a black horse-tail, furnished with an elegant handle, which is the badge of royalty in this country.

"After the palaver was over, the rum was served round in a small glass. Some became merry and noisy. We walked to two other villages on the bank, and returned to the schooner at 3, P. M.

"We had not been long on board when we received a troublesome visit from Somano and some of his men. He said he came to pay his respects to us; and it was the custom when the king came on board a vessel, to be treated with rum, &c. We excused ourselves that we were not on board our own ship, and could not treat the king with the same respect as we might in our own country. He left us tolerably satisfied, after being regaled with a bottle of wine, and receiving some pipes for his tobacco; but on shore he complained of our incivility. He has been long acquainted with slave-traders, and it would be strange if he supported a different character under the tuition of such men.

"Some of his people brought on board some mats, honey, palm-oil, and rice, to trade.

"Near the Palaver-house was a little thatched hut, not larger than a spread umbrella, called the witch or devil's house. It was filled with shells, bits of cloth, &c. In walking out from the village, I passed by the devil's bush, a thicket of shrubs and vines nearly impenetrable

by any one. If a woman should be found in this bush, she would suffer death, according to the law of the Purrah. When we were at the Bananas, I saw a man, who was tattooed with marks and lines on his face, back, and breast; and inquired of Caulker the reason of it. He said he was what the English would call a Freemason, a Purrah, and known to his brethren by these marks.

"In this land, where altars are erected to devils, we sung the hymn, 'Salvation, oh the joyful sound,' &c. A number of the natives were present at our evening prayer, and behaved well.

"Yonie, Friday, 3d April. Improving the wind and the tide, we crossed the bay six or eight miles to Yonie, where king Sherbro lives. The islands and the main land present a very verdant and handsome prospect.

"At 8, A. M. anchored at Yonie, and Messrs. Kizell and Martin went on shore to prepare the way for our interview with king Sherbro and the prince Kong Couber. We may safely trust our friend K. No man's heart can be more ardent for the success of our object, and no man in Africa could probably be so useful to us under present circumstances. After his return in the afternoon, he gave us the following narrative. He met Kong Couber by the water side, who took him by the hand and led him to his

house. He told the prince that two gentlemen, strangers of king Sherbro, had come. They are from America, the city of Washington, and the kings and head men there. They are sent to see king Sherbro, and obtain a place for some black people who are free in that country, and will come to sit down by king Sherbro, if he will give some ground where they may settle. The offer is made to Sherbro; but if he refuses it, the people will be settled in another place. If he gives them a place, it will be a great advantage to his children and people; for these people will bring the arts and knowledge of cultivation, and will establish schools to learn the children. We, old men, must die soon. The children will be instructed and know more than their fathers. These people will make things cheaper and plentier: they will come in quiet, without quarrels and fightings. If our people do bad, there must be a regular palaver, and no arms taken up. If your people do bad, the business must be settled the same way. If it be a great crime, I suppose the bad man will be shut up and made to work hard, and no lives taken. If you want to know the truth of these things, you may send some of your sons to America for education, and perhaps some head men to see what these men say is true. To all this, and to each sentence, he said, hem, hem.

"Not finding the prince disposed to say much, Mr. K. sent Mr. M. for a bottle of wine and a little tobacco. He drank a little of it, and gave

the rest to his people.
on board for our dinner.

He then sent two fowls

"The prince then told Mr. K. that all he said was true and good. But he was only a boy, and could say nothing before he saw the king. He could give no answer: he must call all the head men together, and tell them the business, that they might speak their mind, for the country belonged to all the kings and head men. But he would hold a palaver to-morrow, and hear what the gentlemen would say.

"The prince, Kong Couber, is the son of old king Sherbro. It is a custom of the people, when a king dies, to select a king from another family. While one of another family enjoys the name of king, this prince has the ability to preserve the power in his own hands. He is a man of superior intelligence and skilled in palavers. We shall probably be detained a week at least. It is impossible to foresee the result. We now propose to obtain a pledge that we may occupy some miles square on Sherbro Island opposite the Bagroo, and tracts of land on that river including the mountains 20 or 25 miles up. The country is represented fertile, with very few inhabitants, and especially in the hilly parts healthy. Large vessels may safely come to Jenkins, and there are four fathoms of water up the Bagroo.

"Yonie, Saturday, 4th April, 1818. "The morning cloudy; the thermometer stands at 80 degrees; the extremes of tempera

ture which I have noticed since I left Sierra Leone, were 97 degrees and 86 degrees.

"The loud and confused cries of the natives in the village, occasioned by the death of one of the women, attracted our attention at an early hour. These lamentations for the dead often continue a considerable time. When the inhabitants of the surrounding villages come into the place where the death has occurred, they commence their cries.

"We have ascertained that the account which J. Banna, the African, gave us in London, is correct. He has a brother living in the Gallinas. We have not ascertained whether his father is alive. The rock to which he referred, split into two parts, and one part standing erect, and visible three days' journey off, appears to be an inaccessible ledge, the resort of wild birds. Banna, who expressed an ardent desire to bring his brethren to a knowledge of the truth, may yet be a blessing to his country.

"We went on shore to attend the palaver. Kong Couber met us where we landed, in a friendly manner, and introduced us to king Sherbro. He was sitting in the door of his hut, barefoot, with a cap and three-cornered hat on his head, dressed in a calico gown, and some folds of country cloth, with a large silver-headed cane in his left hand, and a horse-tail, the regal badge, in his right. He is about sixty years of age. We walked together under a large cola tree, which furnished an excellent shade. Sher