66 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
people, preceded by a JalUlcea, singing man, 
vociferating the praises of his master, who, al- 
though very communicative and good-humoured, 
did not seem to have a mean idea of himself* 
The river is distant from this village a mile 
and a half, ssw. 
After a few hours' rest to the men and ani- 
mals, and of which all were much in need, par- 
ticularly the horses, we moved forward at two, 
p. M., and reached Coonting at half after five, 
all much fatigued. We passed two small vil- 
lages, likewise, at the foot of some hills, and dis- 
tant from each other about two miles and a half. 
Their general appearance was extremely neat 
and comfortable, and the ground about them ap- 
peared well cultivated. Some large enclosures 
of cotton and indigo, were extremely well-look- 
ing, and shewed much regularity. The path, 
for the most part of the way, was extremely 
narrow and inconvenient, in consequence of the 
closeness of the wood, which is low and stunted, 
the soil being a mixture of dark red sand, and 
small iron stone gravel, large masses of which 
rose above the surface in all directions. The 
face of the country was, in general, covered 
with low wood, except in the vicinity of the 
towns, where it has been cleared, either for the 
purpose of cultivation or for fuel. 
Coonting is a considerable town, partly s^ir- 
