844 



NIGRITIA. 



much attached to their motlieis ; " Strike me! but do not curse my mother," is sometimes 

 said, in their quarrels, when either parly would set a limit to exasperation. The Mandingo 

 mothers instil early, in their children, a reverence for truth ; the foundation of all virtue. 

 The principal expressions that grief, for the loss of her son, extorted from an African mother, 

 were, " He never told a lie, he never told a lie." Travelers find a universal disposition to 

 steal, but this is exercised only towards strangers, and it is the fault of most rude people. 



The slaves in Africa are supposed, by Park, to be to the free, as 3 to 1. The system of 

 servitude is the scourge of Africa, no less than the curse of America. There is no safety for 

 liberty ; wars are made between neighboring tribes, from no other motives than to make cap- 

 tures, though the aggressors commonly offer the excuse, that their victims are cannibals ; as if 

 any crime could be greater than kidnapping. Villages are attacked and burnt, and the people 



led into captivity ; the huntsman is kidnapped 

 in the wood, and the husbandman in the field. 

 The domestic slaves, however, are well treat- 

 ed, and generally live as members of the fam- 

 ily. Among the Fellatalis, an agricultural 

 people, they work half the day in the fields, 

 and have the remainder to themselves. There 

 are 4 general causes of servitude. Captivity, 

 surrender, crimes, and insolvency. The cap- 

 tured, as well as their descendants, are slaves. 

 But in famine, which is not of rare occurrence, 

 men not only sell themselves, but their chil- 

 dren, to obtain present support. Some crimes, 

 in several places, subject the convicts to slave- 

 ry, and insolvency is as hardly visited. In 

 Bornou, however, the laws are more merciful 

 and just. There, the creditor may take pos- 

 session of his debtor's property, pay himself, and reserve commission for his trouble. If the 

 debtor refuses his consent, he is pinioned and laid upon his back till he relents. When the 

 property will not pay the debt, the insolvent pleads his poverty, and the cadi says, " God send 

 you means," to which the bystanders respond, " amen," and the debtor is free. The creditor 

 may, however, at any time, have his debtor's property, even to the second shirt, or superflu- 

 ous red cap. 



Among a simple and ignorant people, we may expect to find some customs, that may seem 

 as ridiculous in polished nations, as European manners in Africa. Thus, at Bornou, it is a 

 great recommendation, at court, to have a protuberant belly. It is considered the type of 

 abundance, and honored accordingly. All merit, however, has counterfeits, and the aspiring 

 courtier, whom a course of fattening diet cannot enlarge, deprived of the reality, indulges In 

 resemblance. He stuffs himself with cushions, so that the belly is out of all proportion with 



Battle between two Negro nations. 



structions how to conduct myself. This was very dis- 

 couraging. However, as there was no remedy, I set oft' 

 for the village, where I found, to my great mortification, 

 that no person would admit me into his house. I was re- 

 garded with astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit 

 all day, without victuals, in the shade of a tree; and the 

 night threatened to be very uncomfortable, for tlie wind 

 rose, and there was great appearance of a heavy rain ; and 

 the wild beasts are so very numerous in the neighborhood, 

 that I should have been under the necessity of climbing 

 up the tree, and resting among the branches ; about sun- 

 set, however, as I was preparing to pass the night in this 

 manner, and had turned my horse loose, tiiat he might 

 graze at liberty, a woman, returning from the labors of the 

 field, stopped to observe me ; and, perceiving that I was 

 weary and dejected, inquired into my situation, which I 

 oriefly explained to her; whereupon, with looks of great 

 compassion, she took up my saddle and bridle, and told 

 me to follow lier. Having conducted me into her hut, she 

 lighted up a lamp, spread a mat on the floor, and told me I 

 might remain there for the night. Finding that I was very 

 hungry, she said she would procure me something to eat. 

 She accordingly went out, and returned in a short time, 

 with a very fine fish, which, having caused to be half 



broiled upon some embers, she gave me for supper. The 

 rites of hospitality being thus performed towards a stran- 

 ger in distress, my worthy benefactress, pointing to the 

 mat, and telling me I might sleep there without apprehen- 

 sion, called to the female part of her family, who had stood 

 gazing on me all the while, in fixed astonishment, to re- 

 sume their task of spinning cotton, in which they contin- 

 ued to employ themselves great part of the night. They 

 lightened their labor by songs, one of which was composed 

 extempore, for I was myself the subject of it. It was sung 

 by one of the women, the rest joining in a sort of chorus. 

 The air was sweet and plaintive, and the words, literally 

 translated, were these. ' The winds roared, and the rains 

 fell. The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat 

 under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk ; no 

 wife to grmd his corn. Chorus. Let us pity the white 

 man; no mother has he, &c. &c.' Trifling as this recital 

 may appear to the reader, to a person in my situation the 

 circumstance was aSecting in the highest degree. I was 

 oppressed by such unexpiected kindness, and sleep fled 

 from my eyes. In the morning, I presented my compas- 

 sionate landlady with 2 of the 4 brass buttons, which re- 

 mained on my waistcoat, the only recompense I could 

 make her." 



