THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 153 
thefe, beads, needles, cohol, and incenfe at times only, are 
confidered.as money. The articles depend greatly on chance, 
which or whether any are current for the time or not; but 
the latter is often not demanded ; and, for the. firft, there are 
modes and fafhions among thefe barbarians, and all, except 
thofe of. a certain colour and form, are ufelefs. We have 
already {poken of the fafhions, fuch as we have found them, 
at Kella, and we heard they were the fame here at Siré. But 
thefe people were not of a humour to buy and fell with us. 
They were not perfectly fatisfied that Michael was alive, 
and waited only a confirmation of the news of his defeat, 
to make their own terms with all ftrangers unfortunate 
enough to fall into their hands. On the other hand, we 
were in poffeffion of fuperior force, and, knowing their in- 
clinations, we treated them pretty much in the manner 
they would have done us. 
‘On the 22d of January, at night, I obferved the paflage of 
many ftars over the meridian, and, after that, of the fun on 
the 23d at noon; taking a medium of all obfervations, I de- 
termined the latitude of Siré to ‘be 14° 4’ 35” north. The 
fame evening, I obferved an immerfion of the firft fatellite 
of Jupiter, by which I concluded its longitude to be 38° 0’ 
15” eaft of the meridian of Greenwich, 
ALTHOUGH Siré is fituated in one of the fineft-countries in 
the world, like other places it has its inconveniencies. Pu- 
trid fevers, of the very wortt kind, are almoft conftant here: 
and there did then actually reign a fpecies of thefe that 
{wept away a number of people-daily.. I did not think the 
behaviour of the inhabitants of this province to me was 
fuch as required my expofing myfelf to the infection for 
Mou. IIL, : the 
