Chapter VI: Part 6

The language of the Suzees appears to be the mother tongue of the idioms of the other tribes: it is mild and agreeable. That of the Mandingos, like the people who speak it, is very different from the others; it is a corrupted kind of Arabic, and totally different from that which they teach in their schools, and which they call the language of prayer.

The character of the Blacks is nearly the same every where: they are indolent, except when animated by the desire of vengeance; implacable, perfidious, and dissimulating when they have received an injury, in order that they may find an opportunity of avenging it with impunity: on the other hand, they are gentle and hospitable to every one, but inclined to larceny, and remarkable for an extreme inconstancy of taste and conduct. The women behave with great propriety, and fulfil all domestic duties with the utmost attention. They never wean their children till they are capable of walking, and can bring to their mother a calabash filled with water: they lose no time in teaching them to go alone; for during the whole period of their suckling, the husbands scrupulously respect the laws of chastity to their utmost extent, and would regard an infraction of them as a crime the more serious, as it would be hurtful to the nurse and the health of the child. Barrenness is the greatest ignominy a woman can suffer, Nature has not excluded them from the pains of child-birth, but they support them with much courage, and without making any complaints. A short time after, they return to their ordinary occupations.

Their domestic amusements are every where alike, and are similar to those of our country people. In the evening the principal wife, surrounded by the other women of her husband, and the servants of the house, employs herself in spinning or carding cotton; while one of the company amuses the rest by reciting pleasant stories. The old ones tell of witches and ghosts, the young ones of their amours. There are likewise games of chance, at which the men and women play separately; but both sexes like dancing in preference to every thing, and to this exercise they devote themselves every moon-light evening, from an hour after sun-set till midnight. Besides these evenings, the birth of a child, or the visit of a friend, likewise supplies them with frequent opportunities for enjoying _Cullumgées_, by which name they distinguish their meetings for singing and dancing. When they give a cullumgée in honour of any event, the dancers appear dressed in a grotesque manner. They wear a high cap of rushes, surrounded by feathers, have the eyes, mouth, and nose painted white, and wear round their waists a small petticoat of rushes, which they display in every possible shape. On beginning to dance they take in their hands small pieces of wood, which they strike together, and by which they mark time, as do the Spaniards with the castanets.

The death of one of the family, or of a relation or friend, is a new opportunity for a dance. They celebrate the _Wha_, or mourning; and the ceremony of lamentation is of such a nature, that a stranger would suppose them to be making festivities.

On the evening of an appointed day, the relations, friends, and acquaintances of the deceased assemble before his house, where they sing in his praise, and dance to the sound of a drum: they incessantly vary the figures of their dance; sometimes they form a large circle round the music, and clap their hands on each stanza of the song; at others a single person dances in the midst of the rest, who alternately sit down and stand up; or three or four only are in action at once, and continue to move about till they are fatigued, when they are replaced by others. The company all the while sing and clap their hands. This ceremony and discharges of musquetry continue without interruption from morning to evening for three successive nights. On these occasions neither tobacco nor brandy is spared.

When the person deceased is a man of importance, and his parents or friends are rich, this mourning ceremony is repeated two or three times a year for several years together. On the death of a member of a poor family, his relatives are a long time before they can procure a sufficient quantity of brandy and tobacco for the solemnity; but, whatever difficulties they may experience in amassing it, the ceremony takes place sooner or later.

This assembly, in which both sexes join, may be called a public mourning; but there is another of a domestic kind, practised principally by the women, and which is peculiar to the Bulams and the Tommanies. The performers on this occasion wear a linen or white cotton cap, which comes down as low as their eyes, so that they can see nothing but the ground. They have several rows of the grain of the country round their neck and waist. If they be married women, they wear no other clothes than the simple tuntungée. They are not permitted to eat or drink with other persons, nor even prepare their own food; but at the time of the repast, a drum is beaten, and dancing takes place before the door of the house in which the mourning is celebrated. None, except the guests, must use the vessels which are employed at this repast.

The duration of such a mourning is not fixed, but is regulated by the will or caprice of those who make it; and the chief person is generally the mother, aunt, or some other aged relative. They generally cause it to be celebrated by young girls who are of a marriageable age, as a means of securing their virtue: for while it lasts, if any connection be discovered between the two sexes, the woman would be dishonoured, and the man punished.

A woman, if she conceive herself neglected by her husband, may put the house of the latter into mourning; but, after she has made use of this privilege for a short time, the husband pacifies her by a present: it consists of a goat, some poultry, tobacco, and a bottle of brandy, towards her expences. The woman then becomes tractable, and the people reconcile her with her husband. This custom is very judicious on the part of the women, who like to avenge themselves and shew their authority: for while the mourning lasts, the husband cannot enjoy the society of his mistress.

The drum is their principal instrument of music; they have three sorts of it, which differ in size according to the purposes for which they are used. One kind is made of hard wood, hollowed within: the two ends are stopped up, and a longitudinal hole is cut in the side. They strike it with two sticks, and the strong and acute sound which it sends forth, is heard in calm weather at a great distance, and is considered as the signal of alarm. Another kind is made of light wood, hollowed like the former, but the ends of which are covered with goat or sheep-skins, dried and lightly stretched by cords. Some of these drums are six or eight feet high, by two or three in diameter; and they occasionally have at their ends rows of sharks’ teeth or pieces of copper, which produce a tolerably loud tinkling.

These people have likewise two kinds of stringed instruments, one of which is a sort of guitar, and the other resembles in shape a Welsh harp, but is only two feet high. The strings are made of the fibres of a plant combined with the hair of elephants’ tails. The women and children in their amusements produce a sound from gourds, in which they inclose some dry seeds. At Sherbro the natives reckon amongst their musical instruments a reed pipe pierced with four holes, and a trumpet made of an elephant’s tooth.

The chief food of the people is rice, which they boil after it is dried, and season it with palm-oil, or with a strong sauce made from fish or meat, or from poultry or vegetables simmered together, and to which they add spices, pepper, and palm-oil. They eat very little meat, but what they do consume, they prefer smoked or boiled: they are, however, good cooks, and prepare their aliments in a very delicate manner. The men and women do not eat together, and they drink only water; they make but two meals a day, one at ten in the morning, and the other at sunset. The men, however, who are in easy circumstances, generally add another meal very early in the morning, which has been prepared over night by their favourite woman.

There are no other professions known amongst them than those of carpenters, smiths, and makers of musical instruments. They are very active and clever in their labour, particularly so considering the imperfection of their tools. In each family they spin and weave their linen, and make their own clothes; the women spin and card the cotton, and the men weave and sew.

Their dress is both simple and convenient: the boys and girls wear nothing but the _tuntungée_, which is a thin band of linen passed between the thighs. The females are distinguished by the manner in which they wear it, as they have a cord round their waist, in which they tuck the tuntungée, and leave the ends hanging down before and behind; they likewise carry round the loins a belt composed of several rows of seeds. The boys bring one of the ends of the tuntungée in front; they twist the rest round them, and let the other end hang down behind. The women quit this dress on their marriage, and then appear in a piece of cotton cloth, which hangs below the calf of the leg.

The women are passionately fond of ornaments; they wear ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, finger-rings, chains, strings of coral, &c., and paint their faces with different colours. In short, an African lady, on coming from her toilet, is an object well worth observance. Over the ordinary dress, which is nothing but the small and short petticoat, they put another of red taffety; a silk handkerchief thrown loosely round their neck, falls down them like a child’s bib: another of the same colour is put over the head; and the ears, neck, &c. are loaded with the ornaments already mentioned. They dress their hair in curious folds, so as to form crescents or circles, paint the forehead white, and generally have five or six silver rings on each finger. A lady of this description on going out has her servants walking behind her; they are generally girls from ten to fifteen years of age, who are the handsomest that can be found, and who ornament themselves with coral and seeds; they wear a piece of taffety or fine India stuff thrown over the left shoulder.

The men’s dress is a large shirt without either collar or waist-band, but with wide sleeves, trowsers, which reach below the calf of the leg; and a hat or small cap, which sits tight on the head, and is made of the linen of the country. In other respects they generally go with the head and feet bare, the chiefs excepted, who always endeavour to imitate the Whites. The Mandingos, however, are distinguishable from the rest by always wearing red sandals and bonnets, and ornamenting their shirts and trowsers with embroidery, at which they are very clever.

The men never walk without their _belmos_, which is a large and straight knife hung in a belt at the right thigh; they in fact carry two instruments, one to eat with, and the other to defend themselves.

The Negroes build their villages generally on the banks of a river or creek, that they may follow fishing; and such a place may always be recognised by the pullams with which it is surrounded: these are large trees, whose presence always announces an uncultivated country: for the natives never give themselves the trouble to clear more soil than they want to build on; they are not even aware, that the felling of the trees that surround them, would render their dwellings more wholesome. Their streets are never built in a straight line, because each person chuses the spot which he likes best; he then builds as many little houses as he has women or people to accommodate, and the whole of these huts describe a circle, which is surrounded by stakes, as has already been mentioned; while such is the activity of vegetation, that these stakes in a few months become a complete hedge. The junction of several of these habitations forms a town, which often covers a quantity of ground, and is generally inclosed with a mud-wall. When the people are at war, they have several barriers, which they close always at sunset, and never open them on any occasion whatever till morning: they are guarded all the night by vigilant sentinels. The shape of their huts has already been described. I have only to add, that their doors are not like ours, except amongst those who pique themselves on imitating the Whites: the others consist of a mat fixed to the roof; and when this mat is let down, no one must be so indifferent as to enter without giving notice, though this precaution is unnecessary when the mat is raised. The edges of the roof project seven or eight feet over the wall, and rest upon poles: this shed is thus converted into a sort of portico, which secures the wall from rain, and, with certain additions, serves as a place for their stores.

In the more distant parts of the country, the natives build large houses of bricks baked in the sun, and these houses may last many years if care be taken to secure them from the injuries of the weather. No chimnies are constructed in their habitations, though they make a fire in them every evening to drive away the musquitos, and prepare their food.

The common people, slaves, and children sleep on mats or dried skins, spread upon the ground; but the free Negroes, and those in easy circumstances, have a kind of alcove formed of four stakes driven into the earth, on which they hang mats in the manner of curtains. In the men’s apartments is a box to contain their clothes and treasure, which is covered with a mat or a skin, whereon they place their weapons. The women’s chamber contains the domestic utensils, mats, stools, and always a looking-glass.

In the Mandingo countries there is a mosque in every town, from the steeple of which the people are called to prayers, the same as in Turkey.

Polygamy in these regions is practised in its utmost latitude. The women are frequently hostages for alliance and peace; and the chiefs of two tribes who have been at war, cement their treaties by an exchange of their daughters: private individuals do the same; and this circumstance may be the reason why the chiefs in particular have such a great number of women.

A girl is frequently betrothed to a man as soon as she is born. Among the Suzees the child remains with the mother till a proper age; which, however, is determined more by the progress of nature than by the revolution of a certain time: they are then definitively delivered over to the husband. On the day agreed on for the marriage, the bridegroom places on the road which the bride has to pass, several of his people at different distances, with brandy and other refreshments; for if these articles be not furnished in abundance, the conductors of the bride will not advance a step farther, though they may have got three parts of the way on their journey. On approaching the town, they stop, and are joined by the friends of the bridegroom, who testify their joy by shouting, drinking, and letting off their pieces.

At this period an old woman takes the girl on her shoulders, and the attendants cover her with a fine veil: for from that moment till the consummation of the marriage, no man must see her face. Mats are now spread before the old woman, who must not on any account touch the ground with her feet. In this manner the bride is conveyed to the house of her husband, followed by the friends of both families, singing, dancing, and firing off their muskets. Towards evening the husband comes into the apartment of his young wife. If he have reason to suspect that some mortal has been more happy than he is likely to be, he leaves her immediately; and this circumstance is no sooner known amongst the friends who have conducted her to him, than they all hasten from the sight of the observers, crying and howling with shame and confusion. If, on the other hand, things are found as they ought to be, he remains with her the whole night: the friends then rejoice, and next day carry in procession the proofs of her virginity, according to the laws of Moses. In both cases, however, the husband may keep the young girl; but if he should send her back, he is obliged to give up all that she has brought him.

The Bulams, the Bagos, and the Tommanies receive into their houses their betrothed brides during their infancy, and make the relations of the child a present proportionate to their means. If afterwards the girl should not be well treated, the parents have a right to take her back on giving up the present; while, on the other hand, the husband always has the privilege of sending her home, without re-demanding any thing.

From these details it will be seen, that chastity is a virtue highly esteemed amongst the Africans, at least till marriage; but from that moment it is a trait of unpoliteness and want of education in the woman to resist the solicitations of a lover: she would indeed be punished, if discovered, but her reputation would remain unsullied. In the black savages of Africa we find the customs which are prevalent in Italy and Spain: for each Negro lady has a cicisbeo or cortéjo, whom she makes choice of and takes with her on all occasions. The husband is obliged to tolerate this intercourse in silence: nevertheless, the laws are not wanting in severity towards the adulterer; but they are of little effect, unless the complainant is a man of great power; and even then he dares not make a stir in the business, on account of the ridicule which would afterwards attend him. It is particularly amongst the great men who keep a number of women, that the above-mentioned practice is most in vogue. The rest of the people are contented with one or two women, and by this means they are less exposed.

A remarkable and truly extraordinary circumstance is, that the women never abuse their husbands by introducing into their families illegitimate children: for before their _accouchement_ they always name the father. If, however, the husband should wish to have a child of his own by a woman he loves, he obliges her to swear that she will remain continent for a certain time: she takes the oath, and generally keeps it; but if, in the interval, either by violence or the persuasion of her lover, she yields to his wishes, and thus breaks her promise, she confesses her fault immediately to her husband; and this avowal is the more striking, because the criminal pair do not on that account suffer a less shameful punishment: they are ever afterwards devoted to contempt and infamy.

These people have the greatest veneration for the dead; and they pay them the last duties with profound and melancholy respect. As in Europe, they bury them either in the morning or evening, as suits their convenience. The place of interment is sacred, and is always a wood beyond the town. One of their dogmas is, that none die without having a presentiment of their end, unless they be victims of magic or poison; or when the charms of an enemy have been more powerful than the talismans which they carry about them.

The body that is to be interred is wrapped in a piece of white linen, and placed on a bier, which is carried on the heads of six boys or six girls, according to the sex of the deceased: the corpse is preceded by a friend, who holds a green bough in his hand, and asks the body several questions as to the cause of its death. His principal interrogatories are, “Did you foresee it? is it natural? is it in consequence of poison or magic?” The bearers interpret the answers of the deceased according to the movements of the body, which they pretend to feel. A simple rotation indicates that the death was natural, in which case the body is asked, what could induce it to die and leave its friends? whether it was from chagrin at not being able to procure such good clothes, or such a fine musket as a certain person? or whether it was through despair at not having taken vengeance upon any one who had offended it? But whatever may be the answer to these last questions, the friends must not injure those of whom the dead body is said to complain.

A movement forwards is a proof of poison or magic, and then they attempt to discover the guilty individual. They mention to the deceased the names of several persons, not even excepting those of his own family. If the body be silent, it is supposed to be irritated at the suspicion against its relatives, and they beg it to tell them who is the guilty person. To ascertain this fact, they invite it to turn the bier towards the person who carries the branch. If the body should then push the bier forwards, and strike the bough with it, the guilty person is thus named, and the spectators are convinced. Three motions forwards indicate magic, and two poison. The criminal is then suddenly seized; and if the accusation be for magic, he is sold without formality. It often happens, when the deceased is a person of distinction, and the one whom he accuses is poor, they sell his whole family with him; but if he be accused of poisoning, they reserve him for a subsequent trial, from which, however, he rarely escapes.

After depositing the dead man in his grave, in which, according to their custom, they throw his best clothes, and whatever else they conceive he may want, they return to the accused who is confined, but in such a manner that he might escape if he please; and he is informed, that the laws which he has transgressed, require the privation of his liberty. As soon as night approaches, the criminal makes his escape to the nearest town, where he invokes the protection of the chief, who is supposed to be impartial. He protests his innocence of the crime, and demands the ordeal of red water. This request is generally complied with, and the friends of the deceased are invited to assist at the ceremony.

On the appointed day they place the criminal on a high seat, strip off all his clothes, and leave him nothing but an apron of plantain leaves round his waist. He then, in presence of the whole town, who assemble on these occasions, eats rue or cola, and drinks poisoned water. If he die, which almost always happens, he is declared guilty; but if he should live twenty-four hours after the ceremony, he is adjudged innocent. During this time he dares not relieve nature by any secretions; and if he have not strength to retain them, his impotence is considered as strong a proof of his crime, as if he had fallen dead on first taking the fatal drink. Nay, in order to prevent all surprise, they force him to join in the songs and dances, with which during the night they celebrate his innocence.

A person once acquitted by this judgment of God acquires a general confidence, and has a right to bring an action against the parents and friends of the deceased for defamation and false poisoning. The latter in such cases are always condemned, and pay a fine equal to the injury.

When the accusation of magic falls on a person whom they cannot sell, either on account of his age, or the rank of his family, he is conducted to a field out of the town, where he is obliged to dig his own grave; while the people, who surround and guard him, load him with insults, and say as a common phrase, “You kill others, and do not wish that death should strike you in return.” During these injuries he continues his doleful work with an apparent insensibility, and merely answers, “It is true that I have killed such a one, and many others; and if I were to live I should kill many more.” From time to time he takes measure of the grave with his own body; and when he thinks it deep enough, they place him at one end with his face towards it: in this position one of the assistants gives him a violent blow on the nape of the neck, which causes him to fall into the grave on his face; they then cover him with mould, and finish him by running him through with a sharp pike, which they strike several times into his body. The grave is then filled up, and the name of the criminal is condemned to oblivion.

These ceremonies, in which slight differences prevail amongst the various tribes, are so absurd, and their injustice is so palpable, that it is astonishing that the people have not abolished so barbarous a custom, notwithstanding its antiquity.

All savage or ignorant nations have believed in spells and magic; but nothing can equal the furious people of whom I am speaking. If a crocodile devour a man, a leopard destroy a sheep, a person fall ill, or die suddenly; or if any reverses be experienced, it is always through the sorcerer; and when he is discovered, he never escapes the cruel punishment which the law pronounces against him.

They place implicit faith in the efficacy of a talisman, which they call _gris-gris_: they wear it round their neck, at their waist, and on their legs and arms. Each has its particular virtue: one preserves them from bullets; another from poison; and when a man has been killed, burnt, or drowned, they say, that his gris-gris was not so efficacious as that of his enemy. They are, however, persuaded that the gris-gris can do nothing against cannon.

These talismans are made of goat skins, with the hair on, or of morocco leather; and they are of different sizes, from one to three inches; they are filled with a kind of powder, and with scraps of certain sentences of the alkoran in the Arabic. The priests, or marabous, have the exclusive privilege of preparing and selling them. These people all follow the trade of divines or augurs: their testimony is, in the eyes of the people, evidence itself; they pry into futurity, discover thieves and adulterers, perform miracles; in short, all the actions of the credulous people are submitted to their influence.

Amongst savage nations the practice of physic is generally added to that of divination or sorcery. In these countries, however, it is otherwise; for the old women here cure diseases, and fulfil their task with great zeal and astonishing success, particularly in cases of wounds: they employ simple herbs, which abound in the fields and woods.

The most common diseases are hydrocele and intermittent fevers: the latter they infallibly cure by simple remedies; the former is supposed to arise from the excessive use of palm wine amongst the natives, whose constitution is particularly voluptuous. Venereal diseases are also very common; but they are never attended with those dreadful symptoms which appear in Europe. The natives will not believe that they can acquire this disease by a connection with an unclean individual: it is easily cured by simples and sudorifics. The small-pox is endemic, but is more rare on the coasts than in the country.

Foreigners who come here are subject to other diseases, the most fatal of which is dysentery. They have remedies for these attacks; but the method of preventing them is, to preserve a medium between excess and privation.

I shall terminate this chapter with a reflection which I conceive important. The French government has admitted the necessity of protecting the commerce of the western coast of Africa, of forming new establishments on points most favourable for trade, and of sending expeditions to procure accurate information. These measures are the more necessary, as the slave-trade has been renewed on our part. The decree which suppressed it, and which precipitately gave liberty to all our Negro slaves, was made in the delirium of tumultuous passions, and has caused the greatest misfortunes, which time and wisdom alone can repair. I shall repeat here, what I have already said relative to the philanthropic principles of the English company;—that its success must depend upon the concurrence of all nations, and on a perfect understanding amongst them for the abolition of the trade. But if they flatter themselves with such an union, it is a question whether they will ever obtain it. It is at least doubtful, whether any government would authorise a convention which would proclaim at once the ruin and entire loss of the American colonies. I declare it with pain, that if the company above-mentioned do not give another direction to its views, it will have indulged in a fine dream, and expended enormous sums to no purpose.

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CHAP. XII.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE BAR OF THE SENEGAL, AND OF THE BANKS OF THAT RIVER, AS FAR AS ISLE ST. LOUIS. — PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN FOR PASSING THE BAR. — REMARKS ON THE CANOES OF THE NEGROES. — DESCRIPTION OF ISLE ST. LOUIS, ITS ADMINISTRATION AND INHABITANTS.

AFTER the rapid sketch which I have given of our establishments from Cape Blanco to the river of Sierra Leone, it is necessary to return to the bar of the Senegal, and say something of the passage of that river, as far as Isle St. Louis, which deserves a particular description.

The bar of the Senegal is situated in about 15° 53′ lat. and 18° 51′ 30″ lon.: it is a bank of moving sand, formed at the mouth of the river by the mud and sand which it conveys in its course to the sea, and which the latter repels incessantly towards the coast. The river, in consequence of its mass of water, and the violence of its current, has made two outlets here, which are called the passes of the bar, and are distinguished by the appellation of Great and Small. To enter them is very difficult, and even dangerous.

The great pass is generally about a hundred fathoms wide, and eight or nine feet deep; and at all times the only ships which can pass it, are those that draw seven or eight feet of water. The waves are so short and strong, that they break with a terrible violence; and this passage often proves an end to the most favourable navigation. The small pass is so narrow and shallow, that none but canoes or small boats can get through it.

The large opening cannot be passed without an expert pilot, who is in the habit of visiting it every day, to know exactly its state and depth; both of which are uncertain, as they vary according to circumstances. All, therefore, that is known, is the extent and rapidity of the floods; but the sudden variations in question must doubtless be attributed to the double action of the river and the sea.

The pilot who is engaged to conduct ships over the bar, has a large boat with a deck, and a crew of Negroes, who have no cloathing but a band of linen about six inches broad, which passes between their thighs: they are all strongly-made people, and excellent swimmers. But notwithstanding their knowledge and activity, the boat and its crew often perish: they, however, more frequently escape the destruction which threatens them, and often exert themselves for the safety of strangers. But woe be to the rash seamen who might dare to attempt without their assistance the passage of the bar, as they would infallibly perish. Fortunately this passage does not last longer than a quarter of an hour; but it inspires so much dread, that the length of time seems insupportable. The first persons who passed this bar must have been intrepid sailors.

When this passage is effected, its horrors are succeeded by a calm, as the course of the river then becomes as smooth and gentle as its entrance was shocking and difficult.

It is from twenty to twenty-five feet deep, and of a considerable width. The exhausted rowers then take breath, drink brandy, and dance and rejoice at their success: they of course always receive a recompence. When I entered, I gave them a louis d’or, with which they were so highly satisfied that they were a long time singing my generosity, and afterwards did me great honour in the colony.

The Negroes go through the little passage with much adroitness, in the canoes which they use either for fishing or to go on board the vessels that arrive. These canoes are sometimes made of nothing but the trunk of a tree hollowed out; but more frequently the bottom is of a single piece, while the sides are fastened together by small cords made of the bark of a tree, caulked with beaten straw and clay; those of the Senegal in general are caulked in the French manner. The crew of these little narrow canoes, which are seldom more than twelve feet long, is generally composed of five men. One of them sits at the poop, and steers with one hand, while with the other he bales out the water that has leaked into the canoe. The other four Negroes, keep erect with their faces towards the prow. They use paddles, which they plunge quickly into the water, and strike behind them; the paddles are in the shape of a baker’s peel, and they cause the boat to move and veer with quickness. These canoes have no seats, and are liable to overturn; but at this the crew are little concerned; they fix to the bottom or sides such articles as they intend to convey to the ships, and when they reach them, they upset the canoe, which remains so till they return; when one of them gets in, and bales out the water, while the rest swim alongside, and keep the canoe from sinking, till it is ready for them to enter, and continue their voyage. When at sea, these boats seem as if they would be lost every instant, as the least wave seems to raise them to the clouds; while on descending with it, they disappear, as if they were ingulphed by that which follows.

The boat with a deck, which has already been mentioned, serves not only to perform the passage of the bar, but also to unlade the vessels that are about to enter the river; by which means, those from 100 to 150 tons generally ascend it, while such as are of a greater burden remain in the road. The process of unlading, on account of the roughness of the water, is difficult and expensive; and during the delay which it occasions, the crews of the European ships often fall sick.

It is perhaps to the inconveniences of the bar of the Senegal, that we are indebted for the safety of our establishments in that quarter; as one or two armed boats, within the bar, would be sufficient to sink all the vessels that might attempt to pass it; because only one ship can make the passage at the time. The best months for entering the river, are April, May, June, and July; and the most dangerous, those of September, October, November, and December, when the winds blow impetuously, and increase the course of the current so much as to render the passage almost impracticable.

On arriving in the road, you see to the right a spot called Barbary Point, which separates the river from the sea: it is flat and barren, being principally a moving sand, which being fine and dry, is blown about by the wind. It is about a hundred fathoms in length, and is frequented only by pelicans, which are not worth the trouble of hunting, and by small crabs, which are not eaten. The right bank is called Guinea-land, and is much better than Barbary Point. Its name signifies, in the language of the country, the Devil’s land: it is level and covered with large trees and beautiful grass; and is dependant on the kingdom of Cayor, which finishes at the isle of Bifeche, about six leagues from the bar.

Within two leagues of the bar is a natural canal, formed by the river which leads to the village of Bieurt: on it are two little isles; one of them, called Bocos, on which the French had a factory; and the other Mogue, which is neither inhabited nor cultivated, though it contains very abundant salt-pits. At this place is also an inexhaustible quarry of oyster-shells, from which lime is made. Such prodigious heaps of oyster-shells have been found in other parts; but it is remarkable that they are shells only: for, notwithstanding the assertions of several philosophers and historians, the oyster is unknown at Senegal.

Isle St. Louis lies in 16° 4′ 10″. lat. and 18°. 48′. long. It is in the middle of the river, and only four leagues from the bar: it has an anchorage for vessels of a certain burden, the width of the river being in this part 380 fathoms, and the depth from 20 to 30 feet. The isle itself is only 1150 toises in length from north to south, and its width not every where alike, it being at the southern point eighty toises, and at the western, the part where the fort is built, a hundred and thirty. From north to south, it forms a sort of elongated bank; the soil is level and sandy, a few mango or other trees being found only at the northern point: amongst them is the famous banyan tree, whose root is always in water, and from whose straight pliant, and knotless branches, shoots strike out, which take root almost as soon as they touch the ground, and thus form natural bowers. The number thus increases to an inconceivable extent, insomuch that a single banyan tree may in time produce a prodigious quantity of other trees of the same species, which give rise to a whole forest of bowers, under which one may conveniently walk and be sheltered from the sun. Nothing is more curious or agreeable than these promenades, which are frequently found on the banks of the river. There are likewise on the isle a few lonely palm-trees, some of which grow in the gardens.

The climate of Isle St. Louis is mild, wholesome, and agreeable during eight months of the year. From the beginning of December to the end of July, the temperature may be compared to that of our finest summer days; though cold is often felt there. All the houses have chimnies, which shews, that it is necessary to have fire in them during certain days in the year; but they are kindled only in the morning and evening, as the rays of the sun heat the atmosphere sufficiently. This brilliant orb shines in these countries in all its splendour during the eight months already mentioned. The sky is pure and cloudless; fresh winds purify the atmosphere; and the cold which occurs at intervals is a real benefit bestowed by nature for the health of the inhabitants.

Diseases are as rare at this period as they are frequent in the months of August, September, October, and November, which are comprised under the name of the sickly season, and during which time rain falls in abundance. The winds are at this epoch easterly; they cross the burning sands of Africa, and, corrupted by the fetid exhalations from the marshes, carry contagion to the island. Hence dysenteries, with putrid and inflammatory fevers, become frequent, and often make great havoc. To secure oneself against their malign influence, it is necessary to avoid all excesses, and particularly to guard against sleeping in the daytime: it is also of great advantage to drink fasting a little brandy in which bark has been infused; to take wholesome food in small quantities; and to bathe every day. The air is purified by burning gum, which the country furnishes in abundance. I passed two such seasons at Isle St. Louis without experiencing the least inconvenience; and others have lived there twenty, thirty, and forty years, and were equally fortunate as myself.

When, however, a person is attacked, he has no occasion to despair of a cure: for the doctors use several good remedies; but the best specific is an emetic, by the taking of which in proper time, I have known several persons completely restored to health. I admit that such attacks are dangerous: but it is an error to suppose them incurable; as it likewise is to believe that the climate is always unhealthy: indeed I do not know a better one during two thirds of the year; and the dangers of the other portion have been exaggerated by travellers and historians. The latter have never been in Africa; and the former have accustomed themselves to assert falsehoods.

There have never been any physicians at Isle St. Louis; but surgeons are established there by government, which has not always been fortunate in its choice. To well informed men the country would present remedies in its own productions: for the natives prevent disease, or cure themselves when afflicted, by simples which are unknown to us at present; and here it is probable that by attentive observation very useful discoveries might be made.

When the unhealthy season is past, and the easterly winds have been succeeded by the fresh and salutary breezes which constantly blow for the remainder of the year, health and hilarity again prevail; and a cannon-shot is then fired towards the sea. This ceremony is a notification that the danger has subsided, and it dissipates the fears of the inhabitants.

There are, however, two inconveniences, against which they have much difficulty to guard. The first is the bites of thousands of musquitos and locusts, which, though more troublesome and numerous in the rainy season, yet remain to injure the inhabitants after it has passed. I discovered the means of preserving myself from their attacks, at least during the night. I caused Spanish curtains to be made for my bed, which are formed of Italian gauze, sewed together all over, and closing round by means of groves, which prevented these insects from getting in; and thus I slept in peace.

The other inconvenience, which is doubtlessly far more serious, is the absolute want of water during eight months in the year: for there is neither spring nor fountain in the island; and the river is saline from December to the end of July. The rest of the year being the time when the waters swell, the rapidity of their course prevents the tide from coming up high enough to spoil that part of the river in which the island is situated, and the inhabitants then use it, as it is pleasant and potable. At other times, expedients must be resorted to: they therefore make small holes in the sand, from which they acquire a brackish water, and use it for want of better. They, however, filter it in different ways, which makes it tolerably good. But as these portions would not be sufficient for a supply of the colony, they send boats to the top of the river, whither the sea does not penetrate, and till them with water, which they bring back. These voyages are repeated at different times in the month, according to the necessities of the colony.

It may not be unserviceable to give some explanations of the holes which they make in the sand, for the purpose of procuring water: they are not deep, and only give out their water for an instant; in consequence of which it is necessary to renew them in other positions, as often as a fresh supply is requisite. They expose it to the wind in earthen vases, which are not glazed. This water presents a phenomenon of a curious nature: it becomes saline in proportion as that of the river gets fresh; and as soon as the latter resumes its brackish taste, that taken from the holes in the sands is perceptibly sweeter. This double effect of the tide upon the water which is no longer in contact with it, is doubtless worthy of the attention of chemists.

On the other hand, one cannot but be astonished to learn that the principal establishment of the French on the African coast, is without water during the greater part of the year, particularly when it is known that they are able to build cisterns with ease; as lime, sand, and bricks are to be found or made on the spot.

Isle St. Louis, and those in its neighbourhood, are not proper for cultivation: their soil is flat, sandy, and barren, but little above the level of the river, and consequently exposed to inundations; that of Babagué excepted. Those which lie higher up possess, on the contrary, the greatest fertility, and produce cotton, indigo, and tobacco spontaneously. But it is an erroneous assertion that they contain orange and lemon trees, as these salutary fruits are totally unknown on the banks of the Senegal.

In the small circumference of Isle St. Louis, there are a fort, a powder-magazine, a hospital, a church, and about twenty brick houses. The Negroes, whether slaves or freemen, inhabit wooden huts covered with thatch, and of a conical form. All the streets are large and perfectly straight, which produces an agreeable effect. A large burying-ground is also at the southern point.

The inhabitants are very religious, though they are not all Catholics; I even think that the greater portion are Mahomedans: nevertheless, they all live together in peace and harmony. Each sect believes in God, and adores him after its own manner, so that no one is disturbed on account of his religious opinions.

In my time, the population of the colony amounted to six or seven thousand souls, among whom were about three hundred white inhabitants, Mulattos, or free Negroes. It appears that since they have increased considerably, the census of 1801, having estimated them at ten thousand. This augmentation is owing to the successive arrival of slaves purchased at Galam, and who have remained on the island; so that the increase has now become too great in relation to the extent of the place and the means of procuring subsistence. Another island has therefore been acquired, to which the superflux of the population will be sent, with the view of forming a new colony. That of Isle St. Louis contains a civilized, humane, gentle, and economical people, who are consequently happy. The men are tall, well made, ardent, courageous, sober, and indefatigable; they possess a robust constitution, are uncommonly faithful; and have a noble gait and physiognomy. Indeed it is impossible to find more attentive or sincere domestics; as they carry to extremities their affection for those who have done them any service.

The women are sensible, modest, tender, faithful, and particularly handsome; their charms being increased by an air of innocence and a mildness of language. They have, however, an invincible inclination for love and voluptuousness; while they express the sentiments of those passions with an accent and tone of voice, which our organs cannot imitate either in point of feeling or softness. They have a skin as black as ebony; a well-formed nose, generally aquiline; eyes large and lively; thin, vermilion lips; and the finest teeth in the world. In short, their shape is enchanting; and they may be said to combine all the perfections of beauty.

The marriages of the Black or Mulatto catholics take place at the church, as in France; those of the Mahometans are celebrated according to the law of the prophet. The union of a white man with a black or mulatto girl is a compact quite peculiar.

It is not indissoluble, but lasts as long as the parties have no reason to complain of each other; or till they are obliged to separate for ever; but if the absence of the man be only for a certain time, the woman remains single, waits with patience for the return of her husband, and she does not make choice of another, except in case of death, or the assurance that he will not return. This second union affixes no stigma on the honour or reputation of the woman.

When a black man wishes to marry, and has made his choice, he finds the parents of the girl, and asks their consent: if he obtain it, the day is fixed for the ceremony. The girl then, veiled from head to foot, is conducted by her parents and nearest friends to the house of the bridegroom: here they find every thing disposed for a feast, and a table copiously served. The guests eat, drink, sing, and dance to the sound of instruments during the whole night, and make a shocking riot. The married couple are then conducted to a chamber, and the musicians, buffoons, and mountebanks attend at the door, till the marriage be consummated, in order to publish the success of the bridegroom and the virtue of the bride. They carry the testimony through the streets, written in letters of blood on a piece of white cotton; but the blood is generally that of a fowl. If the new married woman be a widow, this ridiculous farce does not take place.

The girl thus married takes the name of the husband, and does the honours of his house; the children who proceed from such an union, bear the name of their father. Whence it happens that at Isle St. Louis and Goree we meet with several mulatto families which have French and English names. A woman thinks herself honoured by partaking of the couch of a white man, and is true, submissive, and grateful to the utmost extent; in short, she uses every art to merit his kindness and love.

If the husband embark to cross the sea, the disconsolate wife accompanies him to the shore, and sometimes follows him by swimming after the ship as far as her strength will allow; when obliged to return, she gathers up the sand on which the impression of his last footsteps remain, and wrapping it in a piece of cotton, places it at the foot of her bed.

Music and dancing have the most powerful attractions for the Negroes, insomuch, that they walk and work in cadence; they sing as they go to battle; and though the sound of their instruments is monotonous and melancholy, yet this music is the greatest pleasure which they experience, and they follow it with a sort of frenzy.

Both sexes are clothed with cotton, which they manufacture themselves. The men wear trowsers, which come half way down their legs, and a loose tunic resembling a surplice. The head and feet are naked. The dress of the women consists of two pieces of cotton, six feet long by three wide; one of which goes round their loins, and falls to the ancle, as a sort of petticoat; the other negligently covers the breast and shoulders. The dresses of the slaves, both male and female, are the same as have been already described: indeed, there is little difference in the clothing of any of the inhabitants in this part of Africa. There is no variety of fashion, except in the head-dresses of the women; and the only alterations which I have observed in these, are in their height.

All the inhabitants of both sexes, whether Mulattos, Whites, or free Negroes, speak French tolerably well. Their common and natural language is that of the Yolofs. The first things which strangers learn, are their numbers.

Rice and millet are the principal food of the inhabitants; but foreigners who come to the island, import Bourdeaux flour, coffee, sugar, and liquors: they find there oxen, sheep, poultry, game, and fish; so that they live the same as they do in their own country; except that they want fruits, which are not cultivated.