7 



SENEGAMBIA. 



SI2NEGAMBIA. 



- 



IH 



n a very unskilful and slovenly way. They have plenty of pigs and 

 fowls, but few cattle, and no other domestic animals. They generally 

 wear only a piece of cloth about their loins. Their huts are extremely 

 dirty. They are ferocious in their manners, treacherous, cruel, and 

 oppressive ; and a tribe of the Bagoes are complete pirates. 



Political State of Society. It appears that little authority has been 

 introduced among the smaller tribes. They do not keep slaves, and 

 have adopted the practice of selling their prisoners of war to the 

 slave-traders. The larger tribes have established regular govern- 

 ment, with a king and a hereditary nobility. Each town or district 

 is under a chief. It would also seem that certain revenues aa, for 

 instance, the presents received from the merchants who traverse the 

 country with goods are divided among these petty chiefs. But the 

 king has the power of making war and peace. All these nations 

 keep a considerable number of slaves. The government of Footatoro 

 is a kind of theocratical republic. 



Political Dirinoni and Placet. The whole country along the sea, 

 from the mouth of the Senegal to Cape Verd, and as far inland as 

 the western declivity of the table-land of the Jaloofs, is subject to 

 the king, or Darnel of Kayor, who resides in the town of Macaye. 

 The inhabitants are Jaloofs. Within the boundary of this state is 

 the town of Cogue, which is a commercial place, as two roads unite 

 here, one leading southward to the Gambia, and the other eastward 

 to Footatoro. It has 5000 inhabitants, and many Moors are settled 

 there. The numerous villages on the rocky peninsula of Cape Verd 

 constitute an aristocratical republic, governed by a senate, which is 

 composed of the chiefs of these villages. 



Between Cape Verd and the mouth of the Gambia are the small 

 states of Baol, Sin, and Bam. The French have a commercial 

 establishment at the town of Albreda, the residence of the king of 

 Bam. East of Bam is the small state of Badiboo. 



North of Bam and Badiboo is the state of Salum, which extends 

 westward to the sea, where it occupies both sides of the river Joombas. 

 The capital Cahore is built on its banks, and small vessels can ascend 

 a* far a* the town. It has some commerce with the French settle- 

 ment of Gone. Among other small states situated in the lower 

 region, between the Senegal and Gambia, are those of Yanimaroo, 

 Katoba, Wooli, Walo, Burba, Jaloof, and Footatoro, The last named 

 stale, which is more extensive than most of the others, is divided 

 asaong seven chiefs, who form a council, and elect a marabout, or 

 priest, far their king, who however can do nothing without the consent 

 of the council, and reigns only during its pleasure. It frequently 

 happens that this chief of the federative aristocracy is changed two 

 or three times in a year. The capital of Footatoro is Chuloigne. 

 Sedo and Canel are rather large towns. The inhabitants are chiefly 

 Foolahs. 



In the mountain region and contiguous to the western and southern 

 banks of the Senegal is Oalam. which comprehends the country from 

 the Falls of Feeloo (10' W W. long.) westward, but does not extend 

 to a great distance from the river. It is densely inhabited, a string 

 of towns occurring along the banks of the river, among which Tuabo, 

 Makanna, and Mussala are considerable places. The inhabitants are 

 mostly SerrawoUie* ; they are distinguished by their mannfaetnre of 

 cotton staffs, to which they give a ins and permanent blue colour. 

 Between Galam and Wooli on the Gambia is Bondoo, the most power- 

 ful state in these parts of Senegambu, which is probably owing to 

 the king, whose title is Alamy, being less dependent on the chiefs of 

 the village* and towns. The inhabitant*, who are a mixture of Jaloofs, 

 Foolahs, Srmwollies, and Uandingoes, are much occupied in trade 

 sad manufacture* The most important places are Boolibany and 

 Tatteeooda. East of Bondoo and south of Kajaaga is Bambouk, 

 which is noted for its gold-mines. [BAMBOOB.] 



The other states which lie farther east and south in the most 

 elevated part of the mountain region and between the numerous 

 tributaries of the Senegal, are much less known than thoee hitherto 

 described. The most extensive are Foolado, the ancient country of 

 the Foolahs, who however were expelled from it by the Mandingoes, 

 with the towns of Koeena, Keminoom, and Bangaasi; Manding, the 

 native country of the Mandingoes, which comprehends the most 

 sastsiu portion of the mountain region, and has several mines of gold, 

 with the towns of Sibidooloo and Kamalia; Jallon Kadoo, the unin- 

 habited wilderness which extends between the sources of several 

 branches of the river Senegal ; Konkodoo on the Ba Fing, or principal 

 branch of the Senega), which has some rich mines of gold, with the 

 town of Konkroma ; Satadoo, with the capital of the same name ; and 

 DsntOla, with the towns of Baniserile and Kirwani, which is inhabited 

 by very intelligent agriculturist*, and where there are several smelt- 

 in* furnaces. On the river Gambia are the small states of Neola, 

 with the town of Tambacunda, and Tends, with the town of 



It does not appear that there is any large kingdom or state south 

 of the Gambia, with the exception of that of Foota Jallon. Indeed 

 a* this sUto has subjected the tribe of the Landamas, who inhabit 

 the country between that river and the Nuftex, and rendered it 

 tributary, it may be said that it* dominions extend to the very shores 

 of the sea. The principal seat of its power is the well cultivated and 

 populous plains of the elevated table-land of Foota Jallon, where the 

 capital, Timbo, not far from the sources of the Senegal, contains 7000 



OICXX DIT. TOL IV. 



inhabitants, and several other towns contain from 3000 to 5000 inhabit- 

 ants. Most of the inhabitants are Foolahs, but in the fastnesses of the 

 mountains there are still some small native tribes of negroes. In the 

 country which extends between Foota Jallon and the coast, each 

 village appears to have a chief, but no political connection subsists 

 among the villages. 



European Settlements and their Trade. The European settlements 

 in Senegambia are strictly commercial. The settlers have not acquired 

 the property of any laud, except the place on which they have settled, 

 and no cultivation is carried on by them or their people, except at a 

 few spots which are rather gardens than plantations. Each of the 

 three European nations which have formed settlements has taken 

 possession as it were of one of the three large rivers, the French of 

 the Senegal, the English of the Gambia, and the Portuguese of the 

 Rio Grande. Each has built a fortress on an island not far from the 

 the mouth of the river, which serves aa a safe place of deposit for 

 goods which are imported, and from which the productions of the 

 country are shipped. The merchants set out from these places in 

 huge river boats with their goods at certain seasons of the year, and 

 ascend the rivers as far as they are navigable. They stop at certain 

 points to which the natives bring their productions to exchange for 

 European manufactures. 



The principal French settlement is St-Louis, a town containing 

 about 15,000 inhabitants, of whom about 800 are whites. It is built 

 on a sandy island, about two miles long and a quarter of a mile wide 

 on an average, which is about five miles from the mouth of the river. 

 Only vessels drawing less than 12 feet of water can sail up to the 

 town, as there is a bar across the mouth of the river. [SENEGAL.] 

 The French have also two small fortresses on the banks of the Senegal, 

 one at Podlior, at the western extremity of the island of Morfil, and 

 the other at Bakel, or Baquellc, in the kingdom of Lower Galnm, not 

 far from the junction of the Faleme with the Senegal. Between 

 I'odhor and St-Louis there are several places to which the Moors of 

 the tribes of the Trarza and Braknaa bring at certain seasons the gum 

 which they collect in the mimosa forests of the south-western districts 

 of the Sahara. Such places are called markets, and are only inhabited 

 during the stay of the Moors. The most frequented are the Escale- 

 du-Desert and the Escale-dn-Coq, or Braknas. The French have also 

 a fortress on the island of Gone, near Cape Verd [GOREE], and an 

 establishment at the month of the river Casamanza, which enters the 

 sea between the Gambia and the Rio Grande. 



The English settlements are principally on the Gambia, [GAMBIA 

 CoLorr.] 



The Portuguese settlements are dispersed along the banks of the 

 different arms of the Rio Grande and on the Casamanza. The principal 

 settlement is Maun, a well-built fort and town on a large and fertile 

 island of the Jeba branch of the Rio Grande. It has about 3000 

 inhabitants, and an excellent and spacious port : the population con- 

 sists chiefly of mulattoes and blacks. Higher up the same branch of 

 the Rio Grande is Jeba, with a population short of 1000 inhabitants, 

 which likewise consists of black* and mulattoes. On the southern 

 branch of the Rio Grande is Bolula, a mercantile establishment, and 

 on the northern or Cacheo branch the town of Cacheo, a considerable 

 place with a harbour, which however is only accessible to vessels 

 drawing 10 feet of water, as a bar runs across the mouth of the 

 riviT. In the country of the Feloops, between the Cacheo branch of 

 the Rio Grande and the Gambia, the Portuguese have several settle- 

 ments, as at Zinghinchor and Mahia Kakonda on the Casamanza 

 Kiver, and at Vintang on a small river which falls into the Gambia. 

 To all these places the natives bring ivory, wax, bides, horns, and 

 some gold, the greater part of which is shipped to England from 

 Pisesn and Cacheo. Many Portuguese have settled in this country as 

 agriculturists, and have married black women. The number of 

 mulattoes in these parts is considerable. 



Nearly all the articles of commerce which are exported from the 

 European settlements in Senegambia are brought from the interior by 

 small caravans or cafilas, which sometimes proceed to the coast, but 

 generally stop at certain places where commercial establishments are 

 found, and take in exchange for their goods, fire-arms, powder, India 

 goods, coral, amber, glass beads, iron, tobacco, rum, and cutlery. 

 Though a great part of Senegambia is rich in iron-ore, the process of 

 obtaining the metal from it is so rude and requires so much labour, 

 that many of the natives prefer buying it from Europeans. 



Commerce witk S6dan and Timbuctoo. A considerable commerce is 

 carried on between Senegambia and the countries farther east. The 

 principal articles of trade are salt, slaves, and gold. A large portion 

 of gold collected in the countries situated on the banks of the upper 

 branches of the Senegal goes to Timbuctoo, and thence to the 

 countries on the south of the Mediterranean. The cafilas by which 

 this commerce is carried on follow two routes. The most northern 

 departs from the Senegal in the kingdom of Kajaaga, or Upper Galam, 

 to which country the traders go from all parts of Senegambia. Hence 

 the road runs east-north-east to Yarn, and then east to Benown in 

 Ludamar. From Benown it continues east through countries which 

 are little inhabited on account of their sterility, to Walet in Beroo. 

 From Walet it again passes through deserts, until it approaches the 

 Joliba near Baracanga, whence it continues at a short distance from 

 the bank* of the river to Timbuctoo. The southern caravan-route 



