BIDIENNE. 29 
power to tear them from their families and their country, or 
slaughter them at their pleasure ! 
Bidienne, the next place that we passed through, expected 
every moment to be ravaged by the Damel ; therefore, not- 
withstanding the intreaties of my people, I did not think 
proper to halt there. Near each Negro village the inhabitants 
have dug wells to supply their wants : that of Bidienne was 
eleven fathoms in depth, indicating a considerable elevation 
above the river, from which it was not more than four leagues 
distant. We proceeded till six in the evening. Unaccus- 
tomed as I was to travel in so hot a climate, and having 
every part of my body exposed by the Moorish dress to the 
scorching rays of the sun, I was reduced to such a deplorable 
state, that I began to think I had undertaken an enterprise 
beyond my strength. The terror struck by the name of the 
Damel had caused the greater part of the inhabitants of the 
village of Niakra, where I arrived at sun-set, to desert their 
habitations. We unloaded the beasts at the door of the 
chief of the village, expecting that he would furnish us with 
lodgings. 
The dress which I had adopted had not prevented me 
from being every where recognized as a European ; I had 
therefore gained no advantage from it, and the Negroes 
beheld me with ill-will. The hatred which they bear against 
the Moors caused them to look with horror on one who had 
assumed their apparel. This being the case, I immediately 
