About sunset we reached Sibity, but the Dooty received me very coolly, and when I solicited for a guide to Sansanding, he told me his people were otherwise employed. I was shown into a damp old hut, where I passed a very uncomfortable night; for when the walls of the hut are softened by the rain, they frequently become too weak to support the weight of the roof. I heard three huts fall during the night, and was apprehensive that the hut I lodged in would be the fourth. In the morning, as I went to pull some grass for my horse, I counted fourteen huts which had fallen in this manner, since the commencement of the rainy season.
It continued to rain with great violence all the 10th; and as the Dooty refused to give me any provisions, I purchased some corn, which I divided with my horse.
Aug. 11th. The Dooty compelled me to depart from the town, and I set out for Sansanding, without any great hopes of faring better there than I had done at Sibity; for I learned from people who came to visit me, that a report prevailed, and was universally believed, that I had come to Bambarra as a spy; and as Mansong had not admitted me into his presence, the Dooties of the different towns were at liberty to treat me in what manner they pleased. From repeatedly hearing the same story, I had no doubt of the truth of it; but as there was no alternative, I determined to proceed, and a little before sunset arrived at Sansanding. My reception was what I expected. Counti Mamadi, who had been so kind to me formerly, scarcely gave me welcome. Every one wished to shun me, and my landlord sent a person to inform me, that a very unfavourable report was received from Sego concerning me, and that he wished me to depart early in the morning. About ten o'clock at night Counti Mamadi himself came privately to me, and informed me, that Mansong had dispatched a canoe to Jenne to bring me back; and he was afraid I should find great difficulty in going to the west country. He advised me, therefore, to depart from Sansanding before daybreak; and cautioned me against stopping at Diggani, or any town near Sego.
Aug. 12th. I departed from Sansanding, and reached Kabba in the afternoon. As I approached the town, I was surprised to see several people assembled at the gate; one of whom, as I advanced, came running towards me, and taking my horse by the bridle, led me round the walls of the town; and then pointing to the west, told me to go along, or it would fare worse with me. It was in vain that I represented the danger of being benighted in the woods, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and to the fury of wild beasts. "Go along," was all the answer; and a number of people coming up, and urging me in the same manner with great earnestness, I suspected that some of the king's messengers, who were sent in search of me, were in the town; and that these Negroes, from mere kindness, conducted me past it with a view to facilitate my escape. I accordingly took the road for Sego, with the uncomfortable prospect of passing the night on the branches of a tree. After travelling about three miles, I came to a small village near the road. The Dooty was splitting sticks by the gate; but I found I could have no admittance; and when I attempted to enter, he jumped up, and with the stick he held in his hand, threatened to strike me off the horse, if I presumed to advance another step.
At a little distance from this village (and farther from the road) is another small one. I conjectured, that being rather out of the common route, the inhabitants might have fewer objections to give me house room for the night; and having crossed some corn fields, I sat down under a tree by the well. Two or three women came to draw water; and one of them perceiving I was a stranger, inquired whither I was going. I told her I was going for Sego, but being benighted on the road, I wished to stay at the village until morning; and begged she would acquaint the Dooty with my situation. In a little time the Dooty sent for me, and permitted me to sleep in a large baloon, in one corner of which was constructed a kiln for drying the fruit of the Shea trees. It contained about half a cart-load of fruit, under which was kept up a clear wood fire. I was informed that in three days the fruit would be ready for pounding and boiling; and that the butter thus manufactured is preferable to that which is prepared from the fruit dried in the sun, especially in the rainy season, when the process by insolation is always tedious, and oftentimes ineffectual.
Aug. 13th. About ten o'clock I reached a small village within half a mile of Sego, where I endeavoured, but in vain, to procure some provisions. Every one seemed anxious to avoid me; and I could plainly perceive, by the looks and behaviour of the inhabitants, that some very unfavourable accounts had been circulated concerning me. I was again informed, that Mansong had sent people to apprehend me; and the Dooty's son told me I had no time to lose, if I wished to get safe out of Bambarra. I now fully saw the danger of my situation, and determined to avoid Sego altogether. I accordingly mounted my horse, and taking the road for Diggani, travelled as fast as I could, until I was out of sight of the villagers, when I struck to the westward through high grass and swampy ground. About noon, I stopped under a tree, to consider what course to take; for I had now no doubt but that the Moors and Slatees had misinformed the king respecting the object of my mission, and that the people were absolutely in search of me to convey me a prisoner to Sego. Sometimes I had thoughts of swimming my horse across the Niger, and going to the southward for Cape Coast; but reflecting that I had ten days to travel before I should reach Kong, and afterward an extensive country to traverse, inhabited by various nations, with whose language and manners I was totally unacquainted, I relinquished this scheme, and judged that I should better answer the purpose of my mission, by proceeding to the westward along the Niger, endeavouring to ascertain how far the river was navigable in that direction. Having resolved upon this course, I proceeded accordingly; and a little before sunset arrived at a Foulah village called Sooboo, where, for two hundred kowries, I procured lodging for the night.
Aug. 14th. I continued my course along the bank of the river, through a populous and well cultivated country. I passed a walled town called Kamalia,[14] without stopping; and at noon rode through a large town called Samee, where there happened to be a market, and a number of people assembled in an open place in the middle of the town, selling cattle, cloth, corn, &c. I rode through the midst of them without being much observed, every one taking me for a Moor. In the afternoon I arrived at a small village called Binni, where I agreed with the Dooty's son, for one hundred kowries, to allow me to stay for the night; but when the Dooty returned, he insisted that I should instantly leave the place, and if his wife and son had not interceded for me, I must have complied.
[14] There is another town of this name hereafter to be mentioned.
Aug. 15th. About nine o'clock I passed a large town called Sai, which very much excited my curiosity. It is completely surrounded by two very deep trenches, at about two hundred yards distant from the walls. On the top of the trenches are a number of square towers, and the whole has the appearance of a regular fortification. Inquiring into the origin of this extraordinary entrenchment, I learned from two of the townspeople the following particulars, which, if true, furnish a mournful picture of the enormities of African wars. About fifteen years ago, when the present King of Bambarra's father desolated Maniana, the Dooty of Sai had two sons slain in battle, fighting in the king's cause. He had a third son living; and when the king demanded a further reinforcement of men, and this youth among the rest, the Dooty refused to send him. This conduct so enraged the king, that when he returned from Maniana, about the beginning of the rainy season, and found the Dooty protected by the inhabitants, he sat down before Sai with his army, and surrounded the town with the trenches I had now seen. After a siege of two months, the townspeople became involved in all the horrors of famine; and whilst the king's army were feasting in their trenches, they saw with pleasure the miserable inhabitants of Sai devour the leaves and bark of the Bentang tree that stood in the middle of the town. Finding, however, that the besieged would sooner perish than surrender, the king had recourse to treachery. He promised, that if they would open the gates, no person should be put to death, nor suffer any injury but the Dooty alone. The poor old man determined to sacrifice himself for the sake of his fellow citizens, and immediately walked over to the king's army, where he was put to death. His son, in attempting to escape, was caught and massacred in the trenches; and the rest of the townspeople were carried away captives, and sold as slaves to the different Negro traders.
About noon I came to the village of Kaimoo, situated upon the bank of the river; and as the corn I had purchased at Sibili was exhausted, I endeavoured to purchase a fresh supply, but was informed that corn was become very scarce all over the country; and, though I offered fifty kowries for a small quantity, no person would sell me any. As I was about to depart, however, one of the villagers (who probably mistook me for a Moorish shereef) brought me some as a present; only desiring me in return to bestow my blessing upon him; which I did in plain English, and he received it with a thousand acknowledgments. Of this present I made my dinner; and it was the third successive day that I had subsisted entirely upon raw corn.