THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION. 
tures, whose heads were of a singular structure and 
uncommon form, exceedingly narrow, long, and pro- 
tuberant. The Sennaar caravan is the most rich ; 
that of Darfur is not equally so, though it trades 
with almost the same commodities. This, how- 
ever, can surprise no one, who considers that there 
are numerous circumstances which influence the 
internal African trade, besides the extent of the 
journey and the nature of the commodities. The 
deserts of burning and moveable sand which are 
to be traversed ; the pestilential qualities of the 
suffocating winds that sweep these arid wastes, 
which look as if the God of nature had forgot to 
accomplish the work he had begun ; the moral 
habits and social state of the savage tribes that 
prowl with the wild beasts over the desert, are not 
only sufficient to deter the adventurous mer- 
chant, but even to damp the ardour of religious bi- 
gotry. 
Wangara, to which the caravans also traded, 
was represented to Mr Ledyard as a kingdom pro- 
ducing much gold; but the king seems to have 
intermeddled in commerce as well as the potentate 
of Sennaar ; for, in order to deceive strangers, and 
prevent them from guessing at the extent of his 
riches, he was reported to vary continually the 
gold used in barter, which it was his province to 
regulate, and of which he issued at one time a 
great quantity, and at others little or none. A 
