392 Ancient and Modern Systems of Slavery. Q APRIL, 



M. Caillie, " are certainly not fond of the whites, and they hold the 

 name of a Christian in abhorrence."* These people, be it observed, 

 have long been in communication with Sierra Leone ! " The slaves 

 being regarded by the Mandingoes as their principal wealth, are not 

 ill-treated, their food is the same as that of their masters, though some- 

 times it is not quite so abundant ; they are dressed in a coarse pagne, 

 which they wear to the last rag. They are, however, made " to work 

 hard," and " when it is suspected that a slave intends to run away, 

 irons are put on their legs."t Their masters are described as being 

 " vindictive, inquisitive, envious, liars, importunate, selfish, avaricious, 

 ignorant, and superstitious ;"J a tolerable catalogue of bad qualities 

 considering the success which has been so much boasted regarding the 

 progress of civilization among these tribes, who are in communication 

 with the British settlements. 



Leaving Kankan, and travelling towards the Kong mountains, M. 

 Caillie says, " Among the female slaves who accompanied our caravan, 

 I observed, with pain, girls of twelve or fifteen years old carrying 

 heavy loads of colats on their heads. The poor creatures were unable 

 to endure the fatigue, and sometimes let their burdens fall." At Tan- 

 grera, he saw slaves at work, quite naked, and the perspiration running 

 down their bodies. At Chesso, having clubbed with his companions to 

 buy a goat, " the negroes, an hour or two after supping upon it, fell 

 to eating the head, half-roasted on the ashes ; and after they had gnaw- 

 ed the bones, they gave them to the slaves." || 



Arriving at Jenne, he was well received by the resident Moors. He 

 found it an extensive place, well supplied with goods, and carrying on 

 a great traffic. " I observed some shops pretty well supplied with 

 European commodities, which sell at a very high price. They also 

 deal in slaves, whom they send to Tafilet, and to other quarters, as 

 Mogador, Tunis, and Tripoli. I have seen men leading those unfor- 

 tunate beings about the streets, and crying them for sale, at the rate of 

 twenty-five, thirty, or forty thousand cowries, according to their age." 

 Of the treatment of the domestic slaves, in the families of Moors at 

 Jenne, he gives a favourable report ; and he found these Moors, (who 

 firmly believed him to be a countryman of their own,) much superior to 

 his first friends, the Braknas. Embarking for Timbuctoo, in a large 

 canoe, "the cargo consisted of various kinds of provisions, twenty 

 slaves, women and children, the stoutest of whom were in chains."^ He 

 saw slaves cultivating the ground ; and about fourteen days after leaving 

 Jenne, those in the boat had their chains removed. " They appeared 

 perfectly happy. They tried to walk, but it was with difficulty that 

 they could move a few steps : for the chains which they had worn since 

 they left Jenne, had wounded their feet. All the negro sailors who 

 navigate the river are slaves." The slaves gave offence to the natives, 

 who are Mahommedans, by dancing at sunset, during the Ramadan, and 

 were each ordered five lashes on the back ! 



M. Caillie's voyage from Jenne to Timbuctoo, occupied the time from 

 the 13th March to the 20th April. He was well received by the Moor 

 to whom he had been recommended. But the appearance of the city 

 did not come up to his expectations. He found slavery every where 

 prevalent on the banks of the river ; and its navigation, and the country 



* Caillie's Travels through Central Africa, &c. p. 265. 



f Ib. p. 346. + Ib. p. 353. Ib. p. 364. || Ib. pp. 413, 458. 



f Ib. p. 475 ; Vol. II. pp. 6, 7- 



