THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION. 323 
Having formed an acquaintance with the manners 
of the Moors, during his residence as British con- 
sul at Marocco, and with those of the negroes, 
while he remained at Goree in the capacity of 
fort-major, he sailed up the Gambia to Pisania, the 
residence of the hospitable Dr Laidley. Pisania 
is a small village in the kingdom of Yani, esta- 
blished by the English on the banks of the Gam- 
bia as a trading factory. It lies in N. lat, 13° 
35', and W. long. 13° 28'. From Pisania, Ma- 
jor Houghton proceeded to the Mandingo king- 
dom of Woolli, bounded by Walli on the west, 
Bondou on the north-east, and on the east by the 
Simbani wilderness. It is agreeably diversified by 
plains and rising grounds, extremely fertile, and 
well cultivated, in the vicinity of the towns. The 
highest parts of the mountainous ridges exhibit the 
red iron stone, amidst the stunted shrubs, which 
hardly detract from the bleakness of the prospect ; 
cotton, tobacco, and esculent plants, are raised in 
the valleys ; and the intermediate sloping grounds 
are covered with corn. The Pagans are more nu- 
merous than the Mahometans, and retain the as- 
cendancy in the government. At Medina, the 
capital, the major was received with great hospita- 
lity and kindness by the king of Woolli, from whom 
he received various directions concerning the routes 
by which it was possible to penetrate into the in- 
terior regions. The accounts of these regions, 
