On returning to the village, after an excursion to the river side, to inspect the fishery, an old Moorish shereeff came to bestow his blessing upon me, and beg some paper to write saphies upon. This man had seen Major Houghton in the kingdom of: Kaarta, and told me that he died in the country of the Moors. I gave him a few sheets of paper, and he levied a similar tribute from the blacksmith ; for it is customary for young Mussulmen to make presents to the old ones, in order to obtain their blessing, which is pronounced in Arabic, and received with great humility. About three in the afternoon we continued our course along the bank of the river, to the northward, till eight o’clock, when we reached Nayemow ; here the hospitable master of the town received us kindly, and presented us with a bullock. In return, I gave him some amber and beads. Dec. 2 ist. In the morning, having agreed for a canoe to carry over my bundles, I crossed the river, which came up to my knees, as I sat on my horse ; but the water is so clear, that from the high bank, the bottom is visible all the way over. About noon we entered Fatteconda, the capital of Bondou • and in a little time received an invitation to the house o f a Respectable Slatee : for as there are no public houses in Africa, it is customary for strangers to stand at the Bentang, or some other place o f public resort* till they are invited to a lodging by some o f the inhabitants. We accepted the offer ; and in an hour afterwards, a person came and told me that he was sent on purpose to conduct me to the king, who was very desirous of seeing me immediately, if I was not too much fatigued. I took my interpreter, with me, and followed the:messenger till We. got quite out o f the town, and crossed somecorn fields ; When suspecting sotae trick:! stopped, and asked-the guide whither beiwas going.taUpon,Which he* pointed- toi aman sitting under a, tree at some little-distance ; lahd tuld me that the king frequently gave audience in that retired manner, in order to avoid a crowd of people; and: that nobody but myself and my interpreter must approach him. When I advanced, the king desired me to oome. and stt:by :him upon the mat ;. and after hearing my story*, on, which; ihe made no observation, he asked if I wished, to ¡purchase any slaves, o r 'gbld : being answered in the¡negativej;,he seethed' ratbqE isilrpmsed ; but desired me to come to him in the evening, and he would give^me some provisions, This monarch, was called Almami ;v a ¡Moorish1 name; though I was told that he > Was not a Mahomedan, but a Kafir,‘'or- Pagan. I had heardthat he,hadncted towards Majór Houghton with great unkindness, and caused! him >. to be plundered! His- behaviour, therefore, towards myself at this interview, though much mor,e civil than I expected, Was far from: freeing me from uneasiness. I still apprehended some double dealing ; and as T was now entirely in his power, I thought it best to smooth the way by a present;, accordingly I took with me in the evening* one cannister .of gunpowder, some amber, tobacco, and my umbrella ; and as I;considered that my hundlesiwould inevitably be searched, I concealed some few articles in the roof;of the hut where I lodged, and I put on my new blue, coat, in order to preserve it. : ...; a ¡:
27f 60
To see the actual publication please follow the link above