I Went Accordingly On Shore Immediately, And Was
Received With Great Civility.
After some discourse, I delivered to him
seven horses, with their furniture; and every other article for which he
Expressed an inclination, all of which had cost me 300 ducats, trusting to
his honour for payment, which was to be in slaves, and which he promised
to deliver at his own residence, which was twenty-five miles distant from
the shore, whither he invited me to accompany him. To this invitation I
readily agreed, induced as much by a desire of seeing the country, as on
account of receiving payment. Before setting out however, Budomel made me
a present of a beautiful negress, about twelve years of age, who, he said,
was meant to serve me in the cabin; and I received the gift, and sent her
on board the caravel.
I was furnished by Budomel with horses and every thing necessary for the
journey; and when we arrived within four miles of his residence, he gave
me in charge to his nephew Bisboror, who was lord of a small town or
village at which we stopped. Bisboror took me to his own house, where I
was treated with much civility and attention, during twenty-eight days
which I tarried in that place. This was in November 1455. In that time I
went often to visit Budomel, accompanied by his nephew, and had many
opportunities to observe the produce of the country, and the manners of
the inhabitants, more especially as, on account of the tempestuous
weather, I was under the necessity of travelling back by land to the
river Senegal. For, finding it impossible to get on board at the coast by
reason of the surf, I had to order the ship to return to that river, and
went there by land to re-embark. On this occasion, being very desirous to
transmit instructions to those on board the ship to meet me at the river
Senegal, I inquired among the negroes if any one would undertake to carry
a letter from the shore. Several of them readily offered their services,
though the ship lay three miles from the shore, and, owing to a strong
wind, the sea broke on the shore with a tremendous surf, insomuch that I
thought it impossible for any one to succeed in the attempt. Besides the
surf, there were several sand banks near the shore, and other banks about
half way to the ship, between which there ran a strong current, sometimes
one way and sometimes the other, along shore, so that it was extremely
difficult for any one to swim through without infinite danger of being
carried away by the stream; and the sea broke with such violence on the
banks, that it seemed quite impossible to surmount such complicated
obstacles. Yet two of the negroes offered to go, and only demanded two
_mavulgies_ of tin for each of them, one mavulgi being worth no more than
a _grosso_[2], at which price they engaged to carry my letter in safety
to the ship.
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