166 MANUFACTURE AND TRADE. 



being left to the other sex, who, to say the truth, 

 are far the most difficult to deal with. 



Bocqua, or Hickory, as the natives call it, is 

 the centre of this traffic; and a fair of three days' 

 duration is held there every ten days, attended by 

 Eboe and Attah, and even Bonny traders from the 

 south, and those from Egga, Cuttum-CurafFee, 

 and Fundah on the north, besides great numbers 

 from the interior country on both banks of the 

 river. The traders from the upper country 

 bring cloths of native manufacture, beads, ivory, 

 rice, straw-hats, and slaves, all of which they sell 

 for cowries, and buy European goods, chiefly 

 Portuguese and Spanish. About twenty-five 

 large canoes passed us every ten days, on their 

 way to this market, each containing from forty 

 to sixty people. The trade is carried on by 

 money, not by barter : cowries are the circu- 

 lating medium, and their sterling value on an 

 average may be taken at one shilling per thou- 

 sand. The cowries are strung together in por- 

 tions of one and two hundreds, each portion be- 

 ing on a separate string ; but it is necessary to 

 count them, as the natives always endeavour to 

 cheat. The following extract from my trade 



