These Porters
Have Each A Long Forked Stick In Their Hands; And, When Tired, They Rest
Their Loads On These Sticks.
They proceed in this manner till they arrive
on the banks of a certain water, but whether fresh or
Salt my informer
could not say, yet I am of opinion that it must be a river, because, if
it were the sea, the inhabitants could not be in want of salt in so hot a
climate. The negroes are hired to carry it in this manner for want of
camels or other beasts of burden, as already mentioned; and, from what
has been said, it may easily be concluded that the number, both of the
carriers and consumers must be very great. When arrived at the water side,
the proprietors of the salt place their shares in heaps in a row, at
small distances, setting each a particular mark on his own heap; and when
this is done, the whole company retires half a days journey from the
place. Then the other negroes, who are the purchasers of the salt, who
seem to be the inhabitants of certain islands, but who will on no account
be seen or spoken to, come in boats to the place where the heaps of salt
are placed, and after laying a sum in gold on each heap as its price,
retire in their turns. After they are gone, the owners of the salt return,
and if the quantity of gold on their heaps is satisfactory to them, they
take it away and leave the salt; if not, they leave both and withdraw
again.
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