High as Barraconda, and bring down in return
Indian corn, cotton cloths, elephants' teeth, small quantities of
gold dust, &c. The number of canoes and people constantly employed
in this trade makes the king of Barra more formidable to Europeans
than any other chieftain on the river; and this circumstance
probably encouraged him to establish those exorbitant duties which
traders of all nations are obliged to pay at entry, amounting to
nearly 20 pounds on every vessel, great and small. These duties or
customs are generally collected in person by the alkaid, or governor
of Jillifrey, and he is attended on these occasions by a numerous
train of dependants, among whom are found many who, by their
frequent intercourse with the English, have acquired a smattering of
our language: but they are commonly very noisy and very
troublesome, begging for everything they fancy with such earnestness
and importunity, that traders, in order to get quit of them, are
frequently obliged to grant their requests.
On the 23rd we departed from Jillifrey, and proceeded to Vintain, a
town situated about two miles up a creek on the southern side of the
river. This place is much resorted to by Europeans on account of
the great quantities of beeswax which are brought hither for sale;
the wax is collected in the woods by the Feloops, a wild and
unsociable race of people. Their country, which is of considerable
extent, abounds in rice; and the natives supply the traders, both on
the Gambia and Cassamansa rivers, with that article, and also with
goats and poultry, on very reasonable terms. The honey which they
collect is chiefly used by themselves in making a strong
intoxicating liquor, much the same as the mead which is produced
from honey in Great Britain.
In their traffic with Europeans, the Feloops generally employ a
factor or agent of the Mandingo nation, who speaks a little English,
and is acquainted with the trade of the river. This broker makes
the bargain; and, with the connivance of the European, receives a
certain part only of the payment, which he gives to his employer as
the whole; the remainder (which is very truly called the cheating
money) he receives when the Feloop is gone, and appropriates to
himself as a reward for his trouble.
The language of the Feloops is appropriate and peculiar; and as
their trade is chiefly conducted, as hath been observed, by
Mandingoes, the Europeans have no inducement to learn it.
On the 26th we left Vintain, and continued our course up the river,
anchoring whenever the tide failed us, and frequently towing the
vessel with the boat. The river is deep and muddy; the banks are
covered with impenetrable thickets of mangrove; and the whole of the
adjacent country appears to be flat and swampy.
The Gambia abounds with fish, some species of which are excellent
food; but none of them that I recollect are known in Europe. At the
entrance from the sea sharks are found in great abundance, and,
higher up, alligators and the hippopotamus (or river-horse) are very
numerous.
In six days after leaving Vintain we reached Jonkakonda, a place of
considerable trade, where our vessel was to take in part of her
lading. The next morning the several European traders came from
their different factories to receive their letters, and learn the
nature and amount of her cargo; and the captain despatched a
messenger to Dr. Laidley to inform him of my arrival. He came to
Jonkakonda the morning following, when I delivered him Mr. Beaufoy's
letter, and he gave me a kind invitation to spend my time at his
house until an opportunity should offer of prosecuting my journey.
This invitation was too acceptable to be refused, and being
furnished by the Doctor with a horse and guide, I set out from
Jonkakonda at daybreak on the 5th of July, and at eleven o'clock
arrived at Pisania, where I was accommodated with a room and other
conveniences in the Doctor's house.
Pisania is a small village in the king of Yany's dominions,
established by British subjects as a factory for trade, and
inhabited solely by them and their black servants. It is situated
on the banks of the Gambia, sixteen miles above Jonkakonda. The
white residents, at the time of may arrival there, consisted only of
Dr. Laidley, and two gentlemen who were brothers, of the name of
Ainsley; but their domestics were numerous. They enjoyed perfect
security under the king's protection, and being highly esteemed and
respected by the natives at large, wanted no accommodation or
comfort which the country could supply, and the greatest part of the
trade in slaves, ivory, and gold was in their hands.
Being now settled for some time at my ease, my first object was to
learn the Mandingo tongue, being the language in almost general use
throughout this part of Africa, and without which I was fully
convinced that I never could acquire an extensive knowledge of the
country or its inhabitants. In this pursuit I was greatly assisted
by Dr. Laidley.
In researches of this kind, and in observing the manners and customs
of the natives, in a country so little known to the nations of
Europe, and furnished with so many striking and uncommon objects of
nature, my time passed not unpleasantly, and I began to flatter
myself that I had escaped the fever, or seasoning, to which
Europeans, on their first arrival in hot climates, are generally
subject. But on the 31st of July I imprudently exposed myself to
the night-dew in observing an eclipse of the moon, with a view to
determine the longitude of the place; the next day I found myself
attacked with a smart fever and delirium, and such an illness
followed as confined me to the house during the greatest part of
August.
