ACCOUNTS OF HANDING. 
397 
three days, voluntarily, which was reckoned suffi- 
cient to exempt him from the charge of infidelity. 
During this residence in Manding, he had an op- 
portunity of acquiring accurate information con- 
cerning the manners of the people, and the nature 
and productions of the soil, though the danger of 
exciting the suspicions of the natives prevented a 
very particular investigation. The property of 
the soil in Manding seemed to be vested in the 
Mansas, or chief magistrates, as managers of the 
public concerns, who assign to individuals as much 
territory as they can cultivate, without infringing 
the rights of others. As the soil is extremely 
fertile, the long grass, which, when withered, is 
used as a species of hay in Ludamar, is annually 
burnt down in Manding and the negro countries. 
The conflagration presents a scene of stupendous 
grandeur : at night, the plains and mountains are 
streaked with lines of fire, and the heavens are in- 
flamed with the reflected light ; during the day, 
moving pillars of smoke tower to the heavens, and 
the birds of prey hover round the blaze, to feast 
on the reptiles which endeavour to escape the 
flame. 
The gold of Manding is never found in any 
matrix or vein, but, like that of Bambouk, scat- 
tered in small grains of pure metal through the 
strata of sand or clay. The women chiefly em- 
ploy themselves in collecting it, and the Mansa 
