206 TRAVELS IN AFRICA.

and accordingly marched, amounting with his force to about nine hundred or one thousand men. On theh' arrival before the town they found Almamy so well defended, not only by the strong mud walls of the place, but his superior numbers increased by the men of it, that they thought it impossible to dislodge him, and returned to Toobab-en-Cane to wait the arrival of a large body of foot which was hourly expected from Karta. Almamy, on his side, sent to require reinforcements from Toro and Hawaii Demba, but nearly a month elapsed before the reinforcements on either side arrived.

Samba's army was then composed of all his own men, the Gedumahas of three towns on the right bank of the river, the Kartan army, and a detachment under Saferi, a prince of Kasson, in all amounting to about two thousand five hundred or three thousand men.

Almamy's, which was said to be nearly double that number, consisted of his own army, strong detachments from Foota Toro, and Lower Kajaga, and a considerable body under Hawah Demba, who was nephew to Saferi, and the same who has been mentioned before.

They met in April 1818, when a bloody conflict ensued, ending in the defeat of Almamy, who made a hasty retreat to Foota Toro, leaving upwards of a hundred muskets on the field.