MISCELLANIES. 
Buda by the Abyssinians, and a 
very strange superstition is at- 
tached to this employment, every 
man engaged in the occupation 
being supposed to possess a power 
of transforming himself at night 
into a hyzna, during which he 
is thought to be capable of prey- 
ing even upon human flesh: and 
it is further believed, that if du- 
ring the period of his transforma- 
tion he should experience any 
bodily injury, a <sorresponding 
wound would be found on his 
proper frame. The credit at- 
tached to these fabulous ideas ap- 
pears to be inconceivably strong 
throughout the country, 
ON THE GOLD OF THE COAST OF 
GUINEA. 
( By Denys De Montfort.—From 
the Philosophical Magazine.) 
The mountains in the interior 
of Africa, contain in their sides 
great numbers of gold mines: 
they are very seldom wrought, 
however, the natives confining 
themselves almost entirely to col- 
lecting the gold dust which is 
found upon washing certain earths 
which may be termed auriferous. 
In many countries of this vast 
continent the earth is asit were im- 
pregnated with gold; and not only 
do we meet with it in powder, but 
in considerable masses. This gold 
has formed and still forms the ob- 
ject of a very extensive and lucra- 
tive commerce : the natives of the 
interior bring it down to the in- 
habitants of the coast, and the lat- 
ter sell it in their turn to the Eu- 
ropeans, who have given it the 
name of the Gold Coast, where it 
most abounds. Sometimes the 
gold-merchants, ‘who are also 
slave-dealers, treat directly with 
539 
strangers, but the latter most fre- 
quently purchase gold which has 
already passed from nation to na- 
tion and through several hands. 
In spite of all the attempts which 
have been made, and particularly 
in latter times by the English, to 
penetrate into the interior of Afri- 
ca, this interior is still very little 
known to us, and the city of Tom- 
buctoo—that city which is said to 
contain an immense population, 
is still problematical, for we have 
nothing on the subject but the 
vague and lying assertions of some 
Moorish and African merchants. 
Some of the latter undertake long 
voyages, which frequently last 
upwards of a month. Being si- 
tuated at two or three hundred 
leagues from the coast, they pe- 
netrate as much further into the 
interior in order to procure gold, 
slaves, and elephant’s teeth, which 
they deliver to the European ves- 
sels or establishments. In short 
these people are very mysterious 
in all their operations, and it is 
very difficult to obtain from them 
the slightest intelligence: not 
only their taciturnity, their re- 
serve, and jealousy, are obstacles, 
but their various languages fur- 
nish others, for it requires an in- 
terpreter always to make oneself 
understood. Africa is so divided 
among tribes without number, 
that we presume it would not be 
difficult to reckon more than a 
thousand different languages, 
without including the numerous 
dialects which are derived from 
them. It is thus that we see ar- 
rive from the source of the river 
of Volta, the mouth of which is 
situated in 5° 55’ north latitude, 
people who fromtribe to tribe, and 
from interpreter to interpreter at 
