80 TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
interest, by sending him a small present, and 
holding out the promise of a suitable reward, 
should he act in compliance with our wishes. 
We left Fodia Cunda at six, on the morning 
of the 3d, and travelled east, at a smart pace, 
over a flat country, little wooded and for the 
most part cultivated ; the soil was of a darker 
colour, and contained more mould and clay than 
any we had seen since leaving Kayaye. We ar- 
rived at Madina at nine, and bivouacked under 
a large tree, about five hundred yards north of 
the town. 
Madina is a respectable walled town, contain- 
ing about two hundred and fifty huts, and from 
eight hundred to a thousand inhabitants, all So- 
nikeas; it is the capital of the kingdom of Wool- 
li, and the residence of the king. Outside the 
walls is a strong stake or palisade fence, about 
five feet high, which gave to the place the 
appearance of a large fortified redoubt. The 
interior of the town was beautifully shaded with 
large trees of the fig and palm kind, and altoge- 
ther had a very good outward appearance. 
There are three gates to it ; two in the north, 
and one in the east, which are shut every night. 
The interior of the town does not at all accord 
with its external appearance, being filled with 
small round grass, and mud huts jumbled toge- 
ther without any regard to order or regularity. 
