We Then
Went A Little Farther Down And Took Up Another Basket, In Which Was
One Fish.
The fisherman now left us to carry his prizes to some
neighbouring market, and the woman and boy proceeded with me in the
canoe down the river.
About four o'clock we arrived at Moorzan, a fishing town on the
northern bank, from whence I was conveyed across the river to Silla,
a large town, where I remained until it was quite dark, under a
tree, surrounded by hundreds of people.
With a great deal of entreaty the dooty allowed me to come into his
baloon to avoid the rain, but the place was very damp, and I had a
smart paroxysm of fever during the night. Worn down by sickness,
exhausted with hunger and fatigue, half-naked, and without any
article of value by which I might procure provisions, clothes, or
lodging, I began to reflect seriously on my situation. I was now
convinced, by painful experience, that the obstacles to my farther
progress were insurmountable. The tropical rains were already set
in with all their violence - the rice grounds and swamps were
everywhere overflowed - and in a few days more, travelling of every
kind, unless by water, would be completely obstructed. The kowries
which remained of the king of Bambarra's present were not sufficient
to enable me to hire a canoe for any great distance, and I had but
little hopes of subsisting by charity in a country where the Moors
have such influence.
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