He took his interpreter with him, and followed the messenger till they were quite out of the town, when suspecting some trick, Mr. Park stopped and asked his guide, whither he was going?—Upon this, he pointed to a man sitting under a tree at some little distance, and told him that the king frequently gave audience in that retired manner, in order to avoid a crowd of people. When he advanced, the king desired him to come and sit by him upon the mat, and after hearing his story, on which he made no observation, he inquired of Mr. Park, if he wished to purchase any slaves or gold. Being answered in the negative, he seemed surprised, but desired him to visit him again in the evening, that he might be supplied with some provisions.
This prince was called Almami, and was a pagan. It was reported that he had caused Major Houghton to be plundered. His behaviour, therefore, at this interview, although distinguished by greater civility than was expected, caused Mr. Park some uneasiness, for as he was now entirely in his power, he thought it more politic to conciliate the good opinion of the monarch, by a few presents. Accordingly, in the evening, Mr. Park took with him a canister of gunpowder, some amber, tobacco, and an umbrella; and as he considered that his bundles would inevitably be searched, he concealed some few articles in the roof of the hut where he lodged, putting on his new blue coat, in order to preserve it.
Mr. Park on coming to the entrance of the court, as well as his guide and interpreter, according to custom, took off their sandals, and the former pronounced the king's name aloud, repeating it till he was answered from within. They found the monarch sitting upon a mat, and two attendants with him. Mr. Park told him his reasons for passing through his country, but his majesty did but seem half satisfied. He thought it impossible, he said, that any man in his senses would undertake so dangerous a journey, merely to look at the country and its inhabitants. When, however, Mr. Park had delivered his presents, his majesty seemed well pleased, and was particularly delighted with the umbrella, which he repeatedly furled and unfurled, to the great admiration of himself and his two attendants, who could not for some time comprehend the use of this wonderful machine. After this, Mr. Park was about to take his leave, when the king began a long preamble in favour of the whites, extolling their immense wealth and good dispositions. He next proceeded to an eulogium on Mr. Park's blue coat, of which the yellow buttons seemed particularly to please his fancy, and he concluded by entreating Mr. Park to present him with it, assuring him, as a matter of great consolation to him for the loss of it, that he would wear it on all public occasions, and inform every one who saw it, of the great liberality of Mr. Park towards him. The request of an African prince, in his own dominions, comes very little short of a command. Mr. Park, therefore, very quietly took off his coat, the only good one in his possession, and laid it at his feet. In return for his compliance, he presented Mr. Park with great plenty of provisions, and desired to see him again in the morning. Mr. Park accordingly attended, and found the king sitting on his bed. His majesty told him he was sick, and wished to have a little blood taken from him, but Mr. Park had no sooner tied up his arm, and displayed the lancet, than his courage failed, and he begged him to postpone the operation. He then observed, that his women were very desirous to see him, and requested that he would favour them with a visit. An attendant was ordered to conduct him, and he had no sooner entered the court appropriated to the ladies, than the whole seraglio surrounded him, some begging for physic, some for amber, and all of them trying that great African specific, blood-letting. They were ten or twelve in number, most of them young and handsome, and wearing on their heads ornaments of gold and beads of amber. They rallied him on the whiteness of his skin and the prominency of his nose. They insisted that both were artificial, the first they said, was produced when he was an infant, by dipping him in milk, and they insisted that his nose had been pinched every day, till it had acquired its present unsightly and unnatural conformation. On his part, without disputing his own deformity, he paid them many compliments on African beauty. He praised the glossy jet of their skins, and the lovely depression of their noses; but they said, that flattery, or as they emphatically termed it, honey-mouth, was not esteemed in Bondou. The ladies, however, were evidently not displeased, for they presented him with a jar of honey and some fish.
Mr. Park was desired to attend the king again, a little before sunset, on which occasion he presented to his majesty some beads and writing paper, as a small offering, in return for which the king gave him five drachms of gold. He seconded the act by one still greater, he suffered the baggage to pass without examination, and Mr. Park was allowed to depart when he pleased.
Accordingly, on the morning of the 23d, Mr. Park left Fatteconda, and in a few hours arrived at a small village, the boundary between Bondou and Kajaaga. Hearing it was dangerous for travellers, Mr. Park resolved to proceed by night, until they should reach a more hospitable part of the country, and directed their course through the woods. On this occasion, Mr. Park says, "the stillness of the air, the howling of the wild beasts, and the deep solitude of the forest, made the scene solemn and impressive. Not a word was uttered by any of us, but in a whisper; all were attentive, and every one anxious to show his sagacity, by pointing out to me the wolves and hyenas, as they glided, like shadows, from one thicket to another." The following afternoon they arrived at Joag, in the kingdom of Kajaaga, where they took up their abode at the house of the chief man, here called the dooty. He was a rigid Mohammedan, but distinguished for his hospitality. The town was supposed to contain about two thousand inhabitants; it was surrounded by a high wall, in which were a number of port-holes for musketry. Every man's possession was likewise surrounded by a wall, the whole forming so many distinct citadels, and, amongst a people unacquainted with the use of artillery, the walls answer all the purposes of stronger fortifications.
The same evening, Madiboo, the Bushreen from Pisania, went to pay a visit to his father and mother, who dwelt at a neighbouring town, called Dramanet. He was joined by the blacksmith; and as soon as it was dark, Mr. Park was invited to see the sports of the inhabitants. A great crowd surrounded a dancing party; the dances, however, consisted more in wanton gestures, than in muscular exertion or graceful attitudes. The women vied with each other in displaying the most voluptuous movements imaginable.
On the 25th December, early in the morning, a number of horsemen entered the town, and came to the bentang on which Mr. Park had made his bed. One of them, thinking he was asleep, attempted to steal his musket; but finding that he could not effect his purpose undiscovered, he desisted.
Mr. Park now perceived, by the countenance of the interpreter, Johnson, that something bad was in agitation; he was also surprised to see Madiboo, and the blacksmith so soon returned. On inquiring the reason, Madiboo informed him, that as they were dancing at Dramanet, ten horsemen belonging to Batcheri, the king, with his second son at their head, had inquired if the white man had passed. The ten horsemen mentioned by Madiboo arrived, and entering the bentang dismounted, and seated themselves with those who had come before, the whole being about twenty in number, forming a circle round him, and each man holding his musket in his hand. Mr. Park now remarked to his landlord, that as he did not understand the Serawoolii tongue, he hoped whatever the men had to say, they would speak in Mandingo. To this they agreed, and a man, loaded with a remarkable number of saphies, opened the business in a long oration, purporting that the white man had entered the king's town, without having first paid the duties, or giving any present to the king, and that according to the laws of the country, his people, cattle and baggage were forfeited, and he added, that they had received orders from the king, to conduct Mr. Park to Mauna. It would have been equally vain and imprudent to have resisted or irritated such a body of men, he, therefore, affected to comply with their demands. The poor blacksmith, who was a native of Kasson, mistook this feigned compliance for a real intention, and begged Mr. Park privately, that he would not entirely ruin him by going to Mauna, adding, that as he had every reason to believe that a war would soon take place between Kasson and Kajaaga, he should not only lose his little property, the savings of four years' industry, but should certainly be detained and sold as a slave.
Mr. Park told the king's son, he was ready to go with him upon condition, that the blacksmith, who was an inhabitant of a distant kingdom, and entirely unconnected with him, should be allowed to stay at Joag until his return. To this they all objected, and insisted that as all had acted contrary to the laws, all were equally answerable for their transgressions.
Their landlord strenuously advised Mr. Park not to go to the king, who, he said, if he discovered any thing valuable in his possession, would seize it without ceremony. In consequence of this representation, Mr. Park was the more solicitous to conciliate matters with the king's officers, and acknowledged that he had indeed entered the king's frontiers, without knowing that he was to pay the duties beforehand, but was ready to pay them then; accordingly he tendered, as a present to the king, the drachms of gold, which he had received from the king of Bondou; this they accepted, but insisted on examining his baggage. The bundles were opened, but the men were greatly disappointed in not finding much gold and amber: they made up the deficiency, however, by taking whatever things they fancied, and departed, having first robbed him of half his goods. These proceedings tended, in a great degree, to dispirit the attendants of Mr. Park. Madiboo begged of him to return; Johnson laughed at the thoughts of proceeding without money, and the blacksmith was afraid to be seen, or even to speak, lest any one should discover him to be a native of Kasson. In this dejected state of mind, they passed the night by the side of a dim fire.