MR PARK ? S FIRST JOURNEY. 
377 
The inhabitants, who believed him to be a Moor, 
would not admit him till midnight ; when, convin- 
ced of their error, they opened the gates, declaring 
that no Moor ever waited long at the gate of a city 
without cursing the inhabitants. Being about to 
swim over the river Frina, he had fastened his clothes 
upon the saddle, and was standing up to the neck in 
the water, pulling the horse by the bridle, when a 
negro, who accidentally approached, called to him 
yehemently to come out, otherwise the alligators 
would devour both him and his horse. Emerging 
from the stream, the native, who had never seen 
an European, was astonished, and exclaimed, in a 
low voice, " God preserve me ! who is this ?" but, 
pn hearing that he could speak the Bambarra lan- 
guage, assisted him to cross the river, and conduct- 
ed him to Taffara. At this place the inhabitants 
speak the pure Mandingo. From Taffara, Mr 
Park proceeded, by Jaba and Somino, to the vil- 
lage of Sooha, where the Dooty refused to sell or 
give him food, and, calling one of his slaves, direct- 
ed him to form a pit, while he continued to mut- 
ter spme unconnected sentences, such as, " good 
" for nothing," — " a real plague." But as the 
pit began to assume the appearance of a grave, 
Mr Park, who had lingered for some time, suspect- 
ing it might be intended for himself, mounted his 
horse with some expedition, when the slave dis- 
pelled his apprehensions, by bringing the corpse of 
