At ten at night we stopped at Sankhaguibila. At this place the river takes a turn to the east, and then to the north. The inhabitants hold a little market, to which they bring milk and dried fish, which the negroes of the canoes purchase, and pay for in cowries, the only money current on the banks of the river as far as Timbuctoo. People came from all sides with earthen pots, calabashes, mats, and various other kinds of merchandise. This village probably contains about four hundred inhabitants, consisting of Foulahs, Mandingoes, and Bambaras from Jenné.
At three o’clock on the morning of the 26th, we quitted the village of Sankhaguibila, the huts of which are all of straw, and badly constructed. We advanced slowly to the west. At sun-rise we found the river take a turn to the north. Its banks are adorned with a few dwarf shrubs.
At four in the afternoon we passed Diébé, situated on the right and before which there is a sand-bank. In general, all these villages resemble each other. The population varies but little. We stopped here nearly two hours to escape the north wind, which was blowing furiously, and which, in all probability, would have destroyed our frail bark. When it ceased we continued our course, and at nine o’clock we lay to at Isaca, where we passed that night and the following day. During the night the wind changed to the north-east, and there was a good breeze stirring. The banks of the river are so low that the least wind prevents the canoes making way; for when the water is ever so little agitated the waves dash over their sides and sink them; an accident of frequent occurrence. The population of Isaca may amount to seven or eight hundred, all Foulahs. Their houses, which are built of bricks baked in the sun, resemble those of the Bambaras.
The inhabitants brought us fresh fish, sour milk, and butter, which we purchased. The butter was rolled up into little balls of the size of crab-apples, for which we paid six cowries each. In this village I saw a great quantity of dried fish, an article in which the inhabitants traffic very considerably. They carry it to Jenné and other neighbouring markets. The great arm of the river which, as the negroes informed me, branches off from Sego, and forms an immense island, rejoins the river a quarter of a mile from Isaca. This arm, which comes from the west, is very broad, and seems to be navigable for large boats. It has not a rapid current; indeed, the water appears to be almost stagnant. The village is situated on the right bank of the river, and is inhabited by Foulahs, similar to those of Fouta-Dhialon. They are the subjects of Sego-Ahmadou, the capital of which al-Lamdou Lillahi, is a day’s journey eastward from Isaca. They rear flocks, which are their principal wealth, and cultivate rice in the plains, inundated by the overflow of the waters. They fish with nets made of cotton cord.
The women manufacture a beautiful kind of pottery, which they sell at Jenné, and to the canoes going to Timbuctoo. The village is situated on a little eminence; it is a great market for provisions.
Before I proceed further I will give a description of the canoes which are employed in the passage from Jenné to Timbuctoo, and which keep up a continually active trade along the whole extent of the river. Little flotillas of sixty or eighty boats are frequently seen all richly laden with various kinds of produce.
A vessel of sixty, or eighty tons burthen, is about ninety or one hundred feet long, twelve or fourteen broad at midships, and draws six or seven feet depth of water. These canoes, whether large or small, are generally fragile, and it is astonishing how they bear the heavy cargoes with which they are laden, and which consist of rice, millet, butter, honey, onions, pistachios, colat-nuts, stuffs, and various kinds of preserved articles. In addition to their cargo they frequently have on board forty or fifty slaves, half of whom remain on deck.
The crew consists of sixteen or eighteen sailors, two steersmen, and a superior, who acts as captain. The manner in which these vessels are built shews their want of solidity. Large planks, five feet long by eight inches broad, and about one inch thick,[1] are adjusted and fixed together by ropes made from the hemp of the country and the leaves of the ronnier. These ropes possess the property of lasting a long time in water, an advantage of great importance in this country, where the inhabitants do not avail themselves of the use of iron.
The workmen first of all join the planks together; but they do not unite closely, and large interstices are left in this first joining. The seams are then caulked over with bruised straw, reduced to a sort of oakum, and mixed with a soft kind of clay, found in the morasses and on the banks of the river. The interstices thus filled up, the seams are closely covered with fresh straw, and the whole is strongly fastened by a second joining; this renders the canoe sufficiently solid for the purpose of navigating the river At the bottom, wooden bars are laid at certain distances to consolidate the whole mass; and similar bars are placed higher up, for supporting the deck. The hull being finished, it is covered over with small pieces of flexible wood, bent in a convex form, across which, other pieces of smaller size are fixed. This forms the deck, which is raised three feet and a half above the sides, and covered over with mats, made in the country from the leaves of the ronnier. The lightest merchandise is placed on the deck, or orlop, and is firmly lashed to the gunwales of the vessel, forming a sort of barrier, not very high, but sufficiently so to prevent the slaves, who sleep on deck, from rolling into the water. The vessel is loaded to the height of two feet and a half or three feet above the deck, even on the prow.
As they are unacquainted with the use of pumps, they leave in the middle of the canoe an open space, where two men are constantly stationed, and whose business it is to bale out the water which makes its way through the seams of the vessel. In spite of the quickness with which they work, the water on board is never less than half a foot deep. These men keep watch as in our European ships, and they are relieved every six hours. They use large calabashes to bale the vessel. I observed that this part of the canoe is always covered with moss of a fine green colour. This is also the place where the women kindle fires to cook the victuals of the crew; for which purpose they provide themselves with portable earthenware stoves. These stoves are in the form of chaffing-dishes, round and open, and are composed of glazed earthenware. They are manufactured at Jenné, or in its environs, and are nearly four feet in circumference. They are furnished with three little supports, forming a tripod, on which the pot, used for boiling the rice, rests. These portable stoves obviate all danger that might be apprehended from the use of fire on board the vessels. Before the cargo is put on board, the hold is lined with thick pieces of wood, to prevent the goods being damaged by damp.