In This
Manner They Approached The Enemy; But The Beast Had By This Time
Recovered His Strength; And Such Was
The fierceness of his countenance,
that the hunters, instead of proceeding any further, thought it prudent
to provide for their
Own safety, by covering themselves with the roof.
Unfortunately, the lion was too nimble for them; for, making a spring
while the roof was setting down, both the beast and his pursuers were
caught in the same cage, and the lion devoured them at his leisure, to
the great astonishment and mortification of the people of Doomasansa; at
which place it is dangerous even at this day to tell the story; for it is
become the subject of laughter and derision in the neighbouring
countries, and nothing will enrage an inhabitant of that town so much as
desiring him to catch a lion alive."
About one o'clock in the afternoon of the 3d of December, I took my leave
of Dr. Laidley and Messrs Ainsley, and rode slowly into the woods. I had
now before me a boundless forest, and a country, the inhabitants of which
were strangers to civilized life, and to most of whom a white man was the
object of curiosity or plunder. I reflected that I had parted from the
last European I might probably behold, and perhaps quitted for ever the
comforts of Christian society. Thoughts like these would necessarily cast
a gloom over the mind, and I rode musing along for about three miles,
when I was awakened from my reverie by a body of people, who came running
up and stopped the asses, giving me to understand that I must go with
them to Peckaba, to present myself to the King of Walli, or pay customs
to them. I endeavoured to make them comprehend that the object of my
journey not being traffic. I ought not to be subjected to a tax like the
Slatees, and other merchants who travel for gain; but I reasoned to no
purpose. They said it was usual for travellers of all descriptions to
make a present to the King of Walli, and without doing so I could not be
permitted to proceed. As they were more numerous than my attendants, and
withal very noisy, I thought it prudent to comply with their demand, and
having presented them with four bars of tobacco, for the king's use, I
was permitted to continue my journey, and at sunset reached a village
near Kootacunda, where we rested for the night.
In the morning of December 4th, I passed Kootacunda, the last town of
Walli, and stopped about an hour at a small adjoining village to pay
customs to an officer of the King of Woolli; we rested the ensuing night
at a village called Tabajang; and at noon the next day, (December 5th,)
we reached Medina, the capital of the King of Woolli's dominions.
The kingdom of Woolli is bounded by Walli on the west, by the Gambia on
the south, by the small river Walli on the north-west, by Bondou on the
north-east, and on the east by the Simbani wilderness.
The country every where rises into gentle acclivities, which are
generally covered with extensive woods, and the towns are situated in the
intermediate valleys. Each town is surrounded by a tract of cultivated
land, the produce of which, I presume, is found sufficient to supply the
wants of the inhabitants; for the soil appeared to me to be every where
fertile, except near the tops of the ridges, where the red iron stone and
stunted shrubs sufficiently marked the boundaries between fertility and
barrenness. The chief productions are cotton, tobacco, and esculent
vegetables; all which are raised in the valleys, the rising grounds being
appropriated to different sorts of corn.
The inhabitants are Mandingoes; and, like most of the Mandingo nations,
are divided into two great sects, the Mahomedans, who are called
_Bushreens_, and the Pagans, who are called indiscriminately _Kafirs_,
(unbelievers,) and _Sonakies_, (_i. e._ men who drink strong liquors.)
The Pagan natives are by far the most numerous, and the government of the
country is in their hands; for though the most respectable among the
Bushreens are frequently consulted in affairs of importance, yet they are
never permitted to take any share in the executive government, which
rests solely in the hands of the _Mansa_, or sovereign, and great
officers of the state. Of these, the first in point of rank is the
presumptive heir of the crown, who is called the _Farbanna_; next to him
are the _Alkaids_, or provincial governors, who are more frequently
called _Keamos_. Then follow the two grand divisions of freemen and
slaves:[3] of the former, the Slatees, so frequently mentioned in the
preceding pages, are considered as the principal; but in all classes
great respect is paid to the authority of aged men. On the death of the
reigning monarch, his eldest son (if he has attained the age of manhood)
succeeds to the regal authority. If there is no son, or if the son is
under the age of discretion, a meeting of the great men is held, and the
late monarch's nearest relation (commonly his brother) is called to the
government, not as regent, or guardian to the infant son, but in full
right, and to the exclusion of the minor. The charges of the government
are defrayed by occasional tributes from the people, and by duties on
goods transported across the country. Travellers, on going from the
Gambia towards the interior, pay customs in European merchandize. On
returning they pay in iron and _shea-toulou_: these taxes are paid at
every town.
[3] The term which signifies a man of free condition is _Horia_; that
of a slave, _Jong_.
Medina,[4] the capital of the kingdom, at which I was now arrived, is a
place of considerable extent; and may contain from eight hundred to one
thousand houses. It is fortified in the common African manner, by a
surrounding high wall built of clay, and an outward fence of pointed
stakes and prickly bushes; but the walls are neglected, and the outward
fence has suffered considerably from the active hands of busy housewives,
who pluck up the stakes for firewood.
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