He Was
Accordingly Informed That They Were Of A Deep Black Colour, Well Shaped,
And A Span Taller Than The Natives Of Melli.
That their under lip was
thicker than a mans fist, of a very red colour, and hung down on their
breasts, with something like blood dropping from it; but that their upper
lips were small, like those of other men.
That the form of the under lip
exposed their gums and teeth, which were larger than their own, having
great teeth in each corner of their mouth, with large black eyes, and
altogether a terrible appearance, as the gums dropped blood continually,
as well as the great hanging under lip.
This cross accident prevented all the succeeding emperors of Melli from
making any farther attempt of the kind; because, from that time, these
negroes forbore, for three years, from coming to buy salt as usual. It is
believed that their lips began to putrify, through the excessive heat of
the climate; and being no longer able to endure a distemper, of which
some must have died for want of the effectual remedy which they had
experienced from the use of salt, they returned of their own accord to
traffic for that commodity in the old way. All this has established an
opinion that they cannot live without salt; the negroes of Melli judging
of the case of others by their own. As for the emperor of Melli, he cares
not whether these blacks will speak, and be seen or not, so that that he
has the profit of their gold[3]. This is all I could learn on this
subject, which I think may be credited, as so many persons have vouched
for its truth, of which I, who have both seen and heard of many wonderful
things in this world, am perfectly satisfied.
The gold brought to Melli is divided into three parts. One part is sent
by the caravan which goes annually from Melli to _Kokhia_[4], which lies
on the road to Syria and Cairo. The other two parts go first to Tombuctu,
whence one of them goes by _Toet_[5] to Tunis and other ports of the
Barbary coast, and the other portion is carried to Hoden, and from thence
to _Oran_ and _One_[6], towns in Barbary, which are within the Straits of
Gibraltar, and to Fez, Morocco, Arzila, Azafi, and Messa, towns on the
African coast of the Atlantic, where the Italians and other Christians
procure it from the Moors, in return for various commodities. Gold is the
best and principal commodity which comes through the country of the
Azanhaji, and a part of it is brought every year from Hoden to Arguin,
where it is bartered with the Portuguese[7].
No money is coined in the land of the _Tawny Moors_, or Azenhaji; nor is
any money used by them, or in any of the neighbouring countries; but all
their trade is carried on by bartering one commodity against another.
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