The Fine Cotton Fabrics Of The Country Are Sold Either In Webs, Or In What Are Called Tobes And Turkadees, With Rich Silken Strips Or Borders Ready To Be Added.

Amongst the favourite articles are goora or kolla nuts, which are called African coffee, being supposed to give a peculiar relish to the water drunk after them; and crude antimony, with the black tint of which every eyebrow in Houssa must be dyed.

The Arabs also dispose here of sundry commodities that have become obsolete in the north; the cast-off dresses of the mamelukes and other great men, and old sword-blades from Malta. But the busiest scene is the slave market, composed of two long ranges of sheds, one for males and another for females. These poor creatures are seated in rows, decked out for exhibition. The buyer scrutinizes them as nicely as a purchaser with us does a horse, inspecting the tongue, teeth, eyes, and limbs; making them cough and perform various movements, to ascertain if there be any thing unsound, and in case of a blemish appearing, or even without assigning a reason, he may return them within three days. As soon as the slaves are sold, the exposer gets back their finery, to be employed in ornamenting others. Most of the captives purchased at Kano, are conveyed across the desert, during which their masters endeavour to keep up their spirits, by an assurance, that on passing its boundary, they will be set free and dressed in red, which they account the gayest of colours.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 463 of 1124
Words from 126267 to 126525 of 309561