They had, during their stay, committed many acts of robbery;
and this morning, with the most unparalleled audacity, they seized upon
three girls who were bringing water from the wells, and carried them away
into slavery.
The anniversary of _Banna Salee_, at Jarra, very well deserved to be
called a festival. The slaves were all finely clad on this occasion, and
the householders vied with each other in providing large quantities of
victuals, which they distributed to all their neighbours with the
greatest profusion; hunger was literally banished from the town; man,
woman, and child, bond and free, all had as much as they could eat.
June 12th. Two people, dreadfully wounded, were discovered, at a
watering-place in the woods; one of them had just breathed his last, but
the other was brought alive to Jarra. On recovering a little, he informed
the people, that he had fled through the woods from Kasson; that Daisy
had made war upon Sambo, the king of that country; had surprised three of
his towns, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. He enumerated by
name many of the friends of the Jarra people, who had been murdered in
Kasson. This intelligence made the death-howl universal in Jarra for the
space of two days.
This piece of bad news was followed by another not less distressing. A
number of runaway slaves arrived from Kaarta on the 14th, and reported
that Daisy, having received information concerning the intended attack
upon him, was about to visit Jarra. This made the Negroes call upon Ali
for the two hundred horsemen, which he was to furnish them, according to
engagement. But Ali paid very little attention to their remonstrances;
and at last plainly told them that his cavalry were otherwise employed.
The Negroes, thus deserted by the Moors, and fully apprised that the King
of Kaarta would show them as little clemency as he had shown the
inhabitants of Kasson, resolved to collect all their forces, and hazard a
battle, before the king, who was now in great distress for want of
provisions, should become too powerful for them. They, therefore,
assembled about eight hundred effective men in the whole; and with these
they entered Kaarta on the evening of the 18th of June.
June 19th. This morning the wind shifted to the south-west; and about two
o'clock in the afternoon we had a heavy tornado, or thunder squall,
accompanied with rain, which greatly revived the face of nature, and gave
a pleasant coolness to the air. This was the first rain that had fallen
for many months.
As every attempt to redeem my boy had hitherto been unsuccessful, and in
all probability would continue to prove so whilst I remained in the
country, I found that it was necessary for me to come to some
determination concerning my own safety, before the rains should be fully
set in; for my landlord, seeing no likelihood of being paid for his
trouble, began to wish me away; and Johnson, my interpreter, refusing to
proceed, my situation became very perplexing.
