[Decoration]CHAP. II.[Decoration]
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[Decoration]
ISLE OF ARGUIN. — PORTENDICK. — HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT NATIONS WHO HAVE OCCUPIED THOSE PLACES. — EUROPEAN COMMERCE AND FISHERIES. — CAPE VERD. — GOREE, ITS POSSESSION BY EUROPEAN NATIONS. — ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS AND TRADE OF ITS INHABITANTS.
THE ships which leave Europe for the establishments in the Atlantic ocean, along an extensive coast of about three hundred and fifty leagues, cannot relay more conveniently in Africa than at the isle of Arguin, at which their commercial operations may be said to begin. The most safe anchorage is at the southern point, where vessels that draw only ten or twelve feet water may approach very near to land. Between the isle and the continent is a canal in which vessels of heavy burden, and even frigates, may anchor at the spot on which formerly stood the fort. When the Dutch took the place, they regularly fortified it, and built a fort with four bastions and deep fosses. In short, they neglected nothing that might enable them to keep perpetual possession of the isle, but this fort has disappeared; and of all their works there only remain two cisterns, which seem to have been respected both by time and men. The largest is ten fathoms wide, sixteen long, and about fifteen deep, and is about two hundred fathoms from the part containing the remains of the face of the fort. It appears to have been dug in the rock. In the midst of this spacious vault is a large well fifteen feet deep, in which all the waters unite, whether they proceed from springs or filtrate through the rock from the soil which covers it. It is asserted that the cistern contains five thousand six hundred muids of water. The smaller cistern is to the north of the first, and is an artificial vault dug like the other by the hand of man, with the assistance of explosion. The capacity of the parts which receive the water is estimated at half that of the cistern first mentioned. These two cisterns were formed by the Portuguese between 1445 and 1481, when after the fall of the Norman company they first occupied the isle of Arguin.
Portendick is a bay about half way between Arguin and isle St. Louis. Its entrance is very difficult, being closed by two sand banks, which have only two or three fathoms of water; butin the middle between the two banks is a passage from 70 to 80 fathoms wide, and six deep, by the north bank; and from seven to eight on the south. On proceeding some distance you discover another pass, which cuts the northern bank at about one third of its length, and contains about five fathoms of water. The bay is only six fathoms deep; the bottom is uneven, and it is impossible to remain long here during the greater part of the year, on account of the heavy sea and breakers which are driven in by the wind. The Dutch have erected a wooden fort at Portendick, for which all the materials were prepared at Amsterdam.
Arguin and Portendick have been disputed by several European nations with inconceivable rancour. The Portuguese were driven from them, after possessing them two hundred years, by the Dutch, who took the isle and fort of Arguin in 1638; but in 1665 they were captured by the English. The Dutch, however, retook them in the following year, but lost them in 1678, after sustaining an obstinate siege from the French. The French destroyed the fort, carried off the artillery, with every thing else that was worth removing; but the possession of the isle was secured to them by the treaty of Nimeguen, concluded between France and Holland 1678.
The loss of this factory did a serious injury to the Dutch merchants, and they resolved to retake it; but fearing to violate the treaty, they attacked it in 1685, under the mask of the flag of the elector of Brandenburgh, who had become king of Prussia. They then restored the fortifications, and kept the isle during the war, which began in 1688 and lasted till 1698, when it was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick. This war enabled the Dutch to renew their alliances with the Moors; and the latter, who were engaged in the negociations, had their warehouses near the cisterns.
The French company in 1721, fitted out a squadron at L’Orient and Havre, to retake that valuable possession. It consisted of three ships of war, a frigate, and three sloops, with land forces; the squadron was commanded by M. P. de Salvert, who landed, and finding the Dutch disinclined to surrender, erected batteries to attack the fort. He was given to understand, that the Moors, who were then numerous, were determined to assist the Dutch, and perish to a man, rather than surrender the place. After a vigorous bombardment, the Moors finding themselves incapable of farther defence, retired during the night, and passed over to the continent.
The French entered the fort by the same ladder by which the Moors had left it. They found in it only two negroes, an old female Moor, and two children belonging to M. Both, the former French governor of Arguin. The Dutch governor, M. Jan de Wine, voluntarily followed the Moors, who took with them prisoners to the continent, several Frenchmen who resided in thefort; they also carried along with them all the merchandise. The French repaired the breaches, and M. J. du Bellay, who had been appointed governor of the Settlements, transferred the command to M. Duval, and embarked in the squadron for isle St. Louis. Duval was of all others in the service of the company, the least proper for such a command; he was a violent man, cruel in prosperity, and cowardly and irresolute in adversity. The Moors had been informed that they might come back to Arguin, and would be well received, as it was a matter of much consequence to attach them to the French interest. Duval, however, counteracted these orders, and was guilty of the blackest perfidy.
The Moors returned with confidence, when this infamous governor ordered them all to be massacred. Their bodies were cut in pieces and exposed in different parts, as an example to their countrymen of the treatment they were to expect.
After this horrible execution, no accommodation with the irritated Moors could be hoped for; and the Dutch did not fail to keep up the resentment of those people towards the French. In the mean time, the Moors and pretended Prussians had retired to Portendick. Duval was superceded in his command; and the Moors having landed on the island in concert with the Dutch, they gained possession of the cisterns, and seized on M. Leriche and four other Frenchmen, who had been sent to them with a flag of truce; and after springing a mine, which injured the fortifications, they compelled the French to surrender the fortress on the 11th January, 1722, when the latter were obliged to solicit the protection of the Dutch, to prevent the Moors from cutting their throats. The captors acquired on this occasion an immense quantity of merchandise. Shortly before the surrender, a French vessel was stranded about five leagues from Arguin, and the crew, eight in number, having effected a landing, were seized by the Moorish chief Homar, and instantly put to death. Duval became the victim of his atrocity and imprudence; for Homar meeting with him off Cape Blanco, as he was returning home, boarded his vessel, cut off his head, and put to death the whole of the crew, sixteen in number, Duval not making the least resistance.
This sanguinary warfare lasted for some time; the Moors revenged the outrages they had suffered; and the Dutch obtained a momentary triumph.
It would be useless to trace the various operations which were incessantly carried on against these two possessions. M. de Salvert in 1724, re-acquired possession both of Portendick and Arguin; since which, the Dutch have not appeared as enemies in that quarter.
The result of this statement is, that every nation which has endeavouredto establish itself at Arguin and Portendick, had no object but to share or monopolize the gum trade, which the French, who were firmly established in the Senegal, wished to concentrate amongst themselves. Indeed the gum trade with the Moors, was the most important of the operations which took place in those roads. The forests of gum trees are at no great distance from the shore; and the trade likewise consisted of gold, elephants’ teeth, oxen, sheep, raw hides, and ostrich feathers; besides which, it is asserted that ambergrease was formerly found in considerable quantities. But though I made and caused to be made the most vigorous researches, I could never obtain any. M. Pelletan, my successor, was more fortunate, nevertheless he mentions only a single instance in which he found it; and that was in a different part of the coast; which proves at least that this substance is very scarce.
The fisheries on this part of the coast are very abundant. All the capes, as far as the mouth of St John river, afford shelter to multitudes of fish, which find plenty of nutriment. Indeed these gulphs are like so many vast ponds completely stocked, with the only difference that they cannot be exhausted. The Europeans derive much advantage from these fisheries, which afford them a number of seals: the fish forms the chief subsistence of the garrisons, and are exchanged with the Canary and Azores islands, as well as with the Moors on the coast of Guinea. The green species of turtle also delights in these roads, and the shell is much sought for in commerce.
When the French directed their commercial operations to the Senegal, they abandoned the fisheries.
About 30 or 35 leagues from Portendick, and in 15° 15 m. lat. you arrive at the mouth of the Senegal. To reach Goree, either from Europe or from the Senegal, it is necessary to pass Cape Verd, which is the most western point of Africa; its elongation into the sea, makes it a vast peninsula. The soil is good, and covered with fine trees: it is fit for all kinds of cultivation, and is fertilized by several rivulets; all which render it very desirable for the establishment of the colony. Its trees being always green, have given rise to its name, as it is distinguished by its appearance from all the other capes on the coast, which are dry and barren. The bay of Yof forms a considerable space between the point of Barbary and Cape Verd; and the currents set violently into this bay in a S. S. E. direction.
The approach of a ship towards this cape is known by two mountains, which are called the Breasts, from an idea that they resemble those organs in form. As soon as they are perceived, precaution must be taken to avoid a rocky point, which projects about two leagues into the sea, and which causes the ships tomake a considerable offing to the S. W. in order to double it: they are obliged to do so, till the two Breasts appear on the same line, so that one obscures the other. Thus you arrive at Cape Verd, on doubling which, you reach Goree, at a distance of two leagues. This cape, from the two Breasts to Cape Bernard, was ceded to France by two treaties in 1763 and 1765, between the king Damel and the governor of Senegal, as well as the villages of Daccard and Bin, from which the inhabitants of the isle of Goree derive their subsistence.
The passage from the Senegal to Goree is made in about twenty-four hours; but the return is generally longer, from the opposition of the winds and currents. It sometimes even takes a month to return this short distance. The island received its name Goree, which means “Good Road,” from the Dutch, who obtained it in 1617 by treaty, from Biram, king of Cape Verd. They built a strong fort upon it on a steep mountain to the N. W. and another which commanded the creek, and secured their magazines. The Dutch enjoyed their acquisition till 1663, when it was taken from them by the English, to whom this conquest was the more important, as they had established themselves in the river Gambia: but next year they were expelled from the isle by the Dutch admiral de Ruyter, who attacked them with a powerful squadron. The French took it from the Dutch in 1677, by which time the latter had put it into an excellent state of defence, and mounted the batteries with forty-two pieces of cannon. From that time to the present it has often been contested; and fallen into the possession of the English, French, and Dutch. The English possessed it during the last war. The government of the island when the French retained it, was the same as that of isle St. Louis; and the religion, manners, and customs of the inhabitants of both places are nearly similar.
[Decoration]CHAP. III.[Decoration]
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[Decoration]
FARTHER REMARKS ON GOREE, AND COMMUNICATION FROM IT TO THE SENEGAL. — KINGDOMS ON THE COAST OF GOREE, VIZ. CAYOR, BAOL, SIN, AND SALEM. — CURIOUS PARTICULARS OF A RACE OF NEGROES. — JOURNEY FROM GOREE TO SENEGAL, &c.
THE commerce of the isle of Goree, extends from Cape Verd to the kingdom of Salem, about seven leagues from the mouth of the Gambia; but there is no establishment on that part of the coast. The three factories of Rufisque, Portudal, and Joal are abandoned, the French administration of Goree merely keeping as residents, while they had the island, an inhabitant and a negro,who relieved each other alternately, and whose business was to treat for provisions. An establishment was projected at Cahone, a village belonging to the kingdom of Salem, nearly at the part where the river Gambia divides into two branches, the most northerly of which takes the name of Salem. It would have been very advantageous, as the Mandingos, from the kingdoms of Tombuctoo, Bambara, and the other states to the eastward, come to Cahone with their merchandise. It was not carried into execution; but it is evident that such an establishment would at any time be of the greatest advantage, as it might receive the commerce which formerly existed between Goree and the numerous isles formed by the river of Salem. Some inhabitants still go to trade at that river, and always turn their merchandise to the best account. It was on the banks of this river, that the famous lump of ambergrease was found, which M. Pelletan acquired; I will give an account of its discovery.
An inhabitant of Goree, named St. Jean, a well informed man, one day observed his negroes employed in careening their canoe, with a substance which they had melted, and of which they neither knew the nature nor the value. St. Jean discovered it by the smell, and caused what remained of the lump to be carried home. The whole had weighed upwards of a hundred pounds. To shew that this branch of commerce might become very important, I shall only observe that M. St. Jean sold the substance at from nine to ten francs per ounce, and it was resold in France for thirty-six francs.
Besides the means of commerce which Goree might have on this coast, it has opened a communication by land with Senegal. The distance between those two establishments is about forty leagues, but it is commonly made in five or six days; and the journey used to be one of pleasure to the French merchants, who went in parties, carrying with them provisions and tents for encamping on the most agreeable spots. The route is now so well known, that a sort of barracks have been built as an asylum for travellers. The greatest difficulty on the journey is that of procuring water, which it is necessary to carry with one, though wells have been dug at different distances. Milk, however, may always be procured in great quantities and at a cheap rate.
About half way up Cape Verd is a large lake, the water of which is brackish, though formed by a rivulet which is perfectly fresh. It is difficult to explain the cause of this singularity. Some suppose that the bottom of the lake consists of a nitrous earth, which communicates its flavour to the water; while others think, and perhaps with more reason, that the sea water filtrates through the ground, and mixes with that of the lake. But whatever may be the cause, it is remarkable that the water agrees equally well with sea and river fish. The negroes take immensequantities of fish between Capes Verd and Manuel, where the lake empties itself into the sea; and the vast flocks of birds, which live on its banks, also devour quantities of fish. Amongst the birds is a species which seems to belong to the falcon tribe: they have a brown plumage, with some white feathers at the neck and extremities of the wings . Their beak is thick and curved like a sickle, so that the fish which they take cannot escape. They have short thighs and claws; and the latter are armed with strong and sharp nails. They fly easily, and keep themselves for a considerable time on the surface of the water with the head inclined. When a fish appears they dart upon it, and carry it off to devour amongst the reeds. They have been sometimes shot, but they cannot be eaten, as their flesh has such a rank and fishy taste, and is full of oil. Near this lake, and in several parts of the route lately mentioned, are numbers of trumpet birds, whose notes resemble the sound of that instrument. They are black, and of the size of a turkey-cock, to which they are nearly similar in shape. Their lower beak is hollow and sonorous; and it is by this that they produce the sound described.
The lake just mentioned is named after the Cereses or Serays, some tribes of negroes who inhabit its banks: they form, as in every other part where they establish themselves, a sort of democratic republic, without knowing the principles of that kind of government; but following in this case their instinct and wishes, they never choose to acknowledge any master. They live in a complete state of nature, without any other rules than what she inspires: they have no idea of the divinity, and are persuaded that the soul dies with the body. They go almost entirely naked, speak a particular language, which differs from that of all their neighbours, and never intermarry with the other negroes, whom they dislike to such a degree, that they seem to be as averse from trading with them, as they would be from a contagion. One of the principal traits in their character is the resentment which they bear for offences, which they never pardon: and if they do not take vengeance themselves, they transmit their hatred to their children, and it subsists in the family till reparation be made for the real or supposed injury. In other respects they are a good kind of people, mild and simple in their manners, and hospitable even to officiousness. They give a particularly kind reception to the whites who pass through their country, carefully cultivate their lands, and raise a great number of cattle.
They have a great respect for the dead, whom they inter without their villages, in round or square spots, like those which they inhabit. After exposing the body on a bed they plaister the stakes, which form the square of interment, with a kind of clay, and also encompass it with a wall about a foot thick, which endsin a pointed roof, and incloses the spot. This collection of burying grounds resembles another village, and is often larger than the inhabited one to which it belongs. These people do not know how to write; but to distinguish the bodies which rest in these little huts, they put a bow and arrow on those which contain the men, while the women’s sepulchres have at top a pestle and mortar, being the instruments which they use to pound their rice and millet. In other respects, as they marry amongst each other, and thus form only one family: they have no object in transmitting to posterity the names of the dead or their parentage.
The route from Goree to Senegal is in general woody, and the woods contain many banyan and latane or palm trees. The fruit of the former, and the wine of the latter, are too well known to need any description. There are also great numbers of a shrub, whose leaves resemble those of the pear-tree, and have an aromatic flavour combined with the smell of the myrtle: it communicates its delicious flavour to the flesh of the cattle, which feed on it in preference to any other vegetable. There is likewise a tree which is called the soap-tree: its fruit is of the size of a small walnut, and the negroes, who use it to wash the cotton cloths which they wear round their waists, beat it between two stones to separate the nut from the shells; and it is with the latter that they rub what they are about to wash. It dissolves easily, and completely cleanses the cotton, but burns the cloth: this circumstance, however, though serious to the wearers, is of great advantage to our commerce, which supplies them with such articles.
In some parts they cultivate tobacco upon a large scale; for the negroes, though they only use it for smoking, consume vast quantities. They merely bruise it when ripe, and make it into bunches; and notwithstanding this slovenly way of preparing it, the flavour of it is tolerably good.
In the journey to which I have alluded we meet with no dangerous animals, excepting serpents, which are both large and numerous, being sometimes from fifteen to twenty feet long, and a foot and a half in diameter. It is asserted that these are less dangerous than the small ones, which are but two inches thick, and four or five feet long: it is, however, remarkable that the human species are very seldom injured by these reptiles. To observe thesang froidwith which the negroes let the serpents enter the hovels to creep about, hunt the rats, and sometimes the fowls, without feeling the least alarm at their appearance, one would suppose that there was a reciprocal contract between them to live together in harmony. Nevertheless the negroes are sometimes bitten by these animals, on which occasions the remedythey apply is the actual cautery. When they happen to possess gunpowder, they cover the puncture with it and explode it, which produces a scar that draws out the venom. These accidents, however, are not frequent, and the negroes in general do not appear to apprehend them. The Cereses, on the contrary, dread the serpents, and keep them from their habitations as much as possible; indeed, they are continually at war with them, lay snares for them with much adroitness, and, on finding them, eat their flesh, which they think very good.
The serpents have other and still more terrible enemies, which are the eagles that abound throughout the country: they are of the same species as those in Europe, but far superior in size and strength.
We also meet in the journey above described numerous hordes of elephants; but they do no injury, nor ever disturb travellers: and likewise with parties of apes, who amuse by their watching and singular antics. There is also an aquatic animal sometimes found which the Cereses callbourba. This animal is something between the bear and the hog: its hair is short, thin, and whitish; and its feet have tolerably strong and pointed claws, which it uses to climb up trees like the bear. Its head is more like the bear’s than the hog’s; and though wild, it has not a terrific aspect. Its eyes are small and half closed, notwithstanding which it is very active. Its mouth is large and furnished with long and sharp strong teeth. It lives almost constantly in the rivers, notwithstanding which it is ascertained to be amphibious: its size is equal to that of a hog about a year old; and its flesh is fat and succulent.
Several persons have published their accounts of this little journey, and they all agree in stating that it is easy and agreeable. Indeed, I never heard of the slightest accident happening to those who performed it. The travellers arrive unfatigued at the village of Gandiolle, which is situated at the mouth of the Senegal, where they embark in canoes, and proceed to isle St. Louis in two or three hours, ascending the river by means of their oars.
The coast on which the commerce with Goree is established, as has been specified in the preceding passages, is divided amongst, and governed by, four negro kings. The most important and considerable of these states is that of Cayor, which is worthy of particular attention on account of the influence which its king, named Damel, has had in the success or disasters of the French establishments in this vicinity.
The kingdom of Cayor begins in the province of Toubè on the continent, and is about six leagues distant eastwards of Senegal, from which it is only separated by some marshes and the isle of Sor. It extends along the sea as far as the village called GrandBrigny, the frontier of the kingdom of Baol. Its continent is only a short league from Goree, but it stretches nearly sixty leagues in the interior. It was joined to the dominions of the provinces of Baol in 1695, after a sanguinary war, in which the latter were conquerors, and possessed both states to the year 1717. The king gave himself the name of Damel, which is the particular appellation of the king of Cayor; but at the death of Tinmacodon, the inconvenience arising from so great an extent of country being under one governor was seriously felt, and the kingdom was again divided, when Amarizone, brother to the deceased monarch, ascended the throne of Baol.
The royal family of Cayor is called Bisayou-ma-Fatim. The king who at present reigns was not the first in the order of succession, but was elected; but he was elected without any intrigue on his part: he took the title of Damel, and established his common residence at Guiguis, a village about thirty leagues from Senegal. After his election, the great people came to pay their homage to him, and all the ceremonies usual in such cases were scrupulously attended to: they prostrated themselves at some distance from the king’s feet without any other clothing than a simple piece of cloth round the loins; and afterwards, on approaching, they bent the knee three times before him, putting at each declension a handful of sand to their foreheads. The marabous or priests were exempted from these humiliating ceremonies; and on coming to acknowledge their new sovereign, they merely took the oath of fidelity, which was administered by himself.
The order of succession to the throne is regulated as follows: The brothers of the king succeed him by seniority; and the children of the deceased prince only ascend the throne when there are no brothers to take possession of it, a circumstance which very rarely happens; but when it does, the eldest son takes precedence. The first wife is the queen; the prince marries her publicly, and the festival lasts three days; nearly all his subjects attend it and make him presents. The children by this marriage are the legitimate children, and natural heirs to the throne; and after them the children by the second wife have the right, as well as those of the other women whom the king has simply declared to be his wives. The king may also have other women to whom he gives no qualification; and their children, who are reputed legitimate, may also pretend to the throne according to their age, in case their father should die, and leave no children by his first queen or other acknowledged wives.
This succession to the throne in the collateral lines is not peculiar to the kingdom of Cayor. It is also the case in that of Hoval, which is contiguous, and the king of which takes the title of Brack; but a different method is adopted by the family ofthe latter; as it is always the eldest son of the eldest sister of the deceased king who succeeds to the throne. These people, who in other respects are neither better informed, nor more polished, than their neighbours, think with good reason that by this manner of succession, there is more certainty as to birth-right. They apply to themselves, without knowing the meaning of it, the maxim of the Roman laws: “Partus matrem demonstrat, pater vero semper est incertus”; and it is doubtless this persuasion which causes the law to be religiously observed in the country of Hoval. In the kingdom of Cayor, on the contrary, it is sometimes violated, as is proved by the election of the last sovereign. Indeed it often happens that the great men combine together, convoke the people, and appoint to the throne another prince of a different family from him who has the right to ascend it, though they are always cautious to take him from the royal family.
The king of Cayor reigns despotically over his subjects, who are rather his slaves, as they tacitly obey and serve him: in other respects he is neither richer nor better off than themselves; and they pay him for his subsistence, a tribute which varies according to his pleasure. He is not distinguished either by the number of his houses, by that of his women, or by his guards. The military service near his person, that which takes place in time of war, and, in general, all the jobs or escorts, are performed by the subjects at their own expence, and they are obliged to execute his orders, and follow him wherever he chooses to lead them.
Damel and his subjects profess the Mahometan religion; but they render it scarcely recognisable by a multitude of retrenchments or additions. The same occurs amongst all the African hordes, who only agree together on three points, namely, a plurality of women, circumcision, and the respect which is due to the prophet Mahomet: on the other hand, each village has its particular practices, and turns those of the others into ridicule.
Damel, and the other kings and princes of the Negroes or Moors, have the privilege of never being made slaves. When they are taken in battle, they are either killed, or they destroy themselves.
A superstition peculiar to the kingdom of Cayor is, that both the people and the king think that the latter will die in the year in which he may cross any river or branch of the sea: hence he never goes to Goree, or to isle St. Louis in the Senegal, but remains always in his own territories on the continent.
While I was at Senegal, M. de Boufflers, governor-general of the colony, wished to have an interview with Damel, and it took place on the 24th April, 1786. The place fixed on was a large plain on the continent, called Guyarabop, and which lay on the banks of the Senegal; it was inclosed by a fosse, and its entrancewas defended by an entrenchment; a tent was prepared in the middle. M. de Boufflers proceeded thither in the morning with a detachment of fifty men; and Damel, who was then at Gandiolle, a village in the southern part of his states, set off to meet the French general. This prince had in his suite a corps of cavalry, and a numerous body of infantry: on reaching the gate, he entered on horseback alone, and was received at the tent by the French general. The troops of this sovereign then took their station in the plain, and remained under arms the whole day in the most perfect order and discipline.
The productions and objects of commerce furnished by this country, are, slaves, who are generally rendered numerous by war; millet, of which such quantities are produced, that during my administration, being charged with the supply of provisions, &c., I derived enough from it for our whole consumption, which is immense; and lastly salt, which is furnished by the inexhaustible pits at Gandiolle.
These pits form the dowry of the wife of Damel, who is the acknowledged queen of Cayor. Each vessel which comes to trade for the salt, pays her a sort of duty, which is not always the same, but is agreed on with a delegate whom she sends to the spot during the period of the trade. It is however, in general, a piece of Guinea, four piastres, and twenty bottles of brandy, for a hundred barrels of salt; which number of barrels every year receives an addition of three or four. The purchasers give besides to the queen’s envoy a present in merchandise to the value of three or four piastres.
On the payment of these duties, and a few others of a subordinate nature, the women of Gandiolle undertake to carry the salt on board the ships at the rate of half a bar per barrel. By giving them something more they are induced to smuggle an additional quantity on board, a plan which is always adopted, and which it is impossible for the queen to prevent. These expences of porterage are paid in iron, coral, beads, and other trifling articles, on which the merchants gain so much profit, that the half bar, which is valued at two livres, eight sous (about two shillings sterling) is not worth to them more than ten sous, or five pence English.
During the time that M. Brue was at Senegal, a serious dispute arose between him and Damel, during which the former was seized by the negro king, and was in great danger of his life; but after many stratagems and much threatening on the part of the French, he regained his liberty; and though by the stipulations in the last treaty of peace with Damel, the French were to pay no kind of duty for their commerce, it was found necessary on this occasion to make the king a present amounting to 20,779 livres, which was taken in merchandize, valued accordingto the price which is given for negroes. This reduced the ransom to about 7,000 livres in actual value, without reckoning the private loss of the general, who was robbed of his money, jewels, and clothes, which were estimated at 6,000 livres; besides which he was kept for twelve days in close captivity, without being allowed to speak to any one. Since this period, Damel has never failed to insist on a very considerable duty every year, as the price of his good-will towards our nation. The king, however, did not escape with impunity on account of the outrage; for M. Brue on his liberation formed a coalition with the neighbouring sovereigns of Brack, Siratick, Burba-yolof, Bur-sin, and Bur-salum, and watched the coasts of Damel so closely, that no foreign vessels could approach them. He likewise seized and destroyed all the fishing-boats that came out, burned several villages, and obliged many others to supply Goree with all the wood which it required.
This war lasted eight months, and the states of Damel suffered by it severely, but still no reconciliation took place; and a plan was laid for seizing the negro king, and sending him as a slave to the West Indies; but at this crisis M. Brue was recalled to France, to give his advice on the deranged affairs of the African company. A negociation was afterwards entered into with M. Lemaitre, who submitted to the most humiliating terms, and undertook to pay annually to the king of Cayor 100 bars of iron for permission to get wood and water from his territory, and to purchase provision. This duty has successively increased, and it is now very high, so that it would be dangerous, if not impossible, to suppress it.
What I am now about to say relative to the Moors, and the customs in the kingdom of Cayor, will apply to all the other states on this coast, the difference between each being too trivial to merit distinction. I shall therefore confine myself chiefly to topographical details.
The kingdom of Baol, which is the first after Cayor, begins at the village of Little Brigny, and ends at the river of Serena: it is seven leagues from Goree, and has only about twelve leagues of coast from north to south. The king bears the name of Tin.
The kingdom of Sin, whose sovereign takes the name of Bur, is still smaller; as it has only eleven leagues of coast in the same direction.
The same title of Bur belongs to the king of Salum, whose dominions begin at the river of Palmera, and end at two or three leagues from the point of Barra. They run inwards as far as where the Gambia separates into two branches, the northern of which takes the name of the river of Salum. Thisriver divides itself into six arms, each of which contains islands, which are inhabited and cultivated; but they are said to be unhealthy, particularly for foreigners.
[Decoration]CHAP. IV.[Decoration]
[Decoration]
[Decoration]
OF THE RIVER GAMBIA. — ESTABLISHMENTS OF EUROPEANS ON ITS BANKS. — KINGDOMS WHICH DIVIDE THEM. — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS. — PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY, &c. &c.
AFTER traversing the country which I have just described, and about thirty leagues from Goree, you arrive at the mouth of the Gambia, which empties itself into the sea at cape St. Mary on the south, and at the Isle of Birds on the north. Its width at this part is very great, being estimated at least at two leagues between the points of Barra and Bagnon. The strait between those points is ten or twelve fathoms deep, so that all sorts of vessels can go up it. On the left bank of the river is a point which contains a large group of trees, amongst which is one much higher and larger than the rest: it is called the flag of the king of Barra; and the English have introduced the custom of saluting it with several guns, a ceremony which would subject a ship, that might dispense with it, to the greatest insults.
The river Gambia is, throughout its whole course, of considerable width, and its bed is deep and muddy; while its banks are covered with thick mango-trees. It abounds in fish; and sharks are very common at its mouth. In the upper parts it is frequented by crocodiles and hippopotami: its depth is so great that a ship of forty guns, and three hundred tons, may ascend it as far as Genachor, situated about sixty leagues from the sea; while a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons, can go as far as Barraconda, which is about two hundred and fifty leagues distant. The tide flows as high as this spot in the dry season, that is, from November to June or July; but the rest of the year the river is impassable, on account of the inundations caused by the rains, and on account of the violence of currents, which overflow the banks in every direction, and carry away large trees.
Europeans have not proceeded higher than Barraconda: it appears that hereabouts the course of the river is interrupted by a bank of rocks, and farther up, it loses itself for several days in an impenetrable lake, covered by high grass and reeds. From the account of the Mandingo merchants and other negroes, who are in the habit of travelling the whole length ofthis river, as well as from the opinion of several celebrated writers, there is reason to believe that it takes its source below a considerable fall made by the Senegal, which there divides into two branches, one of which to the south has been mistaken for the Gambia; but this error has been controverted by several authors, and particularly by Mungo Park, who has examined the place in question, and who asserts that the river Gambia takes its rise from the same chain of mountains from which issue the Senegal and the Niger. The Gambia begins to run one hundred miles to the westward of the Senegal, and continues its course in the same direction till it enters the sea.
The part of the coast near this river was, like all the rest, discovered by the Normans, who probably formed establishments along it, which they abandoned for the more rich and permanent situations of the Senegal and the Gold-coast. The Portuguese then occupied those spots which the Normans had left; and it may be seen by the ruins of their factories, and the forts which they erected, that they had penetrated very far into the interior. The wars in which they were involved with the other nations of Europe, at length rendered them incapable of supporting their power in that part of the world: yet several Portuguese families remained there, were naturalised amongst the inhabitants; while their descendants gradually becoming Africans, have spread into the interior, and live on good terms with the natives. The latter are the subjects of a multitude of petty princes, who all take the title of king, though the territories of many of them are very small. There are no less than eight of these kingdoms on each bank of the Gambia, in a space of about two hundred and fifty leagues from its mouth.
The kingdoms situated on the northern bank are, 1. that of Barra, which extends eighteen leagues along the coast; Guiocanda, which follows it, and occupies five leagues of coast; 3. Baddison, which fills twenty leagues; 4. Salum, which surrounds the first three mentioned to the north and west, by following a course of the river to the extent of ten leagues; 5. Gniania, which comprises only two leagues of coast; 6. Couhan, which occupies four; 7. Gniani, extending thirty leagues along the river; and 8. Ouli, which terminates between Barraconda and the rocky bank, and occupies ninety leagues.
These different distances calculated in a right line, form a total of one hundred and seventy-nine leagues; to which may be added seventy-two leagues for the windings of the river in this space, which makes the whole extent from the point of Barra to the kingdom of Ouli, two hundred and fifty leagues.
The eight kingdoms on the southern bank are that of Combe or Combo, which runs eighteen leagues along the coast, fromSt. Mary’s Point to the river Combo, from which it takes its name. 2. The kingdom or empire of Foigny, which begins at the river Combo and terminates at that of Bintan, having eleven leagues of coast. 3. Gereges, whose limits are the river of Bintan, and the village from which the kingdom takes its name; it possesses seven leagues of coast. 4. Kiam, which comprises twenty. 5. Geagra, which has only ten. 6. Gnamena, whose extent is fifteen. 7. Kiaconda, which occupies forty. 8. Toumana, of the same extent, and the kingdom of Cantor, the limits of which are not perfectly known, but which must be at least twenty leagues of coast.
The whole of these different parts of the coast, calculated in a right line, forms a total of one hundred and sixty-five leagues, to which may be added for capes and contours of the river, at least eighty-five more; so that, from the mouth of the Gambia to the known extremity of the kingdom of Cantor, the extent of territory on ascending the south bank of the Gambia, is two hundred and fifty leagues.
We possess no very circumstantial account of these Negro states, which, however, are nearly alike. Those most worthy of notice are the empire of Foigny, on the south bank, and the kingdom of Barra on the north. The former is watered by four rivers, and extremely fertile: it produces rice, pulse of all kinds, potatoes, and abundance of fruits. Its palm wine is excellent, and the people breed oxen, sheep, goats, and poultry. The country is uncommonly populous: the inhabitants are industrious and of a commercial turn; they are open, tractable, and particularly faithful. The king assumes the title of emperor, and his neighbours not only acknowledge this distinction, but pay him a tribute. He bestows great attention on the conduct of the English and French, who carry on the commerce of the river; and when the two nations are at war in Europe, he takes care that they shall not fight in his states; but in cases of hostility he takes the part of the weakest, or of those who are attacked.
The kingdom of Barra is almost entirely peopled by strangers, as the natives of the country are there only few in number. The greatest population is that of the Mandingos or Mandings, so called from the name of their native country Mandin or Mandingue, which is situated about four hundred leagues to the east, and is prodigiously peopled, as is evident from the vast number of slaves which it furnishes every year, as well as from the colonies, which frequently proceed from it to extend their active industry to other quarters. It was thus that there arrived in the kingdom of Barra those who are considered as natives and who have possessed themselves of the supreme power, and the wholeof the commerce; the king and his great men being Mandingos. They are the only well informed persons in the state; for they know almost every thing, and can read and write. They have public schools, in which the Marabous, who are the masters, teach the children the Arabic tongue; their lessons are written on small pieces of white wood; but they give the preference to the paper which we have introduced amongst them. When they know the alcoran, they obtain the title of doctors.
It is remarkable that the Mandingos, who have all come from a republican state, have formed nothing but monarchies wherever they have established themselves; but they have not invested their kings with unlimited authority. On all important occasions these princes are obliged to convoke a meeting of the wisest old men, by whose advice they act, and without which they can neither declare war nor make peace.
In all the large towns the people have a chief magistrate who bears the name of alcaide, and whose place is hereditary: his duty is to preserve order, to receive the tribute imposed upon travellers, and to preside at the sittings of the tribunal of justice. The jurisdiction is composed of old men who are free; and their meeting is called a palaver; it holds its sittings in the open air, and with much solemnity. The affairs which are brought for discussion, are investigated with much candour; the witnesses are publicly heard; and the decisions generally excite the approbation of both parties.
They have no written laws, but decide on the cases according to their ancient customs; nevertheless they sometimes have recourse to the civil institutes of Mahomet, and when the koran does not appear to them sufficiently perspicuous, they consult a commentary entitled Al Scharra, which contains a complete exposition of the civil and criminal laws of Islamism. They have amongst them people who exercise the profession of counsellors, or interpreters of the laws, and who are allowed to plead either for the accuser or the accused, as at European tribunals: these negro-lawyers are Mahometans, and have, or pretend to have, studied, with particular attention, the institutions of the prophet. In the art of chicanery they equal the most acute pleaders of civilized countries.
These people follow the laws of Mahomet, of which they are rigid observers: most of them neither drink wine nor spirits; and all fast with the utmost rigour during the ramadan or lent. They breed no hogs, because their laws forbid the eating of their flesh; though they might sell them to great advantage. They are very affectionate amongst themselves, and always assist each other. It is not understood that they make slaves, as this punishment is only decreed by the king, and chiefly against thegreat people who are guilty of crimes. In other respects they are more polished than the rest of the negroes; are of a mild character, sensible, and benevolent: all which qualities may be attributed to their love for commerce, and to the extensive travels in which they are continually engaged. The ease with which they cultivate their lands proves their industry; they are covered with palm, banyan, fig, and other useful trees. The people have but few horses, though the country is well adapted to breeding them; but they have a number of asses, which they use for travelling, and their territory abounds with wild buffalos.
The Mandingos are particularly industrious in making salt, which they do in a peculiar manner. They put river water in the halves of calabashes, or in shallow earthen pots, and expose it to the sun, the heat of which produces crystals of salt, the same as in ordinary pits: for the water is always much impregnated with the saline principle, as the sea mixes with it a considerable way up the river. In a short time after the calabashes have been exposed, a cream of fine white salt is formed on the surface, and this is taken off three or four times; after which the vessels are filled again. They have also very abundant salt-pits at Joal and Faquiou, and their produce forms an important branch of trade: they load their canoes with it; and ascending the river as far as Barraconda, they exchange it for maize, cotton stuffs, ivory, gold dust, &c.
The great number of canoes and men employed in this commerce gives great influence and respect to the king of Barra. Indeed, he is the most powerful and terrible of all the kings of the Gambia; he has imposed considerable duties on the ships of all nations, each of which, whatever may be its size, is obliged to pay on entering the river, a duty equal to about five hundred livres, or nearly 21l. sterling. The governor of Gillifrie is charged with the receipt of these duties, and he is always attended by a number of persons who are very importunate: they are incessantly asking for whatever pleases their fancy, and pursue their demands with such ardour and perseverance, that to get rid of them the navigators are almost always obliged to satisfy their desires.
The Mandingos are above the middle size, are well made, robust, and capable of bearing great fatigue. The women are stout, active, and pretty. The clothes of both sexes are of cotton, which they manufacture themselves. The men wear drawers, which hang half way down the thigh, and an open tunic, similar to our surplice. They have sandals on their feet, and cotton caps on their heads. The women’s dress consists of two pieces of linen six feet long and about three wide; the one is plaited round the loins, and falls down to the ancle, formingkind of petticoat; while the other negligently covers their bosom and shoulders.
Their habitations like those of all the other negroes, are small and inconvenient huts. A mud wall about four feet high, over which is a conical opening made of bamboos and straw, serves for the residence of the rich man, as well as of the humblest slave. The furniture is equally uncouth: their beds are made of a bundle of reeds placed on pickets two feet high, and covered with a mat or an ox’s skin; a jar for water, a few earthen vessels for boiling their meat, with some wooden bowls, calabashes, and one or two stools, form the whole of their household goods.
All the Mandingos in a free state have several women; but they cannot marry two sisters. These women have each a hut; while all the hovels belonging to one master are surrounded by a lattice-work of bamboo made with much art: an assemblage of this kind is calledSirk, orSourk. Several of these enclosures, separated by narrow paths, compose a town; but the huts are placed with much irregularity, and according to the caprice of the person to whom they belong. The only point to which they attend is to have the door in a south-westerly direction, that it may admit the sea-breezes.
In each town a spot is set apart for the assemblies of the old men; it is enclosed by interlaced reeds, and generally covered by trees which protect it from the sun. Here they discuss public affairs and try causes; the idle and profligate also resort hither to smoke their pipes and hear the news.
In several parts they have missourates or mosques, where they meet to say the prayers prescribed by the Koran.
The population of the free Mandingos forms at the utmost, about one fourth of the inhabitants of the country which they occupy. The remaining three fourths are born in slavery, and have no hope of escaping from it: they are employed in all servile labours; but the free Mandingo has no right to take the life of his slave, nor to sell him to a foreigner, unless he has been publicly tried, and decreed to deserve such a punishment. The prisoners of war, those imprisoned for crimes or debt, and those who are taken from the centre of Africa and brought to the coast for sale, have no right to appeal, as their masters may treat and dispose of them according to their fancy.
Another part of the population of the kingdom of Barra, is composed of the descendants of the Portuguese families who remain in the country, and of whom we have already spoken. Such persons, or rather those who take the title of Portuguese (for all the Mulattos, and even men who are almost black, call themselves Portuguese, and to doubt their origin is an affront they do not pardon), profess the catholic religion, and havechurches and priests in different parts. They are recognized by their costume; they wear a great chaplet suspended from the neck, a very long sword by their side, a shirt, a cloak, a hat, and a poignard.
Some of these people devote themselves to commerce and agriculture, and are generally adroit, brave, and enterprising. They acquire property, live happily, and are much esteemed; but by far the greatest part live in the most complete state of idleness, and in consequence of being poor, addict themselves to thieving; they also pass their time in the most disgusting state of libertinism, and are equally despised by the Mahometans and the Christians.
The industrious part of these people proceed to the top of the river in the canoes or boats of the country, and generally perform such voyages on account of the French, who entrust them with merchandise, and pay them liberally. They have sometimes been attacked in their voyage, but they always proved that they knew how to defend their liberty and property. They have also learnt from their ancestors never to pardon wrongs nor injuries; and if this be not a precept of their religion, it is a command of their fathers which necessity justifies. I am of opinion that it is possible to employ with great advantage these men so inured to the climate, to travel over, and make discoveries in the interior of Africa.
The Portuguese build their habitations according to the plan of their ancestors, by which they are more solid and commodious than those of the Negroes: they raise them two or three feet above the soil to secure them from the damp, and give them a considerable length so as to divide each house into several chambers. The windows they make are very small, in order to keep out the excessive heat of the climate; and they never fail to build a vestibule open on all sides, in which they receive visits, take their meals, and transact their business. The walls are seven or eight feet high, and, as well as the roof, are of reeds covered on both sides with a mixture of clay and chopped straw: the whole is coated with plaister. They take care to plant latane or other trees before their houses, or to build them on a spot where such trees are growing, in order to enjoy the refreshing shade which they produce. The king of Barra and the greatest people of his kingdom have similar places of residence.
On the banks of the river Gambia may also be found three nations of Africans, namely, the Felups, Yolofs, and Foulahs. All these people are Mahometans, but they have retained the stupid, though innocent superstitions of their ancestors. The real Mahometans they callKafirs, which means infidels.
The Felups are of an indolent, melancholy, and slovenly character:they never pardon an injury, but transfer their hatred to their children as a sacred inheritance, so that a son must necessarily avenge the offence received by his father. At their festivals they drink a quantity of mead, and their drunkenness almost always produces quarrels: if on these occasions a man lose his life, his eldest son takes his sandals and wears them every year on the anniversary of his death, till he have had an opportunity to avenge it; and the murderer seldom escapes this determined resentment. The Felups, however, notwithstanding this ferocious and unruly disposition, have several good qualities; they are very grateful, have the greatest affection for their benefactors, and restore whatever is entrusted to their care, with the most scrupulous fidelity.
The Yolofs are active, powerful, and warlike; they inhabit a part of the vast territory which extends between the Senegal and that occupied by the Mandingos on the banks of the Gambia. I shall speak of them more fully in the description which I shall give of the Senegal, and in which I shall include some account of the different people who inhabit its banks.
The Foulahs have a complexion of a rather deep black colour, silky hair, and small and agreeable features; their manners are mild, and they love a pastoral and agricultural life. They are dispersed through several kingdoms on the coast of the river Gambia as shepherds and farmers; and they pay a tribute to the sovereign of the country which they cultivate. They are natives of the kingdom of Bondou, situated between the Gambia and the Senegal, near Bambouk: they leave their country in large bodies in search of distant territories, where they can extend their industry; and after making, what they conceive, a fortune, they return to enjoy the result of their labours.
To recur to the establishments which have been formed by Europeans on the river Gambia, it should be stated that the Portuguese replaced the French on that river, and that the former were succeeded by the English. They established themselves at a distance of fourteen leagues from its mouth, on a little isle not more than seventy or eighty fathoms in length, by forty or fifty in width. They built a tolerably strong fort flanked by three bastions, and constructed several redoubts on different parts of the isle; but in the war from 1688 to 1695, several attacks were made on this settlement by the French with various success, and which ended in a convention for a permanent neutrality between France and England in that part of the world. The possessions of the French were confirmed by the treaty of 1783; and at present the only post which the French possess in the Gambia, is Albreda on the territories of the king of Barra, to whom they pay a duty of 810 livres. It is a possession at themouth of the river which will never be of any great importance, as nothing can be procured by it but what escapes the activity of the English, and that of course is little. The English have no fort in this quarter, nor does it appear that they have any intention of building one; they have, however, four factories without fortifications, one at Gillifrie, a little town on the northern bank, opposite St. Jaques; another at Vintain, on the southern bank, and about two leagues from Gillifrie; and two more, which will be subsequently mentioned.
The Felups, a savage and unsocial nation of whom I have spoken, carry to Vintain a great quantity of wax, which they collect in the woods: the honey is consumed amongst them, as they make it into an intoxicating drink, which bears a great resemblance to the mead of the Europeans. The country which they inhabit is very extensive, and produces a quantity of rice, with which they supply the persons who trade on the rivers Gambia and Casamança; they also sell them goats and poultry at a moderate price.
The third English factory is at Joukakonda, about six days’ navigation from Vintain. This is a very mercantile town, and is entirely inhabited by Negroes and English.
The fourth is at Pisania, about sixteen miles above Joukakonda. It is a village built by the English in the states of the king of Gniagnia; it serves them for a factory, and is only inhabited by themselves and a few domestic Negroes; they here carry on a trade in slaves, ivory, and gold. This village is situated in an immense and peculiarly fertile plain, and is covered with wood. The cattle get very fat from the richness of the pasture, and the inhabitants raise them in great numbers; they also employ themselves in fishing, from which they derive much advantage, and have a number of well regulated gardens, in which they grow onions, potatoes, manioc, pistachios, pompions, and other useful pulse. Near the towns they cultivate on a large scale, tobacco, indigo, and cotton. Their domestic animals are the same as in Europe: they have hogs which live in the woods, but whose flesh is by no means good; poultry of every kind, with the exception of turkies; and red partridges and Guinea-hens are abundant. The forests are filled with a small species of gazelle, whose flesh is perfectly good. The most common wild animals are the hyæna, the panther, the elephant, the tiger, and the lion. The ass is the only beast of burden which is used in this part of Africa. The art of employing animals in labours of the field is unknown, for every thing is done by hand. The principal aratory instrument is the hoe, whose form is different in every district. The free Negroes do not till the ground, as this labour is performed exclusively by the slaves.
The commerce is carried on by the Negro courtiers, who areknown by the name of the Slatées; these are free Negroes who possess considerable influence in the country, and whose principal employment consists in selling the slaves they procure from the centre of Africa. They likewise furnish the Negroes on the coast with native iron, odoriferous gums, incense, and schetoulou, or vegetable butter, which I shall afterwards have occasion to speak of; and take in exchange salt, which is a rare and valuable commodity in the interior.
The English are not established on the river Gambia farther up than Pisania; and here their trade is not very extensive, as their exports do not amount to more than 500,000 French francs, (about 20,000l.) The Americans have attempted to send some vessels to this quarter on commercial speculations.
The objects of trade here are the same as on the other parts of the coast, namely, gold, elephants’ teeth, slaves, wax, millet, oxen, sheep, poultry, and other articles of subsistence. Slaves, however, form the principal object; but at present not above 1000 are annually purchased: they cost from 450 to 500 francs each, which is the ordinary price of a man of a healthy constitution, from sixteen to twenty-five years of age. The European merchandises given in exchange are, fire-arms, ammunition, iron work, spirituous liquors, tobacco, cotton caps, a small quantity of broad cloth, trinkets, India goods, glass-work, and other trifles.