The Loom Is Made Exactly Upon The Same Principle As That Of Europe; But So Small And Narrow, That The Web Is Seldom More Than Four Inches Broad.

The shuttle is of the common construction; but as the thread is coarse, the chamber is somewhat larger than the European.

[18] Poisoned arrows are used chiefly in war. The poison, which is said to be very deadly, is prepared from a shrub called _koona_ (a species of _echites_,) which is very common in the woods. The leaves of this shrub, when boiled with a small quantity of water, yield a thick black juice, into which the Negroes dip a cotton thread; this thread they fasten round the iron of the arrow, in such a manner that it is almost impossible to extract the arrow, when it has sunk beyond the barbs, without leaving the iron point, and the poisoned thread, in the wound.

[19] A minkalli is a quantity of gold, nearly equal in value to ten shillings sterling.

The women dye this cloth of a rich and lasting blue colour, by the following simple process: The leaves of the indigo when fresh gathered are pounded in a wooden mortar, and mixed in a large earthen jar, with a strong ley of wood ashes; chamber-ley is sometimes added. The cloth is steeped in this mixture, and allowed to remain until it has acquired the proper shade. In Kaarta and Ludamar, where the indigo is not plentiful, they collect the leaves, and dry them in the sun; and when they wish to use them, they reduce a sufficient quantity to powder, and mix it with the ley as before mentioned. Either way, the colour is very beautiful, with a fine purple gloss, and equal, in my opinion, to the best Indian or European blue. This cloth is cut into various pieces, and sewed into garments, with needles of the natives' own making.

As the arts of weaving, dyeing, sewing, &c. may easily be acquired, those who exercise them are not considered in Africa as following any particular profession; for almost every slave can weave, and every boy can sew. The only artists which are distinctly acknowledged as such by the Negroes, and who value themselves on exercising appropriate and peculiar trades, are the manufacturers of _leather_ and of _iron_. The first of these are called _Karrankea_, (or, as the word is sometimes pronounced, _Gaungay_.) They are to be found in almost every town, and they frequently travel through the country in the exercise of their calling. They tan and dress leather with very great expedition, by steeping the hide first in a mixture of wood-ashes and water, until it parts with the hair; and afterwards by using the pounded leaves of a tree called _goo_, as an astringent. They are at great pains to render the hide as soft and pliant as possible, by rubbing it frequently between their hands, and beating it upon a stone. The hides of bullocks are converted chiefly into sandals, and therefore require less care in dressing than the skins of sheep and goats, which are used for covering quivers and saphies, and in making sheaths for swords and knives, belts, pockets, and a variety of ornaments.

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