-238 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
In Kourma, the merchants who occupy almoft the whole of 
the place, are called the Jeiara^ moft of them born in the 
Upper Egypt. Exclufively of them and their dependents, the 
number of people in that town is inconfiderable. Twice in 
the week a market is held there for meat and other provifions, 
as at Cobbe. 
Cubcabia is a confiderable town, and its inhabitants various 
and numerous. It forms the key of the Weftern roads, as 
Sweini of the Northern ; and is the depot of all the merchan- 
dize that is brought from that quarter. A market is held there 
twice a week, in which the chief medium of exchange for arti- 
cles of fmall value is fait, which the inhabitants make by col- 
lecting and boiling the earth of thofe places where horfes, afles, 
or other animals have been long ftationary. This market is ce- 
lebrated for the quantity of tokeas, and for the manufacture, if 
fo it may be called, of leather, which they are very dextrous in 
ftripping of the hair, tanning, and then forming into large and 
durable facks for corn, {geraubs,) water, {ray,) and other pur- 
pofes. The tokeas are cotton cloths, of five, fix, or eight yards 
long, and eighteen to twenty-two inches wide : they are ftrong 
but coarfe, and form the covering of all the lower clafs of both 
fexes. The inhabitants are partly Furians, who fpeak their own 
language, in part Arabs, and partly from fome of the Weftern 
countries, as Bergoo, &c. There are alfo fome of the race called 
Feialidj and other defcriptions. 
InCours are found fome merchants from the river; the remain- 
der are fukkara^ who affed extraordinary fan(ftity, and are diftin- 
guifhed 
