246 VISIT TO THE SOURCES OF THE FALEME. 
by mountains. The Falemé rises at the foot of a hillock 
situated to the west in an open spot ; it runs to the south, and 
at a very short distance enters an extremely thick wood ; nine 
hundred paces lower it receives the river Boié, then making 
a curve it turns northward and enters Dentilia. At the dis- 
tance of two gun-shots from the source to the west, we saw the 
village of Kebali, and that of Tiambouria to the south-west. 
The mountains which encircle the funnel whence it issues 
contain iron-mines, and the neighbouring villages carry on a 
great trade in that metal. Some of these mountains, like 
those in the neighbourhood of the Gambia, are bare and 
composed of ferruginous rocks ; ashes of the same kind appear 
in the cavities of their summits, and clumps of trees are seen 
at intervals. 
On returning to Courbari, we crossed the Falemé on the 
trunk of a tree, which served as a bridge ; the inhabitants 
who saw us come back without having killed a single head of 
game, accused me of want of skill, and pretended that Euro- 
peans knew how to make fire-arms, but not how to use them. 
I was obliged to take these jokes in good part, not to put them 
out of humour, which might have injured me, and have pro- 
duced in them a desire to watch me. I therefore allowed them 
to laugh at my expence, congratidating myself on having so 
happily accomplished one part of my undertaking. I had 
still to visit the sources of the Senegal, to which Ali, no 
longer frightened at danger, as before, promised to conduct 
