INTERIOR OF AFRICA. 187 
a lock of my hair. He had been told, he said, that white men's 
hair made a saphie, that would give to the possessor all the 
knowledge of white men. I had never before heard of so 
simple a mode of education, but instantly complied with the 
request; and my landlord's thirst for learning was such, that, 
with cutting and pulling, he cropped one side of my head 
pretty closely; and would have done the same with the other, 
had I not signified my disapprobation, by putting on my hat, 
and assuring him, that I wished to reserve some of this precious 
merchandize for a future occasion. 
I reached a small town called Wassiboo, about twelve o'clock, 
where I was obliged to stop until an opportunity should offer of 
procuring a guide to Satil^, which is distant a very long day's 
journey, through woods without any beaten path. I accordingly 
took up my residence at the Booty's house, where I staid four 
days; during which time I amused myself by going to the fields 
with the family to plant corn. Cultivation is carried on here on 
a very extensive scale; and, as the natives themselves express it, 
" hunger is never known." In cultivating the soil, the men and 
women work together. They use a large sharp paddle, much su- 
perior to the paddle used in Gambia; but they are obliged, for 
fear of the Moors, to carry their arms with them to the field. 
The master, with the handle of his spear, marks the field into 
regular plats, one of which is assigned to every three slaves. 
On the evening of the iith, eight of the fugitive Kaartans 
arrived at Wassiboo. They had found it impossible to live under 
the tyrannical government of the Moors, and were now going to 
Bb,2 
