_The Author embarks in the Ship Minerva.--Proceeds to the Rio
Pongo.--Disquisitions thereon.--Further Observations on the Inhabitants,
obtained from Natives of various Nations met with there.--The Isles de
Loss--Returns to Sierra Leone, &c._
Upon the 4th of June, 1806, I embarked at Bance Island, on board the ship
Minerva of Liverpool, bound upon a trading voyage to the Rio Pongo, and
other rivers to the northward, and on Thursday the 12th came to an anchor
at the upper forks, in the Rio Pongo, being the point at which the branches
of the _Bungra, Charleston, Constintia,_ &c. empty themselves; higher up
the river are the _Sanga_ and _Bashia_ branches, occupied by a chain of
factories, and inhabited by various nations and tribes. The principal
factories for trade are on the Constintia, about 40 miles up the river, Mr.
Cummings's factory, at Ventura; Mr. John Irvin's, at Kessey; Mr. Benjamin
Curtis's, at Boston; Mr. Frasier's, at Bangra; Mr. Sammo's, at Charleston;
Mr. David Lawrence's, at Gambia; Mr. Daniel Botefeur's, at Mary Hill; Mr.
Ormond's, Mr. Tillinghurst's, Mr. Gray's, in the Bashia branch; with
various others of inferior consideration.
During my stay on this river, I visited the whole of these branches, and in
addition to personal investigation, I obtained much information from the
various conductors of these factories, and had a variety of opportunities
of communicating with many of the natives from the interior countries, who
are drawn hither by the extensive commerce of the Rio Pongo. In my
excursions on this river, I was generally accompanied by Captain William
Browne, of Liverpool, who was part owner of the Minerva, and had the sole
management of the concerns of her voyage; and I am happy to give him this
public testimony of the many obligations he conferred upon me, while on
this part of the coast, which unceasingly continued until my arrival in
England, by the way of the West Indies.
The countries bounded by the Rio Pongo and the Gambia, are inhabited by the
Nilloes and various tribes, who carry on a considerable trade with that
river, the Rio Noonez, and Rio Grande, and inland to the two latter, is the
powerful nation of the Foolahs, possessing an extensive country, about 200
miles in breadth from north to south, and 400 miles from east to west.
Teembo, the capital of the Foolah king, is about 270 miles inland from the
entrance of the Rio Noonez. The paths for trade and communication with the
interior, from this position, are at the king's pleasure, and he opens and
shuts them by his mandate. The Foolahs are tall, well-limbed, robust and
courageous, grave in their deportment, are well acquainted with commerce,
and travel over an astonishing space of the country. Their religion is a
mixture of Mahomedanism, idolatry, and fetishism. One of their tenets,
which inculcates the destruction of those they term infidels, is peculiarly
friendly to slavery, and as the greater part of their neighbouring tribes
are of that description, they are continually practising every violence,
and, are frequently engaged in wars. When I suggested to a chief of very
considerable intelligence, and one of the Foolah king's head men, whom I
met in the Rio Pongo, the enormity of their injustice to the surrounding
tribes, and how displeasing it was to the God they prayed to, his reply
was, "True, this be bad fashion to Foolah, or Mandingo man, but these
people we make war against never pray to God, nor do we make war with those
who give God Almighty service." While this barbarism exists, and the slave
trade is continued, humanity will have to, bewail the miserable condition
of the African slave. For this, and various other reasons that might be
urged, and considering the position and extensive influence of the Foolah
nation, their king claims a high consideration in a combined scheme of
establishment upon the coast.
So impressed was this chief, of the beneficial advantages to be derived
from agriculture, that he tendered land, cattle, men, &c. to the agents of
the Sierra Leone Company, only requesting from them, in return, a delegated
superintendance; but, strange to tell, this disposition was not cultivated
nor improved; nor was the further offer of the king of Laby, and his high
priest, to place their sons under the protection of the Company, to be sent
to England and educated. A more important step could not have been taken to
attain the object of the Directors, than this of attaching the Foolah
nation to their interest.
The women of this nation are handsome, and of a sprightly temper, and their
countenances are more regular than those of the common Negroes; the hair in
both men and women is much longer, and not so woolly, but they have a most
disgusting custom of forming it into ringlets, bedaubed with oil and
grease, which gives them a very barbarous appearance. The Foolah tongue, is
different from that of the surrounding nations, and its accent is more
harmonious.
To the southward of the Rio Pongo, to Sierra Leone, lie the countries of
the Bagoes, Soosees, Mandingos, Timminees, and Boolams, all idolaters
except the Mandingos, who, like the Foolahs, associate in their religion a
mixture of fetishism and Mahomedanism. The Timminees are a more harmless
race of men than any of the other _infidel_ nations, and their dispositions
are more calculated to industrious avocations than their neighbours.
I have already noticed the Mandingos, but, as I consider this nation and
the Foolahs of the first consequence, from their power and influence over
the other nations of this part of the coast, I shall add a few more
observations upon them.
From what I have before stated, it will appear that the Mandingos are a
numerous people in Africa, gaining a daily influence and authority in the
district now under consideration. Besides the tribes of this people who
inhabit the countries between the Soosees and Timminees, there are various
others established in the country of Bambouk, and on the borders of the
Gambia, but the great body occupy an extensive territory above the sources
of that river.
The empire of the Mandingos is not, however, so considerable as that of the
Foolahs, but from their increasing influence over the western countries,
from their docile and cunning dispositions, their knowledge in merchandize,
and acquirements in book-knowledge, their power must, in process of time,
be greatly increased; and it will be of the utmost moment to civilize them,
in order to acquire an influence over the more barbarous states.
Notwithstanding the cunning and dissimulation which characterizes these
people, they are generous, open, and hospitable, and their women are
aimiable and engaging: they are more zealous Mahomedans than the Foolahs;
their colour has a mixture of yellow, but their features are more regular
than the other nations of Africa which I have seen. The Foolahs, the
Mandingos, and the Joliffs, bordering on the Senegal, are the most handsome
Negroes on this part of Africa; the hair of the latter, however, is more
crisped and woolly, their nose is round, and their lips are thick; this
nation, in particular, is blacker than those approximating towards the
line; nor are the Negroes in the Krew coast, and towards Palmas, so black
as the nation I now speak of; which may tend to prove, that the colour of
the Africans does not arise from a vertical sun, but from other physical
causes yet unknown.
There is a characteristic feature between the Mahomedan nations of Africa,
particularly those from the shores of the Mediterranean (whom I have seen
in my travels in that quarter) which, with their almost universal
profession of the Mahomedan religion, sanctions the idea, that this part of
the coast has been peopled from the eastern parts of the continent; but the
visible difference in religion, complexion, and feature, of the nations
towards Cape Palmas, give rise to other conjectures. An obvious difference
may be observed among these numerous nations; their language and their
customs are various, and are frequently without affinity or relation. From
the shores of the Mediterranean to this part of Africa, the majority of the
nations are Mahomedans, but towards Cape Palmas they are gross idolaters,
with a mixture Mahomedanism and superstition; many of them erect temples,
and dedicate groves to the devil. I have seen several of these, which
exhibit no outward sign or object of worship, but consist of stumps of
trees, in a circular form, covered with leaves, or a thatched roof, in the
centre of which stands a square altar of mud, without any image of
adoration. The reason assigned by them for their omission in this
instance, is, "that they never look the Devil or evil spirit, therefore
they do not know how to make any thing like him." To the good spirit they
neither make offering nor sacrifice, considering it as unnecessary to
obtain his favours, from his disposition to do nothing but good, which of
course he will administer to them.
From every thing that I have observed, I conceive that idolatry, and fetish
worship, is the predominant religion of Africa, and that Mahomedanism has
been propagated by the Moore and Arab's. It may not here be unopportune to
introduce the Mandingo man's prayer, which I obtained from a very
intelligent chief of that nation: viz.
_Mandingo Arabic_.
Subbohanalahe Rabila'ademy
abodehé. Subbohanala rabila
Allah. Subbohana arabe. Inye
allamante, nafuse wa amutate
sue wakefurella. Teyatelillahé
tebates allivatuelub lahey.
Sillamaleko ayo hanabehé, obara
katolahe Sullamalina Ihannabé,
lebadelahe Saliheneé"
The address to Mahomet follows,
viz.
Sahadala elahe idillaha
Mahomedo, arasoolo lahi
man Mahomedo aboodaho.
_In their idiom of English._
God lives and, is not dust.
God be master of all and is
above his slaves. God knows
his slave, and is not made of
earth; but above all. (Before
the next sentence, Subbohana
arabe, &c. he bows twice.)
Suppose I die, I can look you
to-morrow, and thank you, and
be out of trouble, and free from
the Devil.
(Teyatelillahé, &c. accompanied
by a motion of the fingers)
I beg in my prayers again,
God, I may die to day, I look to
thank you again to-morrow,
my people and family may
then get into trouble, and I
then pray to you.
To Mahomet.
Mahomet be man, born of
woman, the prophet of God,
and speak to him for man.
In this system of prayer there is a mixture of fetishism, Mahomedanism, and
a strong analogy to the Christian system; and it is no inconsiderable
argument in favour of the mediation of the Saviour, that in the worship of
heathen nations a mediator is uniformly associated with the object of
adoration. Virgil in his Aeneid, and other classic writers, illustrate a
belief of the ancient heathens in the omniscience of the deity, and they
clearly elucidate the importance they attached the mediatorial efficacy of
offerings and sacrifice.
The form of worship adapted to the foregoing prayer, is to squat down upon
the ground, placing the palm of their hands flat thereon twice, touching
the earth the same number of times with their foreheads; then rubbing their
arms from the wrist to the elbow, with that which is contracted by this
operation, when the hands are applied to the face, and the forefingers put
into the ears.
I have dwelt more minutely upon this people and their present condition
compared with the Foolahs, because I consider these nations have it much in
their power to shut and open the paths of intercourse with the interior
countries, therefore they become of importance, in the contemplation of any
pursuits upon this district of Africa.
The Mandingoes inhabiting Galam, and the countries interior to the Gambia,
carry on the principal trade with those of Bambouk, &c. where gold is
procured. This precious metal is obtained from the surface of the earth,
and from the banks of the falls of the rivers in the rainy season; it is
first washed in a calabash; and when the water is poured off, the dust, and
sometimes large grains remain. The natives have no idea of mining; but it
appears from hence, that mines of this metal must exist, which are
concealed thro' the want of the arts of civilized life. The Mandingoes
speak of these countries with a great air of mystery, and are extremely
jealous, lest Europeans should obtain any information relative to them: as
they carry on almost exclusively, this branch of commerce.
When I was in the Bashia branch of the Rio Pongo, a meteor of an
extraordinary kind appeared for two successive nights, directing its course
from NE. to SW. which put the natives in a most dreadful state of
consternation; the women fell into loud lamentations, the men beat their
drums, and sent forth the most horrid yells; imagining, that this barbarous
uproar would drive away the object of their fears. In eclipses of the sun
and moon, they repeat their prayers and sacrifices, with the same clamour,
under the notion that it will frighten away the monster which they suppose
to obscure these planets from their view. These superstitious notions have
the most powerful influence over the Negro's mind, and it is impossible to
dissuade or reason him out of them.
From all I have stated, the great importance of these countries, to open an
intercourse with the interior of Africa, must appear. On the borders of the
Rio Pongo, and other rivers, excellent lands, forming hill, and dale, are
every where to be found, and well adapted to agricultural experiments. With
the _consent of the chiefs_, these might be obtained at a small expense,
and many of them with whom I have communicated, would gladly embrace a wise
interference; but they all complain, "white man not know their fashion,"
intimating in very forcible language, that every caution should be used, at
innovation upon their laws, customs, and manners. Let example first excite
their admiration, and their barbarism will bow before the arts of
civilization, and slavery be gradually abolished.
Before I conclude this chapter, I shall make some observations upon the
temperature of the western countries of Africa, situated between Cape Verde
and Cape Palmas, mention the principal diseases, and those which Europeans
are most exposed to on their first arrival in these countries, and give
general precautions against the dangers of the climate, &c.
The inexhaustible fecundity of Africa holds out to Europeans strong
excitements to enterprise and research; but in the pursuit, the diseases
which prevail in this country should be well understood; and it would be
highly expedient, in any plans of colonization, to attach a medical staff,
as the natives have no idea of the art of surgery, except what arises from
the knowledge they have of the properties of herbs, and the superstitions
attached to their fetishism. In annexing this extraordinary country to the
civilized world, and exploring its stores of wealth, a burning climate, and
the diseases peculiar thereto, unite with the barbarism of its inhabitants
in opposition to the European; but by a strict observance of necessary
rules, and avoiding all kinds of excess, the formidable influence of the
sun may be resisted, and the pernicious effects of exhalations, which arise
from a humid, marshy, and woody country, may in a great degree be obviated;
and I am sorry to say, that for want of proper precaution and through
ignorance, fatal consequences more frequently occur, than from the
unhealthiness of the climate.
The temperature from Cape Verde to Cape Palmas is extremely various from
the vertical rays of the sun, the nature of the soil, and the face of the
country.
In the months from November to March, by Fahrenheit's thermometer, it has
been from 70° in the morning, to 90° at noon, in the shade; and nearly the
same variation has been observed at the river of Sierra Leone; and in some
places in the Foolah country it has been from 50° to 90°
From July to October, the mean temperature in the river Gambia, by
Fahrenheit, has been from 90° in the morning to 100° at noon in the shade,
and during the same months at Sierra Leone from about 92° to 106°; but a
variety of local circumstances may give a greater or less degree of heat:
this however may serve to give a general idea of the temperature of these
countries. The island of Goree, for example, the island of Bance, and the
bay of Sierra Leone, are more healthy, enjoying the cooling sea breezes,
more than situations in the rivers more interior. The banks of all the
rivers in Africa, which I have visited, are enclosed by impenetrable
forests, marshes, and the closely combined mangrove tree, and it is but
seldom that the land forms an uneven dry surface on their borders.
Instances however in the Sierra Leone, Rio Pongo, &c. occasionally occur,
when the most picturesque scenery adorns the river.
From May to August, hurricanes or _tornados_, before described, prevail
upon the Windward Coast, and this phenomenon is to be met with from Cape
Verde to Cape Palmas. The months from November to March are remarkable for
the prevalence of east and north-east winds. When these winds, which are
called _harmatans_, set in, they are accompanied with a heavy atmosphere,
and are of a dry and destructive nature. Every description of vegetation is
blasted by their influence, and every object, animate and inanimate, feels
their powerful effects; the skin is parched and dried, and every feature is
shriveled and contracted. The most compact cabinet work will give way, the
seams of flooring open, and the planks even bend. Furniture of every sort
is distorted; in short, nothing escapes their dreadful power. The nights at
this period are cool and refreshing.
The months of July, August, September, and October are rainy, from the
equator to about the 20th degree of north latitude. Towards the equinoxial
they begin earlier, and make their progress to windward, but the difference
throughout the whole of the north tropic fluctuates little more or less
than 15 or 20 days. When the rains commence, the earth, before parched up
and consolidated into an impenetrable crust, by the powerful influence of
the sun and a long period of drought, is immediately covered with vermin
and reptiles of all sorts, creating a moving map of putrefaction. The
natives ascribe to these many of their diseases; but a further cause may be
added, namely, the great change from heat to cold, and the variations at
this season.
The powerful influence of the sun, which at this period is almost vertical,
quickly dissipates the clouds which obscure the sky, and produces an almost
insupportable effect; but new clouds soon condense, and intercept the solar
rays; a mitigating heat follows; the pores are compressed, and prespiration
ceases. Variations succeeding so rapidly, are attended with the most
serious effects, and the most fatal consequences. And, lastly, the noxious
exhalations arising from the inaccessible forests and marshy swamps which
abound in Africa, and from numerous animal and vegetable remains of the dry
season, which cover the soil every where, are productive of putrid
effluvia. These rains, or rather periodical torrents of water, which
annually visit the tropics, invariably continue for about four months of
the year, and during the other eight it rarely happens that one single drop
falls; in some instances, however, periodical showers have happened in the
dry season, but the effects of these are scarcely perceptible on
vegetation; the consequence is, that the surface of the earth forms an
impervious stratum or crust, which shuts up all exhalation.
When the rains cease, and the heat of the sun absorbs the evaporations from
the earth, which have been so long concealed during the dry season, a most
offensive and disgusting effluvia is produced, which then fastens upon the
human system, and begets diseases that in a short time shew their effects
with dreadful violence; and no period is more to be guarded against than
when the rains cease, for the intense heat completely impregnates the
atmosphere with animalculae and corrupted matter.
The principal complaints which attack Europeans are, malignant nervous
fevers, which prevail throughout the rainy season, but they are expelled by
the winds which blow in the month of December; from hence these _harmatans_
are considered healthy, but I have heard various opinions among medical men
on this subject. Dr. Ballard (now no more), whose long residence at Bance
Island, and in Africa, and whose intimate acquaintance with the diseases of
these climates, peculiarly qualified him to decide upon the fact, was of
opinion, most decidedly, that the _harmatan_ season was not the most
healthy.
When this malignant fever takes place in all its virulence, its
consequences are the most disastrous; the symptoms are violent and without
gradation, and the blood is heated to an increased degree beyond what is
experienced in Europe; the ninth day is generally decisive, and this is a
crisis that requires the most vigilant attention and care over the patient.
I speak this from personal experience. In consequence of the fatigues I
underwent in the Rio Pongo, and other rivers, and having been for several
days and nights exposed to an open sea, and to torrents of rain upon land,
I was seized with this dreadful disorder, although I had enjoyed an
uninterrupted state of good health before, and on my arrival at the colony
of Sierra Leone was unable to support myself on shore; and had it not been
for the kind attention and skilful prescriptions of Dr. Robson of that
colony, with the friendly offices of Captain Brown, I should, in all
probability, at this stage have finished my travels and existence together.
Dysenteries frequently follow this fever, which are of a very fatal
tendency, and sometimes the flux is unattended by fever. This disease is
not uncommon in persons otherwise healthy, but it is productive of great
debility, which requires a careful regimen; if it continues to a protracted
period, its consequences are often fatal. In my own case, a dysentery
followed the fever, and reduced me to a mere skeleton. The dry belly-ache
is another dangerous disease, accompanied by general languor, a decrease of
appetite, a viscous expectoration, and fixed pain in the stomach. Opium is
considered an efficacious medicine in this disease, and is administered
with great perseverance, accompanied by frequent fomentations. An infusion
of ginger drank in the morning has frequently good effects. Flannel assists
excretion, and is found beneficial. _Tetanos_ is also another disease
peculiar to Africa, and is a kind of spasm and convulsive contraction, for
which opium is the usual remedy.
The Guinea worm is another disease among the natives, which is productive
of tumours upon the body and limbs, productive of great pain, and is a
contagious disease. This, however, is a subject without my province, and
which has been ably treated upon by gentlemen, whose profession fully
qualified them for the investigation. In addition to the many valuable
treatises upon tropical diseases, from high authority, I would recommend
Dr. Winterbottom's publication to the reader, as, embracing highly
important local information upon the diseases of the Windward Coast.
I have only touched on those which have more immediately come within my
personal observation. Too much care cannot be taken by Europeans in
drinking, and even washing in the waters of Africa, which should always
undergo a filtering preparation, and I am persuaded that great
circumspection should be used in this respect: these and other precautions,
with a generous, but regular system of living, would no doubt tend to
diminish the fatal tendency of diseases in Africa.
Without doubt, a series of professional observations and enquiry into the
temperature and periodical variations of the climate of Africa, and its
diseases, would be attended with the most important advantages to the
science of physic, and might ultimately prove of incalculable consequence
in preserving the valuable lives of our brave soldiers and sailors, exposed
to all the ravages of tropical climates. Advantages that are well worth the
attention of government, which would train up a body of physicians and
surgeons, initiated into the mysteries of the diseases peculiar to those
countries, which might tend to preserve a large portion of human beings of
the utmost consequence and importance to the state; and it might form a
part in the organization of colonial establishments, to attach thereto an
institution of this nature.