416 CROSSING THE KORABA. 
made us pay in advance^ and counted their cowries two 
or three times over, to be assured that we had not deceived 
them. I was impatient at this delay. The asses also gave 
us infinite trouble; it was necessary to make them swim 
over, for the canoes were too small to receive them ; when 
they got into the middle of the river, these animals turned 
and would have gone back to the bank which they had just 
left. At length, one of the negroes, whose patience was worn 
out, put cords round the necks of the asses, and fastening 
the other end round his own waist, swam across, whilst the 
other Mandingoes, who were behind, beat the animals and thus 
forced them on. We reached the right bank without 
experiencing any other difficulty. I asked a Mandingo ne- 
gress to give me some water in a calabash, and she was 
good enough to add a little millet-flour to it. It was near 
noon when we left the bank of the river and proceeded 
towards the N. E. over a clayey soil. The country in gene- 
ral was very open. I perceived some nauclea Africana. 
The soil is covered with ferruginous stones, and in every 
direction are to be seen hills of no great height, most of 
which extend from N. W. to east and are covered with ces, 
at least those which 1 saw. About half past two in the af- 
ternoon, having proceeded four miles and a half, we halted 
at Douasso a village shaded by numerous baobabs and bom- 
baces. The wells, which were between twelve and fourteen 
feet deep, afforded clean and pleasant water. 
The surrounding country is very level and covered with 
nedes. Part of our caravan remained at Couara, not being 
able to cross the river that day. We were to wait for them 
at this village. I visited the market, which I found supplied 
with fish, fresh and dried, a great deal of millet, some rice, 
pistachios, maumies, and plenty of cotton. The women of 
our caravan obtained some colat-nuts from their husbands, to 
purchase this last article. They spin it, and, as I said be- 
fore, whatever profit it produces, is their own. I saw some 
