Salim Daucari Made My Apology, And Promised To Accompany Me To
Kooniakary The Same Evening:
We accordingly departed from Soolo at
sunset, and in about an hour entered Kooniakary.
But as the king had gone
to sleep, we deferred the interview till next morning, and slept at the
hut of Sambo Sego.
My interview with the king, and the incidents which occurred to me in the
kingdoms of Kasson and Kaarta, will be the subject of the ensuing
chapter.
CHAPTER VII.
_The Author admitted to an audience of the King of Kasson, whom he finds
well disposed towards him. - Incidents during the Author's stay at
Kooniakary. - Departs thence for Kemmoo, the capital of Kaarta. - Is
received with great kindness by the King of Kaarta, who dissuades him
from prosecuting his journey, on account of approaching hostilities with
the King of Bambarra. - The Author determines, notwithstanding, to
proceed: and the usual route being obstructed, takes the path to Ludamar,
a Moorish kingdom. - Is accommodated by the king with a guide to Jarra,
the frontier town of the Moorish territories; and sets out for that
place, accompanied by three of the king's sons, and 200 horsemen._
About eight o'clock in the morning of January 15, 1796, we went to an
audience of the king, (Demba Sego Jalla,) but the crowd of people to see
me was so great, that I could scarcely get admittance. A passage being at
length obtained, I made my bow to the monarch, whom we found sitting upon
a mat, in a large hut: he appeared to be a man of about sixty years of
age. His success in war, and the mildness of his behaviour in time of
peace, had much endeared him to all his subjects. He surveyed me with
great attention; and when Salim Daucari explained to him the object of my
journey, and my reasons for passing through his country, the good old
king appeared not only perfectly satisfied, but promised me every
assistance in his power. He informed me that he had seen Major Houghton,
and presented him with a white horse; but that, after crossing the
kingdom of Kaarta, he had lost his life among the Moors; in what manner
he could not inform me. When this audience was ended we returned to our
lodging, and I made up a small present for the king, out of the few
effects that were left me; for I had not yet received anything from Salim
Daucari. This present, though inconsiderable in itself, was well received
by the king, who sent me in return a large white bullock. The sight of
this animal quite delighted my attendants; not so much on account of its
bulk, as from its being of a white colour, which is considered as a
particular mark of favour. But although the king himself was well
disposed towards me, and readily granted me permission to pass through
his territories, I soon discovered that very great and unexpected
obstacles were likely to impede my progress. Besides the war which was on
the point of breaking out between Kasson and Kajaaga, I was told that the
next kingdom of Kaarta, through which my route lay, was involved in the
issue; and was furthermore threatened with hostilities on the part of
Bambarra. The king himself informed me of these circumstances, and
advised me to stay in the neighbourhood of Kooniakary, till such time as
he could procure proper information respecting Bambarra, which he
expected to do in the course of four or five days, as he had already, he
said, sent four messengers into Kaarta for that purpose. I readily
submitted to this proposal, and went to Soolo, to stay there till the
return of one of those messengers. This afforded me a favourable
opportunity of receiving what money Salim Daucari could spare me on Dr
Laidley's account. I succeeded in receiving the value of three slaves,
chiefly in gold dust; and being anxious to proceed as quickly as
possible, I begged Daucari to use his interest with the king to allow me
a guide by the way of Fooladoo, as I was informed that the war had
already commenced between the Kings of Bambarra and Kaarta. Daucari
accordingly set out for Kooniakary on the morning of the 20th, and the
same evening returned with the king's answer, which was to this purpose,
that the king had many years ago made an agreement with Daisy, King of
Kaarta, to send all merchants and travellers through his dominions; but
that if I wished to take the route through Fooladoo, I had his permission
so to do; though he could not, consistently with his agreement, lend me a
guide. Having felt the want of regal protection in a former part of my
journey, I was unwilling to hazard a repetition of the hardships I had
then experienced, especially as the money I had received was probably the
last supply that I should obtain; I therefore determined to wait for the
return of the messengers from Kaarta.
In the interim, it began to be whispered abroad, that I had received
plenty of gold from Salim Daucari; and on the morning of the 23d, Sambo
Sego paid me a visit with a party of horsemen. He insisted upon knowing
the exact amount of the money I had obtained; declaring, that whatever
the sum was, one half of it must go to the king; besides which, he
intimated that he expected a handsome present for himself, as being the
king's sons and for his attendants, as being the king's relations. The
reader will easily perceive, that if all these demands had been
satisfied, I should not have been overburdened with money; but though it
was very mortifying to me to comply with the demands of injustice, and so
arbitrary an exaction, yet, thinking it was highly dangerous to make a
foolish resistance, and irritate the lion when within the reach of his
paw, I prepared to submit; and if Salim Daucari had not interposed, all
my endeavours to mitigate this oppressive claim would have been of no
avail, Salim at last prevailed upon Sambo to accept sixteen bars of
European merchandize, and some powder and ball, as a complete payment of
every demand that could be made upon me in the kingdom of Kasson.
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