a manner. We presumed, therefore, that, though they might
buy many of the slaves, whom they brought down, at the fairs which have
been mentioned, they obtained others by violence, as opportunity
offered. This inference we pressed upon our opponents, and called upon
them to show what circumstances made such warlike preparations necessary
on these excursions. To this they replied readily, "The people in the
canoes," said they, "pass through the territories of different petty
princes; to each of whom, on entering his territory, they pay a tribute
or toll. This tribute has been long fixed; but attempts frequently have
been made to raise it. They who follow the trade cannot afford to submit
to these unreasonable demands; and therefore they arm themselves in case
of any determination on the part of these petty princes to enforce
them." This answer we never judged to be satisfactory. We tried
therefore, to throw light upon the subject, by inquiring if the natives
who went upon these expeditions usually took with them as many goods as
would amount to the number of the slaves they were accustomed to bring
back with them. But we could get no direct answer, from any actual
knowledge, to this question. All had seen the canoes go out and return;
but no one had seen them loaded, or had been on board them. It appeared,
however, from circumstantial evidence, that though the natives on these
occasions might take some articles of trade with them, it was impossible
from appearances that they could take them in the proportion mentioned.
We maintained, then, our inference as before; but it was still uniformly
denied.

How then were we to decide this important question? for it was said that
no white man was ever permitted by the natives to go up in these canoes.
On mentioning accidentally the circumstances of the case, as I have now
stated them, to a friend, immediately on my return from my last journey,
he informed me that he himself had been in company, about a year before,
with a sailor, a very respectable-looking man, who had been up these
rivers. He had spent half an hour with him at an inn. He described his
person to me; but he knew nothing of his name, or of the place of his
abode. All he knew was, that he was either going, or that he belonged
to, some ship of war in ordinary; but he could not tell at what port. I
might depend upon all these circumstances if the man had not deceived
him; and he saw no reason why he should.

I felt m