40 yOYAGC TÔ SENEGAI,. 
great peopîewîio are guilty of crimes. In other respects tîiey arc' 
more polished than the rest of the negroes; are of a mild charac-^ 
ter, sensible, aiid benevolent: all which qualities may be attri- 
buted to their love for commerce, and to the extensive travels 
in \Thicîi they are continually engaged. The ètise with which 
they cultivate their lands proves their industry; they are covered 
with palm, banyan, fig, and other useful trees. The people have 
but few horses, though the country is well adapted to breeding 
them ; but they have a number of asses, which they use for tra- 
velling, and their territory abounds with wild buffalos. 
The Mandingos are particularly hidustrious in making salt, 
which they do in a peculiar manner. They put river water ir^ 
the halves of calabashes, or in shallow earthen pots^ and expose 
it to the sun, the heat of which produces crystals of salt, the same 
as in ordinary pits : for the water is always much impregnated 
with the saline principle^ as the sea mixes with it a considerable 
way up the river. In a short time after the calabashes have been 
exposed, a cream of tine white salt is formed oii the surface, 
and this is taken off three or four times; after which the vessels 
are fiP^d again. They have also very abundant salt-pits at Joal 
and Faquiou, and their produce forms an important branch of 
trade: they load their canoes with it; and ascending the river as 
far as Barraconda, they exchange it for maize^ cotton stuffs, 
ivory, gold dust, &c. 
The great number of canoes and men employed in this com- 
merce gives great influence and respect to the king of Barra, 
Indeed, he is the most powerful and terrible of all the kings of the' 
Gambia ; he has imposed considerable duties on the ships of all 
nations, each of which, whatever may be its size, is obliged to 
pay on entering the river, a duty equal to about five hundred livres, 
or nearly 21 1, sterling. The governor of Gillifrie is charged with 
the receipt of these duties, and he is always attended by a number 
of persons who are very importunate : they are incessantly asking 
for whatever pleases their fancy, and pursue their demands with 
such ardour and perseverance, that to get rid of them the navi- 
gators are almost always obliged to satisfy their desires. 
The Mandingos are above the middle size, are well made, 
robust, and capable of bearing great fatigue. The women are 
stout, active, and pretty. The clothes of both sexes are of cot- 
ton, w hich they manufacture themselves. The men wear draw- 
ers, which hang half way down the thigh, and an open tunic, 
similar to our surplice. They have sandals on their feet, and 
cotton caps on their heads. The women's dress consists of two 
pieces of linen six feet long and about three v^'ide; the one is 
plaited round the loins, and falls down to the ancle, forming ^ 
