Travels into the Interior of Africa (9 page)

Mansong, finding that Daisy was determined to avoid a pitched battle, placed a strong force at Joko to watch his motions; and, separating the remainder of his army into small detachments, ordered them to overrun the country, and seize upon the inhabitants before they had time to escape. These orders were executed with such promptitude, that in a few days the whole kingdom of Kaarta became a scene of desolation. Most of the poor inhabitants of the different towns and villages being surprised in the night, fell an easy prey; and their corn, and everything which could be useful to Daisy, was burnt and destroyed. During these transactions, Daisy was employed in fortifying Gedingooma. This town is built in a narrow pass between two high hills, having only two gates, one towards Kaarta and the other towards Jaffnoo. The gate towards Kaarta was defended by Daisy in person, and that towards Jaffnoo was committed to the charge of his sons. When the army of Bambarra approached the town they made some attempts to storm it, but were always driven back with great loss; and Mansong, finding Daisy more formidable than he expected, resolved to cut off his supplies, and starve him into submission. He accordingly sent all the prisoners he had taken into Bambarra, and having collected a considerable quantity of provisions, remained with his army two whole months in the vicinity of Gedingooma without doing anything decisive. During this time he was much harassed by sallies from the besieged; and his stock of provisions being nearly exhausted, he sent to Ali, the Moorish king of Ludamar, for two hundred horsemen, to enable him to make an attack upon the north gate of the town, and give the Bambarrans an opportunity of storming the place. Ali, though he had made an agreement with Mansong at the commencement of the war to afford him assistance, now refused to fulfil his engagement, which so enraged Mansong, that he marched part of his army to Funingkedy, with a view to surprise the camp of Benowm; but the Moors having received intelligence of his design, fled to the northward, and Mansong, without attempting anything farther, returned to Sego. This happened while I was myself in captivity in Ali’s camp, as will hereafter be seen.

As the king of Kaarta had now got quit of his most formidable antagonist, it might have been hoped that peace would have been restored to his dominions; but an extraordinary incident involved him, immediately afterwards, in hostilities with Kasson, the king of which country dying about that time, the succession was disputed by his two sons. The younger (Sambo Sego, my old acquaintance) prevailed; and drove his brother from the country. He fled to Gedingooma; and being pursued thither, Daisy, who had lived in constant friendship with both the brothers, refused to deliver him up – at the same time declaring that he would not support his claim, nor any way interfere in the quarrel. Sambo Sego, elated with success, and proud of the homage that was paid him as sovereign of Kasson, was much displeased with Daisy’s conduct, and joined with some disaffected fugitive Kaartans in a plundering expedition against him. Daisy, who little expected such a visit, had sent a number of people to Joko to plant corn, and collect together such cattle as they might find straying in the woods, in order to supply his army. All these people fell into the hands of Sambo Sego, who carried them to Kooniakary, and afterwards sent them in caravans to be sold to the French at Fort Louis, on the river Senegal.

This attack was soon retaliated; for Daisy, who was now in distress for want of provisions, thought he was justified in supplying himself from the plunder of Kasson. He accordingly took with him eight hundred of his best men, and marching secretly through the woods, surprised in the night three large villages near Kooniakary, in which many of his traitorous subjects who were in Sambo’s expedition had taken up their residence. All these, and indeed all the able men that fell into Daisy’s hands, were immediately put to death.

After this expedition, Daisy began to indulge the hopes of peace. Many of his discontented subjects had returned to their allegiance, and were repairing the towns which had been desolated by the war. The rainy season was approaching, and everything wore a favourable appearance, when he was suddenly attacked from a different quarter.

The Jowers, Kakaroos, and some other Kaartans, who had deserted from him at the commencement of the war, and had shown a decided preference to Mansong and his army during the whole campaign, were now afraid or ashamed to ask forgiveness of Daisy, and being very powerful in themselves, joined together to make war upon him. They solicited the Moors to assist them in their rebellion (as will appear hereafter), and having collected a considerable army, they plundered a large village belonging to Daisy, and carried off a number of prisoners.

Daisy immediately prepared to revenge this insult; but the Jowers, and indeed almost all the Negro inhabitants of Ludamar, deserted their towns, and fled to the eastward; and the rainy season put an end to the war of Kaarta, which had enriched a few individuals, but destroyed the happiness of thousands.

Such was the state of affairs among the nations in the neighbourhood of Jarra, soon after the period of my arrival there. I shall now proceed, after giving some description of that place, with the detail of events as they occurred.

T
HE TOWN OF JARRA
is of considerable extent; the houses are built of clay and stone intermixed, the clay answering the purpose of mortar. It is situated in the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar; but the major part of the inhabitants are Negroes, from the borders of the southern states, who prefer a precarious protection under the Moors, which they purchase by a tribute, rather than continue exposed to their predatory hostilities. The tribute they pay is considerable; and they manifest towards their Moorish superiors the most unlimited obedience and submission, and are treated by them with the utmost indignity and contempt. The Moors of this and the other states adjoining the country of the Negroes resemble in their persons the Mulattoes of the West Indies to so great a degree as not easily to be distinguished from them; and in truth, the present generation seem to be a mixed race between the Moors (properly so called) of the north, and the Negroes of the south, possessing many of the worst qualities of both nations.

Of the origin of these Moorish tribes, as distinguished from the inhabitants of Barbary, from whom they are divided by the Great Desert, nothing farther seems to be known than what is related by John Leo, the African, whose account may be abridged as follows:

To what extent these people are now spread over the African continent it is difficult to ascertain. There is reason to believe that their dominion stretches from west to east, in a narrow line or belt, from the mouth of the Senegal (on the northern side of that river) to the confines of Abyssinia. They are a subtle and treacherous race of people, and take every opportunity of cheating and plundering the credulous and unsuspecting Negroes. But their manners and general habits of life will be best explained as incidents occur in the course of my narrative.

On my arrival at Jarra, I obtained a lodging at the house of Daman Jumma, a Gambia Slatee. This man had formerly borrowed goods from Dr Laidley, who had given me an order for the money, to the amount of six slaves; and though the debt was of five years’ standing, he readily acknowledged it, and promised me what money he could raise. He was afraid, he said, in his present situation, he could not pay more than two slaves’ value. He gave me his assistance, however, in exchanging my beads and amber for gold, which was a more portable article, and more easily concealed from the Moors.

The difficulties we had already encountered, the unsettled state of the country, and, above all, the savage and overbearing deportment of the Moors, had so completely frightened my attendants, that they declared they would rather relinquish every claim to reward, than proceed one step farther to the eastward. Indeed the danger they incurred of being seized by the Moors, and sold into slavery, became every day more apparent; and I could not condemn their apprehensions. In this situation, deserted by my attendants, and reflecting that my retreat was cut off by the war behind me, and that a Moorish country of ten days’ journey lay before me, I applied to Daman to obtain permission from Ali, the chief or sovereign of Ludamar, that I might pass through his country unmolested, into Bambarra; and I hired one of Daman’s slaves to accompany me thither, as soon as such permission should be obtained. A messenger was dispatched to Ali, who at this time was encamped near Benowm; and as a present was necessary in order to insure success, I sent him five garments of cotton cloth, which I purchased of Daman for one of my fowling-pieces. Fourteen days elapsed in settling this affair; but, on the evening of the 26th of February, one of Ali’s slaves arrived with directions, as he pretended, to conduct me in safety as far as Goomba; and told me I was to pay him one garment of blue cotton cloth for his attendance. My faithful boy, observing that I was about to proceed without him, resolved to accompany me; and told me that though he wished me to turn back, he never had entertained any serious thoughts of deserting me, but had been advised to it by Johnson, with a view to induce me to return immediately for Gambia.

February 27th
– I delivered most of my papers to Johnson, to convey them to Gambia as soon as possible, reserving a duplicate for myself in case of accidents. I likewise left in Daman’s possession a bundle of clothes and other things that were not absolutely necessary; for I wished to diminish my baggage as much as possible, that the Moors might have fewer inducements to plunder us.

Things being thus adjusted, we departed from Jarra in the forenoon, and slept at Troomgoomba, a small walled village inhabited by a mixture of Negroes and Moors. On the day following (February 28th) we reached Quira; and on the 29th, after a toilsome journey over a sandy country, we came to Compe, a watering place belonging to the Moors: from whence, on the morning following, we proceeded to Deena, a large town, and, like Jarra, built of stone and clay. The Moors are here in greater proportion to the Negroes than at Jarra. They assembled round the hut of the Negro where I lodged, and treated me with the greatest insolence. They hissed, shouted, and abused me; they even spat in my face with a view to irritate me, and afford them a pretext for seizing my baggage. But, finding such insults had not the desired effect, they had recourse to the final and decisive argument, that I was a Christian, and of course that my property was lawful plunder to the followers of Mahomet. They accordingly opened my bundles, and robbed me of everything they fancied. My attendants, finding that everybody could rob me with impunity, insisted on returning to Jarra.

The day following (March 2nd) I endeavoured by all means in my power to prevail upon my people to go on; but they still continued obstinate; and having reason to fear some further insult from the fanatic Moors, I resolved to proceed alone. Accordingly the next morning, about two o’clock, I departed from Deena. It was moonlight; but the roaring of wild beasts made it necessary to proceed with caution.

When I had reached a piece of rising ground about half a mile from the town, I heard somebody halloo, and looking back, saw my faithful boy running after me. He informed me that Ali’s man had gone back to Benowm, and that Daman’s Negro was about to depart for Jarra; but he said he had no doubt, if I would stop a little, that he could persuade the latter to accompany us. I waited accordingly, and in about an hour the boy returned with the Negro; and we continued travelling over a sandy country, covered chiefly with the
Asclepias giganteo
, until midday, when we came to a number of deserted huts; and seeing some appearances of water at a little distance, I sent the boy to fill a soofroo; but as he was examining the place for water, the roaring of a lion, that was probably on the same pursuit, induced the frightened boy to return in haste, and we submitted patiently to the disappointment. In the afternoon we reached a town inhabited chiefly by Foulahs, called Samamingkoos.

Next morning (March 4th) we set out for Sampaka, which place we reached about two o’clock. On the road we observed immense quantities of locusts: the trees were quite black with them. These insects devour every vegetable that comes in their way, and in a short time completely strip a tree of its leaves. The noise of their excrement falling upon the leaves and withered grass, very much resembles a shower of rain. When a tree is shaken or struck, it is astonishing to see what a cloud of them will fly off. In their flight they yield to the current of the wind, which at this season of the year is always from the north-east. Should the wind shift, it is difficult to conceive where they could collect food, as the whole of their course was marked with desolation.

Sampaka is a large town, and when the Moors and Bambarrans were at war, was thrice attacked by the former; but they were driven off with great loss, though the king of Bambarra was afterwards obliged to give up this, and all the other towns as far as Goomba, in order to obtain a peace. Here I lodged at the house of a Negro who practised the art of making gunpowder. He showed me a bag of nitre, very white, but the crystals were much smaller than common. They procure it in considerable quantities from the ponds which are filled in the rainy season, and to which the cattle resort for coolness during the heat of the day. When the water is evaporated, a white efflorescence is observed on the mud, which the natives collect and purify in such a manner as to answer their purpose. The Moors supply them with sulphur from the Mediterranean; and the process is completed by pounding the different articles together in a wooden mortar. The grains are very unequal, and the sound of its explosion is by no means so sharp as that produced by European gunpowder.

March 5th
– We departed from Sampaka at daylight. About noon we stopped a little at a village called Dangali; and in the evening arrived at Dalli. We saw upon the road two large herds of camels feeding. When the Moors turn their camels to feed, they tie up one of their fore legs, to prevent their straying. This happened to be a feast day at Dalli, and the people were dancing before the Dooty’s house. But when they were informed that a white man was come into the town, they left off dancing, and came to the place where I lodged, walking in regular order, two and two, with the music before them. They play upon a sort of flute; but instead of blowing into a hole in the side, they blow obliquely over the end, which is half shut by a thin piece of wood; they govern the holes on the side with their fingers, and play some simple and very plaintive airs. They continued to dance and sing until midnight; during which time I was surrounded by so great a crowd as made it necessary for me to satisfy their curiosity by sitting still.

March 6th
– We stopped here this morning because some of the
townspeople
, who were going to Goomba on the day following, wished to accompany us; but in order to avoid the crowd of people which usually assembled in the evening, we went to a Negro village to the east of Dalli, called Samee, where we were kindly received by the hospitable Dooty, who on this occasion killed two fine sheep, and invited his friends to come and feast with him.

March 7th
– Our landlord was so proud of the honour of entertaining a white man, that he insisted on my staying with him and his friends until the cool of the evening, when he said he would conduct me to the next village. As I was now within two days’ journey of Goomba, I had no apprehensions from the Moors, and readily accepted the invitation. I spent the forenoon very pleasantly with these poor Negroes; their company was the more acceptable, as the gentleness of their manners presented a striking contrast to the rudeness and barbarity of the Moors. They enlivened their conversation by drinking a fermented liquor made from corn – the same sort of beer that I have described in a former chapter – and better I never tasted in Great Britain.

In the midst of this harmless festivity I flattered myself that all danger from the Moors was over. Fancy had already placed me on the banks of the Niger, and presented to my imagination a thousand delightful scenes in my future progress, when a party of Moors unexpectedly entered the hut, and dispelled the golden dream. They came, they said, by Ali’s orders, to convey me to his camp at Benowm. If I went peaceably, they told me I had nothing to fear; but if I refused, they had orders to bring me by force. I was struck dumb by surprise and terror, which the Moors observing, endeavoured to calm my apprehensions by repeating the assurance that I had nothing to fear. Their visit, they added, was occasioned by the curiosity of Ali’s wife, Fatima, who had heard so much about Christians, that she was very anxious to see one. As soon as her curiosity should be satisfied, they had no doubt, they said, that Ali would give me a handsome present, and send a person to conduct me to Bambarra. Finding entreaty and resistance equally fruitless, I prepared to follow the messengers, and took leave of my landlord and his company with great reluctance. Accompanied by my faithful boy (for Daman’s slave made his escape on seeing the Moors), we reached Dalli in the evening, where we were strictly watched by the Moors during the night.

March 8th
– We were conducted by a circuitous path through the woods to Dangali, where we slept.

March 9th
– We continued our journey, and in the afternoon arrived at Sampaka. On the road we saw a party of Moors, well armed, who told us that they were hunting for a runaway slave; but the townspeople informed us that a party of Moors had attempted to steal some cattle from the town in the morning, but were repulsed; and on their describing the persons, we were satisfied that they were the same banditti that we had seen in the woods.