- Some account of Bondou and its inhabitants, the Foulahs._
Tallika, the frontier town of Bondou towards Woolli, is inhabited chiefly
by Foulahs of the Mahomedan religion, who live in considerable affluence,
partly by furnishing provisions to the _coffles_, or caravans, that pass
through the town, and partly by the sale of ivory, obtained by hunting
elephants; in which employment the young men are generally very
successful. Here, an officer belonging to the King of Bondou constantly
resides, whose business it is to give timely information of the arrival
of the caravans; which are taxed according to the number of loaded asses
that arrive at Tallika.
I took up my residence at this officer's house, and agreed with him to
accompany me to Fatteconda, the residence of the king, for which he was
to receive five bars; and before my departure I wrote a few lines to Dr
Laidley, and gave my letter to the master of a caravan bound for the
Gambia. This caravan consisted of nine or ten people with five asses
loaded with ivory. The large teeth are conveyed in nets, two on each side
of the ass; the small ones are wrapped up in skins, and secured with
ropes.
December 14th. We left Tallika, and rode on very peaceably for
about two miles, when a violent quarrel arose between two of my
fellow-travellers, - one of whom was the blacksmith, - in the course of
which they bestowed some opprobrious terms upon each other; and it is
worthy of remark, that an African will sooner forgive a blow than a term
of reproach applied to his ancestors:
