And On The 16th Of April, The Slatees Held A Consultation, And
Fixed On The 19th Of The Same Month, As The Day On Which The Coffle
Should Depart From Kamalia.
This resolution freed me from much
uneasiness; for our departure had already been so long deferred, that I
was apprehensive it might still be put off until the commencement of the
rainy reason; and although Karfa behaved towards me with the greatest
kindness, I found my situation very unpleasant.
The Slatees were
unfriendly to me; and the trading Moors, who were at this time at
Kamalia, continued to plot mischief against me, from the first day of
their arrival. Under these circumstances, I reflected, that my life in a
great measure depended on the good opinion of an individual, who was
daily hearing malicious stories concerning the Europeans; and I could
hardly expect that he would always judge with impartiality between me and
his countrymen. Time had, indeed, reconciled me, in some degree, to their
mode of life; and a smoky hut, or a scanty supper, gave me no great
uneasiness; but I became at last wearied out with a constant state of
alarm and anxiety, and felt a painful longing for the manifold blessings
of civilized society.
On the morning of the 17th, a circumstance occurred, which wrought a
considerable change in my favour. The three trading Moors who had lodged
under Karfa's protection, ever since their arrival at Kamalia, and had
gained the esteem of all the Bushreens, by an appearance of great
sanctity, suddenly packed up their effects, and, without once thanking
Karfa for his kindness towards them, marched over the hills to Bala.
Every one was astonished at this unexpected removal; but the affair was
cleared up in the evening, by the arrival of the Fezzan merchant from
Kancaba, (mentioned in p. 269;) who assured Karfa, that these Moors had
borrowed all their salt and goods from him, and had sent for him to come
to Kamalia, and receive payment. When he was told that they had fled to
the westward, he wiped a tear from each eye with the sleeve of his cloak,
and exclaimed, "These _shirukas_ (robbers) are Mahomedans, but they are
not men: they have robbed me of two hundred minkallies." From this
merchant I received information of the capture of our Mediterranean
convoy by the French, in October 1795.
April 19th. The long-wished-for day of our departure was at length
arrived; and the Slatees having taken the irons from their slaves,
assembled with them at the door of Karfa's house, where the bundles were
all tied up, and every one had his load assigned him. The coffle, on its
departure from Kamalia, consisted of twenty-seven slaves for sale, the
property of Karfa and four other Slatees: but we were afterwards joined
by five at Maraboo, and three at Bala: making in all thirty-five slaves.
The free men were fourteen in number, but most of them had one or two
wives and some domestic slaves; and the schoolmaster, who was now upon
his return for Woradoo, the place of his nativity, took with him eight of
his scholars, so that the number of free people and domestic slaves
amounted to thirty-eight, and the whole amount of the coffle was
seventy-three. Among the freemen were six Jilli keas, (singing men) whose
musical talents were frequently exerted either to divert our fatigue, or
obtain us a welcome from strangers. When we departed from Kamalia, we
were followed for about half a mile by most of the inhabitants of the
town, some of them crying, and others shaking hands with their relations,
who were now about to leave them; and when we had gained a piece of
rising ground, from which we had a view of Kamalia, all the people
belonging to the coffle were ordered to sit down in one place, with their
faces towards the west, and the townspeople were desired to sit down in
another place, with their faces towards Kamalia. In this situation, the
schoolmaster, with two of the principal Slatees, having taken their
places between the two parties, pronounced a long and solemn prayer;
after which, they walked three times round the coffle, making an
impression on the ground with the ends of their spears, and muttering
something by way of charm. When this ceremony was ended, all the people
belonging to the coffle sprang up, and without taking a formal farewell
of their friends, set forward. As many of the slaves had remained for
years in irons, the sudden exertion of walking quick, with heavy loads
upon their heads, occasioned spasmodic contractions of their legs; and we
had not proceeded above a mile, before it was found necessary to take two
of them from the rope, and allow them to walk more slowly until we
reached Maraboo, a walled village, where some people were waiting to join
the coffle. Here we stopt about two hours, to allow the strangers time to
pack up their provisions, and then continued our route to Bala, which
town we reached about four in the afternoon. The inhabitants of Bala, at
this season of the year, subsist chiefly on fish, which they take in
great plenty from the streams in the neighbourhood. We remained here
until the afternoon of the next day, the 20th, when we proceeded to
Worumbang, the frontier village of Manding towards Jallonkadoo. As we
proposed shortly to enter the Jallonka Wilderness, the people of this
village furnished us with great plenty of provisions; and on the morning
of the 21st, we entered the woods to the westward of Worumbang. After
having travelled some little way, a consultation was held, whether we
should continue our route through the Wilderness, or save one day's
provisions by going to Kinytakooro, a town in Jallonkadoo. After debating
the matter for some time, it was agreed that we should take the road for
Kinytakooro; but as that town was a long day's journey distant, it was
necessary to take some refreshment.
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