242 DISCOVERIES OF THE ENGLISH. 
able channel. It was from a young prince, son of 
the king, or chief of Bunda, in the territory of 
Foota, who was accidentally made captive, and car- 
ried into America. He is called by Moore the 
high priest of Bunda ; and appears, in fact, as is 
not unusual in Mahometan countries, to have unit- 
ed the characters of pontiff and monarch. He was 
sent by his father to carry on some traffic on the 
Gambia, with strict injunctions not to pass that 
river, as the inhabitants of the opposite bank were 
Mandingos, and deadly enemies of Foota. The 
young prince, however, in whom curiosity and the 
desire of knowledge were powerful propensities, 
felt an irresistible desire to pass this limit. Dis- 
missing his domestics, he entered into engage- 
ments with a negro merchant, with whom he cros- 
sed the Gambia. One day, feeling the necessity of 
repose during the heat, he hung his arms on a 
tree, and lay down. At this moment a party of 
Mandingos arrived, and seized upon the young 
chieftain. He was brought to Joar, and sold to a 
Captain Pyke, who was taking in slaves for Ameri- 
ca. The captain, on hearing the quality of his 
captive, readily allowed him to send a message to 
his father, and afford an opportunity of ransom ; 
but the distance was so great, that, before an an- 
swer could arrive, it was necessarv to set sail. Soon 
after a deputation arrived with an immense ran- 
