When The First Party,
However, Had Seen Me; And Asked A Few Questions, They Retired To Make
Room For Another Company; And In This Manner The Hut Was Filled And
Emptied Thirteen Different Times.
A little before sunset, the king sent to inform me that he was at
leisure, and wished to see me.
I followed the messenger through a number
of courts surrounded with high walls, where I observed plenty of dry
grass bundled up like hay, to fodder the horses in case the town should
be invested. On entering the court in which the king was sitting, I was
astonished at the number of his attendants, and at the good order that
seemed to prevail among them; they were all seated, the fighting men on
the king's right hand, and the women and children on the left, leaving a
space between them for my passage. The king, whose name was Daisy
Koorabarri, was not to be distinguished from his subjects by any
superiority in point of dress; a bank of earth about two feet high, upon
which was spread a leopard's skin, constituted the only mark of royal
dignity. When I had seated myself upon the ground before him, and related
the various circumstances that had induced me to pass through his
country, and my reasons for soliciting his protection, he appeared
perfectly satisfied; but said it was not in his power at present to
afford me much assistance; for that all sort of communication between
Kaarta and Bambarra had been interrupted for some time past; and as
Mansong, the King of Bambarra, with his army had entered Fooladoo in his
way to Kaarta, there was but little hope of my reaching Bambarra by any
of the usual routes, inasmuch as, coming from an enemy's country, I
should certainly be plundered or taken for a spy.
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