About one in the afternoon, we stopped at Manianan, a large village, with a well furnished market, in which the dealers are sheltered from the heat of the sun by small straw huts. The ronnier grows abundantly in the neighbourhood of this village, there many Iolas are settled: they are an artful, but industrious people, and devote themselves to trade and the manufacture of cotton cloth. Manianan is situated on an eminence, which is nearly surrounded by large ditches formed by nature, which serve as fortifications to the village. These ditches contain a great deal of water, which, though impure, is nevertheless drunk by the inhabitants. I saw several children in small canoes made of pieces of plank joined together, amusing themselves by paddling about in these ditches, on the edges of which the women of the village throw dirt and all sorts of filth. One of my fellow travellers bought an ass here, for which he paid eleven thousand cowries.
We started from Manianan at eight in the morning of the 9th of March. On leaving the village on the north side, I saw several huts built like those of the Foulah shepherds, and in the surrounding fields there were cattle, goats, sheep, and some asses. After proceeding three miles over a soil composed of loose sand, in which in many places the vegetation is similar to that which I had observed on the preceding day, we came in sight of Tomga, a village which, like Manianan, is surrounded by deep moats and numerous ronniers.
On the 10th of March, at six in the morning, we set out, proceeding two miles north and then three miles N.N.W. We crossed an inundated marsh, being up to our waists in water. Here I observed the blue and white nymphæa, the seed and root of which the natives use as food. In the marshes are to be seen a few small shrubs at great distances from each other. In many inundated places it was found necessary to unload the asses to get them through the water. The men took the loads on their heads, and it was only by supporting themselves with sticks that they could maintain their equilibrium.
About eleven in the morning, we arrived much fatigued at Galia (or Cougalia), situated on a slight elevation, on the bank of the Dhioliba. Galia is a hamlet consisting of five or six earth huts, and an equal number of straw cabins, of the same shape as those of the Foulahs. The neighbourhood, to some distance, is not inundated at this season. I saw many ronniers, and, on the bank of the river two large tamarind-trees, which serve to vary the uniformity of the landscape. In this little village are settled some Foulahs, whose business is to convey in canoes the numerous caravans going to Jenné. I found them very civil. I purchased from them a little milk, and some pistachios, for we could not procure either millet or rice for supper. In the evening, I saw several large canoes, descending the river on their way to Timbuctoo. The Dhioliba, which, in this part, seems to come from W. ¼ N.W. flows slowly to N.E., its current running about a knot and a half an hour. The water was tolerably clear, but it had a whitish tint. The banks of the river are, for the most part, open and low, except before Cougalia, where they are somewhat high, and composed of grey argillaceous sand. Here and there, small veins of red clay are observable. At a little distance, in the direction of N.E. I perceived a small island, which, though dry at this season, is under water during the inundations of the river, which are periodical. The market of Cougalia, is held on the bank of the river, in the shade of two tamarind-trees. It was scantily supplied; but, fortunately, we had provisions with us. We bought some dried fish. Our caravan was so numerous, that we could not all find lodgings within the village. The greater part of my companions took up their quarters in tents, which were erected in the fields, and consisted of poles driven into the earth, and covered with pagnes.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Crossing the Dhioliba. — Abode at Jenné. — Description of the town. — Manners and customs of the inhabitants. — Trade. — English and French goods. — Buildings. — Population. — Schools. — Religion. — Food and clothing. — Geographical details. — Course of the river. — The Massina. — Residence of the sherif of Jenné. — A dinner. — Use of tea, sugar and porcelain. — Preparations for my departure for Timbuctoo.
On the morning of the 11th of March we prepared to leave Cougalia. We crossed the river in frail canoes, about thirty feet long and very narrow, made of a single trunk of the bombax. They were very inconvenient and every moment threatened to upset. However, we succeeded in getting the asses on board; for the river was too wide for them to swim across. I should imagine that its breadth in this part is five hundred feet, or two hundred and fifty ordinary paces. I thought it narrow in comparison with its width at Couroussa, in the country of Amana, which is much nearer to its source. At first, I supposed that what I saw at Cougalia was only an arm of the river, forming the island of Jenné. It is very deep, for in the middle our people were obliged to use oars, their poles not being long enough to reach the bottom. It was noon when we landed on the right bank, and several musket-shots were fired in token of rejoicing. The heat was intense. I walked a short distance along the bank of the river, where I saw many mimosas, of the same kind as that which grows in the water on the banks of the Senegal, and which is also very abundant in the interior. On inundated ground, however, it does not exceed the height of five feet. It is thorny, the branches are slender and the pod is hairy; it contracts its leaves on being touched.
On leaving the banks of the Dhioliba, we proceeded six miles W.N.W. We crossed a dry marsh, on which there was not a single tree to shade us. On this marsh rice is grown during the inundations. The ground consists of grey argillaceous earth, mixed with a good deal of sand and numerous veins of red clay, like that which I had seen on the banks of the Dhioliba. I observed several slaves who were engaged in agricultural labour. They used large hoes like those employed in the Wassoulo.
A little before we reached the island of Jenné, the soil changed to a hard sand, over which the inundation does not appear to extend. Some shrubs were growing upon it.