RESIDENCE AT KATUNGA. 
57 
but as we approach the capital, they are as large as those in England. 
Many of them have humps on their shoulders, the same as those in 
Abyssinia and the East Indies. They have sheep of the common 
kind, and also those which are found in other parts of Africa ; hogs, 
Muscovy ducks, fowls, pigeons, and a few turkeys. Of the wild 
animals, and the feathered race, I can say but little, having seen none 
of the former except monkeys ; but the natives report that the hyaena 
and the leopard are very common. The lion, also, is found in some 
parts of the country ; yams, Indian corn, millet, and challots ; fruits, 
such as oranges, limes, pears, apples, &c. are plentiful throughout 
the kingdom. The cotton plant is cultivated to a considerable 
extent, and the wool manufactured into cloth. The commerce 
of this country is almost entirely confined to slaves, though a con- 
siderable quantity of cloth is made, and bartered with the people 
of the coast for rum, tobacco, European cloth, and other articles. 
The medium of exchange throughout the interior is the cowry shell. 
A prime slave at Jannali is worth in sterling money, according to 
the value set on the articles of barter, from three to four pounds. 
The government of Yourriba is hereditary, and an absolute 
despotism, every subject being considered the slave of the king ; but 
its administration is mild and humane, and appears to have been 
so for a long period. The only distinction of rank that obtains is 
that of caboceer, who may be considered as the governor of a distant 
town or province ; the appointment of these governors depending 
on the will of the king. The military force consists of the cabo- 
ceers and their own immediate retainers, which, allowing one hun- 
dred and fifty to each, will not give such immense armies as we 
have sometimes heard stated ; that of Yourriba is perhaps as nu- 
merous as any of the kingdoms of Africa. I think the general ap- 
pearance of the Yourribanians has less of the characteristic features 
of the negro than any other I have yet seen ; their lips are less 
thick, and their noses more inclined to the aquiline shape, than 
i 
