to the Moors: the full complement was made up afterwards, by means equally unjust and arbitrary. June 8th. In the afternoon, Ali sent his chief slave to inform me, that he was about to return to Bubaker ; but as he would only stay there a few days, to keep the approaching festival ( Banna Salee), and then return to Jarra, I had permission to remain with Daman until his return. This was joyful news to me ; but I had experienced so many disappointments, that I was unwilling to indulge the hope of its being true, until Johnson came and told me that Ali, with part of the horsemen, were actually gone from the town, and that the rest were to follow him in the morning. June gth. Early in the morning, the remainder of the Moors departed from the town. They had, during their stay, committed many acts of robbery ; and this morning, with the most unparalleled audacity, they seized upon three girls, who were bringing water from the wells, and carried them away into slavery. The anniversary of Banna Salee, at Jarra, very well deserved to be called a festival. The slaves were all finely clad on this occasion, and the householders vied with each other in providing large quantities of victuals, which they distributed to all their neighbours, with the greatest profusion: hunger was literally banished from the town ; man, woman, and child, bond and free, all had as much as they could eat. June 12th. Two people, dreadfully wounded, were discovered at a watering-place, in the woods; one of them had just breathed his last, but the other was brought alive to Jarra. On recovering a little, he informed the people, that he had fled through the woods from Kasson; that Daisy had made war upon Sambo, the king of that country ; had surprised three of his towns, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. He enumerated by name, many of the friends of the Jarra people, who had been murdered in Kasson. This intelligence made the death-howl universal in Jarra, for the space of two days.' i This piece of bad news, was followed by another, not less distressing. A number of runaway slaves, arrived from Kaarta on the 14th, and reported that Daisy, having received information concerning the intended attack upon him, was about to visit Jarra. This made the Negroes call upon Ali for the two hundred horsemen, which he was to furnish them, according to engagement. But Ali paid very little attention to their remonstrances ; and at last plainly told them, that his cavalry were otherwise employed. The Negroes, thus deserted by the Moors, and fully apprized that the king of Kaarta would shew them as little clemency, as he had shewn the inhabitants of Kasson, resolved to collect all their forces, and hazard a battle before the king, who was now in great distress for want of provisions, should become too powerful for them. They therefore assembled about eight hundred effective men in the whole ; and with these they entered Kaarta, on the evening of the 18th of June. June 19th. This morning the wind shifted to the south-west ; and about two o’clock in the afternoon, we had a heavy tornado, or thunder squall, accompanied with rain, which greatly revived
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