ON THE KOLA-NUT OF TROPICAL WEST AFRICA. 
431 
•stinctive law, which has led the negro and other uncivilized races to select, as if by 
intuition, such products of the vegetable kingdom, as contain a predominance of 
highly azotized elements, to supply the waste of the human frame ; and to this 
inordinate desire for a diet, chiefly composed of nitrogenous constituents, they 
a PP ear to have been guided by an importunate constitutional want. 
Prior to entering into any general details, we may briefly advert to a few of 
the more prominent aboriginal customs, which from their ordinary occurrence, 
could not but fail of attracting the attention of Europeans, to the marked popu¬ 
larity attending the use of these nuts. 
Should a white trader, or native personage of rank, visit any chief, whether of 
ceremony, or otherwise, the presentation of a few seeds, or even the half of one, 
constitutes the highest compliment he could receive, as conveying an assurance 
of friendly welcome, and protection. 
If a chief or man of property residing at some distance from another, felt in¬ 
clined to perform an act of courtesy to the latter, the transmission of a few Ivola- 
uuts was esteemed as the most grateful indication of friendship, and was almost 
invariably reciprocated by a similar exchange or acknowledgment. 
in countries where the Kola-tree was not indigenous, and the fruit therefore 
difficult of attainment, being more restricted to the chiefs and higher inhabitants, 
no business could be transacted without a few of the nuts being previously eaten : 
and so high Avas their appreciation, that formerly no marriage gift of the bride¬ 
groom to the father would be deemed acceptable for the purchase of his daughter, 
unless it comprised a considerable amount of the. Kola-seeds. 
The fetislnnan, or necromancer, desirous of raising the shadow of the dead from 
its earthy tabernacle, to satisfy the caprices of some importunate votary, completed 
the potency of his spells, by the addition of the food it loved best Avhen in the 
human body. 
In all propitiatory offerings made to the malign god of the earth, to avert 
•disease, misfortune, or ensure a bountiful harvest, they formed by far the most 
important ingredient in these magic oblations. 
When two belligerent tribes were on the eve of war, prior to the committal of 
any act of hostility, the Kola-nut often acted the part of a mediator, or herald, 
to determine the future intentions of one, or both parties. On the centre of an 
elevated mound of earth, on some neutral boundary, or piece of land, tAvo red. 
and one white Kola-nut, the latter divided into two pieces, Avere deposited. If 
one of the red nuts Avas taken by either tribe, it Avas a declaration of Avar; but if 
only half of the Avhite was removed, it Avas deemed as an indication of peace, and 
thus answered all the purposes of a proclamation, Avhich, being officially promul¬ 
gated, was regarded of most sacred import by either party, and both therefore sub¬ 
sequently mingled freely, to adjust their dispute, Avithout the danger of treachery. 
Again, on the departure of any guest, the host was bound to bestoAv on him 
a farewell gift of Kola’s. To not a feAV of these visitors, induced by commercial, 
or political objects, to traverse great distances, no present could be more deeply 
valued ; for experience had already demonstrated, that their use not only sup¬ 
ported the strength, allayed an inordinate appetite, assuaged thirst, and pro¬ 
moted digestion, but in fact rendered them more capable, of sustaining the 
fatigues of their homeward journey, than any other product that could be ob¬ 
tained. 
It is somewhat curious that the Portuguese, Dutch, and at a later date, the 
English voyagers, imperceptibly fell into the negro predilections for this fruit: 
and eventually, from continual addiction, their urgency as a stimulus became so 
habitual, that the due gratification of this Avant Avas established as a matter of 
imperative necessity. Indeed in later years, it Avas thought they Avere endowed 
with the flavour and qualities of the Peruvian bark. 
E. Lopez, one of the earliest Portuguese adventurers, writing on this product, 
