FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 73 



an attack ; but the determined language of Brue, and the 

 sight of the great guns which the French had on board, 

 made him reUnquish all hostile intentions. 



The director now reached Dramanet, a thriving town, in- 

 habited by several rich merchants, w^ho traded as far as Tim- 

 buctoo, which, according to their computation, was live hun- 

 dred leagues in the interior. This position was therefore 

 thought the most convenient place for a fort, which was 

 called St. Joseph, and continued long to be the principal seat 

 of French commerce on the Upper Senegal. Brue then 

 went up to Felu, where a large rock, crossing the river, 

 forms a cataract, which it is almost impossible for vessels to 

 pass. Quitting his boats, he proposed to ascend to the falls 

 of Govinea, about forty leagues higher ; but the water was 

 getting so low, that, fearing the navigation downward should 

 be interrupted, he returned to St. Louis. 



Brue, in reply to numerous inquiries made by him on this 

 journey, received accounts of the kingdom of Bambarra, of 

 :he Lake Maberia (Dibbie of Park), of Timbuctoo, of the 

 caravans which came thither from Barbarj', and even of 

 •nasted vessels which were seen on the waters beyond. But 

 the grand object of his research was the course of the Ni- 

 ger, concerning which he received two quite opposite an- 

 Kwers. According to some it flowed westward from the Lake 

 Maberia, till it separated into the two channels of the Gam- 

 bia and Senegal ; but other and juster reports represented 

 it as being distinct from both these rivers, and as passing 

 eastward, beyond Timbuctoo. The testimonies transmitted 

 to France in favour of this last opinion must have greatly 

 preponderated, since both the great geogra,phers, Delille and 

 JD'Anville, adopted this delineation ; and yet the popular 

 ooinion in that country, as well as through Europe in 

 general, long continued to regard the Niger and Senegal as 

 one and the same river. 



Beyond Gallam lay another more tempting region, Bam- 

 bouk, which contains mines of gold, the most productive of 

 all that are to be found in the interior of Western Africa, 

 The difficulty of penetrating thither, however, was extreme, 

 the natives having completely barred the frontier against 

 white men, in consequence of the tyranny exercised by the 

 Portuguese, who had ruled and oppressed the district till 

 Uiey were cut off or expelled by a general insurrccuon. 

 G 



