The Canoes Are
Of A Singular Construction, Each Of Them Being Formed Of The Trunks Of
Two Large Trees, Rendered
Concave, and joined together, not side by side,
but end-ways, the junction being exactly across the middle of the
Canoe;
they are, therefore, very long and disproportionately narrow, and have
neither decks nor masts. They are however, very roomy, for I observed in
one of them four horses and several people crossing over the river. When
we arrived at this ferry, with a view to pass over to that part of the
town in which the king resides, we found a great number waiting for a
passage; they looked at me with silent wonder, and I distinguished with
concern many Moors among them. There were three different places of
embarkation, and the ferrymen were very diligent and expeditious; but
from the crowd of people, I could not immediately obtain a passage, and
sat down upon the bank of the river to wait for a more favourable
opportunity. The view of this extensive city, the numerous canoes upon
the river, the crowded population, and the cultivated state of the
surrounding country, formed altogether a prospect of civilization and
magnificence, which I little expected to find in the bosom of Africa.
I waited more than two hours without having an opportunity of crossing
the river; during which time the people who had crossed carried
information to Mausong the King, that a white man was waiting for a
passage, and was coming to see him.
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