CAPTAIN TUCKEY'S NARRATIVE. 197 



swarm in all the huts. A great scarcity of wood fit for 

 building prevails in this country. The stony hills about 

 this part are thinly clad with scrubby trees, which are fit 

 only for fuel ; in many places they resemble an old apple 

 orchard . 



The mornings are calm. The breeze sets in from the 

 westward at noon, and is proportionably strong to the heat 

 of the day, and when the sun has been very hot, continues 

 strong during the night ; the days and nights however are 

 both very cloudy, so that it is impossible to get any obser- 

 A'^ation even in three or four days. 



The hoop by which they ascend the palm trees is formed 

 of a moist supple twig. 



The idea of civilizing Africa by the sending out a few 

 Negroes educated in England, appears to be utterly use- 

 less ; the little knowledge acquired by such persons having 

 the same effect on the universal ignorance and barbarism 

 of their countrymen, that a drop of fresh water would have 

 in the ocean. 



The scarcity of food at this time is extreme. The sole 

 subsistence of the people being manioc, either raw, roasted, 

 or made into coongo, and of this they have by no means an 

 abundance ; and a very i'ew green plantains. A bitter root, 

 Avhich requires four days boiling to deprive it of its per- 

 nicious quality, is also much eaten. 



