MOUNTAINS OF LANTEGUE. 
179 
It was about three in the afternoon when we reached this 
place. The hospitable chief of the village received us very- 
kindly. He sent me a supper of rice and sour milk^ to 
which he added a little melted butter. The village contains 
about three hundred inhabitants, and it has a mosque of the 
same form as the huts. 
At five in the morning of the 25th of April, we took 
leave of our host, to whom my guide, Ibrahim, gave a little 
salt. Our road lay to the S. E. We descended the hill on 
which the village is situated, and then crossed a very fertile 
plain. We arrived at a chain of mountains called, by the 
natives, Lantegue. It extends from N. E. to S. Each of 
these mountains rises perpendicularly to the height of nearly 
two hundred fathoms, and they exhibit scarcely any trace of 
vegetation. We soon found ourselves surrounded by large 
blocks of grey granite of a pyramidal form, resembling the 
ruins of an ancient castle. Having penetrated into the 
gorges of these mountains, which are composed of beautiful 
grey granite, we forded the rivulet called the Doulinca, which 
flows rapidly over a bed of granite from east to south. The 
water was more than knee-deep. We next proceeded to the 
distance of a mile over a fertile and very beautiful plain, sur- 
rounded by large rocks of grey granite. Large bamboos 
grow in the clefts of these enormous rocks. We again 
crossed the Doulinca, near a point where it falls in a cascade, 
the pleasing murmur of which charms the ear of the weary 
traveller. I seated myself for a few moments on the banks 
of the rivulet, while the poor negroes were reposing at a little 
distance, and I contemplated with admiration the beautiful 
scene around me. Though interspersed with mountains 
this district is fertile in the utmost degree, and it is watered 
by numerous streams and rivulets, which keep the verdure 
constantly fresh. The mountains are inhabited by Foulah 
herdsmen, who live secluded from all other society. The 
milk of their cattle, together with the rice which they culti- 
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