Part 4

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 ends in 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 the _sang froid_ with 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 remedy they 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 call _bourba_. 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 Grand Brigny, 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 of the 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 entrance was 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 according to 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. This river 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.

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CHAP. IV.

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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 of this 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, from St. 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.