The course of the river, though winding in some parts, is still northward. On the morning of the 1st of April, I observed a large hill, about two hundred and fifty feet high, distant three or four miles from the left bank of the river. It was without vegetation, and appeared to be composed of red sand.
We daily expected the owner of the canoe, who, on departing from Jenné, promised to join us in two days. He had assured me, that even in his absence I should be well treated on board. The case, however, was quite the reverse, so I looked for him with the utmost impatience, trusting that his presence would better my condition.
After my departure from Jenné, I had the misery of being the only white man among the negroes, and with their language I was unacquainted. This circumstance, joined to my being a stranger, and almost destitute, emboldened them to insult me in the grossest manner. I was absolutely ranked and treated as a slave.
During the day the heat was excessive, and I had great trouble to find a place where I could be shaded from the burning sun, which was almost insupportable, even in a state of inaction. In the night I slept on deck, for there was no room for me below. I was exposed to the dew and all the inclemency of the night; but I took the precaution of wrapping myself in a sheep-skin. However, this did not prevent me from being seized, on the 31st March, with a violent fit of illness. I experienced severe numbness, followed by great weakness, and my stomach rejected food.
During my illness I was permitted to go into the cabin; but the place assigned me there was very inconvenient. I was with a Mandingo and his female slave; and they allowed me so little room that I could not lie straight; my head touched my knees. I had been particularly recommended to the care of this negro by the sherif Oulad-Marmou; but he paid no regard to the directions he had received, and showed as little pity for me as the rest of the crew. I ought, however, to exempt from this censure a young Foulah from Massina, to whom the sherif had also recommended me. He was the only one who had behaved to me with any kindness. He went on shore whenever I asked him, bought me milk, and rendered me all the service he could. He even endeavoured to console me when I expressed dissatisfaction at the inattention with which I was treated by the rest. He often reprimanded the slaves, who, following the example of their superiors, behaved with the grossest insolence towards me. In short, I should have been much worse off had it not been for the attention of this kind-hearted young man.
In the course of my travels I have often had intercourse with the Mandingoes, and, with the single exception of those of Cambaya, in the Fouta, I have always found them arrogant when possessed of any little authority, while they are fawning, mean, and servile, to their superiors. I have seen them, in the passage from Tinné to Jenné, insult the poor Bambaras while selling their merchandise, speaking harshly to them, and even abusing them in their own language; but whenever the Bambaras showed a disposition to resent this treatment, the Mandingoes became all at once silent and humble. The women have the same faults, in addition to which they have insufferably harsh voices.
On the 1st of April, the wind continued blowing till four in the evening, when it fell a little. We rowed in a northern direction. Near half past six in the evening we halted at Toï. The river still continued the same; the banks being low and bare, and in many places not a single shrub can be seen. At nine o’clock, we started, and all night advanced towards the north. The river makes a few small windings to the east.
On the 2nd of April the weather continued calm. Towards eight o’clock in the morning we passed some large islands, situated not far from the mouth of the lake Débo. The river is here divided by several islands, which separate it into different narrow branches of great depth. Two of these islands are larger than the rest, and might be habitable, for, when the river overflows, they are only partially inundated. On one of these islands, there are the huts of fishermen, and of shepherds, whose numerous flocks find rich pasture on the marshes. These marshes are covered by aquatic birds of every kind. There is an infinite number of other small islands covered with rank grass, and inundated at all seasons. When this immense river overflows all the herbage is under water, and then the lake appears much more extensive; its banks are no longer perceptible, and it might be mistaken for an inland Sea.
After a slow navigation, during which we made repeated halts, we reached the mouth of the great lake about three in the afternoon. About six miles S. W. of this entrance, there is a rock in the form of a truncated sugarloaf; it is situated in an inundated marsh which is covered with green herbage. This enormous rock, which is quite bare, forms a singular contrast with the freshness of the surrounding vegetation. As it has, though a very striking land-mark, received no name from the natives, I thought proper to give it one, and have named the whole spot St. Charles’s Island. In the lake, and about nine or ten miles to the N. E. is a small island on which I observed some trees almost destitute of leaves. It is capable of being inhabited, and affords facilities for the formation of a good port. I have named it Henry Island, in honour of his Royal Highness the Duke of Bourdeaux. A third island, also formed of rock, is situated between these two, a little to the eastward of the line which would intersect them, and to it I have given the name of Maria-Theresa, in honour of her Royal Highness the Dauphiness. Two of these islands appear to command the mouth of the lake. Were a fort built on one of the three it would command the environs, and the navigation would be under the control of the possessor.
To the N. N. E. of the island of Maria-Theresa we observed a hill about fifty or sixty fathoms high. It is composed of red earth, and of large porous rocks of the same colour. Some fishermen have established themselves on the declivity of this hill, which is extremely arid.