DESCEIPTION OF THE POULAS. 
81 
an entirely savage life, and are solely engaged in attending 
their flocks. They generally reside in the forests, where 
they dwell in huts — sheds constructed with branches of trees, 
over which they throw some straw. Their astonishment at 
the sight of me was inexpressible. They thought me so 
extraordinary a being, that they asked me incessant questions, 
to ascertain if, like them, I belonged to the human race. One 
enquired if I had a mother, supposing that I came from the 
bottom of the ocean ; for the Negroes distinguished me from 
the Mulattoes, saying, " This is a white man of the sea." 
Another was astonished that a white man could ride a horse. 
A third even went so far as to insist, that Nature had refused 
us the ordinary means of propagating our species. 
The Poulas of the kingdom of the Bourb-Joloffs, have 
all long hair, somewhat woolly ; their features resemble 
ours, especially among those who are of a copper colour, but 
their lips are rather thicker. The women are pretty when 
young, but disgustingly ugly after they have had children. 
The young boys generally have handsome faces. The men 
wear breeches that reach to their knees, a cloth across their 
shoulders, ear-rings, and necklaces of beads. Sometimes they 
put ostrich feathers in their hair, which they twist in the form 
of a helmet. The dress of the females resembles that of 
other Negro women ; their heads, necks, and arms, are loaded 
with glass beads. These Poulas possess muskets, but the 
greater number are armed only with lances, and poisoned 
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