CHAPTER XX.

Of the Climate and Seasons.-Winds.-Vegetable Productions.Population.-General Observations on the Character and Disposition of the Mandingoes; and a summary Account of their Manners and Habits of Life, their Marriages, &c.

THE whole of my route, both in going and returning, having been confined to a tract of country bounded nearly by the 12th and 15th parallels of latitude, the reader must imagine that I found the climate in most places extremely hot; but no where did I feel the heat so intense and oppressive as in the camp at Benowm, of which mention has been made in a former place. In some parts, where the country ascends into hills, the air is at all times comparatively cool; yet none of the districts which I traversed, could properly be called mountainous. About the middle of June, the hot and sultry atmosphere is agitated by violent gusts of wind, (called tornadoes) accompanied with thunder and rain. These usher in what is denominated the rainy season; which continues until the month of November. During this time, the diurnal rains are very heavy; and the prevailing winds are from the south-west. The termination of the rainy season, is likewise attended with violent tornadoes; after which the wind shifts to the north-east, and continues to blow from that quarter, during the rest of the year.

When the wind sets in from the north-east, it produces a wonderful change in the face of the country. The grass soon becomes dry and withered; the rivers subside very rapidly, and many of the trees shed their leaves. About this period is commonly felt the barmattan, a dry and parching wind, blowing from the north-east, and accompanied by a thick smoky haze; through which the sun appears of a dull red colour. This wind, in passing over the great desert of Sahara, acquires a very strong attraction for humidity, and parches up every thing exposed to its current. It is, however, reckoned very salutary, particularly to Europeans, who generally recover their health during its continuance. I experienced immediate relief from sickness, both at Dr. Laidley's, and at Kamalia, during the harmattan. Indeed, the air during the rainy season is so loaded with moisture, that clothes, shoes, trunks, and every thing that is not close to the fire, become damp and mouldy; and the inhabitants may be said to live in a sort of vapour bath: but this dry wind braces up the solids, which were before relaxed, gives a cheerful flow of spirits, and is even pleasant to respiration. Its ill effects are, that it produces chaps in the lips, and afflicts many of the natives with sore eyes.

Whenever the grass is sufficiently dry, the Negroes set it on fire; but in Ludamar, and other Moorish countries, this practice is not allowed; for it is upon the withered stubble that the Moors feed their cattle, until the return of the rains. The burning the grass in Manding exhibits a scene of terrific grandeur. In the middle of the night, I could see the plains and mountains, as far as my eye could reach, variegated with

lines of fire; and the light reflected on the sky, made the heavens appear in a blaze. In the day time, pillars of smoke were seen in every direction; while the birds of prey were observed hovering round the conflagration, and pouncing down upon the snakes, lizards, and other reptiles, which attempted to escape from the flames. This annual burning is soon followed by a fresh and sweet verdure, and the country is thereby rendered more healthful and pleasant.

Of the most remarkable and important of the vegetable productions, mention has already been made; and they are nearly the same in all the districts through which I passed. It is observable, however, that although many species of the edible roots, which grow in the West-India Islands, are found in Africa, yet I never saw, in any part of my journey, either the sugar-cane, the coffee, or the cacao tree; nor could I learn, on inquiry, that they were known to the natives. The pineapple, and the thousand other delicious fruits, which the industry of civilized man (improving the bounties of nature), has brought to so great perfection in the tropical climates of America, are here equally unknown. I observed, indeed, a few orange and banana trees, near the mouth of the Gambia; but whether they were indigenous, or were formerly planted there by some of the white traders, I could not positively learn. I suspect, that they were originally introduced by the Portuguese.

Concerning property in the soil; it appeared to me that the lands in native woods, were considered as belonging to the king, or (where the government was not monarchical) to the

state. When any individual of free condition, had the means of cultivating more land than he actually possessed, he applied to the chief man of the district, who allowed him an extension of territory, on condition of forfeiture if the lands were not brought into cultivation by a given period. The condition being fulfilled, the soil became vested in the possessor; and, for aught that appeared to me, descended to his heirs.

The population, however, considering the extent and fertility of the soil, and the ease with which lands are obtained, is not very great, in the countries which I visited. I found many extensive and beautiful districts, entirely destitute of inhabitants; and in general, the borders of the different kingdoms, were either very thinly peopled, or entirely deserted. Many places are likewise unfavourable to population, from being unhealthful. The swampy banks of the Gambia, the Senegal, and other rivers towards the Coast, are of this description. Perhaps, it is on this account chiefly, that the interior countries abound more with inhabitants, than the maritime districts; for all the Negro nations that fell under my observation, though divided into a number of petty independent states, subsist chiefly by the same means, live nearly in the same temperature, and possess a wonderful similarity of disposition. The Mandingoes, in particular, are a very gentle race; cheerful in their dispositions, inquisitive, credulous, simple, and fond of flattery. Perhaps, the most prominent defect in their character, is that insurmountable propensity, which the reader must have observed to prevail in all classes of them, to steal from me the few effects I was possessed of. For this part

of their conduct, no complete justification can be offered, because theft is a crime in their own estimation; and it must be observed, that they are not habitually and generally guilty of it towards each other. This, however, is an important circumstance in mitigation; and, before we pronounce them a more depraved people than any other, it were well to consider whether the lower order of people in any part of Europe, would have acted, under similar circumstances, with greater honesty towards a stranger, than the Negroes acted towards me. It must not be forgotten, that the laws of the country afforded me no protection; that every one was at liberty to rob me with impunity; and finally, that some part of my effects were of as great value, in the estimation of the Negroes, as pearls and diamonds would have been in the eyes of a European. Let us suppose, a black merchant of Hindostan to have found his way into the centre of England, with a box of jewels at his back; and that the laws of the kingdom afforded him no security; in such a case, the wonder would be, not that the stranger was robbed of any part of his riches, but that any part was left for a second depredator. Such, on sober reflection, is the judgment I have formed concerning the pilfering disposition of the Mandingo Negroes towards myself. Notwithstanding I was so great a sufferer by it, I do not consider that their natural sense of justice was perverted or extinguished: it was overpowered only, for the moment, by the strength of a temptation which it required no common virtue to resist.

On the other hand, as some counterbalance to this depravity in their nature, allowing it to be such, it is impossible for me