The Inhabitants Are Called Serawoollies, Or (As The French Write It)
_Seracolets_.
Their complexion is a jet black:
They are not to be
distinguished in this respect from the Jaloffs. The government is
monarchical; and the regal authority, from what I experienced of it,
seems to be sufficiently formidable. The people themselves, however,
complain of no oppression; and seemed all very anxious to support the
king in a contest he was going to enter into with the sovereign of
Kasson. The Serawoollies are habitually a trading people; they formerly
carried on a great commerce with the French in gold and slaves, and still
maintain some traffic in slaves with the British factories on the Gambia.
They are reckoned tolerably fair and just in their dealings, but are
indefatigable in their exertions to acquire wealth, and they derive
considerable profits by the sale of salt and cotton cloth in distant
countries. When a Serawoolli merchant returns home from a trading
expedition, the neighbours immediately assemble to congratulate him upon
his arrival. On these occasions the traveller displays his wealth and
liberality, by making a few presents to his friends; but if he has been
unsuccessful, his levee is soon over; and every one looks upon him as a
man of no understanding, who could perform a long journey, and (as they
express it) _bring back nothing but the hair upon his head_.
Their language abounds much in gutterals, and is not so harmonious as
that spoken by the Foulahs; it is, however, well worth acquiring by those
who travel through this part of the African continent, it being very
generally understood in the kingdoms of Kasson, Kaarta, Ludamar, and the
northern parts of Bambarra.
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