836 



NIGRITIA. 



legged plover, and g hundred species of, to me at least, unknown water-fowl, were sporting 

 around me, and it was long before I could disturb the tranquillity of the dwellers on these 

 waters by firing a 'gun. The soil near the edge of the lake was a firm, dark sand ; and as a 

 proof of the great overflowings and recedings of the waters, even in this advanced dry season, 

 the stalks of the gussub of the preceding year were standing in the lake more than 40 yards 

 from the shore. The water is sweet and pleasant and abounds with fish." It is about 200 

 miles in length and 150 in breadth, and receives a large river from the west called the Yeoti, 

 and another from the south called the Shary. 



4. Climate. Th's country being comprised between the parallels of 8° and 17° N. latitude 

 must necessarily ha\ e a very warm climate. The more elevated parts, however, are tempe- 

 rate. The rainy season, which begins in .June, is ushered in by tornadoes ; it continues till 

 November, and ceases also with tornadoes. 



5. Minerals. Many parts of this country are productive in gold ; but it does not appear 

 that any mines have been wrought by the negroes. After the annual inundations have sub- 

 sided, great numbers of people are employed in collecting the mud brought down by the 

 streams from the mountains. By an operation somewhat tedious, the small particles of gold 

 generally called gold dust are separated from the mud and sand ; this is done by repeated 

 washings, the labor of which is performed by women. 



6. -JS'alural Productions. jNigrilia, like all tropical countries, abounds in fruits ; but it seems 

 to be deficient in several of the species, which are found in America, in the same latitude. 

 Park did not observe, here, either the sugar-cane, the coffee, or the cocoa. The pine-apple 

 was likewise unknown. The few orange and banana trees, near the coast, were supposed to 

 have been introduced by the Portuguese. The most remarkable productions of this country, 

 are the lotus., which furnishes the negroes with a sweet liquor and a sort of bread ; the shea, a 

 tree like an oak, the fruit of which, dried in the sun and boiled in water, yields a species of 

 vegetable butter, which Park thought superior to that of cow's milk ; various gum-bearing 

 trees, and the gooroo, or Sudan nut, called by the Arabs the Sudan cofiee, are also valuable 

 trees. 



7. J3nimals. The Lion, which is common to almost every part of Africa, grows, here, to 

 a very large size. Major Denham furnishes us with the following anecdote ; — " The skin of 



a noble lion was sent me by the sheik, which 

 had been taken near Kabsliary, measuring, 

 from the tail to the nose, 14 feet 2 inches. 

 He had devoured 4 slaves, snd was at last 

 taken by the following stratagem; — the in- 

 habitants assembled together, and with loud 

 cries and noises, drove him from the place 

 where he had last feasted ; they then dug a 

 very deep blaqua, or circular hole, armed with 

 sharp-pointed stakes ; this, they most cunning- 

 ly covered over, with stalks of the gussub ; a 

 bundle of straw, enveloped in a tobe, was laid 

 over the spot, to which a gentle motion, like 

 that of a man turning in sleep, w-as occasionally 

 given, by means of a line carried to some dis- 

 tance. On their quitting the spot, and the 

 noise ceasing, the lion returned to his haunt, 



A Lion approaching his prey. 



under which the owners and their families live. The 

 river now took a southerly direction, and, at tlie distance 

 of three or four days' navigation, w,as joined by another 

 river nearly as large as itself, falling in from the north- 

 eastward. This stream was also in a state of inundation, 

 and from two to three miles in width. It was called the 

 Tshadda. 



Below the junction of the Tshadda the Quorra passes 

 through the mountains, which appear to increase in 

 height towards the southeast quarter, and probably termi- 

 nate in those lofty peaks which are seen from the Bight 

 of Benin, and have been found by trigonometrical meas- 

 urement to be from twelve to thirteen thousand feet 



and was observed watching his trap for 7 or 8 



high. Having cleared the mountain pass, the voyagers 

 arrive at a town called Kirree, at which place the great 

 delta of the Quorra may be considered to commence, ex- 

 tending southwesteily lo the moulh of the river Beein, 

 and south-soutlieast to that of Old Calabar, the distance 

 between these two mouths being about two hundred and 

 forty miles, and that from Kirree to the mouth of the 

 river Nun, about the same. This great delta is intersect- 

 ed witli numerous branches of the Quorra, the banks 

 generally overflowed, and the mangrove trees growing in 

 the water; the whole surface low, fl.->t, and swampy, 

 abounding with creeks. 



