384 
DRINKING PARTY. 
gave them to me in exchange for my powder, which might 
fairly have been estimated at double that value. He assured 
me, that he was sorry to leave me at Tangrera, where I 
knew nobody, and that he should feel pleasure in conducting 
me to Sansanding, if I would go with him. He said he no 
longer regarded me as a stranger, since I had lived five months 
with his brother, who had recommended me to him. 
I went to the dwelling of my host, where I spent the 
remainder of the evening. He came and sat by me to bear 
me company. He praised the honesty of his wife, and 
requested me to give her the care of my baggage, as the 
door of my own hut had no fastening. I was frequently 
obliged to go out, and, consequently, might easily have been 
robbed in my absence, and I thought I was less liable to 
incur any loss if I entrusted it to the care of the woman. 
My bag closed with a padlock, and, consequently, it could 
not be opened without my knowledge. My host provided for 
me a good supper of rice, with a sauce of dried fish ; and, in 
return for his attention, I gave the cook some salt to season 
the supper of the whole family. This present more than 
paid for my repast. My host, seeing that 1 had colats, very 
frequently asked me for some. I observed that he drank a 
good deal of beer, and saw him, with several Bambaras, seated 
in his hut round a large vessel of hydromel. They had a little 
calabash, which they filled, and passed round one to another. 
They were all very merry, and my host was so intoxicated 
that he could scarcely speak. This habit of drinking ren- 
dered my residence with him unpleasant. His hut was large, 
built of earth, with a terraced roof. It had two doors, and a 
window in the roof, to admit the air. The cooking was 
performed at one end, not in the middle, as is usual in other 
places in this part of Africa. 
