town that has been long established has a common burying-place in its vicinity." The "cry," or mourning for great people, is sometimes continued for months. During the day, the mourners sleep, or pursue their different avocations; in the evening, they return, and they pass the night in mourning; that is, shouting, dancing, drinking, and firing muskets. The chief magnificence of the funerals consists in the quantity of rum and tobacco expended on the occasion. The funeral ceremony of the distinguished Mulatto above mentioned, did not take place till three years after the body was interred; and during that time a bed was kept constantly prepared for him in the palaver-house, water was placed near the bed side to wash his hands, and meat for him to eat. Upwards of twenty puncheons of rum, and a large quantity of tobacco were consumed at the funeral cry.

A head man called king Jemmy, who resided within a mile of the settlement, died while I remained at Sierra Leone. The body was placed in the palaver-house, of his town, and a message was sent to the governor of the colony, requesting him to help the people to cry for king Jemmy. The governor sent an officer to cry in his stead, and I, among others, was present at the ceremony. The corpse being placed by the side of the grave, a number of questions were put to it; after which, Pa Demba, a neigbouring head man, addressed the deceased as if he were still capable of understanding him; expressing his great sorrow at having lost so good a father; saying that he and all the people had wished him to stay with them; but that as he had thought proper to leave them, they could not help it, and they wished him well.

Others of the head men addressed the deceased in a similar manner. When the speeches were finished, the person who represented the governor was asked if he would not shake king Jemmy by the hand; and requesting an explanation, he was desired to "say a prayer, white man's fashion." The pillow, the neck-handerchief, and the umbrella of the deceased were put into the grave with him, "because he liked them ;" and his wife, who stood sorrowing by, with his hat in her hand, was going to put that in also; but was prevented by Pa Demba, who probably reserved it for his own use. Several pieces of kola were deposited in the grave for king Jemmy to eat, and when it was closed, the women began a howl which continued till after we had left the town.

The Timmanees and Bulloms never boil milk, lest it should occasion the cow that gave it to become dry; or throw the rind of an orange in the fire, lest the remainder of the fruit should fall from the tree.

The kola is the produce of a large and beautiful tree. Seven or eight kernels, of the size and shape of a chesnut, are included in a large thick, green capsule. It is astringent, and of a pleasant bitter taste. Kola is presented to the guests in visits of ceremony and friendship, and considered as a mark of great politeness; it forms a part of every valuable present, and is the token of amity or hostility between nations. Two white kolas announce peace and a continuance of friendship; two red ones are considered as an indication of war.

Ground-nuts are inclosed in a shell like that of an almond, which fruit they a little resemble in

flavour. They are produced at the extremity of the root, as the potatoe; the leaf is like that of clover, and the plant is propagated from the kernels.

The butter tree is a remarkable production of this country. The fruit is large, and contains three or four seeds, each about the size of a walnut. These are first dried, then parched, then bruised in a mortar. They are afterwards boiled in water, and, as the oil rises to the surface, it is skimmed off, and poured into a hole dug in the ground, which is lined with a clean cotton cloth. Through this the water passes, and in it the butter remains, which is nearly as firm as cheese, as white as chalk, and pleasant to the taste.. It is made both by Timmanees and Bulloms.

The Japanzee, or Chimpanzee, is common in the mountains, and seems more nearly related to the human species than even the ourang-outang : when at his full growth he is nearly five feet in height. One of these, when young, was brought alive into the colony. He was nearly two feet high, and covered with black hair, which was long and thick on the back, short and thin on the breast and belly. His face was bare; his head and hands resembled those of an old black man, except that the hairs on his head were straight. At first he crawled on all fours, always walking on the outside of his hands; but when grown larger he endeavoured to go erect, supporting himself by a stick which he carried in his hand. He ate, drank, slept, and sat at table like a human being. He seemed of a melancholy disposition, probably from his being thrown out of his native sphere of action; but he was good-natured, and never offered any person an injury.

The largest snake yet discovered here was eighteen feet in length.

The gall of the alligator is considered by the natives of Sierra Leone as one of the most active and fatal of poisons; but it is chiefly used in magical ceremonies, and the composition of fetishes. If a person kill an alligator, he must have the testimony of at least two respectable witnesses to prove that he poured the gall upon the ground, or he is liable to be severely punished.

CHAPTER XXX.

SIERRA LEONE TO TEEMBO, AND RETURN TO
SIERRA LEONE.

I NOW quitted Sierra Leone on an expedition to Teembo, the capital of the Foola kingdom, and proceeding by sea to the Rio Nunez, I sailed a few leagues up the Rio Pongas, as it lay in my way. The people in the vicinity of this river had a number of holes bored in the outer circle of the ear, each containing six or eight small rings. In undress these holes are filled with pegs of wood. The custom of bringing the fore-teeth to a sharp point generally prevails here; the Bulloms and Timmances practice it less frequently, and the Foolahs not at all.

The mouth of the Nunez is about six miles in breadth. About one hundred and fifty miles above it are yet to be seen many ruins, and ves

tiges of Portuguese establishments, formed on the first discovery of the country; and many of the descendants of these people are still living among the black men, and are become black themselves.

I sailed up the Nunez as far as Kacundy, which is about seventy miles from its mouth; the river is navigable for large ships to this place. Between Kacundy on the Rio Nunez and Bulola on the Rio Grande, there is a frequent communication by land, as the two rivers here approach near to each other.

A remarkable circumstance happended at Kacundy a short time before. A leopard, one night, broke into the house of a Mr. Pierce; went up stairs into a chamber where seven children were sleeping; seized a large dog that was in the room; walked down the way he had come; passed a sow, with a litter of pigs in the court, without molesting them; and marched off with the dog in his jaws; to the great satisfaction of the inhabitants, who rejoiced that his choice had not fallen on any other individual *.

Having obtained guides at Kacundy, I began my journey on foot, travelling in an easterly direction. It soon appeared that a great commercial intercourse was carried on between the Foolahs and the upper parts of the Rio Nunez, for we frequently met five or six hundred of these people in one day,

* This circumstance is taken from a letter written by a private soldier under the command of Major Peddie, dated Kacundy, Dec. 17, 1816. He adds, "We expect to march in the course of a fortnight, and when we arrive at Timbuctoo I will write to you again." A letter dated Kaya, on the Gambia, March 19, 1818, says, "We are waiting for the dry season, when we shall start again." A letter from a friend, dated Sierra Leone, Feb. 24, 1819, informs the father of the death of his son.