April 26th. This morning two of the schoolmaster’s pupils complained much of pains in their legs, and one of the slaves walked lame, the soles of his feet being very much blistered and inflamed; we proceeded, notwithstanding, and about eleven o’clock began to ascend a rocky hill called Boki-Kooro, and it was past two in the afternoon before we reached the level ground on the other side. This was the most rocky road we had yet encountered, and it hurt our feet much. In a short time we arrived at a pretty large river called Boki, which we forded: it ran smooth and clear, over a bed of whinstone. About a mile to the westward of the river, we came to a road which leads to the north-east towards Gadou, and seeing the marks of many horses’ feet upon the soft sand, the Slatees conjectured that a party of plunderers had lately rode that way, to fall upon some town of Gadou; and lest they should discover, upon their return, that we had passed, and attempt to pursue us by the marks of our feet, the coffle was ordered to disperse, and travel in a loose manner through the high grass and bushes. A little before it was dark, having crossed the ridge of hills to the westward of the river Boki, we came to a well called cullong qui (white sand well), and here we rested for the night.
April 27th. We departed from the well early in the morning, and walked on, with the greatest alacrity, in hopes of reaching a town before night. The road, during the forenoon, led through extensive thickets of dry bamboos. About two o’clock we came to a stream called Nunkolo, where we were each of us regaled with a handful of meal, which, according to a superstitious custom, was not to be eaten until it was first moistened with water from this stream. About four o’clock we reached Sooseeta, a small Jallonka village, situated in the district of Kullo, which comprehends all that tract of country lying along the banks of the Black river, or main branch of the Senegal. These were the first human habitations we had seen, since we left the village to the westward of Kenytakooro; having travelled in the course of the last five days, upwards of one hundred miles. Here, after a great deal of entreaty, we were provided with huts to sleep in; but the master of the village plainly told us that he could not give us any provisions, as there had lately been a great scarcity in this part of the country. He assured us, that before they had gathered in their present crops, the whole inhabitants of Kullo had been for twenty-nine days without tasting corn; during which time, they supported themselves entirely upon the yellow powder which is found in the pods of the nitta, so called by the natives, a species of mimosa; and upon the seeds of the bamboo cane, which, when properly pounded and dressed, taste very much like rice. As our dry provisions were not yet exhausted, a considerable quantity of kouskous was dressed for supper, and many of the villagers were invited to take part of the repast; but they made a very bad return for this kindness; for in the night they seized upon one of the schoolmaster’s boys, who had fallen asleep under the Bentang tree, and carried him away. The boy fortunately awoke before he was far from the village, and setting up a loud scream, the man who carried him, put his hand upon his mouth, and run with him into the woods; but afterward understanding that he belonged to the schoolmaster, whose place of residence is only three day’s journey distant, he thought, I suppose, that he could not retain him as a slave, without the schoolmaster’s knowledge; and therefore stripped off the boy’s clothes, and permitted him to return.
April 28th. Early in the morning we departed from Sooseeta, and about ten o’clock, came to an unwalled town called Manna; the inhabitants of which were employed in collecting the fruit of the nitta trees, which are very numerous in this neighbourhood. The pods are long and narrow, and contain a few black seeds enveloped in the fine mealy powder before mentioned; the meal itself is of a bright yellow colour, resembling the flour of sulphur, and has a sweet mucilaginous taste: when eaten by itself it is clammy, but when mixed with milk or water, it constitutes a very pleasant and nourishing article of diet.
The language of the people of Manna, is the same that is spoken all over that extensive and hilly country called Jallonkadoo. Some of the words have a great affinity to the Mandingo, but the natives themselves consider it as a distinct language: their numerals are these,
| One | Kidding. | |
| Two | Fidding. | |
| Three | Sarra. | |
| Four | Nani. | |
| Five | Soolo. | |
| Six | Seni. | |
| Seven | Soolo ma fidding. | |
| Eight | Soolo ma sarra. | |
| Nine | Soolo ma nani. | |
| Ten | Nuff. |
The Jallonkas, like the Mandingoes, are governed by a number of petty chiefs, who are, in a great measure, independent of each other: they have no common sovereign, and the chiefs are seldom upon such terms of friendship as to assist each other, even in war time. The chief of Manna, with a number of his people, accompanied us to the banks of the Bafing, or Black river (a principal branch of the Senegal) which we crossed upon a bridge of bamboos, of a very singular construction; some idea of which may be formed from the annexed [engraving.] The river at this place is smooth and deep, and has very little current. Two tall trees, when tied together by the tops, are sufficiently long to reach from one side to the other; the roots resting upon the rocks, and the tops floating in the water. When a few trees have been placed in this direction, they are covered with dry bamboos, so as to form a floating bridge, with a sloping gangway at each end, where the trees rest upon the rocks. This bridge is carried away every year by the swelling of the river in the rainy season, and is constantly rebuilt by the inhabitants of Manna, who, on that account, expect a small tribute from every passenger.
| J. C. Barrow del. from a sketch by M. Park. | Engraved by W. C. Wilson. |
A View of a Bridge over the Ba-fing or Black River.
Publish’d Jany. 1.1799. by G. Nicol, Pall Mall.