The Inhabitants Employ Themselves
Chiefly In Cultivating Corn, Which They Exchange With The Moors For Salt.
Here, Being In Security
From the Moors, and very much fatigued, I
resolved to rest myself; and meeting with a hearty welcome from the
Dooty, whose name was Flancharee, I laid myself down upon a bullock's
hide, and slept soundly for about two hours. The curiosity of the people
would not allow me to sleep any longer. They had seen my saddle and
bridle, and were assembled in great numbers to learn who I was, and
whence I came. Some were of opinion that I was an Arab; others insisted
that I was some Moorish Sultan; and they continued to debate the matter
with such warmth, that the noise awoke me. The Dooty (who had formerly
been at Gambia) at last interposed in my behalf, and assured them that I
was certainly a white man; but he was convinced, from my appearance, that
I was a very poor one.
In the course of the day, several women, hearing that I was going to
Sego, came and begged me to inquire of Mansong, the king, what was become
of their children. One woman, in particular, told me that her son's name
was Mamadee; that he was no Heathen, but prayed to God morning and
evening, and had been taken from her about three years ago, by Mansong's
army; since which she had never heard of him. She said, she often dreamed
about him; and begged me, if I should see him, either in Bambarra, or in
my own country, to tell him that his mother and sister were still alive.
In the afternoon, the Dooty examined the contents of the leather bag, in
which I had packed up my clothes; but finding nothing that was worth
taking, he returned it, and told me to depart in the morning.
July 6th. It rained very much in the night, and at daylight I departed,
in company with a Negro, who was going to a town called Dingyee for corn:
but we had not proceeded above a mile, before the ass upon which he rode
kicked him off, and he returned, leaving me to prosecute the journey by
myself.
I reached Dingyee about noon; but the Dooty and most of the inhabitants
had gone into the fields to cultivate corn. An old Foulah, observing me
wandering about the town, desired me to come to his hut, where I was well
entertained; and the Dooty, when he returned, sent me some victuals for
myself, and corn for my horse.
July 7th. In the morning, when I was about to depart, my landlord, with a
great deal of diffidence, begged me to give him a lock of my hair. He had
been told, he said, that white men's hair made a saphie that would give
to the possessor all the knowledge of white men. I had never before heard
of so simple a mode of education, but instantly complied with the
request; and my landlord's thirst for learning was such, that, with
cutting and pulling, he cropped one side of my head pretty closely; and
would have done the same with the other, had I not signified my
disapprobation by putting on my hat, and assuring him, that I wished to
reserve some of this precious merchandize for a future occasion.
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