malia, having spent all their money, and become in a great measure dependent upon Karfa's hospitality, beheld me with an eye of envy, and invented many ridiculous and trifling stories to lessen me in Karfa's esteem. And in . the beginning of December, a Sera-Woolli Slatee, with five slaves, arrived fromSego: this man too, spread a number of malicious reports concerning me; but Karfa paid no attention to them, and continued to shew me the same kindness as formerly. As I was one day conversing with the slaves which this Slatee had brought, one of them begged me to give him some victuals. I told him I was a stranger, and had none, to give. He replied, “ I gave you victuals when you was hungry.—-Have you forgot ‘‘ the man who brought you milk at Karrankalla ? But (added | he, with a sigh) the .irons were not then upon my legs 0 I im mediately recollected him, and begged some ground-nuts from Karfa to give him, as a return for his former kindness. He told me that he had been taken by the Bambarrans, the day after the battle at Joka, and sent to Sego; where he had been purchased by his present master, who was carrying him down to Kajaaga. Three more of these slaves were from Kaarta, and one from Wassela, all of them prisoners o f war. They stopped four days at Kamalia, and were then taken to Bala, where they remained until the river Kokoro was fordable, and the grass burnt, m In the beginning of December, Karfa proposed to complete is purchase of slaves; and for this purpose, collected all the debts which were owing to him in his own country. And 011 the 19th, being accompanied by three Slatees, he departed for Kancaba, a large town on the banks of the N ig e r ; and a great slave-market. Most of the slaves, who are sold at Kancaba, come from Bambarra ; for Mansong, to avoid the expence and danger of keeping all his prisoners,at Sego, commonly sends them in small parties, to be sold at the different trading towns ; and as Kancaba is.much resorted; to by merchants, it is always well supplied with slaves, which.are sent thither up the Niger in canoes. When Karfa departed from Kamalia, he proposed to return in the course of. a month.; and during; his absence I was left to the care o f a good old Bushreen, who acted as schoolmaster to the young people of Kamalia, Being now left alone, and at leisure to indulge my. own reflections ; it: was an opportunity not to be neglected of augmenting and extending the observations I had already made, on the climate and productions of the country ; and of acquiring a more perfect knowledge of the natives, than it was possible for me to obtain,, in the course of a transient and perilous journey through the country. I endeavoured likewise to collect all the information I could, concerning those important branches of African, commerce, the trade for gold, ivory, and slaves. Such was my employment, during the remainder of my stay at Kamalia; and I shall now proceed to lay before my readers the result of my researches and inquiries ; avoiding, as far as I can, a repetition of those circumstances and observations, which were related, as occasion arose, in the narrative of my journey. L 1
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