Almamy Bondoo, who by some means got information of my intended movement, and supposing that we should proceed by water to Fort St. Joseph, posted a strong party at Yafrey to oppose our passage; thus proving that he had all along been determined to prevent our proceeding eastward. He was, however, misinformed, for although I intended (and did take advantage of a boat going to that place) to send all my baggage thither, I had determined on proceeding with the men and animals by a path on the north side of the river, where we should not meet any of the people of Bondoo, and few, if any, of any other tribes, as all the towns on that side had been either destroyed by the Kaartans, or deserted by their inhabitants. Almamy’s arrival with his army at Baquelle, prevented Dhyabê[29] from returning as soon as he otherwise would have done: I was therefore compelled to wait for him until the 16th, having sent off my baggage on the 9th. We left Baquelle on the morning of the 17th, and travelled ESE. until six P.M. when we halted for the night, all much fatigued, at a pool of muddy water in the woods. The country over which we travelled was low and flat, much covered with wood, and bore the marks of the late inundation. We met several herds of wild hogs and antelopes, and saw the recent footmarks of the elephant and hippopotamus in the vicinity of the small creeks we crossed. The following morning we moved forward in the same direction until we came to the river, along the north bank of which we continued our march through deserted and ruined towns until three P.M., when we reached Goosela, a small walled town of Gidumagh, at which we halted for the night. Goosela is one of a few Gidumagh towns which remain on the north bank of the Senegal, tributary to the Kaartans and Moors, and which makes itself very evident in the miserably wretched and poverty struck appearance of the inhabitants, whose numbers do not exceed one hundred and fifty. It is situate on an elevated spot about 500 yards from the river. A march of two hours along the banks of the river brought us opposite Fort St. Joseph, on the morning of the 19th, at eight o’clock, when canoes having been provided by Samba Congole, we crossed without delay, and found our baggage safely deposited in a square mud building in his yard, where I was myself accommodated with quarters. My first object was to despatch a messenger to Modiba, requesting that one of his confidential servants might be sent without delay to conduct us into that country. One of Samba’s brothers was selected for that service, and proceeded on the 1st of December with directions from Samba to make as little delay as possible.