At daybreak on the 18th, we resumed our journey, and at eight o’clock passed Simbing, the frontier village of Ludamar, situated in a narrow pass between two rocky hills, and surrounded with a high wall. From this village Major Houghton (being deserted by his Negro servants, who refused to follow him into the Moorish country) wrote his last letter with a pencil to Dr. Laidley. This brave but unfortunate man, having surmounted many difficulties, had taken a northerly direction, and endeavoured to pass through the kingdom of Ludamar, where I afterwards learned the following particulars concerning his melancholy fate. On his arrival at Jarra, he got acquainted with certain Moorish merchants who were travelling to Tisheet (a place near the salt pits in the great Desert, ten days’ journey to the northward) to purchase salt; and the Major, at the expence of a musket and some tobacco, engaged them to convey him thither. It is impossible to form any other opinion on this determination, than that the Moors intentionally deceived him, either with regard to the route that he wished to pursue, or the state of the intermediate country between Jarra and Tombuctoo. Their intention probably was to rob and leave him in the Desert. At the end of two days he suspected their treachery, and insisted on returning to Jarra. Finding him persist in this determination, the Moors robbed him of every thing he possessed, and went off with their camels; the poor Major being thus deserted, returned on foot to a watering place in possession of the Moors, called Tarra. He had been some days without food, and the unfeeling Moors refusing to give him any, he sunk at last under his distresses. Whether he actually perished of hunger, or was murdered outright by the savage Mahomedans, is not certainly known; his body was dragged into the woods, and I was shewn at a distance, the spot where his remains were left to perish.
About four miles to the north of Simbing, we came to a small stream of water, where we observed a number of wild horses: they were all of one colour, and galloped away from us at an easy rate, frequently stopping and looking back. The Negroes hunt them for food, and their flesh is much esteemed.
About noon we arrived at Jarra, a large town situated at the bottom of some rocky hills. But before I proceed to describe the place itself, and relate the various occurrences which befel me there, it will not be improper to give my readers a brief recital of the origin of the war which induced me to take this route; an unfortunate determination, the immediate cause of all the misfortunes and calamities which afterward befel me. The recital which I propose to give in this place, will prevent interruptions hereafter.
This war, which desolated Kaarta soon after I had left that kingdom, and spread terror into many of the neighbouring states, arose in the following manner. A few bullocks belonging to a frontier village of Bambarra having been stolen by a party of Moors, were sold to the Dooty, or chief man, of a town in Kaarta. The villagers claimed their cattle, and being refused satisfaction, complained of the Dooty to their sovereign, Mansong, King of Bambarra, who probably beheld with an eye of jealousy the growing prosperity of Kaarta, and availed himself of this incident to declare hostilities against that kingdom.
With this view he sent a messenger and a party of horsemen to Daisy King of Kaarta, to inform him that the King of Bambarra, with nine thousand men, would visit Kemmoo in the course of the dry season; and to desire that he (Daisy) would direct his slaves to sweep the houses, and have every thing ready for their accommodation. The messenger concluded this insulting notification by presenting the king with a pair of iron sandals; at the same time adding, that “until such time as Daisy had worn out these sandals in his flight, he should never be secure from the arrows of Bambarra.”
Daisy, having consulted with his chief men about the best means of repelling so formidable an enemy, returned an answer of defiance, and made a Bushreen write in Arabic, upon a piece of thin board, a sort of proclamation, which was suspended to a tree in the public square; and a number of aged men were sent to different places to explain it to the common people. This proclamation called upon all the friends of Daisy to join him immediately; but to such as had no arms, or were afraid to enter into the war, permission was given to retire into any of the neighbouring kingdoms; and it was added, that provided they observed a strict neutrality, they should always be welcome to return to their former habitations; if, however, they took any active part against Kaarta, they had then “broken the key of their huts, and could never afterwards enter the door.” Such was the expression.
This proclamation was very generally applauded: but many of the Kaartans, and amongst others the powerful tribes of Jower and Kakaroo, availing themselves of the indulgent clause, retired from Daisy’s dominions, and took refuge in Ludamar and Kasson. By means of these desertions, Daisy’s army was not so numerous as might have been expected; and when I was at Kemmoo, the whole number of effective men, according to report, did not exceed four thousand; but they were men of spirit and enterprize, and could be depended on.
On the 22d of February (four days after my arrival at Jarra), Mansong, with his army, advanced towards Kemmoo; and Daisy, without hazarding a battle, retired to Joko, a town to the north-west of Kemmoo, where he remained three days, and then took refuge in a strong town called Gedingooma, situated in the hilly country, and surrounded with high walls of stone. When Daisy departed from Joko, his sons refused to follow him, alledging that “the singing-men would publish their disgrace, as soon as it should be known that Daisy and his family had fled from Joko without firing a gun.” They were therefore left behind with a number of horsemen to defend Joko; but, after many skirmishes, they were totally defeated, and one of Daisy’s sons taken prisoner; the remainder fled to Gedingooma, which Daisy had stored with provisions, and where he determined to make his final stand.
Mansong, finding that Daisy was determined to avoid a pitched battle, placed a strong force at Joko to watch his motions, and separating the remainder of his army into small detachments, ordered them to over-run the country, and seize upon the inhabitants, before they had time to escape. These orders were executed with such promptitude, that in a few days the whole kingdom of Kaarta became a scene of desolation. Most of the poor inhabitants of the different towns and villages, being surprised in the night, fell an easy prey; and their corn, and every thing which could be useful to Daisy, was burnt and destroyed. During these transactions, Daisy was employed in fortifying Gedingooma: this town is built in a narrow pass between two high hills, having only two gates, one towards Kaarta, and the other towards Jaffnoo; the gate towards Kaarta, was defended by Daisy in person; and that towards Jaffnoo was committed to the charge of his sons. When the army of Bambarra approached the town, they made some attempts to storm it; but were always driven back with great loss; and Mansong, finding Daisy more formidable than he expected, resolved to cut off his supplies, and starve him into submission. He accordingly sent all the prisoners he had taken, into Bambarra; and having collected a considerable quantity of provisions, remained with his army two whole months in the vicinity of Gedingooma, without doing any thing decisive. During this time he was much harassed by sallies from the besieged; and his stock of provisions being nearly exhausted, he sent to Ali, the Moorish King of Ludamar, for two hundred horsemen, to enable him to make an attack upon the north gate of the town, and give the Bambarrans an opportunity of storming the place. Ali, though he had made an agreement with Mansong at the commencement of the war, to afford him assistance, now refused to fulfil his engagement; which so enraged Mansong, that he marched part of his army to Funingkedy, with a view to surprise the camp of Benowm; but the Moors having received intelligence of his design, fled to the northward; and Mansong, without attempting any thing farther, returned to Sego. This happened while I was myself in captivity in Ali’s camp, as will hereafter be seen.
As the King of Kaarta had now got quit of his most formidable antagonist, it might have been hoped that peace would have been restored to his dominions; but an extraordinary incident involved him, immediately afterward, in hostilities with Kasson; the king of which country dying about that time, the succession was disputed by his two sons. The younger (Sambo Sego, my old acquaintance) prevailed; and drove his brother from the country. He fled to Gedingooma; and being pursued thither, Daisy, who had lived in constant friendship with both the brothers, refused to deliver him up; at the same time declaring that he would not support his claim, nor any way interfere in the quarrel. Sambo Sego, elated with success, and proud of the homage that was paid him as sovereign of Kasson, was much displeased with Daisy’s conduct, and joined with some disaffected fugitive Kaartans in a plundering expedition against him. Daisy, who little expected such a visit, had sent a number of people to Joko, to plant corn, and collect together such cattle as they might find straying in the woods, in order to supply his army. All these people fell into the hands of Sambo Sego, who carried them to Kooniakary, and afterwards sent them in caravans, to be sold to the French at Fort Louis, on the river Senegal.