Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa by Mungo Park

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A portion of sand or clay (for gold is sometimes found in a brown
coloured clay) is put into a large calabash, and mixed with a sufficient
quantity of water. The woman, whose office it is, then shakes the
calabash in such a manner, as to mix the sand and water together, and
give the whole a rotatory motion; at first gently, but afterwards more
quick, until a small portion of sand and water, at every revolution,
flies over the brim of the calabash. The sand thus separated is only the
coarsest particles mixed with a little muddy water. After the operation
has been continued for some time, the sand is allowed to subside, and the
water poured off; a portion of coarse sand, which is now uppermost in the
calabash, is removed by the hand, and fresh water being added, the
operation is repeated until the water comes off almost pure. The woman
now takes a second calabash, and shakes the sand and water gently from
the one to the other, reserving that portion of sand which is next the
bottom of the calabash, and which is most likely to contain the gold.
This small quantity is mixed with some pure water, and being moved about
in the calabash, is carefully examined. If a few particles of gold are
picked out, the contents of the other calabash are examined in the same
manner; but in general, the party is well contented; if she can obtain
three or four grains from the contents of both calabashes. Some women,
however, by long practice, become so well acquainted with the nature of
the sand, and the mode of washing it, that they will collect gold, where
others cannot find a single particle. The gold dust is kept in quills,
stopt up with cotton, and the washers are fond of displaying a number of
these quills in their hair. Generally speaking, if a person uses common
diligence, in a proper soil, it is supposed that as much gold may be
collected by him in the course of the dry season as is equal to the value
of two slaves.

Thus simple is the process by which the Negroes obtain gold in Manding;
and it is evident, from this account, that the country contains a
considerable portion of this precious metal; for many of the smaller
particles must necessarily escape the observation of the naked eye; and
as the natives generally search the sands of streams at a considerable
distance from the hills, and consequently far removed from the mines
where the gold was originally produced, the labourers are sometimes but
ill paid for their trouble. Minute particles only of this heavy metal can
be carried by the current to any considerable distance; the larger must
remain deposited near the original source from whence they came. Were the
gold-bearing streams to be traced to their fountains, and the hills from
whence they spring properly examined, the sand in which the gold is there
deposited would, no doubt, be found to contain particles of a much larger
size;[23] and even the small grains might be collected to considerable
advantage by the use of quicksilver, and other improvements, with which
the natives are at present unacquainted.

[23] I am informed that the gold mine, as it is called, in Wicklow,
in Ireland, which was discovered in the year 1795, is near the top,
and upon the steep slope of a mountain. Here, pieces of gold of
several ounces weight were frequently found. What would have been
gold dust two miles below was here golden gravel; that is, each grain
was like a small pebble in size, and one piece was found which
weighed near twenty-two ounces, troy.

Part of this gold is converted into ornaments for the women; but, in
general, these ornaments are more to be admired for their weight than
their workmanship. They are massy and inconvenient, particularly the ear
rings, which are commonly so heavy as to pull down and lacerate the lobe
of the ear; to avoid which, they are supported by a thong of red leather,
which passes over the crown of the head from one ear to the other. The
necklace displays greater fancy; and the proper arrangement of the
different beads and plates of gold, is the great criterion of taste and
elegance. When a lady of consequence is in full dress, her gold ornaments
may be worth altogether from fifty to eighty pounds sterling.

A small quantity of gold is likewise employed by the Slatees, in
defraying the expenses of their journies to and from the Coast; but by
far the greater proportion is annually carried away by the Moors in
exchange for salt and other merchandize. During my stay at Kamalia, the
gold collected by the different traders at that place, for salt alone,
was nearly equal to one hundred and ninety-eight pounds sterling; and as
Kamalia is but a small town, and not much resorted to by the trading
Moors, this quantity must have borne a very small proportion to the gold
collected at Kancaba, Kancaree, and some other large towns.

The value of salt in this part of Africa is very great. One slab, about
two feet and a half in length, fourteen inches in breadth, and two inches
in thickness, will sometimes sell for about two pounds ten shillings
sterling, and from one pound fifteen shillings to two pounds, may be
considered as the common price. Four of these slabs are considered as a
load for an ass, and six for a bullock. The value of European merchandize
in Manding varies very much, according to the supply from the Coast, or
the dread of war in the country; but the return for such articles is
commonly made in slaves. The price of a prime slave, when I was at
Kamalia, was from _nine_ to _twelve_ minkallies, and European commodities
had then nearly the following value:--

18 gun flints, )
48 leaves of tobacco, ) one minkalli.
20 charges of gunpowder, )
A cutlass, )
A musket from three to four minkallies.

The produce of the country, and the different necessaries of life when
exchanged for gold, sold as follows:--

Common provisions for one day, the weight of one _teelee-kissi_, (a black
bean, six of which make the weight of one minkalli;) a chicken, one
teelee-kissi; a sheep, three teelee-kissi; a bullock, one minkalli; a
horse, from ten to seventeen minkallies.

The Negroes weigh the gold in small balances, which they always carry
about them. They make no difference, in point of value, between gold dust
and wrought gold. In bartering one article for another, the person who
receives the gold always weighs it with his own teelee-kissi. These beans
are sometimes fraudulently soaked in Shea-butter, to make them heavy; and
I once saw a pebble ground exactly into the form of one of them; but such
practices are not very common.

Having now related the substance of what occurs to my recollection
concerning the African mode of obtaining gold from the earth, and its
value in barter, I proceed to the next article, of which I proposed to
treat, namely, _ivory_.

Nothing creates a greater surprise among the Negroes on the sea coast,
than the eagerness displayed by the European traders to procure
elephants' teeth; it being exceedingly difficult to make them comprehend
to what use it is applied. Although they are shown knives with ivory
hafts, combs, and toys of the same material, and are convinced that the
ivory thus manufactured was originally part of a tooth, they are not
satisfied. They suspect that this commodity is more frequently converted
in Europe to purposes of far greater importance, the true nature of which
is studiously concealed from them, lest the price of ivory should be
enhanced. They cannot, they say, easily persuade themselves, that ships
would be built, and voyages undertaken, to procure an article, which had
no other value than that of furnishing handles to knives, &c., when
pieces of wood would answer the purpose equally well.

Elephants are very numerous in the interior of Africa, but they appear to
be a distinct species from those found in Asia. Blumenbach, in his
figures of objects of natural history, has given good drawings of a
grinder of each; and the variation is evident. M. Cuvier also has given
in the _Magazin Encyclopedique_ a clear account of the difference between
them. As I never examined the Asiatic elephant, I have chosen rather to
refer to those writers, than advance this as an opinion of my own. It has
been said that the African elephant is of a less docile nature than the
Asiatic, and incapable of being tamed. The Negroes certainly do not at
present tame them; but when we consider that the Carthaginians had always
tame elephants in their armies, and actually transported some of them to
Italy in the course of the Punic wars, it seems more likely that they
should have possessed the art of taming their own elephants, than have
submitted to the expense of bringing such vast animals from Asia. Perhaps
the barbarous practice of hunting the African elephants for the sake of
their teeth, has rendered them more untractable and savage, than they
were found to be in former times.

The greater part of the ivory which is sold on the Gambia and Senegal
rivers is brought from the interior country. The lands towards the Coast
are too swampy, and too much intersected with creeks and rivers, for so
bulky an animal as the elephant to travel through, without being
discovered; and when once the natives discern the marks of his feet in
the earth, the whole village is up in arms. The thoughts of feasting on
his flesh, making sandals of his hide, and selling the teeth to the
Europeans, inspire every one with courage; and the animal seldom escapes
from his pursuers; but in the plains of Bambarra and Kaarta, and the
extensive wilds of Jallonkadoo, the elephants are very numerous; and,
from the great scarcity of gunpowder in those districts, they are less
annoyed by the natives.

Scattered teeth are frequently picked up in the woods, and travellers are
very diligent in looking for them. It is a common practice with the
elephant to thrust his teeth under the roots of such shrubs and bushes as
grow in the more dry and elevated parts of the country where the soil is
shallow. These bushes he easily overturns, and feeds on the roots, which
are in general more tender and juicy than the hard woody branches or the
foliage; but when the teeth are partly decayed by age, and the roots more
firmly fixed, the great exertions of the animal, in this practice,
frequently causes them to break short. At Kamalia I saw two teeth, one a
very large one, which were found in the woods, and which were evidently
broke off in this manner. Indeed, it is difficult otherwise to account
for such a large proportion of broken ivory, as is daily offered for
sale, at the different factories; for when the elephant is killed in
hunting, unless he dashes himself over a precipice, the teeth are always
extracted entire.

There are certain seasons of the year when the elephants collect into
large herds, and traverse the country in quest of food or water; and as
all that part of the country to the north of the Niger is destitute of
rivers, whenever the pools in the woods are dried up, the elephants
approach towards the banks of that river. Here they continue until the
commencement of the rainy season, in the months of June or July; and
during this time they are much hunted by such of the Bambarrans as have
gunpowder to spare. The elephant hunters seldom go out singly; a party of
four or five join together; and having each furnished himself with powder
and ball, and a quantity of corn-meal in a leather bag, sufficient for
five or six day's provisions, they enter the most unfrequented parts of
the wood, and examine with great care every thing that can lead to the
discovery of the elephants. In this pursuit, notwithstanding the bulk of
the animal, very great nicety of observation is required. The broken
branches, the scattered dung of the animal, and the marks of his feet,
are carefully inspected; and many of the hunters have, by long experience
and attentive observation, become so expert in their search, that as soon
as they observe the footmarks of an elephant, will they tell almost to a
certainty at what time it passed, and at what distance it will be found.

When they discover a herd of elephants, they follow them at a distance,
until they perceive some one stray from the rest, and come into such a
situation as to be fired at with advantage. The hunters then approach
with great caution, creeping amongst the long grass, until they have got
near enough to be sure of their aim. They then discharge all their pieces
at once, and throw themselves on their faces among the grass. The wounded
elephant immediately applies his trunk to the different wounds, but being
unable to extract the balls, and seeing nobody near him, becomes quite
furious, and runs about among the bushes, until by fatigue and loss of
blood he has exhausted himself, and affords the hunters an opportunity of
firing a second time at him, by which he is generally brought to the
ground.

The skin is now taken off, and extended on the ground with pegs, to dry;
and such parts of the flesh as are most esteemed are cut up into thin
slices, and dried in the sun, to serve for provisions on some future
occasion. The teeth are struck out with a light hatchet, which the
hunters always carry along with them; not only for that purpose, but also
to enable them to cut down such trees as contain honey; for though they
carry with them only five or six days' provisions, they will remain in
the woods for months if they are successful, and support themselves upon
the flesh of such elephants as they kill, and wild honey.

The ivory thus collected is seldom brought down to the Coast by the
hunters themselves. They dispose of it to the itinerant merchants, who
come annually from the Coast with arms and ammunition, to purchase this
valuable commodity. Some of these merchants will collect ivory, in the
course of one season, sufficient to load four or five asses. A great
quantity of ivory is likewise brought from the interior by the slave
coffles. There are, however, some Slatees, of the Mahomedan persuasion,
who, from motives of religion, will not deal in ivory, nor eat of the
flesh of the elephant, unless it has been killed with a spear.

The quantity of ivory collected in this part of Africa is not so great,
nor are the teeth in general so large, as in the countries nearer the
Line: few of them weigh more than eighty, or one hundred pounds; and upon
an average, a bar of European merchandize may be reckoned as the price of
a pound of ivory.

I have now, I trust, in this and the preceding chapters, explained, with
sufficient minuteness, the nature and extent of the commercial connection
which at present prevails, and has long subsisted, between the Negro
natives of those parts of Africa which I visited, and the nations of
Europe; and it appears that slaves, gold, and ivory, together with the
few articles enumerated in the beginning of my work, viz. bees-wax and
honey, hides, gums, and dye woods, constitute the whole catalogue of
exportable commodities. Other productions, however, have been
incidentally noticed as the growth of Africa; such as grain of different
kinds, tobacco, indigo, cotton-wool, and perhaps a few others; but all of
these (which can only be obtained by cultivation and labour) the natives
raise sufficient only for their own immediate expenditure; nor, under the
present system of their laws, manners, trade, and government, can any
thing farther be expected from them. It cannot, however, admit of a
doubt, that all the rich and valuable productions, both of the East and
West Indies, might easily be naturalized, and brought to the utmost
perfection, in the tropical parts of this immense continent. Nothing is
wanting to this end but example, to enlighten the minds of the natives;
and instruction, to enable them to direct their industry to proper
objects. It was not possible for me to behold the wonderful fertility of
the soil, the vast herds of cattle, proper both for labour and food, and
a variety of other circumstances favourable to colonization and
agriculture; and reflect, withal, on the means which presented themselves
of a vast inland navigation, without lamenting that a country, so
abundantly gifted and favoured by nature, should remain in its present
savage and neglected state. Much more did I lament, that a people of
manners and disposition so gentle and benevolent, should either be left,
as they now are, immersed in the gross and uncomfortable blindness of
pagan superstition, or permitted to become converts to a system of
bigotry and fanaticism, which, without enlightening the mind, often
debases the heart. On this subject many observations might be made; but
the reader will probably think that I have already digressed too largely;
and I now, therefore, return to my situation at Kamalia.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Transactions at Kamalia resumed.--Arabic MSS. in use among the Mahomedan
Negroes.--Reflections concerning the conversion and education of the
Negro children.--Return of the Author's benefactor, Karfa.--Further
account of the purchase and treatment of slaves.--Fast of Rhamadan, how
observed by the Negroes.--Author's anxiety for the day of departure.--The
Caravan sets out.--Account of it on its departure, and proceedings on the
road, until its arrival at Kinytakooro.

The schoolmaster, to whose care I was entrusted during the absence of
Karfa, was a man of a mild disposition and gentle manners; his name was
Fankooma; and although he himself adhered strictly to the religion of
Mahomet, he was by no means intolerant in his principles towards others
who differed from him. He spent much of his time in reading; and teaching
appeared to be his pleasure, as well as employment. His school consisted
of seventeen boys, most of whom were sons of Kafirs; and two girls, one
of whom was Karfa's own daughter. The girls received their instructions
in the daytime, but the boys always had their lessons by the light of a
large fire before daybreak, and again late in the evening; for being
considered, during their scholarship, as the domestic slaves of the
master, they were employed in planting corn, bringing fire-wood, and in
other servile offices through the day.

Exclusive of the Koran, and a book or two of commentaries thereon, the
schoolmaster possessed a variety of manuscripts, which had partly been
purchased from the trading Moors, and partly borrowed from Bushreens in
the neighbourhood, and copied with great care. Other MSS. had been
produced to me at different places in the course of my journey; and on
recounting those I had before seen, and those which were now shown to me,
and interrogating the schoolmaster on the subject, I discovered that the
Negroes are in possession (among others) of an Arabic version of the
Pentateuch of Moses; which they call _Taureta la Moosa_. This is so
highly esteemed, that it is often sold for the value of one prime slave.
They have likewise a version of the Psalms of David, (_Zabora Dawidi_;)
and, lastly the book of Isaiah, which they call _Lingeeli la Isa_, and it
is in very high esteem. I suspect, indeed, that in all these copies,
there are interpolations of some of the peculiar tenets of Mahomet, for I
could distinguish in many passages the name of the Prophet. It is
possible, however, that this circumstance might otherwise have been
accounted for, if my knowledge of the Arabic had been more extensive. By
means of those books, many of the converted Negroes have acquired an
acquaintance with some of the remarkable events recorded in the Old
Testament. The account of our first parents; the death of Abel; the
Deluge; the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the story of Joseph and
his brethren; the history of Moses David, Solomon, &c. All these have
been related to me in the Mandingo language, with tolerable exactness, by
different people; and my surprise was not greater on hearing these
accounts from the lips of the Negroes, than theirs, on finding that I was
already acquainted with them; for although the Negroes in general have a
very great idea of the wealth and power of the Europeans, I am afraid
that the Mahomedan converts among them think but very lightly of our
superior attainments in religious knowledge. The white traders in the
maritime districts take no pains to counteract this unhappy prejudice;
always performing their own devotions in secret, and seldom condescending
to converse with the Negroes in a friendly and instructive manner. To me,
therefore, it was not so much the subject of wonder as matter of regret,
to observe, that while the superstition of Mahomet has in this manner
scattered a few faint beams of learning among these poor people, the
precious light of Christianity is altogether excluded. I could not but
lament, that although the Coast of Africa has now been known and
frequented by the Europeans for more than two hundred years, yet the
Negroes still remain entire strangers to the doctrines of our holy
religion. We are anxious to draw from obscurity the opinions and records
of antiquity, the beauties of Arabian and Asiatic literature, &c.; but
while our libraries are thus stored with the learning of various
countries, we distribute with a parsimonious hand, the blessings of
religious truth, to the benighted nations of the earth. The natives of
Asia derive but little advantage in this respect from an intercourse with
us, and even the poor Africans, whom we affect to consider as barbarians,
look upon us, I fear, as little better than a race of formidable but
ignorant heathens. When I produced Richardson's Arabic Grammar to some
Slatees on the Gambia, they were astonished to think that any European
should understand and write the sacred language of their religion. At
first they suspected that it might have been written by some of the
slaves carried from the Coast; but on a closer examination, they were
satisfied that no Bushreen could write such beautiful Arabic; and one of
them offered to give me an ass, and sixteen bars of goods, if I would
part with the book. Perhaps a short and easy introduction to
Christianity, such as is found in some of the catechisms for children,
elegantly printed in Arabic, and distributed on different parts of the
Coast, might have a wonderful effect. The expense would be but trifling;
curiosity would induce many to read it; and the evident superiority which
it would possess over their present manuscripts, both in point of
elegance and cheapness, might at last obtain it a place among the school
books of Africa.

The reflections which I have thus ventured to submit to my readers on
this important subject, naturally suggested themselves to my mind on
perceiving the encouragement which was thus given to learning (such as it
is) in many parts of Africa. I have observed, that the pupils at Kamalia
were most of them the children of Pagans; their parents, therefore, could
have had no predilection for the doctrines of Mahomet. Their aim was
their children's improvement, and if a more enlightened system had
presented itself, it would probably have been preferred. The children,
too, wanted not a spirit of emulation, which it is the aim of the tutor
to encourage. When any one of them has read through the Koran, and
performed a certain number of public prayers, a feast is prepared by the
schoolmaster, and the scholar undergoes an examination, or (in European
terms) _takes out his degree_. I attended at three different
inaugurations of this sort, and heard with pleasure the distinct and
intelligent answers which the scholars frequently gave to the Bushreens,
who assembled on those occasions, and acted as examiners. When the
Bushreens had satisfied themselves respecting the learning and abilities
of the scholar, the last page of the Koran was put into his hand, and he
was desired to read it aloud; after the boy had finished this lesson, he
pressed the paper against his forehead, and pronounced the word _Amen_;
upon which all the Bushreens rose, and shaking him cordially by the hand,
bestowed upon him the title of Bushreen.

When a scholar has undergone this examination, his parents are informed
that he has completed his education and that it is incumbent on them to
redeem their son, by giving to the schoolmaster a slave, or the price of
a slave, in exchange; which is always done, if the parents can afford to
do it; if not, the boy remains the domestic slave of the schoolmaster,
until he can, by his own industry, collect goods sufficient to ransom
himself.

About a week after the departure of Karfa, three Moors arrived at Kamalia
with a considerable quantity of salt, and other merchandize, which they
had obtained on credit, from a merchant of Fezzan, who had lately arrived
at Kancaba. Their engagement was to pay him his price when the goods were
sold, which they expected would be in the course of a month. Being rigid
Bushreens, they were accommodated with two of Karfa's huts, and sold
their goods to very great advantage.

On the 24th of January, Karfa returned to Kamalia with a number of people
and thirteen prime slaves, which he had purchased. He likewise brought
with him a young girl whom he had married at Kancaba, as his fourth wife,
and had given her parents three prime slaves for her. She was kindly
received at the door of the baloon by Karfa's other wives, who conducted
their new acquaintance and co-partner into one of the best huts, which
they had caused to be sweat and white-washed, on purpose to receive
her.[24]

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