conduct towards us. 
 
 It was also decreed by the assembly, that every 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 26l 
 
 thing which had either been given to Bayla as 
 presents, or lost in the country from his mis- 
 conduct, should be restored or paid for, and that 
 all those who assisted him should receive one 
 hundred lashes, or pay the ransom. 
 
 Such things as Bayla had then with him — 
 namely, my horse, sword, and a gun he had re- 
 ceived as a present — were delivered to Charles 
 Joe, who, without delay, proceeded on his re- 
 turn, accompanied by Almamy's brother and 
 son, who received orders to restore every thing 
 they could find belonging to the expedition, and 
 to escort Charles Joe to Baquelle. All this they 
 did, and brought with them the articles men- 
 tioned* ; but, as many others were still missing, 
 I lost no time in furnishing Almamy's brother 
 with a list of them, and having made him and 
 those with him presents, despatched them. They 
 promised to use their utmost endeavours to find 
 those things, but I never saw them again, which 
 arose, I believe, in a great measure, from Al- 
 mamy Biram having been soon deposed. 
 
 The latter end of November approached with- 
 out any intelligence from Mr. Dochard, or the 
 arrival of the fleet (from Senegal), from which I 
 was in hopes of being able to procure a supply 
 of the merchandise I stood in need of, to enable 
 
 * Article. 31. Appendix. 
 
262 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 me to move forward. To remedy the former, at 
 least as much as lay in my power, I despatched 
 another messenger to Sego on the 9th of De- 
 cember ; but to procure the necessary supplies 
 without the arrival of vessels from the coast was 
 impossible : I was therefore obliged to wait until 
 all things should combine to render my moving 
 likely to be productive of any benefit. 
 
 In addition to the deaths already mentioned 
 since our arrival at Baquelle, wehad to deplore the 
 loss of two of the most useful, and hitherto most 
 healthy Europeans of the mission ; the one a ser- 
 geant (Duffy), and the other a private (Dodds), 
 of the royal African corps. Nearly all had suffered 
 more or less from the effects of the rains which 
 ceased about the latter end of October, leaving 
 behind them, however, swamps and stagnant 
 pools, not less deleterious in their effects on the 
 constitution than the former, and certainly more 
 immediately unpleasant, by the effluvia arising 
 from such putrid reservoirs of the vegetable mat- 
 ter, which in that country so profusely abounds 
 in all low situations. 
 
 Our animals too, particularly those not bred 
 in the country, died rapidly. We had lost since 
 our arrival three camels, six horses, and eight 
 asses. 
 
 We found much difficulty in procuring an 
 adequate supply of provisions during the rains. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 263 
 
 in consequence of the war between Senegal and 
 Foota and of some misunderstanding between 
 Almamy Bondoo and the officer commanding 
 at Baquelle ; and, to add to this difficulty, the 
 Tonca of Tuabo, at the instigation of Almamy 
 Bondoo, put a stop to the supplies from some of 
 his towns, and seized a boat which had been 
 employed purchasing corn from the people of 
 the towns on the river side. As a pretext for 
 such conduct he said that " the whites^ his tribu- 
 taries,'^ had not made him sufficiently frequent 
 and handsome presents, or, in other words, had 
 not fully satisfied his avarice. 
 
 This man who was very old and much debili- 
 tated in mental as well as bodily faculties, was 
 controlled in all his actions by a relation of his 
 own, who was one of those that first caused 
 dissentions in the country, and sanctioned Al- 
 mamy's views on it ; which, in this instance, he 
 was most effectually forwarding, by partly 
 cutting off our supplies. In fact every means 
 were resorted to by Almamy and his asso- 
 ciates to oppose not only our further progress^ 
 but the French works at Baquelle, where he was 
 aware the existence of such an establishment 
 would materially weaken his authority, and 
 eventually place that country in its former re- 
 spectability. He had another reason for not 
 favouring a permanent factory (at least on the 
 
264 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 principles of that carrying on there) in Galani, 
 namely, the facility it would afford his enemies^ 
 the Kaartans, and the inhabitants of the upper 
 state, of procuring supplies of arms and ammu- 
 nition : in fact, had he been able to do as he 
 wished, not an article of European merchandize 
 would have passed Bondoo, nor an article of 
 the production of any of his neighbours have 
 found its way to a European market. 
 
 The kingdom of Galam* extends from within 
 a few miles of the cataract of Feloo in the east 
 (where it is bounded by Kasson), about forty miles 
 west of the Falume to the N. Geercer creek, 
 which divides it from Foota j on the south it is 
 bounded by Bondoo ; and is at present com- 
 posed of a string of towns on the south or left 
 bank of the Senegal. It formerly extended seve- 
 ral miles in the direction of Bondoo, Foota, and 
 Bambouk, but has of late years diminished to its 
 present insignificant state, in consequence of 
 dissentions amongst the different branches of the 
 royal family, and the encroachments of their 
 enemies. It is divided into upper and lower ; the 
 river Fa-lemme t is the line of separation. The 
 upper is governed by the Tonca of Maghana; 
 and the lower by the Tonca of Tuabo ; those 
 towns being the capitals to their respective divi- 
 
 * Called Kajaaga by the natives, 
 t Signifying ^' small river." 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^65 
 
 sions, and neither acknowledging the supremacy 
 of the other, although formerly, and of right, it 
 belonged to the former, near which are the 
 ruins of Fort St. Joseph, The succession to the 
 crown is not hereditary ; it descends in a regular 
 line to the eldest branch of a numerous family 
 called Batcheries, who are the undisputed chiefs 
 of the country. 
 
 The face of the country is very mountain- 
 ous, and much covered with wood, a large 
 proportion of which is well adapted to common 
 uses. Its vegetable productions are the same as 
 those of Bondoo, from which country it differs 
 in nothing save its proximity to the river, and its 
 partial inundation during the season of the rains. 
 
 The commerce, like that of Bondoo, consists 
 in the exchange of the productions of the 
 country for European goods. Those are again 
 exchanged with their neighbours of Kaarta, 
 Kasson, and Bambouk, for gold, ivory, and slaves, 
 who are in their turn sold to the French vessels 
 from Senegal. 
 
 Their manufactures, although nearly the same 
 as those of their neighbours, have the advantage 
 of them in some respects, particularly that of 
 weaving and dyeing the cotton ; and whether it 
 be that the humidity of the soil on the banks of 
 the river is more congenial to the growth of the 
 
266 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 cotton and indigo, or that the manufacturers are 
 more expert, I cannot say ; but certain it is, that 
 they can dye a much finer blue than I have be- 
 fore seen in Africa. The process is precisely 
 the same as that mentioned by Mr. Park to be 
 followed by the inhabitants of lindey near the 
 Gambia, 
 
 Their dress and manner of living is also nearly 
 the same as those of the people of Bondoo. The 
 former is made rather larger in the same shape, 
 and the latter is more frequently seasoned with 
 fish, in which the river abounds. They are pro- 
 verbially fond of animal food, which, although 
 arrived at a higher degree of keeping than 
 would please the palates of our most decided 
 epicures, would not be rejected by them. I have 
 seen a dead hippopotamus floating down the 
 river, and poisoning the air with its putrid va- 
 pours, drawn to shore by them, and such was 
 their love of meat, that they nearly came to 
 blows about its division. 
 
 From a state of Paganism these people are 
 progressively embracing the Mahometan faith ; 
 but many still despise its tenets, disregard its 
 ceremonies, and indulge freely in the- use of 
 strong liquors. Some towns are wholly in- 
 habited by priests, who are by far the most 
 wealthy and respectable members of the com- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. S67 
 
 munity. There is a mosque in every town, 
 and the times of worship are strictly attended 
 to by the priests and their converts. 
 
 From the long existence of a state of commer- 
 cial intercourse (which has been but partially in- 
 terrupted by Foota) between these people and 
 the inhabitants of Senegal, arises a degree of 
 respect which is invariably paid by them to all 
 Europeans who visit their country ; and although 
 the exorbitant demands of the chiefs for presents 
 (now called customs) sometimes cause alterca- 
 tions and temporary quarrels between them, they 
 must nevertheless be considered as more friendly 
 to Europeans than any other of the surrounding 
 tribes. Whether this proceeds (as some pretend 
 to think) from their being more in the power of 
 the vessels which come up to trade at their 
 towns (all which are situate on the river side, 
 and exposed to much damage from the smallest 
 piece of cannon, in case of misconduct), or 
 from a mild and peaceable disposition, I will 
 not venture to decide positively ; but I think I 
 should not labour under a very great error, in 
 saying that the many advantages they derive 
 yearly from such an intercourse (and of which 
 they acknowledge themselves sensible), leads 
 them, like the mass of mankind, to consult their 
 own interest ; and to forward which they must 
 in some cases submit to the desires (at all times 
 
^68 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 not very honourable) of those who trade with 
 them. They profess an attachment to and claim 
 relationship with the inhabitants of Senegal, and 
 if hospitality can in any degree prove the sin- 
 cerity of the former, it must be allowed they 
 have such attachment, as the house of a Serra- 
 wolli, and every thing it contains, is at all times 
 at the service of the poorest inhabitant of that 
 place. 
 
 Their local situation and the advantages they 
 derive from it, render them enemies to the peo- 
 ple of Bondoo, who have nothing to do with the 
 river except through the medium of their country; 
 hence, the great exertions of the late Almamy 
 Amady to subjugate the nation, and which he 
 maybe said to have in some degree accomplished; 
 for he, by one means or other, gained such au- 
 thority amongst them, that of late years the ves- 
 sels trading in the river were obliged to pay him 
 a large present before they could pass Yafrey*. 
 He also succeeded in sowing the seeds of discord 
 between the chiefs of the upper and lower States, 
 the latter of whom he contrived to attach to his 
 own cause, or at least so much so that when Al- 
 mamy attacked the former, the latter, although 
 closely related, afforded them no assistance. 
 Since the death of Almamy and the arrival of 
 the French to settle at Galam, they appear to 
 
 * A large town ten miles west of the Fa-lemme. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^69 
 
 be progressively approaching to their former 
 respectabiHty. 
 
 The population of Galam has increased con- 
 siderably within the last two years, in conse- 
 quence of many of the inhabitants of the Gedu- 
 magh towns on the north bank of the river hav- 
 ing settled there, being obliged to quit their own 
 country by the Kaartans, to whom they were 
 tributary, but whose exorbitant demands they 
 had for some years declined complying with, 
 thereby bringing on themselves either slavery 
 or the absolute necessity of quitting their 
 homes. 
 
 Great numbers of dates are grown in all the 
 towns, which are beautifully shaded with large 
 trees of the fig and other kinds, and being well 
 walled, have a more respectable appearance than 
 might be expected from people whose means 
 are so limited. 
 
 Their amusements, animals, household furni- 
 ture, and musical instruments are the same as 
 those of Bondoo ; but the people themselves are 
 neither so lively in their manners, nor so appa- 
 rently active in their occupations as those of that 
 country. A Serrawolli is seldom seen to run j a 
 grave and sober deportment, and an apparent in- 
 difference to all matters characterize those peo- 
 ple. In stature they are large, and in make 
 
TJO TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 more robust, yet less elegant, than the Foolahs. 
 Their colour is a jetty black, which they are 
 at much pains to preserve (particularly in the 
 dry season) by using a profusion of rancid 
 batter. The women are, if possible, more fond 
 of gaudy articles of dress than their neighbours, 
 and will make any sacrifice at the shrine of 
 finery. 
 
271 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Report of Mr. Dochard^s Arrival in Kaarta-— My Depar- 
 ture for St. Joseph, and Meeting with Mr. D. — Return 
 to Baquelle — Messenger sent to Sego — Arrival of Fleet 
 from St. Louis— Mr. D.'s Return to the Coast,, and my 
 final Determination — Visit to St. Joseph — Conduct of 
 Almamy Bondoo — Return from St. Joseph — State of 
 Affairs at Baquelle — Departure from thence — Delay at St. 
 Joseph — Assembly of Chiefs, &c. &c. 
 
 On the 30th of June I was informed by a Serra- 
 wolli merchant, who came direct from Dhy- 
 age, the capital of Kaarta, that Mr. Dochard 
 had arrived at that place from Sego : but as I 
 had found those people so little worthy of credit 
 on most occasions, I doubted the correctness of 
 his statement, particularly as he said he had 
 seen Mr. Dochard, but brought no letter from 
 him, although he was aware he should see me 
 sooner than Mr. Dochard could himself. An op- 
 portunity offering, however, for my going to 
 Fort St. Joseph, by a boat, on board which one 
 of the French officers was proceeding to that 
 place, I took advantage of it, in order to ascer- 
 tain beyond a doubt whether Mr. Dochard had 
 arrived, and if so to request Samba Congole to 
 despatch a messenger without delay, to render 
 him any assistance he might require. 
 
272 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 I left Baquelle on the evening of the 6th of 
 June, and arrived at Fort St. Joseph at seven the 
 following evening, when I was agreeably sur- 
 prised on finding that Mr. Dochard had reached 
 there on the 4th, but in so bad a state of 
 health from a violent and protracted attack of 
 dysenter)% that he could scarcely rise from the 
 mat on which he was lying to give me his hand, 
 and which I apprehended he could not long live 
 to do. Although there was no occurrence, next 
 to that of being able to prosecute my journey, 
 which I sighed for more ardently or impatiently 
 than the return of my friend and companion, 
 I was but half gratified by finding him so ill. 
 He was dreadfully emaciated, but in good spirits, 
 and expressed a conviction that a little rest, and 
 the satisfaction he felt at meeting us all in com- 
 paratively good health, would soon restore him. 
 
 My impatience to become acquainted with the 
 result of his embassy was so great that he ob- 
 served it, and immediately imparted to me the 
 unpleasant intelligence that the only answer he 
 could obtain was, " that until the war termi- 
 nated Dha could not allow us to pass." So that 
 after waiting nearly two years for what this king's 
 messenger informed us would be granted the 
 moment we arrived in the country, we were 
 now told if we wished to await the issue of a 
 war (and in which the Bambarras were by no 
 means successful), we should obtain it. It now 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 273 
 
 then remained for us to decide what steps we 
 should take, under all the circumstances of our 
 case, as most likely to afford prospects of success: 
 but before coming to any determination, it was 
 necessary to wait the arrival of the vessels from 
 Senegal to obtain the supplies we so much wanted. 
 
 The first object, however, was to remove Mr. 
 Dochard to Baquelle, for which purpose Lieu- 
 tenant Dusault (although not ready to return 
 himself) politely lent his boat 
 
 On our arrival on board His Most Christian 
 Majesty's brig, the officer commanding (Lieu- 
 tenant Dupont, to whom, as well as to his com- 
 panion, I shall ever feel indebted for their at- 
 tention to myself on all occasions) added an- 
 other link to the chain of obligations by w^hich I 
 was already bound to them, in offering Mr. 
 Dochard accommodation on board his brig, 
 where Lieutenant Dupont politely said, no ex- 
 ertions of his to alleviate Mr. Dochard's pre- 
 sent sufferings, and, if possible, erase the re- 
 membrance of the past, should be wanting. 
 This offer, like all others from those gallant of- 
 ficers, was made with such really cordial warmth 
 of heart, and such an evident wish on the part 
 of Lieutenant Dupont to minister personally to 
 my friend's wants, that, although it was taking 
 from myself the pleasure I had anticipated, I 
 complied ; and having supplied him as well as 
 my poor wardrobe would allow with clean linen, 
 
Qj4< TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 left him to take that repose of which he was so 
 much in need. 
 
 As Mr. Dochard had left Bambarra without 
 Dha's permission, and liad left behind him three 
 of his men wlio had been at Sego for some time 
 previous to his leaving Bamakoo, I feared that 
 Dlia might suppose I had abandoned the hope 
 of prosecuting my journey, and although he had 
 not as yet sanctioned our passing, I was in 
 liopes tliat the cause assigned for not doing so 
 (namely, the war with the Massina Foolahs) 
 miglit soon be removed by its termination, and 
 afford us the long wished-for opportunity of 
 following up the object we had in view. In or- 
 der therefore to assure Dha that, although Mr. 
 Dochard had left his country without his know- 
 ledge, we had not relinquished our proceedings 
 there, I despatched one of my own men, a na- 
 tive of N'Yamina, with a letter to him and his 
 ministers, accompanied with small presents, 
 requesting them to take especial care of the 
 men left at Sego by Mr. Dochard, and to send 
 me, with as little delay as possible, a decisive 
 answer : my man accompanied a native mer- 
 chant, named Usufe (a cousin of Isaaco), who 
 was going on a trading voyage to Sego, and to 
 whom I promised five pieces of baft, in case he 
 should render my messenger such assistance as 
 he might require. They left Baquelle on the 3rd 
 of August. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 275 
 
 Mr. Dochard continued extremely low, and 
 what with the effects of the complaint he had 
 been so long labouring under, and frequent at- 
 tacks of fever since his return, he was reduced 
 to that state from which I much doubted the 
 possibility of a recovery. He did not, however, 
 entertain the same apprehensions, and this alone 
 enabled him to support his complicated suffer- 
 ings, much aggravated by the state of the sea- 
 son, which was very wet and sultry. 
 
 On the 28th of August, a steam -boat arrived 
 from St. Louis, having a few days before 
 parted from the fleet, which experienced much 
 difficulty and opposition in passing the Foota- 
 Toro country, where the inhabitants (who- were 
 armed with muskets, and had formed intrench- 
 ments on the river side for the purpose,) attacked 
 the vessels, on board which several men were kill- 
 ed and wounded, and one of the Galam Com- 
 pany's sloops sunk in consequence of the confu- 
 sion. It was not, however, until the 21st of Sep- 
 tember that the fleet made its appearance, when 
 having fruitlessly endeavoured to procure the 
 supplies wanted, I saw the utter impossibility 
 of proceeding with the whole expedition, and 
 therefore came to the determination of sending 
 to the coast Mr. Dochard, Mr. Partarrieau, 
 and all the men, except fifteen, with whom I 
 decided on making another attempt to proceed. 
 
 T 2 
 
^76 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Mr. Docharcl wished much (notwithstanding his 
 enfeebled state of health) to accompany me, 
 but I could not in justice to him, to my own 
 feelings, or indeed to the service in which I 
 was so warmly engaged, comply with his re- 
 quest. I was thus reduced to the very last 
 effort ; and however reluctantly I parted with 
 those officers and men who had been my com- 
 panions in privations, difficulties, and anxiety 
 since 1818, I felt a satisfaction in saying to 
 them that the circumstances I was then placed 
 in could alone induce me to dispense with the 
 services which on all occasions, and in the most 
 trying cases, they had rendered with so much 
 cheerfulness and patience. When selecting 
 from the party such men as I conceived best 
 adapted to the peculiarity of the service we were 
 about to enter on, nearly every man volunteered 
 to accompany me to the very last moment ; but 
 my means were then reduced to so limited a 
 compass, and the necessity of proceeding with a 
 small party In such circumstances so decidedly 
 imperious, that I could not accept of their fur- 
 ther services, and therefore chose fifteen, among 
 whom was my sergeant-major (Lee), a man, 
 who to the strictest sentiments of honor add- 
 ed those of cool determined bravery and a 
 strong impulse to render every possible assist- 
 ance in bringing our service to a favourable 
 termination. All the others were men of co- 
 
 loim Pithpr fsnldipr*: nf fhp African rnrns nr in- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^77 
 
 habitants of Senegal ; of the latter was Charles 
 Joe, a mulatto of respectable connexions, and 
 a man who had in many instances evinced much 
 devotion to the interests of the expedition, and 
 firm attachment to my person. Many of his 
 friends then at Baquelle used all their influence 
 and persuasion to induce him to leave me. He 
 told them, however, that he had given his word 
 never to desert the cause, and he would not 
 break it. 
 
 Having made all the preparations necessary 
 for the departure of those officers and men, they 
 embarked on the 29th of September on board 
 the fleet returning to St Louis, the command- 
 ant of which, Mr. Le Blanc, received at his ta- 
 ble Mr. Dochard. The vessels did not sail un- 
 til the 30th ; I accompanied them to Tuabo. 
 On taking leave of my companions my feelings 
 were such as I am unable to describe. I leave 
 those who have themselves parted from friends 
 whom they had every probability of never see- 
 ing more, to judge what mine must have been ; 
 suffice it to say, that my spirits for the re- 
 mainder of that day were at their lowest ebb. 
 
 From that unpleasant state of mind I was 
 awakened by the reflection that the step I had 
 taken was the only one which offered any pro- 
 spect of success. I took advantage of a boat 
 going to Fort St. Joseph on the 5th of October, 
 for the purpose of soliciting the interest of 
 
^78 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 for my passage through that country. Contrary 
 winds and strong currents prevented my arriv- 
 ing there before the 8th, when having made 
 known to Samba the object of my visit, and 
 made him a small present, he assured me that I 
 might depend on his forwarding my views in 
 every way he could ; he also agreed to send a 
 party of horse to escort me from Baquelle, which 
 place I purposed leaving in November, On my 
 return to Baquelle, I found the French com- 
 mandant, Mr. Hesse, in dispute with the Tou- 
 ca of Tuabo, who having made some demands 
 for customs, with which the former did not 
 think right to comply, declared hostilities. An- 
 gry words and threats on both sides, however, 
 were alone resorted to, and continued to the 
 18th, during which time I was busily employed 
 in making preparations for our march. These 
 being completed, on the 31st of October I de- 
 spatched a messenger to demand the promised 
 escort from Samba, whose brother arrived at 
 Baquelle on the 6th of November, accompanied 
 by four horsemen and ten foot. He informed me 
 that having some business of his brother's to 
 transact at Tuabo, he could not be ready to re- 
 turn before three or four days. 
 
 Almamy Bondoo, who by some means got in- 
 formation of my intended movement, and sup- 
 posing that we should proceed by water to Fort 
 St. Joseph, posted a strong party at Yafrey to 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 279 
 
 oppose our passage ; thus proving that he had 
 all along been determined to prevent our pro- 
 ceeding eastward. He was, however, misin- 
 formed, for although I intended (and did take 
 advantage of a boat going to that place) to send 
 all my baggage thither, I had determined on 
 proceeding with the men and animals by a path 
 on the north side of the river, where we should 
 not meet any of the people of Bondoo, and few, 
 if any, of any other tribes, as all the towns on 
 that side had been either destroyed by the 
 Kaartans, or deserted by their inhabitants. Al- 
 mamy's arrival with his army at Baquelle, pre- 
 vented Dhyabe ^ from returning as soon as he 
 otherwise would have done : I was therefore 
 compelled to wait for him until the l6th, having 
 sent off my baggage on the 9th. 
 
 We left Baquelle on the morning of the 17th, 
 and travelled ese. until six p.m. when we 
 halted for the night, all much fatigued, at a pool 
 of muddy water in the woods. The country 
 over which we travelled was low and flat, much 
 covered with wood, and bore the marks of the 
 late inundation. We met several herds of wild 
 hogs and antelopes, and saw the recent foot- 
 marks of the elephant and hippopotamus in the 
 vicinity of the small creeks we crossed. The 
 following morning we moved forward in the 
 
 * Samba's brother. 
 
280 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 same direction until we came to the river, along 
 the north bank of which we continued our 
 march through deserted and ruined towns until 
 three p.m., when we reached Goosela, a small 
 walled town of Gidumagh, at which we halted 
 for the night. 
 
 Goosela is one of a few Gidumagh towns 
 which remain on the north bank of the Senegal, 
 tributary to the Kaartans and Moors, and which 
 makes itself very evident in the miserably 
 wretched and poverty struck appearance of the 
 inhabitants, whose numbers do not exceed one 
 hundred and fifty. It is situate on an elevated 
 spot about 500 yards from the river. 
 
 A march of two hours along the banks of the 
 river brought us opposite Fort St. Joseph, on the 
 morning of the 19th, at eight o'clock, when ca- 
 noes having been provided by Samba Congole, 
 we crossed without delay, and found our baggage 
 safely deposited in a square mud building in his 
 yard, where I was myself accommodated with 
 quarters. 
 
 My first object was to despatch a messenger 
 to Modiba, requesting that one of his confidential 
 servants might be sent without delay to conduct 
 us into that country. One of Samba's brothers 
 was selected for that service, and proceeded on 
 the 1st of December with directions from Sam- 
 ba to make as little delay as possible. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 281 
 
 Fotigue, the man whom I sent, in company 
 with Isaacco's brother, to Sego in August, ar- 
 rived at Fort St. Joseph on the 3rd of December 
 without having been able to proceed farther 
 than Dhyage, in consequence of the inundated 
 state of the country between Galam and Kasson. 
 They lost every thing they had, in crossing 
 one of the innumerable torrents which intersect 
 that country during the rains, and where he, as 
 well as his companions, must have perished had 
 it not been for the timely and providential as- 
 sistance rendered them by a canoe belonging to 
 Safere, a prince of Kasson, which accidentally 
 passed by the tree where they had been perched 
 for two days without food or the prospect of 
 release. He stated having seen a Moor at 
 Dhyage who came from Sego, and informed him 
 that at the time of his departure the men left 
 there by Mr. Dochard were on the point of 
 being despatched, in company with one of Dha's 
 people named Sitafa, to meet me. 
 
 The 1st of January 1821, now arrived, but 
 without the appearance of the messenger : I was 
 informed, however, by some native merchants 
 who arrived from Kaarta, that he was on the 
 point of leaving it. 
 
 On the 11th I witnessed at Dramanet an as- 
 sembly of the chiefs of Upper Galam, on the oc- 
 casion of nominating a new Touca, and to regu- 
 
282 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 late some matters relative to the then state of that 
 country. I accompanied Samba Congole, who 
 was attended by his brothers and the chiefs of 
 Maghana and Magha-doo-goo. 
 
 On our arrival at the Bentang or assembly- 
 tree, near which is situate the mosque, by far 
 tlie most respectable edifice I have seen in the 
 interior, we were presented with mats, on 
 which we took our seats among a large crowd 
 of spectators and chiefs, who were, like our- 
 selves, all seated. 
 
 The Tonca, whose arrival all appeared an- 
 xiously awaiting, soon approached the place, pre- 
 ceded by a number of drums and singers, mak- 
 ing a horrible noise. His majesty was on horse- 
 back, dressed in yellow, with a large gold ring 
 in each ear, and followed by about one hundred 
 men armed with muskets. When he dismounted 
 a mat was spread for his accommodation near 
 the trunk of the tree, and the place sprinkled 
 with water from an earthern jar by an old wo- 
 man ; this was intended to sanctify (or in other 
 words to drive away any evil spirits from) the 
 place. This ceremony, which was performed 
 with much apparent awe and profound silence, 
 being finished, and the Tonca being seated, the 
 proceedings commenced by a griot or bard pro- 
 claiming in a loud voice the object of their 
 meeting, and desiring that all those who had any 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 283 
 
 thing to say on the subject, should do so. Each 
 chief then paid his respects to the Tonca, by 
 calHng aloud his surname (Batchirie) and wish- 
 ing him a long and prosperous reign. The chief of 
 Dramanet, who is a priest and styled Almamy, 
 spoke much. He said that, during the late wars 
 with Bondoo, many of the chiefs present had 
 either abandoned their towns to the enemy and 
 taken refuge in those on the west side of the 
 Faleme, there remaining inactive spectators of 
 their country's fall, or openly assisted in its de- 
 struction, which their base conduct had so nearly 
 completed that it became absolutely necessary 
 they should adopt some deciave measure for its 
 defence. He called on them to take example by 
 the hitherto unsubdued resistance made by Samba 
 Congole and the chiefs of Maghana and Magha- 
 doo-goo, who preferred risking their own lives 
 and the liberty of their families to a galling and 
 disgraceful subjection to their enemies : that 
 the time was now arrived when an understand- 
 ing must be established between them ; and he 
 advised them strongly to return to their duty, 
 rebuild their towns, and support with him and 
 his colleagues a war which threatened their 
 very existence. Tonca and Samba spoke in 
 their turn to nearly the same purpose. The 
 end of each sentence spoken by the former 
 was followed by two or three strokes on a 
 
5284 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 drum, and every word the latter said was re- 
 ceived with applause. All was carried on in a 
 manner that would not reflect disgrace on the 
 most enhghtened senate. One person only 
 presumed to speak at a time, and that in a low 
 voice, and the person speaking never received 
 any interruption before he announced his having 
 finished, which, as well as all that each had said, 
 was repeated in a loud and distinct voice by the 
 respective bards, or griots of the chiefs. 
 
 I witnessed a sinailar assembly at Bondoo, but 
 it was by no means conducted with similar regu- 
 larity, or respect to good order. The assembly sat 
 three hours, and was dismissed by the Tonca 
 informing the chierfs that having heard all that 
 was advanced on either side, it remained for 
 those to whom thej proposal of acting in unison 
 with the others for their country's good was made, 
 to decide whether they would do so or abide the 
 consequences, which he hinted might not be very 
 pleasant, as the king of Kaarta had made known 
 his determination,, '* God willing", to visit their 
 country in the coujse of that year. 
 
 I was much a^stonished at the shrewd re- 
 marks, specious motives, and expressive lan- 
 guage used by some of the chiefs present. Al- 
 maney Dramanet;, a man advanced in years, 
 possessing considerable influence in the country, 
 and, as he said, "' only answerable to God and 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 285 
 
 his country for his actions", used every argu- 
 ment, and brought forward every instance of the 
 noble conduct of their ancestors, to induce such 
 as had deserted the cause, to re-embrace it with 
 hand and heart. He expatiated at much length 
 on the disgrace in the eyes of the world, and the 
 sin in the eyes of God, upon the line of conduct 
 they had adopted towards their country and 
 their relatives would inevitably draw down on 
 them ; and as an excitement to a return to 
 their duty, he painted in very pleasing colours, 
 the happy and respectable state of that country 
 whose chiefs and inhabitants, having successfully 
 used their joint endeavours to defend it from the 
 encroachments of an inveterate enemy, enjoyed 
 the fruits of their labours, with the satisfaction 
 of a good conscience, and the comforts of a so- 
 cial and quiet life. 
 
 I could quote numerous other similar argu- 
 ments made use of by many of them, but as I 
 suppose the object that I had in view in doing so 
 at all is gained by what I have just stated, I shall 
 not weary my reader with unnecessary matter, and 
 shall therefore merely say that these people are 
 far from being that savage unsophisticated race 
 of mortals, which they are by many supposed to 
 be ; and, in my humble opinion, want but long 
 and uninterrupted intercourse with enlightened 
 nations, and the introduction of the Christian 
 
286 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 religion, to place them on a level with their more 
 wealthy northern fellow-creatures. 
 
 Samba's messenger did not return from 
 Kaarta until the 26th of January, at so late an 
 hour that, although my anxiety to be made ac- 
 quainted with the result of his embassy was 
 great indeed, I was obliged to exert my patience 
 until the following morning, when Samba came 
 with him to my hut, and informed me that, after 
 waiting several days for an answer from Modi- 
 ba, he at length received one to the following 
 effect, that a guide should be appointed imme- 
 diately to conduct me to Kaarta, and that every 
 assistance and protection I might require should 
 be afforded me as far as Modiba's arm (influence) 
 extended. This was (as far as words went) good ; 
 but the guide had not arrived, and although the 
 messenger was told he should join him before he 
 passed the frontier (where he waited two days for 
 him), he did not make his appearance. The mes- 
 senger, however, said that I might expect to see 
 him in a few days. Patience again : for without it 
 nothing was to be done. On this occasion however 
 (at least with regard to his coming) it was not 
 much tried, for he arrived on the S8th instant, 
 after telling me that Modiba had sent him to con- 
 duct me to Kaarta, where I should be received 
 and treated as the friend of Samba. He said 
 that in consequence of the wilderness througli 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 287 
 
 which our path lay being infested at that 
 time by several bands of robbers from Kasson 
 under Hawah Demba, he could not undertake 
 to lead me into it, before he could (by returning 
 to Kaarta) bring a force to escort me. This was a 
 disappointment indeed. I urged him to banish 
 his fears on my account ; and told him that 
 although I well knew such robbers were on the 
 road, and actually murdered and robbed several 
 people, I was nevertheless ready and anxious to 
 proceed, as I felt satisfied that no party of those 
 people, were they even three times our number, 
 would dare to attack us. Remonstrance was 
 vain. I was obliged to submit to farther delay, 
 which both Samba and the Guide (Bokari ) pro- 
 mised should not be longer than twelve days. 
 
 This unexpected procrastination was almost 
 insupportable. I saw my means fast diminishing, 
 the fine weather as rapidly passing away, and 
 no more prospect of sincerity on the part of 
 Modiba than I had experienced from Almamy. 
 The hope, however, that I might be deceived in 
 my opinion, and that the promised day would 
 bring back Bokari with an escort, rendered it 
 passingly tolerable to one who, from constant 
 disappointment, had, in some measure, become 
 insensible to the anxiety incident to such a state ; 
 but to add to my annoyance on that head, I 
 
288 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 could not get Bokari to move before the 4th of 
 February, in consequence of one of two Moors 
 who had gone in search of game for Samba, 
 having been murdered by the party under Ha- 
 w^ah Demba on the 25th of January. 
 
 However, in order that no business of mine 
 should delay me a moment after the return of 
 Bokari, I made the presents to Samba and the 
 cliiefs of that part of Galam, which their atten- 
 tion to me and their intercession with Modiba 
 in my behalf deservedly merited. 
 
 From the 10th of February, the day on which 
 Bokari promised I should see him, to the 13th 
 of March was spent by me in endeavours to in- 
 duce a travelling merchant then at Fort St. Jo- 
 seph, and about to proceed to Kaarta with a 
 large caravan, to allow me to accompany him, 
 to no effect. He said, he dare not bring a white 
 man into that country without Modiba's per- 
 mission. This, however, was not his motive for 
 refusing j he thought, and justly enough, that, 
 after my arrival in that country, European 
 goods, of which his venture chiefly consisted, 
 would fall in value, from the quantity I must 
 unavoidably give in presents and the purchase 
 ofprovisions. 
 
 On that day Samba, who had been absent 
 from his town since the preceding night, came 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 289 
 
 to tell me, that the Kaartans had gone into 
 Bondoo on a plundering excursion that morning, 
 and would no doubt be at Fort St. Joseph some 
 hour during the night, when, after a little rest, they 
 were (in compliance with directions from Modiba) 
 to escort me to Kaarta. This was what I wanted ; 
 but it was matter of much regret to me, that 
 they should have taken advantage of the oppor- 
 tunity which coming for me afforded them, of 
 disturbing the people of Bondoo, and of com- 
 mitting acts of rapine and cruelty, to which ci- 
 vilised nations are, thank God, strangers. 
 About eight, p.m. they began to make their ap- 
 pearance in parties of from ten to twelve horse- 
 men, and continued doing so until midnight. 
 
 On the morning of the 14th of March, I 
 hastened to an interview with Samba, and the 
 Kaartan chief whose name was Garran, a ne- 
 phew of Modiba and son of Sirabo, a former 
 king of that country. After the usual compli- 
 mentary salutations, he told me by means of my 
 interpreter that at my own desire his father 
 (for so he called Modiba) had sent him with a 
 detachment to escort me to his country, where 
 I should meet with kind and friendly treatment 
 during my stay, and receive the assistance I re- 
 quired in prosecuting my journey as flir, at 
 least, as Modiba' s power reached. On my ask- 
 ing him to name an early day for our departure, 
 
 u 
 
290 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 he said that he had some business to transact 
 with the chiefs of Upper Galatn, but that if once 
 settled, he would not give me farther delay. 
 He made much inquiry respecting my transac- 
 tions with Almamy Bondoo, and said that his 
 conduct to me was of a piece with all his for- 
 mer acts. He expressed his regret that I had 
 not demanded assistance from Modiba when I 
 found it was Almamy's intention to deceive me, 
 and was much surprised when I told him that, 
 although I was very badly treated by the 
 princes and chiefs of Bondoo, I did not consider 
 myself authorized, much less feel inclined, to 
 bring war into their country. As only a part of 
 the Kaartan force was bivouacked near our huts, 
 I went to the adjoining towns for the purpose of 
 ascertaining their numbers, which I found to 
 amount to about one thousand, all horse. They 
 had made one hundred and seven prisoners, 
 chiefly women and children, and had taken 
 about two hundred and forty head of cattle. 
 Many of these unfortunate beings were known 
 to me. The men were tied in pairs by the 
 necks, their hands secured behind their backs ; 
 the women by the necks only, but their hands 
 were not left free from any sense of feeling for 
 them, but in order to enable them to balance 
 the immense loads of pangs, corn or rice, which 
 they were forced to carry on their heads, and 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^91 
 
 the children (who were unable to walk or 
 sit on horseback behind their captors) on their 
 backs. 
 
 Th^ chiefs of the adjacent towns were sum- 
 moned to attend an assembly on the l6th of 
 March, when it was matter of discussion whe- 
 ther another attack should not be made on Bon- 
 doo before the departure of the Kaartans. It 
 was, however, decided (much to my satisfaction) 
 that nothing more should be done in that way, 
 and the 18 th of March was fixed for our departure. 
 Having taken leave of Samba, and returned him 
 thanks for his kindness in obtaining from Modi- 
 ba the assistance I required, I lay down at a late 
 hour on the night of the lyth of March, to take 
 a little rest ; but my impatience to see that day 
 break, which was about to give me the opportu- 
 nity of another attempt towards accomplishing 
 the object of the expedition, prevented my doing 
 so : I therefore employed the time in packing 
 up some dry provisions for our use until we 
 could reach Kaarta. At day-light we com- 
 menced passing the animals and baggage to the 
 north bank of the river, where, with the assist- 
 ance of a canoe, all was safely landed soon after 
 eight o'clock. 
 
 The animals were immediately loaded, and we 
 moved forward to the ese., along the bank of 
 the river through corn-grounds, until a quarter 
 
 u 2 
 
292 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 after eleven, when we reached Maghem-Yaghere, 
 a small and miserably poor walled town, inha- 
 bited by a few Gidumaghs, who prefer leading 
 a most precarious and slave-like life under the 
 Moorish and Kaartan despots, to abandoning 
 their native soil. We halted at a short distance 
 east of the town, in order to await the arrival of 
 the army, and to adjust some loads which from 
 the asses' lying down under them had been dis- 
 arranged. 
 
 I had an opportunity of witnessing during 
 this short march the new-made slaves, and the 
 sufferings to which they are subjected in their first 
 state of bondage. They were hurried along (tied 
 as I before stated) at a pace little short of running, 
 to enable them to keep up with the horsemen, 
 who drove them on as Smithfield drovers do fa- 
 tigued bullocks. Many of the women were 
 old, and by no means able to endure such treat- 
 ment. One in particular would not have failed 
 to excite the tenderest feelings of compassion 
 in the breast of any, save a savage African ; 
 she was at least sixty years old, in the most 
 miserable state of emaciation and debility, 
 nearly doubled together, and with difficulty 
 dragging her tottering limbs along ; to crown 
 the heart-rending picture, she was naked, save 
 from her waist to about half way to the 
 knees. All this did not prevent her inhuman 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. QQS 
 
 captors from making her carry a heavy load 
 of water, while, with a rope about her neck, 
 he drove her before his horse, and, whenever 
 she shewed the least inclination to stop, he 
 beat her in the most unmerciful manner with 
 a stick. Had any of those gentlemen (if any 
 there be) who are either advocates for a revi- 
 val of that horrid and unnatural traffic in hu- 
 man flesh, or so careless about the emancipa- 
 tion of this long degraded and suffering people 
 as to support their cause (if they do it at all) 
 with little ardour, been witness to the cruelties 
 practised on this and similar occasions (to say 
 nothing of their sufferings in the middle pas- 
 sage), they would soon change their minds, and 
 be roused to make use of all their best exer- 
 tions, both at home and abroad, to abolish in 
 toto the slave trade, which, although it has re- 
 ceived a mortal blow from the praiseworthy and 
 truly indefatigable exertions of Africa's nume- 
 rous and philanthropic friends in England, 
 must exist as long as any of the states of Eu- 
 rope give it their support. 
 
 I endeavoured to purchase from Garran the 
 freedom of the poor old woman, but although I 
 told him to fix his own price, I could not in- 
 duce him to comply. He told me that nothing 
 could be disposed of before the king had seen 
 all that was taken. I, to no purpose, repre- 
 
294» TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 sented to him the more than probability of this 
 poor creature's falling a victim to the hardships 
 she must necessarily undergo before she could 
 reach Kaarta. Those savages only ridiculed my 
 compassion, and asked me if I was gratified in 
 seeing the people of Bondoo thus punished. My 
 reply in the negative only excited their laugh- 
 ter, and drew a remark from Garran, *' That 
 people so sensible to the sufferings of their ene- 
 mies could not be good warriors." Alas ! what 
 an error, and what consequent scenes of distress 
 and misery ! ! 
 
 We leftMaghem-Yaghere at six on the morning 
 of the 10th, passed a small village called Gakoro, 
 close to the river, at half after six, and arrived 
 at the ruins of N-gany-n-gore at noon. This had 
 been a considerable town, and was destroyed 
 about two years before by the very people who 
 were now escorting us. Having halted during 
 the heat of the day under some large shady 
 trees, that had formerly afforded a cool and 
 pleasing retreat from the scorching rays of the 
 sun to the inhabitants of the town, and now to 
 us, and the destroyers of their peace, we 
 moved forward at half after four in the after- 
 noon, and continued to do so until eight, when 
 w^e halted for the night at the ruins of another 
 Gidumagh town, called Soman Keete. The 
 first part of this day's march lay through corn 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 295 
 
 grounds, and open wood, close to the river side, 
 for about thirteen miles, ese. In the latter part 
 of it we were much impeded by the steep and 
 rocky state of the dry beds of several torrents, 
 which in the rainy season convey the waters 
 collected by the mountains in the ne. to the 
 Senegal, which at Soman Keete runs for some 
 hundred yards over a shelving bed of solid 
 rock, and on which there was at that season, 
 only eighteen inches water. On the south bank 
 immediately opposite, stands Dhyagh-an-dappe, 
 a large town of Galam. 
 
 There being no water at the next halting- 
 place, we filled all our soofras, and at one, p.m. 
 on the 20th, entered the wilderness, through 
 which we travelled without any path until nine, 
 having passed the dry beds of several streams, 
 and three extraordinary piles of rocks. They 
 were each nearly one hundred feet high, and 
 composed of enormous round masses of stone 
 (granite, I believe) heaped together in the form 
 of an irregular cone. They are situated in an 
 immense pldin thinly covered with wood, and 
 are at a very considerable distance from any 
 mountains or other eminences. 
 
 The sufferings of the poor slaves during a 
 march of nearly eight hours, partly under an 
 excessively hot sun and east wind, heavily la- 
 den with water, of which they were allowed 
 
290 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 to drink but very sparingly, and travelling bare- 
 foot on a hard and broken soil, covered with 
 long dried reeds and thorny underwood, may be 
 more easily conceived than described. One 
 young woman who had (for the first time) be- 
 come a mother two days only before she was 
 taken, and whose child, being thought by her 
 captor too young to be worth saving, was 
 thrown by the monster into its burning hut, 
 from which the flames had just obliged the mo- 
 tlier to retreat, suffered so much from the swol- 
 len state of her bosom, that her moans might fre- 
 quently be heard at the distance of some hun- 
 dred yards, when refusing to go on she implored 
 her iiend-like captor to put an end to her exist- 
 ence ; but that would have been too great a sa- 
 crifice to humanity, and a few blows with a lea- 
 thern horse fetter, soon made the wretched 
 creature move again. A man also lay down, 
 and neither blows, entreaties, nor threats of 
 death could induce him to move. He was 
 thrown across a horse, his face down, and with 
 his hands and feet tied together under the ani- 
 mal's chest, was carried along for some dis- 
 tance. This position, however, soon caused 
 difficulty of breathing, and almost suffocation, 
 which would certainly soon have ended his 
 miserable existence had they not placed him in 
 a more easy posture, by allowing him to ride 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 297 
 
 sitting upright ; but he was so exhausted that to 
 keep him on the horse, it was necessary to have 
 him supported by a man on each side. Never 
 did I witness (nor indeed did I think it possible 
 that a human being could endure) such tortures 
 as were inflicted on this man. When he first 
 refused to go on, they had recourse to a mode 
 of compulsion which I have been told is com- 
 mon on those occasions, but of too disgusting a 
 nature to be described. I did not see the old 
 woman, nor could I ascertain, what had become 
 of her. 
 
 We moved forward at three o'clock on the 
 morning of the 21st, and travelled east, through 
 woods until half after seven, when we reached 
 the foot of a high range of rocky mountains, 
 running north and south, said by the Kaartans 
 to be a continuance of those which break the 
 course of the Senegal at Feloo, forming the falls 
 of that name. Their western sides are steep, 
 much broken, and very difficult of access ; and 
 their tops where we crossed them, a flat table 
 land thinly covered with stunted w^ood, and in 
 many places forming a surface of solid flat rock, 
 bearing a brown metallic polish, so smooth that 
 the animals were constantly slipping. The de- 
 scent on the eastern side was scarcely percepti- 
 ble, and as we advanced, the soil began to bear a 
 more fertile, and less rocky appearance. At half 
 
298 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 after ten we reached Conian-gee, or the water 
 of Conian, where a town formerly stood, but 
 of which no vestige remained. It belonged loKas* 
 son, and was destroyed by the Kaartans. The 
 place appeared to be the resort of numerous 
 herds of elephants and other wild animals, drawn 
 there in search of water, in which, though mud- 
 dy and of a bad taste, the place abounded. Some 
 of our asses that had fallen and thrown their 
 loads, in scrambling up those mountains fell to 
 the rear, and were, with the men attending them, 
 attacked by so dense a swarm of bees, that the 
 former ran into the woods throwing their loads, 
 and the latter were obliged to seek safety in flight. 
 It was not without much labour and loss of time 
 that the loads were brought up, or the asses 
 found. 
 
 Having made a scanty meal with some of our 
 dried provisions, and filled our soofras with 
 putrid water, we moved forward to the ene., 
 at ^ve PM., and, travelling through close woods 
 until eight, arrived at a place called Mama 
 Niarra, where, to our no small mortification, the 
 supply of muddy water w^e expected to meet 
 was dried into mud itself. To increase the un- 
 pleasantness of our situation, some of the Kaar- 
 tans who had gone on before set fire to the grass, 
 which, being to windward of us, made rapid 
 progress towards the spot where we had halted. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. ^99 
 
 It providentially did not reach us, and we had 
 only to complain of a restless night, and much 
 anxiety, to say nothing of our labour in clearing 
 the ground around our bivouac. 
 
 Four o'clock on the morning of the S2d 
 again found us moving to ene. At seven we 
 passed the Kolle-m-bimee, or black creek, nearly 
 dry and running south ; it joins the Senegal a 
 little above Feloo. Our path then changed to 
 due east, and over a swampy soil through an 
 immense forest of lofty ron-trees^, which con- 
 tinued all the way to Kirrijou, the first town of 
 Kasson, where we arrived at half after ten. 
 
 Garran here left us, and gave us into the care 
 of Bojar (Modiba's eldest son), at whose town 
 his father wished us to remain during our halt 
 in that country, and whither I should have pro- 
 ceeded the following morning, but the men and 
 animals were so much fatigued, that I found it 
 necessary to give them a day's rest. 
 
 Kirrijou is beautifully situated on an emi- 
 nence overlooking an extensive plain bounded 
 by forests of ron-trees, and covered with the 
 most luxuriant verdure nearly all the year round, 
 except when inundated, which is the case 
 yearly for four months, from July to October. 
 Large quantities of corn, rice, ground-nuts 
 
 * Of the palm kind. 
 
300 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and onions are grown there, and the people are 
 well and abundantly supplied with milk and 
 butter from large herds of horned cattle and 
 sheep. The only disadvantage the place labours 
 under is the bad quality of the water, which 
 they obtain from wells about four feet deep, on 
 the borders of a narrow stagnant lake. 
 
 The chief (Safere) who with his followers and 
 slaves composed a part of the Kaartan forces, 
 received us kindly, provided us with huts, and 
 furnished us with an excellent supper of rice and 
 mutton, the first good one we had made since 
 leaving Galam. 
 
 I paid him a complimentary visit at his pa- 
 lace, where I found him seated in an open 
 court surrounding his own hut, but separated 
 from the others, composing the palace, by a clay 
 wall eight feet high. He was attended by a 
 few of his domestic slaves and favourites. He 
 accommodated me with a seat on his own mat, 
 and asked many questions about the country of 
 the white people, as they call us, our mode of 
 warfare, government, laws, and revenue, and ap- 
 peared much astonished at some of my answers, 
 particularly when I said that we fought on firm 
 ground and on horseback, and which he acknow- 
 ledged he could scarcely credit, as it w^as his be- 
 lief in common with all the natives of the inte- 
 rior, that we live exclusively on the sea in ships. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 301 
 
 where we subsist entirely upon fish, to which 
 they attribute the whiteness of our skins. He 
 pressed me much to spend a few days with him, 
 and, as an inducement, said he would make his 
 wives and daughters exert their musical and 
 dancing abilities to amuse me, but my time was 
 too precious to be spent in amusements. 
 
 Having made Safere a small present in ac- 
 knowledgement of his attention to our wants, 
 we left Kirrijou at four o'clock on the morning 
 of the 24th of March, and travelled north, 
 through corn-grounds, until half after ^ve, on 
 the road leading to JaiFnoo, when we turned 
 off to the right, and continued marching due 
 east through a wood without any path until two 
 P.M., at which hour we reached Moonia, the 
 residence of Bojar, and the place named by M6" 
 diba for our halt. The animals were all very 
 much fatigued, particularly the camels, owing 
 to the excessive heat of the day and the rough- 
 ness of the latter part of our path, which lay 
 over hilly and broken ground covered with 
 sharp loose stones ; in fact, ten hours' march is 
 too much for either man or animals in that 
 country, particularly during the heat of the 
 day. 
 
 Bojar who accompanied us from Kirrijou, fur- 
 
302 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 nished us, on our arrival, with an excellent din- 
 ner of cous cous, milk, and honey, and abun- 
 dance of fine water, such as we had not tasted 
 since we left the Senegal. Huts were provided 
 for our use until (as Bojar said) some could be 
 erected for us at a short distance from the town. 
 As this indicated our being likely to make a long 
 halt at Moonia, I made known to Bojar my dis- 
 pleasure at the very idea of our being detained 
 there long enough to admit of their completion, 
 and was told by him that two or three days 
 were sufficient for that purpose. 
 
 Anxious that a moment should not be lost 
 in making known to Modiba my desire of pro- 
 ceeding to Sego without delay, I wished to de- 
 spatch Giboodoo to Dhyage the day after our ar- 
 rival, with presents to him and his head men, 
 but his Majesty's drinking day being Monday, 
 when no business is ever transacted, I was 
 obliged to wait for Tuesday. Bojar who, like his 
 father, always made a sacrifice of one or more 
 days in each week to the ruby-lipped god, came 
 to see me, bringing with him a large calabash 
 of a sort of beer, made by themselves from fer- 
 mented corn, but which is by no means palat- 
 able, being more insipid than the worst table- 
 beer made in England, but from no bitter being 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 303 
 
 used it immediately sours and becomes intoxi- 
 cating, which effect it soon had on Bojar and 
 all his followers. They were, however, very good 
 humoured, and so great was the prince's wish 
 to make me comfortable and feel at home (as he 
 said) that he sent for one of his sisters and pre- 
 sented her to me as a companion to cheer my 
 idle hours, and teach me to speak Bambarran. 
 My want of gallantry upon this occasion was re- 
 marked by all present, and I was asked if I had 
 a wife in my own country, or if I did not think 
 the one presented to me handsome enough for 
 my acceptance. An effort to extricate myself from 
 a repetition of such favours, and at the same time 
 to avoid insulting her sable Highness, obliged 
 me to say that I was married, and dare not in- 
 fringe the laws of my country, which punished 
 with death any man who took unto himself 
 more than one wife. This answer excited more 
 than common remarks on the part of the prince, 
 who said he had been told that white women 
 were so completely mistresses of the men, that 
 the whole care and labour of supporting our 
 families depended on the latter, who dare not 
 even speak to any woman save their wives. 
 Another question of his, namely, should he come 
 to England, would the king give him one of his 
 daughters to wife ? drew from me an answer, of 
 
304 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 which I much doubted the truth, but which, in 
 this instance, I must be excused for not adhering 
 to, as it would not have been proper to hurt the 
 pride of a man who appeared to possess not a 
 small share of it, at least, in his own way, and 
 who thought he was conferring a high favour 
 on the lady, let her be who she may, who might 
 be solicited to partake of his royal protection. 
 After many such questions and answers by 
 which time Bojar was so satiated with his Afri- 
 can beverage that he could not rise from the 
 ground without assistance), he took his leave, 
 and, wishing me a good night, staggered home 
 in company with attendants who were equally 
 overcharged. 
 
 Giboodoo, accompanied by Bokari, departed 
 for Dhyage on the morning of the S7th, and 
 took with him a handsome plated tureen, as 
 an introductory present to his Majesty, to 
 whom I sent my compliments, and requested 
 that he would name an early day for my de- 
 parture, and send people forthwith to receive 
 a present I had brought him. They returned 
 at a very late hour on the night of the S8th, 
 and were accompanied by Modiba's head ma- 
 raboo, and one of his chief slaves. I did not 
 see them before the morning of the 29th, when 
 they informed me that Modiba was much 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 305 
 
 pleased with the present I had sent him, and 
 had despatched them to see the other things I 
 intended giving him, and to assure me that 
 I should meet with no delay whatever from 
 him. 
 
 I laid out for their inspection the things 
 stated in the Appendix, and having made 
 them a small present each, desired them, in 
 laying those things before the king, to say, 
 that my only wish was to be provided with a 
 guide to Bangassi, in Foohdoo, and to be al- 
 lowed to depart immediately. As I was aware 
 of the influence some of the head slaves and 
 two or three of Modiba's wives had over him, 
 I sent a present by Giboodoo to four of the for- 
 mer and three of the latter, requesting them to 
 hupress on their royal master's mind the neces- 
 sity of letting me proceed on my journey with- 
 out delay, and promising them a farther reward, 
 in case they obtained for me what I wanted., 
 They returned on the 1st of April, to say that 
 Modiba was much pleased with the present, to 
 which he requested 1 would add some silver, am- 
 ber, and beads ; but, in consequence of the road 
 to Foohdoo being said to be then infested by 
 Moorish banditti, he had despatched some horse- 
 men to ascertain the fact, and as soon as they re- 
 turned, which would be in two or three days, he 
 would allow me to proceed, if not by that road, by 
 
306 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 one whereon, although there existed a scarcity of 
 water, we should not have any thing to fear 
 from robbers. This answer was perplexing in 
 the extreme, and, from what had already hap- 
 pened in Bondoo, I began to doubt the sincerity 
 of this chief; but still in order that obstacles 
 should not arise on my part, I sent him the ar- 
 ticles he requested, and desired Giboodoo to 
 say that if he would only send a party of twenty 
 horsemen with me to Bangassi, I would run all 
 risks of robbers or other impediments, and 
 make a farther addition to his present by the 
 return of those people. As nothing, however, 
 was to be done without securing the interest of 
 the head slaves, I sent them an additional pre- 
 sent each, in hopes of stirring them up to exer- 
 tions in my favour. Giboodoo took those pre- 
 sents to Dhyage on the 3d of April, and re- 
 turned on the 4th with answer, that his Majesty 
 was satisfied with my conduct towards him, 
 and would immediately settle my business to my 
 satisfaction. With people whose time is not very 
 precious, immediately often means weeks or 
 more ; and as I could ill brook such delay, at 
 least in perspective, I despatched Giboodoo to 
 remain at the king's elbow until he would give 
 a decisive answer one way or other. 
 
 In the mean time, I made presents, large and 
 small, to a host of royal personages, amongst 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 307 
 
 whom wefe two of Modiba's nephews, men 
 possessing considerable influence with him, and 
 to whose care I was particularly recommended 
 by Samba Congole. One of them named Ely, 
 or Ali, assured me (if such assurance valued 
 any thing) that he would make Modiba do all I 
 wanted ; but these fine promises were made 
 only to induce me to make more presents. 
 Isaaco also paid me a visit, and wished much to 
 be employed, but he was in too little repute, 
 not to say worse, with both Modiba and Dha, to 
 admit of my having any thing to do with him ; 
 the former having taken, but a few days before, 
 nearly all his goods and slaves from him, and 
 the latter was so much displeased at his leaving 
 Sego without his permission, that Isaaco dare 
 not return there. His object in wishing to have 
 a hand in (or, as he thought, the management 
 of) my affairs, was to replenish his own empty 
 purse, and, by having a voice in my business 
 before Modiba, once more ingratiate himself in- 
 to his good graces. That I was not more faith- 
 fully served by those already employed than I 
 should be by him, I was satisfied : but one, 
 and one only, advantage did Giboodoo possess 
 over him, namely, that of his being (through his 
 brother Samba) on the best terms with Modiba, 
 with whom I found it impossible to, communi- 
 cate in any other way than through this man, 
 
 X 2 
 
308 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 who, for all I either knew or could ascertain, 
 appropriated a part of the presents sent by him 
 to his own use : but, remedy I had none. 
 Modiba would neither see me, nor any of my 
 men, in consequence of his being led to be- 
 lieve, by the Mahomedan priests about him, 
 that should he ever look on a white man he 
 must die. I in vain offered to send two of my 
 black men : it would not do ; the superstition 
 of those people made them all white, although 
 not in outward appearance, at least in inward 
 disposition. 
 
 Precluded as I thus was from a possibility of 
 ascertaining what might be the conduct of Gi- 
 boodoo at the Kaartan court, I took advantage 
 of the only resource left me, namely, that of ap- 
 pearing to place the utmost confidence in him, 
 and to hold out to him the prospect of a large 
 reward, should he obtain from Modiba the de- 
 sired escort and permission to proceed. He 
 returned from Dhyage on the 7th, saying, that 
 the king promised to settle my business without 
 delay, for which purpose his head maraboo 
 would come to me the following day : he did 
 not, however, make his appearance until the 
 10th, when, judge my surprise at being told that 
 Modiba was not yet satisfied with what I had 
 given him. 
 
 In this state of continued procrastination from 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 309 
 
 day to day, under some pretence or other, was I 
 delayed till the 14th, when Giboodoo, whom I 
 had sent to the capital with a farther addition to 
 the present, returned to say that the king had at 
 length consented to my proceeding, and would 
 send, in a few days, some people belonging to 
 Bangassi to accompany me to that place, but 
 complained of my not having sent him the part- 
 ing present. This I immediately complied 
 with, adding a few small articles for the head 
 slaves. 
 
 For some days previous to that date, great 
 preparations were making for the departure of 
 an expedition into some of the neighbouring 
 states. Bojar and his brothers had proceeded to 
 the capital at the head of their several divisions, 
 and nothing was to be seen but armed parties 
 hastening from all quarters to the general ren- 
 dezvous. Ali (the prince before mentioned as 
 a friend of Samba's), on passing through Monia, 
 at the head of his division, which consisted of 
 about six hundred horse and one thousand foot, 
 all armed with muskets, called at my hut to re- 
 turn thanks for the present I had given him ; 
 and to say, that on his arrival at Dhyage, he 
 would strongly urge Modiba to terminate my 
 business favourably, which, he assured me, was 
 all along his intention, although he had been ad- 
 
310 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 vised to the contrary. I replied, that such 
 might have been the case, but I doubted it 5 
 and therefore desired AH to tell his uncle, that 
 I relied with confidence on his fulfilling the pro- 
 mise made me by Garran, in his name, when he 
 first saw me at Galam, and which alone could 
 have induced me to come into his country. 
 
 Giboodoo returned from the capital on the 
 18th, and said that the Bangassi people were to 
 leave it the following day, and that Modiba had 
 appointed Bokari to accompany me as far as 
 Badoogoo. This was all I wanted ; and al- 
 though I had been much longer detained than 
 I could have wished, 1 nevertheless forgot all 
 my disappointments in the prospect of once 
 more moving eastward. 
 
 The Bangassi people did not arrive until the 
 20th. They were introduced to me by the ma- 
 raboo, who said that Modiba, in handing me 
 over to those people, desired him to state, that 
 his reason for having detained me so long origin- 
 ated in nothing but a wish to send me forward in 
 safety, and which the preparations he had been 
 making for the war, prevented his doing sooner, 
 and begged me to believe that his most sincere 
 good wishes followed me. 
 
 It was my intention to have proceeded on the 
 ^Ist, but that being on a Saturdayj which as well 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 311 
 
 as Sunday is looked on by the Kaartans as an 
 unlucky day to commence a journey eastward, I 
 could not prevail on either the Bangassi people 
 or the guide to move until Monday, when we 
 left Moonia and travelled ese. over a well culti- 
 vated and thickly inhabited country for three 
 hours, which brought us to the foot of a rocky 
 precipice, extending as far as the eye could 
 reach in a north-east and south-west direction. 
 The path by which we ascended it, was narrow 
 and steep, and so much intercepted with huge 
 fragments of broken rocks that we found it ne- 
 cessary to unload the asses before they could 
 pass. The summit presented an extensive plain 
 sloping gently to the east and south-east, 
 bounded in all directions by high distant hills, 
 and thinly covered with stunted under- wood. 
 The path which led to the sse. lay over a bar- 
 ren soil composed, for the most part, of a slate- 
 like stone, in diagonal strata, resembling in 
 point of colour the slates of North Wales. 
 The sun having set we were soon enveloped in 
 darkness. We however continued marching, 
 or rather groping our way, in the same direc- 
 tion until nine o'clock, when we reached a small 
 walled town under some lofty hills, round the 
 base of which the path turned to the ssw., and 
 soon brought us to Sanjarra, where we halted 
 for the night with the intention of moving for- 
 
31Q, TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 ward the next evening, but were prevented from 
 doing so, in consequence of the guides having 
 reported the distance to the next town as being 
 too great, and the path which led over the moun- 
 tains too difficult to admit of our reaching 
 it that night ; and as, from the want of water 
 on the mountains, it would be dangerous to halt 
 there during the heat of the day, we decided on 
 leaving Sanjarra at two o'clock the next after- 
 noon, by which means we should be enabled to 
 pass all the difficult places before dark ; and 
 having filled our soofras, halt until the moon 
 should rise the following morning. More diffi- 
 culties, however, were at hand : for on the S5th, 
 we had but just commenced loading the ani- 
 mals, when Garran came to tell me that a mes- 
 senger had arrived from Dhyage with orders 
 from Modiba, that I should halt at Sanjarra 
 until I again heard from him. My surprise and 
 disappointment at this unexpected arrest, were 
 greater than I had before experienced ; for I 
 really thought all was arranged to the king's 
 satisfaction, and I was so convinced that a short 
 time would enable me to feast my eyes with a 
 view of the Niger, that I had entirely given 
 away to the pleasing delusion, the removal of 
 which completely electrified me.; but, as I 
 must have submitted, I did so with an apparent 
 good grace. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 313 
 
 The messenger could (or most probably 
 would) not give me any information on the 
 cause of such treatment ; and as it was uncertain 
 when Modiba might again condescend to fa- 
 vour me with farther communication on the 
 subject, I despatched Giboodoo (who accompa- 
 nied me to Sanjarra) to ascertain, if possible, 
 what could give rise to such repeated hindrances, 
 and to inform his Majesty that after what his 
 maraboo had told me at Moonia I was the more 
 surprised and displeased at the present de- 
 tention. 
 
 He returned the following evening (the 26th), 
 and reported having found much difficulty 
 in obtaining an interview with Modiba, who 
 accused him, in common with me, of having de- 
 ceived him by not giving him his share of an 
 ass-load of silver, which, he said, he had been 
 assured by good authority I had with me ; and 
 until I would do so, I must remain where I was j 
 desiring me to consider his having given me 
 permission to proceed as a very great obligation, 
 for in doing so he was giving assistance to his 
 enemies, the people of Bambarra (Sego), who 
 (although he had acted otherwise) would most 
 probably treat me as they had Mr. Dochard. 
 
 This was an obstacle to be surmounted which 
 was utterly out of my power, at least to the ex- 
 
314 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 tent Modiba demanded : a few dollars * were all 
 the silver I had ; but to convince him that was 
 difficult in the extreme, if not impossible. — I 
 however delivered to Giboodoo some other arti- 
 cles, which (if not what he demanded) would 
 at least convince him that as far as my means 
 went I was willing to please him, and directed 
 Giboodoo to say, that the ass-load supposed by 
 the informant to be silver, from its great weight 
 and small size, was our ammunition, and which 
 I would readily submit to the inspection of any 
 person he pleased. He did not return before the 
 29th at night, when, instead of bringing any sa- 
 tisfactory answer, he said that it was useless for 
 me to think of proceeding farther, as Modiba, 
 although he did not positively say I should not 
 go on, expressed his opinion that my doing so 
 could not be attended with any good, and there- 
 fore strongly advised my return, but directed 
 Giboodoo to ascertain my decision and return 
 immediately to acquaint him therewith. I began 
 to suspect that this man was deceiving me, and 
 therefore sent with him on this occasion two of 
 my own coloured men, who spoke and understood 
 .the Bambarra language, to be present at any 
 interview he might have with either Modiba or 
 
 * Seventy. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 315 
 
 the chief slaves, for whom I again sent small 
 presents. The 2d of April brought them back 
 with as little prospect of success as before : they 
 did not even see Modiba, but were told by one 
 of the head slaves that he was very much dis- 
 pleased with Giboodoo for bringing *wJiite men 
 to his town. In vain did they shew their colour, 
 and state that they were natives of the interior 
 of Africa, the one a JolofF and the other a Jal- 
 lonkey : they were told Modiba would not see 
 either them or Giboodoo, and would send his 
 maraboo, who would make known to me his will 
 and pleasure. 
 
 This man arrived on the 3d, and informed me 
 that the king consented to my going forward, 
 but could not protect me any further than his 
 own frontier, from whence I was to consider 
 myself under the care and guidance of the Ban- 
 gassi prince. I complained of this breach of 
 the promise made me at Moonia, to which the 
 maraboo only answered by telling me his only 
 business was to repeat to me Modiba's orders. 
 The Bangassi prince was present and requested 
 that, as he had not any of his own men with him, 
 orders might be given to Bokari to collect fifteen 
 or twenty at the frontier and with them escort 
 us to Bangassi : to this the maraboo consented, 
 and having received a small present for himself 
 
316 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and one for his master, departed, assuring me 
 that I should not meet with any more opposition 
 in Kaarta — but of this I had my doubts. 
 
 We moved forward at half after three on the 
 evening of the 4th to the ene., along the foot of 
 the mountains which enclose the valley of San- 
 jarra on the south and east, and at half after five 
 entered a gully or ravine formed by those moun- 
 tains : this led us to the sse. along the then dry 
 bed of a considerable torrent for an hour, when 
 we arrived at the junction of two mountains, 
 where an extremely steep and rugged path was 
 to be ascended, and which we with much diffi- 
 culty and fatigue effected within an hour : it was 
 without exception the most difficult path I had 
 ever travelled. The mountains, notwithstanding 
 their apparent sterility, are covered with shrubs, 
 and in some places present the most wildly 
 grotesque appearance : strata of a kind of slate, 
 shew themselves in the ravine, the bottom of 
 which is covered with large stones, which from 
 their circular form appear to have been rolled 
 along by the force of the torrents. We had 
 scarcely reached the summit when it became 
 dark, and bore every appearance of approaching 
 rain, which obliged us to halt for the night in 
 the woods. 
 
 We were on foot at four o'clock on the morning 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 317 
 
 of the 5th, and marched to the ese. over a rocky 
 and broken path in a valley, along which we con- 
 tinued moving until nine o'clock, when the path 
 changed to the se. and in half an hour brought 
 us to a small walled town, Gunning-gedy, inha- 
 bited by Serrawoollis. We had some rain in the 
 morning, and the weather bore much the appear- 
 ance of an early wet season. 
 
 The chief of the town accommodated us with 
 huts, in return for w^hich I made him a small 
 present, and at six o'clock on the morning of the 
 6th of May resumed our route to the ese., and 
 passing the dry beds of several streams travelled 
 over a well cultivated country until ten, when 
 we reached, and halted during the heat of the 
 day, at Asamangatary, a large walled town, beau- 
 tifully situated in an extensive plain, thinly 
 covered with baobabs, tamarinds, and iig-trees. 
 The walls of the town were muchhigher, stronger, 
 and better constructed than I had before seen 
 in Africa. About half a mile from it to the south 
 stands a large Foolah village, in the rear of which 
 are seen the tops of some lofty hills from whence 
 the plain takes its name. This plain is famous for 
 its earthenware, which is manufactured by the 
 women, and for the large quantities of rice and 
 onions raised there yearly, for both of which, the 
 soil, a dark brown mould, is well calculated. 
 
318 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 Here begins Kaarta, properly so called. All that 
 part already mentioned as such formerly belonged 
 to Kasso, and was conquered and taken possession 
 of only a few years since by Modiba, who has 
 subjugated not only that country but a great 
 part of Gidumagh and JafFnoo. We left Asa- 
 mangatary at four p.m. and following the same 
 course as in the morning, until half after six, 
 reached Soman tare, another walled town, formerly 
 the residence of Garran, and now belonging to 
 his cousin. It was my intention to move on early 
 the following morning, but Bokari requested me 
 to wait until the afternoon, in order to give him 
 an opportunity of sacrilicing to the remains of 
 his father who was burnt there. I would have 
 positively refused to comply with the request 
 had the fellow not made it with tears in his eyes, 
 I found out, however, that he had only adopted 
 this line of conduct to delay me until the arrival 
 of Bojar and a part of the army, which took 
 place about two o'clock on the afternoon of the 
 1st, on their return from Fooledoo, where they 
 had been sent at the request of Kanjia, chief of 
 Bangassi, to destroy the towns of his brother, with 
 whom he was at enmity, and which they did so 
 effectually, that eight out of nine were burnt, 
 and their inhabitants either murdered or made 
 slaves J four hundred of the unfortunate beings 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 319 
 
 passed through with Bojar's division, and I was 
 informed that three times that number had been 
 taken to the capital by the other divisions of the 
 army. I now found, to my deep regret, that 
 my fears were but too justly founded, for Bojar 
 had no sooner arrived than he sent for me and 
 told me I could not proceed any further, as they 
 had destroyed all the towns between the fron- 
 tier and Bangassi, and had rendered it impossible 
 not only for me, but for any force, to reach that 
 place. 
 
 I must here acknowledge my patience almost 
 forsook me. I told Bojar that his father had de- 
 ceived me, and had brought me into his country 
 with fair promises, which it was now evident he 
 never had any intention of performing, or he 
 wouldhave allowedme to proceed onmyfirst com- 
 ing to Moonia. Bojar then said that words were 
 of no avail; his father had directed him, on meet- 
 ing me, to bring me back with him, in comply- 
 ing with which I should save myself much trou- 
 ble. The guide and the Bangassi princes were 
 both present, and had been with Bojar some time 
 previous to my being sent for. The former, when 
 I called upon him to fulfil the orders of the 
 Maraboo, with respect to the escort from the 
 frontier towns, said, that his master, pointing to 
 Bojar, had just told me what remained for mje 
 
SSO TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 to do, and which took out of his power the pos- 
 sibihty of remaining with me any longer. The 
 Bangassi prince, who was as anxious as myself 
 to proceed, in vain applied to Bojar for an escort, 
 and at length told me, he was sorry he was so 
 situated, and that he could neither afford me any 
 assistance, nor evencomm and the possibility of 
 his own return to that home which he had but 
 a short-time before left as the ambassador of its 
 chief, who was his own brother. 
 
 Here, then, vanished all hopes of being able to 
 pass Kaarta, and with them that of being able 
 to accomplish my mission, which had for three 
 years occupied every thought, and drawn forth 
 every exertion, of which either myself, or those 
 with me were capable. 
 
 Although this act of treachery on the part 
 of Modiba was in itself more than sufficient 
 to make us relinquish every attempt to proceed 
 further, and the difficulties, dangers, and priva- 
 tions incident to such a service in the interior 
 of that country of such a nature that I must 
 allow them, as they appear on the face of those 
 sheets, to speak for themselves, we would never- 
 theless have cheerfully gone on had not an ob- 
 stacle so decidedly insurmountable presented 
 itself in the orders of Modiba to his son, to bring 
 us back by force. But before I decided on re- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 321 
 
 turning, I again waited on Bojar, and hinting 
 my disbelief of his father having again broken 
 his promise, said I would remain at Somantare, 
 and send one of my men to Dhyaje, to receive 
 the king's final orders, and requested Bojar to 
 accommodate us with huts in the town until 
 the return of my messenger, when, should Mo- 
 diba only say he could not protect me farther 
 than Kaarta, and not forcibly prevent ,my pro- 
 ceeding, I would go alone, at my own risk. 
 
 Bojar here got into a furious rage, asked me 
 if I did not consider him as Modiba's son, or if 
 I supposed he had less authority in Kaarta than 
 his father ; and said, that although I appeared 
 to doubt his having received orders to stop me, 
 he would prove to me that neither fear of me, 
 nor expectation from me, could induce him to 
 lie ; and therefore informed me, that he could 
 not admit of my remaining at Somantare after 
 himself; nor allow me to send one of my men 
 to Dhyaje, where, he added, some of them had 
 been too often already. What he meant by the 
 last phrase I could not imagine, nor would he 
 condescend to explain. I was therefore, however 
 reluctantly, obliged to submit, and turn my back 
 on the East, and the objects of my mission in 
 that quarter, in the anxious, though unsuccess- 
 ful pursuit of which I had spent so much time, 
 
 y 
 
322 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and to its interests so exclusively devoted my 
 attention. 
 
 Were I to liazard an opinion, as to the causes 
 of such deceitful conduct on the part of Modiba, 
 I fear I should be liable to error, in as much as 
 that I could not support any of my ideas on the 
 subject by proof positive. Therefore I leave 
 my readers to draw such conclusions as the cir- 
 cumstances related will enable them. 
 
323 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Retreat from Kaarta. — Difficulties and Annoyances there. — 
 Arrival at Fort St. Joseph. — Delay and Occurrences at 
 Baquelle. — Return to the Coast. — Arrival at Sierra 
 Leone. — Visit to the captured Negro Establishments. 
 
 We commenced our retreat at half after five, 
 on the mornmg of the 8th of May, and at eleven 
 reached Guninghedy, where we halted during 
 the heat of the day. We were accompanied by 
 Bojar and his division, with their prisoners, whose 
 sufferings presented scenes of distress which I am 
 incapable of painting in their true colours. The 
 women and children (all nearly naked and carry- 
 ing heavy loads) were tied together by the necks, 
 and hurried along over a rough stony path that 
 cut their feet in a dreadful manner. There were 
 a great number of children, who, from their ten- 
 der years, were unable to walk, and were carried, 
 some on the prisoners' backs, and others on 
 horseback behind their captors, who, to prevent 
 them falling off, tied them to the back part of 
 the saddle with a rope made from the bark of 
 the baobab, which was so hard and rough that 
 it cut the back and sides of the poor little inno- 
 
 y 2 
 
324 
 
 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 cent babes so as to draw the blood. This how- 
 ever, was only a secondary state of the sufferings 
 endured by those children, when compared to 
 the dreadfully blistered and chafed state of their 
 seats, from constant jolting on the bare back of 
 the horse, seldom going slower than a trot or 
 smart amble, and not unfrequently driven at full 
 speed for a few yards, and pulled up short. On 
 these occasions it was to me a matter of astonish- 
 ment how the child could support the strokes it 
 must have received from the back of the saddle, 
 which, from its form, came in contact with the 
 child's stomach. 
 
 We reached Sanjarra the following morning 
 at half after nine, and in the afternoon was joined 
 by Giboodoo, who had been at Dhyaje ; he told 
 me that Modiba desired him to say he was sorry 
 the present state of the country would not ad- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 325 
 
 mit of my passing Kaarta, but was glad I had re- 
 turned with Bojar, thereby preventing the ne- 
 cessity he should otherwise have been under of 
 sending a detachment after me, for the purpose 
 of bringing me back. I was also met at San- 
 jarra by a messenger from Ali, to say, that 
 having heard something at Dhyaje, with respect 
 to Modiba's intentions towards me, he advised 
 my moving without delay to his town, where I 
 might remain in safety until the king should 
 send people to re-conduct me to Galam. I did 
 not believe this ; supposing that his object was, in 
 thus apparently protecting me, to lay me under 
 obligations, from which I should be obliged to 
 release myself by means of presents. I neverthe- 
 less followed his advice, because my most direct 
 path led there, and I was not altogether so satis- 
 fied with Bojar's treatment while at his town, to 
 induce me to return. 
 
 Giboodoo returned to Dhyaje on the 11th, for 
 the purpose of paying a parting visit to his ma- 
 jesty. He promised to be back on the 14th, till 
 which day I consented to wait at Sanjarra for 
 him * ; but as he did not keep his time, I re- 
 moved to Missira on the 15th, where I was re- 
 ceived by Ali. Giboodoo did not join me until 
 the 17th, when, having informed me that Modiba 
 could not send people to escort us to Galam be- 
 
 * See Appendix, Article 20. 
 
3^6 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 fore the ensuing week, I again despatched him 
 to tell the king that unless they joined me before 
 tlie 23d, I should move on before them to the 
 frontier. 
 
 On the 20th, the maraboo, accompanied by 
 Bokari, one of the head slaves, and some of their 
 followers, came to Missira, by Modiba's orders, 
 to take us to Moonia, and whither, in case I re- 
 fused to proceed with them, they had orders to 
 force me. Here then was what I had long ex- 
 pected, namely, to be plundered of every thing, 
 and which I told them they could do at Missira, 
 and not harass me as well as my men by travell- 
 ing all over the country. 
 
 The maraboo, as on a former occasion, said 
 he was nothing more than the bearer of Modiba's 
 orders, which he should carry into execution. 
 Remonstrance was vain, and refusal would have 
 been equally so (if not worse), as I plainly saw 
 those people were prepared to act forcibly. Gi- 
 boodoo arrived in tlie afternoon, and was accom- 
 panied by two more of the head slaves, sent by 
 their master on the same errand as the former. 
 I had however rendered their interference un- 
 necessary, having consented to proceed to Moo- 
 nia, with the almost certainty of being plundered, 
 and, under such a conviction, I laid out a part 
 of the few articles the rapacity of the Kaartans 
 had spared me, in redeeming from slavery two 
 women of Bondoo, who had been taken in the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 3^7 
 
 affair which took place before I left Galam. In 
 taking this step I had two motives ; first, that 
 of placing out of Modiba's reach a portion at 
 least of my merchandize, which alone excited his 
 avarice ; secondly, I had in view, by sending 
 those women Cwho were related to Almamy Bon- 
 doo) to their friends in that country, to convince 
 that chief that our intentions towards them were 
 good indeed ; and however I might feel on the 
 subject of the treatment I met with at his hands, 
 I w^as, nevertheless, deeply impressed with senti- 
 ments of compassion for those of his people who 
 had fallen victims to Kaartan power. One of 
 All's sons was their possessor, and from him I 
 had much trouble in obtaining their freedom, 
 which was the more difficult and expensive, from 
 its having been his intention to add them to the 
 list of his concubines, whose number already 
 amounted to twelve. 
 
 Polygamy is carried to a frightful extent in 
 Kaarta. Many private individuals have ten wives, 
 and as many concubines ; the princes, for the 
 most part, not less than thirty of each, and 
 Modiba himself is said to have one hundred wives 
 and two hundred concubines ; and I verily be- 
 lieve that one-third of the free inhabitants of 
 Kaarta are of the blood royal. 
 
 We left Missira at six on the morning of the 
 22d, and reached Moonia at ten, but had scarcely 
 
32S TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 unloaded the asses, when Bojar sent to inform 
 me that his father insisted on my paying the 
 customary duty on the merchandize I had 
 brought into the country, in the same proportion 
 as paid by the native merchants, and desired to 
 have my immediate answer, which I gave, by 
 saying, that I now plainly perceived what their 
 object was in bringing me back to Moonia ; and 
 that as I would not willingly give any thing more 
 to them, in the way of either customs or presents, 
 and was not able to prevent them from taking 
 what they wished, they might do so when they 
 pleased. In about half an hour they came to 
 our huts, and having examined all our baggage 
 minutely, appeared much disappointed and sur- 
 prised in not finding a large quantity of silver, 
 amber, and coral, and a great number of fine 
 guns, all wliich they said Modiba had been told 
 I had in abundance. Their disappointment was 
 so great that they walked off to the town with- 
 out taking a single article. The maraboo was 
 much confused, and said, he could not help ac- 
 knowledging that I had been badly treated, but 
 that I should not blame Modiba, as he had been 
 misinformed, both with respect to the object of 
 my visit to Sego, and the extent and nature of 
 my baggage: the latter, although reduced to that 
 state which surprised Modiba's messengers so 
 much, was still of value enough in their eyes to 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 329 
 
 induce their return at eight o'clock p.m. ; when 
 they again demanded the customs, and on my 
 refusing to give them with free will, they helped 
 themselves to the articles stated in the Appen- 
 dix, Article 19. 
 
 On the following morning I despatched Gi- 
 boodoo to inform Modiba of the proceedings of 
 his messengers, and to request that, if it was 
 really his intention to send people to escort us 
 to Galam, he would do so immediately. 
 
 From the 23d of May until the 8th of June 
 was spent by us in a state of suspense, which 
 nothing but the hope we hourly entertained of 
 seeing Giboodoo return from Dhyage, and with 
 him the promised escort, could have rendered 
 at all supportable. Every day was marked by 
 some act of plunder by the slaves of Bojar, and 
 haughty insult by himself, but we were incapa- 
 ble of resistance, and, however galling to our 
 feelings, patient submission was our only line of 
 conduct, to which we more strictly adhered in 
 consequence of an intimation from Giboodoo, 
 that any other would have drawn down upon us 
 the most hostile treatment. 
 
 He arrived from Dhyage on the 8th, at night, 
 without any escort, but obtained permission for 
 us to proceed to Galam, where we arrived on 
 tlie 18th. We were accompanied by some Ser- 
 rawooUie merchants, conducting to Eaquelle a 
 
350 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 large coffle of slaves, each of whom had to de- 
 plore being torn from some near and dear ob- 
 ject of their affections, and from their naked- 
 ness, want of proper nourishment, and being 
 exposed to almost constant rain for two days 
 and nights, they presented a group of beings 
 reduced to the very lowest ebb of human suf- 
 fering. 
 
 I lost no time in repairing to Baquelle for tlie 
 purpose of effecting my speedy return from that 
 place over land to the Gambia, but found that 
 such a step was rendered totally impossible by 
 the state of war and confusion in which all the 
 surrounding countries were then involved, both 
 among themselves, and v/ith the. French at all 
 their settlements on the Senegal. They had a 
 few days previous to my leaving Kaarta totally 
 destroyed the town of Baquelle in revenge for 
 the assassination of one of their officers, and 
 were concerting measures in conjunction with 
 Bondoo for an attack on Tuabo *'. I was there- 
 
 * This event took place on the 4th August, by a smart 
 cannonade from the French brig, and an assault by the Bondoo 
 army (amounting to nearly three thousand men), a spirited sortie 
 made by about one hundred of the besieged, put the whole 
 army of Bondoo to flight and took several prisoners, whom they 
 immediately butchered in front of the brig, which, although 
 moored witliin musket shot of the shore, was not fired on by 
 the people of the town, with whom the French commandant 
 found it necessary to make peace in a few days afterwards. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 331 
 
 fore necessitated to wait for the arrival of the 
 fleet from Saint Louis, the return of which 
 would afford me the most expeditious and safe 
 means of reaching the coast. This however did 
 not take place before the 24th of September, 
 when, having been accommodated with a pas- 
 sage for my men and self on board one of the 
 French steam ships, we left Baquelle and de- 
 scended the river which was then very much 
 swollen. We arrived at St. Louis on the 8th of 
 October, and were hospitably received by the 
 French Governor, Captain Le Coupe, who po- 
 litely offered me every assistance I might re- 
 quire. 
 
 Here I waited a fortnight, in hopes of meet- 
 ing a vessel going to the Gambia or Sierra Leone, 
 but none offering, 1 proceeded by land to Goree, 
 where I arrived on the 3d of November, and 
 met with a vessel ready to sail for the Bathurst 
 Gambia. The rapid improvement that had taken 
 place since I left it in 1818, struck me with 
 pleasing astonishment, and as a description of the 
 island may not be uninteresting to some, I will 
 endeavour to give it as correctly as the time I 
 spent there enables me to do 5 but I am aware 
 that it possesses many advantages beyond those 
 which came under my observation. See Article 
 First, Appendix. 
 
 I returned to Sierra Leone on board his Ma- 
 
332 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 jesty's ship Pheasant, Captain Kelly, whose po- 
 liteness and attention to myself and men I shall 
 never forget. 
 
 His Excellency Sir Charles McCarthy, who 
 had just arrived from England, was then about 
 visiting some of the liberated negro establish- 
 ments in the country towns, accompanied by all 
 the civil and military staff of the colony. I felt 
 too much concern in the welfare of those truly 
 interesting objects not to make one of the party, 
 and therefore had an opportunity of witnessing 
 the wonderful improvements that had taken place 
 in every town since I had before seen them, in- 
 deed some having all the appearance and regu- 
 larity of the neatest village in England, with 
 church, school, and commodious residences for 
 the missionaries and teachers, had not in 1817 
 been more than thought of. Descending some of 
 the hills, I was surprised on perceiving neat and 
 well laid out villages in places where, but four 
 years before, nothing was to be seen except al- 
 most impenetrable thickets, but arriving in those 
 villages the beauty and interesting nature of such 
 objects was much enhanced by the clean, order- 
 ly, and respectable appearance of the cottages 
 and their inhabitants, particularly the young 
 people and children, who, at all the towns, as- 
 sembled to welcome with repeated cheers the 
 return of their Governor and daddy (father), 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 333 
 
 as they invariably stiled His Excellency, who 
 expressed himself highly pleased at their im- 
 provement during his absence, in which short 
 period large pieces of ground had been cleared 
 and cultivated in the vicinity of all the towns, 
 and every production of the climate raised in 
 sufficient abundance to supply the inhabitants, 
 and furnish the market at Free-town. 
 
 His Excellency visited the schools at the 
 different towns, and witnessed the improve- 
 ment which all the students had made, but par- 
 ticularly those of the high-school at Regent- 
 town, whose progress in arithmetic, geography, 
 and history, evinced a capacity far superior to 
 that which is in general attributed to the Ne- 
 gro, and proves that they may be rendered 
 useful members of society, particularly so in 
 exploring the interior of the country, having 
 previously received the education calculated to 
 that peculiar service. 
 
 From the change which has taken place in 
 those villages since I saw them in 1817, I am 
 satisfied, that a little time is alone necessary to 
 enable the colony of Sierra Leone to vie with 
 many of the West India islands, in all the produc- 
 tions of tropical climates, but particularly in the 
 article of coffee, which has been already raised 
 there, and proved by its being in demand in the 
 
SS4f TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 English market to be of as good (if not superior) 
 quality to that imported from our other colonies. 
 That the soil on the mountains is well adapted 
 to the growth of that valuable berry has been 
 too well proved by the flourishing state of some 
 of the plantations in the immediate vicinity of 
 Free-town to need any comment of mine. Arrow- 
 root has also been cultivated with advantage on 
 some of the farms belonging to private indivi- 
 duals, and there can be no doubt of the capa- 
 bility of the soil to produce the sugar-cane, as 
 some is already grown there, but whether it is 
 of as good a description as that of the West 
 Indies I cannot pretend to say, as the experi- 
 ment had never been tried at Sierra Leone, at 
 least to my knowledge. The cultivation of all 
 these with the cotton, indigo, and ginger, could 
 here be carried on under advantages which our 
 West India islands do not enjoy, namely, the 
 labour of free people, who would reheve the 
 Mother Country from the apprehensions which 
 are at present entertained for the safety of pro- 
 perty in some of those islands, by revolt and in- 
 surrection amongst the slaves, and from the de- 
 plorable consequences of such a state of civil con- 
 fusion ; those people would, by receiving the bene- 
 fits arising from their industry, be excited to exer- 
 tions that must prove beneficial to all concerned 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. SS5 
 
 in the trade, and conducive to the prosperity of 
 the colony itself. 
 
 The capital of the peninsula (Free-town) is of 
 considerable extent, and is beautifully situate, 
 on an inclined plane, at the foot of some hills 
 on which stand the fort and other public build- 
 ings that overlook it, and the roads, from whence 
 there is a delightful prospect of the town rising 
 in the form of an amphitheatre from the water's 
 edge, above which it is elevated about seventy 
 feet. It is regularly laid out into fine wide 
 streets, intersected by others parallel with the 
 river, and at right angles. The houses, which 
 a few years since were for the most part 
 built of timber, many of them of the worst de- 
 scription, and thatched with leaves or grass, are 
 now replaced by commodious and substantial 
 stone buildings, that both contribute to the 
 health and comfort of the inhabitants, and add 
 to the beauty of the place, which is rendered 
 peculiarly picturesque by the numbers of cocoa- 
 nut, orange, lime, and banana trees, which are 
 scattered over the whole town, and afford, in 
 addition to the pine-apple and gouava that grow 
 wild in the woods, an abundant supply of fruit. 
 The Madeira and Teneriffe vines flourish un- 
 commonly well in the gardens of some private 
 
336 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 individuals, and give in the season a large crop 
 of grapes. 
 
 Nearly all our garden vegetables are raised 
 there, and what with yams, cassada, and pom- 
 pions, there is seldom any want of one or other 
 of those agreeable and almost necessary requi- 
 sites for the table. There are good meat, 
 poultry, and fish markets, and almost every ar- 
 ticle in the house-keeping line can be procured 
 at the shops of the British merchants. 
 
337 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Having now finished my narrative, it re- 
 mains for me to fulfil my obligations to the 
 reader and the public, by briefly stating the re- 
 sult of my experience, not only upon the habits 
 and manners of the people of Western Africa, 
 but also as to the progress they have made to- 
 wards civilization, as to their political institu- 
 tions and religious improvement. In doing 
 this I shall cautiously abstain from entering into 
 abstruse calculations, and religiously confine my- 
 self to what my best judgement enables me to 
 declare from practical observation. I must 
 here however state, that it has been too long 
 the custom to set little value on the African 
 Negro, to consider him as a being mid-way 
 placed between the mere brute and man ; as 
 impervious to every ray of intellectual light ; 
 and, in a word, as incapable of enjoying the 
 blessings of civil or religious liberty. This cus- 
 tom is, to say the least of it, erroneous, and the 
 notion on which it is founded unjust. The 
 Spaniards, after the discovery of South America, 
 
 z 
 
338 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 affected to believe the South Americans of a 
 species inferior to themselves. They ruinously 
 acted on that belief for centuries, and the de- 
 scendants of those Spaniards have lived to see 
 the day, when long observation has taught them, 
 at a large expense, a very different lesson. It 
 is not however denied, that slaves must and will 
 be slaves, with all tlie cunning and treachery 
 which their condition engenders, and perhaps 
 it may still be a question, if persons enfranchised 
 from a state of slaverv can, by the fact of such 
 an enfranchisement, become at once, or even 
 very speedily, fit and useful members of a free 
 and enlightened community. At the first blush 
 of the question the answer would be in the ne- 
 gative, but that negative should not be left 
 unqualified. The people amongst whom I have 
 travelled, and of whom only I would now be 
 understood to write, are illiterate and conse- 
 quently superstitious ; but the former arises 
 not from w^ant of capacity or genius so much as 
 from the want of means to cultivate them j 
 their mechanical like their agricultural know- 
 ledge is extremely limited, but why from that 
 argue their incapacity to meet improvement, if 
 improvement were happily thrown in their v^^ay ? 
 They have beside, a civil polity and a diploma- 
 tic chicane in their intercourse with each other. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 339 
 
 which is not usually to be found in merely sa- 
 vage life. Like most half taught people their 
 cunning generally supersedes their wisdom, but 
 then I am still prepared to argue, that if you 
 allow them the full exercise of their industry ; 
 if you improve and protect it ; if, by wise and 
 judicious policy, you lift the Negro in his own 
 esteem, and teach his Chief, that what is 
 good was intended for all, though not in the 
 same proportion, for the servant as the master ; 
 if you abate their superstition by the careful 
 introduction of evangelical truths ; if, in a word, 
 you realize those things, the condition of Africa 
 will soon assume the appearance of health, lon- 
 gevity, and happiness. 
 
 Their wants are, generally speaking, few and 
 easily satisfied ; and their soil, though barren, 
 yields a sufficiency of those common necessaries 
 of life which are required in tropical climates. 
 They have not, unfortunately, any copimon lan- 
 guage to knit them together in society, hence 
 must their intercourse with each other be ex- 
 tremely limited ; their curiosity is not awakened 
 by the contemplation of new and remote objects, 
 they know few artificial necessities to induce 
 the visits of strangers to supply them, and hence, 
 except in war, they seldom pass the boundaries 
 of the hut that shelters, and the field of rice 
 or corn that feeds them. Nor are these the 
 
 z ^> 
 
340 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 only disadvantages, or, more properly speaking, 
 difficulties to their general improvement. It is 
 a melancholy truth, that some of the white men 
 who were in the first instances sent ostensibly 
 to instruct them, were often actuated by dif- 
 ferent motives to suffer the lust of interest and 
 power to tempt them from the useful discharge 
 of the functions entrusted to them ^ — they, too, 
 often meet cunning by cunning, treachery by 
 treachery, and rapine by rapine : and while they 
 thus conducted themselves,- — why expect the 
 Negro to view them in the light of friends and 
 Christian regenerators? The Negro absurdly 
 thinks the white man his enemy, and in how many 
 thousand instances has not the white man rea- 
 lised this absurdity into positive and melancholy 
 fact? The white inculcates principles whose 
 practice he violates, and then he turns round and 
 smiles at the incredulity, or affectedly weeps over 
 the folly of those who will not yield to the happy 
 influence which, forsooth ! he was destined to 
 spread amongst them. That this has been too 
 much the case cannot be denied. That a different 
 conduct now prevails, I can with pleasure assert, 
 and I hope for the sake of mankind, that it may 
 improve in proportion as the field of our en- 
 quiries shall enlarge. This misconduct was the 
 beginning of all the evil which followed, and 
 tliose erroneous views destroyed the best inten- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 341 
 
 tioned labours. We as Englishmen should con- 
 sider that the prejudices of ages cannot be era- 
 dicated in an hour, nor the light of truth com- 
 municated by instruction at the mere will of man. 
 To benefit our fellow creatures, we must expend 
 time, patience, money, resources and sedulous 
 instruction, because we know that cupidity, 
 bigotry, and revenge, and all the bad passions 
 which spring from ignorance, are not to be de- 
 stroyed by any other effectual means. Many 
 incidents have been stated in the course of my 
 narrative, which justify these remarks, exclusive 
 of those more prominent instances which are to 
 appear in the sequel. 
 
 The principal difficulties which impeded my 
 progress may be reduced to a few heads. The 
 cupidity and duplicity of the chiefs, the exist- 
 ence of slavery as connected with our endea- 
 vours to abolish it, the idle fears and apprehen- 
 sions growing out of recent hostile transactions 
 in the Senegal, and, mainly, the rapid spread 
 and dreadful influence of the Mahomedan faith. 
 
 The duplicity of the chiefs is principally ex- 
 emplified in the conduct of the kings of Woolli, 
 Bondoo and Kaarta, and either in the want of 
 inclination, or the fear of our approaching or 
 passing Sego, by the king of that country. At 
 Woolli perhaps they were of too trivial a nature, 
 and the king so inadequate to prevent our pass- 
 
34f^ TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 ing by force, that they scarcely merit attention. 
 They serve however to shew, that if he had not 
 the power, he had at least the inclination to 
 throw every obstacle in the way of our proceed- 
 ing eastward, but in which direction, it is 
 equally true, that none but his enemies resided. 
 It may be naturally supposed he did not wish 
 such persons to be enriched by sharing in the 
 booty expected from our baggage, exaggerated 
 reports of whose value had been circulated 
 through the interior long before even the first 
 expedition had left Senegal. At Bondoo the 
 fairest promises were in the first instance held 
 out to us by Almamy ; nay, an apparent impa- 
 tience was evinced by him to send us forward, 
 but this we soon discovered to have originated 
 in a desire on his part to grasp at those presents 
 which he supposed we should make him in con- 
 sideration for so laudable an attention to our 
 interests, but which (although more than we 
 could well afford) not being sufficiently valuable 
 in his eyes, were no sooner handed over to him, 
 than the appearance of things changed, and he 
 made a demand for nearly as much more, under 
 the name of customs. The English name, and the 
 liberality of the British governors of St. Louis, 
 and Senegal, to Almamy Bondoo were well 
 and long known to him previously to our enter- 
 ing his country, but it appears that not only the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 3io 
 
 recollection of their kindness to him had vanish- 
 ed with our cession of that colony to the French, 
 but that he had been determined to crown his 
 ingratitude with treachery, deceit, and even 
 want of common hospitality to the expedition, 
 which was unfortunately induced to prefer the 
 road through his country for the reasons already 
 mentioned in p. 61, and in consequence of the 
 very apparently warm manner in which he ex- 
 pressed himself grateful for the handsome pre- 
 sents he had received from Sir Charles McCarthy 
 when commanding at St. Louis. That every 
 deference and respect for him as the king of 
 Bondoo, and indeed in some cases rather more 
 than enough, had been shewn him, is but 
 too evident from the enormous sacrifices we 
 made at the shrine of his insatiable avarice, 
 with a view of conciHating his favour and pro- 
 tection, and of convincing him that our object 
 in going to the east was not only the mere solu- 
 tion of a geographical question, but an endea- 
 vour at the eventual improvement of the com- 
 mercial and social interests of the countries we 
 visited, by opening a safe and direct com- 
 munication between them and our settlements, 
 where I assured Almamy we should be most 
 happy to see himself and subjects as constant 
 visitors. What could have induced him to act as 
 
S44 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 he did towards us I was really for a long time 
 at a loss to define, although he more than once 
 hinted at having received private information, 
 and as he said from good authority, that we had 
 in view the destruction of his country, but 
 which I could not then believe, and supposed 
 he only made that excuse a cloak to hide some 
 other motive with which I ineffectually strained 
 every nerve to become satisfactorily acquainted. 
 The information which I afterwards acquired 
 with respect to the immense profits arising to 
 the native merchants from the trade, and 
 barter of slaves, in the transaction already 
 mentioned of redeeming the Bondoo woman 
 and her daughter out of the hands of the Kaar- 
 tans, led me, in considering that subject mi- 
 nutely, to leflect on other circumstances con- 
 nected with the question, and that left no 
 doubt on my mind as to his having been there- 
 by influenced : these shall be fully explained 
 hereafter. 
 
 The king of Kaarta likewise, after tempting 
 me under the most flattering promises to enter 
 his country, having even sent an escort of one 
 thousand horse to conduct me in safety, when 
 he had received from me to the full measure 
 which inclination or duty prompted me to give 
 him, not only broke every promise he made me 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 345 
 
 of assistance in the prosecution of my journey, 
 but literally plundered me of the few articles 
 which his avarice had hitherto spared. As on 
 other occasions, I was here at a loss to con- 
 jecture the cause of such treatment, and upon 
 the most mature and unprejudiced considera- 
 tion, can only attribute it to the same causes as 
 operated on his brother chiefs of Woolli and 
 Bondoo. 
 
 The King of Sego was at war with the Mas- 
 sina Foulahs when Mr. Dochard entered his 
 country, and as his enemies were a powerful peo- 
 ple, he was unwilHng to admit of our nearer ap- 
 proach, until, as he said, they should either be 
 defeated, or yield to terms of peace which he 
 should dictate to them. That Mr. Dochard's 
 delay might have been caused by such a dispo- 
 sition, is not at all impossible, but it is neverthe- 
 less evident, that the very great distance he 
 ordered the removal of Mr. Dochard, pending 
 these negociations, affords room for supposing 
 that he was actuated by other motives than 
 those which he had previously assigned, namely, 
 a superstitious fear of the too near approach of 
 a person who was supposed to possess superna- 
 tural powers, and likely to become a trouble- 
 some neighbour. That the general persuasion 
 throughout the country of Bambarra, and par- 
 
346 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 ticularly at Sego, was of this nature, has been 
 already proved by Mr. Park, to whose appear- 
 ance there the death of Mausong hunself, and 
 of other great personages immediately after his 
 passage through, was industriously attributed by 
 the Mahomedans. A second opportunity was 
 afforded to their malice against us, and their 
 hatred of our faith, upon the occasion of the 
 subsequent death of some of Dha's chief men, 
 particularly the governor of Bamakoo, who died 
 suddenly a few days after Mr. Dochard's arrival 
 at that town. 
 
 The existence of slavery as connected with 
 the endeavours of England to abolish it, tends 
 in a material degree to awaken the jealousy of 
 the native chiefs, who, in common with the 
 Moorish and Negro traders, derived, and are 
 still deriving, a very lucrative income from that 
 abominable traffic, which they designate by the 
 softened appellation of a lawful branch of com- 
 merce. In order to give an adequate idea to 
 my readers of the profits attending this trade in 
 human flesh, it will be necessary for me to state 
 a few particulars. 
 
 I have already stated in page 326, that in order 
 to save from the fate which I had good reason 
 to know awaited my baggage at Moonia, I 
 had released from slavery a Bondoo woman and 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 347 
 
 her child, with the intention of restoring them 
 to their family, and had paid for each of them a 
 larger sum in merchandize than is generally 
 considered the ransom of a slave taken in war, 
 but in reality amounting to a mere trifle when 
 put in competition with the liberty of a fellow- 
 creature, as will appear by the following state- 
 ment : — 
 
 ARTICLES PAID FOR THE WOMAN AND HER CHILD. 
 
 EnSami. (equal in Kaarta each to") 
 3 pieces of blue India 1 ^^ 1 a^i /-.i -f 
 
 > 75s. < 40 bars, ofthe nomi- Vi20 
 
 / nalvalueof Is. 6d. ea. 1 
 
 SOlbs. trade gunpowder 30s. of the same bars 300 
 
 1000 common flints 12s. 10 onebar 100 
 
 1. yd coarse scarlet cloth 16s 50 
 
 A fine silk pang 15s 50 
 
 £7 8s. 500 
 
 Or the value of five prime slaves in that coun- 
 try. Had one of the native merchants purchas- 
 ed those poor creatures, he would not have paid 
 more than two hundred of those bars for them, 
 and probably not so much, as he would first have 
 changed those articles for cowries % the current 
 money of that country, with which he would 
 have made the bargain. He could next sell 
 them to the traders in the Senegal, or as profit- 
 ably to their friends in Bondoo, for the follow- 
 ing articles : — 
 
 * Shells. 
 
348 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 f each called 10 trade bars at "J Kaaria bars. 
 
 6 pieces baft J Galam, where 60 of those J^ equal to 240 
 
 (^ bars are given for a slave J 
 
 4|lbs. of powder, Jib. a trade bar 30 
 
 2 common guns (each 10) 20 do 80 
 
 480 flints 
 
 40 do.... 
 
 
 48 
 
 120 sheets common paper 
 1 card snufF-box , 
 
 20 do.... 
 
 
 24 
 
 1 do.... 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 scissors 
 
 1 do.... 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 steel 
 
 1 do..., 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 common looking-glass 
 
 1 do.... 
 
 
 2 
 
 120* 
 
 ...equal to.... 
 
 ....430 1 
 
 For which he could again purchase ^ve slaves 
 in Kaarta, where there is no want of those 
 wretched beings. Is it then to be wondered at 
 that those people view with a jealous eye our 
 endeavours to suppress that trade, or throw ob- 
 stacles in the way of our penetrating into the 
 interior of their country, where they suppose we 
 are attracted with no other view than the ulti- 
 mate subversion of their religion and favourite 
 traffic in their own flesh and blood ; for it is im- 
 possible to convince them (at least by words) 
 that we have no such intention : and as to think 
 of persuading them that the extension of our 
 geographical knowledge in visiting unknown 
 countries at such risks and expense, or that the 
 lawful increase of our commerce alone attract 
 
 * Nominal value 2s. 6d. each, t Nominal value Is. 6d. each. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 349 
 
 our Steps, we might as well tell them that a white 
 man never bought a slave. Whenever I spoke 
 of the Niger, or my anxiety to see it, they asked 
 me if there were no rivers in the country (we 
 say) we inhabit ; for the general belief is, as be- 
 fore stated, that we live exclusively in ships on 
 the sea. The Moors too, who are general tra- 
 ders, and visit all the states of the interior in 
 their commercial pursuits, are aware that any 
 encouragement given by the native chiefs to our 
 direct and friendly intercourse with them must 
 tend to undermine their own trade, and in the 
 course of time to remove from the eyes and un- 
 derstandings of those chiefs and their subjects 
 the veil of superstition by which they are now 
 shrouded. They therefore take advantage of the 
 credit and respectability which in their charac- 
 ters as Maraboos they so invariably enjoy, to 
 circulate reports prejudicial not only to our views 
 in Africa (which they, if they do not really be- 
 lieve like the negroes, represent in the same 
 way) but to our character as a people, whom 
 they designate by the degrading appellation of 
 Kafer, or unbeliever. 
 
 From the simple calculation and expose just 
 now made, it must be obvious that the native 
 princes and traders have a strong and direct in- 
 terest to oppose the abolition of slavery; although 
 as regards the negro population it is equally clear 
 
350 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 that they have, if possible, a stronger and more 
 direct interest to promote it by every means in 
 their power. It is not my intention to enter into 
 the very wide and comprehensive question grow- 
 ing out of this position, namely, whether the free 
 negro, if independent of his master, could ob- 
 tain sufficient employment, or, obtaining, would 
 be ready to accept it. The first authorities 
 of the present day, the ablest political econo- 
 mists of this and every otl\^r country, have de- 
 cided that labour should be free ; not only as 
 conducive to the increased comforts of the la- 
 bourer, but as decidedly favourable to the pe- 
 cuniary interests of the employer and consumer. 
 The African chiefs, like the owners of slaves in 
 other countries, think they have no security for 
 their authority but the maintenance of their 
 people in slavery ; and the prejudices of the ne- 
 groes are such, the custom has been so long con- 
 tinued and by time become so inveterately 
 strong, that no one having pretensions to supe- 
 riority will perform any of those useful occupa- 
 tions which the best informed in civilised coun- 
 tries so usually attend to. There is in the habit 
 of slav^ery a something much more difficult of 
 cure than even in the oldest and most stormy 
 passions of educated man : there is within it a 
 debasement not to be found in any other state, 
 and it seems as absolutely to chain men to the 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 351 
 
 mere measure of their length and breadth upon 
 the soil, as if their existence had no other object. 
 The sun seems to roll his orbit without their 
 observance, and the earth to yield its fruits 
 without their gratitude ; and yet they exhibit a 
 deep sense of injury, and feel an insatiable thirst 
 for revenge: such opposite feelings all being 
 generated from the unwholesome effluvia of their 
 religion — of which, however, more hereafter. 
 
 Another and very*plausible reason was afford- 
 ed the chiefs and people of the interior for not 
 wishing our presence in their countries, and for 
 exciting them to jealous and fearful conjectures 
 as to the object of our visits. This was the 
 forcible possession taken by the French of a 
 position on the Foota frontier of the Waallo coun- 
 try, which although no doubt dictated by a laud- 
 able desire of improving the condition of those 
 people and giving a stimulus to their commerce, 
 was done in opposition to the wishes of the Foota 
 chiefs and of those of the Moorish tribes of 
 Bracknar and Trarsar, all of whom claimed a 
 right to the place, and to defend which they 
 made war on the King of Waallo, whose permis- 
 sion alone to establish and occupy a post on dis- 
 puted ground was purchased by the Governor 
 of Senegal. 
 
 The other chiefs remonstrated against this in- 
 fringement of their rights, but receiving no sa- 
 
352 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 tisfactory answer, joined their forces, and almost 
 wholly destroyed the country, where all the hor- 
 rors and misery so appallingly attendant on Afri- 
 can wars were inflicted on and borne by the 
 wretched inhabitants. A dreadful instance of 
 the detestation in which the actual state of sla- 
 very is regarded by the free-born negro, so far 
 as they are themselves concerned, occurred at 
 the destruction of one of those towns. The wives 
 of some chiefs who had either been killed or taken 
 by the enemy determined not to survive their 
 husbands' or their country's fall, and preferring 
 death, even in its most terrifying shape, to sla- 
 very and the embraces of their captors, — suffered 
 themselves and their young children to be burnt 
 to death in a hut, where they had assembled with 
 that determination, and which was set on fire by 
 themselves. This affair and some others of a 
 similar nature which took place about that 
 time in the Senegal, although rendered neces- 
 sary by acts of plunder, breach of contract, or 
 treachery on the part of the chiefs, who are un- 
 fortunately much addicted to such conduct, were 
 unavoidably attended with circumstances which, 
 so far from being calculated to make those peo- 
 ple regard the visits of Europeans to their coun- 
 try in a favourable light, had the effect of corro- 
 borating in a great measure the false and inte- 
 rested reports already but too sedulously circu- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 353 
 
 lated by the Moors and other native traders, and 
 too credibly received by the several chiefs. 
 
 Another circumstance, which took place in 
 Bambarra, must serve to convince every impar- 
 tial reader that fears were really entertained by 
 the chiefs as to the ultimate results of our com- 
 munications wfth them. 
 
 At an interview which Mr. Dochard had with 
 one of Dha's head slaves at Bamakoo, where all 
 the occurrences in the Senegal were not only 
 known but much exaggerated, he was asked with 
 a significant smile, " in case the Niger terminat- 
 ed in the sea and was found navigable to Sego, 
 would our large vessels come up to that place, 
 and our merchants settle there as the French had 
 done in the Senegal ?" The object of this ques- 
 tion is too palpably evident to need any com- 
 ment of mine, and Mr, Dochard's answer, " that 
 he doubted the possibility of large vessels as- 
 cending that river, or the wish of our merchants 
 to try it without even settling there," although in 
 my opinion the best he could have given, did not 
 remove from the minds ofDhaand his ministers 
 their apprehension of the consequences. 
 
 The main difficulty to our success in Africa 
 decidedly results from the extent and influence 
 of the Mohamedan religion. From the period 
 of its introduction as affecting the mode of Afri- 
 can legislation, which is scarcely a century since, 
 
 A A 
 
354 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 the negroes, but particularly the chiefs, have lost 
 the little of honesty or natural feeling which they 
 before possessed. The doctrines of Mohame- 
 danism are at right angles with those of Chris- 
 tianity, or if the doctrines be not so widely dif- 
 ferent, it is unquestionable that their influence 
 produces the most melancholy and opposite re- 
 sults. Mohamedanism may direct the perform- 
 ance of moral duties, its theology may be wise 
 and its ethics sound ; but no abstract rules, how- 
 ever good or salutary, can operate upon the be- 
 lievers, while the interests of its ministers are at 
 open war with them. In truth, we need not re- 
 cur to Africa nor Mohamedanism to illustrate 
 the truth of this position, for experience much 
 nearer home has, while even these sheets are 
 at the press, too forcibly proved it. Whatever 
 then the written code of Mohamedanism may 
 teach, I have invariably discovered that in prac- 
 tice, it countenances, if it does not actually ge- 
 nerate, cunning, treachery, and an unquench- 
 able thirst of litigation and revenge. It pro- 
 duces no good but from the meanest sense of 
 fear, and its very profession is of itself considered 
 as sufficient absolution from every atrocity com- 
 mitted to increase its disciples. But in Africa 
 its pernicious tendency is still more exemplified 
 than in those quarters where it has so long 
 flourished with the rankest luxuriance. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 355 
 
 The Africans in their pagan state were not 
 liable to the same superstitions as they are and 
 have been since their proselytism, — if it maybe so 
 termed, because, their reHgion wasnot overloaded 
 with ceremonies, and their priests had but a nar- 
 row and contracted influence. Mohamedanism 
 has made them hypocrites as it keeps them slaves, 
 and, while it prevails to its present extent, they 
 must continue so. Essences are forgotten in the 
 strict observance of a miserable ritual, and truth 
 has lost its value and its splendour when only 
 seen through the jaundiced instruction of pecu- 
 lating Maraboos. These jugglers in morality 
 make whatever use they please of the victims of 
 their sorcery, and if once they catch them in their 
 toils, escape is almost literally impossible. The 
 enmity which those ministers of false doctrine 
 bear against our religion and ourselves naturally 
 induce them to represent us in colours most ter- 
 rifying to the converted negroes' minds, by as- 
 suring them, that, although we say our intentions 
 towards them are good, we are only under that 
 cloak aiming at their total and eventual subjuga- 
 tion 'y — and, they bring forward the continuance 
 of the slave trade by the French in the Senegal 
 as a proof of our want of sincerity. 
 
 The negroes, however, receive a sort of bonus 
 by their conversion to Mohamedanism. In the 
 event of war waged on them by a Mohamedan 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 power, they are spared, or at all events not com- 
 pelled to feel the horrors which usually attend it. 
 But the crying sin of Mohamedanism and the 
 main spring of its pernicious tendency, is the tole- 
 ration of polygamy. I confine my observations to 
 its effects in Western Africa, although if this were 
 the proper time and occasion, I should not dread 
 beins: able to demonstrate that wherever tolerat- 
 ed, its tendency must be evil in the worst degree. 
 Polygamy is the fruitful source of jealousy and 
 distrust, it contracts the parental and filial affec- 
 tions, it weakens and disjoints the ties of kin- 
 dred, and but for the unlimited influence of the 
 Maraboos and the fear of hell, if they do not 
 profit of the license of their great Apostle, must 
 totally unhinge the frame of all society. The 
 father has many wives, the wives have many 
 children, favoritism in its most odious form sets 
 in, jealousy is soon aroused, and revenge un- 
 sheathes the sword which deals forth destruction. 
 But it is not to the domestic circle, it is not to 
 the family arrangements, it is not to the fearful 
 mischiefs it leads to upon social intercourse that 
 I look alone ; but to its division of the soil and to 
 its mutilation of the different states, than which 
 nothing can prove more destructive to any 
 country. The jealousies of the mothers, while 
 exciting to domestic hatred, lead to external civil 
 war, and states rise and set with a sort of harle- 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 557 
 
 quin operation, and when they are sought for 
 vanish in the air, and " leave not a wreck be- 
 hind." The consequence of these wars is, that 
 during the precarious conquests of these chiefs, 
 their whole employment is plunder, and where 
 that cannot be procured the forfeiture — is life. 
 All order and morality is upset, all right is un- 
 known, and the effect must be the degradation 
 of society and the dismemberment of empire in 
 that ill-fated portion of the world. 
 
 To this cause also may be attributed in a great 
 measure the existence (at least to the present 
 extent) of slavery, for that religion not only gives 
 an apparently divine authority to the practice, 
 but instils, in to the minds of its proselytes a con- 
 viction or belief, that all who are not or will not 
 become Mohamedans were intended by Provi^ 
 dence and their Prophet to be the slaves and 
 property of those who do. It is much to be 
 regretted that those valuable and indefatigable 
 friends of Africa who have been for years labour- 
 ing towards civilization on the coast, where much 
 has been done by the pious labours and ex- 
 ample of the missionaries from the Church and 
 other Societies, are so circumstanced, from the 
 many difficulties which the climate itself pre- 
 sents and the rapid spread of the Mohamedan 
 faith, that they are unable to penetrate beyond 
 the influence of our settlements on the coast. 
 
358 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 and consequently excluded from all possibility 
 (for the present at least) of giving those mis- 
 guided people an opportunity of judging for 
 themselves between the secure and happy state 
 of those whom the exertions of an enlightened 
 country and the influence of the Christian reli- 
 gion have redeemed from slavery and ignorance, 
 and the miserably precarious and blind condi- 
 tion to which they are themselves subjected. 
 
 Having thus far stated the difficulties which 
 have hitherto impeded, and are still likely to 
 impede our researches in, and our civilization 
 of Western Africa, it may not be considered 
 as adventuring too much if I place before my 
 readers a few suggestions, which, if acted upon, 
 may have a tendency to diminish, if not to over- 
 come them altogether. 
 
 I have adverted amongst others to the diffi- 
 culty originating in the fears which were enter- 
 tained in consequence of the transactions on the 
 Senegal, but on that the remedy is obviously 
 one to be administered by the healing hand of 
 time. The native chiefs had long received pre- 
 sents which were originally granted for the ac- 
 commodation and security they afforded to the 
 European and Senegal merchants who traded 
 with them. In the progress of time, however, 
 those voluntary presents were not only de- 
 manded as a right, but when refused (which was 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. S59 
 
 only the case where a breach of faith on their 
 part was committed), were enforced by the pro- 
 hibition of further commercial intercourse, and 
 this generally terminated in a compliance with 
 their demand. This peaceable, and even almost 
 necessary mode of conciliation, at the period I 
 speak of, was afterwards continued as a matter 
 of course. The arrogance of the native chief was 
 pampered by the yielding, and his cupidity was 
 fed by the necessity of doing so. And the evil 
 did not rest here, for as we conceded they ad- 
 vanced fresh claims, which, even when admitted, 
 afforded no certainty that their promises with us 
 would be fulfilled. 
 
 Immediately after our cession of that colony, 
 the French authorities there decided on con- 
 vincing those people, that, although they were 
 willing, in a great degree, to submit to the cus- 
 tom which had so long existed, yet, that they 
 would not quietly bear the obstructions thrown 
 in the way of their commercial pursuits upon 
 the Upper Senegal ; and prepared to meet force 
 by force, which was eventually rendered neces- 
 sary by the hostile threats and actions of the 
 natives. Time, and time alone, can afford to 
 those natives a proof that the resistance forced 
 upon the French was not an act of disrespect to 
 them, or of a disposition to invade their just pre- 
 tensions or their rights ; but intended to shew 
 
360 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 them that the benefits of commerce should be 
 mutual, and that a present, unrefused as such, 
 should not be converted into a right, to be en- 
 forced for the future by prohibitions or by arms. 
 Another remedy at once presents itself to the 
 mind, but, unfortunately, that is a remedy which 
 cannot, I fear, be speedily administered, much 
 less easily obtained ; I allude to the general con- 
 currence of Europe in the abolition of slavery* 
 England, however, does not come in for any 
 share of blame on this eventful subject : every 
 thing has been done by her which eloquence, 
 treasure, influence, humanity, or religion could 
 unite in favour of so desirable a consummation. 
 It is to be hoped that her example will, sooner 
 or later, induce the other powers of Europe to 
 imitate it, in which event the most incalculable 
 advantages would result to the suffering negroes 
 of Africa. It would be, perhaps, unbecoming 
 in me to press this important topic to an ex- 
 tremity ; the wisest men as statesmen, and the 
 minutest calculators as political economists, all 
 concur in stating the general abolition of slavery 
 (placing all humanity and rehgion out of the 
 question) to be a general good. After the ex- 
 pression of such a very extensive and honourable 
 feeling, it is matter of regret that some of the 
 powers of Europe cannot be induced to aid in 
 the great work which England had the honour 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. S6l 
 
 of commencing, and completing as far as she 
 was concerned. It is a heart-rending reflection 
 that mistaken views of interest, or the calls of 
 avaricious clamour, should not only take prece- 
 dence of, but actually absorb all the obligations 
 of good feeling, and all the commands of the 
 Most High. But we are to hope a new light 
 may break in upon the councils of those who are, 
 perhaps, only mistaken, or who, from some over- 
 ruling necessity, are obliged to tolerate a traffic 
 at which not only our nature revolts, but which 
 no one has of late years had the hardihood to 
 attempt a shadow of justification. 
 
 I am persuaded that a mode of disposal of 
 some of the liberated negroes similar to that 
 which I adopted in the case of Corporal Harrup, 
 would be attended with the most beneficial re- 
 sults to Africa and the Mother Country 5 to the 
 former, by affording them a strong proof of our 
 good intentions towards them, and to the latter, 
 by extending our commercial intercourse by 
 means of these people ; who would unquestion- 
 ably, not only revisit our settlements themselves, 
 but would induce many of their fellow country- 
 men to accompany them, I am, however, aware 
 that many difficulties present themselves to the 
 accomplishment of such a step : first, from the 
 almost impossibility of ascertaining whether the 
 
362 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 person so disposed of belonged to a free family, 
 for few of them will acknowledge the fact of 
 their having been born in slavery ; and secondly, 
 from the very limited intercourse between our 
 colonies and the remote states of the interior, 
 whence those unfortunate beings were dragged 
 into slavery ; and during their return whether 
 they would, on most occasions, be exposed to a 
 second, and, if possible, a worse state of bondage. 
 The latter difficulty, however, is daily decreas- 
 ing before the persevering endeavours of Africa's 
 friends in this country, under the immediate and 
 personal direction of an active governor, who, in 
 holding out every inducement to the chiefs and 
 people in the vicinity of our colonies to keep up 
 a direct and friendly intercourse with our com- 
 mercial agents, is adopting a plan likely to be 
 attended with the most salutary results *. 
 
 The cupidity and duplicity of the chiefs has 
 already obtained that notice which it required, 
 and to obviate them, it has occurred to me there 
 are no means more available, and, I may add, 
 more speedily practicable, than the enlargement 
 
 * The late unfortunate occurrences on the Gold Coast, and 
 the melancholy death of Sir Charles JM'Carthy, have been too 
 recently before the public to need any remark of mine. I 
 must, however, be permitted to say, that in that gallant, in- 
 telligent and zealous commander, Africa has lost one of her 
 best friends, and society one of its greatest ornaments. 
 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA* 363 
 
 of our intercourse with the people, and the en- 
 couragement and protection of the internal com- 
 merce of Africa. By this we can improve them 
 in the way of example, by the other we can be- 
 nefit them and ourselves in the way of inter- 
 change of commodity; our habits and our man- 
 ners will gain upon them in time, and our skill 
 tend to stimulate and encourage theirs. 
 
 By increasing their commerce we also obtain 
 another happy consummation, we give them em- 
 ployment, and we consequently to a certain ex- 
 tent, secure them from the incessant meddling 
 of their maraboos. We could congregate them 
 in greater numbers together, and therefore the 
 more readily instruct them ; and I may venture 
 to add, that, if a fair degree of zeal were used in 
 such a delightful employment, within a very 
 few years they would prove themselves not un- 
 fitted for the enjoyment of liberal institutions. 
 When once a people feel their moral power im- 
 proving it is not difficult to give it a degree of 
 perfection, and when once the chief found his 
 former slave so far lifted in the scale of being, 
 as to have some notion of the place and duties 
 assigned him here, it would not be easy for him 
 to continue his sway without limit or controul. 
 While, however, the negro dreams of nothing 
 beyond a mere animal support, he is admirably 
 calculated for a slave ; but give him an insight 
 
364f TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
 
 into something higher — teach him an art or a 
 trade, in the exercise of which he finds comfort 
 necessary to himself, and comfort flowing from 
 such an exercise to others ; place him in this 
 situation, and without revolting against the 
 authority of his chief, he will still feel that he is 
 not singled out to remain the unpitied and the 
 worthless slave. That there are powers of mind in 
 the African, it were quite idle to dispute; that the 
 productions of the country are capable of being 
 beneficially employed, must, I think, be equally 
 incontestible to any one who has carefully pe- 
 rused the preceding pages ; and to act with 
 honesty we should not allow both or either to 
 lie for ever dormant. Common charity, much less 
 common interest, forbids so unworthy a course, 
 and, in truth, I cannot have the slightest suspicion 
 that it ever was contemplated. 
 
 Upon this important branch of my subject I 
 might descant to a very considerable extent, but 
 that, fortunately, its magnitude is so thoroughly 
 felt as to spare me the labour on this occasion : 
 let me however look at the advantages of this 
 increased commerce in any point of view, with 
 all the difficulties which rather appear, than really 
 do exist to impede it, I am fully convinced that 
 to it Africa will be at last mainly indebted for 
 any social and political enjoyments to which she 
 may attain. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 The town of Bathurst is situate on the south- 
 eastern extremity of the island of Saint Mary's, 
 at the mouth of the river Gambia, and lies in 
 16°. &. 3". western longitude, and 13\ 28'. m'. 
 northern latitude. The greatest extent of the 
 island is about four miles from wnw. to ese., 
 but its general breadth does not exceed a mile 
 and a half, in some places much less. The surface 
 of the island is a low plain, with a slight descent 
 from the north and east sides towards the cen- 
 tre, where, during the season of the rains, it is 
 much inundated. Its north-east shore, on which 
 stands a part of the town, is not more than 
 twelve or fourteen feet above the level of high- 
 water mark. The tides, however, are very irre- 
 gular, and are much influenced in their rise and 
 fall by the nw. and se. winds. 
 
 The settlement, although in its infant state, 
 has made a most rapid progress in improvement. 
 Many fine substantial government buildings have 
 been lately erected, and the British merchants 
 
366 APPENDIX. 
 
 resident there, have vied with each other in 
 the elegant and convenient arrangement of their 
 dweUing-houses and stores, all which are built 
 with stone or brick, and roofed with slates or 
 shingles. 
 
 The soil of the island is a red or light colour- 
 ed sand, with little appearance of clay or mould, 
 but from its having furnished the natives of the 
 adjacent country, and the inhabitants of a small 
 town which formerly stood on the island, with 
 rice previously to our taking possession of it, I 
 am satisfied it would, by proper management, 
 bring all the productions of the country to per- 
 fection ; and, no doubt, be rendered as conge- 
 nial to the culture of some of our garden vege- 
 tables as Senegal or Sierra-Leone. 
 
 The edges of the creeks which intersect the 
 island, and the low grounds about them, are 
 thickly covered with mangroves, which are ra- 
 pidly decreasing in being turned to advantage 
 for fuel both in the houses and for the burning 
 of lime. The palm tree, the monkey-bread, or 
 baobab, and several other kinds of large trees, are 
 thickly scattered all over the high grounds, and 
 with an abundance of shrubs and ever-greens 
 give the place a cool, refreshing, though wild 
 appearance. 
 
 Sarah Creek, so called by the natives, is from 
 twenty-five to forty yards wide, and at ebb tide 
 
APPENDIX. 867 
 
 contains no less than seven feet water in the 
 shallowest place, many places having twelve and 
 upwards, with a bottom of hard sand and clay. 
 
 Crooked Creek, which is about the same 
 breadth, has only two feet water at its mouth 
 during the ebb, but its general depth in other 
 places is from three to six feet. 
 
 Turnbull Creek is likewise very shallow, hav- 
 ing in no place more than five feet water. It is 
 possible that much benefit might result from so 
 shutting up the mouths of Newt and Crooked 
 Creeks, and the one adjoining the latter, as to 
 prevent the high flood-tides in the rainy season 
 from entering them, as it would, if effectually 
 done, reclaim from inundation and its conse- 
 quent bad effects, a large space in the almost 
 immediate vicinity of the town. But it remains 
 to decide whether the ground about them is 
 lower than high-water mark, in which case it 
 would be impossible to remedy the present evil 
 in any other way than raising the level of the 
 surface, a work that would be attended with con- 
 siderable expense and difficulty. 
 
 That this infant colony has answered, nay, ex- 
 ceeded the most sanguine expectations of all con- 
 cerned, is strongly proved by the very great and 
 rapid increase of its population, not only by the 
 considerable augmentation of the number of Bri- 
 tish merchants, but by an immense influx of the 
 
368 APPENDIX'. 
 
 inhabitants of Goree, who, not finding employ- 
 ment under the French Government there, and 
 being excluded from the trade of the Gambia, 
 except through the medium of Saint Mary's, or a 
 small factory belonging to the French at Albreda 
 (than which they are not allowed to go higher 
 up the river) are daily emigrating to Bathurst. 
 
 The troops, inhabitants, and merchants are 
 abundantly supplied with beef, mutton, poultry, 
 fish, fruit, milk, butter, palm-wine, and all the 
 African vegetables by the natives of the sur- 
 rounding towns, who, feeling the advantage of 
 such intimacy with the settlement, flock to it 
 in great numbers, and consume a large propor- 
 tion of the European articles imported into the 
 colony. 
 
 Gold, ivory, bees- wax, and hides are brought 
 thither in considerable quantities by the natives, 
 traders, and the inhabitants of Goree who have 
 settled there, and are annually shipped for Eng- 
 land by the British merchants; fine timber of the 
 mahogany kind has been found on the banks of, 
 and islands in the river, and has likewise been 
 sent to the home market, where, I believe, it has 
 met with some encouragement. 
 
APPENDIX. 369 
 
 ARTICLE II.— See Page 59. 
 
 PRESENTS TO THE KING OF KATOBA, APRIL 18tll, 1818. 
 
 One fine gilt dirk. 
 A stone of large amber. 
 Ten bars of glass beads. 
 Two bottles of rum. 
 One piece of blue baft. 
 One do. of white muslin. 
 Twenty bars of amber. 
 Twenty do. of coral. 
 Eighteen bars of tobacco. 
 Sixteen do. of red cloth. 
 
 ARTICLE III.— See Page 87- 
 
 PRESENTS MADE TO THE KING OF WOOLLI AND HIS CHIEFS. 
 TO THE KING. 
 
 One single gun. 
 
 One pound. No. 1, amber. 
 
 Forty dollars. 
 
 A piece of white baft. 
 
 A ditto of blue ditto. 
 
 Twelve stones. No. 1, coral. 
 
 TO HIS SON. 
 
 A common gun. 
 
 Five stones. No. 2, amber. 
 
 Five do. No. 2, coral. 
 
 TO THE CHIEFS. 
 
 One hundred and twenty-six bars in amber, coral, and bafts. 
 
 B B 
 
370 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE IV.— See Page 116. 
 
 PRESENTS MADE TO ALMAMY BONDOO, HIS CHIEFS, MINIS- 
 TERS, &C. JUNE 13th, 1818. 
 
 A fine blue velvet saddle and bridle. 
 
 A large umbrella, gold laced and fringed. 
 
 A sabre. 
 
 A silver gilt cup. 
 
 Eight pieces of blue baft. 
 
 Two do. of white. 
 
 Two do. of blue cambric muslin. 
 
 Two do. of taiFety. 
 
 Two do. of muslin. 
 
 Four pieces of white cambric muslin. 
 
 Four yards of scarlet cloth. 
 
 Five do. of yellow do. 
 
 Five do. of green do. 
 
 Two pounds of cloves. 
 
 Three double barrelled guns. 
 
 Four single do. 
 
 One pound amber. No. 1. 
 
 One string of large pipe coral. 
 
 Two do. small do. 
 
 One silver cup. 
 
 Two metal do. 
 
 One pair line pistols. 
 
 Fifty pounds of tobacco. 
 
 Four morocco bound blank books. 
 
 Four cannisters of fine powder. 
 
 A small bale of flints. 
 
 One hundred and fifty pounds of powder. 
 
 Twenty-four dollars. 
 
 One yard red serge. 
 
 Seven do. of yellow. 
 
 Knives, scissors and snuff boxes, six each. 
 
APPENDIX. 371 
 
 Two razorS;, two pair of spectacles. 
 Some worsted thread. 
 
 TO SAADA, HIS ELDEST SON. 
 
 One fine single gun. 
 
 Two pieces blue baft. 
 
 One do. white do. 
 
 One do. muslin. 
 
 One do. cambric muslin. 
 
 One yard scarlet cloth. 
 
 Ten stones of coral. 
 
 Twenty do. of amber. No. 1 . 
 
 Fifty fine flints. 
 
 One morocco bound book. 
 
 Four canisters of fine powder. 
 
 Five yards of taffety. 
 
 Scissors, razors, snuff boxes, and knives^ three each. 
 
 TO THE MINISTERS. 
 
 Four pieces blue baft. 
 
 Three do white do. 
 
 One do. muslin. 
 
 One do. taffety. 
 
 Four yards scarlet cloth. 
 
 One pound. No. 2, amber. 
 
 One string of coral. 
 
 Twenty-five pounds of powder. 
 
 Two pieces of blue cambric muslin. 
 
 Knives, scissors and snuff-boxesj twelve each. 
 
 Six razors. 
 
 B B 
 
372 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 AGREEMENT 
 
 ENTERED INTO 
 
 WITH ALMAMY BONDOO, AND PRESENTS MADE TO 
 HIM AND THE PRINCES, MINISTERS, ETC., ON 
 
 THE 9th may, 1819. 
 
 ARTICLE VI.— See Page 222. 
 
 TO ALMAMY MOOSA KING OF BONDOO, ETC. 
 FROM MAJOR WILLIAM GRAY, COMMANDING HIS 
 BRITANNIC majesty's MISSION IN THE INTERIOR 
 OF AFRICA, 
 
 GREETING, 
 
 Whereas it being my intention to make you 
 a present suitable to your exalted situation as 
 King of Bondoo, in order to obtain your friend- 
 ship and assistance in prosecuting my journey ; 
 and to convince you of the amicable intentions 
 of our great King George towards you and all 
 your people, I have to demand from you in re- 
 turn the following terms, viz. — 
 
 1st. That you give directions to the chiefs 
 of all the towns or villages in your kingdom, 
 through which we may pass, to receive us as the 
 messengers of so great a king as ours should be 
 received. 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 2d. That you supply us with guides as far as 
 your power extends in the direction we wish to 
 proceed. 
 
 3d. That the presents given consist of the fol- 
 lowing articles, viz. 
 
 To complete the presents to Almamy Amady 
 for the last year : 
 
 2 Double guns Two. 
 
 6 Single do Six. 
 
 1 Fine double do One. 
 
 160 Bottles of powder .... One hun- 
 dred and sixty. 
 
 Present to Almamy Moosa this year : 
 
 2 Fine double guns . . Two. 
 1 Do. single do. . . . One. 
 4 Pieces blue baft . . . Four. 
 
 4 Do. white do Four. 
 
 3 Yards of scarlet cloth . Three. 
 
 5 Do. sprigged muslin . Five. 
 5 Do. tamboured do. . . Five. 
 5 Do. taffety .... Five, 
 lib. Amber One. 
 
 501b. Powder Fifty. 
 
 1 Piece of cambric . . . One. 
 
 20 Grains of coral . . . Twenty. 
 
 500 Flints Five hundred. 
 
3/4 APPENDIX, 
 
 500 Balls Five hundred. 
 
 lib. Cloves One, 
 
 TO THE QUEEN. 
 
 1 Pair of sprigged muslin pangs. 
 
 1 Do. fine worked do. 
 10 Stones large amber. 
 10 Do. coral. 
 
 9 Bunches of beads. 
 
 ^Ib. Cloves. 
 
 $ Yards of serge. 
 
 William Gray, Major. 
 
 I, Almamy Moosa, in consequence of the 
 above presents, and my wish to be of service to 
 you, the messenger of your King George of En- 
 gland, do hereby bind myself to render you the 
 protection and assistance required by the fore- 
 going terms ; In confirmation of which I do 
 hereby affix my signature, in the name of God 
 the Most High, this 9th day of May, 1819, at 
 Boolebany. 
 
 (Signed) Almamy Moosa Yeora. 
 
 Thierno — Mamadoo. 
 
 Prince Mamadoo Safietta. 
 
APPENDIX. 375 
 
 ARTICLE VII.— See Page 222. 
 
 PRESENT TO SAADA^ 9tH MAY, 1819. 
 
 One double gun. 
 One piece of blue baft. 
 One piece of white baft. 
 One do. of cambric muslin. 
 Fifteen pounds of powder. 
 Half a pound of No. 2, amber. 
 Ten stones of do. coral. 
 Two hundred flints. 
 
 TO PRINCE TOMANY. 
 
 One double gun. 
 
 One single do. 
 
 Two pieces of blue baft. 
 
 Two do. of white baft. 
 
 Four yards of scarlet. 
 
 One piece of cambric muslin. 
 
 Half a pound of No. 2, amber. 
 
 Ten stones of do. coral. 
 
 Twenty-five pounds powder. 
 
 Two hundred flints. 
 
 Four ounces of cloves. 
 
 ARTICLE VII—See Page 223. 
 
 TO PRINCE AMADY CAMA, 18tH MAY. 
 
 One double gun. 
 Half a piece of blue baft. 
 Half a do. of white baft. 
 Ten stones of No. 2, amber. 
 Five pounds of powder. 
 Fifty flints. 
 
376 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE VII.~See Page 223. 
 
 TO PRINCE ALI HOO, 18tH MAY, 1819. 
 
 Half a piece of blue baft. 
 Half a piece of wbite baft. 
 Half a yard of scarlet. 
 Ten stones of No. 2, amber. 
 Four do. of coral. 
 Three pounds of powder. 
 Fifty flints. 
 
 TO OSMAN CUMBA, CHIEF OP SAMBA CONTAYE. 
 
 One double gun. 
 
 Half a piece of blue baft. 
 
 Half a do. of white do. 
 
 Ten stones of No. 2, amber. 
 
 Four do. of coral. 
 
 One yard of scarlet. 
 
 Fifty flints. 
 
 Four ounces of cloves. 
 
 Five pounds of powder. 
 
 ARTICLE IX.—See Page 232. 
 
 PRESENT MADE TO THE GUIDES. 
 
 One double gun. 
 
 Four pieces of blue baft. 
 
 Two do. of white do. 
 
 Two do. of Manchester prints. 
 
 Three yards of scarlet cloth. 
 
 Four muslin pangs. 
 
 Three taffety do. 
 
 One pound of No. 2, amber. 
 
 Six yards of baize. 
 
 Ten bunches of beads. 
 
 Five hundred flints. 
 
 Six knives and scissors. 
 
APPENDIX. 377 
 
 ARTICLE X.— See Page 234. 
 
 PRESENT SENT TO THE CHIEFS OF FOOTA. 
 
 Two pieces of blue baft. 
 
 Two pieces of white do. 
 
 One pound of No. 2, amber. 
 
 One blank book. 
 
 Two yards of scarlet cloth. 
 
 Twenty-five pounds of powder. 
 
 Two hundred flints. 
 
 One piece of Manchester print. 
 
 TO THE TWO FOOTA PEOPLE WHO ACCOMPANIED OUR 
 MESSENGER. 
 
 One piece of white baft. 
 Half a do. of blue do. 
 Eight pounds of powder. 
 Fifty flints. 
 
 One yard of scarlet cloth. 
 Thirty grains of No. 2, amber. 
 
378 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XI.— See Page 26l. 
 
 LIST OF THINGS RECEIVED FROBI FOOTA OF THOSE LOST 
 THERE. 
 
 Three horses. 
 
 Seventeen asses. 
 
 Three goats. 
 
 Four double guns. 
 
 Thirteen muskets. 
 
 One pair of pistols. 
 
 One sword. 
 
 Four spring guns. 
 
 Two tents. 
 
 One bale of 50 pounds of powder. 
 
 One do. of flints. 
 
 One bag of balls. 
 
 Three large saws. 
 
 Two small do. 
 
 Three old saddles. 
 
 One and a half do. of blue baft. 
 
 The books and boxes. 
 
 Cooking utensils. 
 
 Forty country cloths, in payment for two asses that died 
 while in their possession, and the two gold rings I had given 
 Bayla. 
 
APPENDIX. 379 
 
 ARTICLE XII.— See Page 288. 
 
 PRESENTS TO SAMBA CONGOLE AND THE CHIEFS OF FORT 
 ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 TO SAMBA. 
 
 One double gun. 
 One single do. 
 One pair of pistols. 
 Twenty-five pounds of powder. 
 One yard of scarlet cloth. 
 Sixteen grains of No. I, amber. 
 Sixteen do. of No. 2, corals. 
 Five pair of pangs. 
 Four bunches of beads. 
 One hundred flints. 
 Half a pound of cloves. 
 
 TO THE CHIEFS. 
 
 Two double guns. 
 Two pieces of baft. 
 Fifteen pounds of powder. 
 Two hundred and fifty flints. 
 Forty-six grains of No. 2, amber. 
 Forty-six do. of No. 3, coral. 
 Five ounces of cloves. 
 
580 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XIIL— See Page 305. 
 
 FIRST PRESENT TO MODIBA. 
 
 Two double guns. 
 Two single do. 
 One pair of pistols. 
 One sword. 
 
 Fifty pounds of powder. 
 Five thousand flints. 
 Two pieces of blue baft. 
 Two do. of white do. 
 One yard of scarlet cloth. 
 One do. of yellow do. 
 One do. of green do. 
 Five do. of muslin. 
 Five do. of taffety. 
 Two fine pangs. 
 Haifa piece of print. 
 Half a do. of blue silk. 
 Two coloured silk handkerchiefs. 
 Ten large stones of No. 1, amber. 
 Eight do. of No. 1, coral. 
 Half a piece of India print. 
 One fine saddle cloth. 
 
 A handsome plated tureen and cover. To which was added 
 on the 1st of April, 
 
 ARTICLE XIV.~See Page 305. 
 
 One pound of small amber. 
 
 One pound of cloves. 
 
 One dirk and belt. 
 
 Twelve dollars. 
 
 One pound of worsted thread. 
 
 Two bunches of beads. 
 
 One silver cup. 
 
APPENDIX. 381 
 
 ARTICLE XV.— See Page 307- 
 
 PRESENT TO ALL 
 
 One double gun. 
 
 Two yards of muslin. 
 
 Two do. of silk. 
 
 Six stones of No. ] , amber. 
 
 Six do. of No. 3, coral. 
 
 One piece of blue baft. 
 
 One piece of pang. 
 
 Seven pounds of powder. 
 
 Fifty flints. 
 
 Two ounces of cloves. 
 
 Quarter of a yard of scarlet cloth. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI.— See Page 309. 
 
 THIRD PRESENT TO MODIBA, ON THE 14tH OF APRIL. 
 
 One piece of blue baft. 
 
 One do. of white do. 
 
 One muslin pang. 
 
 One worsted do. 
 
 One silk do. 
 
 One pound of small amber. 
 
 Twenty-four stones^, No. 3, coral. 
 
 Four ounces of cloves. 
 
 Fifteen pounds of powder. 
 
 Two hundred flints. 
 
 One silver medal. 
 
3S2 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XVII.— See Page 314. 
 
 FOURTH PRESENT TO MODIBA. 
 
 One double gun. 
 
 One pound of No. 3, amber. 
 
 Ten yards of callico. 
 
 Six yards of silk. 
 
 Some fine beads. 
 
 Ten pounds of powder. 
 
 Half a yard of scarlet. 
 
 One hundred flints. 
 
 ARTICLE XVIII.— See Page 316. 
 
 FIFTH PRESENT TO MODIBA. 
 
 One single gun. 
 
 Two pairs of fine pangs. 
 
 ARTICLE XIX. 
 
 LIST OF THINGS TAKEN BY MODIBA's SLAVES AT MONIA. 
 
 One double gun. 
 Twenty pounds of powder. 
 Four yards of red silk- 
 Twelve do. of caUico. 
 One do. of scarlet cloth. 
 One do. of yellow do. 
 Two pounds of amber. 
 One thousand flints. 
 A large quantity of beads. 
 Four ounces of small pipe coral. 
 
 Four yards of baize ; a number of knives, scissorS;, snufF 
 boxes, looking glasses, and a ream of paper. 
 
APPENDIX. 3S3 
 
 ARTICLE XX.— See Page 3^5. 
 
 I here witnessed an extraordinary ceremony 
 performed by one of the young princes, who was 
 about undergoing the Mahometan rite of circum- 
 cision. He was dressed in the manner shewn in 
 figure 1, plate 4 ; and accompanied by a host of 
 musicians and young men, visited several towns 
 for the purpose of levying contributions on the 
 provisions and purses of the inhabitants, either 
 by stealth (and for which he could not be pun- 
 ished, not being amenable to the laws for that 
 period) or during his exhibitions in public, by 
 seizing on some of the spectators, whom he 
 held fast and pretended to goad with the horn 
 attached to the wooden figure on his head, 
 until he received some offering which was 
 never withheld, and which, together with the 
 intercession of his attendants, who fanned him 
 with boughs of trees, appeased his wrath, and 
 induced him to sit down. In this position he 
 remained for some minutes, and in an apparent 
 paroxysm of rage recommenced his antics, which 
 generally continued for two or three hours 
 during the heat of the day, leaving the person 
 so exhausted from his exertions and the weight 
 of his dress, that he did not again make his 
 appearance until the following day. In this man- 
 ner I was told he continued acting for a moo7i. 
 
384 APPENDIX. 
 
 DESCRIPTION AND SKETCHES ON BOTANICAL 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 Among the party who accompanied Majou 
 Peddie in the mission into the interior of Africa, 
 was Mr. Kummer, who was charged to make 
 collections in every department of natural his- 
 tory, with drawings and descriptions of what- 
 ever was most interesting in that line, as well as 
 to keep a regular journal of general observations 
 and events. 
 
 Many sketches of animals and plants, and se- 
 veral notes were made ; but these are of such a 
 nature as to require an examination of the spe- 
 cimens from which they were taken, before they 
 can be valuable to a naturalist who is not pre- 
 viously acquainted with the subjects themselves. 
 Unfortunately the individual articles were lost. 
 
 From the drawings, however, and descriptions, 
 such as they are, we have selected four of the 
 most perfect, which relate to as many plants, and 
 which do not appear to us to have been noticed 
 by former naturalists. In doing this however, we 
 cannot help regretting the extremely imperfect 
 state of the materials. Had all the collections of 
 Mr. Kummer been saved, they might have 
 formed a most important addition to our present 
 
appendix:. 385 
 
 unsatisfactory acquaintance with the natural 
 history of Western Africa. 
 
 The plants alluded to were found between 
 Cape Verga, at the mouth of Rio Nunez, and 
 the establishment called Tingalinta. 
 
 It is with much pleasure I take this opportu- 
 nity of acknowledging my obligations to Dr. 
 Hooker, Professor of Botany, at the Glasgow 
 University, for the following plates and their 
 descriptions. 
 
 c c 
 
3S6 APPENDIX, 
 
 Tab. a. 
 ARUM APHYLLUM. 
 
 CLASS AND ORDER MONCECIA POLYANDRIA. 
 
 Natural Order — Aroidea^, 
 
 Gen. Char. Spaiha monophylla, cucullata. 
 Spadix supra nudus, inferne foemineus, medio 
 stamineus. Willd. 
 
 Arum aphyllum ; spadice apice magno sub- 
 globoso rugoso spatha ovato-cucuUata, breviore 
 scapo aphyllo. 
 
 Hab. Locis mentosis saxosis Tingalinta, Fl. 
 mense Februarii. 
 
 RadiXy ut videtur, tuberosa. 
 
 Folia omnino nulla. 
 
 Bractece duae, fere omnino subterraneae, tres 
 uncias long«, lanceolatae, membranae, pallidas, 
 ad basin scapi. 
 
 Scapus palmaris ad spithamaeus, parte supe- 
 riore (2 — 3 uncias) e terra emergens, teres, 
 glaber, succulentus, inferne fere albidus, superne 
 roseus. 
 
 Spatha diametro 3 ad 4 uncias, ovato-ventri- 
 cosa, obliqua, obtusa cum mucronula, margini- 
 
APPENDIX. 887 
 
 bus involuta, basi etiam convoluta, pallide rosea, 
 lineis saturationibus pulcherrime picta. 
 
 Spadia:, basi, ubi flores inserti, cylindraceus, 
 apice magniis (duas uncias latus) ovato-glo- 
 bosus, obliquus, carnosus, extus rugosus, in- 
 tense roseus, intus spongeosus, albus. 
 
 Antherw numerosae, purpureas, sessiles, apice 
 loculis duobus horizontalibus dehiscentes, pur- 
 purescentes. 
 
 Pistilla sub antheras inserta, pauciora. Ger- 
 men globosum, viride. Stylus breviusculus, pur- 
 pureus. Stigma peltatum. 
 
 Fig, 1. Plant, natural size : — all below the 
 line indicated by the letters a — b is subterra- 
 neous. Fig, 2, Front view of the spatha. 
 Fig. 3, Spadix removed from the spatha. c, 
 the circle of anthers, d. the circle of pistils. Fig, 
 4- Section of the spadix. Fig. 5. Anther. Fig. 
 6. Pistil, of which the germen is cut through 
 vertically. The 5th and 6th figures are magni- 
 fied. 
 
 Of this singular and beautiful plant I can find 
 no description, yet it appears to be not uncom- 
 mon in Senegal. The Jolofs, particularly in the 
 country of Cayor, eat the root, when other and 
 better kinds of nourishment fail them. They 
 dry the root and boil it, thus employing heat 
 to extract that poisonous juice with which all 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 APPENDIX, 
 
 the individuals of this natural family are known 
 to abound. It is not, however, eaten at Tin- 
 galinta, nor in the district of the Sousous where 
 it is found in equal plenty. 
 
APPENDIX. 389 
 
 Tab. B. 
 TABERN^MONTANA GRANDIFLOR A. 
 
 CLASS AND ORDER— PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
 
 Natural Order — Apocynece. 
 
 Gen. Char. Contorta. Corolla hypocrateri- 
 formis ; tubus angulato-strictus, basi subglobosus. 
 FolUculi 2, horizontales. Semina pulpae immersa 
 {FoL opposita). 
 
 Tabernsemontana Africana, foliis ovato-lance- 
 olatis oppositis, floribus axillaribus solitariis : 
 tubo corollas spiraliter torto, medio inflato. 
 
 Hab. Kacundy. 
 
 Arbor mediocris vel Frutea:^ ramis subdecli- 
 natis. 
 
 Folia opposita, ovato-lanceolata, basi apiceque 
 subalterneata, integerrima, glabra, nervosa, ner- 
 vis parallelis. 
 
 Flores solitarii, axillares, versus apicem ra- 
 morum, pedunculati. Fedunculus longiusculus, 
 crassus. 
 
 Calyx quinquepartitus, inferus, persistens ; 
 segmentis ovatis, obtusis. 
 
 Corolla hypocrateriformis, magna, speciosa. 
 
390 APPENDIX. 
 
 alba. Tubus spiraliter tortus, versis medium 
 inflatus. Limbus quinquepartitus, segmentis 
 oblongo-lanceolatis, obtusissimis planis, oblique 
 tortis : ore nudo. 
 
 Stamina quinque, medio tubi inserta. Fila- 
 menta lata, tubo adherentia, marginibus ciliatis. 
 Antherce sagittatae, flavae, circa stigma conni- 
 ventes. 
 
 Pistillum unicum, corollae dimidio brevius. 
 Germen duplex. Styli duo, filiformes, basi dis- 
 tincti, apice unito, paululum dilatati. Stigma 
 incrassatum, subcylindraceum, basi dilatatum, 
 apice quinquelobum, lobis erectis. 
 
 Pericarpium : FoUiculi ? vel potius baccae 
 duae, ovato-rotundatas, patentes, acuminata?, 
 basi calyce cinctae, uniloculares, polyspermae. 
 
 Semina plana, stricta, receptaculo centrali af- 
 fixa. 
 
 Fig. 1. Branch, natural size. Fig. 2. Lower 
 part of the tube laid open to shew the sta- 
 mens. Fig. 3. Pistil. Fig. 4. Stigma. -Fig, 5. 
 Section of the upper part of the Style. Fig. 6. 
 Fruit (natural size). Fig. 7* Section of the 
 same. All butjigures 1 and 7 more or less mag- 
 nified. 
 
 This appears to be a very different species of 
 Tabernwmontana, if indeed it really belongs to 
 that genus, from any hitherto described. In 
 
APPENDIX. 391 
 
 the persistent calyx, this plant seems to depart 
 from the character of Taherncemontanay as it is 
 defined by Jussieu ; and also in the tube of the 
 corolla, which is not inflated at the base, but 
 near the middle, and is moreover singularly spir- 
 ally twisted with deep furrows, if we may 
 judge from the drawing. 
 
39^ APPENDIX. 
 
 Tab. C. 
 STROPHANTHUS PENDULUS. 
 
 CLASS AND ORDER PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
 
 Natural Order — Apocyneoe. 
 
 Gen. Char. Corolla infundibuliformis. Faiuic 
 coronata sqamulis decern, indivisis. 
 
 Limhi lacinice candatae. Stamina medio tubi 
 inserta. Antherce sagittatae, aristatae vel mucro- 
 natae. Ovaria duo. Stylus unicus, filiformis, 
 apice dilatato. Stigma subcylindraceum. Squa- 
 mae quinque, hypogynse. 
 
 Strophanthus pendulus ; foliis oppositis ovato- 
 oblongis acutis, floribus pendulis, antheris aris- 
 tatis. 
 
 Hab. Santo Fallo. 
 
 Caulis sarmentosus ? cortice cinereo-fusca tec- 
 tus. 
 
 Folia opposita, breviter petiolata, duas, tres 
 uncias longa, unciam lata, oblongo-ovata, glabra, 
 acuta, integerrima, juniora angustiora. 
 
 Flores in racemos parvos terminales, solitarii 
 vel bini, penduli. 
 
 Pedunculus brevis, crassiusculus. 
 
APPENDIX. 393 
 
 Calyx profunde quinquepartitus, laciniis ova- 
 to-lanceolatis, acutis, modice patentibus. 
 
 Corolla infundibuliformis, flava, limbo quin- 
 quepartito, laciniis longissimis, linearibus subun- 
 dulatis ; fauce coronata squamis quinque bipar- 
 titis, purpureis : segmentis lanceolato-subulatis 
 subundulatis* 
 
 Stamina quinque, versus medium tubi corollae 
 inserta. Filamenta alba, breviuscula, curvata. 
 Antherce sagittatse, basi intus stigmati adheren- 
 tes, apice aristata. 
 
 Pistillum : Germen ovato-rotundatum, bilo- 
 culare : Stylus fiiliformis, cylindraceus. Stigma 
 incrassatum, cylindraceum, apice truncatum. 
 
 Fig, 1. Portion of a plant, natural size. Fig. 
 9., View of the mouth of the corolla and the 
 nectary. Fig, S, Stamen. Fig, 4. Two of the 
 stamens J shewing the point of adhesion of the 
 anthers with the stigma. Fig, 5, Back view of 
 a stamen. Fig, 6. Front view of the same. Fig, 
 7. Section of the germen. All more or less 
 magnified. 
 
 Of this plant Mr. Kummer has given but an 
 unsatisfactory account, as he only saw the speci- 
 men from which the drawing was made, and 
 which, in his journal, he says that the Cherif 
 Sidi Mahommed (of Foota Jallo), procured for 
 him. 
 
 This species of Strophanthus seems to offer a 
 
394f APPENDIX. 
 
 peculiar character in its drooping flowers. I 
 am also unable to find that the remarkable cir- 
 cumstance of the anthers adhering by their base 
 within, and being firmly attached to the stigma, 
 is mentioned by any author as existing in other 
 individuals of this curious genus. 
 
 Most of the species of Strophanthics inhabit 
 equinoctial Africa. The S. dichotomus which is 
 a native of China, is the only one of the genus, 
 as far as I know, which has yet been introduced 
 to our gardens. There is an excellent represen- 
 tation of it in the Botanical Register^ tab. 469. 
 

 
 Tab. D. 
 
 PTEROCARPUS AFRICANUS. GUM 
 KARL 
 
 CLASS AND ORDER — DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA* 
 
 Natural Order — Leguminosce. 
 
 Gen. Char. Calyx quinquedentatus. Legu- 
 men falcatum, foliaceum, varicosum, ala cinc- 
 tum, non dehiscens. Semina aliquot solitaria. 
 Willd. 
 
 Pterocarpus Senegalensis ; foliis pinnatis, foli- 
 olis ovalibus fructibus lunato-orbiculatis pubes- 
 centibus. 
 
 Hab. Prope Kacundy et aliis locis montanis, 
 vulgaris. Fl. mense Decembri. 
 
 Arbor mediocris, ramis difFusis, cortice pallida. 
 
 Folia pinnata, decidua, foliolis ovalibus alter- 
 nis integerrimis, glabris, superne nitidis nervosis, 
 nervis parallelis approximatis, petiolis partialibus 
 brevissimis. 
 
 Racemi compositi, terminales. 
 
 Flores numerosi, flavi. Pedicelli breves cur- 
 vati, basi bractealis, bracteis parvis lanceolatis 
 subulatis. Calyx quinquedentatus, pubescens, 
 basi bracteis duabus parvis subulatis munitus 5 
 dentibus subasqualibus, duobus superioribus apice 
 
396 APPENDIX. 
 
 rotundatis, reliquis acutis. Corolla papiliona- 
 cea, cito caduca. Vexillum rotundatum margine 
 undulatum, basi breve ungiiiculatiim, alls majus* 
 Alee carina majores. Carina foliolis distinctis. 
 Stamina monadelpha tubo superne fisso, fila- 
 mentis alternatim longioribus. Aritherce rotun- 
 datae, flavae. Pistillum staminum longitudine. 
 Germen subovatum, pubescens, viride. Stylus 
 filiformis, curvatus. Stigma simplex. 
 
 Legumen majusculum, compressum, in orbi- 
 culum curvatum, pubescens, monospermum. 
 
 Fig, 1. Flowering branch, after the leaves 
 have fallen away, a, the red gum flowing from 
 the wounded part. Fig. 2. Leaflet of the com- 
 pound pinnated leaf. Fig, 3. Calyx. Fig, 4. 
 Standard of the corolla. Fig, 5, One of the 
 wings. Fig, 6, The Keel. Fig. 7- Bundle of 
 Stamens. Fig. 8. Pistil. Fig. 9. Legumen. 
 All hut figures 1, % and 9, more or less magnified. 
 
 This plant loses its leaves in the month of 
 November, and in December the flowers appear. 
 The tree is known amongst the inhabitants by 
 the name of Kari, affording one of the best 
 kinds of Gum Kino. Where an incision is 
 made, the juice flows out, at first of an extremely 
 pale red colour, and in a very liquid state ; but 
 it soon coagulates, becoming of a deep blood 
 red hue, and so remarkably brittle, that its col- 
 lection is attended with some difficulty. 
 
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APPENDIX. 
 
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39g 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 si 
 
 Noon sun 120^ 
 
 A hot wind from s. at 8^ p.m. 
 The same a little later. 
 
 Rain at 5 p.m. fell from 91° to 70". 
 Ditto from 4 to 8, fell from ^0' to 69«. 
 Light rain. 
 
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400 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 < 
 
 Wind SW. atmosphere heavy. 
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 SSE. ditto. 
 
 Variable from se. to nw. 
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 NW. hazy. 
 NE. by E. very hot. 
 NE. disagreeably hot and dry. 
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 SSE. a very hot wind. 
 SSE. ditto, 
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APPENDIX. 
 
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APPENDIX, 
 
 403 
 
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 Much heavy rain 
 
 Slight rain. 
 
 Ditto all day. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 A heavy tornado. 
 
 Light rain. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Nearly calm. 
 
 Rain at 8 p.m. 
 
 Much rain. 
 
 
 
 
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404. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
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APPENDIX. 
 
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APPENDIX. 
 
 407 
 
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408 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 
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APPENDIX. 
 
 409 
 
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410 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
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 cococococococococococo 
 
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APPENDIX, 
 
 411 
 
 
 
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412 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
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