TRADE. 
333 
very many were kidnapped, and for the few who were bought, F 
was assured by several respectable Ashantees, 2000 cowries, or 
1 basket of Boossee was the greatest price given ; so full were the 
markets of the interior. I have brought some pods of the Boossee; 
it is astringent, and the natives chew it to excite a flow of sahva, 
and allay the sensation of hunger. The* Boossee must be the 
Gooroo nut, which Mr. Lucas describes as one of the articles of 
trade between Fezzan, Kassina, Bornoo, and the states south of 
the Niger. He writes, " Gooroo nuts, which are brought from the 
Negro states on the south of the Niger, and which are principally 
valued for the pleasant bitter that they communicate to any liquor 
in which they are infused,'' and again " a species of nut — which 
is much valued in the kingdoms to the north of the Niger, and 
which is called Gooroo. It grows on a large and broad leafed 
tree, that bears a pod of about 18 inches in length, in which are 
inclosed a number of nuts that varies from 7 to 9- Their colour 
is a yellowish green ; their size is that of a chesnut, which they also 
resemble, in being covered by a husk of a similar thickness, and 
their taste, which is described as a pleasant bitter, is so grateful to 
those who are accustomed to its use, and so important as a correc- 
tive to the unplatable or unwholesome waters of Fezzan, and3pf the 
other kingdoms that border on the vast Zahara, as to be deemed 
of importance to the happiness of life. They are purchased at the 
rate of 12s. for 100 pods.'" 
Sal ammonia is found abundantly in Dagwumba : in the 
Ashantee market, a lump the size of a duck's egg, was sold for 2s. : 
they grind it to mix with their snuff, (of which they take large 
quantities,) as it gives it a pungency agreeable to them. They 
also dissolve it in the water they give to their cattle, and some - 
times drink it themselves for pains in the bowels. The Tamool prac- 
* Sterculia acuminata Palis de Beauvais Flore d'Oware, 1. j)> 41. tab. 24. 
4 
