ws was carefully withheld from the
travellers, until the presents had been all duly delivered to the
governor and his head men; but in this instance, the latter alone
were to blame. Matters being thus unpleasantly situated, they sent a
messenger to the chief of Larro, informing him of the circumstance,
and entreating him to redeem his promise of lending them a horse and
mule; and another messenger was sent to Adooley, requesting him to
despatch immediately, at least one of their horses from Badagry, for
they had found it impossible to proceed without them. It was not
supposed that he would pay any attention to the request; and yet on
the other hand, it was scarcely to be imagined that he would carry
his chicanery so far, because he must fear that the variety of orders
they had given him, to receive valuable presents from England, would
never be honoured by their countrymen, if he refused to fulfil his
engagements with them.

Since the demise of the late governor, it was calculated that Jenna
had lost more than five hundred of its population, chiefly by wars,
intestine broils, &c. and all for want of a ruler. It must not,
however, be imagined, that because the people of this country are
almost perpetually engaged in conflicts with their neighbours, the
slaughter of human beings is therefore very great. They pursue war,
as it is called, partly as an amusement, or "to keep their hands in
it," and partly to benefit themselves by the capture of slaves. As
they were sailing down the coast, they were informed that the natives
of La Hoo, and Jack-a-jack, had been warring for three years
previously, and were still at variance, but during that long period
only one single decrepit old woman, who found it no easy matter to
run as fast as her countrymen, was left behind, and became the
solitary victim of a hundred engagements. Much after the same fashion
are the bloodless wars of Jenna. Success depends much more on the
cunning and address of the parties, than on any extraordinary display
of intrepidity, and living not dead subjects are sought after, so
that it is their interest to avoid hard blows, and enrich themselves
by the sale of their prisoners. Perhaps the extraordinary decrease in
the population of Jenna, has arisen principally from the desertion of
slaves, who embrace the opportunity, whilst their masters are from
home, engaged in predatory excursions, of running away; and thus the
latter often become losers instead of gai