guide on foot, along the bank of the river, until about noon ; when we reached Kea, which I found to be nothing more than a small fishing village. The Dooty, a surly old man, who was sitting by the gate, received, me very coolly ; and when I informed him of my situation, and begged his protection, told me, with great indifference, that he paid very little attention to fine speeches, and that I should not enter his house. My guide remonstrated in my favour, but to no purpose ; for the Dooty remained inflexible in his determination. I knew not where to rest my wearied limbs, but was happily relieved by a fishing canoe belonging to Silla, which was at that moment coming down the river. The Dooty waved to the fisherman to come near, and desired him to take charge of me as far as Moorzan. The fisherman, after some hesitation, consented to carry me ; and I embarked in the canoe, in company with the fisherman, his wife, and a boy. The Negro, who had conducted me from Modiboo, now left me ; I requested him to look to my horse on his return, and take care of him if he was still alive,, which he promised to do. Departing from Kea, we proceeded about a mile down the river, when the fisherman paddled the canoe to the bank, and desired me to jump out. Having tied the canoe to a stake, he stripped off his clothes, and dived for such a length of time, that I thought he had actually drowned himself, and was surprised to see his wife behave with so much indifference upon the occasion; but my fears were over when he raised up his head astern of the canoe, and called for a rope.. With this rope he dived a second time; and then got into the canoe, and ordered the boy to assist him in pulling. At length, they brought up a large basket, about ten feet in diameter, containing two fine fish, which the fisherman (after returning the basket into the water), immediately carried ashore, and hid in the grass. We then went a little farther down, and took up another basket, in which was one fish. The fisherman now left us, to carry his prizes to some neighbouring market; and the woman and boy proceeded with me in the canoe, down the river. About four o’clock, we arrived at Moorzan, a fishing town on the northern bank; from whence I was conveyed across the river to Silla, a large town ; where I remained until it was quite dark, under a tree, surrounded by hundreds of people. But their language was very different from the other parts of Bambarra ; and I was informed that in my progress eastward, the Bambarra tongue was but little understood, and that when I reached Jernfe, I should find that the majority of the inhabitants spoke a different language, called Jenne Kummo by the Negroes ; and Kalani Soudan, by the Moors. With a great, deal, of entreaty, the Dooty allowed me to come into his baloon, to avoid the rain ; but the place was very damp, and I had a smart paroxysm of fever, during the night. Worn down by sickness, exhausted with hunger and fatigue; half naked, and without any article of value, by which I might procure: provisions, clothes, or lodging ; I began to reflect seriously on my situation. I was now convinced, by painful experience, that the obstacles to my further progress were insurmountable. Tlie tropical rains were already E e a
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