We had not been long here when Alley Lowe, the man I had sent from Samba Contaye with the dollars and other articles to Mr. Dochard, returned, not having been able to pass Kasson, where he was robbed, and from where he with difficulty escaped with his life. Dheangina, the man who accompanied him, was taken ill with the Guinea worm at a very early part of their march, in which state he remained so long unable to move, that Alley Lowe endeavoured to prosecute the journey alone, but in which he unfortunately failed. He had neither seen nor heard any thing of Bakoro or the man I sent with him; I was therefore in hopes they had been able to pass; but alas! those hopes soon vanished, and I had the mortification of seeing them return in a short time equally unsuccessful. Their case however was not that of Alley Lowe, who would have got on if the possibility of his doing so had existed.
They had idled so much of their time at the towns and villages they passed on the road, that their stock of articles for the purchase of provisions was soon exhausted, and they were reduced to the necessity of selling one of their horses to procure subsistence. Ismena, too, had been ill some time; but Bakoro, who was well and might have gone on without him, had he felt the least inclination to do so, squandered both his time and money until the means of proceeding were completely exhausted.
This second failure in the attainment of an object I had so much at heart, and the impossibility which presented itself of inducing any of the natives of the country to undertake such a voyage, had I even promised them the whole baggage of the expedition, added to my anxiety for the arrival of Mr. Partarrieau, had such an effect on my spirits that I could with difficulty at times force myself to take the exercise necessary for my health, which, in spite of all those annoyances and the effects of the late season, continued unimpaired.
The month of March was spent in anxious suspense on these subjects, and in visiting the country about Boolibany, which is beautifully diversified by hill and dale thinly covered with wood.
Almamy during this month received a hasty report from the north-east frontier that the Kartan army was within a day’s march of the capital, where the utmost confusion prevailed in consequence of the inhabitants from all the neighbouring villages having fled to it for protection. So great was the crowd that many could not find room to lie down in the streets.
On one occasion when all the women were busily employed drawing water from the wells, where were also many of the men endeavouring to procure for their horses a share of the scanty and muddy supply they afforded, the alarm was given by some people who had been attending herds of cattle to the eastward of the town, from which direction they were seen running in the utmost confusion, the altercations at the wells, and the busy scene going on there, soon closed by one of a still more extraordinary and confused nature. The supposed approach of the enemy was no sooner made known amongst them, than they all, as if by magic, dropped their jars, calabashes, and leather bags, and ran with all their might to the nearest gate of the town, which, being rather narrow, was so much crowded, that an old man and a girl about eight years of age were trampled to death.
A council of war, composed of some of the princes and their followers, with Almamy at their head, assembled between our camp and the town. I attended to witness their proceedings, which were carried on with the utmost contempt to the rules of order or regularity; every one present proposing some plan of his own, and rejecting that of his companions. I had been all this time sitting on horseback unobserved by Almamy, who had scarcely said a word on the subject. When he perceived that I was present he beckoned me to approach him, and, with much earnestness and anxiety depicted on his countenance, asked my opinion, which I hesitated in giving; but being requested by the whole council to do so, I said that I thought it would be advisable, previous to deciding on any plan either of attack or defence, to reconnoitre for the purpose of ascertaining beyond a doubt the enemy’s strength and position, in case they were really in the country, but which I much doubted.
My opinion was favourably received by the whole assembly, but nobody could be found to undertake the task which to them was a new one. Saada, although a young man, and better mounted than any other person in the town, was the first to refuse. At length a Joloff man, one of Almamy’s suite, offered to undertake it, if his majesty would provide him with a horse, and appoint some person to accompany him. The horse was brought, but not even one of the king’s slaves could be found willing to go—the Joloff man therefore set off alone. He had not been gone an hour when it was found that the alarm had been given by Saada’s herdsman, who, seeing such crowds about the wells, knew if he did not adopt that means of driving them away, he should not be able to procure water for the cattle during the day, and, although the death of the man and girl killed at the gate was, in addition to the false alarm, the consequence of his cleverness, he was nevertheless permitted to escape with impunity—nay, he was not so much as called to an account for his conduct. Saada was so pleased with his slave’s adroit stratagem, that he not only laughed at the affair, but, when spoken to by the friends of the deceased, told them they were rightly served. The scene of confusion and uproar which for several days existed at Boolibany, from the immense numbers of people who flocked to it for security from the unwalled towns, was beyond any thing I had ever witnessed. It, however, ended in a scarcity of provisions which necessitated them to return to their homes.