492 
pied a considerable number of hands. 
Since the abolition.of that trade, they 
have sought other lines of service; and, 
in the year 1809, the number of those 
who had hired themselves as labourers 
at Sierra Leone alone, a place distant 
about 350 miles from their own coun- 
try, was estimated at 800. 
The district inhabited by the Kroo- 
men extends, according to the maps, 
about twenty miles along the coast, 
from north-west to south-east. Its 
extent inland is supposed not to ex- 
ceed the same distance. ‘The Kroo 
country lies between 49 54’ and 5°7’ N. 
latitude. Fettra-Kroo, the viisleital 
town, is in long. 7° 48’ W. 
In the Kroo country there are but 
five towns, viz. Little-kroo, which is 
the northernmost; then Settra-kroo, 
which is the chief town; then Kroo- 
bah, Kroo-settra; and, lastly, Will’s- 
town. A few small villages, inhabited 
by strangers or slaves, are said to be 
scattered over the intermediate space, 
and at a greater distance from the 
shore, probably for the purpose of car- 
rying ontheir cultivation. ‘The popu- 
lation of this small district is supposed 
to be greater than in most other coun- 
tries on the coast. 
The general aspect of the country is 
champaign, and it is very woody. Its 
chief vegetable productions are rice, 
eassada, yams, plantanes, and Mala- 
guetta pepper. ‘The rice which it pro- 
duces is valued by Europeans on 
account of its superior whiteness to 
what is in genera} to be met with on the 
coast. 
In respect to the external appear- 
ance of the Kroomen, they are seldom 
very tall; but they are well made, 
muscular, vigorous, and active. They 
wear no clothes, except a small piece of 
Bast-India cloth wi rapped round their 
loins; but they are fond of obtaining 
hats and old w oollen jackets, which 
they are allowed to wear in their own 
country in the rainy season. A few 
wear European clothing while at Sierra 
Leone. They are extremely sensible 
of the cold during the rainy season, 
but never appear to suffer from the 
heat. The form of the African head 
differs Im general from that of the 
European; but I think this difference is 
Jess in the Kroomen ihan in any other 
hatives,whom [ have seen. In their 
temper, they are generally gay and 
cheerful; and this leads them to be 
Very noisy aud talkative. They some- 
times show a talent for mimicry. They 
Account of @ Tribe of People called Kroomen. 
[Jan. 1, 
seldom learn to speak English well, 
and of course they must understand it 
but imperfectly; the few who do un- 
derstand it, become, I think, more 
readily expert at whatever business 
they are einmployed in than most other 
natives. 'Phey are very fond of adopt 
ing English names ; but their choice is 
sometimes very whimsical, such as 
Pipe of Tobacco, Bottle of Beer, 
Papaw Tree, &e. They are quick in 
feeling insults, or even harsh and 
angry expressions ; and they immedi- 
ately become sulky and untractable. 
But they will bear any censure, even a: 
sharp blow or two when their negli- 
gence deserves it, if it can be so con- 
trived as to seem given more in jest 
than in earnest. In their general 
course of conduct, they are rather deli- 
berate than impetuous; but they are 
far more courageous than the genera- 
lity of the natives about Sierra Leone. 
When hired by the month, their 
wages depending on the time they are 
at work, not upon the work performed, 
they are apt to be very indolent, unless 
carefully superintended. But they 
are fond of task-work, or working by 
the piece; and exert themselves ex- 
ceeedingly, when the reward is propor- 
tioned to the labour. When I first 
arrived in Africa in 1797, it was 
deemed a gross absurdity to imagine 
that a Krooman would do any kind of 
work unconnected with boats and 
shipping, as in that way alone they 
had hitherto been employed; and it 
was supposed their prejudices against 
innovation could never be overcome. 
Necessity forced us to try the experi- 
ment; and we now find that Kroomen 
will employ themselves in agricultural 
labour, or in any other way by which 
they can get money. They seem to 
think, at the same time, some kinds of 
work much more creditable than 
others. The washerwomen at Sierra 
Leone have lately employed their hired 
Kreomen in carrying home baskets of 
wet clothes from the breok. I haye 
heard them grumble very much under 
their burdens, because “man was 
made to do woman’s work ;” neverthe- 
less, as they gain money by it, they are 
disposed to put up with the indignity. 
In their expenditure they are most 
rigid economists : a little tobaccuis the 
only luxury which they allow them- 
selves. In every other respect they 
are contented with the barest necessa- 
ries. They are allowed nothing more * 
for their subsistence than two ana 
‘ 0 
