All this, added to his having assembled his army in front of our camp, and prevented us for a whole day from drawing water from the wells, and his having in every instance broken his promise, nay oath, bore such convincing proofs of his hostile intentions that I at length determined on endeavouring to gain my point by indirect means, and therefore told him it was my intention to return to the coast through the Foota Toro country. My object in adopting this plan was the possibility that presented itself of being able (when I had once left Bondoo) to change the direction of march from west to north-east and thereby gain the Senegal, and, by crossing it, both get out of the power of Almamy, and reach Baquelle unmolested. From Baquelle I could have travelled in safety to Karta, where I was in hopes of meeting some people from Mr. Dochard, and of receiving permission from Modiba, king of that country, to proceed to Sego. In addition to Almamy’s other acts of injustice and falsehood, he had given orders that the people, whom I had sent to Samba Contaye to purchase provisions, should be arrested and put in irons, and I had much difficulty indeed in obtaining their release. We left Boolibany on the 22d May at half after six in the morning. We were accompanied by Almamy and part of his suite as far as Lewa, a village, near which we halted for the night. Here again we were to experience the duplicity and falsehood of this chief, who, not contented with the delays and inconveniences to which he had already subjected us, would not now give us the guides he at first named, and who were the only two of the princes we had found worthy of confidence, but appointed two men whom we had never before seen, and who (were we to judge from their appearance) were ready to comply with their sovereign’s order in any way. When I remonstrated on this further palpable breach of honour, he said that he could not then dispense with the presence of two of his war-men (generals) but would allow one of them to accompany the guides he had named, and directed the other (who was the very man we wanted) to quit our camp. This person, named Omar Moosa, a nephew of Almamy’s, was so indignant at this peremptory order, that he told his royal uncle he should not be ordered by him or any other man in Bondoo, and would not leave our camp until he pleased, and then, coming to our tent, told us to be cautious as to the path we took, for it was Almamy’s instructions to the guides to conduct us into Upper Ferlo, a province of Bondoo on the south-west frontier, so badly supplied with water that the inhabitants were frequently obliged to leave it during that time of the year: he also advised us not to move from Lewa until Almamy should return to Boolibany, when all those who accompanied him, and were attracted by the hopes of being able to plunder us of something, would leave us. This timely information, and the loss of nearly all our camels, induced me to remain at