At length we entered Bondou. M. Partarrieu, who was extremely afraid of falling in with the almamy, wished to avoid Boulibaneh, his usual residence, and to reach Bakel speedily and by the direct route; but the inhabitants of Potako, the second village we came to, manifested a disposition to oppose this design. It was therefore necessary to encamp for the purpose of holding a _palaver_.[3] This palaver still continued; we were near wells, but were not supplied either with water or provisions; no millet was brought, and a war of famine was commenced. This system of attack upon us was the worst and the most dangerous of all: it behoved us to meet it with firmness and resolution. M. Partarrieu, who was not deficient in these qualities, was preparing to pursue his route directly towards Bakel, and we were on the point of starting, when Major Gray, the commander of the expedition, who came to meet us, appeared on horseback, and directed us to go to Boulibaneh, under the idea that the almamy would keep his word, and that, after he had received our goods he would suffer us to pass. Major Gray was rather credulous. For the rest, the inhabitants, as soon as they saw us change our route, readily permitted us to draw water and brought us abundance of provisions of all kinds. Peace being concluded and both parties on good terms, traffic commenced. The day after the arrival of Major Gray we received orders to set out and to take the road to Boulibaneh: we could do no other than obey; but, that the inhabitants of that capital might not remark the great quantity of goods which we brought with us, we entered the place at night. I was in the rear-guard, with some English soldiers mounted on asses: these poor fellows were exhausted with fatigue: never had they made so arduous a campaign; they proposed to stay behind: I prevented them from so doing and we at length rejoined, though rather late, the head of the caravan, which we found asleep in the camp that it had formed outside the town. This camp was nothing more than a cluster of straw huts, surrounded by a palisade four feet high, formed of trunks of trees interlaced with branches. Our people had neglected to inclose the wells within the palisade of the camp—an unpardonable oversight, which in the sequel exposed us to the most severe privation. The chiefs of the expedition proceeded on their arrival to pay their respects to the old almamy, carrying with them valuable presents to dispose him in our favour. This was not all: they were obliged to make him fresh presents every day, for the greedy almamy was incessantly craving. Curious to see this sovereign, I repaired to his residence: I penetrated thither without impediment, and found the king of Bondou seated on a mat spread upon the ground, watching a negro mason belonging to our expedition, for whom he had applied, that he might build him a stone powder-room destined to contain the ammunition with which we had presented him.