NARRATIVE. 205 



not hesitate to declare, is a known emporium for slaves and 

 smuggling. The Chief, and only authority there, for he is not to 

 be styled Governor or Commandant, received Mr. Eowdich very 

 hospitably, and offered him more comforts than his means seemed 

 to pi'omise. Slaves are brought by the concealed agents for the 

 trade to Albreda, where they are secreted by the residents, 

 especially in the houses of the French mulattoes, tiU a French 

 vessel arrives ; a frequent event, as a considerable trade is canied 

 on by means of small craft, between Senegal, Goree, and the Eiver 

 Gambia. It is at Albreda that the bargain is struck ; but, as all 

 foreign vessels are subject to examination as they pass and repass 

 the town of Bathurst, they do not ship their hve cargo till they 

 reach Salem, situated to the north of the river's mouth ; where 

 the slaves, having been marched through the bush or forests, meet 

 their purchasers, and are taken thence to supply any market where 

 they are likely to fetch a good price. Several proofs of this 

 occurred during my residence at Bathurst, and one particularly 

 interested me. A very fine boy, named Samba, about twelve 

 years of age, threw himself upon the protection of the Comman- 

 dant, stating, that he had been purchased by a black woman", and 

 taken to Albreda, where he was sold to a Frenchman ; and, that 

 in marching to Salem, he had contrived to escape from his guide, 

 and hide himself in the mangroves till he perceived a canoe 

 starting for the opposite side of the river, in which he begged a 

 passage, and on landing at Bathurst, immediately sought safety at 



" This woman had long been suspected of slave-dealing, and a poor slave girl 

 belonging to her applied to Captain Findlay in my presence, for protection against 

 the ill usage of her mistress, and shewed marks of severe blows. She was of course 

 immediately taken care of, but her owner assembled some friends in the evening, and 

 tried to force her from the person to whom she had been temporarily confided by 

 Captain Findlay. This was previous to Samba's escape, which with other instances, 

 amply justified the seizure of the woman, and she was in confinenitnt when I left 

 Bathurst, waiting to be sent to Sierra Leone for trial. 



