Mr. Park being assured that in the course of a few days, the country would be overflowed, was anxious to engage a fellow traveller, when a Moor and his wife who were going to Sego, riding on bullocks, agreed to take him along with them; they were, however, unacquainted with the road, and were very bad travellers. Instead of wading before the bullocks, to feel if the ground was solid the woman boldly entered the first swamp, seated upon the top of the load, but when she had proceeded about two hundred yards the bullock sunk into a hole, and threw both the load and herself amongst the reeds; she was nearly drowned before her husband went to her assistance.
At sunset they reached Sibity, but the dooty received Mr. Park very coolly, and when he solicited a guide to Sansanding, told him his people were otherwise engaged. Mr. Park passed the night in a damp old hut, which he expected every moment would fall upon him; for when the walls of the huts are softened with the rain, they frequently become too weak to support the roof. Mr Park heard three huts fall in during the night, and the following morning, saw fourteen in like manner destroyed. The rain continued with great violence, and Mr. Park being refused provisions by the dooty, purchased some corn, which he divided with his horse.
The dooty now compelled Mr. Park to leave Sibity, and accordingly he set out for Sansanding, with little hope of receiving better treatment, for he had discovered that it was universally believed, he had come to Bambarra as a spy; and as Mansong had not admitted him into his presence, the dooties of the different towns were at liberty to treat him as they pleased. He arrived at Sansanding at sunset, where his reception was just what he expected. The dooty, who had been so kind to him formerly, privately informed him, that Mansong had sent a canoe to Jenne to bring him back, he therefore advised him to leave Sansanding before day-break, and not to stop at any town near Sego. Mr. Park accordingly took his departure from Sansanding, and proceeded to Kabba. Several people were assembled at the gate, one of whom running towards him, took his horse by the bridle, and led him round the walls of the town, then pointing to the west, told him to go along, or it would fare worse with him. Mr. Park hesitating, a number of people came up, and urged him in the same manner, and he now suspected that some of the king's messengers, who were in search of him, were in the town, and that these negroes from humanity wished him to escape. He accordingly took the road for Sego, and having passed a village, the dooty of which refused him admittance, proceeded to a smaller one, where the dooty permitted him to sleep in a large balloon.
Leaving his miserable residence by break of day, he arrived in the afternoon at a small village within half a mile of Sego, where he endeavoured in vain to procure some provisions. He was again informed that Mansong had sent people to apprehend him, and the dooty's son told him he had no time to lose, if he wished to escape. Mr. Park now fully saw the danger of his situation, and determined to avoid Sego altogether, and taking the road to Diggani, until he was out of sight of the village, struck to the westward through high grass and swampy ground. About noon he stopped under a tree, to consider what course to take, and at length determined to proceed along the Niger, and endeavour to ascertain how far the river was navigable. About sunset he arrived at a village called Sooboo, where, for two hundred kowries, he procured a lodging for the night.
After passing the villages of Samee and Kaimoo, he arrived at a small town called Song, the inhabitants of which would not permit him to enter the gate, but as lions were numerous in the adjoining woods, he resolved to stay near the town, and accordingly laid down under a tree by the gate. In the night, a lion kept prowling round the village, and once advanced so near Mr. Park, that he heard him rustling amongst the grass, and climbed the tree for safety. He had before attempted to enter the gate, and on being prevented, informed the people of his danger. About midnight the dooty, with some of the inhabitants, desired him to come in; they were convinced, they said, that he was not a Moor, for no Moor ever waited at the gate of a village, without cursing the inhabitants.
Mr. Park now proceeded on his journey; the country began to rise into hills, and he saw the summits of high mountains to the westward. He had very disagreeable travelling, on account of the overflow of the river; and in crossing a swamp, his horse sunk suddenly into a deep pit, and was almost drowned. Both the horse and his rider were so covered with mud, that in passing a village, the people compared them to two dirty elephants. Mr, Park stopped at a village near Yamina, where he purchased some corn, and dried his paper and clothes. As Yamina is much frequented by the Moors, Mr. Park did not think it safe to lodge there; he therefore rode briskly through it, and the people, who looked at him with astonishment, had no time to ask questions.
On the following day, Mr. Park passed a town called Balaba, the prospect of the country was by no means inviting, for the high grass and bushes seemed completely to obstruct the road, and the Niger having flooded the low lands, had the appearance of an extensive lake.
On the following day, Mr. Park took the wrong road, and when he discovered his error, on coming to an eminence, he observed the Niger considerably to the left. Directing his course towards it, through long grass and bushes, he came to a small but rapid stream, which he took at first for a branch of the Niger, but, on examination, was convinced it was a distinct river, which the road evidently crossed, as he saw the pathway on the opposite side. He sat down upon the bank, in hopes that some traveller might arrive, who could inform him of the situation of the ford; but none arriving, and there being a great appearance of rain, he determined to enter the river considerably above the pathway, in order to reach the other side before the stream swept him too far down. With this view he fastened his clothes upon the saddle, and was standing up to the neck in water, pulling his horse by the bridle to make him follow, when a man, who came accidentally to the place, called to him with great vehemence, to come out, or the alligators would destroy both him and his horse. Mr. Park obeyed, and the stranger who had never before seen a white man, seemed wonderfully surprised, exclaiming in a low voice, "God preserve me, who is this?" But when he found Mr. Park could speak the Bambarra tongue, and was going the same way as himself, he promised to assist him in crossing the river, which was named the Frina. He then called to some person, who answered from the other side, and a canoe with two boys came paddling from amongst the reeds. Mr. Park gave the boys fifty kowries to ferry himself and his horse to the opposite shore, and in the evening, arrived at Taffara, a walled town, where he discovered that the language of the people was pure Mandingo.
On the 20th, Mr. Park stopped at a village called Sominoo, where he obtained some coarse food, prepared from the husks of corn, called boo. On the same day he arrived at Sooha, where the dooty refused either to sell or to give him any provisions. Mr. Park stopped a while to examine the countenance of this inhospitable man, and endeavoured to find out the cause of his visible discontent. The dooty ordered a slave to dig a hole, and while the slave was thus employed, the dooty kept muttering and talking to himself, repeatedly pronouncing the words "Dankatoo'" (good for nothing), "jankre lemen," (a real plague). These expressions Mr. Park thought could not apply to any one but himself; and as the pit had much the appearance of a grave, thought it prudent to mount his horse, and was about to decamp, when the slave, who had gone into the village, brought the corpse of a boy by the leg and arm, and threw it into the pit with savage indifference. As he covered the body with earth, the dooty often repeated, "Naphula attiniata," (money lost;) from which it appeared that the boy had been one of his slaves.
About sunset Mr. Park came to Kollikorro, a considerable town, and a great market for salt. Here he lodged with a Bambarran, who had travelled to many parts of Africa, and who carried on a considerable trade. His knowledge of the world had not lessened his confidence in saphies and charms, for when he heard that his guest was a Christian, he brought out his walha, or writing-board, and assured Mr. Park he would dress him a supper of rice, if he would write him a saphie, to protect him from wicked men. Mr. Park wrote the board full from top to bottom on both sides, and his landlord, to possess the full force of the charm, washed the writing off into a calabash with a little water, and having said a few prayers over it, drank this powerful draught, after which he licked the board quite dry. Information being carried to the dooty that a saphie writer was in the town, he sent his son with half a sheet of writing paper, desiring Mr. Park to write him a naphula saphie, a charm to procure wealth. He brought, as a present, some meal and milk, and when the saphie was finished, and read to him with an audible voice, he promised to bring Mr. Park some milk in the morning for breakfast.