LEDYARD. 
307 
this traffic the king of Sennaar interferes, and not 
only is concerned in the Sennaar caravans, but 
keeps an agent at Cairo to procure and contract 
for him. Among the Sennaar slaves, Mr Led- 
yard saw three personable men, of a bright olive 
complexion, and intelligent features, whose heads 
were of a singular structure and uncommon form, 
exceedingly narrow, long, and protuberant. The 
Sennaar caravan is the most rich j that of Darfur 
is not equally so, though it trades with almost the 
same commodities. This, however, can surprise 
no one, who considers that there are numerous 
circumstances which influence the internal Afri- 
can trade, besides the extent of the journey and 
the nature of the commodities. The deserts of 
burning and moveable sand which are to be tra- 
versed ; the pestilential qualities of the suffocat- 
ing winds that sweep these arid wastes, which 
look as if the God of nature had forgot to accom- 
plish the work he had begun ; the moral habits 
and social state of the savage tribes that prowl 
with the wild beasts over the desert, are not only 
sufficient to deter the adventurous merchant, but 
even to damp the ardour of religious bigotry. 
Wangara, to which the caravans also traded, 
was represented to Mr Ledyard as a kingdom pro- 
ducing much gold ; but the king seems to have 
intermeddled in commerce as well as the poten- 
tate of Sennaar 5 for, in order to deceive stran- 
