wòolli, who had been left in the woods to take care of the fatigued slave, returned and told us that he was dead : the general opinion, however, was that he himself had killed him, or left him to perish on the road ; for the Serawoollies are said to be infinitely more cruel in their treatment of slaves than the Man- dingoes. We remained at Baniserile two days, in order to purchase native iron, Shea-butter, and some other articles for sale on thè Gambia ; and here the Slatee who had invited me to his house, and who possessed three slaves, part of the coffle, having obtained information that the price on the Coast was very low, determined to separate from us, and remain, with his slaves, where he was, until an opportunity should offer of disposing of them to advantage ; giving us to understand that he should complete his nuptials, with the young woman before mentioned, in the meantime. May 16th. We departed from Baniserile, and travelled through thick -woods until noon, when we saw at a distance, the town of Julifunda, but did not approach it ; as we proposed to rest for the night at a large town called Kirwani, which we reached about four o’clock in the afternoon. This town stands in a valley, and the country, for more than a mile round it, is cleared o f wood, and well cultivated. The inhabitants appear to be very active and industrious, and seem to have carried the system of agriculture to some degree of perfection ; for they collect the dung of their cattle into large heaps during the dry season, for the purpose of manuring their land with it at the proper time. I saw nothing like this in any other part of Africa. Near the town are several smelting furnaces, from which the natives obtain very good iron. They afterwards hammer the metal into small bars, about a foot in length and two inches in breadth, one of which bars is sufficient to make two Mandingo corn hoes. On the morning after our arrival, we were visited by a Slatee of this place, who informed Karfa that among some slaves he had lately purchased, was a native of Foota'Jalla; and as that country was at no great distance, he could not safely employ him in the labours of the field, lest he should effect his escape.! T he Slatee was therefore, desirous of exchanging this slave for one of Karfa’s, and offered some cloth and Shea-butter, to induce Karfa to comply with the proposal, which was accepted. The Slatee thereupon sent a boy to order the slave in question to bring him a few ground nuts. The poor creature soon afterwards entered the court in which we were sitting, having no suspicion of what was negotiating, until the master caused the gate to be shut, and told him to sit down. T he slave now saw his danger, and perceiving the gate to he shut upon him, threw down the nuts and jumped over the fence. He was immediately pursued and overtaken by the Slatees, who brought him back, and secured him in irons, after which one of Karfa’s slaves was released and delivered in exchange. The unfortunate captive was at first very much dejected, but in the course of a few days his‘ melancholy gradually subsided ; and he became at length' as cheerful as any of his companions. Departing from Kirwani on the morning of the 20th, we entered the Tenda Wilderness of two days’ journey. The woods were very thick, and the country shelved towards the
27f 60
To see the actual publication please follow the link above