A mere defect of
memory or observation, and without justifying any imputation on his
veracity, but it is evident that no such latitude can be allowed him
in respect to the La Mar Zarah, which, if not in substance true, must
be knowingly and wilfully false.
We shall conclude our remarks on Adams' narrative, by noticing only
two important circumstances, respectively propitious and adverse to
the progress of discovery and civilization, which is decidedly
confirmed by the account of Adams, viz. the mild and tractable
natures of the pagan negroes of Soudan, and their friendly deportment
towards strangers, on the one hand; and, on the other, the extended
and baneful range of that original feature of African society
- slavery.
CHAPTER XIV.
Previously to entering into any further detail of the different
expeditions for exploring the interior of Africa, it may be greatly
conducive to the better understanding of the subsequent narratives,
when treating of the distinct races of people by which the countries
are inhabited, to give a concise statement of the population of that
part of Africa, which is known by the appellation of West Barbary,
and which may be said to be divided into three great classes,
exclusive of the Jews, viz. Berrebbers, Arabs, and Moors. The two
former of these are, in every respect, distinct races of people, and
are each again subdivided into various tribes or communities; the
third are chiefly composed of the other two classes, or of their
descendants, occasionally mixed with the European or negro races.
