Chapter XIII

Retreat from Kaarta. — Difficulties and Annoyances there. — Arrival at Fort St. Joseph. — Delay and Occurrences at Baquelle. — Return to the Coast. — Arrival at Sierra Leone. — Visit to the captured Negro Establishments.

We commenced our retreat at half after five, on the morning of the 8th of May, and at eleven reached Guninghedy, where we halted during the heat of the day. We were accompanied by Bojar and his division, with their prisoners, whose sufferings presented scenes of distress which I am incapable of painting in their true colours. The women and children (all nearly naked and carrying heavy loads) were tied together by the necks, and hurried along over a rough stony path that cut their feet in a dreadful manner. There were a great number of children, who, from their tender years, were unable to walk, and were carried, some on the prisoners’ backs, and others on horseback behind their captors, who, to prevent them falling off, tied them to the back part of the saddle with a rope made from the bark of the baobab, which was so hard and rough that it cut the back and sides of the poor little innocent babes so as to draw the blood. This however, was only a secondary state of the sufferings endured by those children, when compared to the dreadfully blistered and chafed state of their seats, from constant jolting on the bare back of the horse, seldom going slower than a trot or smart amble, and not unfrequently driven at full speed for a few yards, and pulled up short. On these occasions it was to me a matter of astonishment how the child could support the strokes it must have received from the back of the saddle, which, from its form, came in contact with the child’s stomach.

We reached Sanjarra the following morning at half after nine, and in the afternoon was joined by Giboodoo, who had been at Dhyaje; he told me that Modiba desired him to say he was sorry the present state of the country would not admit of my passing Kaarta, but was glad I had returned with Bojar, thereby preventing the necessity he should otherwise have been under of sending a detachment after me, for the purpose of bringing me back. I was also met at Sanjarra by a messenger from Ali, to say, that having heard something at Dhyaje, with respect to Modiba’s intentions towards me, he advised my moving without delay to his town, where I might remain in safety until the king should send people to re-conduct me to Galam. I did not believe this; supposing that his object was, in thus apparently protecting me, to lay me under obligations, from which I should be obliged to release myself by means of presents. I nevertheless followed his advice, because my most direct path led there, and I was not altogether so satisfied with Bojar’s treatment while at his town, to induce me to return.

Giboodoo returned to Dhyaje on the 11th, for the purpose of paying a parting visit to his majesty. He promised to be back on the 14th, till which day I consented to wait at Sanjarra for him[32]; but as he did not keep his time, I removed to Missira on the 15th, where I was received by Ali. Giboodoo did not join me until the 17th, when, having informed me that Modiba could not send people to escort us to Galam before the ensuing week, I again despatched him to tell the king that unless they joined me before the 23d, I should move on before them to the frontier.

On the 20th, the maraboo, accompanied by Bokari, one of the head slaves, and some of their followers, came to Missira, by Modiba’s orders, to take us to Moonia, and whither, in case I refused to proceed with them, they had orders to force me. Here then was what I had long expected, namely, to be plundered of every thing, and which I told them they could do at Missira, and not harass me as well as my men by travelling all over the country.

The maraboo, as on a former occasion, said he was nothing more than the bearer of Modiba’s orders, which he should carry into execution. Remonstrance was vain, and refusal would have been equally so (if not worse), as I plainly saw those people were prepared to act forcibly. Giboodoo arrived in the afternoon, and was accompanied by two more of the head slaves, sent by their master on the same errand as the former. I had however rendered their interference unnecessary, having consented to proceed to Moonia, with the almost certainty of being plundered, and, under such a conviction, I laid out a part of the few articles the rapacity of the Kaartans had spared me, in redeeming from slavery two women of Bondoo, who had been taken in the affair which took place before I left Galam. In taking this step I had two motives; first, that of placing out of Modiba’s reach a portion at least of my merchandize, which alone excited his avarice; secondly, I had in view, by sending those women (who were related to Almamy Bondoo) to their friends in that country, to convince that chief that our intentions towards them were good indeed; and however I might feel on the subject of the treatment I met with at his hands, I was, nevertheless, deeply impressed with sentiments of compassion for those of his people who had fallen victims to Kaartan power. One of Ali’s sons was their possessor, and from him I had much trouble in obtaining their freedom, which was the more difficult and expensive, from its having been his intention to add them to the list of his concubines, whose number already amounted to twelve.

Polygamy is carried to a frightful extent in Kaarta. Many private individuals have ten wives, and as many concubines; the princes, for the most part, not less than thirty of each, and Modiba himself is said to have one hundred wives and two hundred concubines; and I verily believe that one-third of the free inhabitants of Kaarta are of the blood royal.

We left Missira at six on the morning of the 22d, and reached Moonia at ten, but had scarcely unloaded the asses, when Bojar sent to inform me that his father insisted on my paying the customary duty on the merchandize I had brought into the country, in the same proportion as paid by the native merchants, and desired to have my immediate answer, which I gave, by saying, that I now plainly perceived what their object was in bringing me back to Moonia; and that as I would not willingly give any thing more to them, in the way of either customs or presents, and was not able to prevent them from taking what they wished, they might do so when they pleased. In about half an hour they came to our huts, and having examined all our baggage minutely, appeared much disappointed and surprised in not finding a large quantity of silver, amber, and coral, and a great number of fine guns, all which they said Modiba had been told I had in abundance. Their disappointment was so great that they walked off to the town without taking a single article. The maraboo was much confused, and said, he could not help acknowledging that I had been badly treated, but that I should not blame Modiba, as he had been misinformed, both with respect to the object of my visit to Sego, and the extent and nature of my baggage: the latter, although reduced to that state which surprised Modiba’s messengers so much, was still of value enough in their eyes to induce their return at eight o’clock P.M.; when they again demanded the customs, and on my refusing to give them with free will, they helped themselves to the articles stated in the Appendix, Article 19.

On the following morning I despatched Giboodoo to inform Modiba of the proceedings of his messengers, and to request that, if it was really his intention to send people to escort us to Galam, he would do so immediately.

From the 23d of May until the 8th of June was spent by us in a state of suspense, which nothing but the hope we hourly entertained of seeing Giboodoo return from Dhyage, and with him the promised escort, could have rendered at all supportable. Every day was marked by some act of plunder by the slaves of Bojar, and haughty insult by himself, but we were incapable of resistance, and, however galling to our feelings, patient submission was our only line of conduct, to which we more strictly adhered in consequence of an intimation from Giboodoo, that any other would have drawn down upon us the most hostile treatment.

He arrived from Dhyage on the 8th, at night, without any escort, but obtained permission for us to proceed to Galam, where we arrived on the 18th. We were accompanied by some Serrawoollie merchants, conducting to Baquelle a large coffle of slaves, each of whom had to deplore being torn from some near and dear object of their affections, and from their nakedness, want of proper nourishment, and being exposed to almost constant rain for two days and nights, they presented a group of beings reduced to the very lowest ebb of human suffering.

I lost no time in repairing to Baquelle for the purpose of effecting my speedy return from that place over land to the Gambia, but found that such a step was rendered totally impossible by the state of war and confusion in which all the surrounding countries were then involved, both among themselves, and with the French at all their settlements on the Senegal. They had a few days previous to my leaving Kaarta totally destroyed the town of Baquelle in revenge for the assassination of one of their officers, and were concerting measures in conjunction with Bondoo for an attack on Tuabo[33]. I was therefore necessitated to wait for the arrival of the fleet from Saint Louis, the return of which would afford me the most expeditious and safe means of reaching the coast. This however did not take place before the 24th of September, when, having been accommodated with a passage for my men and self on board one of the French steam ships, we left Baquelle and descended the river which was then very much swollen. We arrived at St. Louis on the 8th of October, and were hospitably received by the French Governor, Captain Le Coupe, who politely offered me every assistance I might require.

Here I waited a fortnight, in hopes of meeting a vessel going to the Gambia or Sierra Leone, but none offering, I proceeded by land to Goree, where I arrived on the 3d of November, and met with a vessel ready to sail for the Bathurst Gambia. The rapid improvement that had taken place since I left it in 1818, struck me with pleasing astonishment, and as a description of the island may not be uninteresting to some, I will endeavour to give it as correctly as the time I spent there enables me to do; but I am aware that it possesses many advantages beyond those which came under my observation. See Article First, Appendix.

I returned to Sierra Leone on board his Majesty’s ship Pheasant, Captain Kelly, whose politeness and attention to myself and men I shall never forget.

His Excellency Sir Charles M‘Carthy, who had just arrived from England, was then about visiting some of the liberated negro establishments in the country towns, accompanied by all the civil and military staff of the colony. I felt too much concern in the welfare of those truly interesting objects not to make one of the party, and therefore had an opportunity of witnessing the wonderful improvements that had taken place in every town since I had before seen them, indeed some having all the appearance and regularity of the neatest village in England, with church, school, and commodious residences for the missionaries and teachers, had not in 1817 been more than thought of. Descending some of the hills, I was surprised on perceiving neat and well laid out villages in places where, but four years before, nothing was to be seen except almost impenetrable thickets, but arriving in those villages the beauty and interesting nature of such objects was much enhanced by the clean, orderly, and respectable appearance of the cottages and their inhabitants, particularly the young people and children, who, at all the towns, assembled to welcome with repeated cheers the return of their Governor and daddy (father), as they invariably stiled His Excellency, who expressed himself highly pleased at their improvement during his absence, in which short period large pieces of ground had been cleared and cultivated in the vicinity of all the towns, and every production of the climate raised in sufficient abundance to supply the inhabitants, and furnish the market at Free-town.

His Excellency visited the schools at the different towns, and witnessed the improvement which all the students had made, but particularly those of the high-school at Regent-town, whose progress in arithmetic, geography, and history, evinced a capacity far superior to that which is in general attributed to the Negro, and proves that they may be rendered useful members of society, particularly so in exploring the interior of the country, having previously received the education calculated to that peculiar service.

From the change which has taken place in those villages since I saw them in 1817, I am satisfied, that a little time is alone necessary to enable the colony of Sierra Leone to vie with many of the West India islands, in all the productions of tropical climates, but particularly in the article of coffee, which has been already raised there, and proved by its being in demand in the English market to be of as good (if not superior) quality to that imported from our other colonies. That the soil on the mountains is well adapted to the growth of that valuable berry has been too well proved by the flourishing state of some of the plantations in the immediate vicinity of Free-town to need any comment of mine. Arrow-root has also been cultivated with advantage on some of the farms belonging to private individuals, and there can be no doubt of the capability of the soil to produce the sugar-cane, as some is already grown there, but whether it is of as good a description as that of the West Indies I cannot pretend to say, as the experiment had never been tried at Sierra Leone, at least to my knowledge. The cultivation of all these with the cotton, indigo, and ginger, could here be carried on under advantages which our West India islands do not enjoy, namely, the labour of free people, who would relieve the Mother Country from the apprehensions which are at present entertained for the safety of property in some of those islands, by revolt and insurrection amongst the slaves, and from the deplorable consequences of such a state of civil confusion; those people would, by receiving the benefits arising from their industry, be excited to exertions that must prove beneficial to all concerned in the trade, and conducive to the prosperity of the colony itself.

The capital of the peninsula (Free-town) is of considerable extent, and is beautifully situate, on an inclined plane, at the foot of some hills on which stand the fort and other public buildings that overlook it, and the roads, from whence there is a delightful prospect of the town rising in the form of an amphitheatre from the water’s edge, above which it is elevated about seventy feet. It is regularly laid out into fine wide streets, intersected by others parallel with the river, and at right angles. The houses, which a few years since were for the most part built of timber, many of them of the worst description, and thatched with leaves or grass, are now replaced by commodious and substantial stone buildings, that both contribute to the health and comfort of the inhabitants, and add to the beauty of the place, which is rendered peculiarly picturesque by the numbers of cocoa-nut, orange, lime, and banana trees, which are scattered over the whole town, and afford, in addition to the pine-apple and gouava that grow wild in the woods, an abundant supply of fruit. The Madeira and Teneriffe vines flourish uncommonly well in the gardens of some private individuals, and give in the season a large crop of grapes.

Nearly all our garden vegetables are raised there, and what with yams, cassada, and pompions, there is seldom any want of one or other of those agreeable and almost necessary requisites for the table. There are good meat, poultry, and fish markets, and almost every article in the house-keeping line can be procured at the shops of the British merchants.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 32: See Appendix, Article 20.]

[Footnote 33: This event took place on the 4th August, by a smart cannonade from the French brig, and an assault by the Bondoo army (amounting to nearly three thousand men), a spirited sortie made by about one hundred of the besieged, put the whole army of Bondoo to flight and took several prisoners, whom they immediately butchered in front of the brig, which, although moored within musket shot of the shore, was not fired on by the people of the town, with whom the French commandant found it necessary to make peace in a few days afterwards.]