well acquainted with the coafts on the Atlantic; but, of the internal parts, they knew very little.

The whole continent is divided, apparently by nature, into two parts. The gulf of Guinea, called the Ethiopian fea, encroaches greatly to the eaft; and, on the oppofite fide, the coaft of Ajan trends to the fouth and to the west. This natural divifion is nearly where the equinoctial line croffes Africa, and gives great propriety to the diftinction of North and South Africa. The former is our present object; and, before we attend to Mr. Park, we fhall follow the difquifition of major Rennel.

North Africa, he obferves, is diftinguished into three regions the fmall fertile fpace which borders on the Mediterranean, and which, in its most obvious features, refembles Europe; the great defert on its fouth; and, farther to the fouthward, the belt of mountains extending from cape Verd on the weft to the high lands of Abyffinia on the east. Differing in fome degree from major Rennel, we fufpect that the immenfe chain of mountains which pervade the continent of Africa, from north to fouth, mountains fo high that no traveller is yet known to have paffed even from Congo to the oppofite coafl, — must fall on either fide to the west and east, in North Africa; for the Senegal falls weftward, and probably alfo the Gambia, from the chain which croffes what may be called the fpine of the continent; and the Niger, of which we have had only an imperfect glimpfe, in the middle of its courfe, more probably falls to the caft, and perhaps fwells the waters of the Nile. The rivers, however, which fall from this belt into the Æthiopic ocean, are fo numerous, that a defcent is fufficiently evident on that fide; and the quantity of rain on the fouth may be fuppofed much greater than on the north.

The defert is chiefly a vast tract of fand, extending in breadth near eight hundred geographical miles, and double that space in length. Like the ocean, it has its gulfs, bays, and iflands; for the fertile ground breaks in on the fand in different places; and fpots of the moft luxuriant vegetation, particularly on the eaftern fide, are fcattered in various parts, where the fand is more fhallow and the fprings are more fuperficial.

The mountains, above-mentioned, contain falt and gold. This gold finds its way to Europe, while the inhabitants of Guinea annually receive from the English great quantities of cowries, or finall fhells from the Eaft-Indian iflands, which pafs through a confiderable part of Africa as money. Tombuctoo, a large city near the centre of Africa, on the banks of the Niger, is the mart of the gold and of the cowries. The fource of the former engages Mr Rennel's attention; but his fpeculations reft on a very uncertain foundation. The gold

duft is certainly brought by the rivers in their courfe, and dif

covered in their fands.

North Africa is principally inhabited by two races, the Moors and the negroes. The former are mixed with the colonifts who have, from different regions, been induced to fettle in Africa, and prefs on the Moors, apparently the aborigines of the country. The Arabs feem, with refpect to the Moors, what the Goths are with regard to the Celts. The negroes are thus preffed on from the north, and the Niger and the Senegal are now their northern boundaries. They are indeed an agricultural race, and not fitted for the paftoral life which the defert requires. With these the Foulahs are ufually confounded. The country of the latter is infulated in a remarka-、 ble manner, between the mountainous border of Sierra-Leone on the weft, and Tombuctoo on the east. They have not the jetty complexion, the thick lips, or the crifped hair, of the negro race. They are Mohammedans, with a mixture of paganism, but are lefs intolerant and more humane than the Moors. The major endeavours to afcertain the boundaries of each race with fome minuteness, from Mr. Park's information, and other fources; but, without the map, his investigation would not be intelligible.

From various circumftances, the Foulahs feem to be the Leucæthiopes of Ptolemy and Pliny; and they ftill, according to the teftimony of travellers from Sierra-Leone, retain their reputation for urbanity and hofpitality. The characters of the Moors and negroes, the Libyans and Ethiopians of antiquity, are as different as their foil or their complexions. The former have the vices of the Arabs without their virtues, and are inhofpitable, fufpicious, cruel, and revengeful. The humble and lefs enlightened negroes are, on the contrary, kind and humane.

Such are the outlines of major Rennel's obfervations. We shall now turn to Mr. Park; but our account of his travels will be fhort, as we fhall have occafion more particularly to follow him in his own more copious and minute details.

In the laft volume of our former feries (p. 105), we noticed the proceedings of the African affociation, of which the present work is a continuation. We there found the refult of attempts to penetrate the continent of Africa from the fhores of the Mediterranean and from Cairo. They were unfuccefsful; and we, in fome degree, at the conclufion of that article, anticipated the failure of any attempt from the weft; for, though Mr. Park has done much, it must be allowed that he has failed in his principal object. We do not mean this as any reflection on him; for he has done more than could have been expected

from the powers of one man, and fuffered more than human nature feems capable of enduring.

Our traveller fet out from the banks of the Gambia, and proceeded to the eastward, and a little to the northward. At Kemmoo, the metropolis of the kingdom of Kaarta, he found the people at war with thofe of Bambarra, farther to the east, through whofe territories the Niger flows; and he was advised, for greater fecurity, to pafs on to the northward. In compliance with this counfel, he advanced to Jarra, which lies north of the Senegal, and is confequently a frontier town of the Moors. In his way he paffed through Simbing, the place where the laft difpatch of major Houghton was written with a pencil. We need not inform our geographical readers of the unfortunate deftiny of that adventurous traveller. In this region the country is fertile and well wooded, and it rifes into frequent hills. In fome parts, black cattle, fheep, and poultry, are commonly feen. The woods give protection to a finall fpecies of antelope (which affords venifon of a delicate flavour), and a fhelter alfo to the panther, the hyæna, and the elephant.

The land is cultivated by flaves, and yields abundant crops. of rice and Indian corn. The inhabitants alfo cultivate groundnuts, yams, and pompions. The firft, with wood-afhes, make their foap. Their cotton they manufacture into good cloth, which they dye of a rich blue colour. From the European traders they obtain fire-arms, and from the Moors falt. To the former, in return, they furnish flaves, ivory, gold-duft, and bees-wax.

Slaves are brought from the caftward, by itinerant merchants, called flatees, whofe native country is unknown, even by name, to the inhabitants of this part of Africa. The fatces bring with them alfo a commodity called hea toulou, tree butter. This butter is white, firm, and of a richer flavour than the common kind; and it will remain good, without falt, for a whole year. It is procured from the nut of a tree, refembling the American oak; and the nut itfelf is, in appearance, like the Spanish olive. The kernel, from which the butter is procured by boiling, is covered with a fweet pulp, under a thin green rind. If we did not know the tree from which the fweet acorn, for ages the food of man, was procured, fancy might give him a delicious repaft in the fruit of this oak; but he was not fo fortunate.

The government of thefe regions is monarchical, but the fovereign is controlled by an ariftocracy. The common people are in fome degree flaves, though they derive protection from laws. Slaves who are purchated, or taken in war, are not within the pale of this protection.

These circumftances chiefly relate to the country inhabited by negroes. When Mr. Park had paffed the Senegal, he was among the Moors: Jarra, in lat. 15° 5', is one of their towns. With great difficulty and danger he arrived at a small distance from the frontier town of Bambarra, when he was feifed, carried to the Moorish camp, and treated with great cruelty. Here he learned the fate of major Houghton, who was feduced into the defert, plundered, and probably murdered. On the 1ft of July, 1796, he had the good fortune to efcape, having recovered his horfe and fome neceffaries. From his miferies he was relieved by the kindness of fome Foulah fhepherds, in whofe huts he found an afylum, and with whofe affiftance he proceeded, in a journey of fifteen days, to Sego. Here he faw the object of his withes-the Niger, which ran through the town, and feemed as wide as the Thames at London. Its courfe was from weft to eaft! Sego is in lat. -14° 10' and 2° 26′ W. long. from Greenwich.

The direction of the courfe of the river, which Mr. Park: fully afcertained, fhows that it is neither the Senegal nor the Gambia; and indeed the old accounts which defcribe a large river running eastward called Neel el Abeed, the river of flaves, and foliba, the great water, are fupported by our traveller. The former appellation is that which it received from the Moors: the negroes gave it the latter. As the Niger thus runs eastward, the great chain of mountains, equally the fource of the Niger, the Senegal, and the Gambia, must be much nearer to the western coaft than geographers have fuppofed. This circumftance, however, is not fingular; for, on the con-: tinent of Afia, the mountainous chain which pervades the pen.. infula very nearly approaches the fea on the weft.

Sego is built on both fides of the Niger; and its population, its commerce, and its various conveniences, in the heart of Africa, give a great and an unexpected gratification. The inhabitants amount to about thirty thoufand. The houses are in the Moorish ftyle; they are white-wafhed, and have flat roofs. The boats are long and narrow, and are formed of two large trees, hollowed and joined at the ends.

Mr. Park was prevented from waiting on the fovereign of the country, by a meffage from him, inquiring into the motives of his journey, and directing him to a diftant village. The inhabitants were afraid or unwilling to receive him; and he was refcued from his habitation under a tree, to which he had fled for shelter during a thunder ftorm, by the hofpitable kindness of a negro woman. She protected and fed him; and, while the family toiled all night, in fpinning cotton, Mr. Park found himself the fubject of this fimple, plaintive, ditty. The wind roared, and the rain fell: the poor white man,

faint and weary, came and fat under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk; no wife to grind his corn.-Chorus, Let us pity the white man, no mother has he, &c.'

This village, our adventurer foon found, was not a place of reft. The king would perhaps have countenanced and protected him, had bis ftory been probable; but that a man should brave fo many dangers, and travel fo far, only to fee a country with which he had not the flighteft connection, appeared very unlikely. He fufpected fome finifter motive; and the flavemerchants were eager to keep his fufpicions alive. He made a prefent, however, of five thousand kowries to Mr. Park, and ordered a guide to accompany him in a part of his journey. Our traveller was affured by this guide, that an attempt to penetrate farther along the banks of the Niger would be highly dangerous, and that Tombuctoo was inhabited by Moorish fanatics of the moft cruel nature and habits. Not difcouraged, he perfevered in his attempt, and earnestly endeavoured to reach Tombuctoo. He arrived at a town called Kabba, fituated in a beautiful country, highly cultivated. It was the fea-> fon of gathering the fruit from which the tree-butter is made. It were to be withed, that this, as well as the bread-fruit tree, could be conveyed to our Weft-Indian iflands, that a common luxury might be fo eafily procured from the fruit of vegeta

bles.

• Mr. Park, proceeding along the Niger, found that it ex-panded in breadth, and was enlivened by many beautiful and fertile iflands; but its banks were inhabited by Moors of the moll favage race, and negroes almost equally ignorant and feracious. It was therefore impracticable for him to profecute his intended journey; and, thus difappointed, he began his homeward courfe. He was then at an inconfiderable distance from Jenné, which is fituated in an island on the river. At a more remote spot, the Niger empties itself into a lake called Dibbie, or the dark lake, fo wide, that, in croffing it from weft to east, the navigators of the canoes ufually lofe fight of land for almoft a whole day. From this lake, the water if-fues in feveral ftreams: two of thefe encircle a large ifland, called Jinbala, and unite at the port of Tombuctoo. The direction of thefe ftreams is north-eaft and eaft; and the difrance from Jenné to Tombuctoo requires a journey of twelve days. Farther eastward, little is known of the course of the river, and nothing of its termination. Silla, the limit of our author's travels, is, in lat. 14° 48' N. and 1° 24' W. lon. Houffa is farther eastward, to the fouth of the Niger; and this town, Jenné, and Tombuctoo, are much more confiderable than Sego. Between the two former, is a pottery of importance. The earthen ware is of good confiftence, but not