This Caravan Consisted Of Nine Or Ten People,
With Five Asses Loaded With Ivory.
The large teeth are conveyed in
nets, two on each side of the ass; the small ones are wrapped up in
skins, and secured with ropes.
December 14. - We left Tallika, and rode on very peaceably for about
two miles, when a violent quarrel arose between two of my fellow-
travellers, one of whom was the blacksmith, in the course of which
they bestowed some opprobrious terms upon each other; and it is
worthy of remark, that an African will sooner forgive a blow than a
term of reproach applied to his ancestors. "Strike me, but do not
curse my mother," is a common expression even among the slaves.
This sort of abuse, therefore, so enraged one of the disputants,
that he drew his cutlass upon the blacksmith, and would certainly
have ended the dispute in a very serious manner, if the others had
not laid hold of him and wrested the cutlass from him. I was
obliged to interfere, and put an end to this disagreeable business
by desiring the blacksmith to be silent, and telling the other, who
I thought was in the wrong, that if he attempted in future to draw
his cutlass, or molest any of my attendants, I should look upon him
as a robber, and shoot him without further ceremony. This threat
had the desired effect, and we marched sullenly along till the
afternoon, when we arrived at a number of small villages scattered
over an open and fertile plain. At one of these, called Ganado, we
took up our residence for the night; here an exchange of presents
and a good supper terminated all animosities among my attendants,
and the night was far advanced before any of us thought of going to
sleep. We were amused by an itinerant SINGING MAN, who told a
number of diverting stories, and played some sweet airs by blowing
his breath upon a bow-string, and striking it at the same time with
a stick.
December 15. - At daybreak my fellow-travellers, the Serawoollies,
took leave of me, with many prayers for my safety. About a mile
from Ganado we crossed a considerable branch of the Gambia, called
Neriko. The banks were steep and covered with mimosas; and I
observed in the mud a number of large mussels, but the natives do
not eat them. About noon, the sun being exceedingly hot, we rested
two hours in the shade of a tree, and purchased some milk and
pounded corn from some Foulah herdsmen, and at sunset reached a town
called Koorkarany, where the blacksmith had some relations; and here
we rested two days.
Koorkarany is a Mohammedan town surrounded by a high wall, and is
provided with a mosque. Here I was shown a number of Arabic
manuscripts, particularly a copy of the book before mentioned,
called Al Sharra. The maraboo, or priest, in whose possession it
was, read and explained to me in Mandingo many of the most
remarkable passages, and, in return, I showed him Richardson's
Arabic Grammar, which he very much admired.
On the evening of the second day (December 17) we departed from
Koorkarany. We were joined by a young man who was travelling to
Fatteconda for salt; and as night set in we reached Dooggi, a small
village about three miles from Koorkarany.
Provisions were here so cheap that I purchased a bullock for six
small stones of amber; for I found my company increase or diminish
according to the good fare they met with.
December 18. - Early in the morning we departed from Dooggi, and,
being joined by a number of Foulahs and other people, made a
formidable appearance, and were under no apprehension of being
plundered in the woods. About eleven o'clock, one of the asses
proving very refractory, the negroes took a curious method to make
him tractable. They cut a forked stick, and putting the forked part
into the ass's mouth, like the bit of a bridle, tied the two smaller
parts together above his head, leaving the lower part of the stick
of sufficient length to strike against the ground, if the ass should
attempt to put his head down. After this the ass walked along
quietly and gravely enough, taking care, after some practice, to
hold his head sufficiently high to prevent stones or roots of trees
from striking against the end of the stick, which experience had
taught him would give a severe shock to his teeth. This contrivance
produced a ludicrous appearance, but my fellow-travellers told me it
was constantly adopted by the slatees, and always proved effectual.
In the evening we arrived at a few scattered villages, surrounded
with extensive cultivation, at one of which, called Buggil, we
passed the night in a miserable hut, having no other bed than a
bundle of corn-stalks, and no provisions but what we brought with
us. The wells here are dug with great ingenuity, and are very deep.
I measured one of the bucket-ropes, and found the depth of the well
to be twenty-eight fathoms.
December 19. - We departed from Buggil, and travelled along a dry,
stony height, covered with mimosas, till mid-day, when the land
sloped towards the east, and we descended into a deep valley, in
which I observed abundance of whinstone and white quartz. Pursuing
our course to the eastward, along this valley in the bed of an
exhausted river-course, we came to a large village, where we
intended to lodge. We found many of the natives dressed in a thin
French gauze, which they called byqui; this being a light airy
dress, and well calculated to display the shape of their persons, is
much esteemed by the ladies. The manners of these females, however,
did not correspond with their dress, for they were rude and
troublesome in the highest degree; they surrounded me in numbers,
begging for amber, beads, &c., and were so vehement in their
solicitations, that I found it impossible to resist them.
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