totAGÈ TO SENEGAL* 
day at dâwn, as he was about to proceed on liis journey, an entoy 
arrived iVoni the king of Youly, requesting he would visit his 
majesty at Medine, the place of his residence. Rubault an- 
swered that_, ahhough he had the greatest desire to see his ma- 
jesty, cij cumstances wouhl not perniit liim, as he was in haste ta 
get to Galam ; besides xvhich, he had no merchandize left worthy 
oi the acceptance or so great a personage. 
The envoy, who f^eeined to attach more importance to the 
present timn the visit, answered shortly, tiiat this Was an unsatis-^ 
lactojy excuse, as the camels which he saw were loaded with pro- 
perty. Jt was in vain that our traveller assured hiin of his mis- 
take, and he insisted on inspecting on.*' baggage. Being the« 
convinced, he said, that his master had been imposed upon by 
iaise reports, and he would set him rigiii. He then suffered the 
party to proceed, and accepted the blade of a sabre. 
The kingdom of Youly is Very mountainous, and the hills are 
covered vviih tine trees. The villages are situated in the vallies> 
and ihe soil is very fertile. The inhabitants cultivate great qu^i-* 
titles of grain, indigo, tobacco, and cotton. 
The town of Medine, which is the capital of the kingdoni, is of 
a considerable size, and contains about a thousand houses. It;* 
fortifications are the same as those of the otlier towns in Africa. 
These people, like all the rest, are superstitious ; and though 
most of tîiem are pagans, they place implicit conhdence in the 
grisgris or amulets of the Mahometans: the reason is, that they 
consider the art of writing as magic ; and therefore place more 
faith in the talent of a magician, than in the sentences of the 
prophet. 
Muîigo Park observed at Kolor, an institution which is tvorthy 
of being known, particularly because llubault speaks of it in 
more succinct terms. They both saM^ suspended to a tree a kind . 
of masked habit, which they were told belonged toMonbo-Jombo^^ , 
a name whicli they give to a magistrate peculiar to themselves^ 
and whose office is very singular. It is formed for the purpose 
of frightening the women, and is established in almost all the 
Mandingo towns. When a husband thinks he has reason to 
complain of the conduct of his wife, he disguises himself, or 
dresses one of bis friends, in this masked dress; then, armed with 
a rod, as the sij^n of his authority, Monbo Jonibo announces his 
arrival by making terrible cries in the wood near the towns ï 
these cries are ah\ays heard in the evening or night; and the 
figure Oil entering the town repairs to the bentang, or spot, at 
\\hich all the inhabitants make a point of assembling. 
This apparition terrifies all the women ^ because as the person! 
who acts the j)art of Mosibo Jombo, is totally unknown to them;^ 
each of them i cuib that the visit is made to herself. The ceremony 
