Further account of Kankan and its environs. — Council of elders. — State of trade, and civilization. — Kissi. — Bouré. — Trade between Bouré and Bamako, Yamina, Ségo, Sansanding, and Jenné. — Working of gold mines. — Establishment of Bamako. — Passage of the Milo, and several other tributary rivers of the Dhioliba.
The season was advancing. It was now the middle of July, and in August it becomes almost impossible to travel, the country being then entirely flooded: I was beginning to be very uneasy, when, fortunately, an opportunity occurred of starting for Sambatikila. I bargained with a Poulh[53] of the Fouta-Dhialon, who agreed to carry my luggage as far as the Wassoulo, for three heads of tobacco, worth about ten or twelve sous. My new guide, whose name was Arafanba, had a high reputation for piety; he appeared very obliging, and I was indebted to Mamadi-Sanici for recommending him. Our departure was fixed for the 16th of July; but before quitting Kankan I will give some further description of the place.
Kankan, the capital of a district of the same name, is a small town, situated at the distance of two gunshots from the left bank of the Milo, a fine river, flowing from the south, and fertilizing the country of Kissi, where it has its source. It runs to the N.E.: and discharges itself into the Dhioliba, two or three days’ journey from Kankan. It is broad, deep, and fit for the navigation of canoes, drawing six or seven feet water. In the month of August it overflows, and fertilizes the neighbouring country. The following are the names of the villages which, as I was informed, are dependent on Kankan: Carfamoudeya, Diocana, Boucalan, Nafadi, Bacouco, Foussé, Sofino, Dio-Samana, and Kiémorou. The town is surrounded by fine thick quickset hedges, which protect it much better than a mud or earth wall. It has two entrances, one on the west, and the other on the east. The population does not amount to more than six thousand; it is situated in a fertile plain of grey sand. None but very small hills are visible in the distance. In every direction there are small villages, or ourondés, for the slaves. These villages are ornaments to the country, for they are surrounded by fine plantations, where yams, maize, rice, foigné, onions, pistachio-nuts, and gombo are grown in abundance.
The inhabitants of Kankan are governed by a chief, called the Dougou-tigui, who never pronounces any decision without first convoking the council of elders, which usually meets in the mosque, and at which I was often present. The greatest silence prevails at these meetings; and, contrary to the usual practice of the negroes, each speaks in his turn, and those that do not conduct themselves properly are turned out. They are always very cautious in coming to a decision: they are afraid of committing an error, and therefore, deliberate leisurely. They are all Mahometans, and entertain a mortal hatred of pagans or infidels.
A market is held at Kankan three times a week, and, as I have before observed, all sorts of merchandise and necessaries of life are sold there. The Mandingoes are all traders, and travel a great deal. They go on foot to Sierra-Leone, Kakondy, Gambia, Senegal, and even to Jenné. Many of them spoke to me of M. Potin, a merchant at Senegal, and of M. Joffret, who belongs to the French factory at Albréda, on the Gambia. Their proximity to Bouré renders the people very rich, for they bring large quantities of gold from that country. In time of peace the women of Kankan go to Bouré to sell rice, millet, and various other articles of food, which they barter for gold. The men go to Kissi, where they procure handsome slaves, who are purchased each at the price of a cask of gunpowder, (containing twenty-five pounds) a bad musket (worth five gourdes) and four yards of pink silk. A Mandingo who possesses a dozen slaves may live at his ease without travelling, merely by taking the trouble to superintend them.
A brisk trade is carried on between the Kankan and the neighbouring countries, and it receives from the Wassoulo white cloth of native manufacture, which is highly valued in commerce; the inhabitants possess some hairy sheep, goats and abundance of horned cattle. These last are not so large as ours, and have a hump on the back, like those belonging to the Moors who inhabit the banks of the Senegal. The country also furnishes handsome horses, which, however, are far from attaining the excellence of the Arabians. I saw at the alkali’s a mare which cost five slaves and two oxen; it was the finest animal I had met with throughout this part of Africa. The people rear a great quantity of poultry, and their cattle supply them with plenty of milk.
In their household affairs they are particularly neat and clean, and they are always dressed in very white cloth. They manufacture fine calico from the cotton which the women spin; they seldom sell it, but use it for their own garments. Each habitation is surrounded by a fence of straw or a thorn hedge. Within this enclosure are the huts, and on the outside of it is a small garden, in which the women and children cultivate maize and some tobacco. The streets are broad and clean, and the town is shaded by numerous date-trees, papaws, bombaces, and baobabs.
At the distance of three days’ journey south of Kankan is situated the first village of the Sangaran, the name of which I have forgotten. Six days’ journey further on, across the Sangaran, lies the beautiful country of Kissi, which must not be confounded with Kissi-kissi, in the neighbourhood of Sierra-Leone. Lamfia, who made several journeys thither for the purpose of buying slaves, told me that the country is interspersed with mountains, and watered by numerous streams. The soil is very fertile, and the inhabitants cultivate a great quantity of rice, yams, foigné, and every necessary of life. They are all idolaters, and, like the Bambaras, they make incisions on their faces and other parts of their bodies. I saw several of them at Kankan, and I remarked that they all had very sharp and white teeth. Their hair, like that of the Mandingoes, is woolly, but they are lighter in colour; their noses are rather aquiline, their lips thin, and their faces nearly oval. The country is divided into several small states, which are governed by independent chiefs, who often wage war against one another for the sake of slaves, whom they sell at a high price. Some of these barbarians make it a business to lurk behind bushes, in order to surprise the unfortunate negro husbandmen in their fields, and mercilessly carry them off for immediate sale.
At the distance of a day and a half to the S.S.E. of Kankan is Toron, inhabited by idolatrous negroes, of whom I have before spoken. At two days’ journey to the east, is the beautiful country of Wassoulo inhabited by Foulahs. At four days’ (or perhaps five) to the N. ¼ N.E. of this city, descending the Milo, you perceive, the country of Bouré three quarters of a day’s journey distant, up the Tankisso, upon the right bank of which it is situated. I will give in a few words the information obtained from the negroes respecting this country. The city of Bouré is the chief town of the country bearing the same name. Tintigyan, Bougoreya, Fataya, Setiguia, and Docadila, are dependencies of it. These villages are not far distant from the Tankisso; for I was assured that the slaves carried thither upon their heads the goods brought by vessels, and make several trips in a day. The country of Bouré, the Mandingoes told me and they had visited it, is covered by hills, in which are many very abundant gold mines. The natives, who daily work them, are ignorant of the extent of these riches. Slaves are continually occupied in raising the earth; they employ for this purpose, baskets made of the branches of trees: the women wash this earth in calabashes; they use a great deal of water, and after shaking it well, they pour it off; thus, after several washings, the particles of gold are deposited at the bottom of the calabash, and are collected with great care: this gold is melted and formed into rings or ingots. By this imperfect process, it may be supposed that a considerable quantity of gold remains in the washed earth; but they are not acquainted with the means of extracting it. Although the soil of Bouré is very fertile, no cultivation whatever is carried on: the inhabitants buy every thing of their neighbours; rice, millet, pistachio-nuts, pimento, every thing is bought with gold: they have horned cattle, and they breed some poultry. Before the war, Kankan furnished them largely with provisions, but, the communication being interrupted, no more are brought.
Bouré has a considerable commerce with Bamako, which is six or eight days’ journey distant, down the Dhioliba. The Moors carry to this country large quantities of salt and other merchandise which they exchange. The gold of Bouré circulates throughout the whole interior, and finds its way to the French and English settlements on the coasts; while Jenné, which was formerly considered as the country most plentifully supplied with this precious metal, has none excepting what is brought from this rich tract: Sansanding, Yamina, and Ségo, are similarly circumstanced. Opposite to Bamako, it is said, there is a cataract which the Mandingoes call Fada; but, according to the accounts I have received, it is not very high, as the canoes can descend and ascend by a tow-line without even discharging their cargoes: this is the case during the swelling of the waters, when the cataract must be entirely covered.