his sandals, which is the signal to strangers to retire. I accordingly took leave, but desired my boy to stay about the place, in order to learn something of the intelligence that this messenger had brought. In about an hour the boy returned, and informed me, that the Bambarra army had left Fooladoo, and was on its march towards Kaarta; that the man I had seen, who had brought this intelligence, was one of the scouts or watchmen employed by the king, each of whom has his particular station, commonly on some rising ground, from whence he has the best view of the country, and watches the motions of the enemy.

In the evening the king sent me a fine sheep, which was very acceptable, as none of us had tasted victuals during the day. Whilst we were employed in dressing supper, evening prayers were announced; not by the call of the priest, as usual, but by beating on drums, and blowing through large elephants' teeth, hollowed out in such a manner as to resemble bugle horns; the sound is melodious, and in my opinion, comes nearer to the human voice than any other artificial sound. As the main body of Daisy's army was, at this juncture, at Kemmoo, the mosques were very much crowded, and I observed, that the disciples of Mahomet composed nearly one half of the army of Kaarta.

February 13th. At daylight I sent my horse-pistols and holsters as a present to the king, and being very desirous to get away from a place which was likely soon to become the seat of war, I begged the messenger to inform the king, that I wished to depart from Kemmoo as soon as he should find it convenient to appoint me a guide. In about an hour the king sent his messenger to thank me for the present, and eight horsemen to conduct me to Jarra. They told me that the king wished me to proceed to Jarra with all possible expedition, that they might return before any thing decisive should happen between the armies of Bambarra and Kaarta; we accordingly departed forthwith from Kemmoo, accompanied by three of Daisy's sons, and about two hundred horsemen, who kindly undertook to see me a little way on my journey.

CHAPTER VIII.

Journey from Kemmoo to Funigkedy.

Some account of the

Lotus. A youth murdered by the Moors; interesting scene at his death. Author passes through Simbing. Some particulars respecting Major Houghton. Reaches Jarra. Situation of the surrounding states, and an account of the war between Kaarta and Bambarra, &c.

On the evening of the day of our departure from Kemmoo, the king's eldest son and great part of the horsemen having returned, we reached a village called Marina, where we slept. During the night, some thieves broke into the hut where I had deposited my baggage, and having cut open one of my bundles, stole a quantity of beads, part of my clothes, and some amber and gold, which happened to be in one of the pockets. I complained to my protectors, but without effect. The next day, Feb. 14, was far advanced before we departed from Marina, and we travelled slowly, on account of the excessive heat, until four o'clock in the afternoon, when two Negroes were observed sitting among some thorny bushes at a little distance from the road. The king's people, taking it for granted that they were runaway slaves, cocked their muskets, and rode at full speed in different directions through the bushes, in order to surround them, and prevent their escaping. The Negroes, however, waited with great composure until we came within bowshot of them, when each of them took from his quiver a handful of arrows, and putting two between his teeth and one in his bow, waved to us with his hand to keep at a distance; upon which, one of the king's people called out to the strangers to give some account of themselves. They said that "they were natives of Toorda, a neighbouring village, and had come to that place to gather tomberongs." These are small farinaceous berries of a yellow colour and delicious taste, which I knew to be the fruit of the rhamnus lotus of Linnæus. The Negroes shewed us two large baskets full, which they had collected in the course of the day. These berries are much esteemed by the natives, who convert them into a sort of bread, by exposing them for some days to the sun, and afterwards pounding

them gently in a wooden mortar, until the farinaceous part of the berry is separated from the stone. This meal is then mixed with a little water and formed into cakes; which, when dried in the sun, resemble in colour and flavour the sweetest gingerbread. The stones are afterwards put into a vessel of water, and shaken about so as to separate the meal which may still adhere to them: This communicates a sweet and agreeable taste to the water, and with the addition of a little pounded millet, forms a pleasant gruel called fondi, which is the common breakfast in many parts of Ludamar, during the months of February and March. The fruit is collected by spreading a cloth upon the ground, and beating the branches with a stick.

The lotus is very common in all the kingdoms which I visited; but is found in the greatest plenty on the sandy soil of Kaarta, Ludamar, and the northern parts of Bambarra, where it is one of the most common shrubs of the country. I had observed the same species at Gambia, and had an opportunity to make a drawing of a branch in flower. The leaves of the desert shrub are, however, much smaller, and more resembling, in that particular, those represented in the engraving given by Desfontaines, in the Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, 1788, p. 443.

As this shrub is found in Tunis, and also in the Negro kingdoms, and as it furnishes the natives of the latter with a food resembling bread, and also with a sweet liquor, which is much relished by them, there can be little doubt of its being the lotus mentioned by Pliny, as the food of the Lybian Lotophagi. An army may very well have been fed with the bread I have tasted, made of the meal of the fruit, as is said by Pliny to have been done in Lybia; and as the taste of the bread is sweet and agreeable, it is not likely that the soldiers would complain of it.

We arrived in the evening at the village of Toorda; when all the rest of the king's people turned back except two, who remained with me as guides to Jarra.

February 15th. I departed from Toorda, and about two o'clock came to a considerable town called Funingkedy. As we approached the town the inhabitants were much alarmed; for, as one of my guides wore a turban, they mistook us for some Moorish banditti. This misapprehension was soon cleared up, and we were well received by a Gam

bia Slatee, who resides at this town, and at whose house we lodged.

February 16th. We were informed that a number of people would go from this town to Jarra on the day following; and as the road was much infested by the Moors, we resolved to stay and accompany the travellers. In the meantime we were told, that a few days before our arrival, most of the Bushreens and people of property in Funingkedy had gone to Jarra, to consult about removing their families and effects to that town, for fear of the approaching war; and that the Moors, in their absence, had stolen some of their cattle.

About two o'clock, as I was lying asleep upon a bullock's hide behind the door of the hut, I was awakened by the screams of women, and a general clamour and confusion among the inhabitants. At first I suspected that the Bambarrans had actually entered the town; but observing my boy upon the top of one of the huts, I called to him to know what was the matter. He informed me, that the Moors were come a second time to steal the cattle, and that they were now close to the town. I mounted the roof of the hut, and observed a large herd of bullocks coming towards the town, followed by five Moors on horseback, who drove the cattle forward with their muskets. When they had reached the wells, which are close to the town, the Moors selected from the herd sixteen of the finest beasts, and drove them off at full gallop. During this transaction, the town-people, to the number of five hundred, stood collected close to the walls of the town; and when the Moors drove the cattle away, though they passed within pistol-shot of them, the inhabitants scarcely made a shew of resistance. I only saw four muskets fired, which, being loaded with gunpowder of the Negroes own manufacture, did no execution. Shortly after this, I observed a number of people supporting a young man upon horseback, and conducting him slowly towards the town. This was one of the herdsmen, who, attempting to throw his spear, had been wounded by a shot from one of the Moors. His mother walked on before, quite frantic with grief, clapping her hands, and enumerating the good qualities of her son. Ee maffo fonio, (he never told a lie) said the disconsolate mother, as her wounded son was carried in at the gate-Ee maffo fonio, abada, (he never told a

H

lie; no, never). When they had conveyed him to his hut, and laid him upon a mat, all the spectators joined in lamenting his fate, by screaming and howling in the most piteous manner.

After their grief had subsided a little, I was desired to examine the wound. I found that the ball had passed quite through his leg, having fractured both bones a little below the knee: The poor boy was faint from the loss of blood, and his situation withal so very precarious, that I could not console his relations with any great hopes of his recovery. However, to give him a possible chance, I observed to them, that it was necessary to cut off his leg above the knee; this proposal made every one start with horror; they had never heard of such a method of cure, and would by no means give their consent to it; indeed, they evidently considered me as a sort of cannibal for proposing so cruel and unheard of an operation, which in their opinion, would be attended with more pain and danger than the wound itself. The patient was therefore committed to the care of some old Bushreens, who endeavoured to secure him a passage into Paradise, by whispering in his ear some Arabic sentences, and desiring him to repeat them. After many unsuccessful attempts, the poor heathen at last pronounced. la illah el allah, Mahamet rasowl allahi ;* and the disciples of the Prophet assured his mother, that her son had given sufficient evidence of his faith, and would be happy in a future state. He died the same evening.

February 17th. My guides informed me, that in order to avoid the Moorish banditti, it was necessary to travel in the night; we accordingly departed from Funingkedy in the afternoon, accompanied by about thirty people, carrying their effects with them into Ludamar, for fear of the war. We travelled with great silence and expedition until midnight, when we stopped in a sort of inclosure, near a small village; but the thermometer being so low at 68°, none of the Negroes could sleep on account of the cold.

At daybreak on the 18th we resumed our journey, and at eight o'clock passed Simbing, the frontier village of Ludamar, situated in a narrow pass between two rocky hills, and surrounded with a high wall. From this village Major Houghton (being deserted by his Negro servants who re

There is but one God, and Mahomet is his Prophet.