COUGALI A. 
441 
which^ like Manianan^ is surrounded by deep moats and 
numerous ronniers. 
On the 10th of March, at six in the morning, we set 
out, proceeding two miles north and then three miles N. N. 
W. We crossed an inundated marsh, being up to our 
waists in water. Here I observed the blue and white 
nymphsea, the seed and root of which the natives use as 
food. In the marshes are to be seen a few small shrubs at 
great distances from each other. In many inundated places 
it was found necessary to unload the asses to get them 
through the water. The men took the loads on their heads, 
and it was only by supporting themselves with sticks that 
they could maintain their equilibrium. 
About eleven in the morning, we arrived much fatigued 
at Galia (or Cougalia), situated on a slight elevation, on the 
bank of the Dhioliba. Galia is a hamlet consisting of five 
or six earth huts, and an equal number of straw cabins, of 
the same shape as those of the Foulahs. The neighbourhood, 
to some distance, is not inundated at this season. I saw 
many ronniers, and, on the bank of the river two large 
tamarind-trees, which serve to vary the uniformity of the 
landscape. In this little village are settled some Foulahs, 
whose business is to convey in canoes the numerous cara- 
vans going to Jenne. I found them very civil. I purchased 
from them a little milk, and some pistachios, for we could not 
procure either millet or rice for supper. In the evening, I 
saw several large canoes, descending the river on their way 
to Timbuctpo. The Dhioliba, which, in this part, seems 
to come frotn W. j N. W. flows slowly to N. E., its current 
running about a knot and a half an hour. The water was 
tolerably clear, but it had a whitish tint. The banks of the 
river are, for the most part, open and low, except before 
Cougalia, where they are somewhat high, and composed of 
grey argillaceous sand. Here and there, small veins of red 
clay are observable. At a little distance, in the direction of 
N. E. I perceived a small island, which, though dry at this 
