When Their Country Has Been Desolated, And Their Ruined
Towns And Villages Deserted By The Enemy, Such Of The Inhabitants
As
have escaped the SWORD and the CHAIN generally return, though with
cautious steps, to the place of their nativity
- For it seems to be
the universal wish of mankind to spend the evening of their days
where they passed their infancy. The poor negro feels this desire
in its full force. To him no water is sweet but what is drawn from
his own well, and no tree has so cool and pleasant a shade as the
tabba tree {8} of his native village. When war compels him to
abandon the delightful spot in which he first drew his breath, and
seek for safety in some other kingdom, his time is spent in talking
about the country of his ancestors; and no sooner is peace restored
than he turns his back upon the land of strangers, rebuilds with
haste his fallen walls, and exults to see the smoke ascend from his
native village.
The other species of African warfare is distinguished by the
appellation of tegria (plundering, or stealing). It arises from a
sort of hereditary feud which the inhabitants of one nation or
district bear towards another. No immediate cause of hostility is
assigned, or notice of attack given, but the inhabitants of each
watch every opportunity to plunder and distress the objects of their
animosity by predatory excursions. These are very common,
particularly about the beginning of the dry season, when the labour
of the harvest is over and provisions are plentiful.
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