set ill, with all their violence ; the rice grounds and swamps, were every wfere overflowed ; ¡yid, in a few days more, travelling of every kjnd, uuless by water, would be completely obstructed, Jb e: Kowries which iiemainedi of the King' of Bam- barra S present, wore mot su fiicient to, enable, me to, hire a canoe for any great distance ; and I had but little hopes of subsisting by charity, ip a country where the'Moors have such influence. But above all, I perceived that I was advancing, more and more, within the power of those merciless fanatics ; and from my reception both at Sego and Sansanding, I was apprehensive that, in attempting to reach even Jen&d (unless under the protection of .some mam of consequence amongst them, which I had no means of obtaining), I should sacrifice my life to no purpose ; for my discoveries would perish with me. The prospect either way was gloomy. I a returning to, the; Gambia, a journey on foot, of many hundred miles, presented itself to my contemplation, tlirough regions andcountriesunknown. Nevertheless, this seemed to be the only alternative ; for I saw inevitable destruction in attempting to proceed to the eastward. With, this conviction on my mind, I hope my readers, will acknowledge, that, I did right in going no farther. I: had made every effort to execute my mission in its fullest extent, which prudence could justify. Had there been the most distant prospect of a successful! termination, neither: the unavoidable hardships of the, journey, nor the .dangers o f a second captivity, should have forced me to desist. This, however, necessity compelled me to, do; and whatever may be the opinion of my general readers on this point* it affords me inexpressible satisfaction, that my honourable employers have been pleased, since my return, to express their full approbation of my conduct. Having thus brought my mind, after much doubt and perplexity, to a determination to. return westward; I thought it incumbent on me, before I left Silla, to collect from the. Moorish and- Negro traders, all the information I could, concerning the further course of the. Niger eastward and the situation and extent of the kingdoms in its vicinage ; and the following few notices I received from such various quarters, as induce me to, think they are authentic.. Two short days’ journey to the eastward of Silla, is the town of Jenn6, w,hich is situated on, a small island in the river ; and is said to, contain a greater number of inhabitants than Sego itself, or any other town in Bambarra. A t the distance o f two davs more, the river spreads into a considerable lake, called Dibbie (or the dark lake),.concerning the extent of which,, all the information I could obtain was, that in crossing it, from west to east, the canoes lose, sight of land one. whole day. From this lake, the water issues in many different streams, which terminate, in two. large, branches, one whereof flows towards the north-east, and the other to the east; but these branches join at Kabra, which is one day’s journey to the southward o f Tomb.uctoo, and is the port or shipping-place of that city. The tract of land which the two streams encircle, is called Jinbala, and is inhabited by Negroes; and the whole distance, by land, from Jenn6 to Tombuctoo, is twelve days journey.
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