cataracts of Barraeonda, the hills which ris&ftito'this
are capered with woods and YiBagieSi Bondou, a mduHtain-
ohs country to the eastward, divides the waters offhe Gambia
and the Fal6m£. Thence to the Senegal is the cOtihtry of
Kajaaga, called /by the French colonists; -Galam. Eastward
of Senegal .is the kingdom of Kasson. Bamhouk, the Land
of Gold, is in the midst of this tract; gold is also found in
the country of the Mandingos, by whom, as they have descended
from time to time out of the higher region, the intermediate
districts now described have been, as we shall
afterwards observe, either conquered or in part repeopled.
» - S e c t io n II.—Of the Mandingos,
The Mandingos are a very numerous and powerful race;
they are remarkable among the nations of Africa for their
industry and energy of character; and, of genuine' Negro
tribes, they have, perhaps, manifested the greatest aptitude
for mental improvement. The Mandingos are the most Jealous
and rigid Mohammed ans in Africa; they observe all 'the
precepts of Islam, and drink no intoxicating liquors. The merchants
of this nation, many of whom are marabouts or priest^.;
arc men of great enterprize and intelligence: they are often
persons of great influence in Northern Africa* and carry on the
principal trade in that part of the world. “ The Mandingos are
said to be active and shrewd merchants, laborious end?,industrious
agriculturists, keeping their ground well cultivated, and
breeding a good stock of cattle, oxen, sheep, and goats, but no
hogs. They are a kind and hospitable people.” Such is the
description of this nation drawn by the old voyagers, Jobson
and Moore, who visited them soon after they first became
known to Europeans, and it has been fully confirmed by
Golberry, Park, and other recent travellers.*
• See Jobson and Moore’s Voyages, in Astle’s Collection of Voyages, vol. ii.
p. 265, et seq. I have been assured by Mr. F. Rankin, whose good sense and acute*
ness of observation leave no doubt in my mind of the entire correctness of his
assertion, that no person, who has been in the habit of personal intercourse with
Mandingos, can entertain the slightest doubt of the equality of intellect between
white and black men.
OF THE MANDINGOS. 59
. j ^he colour <?f the Mandingps 4s black, with a mixture of
.yellow.* Janneq^m,f&ays, that they ere US remarkable for
thç,;,thichf»q|§M| fheiq: lips and the flatness of their noses as
are ,the Iolofs and Fûl&hs.*fer.-handsome features ; f but M.
.Gol'berry, dec^a^gs f that .the ÿjj^andingqsr -resemble, in their
features, the bfacks qf Indja moue than those of Africa in
general. He ^.aysr “ their-features are .regular, their charac-
tgj;:,g^ierqus and open,* and their/manuersgently.” J Their
hair is^quite saud, aceordling;!© Mr. Park, they have
mqremf £heo jNegjs© character in -their.countenance® than the
Iolofs, who are said to be the. most beautiful, and, at the
same lime,,the blackest -people ;ih Africa,,, Maj;or Laing says,
“ the appearance of the Manding.qsf is engagiaag* their fea-
furqp are regular and ,open;, their persons'vrcH'formed and
eqm^ly, .averaging,a height rather above the common.” M.
Durand has,, given a.' description, of the Mandingos of the
kingdom of Barra, which coincides fully with that of Major
_hai|®>: and M. Gqlberry,§j and other uecent travellers.. * The
Mandingqsy^^pRcise, by .their .trade and eolqaaies, a powerful
influence,T§v^r all the ae%hhpuring'coun.tiies. ~c In the states
on the as jve are informed by M. Durand," “.‘comjgp^
e and government am in their hands f the chiefs and men
in pufhprity are 'all Mandingos :. they- are the only persons
pç^SÇSsed of information ; all, ^ n e a rly all of them can writer
thqy, hav,e public ÿpchpols, in which thriir marabifete teieb
fhiq,,children fo read ihe Koran | their lésons are written on
small, udptened boards. In all large, towns they hare .an
Ifipfitary aikaid, who maintains public order, and, a>council
of old meq^ They are more polished than other Negro na-
ji^nSj, of a pjild character, sensible^ and-benevolent, the result
of their predilection for commerce, and of the longsg^urneys
in which they .pass much of their time. The cfmfiil cultivation
of their land proves them to be industrious ; their fields
are ornamented with palms, bananas, fig-trees ; they keep
few horses, but numerals asses, on which they are accustomed
tp perform their journey^” Mr, Park ,-says, “ Few people
work harder, when occasion requires it, than the Mandingos:
+ Jannequin’s Voyage’ in Libya.
§ Durand’s Voyage au Sénégal.
* Golberry, ii 73.
$ Golberry, i. 78.