SIERRA LEONE, 1678.
“Exports.—Elephants’ teeth, slaves, santalum wood, a little gold, much beeswax with some pearls, crystal, long peppers, ambergris, &c. The ivory here was considered the best on the West Coast, being, says Barbot, very white and large, have had some weighing 80 to 100 lbs., at a very modest rate 80 lbs. of ivory for the value of five livres French money, in coarse knives and other such toys. The gold purchased in Sierra Leone, the same authority states, comes from Mandinga and other remote countries towards the Niger or from South Guinea by the River Mitomba. The trade selection was: French brandy or rum, iron bars, white callicoes, Sleysiger linen, brass kettles, earthen cans, all sorts of glass buttons, brass rings or bracelets, bugles and glass beads of sundry colours, brass medals, earrings, Dutch knives, Bosmans, first and second size, hedging bills and axes, coarse laces, crystal beads, painted callicoes (red) called chintz, oil of olive, small duffels, ordinary guns, muskets and fuzils, gunpowder, musket balls and shot, old sheets, paper, red caps, men’s shirts, all sorts of counterfeit pearls, red cotton, narrow bands of silk stuffs or worsted, about half a yard broad for women, used about their waists.
The proper goods to purchase, the cam wood and elephants’ teeth in Sherboro’ River, are chiefly these:—
Brass basons and kettles, pewter basons, and tankards, iron bars, bugles, painted callicoes, Guinea stuffs or cloths, Holland linen or cloth, muskets, powder, and ball. A ship may in two months time out and home purchase here fifty-six tons of cam wood and four tons of elephants’ teeth or more.”
The trade selection for the Pepper Coast was practically the same as for Sierra Leone, only less extensive and cheaper in make, and had a special line in white and blue large beads. The main export was Manequette pepper and rice, the latter of which was to be had in great quantity but poor quality at about a halfpenny a pound; and there was also ivory to be had, but not to so profitable an extent as on the next coast, the Ivory. The same selection of goods was used for the Ivory Coast trade as those above-named, with the addition of Contaccarbe or Contabrode, namely, iron rings, about the thickness of a finger which the blacks wear about their legs with brass bells, as they do the brass rings or bracelets about their arms in the same manner. The natives here also sold country-made cloths, which were bought by the factors to use in trade in other districts, mainly the Gold Coast; the Ivory Coast cloths come from inland districts, those sold at Cape La Hou are of six stripes, three French ells and a half long, and very fine; those from Corby La Hou of five stripes, about three ells long, and coarser. They also made “clouts” of a sort of hemp, or plant like it, which they dye handsomely, and weave very artificially.