!27G DISCOVERIES OF THE FRENCH. 
or napkin. A large wooden bowl of kous-kous 
was placed in the middle, round which the com- 
pany sat cross-legged on the sand. Each thrust 
his right hand, by way of spoon, into the kous- 
kous, and conveyed it to his mouth with the ut- 
most ease and expedition. 
The houses of the natives resemble our ice- 
houses. The walls are of reeds fastened together, 
and supported by staves driven into the ground. 
These walls are from five to six feet high, and are 
covered with a roof of straw, of a circular form, 
and terminating in a point. The diameter of the 
whole habitation does not exceed ten or fifteen 
feet. The door is square, and so low, that, in en- 
tering, it becomes necessary to bring the chin and 
knees into contact. The houses being built with- 
out the smallest attention to order, and with trees 
intermixed, compose such a labyrinth, that a stran- 
ger cannot walk through the smallest town with- 
out losing himself. The streets, or rather inter- 
vals, are entirely composed of that white and soft 
sand, which forms the general soil of the country^ 
As the natives spend much of their time in the 
open air, this sand serves at once for table, couch, 
sofa, and bed. 
The negroes upon the Senegal are considered 
by Adanson as the handsomest in this part of 
Africa. They are generally above the middle 
size, and strangers to any species of deformity, ex- 
