198 
DISCOVERIES OF THE FRENCH. 
dices against the African character. He was in- 
vited to dinner by the chief of the village, named 
Bab a Sec, They dined without table, table-cloth, 
spoon, knife, fork, or napkin. A large wooden 
bowl of kous-kous was placed in the middle, round 
which the company sat cross-legged on the sand. 
Each thrust his right hand, by way of spoon, into 
the kous-kous, and conveyed it to his mouth with 
the utmost ease and expedition. 
The houses of the natives resemble our ice- 
houses. The walls are of reeds fastened together, 
and supported by stakes driven into the ground. 
These walls are from five to six feet high, and are 
covered with a roof of straw, of a circular form, 
and terminating in a point. The diameter of the 
whole habitation does not exceed ten or fifteen 
feet. The door is square, and so low, that, in en- 
tering, it becomes necessary to bring the chin and 
knees into contact. The houses being built with- 
out the smallest attention to order, and with trees 
intermixed, compose such a labyrinth, that a stran- 
ger cannot walk through the smallest town without 
losing himself. The streets, or rather intervals, 
are entirely composed of that white and soft sand, 
which forms the general soil of the country. As 
the natives spend much of their time in the open 
air, this sand serves at once for table, couch, sofa, 
and bed. 
The negroes, upon the Senegal, are considered 
