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 in 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 forwards. 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 stopped 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.
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