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OF THE RIVER GAMBIA. — ESTABLISHMENTS OF EUROPEANS ON ITS
BANKS. — KINGDOMS WHICH DIVIDE THEM. — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF
THE INHABITANTS. — PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY, &c. &c.
AFTER traversing the country which I have just described, and about
thirty leagues from Goree, you arrive at the mouth of the Gambia,
which empties itself into the sea at cape St. Mary on the south,
and at the Isle of Birds on the north. Its width at this part is
very great, being estimated at least at two leagues between the
points of Barra and Bagnon. The strait between those points is
ten or twelve fathoms deep, so that all sorts of vessels can go
up it. On the left bank of the river is a point which contains a
large group of trees, amongst which is one much higher and larger
than the rest: it is called the flag of the king of Barra; and the
English have introduced the custom of saluting it with several guns,
a ceremony which would subject a ship, that might dispense with it,
to the greatest insults.
The river Gambia is, throughout its whole course, of considerable
width, and its bed is deep and muddy; while its banks are covered
with thick mango-trees. It abounds in fish; and sharks are very
common at its mouth. In the upper parts it is frequented by
crocodiles and hippopotami: its depth is so great that a ship of
forty guns, and three hundred tons, may ascend it as far as Genachor,
situated about sixty leagues from the sea; while a vessel of one
hundred and fifty tons, can go as far as Barraconda, which is about
two hundred and fifty leagues distant. The tide flows as high as
this spot in the dry season, that is, from November to June or July;
but the rest of the year the river is impassable, on account of the
inundations caused by the rains, and on account of the violence of
currents, which overflow the banks in every direction, and carry
away large trees.
Europeans have not proceeded higher than Barraconda: it appears
that hereabouts the course of the river is interrupted by a bank
of rocks, and farther up, it loses itself for several days in
an impenetrable lake, covered by high grass and reeds. From the
account of the Mandingo merchants and other negroes, who are in
the habit of travelling the whole length of this river, as well as
from the opinion of several celebrated writers, there is reason to
believe that it takes its source below a considerable fall made by
the Senegal, which there divides into two branches, one of which to
the south has been mistaken for the Gambia; but this error has been
controverted by several authors, and particularly by Mungo Park,
who has examined the place in question, and who asserts that the
river Gambia takes its rise from the same chain of mountains from
which issue the Senegal and the Niger. The Gambia begins to run
one hundred miles to the westward of the Senegal, and continues
its course in the same direction till it enters the sea.
The part of the coast near this river was, like all the rest,
discovered by the Normans, who probably formed establishments
along it, which they abandoned for the more rich and permanent
situations of the Senegal and the Gold-coast. The Portuguese then
occupied those spots which the Normans had left; and it may be
seen by the ruins of their factories, and the forts which they
erected, that they had penetrated very far into the interior. The
wars in which they were involved with the other nations of Europe,
at length rendered them incapable of supporting their power in that
part of the world: yet several Portuguese families remained there,
were naturalised amongst the inhabitants; while their descendants
gradually becoming Africans, have spread into the interior, and
live on good terms with the natives. The latter are the subjects
of a multitude of petty princes, who all take the title of king,
though the territories of many of them are very small. There are
no less than eight of these kingdoms on each bank of the Gambia,
in a space of about two hundred and fifty leagues from its mouth.
The kingdoms situated on the northern bank are, 1. that of Barra,
which extends eighteen leagues along the coast; Guiocanda, which
follows it, and occupies five leagues of coast; 3. Baddison, which
fills twenty leagues; 4. Salum, which surrounds the first three
mentioned to the north and west, by following a course of the river
to the extent of ten leagues; 5. Gniania, which comprises only
two leagues of coast; 6. Couhan, which occupies four; 7. Gniani,
extending thirty leagues along the river; and 8. Ouli, which
terminates between Barraconda and the rocky bank, and occupies
ninety leagues.
These different distances calculated in a right line, form a total
of one hundred and seventy-nine leagues; to which may be added
seventy-two leagues for the windings of the river in this space,
which makes the whole extent from the point of Barra to the kingdom
of Ouli, two hundred and fifty leagues.
The eight kingdoms on the southern bank are that of Combe or Combo,
which runs eighteen leagues along the coast, from St. Mary’s Point
to the river Combo, from which it takes its name. 2. The kingdom or
empire of Foigny, which begins at the river Combo and terminates
at that of Bintan, having eleven leagues of coast. 3. Gereges,
whose limits are the river of Bintan, and the village from
which the kingdom takes its name; it possesses seven leagues of
coast. 4. Kiam, which comprises twenty. 5. Geagra, which has only
ten. 6. Gnamena, whose extent is fifteen. 7. Kiaconda, which occupies
forty. 8. Toumana, of the same extent, and the kingdom of Cantor,
the limits of which are not perfectly known, but which must be at
least twenty leagues of coast.
The whole of these different parts of the coast, calculated in a
right line, forms a total of one hundred and sixty-five leagues,
to which may be added for capes and contours of the river, at least
eighty-five more; so that, from the mouth of the Gambia to the
known extremity of the kingdom of Cantor, the extent of territory
on ascending the south bank of the Gambia, is two hundred and
fifty leagues.
We possess no very circumstantial account of these Negro states,
which, however, are nearly alike. Those most worthy of notice are the
empire of Foigny, on the south bank, and the kingdom of Barra on the
north. The former is watered by four rivers, and extremely fertile:
it produces rice, pulse of all kinds, potatoes, and abundance of
fruits. Its palm wine is excellent, and the people breed oxen,
sheep, goats, and poultry. The country is uncommonly populous: the
inhabitants are industrious and of a commercial turn; they are open,
tractable, and particularly faithful. The king assumes the title of
emperor, and his neighbours not only acknowledge this distinction,
but pay him a tribute. He bestows great attention on the conduct
of the English and French, who carry on the commerce of the river;
and when the two nations are at war in Europe, he takes care that
they shall not fight in his states; but in cases of hostility he
takes the part of the weakest, or of those who are attacked.
The kingdom of Barra is almost entirely peopled by strangers, as the
natives of the country are there only few in number. The greatest
population is that of the Mandingos or Mandings, so called from the
name of their native country Mandin or Mandingue, which is situated
about four hundred leagues to the east, and is prodigiously peopled,
as is evident from the vast number of slaves which it furnishes every
year, as well as from the colonies, which frequently proceed from
it to extend their active industry to other quarters. It was thus
that there arrived in the kingdom of Barra those who are considered
as natives and who have possessed themselves of the supreme power,
and the whole of the commerce; the king and his great men being
Mandingos. They are the only well informed persons in the state;
for they know almost every thing, and can read and write. They have
public schools, in which the Marabous, who are the masters, teach
the children the Arabic tongue; their lessons are written on small
pieces of white wood; but they give the preference to the paper
which we have introduced amongst them. When they know the alcoran,
they obtain the title of doctors.
It is remarkable that the Mandingos, who have all come from a
republican state, have formed nothing but monarchies wherever they
have established themselves; but they have not invested their kings
with unlimited authority. On all important occasions these princes
are obliged to convoke a meeting of the wisest old men, by whose
advice they act, and without which they can neither declare war
nor make peace.
In all the large towns the people have a chief magistrate who bears
the name of alcaide, and whose place is hereditary: his duty is to
preserve order, to receive the tribute imposed upon travellers,
and to preside at the sittings of the tribunal of justice. The
jurisdiction is composed of old men who are free; and their meeting
is called a palaver; it holds its sittings in the open air, and with
much solemnity. The affairs which are brought for discussion, are
investigated with much candour; the witnesses are publicly heard;
and the decisions generally excite the approbation of both parties.
They have no written laws, but decide on the cases according to their
ancient customs; nevertheless they sometimes have recourse to the
civil institutes of Mahomet, and when the koran does not appear to
them sufficiently perspicuous, they consult a commentary entitled
Al Scharra, which contains a complete exposition of the civil
and criminal laws of Islamism. They have amongst them people who
exercise the profession of counsellors, or interpreters of the laws,
and who are allowed to plead either for the accuser or the accused,
as at European tribunals: these negro-lawyers are Mahometans,
and have, or pretend to have, studied, with particular attention,
the institutions of the prophet. In the art of chicanery they equal
the most acute pleaders of civilized countries.
These people follow the laws of Mahomet, of which they are rigid
observers: most of them neither drink wine nor spirits; and all
fast with the utmost rigour during the ramadan or lent. They breed
no hogs, because their laws forbid the eating of their flesh;
though they might sell them to great advantage. They are very
affectionate amongst themselves, and always assist each other. It
is not understood that they make slaves, as this punishment is only
decreed by the king, and chiefly against the great people who are
guilty of crimes. In other respects they are more polished than
the rest of the negroes; are of a mild character, sensible, and
benevolent: all which qualities may be attributed to their love for
commerce, and to the extensive travels in which they are continually
engaged. The ease with which they cultivate their lands proves their
industry; they are covered with palm, banyan, fig, and other useful
trees. The people have but few horses, though the country is well
adapted to breeding them; but they have a number of asses, which they
use for travelling, and their territory abounds with wild buffalos.
The Mandingos are particularly industrious in making salt, which
they do in a peculiar manner. They put river water in the halves
of calabashes, or in shallow earthen pots, and expose it to the
sun, the heat of which produces crystals of salt, the same as in
ordinary pits: for the water is always much impregnated with the
saline principle, as the sea mixes with it a considerable way up
the river. In a short time after the calabashes have been exposed,
a cream of fine white salt is formed on the surface, and this is
taken off three or four times; after which the vessels are filled
again. They have also very abundant salt-pits at Joal and Faquiou,
and their produce forms an important branch of trade: they load
their canoes with it; and ascending the river as far as Barraconda,
they exchange it for maize, cotton stuffs, ivory, gold dust, &c.
The great number of canoes and men employed in this commerce gives
great influence and respect to the king of Barra. Indeed, he is
the most powerful and terrible of all the kings of the Gambia;
he has imposed considerable duties on the ships of all nations,
each of which, whatever may be its size, is obliged to pay on
entering the river, a duty equal to about five hundred livres, or
nearly 21l. sterling. The governor of Gillifrie is charged with the
receipt of these duties, and he is always attended by a number of
persons who are very importunate: they are incessantly asking for
whatever pleases their fancy, and pursue their demands with such
ardour and perseverance, that to get rid of them the navigators
are almost always obliged to satisfy their desires.
The Mandingos are above the middle size, are well made, robust,
and capable of bearing great fatigue. The women are stout, active,
and pretty. The clothes of both sexes are of cotton, which they
manufacture themselves. The men wear drawers, which hang half way
down the thigh, and an open tunic, similar to our surplice. They
have sandals on their feet, and cotton caps on their heads. The
women’s dress consists of two pieces of linen six feet long and
about three wide; the one is plaited round the loins, and falls down
to the ancle, forming kind of petticoat; while the other negligently
covers their bosom and shoulders.
Their habitations like those of all the other negroes, are small and
inconvenient huts. A mud wall about four feet high, over which is a
conical opening made of bamboos and straw, serves for the residence
of the rich man, as well as of the humblest slave. The furniture is
equally uncouth: their beds are made of a bundle of reeds placed on
pickets two feet high, and covered with a mat or an ox’s skin;
a jar for water, a few earthen vessels for boiling their meat,
with some wooden bowls, calabashes, and one or two stools, form
the whole of their household goods.
All the Mandingos in a free state have several women; but they cannot
marry two sisters. These women have each a hut; while all the hovels
belonging to one master are surrounded by a lattice-work of bamboo
made with much art: an assemblage of this kind is called _Sirk_,
or _Sourk_. Several of these enclosures, separated by narrow paths,
compose a town; but the huts are placed with much irregularity, and
according to the caprice of the person to whom they belong. The only
point to which they attend is to have the door in a south-westerly
direction, that it may admit the sea-breezes.
In each town a spot is set apart for the assemblies of the old men;
it is enclosed by interlaced reeds, and generally covered by trees
which protect it from the sun. Here they discuss public affairs
and try causes; the idle and profligate also resort hither to smoke
their pipes and hear the news.
In several parts they have missourates or mosques, where they meet
to say the prayers prescribed by the Koran.
The population of the free Mandingos forms at the utmost, about one
fourth of the inhabitants of the country which they occupy. The
remaining three fourths are born in slavery, and have no hope
of escaping from it: they are employed in all servile labours;
but the free Mandingo has no right to take the life of his slave,
nor to sell him to a foreigner, unless he has been publicly tried,
and decreed to deserve such a punishment. The prisoners of war,
those imprisoned for crimes or debt, and those who are taken from
the centre of Africa and brought to the coast for sale, have no
right to appeal, as their masters may treat and dispose of them
according to their fancy.
Another part of the population of the kingdom of Barra, is composed
of the descendants of the Portuguese families who remain in the
country, and of whom we have already spoken. Such persons, or
rather those who take the title of Portuguese (for all the Mulattos,
and even men who are almost black, call themselves Portuguese, and
to doubt their origin is an affront they do not pardon), profess
the catholic religion, and have churches and priests in different
parts. They are recognized by their costume; they wear a great
chaplet suspended from the neck, a very long sword by their side,
a shirt, a cloak, a hat, and a poignard.
Some of these people devote themselves to commerce and agriculture,
and are generally adroit, brave, and enterprising. They acquire
property, live happily, and are much esteemed; but by far the
greatest part live in the most complete state of idleness, and
in consequence of being poor, addict themselves to thieving; they
also pass their time in the most disgusting state of libertinism,
and are equally despised by the Mahometans and the Christians.
The industrious part of these people proceed to the top of the river
in the canoes or boats of the country, and generally perform such
voyages on account of the French, who entrust them with merchandise,
and pay them liberally. They have sometimes been attacked in their
voyage, but they always proved that they knew how to defend their
liberty and property. They have also learnt from their ancestors
never to pardon wrongs nor injuries; and if this be not a precept of
their religion, it is a command of their fathers which necessity
justifies. I am of opinion that it is possible to employ with
great advantage these men so inured to the climate, to travel over,
and make discoveries in the interior of Africa.
The Portuguese build their habitations according to the plan of their
ancestors, by which they are more solid and commodious than those
of the Negroes: they raise them two or three feet above the soil
to secure them from the damp, and give them a considerable length
so as to divide each house into several chambers. The windows they
make are very small, in order to keep out the excessive heat of the
climate; and they never fail to build a vestibule open on all sides,
in which they receive visits, take their meals, and transact their
business. The walls are seven or eight feet high, and, as well as
the roof, are of reeds covered on both sides with a mixture of
clay and chopped straw: the whole is coated with plaister. They
take care to plant latane or other trees before their houses, or
to build them on a spot where such trees are growing, in order to
enjoy the refreshing shade which they produce. The king of Barra and
the greatest people of his kingdom have similar places of residence.
On the banks of the river Gambia may also be found three nations
of Africans, namely, the Felups, Yolofs, and Foulahs. All these
people are Mahometans, but they have retained the stupid, though
innocent superstitions of their ancestors. The real Mahometans they
call _Kafirs_, which means infidels.
The Felups are of an indolent, melancholy, and slovenly character:
they never pardon an injury, but transfer their hatred to their
children as a sacred inheritance, so that a son must necessarily
avenge the offence received by his father. At their festivals they
drink a quantity of mead, and their drunkenness almost always
produces quarrels: if on these occasions a man lose his life,
his eldest son takes his sandals and wears them every year on
the anniversary of his death, till he have had an opportunity
to avenge it; and the murderer seldom escapes this determined
resentment. The Felups, however, notwithstanding this ferocious
and unruly disposition, have several good qualities; they are
very grateful, have the greatest affection for their benefactors,
and restore whatever is entrusted to their care, with the most
scrupulous fidelity.
The Yolofs are active, powerful, and warlike; they inhabit a part
of the vast territory which extends between the Senegal and that
occupied by the Mandingos on the banks of the Gambia. I shall speak
of them more fully in the description which I shall give of the
Senegal, and in which I shall include some account of the different
people who inhabit its banks.
The Foulahs have a complexion of a rather deep black colour, silky
hair, and small and agreeable features; their manners are mild,
and they love a pastoral and agricultural life. They are dispersed
through several kingdoms on the coast of the river Gambia as
shepherds and farmers; and they pay a tribute to the sovereign
of the country which they cultivate. They are natives of the
kingdom of Bondou, situated between the Gambia and the Senegal,
near Bambouk: they leave their country in large bodies in search
of distant territories, where they can extend their industry; and
after making, what they conceive, a fortune, they return to enjoy
the result of their labours.
To recur to the establishments which have been formed by Europeans on
the river Gambia, it should be stated that the Portuguese replaced
the French on that river, and that the former were succeeded by
the English. They established themselves at a distance of fourteen
leagues from its mouth, on a little isle not more than seventy or
eighty fathoms in length, by forty or fifty in width. They built
a tolerably strong fort flanked by three bastions, and constructed
several redoubts on different parts of the isle; but in the war from
1688 to 1695, several attacks were made on this settlement by the
French with various success, and which ended in a convention for a
permanent neutrality between France and England in that part of the
world. The possessions of the French were confirmed by the treaty of
1783; and at present the only post which the French possess in the
Gambia, is Albreda on the territories of the king of Barra, to whom
they pay a duty of 810 livres. It is a possession at the mouth of
the river which will never be of any great importance, as nothing can
be procured by it but what escapes the activity of the English, and
that of course is little. The English have no fort in this quarter,
nor does it appear that they have any intention of building one;
they have, however, four factories without fortifications, one at
Gillifrie, a little town on the northern bank, opposite St. Jaques;
another at Vintain, on the southern bank, and about two leagues
from Gillifrie; and two more, which will be subsequently mentioned.
The Felups, a savage and unsocial nation of whom I have spoken,
carry to Vintain a great quantity of wax, which they collect in the
woods: the honey is consumed amongst them, as they make it into an
intoxicating drink, which bears a great resemblance to the mead of
the Europeans. The country which they inhabit is very extensive,
and produces a quantity of rice, with which they supply the persons
who trade on the rivers Gambia and Casamança; they also sell them
goats and poultry at a moderate price.
The third English factory is at Joukakonda, about six days’
navigation from Vintain. This is a very mercantile town, and is
entirely inhabited by Negroes and English.
The fourth is at Pisania, about sixteen miles above Joukakonda. It
is a village built by the English in the states of the king of
Gniagnia; it serves them for a factory, and is only inhabited by
themselves and a few domestic Negroes; they here carry on a trade
in slaves, ivory, and gold. This village is situated in an immense
and peculiarly fertile plain, and is covered with wood. The cattle
get very fat from the richness of the pasture, and the inhabitants
raise them in great numbers; they also employ themselves in fishing,
from which they derive much advantage, and have a number of well
regulated gardens, in which they grow onions, potatoes, manioc,
pistachios, pompions, and other useful pulse. Near the towns they
cultivate on a large scale, tobacco, indigo, and cotton. Their
domestic animals are the same as in Europe: they have hogs which
live in the woods, but whose flesh is by no means good; poultry
of every kind, with the exception of turkies; and red partridges
and Guinea-hens are abundant. The forests are filled with a small
species of gazelle, whose flesh is perfectly good. The most common
wild animals are the hyæna, the panther, the elephant, the tiger,
and the lion. The ass is the only beast of burden which is used in
this part of Africa. The art of employing animals in labours of the
field is unknown, for every thing is done by hand. The principal
aratory instrument is the hoe, whose form is different in every
district. The free Negroes do not till the ground, as this labour
is performed exclusively by the slaves.
The commerce is carried on by the Negro courtiers, who are known
by the name of the Slatées; these are free Negroes who possess
considerable influence in the country, and whose principal employment
consists in selling the slaves they procure from the centre of
Africa. They likewise furnish the Negroes on the coast with native
iron, odoriferous gums, incense, and schetoulou, or vegetable
butter, which I shall afterwards have occasion to speak of; and
take in exchange salt, which is a rare and valuable commodity in
the interior.
The English are not established on the river Gambia farther up
than Pisania; and here their trade is not very extensive, as
their exports do not amount to more than 500,000 French francs,
(about 20,000l.) The Americans have attempted to send some vessels
to this quarter on commercial speculations.
The objects of trade here are the same as on the other parts of
the coast, namely, gold, elephants’ teeth, slaves, wax, millet,
oxen, sheep, poultry, and other articles of subsistence. Slaves,
however, form the principal object; but at present not above 1000
are annually purchased: they cost from 450 to 500 francs each,
which is the ordinary price of a man of a healthy constitution,
from sixteen to twenty-five years of age. The European merchandises
given in exchange are, fire-arms, ammunition, iron work, spirituous
liquors, tobacco, cotton caps, a small quantity of broad cloth,
trinkets, India goods, glass-work, and other trifles.
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