Wrought Upon By These Representations, The Negroes At Length Approached, And Came Up With My Caravel; And At Last One

Of them, who understood the language of our interpreter, came on board. He was greatly surprized at every thing he

Saw in and about the caravel, especially with the sails and rigging, having no other idea of moving a vessel on the water but by means of oars. He was no less amazed at our colour and dress, as his nation mostly go stark naked, or with a single white cotton shirt as their sole dress. We were exceedingly kind and attentive to this Negro, and made him many presents of trinkets, and other things of small value, with which he was much delighted. I asked him many questions respecting the country, through our interpreter, and at length learnt that we were in the country of Gambia, of which Forosangoli was chief lord; and, by what we could learn from him, the residence of Forosangoli was at the distance of nine or ten days journey, in a direction between the south and the southwest. He said that Forosangoli was tributary to the king of Melli, who is the great emperor of the Negroes; that there were many inferior lords, who dwelt near the river on both sides, and, if we pleased, he would conduct us to the residence of one of these lords, named Battimansa, and would endeavour to negociate a treaty of peace and friendship between him and us. Being much pleased with this offer, we carried this Negro along with us, and treated him with much attention; and, sailing up the river, we came to the place where Battimansa resided, which, in my opinion, was above forty miles from the mouth of the river. In going up the river, into which several lesser rivers fall, we sailed to the eastwards, and at the place where we came to anchor, we found it much narrower than at the mouth, being not above a mile in breadth, by our estimation[5]. On coming to this place, we sent one of our interpreters and the native Negro to Battimansa, with a present of a handsome garment, called an _alzimba_, made of Moorish silk, in the form of a shirt; and they were desired to inform him of the reason of our coming into his country, signifying, "That the Christian king of Portugal had sent us thither, to enter into a treaty of friendship and peace with him, and that if he had any call for our commodities, our king would supply him with them every year."

As soon as our messengers had discharged their commission, Battimansa sent some of his Negroes to the caravel, with whom we entered into friendship, and bartered several things for Negro slaves and some gold; but gold was by no means to be had in any thing like the plenty we expected, from the account given of this country by the natives of Senegal, who, being themselves extremely poor, consider that to be a large quantity which we think very trifling.

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