It rained a little during the evening, and some thunder was heard, but the storm did not last long. In the course of the night, I heard the joyous songs of the negroes and negresses, who were dancing to the sound of a small drum. Their dance was more decorous than that of the Wolof negroes in the neighbourhood of the Senegal: it was little more than walking in measured time accompanied by motions of the arms and head. The women all wore two pagnes, and their head-dress consisted of a piece of cloth passing over the forehead, and fastened at the back of the head. They plait their hair and grease it with butter. I had not the pleasure of seeing the bride. I was not even invited to the feast; but this I had no reason to regret, for, from what I saw of it, it was not very tempting.
At six on the morning of the 4th of June, we set off and travelled four miles to the S.E. among the gorges of mountains of granite. Our caravan consisted of fourteen men and one woman carrying a burthen. We proceeded three miles over a tract of country covered with trees and fine vegetation: the cé or butter-tree was growing in profusion, and I also saw the indigo and nédé. We met a party of Foulah traders returning from Kankan. They took me at first for a christian, and exclaimed with astonishment:—“A white going to the east! Surely, the great men of the Fouta do not know this, or they would not suffer it.” They even wished to prevent me from going further; but Lamfia, my guide, who had lingered a little behind, came up and put a stop to the discussion, which might have become serious, for I could not explain myself very well in the Mandingo language. My guide related the manner in which I had been taken by Europeans, and assured them that I was a real Arab, a sherif of Mecca; for these people had never heard of Alexandria, my pretended country. Lamfia informed them that I had crossed the Fouta in safety, that all the inhabitants had received me well, and even made me presents; that I read the Koran, a thing which a christian would never do. “Besides,” added he, “the christians never travel alone and on foot. They only go by rivers in vessels.” The prevailing idea of the people in the interior of the Soudan is, that we inhabit little islands in the middle of the ocean, and that the Europeans wish to get possession of their country, which is the most beautiful in the world. One of these Foulahs addressed to me a few words in Arabic, to which I replied. This quite ingratiated me with him; as it afforded him an opportunity of proving to his companions that he spoke that language, which flattered his vanity; for the negroes are, in general, fond of shewing their superiority over their fellows. The Foulah then assured his companions that I was a real Arab, and they allowed me to continue my journey.
After proceeding a little distance, we halted and entered some huts made for sheltering travellers from the rain. These huts are very simple. A row of poles is driven into the ground, and branches of trees are laid in a slanting direction, that is to say, resting against the tops of the poles, and sloping gradually to the ground. They are covered with straw, and defended from the wind by pieces of wood, placed transversely, forming a sort of hedge sloping very much towards the ground, and to the west.
My guide’s wife prepared our dinner. Lamfia provided food for some of the negroes of the caravan, for they had brought no women with them, and they had no pots for boiling their rice.
We caught a sheep which had, no doubt, strayed from its owner. The Mandingoes held a council to deliberate whether they should kill it. They agreed that there would be no impropriety in doing so, since they did not know the owner. The animal was accordingly killed, and we had a good supper to help us on our way. In all negro countries meat is a great luxury and, in general, it is only eaten on festival days. The sheep we caught was with lamb; but we nevertheless found the meat very good.
The place where we encamped was called Sokodatakha, a name derived from the trees by which it is shaded. It is a large sandy plain, covered with trees and beautiful verdure, and surrounded by granite hills, nearly three hundred feet high. These hills have no vegetation. We passed the night in the huts which I have above described, on the outside of which large fires were kindled, though the weather was very warm. In the middle of the night our rest was disturbed by a storm. I could not sleep on account of the rain, for our huts were by no means weather-proof.
At half past six on the morning of the second of June, we again set off in high spirits, though our clothes were very wet. Our course lay to the east. The country was woody and our road rather gravelly. The cé and the indigo are abundant in this part. After we had travelled about fifteen miles over a hard sandy soil, covered with gravel, we found the trees, though still numerous, neither so large nor so high as before. We were overtaken by a violent storm from the east: the wind was cold and the rain fell in torrents. In a moment, the whole plain was flooded with water, through which we waded, ancle-deep. I opened my umbrella; but it was impossible to hold it on account of the wind. I was drenched to the skin. Fortunately, I had taken the precaution to keep my notes in a little portfolio of untanned calf-skin. We took shelter under some huts similar to those in which we passed the preceding night. About three in the afternoon the rain ceased, the sun re-appeared, and the surrounding country was clothed in new charms. We prepared to kindle a fire; but this was no easy task, on account of the wetness of the wood. However, we at length succeeded and dried our clothes. We burned a great deal of straw; for it was scarcely possible to make the wood burn, even after we had dried it at the straw fire. We met some travellers coming from Baléya, who, like us, had braved the storm. They were laden with white cloth of the manufacture of the country, which they were going to exchange for salt in the Fouta-Dhialon.
I had seated myself for a few moments behind a bush in order to make some notes, when I saw the wife of Lamfia advancing towards me. I immediately hid my paper and took up my trowsers which were drying at the fire. She returned to her husband, who asked her whether I was writing:—“No,” replied she, “he is putting on his clothes.” I was near enough to hear this conversation, which sufficiently indicated that they suspected me. I therefore became doubly cautious, and shewed a greater assiduity in the study of the Koran. When, on the road, I sometimes withdrew a little from my companions, I saw them looking at me and endeavouring to discover what I was about; but I always took care to hold in my hand a leaf of the Koran, on which I laid my note paper, and when I saw any one advancing towards me I concealed my writing and pretended to be reading a verse of the sacred book.
We had a little of our mutton left, of which we made a good supper: Lamfia and I ate together, and the other Mandingoes took their meals apart. In spite of the distrust which he appeared to entertain, from his having sent his wife to watch whether I was writing, he was, nevertheless, very kind to me, always taking my part against those who doubted my conversion, alleging that I was a sherif, which seemed to be a satisfactory answer to every objection. He was older than the other individuals of the caravan, and, therefore, had some ascendancy over them. This respect for age is universal among the negroes, who never undertake any thing without consulting the elders of their villages. At the place where we were now encamped the soil was good, consisting in some places of black, and in others of red, mould, like that of Sierra-Leone, mixed with stones. I saw some palm-trees growing here.
At seven on the morning of the 3rd of June, we resumed our course, proceeding a mile eastward along some hills, about one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet high, composed of red, porous stone, like that of Sierra-Leone. These hills extend north and south, and they are the last of the Fouta-Dhialon towards the east. From their summits we discovered a beautiful sandy plain, into which we descended by a very rapid declivity. We now found the surface of the soil covered with reddish sand. Further on, our road became gravelly. We continued our course eastward through a level and very open part of the country. To the north, however, I observed many trees and plants, namely, the bombax, the cé, the mimosa, the nédé, the nauclea africana, and the indigo. We met many travellers on the road. Having proceeded thirteen miles, we halted about four in the afternoon, much fatigued, near a rivulet, the wide and shallow bed of which consists of argillaceous sand. It is dry in some places. The natives call it, the Ba-ndiégué (fish river). It waters Baléya and flows into the Tankisso: two of our party went to buy smoked fish from some fishermen, who were near the place where we stopped. We dried our merchandise which had got wet by the rain of the preceding day, and I was sorry to be obliged to display my pieces of printed calico which attracted, in no small degree, the notice of my companions. In the place where we halted there were not many trees; but I perceived some clumps of nauclea. The ground was covered with a dry kind of grass. I think this place must be inundated in the rainy season by the overflowing of the Ba-ndiégué, the banks of which are well wooded.