Several of these parties were sent out during our stay in Bondoo, and with one or two exceptions, came off victorious, if the word can be made use of with propriety, in describing the exploits of a horde of plunderers, whose chief object is invariably the obtaining of slaves, for whom they always find a market, either with the travelling merchants of the country, or the Senegal vessels at Galam. Woolli, Tenda, Dentilla, and Bambouk, are the frequent scenes of these unnatural depredations, and in their turn often furnish Almamy with ample means of procuring supplies of arms, ammunition, horses, and the different articles of European merchandize in demand in his dominions. To the frequency of these predatory excursions, and the insecure nature of the lives and properties of the inhabitants in consequence, may be attributed, in a great degree, the desertion of many of the frontier towns in those states, and their subsequent occupation by the Bondoo people, who of late years have extended their dominions considerably in these directions. Bondoo in its turn has often been attacked by its more powerful neighbours, and suffered dreadfully, but an instance of retaliation on the part of those weak states rarely occurs. Many of the natives of Kayaye, Joloff, and Woolli, have settled in Bondoo, and embraced the Mahomedan faith. Their towns are chiefly on the western frontier, and are preeminent for their extent, riches, and productive cultivation. The most effective division of Almamy’s army is entirely composed of the Joloff and Woolli people, who are proverbial for bravery. The greater number of those of Kayaye being priests are exempt from the field by the payment of a large yearly present to Almamy, who, in addition to the present, often trespasses, in the form of a request (but which they dare not refuse), on their stores of provisions and their herds of cattle, with both which they are better supplied than any other class of people in that country. But this is not the only advantage they possess, for they enjoy a degree of respect and independence even in their connexions with the princes, who look upon all belonging to them as sacred, Almamy alone, being the head of the church, daring to infringe on their rights and privileges. Bondoo has been, for some years, involved in a war with the king of Karta, which arose, as most of the wars in Africa do, in an act of aggression in this case on the part of Bondoo, to explain which, it will be necessary to detail, at some length, the circumstances which led to the act itself. This will, at the same time, serve to give a just idea of the politics of those people, and to prove how well they are versed in the principles of self interest and aggrandizement, the natural consequence of the comparative state of civilization to which they have attained.