JusiE 22, 1857.] HEWETT ON THE JOLLOFFS OF WEST AFRICA. 617 



broidered, and enamelled ; with spears of curious workmanship, and muskets. 

 The chiefs possess robes of coloured cloth, embroidered with gold, and their 

 everyday garments are well and tastefully embroidered with coloured cotton 

 or silk. 



They are armed with muskets, with curiously wrought spears, swords, and 

 daggers ; and their sandals, bridles, and saddles, are generally tastefully deco- 

 rated. The pieces are procured from the French merchants at Senegal and the 

 English of Gambia, the silk for embroidery from the Moors, and the iron 

 weapons and leathern articles they either fashion themselves or procure from 

 their neighbours the Mandingoes, a race peculiarly skilful in such work ; in 

 barter for gold and silver trinkets, in winch the Jolloflfs much delight, and 

 which appear to constitute their chief wealth. These leathern articles are 

 also given to the Jolloffs in payment for working rough gold, as in the gold- 

 smith's trade they much excel ; and the cunning with which they fashion the 

 precious metals, even with their clumsy tools, is wonderful, almost rivalling 

 the celebrated Maltese work in ingenuity and minuteness. 



All business is conducted through the alcade of a town, who, on application 

 being made, orders his men to procure whatever may be wanted; receives 

 whatever payment he himself has fixed ; discharges the claim of the artisan, 

 and of course reserves a commission for himself. Regular trading caravans are 

 received and dispatched to all quarters — to St. Louis and Mogador, to the Arabs, 

 to the Mandingoes, westward and southward, and even to the banks of the 

 Gambia. Owing, however, to the number of petty independent townsliips which, 

 ever at war with one another, intercept and plunder these caravans laden with 

 slaves, tobacco, baft, cloth, gold, and ivory, on the journey to or from a hostile 

 tribe— less frequently to the last than to the other places — wars are too often 

 declared on a frivolous pretext, either with the Mandingoes or with the Kafir 

 (infidel) tribes, for the purpose of collecting slaves ; but now that the slave- 

 trade of the Senegal and Gambia rivers has been abolished, these raids are 

 undertaken with the ultimate view of selling to the Moors the unfortunate 

 prisoners captured. These predatory forays among the infidels have another 

 object, viz., the conversion — in obedience to the injunctions of the Koran — by 

 fire and sword, to the Moslem religion : thus, as interest is made to accord 

 with duty, and those who fall in these crusades are preferred in Paradise above 

 all others, the wars are frequent, and the tribes gathered to the fold of the 

 " true believers " increase daily. 



The JoUofif people are mild, hospitable, possessing no sanguinary laws ; and, 

 in hope of opening a trade, always welcome a " tobaubo," or white man, towards 

 whom, notwithstanding his creed — especially repugnant to Mussulmans — they 

 are invariably gentle, accommodating, and inoffensive. A European may 

 traverse their country in perfect safety, and even by himself, if he possess a 

 knowledge of Arabic, and provides himself with a few colar-mits for distribu- 

 tion ; as the presentation and acceptance of a colar seals a friendly compact, the 

 breach of which would be esteemed a crime of the blackest dye. The colar is 

 a bitter pink kernel, brought from Sierra Leone. It is an excellent tonic, and is 

 so preventive of thirst, that a JoUoff having one in his mouth will walk 30 miles 

 without drinking water ; and on this account, in a country where fresh water 

 is only procurable at the city wells, the colar must be highly prized. 



In conclusion : the recollection of the journey my mind now retains is that of 

 galloping over an immense unenclosed plain, threading tangled jungles, and pass- 

 ing through dark forests ; of seeing expanses of tall grass, eight or nine feet high, 

 which seemed to bar the way, but when approached, a small opening, a dark 

 green cave through which the path winds, would appear. I would dart in, 

 the grass waved and whispered as it closed around me, and my knees brushed 

 the stems, arched over my head and obscuring the sky from my view ; but 

 wild as was the scene, it is one of indescribable beauty, and having been once 

 presented to the eye, has over after an irresistible fascination and attraction. 



