Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa by Mungo Park

M >> Mungo Park >> Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33

As the King of Kaarta had now got quit of his most formidable antagonist,
it might have been hoped that peace would have been restored to his
dominions; but an extraordinary incident involved him, immediately
afterwards, in hostilities with Kasson; the king of which country dying
about that time, the succession was disputed by his two sons. The younger
(Sambo Sego, my old acquaintance) prevailed, and drove his brother from
the country. He fled to Gedingooma; and, being pursued thither, Daisy,
who had lived in constant friendship with both the brothers, refused to
deliver him up; at the same time declaring that he would not support his
claim, nor any way interfere in the quarrel. Sambo Sego, elated with
success, and proud of the homage that was paid him as sovereign of
Kasson, was much displeased with Daisy's conduct, and joined with some
disaffected fugitive Kaartans in a plundering expedition against him.
Daisy, who little expected such a visit, had sent a number of people to
Joko, to plant corn, and collect together such cattle as they might find
straying in the woods, in order to supply his army. All these people fell
into the hands of Sambo Sego, who carried them to Kooniakary, and
afterwards sent them in caravans, to be sold to the French at Fort-Louis,
on the river Senegal.

This attack was soon retaliated; for Daisy, who was now in distress for
want of provisions, thought he was justified in supplying himself from
the plunder of Kasson. He accordingly took with him eight hundred of his
best men; and, marching secretly through the woods, surprised in the
night three large villages near Kooniakary, in which many of his
traitorous subjects, who were in Sambo's expedition, had taken up their
residence; all these, and indeed all the able men that fell into Daisy's
hands, were immediately put to death.

After this expedition, Daisy began to indulge the hopes of peace; many of
his discontented subjects had returned to their allegiance, and were
repairing the towns which had been desolated by the war; the rainy season
was approaching; and every thing wore a favourable appearance, when he
was suddenly attacked from a different quarter.

The Jowers, Kakaroos, and some other Kaartans, who had deserted from him
at the commencement of the war, and had shown a decided preference to
Mansong and his army during the whole campaign, were now afraid or
ashamed to ask forgiveness of Daisy, and being very powerful in
themselves, joined together to make war upon him. They solicited the
Moors to assist them in their rebellion, (as will appear hereafter,) and,
having collected a considerable army, they plundered a large village
belonging to Daisy, and carried off a number of prisoners.

Daisy immediately prepared to revenge this insult; but the Jowers, and
indeed almost all the Negro inhabitants of Ludamar, deserted their towns,
and fled to the eastward; and the rainy season put an end to the war of
Kaarta, which had enriched a few individuals, but destroyed the happiness
of thousands.

Such was the state of affairs among the nations in the neighbourhood of
Jarra, soon after the period of my arrival there. I shall now proceed,
after giving some description of that place, with the detail of events as
they occurred.

CHAPTER IX.

_Some account of Jarra, and the Moorish inhabitants.--The Author applies
for and obtains permission from Ali, the Moorish chief or sovereign of
Ludamar, to pass through his territories.--Departs from Jarra, and
arrives at Deena.--Ill treated by the Moors.--Proceeds to Sampaka.--Finds
a Negro who makes gunpowder.--Continues his journey to Samee, where he is
seized by some Moors, who are sent for that purpose by Ali.--Is conveyed
a prisoner to the Moorish camp at Benowm, on the borders of the Great
Desert._

The town of Jarra is of considerable extent; the houses are built of clay
and stone intermixed; the clay answering the purpose of mortar. It is
situated in the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar; but the major part of the
inhabitants are Negroes, from the borders of the southern states, who
prefer a precarious protection under the Moors--which they purchase by a
tribute--rather than continue exposed to their predatory hostilities. The
tribute they pay is considerable; and they manifest towards their Moorish
superiors the most unlimited obedience and submission, and are treated by
them with the utmost indignity and contempt. The Moors of this, and the
other states adjoining the country of the Negroes, resemble in their
persons the Mulattoes of the West Indies to so great a degree, as not
easily to be distinguished from them; and in truth, the present
generation seem to be a mixed race between the Moors (properly so called)
of the North, and the Negroes of the South, possessing many of the worst
qualities of both nations.

Of the origin of these Moorish tribes, as distinguished from the
inhabitants of Barbary, from whom they are divided by the Great Desert,
nothing farther seems to be known than what is related by John Leo, the
African; whose account may be abridged as follows.

Before the Arabian Conquest, about the middle of the seventh century, all
the inhabitants of Africa, whether they were descended from Numidians,
Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, or Goths, were comprehended
under the general name of _Mauri_ or Moors. All these nations were
converted to the religion of Mahomet, during the Arabian empire under the
Caliphs. About this time many of the Numidian tribes, who led a wandering
life in the Desert, and supported themselves upon the produce of their
cattle, retired southward across the Great Desert, to avoid the fury of
the Arabians: and by one of those tribes, says Leo, (that of Zanhaga,)
were discovered and conquered the Negro nations on the Niger. By the
Niger is here undoubtedly meant the river of Senegal, which in the
Mandingo language is called _Bafing_, or the Black River.

To what extent these people are now spread over the African continent it
is difficult to ascertain; There is reason to believe, that their
dominion stretches from west to east, in a narrow line or belt, from the
mouth of the Senegal (on the northern side of that river) to the confines
of Abyssinia. They are a subtle and treacherous race of people; and take
every opportunity of cheating and plundering the credulous and
unsuspecting Negroes. But their manners and general habits of life will
be best explained, as incidents occur, in the course of my narrative.

On my arrival at Jarra, I obtained a lodging at the house of Daman Jumma,
a Gambia slatee. This man had formerly borrowed goods from Dr. Laidley,
who had given me an order for the money, to the amount of six slaves; and
though the debt was of five years standing, he readily acknowledged it,
and promised me what money he could raise. He was afraid, he said, in his
present situation, he could not pay more than two slaves' value. He gave
me his assistance, however, in exchanging my beads and amber for gold,
which was a more portable article, and more easily concealed from the
Moors.

The difficulties we had already encountered, the unsettled state of the
country, and, above all, the savage and overbearing deportment of the
Moors, had so completely frightened my attendants, that they declared
they would rather relinquish every claim to reward, than proceed one step
farther to the eastward. Indeed, the danger they incurred of being seized
by the Moors, and sold into slavery, became every day more apparent; and
I could not condemn their apprehensions. In this situation, deserted by
my attendants, and reflecting that my retreat was cut off by the war
behind me, and that a Moorish country of ten days' journey lay before me,
I applied to Daman to obtain permission from Ali, the chief or sovereign
of Ludamar, that I might pass through his country unmolested into
Bambarra; and I hired one of Daman's slaves to accompany me thither, as
soon as such permission should be obtained. A messenger was dispatched to
Ali, who at this time was encamped near Benowm; and as a present was
necessary in order to insure success, I sent him five garments of cotton
cloth, which I purchased of Daman for one of my fowling-pieces. Fourteen
days elapsed in settling this affair; but, on the evening of the 26th of
February, one of Ali's slaves arrived with directions, as he pretended,
to conduct me in safety as far as Goomba; and told me I was to pay him
one garment of blue cotton cloth for his attendance. My faithful boy
observing that I was about to proceed without him, resolved to accompany
me; and told me, that though he wished me to turn back, he never had
entertained any serious thoughts of deserting me, but had been advised to
it by Johnson, with a view to induce me to return immediately for Gambia.

Feb. 27th. I delivered most of my papers to Johnson, to convey them to
Gambia as soon as possible, reserving a duplicate for myself, in case of
accidents. I likewise left in Daman's possession a bundle of clothes and
other things that were not absolutely necessary; for I wished to diminish
my baggage as much as possible, that the Moors might have fewer
inducements to plunder us.

Things being thus adjusted, we departed from Jarra in the forenoon, and
slept at Troomgoomba, a small walled village, inhabited by a mixture of
Negroes and Moors. On the day following (Feb. 28th) we reached Quira; and
on the 29th, after a toilsome journey over a sandy country, we came to
Compe, a watering place belonging to the Moors; from whence, on the
morning following, we proceeded to Deena, a large town, and, like Jarra,
built of stone and clay. The Moors are here in greater proportion to the
Negroes than at Jarra. They assembled round the hut of the Negro where I
lodged, and treated me with the greatest insolence: they hissed, shouted,
and abused me; they even spit in my face with a view to irritate me, and
afford them a pretext for seizing my baggage. But, finding such insults
had not the desired effect, they had recourse to the final and decisive
argument, that I was a Christian, and of course that my property was
lawful plunder to the followers of Mahomet. They accordingly opened my
bundles, and robbed me of every thing they fancied. My attendants,
finding that every body could rob me with impunity, insisted on returning
to Jarra.

The day following (March 2d) I endeavoured, by all the means in my power,
to prevail upon my people to go on; but they still continued obstinate;
and having reason to fear some further insult from the fanatic Moors, I
resolved to proceed alone. Accordingly, the next morning about two
o'clock, I departed from Deena. It was moonlight; but the roaring of the
wild beasts made it necessary to proceed with caution.

When I had reached a piece of rising ground about half a mile from the
town, I heard somebody halloo, and looking back, saw my faithful boy
running after me. He informed me, that Ali's man had gone back to Benowm,
and that Daman's Negro was about to depart for Jarra; but he said he had
no doubt, if I would stop a little, that he could persuade the latter to
accompany us. I waited accordingly, and in about an hour the boy returned
with the Negro; and we continued travelling over a sandy country, covered
chiefly with the _Asclepias giganteo_, until mid-day, when we came to a
number of deserted huts; and seeing some appearances of water at a
distance, I sent the boy to fill a soofroo; but as he was examining the
place for water, the roaring of a lion, that was probably on the same
pursuit, induced the frightened boy to return in haste; and we submitted
patiently to the disappointment. In the afternoon we reached a town
inhabited chiefly by Foulahs, called Samamingkoos.

Next morning (March 4th) we set out for Sampaka, which place we reached
about two o'clock. On the road we observed immense quantities of locusts;
the trees were quite black with them. These insects devour every
vegetable that comes in their way, and in a short time completely strip a
tree of its leaves. The noise of their excrement falling upon the leaves
and withered grass, very much resembles a shower of rain. When a tree is
shaken or struck, it is astonishing to see what a cloud of them will fly
off. In their flight they yield to the current of the wind, which at this
season of the year is always from the north-east. Should the wind shift,
it is difficult to conceive where they could collect food, as the whole
of their course was marked with desolation.

Sampaka is a large town, and, when the Moors and Bambarrans were at war,
was thrice attacked by the former: but they were driven off with great
loss, though the King of Bambarra was afterwards obliged to give up this,
and all the other towns as far as Goomba, in order to obtain a peace.
Here I lodged at the house of a Negro who practised the art of making
gunpowder. He showed me a bag of nitre, very white, but the crystals were
much smaller than common. They procure it in considerable quantities from
the ponds which are filled in the rainy season, and to which the cattle
resort for coolness during the heat of the day. When the water is
evaporated, a white efflorescence is observed on the mud, which the
natives collect and purify in such a manner as to answer their purpose.
The Moors supply them with sulphur from the Mediterranean; and the
process is completed by pounding the different articles together in a
wooden mortar. The grains are very unequal, and the sound of its
explosion is by no means so sharp as that produced by European gunpowder.

March 5th. We departed from Sampaka at daylight. About noon we stopped a
little at a village called Dungali; and in the evening arrived at Dalli.
We saw upon the road two large herds of camels feeding. When the Moors
turn their camels to feed, they tie up one of their fore legs, to prevent
their straying. This happened to be a feast day at Dalli, and the people
were dancing before the Dooty's house. But when they were informed that a
white man was come into the town, they left off dancing, and came to the
place where I lodged, walking in regular order, two and two, with the
music before them. They play upon a sort of flute; but instead of blowing
into a hole in the side, they blow obliquely over the end, which is half
shut by a thin piece of wood: they govern the holes on the side with
their fingers, and play some simple and very plaintive airs. They
continued to dance and sing until midnight; during which time I was
surrounded by so great a crowd, as made it necessary for me to satisfy
their curiosity, by sitting still.

March 6th. We stopt here this morning because some of the townspeople,
who were going for Goomba on the day following, wished to accompany us:
but in order to avoid the crowd of people which usually assembled in the
evening, we went to a Negro village to the east of Dalli, called Samee,
where we were kindly received by the hospitable Dooty, who on this
occasion killed two fine sheep, and invited his friends to come and feast
with him.

March 7th. Our landlord was so proud of the honour of entertaining a
white man, that he insisted on my staying with him and his friends until
the cool of the evening, when he said he would conduct me to the next
village. As I was now within two days' journey of Goomba, I had no
apprehensions from the Moors, and readily accepted the invitation. I
spent the forenoon very pleasantly with these poor Negroes: their company
was the more acceptable, as the gentleness of their manners presented a
striking contrast to the rudeness and barbarity of the Moors. They
enlivened their conversation by drinking a fermented liquor made from
corn; the same sort of beer that I have described in a former chapter;
and better I never tasted in Great Britain.

In the midst of this harmless festivity, I flattered myself that all
danger from the Moors was over. Fancy had already placed me on the banks
of the Niger, and presented to my imagination a thousand delightful
scenes in my future progress, when a party of Moors unexpectedly entered
the hut, and dispelled the golden dream. They came, they said, by Ali's
orders, to convey me to his camp at Benowm. If I went peaceably, they
told me I had nothing to fear; but if I refused, they had orders to bring
me by force. I was struck dumb by surprise and terror, which the Moors
observing, endeavoured to calm my apprehensions, by repeating the
assurance that I had nothing to fear. Their visit, they added, was
occasioned by the curiosity of Ali's wife, _Fatima_, who had heard so
much about Christians, that she was very anxious to see one: as soon as
her curiosity should be satisfied, they had no doubt, they said, that Ali
would give me a handsome present, and send a person to conduct me to
Bambarra. Finding entreaty and resistance equally fruitless, I prepared
to follow the messengers, and took leave of my landlord and his company
with great reluctance. Accompanied by my faithful boy, (for Daman's slave
made his escape on seeing the Moors,) we reached Dalli in the evening,
where we were strictly watched by the Moors during the night.

March 8th. We were conducted by a circuitous path through the woods to
Dangali, where we slept.

March 9th. We continued our journey, and in the afternoon arrived at
Sampaka. On the road we saw a party of Moors, well armed, who told us
that they were hunting for a runaway slave; but the townspeople informed
us, that a party of Moors had attempted to steal some cattle from the
town in the morning, but were repulsed; and on their describing the
persons, we were satisfied that they were the same banditti that we had
seen in the woods.

Next morning (March loath) we set out for Samamingkoos. On the road we
overtook a woman and two boys, with an ass; she informed us that she was
going for Bambarra, but had been stopped on the road by a party of Moors,
who had taken most of her clothes, and some gold from her: and that she
would be under the necessity of returning to Deena, till the fast moon
was over. The same evening the new moon was seen, which ushered in the
month Rhamadan. Large fires were made in different parts of the town, and
a greater quantity of victuals than usual dressed upon the occasion.

March 11th. By daylight the Moors were in readiness; but as I had
suffered much from thirst on the road, I made my boy fill a soofroo of
water for my own use; for the Moors assured me that they should not taste
either meat or drink until sunset. However, I found that the excessive
heat of the sun, and the dust we raised in travelling, overcame their
scruples, and made my soofroo a very useful part of our baggage. On our
arrival at Deena, I went to pay my respects to one of Ali's sons. I found
him sitting in a low hut, with five or six more of his companions,
washing their hands and feet, and frequently taking water into their
mouths, gargling, and spitting it out again. I was no sooner seated, than
he handed me a double-barrelled gun, and told me to dye the stock of a
blue colour, and repair one of the locks. I found great difficulty in
persuading him that I knew nothing about the matter. However, says he, if
you cannot repair the gun, you shall give me some knives and scissors
immediately; and when my boy, who acted as interpreter, assured him that
I had no such articles, he hastily snatched up a musket that stood by
him, cocked it, and putting the muzzle close to the boy's ear, would
certainly have shot him dead upon the spot, had not the Moors wrested the
musket from him and made signs for us to retreat. The boy, being
terrified at this treatment, attempted to make his escape in the night;
but was prevented by the vigilance of the Moors, who guarded us with
strict attention; and at night always went to sleep by the door of the
hut, in such a situation that it was almost impossible to pass, without
stepping upon them.

March 12th. We departed from Deena towards Benowm, and about nine o'clock
came to a Korree, whence the Moors were preparing to depart to the
southward on account of the scarcity of water; here we filled our
soofroo, and continued our journey over a hot sandy country, covered with
small stunted shrubs, until about one o'clock, when the heat of the sun
obliged us to stop. But our water being expended, we could not prudently
remain longer than a few minutes to collect a little gum, which is an
excellent succedaneum for water; as it keeps the mouth moist, and allays,
for a time, the pain in the throat.

About five o'clock we came in sight of Benowm, the residence of Ali. It
presented to the eye a great number of dirty looking tents, scattered
without order, over a large space of ground; and among the tents appeared
large herds of camels, cattle, and goats. We reached the skirts of the
camp, a little before sunset, and, with much entreaty, procured a little
water. My arrival was no sooner observed, than the people who drew water
at the wells threw down their buckets; those in the tents mounted their
horses, and men, women, and children, came running or galloping towards
me. I soon found myself surrounded by such a crowd, that I could scarcely
move; one pulled my clothes, another took off my hat, a third stopped me
to examine my waistcoat buttons, and a fourth called out, _la illah el
allah Mahomet rasowl allahi_,[10] and signified, in a threatening manner,
that I must repeat those words. We reached at length the king's tent,
where we found a great number of people, men and women, assembled. Ali
was sitting upon a black leather cushion, clipping a few hairs from his
upper lip; a female attendant holding up a looking-glass before him. He
appeared to be an old man, of the Arab cast, with a long white beard; and
he had a sullen and indignant aspect. He surveyed me with attention, and
inquired of the Moors if I could speak Arabic: being answered in the
negative, he appeared much surprised, and continued silent. The
surrounding attendants, and especially the ladies, were abundantly more
inquisitive: they asked a thousand questions, inspected every part of my
apparel, searched my pockets, and obliged me to unbutton my waistcoat,
and display the whiteness of my skin: they even counted my toes and
fingers, as if they doubted whether I was in truth a human being. In a
little time the priest announced evening prayers; but before the people
departed, the Moor, who had acted as interpreter, informed me that Ali
was about to present me with something to eat; and looking round, I
observed some boys bringing a wild hog, which they tied to one of the
tent strings, and Ali made signs to me to kill and dress it for supper.
Though I was very hungry, I did not think it prudent to eat any part of
an animal so much detested by the Moors, and therefore told him that I
never eat such food. They then untied the hog in hopes that it would run
immediately at me; for they believe that a great enmity subsists between
hogs and Christians; but in this they were disappointed, for the animal
no sooner regained his liberty, than he began to attack indiscriminately
every person that came in his way, and at last took shelter under the
couch upon which the king was sitting. The assembly being thus dissolved,
I was conducted to the tent of Ali's chief slave, but was not permitted
to enter, nor allowed to touch any thing belonging to it. I requested
something to eat, and a little boiled corn, with salt and water, was at
length sent me in a wooden bowl; and a mat was spread upon the sand
before the tent, on which I passed the night, surrounded by the curious
multitude.

[10] See page 87 [Footnote 9. Transcriber.].

At sunrise, Ali, with a few attendants, came on horseback to visit me,
and signified that he had provided a hut for me, where I would be
sheltered from the sun. I was accordingly conducted thither, and found
the hut comparatively cool and pleasant. It was constructed of corn
stalks set up on end, in the form of a square, with a flat roof of the
same materials, supported by forked sticks; to one of which was tied the
wild hog before mentioned. This animal had certainly been placed there by
Ali's order, out of derision to a Christian; and I found it a very
disagreeable inmate, as it drew together a number of boys, who amused
themselves by beating it with sticks, until they had so irritated the hog
that it ran and bit at every person within its reach.

I was no sooner seated in this my new habitation, than the Moors
assembled in crowds to behold me; but I found it rather a troublesome
levee, for I was obliged to take off one of my stockings, and show them
my foot, and even to take off my jacket and waistcoat, to show them how
my clothes were put on and off: they were much delighted with the curious
contrivance of buttons. All this was to be repeated to every succeeding
visitor; for such as had already seen these wonders insisted on their
friends seeing the same; and in this manner I was employed, dressing and
undressing, buttoning and unbuttoning, from noon to night. About eight
o'clock, Ali sent me for supper some kouskous and salt and water, which
was very acceptable, being the only victuals I had tasted since morning.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33