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DISCOVERIES OF THE ENGLISH. 239 
to proceed farther. He learned on better autho- 
rity, that the town of Barraconda had been broke, 
that is, entirely destroyed, and its inhabitants carried 
off by a hostile chieftain. Accordingly, on arriving 
there, they scarcely found ruins sufficient to indi- 
cate the scite on which this trading town, once so 
famous, had stood. A spacious plain here extend- 
ed four miles from the river, being the most ex- 
tensive track of level land he had yet seen on the 
Gambia. Next day, the negroes in a body an- 
nounced their determination to proceed no farther. 
They represented, that no one had ever ascended 
above Barraconda ; that Barraconda was the end 
of the world ; or, if there existed any thing be- 
yond, it was merely a country of savages, with 
whom their lives would be every moment in dan- 
ger. All the arguments and entreaties of our na- 
vigator proved ineffectual, till the irresistible powers 
of a bottle of brandy were called to their aid ; af- 
ter which, they at length agreed to go as far as the 
Europeans went, and no farther. 
Stibbs now proceeded to pass the falls of Barra- 
conda. They consist of two solid beds of rock, 
extending from the opposite sides of the river, and 
each occupying about a third of its breadth. The 
space between was choaked up with large single 
rocks lying so close to each other, as in general to 
render a passage impossible. Our party found only 
one, close to the great bed on the north side, and 
