A voyage to Senegal

by Jean Baptiste Léonard Durand

The diseases also which prevail in this season, are more frequent and active on the river. The burning air does not circulate, nor is it ever tempered by the sea-winds. The banks of the river are covered with trees, whose leaves and offal, which seem to have been collecting ever since the creation, corrupt and infect the atmosphere, and render poisonous the air which is inhaled. Besides this, the voyagers are devoured by insects, drenched by almost continual rains, and singed by lightning, which incessantly threatens their lives.

The ships are obliged to pay duties to several princes, in order to obtain a free passage; and as these are not regulated beforehand, the navigators are compelled to stop every year, and enter into a fresh negociation on the subject; by which they lose the most valuable part of their time, and sacrifice the health of their crews. The princes are also sometimes so exorbitant in their demands, that the ships attempt to pass without yielding to them, and this petty warfare seldom turns to our advantage. In short, these and numerous obstacles, render two months requisite to go by water from Isle St. Louis to Galam; and even such Europeans as have performed it, return in a dying state, and seldom perfectly recover their health. These were the considerations which induced the English to abandon the post at Galam, when they were masters of the Senegal; but they did wrong, and it becomes us to improve by their error.

The route by land does away all these difficulties, as it is safe, convenient, occupies only twenty days, and may be undertaken during eight months of the year. The most favourable time for setting out, is the month of March, at which period the season is fresh, the sky pure, and the winds blow constantly from the north. Travellers by land might also carry on a considerable trade with the inhabitants on their way, as the country abounds with gum-trees and gold mines. The passage which I caused to be traced, was made by a single man; but it might be performed by caravans of any number, though they should always be under the guidance of a Marabou, as these priests possess the greatest influence over the Negroes. By such means we might obtain a proper knowledge of the interior of Africa, and by extending our political and commercial relations, make ourselves rich, and the people happy.

The kingdom of Bambouk is a large country, celebrated for its gold mines. The Moors acquire this metal by repairing to the spot, while the French and English receive it from the Mandingo Negroes, who bring it to the Gambia. This kingdom is bounded on the N. by that of Galam; on the N. E. by the Kajaaga; on the E. by the river Senegal; on the S. by the districts of Kulla and Konkadou; on the W. by the Satadou; and on the N. W. by the kingdom of Bondou.

It is a mistake which has prevailed, that the kingdom is not governed by any king; it has its sovereigns like the other neighbouring kingdoms; and each village has a master. Towards the river of Félémé, these chiefs are called Farims, with the addition of their residence. In the interior of the country, they are called Aleuranni: they are all independent of each other, but acknowledge the supreme head of the kingdom; and they are obliged to unite for the defence of the country in time of danger.

The Mandingos have possessed themselves of this state, in addition to their other conquests; and the natives of the country, who are called Malincops, have received them, and formed alliances with them, so that they are now only one nation, in which the religion, customs, and manners of the Mandingos, are absolute.

There is no country with which we are acquainted, that is so rich in gold mines as Bambouk. The experiments that have been made, prove that their ore is far superior to that of the mines of the Brazils and Peru; besides which, from the nature of the soil, ten men would extract more gold from Bambouk, than a hundred would in the rich mines of Spain and Portugal. In short, the country is so filled with gold mines, that the metal is found in every direction; but the richest of those that have been discovered, are in the centre of the kingdom, between the villages of Kelimani and Natacou, about thirty leagues to the east of the river Félémé. The gold is very pure, and appears in a surprising abundance.

The country is intersected by high and barren mountains; and the inhabitants having no means of subsistence but what they procure with their gold, are obliged to work sedulously in the mines; but they must first obtain the permission of the chiefs of their villages, who only grant it for a certain time, and on condition, that they retain not only half the produce, but likewise all the lumps which are above a certain size.

The Negroes of Bambouk have no notion of the different species of earth, nor the least rule for distinguishing that which produces gold. They know generally that their country contains much of the precious metal, and that the more steril the soil is, the more may be found in it. They watch indifferently in various parts, and when they by chance meet with a small quantity of the ore, they continue to work in the same spot till they see it diminish, on which they move somewhere else. They are of opinion, that the gold is an evil spirit, which delights in tormenting those who love it; on which account it often changes its place. When the mine happens to be rich, and they are satisfied with its produce without much trouble, they stop on the spot, and dig to the depth of six, seven, or eight feet; but they never go farther, being totally ignorant of the art of working by strata; nor are they sufficiently industrious to prevent the ground from falling in upon them.

By this manner of proceeding, they never come to the principal veins; while the ramifications are so rich, and the gold which they contain is so pure, that no mixture of marcassite or other mineral substances prevails in it: it is, indeed, so pure, that there is no occasion to melt it; but just as it comes from the mines it may be worked.