264 PEOPLE OF TORON. 
the Mandingoes, whom, however, they do not resemble in 
features. Their faces are rather round, their noses short, 
though not flat, and their lips thin. I never saw any women 
of that nation, but I presume that their dress is neither 
more elegant nor cleaner than that of the men, con- 
sisting, I suppose, of a piece of their own cotton cloth fasten- 
ed round their waists. These people have woolly hair, and 
wear it platted. The custom of the country allows a man to 
take as many wives as he can support, but the obligation of 
giving a large present to the bride's mother deters them 
from taking so many wives as they would otherwise do. 
This custom prevails generally among all idolatrous nations. 
Toron is subject to numerous petty chiefs, all independent 
of each other, and possessing despotic authority. The dig- 
nity of chief is hereditary. The people rear large herds of 
oxen and sheep, and keep a great quantity of fowls. Their 
mountainous country furnishes them with honey, of which 
they are extremely fond, and which they bring for sale to the 
market of Kankan. Their fertile soil produces all the ne- 
cessaries of life ; and I was told that they bestow great care 
on its cultivation. They grow rice, yams, cassava, pistachio- 
nuts, foigne, maize, and millet. They manufacture a great 
deal of cotton stuff, not more than five inches broad. I have 
seen them wear poniards of their own making, and they 
also make their agricultural implements, but where they get 
the iron I did not learn. The inhabitants of Toron are often 
at war with the people of Kankan, who wish to make 
them embrace the religion of the Prophet. They are natu- 
rally brave, and vigorously repel the attacks of the Musul 
mans, who are not sufficiently strong to keep up a continual 
warfare. 
But to return to the market. It is always well stocked 
with European goods, brought from the coast by Mandingo 
merchants, consisting of muskets, powder, printed calico, 
blue and white Guinea cloth, amber, coral, glass beads, and 
