The Kingdom Of Barra, In Which The Town Of Jillifrey Is Situated,
Produces Great Plenty Of The Necessaries Of Life;
But the chief
trade of the inhabitants is in salt, which commodity they carry up
the river in canoes as
High as Barraconda, and bring down in return
Indian corn, cotton cloths, elephants' teeth, small quantities of
gold dust, &c. The number of canoes and people constantly employed
in this trade makes the king of Barra more formidable to Europeans
than any other chieftain on the river; and this circumstance
probably encouraged him to establish those exorbitant duties which
traders of all nations are obliged to pay at entry, amounting to
nearly 20 pounds on every vessel, great and small. These duties or
customs are generally collected in person by the alkaid, or governor
of Jillifrey, and he is attended on these occasions by a numerous
train of dependants, among whom are found many who, by their
frequent intercourse with the English, have acquired a smattering of
our language: but they are commonly very noisy and very
troublesome, begging for everything they fancy with such earnestness
and importunity, that traders, in order to get quit of them, are
frequently obliged to grant their requests.
On the 23rd we departed from Jillifrey, and proceeded to Vintain, a
town situated about two miles up a creek on the southern side of the
river. This place is much resorted to by Europeans on account of
the great quantities of beeswax which are brought hither for sale;
the wax is collected in the woods by the Feloops, a wild and
unsociable race of people. Their country, which is of considerable
extent, abounds in rice; and the natives supply the traders, both on
the Gambia and Cassamansa rivers, with that article, and also with
goats and poultry, on very reasonable terms. The honey which they
collect is chiefly used by themselves in making a strong
intoxicating liquor, much the same as the mead which is produced
from honey in Great Britain.
In their traffic with Europeans, the Feloops generally employ a
factor or agent of the Mandingo nation, who speaks a little English,
and is acquainted with the trade of the river. This broker makes
the bargain; and, with the connivance of the European, receives a
certain part only of the payment, which he gives to his employer as
the whole; the remainder (which is very truly called the cheating
money) he receives when the Feloop is gone, and appropriates to
himself as a reward for his trouble.
The language of the Feloops is appropriate and peculiar; and as
their trade is chiefly conducted, as hath been observed, by
Mandingoes, the Europeans have no inducement to learn it.
On the 26th we left Vintain, and continued our course up the river,
anchoring whenever the tide failed us, and frequently towing the
vessel with the boat. The river is deep and muddy; the banks are
covered with impenetrable thickets of mangrove; and the whole of the
adjacent country appears to be flat and swampy.
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