I Now Fully
Saw The Danger Of My Situation, And Determined To Avoid Sego Altogether.
I Accordingly Mounted My Horse,
And taking the road for Diggani,
travelled as fast as I could, until I was out of sight of the
Villagers,
when I struck to the westward through high grass and swampy ground. About
noon, I stopped under a tree, to consider what course to take; for I had
now no doubt but that the Moors and Slatees had misinformed the king
respecting the object of my mission, and that the people were absolutely
in search of me to convey me a prisoner to Sego. Sometimes I had thoughts
of swimming my horse across the Niger, and going to the southward for
Cape Coast; but reflecting that I had ten days to travel before I should
reach Kong, and afterward an extensive country to traverse, inhabited by
various nations, with whose language and manners I was totally
unacquainted, I relinquished this scheme, and judged that I should better
answer the purpose of my mission, by proceeding to the westward along the
Niger, endeavouring to ascertain how far the river was navigable in that
direction. Having resolved upon this course, I proceeded accordingly; and
a little before sunset arrived at a Foulah village called Sooboo, where,
for two hundred kowries, I procured lodging for the night.
Aug. 14th. I continued my course along the bank of the river, through a
populous and well cultivated country. I passed a walled town called
Kamalia,[14] without stopping; and at noon rode through a large town called
Samee, where there happened to be a market, and a number of people
assembled in an open place in the middle of the town, selling cattle,
cloth, corn, &c. I rode through the midst of them without being much
observed, every one taking me for a Moor. In the afternoon I arrived at a
small village called Binni, where I agreed with the Dooty's son, for one
hundred kowries, to allow me to stay for the night; but when the Dooty
returned, he insisted that I should instantly leave the place, and if his
wife and son had not interceded for me, I must have complied.
[14] There is another town of this name hereafter to be mentioned.
Aug. 15th. About nine o'clock I passed a large town called Sai, which
very much excited my curiosity. It is completely surrounded by two very
deep trenches, at about two hundred yards distant from the walls. On the
top of the trenches are a number of square towers, and the whole has the
appearance of a regular fortification. Inquiring into the origin of this
extraordinary entrenchment, I learned from two of the townspeople the
following particulars, which, if true, furnish a mournful picture of the
enormities of African wars. About fifteen years ago, when the present
King of Bambarra's father desolated Maniana, the Dooty of Sai had two
sons slain in battle, fighting in the king's cause. He had a third son
living; and when the king demanded a further reinforcement of men, and
this youth among the rest, the Dooty refused to send him. This conduct so
enraged the king, that when he returned from Maniana, about the beginning
of the rainy season, and found the Dooty protected by the inhabitants, he
sat down before Sai with his army, and surrounded the town with the
trenches I had now seen. After a siege of two months, the townspeople
became involved in all the horrors of famine; and whilst the king's army
were feasting in their trenches, they saw with pleasure the miserable
inhabitants of Sai devour the leaves and bark of the Bentang tree that
stood in the middle of the town. Finding, however, that the besieged
would sooner perish than surrender, the king had recourse to treachery.
He promised, that if they would open the gates, no person should be put
to death, nor suffer any injury but the Dooty alone. The poor old man
determined to sacrifice himself for the sake of his fellow citizens, and
immediately walked over to the king's army, where he was put to death.
His son, in attempting to escape, was caught and massacred in the
trenches; and the rest of the townspeople were carried away captives, and
sold as slaves to the different Negro traders.
About noon I came to the village of Kaimoo, situated upon the bank of the
river; and as the corn I had purchased at Sibili was exhausted, I
endeavoured to purchase a fresh supply, but was informed that corn was
become very scarce all over the country; and, though I offered fifty
kowries for a small quantity, no person would sell me any. As I was about
to depart, however, one of the villagers (who probably mistook me for a
Moorish shereef) brought me some as a present; only desiring me in return
to bestow my blessing upon him; which I did in plain English, and he
received it with a thousand acknowledgments. Of this present I made my
dinner; and it was the third successive day that I had subsisted entirely
upon raw corn.
In the evening I arrived at a small village called Song, the surly
inhabitants of which would not receive me, nor so much as permit me to
enter the gate; but as lions were very numerous in this neighbourhood,
and I had frequently, in the course of the day, seen the impression of
their feet on the road, I resolved to stay in the vicinity of the
village. Having collected some grass for my horse, I accordingly lay down
under a tree by the gate. About ten o'clock I heard the hollow roar of a
lion at no great distance, and attempted to open the gate; but the people
from within told me, that no person must attempt to enter the gate
without the Dooty's permission. I begged them to inform the Dooty that a
lion was approaching the village, and I hoped he would allow me to come
within the gate.
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