- I continued my course along the bank of the river,
through a populous and well-cultivated country.
I passed a walled
town called Kamalia {2} without stopping, and at noon rode through a
large town called Samee, where there happened to be a market, and a
number of people assembled in an open place in the middle of the
town, selling cattle, cloth, corn, &c. I rode through the midst of
them without being much observed, every one taking me for a Moor.
In the afternoon I arrived at a small village called Binni, where I
agreed with the dooty's son, for one hundred kowries, to allow me to
stay for the night; but when the dooty returned, he insisted that I
should instantly leave the place, and if his wife and son had not
interceded for me, I must have complied.
August 15. - About nine o'clock I passed a large town called Sai,
which very much excited my curiosity. It is completely surrounded
by two very deep trenches, at about two hundred yards distant from
the walls. On the top of the trenches are a number of square
towers, and the whole has the appearance of a regular fortification.
About noon I came to the village of Kaimoo, situated upon the bank
of the river, and as the corn I had purchased at Sibili was
exhausted, I endeavoured to purchase a fresh supply, but was
informed that corn was become very scarce all over the country, and
though I offered fifty kowries for a small quantity, no person would
sell me any. As I was about to depart, however, one of the
villagers (who probably mistook me for some Moorish shereef) brought
me some as a present, only desiring me to bestow my blessing upon
him, which I did in plain English, and he received it with a
thousand acknowledgments. Of this present I made my dinner, and it
was the third successive day that I had subsisted entirely upon raw
corn.
In the evening I arrived at a small village called Song, the surly
inhabitants of which would not receive me, nor so much as permit me
to enter the gate; but as lions were very numerous in this
neighbourhood, and I had frequently, in the course of the day,
observed the impression of their feet on the road, I resolved to
stay in the vicinity of the village. Having collected some grass
for my horse, I accordingly lay down under a tree by the gate.
About ten o'clock I heard the hollow roar of a lion at no great
distance, and attempted to open the gate, but the people from within
told me that no person must attempt to enter the gate without the
dooty's permission. I begged them to inform the dooty that a lion
was approaching the village, and I hoped he would allow me to come
within the gate. I waited for an answer to this message with great
anxiety, for the lion kept prowling round the village, and once
advanced so very near me that I heard him rustling among the grass,
and climbed the tree for safety. About midnight the dooty. with
some of his people, opened the gate, and desired me to come in.
They were convinced, they said, that I was not a Moor, for no Moor
ever waited any time at the gate of a village without cursing the
inhabitants.
August 16. - About ten o'clock I passed a considerable town, with a
mosque, called Jabbee. Here the country begins to rise into hills,
and I could see the summits of high mountains to the westward.
About noon I stopped at a small village near Yamina, where I
purchased some corn, and dried my papers and clothes.
The town of Yamina at a distance has a very fine appearance. It
covers nearly the same extent of ground as Sansanding, but having
been plundered by Daisy, king of Kaarta, about four years ago, it
has not yet resumed its former prosperity, nearly one-half of the
town being nothing but a heap of ruins. However, it is still a
considerable place, and is so much frequented by the Moors that I
did not think it safe to lodge in it, but in order to satisfy myself
respecting its population and extent, I resolved to ride through it,
in doing which I observed a great many Moors sitting upon the
bentangs, and other places of public resort. Everybody looked at me
with astonishment, but as I rode briskly along they had no time to
ask questions.
I arrived in the evening at Farra, a walled village, where, without
much difficulty, I procured a lodging for the night.
August 17. - Early in the morning I pursued my journey, and at eight
o'clock passed a considerable town called Balaba, after which the
road quits the plain, and stretches along the side of the hill. I
passed in the course of this day the ruins of three towns, the
inhabitants of which were all carried away by Daisy, king of Kaarta,
on the same day that he took and plundered Yamina. Near one of
these ruins I climbed a tamarind-tree, but found the fruit quite
green and sour, and the prospect of the country was by no means
inviting, for the high grass and bushes seemed completely to
obstruct the road, and the low lands were all so flooded by the
river, that the Niger had the appearance of an extensive lake. In
the evening I arrived at Kanika, where the dooty, who was sitting
upon an elephant's hide at the gate, received me kindly, and gave me
for supper some milk and meal, which I considered (as to a person in
my situation it really was) a very great luxury.
August 18. - By mistake I took the wrong road, and did not discover
my error until I had travelled nearly four miles, when, coming to an
eminence, I observed the Niger considerably to the left.
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