to rise into hills, and I could see the summits of high mountains to the westward. I had very disagreeable travelling all this day, on account of the swampiness of the roads; for the river was now risen to such a height, as to overflow great part of the flat land on both sides, and from the muddiness of the water, it was difficult to discern its depth. In crossing one of these swamps, a little to the westward of a town called Gangu, my horse being up to the belly in water slipt suddenly into a deep pit, and was almost drowned before he could disengage his feet from the stiff clay at the bottom. Indeed both the horse and his rider were so completely cov ered with mud, that in passing the village of Calimana, the people compared us to two dirty elephants. About noon I stopped at a small village near Yamina, where I purchased some corn, and dried my papers and clothes

The town of Yamina, at a distance, has a very fine appearance. It covers nearly the same extent of ground as Sansanding; but having been plundered by Daisy, king of Kaarta, about four years ago, it has not yet resumed its former prosperity, nearly one half of the town being nothing but a heap of ruins; however, it is still a considerable place, and is so much frequented by the Moors, that I did not think it safe to lodge in it; but in order to satisfy myself respect. ing its population and extent, I resolved to ride through it; in doing which, I observed a great many Moors, sitting upon the Bentangs and other places of public resort. Every body looked at me with astonishment, but as I rode briskly along, they had no time to ask questions.

I arrived in the evening at Farra, a walled village, where, without much difficulty, I procured a lodging for the night. Aug. 17th. Early in the morning I pursued my journey, and at eight o'clock passed a considerable town called Balaba; after which the road quits the plain, and stretches along the side of the hill. I passed, in the course of this day, the ruins of three towns, the inhabitants of which were all carried away by Daisy, king of Kaarta, on the same day that he took and plundered Yamina. Near one of these ruins I climbed a tamarind tree, but found the fruit quite green and sour, and the prospect of the country was by no means inviting; for the high grass and bushes seemed completely to obstruct the road, and the low lands were so flooded by the river, that the Niger had the appearance of an extensive lake. In the evening I arrived at Kanika, where

the Dooty, who was sitting upon an elephant's hide at the gate, received me kindly, and gave me for supper, some milk and meal; which I considered, as to a person in my situation, it really was, a very great luxury.

寄

Aug. 18th By mistake I took the wrong road, and did not discover my error until I had travelled near four miles, when coming to an eminence, I observed the Niger con. siderably to the left. Directing my course towards it, I travelled through long grass and bushes with great difficulty, until two o'clock in the afternoon, when I came to a comparatively small, but very rapid river, which I took at first for a creek, or one of the streams of the Niger. However, after I had examined it with more attention, I was convinced that it was a distinct river; and as the road evidently crossed it, for I could see the pathway on the opposite side, I sat down upon the bank, in hopes that some traveller might arrive, who would give me the necessary information concerning the fording place; for the banks were so covered with reeds and bushes, that it would have been almost impossible to land on the other side, except at the pathway, which on account of the rapidity of the stream, it seemed very difficult to reach. No traveller, however, arriving, and there being a great appearance of rain, I examined the grass and bushes for some way up the bank, and determined upon entering the river considerably above the pathway, in order to reach the other side before the stream had swept me too far down. With this view I fastened my clothes upon the saddle, and was standing up to the neck in water, pulling my horse by the bridle to make him follow me, when a man came accidentally to the place, and secing me in the water, called to me with great vehemence to come out: The alligators, he said, would devour both me and my horse, if we attempted to swim over. When I had got out, the stranger, who had never before seen an European, seemed wonderfully surprised. He twice put his hand to his mouth, exclaiming, in a low tone of voice, "God preserve me! who is this?" but when he heard me speak the Bambarra tongue, and found that I was going the same way as himself, he promised to assist me in crossing the river, the name of which he told me was Frina. He then went a litthe way along the bank, and called to some person, who answered from the other side. In a short time, a canoe with two boys, came paddling from among the reeds; these boys

agreed, for fifty Kowries, to transport me and my horse over the river, which was effected without much difficulty; and I arrived, in the evening, at Taffara, a walled town, and soon discovered, that the language of the natives was improved, from the corrupted dialect of Bambarra, to the pure Mandingo.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Inhospitable reception at Taffara. A Negro funeral at Sooha. Continues the route along the banks of the Niger, through several villages, till he comes to Koolikorro. Supports himself by writing saphirs. Reaches Marraboo ; loses the road; and after many difficulties arrives at Bammakoo. Meets with great kindness at Kooma; but is afterwards stripped and robbed by banditti. Resource and consolation under exquisite distress.

ON my arrival at Taffara I inquired for the Dooty, but was informed that he had died a few days before my arrival, and that there was, at that moment, a meeting of the chief men for electing another, there being some dispute about the succession. It was probably owing to this unsettled state of the town, that I experienced such a want of hospitality in it; for though I informed the inhabitants, that I should only remain with them for one night, and assured them that Mansong had given me some Kowries to pay for my lodging, yet no person invited me to come in; and I was forced to sit alone under the Bentang tree, exposed to the rain and wind of a tornado, which lasted with great violence until midnight. At this time the stranger, who had assisted me in crossing the river, paid me a visit, and observing that I had not found a lodging, invited me to take part of his supper, which he had brought to the door of his hut; for, being a guest himself, he could not, without his landlord's consent, invite me to come in. After this I slept upon some wet grass in the corner of a court. My horse fared still

worse than myself; the corn I had purchased being all expended, and I could not procure a supply.

Aug. 20. I passed the town of Jaba, and stopped a few minutes at a village called Somino, where I begged and obtained some coarse food, which the natives prepare from the husks of corn, and call Boo. About two o'clock I came to the village of Sooha, and endeavoured to purchase some corn from the Dooty, who was sitting by the gate, but withbut success. I then requested a little food by way of sharity, but was told he had none to spare. Whilst I was examining the countenance of this inhospitable old man, and endeavouring to find out the cause of the sullen discontent which was visible in his eye, he called to a slave who was working in the corn field at a little distance and ordered him to bring his paddle along with him. The Dooty then told him to dig a hole in the ground, pointing to a spot at no great distance. The slave with his paddle began to dig a pit in the earth, and the Dooty, who appeared to be a man of a very fretful disposition, kept muttering and talking to himself, until the pit was almost finished, when he repeatedly pronounced the words dankatoo (good for nothing) jänkra lemen (a real plague) which expressions I thought could be applied to nobody but myself; and as the pit had very much the appearance of a grave, I thought it prudent to mount my horse, and was about to decamp, when the slave, who had before gone into the village, to my surprise, returned with the corpse of a boy about nine or ten years of age, quite naked. The Negro carried the body by a leg and an arm, and threw it into the pit with a savage indifference, which I had never before seen. As he covered the body with earth, the Dooty often expressed himself, naphula attiniata (money lost) whence I concluded that the boy had been one of his slaves. Departing from this shocking scene, I travelled by the side of the river until sunset, when I came to Koolikorro, a considerable town, and a great market for salt. Here I took up my lodging at the house of a Bambarran, who had formerly been the slave of a Moor, and in that character had travelled to Aroan, Towdinni, and many other places in the Great Desert; but turning Mussulman, and his master dying at Jenne, he obtained his freedom and settled at this place, where he carries on a considerable trade in salt, cotton cloth, &c. His knowledge of the world had not lessened that superstitious confidence in saphies and charms, which he had

imbibed in his earlier years, for when he heard I was a Christian, he immediately thought of procuring a saphie, and for this purpose brought out his walha, or writing board, assuring me, that he would dress me a supper of rice, if I would write him a saphie to protect him from wicked men.The proposal was of too great consequence to me to be refused; I therefore wrote the board full from top to bottom, on both sides; and my landlord, to be certain of having the whole force of the charm, washed the writing from the board into a calabash with a little water, and having said a few prayers over it, drank this powerful draught; after which, lest a single word should escape, he licked the board until it was quite dry. A saphie writer was a man of too great consequence to be long concealed; the important information was carried to the Dooty, who sent his son with half a sheet of writing paper, desiring me to write him a naphula saphie (a charm to procure wealth.) He brought me as a present, some meal and milk; and when I had finished the saphie, and read it to him with an audible voice, he seemed highly satisfied with his bargain, and promised to bring me in the morning, some milk for my breakfast. When I had finish

ed my supper of rice and salt, I laid myself down upon a bullock's hide, and slept very quietly until morning, this being the first good meal and refreshing sleep that I had enjoyed for a long time.

Aug. 21st. At day-break I departed from Koolikorro, and about noon passed the villages of Kayoo and Toolumbo. In the afternoon I arrived at Marraboo, a large town, and like Koolikorro, famous for its trade in salt. I was conducted to the house of a Kaartan, of the tribe of Jower, by whom I was well received. This man had acquired a considerable property in the slave trade, and from his hospitality to strangers, was called, by way of pre-eminence, Jatee (the landlord) and his house was a sort of public inn for all travellers. Those who had money were well lodged, for they always made him some return for his kindness; but those who had nothing to give, were content to accept whatever he thought proper, and as I could not rank myself among the monied men, I was happy to take up my lodging in the same hut with seven poor fellows, who had come from Kancaba in a canoe ; but our landlord sent us some victuals.

Aug. 22d.

One of the landlord's servants went with me a little way from the town, to shew me what road to take;