Experience Had Taught Her That Hunger Was Painful, And Her Own
Distresses Made Her Commiserate Those Of Others.
The old woman had scarcely left me, when I received information that a
nephew of Demba Sego Jalla, the Mandingo King of Kasson, was coming to
pay me a visit.
He had been sent on an embassy to Batcheri, King of
Kajaaga, to endeavour to settle the disputes which had arisen between his
uncle and the latter; but after debating the matter four days without
success, he was now on his return; and hearing that a white man was at
Joag, in his way to Kasson, curiosity brought him to see me. I
represented to him my situation and distresses; when he frankly offered
me his protection, and said he would be my guide to Kasson, (provided I
would set out the next morning,) and be answerable for my safety. I
readily and gratefully accepted his offer; and was ready, with my
attendants, by daylight on the morning of the 27th of December.
My protector, whose name was Demba Sego, probably after his uncle, had a
numerous retinue. Our company at leaving Joag consisted of thirty persons
and six loaded asses; and we rode on cheerfully enough for some hours,
without any remarkable occurrence, until we came to a species of tree,
for which my interpreter, Johnson, had made frequent inquiry. On finding
it, he desired us to stop; and producing a white chicken, which he had
purchased at Joag for the purpose, he tied it by the leg to one of the
branches, and then told us we might now safely proceed, for that our
journey would be prosperous. This circumstance is mentioned merely to
illustrate the disposition of the Negroes, and to show the power of
superstition over their minds; for although this man had resided seven
years in England, it was evident that he still retained the prejudices
and notions he had imbibed in his youth. He meant this ceremony, he told
me, as an offering or sacrifice to the spirits of the woods; who were, he
said, a powerful race of beings of a white colour, with long flowing
hair. I laughed at his folly, but could not condemn the piety of his
motives.
At noon we had reached Gungadi, a large town, where we stopped about an
hour, until some of the asses that had fallen behind came up. Here I
observed a number of date trees, and a mosque built of clay, with six
turrets, on the pinnacles of which were placed six ostrich eggs. A little
before sunset we arrived at the town of Samee, on the banks of the
Senegal, which is here a beautiful but shallow river, moving slowly over
a bed of sand and gravel. The banks are high and covered with verdure;
the country is open and cultivated; and the rocky hills of Felow and
Bambouk add much to the beauty of the landscape.
December 28th. We departed from Samee, and arrived in the afternoon at
Kayee, a large village, part of which is situated on the north, and part
on the south side of the river.
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