554 
Guinea. edith, “ when a king of Apollonia died, one or two 
human beings were sacrificed every Saturday, until the 
grand ceremony took place, which did not happen till 
six months after his decease. On that occasion, up- 
wards of fifty persons were sacrificed, and two of his 
youngest wives were put into the grave. The lid of 
the coffin was covered with human blood, and gold 
dust sprinkled upon it, and much gold and rich cloths 
were deposited in the grave. , ‘ 
The diseases incident to the natives of Guinea are, 
leprosy, which is greatly dreaded, and generally con- 
sidered incurable; though, in its milder form, and 
when early attended to, it is sometimes removed. It 
is in some places supposed to be contagious, and the 
sufferers are excluded from society. The natives em- 
ploy chiefly vesicating and excoriating substances in 
the milder cases. Yaws, appearing in white crusted 
spots on the skin, not a common but a very infectious 
disease, and though repressed for a time, is NeWer ras 
dically cured. Elephantiasis, an enormous hard swe 
ling of the legs, which is also incurable. Smallpo 
which causes great ravages wherever it appears, and to~ 
which the natives in general apply no remedy ; but, in 
some parts of the coast, inoculation is practised, and 
the puncture usually made at the wrist. Guinea-worm, 
culiar to the sea coast, and supposed to be occasioned 
y drinking water full of animalcule, as it is seldom 
experienced in places provided with good water. It is 
considered by others as rather produced by absorption 
through the pores of the skin, as persons are known to 
receive it by going to the pools for water, and by in- 
fection from others. The legs are the most common 
seat of the disease, though occasionally it has appeared 
in other parts of the body. The worm itself sane 
no bigger than a large woollen thread, of a whitish co-« 
lour, and rather flattened in its form ; but some have 
been extracted above thirteen feet in length. Much 
in is felt before it protrudes through the skin, and an 
inflammatory tumour is produced, through which the 
creature fe he its appearance. The natives then ap- 
ply a slip of wood to the sore; and, when the worm 
comes in contact with it, they carefully turn it round, 
so as to wind the worm upon it, leaving it suspended 
in this situation, that the weight may draw it out more 
speedily. If the animal is broken, the part remaining ‘sti 
in the flesh generally recedes, and may not reappear for 
months ; and, unless properly managed, much pain and 
dangerous sores are often the consequence.— Enlarged 
scrotum, supposed to be caused by an immoderate use 
_ of palm wine.—Dysentery, which the natives treat 
with great success, by administering drastic purgatives, 
followed by stimulating astringent clysters, makin 
use of suppositories, keeping the patient warm, an 
frequently imbrocating the loins and belly with a com- 
position of pepper.—Ophthalmia, which though not 
common, is troublesome at some seasons, but chiefl 
occasioned by excesses in living ; and is treated by the 
natives only with topical remedies, inserting lime juice 
into the ‘eye, and drawing blood from the temples. 
—Fevers, which are most prevalent after the perio- 
dical rains ; and, excepting a few external applications, 
such as ablutions with warm water, and rubbing the 
body with certain herbs, are left by the natives to the 
powers of nature.—Rheumatism, a common disorder, 
successfully removed by tepid applications and warm 
clothing.—Internal inflammations, pleurisies, and pul- 
monary diseases, are very general during the rainy 
season. The medical practitioners of the country are 
principally temales, whose skill is transmitted from one 
Stran; arriving in the country are directed, 
bs aeredith, 8 wh 
GUINEA. 
generation to another, and who perform the opera- © 
tions of scarification and cupping with great dexterity, = 
as well as discover considerable botanical knowledge 7" 
in the selection of herbs and plants. The male physi- 
cians are generally ranked among the Fetish men, and 
are much greater empyrics than the women, imposing 
upon the credulity, or working upon the imaginations 
of their patients, by pretending to expel the evil in« 
fluence, or extract the prc, cause of their suffers 
ings. oi 
The insalubrity of the climate to Euro is un- Clit 
derstood to have been greatly exaggerated, and to be 
chiefly owing to their own excesses and neglect of proper 
precentianas iis climate of Guinea is gies 3 ior to 
that of Guiana, which lies under the same parallel ; and 
any part of the coast, if cleared and improved, would 
not be less healthful, it has been affirmed, than Bar« 
badoes, the most salubrious of the West India are 
to avoid, as much as possible, the mentum “| 
, by keeping within doors from eight o’clock inthe 
morning to three in the afternoon, but to take regu 
exercise before and after these hours ; to travel during 
the night with heavy clothing to protect the body from. 
the dews, or, if necessitated to go out in the day-time, to 
use an umbrella, and place a handkerchief or two be- 
tween the head and the hat, to rub the body well with 
coarse cloths, and put on warm clothing after getting 
wet, and, if much exposed to rain, to bathe in salt wa« 
we but never to apply = i rex? surface of the 
ly; to use cold ba uently, to practise early 
rising, to take animal food only once a day, and to wear 
flannel next the body ; to counteract the damp air of 
the wet season by heavy clothing, warm ents, 
and even occasional fumigation of the rooms with vine- 
gar, sulphur, or tobacco; and, in the dry months of 
December and January, to be more attentive to exer- 
cise in the open air, temperance in living, and the use 
of cooling laxatives. . Persons just arrived in the coun- 
try are particularly warned to be sparin iet, re- 
fraining from salt meat, and freely usi ; 
acid fruits; to drink also sparingly, using chiefly 
‘um and water, wine and water, lemonade, &c. ; to 
take the cold bath every day, and avoid the heat of the 
| as much as possibles and to keep the body gent, 
open by means of salts, cream of tartar, or similar coo 
ing purgatives, of which a dose should be taken’ every 
week for two months, till the constitution becomes ha- 
bituated to the climate. 
Europeans have hitherto made no attempt to extend 
their commerce to the interior of the country ; but, 
with the exception of slaves, (which must soon cease, 
it is hoped, to be enumerated among articles of traffic, ) 
have confined themselves to a very limited coast-trade. 
The afticles of which it consists are chiefly Peppes 
palm oil, cowries, ivory, gold; in exchange for which, 
they“import lead, iron, fire-arms, gunpowder, tobacco, 
spirits, tob: ipes, vessels of brass, woollenssand 
cottons of British manufacture, and especially East In- 
dia cotton goods, which are most esteemed in the coun« 
try. All the ivory is procured from the interior, and, 
in all the inland countries, gold is found in consider- 
able quantities, The native traders penetrate toa great 
distance into the interior in quést of these articles, or 
rather they pass through numerous hands from nation 
to nation till they reach the commercial establishments 
on the coast ; but all the people, concerned in this in« 
land traffic, are extremely mysterious in their operas — 
tions, and very reluctant to communicate the slightest — 
1 
