The Lions Are Here Very Numerous; The Gates Are Shut A
Little After Sunset, And Nobody Allowed To Go Out.
The thoughts of
seeing the Niger in the morning, and the troublesome buzzing of
mosquitoes, prevented me from shutting
My eyes during the night; and
I had saddled my horse, and was in readiness before daylight, but,
on account of the wild beasts, we were obliged to wait until the
people were stirring and the gates opened. This happened to be a
market day at Sego, and the roads were everywhere filled with people
carrying different articles to sell. We passed four large villages,
and at eight o'clock saw the smoke over Sego.
As we approached the town I was fortunate enough to overtake the
fugitive Kaartans, to whose kindness I had been so much indebted in
my journey through Bambarra. They readily agreed to introduce me to
the king; and we rode together through some marshy ground, where, as
I was anxiously looking around for the river, one of them called
out, Geo affili! ("See the water!") and, looking forwards, I saw
with infinite pleasure the great object of my mission - the long-
sought-for majestic Niger, glittering in the morning sun, as broad
as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly to THE EASTWARD. I
hastened to the brink, and having drunk of the water, lifted up my
fervent thanks in prayer to the Great Ruler of all things for having
thus far crowned my endeavours with success.
The circumstance of the Niger's flowing towards the east, and its
collateral points, did not, however, excite my surprise, for,
although I had left Europe in great hesitation on this subject, and
rather believed that it ran in the contrary direction, I had made
such frequent inquiries during my progress concerning this river,
and received from the negroes of different nations such clear and
decisive assurances that its general course was TOWARDS THE RISING
SUN, as scarce left any doubt on my mind, and more especially as I
knew that Major Houghton had collected similar information in the
same manner.
Sego, the capital of Bambarra, at which I had now arrived, consists,
properly speaking, of four distinct towns - two on the northern bank
of the Niger, called Sego Korro and Sego Boo; and two on the
southern bank, called Sego Soo Korro and Sego See Korro. They are
all surrounded with high mud walls. The houses are built of clay,
of a square form with flat roofs - some of them have two storeys, and
many of them are whitewashed. Besides these buildings, Moorish
mosques are seen in every quarter; and the streets, though narrow,
are broad enough for every useful purpose, in a country where wheel
carriages are entirely unknown. From the best inquiries I could
make, I have reason to believe that Sego contains altogether about
thirty thousand inhabitants. The King of Bambarra constantly
resides at Sego See Korro. He employs a great many slaves in
conveying people over the river, and the money they receive (though
the fare is only ten kowrie shells for each individual) furnishes a
considerable revenue to the king in the course of a year. The
canoes are of a singular construction, each of them being formed of
the trunks of two large trees rendered concave, and joined together,
not side by side, but endways - the junction being exactly across the
middle of the canoe: they are therefore very long, and
disproportionably narrow, and have neither decks nor masts: they
are, however, very roomy, for I observed in one of them four horses
and several people crossing over the river. When we arrived at this
ferry, with a view to pass over to that part of the town in which
the king resides, we found a great number waiting for a passage:
they looked at me with silent wonder, and I distinguished with
concern many Moors among them. There were three different places of
embarkation, and the ferrymen were very diligent and expeditious;
but from the crowd of people I could not immediately obtain a
passage, and sat down upon the bank of the river to wait for a more
favourable opportunity. The view of this extensive city - the
numerous canoes upon the river - the crowded population, and the
cultivated state of the surrounding country - formed altogether a
prospect of civilisation and magnificence which I little expected to
find in the bosom of Africa.
I waited more than two hours without having an opportunity of
crossing the river, during which time the people who had crossed
carried information to Mansong, the king, that a white man was
waiting for a passage, and was coming to see him. He immediately
sent over one of his chief men, who informed me that the king could
not possibly see me until he knew what had brought me into his
country; and that I must not presume to cross the river without the
king's permission. He therefore advised me to lodge at a distant
village, to which he pointed, for the night, and said that in the
morning he would give me further instructions how to conduct myself.
This was very discouraging. However, as there was no remedy, I set
off for the village, where I found, to my great mortification, that
no person would admit me into his house. I was regarded with
astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit all day without
victuals in the shade of a tree; and the night threatened to be very
uncomfortable - for the wind rose, and there was great appearance of
a heavy rain - and the wild beasts are so very numerous in the
neighbourhood that I should have been under the necessity of
climbing up a tree and resting amongst the branches. About sunset,
however, as I was preparing to pass the night in this manner, and
had turned my horse loose that he might graze at liberty, a woman,
returning from the labours of the field, stopped to observe me, and
perceiving that I was weary and dejected, inquired into my
situation, which I briefly explained to her; whereupon, with looks
of great compassion, she took up my saddle and bridle, and told me
to follow her.
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