Chapter VII

Unfortunate Affair at Samba Contaye — Almamy’s Decision — Purchase of a Slave — Arrival of the French Expedition at Galam — Mr. Pilkington’s determination of leaving the Mission — His Departure for the Coast — Visit to the Senegal — Conversation with Almamy — Messenger sent to Mr. Dochard — Fires at the Camp — Death of Almamy Amady.

Another circumstance occurred during this month, which, although wholly accidental, was by no means calculated to inspire the natives with a friendly feeling towards us, and would, I feared, previous to its being arranged, have only furnished Almamy with a second opportunity of falling out with us. In this, however, I was fortunately mistaken, as he not only judged the affair impartially, but expressed his sorrow that I should have punished the man even by confinement for a few days.

It was on the morning of the 25th, when sitting outside the door of my hut, half asleep from extreme debility, I was aroused by the report of a musket within the fence of the camp, followed by the shrieks of women and the bustle of my men running from all quarters, where they had been either on duty or amusing themselves, and seizing their arms. Such preparations on their part led me to suppose we had been attacked. I therefore ran into my hut for my arms, and without delay proceeded to the spot where all seemed to be directing their steps.

On my arrival at the place where the market was usually held, under the shade of a large acacia, about two hundred yards outside our fence, I found a woman lying dead, a musket ball having passed through her head. She had just disposed of a little corn, and was sitting on the ground in the crowd, tying up a few beads she had received in exchange, when she received the fatal wound.

On my inquiring by whom it was done, one of my own men (Shaw, a black soldier), answered from within his hut, that it was his rifle which went off while he was cleaning the brasses of it. Some men of the town who were present, and armed, as they always are, shewed symptoms of wishing to take steps of retaliation, under the impression, no doubt, that it had been done designedly. One or two Marabouts, who were also present, and on whom I called to assist me in preventing unnecessary effusion of blood, persuaded them to desist, assuring them that every satisfaction would be given. My first step was to order Shaw into confinement, and send for Osman, to consult what was necessary to be done. On his arrival at my hut, where the Marabouts were awaiting him at my request, I stated the unfortunate occurrence precisely as it had taken place, pointing out to him the position of the deceased in the market, and that of the prisoner in his hut, through the side of which, being composed of straw, the ball had passed.

The Marabouts fully corroborated my statement, by relating every circumstance with the most minute exactness, and gave it as their opinion, that the thing occurred wholly by accident: but as the deceased was a slave belonging to some of the inhabitants of a neighbouring village, it would be necessary for me to send a person to acquaint them with the affair, and despatch without delay a messenger to Almamy, requesting him to have the business tried and decided on immediately. Both these injunctions I complied with at the moment, and gave the prisoner into the hands of Osman, who expressed a wish that I might keep him myself, which I could have done, but I preferred acting otherwise, as I was aware that the inhabitants of the country at large, and particularly those people to whom the woman belonged, would be more satisfied by his being in their own hands, at least in those of one of their chiefs. The poor fellow himself, was at first much frightened, and would, I am convinced, have willingly given up his own life to restore that of the woman, were it then possible. Osman told him, although the accident was of an extremely unpleasant nature to all concerned, and particularly to him (Shaw), it was, nevertheless, one which so purely evinced the hand of the Almighty God, that he had nothing to fear, as he was sure Almamy would see the thing in its proper light, and judge accordingly.

The following morning, the men, both free and slaves, of the village to which the unfortunate woman belonged, came to our camp, to the number of sixty or seventy, all armed, and in a very haughty manner demanded justice, which one of them, an old man, who appeared to be their speaker, said was nothing more than handing over the prisoner to them, to be treated as they might think fit; as in this case, the law said, “when one slave,” in which light they looked upon all my men, both black and white, “killed another, the survivor became the property of the person to whom the deceased belonged, who might either kill, sell, or keep him.”

I had much difficulty in persuading them that all my men were as free as myself, and that I could not now take any step, until I had received an answer from Almamy, to whom I had sent a messenger. Osman, who had heard of their arrival, came up at that moment, and finding them much inclined to add violence to insolent language, ordered them, in a very peremptory tone, to return to their village, and leave the settlement of the affair exclusively to him, who alone, from its having happened in his district and with his strangers (meaning us), had the right of interfering. Although they went away immediately, I was sorry to see them do so with so much reluctance, and with such evident dissatisfaction at the unfortunate affair, as well as at the indifferent reception they met with. I therefore requested Osman to accompany them for a short distance, and endeavour to convince them that it was my wish to render every satisfaction the laws of the country demanded, and make the owner of the deceased as ample recompense as it was in my power to do.

In a few minutes, the old man, who acted as their speaker, returned with Osman, and coming into my hut, offered me his hand, which I accepted, and sat down, telling me that he was perfectly satisfied with my conduct in this affair, and would wait patiently and peaceably for Almamy’s decision; and to convince me of the truth of what he asserted, he would send the women of his village to the market as usual to-morrow.

The messenger to Almamy did not return before the evening of the 28th, when he was accompanied by one of his ministers, a chief priest, or, as they call it, _Alpha or thierno_, bringing his sovereign’s decision, which, although conveyed in many more words than necessary, merely went to say, as it appeared to Almamy and his good men[14], as they call his chiefs and ministers (a very ill-placed appellation), that the woman came by her death accidentally, I had nothing more to do than procure a slave woman of as nearly the same age of the deceased as possible, and hand her over to Osman. Almamy also desired Alpha Mamadoo to say, that he was extremely sorry I should have thought it necessary to put my child, meaning Shaw (for so he always called all my men) in prison, from whence he now desired him to be released.

I represented to Alpha the dislike I had to any thing like purchasing a fellow creature, and requested that I might be allowed to give the value of a prime slave. In this, he said, he could not interfere; that what he had told me was by order of Almamy, and he could not alter it; but should the man to whom the slave belonged wish to take the value in merchandize, he was certain Almamy could have no objection. Much entreaty on my part, added to the promise of a present, would no doubt have had the desired effect, were it not that the owner of the deceased was afraid, in case he should accept of merchandize, that Almamy would persuade, nay force him, to give it to him in purchase of a slave, which, most probably, he might never receive.

I was, therefore, reduced to the disagreeable necessity of employing a person for the sole purpose of going round the country in search of a woman slave, and which he, with much difficulty, procured, not in consequence of the scarcity of those poor wretches in the country, but of the enormous price demanded, arising no doubt from their knowledge of the obligation I was under of providing one without delay.

This transaction I could not bring myself to negotiate, as the idea alone of dealing in human flesh was more than sufficiently disagreeable to allow me to see the poor wretch, who, although only changing master, and, from what I could learn, getting a good for a bad one, was nevertheless a slave bought and sold. Osman, who had no scruples of that kind, very willingly undertook to do it for me, and I have no doubt made something by it.

Thus terminated an unfortunate affair which, although wholly providential, was certainly of such an unpleasant nature as to cause deep regret to all our party; but which did not appear to make any more impression on the minds of the natives, than if the deceased had been a bullock; so little is the life of a slave noticed in that country.

The weather had then begun to be more settled and dry, and the sick, with the exception of three Europeans (a sergeant and two privates), were improving rapidly. The approach, too, of the dry season, which was daily making itself more evident, and the hope of being thereby enabled to resume our march to the east, in a great measure alleviated the disagreeable nature of our halt, which had then become extremely irksome to all. The arrival of the French trading fleet from St. Louis, at Galam, commanded by an officer whom I had the pleasure of knowing at Senegal, and who, on his way to Boolibany, had called to see me, also tended, in a great degree, to give new vigour to our proceedings. The idea alone of having near, if not with us, people of our own colour, with whom we may occasionally associate, affords a pleasure which none but those who have experienced the absence, can duly appreciate. I was the more pleased at this arrival of the French to settle near us, for such was their intention, as Captain Dechastelieu told me he had it in command from the officer administering the government at St. Louis, to afford me every service it might be in his power to do; and, in justice to those officers, I must say that, on all occasions, I received the most cordial assistance from them.

By this fleet I received information that Mr. Partarrieau had arrived at St. Louis, but, in consequence of illness and some difficulties he met with in passing through Foota Toro, he did not reach there in time to forward to me, by those vessels, some articles of merchandize I wanted for myself, or the things promised to Almamy. This, however, was not of much consequence, as I was in hopes that his knowledge of the want I must soon be in of the articles sent for, and of my anxiety to continue my march towards Sego, would urge him to make his utmost endeavours to expedite the service he had been entrusted with, and join me without unnecessary delay.

Mr. Pilkington, who was rapidly recovering from the effects of the fever he had at Boolibany, expressed so strong an aversion to accompany the mission any further, and appeared so determined on returning to the coast, that I found it necessary to consent to his doing so, being aware that with such a feeling on his part, his future services (were I to oppose him) would not be satisfactory. Private Nicholson too, who had laboured for several months under chronic dysentery, and was reduced to a perfect skeleton, requested the like indulgence, and was in like manner permitted to return; and as I was informed by Captain Dechastelieu, that one of his vessels would return to St. Louis in a few days, I took advantage of an invitation from him, in the name of the other officers of his fleet, to repair to Conghell, a town of Galam, on the banks of the Senegal, (about fourteen miles from our camp), where they then were, in order to obtain a passage for them, and which was offered by the officer commanding the vessels, in the most handsome manner, before I had time to ask it.

On my return to the camp, I apprised Mr. Pilkington of the readiness expressed by the officer commanding the French vessels to accommodate him in every way possible, and, having placed in his charge some effects belonging to the deceased officers, directed to his Excellency the Governor of Sierra Leone, he left the camp on the 4th of November, accompanied by the sergeant-major, whom I sent to receive some refreshments, which Captain Dechastelieu very kindly offered to supply me with for myself and men, and of which we were much in want, to remove the ill effects and remains of fever and dysentery, from which none had escaped.

Almamy, who was about paying a visit to the vessels, sent a messenger to me on the 7th of November, to request I would accompany him, and name a day for the purpose. Although I was by no means satisfied with his conduct towards me, and would willingly have dispensed with his company, I nevertheless suppressed my feeling of dislike to his royal presence, and consented to meet him at my own camp, on any day he might choose. The messenger was evidently afraid of my refusal, and had requested Osman to use his influence with me to yield; but this, from my ready compliance, was now unnecessary. This, no doubt, arose from a consciousness, on the part of Almamy, of his having treated me badly, and of the necessity there now was of his inducing me, by such a mark of what he thought royal favour, to forget the past, and sound his praises with his new visitors, with whom he fancied I had great influence, and who, he thought, would proportion their presents to the report I should make of him. I am satisfied that such was Almamy’s idea; but he was much deceived, as I was determined that his conduct towards me should be clearly stated to those officers, in order to put them on their guard in their transactions with him. He arrived at a small village near our camp on the 11th, and on the following morning, I accompanied him to Guinion, a village of Bondoo, within about four miles of Conghell. During the ride, we had much conversation on the subject of the arrival of the French at Galam, and, on a report which _he said_ he had received by letter from Senegal, as to the intentions, not only of their expedition, but of mine, both of which had been stated to him to be fitted out for the purpose of affording assistance to his enemies the Kartans. I endeavoured to assure him that, although Europeans in general regretted to see so much warfare going on in Africa, it was, nevertheless, very immaterial to them whether the one or the other were victorious; and, that the only object the king of England (for whom I could vouch) had in view, was the civilization of Africa, and the introduction of commerce on a more extensive and liberal scale than at present existed. He, however, insinuated that he believed all Europeans to be more the friends of the pagan, than the Moslem inhabitants of Africa; in consequence of the more ready conversion of the former to Christianity; and, without taking into consideration the difference between the two nations, he adverted to an engagement which he said he knew had been entered into between the commandant of Senegal, when that place was in possession of the French several years before, and Daisey, the king of Karta, who had sworn an inviolable oath that neither himself nor his successors would ever give peace to the countries lying between them and St. Louis, until a woman with a basket on her head could travel unmolested from one place to the other. It was to no purpose I endeavoured to convince him that such an improbable arrangement had never been entered into between any European governor of Senegal and his enemies; and I likewise as ineffectually brought forward to support my assertion the friendly intercourse which had so long subsisted between the several English governors of Senegal and himself, and the very handsome and rich presents he, as well as his predecessors, had received from them and the vessels trading in the river. To all this he only answered in a general way, and finishing with the usual African expression of “All is in the hands of God.”

He was extremely ill, and so weak that he could not sit on his horse without the assistance of two men, who walked on each side, and on whose shoulders he placed his hands.

The country over which we travelled was thickly inhabited and well cultivated, the corn was then ripe, and the natives were busily employed in getting it in.

Almamy having halted at Guinion, I left him there, and went on to Conghell, where I was cordially welcomed by the French officers, one of whom, Captain Dechastelieu, was very ill, in consequence of which and my wish to return to the camp as soon as possible, I only remained two days with them, during which time they had moved to Baquelle, another town of Galam, about six miles lower down the river, where they intended building a fort, and forming a commercial establishment. This spot, being centrically situated between Foota, Bondoo, Gidemagh, Karta, Kasson, and Bambouk, was admirably calculated for such a purpose. The Moors too of the Dwoüsh tribe, who were great gum-holders, would there find a more convenient market for that as well as all the other productions of their country than at the marts lower down the river.

On my return to the camp, I called to see Almamy, and make him a small present. I found him extremely ill, lying on a mat, in the centre of a small hut, surrounded by three or four of his favourites, who were all conscious of his approaching end, and were endeavouring to get from him all they could before that event should take place. Soon after my entering the hut, he ordered them all to leave him as he had something particular to say to me. When they had gone out, he called me to his bed-side, by no means an agreeable situation, and placing his mouth to my ear, said, “They are all rogues; I did not know it before. I see I must soon die, but when I am gone, many, who now fear me, will then wish me back to no purpose.” He next asked me what I thought of the French, my new friends, as he called them; and, on receiving a favourable report, expressed his astonishment that people, who were so lately at war with each other, could so soon be such good friends.

Having explained to him the reason of my not being able to present him with the articles which I had promised at Goodeerie, with which he appeared well satisfied, I made him the small present, and, taking leave for the last time, returned to the camp, where I found all had gone on well during my absence.

The length of time that had again elapsed since I had heard from Mr. Dochard made me very uneasy on his account, and induced me to despatch a person to gain, if possible, some intelligence respecting him, or, in case of his having got to Sego with his party in safety, to follow him thither, and bring back such letters as Mr. Dochard might have to send me. The person I selected for this purpose was a man named Bakoro, a native of Nyamima, who had been left by Lamina to officiate in his place as the messenger of Dha, and who, from his respectability and knowledge of the country, could travel through it with less difficulty than any of my own men. I also sent with him as a companion, in case of accident, a man named Ismeina, who had been attached to the mission as a carrier; and in order that the journey might be performed as quickly as possible, I furnished them with a horse each, and, having provided them with a few articles of merchandize to enable them to procure provisions, and make small presents to those chiefs or others who might assist them on the road, they left the camp on the 25th November, and promised to make all possible haste.

The weather had for some time assumed that settled mild state which, in that country, always takes place after the rains, and is so admirably adapted for travelling. I regretted exceedingly that the absence of Mr. Partarrieau, and of those supplies I had sent for by him, prevented my taking advantage of it by moving slowly on with the whole expedition in the direction of Sego. I was then however so sanguine in my hope that the middle of December would bring him back to me, that I looked forward to that period with patient suspense, which was rendered the more supportable by occasional visits to the French officers, who, in common with myself, had to lament the loss of some of their companions from the effects of the late season, and were themselves so constantly subject to fever and ague, that they had not been able to commence their operations for the building of their fort, in the selection and purchase of a spot for which they had hitherto found as much difficulty as I had in the prosecution of my journey.

The latter end of December was fast approaching, and no information had been received by me respecting Mr. Partarrieau, whose delay so long beyond the time I expected caused me many sleepless nights and uneasy moments; this, added to the uncertainty I was in with respect to Mr. Dochard’s proceedings, had such an effect on my spirits that, had I not enjoyed the advantage of the occasional and agreeable society of the French officers at Baquelle, I must have sunk under the load.

The Christmas which I spent at Baquelle rolled over without any intelligence from him, and the first day of January 1819, being that on which I had fondly hoped to prosecute my journey eastward, found me at Samba Contaye with as bad prospects of being able to do so during that month as in the preceding.

A circumstance, too, took place in the early part of December, which tended materially to render my situation more unpleasant, not to say alarming, than even the former state of suspense and anxiety could possibly have done; this was a fire which broke out in one of the huts occupied by the men, and must have inevitably consumed the whole camp and baggage, were it not for the timely exertions of the men and the providential existence of a calm, which had only succeeded a strong breeze a few minutes before. From the precautions which had been always taken to prevent such an accident, I was the more astonished at any thing of this kind occurring, and from the impossibility of ascertaining by what means the hut took fire, the men who occupied it being all out, I began to suspect that some evil-disposed person had done it; this however was only surmise, unsupported by any evidence whatever: but what made it the more suspicious was the position of the hut, which was a long distance from the cooking-place, and the nearest to our store. Two days, however, had only elapsed when it again took fire in the same way, and was entirely consumed, but as the wind was then blowing strongly from the east, the store, which was in that direction, again providentially escaped being totally destroyed, for had the fire once communicated with it, all exertions to save any thing must have been rendered ineffectual, by the parched state of the straw or long grass of which it was entirely composed, and the quantity of gunpowder which was in almost every package; a circumstance that alone would have deterred every person from approaching it had it taken fire, and in the event of which we should have been deprived of the very means of subsistence.

Almamy Amady had continued to decline daily since his return from the Senegal, and died on the 8th January, leaving the succession which, consistent with the law and custom of the country ought to descend to the eldest male branch of the family, to be disputed by three persons; one, his own cousin, Malick Samba Tomany, being the lawful heir, and two of his nephews, Tomany Moody and Moosa Yeoro, all men advanced in years, and each possessed of considerable influence in the country. Moosa Yeoro, however, was at first unwilling to oppose the right heir, and would have certainly declined doing so, both from motives of respect for the person, who was much older than himself, and want of confidence in his own popularity, had not Tomany Moody induced him to it by proffers of his support, and threats of commencing a civil war in case of his refusal.

The reason which led to this line of conduct on the part of Tomany Moody, was founded on a circumstance which had occurred some years before, and which was nothing less than that Tomany, who had always been a haughty, violent, and powerful prince, had, in a dispute with the brother of Malick Samba Tomany, caused him to be murdered, and feared, if Malick came to the throne, he would revenge himself on him for the death of his brother, if not by taking his life at least by seizing on his property, and obliging him to leave the country which he was in hopes of one day reigning over himself, and which he would really now do through Moosa Yeoro, who would only be a mere instrument in his hands: thus in Africa, as in all other parts of the world, does self predominate, and lead men to act parts little creditable to themselves, or profitable to the cause which they pretend to support.

The election did not take place until the 20th of the month; and although the opposing parties were near coming to blows on the occasion, the whole affair was terminated in a more peaceable manner than is generally the case in Africa, where the interregnum is almost always taken advantage of by the evil-disposed, to commit all manner of crimes, and for which they cannot be punished, as, during that period the laws are not in force in consequence of the non-existence of a king, with whom they also are considered defunct.

A few days after his election, I paid him a congratulatory visit, accompanied as usual by a present. He received me with marked attention and hospitality, and told me that I might now depend on his doing every thing to forward my views, to which he was bound by a request to that effect of the late Almamy a short time before his death.

He was not attended by the ministers of the late king, for they attached themselves to Saada in hopes, no doubt, of drawing from him all the treasure left him by his father, about the division of whose slaves a dispute arose between him and the new Almamy, in consequence of Saada’s not wishing to give him that proportion of them which he was desired by his father to do. The chief slaves too, like the ministers, preferred remaining, and for the same reason, with Saada, and consequently advised him not to submit to Almamy’s demand. The time however was not far distant, when both ministers and slaves, being disappointed in their expectations from Saada, left him, and attached themselves to Almamy, who, glad of the opportunity of enrolling in his cause such powerful personages, received them in a manner calculated to bind them, at least for a time, to his interest; for there, like elsewhere, “money makes the mare go”, and which, as long as he could command, would ensure him their services.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 14: Imbey mojubey.]