Part 3 (1/2)
The river of Sierra Leone abounds in fish, and the spermaceti whale has been occasionally found, the shark, the porpoise, eels, mackarel, mullet, snappers, yellow tails, cavillos, tenpounders, &c. with the _mannittee_, a singular ma.s.s of shapeless flesh, having much the taste of beef, which the natives greatly esteem, and consider the highest offering they can make.
Oysters are found in great abundance, attached to the interwoven twigs and branches of the mangrove tree, to which they closely cling; and of the zoophytes, there is the common sponge to be found upon the sandy beaches, on the Boolum sh.o.r.e, and would, no doubt, bring a high price in England.
The domestic animals of the adjoining countries are, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, ducks, turkeys, and fowls, very inferior, however, to those in Europe. The beasts of prey are, lions, leopards, hyaenas, wild hogs in abundance, squirrels, monkies, antelopes, &c. with the civet and zibeth cats, and a most extraordinary animal, which is found in the mountains of Sierra Leone and the adjacent countries, a species of the ourang outang, called by the natives, j.a.panzee, or chimpanzee, but approaching nearer to the anatomy of the human frame than the former animal. Some of them, when full grown, are nearly 5 feet, and are covered with black hair, long on the back, but thin and short upon the belly and breast; the face is quite bare, and the hands and feet resemble those of man; its countenance is remarkably grave, similar to that of an old black man, but its ears are straight; it will imitate a human being in walking, sleeping, eating, and drinking, and is certainly a most singular production of nature. Surgeon Burrowes, whom I have before mentioned, had a perfect skeleton of this animal, which, he a.s.sured me, differed in nothing from the human, but in the spine, it being curved. This skeleton, I believe, now forms a part of the collection of Surgeon-General Keate.
There are, of amphibious animals, green turtles, hawk's bills, and loggerheads, which grow to a great size, some of them weighing several hundred pounds, land turtles, fresh water turtles, alligators, extremely voracious, and from 12 to 15 feet in length; they will swallow a man, and at Bance Island Negro boys have been frequently s.n.a.t.c.hed up by them from the sh.o.r.e. There are also a variety of the lizard species, with the guava, and camelion.
Snakes abound; some of them haunt the houses in the night, and prowl about for poultry, of which they are fond; some have been found to measure above 18 feet; and I have the skin of one in my possession, killed when young, above 10 feet in length; it is that species which swallows its prey entire; several animals were found in their perfect state when the one I allude to was cut open.
There is also an immense animal of this species, which I have heard the natives of this part of the coast describe, often exceeding 30 feet in length, and of an enormous size; it is variegated with spots, and the head is covered with scales; the tongue is fleshy and forked, but its bite is not poisonous; it is to be found in the recesses of caves and thickets, from whence it suddenly darts upon its victim, whether man or beast: it frequently chooses a tree, from which it reconnoitres the pa.s.sing objects, supporting itself by the tail, which it twists round the trunk or branches: when it seizes animals, especially those of the larger kind, such as lions, tigers, &c. it dexterously, and almost instantaneously twists itself round their bodies in several folds, and by its powerful muscular force, breaks the bones, and bruises it in all its parts; when this is done it covers the animal with a viscous cohesive saliva, by licking its body with its tongue, which facilitates the power of swallowing it entire; this process is tedious, and it gradually sucks in the body, which, if large, renders it incapable of moving for some time, until it digests; and this is the period which the hunters watch to destroy it: it makes a hissing noise like a serpent, and has recourse to a variety of expedients to conceal itself; it is called by the natives _Tinnui_, and is what I apprehend naturalists term the species of _Boa constrictor_: it is most commonly found in the sultry climates of Africa, and I believe is also an inhabitant of Asia and America.
Insects are extremely numerous, of a nondescript species, and exceedingly beautiful: the most singular are termites, destructive to houses and fences built of wood; ants, causing ruin to provisions; c.o.c.kroaches and crickets, destroying leather, linen, and clothes; musquitos, sand-flies, centipedes, scorpions; and wild bees, which are very productive of honey. The vermis and large barnacles abound, which are so destructive to s.h.i.+pping without copper bottoms.
Esculent vegetables are various: Rice, which forms the chief part of the African's sustenance. The rice-fields or _lugars_ are prepared during the dry season, and the seed is sown in the tornado season, requiring about four or five months growth to bring it to perfection.
Yams, a nutritious substance, known in the West Indies.
_Ca.s.sada_ or _ca.s.sava_, a root, of a pleasant taste when roasted or boiled, and makes an excellent cake, superior in whiteness to flour.
Papaw, of a deep green in its growth, but yellqw when ripe, and is an excellent dish when boiled; its leaves are frequently used by the natives for soap; ropes are made of the bark.
Oranges and limes are in great abundance, and of superior quality, throughout the year; but lemons degenerate much in their growth, and in a few years are scarcely to be distinguished from the latter. Guavas, pumpkins, or pumpions, squash water mellons, musk mellons, and cuc.u.mbers, grow in the greatest perfection. The pumpkins grow in wild exuberance throughout the year, and make a good pudding or pie.
Indian corn, or maize, may be reaped several times throughout the year, only requiring about three months growth.
Millet, with a multiplicity too tedious to enumerate.
Sugar canes are not very abundant, but are of a good quality, which, under careful management and industry, would, no doubt, yield productive returns.
Coffee trees, of different nondescript species, only requiring the same interference.
Dyes, of infinite variety and superior texture: yellow is procured from the b.u.t.ter and tallow tree, producing a juice resembling gamboge, but more cohesive, and of a darker colour; the wood of this tree is firm, and adapted to a variety of purposes; its fruit is about the size of a tennis ball, nearly oval, thick in the rind, and of a pleasant acid taste, containing several seeds about the size of a walnut, and yielding a viscous substance used by the natives in their food. Red and black are procured from a variety of other trees and plants; and indigo growing in wild exuberance, particularly in the rivers more to the northward.
Cotton, in great varieties, requiring only cultivation to raise it to perfection and amount. The natives manufacture from it a narrow cloth, which is made from thread, spun in a manner similar to the distaff.
A species of silk cotton, or ether down, is produced on a large tree, called the pullam tree. The quant.i.ty which the usual size bears may be computed at about 4 cwt. in pods of 6 to 9 inches long, 4-1/2 in circ.u.mference, and about 1-1/2 inch in diameter, which, upon being exposed to the heat of the sun, is distended to an incredible bulk. It is much superior to down for the couch, and, from its elasticity, might be of great utility in the manufacture of hats. This tree is in great estimation among the Africans, and is frequently regarded by them as their _Fetish_. Every town almost has a tree of this species towering over its huts, which its chief tells the traveller with exultation he or his father planted.
Tobacco is uncertain, but I entertain very little doubt that it might be raised upon the more luxuriant soils.
Pepper, more particularly near Cape Mount, of several sorts, Mab.o.o.bo, Ma.s.saaba, Ma.s.sa, Amquona, Tosan, &c.; the three first are of a weaker flavour, and are oblong and angular in their seeds; but the last excels in pungency, and is the native Malaguetta pepper of Africa.
The bread-fruit tree, is similar in appearance to the apple tree, and grows in the low sandy situations of the Boolum sh.o.r.e, producing a fruit exceedingly nutritious, and larger than an apple.
Tamarinds in great variety and plenty: the velvet tamarind abounds in the Bananas, also the white and brown; but the latter are most in esteem, and are very fine.
Okras, the fruit of a small tree, resembling the English mallows, which put into soup gives it a gelatine quality, highly alimental; the leaves make a good spinage.
The palm tree, producing the oil so denominated, is one of the most useful trees to the African, yielding him meat, drink, and raiment. Where it grows, it is an indication of a good soil. It is remarkably tall, without branches, having regular and gradual protuberances, from the bottom towards the top, ending in five or six cl.u.s.ters of nuts, shaded by large deciduous leaves. The nuts, which are about the size of a hazle nut, have a hard kernel, encompa.s.sed by a clammy unctuous substance, covered by a thin skin, and the oil is produced from them by being exposed to the sun, which, by its influence, opens the juices; subsequent to this exposure, the nuts are put into a boiler full of water, and a liquid, in the process of boiling, flows upon the top, which when skimmed off, soon hardens and turns rancid; the kernel of the nut, after this process, is taken out of the boiler, beat in a paloon, and put into clear water, the sh.e.l.l of the nut sinks, and its contents float upon the surface, which, when skimmed as before, is finally put into a pot, fried, and carefully poured off, producing another kind of oil, used as b.u.t.ter, and having in a great degree its quality.
The wine is extracted from the tree by forming an incision at the bottom of every cl.u.s.ter of nuts, from each of which flows about a gallon of wine per day, for a week, when they are closed until the ensuing season. The liquid, when newly taken from the tree, resembles whey, and in that state has a sweetish agreeable taste, but it soon ferments and grows sour, changing to a strong vinegar of a disagreeable smell: in its fermented state it is most esteemed by the natives, and is productive of inebriety.