It Was A Matter Of Greater Difficulty To Manage The
Asses; Their Natural Stubbornness Of Disposition Made Them Endure A
Great deal of pelting and shoving before they would venture into the
water; and when they had reached the middle
Of the stream, four of
them turned back, in spite of every exertion to get them forwards.
Two hours were spent in getting the whole of them over; an hour more
was employed in transporting the baggage; and it was near sunset
before the canoe returned, when Demba Sego and myself embarked in
this dangerous passage-boat, which the least motion was like to
overset. The king's nephew thought this a proper time to have a
peep into a tin box of mine that stood in the fore part of the
canoe; and in stretching out his band for it, he unfortunately
destroyed the equilibrium, and overset the canoe. Luckily we were
not far advanced, and got back to the shore without much difficulty;
from whence, after wringing the water from our clothes, we took a
fresh departure, and were soon afterwards safely landed in Kasson.
CHAPTER VI - TIGGITY SEGO'S PALAVER
We no sooner found ourselves safe in Kasson than Demba Sego told me
that we were now in his uncle's dominions, and he hoped I would
consider, being now out of danger, the obligation I owed to him, and
make him a suitable return for the trouble he had taken on my
account by a handsome present. This, as he knew how much had been
pilfered from me at Joag, was rather an unexpected proposition, and
I began to fear that I had not much improved my condition by
crossing the water; but as it would have been folly to complain I
made no observation upon his conduct, and gave him seven bars of
amber and some tobacco, with which he seemed to be content.
After a long day's journey, in the course of which I observed a
number of large loose nodules of white granite, we arrived at Teesee
on the evening of December 29th, and were accommodated in Demba
Sego's hut. The next morning he introduced me to his father,
Tiggity Sego, brother to the king of Kasson, chief of Teesee. The
old man viewed me with great earnestness, having never, he said,
beheld but one white man before, whom by his description I
immediately knew to be Major Houghton.
In the afternoon one of his slaves eloped; and a general alarm being
given, every person that had a horse rode into the woods, in the
hopes of apprehending him, and Demba Sego begged the use of my horse
for the same purpose. I readily consented; and in about an hour
they all returned with the slave, who was severely flogged, and
afterwards put in irons. On the day following (December 31st) Demba
Sego was ordered to go with twenty horsemen to a town in Gedumah, to
adjust some dispute with the Moors, a party of whom were supposed to
have stolen three horses from Teesee.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 33 of 88
Words from 16617 to 17125
of 45803
