250 CROSSING THE RIVER, 
would allow me to pass duty free. The chief was a man 
about fifty years of age^ five feet and some inches high. 
His countenance was mild^ nay even pleasing. 
On returning to our hut^ we bought some fresh fish for 
supper. It was of the kind resembling the carp, which I 
have already mentioned. It measures about eight inches 
long and four or five broad^ and is very bony. The general 
food of the inhabitants is boiled rice without salt, but 
seasoned with a sauce made of dry fish minced. They also 
eat fresh fish. With the foigne they make a sort of thick 
pudding, which they call tau. This is the sangleh of the 
Senegal. They eat this tau with a sauce made of herbs or 
pistachio-nuts ; the latter they cultivate very abundantly. 
As salt is beginning to be dear, they use it on festivals and 
rejoicing days only. They gather the fruit of the ce and 
nede, from which they obtain butter. I saw some heaps of 
the seeds of these trees freshly gathered and exposed to the 
rain. They were already beginning to germinate. 
On the 13th of June, we crossed the river in canoes, 
twenty-five feet long, three wide, and one deep. A great 
number of people were going across, and they were all dis- 
puting, some about the fare that was demanded, others about 
who should go first. They all talked at once and made a 
most terrible uproar. The saracolets had a great deal of 
trouble in getting their asses on board the canoes, and the 
parties who had crossed fired muskets in token of rejoicing, 
which augmented the tumult created by the disputes of the 
negroes. I was obliged to remain exposed to the sun the 
whole morning ; for the banks of the river are very open. 
Along the left bank but one tree was visible. This was a 
large bombax, under which so many people had crowded for 
shade that I could not find room. I saw a number of 
women and girls bathing in the river. They were quite 
naked, but they seemed to care very little about the pre- 
sence of the men. Having finished their ablutions, they 
