TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
209 
have gone there without the means necessary to 
induce him and his chiefs to forward my views 
would have been fruitless work. 
Another reason, too, prevented me taking this 
step without waiting Mr. Partarrieau's return, 
namely, the impossibility of leaving Bondoo 
without paying to Almamy the articles promised 
his predecessor, and which, even with the assist- 
ance of the French officers at Galam, I could 
not have accomplished. 
To add to these difficulties, one of a still more 
unpleasant nature, and attended with circum- 
stances which clearly evinced a change in Al- 
mamy's intentions towards us, occurred early in 
February. 
One evening, on my return from Baquelle, 
where I had gone to procure some beads from 
the French merchants for the purchase of pro- 
visions, I found at the camp a messenger from 
Almamy to request my immediate attendance at 
Boolibany, where he had some business of such 
importance to communicate that he could not 
entrust it with any of his people. 
What this might have been I could not readi- 
ly imagine, but from some words that escaped 
from the messenger, I was inclined to think it 
was some information he had received concern- 
ing Mr. Dochard, and which appeared the more 
likely, as at that very time a large coffle of tra- 
