RECIPROCAL KNAVERY. 
141 
thither, and only sends to Isle St. Louis what he cannot find 
room for at Portendick. Our government pays iiim annually 
a duty of 11,347 francs ; and he likewise receives considerable 
fees from our merchant ships. 
The second tribe is known by the name of Marabous of 
Armancour. The cliief of this race is named Chems, and is 
also named Aulad-el-IIagi: these collect the gum from the fo- 
rests of Lebiar, and bring it to the French in the Senegal, at 
about forty leagues Tiiy from Isle St. Louis. It does not appear 
that government pays any duty to the Marabous of Armancour^ 
though they get much by trading with us, and the merchant ves- 
sels pay them nearly ihe same fees as to king Alikouri. All the 
members of this tribe are Marabous, that is, doctors or preach- 
ers of the law of Mahomet : they are hypocritical and supersti- 
tious; but they have good memories, are artful in their commer- 
cial dealings, and reason well on the course of the stars, which 
they are jn the habit of observing. 
The Bracknazians are the third tribe of Moors: they have a 
king named Hamet Mocktar, whose dignity is hereditary. They 
/collect their gum from the forest of Alfatack, and sell it to the 
Trench near Podor. 
This kind of fair or market is held in the open air : it begins 
jn April, and ends in June or early in July; the rains then set in, 
and give the signal for retreat. They do not weigh the gum, but 
serve it in a cubic measure called quantar, which should be of a 
size that was long ago agreed on between the Moors and the 
French, but which thie latter have taken care to augment, as of- 
ten as they have found an opportunity. The measure is hxed on 
deck; it has a sliding bottom, which lets the contents fall into 
the hold as soon as the measure is full. At first it contained 
about 220 lbs. of eight ounces to the pound ; but its size has so 
much increased, that at the time of my residence in the Senegal 
it held 2400 such pounds : I believe it has not been thought pru- 
dent to increase the size of the measure beyond this point. The 
Moors, however, are too cunning to be imposed on by such a 
gross artifice; and have therefore increased the price in the pro- 
portion already mentioned, which is about equal to the frauds 
practised in the measure. 
During my stay at Isle St. Louis, I entered into some treaties 
with these tribes relative to the gum trade; and in April 1785, I 
went to the fort of Podor, where the trade was going on. I 
there found king Hamet Mocktar, his brother, the queen, their 
daughter, and suite. The Moors received me kindly, and \ 
passed the day with them. The next day the king, his brother, 
the queen, and the daughter, made me ask them to dinner : they 
came betimes; and it is a fact, that during the two monthi 
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