All this, added to his having assembled his army in front of our camp, and prevented us for a whole day from drawing water from the wells, and his having in every instance broken his promise, nay oath, bore such convincing proofs of his hostile intentions that I at length determined on endeavouring to gain my point by indirect means, and therefore told him it was my intention to return to the coast through the Foota Toro country.
My object in adopting this plan was the possibility that presented itself of being able (when I had once left Bondoo) to change the direction of march from west to north-east and thereby gain the Senegal, and, by crossing it, both get out of the power of Almamy, and reach Baquelle unmolested.
From Baquelle I could have travelled in safety to Karta, where I was in hopes of meeting some people from Mr. Dochard, and of receiving permission from Modiba, king of that country, to proceed to Sego.
In addition to Almamy’s other acts of injustice and falsehood, he had given orders that the people, whom I had sent to Samba Contaye to purchase provisions, should be arrested and put in irons, and I had much difficulty indeed in obtaining their release.
We left Boolibany on the 22d May at half after six in the morning. We were accompanied by Almamy and part of his suite as far as Lewa, a village, near which we halted for the night.
Here again we were to experience the duplicity and falsehood of this chief, who, not contented with the delays and inconveniences to which he had already subjected us, would not now give us the guides he at first named, and who were the only two of the princes we had found worthy of confidence, but appointed two men whom we had never before seen, and who (were we to judge from their appearance) were ready to comply with their sovereign’s order in any way. When I remonstrated on this further palpable breach of honour, he said that he could not then dispense with the presence of two of his war-men (generals) but would allow one of them to accompany the guides he had named, and directed the other (who was the very man we wanted) to quit our camp. This person, named Omar Moosa, a nephew of Almamy’s, was so indignant at this peremptory order, that he told his royal uncle he should not be ordered by him or any other man in Bondoo, and would not leave our camp until he pleased, and then, coming to our tent, told us to be cautious as to the path we took, for it was Almamy’s instructions to the guides to conduct us into Upper Ferlo, a province of Bondoo on the south-west frontier, so badly supplied with water that the inhabitants were frequently obliged to leave it during that time of the year: he also advised us not to move from Lewa until Almamy should return to Boolibany, when all those who accompanied him, and were attracted by the hopes of being able to plunder us of something, would leave us. This timely information, and the loss of nearly all our camels, induced me to remain at Lewa until the morning of the 24th, having, the preceding night, destroyed all the men’s old clothing, and furnished them with new. Some musket-balls and other articles of little value, amongst which were nearly all my own and Mr. Partarrieau’s clothes, were also destroyed in order to lighten the baggage as much as possible.
Incredible as it may appear to a person unacquainted with those people, it is equally true that Almamy, when about leaving us on the evening of the 23d, came with all possible composure to wish us a safe journey, and requested me to give him a small present, which he could keep in remembrance of me. Such was the impudent and teasing importunity of this man that he obtained one from me merely to rid myself of such an unwelcome visitor. When gone, we found he had made free with a snuff-box of Mr. Partarrieau’s which was laid on the mat on which we were sitting: this, although of little value, evinced a disposition on his part to turn his abilities in that way to every possible advantage.
We left Lewa at six o’clock in the morning, and, having travelled west over a dreadfully parched and uncultivated country for twelve miles, we reached Giowele, a miserable village, at ten, where a scanty supply of water was, by means of a large price, purchased for ourselves and the animals.
At a late hour in the evening I called one of our new guides, named Doka, to my tent, and, having drawn from him an acknowledgement that he had received Almamy’s directions to conduct us by the path leading into Upper Ferlo, I pointed out to him another lying more northerly, through a village called Dindoody, whither, in case he would consent to conduct us in safety, I would make him a handsome present. He objected, on the ground that he feared the other guide would not listen to it, but we told him to leave that to us, which he did. Macca, who was one of those guides chosen by myself, readily consented to our proposal, and, on the morning of the 25th, he led us into a path in the very opposite direction from the one pointed out for us. A march of eleven miles NW. brought us to the village of Gwina, where we halted close to the wells, which supplied us with excellent water without any difficulty.
Private Dohonoe, who had been affected with dysentery since his arrival from the coast with Mr. Partarrieau, was so ill during the last two days’ march as to be barely able to sit on horseback.