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 earrings, 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 journeys to and from the coast, but
by far the greater proportion is annually carried away by the Moors
in exchange for salt and other merchandise. 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, Kankaree,
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.
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