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.
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