THE COAST. 343 



in Guinea, were supplied by a contract or Assiento, 

 which at one time was enjoyed by the British crown. 

 We shall now enter into a more particular description of 

 this trade, and of the coast on which it was carried on. 



Sailing through the Straits of Gibraltar, on the left 

 hand for some distance is the fertile country of 

 Morocco, watered by streams descending from the 

 Atlas range. Then comes a sandy shore, on which 

 breaks a savage surf; and when that is passed, a new 

 scene comes to view. The ocean is discoloured ; a 

 peculiar smell is detected in the air ; trees appear as 

 if standing in the water ; and small black specks, the 

 canoes of fishermen, are observed passing to and fro. 



The first region, Senegambia, still partakes of the 

 desert character. With the exception of the palm 

 and the gigantic Adansonia, the trees are for the most 

 part stunted in appearance. The country is open, and 

 is clothed with grass, where antelopes start up from 

 their forms like hares. Here and there are clumps of 

 trees, and long avenues mark the water courses, which 

 are often dry, for there are only three months' rain. 

 The interior abounds with gum-trees, especially on the 

 borders of the desert. The people are Mahometans, 

 fight on horseback, and dwell in towns fortified with 

 walls and hedges of the cactus. In this country the 

 French are masters, and have laid the foundations of 

 a military empire ; an Algeria on a smaller scale. 



But as we pass towards the south, the true character 

 of the coast appears. A mountain wall runs parallel with 

 the sea, and numberless rivers leap down the hill slopes, 

 and flow towards the Atlantic through forest-covered 

 and alluvial lands, which they themselves have formed. 

 These rivers are tidal, and as soon as the salt water 

 begins to mingle with the fresh, their banks are lined 



