cotton and silk, which I had the honour to present to that national depository o f curiosities some years since : it is o f a checquered pattern, similar to a draft board, the squares are alternate blue and white; these pieces o f cotton are manufactured at Jinnie and Timbuctoo, and used as covers to beds,- the y are valuable from the strength and durability o f the texture, and are therefore sold at a high price in Barbary, according to the quantity o f silk that is in them, and the quality o f the cotton ; those however which have no silk interwoven, but are simply cotton, o f blue and white patterns, are not so c o s t ly : the width varies from two to twelve inches ; the pieces are sewed together so closely afterwards with silk or thread, that one can scarcely perceive the seams, the whole appearing as one piece. T h e husbandmen (whom the y call fulah) are ve ry expert in the ceconomy o f bees ; honey and wax are abundant, but neither is transported across the De ser t; first, because the articles abound in Barbary, and secondly, because they are used b y the natives o f Timbuctoo, the former as an article o f food, and the latter for candles.* T h e fish called shebbel, similar to our salmon in the formation o f its bones, and not unlike it in taste, abounds in the Neele El Abeede, near K ab ra : it is much esteemed by the n a tive s ; eels also abound in the river. There are various other kinds o f fish, the names o f which I do not recollect. T h e mines o f gold which lie south o f the bed o f the river * Persons acquainted with the respective value of African produce, will perhaps ask how it happens that the akkabaahs transport Gum Soudan from Timbuctoo to Barbary, which is not so valuable as wax ? The reason is evident, the wax is useful, and being consumed ¡by the natives, always'commands a price; the gum is not of any use or value (to the Africans, but is collected and transported to Barbary only to be sold to the-European factors on the coast. belong to the Sultan W o olo, who resides at Jinnie-; he has three palaces, or spacious houses at Timbuctoo, where his gold is deposited, o f which he is said to possess an enormous quantity. T he persons who are d a ily employed in working the mines are Bambareen negroes, who are extremely rich in gold, for all pieces o f ore which they take from the mines not weighing twelve mizans, or about two ounces, become a perquisite to themselves, as a remuneration fo r their labour, and all pieces o f a greater weight belong to the Sultan, and are deposited in his before mentioned palaces. It is asserted that the mines are so pure, that lumps o f v irg in go ld are constantly found o f several ounces in w e igh t; this being admitted, it will not be surprising that the value o f this precious metal, here so abundant, should be inconsiderable, and that some articles o f small value with us in Europe, such as tobacco, salt, and manufactured brass, should often sell at Timbuctoo for their weight in gold. But here I would wish to be understood as speaking with some latitude, as the precise value o f the circulating medium of Soudan is subject to great fluctuation, originating from a company o f enterprising speculators o f great capital at Fas, who are extremely jealous o f the trade, and particularly cautious in communicating any information respecting it. In my various enquiries on this subject, I have constantly been guarded from receiving any information respecting Soudan from men who have had commercial establishments th e r e ; but have been rather induced to prefer the testimony o f those, whom I have frequently met from time to time in my various journies through West and South Barbary, who were strangers to the motives o f my enquiries, considering them merely as the natural suggestions o f cu r io s ity ; some o f these,
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