The travellers were here
objects of much kindness; the principal people of the place sent
presents, and the lower ranks sought to obtain a sight of them by
mounting the trees which overlooked their residence. The Koran does
not seem to have much embarrassed these people; their only mode of
studying it was to have the characters written with a black substance
on a piece of board, then to wash them off and drink the water; and
when asked what spiritual benefit could be derived from the mere
swallowing of dirty water, they indignantly retorted, "What! do you
call the name of God dirty water?" This mode of imbibing sacred truth
is indeed extensively pursued throughout the interior of the African
continent.
On the second day from Womba, the travellers passed through another
large and populous town, called Akinjie, where also kafilas pay toll;
beyond which, the route lay for two days over a very hilly country,
for the most part covered with wood, and but little cultivated, till
they approached Guari.
This town, the capital of a district of the same name, formerly
included in Kashna, is built partly on a hill, and partly in a narrow
valley, through which runs a muddy stream, that is dry in summer;
this stream, the source of which is only a day's journey distant,
divides in one part the states of Kotong Kora and Guari, and falls
into the Kodonia in Nyffee.
