As We Had Ate Only One Handful Of Meal Since
The Preceding Night, And Travelled All Day In A Hot Sun, Many Of The
Slaves, Who Had Loads Upon Their Heads, Were Very Much Fatigued:
And some
of them _snapt their fingers_, which among the Negroes is a sure sign of
desperation.
The Slatees immediately put them all in irons; and such of
them as had evinced signs of great despondency were kept apart from the
rest, and had their hands tied. In the morning they were found greatly
recovered.
April 25th. At daybreak poor Nealee was awakened, but her limbs were now
so stiff and painful, that she could neither walk nor stand; she was
therefore lifted, like a corpse, upon the back of the ass, and the
Slatees endeavoured to secure her in that situation, by fastening her
hands together under the ass's neck and her feet under the belly, with
long slips of bark; but the ass was so very unruly, that no sort of
treatment could induce him to proceed with his load; and as Nealee made
no exertion to prevent herself from falling, she was quickly thrown off,
and had one of her legs much bruised. Every attempt to carry her forward
being thus found ineffectual, the general cry of the coffle was,
_kang-tegi, kang-tegi_, "cut her throat, cut her throat;" an operation I
did not wish to see performed, and therefore marched onwards with the
foremost of the coffle. I had not walked above a mile, when one of
Karfa's domestic slaves came up to me, with poor Nealee's garment upon
the end of his bow, and exclaimed, _Nealee affeeleeta_, (Nealee is lost.)
I asked him whether the Slatees had given him the garment as a reward for
cutting her throat; he replied, that Karfa and the schoolmaster would not
consent to that measure, but had left her on the road, where undoubtedly
she soon perished, and was probably devoured by wild beasts.
The sad fate of this wretched woman, notwithstanding the outcry before
mentioned, made a strong impression on the minds of the whole coffle, and
the schoolmaster fasted the whole of the ensuing day, in consequence of
it. We proceeded in deep silence, and soon afterward crossed the river
Furkoomah, which was about as large as the river Wonda. We now travelled
with great expedition, every one being apprehensive he might otherwise
meet with the fate of poor Nealee. It was, however, with great difficulty
that I could keep up, although I threw away my spear, and every thing
that could in the least obstruct me. About noon we saw a large herd of
elephants, but they suffered us to pass unmolested, and in the evening we
halted near a thicket of bamboo, but found no water; so that we were
forced to proceed four miles farther, to a small stream, where we stopt
for the night. We had marched this day, as I judged, about twenty-six
miles.
April 26th.
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