154 
VOYAGE TO SliNEGAL. 
and is filied ^vith maggots. Animals feed on it; but the Nc» 
groes do not use it. The timber is not fit to burn, is difficult to 
saw m planks, and is used by the ISegroes for bowls, platters, 
&c. The Negroes repose and receive visits under its shade. 
1 here are found in this part of the country all the animals pe* 
culiar to Africa, ias well as an abundance of elephants, lions, 
tigers, wild hogs, gazelles, civets, tiger-cats, and ounces. The 
gazelles partake of the eamel, the goat, the deer, and the hare; 
their hair is like that of the camel ; and, as well as that animal, 
they have a black circle above the eyes; their body is like that of 
the hind ; their bleat imitates that of the goats ; and their legs, 
like those of the hare, are shorter before than behind, I'hey 
ascend with rapidity, but they lose much iii coming down a liill, 
and when the declivity is steep they often roll do^n instead of 
running, in a flat country they are at their ease, and go well, 
extending themselves to such a degree that their bellies almost 
touch the ground ; they prick their ears at the least noise. Their 
horns grow straight till within an inch of the extremity, w hep ihey 
curve inwards, as if nature Avished to prevent them from doing 
any harm. They are extremely gentle, and easy to tame. They 
pass over Africa alterpateiy, from the northern to the southern 
part. 
The Negroes salt or pickle the ûe^h of the gazelles ; but when 
thus prepared, it is not very good ; tliough it is extremely deli-, 
cate when eaten fresh. They have a singular manner of hunting 
these animals. When the grass is dry, they. set it on fire, arw} 
place themselves at tlie passage which the gazelles must taji^e to 
escape, where they watch for them, and when they appear at-i 
tack them with arrows, sagayes, and clubs, making prodigious 
slaughter. 
The civet is an animal as large and thick as a tolerably great 
dog; it has a pomted muzzle; the eyes and ears are small; the 
whiskers like those of a cat; the skin spotted with white, blacky 
and yellow; while its tail is as thick and long as that of a fox, 
It is a wild, cruel, and carnivorous animal, whose bite is d^iUr 
gerous. The Negroes take them by snares ; and those who buy 
them keep them in iron cages, and feed them on raw flesh. 
This animal is merely an object of curiosity with the Africains, 
as they do not eat it. The Europeans derive from it an unctuous 
liquid, similar to an ointment, which collects in the males in a 
bag placed betweer» the testicles and the penis ; and in the fe- 
males between the pubes and the anus. This bag is about three 
inches deep, by two and a half wjde: it contains a number pf 
little glands tilled with odorous matter, M'hich is obtained by 
compression. The operation is thus performed They seize 
the tail of the animal \\'hile confined in the Cd^e^ and draw it be- 
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