with both hands, to prevent him from neighing, and equally afraid of the natives without, and the wild beasts within. My fears, however, were soon dissipated; for the people, after looking round the thicket, and perceiving nothing, went away; and I hastened to the more open parts of the wood, where I pursued my journey E. S. E. until midnight; when the joyful cry of frogs induced me once more to deviate a little from my route, in order to quench my thirst. Having accomplished this, from a large pool of rain water, I sought for an open place, with a single tree in the midst, under which I made my bed for the night. I was disturbed by some wolves towards morning, which induced me to set forward a little before day; and having passed a small village called Wassalita, I came about ten o'clock (July 5th,) to a Negro town called Wawra, which properly belongs to Kaarta, but was at this time tributary to Mansong, King of Bam-. barra.

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CHAPTER XV.

The Author proceeds to Wassiboo—is joined by some fugitive Kaartans, who accompany him in his Route through Bambarra.-Discovers the Niger.-Some Account of Sego, the Capital of Bambarra.-Mansong, the King, refuses to see the Author, but sends him a Present.-Great Hospitality of a Negro Woman.

W

AWRA is a small town surrounded with high walls and inhabited by a mixture of Mandingoes and Foulahs. The inhabitants employ themselves chiefly in cultivating corn, which they exchange with the Moors for salt. Here, being in security from the Moors, and very much fatigued, I resolved to rest myself; and meeting with a hearty welcome from the Dooty, whose name was Flancharee, I laid myself down upon a bullock's hide, and slept soundly for about two hours. The curiosity of the people would not allow me to sleep any longer. They had

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seen my saddle and bridle, and were assembled in great number to learn who I was, and whence I came. Some were of opinion that I was an Arab ; others insisted that I was some Moorish Sultan; and they continued to debate the matter with such warmth, that the noise awoke me. The Dooty (who had formerly been at Gambia) at last interposed in my behalf, and assured them that I was certainly a white man; but he was convinced, from my appearance, that I was a very poor one.

In the course of the day, several women, hearing that I was going to Sego, came and begged me to inquire of Mansong, the king, what was become of their children. One woman, in particular, told me that her son's name was Mamadee; that he was no Heathen, but prayed to God morning and evening, and had been taken from her about three years ago, by Mansong's army; since which she had never heard of him. She said, she often dreamed about him; and begged me, if I should see him, either in Bambarra, or in my own country, to tell him, that his mother and sister were still alive. In the afternoon, the Dooty examined

the contents of the leather bag, in which I had packed up my clothes; but finding nothing that was worth taking, he returned it, and told me to depart in the morning.

July 6th. It rained very much in the night, and at daylight I departed, in company with a Negro, who was going to a town called Dingyee for corn; but we had not proceeded above a mile, before the ass upon which he rode kicked him off, and he returned, leaving me to prosecute the journey by myself.

I reached Dingyee about noon; but the Dooty and most of the inhabitants had gone into the fields to cultivate corn. An old Foulah, observing me wandering about the town, desired me to come to his hut, where I was well entertained; and the Dooty, when he returned, sent me some victuals for myself, and corn for my horse.

July 7th. In the morning, when I was about to depart, my landlord, with a great deal of diffidence, begged me to give him a lock of my hair. He had been told, he said, that white men's hair made a saphie, that would give to the possessor all the knowledge of white men. I had never before heard of

so simple a mode of education, but instantly complied with the request; and my landlord's thirst for learning was such, that, with cutting and pulling, he cropped one side of my head pretty closely; and would have done the same with the other, had I not signified my disapprobation by putting on my hat, and assuring him, that I wished to reserve some of this precious merchandize for a future occasion.

I reached a small town called Wassiboo, about twelve o'clock, where I was obliged to stop until an opportunity should offer of procuring a guide to Satilé, which is distant a very long day's journey, through woods without any beaten path. I accordingly took up my up my residence at the Dooty's house, where I staid four days; during which time I amused myself by going to the fields with the family to plant corn. Cultivation is carried on here on a very extensive scale; and, as the natives themselves express it,

hunger is never known." In cultivating the soil, the men and women work together. They use a large sharp hoe, much superior to that used in Gambia; but they are obliged, for fear of the Moors, to carry their