CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE OF FOUTA DIALLON. 297 
of cloths they are ready to carry the heaviest burthens ; they 
are great travellers. They like white people, but are hospitable 
to them only for the sake of extorting presents. The inhabit- 
ants of Bondou and Foutatoro cheat those of Fouta Diallon in 
trading with them, but they in their turn impose upon those 
of Kankan and other neighbouring countries. They make 
great profits by them ; not fearing any competition, because 
they carefully prevent, even by violent means, foreign mer- 
chants from trading directly with these people. The inhabitant 
of Fouta Diallon is the most laborious of all the Negroes ; a part 
of the country, as I have before said, producing nothing except 
by dint of labour. He is also extremely temperate ; the 
army would despise the king if he were to eat butter and rice 
with milk, this nourishment being thought too succulent ; 
the diet of the reigning prince consists of wild fruits and 
boiled millet. The Pou la of Fouta Diallon is serious, some- 
times melancholy: he has principles of politeness which 
astonished me, because they would lead us to infer that these 
people had already made great progress in civilization. Their 
knowledge of astronomy is confined to marking the hours 
and the months by the changes of the constellations. 
The Great Bear is called the Elephant, a name which is 
as suitable as that given to it by the Greeks. The Poula is 
dextrous, and takes pains with every thing that he doe^ ; his 
productions even evince taste. His magazines are spacious ; he 
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