A prince, named Amadi Paté, was chosen (by the influence of Abdoolghader) to succeed the deceased, to whom he also was an inveterate enemy. This step was taken contrary to the wishes of a powerful party in Bondoo, under the command of Amadi Isata, a brother of the deceased, and caused a civil war, which terminated in the death of Paté, and the succession of Isata, who was assisted, during the struggle, by Samba Congole, a prince of Upper Kajaga or Galam. Amadi Isata’s first step was to secure himself from the attacks of Abdoolghader, by attaching to his cause the Kartan king, to whom he agreed to pay a yearly tribute of a moulo[17] of gold, and who was himself anxious for an opportunity to revenge himself on Abdoolghader, who, on hearing of this act of Isata’s, assembled part of his army, and marched towards the frontier of Bondoo, where he remained several days in anxious expectation of the arrival of the remainder of his forces, under the command of their several chiefs. He was, however, sadly disappointed; for they were so averse to his government, and anxious for an opportunity to throw off their allegiance to him, that, instead of joining him, they prepared to oppose his return.
Abdoolghader being thus foiled in his intended attack on Isata, and incapable, from the very limited number of his attendants, to resume his authority at home, crossed the Senegal, and sought refuge amongst the Gedumahas, where he remained for some time, but was at length recalled by some of the chiefs of Toro, who, having chosen another king during his absence, and disapproved of his conduct, also were now glad to have a man of such acknowledged abilities as he was, to head them in forcing the other, named Moctar Coodega, from the throne. On his return to Toro, he was accompanied by a small army, under Hawah Demba, a prince of Kasson, and a few Gedumahas. They reached Woro Sogee, a small village of Toro, where they were attacked and beaten by the friends of Moctar Coodega. The check they received, in their first step, threw such a damp on the ardour of those who solicited his return, that they were not only afraid to join him, but actually declared against him, which obliged him to return to his friends the Gedumahas, amongst whom were several of the Dileankeys, whose country had been usurped by this very man, and to whom he was so obnoxious that, finding his life in danger, he was obliged to leave that country. He then repaired to Moodeerie, a town of Galam, inhabited by priests.
About that time, Almami Isata had entered into an alliance with the chiefs of Foota Toro, and of a part of Kajaga, to annihilate Abdoolghader, who, from his great reputation as a Maraboo, was much respected and feared in the country. Modiba, the king of Karta, who, as I before said, wished for such an opportunity, brought a considerable force to their assistance.
Hawah Demba, who was with Abdoolghader at Moodeerie, seeing so many powerful chiefs assembled for the purpose of attacking his friend, feared his own safety, and advised him to seek shelter in the desert amongst the Moors, where, from the scarcity of water, so large an army could not follow him. This advice he rejected, and was deserted by Hawah Demba, who returned to Kasso. Abdoolghader repaired to Goorick, a town of Toro, there to await patiently the arrival of his enemies, and defend himself to the last with the few followers, whom even all the reverses he had met with could not deter from sharing with him his last adversities.
Almamy Amadi, accompanied by the Kartan army, and part of his own, soon met him, when a bloody, though unequal conflict, ensued, ending in the death or capture of every one of Abdoolghader’s men. He himself descended from his horse, and sat down on the ground to count his beads and say his prayers, in which situation he was found by Almamy Amadi, who, having saluted him three times in the usual manner without receiving an answer, said, “Well! Abdoolghader, here you are; you little thought, when you murdered my brother, Amadi Sega, that this sun would ever dawn on you; but, here, take this, and tell Sega, when you see him, that it was Amadi Isata sent you”; and, drawing out a pistol, put an end to his existence. He is said to have received the ball with all the indifference imaginable. He was upwards of eighty years of age.
When Modiba, king of Karta, was informed of this, he was so exasperated that he told Amadi Isata that, were it not that he was his friend indeed, he should treat him in the same way, and recalled to his recollection the noble conduct of Damel[18], king of Cayor, when the deceased had fallen into his hands. To wash out the stain, Modiba desired that Bondoo should pay him as much gold as would fit in Abdoolghader’s scull, when divested of its flesh and brains by boiling; but this very circumstance, and the haughty language used by Modiba on the occasion, was one of the prominent reasons for the breach between these two chiefs.
A general peace, or cessation of hostilities, which followed this barbarous act, did not last long.
The people of Foota, fearing that Amadi Isata’s connexion with so powerful a pagan chief as Modiba would militate against the advance of the Mahomedan faith in Bondoo, and might ultimately lead the Kartans into their country, called a general assembly, and required the attendance of Amadi Isata and Samba Congole. The former obeyed the summons, but the latter, either not wishing to go, knowing the object of the assembly, or not thinking himself safe in doing so, sent one of his brothers.
The Foota chiefs proposed that all parties should break off intercourse or alliance with the Kartans (whose assistance they were not now in want of, in consequence of the death of Abdoolghader), and collectively oppose their again entering those countries on any pretence.
Almamy Amadi smarting under the disgrace he felt at Modiba’s treatment of him, for his brutal conduct to Abdoolghader, and finding himself strengthened by this alliance with Toro, readily consented, and pressed much the necessity of the Galam prince’s following his example. To this, however, Samba’s brother would not consent, assuring the assembly that Samba, and the part of Kajaga under his control, would never break their alliance with the Kartans as long as they conducted themselves to his satisfaction. The assembly broke up; but Almamy Amadi displeased with Samba for his non-compliance with the terms of Toro, and wishing, in consequence, for an opportunity to fall out with him, granted to some of the Bondoo people a piece of corn-ground in Samba’s territories, and, when remonstrated with, gave an answer not at all satisfactory.