As Our Dry Provisions Were Not Yet Exhausted, A Considerable
Quantity Of Kouskous Was Dressed For Supper, And Many Of
The
villagers were invited to take part of the repast; but they made a
very bad return for this kindness,
For in the night they seized upon
one of the schoolmaster's boys, who had fallen asleep under the
bentang tree, and carried him away. The boy fortunately awoke
before he was far from the village, and, setting up a loud scream,
the man who carried him put his hand upon his mouth and ran with him
into the woods; but afterwards understanding that he belonged to the
schoolmaster, whose place of residence is only three days' journey
distant, he thought, I suppose, that he could not retain him as a
slave without the schoolmaster's knowledge, and therefore stripped
off the boy's clothes and permitted him to return.
April 28. - Early in the morning we departed from Sooseeta, and about
ten o'clock came to an unwalled town, called Manna, the inhabitants
of which were employed in collecting the fruit of the nitta-trees,
which are very numerous in this neighbourhood. The pods are long
and narrow, and contain a few black seeds, enveloped in the fine
mealy powder before mentioned; the meal itself is of a bright yellow
colour, resembling the flour of sulphur, and has a sweet
mucilaginous taste. When eaten by itself it is clammy, but when
mixed with milk or water it constitutes a very pleasant and
nourishing article of diet.
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