The Soil Of Badagry Is Fertile, And Consists Of A Layer Of Fine White
Sand Over Loam, Clay, And Earth; The Sand Is So Deep As To Render Walking
Difficult.
The inhabitants depend for subsistence on fishing, and the
cultivation of the yam and Indian corn.
They fish with nets and spears,
and also with a peculiarly formed earthen pot, which they bait with the
palm nut. The more wealthy possess bullocks, sheep, goats, and poultry.
The houses, which are neatly constructed of bamboo, and thatched with
palm leaves, contain several rooms; almost all have yards attached to
them, to the cultivation of which some little attention is paid.
On the night of the 31st March they set sail from Badagry in the chief's
war canoe, which was about forty feet long, and propelled by poles. The
banks of the river were low, covered with stunted trees; and a
slave-factory and fetish hut were the only buildings visible. At
intervals, at a winding of the river, they saw "a noble and solitary
palm-tree, with its lofty branches bending over the water's edge." At
this point, the atmosphere is loaded with pestilential miasmata. For a
considerable way the water is almost hid by a profusion of marine plants,
but these gradually disappear, and the boughs of beautiful trees hang
over the banks, and screen the travellers from the sun's rays. A number
of aquatic birds resort to this place; and the ear is absolutely stunned
with the noise of parrots and monkeys.
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