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Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa

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The Foulahs of Bondou are naturally of a mild and gentle disposition, but
the uncharitable maxims of the Koran have made them less hospitable to
strangers, and more reserved in their behaviour than the Mandingoes. They
evidently consider all the Negro natives as their inferiors; and when
talking of different nations, always rank themselves among the white
people.

Their government differs from that of the Mandingoes chiefly in this,
that they are more immediately under the influence of the Mahomedan laws;
for all the chief men, (the king excepted,) and a large majority of the
inhabitants of Bondou, are Mussulmen, and the authority and laws of the
Prophet are every where looked upon as sacred and decisive. In the
exercise of their faith, however, they are not very intolerant towards
such of their countrymen as still retain their ancient superstitions.
Religious persecution is not known among them, nor is it necessary; for
the system of Mahomet is made to extend itself by means abundantly more
efficacious. By establishing small schools in the different towns, where
many of the Pagan as well as Mahomedan children are taught to read the
Koran, and instructed in the tenets of the Prophet, the Mahomedan priests
fix a bias on the minds, and form the character of their young disciples,
which no accidents of life can ever afterwards remove or alter. Many of
these little schools I visited in my progress through the country, and
observed with pleasure the great docility and submissive deportment of
the children, and heartily wished they had had better instructors, and a
purer religion.

With the Mahomedan faith is also introduced the Arabic language, with
which most of the Foulahs have a slight acquaintance. The native tongue
abounds very much in liquids, but there is something unpleasant in the
manner of pronouncing it. A stranger, on hearing the common conversation
of two Foulahs, would imagine that they were scolding each other. Their
numerals are these:--

One ......... _Go_.
Two ......... _Deeddee_.
Three ......... _Tettee_.
Four ......... _Nee_.
Five ......... _Jouee_.
Six ......... _Jego_.
Seven ......... _Jedeeddee_.
Eight ......... _Je Tettee_.
Nine ......... _Je Nee_.
Ten ......... _Sappo_.

The industry of the Foulahs, in the occupations of pasturage and
agriculture, is everywhere remarkable. Even on the banks of the Gambia,
the greater part of the corn is raised by them; and their herds and
flocks are more numerous and in better condition than those of the
Mandingoes; but in Bondou they are opulent in a high degree, and enjoy
all the necessaries of life in the greatest profusion. They display great
skill in the management of their cattle, making them extremely gentle by
kindness and familiarity. On the approach of night, they are collected
from the woods, and secured in folds, called korrees, which are
constructed in the neighbourhood of the different villages. In the middle
of each korree is erected a small hut, wherein one or two of the herdsmen
keep watch during the night, to prevent the cattle from being stolen, and
to keep up the fires which are kindled round the korree to frighten away
the wild beasts.

The cattle are milked in the mornings and evenings; the milk is
excellent, but the quantity obtained from any one cow is by no means so
great as in Europe. The Foulahs use the milk chiefly as an article of
diet, and that not until it is quite sour. The cream which it affords is
very thick, and is converted into butter by stirring it violently in a
large calabash. This butter, when melted over a gentle fire, and freed
from impurities, is preserved in small earthen pots, and forms a part in
most of their dishes; it serves likewise to anoint their heads, and is
bestowed very liberally on their faces and arms.

But although milk is plentiful, it is somewhat remarkable that the
Foulahs, and indeed all the inhabitants of this part of Africa, are
totally unacquainted with the art of making cheese. A firm attachment to
the customs of their ancestors makes them view with an eye of prejudice
every thing that looks like innovation. The heat of the climate, and the
great scarcity of salt, are held forth as unanswerable objections: and
the whole process appears to them too long and troublesome to be attended
with any solid advantage.

Besides the cattle, which constitute the chief wealth of the Foulahs,
they possess some excellent horses, the breed of which seems to be a
mixture of the Arabian with the original African.



CHAPTER V.

_Account of Kajaaga.--Serawoollies--their manners and language.--Account
of Joag.--The Author is ill treated, and robbed of half of his effects,
by order of Batcheri, the king.--Charity of a female slave.--The Author
is visited by Demba Sego, nephew of the King of Kasson, who offers to
conduct him in safety to that kingdom.--Offer accepted.--The Author and
his protector, with a numerous retinue, set out and reach Samee, on the
banks of the Senegal.--Proceed to Kayee, and, crossing the Senegal,
arrive in the kingdom of Kasson._


The kingdom of Kajaaga, in which I was now arrived, is called by the
French Gallam; but the name that I have adopted is universally used by
the natives. This country is bounded on the south-east and south by
Bambouk; on the west by Bondou and Foota Torra; and on the north by the
river Senegal.

The air and climate are, I believe, more pure and salubrious than at any
of the settlements towards the coast; the face of the country is
everywhere interspersed with a pleasing variety of hills and valleys; and
the windings of the Senegal river, which descends from the rocky hills of
the interior, make the scenery on its banks very picturesque and
beautiful.

The inhabitants are called Serawoollies, or (as the French write it)
_Seracolets_. Their complexion is a jet black: they are not to be
distinguished in this respect from the Jaloffs. The government is
monarchical; and the regal authority, from what I experienced of it,
seems to be sufficiently formidable. The people themselves, however,
complain of no oppression; and seemed all very anxious to support the
king in a contest he was going to enter into with the sovereign of
Kasson. The Serawoollies are habitually a trading people; they formerly
carried on a great commerce with the French in gold and slaves, and still
maintain some traffic in slaves with the British factories on the Gambia.
They are reckoned tolerably fair and just in their dealings, but are
indefatigable in their exertions to acquire wealth, and they derive
considerable profits by the sale of salt and cotton cloth in distant
countries. When a Serawoolli merchant returns home from a trading
expedition, the neighbours immediately assemble to congratulate him upon
his arrival. On these occasions the traveller displays his wealth and
liberality, by making a few presents to his friends; but if he has been
unsuccessful, his levee is soon over; and every one looks upon him as a
man of no understanding, who could perform a long journey, and (as they
express it) _bring back nothing but the hair upon his head_.

Their language abounds much in gutterals, and is not so harmonious as
that spoken by the Foulahs; it is, however, well worth acquiring by those
who travel through this part of the African continent, it being very
generally understood in the kingdoms of Kasson, Kaarta, Ludamar, and the
northern parts of Bambarra. In all these countries the Serawoollies are
the chief traders. Their numerals are:--

One ......... _Bani_.
Two ......... _Fillo_.
Three ......... _Sicco_.
Four ......... _Narrato_.
Five ......... _Karrago_.
Six ......... _Toomo_.
Seven ......... _Nero_.
Eight ......... _Sego_.
Nine ......... _Kabbo_.
Ten ......... _Tamo_.
Twenty......... _Tamo di fillo_.

We arrived at Joag, the frontier town of this kingdom, on the 24th of
December; and took up our residence at the house of the chief man, who is
here no longer known by the title of _Alkaid_, but is called the _Dooty_.
He was a rigid Mahomedan, but distinguished for his hospitality. This
town may be supposed, on a gross computation, to contain two thousand
inhabitants. It is surrounded by a high wall, in which are a number of
port-holes, for musketry to fire through; in case of an attack. Every
man's possession is likewise surrounded by a wall; the whole forming so
many distinct citadels; and amongst a people unacquainted with the use of
artillery, these walls answer all the purposes of stronger
fortifications. To the westward of the town is a small river, on the
banks of which the natives raise great plenty of tobacco and onions.

The same evening Madiboo the Bushreen, who had accompanied me from
Pisania, went to pay a visit to his father and mother, who dwelt at a
neighbouring town called Dramanet. He was joined by my other attendant
the blacksmith; and as soon as it was dark, I was invited to see the
sports of the inhabitants, it being their custom, on the arrival of
strangers, to welcome them by diversions of different kinds. I found a
great crowd surrounding a party who were dancing, by the light of some
large fires, to the music of four drums, which were beat with great
exactness and uniformity. The dances, however, consisted more in wanton
gestures than in muscular exertion or graceful attitudes. The ladies vied
with each other in displaying the most voluptuous movements imaginable.

December 25th. About two o'clock in the morning a number of horsemen came
into the town, and having awakened my landlord, talked to him for some
time in the Serawoolli tongue; after which they dismounted, and came to
the Bentang, on which I had made my bed. One of them thinking that I was
asleep, attempted to steal the musket that lay by me on the mat; but
finding that he could not effect his purpose undiscovered, he desisted:
and the strangers sat down by me till daylight.

I could now easily perceive, by the countenance of my interpreter,
Johnson, that something very unpleasant was in agitation. I was likewise
surprised to see Madiboo and the blacksmith so soon returned. On
inquiring the reason, Madiboo informed me that as they were dancing at
Dramanet, ten horsemen, belonging to Batcheri, king of the country, with
his second son at their head, had arrived there, inquiring if the white
man had passed: and on being told that I was at Joag, they rode off
without stopping. Madiboo added, that on hearing this, he and the
blacksmith hastened back to give me notice of their coming. Whilst I was
listening to this narrative, the ten horsemen mentioned by Madiboo
arrived; and coming to the Bentang, dismounted and seated themselves with
those who had come before, the whole being about twenty in number,
forming a circle round me, and each man holding his musket in his hand. I
took this opportunity to observe to my landlord, that as I did not
understand the Serawoolli tongue, I hoped, whatever the men had to say
they would speak in Mandingo. To this they agreed; and a short man,
loaded with a remarkable number of saphies, opened the business in a very
long harangue, informing me that I had entered the king's town without
having first paid the duties, or giving any present to the king, and
that, according to the laws of the country, my people, cattle, and
baggage, were forfeited. He added, that they had received orders from
the king to conduct me to Maana,[8] the place of his residence; and if I
refused to come with them, their orders were to bring me by force; upon
his saying which, all of them rose up and asked me if I was ready. It
would have been equally vain and imprudent in me to have resisted or
irritated such a body of men; I therefore affected to comply with their
commands, and begged them only to stop a little until I had given my
horse a feed of corn, and settled matters with my landlord. The poor
blacksmith, who was a native of Kasson, mistook this feigned compliance
for a real intention, and taking me away from the company, told me that
he had always behaved towards me as if I had been his father and master;
and he hoped I would not entirely ruin him, by going to Maana; adding,
that as there was every reason to believe a war would soon take place
between Kasson and Kajaaga, he should not only lose his little property,
the savings of four years industry, but should certainly be detained and
sold as a slave, unless his friends had an opportunity of paying two
slaves for his redemption. I saw this reasoning in its full force, and
determined to do my utmost to preserve the blacksmith from so dreadful a
fate. I therefore told the king's son that I was ready to go with him,
upon condition that the blacksmith, who was an inhabitant of a distant
kingdom, and entirely unconnected with me, should be allowed to stay at
Joag till my return: to this they all objected; and insisted, that as we
had all acted contrary to the laws, we were all equally answerable for
our conduct.

[8] Maana is within a short distance of the ruins of Fort St. Joseph,
on the Senegal river, formerly a French factory.

I now took my landlord aside, and giving him a small present of
gunpowder, asked his advice in so critical a situation. He was decidedly
of opinion that I ought not to go to the king: he was fully convinced, he
said, that if the king should discover anything valuable in my
possession, he would not be over scrupulous about the means of obtaining
it. This made me the more solicitous to conciliate matters with the
king's people; and I began by observing, that what I had done did not
proceed from any want of respect towards the king, nor from any wish to
violate his laws, but wholly from my own inexperience and ignorance,
being a stranger, totally unacquainted with the laws and customs of their
country. I had indeed entered the king's frontier, without knowing that I
was to pay the duties beforehand, but I was ready to pay them now; which
I thought was all that they could reasonably demand. I then tendered
them, as a present to the king, the five drachms of gold which the King
of Bondou had given me: this they accepted, but insisted on examining my
baggage, which I opposed in vain. The bundles were opened; but the men
were much disappointed in not finding in them so much gold and amber as
they expected; they made up the deficiency, however, by taking whatever
things they fancied; and after wrangling and debating with me till
sunset, they departed, having first robbed me of half my goods. These
proceedings dispirited my people, and our fortitude was not strengthened
by a very indifferent supper, after a long fast. Madiboo begged me to
turn back; Johnson laughed at the thoughts of proceeding without money,
and the blacksmith was afraid to be seen, or even to speak, lest any one
should discover him to be a native of Kasson. In this disposition we
passed the night by the side of a dim fire, and our situation the next
day was very perplexing: it was impossible to procure provisions without
money, and I knew that if I produced any beads or amber, the king would
immediately hear of it, and I should probably lose the few effects I had
concealed. We therefore resolved to combat hunger for the day, and wait
some favourable opportunity of purchasing or begging provisions.

Towards evening, as I was sitting upon the Bentang, chewing straws, an
old female slave, passing by with a basket upon her head, asked me _if I
had got my dinner_. As I thought she only laughed at me, I gave her no
answer; but my boy, who was sitting close by, answered for me, and told
her that the king's people had robbed me of all my money. On hearing
this, the good old woman, with a look of unaffected benevolence,
immediately took the basket from her head, and showing me that it
contained ground nuts, asked me if I could eat them; being answered in
the affirmative, she presented me with a few handfuls, and walked away
before I had time to thank her for this seasonable supply. This trifling
circumstance gave me peculiar satisfaction. I reflected with pleasure on
the conduct of this poor untutored slave, who, without examining into my
character or circumstances, listened implicitly to the dictates of her
own heart. Experience had taught her that hunger was painful, and her own
distresses made her commiserate those of others.

The old woman had scarcely left me, when I received information that a
nephew of Demba Sego Jalla, the Mandingo King of Kasson, was coming to
pay me a visit. He had been sent on an embassy to Batcheri, King of
Kajaaga, to endeavour to settle the disputes which had arisen between his
uncle and the latter; but after debating the matter four days without
success, he was now on his return; and hearing that a white man was at
Joag, in his way to Kasson, curiosity brought him to see me. I
represented to him my situation and distresses; when he frankly offered
me his protection, and said he would be my guide to Kasson, (provided I
would set out the next morning,) and be answerable for my safety. I
readily and gratefully accepted his offer; and was ready, with my
attendants, by daylight on the morning of the 27th of December.

My protector, whose name was Demba Sego, probably after his uncle, had a
numerous retinue. Our company at leaving Joag consisted of thirty persons
and six loaded asses; and we rode on cheerfully enough for some hours,
without any remarkable occurrence, until we came to a species of tree,
for which my interpreter, Johnson, had made frequent inquiry. On finding
it, he desired us to stop; and producing a white chicken, which he had
purchased at Joag for the purpose, he tied it by the leg to one of the
branches, and then told us we might now safely proceed, for that our
journey would be prosperous. This circumstance is mentioned merely to
illustrate the disposition of the Negroes, and to show the power of
superstition over their minds; for although this man had resided seven
years in England, it was evident that he still retained the prejudices
and notions he had imbibed in his youth. He meant this ceremony, he told
me, as an offering or sacrifice to the spirits of the woods; who were, he
said, a powerful race of beings of a white colour, with long flowing
hair. I laughed at his folly, but could not condemn the piety of his
motives.

At noon we had reached Gungadi, a large town, where we stopped about an
hour, until some of the asses that had fallen behind came up. Here I
observed a number of date trees, and a mosque built of clay, with six
turrets, on the pinnacles of which were placed six ostrich eggs. A little
before sunset we arrived at the town of Samee, on the banks of the
Senegal, which is here a beautiful but shallow river, moving slowly over
a bed of sand and gravel. The banks are high and covered with verdure;
the country is open and cultivated; and the rocky hills of Felow and
Bambouk add much to the beauty of the landscape.

December 28th. We departed from Samee, and arrived in the afternoon at
Kayee, a large village, part of which is situated on the north, and part
on the south side of the river. A little above this place is a
considerable cataract, where the river flows over a ledge of whinstone
rock with great force: below this the river is remarkably black and deep;
and here it was proposed to make our cattle swim over. After hallooing,
and firing some muskets, the people on the Kasson side observed us, and
brought over a canoe to carry our baggage. I did not, however, think it
possible to get the cattle down the bank, which is here more than forty
feet above the water; but the Negroes seized the horses, and launched one
at a time down a sort of trench or gulley that was almost perpendicular,
and seemed to have been worn smooth by this sort of use. After the
terrified cattle had been plunged in this manner to the water's edge,
every man got down as well as he could. The ferryman then taking hold of
the most steady of the horses by a rope, led him into the water, and
paddled the canoe a little from the brink; upon which a general attack
commenced upon the other horses, who, finding themselves pelted and
kicked on all sides, unanimously plunged into the river, and followed
their companion. A few boys swam in after them; and by laving water upon
them when they attempted to return, urged them onwards, and we had the
satisfaction in about fifteen minutes to see them all safe on the other
side. It was a matter of greater difficulty to manage the asses: their
natural stubbornness of disposition made them endure a great deal of
pelting and shoving before they would venture into the water; and when
they had reached the middle of the stream, four of them turned back, in
spite of every exertion to get them forwards. Two hours were spent in
getting the whole of them over; an hour more was employed in transporting
the baggage; and it was near sunset before the canoe returned, when Demba
Sego and myself embarked in this dangerous passage-boat, which the least
motion was like to overset. The king's nephew thought this a proper time
to have a peep into a tin box of mine, that stood in the forepart of the
canoe; and in stretching out his hand for it, he unfortunately destroyed
the equilibrium, and overset the canoe. Luckily we were not far advanced,
and got back to the shore without much difficulty; from whence, after
wringing the water from our clothes, we took a fresh departure, and were
soon afterwards safely landed in Kasson.




CHAPTER VI.

_Arrival at Teesee.--Interview with Tiggity Sego, the king's
brother,--The Author's detention at Teesee.--Some account of that place
and its inhabitants.--Incidents which occurred there.--Rapacious conduct
of Tiggity Sego toward the Author on his departure--Sets out for
Kooniakary, the capital of the kingdom.--Incidents on the road, and
arrival at Kooniakary._


We no sooner found ourselves safe in Kasson, than Demba Sego told me that
we were now in his uncle's dominions, and he hoped I would consider,
being now out of danger, the obligation I owed to him, and make him a
suitable return for the trouble he had taken on my account by a handsome
present. This, as he knew how much had been pilfered from me at Joag, was
rather an unexpected proposition; and I began to fear that I had not much
improved my condition by crossing the water; but as it would have been
folly to complain, I made no observation upon his conduct, and gave him
seven bars of amber and some tobacco, with which he seemed to be content.

After a long day's journey, in the course of which I observed a number of
large loose nodules of white granite, we arrived at Teesee on the evening
of December 29th, and were accommodated in Demba Sego's hut. The next
morning he introduced me to his father Tiggity Sego, brother to the King
of Kasson, chief of Teesee. The old man viewed me with great earnestness,
having never, he said, beheld but one white man before, whom by his
description I immediately knew to be Major Houghton. I related to him, in
answer to his inquiries, the motives that induced me to explore the
country. But he seemed to doubt the truth of what I asserted; thinking, I
believe, that I secretly meditated some project which I was afraid to
avow. He told me, it would be necessary I should go to Kooniakary, the
residence of the king, to pay my respects to that prince, but desired me
to come to him again before I left Teesee.

In the afternoon one of his slaves eloped; and a general alarm being
given, every person that had a horse rode into the woods, in the hopes of
apprehending him; and Demba Sego begged the use of my horse for the same
purpose. I readily consented: and in about an hour they all returned with
the slave, who was severely flogged, and afterwards put in irons. On the
day following, (Dec. 31,) Demba Sego was ordered to go with twenty
horsemen to a town in Gedumah, to adjust some dispute with the Moors, a
party of whom were supposed to have stolen three horses from Teesee.
Demba begged a second time the use of my horse; adding, that the sight of
my bridle and saddle would give him consequence among the Moors. This
request also I readily granted, and he promised to return at the end of
three days. During his absence I amused myself with walking about the
town, and conversing with the natives, who attended me everywhere with
great kindness and curiosity, and supplied me with milk, eggs, and what
other provisions I wanted, on very easy terms.

Teesee is a large unwalled town, having no security against the attack of
an enemy except a sort of citadel, in which Tiggity and his family
constantly reside. This town, according to the report of the natives, was
formerly inhabited only by a few Foulah shepherds, who lived in
considerable affluence by means of the excellent meadows in the
neighbourhood, in which they reared great herds of cattle; but their
prosperity attracting the envy of some Mandingoes, the latter drove out
the shepherds, and took possession of their lands.

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