Upon
This Seat I Remained Until Sunset, When I Was Conducted Into A Neat
Little Hut, With A Small Court Before It, The Door Of Which Counti
Mamadi Shut, To Prevent Any Person From Disturbing Me.
But this
precaution could not exclude the Moors.
They climbed over the top
of the mud wall, and came in crowds into the court, "in order," they
said, "to see me PERFORM MY EVENING DEVOTIONS, AND EAT EGGS." The
former of these ceremonies I did not think proper to comply with,
but I told them I had no objection to eat eggs, provided they would
bring me eggs to eat. My landlord immediately brought me seven
hen's eggs, and was much surprised to find that I could not eat them
raw; for it seems to be a prevalent opinion among the inhabitants of
the interior that Europeans subsist almost entirely on this diet.
When I had succeeded in persuading my landlord that this opinion was
without foundation, and that I would gladly partake of any victuals
which he might think proper to send me, he ordered a sheep to be
killed, and part of it to be dressed for my supper. About midnight,
when the Moors had left me, he paid me a visit, and with much
earnestness desired me to write him a saphie. "If a Moor's saphie
is good," said this hospitable old man, "a white man's must needs be
better." I readily furnished him with one, possessed of all the
virtues I could concentrate, for it contained the Lord's Prayer.
The pen with which it was written was made of a reed; a little
charcoal and gum-water made very tolerable ink, and a thin board
answered the purpose of paper.
July 25. - Early in the morning, before the Moors were assembled, I
departed from Sansanding, and slept the ensuing night at a small
town called Sibili, from whence on the day following I reached
Nyara, a large town at some distance from the river, where I halted
the 27th, to have my clothes washed, and recruit my horse. The
dooty there has a very commodious house, flat-roofed, and two
storeys high. He showed me some gunpowder of his own manufacturing;
and pointed out, as a great curiosity, a little brown monkey that
was tied to a stake by the door, telling me that it came from a far
distant country called Kong.
July 28. - I departed from Nyara, and reached Nyamee about noon.
This town is inhabited chiefly by Foulahs from the kingdom of
Masina. The dooty, I know not why, would not receive me, but
civilly sent his son on horseback to conduct me to Modiboo, which he
assured me was at no great distance.
We rode nearly in a direct line through the woods, but in general
went forwards with great circumspection. I observed that my guide
frequently stopped and looked under the bushes. On inquiring the
reason of this caution he told me that lions were very numerous in
that part of the country, and frequently attacked people travelling
through the woods.
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