flOSHIES-MEN. 
to ^hetn in the other world. Those of the middle «or lower rank 
oomitiohly bury their dead, without any other burning that that of 
odoriferous woods, gums, t%c. The sepulchres, i‘Oto which the bones 
and ashes of persons of rank are deposited, are generally magnificent, 
and Hsituated at some distance from the towns. 
Ansicans. 
The Ansicans are the inhabitants of Ansiko, a kingdom of Africa; 
they are neatly made, well-proportioned, and strong : wandering 
about from place to place, and tiving on the bounties of nature, with- 
out either sowing or reaping. They are dreaded for their extreme 
brutality, and with them the Europeans never trade. They are equal 
to the Giagas in fieroeness and harbarity, and are so accustomed to 
the eating .of human flesh, that it is c.sserted they have markets where 
it is publicly sold. They try the courage of their prisoners of war 
by shooting at tbem as at iiiarks, directing their arrows above or 
around their heads ; and whoever discovers the least sign of fear, is 
immediately devoured, without mercy. Those who ajipear intrepid 
and resolute, have their noses and ears bored, and two fore-teeth 
of the upper jaw draw'u. They are then hntproved in barbarity, by 
accustoming them to the most horrid cruelties. The language of the 
Ansicans is barbarous, and difficult to be learned, even bv the 
inhabitants of Congo. 
The most distinguished among them w'ear red and black caps, of 
Portuguese velvet ; the ‘lowest ranks go naked from the waist up- 
wards, and, to preserve their health, anoint their bodies with a com- 
position of pounded white sandal wood and palm oil. Their arms 
are battle-axes, and small but very strong bows, adorned with serpent 
skins. Their strings are made of supple and tender shoots of trees, 
that will not easily break, and their arrows of hard and light wood. 
These people, w'bo kill birds flying, shoot with such surprising swift- 
ness, that they can discharge twenty-eight arrows from the how, 
before the first fails to the ground. With equal dexterity they 
manage their battle-axe ; one end of which is sharpened, and cuts like 
a wedge ; the other is flattened like a mallet, with a handle set 
between, about half the length of the iron, rounded at the end like 
an apple, and covered with the skin of a serpent. 
The current money among them is a kind of shell, which is 
fished for, and passes among several African nations. They wor- 
ship the sun as their chief deity ; whom they represent as the figure 
of a man, and the moon by that of a woman. They have also an 
immense number of inferior deities ; each individual having a parti- 
cular idol, w hom he addresses on certain occasions. 
Bosmass-MEN. 
These are a species of Hottentots, so called, according to Dr. 
Sparrman, from their dwelling in woody mountainous places. They 
are sworn enemies to a pastoral life, live on hunting and plunder, 
and Jnever keep any animal alive for the space of one night. By this 
