Their Engagement Was To Pay Him His
Price When The Goods Were Sold, Which They Expected Would Be In The
Course Of A Month.
Being rigid bushreens, they were accommodated
with two of Karfa's huts, and sold their goods to very great
advantage.
On the 24th of January Karfa returned to Kamalia with a number of
people and thirteen prime slaves whom he had purchased. He likewise
brought with him a young girl whom he had married at Kancaba, as his
fourth wife, and had given her parents three prime slaves for her.
She was kindly received at the door of the baloon by Karfa's other
wives, who conducted their new acquaintance and co-partner into one
of the best huts, which they had caused to be swept and whitewashed
on purpose to receive her.
My clothes were by this time become so very ragged that I was almost
ashamed to appear out of doors, but Karfa, on the day after his
arrival, generously presented me with such a garment and trousers as
are commonly worn in the country.
The slaves which Karfa had brought with him were all of them
prisoners of war; they had been taken by the Bambarra army in the
kingdoms of Wassela and Kaarta, and carried to Sego, where some of
them had remained three years in irons. From Sego they were sent,
in company with a number of other captives, up the Niger in two
large canoes, and offered for sale at Yamina, Bammakoo, and Kancaba;
at which places the greater number of the captives were bartered for
gold dust, and the remainder sent forward to Kankaree.
Eleven of them confessed to me that they had been slaves from their
infancy, but the other two refused to give any account of their
former condition. They were all very inquisitive, but they viewed
me at first with looks of horror, and repeatedly asked if my
countrymen were cannibals. They were very desirous to know what
became of the slaves after they had crossed the salt water. I told
them that they were employed in cultivation the land; but they would
not believe me, and one of them, putting his hand upon the ground,
said, with great simplicity, "Have you really got such ground as
this to set your feet upon?" A deeply-rooted idea that the whites
purchase negroes for the purpose of devouring them, or of selling
them to others that they may be devoured hereafter, naturally makes
the slaves contemplate a journey towards the coast with great
terror, insomuch that the slatees are forced to keep them constantly
in irons, and watch them very closely, to prevent their escape.
They are commonly secured by putting the right leg of one and the
left of another into the same pair of fetters. By supporting the
fetters with a string, they can walk, though very slowly. Every
four slaves are likewise fastened together by the necks with a
strong rope of twisted thongs, and in the night an additional pair
of fetters is put on their hands, and sometimes a light iron chain
passed round their necks.
Such of them as evince marks of discontent are secured in a
different manner. A thick billet of wood is cut about three feet
long, and, a smooth notch being made upon one side of it, the ankle
of the slave is bolted to the smooth part by means of a strong iron
staple, one prong of which passes on each side of the ankle. All
these fetters and bolts are made from native iron; in the present
case they were put on by the blacksmith as soon as the slaves
arrived from Kancaba, and were not taken off until the morning on
which the coffle departed for Gambia.
In other respects the treatment of the slaves during their stay at
Kamalia was far from being harsh or cruel. They were led out in
their fetters every morning to the shade of the tamarind-tree, where
they were encouraged to play at games of hazard, and sing diverting
songs, to keep up their spirits; for, though some of them sustained
the hardships of their situation with amazing fortitude, the greater
part were very much dejected, and would sit all day in a sort of
sullen melancholy, with their eyes fixed upon the ground. In the
evening their irons were examined, and their hand-fetters put on,
after which they were conducted into two large huts, where they were
guarded during the night by Karfa's domestic slaves. But,
notwithstanding all this, about a week after their arrival, one of
the slaves had the address to procure a small knife, with which he
opened the rings of his fetters, cut the rope, and made his escape;
more of them would probably have got off had they assisted each
other, but the slave no sooner found himself at liberty than he
refused to stop and assist in breaking the chain which was fastened
round the necks of his companions.
As all the slatees and slaves belonging to the coffle were now
assembled either at Kamalia or at some of the neighbouring villages,
it might have been expected that we should set out immediately for
Gambia; but though the day of our departure was frequently fixed, it
was always found expedient to change it. Some of the people had not
prepared their dry provisions; others had gone to visit their
relations; or collect some trifling debts; and, last of all, it was
necessary to consult whether the day would be a lucky one. On
account of one of these, or other such causes, our departure was put
off, day after day, until the month of February was far advanced,
after which all the slatees agreed to remain in their present
quarters until the FAST MOON WAS OVER. And here I may remark that
loss of time is an object of no great importance in the eyes of a
negro. If he has anything of consequence to perform, it is a matter
of indifference to him whether he does it to-day or to-morrow, or a
month or two hence; so long as he can spend the present moment with
any degree of comfort, he gives himself very little concern about
the future.
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