Fak Ie Tanagth ct taht a Wat Mein Wy Ki Sai Cc Le af We B K AN We ACCOUNT os, AA fr NATIVE AFRICANS SIERRA LEONE; TO WHICH IS ADDED, AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT STATE OF MEDICINE AMONG THEM, Come fanciul ch’a pena ; af Volgela Lingua e snoda; : : ; Che dir non sa, ma I piu tacer gli e Noia Cosi’! desir mi mena A dire: Mi palpita il cor! ee eniees che un primo. Errore Punir non si dovea ; che un Ramo infermo Subito non recide saggio Cultor. ma forse diran | BY : THOMAS | WINTERBOTTOM, M. D. PHYSICIAN THE COLONY OF SIERRA LEONE, EE VOL. ID. LONDON: . PRINTED BY C, WHITTINGHAM, Dean Street ; AND SOLD BY JOHN HATCHARD, 199, PICCADILLY, AND J. MAWMAN, POULTRY, ee 13803 WEN Clann ae CONTENTS. VOLUME II. CHAP. I. Introduction—Origin of Medicine—First Physicians—Union of Medicine and Magic—Practice of Medicine in Africa— General Division CHOCHLHTH HSH AEH HHH THGHHEHGH OSH HE HHHRTEH ETH HHO DED CHAP. II. GENERAL DISEASES. Fever—Remedies for the Thirst, Vomiting, and Head-ach which attend it—Remittents—Mode of Cupping —Intermit- tents—Enlargement of the Spleen—Cdema of lower Extre- mities—Mania—Idiotism—Epilepsy—W orms—Lethargy CHAP. III. Venereal Disease—Gonorrhea—Phlegmone Testis—Hernia— Coup de Soleil—Tooth-ache—Scurty—Ear-ach—Dysen- tery on board of Slave Ships; on Shore—Diarrhea— ORG CHS Quasabissonanadaeet saveesensvecsserares secvesveces sosceveee CHAP. IV. ELCPRGNHGSTS.00ccvsssrerrerceccecvercencenspnceacsesscscocesces eoe0se CHAP. V. —Dracunculus or Guinea Worm—Chigresssecsessesessserevesceessos CHAP VI. Enlargement of the Scrotum—Enlargement of the Legs— Gout—Rheumatism—P leurisy—Diseased Liver—Scrophu- la—P hthisis— Anorexia—Spitting of Blood .s.scoreceeees . CHAP. VII. Diseases of the Eyes—Nyctalopia—Case of Croup—Sore Throat—Corpulency—Small Pox—IJnoculation—Measles Page 50 110 127 CONTENTS. CHAP. VIII. Page Yatvs..s FOOTCHOOSECOEHGAR AFL HEHT FORESEES OHSS SESETTEHEAEEHHOEGEOCH CEG TEBECEESE 139 CHAP. IX. Herpes—Krakra—Moitled Appearance of Skin—Effects of Fish Poison—Nostalgia eet eeaeoneee eee eeeseaeeetes * STOOP ORSSHOS8GR088 163 CHAP X. ie Bite of Snakes—Of Scorpions—Of Tarantulas .1.0sss00ssseceeee 176 CHAP. XI. Burns and Scalds—Ulcers—Recent Wounds—Fraciures «++... 193 — CHAP. XII. THE DISEASES OF WOMEN-WITH THE SEXUAL PECULIARITIES IN AFRICA. Aysteria—Catamenia—Labours—Expulsion of the Placenta— Abortion—Miscarriage—Milk Breasts—Pendulous Bel-- LeS——SUCKING 00 caesenvocecersvaccctusenvocssses ercoe eeerececese 205 CHAP. XII: THE DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT OF CHILDREN. Treatment after the Birth—Locked Jaw—Method of carrying Children—Eruptions—Indistinct Articulation—Tinea Capi- tis—Weakness—Wasting —Diarrhea—Protrusions of the Navel—Richets— Prolapsus Ani—Dirt-eating—Large Bel- lies feecsove eeosess eesecoes @ceecreesaeeoteosedesuseaessebeeeecoesans IgG Appenpix. No. J. An Account of Circumcision as itis prac- tised on the Windward Coast of Africd .sievecsessansessesess 299 AppeNDIx. No. Ul. An Account of the African Bark ...... 243 AppenpIx. No. III. Remarks suggested by the Perusal of Mr. White's Work on the regular Gradation in Man .....0+. 254 AppenprIx. No. IV. Remarks of Professor Blumenbach . Upon ESTOS ocrevercracccncscsceresevcconsseccnsavsvevceseeses 275 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT STATE OF MEDICINE AMONG THE NATIVES OF SIERRA LEONE. CHAP. I. INTRODUCTION. ORIGIN OF MEDICINE. FIRST PHy- SICIANS. UNION OF MEDICINE AND MAGIC. PRAC- TICE OF MEDICINE IN AFRICA. GENERAL DIVISION. WHE following attempt to sketch a history of ' the present state of medicine among the natives of Africa, and to give some account of: _ those diseases to which they are more peculiarly liable, was undertaken during the calamitous and’ distressed state to which the colony of Sierra’ Leone was reduced, in consequence of the depre- dations committed there by the French, in the year 1794. Tt was resorted to with the view of restoring some degree of activity to a mind broken down by sickness, and afflicted by the VOL, Ul. B Q scenes of distress which daily presented them- selves. This account must unavoidably prove very defective ; partly from a want of knowledge of the different languages spoken by the nations who are the subject of it, and partly from the great unwillingness which they shew to disclose the secrets of their medical art. ‘The inconve- niences which are produced by the former circum- stance, are but imperfectly remedied by the assist- ance of an interpreter ; and the difficulties which result from the latter are well pomted out by Dr. Rush, who is so deservedly eminent as a physician and philosopher, in his Inquiry into the Natural History of Medicine among the Indians of North America*. ‘ By what arts,” says-he, “ shall we persuade them to discover their remedies? and how shall we come at the knowledge of facts in that cloud of errors in which, the credulity of the Europeans, and the superstition of the In- dians, have involved both their diseases and re- medies? These difficulties serve to increase the importance of our subject. If I should not be able to solve them, perhaps I may lead the way to more successful endeavours for that purpose.” An inquiry of this kind, were the obstacles which oppose its prosecution entirely removed, would no doubt prove sufficiently interesting. We are indebted to the experience of nations, more rude than those of Africa, and inhabiting countries which possess fewer natural advantages, for some of our most valuable remedies. We have * Medical Inquities, vol. 1. 3 therefore some reason to hope, that as Africa, though hitherto too much neglected, has already enriched many European arts by its productions, so it may have in store for future observers some articles which may become important acquisitions to the materia medica ; Some “ herbs, and potent trees, and drops of balm, Rich with the genial influence of the sun, ‘To brace the nerveless arm, with food to win Sick appetite, or hush th’ unquiet breast *.” Considerable pains have been taken to discover those remedies upon which the natives place their chief dependance for the cure of diseases; and to prevent, as much as possible, any ambiguity arising in default of scientific names, as many of the na- tive names of vegetables, &c. as could be pro- cured, have been inserted. For the Linnzan names of medical plants which have been men- tioned, I am indebted to my learned friend Dr. Adam Afzelius, demonstrator of botany in the university of Upsala, who has kindly promised to supply such as are wanting, in the elaborate work which he is now preparing on the natural history of Sierra Leone. Although the present account relates chiefly to the Timmanees and Bulloms, who inhabit the banks of the Sierra Leone and its neighbour- hood, yet the customs of other nations, par- ticularly those dwelling to the northward of that river, will be occasionally noticed, where an op- portunity has occurred of observing any striking * Akenside, 4, differences between them. Indeed it is highly probable that the same medical customs will be found to prevail, more or less, for several hundred miles along the coast of Africa, as a very great similarity of manners prevails among the inhabi- tants, although divided into so many different nations. The origin of medicine has probably been the Same in every country, and its progress towards perfection has been equally slow and gradual in all. ‘To relieve the body from sickness and pain must early have excited the attention of mankind. The rudest nations we are acquainted with have a knowledge of medicine. Pliny observes, that if at any time there have been people without phy- sicians, yet they have not been without medi- cines; and the science remained at Rome, even after the physicians had been banished from the city. It is in the savage state, or the state of nature as it is called, that that part of medicine which attends chiefly to accidents is more pecu- liarly requisite*; for men, whilst engaged in hunting wild beasts, or while roaming over an uncultivated country, covered with impenetrable forests, are more exposed to wounds, bruises, and other accidents, than those who live in a more civilized state; hence it is probable that some degree of medical experience must have been coeval with the origin of mankind. Quintilian * Medicina quondam paucarum fuit scientia herbarum, quibus sisteretur fluens sanguis, vulnera coirent paulatim. Seneca Epistol. 95. 5 remarks, ‘“ Medicina ex observatione salubrium atque his contrariorum reperta est ; et ut quibus- dam placet, tota constat experimentis. Nam et vulnus deligavit aliquis antequam hec ars esset : et febrem quiete et abstinentia, non quia rationem videbat, sed quia id valetudo ipsa coegerat, miti- gavit *,” As it is more obscure in its nature than other arts, so medicine has been slower in its progress, In some instances we are said to have been in- debted to the practice of animals for the know- ledge of particular remedies; in other instances to accident, or to a fancied resemblance between a plant and the disease it was supposed to cure t+. Even at this time many medicines are retained in the materia medica of European nations from some such fanciful notion of their virtues. Among the many histories of accidental discoveries of * Institut. IT. xviii. + Pliny says “* Hippopotamus in quadam medendi parte etiam magister exstitit. Assidua namque satietate obesus, exit in litus, recentes arundinum czsuras speculatum: ‘atque ubi acutissimum yidet stirpem, imprimens corpus, venam quandam in crure vulne- rat, atque ita profluvio sanguinis morbidum alias corpus exonerat, _ et plagam limo rursus obducit. Simile quiddam et volucris in eadem gypto monstravit, que vocatur ibis: rostri aduncitate per eam partem se perluens, qua reddi ciborum onera maxime salubre est. Nec hec sola a mul- tis animalibus reperta sunt, usui futura et homini ; for which con- sult Pliny Lib. viii. c. 27. In another place he observes, < Torpescunt scorplones aconiti tactu—Auxiliatur his elleborum album—Tangunt carnes aco- nito, necantque gustatu earum pantheras :—at illas statim liberari morte, excrementorum hominis gustu, demonstratum.—Puden- dumque rursus, omnia animalia, que sint salutaria ipsis, nosse, preter hominem.” L, xxvii. ¢ 2. 6 remedies, that of the purgative effects of helle- bore by Melampus bears at least an air of pro- bability, as also does that of the Peruvian bark. From history we learn, that the practice of medi- cine formed a part of the duties of religion among the chief nations of antiquity ; perhaps from this consideration, that the priests of the gods were alone thought worthy to practise an art so much beyond the reach of human genius to discover, and of which they boasted that the gods them- selves were the inventors. Kings were formerly instructed in this art, and philosophers considered medicine as one of the chief objects of their atten- tion ; among others, Aristotle is said to have prac- tised medicine before he applied to the study of philosophy. The first account we have of physicians is con- tained in the sacred writers, where they are also said to be embalmers of the dead. The “ art of the apothecary is also frequently noticed ; but though they might occasionally have practised physic, they appear to have been chjefly venders of drugs, myropolz ; and afterwards, when physic became a distinct branch of science, this art fell into contempt, and probably became that of a mere perfumer, unguentarius *. At the same time quackery may have drawn its origin: a kind of gypsies or fortune-tellers, called by the antients agyrtz, zruscatores +, prestigiatores, &c. pretended to cure diseases by * Cic. Offic: i. 42. ¢ Calepin Dict. und, Ling. 7 charms, and by a variety of mysterious ceremo- nies. These people also, like the greegree men in Africa, or the obia professors in the West Indies, wreaked their vengeance upon those who offended them, by the recital of magic verses. “ Irritat, mulcet, falsis terroribus implet.” In all the uncultivated nations of antiquity, me- dicine has been held in the highest esteem, and even considered as a divine art. Homer often speaks of the peculiar respect paid te those who were skilled to dress a Wound with drugs of pain assuaging power; an art which had not been neglected by the haugh- ty * Achilles. Medicine, as well as many other useful arts, ap- pears to have been very early cultivated in Egypt, as is evident in the sacred writings. Homer calls Egypt the land of physicians, and says, Egypt teems with drugs, yielding no few, Which, mingled with the drink, are good, and many Of baneful juice, and enemies to life. ‘There evry manin skill medicinal Excels, for they are sons of Pon all f. Pliny also says, medicinam A‘gyptii apud ipsos volunt repertam: alii per Arabum, Babylonis et Apollinis filam: herbariam et medicamentariam a Chirone ; hence it appears that we are indebted, * See the story of Democedes, related by Herodotus, iii, 129 also Ecclesiasticus, ch. xxxviii. t+ Odyss. iy. 288, by Cowper. 8 for at least the rudiments of this art, to the Afri- cans, despicable as their knowledge of it may ap- pear to us at present. : _ This union of medicine with the ceremonies of religion, which occurred during the early ages of mankind, among all those nations of whom we have any records, is also found to prevail amongst all those with whom navigation has lately made us acquainted; and both appear to have been universally connected with those superstitious practices, the magicz vanitates, which from time immemorial have kept the minds of mankind in a constant state of alarm. Pliny, speaking of this triple union, says of magic in particular, “ Natam primam e medicina nemo dubitat, ac specie saluta- ri irrepsisse velut altiorem sanctioremque medici- nam: ita blandissimis desideratissimisque promis- sis addidisse vires religionis, ad quas maxime eti- amnum caligat humanum genus*.” ‘The depen- dency of medicine upon magic, or at least upon the same disposition of mind, is not yet broken, and if formerly they “ with incantation staunch’d the sable blood,” the same natural effect is ffre- quently, at the present day, attributed to causes equally trifling and ridiculous. ‘The Druids were priests and physicians among the Gauls and an- cient Britains. In North America, the priests of the Indians are at the same time their physicians. . and their conjurors ; whilst they heal their wounds, or cure their diseases, they interpret their dreams, give them protective charms, and satisfy that de- * Lib. xxxis c. 1s 9 sire which is so prevalent among them of search- mg into futurity *. It is curious to remark, that the same notion respecting medicine prevails among the islanders of the South Seas. At Ota- heite, a physician is called tahauwamai, a word compounded of tahauwa, a priest, and mai, pain. Thus we see that all nations, while in similar states of cultivation, possess nearly the same ideas, though cut off from all communication by im- mense tracts of ocean. Respecting the practice of medicine in Africa, there is reason to imagine that it is not at pre- sent in a progressive state of improvement, but that it remains nearly as it was some centuries ago. ‘This arises chiefly from their great repug- nance to change customs which long usage has rendered venerable. They plant their rice, build their houses, and manufacture their cloth in ex- actly the same manner as their forefathers, and they answer every objection, by saying it is “ country fashion.” This attachment, however, to long established customs, though probably strengthened in tropical climates by the enervat- ing power of heat, is not peculiar to the Africans : it is observed to prevail in all countries parti- ally civilized. Thus the manners and customs of the Asiatics, as described in scripture, are nearly the same as those which are observed in the East at the present day t. * Carver’s Travels in North America. + Spirit of Laws, xiv. 4. VOLWI, C 10 - ‘The notions respecting the effects of medicine are, in Africa, so much blended with a regard to magical ceremonies and incantations, that it is often difficult to discover on which they chiefly rely for success. Although they imagine that every disease attended with danger is occasioned by witchcraft or poison *, yet they readily admit that sickness may occur independently of these causes. In support of this opinion they argue, that if a vessel of any kind be filled with clean water every day; and be not washed out, it must at length become foul; hence, say they, arises the necessity of washing the stomach from time to time with some medicine, although unattended with any operative effects. Another reason why they suppose the stomach to be the chief seat of disease, is the loss of appetite, which so frequently attends it, and which is to them the most alarm- ing symptom. When the body is disordered, from whatever cause, they do not believe that it can be again restored to health simply by its own powers, or by the powers of nature as they are called, of which they have not the smallest no- tion. In collecting medicines for use, they pay no regard to the phases of the moon, nor do they refer any of their diseases to the influence of this * The Bulloms have a saying among them, that a Bullom man cannot die unless his death be occasioned by poison or witchcraft. Van Helmont appears to have entertained the same notion, when he says, Deus non fecit mortem. DE LITHEASI, C. Vv. fh. planet. Those who live upon the coast are of opinion, that people can only die at high or low tide. The influence of the tide upon departing lite has long been credited ; Piso says, during the six hours of the increase of the tide, diseases are exacerbated and pains are greatly increas- ed; but that they gradually abate during the reflux. The same author appears firmly -per- suaded that men die only during the ebb tide. Dr. Haller supposes that Piso was the first who formed this opinion; but Aristotle fell into the same error, and asserts that no animal dies dur- ing the increase of the tide *. : _ It is very common for those who are indisposed, to go and reside for some time in a distant vil- lage +, in order to take medicines from some one who has acquired celebrity for the cure of a par- ticular disorder; this is frequently some old wo- man, to whom even Europeans will often trust themselves in preference to their own country- men f. | | * Haller Bib. Med. Pract. iii. 1. + Jeremiah xlvi. 11. } Atkins gives an instance of this adherence to the supersti- tious practices of the natives, in a governor of Cape Coast Cas- tle, General Phips. “‘ The general,” he observes, “ has taken a consa, which by the negroes is understood a temporary wife ; she is a mulatto-woman, beget by a Dutch soldier at des Minas, by whom he has four children, of fair flaxen hair and complexion. He dotes on this woman, whom he persuades now and then to our chapel service, and she complies without devotion, being a strict adherer to the negrish customs. I attended the illness of one of her children, and afterwards on the General himself, who, on both occasions, I found, was so weak or so wise, as to give the preference of fetishing to any physical directions of mine, 12 In prosecuting the inquiry into the diseases of the Africans, I shall consider, 1. General diseases, to which both sexes are liable. 2. The diseases of women, with the sexual pe- culiarities in Africa. 3. The diseases and management of chil- dren. wearing them on his wrists and neck. He wasa gentleman of good sense, yet could not help yielding to the silly customs created by our fears.” Having given this instance of the governor’s weak- ness, it may not be improper to notice what this writer further adds on this subject, which may serve as a proof of the good understanding of his lady. ‘‘ He cannot persuade this woman to leave the country, though he has stole or forced her consent for all the children, in regard to their education ; she still conform- ing to the dress of her country, being always barefoot and fetished with chains and gobbets of gold, at her ancles, her wrists, and her hair; to alter which in England, she thinks, would sit awkward, and, together with her ignorance how to comport herself with new and strange conversation, would, in all likelihood alienate her hus- band’s affections.” 13 CHAP. II. GENERAL DISEASES. FEVER. REMEDIES FOR THE THIRST, VOMITING, AND HEADACH, WHICH ATTEND IT. REMITTENTS. MODE OF CUPPING. INTERMITTENTS. ENLARGEMENT OF THE SPLEEN. CDEMA OF LOWER EXTREMITIES. ' MANIA. IDIOTISM. EPILEPSY. WORMS. LE- THARGY. Bec is the most frequent and most fatal disease to which Europeans are subject upon this coast; it is less common among the Africans, who also suffer less from its attacks. In them, it is generally the sequel of a debauch, and very frequently follows the excessive intemperance in which they indulge at the funeral of their friends. It is a common remark among them, that one ‘ cry’ is generally followed by several others ; for when any person of consequence dies, several others fall sick, and often narrowly escape with their lives. Even this they attribute to witch- craft, though it evidently depends upon their own misconduct. They have no idea of the nature of fever, as a general disease, nor have they any word in their language to express it, but name it from any of its urgent symp- toms, as sick head*, sick belly, &c. On that account it has been supposed that the Africans are not liable to the attacks of remittent fever, an opinion which is contrary to fact. It is not * Head-ach in Bullom is, Bul nek-kée-ay ; in Timmanee; Ro- bimp rob4ng. Sick belly, in Bullom, is Koonay nekkeeay ; in Timmanee, Koor Rob-bang. wet 14 uncommon to see the natives affected with slight, but distinctly formed paroxysms of fever, which sometimes terminate within twenty-four hours, and are considered as common head-achs. I have known instances where repeated paroxysms have occurred, and where the remittent fever has run its course precisely as it would have done in any European who had resided long upon the coast, and who by undergoing the seasoning, as it is termed, had assimilated himself to the climate. It may not be improper here to remark, that what is termed seasoning among Europeans, an idea peculiar to themselves, apes merely the first severe fit of illness, chiefly fever, which a person suffers after his arrival in a tropical climate ; suc- ceeding attacks of fever are usually experienced in a slighter degree, though in this respect there is great difference, for some have repeated attacks as severe as the first. “Those Europeans at Sierra Leone, who longest resisted the power of climate in producing sickness, suffered more, and were more dangerously affected, than those who sick- ened soon alter their arrival. People of fair com- plexions appeared to be more liable to fever, and to suffer relapses from slighter causes, than those of darker complexions, but they experienced, upon the whole, less severe attacks than the latter, From a few instances it appeared that the cli- mate was more inimical to men above forty-five, than to those who were younger. Women en- joyed a tolerable state of health, nearly as good as in Europe; their complaints were in general less severe than those of the men, but the state of 15 convalescence was slower, and they were more liable to be harassed with pac of irritability or of erethism*. Dr. Clark, of Dominica, speaking of the yellow fever which prevailed in that island in the years -1793, 4, 5, and 6, observes, “ the new negroes, who had been lately imported from the coast of Africa, were all attacked with it. The negroes who had been long in the town, or on the island, escaped.” _ Another accurate observer, Dr. Chisholme, of Grenada, remarks, that, “ although it is probable that the negro race possess something constitu- tional, which resists the action of contagion in a very great degree, still it must be admitted that their necessary temperance must have contributed much in the present instance to their exemption from, or to the mildness of, the disease when it appeared among them.” ‘The effects of tempe- rance, as a prophylactic, are strikingly demon- strated by the same author: “ Whilst the pesti- lential fever raged here,” he observes, “‘ the utility of these means was remarkably illustrated by the almost total exemption of the French inhabitants from the disease. ‘Their mode of living, compared : that of the English, is peornes ate and regular . Gian anes on degree +.” * Vide + Dr. Chisholme, in the work quoted above, entitled, “An Essay on the malignant pestilential Fever introduced into the West Indian Islands, from Bullom, on the Coast of Guinea,” endeavours to prove that the disease was of African origin. But notwith- standing the instances adduced by Dr. Chisholme, of several persons who were seized with a dangerous fever soon after they had visited a vessel called the Hankey, which arrrived at Grenada ts, vol. vill. 16 When the thirst is very distressing in fever, the pith of aspecies of reed called cattop, (Timmanee) sinkwonnyee or kaymanghee, (Soosoo) wisha, (Bullom) is bruised, and after being boiled for a from the island of Bulama or Boullam ; and notwithstanding the sickly state in which this vessel is said to have been on leaving Bu- lama, and during the passage to the West Indies, yet there is rea- son to suspect that the disease in question, if really imported into ~ those islands, did not originate from the island of Bulam. In other instances we find every specific contagion produces a disease suz generis, differing only in greater or less degree of violence, or at most possessing such slight deviations as are occasioned by par- ticular states of the atmosphere, or peculiar modes of living. But in the instance of the pestilential fever described by Dr. Chis- holme, we should be induced to suppose that the contagion had not merely acquired a greater degree of virulence, but had been converted into a different species. The fever, which carried off so many of the settlers at Bulama, precisely resembled the endemial remittent fever of Sierra Leone, a sketch of which, at some future opportunity, may perhaps be laid before the public ; but the fever described by Dr. Chisholme differs so essentially from that which occurred at Sierra Leone, that it cannot be recognised as the same disease. Besides, about the same period, a fever similar to that of Grenada showed itself in the other West India Islands, and in America, particularly at Philadelphia, where no rational cause could be assigned for its appearance, which would not have been the case had it been im- ported. Dr. Chisholme has committed an error, of not much conse- quence, indeed, in supposing that the Hankey and another ship, the Calypso, were chartered by the Sierra Leone Company (page 83); and further, (in page 86) he adds, ‘* Capt. Coxe (of the Han- key) finding the water at Bullam unwholesom his ship to Bissao, where there is a Portugu supply. The ship was navigated by about lye seamen, most of whom had not experienced sickness, and had been probably procured from Sierra Leone.” The Hankey had no communi- cation whatever with Sierra Leone, nor do I believe she ever had a person on board from that place. The other vessel, the Ca- lypso, after leaving Bulam, called for refreshment at Sierra Leone, where she remained about six weeks, during which time upwards of forty of the crew and passengers died of the remittent fever, though unattended with any appearance of peculiar malignity. roceeded. a ettlement, fora “ 26 | ind fleshy, who had been affected with it from childhood. His faculties did not appear to have suffered from these attacks, and he said he knew many who were affected with the same disease. The Soosoos call this complaint kdoleekoolee ; the Foolas, kreekreesa; the Mandingos, téeree ; and the Timmanees, catéok; they do not attribute it to any particular cause, and consider it as incurable. Worms of the intestines are well known among the Africans, and considered as a very frequent cause of diseases, particularly in chil- dren. The Timmanees and Bulloms do not dis- tinguish the different species of worms by par- ticular names, but use the word abilloo, worms, or abilloo rokéor, “worm sickness,” to denote the whole. Among the Foolas and Mandingos, the various kinds are very accurately distin- guished ; the ascarides, or maw worms, are called by the Soosoos, koolee; by the Foolas, toomboo ; and by the Mandingos, nyaallee. ‘The lumbrici, or long worms, are called by the Foolas and Soosoos, tonnangho, and by the Mandingos, shoondee. The Foolas name the tenia or tape la emt ae Ie ae cs Se eas 115 North America, but only among those who had learned the use of rum from the white people. It does not appear how drinking of rum can occasion gout, otherwise than by the genera! debi- lity it induces. Dr. Rush observes, that the reason why the gout does not appear more fire- quently among the class of people who use the greatest quantity of rum in our own country is, that “the effects of this liquor upon those en- feebled people are too sudden and violent to admit of their being thrown upon the extremities, as we know them to be among the Indians ; they appear only in visceral obstructions, and a com- plicated train of chronic diseases. Thus putrid, miasmata are sometimes too strong to bring on a fever, but produce instant debility and death.” It may, perhaps, give some support to this opi- nion, to observe that few of the inhabitants of this part of Africa arrive at old age. They turn old much sooner than Europeans, and appear in a state of decrepitude when the latter have scarcely reached their grand. climac- teric. Mr. Adanson makes the same remark : « the negroes of Senegal,” he observes, “are really old at the age of forty-five, and oftentimes sooner : and I remember to have heard the French inha- bitants of Senegal say several times, that, accord- ing to the best of their observation, the negroes of that country seldom lived to be older than sixty *.” From a want of fixed data, it is impos- sible for the most part to determine their ages * Voyage to Senegal. 116 with any degree of precision. One instance only of longevity can be given with any degree of accuracy; this was in a person named Addoo, of considerable consequence, who resided in the river Sherbro, and who remembered, when a boy about fifteen years of age, to have been in the island of Barbadoes. This occurred during the reign of Queen Anne, or, as he expressed it, ** when the king of England was a woman ;” con- sequently he must have been (mm 1796) near one hundred years of age. He is still alive. In a climate so intensely hot as that of Africa, it might be supposed that the natives would en- - joy an immunity from the racking pains of rHEU- MATISM, Which is by no means the case. They bring on these pains through the incautious man- ner in which they check perspiration, by throwing themselves upon the ground, and sleeping, after being fatigued by violent exertions in dancing, &c. Not unfrequently they sleep all night in the open air, especially during moon-light, exposed to the chilling dews which fall, and covered only with a thin cotton cloth. The pernicious effects of dew have already been noticed, although po- pular prejudice has referred them rather to the ac- tion ofthe moon’s beams, it having been said, though without foundation, that animal substances, ex- posed to the light of the moon, very speedily cor- rupt. This appears to have been a very general error among the vulgar of all nations, except per- haps the Africans, who do not ascribe to the moon any influence on the human body. Their favourite mode of cure for rheuma- V7 tism is by exciting a very copious and general perspiration: with this view the earth-floor of a hut is made very hot by live coals, and when these are swept off, the floor is covered thickly with the leaves of amelliky, nauclea sambucina, previously sprinkled with water: upon these are laid a mat and a cotton cloth for the patient to recline on, and he is carefully covered up with cloths, to promote the sweat. Professor Finke, in his learned work (Versuch einer allge- meinen medicinisch practischen Geographie) ob- serves, that the best physicians are to be found at Cape la Hou, whither they come from the country of Saku. In several chronic diseases, especially in rheumatism, they practise a curious operation, that of exciting an artificial emphy- sema, of which Gallandat * was an eye-witness. When they find that the remedies employed have no effect upon the disease, they make, with a sharp instrument, an incision upon one or both of the patient’s legs, through the skin into the cellular membrane. Into this wound they introduce a hollow reed, or the stem of a pipe, and blow as much air as they think neces- sary, or as the patient can support. ‘The wound is then covered with a piece of strongly adhesive plaister, and a mixture composed of pepper, lime juice, brandy, and certain herbs, is administered to the patient. He is next ordered to run as vio- * Abhandl. aus der Naturgeschichte, prakt. Arzneyk. hind Chirurgie ; aus den schriften der Haarlemer, u. s. f. gezogen. 2 ter band. ; 118 lently as he can, and when overcome with fatigue, to betake himself to bed, where he remains a few days, being kept all the time in a profuse sweat. During this process a calibash full of the above- mentioned drink is administered every day, until the artificial tumor has disappeared, and the pa- tient feels restored to health. The tumor gene- rally begins to decline perceptibly about the third day, and on the 9th, 10th, or 11th days, it is no longer to be seen. Sometimes this ope- ration is repeated in the same patient, of which Gallandat relates instances; he adds, that se- veral negroes, whom he knew, assured him that they were cured by this means. In lumbago they drink a warm infusion of the root of a plant called by the Foolas gully-gully ; by the Soosoos garan- gantang, and by the Bulloms ogboog: it gene- rally excites a copious perspiration. Mr. Lucas, in his Communications to the Afri- can society, observes, “ the diseases that are most frequent in Fezzan are those of the inflammatory and those of the putrid kind. The small pox is common among the imhabitants; violent head- aches attack them in summer, and they are often afflicted with rheumatic pains. Their old women are their principal physicians. For pains of the head they prescribe cupping and bleeding ; for pains in the limbs they send their patients to bathe in the hot lakes, which produce the trona, (mineral alkaly) and for obstinate head-achs and strains, and long continued stiffness in the mus- cles, they have recourse, like the horse doctors of 119 Europe, and the physicians of Barbary, to the application of a burning iron. The use of the strongest oils, and the most powerful herbs, is also frequent ameng them.” When the pain is confined to any particular spot, it is bathed with a decoction of the leaves and pods of the red pepper bush, or capsicum, used. warm. In pains of the neck, attended with stiffness and rigidity of the muscles, they apply as a cataplasm to the pained part a quantity of the leaves of the malip or plum tree, steeped in hot water: this is frequently repeated: and generally found very effectual. ‘When, in consequence of rheumatic pains, a stiffness of the joints remains, the leaves of a plant called by the Soosoos makootay, are bruised, soaked in hot water, and applied to the affected parts. In deep seated pains of the limbs, contusions, or sprains, they apply the leaves of a plant called by the Soosoos karee, and by the Mandingos _bannee: these are first bruised in a mortar, and heated over the fire before they are applied. In pains of the side, either from rheumatic affection of the muscles, or pleurisy, they use the root of ayol bruised, and applied as a cataplasm ; it contains a white juice, which is very acrid, and is capable of exciting blisters. PLeurisy is a very rare disease among the na- tives, unless from external violence. An instance of peripneumony occurred to my knowledge, 120 though I did not see the patient. It happened to a native greatly addicted to drinking spirits, and who had brought on the complaint by sleeping in the open air after intoxication. It terminated fatally in a few days, and to his friends very un- expectedly. It has been remarked that black people brought to Europe are very liable to aBSCEss OF THE LIVER, a disease which occurs very rarely in Africa, and perhaps never idiopathically. Scropuu.a, and its frequent concomitant, con- sumPTION, are the diseases to which black people often fall victims in cold and variable climates: of the former complaint, only one or two in- stances occurred to me in Africa, and of the latter, as an idiopathic disease, I do not recollect to have seen a single case. An mgenious writer, speaking upon this subject, says, “our Indians are so tender, and habituated to a certain way of living, that they do not bear transplantation ; for instance, the Spanish Indians, captivated in the St. Augustine war, anno 1702, and sold for slaves in New England, soon died consump- tive *.” Consumption is a very rare disease in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, but appears to be more common among the Foolas and Man- dingos; it is called by the former nation do- eer6o, by the latter togo-sedaiya, or the “ cough sickness ;” the Susoos call it tago-myee, a word. of the same import.- In this disease, which they * Gorden’s Polit. Summary, i. p. 174. 121 look: upon as incurable, they attend most to regi- men, and especially prohibit the use of fat meat. They do not suppose the disease to be infectious, but are of opinion that it often vai from father to son. At Teembo, as in all large towns, this disease is very frequent. The place is indeed much more unhealthy in proportion to the number of its inhabitants, than other African cities. The cause of this, as assigned to me by a Mandingo, was, the many mixtures of different and very distant people, with which the capital is always crowded. Another cause probably is, the very confined situation of Teembo. It has been supposed by many, that a hot country is favourable to con- sumptive patients, but I have found the reverse of this to be true. Among the Nova Scotia settlers at Free Town, consumption occasionally appeared, as a sequel of other diseases; and in every instance, the fatal period occurred much sooner than it would have done in Eng- land. A very celebrated remedy in this disease is ‘the bark of a tree, called by the Foolas and Man- dingos yay-goo; and by the Soosoos cambay'; it is a very powerful bitter: a decoction of the bark is mixed with rice, of which they eat every morning three handfuls. In cases of coven, attended with a sensa- tion of soreness at the-breast, they use an infu- sion of the bark of the yutfo; this is given VOL, I. R 129 only every second morning, and proves gently emetic. | tl The following medicines, which are the chief remedies they employ in pectoral complaints, act either as emetics, or by exciting a slight degree of nausea. 1. Fundéoba, Timmanee: an infusion of the bark is drank every morning, and is much commended as an expectorant; in taste, it very much resembles juniper. _ 2. Mabamp, Timmanee, tamarind tree : an in-— fusion of the leaves in boiling water is drank when cold, every morning, to promote expecto- ration in cases of shortness of breath; it tastes slightly acid, with a degree of astringency. __ 8: Bissay or Bissaing, Timmanee: an infusion of a handful of the leaves of this plant in boiling water, taken in the quantity of a tea-cupfull, produces full vomiting three or four times, after which it proves smartly purgative. It is a very strong and dur- able bitter, without possessing astringency. Some- times they add to this plant an handful of the leaves of one called bakkarawéotoo, to increase its émetic powers. The milky juice of gang-gang taken in the quantity of half a table-spoonfull, proves gently emetic and purgative; when it has sufficiently operated, the juice of a lime immediately puts a stop to its action. The bark of malip, or plum tree, is boiled in water, and frequently exhibited as an emetic; this effect is rendered more certain by the addi- 123 tion of a little of the bark of, the kola and _ trees. A decoction of the bark of a tree, called by the Timmanees moot, and by the Bulloms ’n-chok, is frequently used as an emetic, or, as they term it, to clean the stomach. The fruit of the same tree, when very young, is eaten in the morning, to remove nausea and sickness. From the seeds of this tree the natives obtain a kind of butter, as has been already mentioned. A decoction of the leaves of the lime bush, called by the Timmanees limree, is frequently drank warm, in the morning, in the quantity of a tea-cupfull, when it proves emetic, and frequently purgative. This fragrant tree is greatly esteemed by the natives, and enters into the composition of several of their medicines, It was equally cele- brated among the ancients. Virgil thus describes - its virtues : quo non presentius ullum, Pocula siquando seve infecere noverce, Miscueruntque herbas, & non innoxia verba, Auxilium venit, ac membris agit atra venena, Folia haud ullis labentia ventis ; Flos ad prima tenax: animas & olentia Medi Ora fovent illo, & senibus medicantur anhelis *. Pliny likewise speaks of it in terms of praise, « Malus Assyria, quam alii yocant medicam, ve- nenis medetur, Odore precellit foliorum quoque, qui transit in vestes una conditus arcetque ani- malium noxia ft.” * Georg. ii, 127. + Lih. xit, ¢. 7! 124 In cases of loss. of appetite, they use a decoc- tion of the leaves of dakéona, so called by the Soosoos and Timmanees, and by the Bulloms lakéona: it is a very powerful bitter, somewhat resembling wormwood, and is drank every morn- ing. It is frequently mixed with honey, and taken as an aphrodisiac. When, together with a loss of appetite, there is a bitter taste in the mouth, accompanied. with other symptoms of bile, a decoction of the leaves of bullanta is recommended to be drank every morning, When the stomach is affected with indigestion, and oppressed with a sense of weight, they make use of a decoction of the roots of the following plants: 1, Morronday, 2, Bangbee, 3. Demba- eeree. 4, Dundakky. 5, The young palm-tree: the roots are cut small, and a few unripe limes are added, together with a little honey or sugar; this medicine is given by cup-fulls, and Sl a briskly purgative, When any thing taken disagrees a the sto- mach, or when a poison has been swallowed by design or accident, they use a very powerful purgative, called by the Soosoos, tolmghee: the outer skin of the root, which is a powerful astrin- gent, is carefully scraped off, and thrown away ; the inner part is cut into small pieces, and boiled with rice, or made into broth, with a fowl, which is drank until the desired effect be produced. Upon the island of Bananas they have a very 125 violent purgative, which they call pulga-pootoo, or white man’s physic; pootoo signifying a white man ; it is the same with the physic nut, jatropha cureas, in the West Indies, from whence it has probably been brought by Europeans. The purgative quality of the nut resides entirely in the corculum of the seed, and when this is re- moved, the cotyledons may be eaten with impu- nity, in any quantity : they resemble a sweet al- mond in taste, Five whole kernels are a sufficient dose for a strong man; in irritable and weak stomachs, when taken in greater quantity, they not only prove violently purgative, but produce severe vomiting, attended with a burning heat of the fauces, Ligon says, “ I myselfe took five of them, and they gave me twelve vomits, and above twenty stooles*.” ‘The tree is chiefly used on the Bananas to make fences—According to Dr. Wright, a decoction of the leaves is often used with advantage in violent belly-achs, attended with vomiting.’ It is easier on the stomach than any thing else, and seldom fails to effect a discharge by stool. Lond. Med, Journal, vol, vill. A captain of a vessel informed me, that having been seized with a spitting of blood, attended with a tickling cough, slight fever, and much rest- lessness and anxiety, he went on shore, among the natives on the Leeward Coast. The head- man of the village was at the same time his host * Hist, of Barbadoes. 126 and physician ; he spread for him upon the floor of a hut, several beds, telling him that when tired of one he must remove to another, until he felt a disposition to sleep. An infusion of a plant was occasionally administered, which excited gen- tle vomitmg, and his diet consisted of fish, and strong soups joined with mucilaginous herbs, by which means in less than three weeks he was per- fectly restored to health. CHAP. VII. GENERAL DISEASES. DISEASES OF THE EYES. NYCTALOPIA. CASE OF CROUP. SORE THROAT. CORPULENCY. SMALL- POX. INOCULATION. MEASLES. spans of the EYES very rarely occur upon the coast of Africa, notwithstanding what has been alledged respecting the pernicious effects of rice, their favourite food. Bontius says, those who sail to Amboyna, Banda, and the Mo- luccas, are frequently affected with weakness of sight, and even total blindness, which is re- moved by a change of air, or a better diet. The inhabitants of these islands, he adds, attribute this complaint to the eating of hot rice ; hence the Javanese and Malays always expose the rice, when just boiled, to a current of air. These nox- ious qualities of rice are. attributed by Bontius to its growing in wet and swampy places, whereby it incorporates some marshy or feecu- lent substance, more penetrating in hot than in cold rice ; though, he says, the odour of even dry and raw rice oppresses the head, and induces a de- gree of somnolency. It may be perhaps alleged that, asthe rice grows inthe neighbourhood of Sierra Leone in dry ground, and even upon the sides of 128 steep hills, it does not acquire these noxious qua~- lities, of which the natives have not the smallest dread. Whether under weakness of the eyes, Bontius includes also, the disease of nyctalopia, or night blindness, which not unfrequently occurs in warm climates, is uncertain, Of this latter complaint, three or four instances came under my observation, not among the natives, who do not appear to know the disease, but among the children of the Nova Scotia settlers in Free Town. Two of these instances occurred in the same fa- mily, all the individuals of which were remarkable for a peculiar prominence of the globe of the eye, and a dilated pupil; in the other cases, no pecu- liarity was observable, nor could the’ disease be attributed to any certain cause. It was of no long continuance, and appeared to. be carried off by the exhibition of emetics and’ calomel purges. | Pliny takes:notice of this disease, and recom- mends goat’s liver to be eaten as a cure. Speaking of these animals he says, tradunt & noctu non mi- nus cernere, quam interdiu: ideo si caprinum jecur vescantur, restitui verspertmam aciem his, quos nyctalopas vocant. Lib. viii. c. 50. The inhabitants of Syene in Egypt are, accord- ing to Mr. Bruce, affected with a weakness and soreness of the eyes, terminating m blindness ; this is thought to be occasioned by the hot wen of the desert. The natives of Issinee, on the Gold Gaus where rice is very little used for food, are liable to inflammations of the eyes, which is attributed a eo 129 to the great heat and glaring light of the rays of the sun reflected from the sandy soil *. I have never seen an instance of blindness among the native Africans, except in very old people, who are not often affected with it; nor has an instance of obstinate opthalmia ever oc- curred to my notice. Their principal remedy for opthalmia, when it does occur, is pan-a- pannee (Timmanee), tontay, (Soosoo). The fruit, which is the part made use of, is shaped like a pear, but having a longer neck. When used, the apex is cut off, and a drop of the juice is pressed from it into the eye: I once saw it applied ; it seemed to produce sharp pain, which continued only a few minutes. It is much com- mended in dimness of the cornea, and is also employed to remove specks or films. The juice is of an acid, and very astringent taste. When the inflammation of the eye is very severe, it is usual to drop into it some milk from a woman’s breast. Another very celebrated remedy in opthalmia is a species of reed called by the Timmanees cattop ; oo-shaa, (Bullom) ; kaymanghee (Soosoo). The stem is roasted over the fire, and a few drops of the juice, when milk warm, are squeezed into the eye. It produces a very acute pain for a ‘short time. I saw it of use in scrophulous inflam- mation of the eye, opthalm. membran. The juice * Tsert. Reise nach Guinee. » VOL. I. S 130 is of an acid sweetish taste, and the stem is often chewed by the natives to quench their thirst. The leaves of this plant, first bruised in a mortar, and then heated over the fire, are applied hot to contused parts. In slight cases of opthalmia the eye is washed with a decoction of the leaves of mekkamaken- Zee, A warm decoction of the leaves of a plant, called by the Timmanees .yabakyaba, is used to wash the stye on the eyelids, hordeolum. I have reason to suspect that an instance of the croup occurred at Free Town, m a stout boy about fifteen years old, a native of the Kroo coast ; but unfortunately the disease was neither suspected, nor was danger apprehended until the fatal termination took place, which was within forty-eight hours from his first complaining. There was a degree of ‘tumefaction of the throat externally, reaching to the ears, and affecting a portion of the parotid gland om each side: he complained of an acute pain m the throat, rendering deglutition difficult; but there was not any appearance of inflammation in the in- ternal fauces. His voice was little affected, but his respiration became very difficult before he died. His pulse was small, but not much acce- lerated, nor was there any preternatural heat of the skin. The restlessness attending this com- plaint was so great, joined to an impatience of confinement, that he could not be prevailed upon 131 to continue in bed, but walked about until within a few minutes of his death, which in a great mea- sure took off the attention of those about him. Upon examining the seat of the disease after death, which was readily allowed by his coun- trymen, who seemed pleased that any attention was paid to the deceased, there was nothing more to be seen than a slight degree of redness in the upper part of the larynx, immediately below the epiglottis. In sorz-THROAT, generally of the inflammatory kind, when attended with much tumefaction of the tonsils, and difficulty of swallowing, they use the young leaves of a small tree, called by the Soosoos wubbay, by the Timmanees apel, by the Bulloms pil, and by the Kroos gheang: these are beaten up with some grains of malaguetta pepper, mixed with a little water, and given as a drink. This tree bears bunches of berries, resembling those of the common elder, at first red, but afterwards turning black. They contain a single seed, which is almost as hot as pepper. When the bark is cut, there exudes a gummi- resinous juice as red as blood. In so hot a climate, it may appear strange for POLYSARCIA OF CORPULENCY to occur as a disease. Among the Bulloms and Timmanees, the young people, especially the females, are rather full- formed and plump, than corpulent, but old per- sons are in general thin. Among the Mandingos corpulency is more frequent, and they endeavour ; 132 to obviate it by an infusion of the bark of a tree, called by the Bulloms bal, by the Soosoos shookay, and by the Timmanees obiss ; it is bit- ter, but has no sensible effect. This tree pro- duces a rough brown plum, which has a sweet taste, and is often used to make a kind of beer. The unripe fruit has a narcotic quality, and induces considerable nausea... Brisk purgatives are occasionally employed with a view to diminish corpulency. Profuse sweating is also made use of for this purpose, and the patient sits over a de- coction of ginsee-ginse, while the steam is confined — by a thick cotton cloth thrown over him. The same infusion is used, when cold, as a wash for the body durmg the day. The smauu Pox, from the concurrent testimony of authors, is a further addition to the diseases — supposed to have originated in Africa, terra ferace veneni. Whether it first began in Ethi- opia or Arabia is uncertain; but from the lat- | ‘ter country it was imported into Europe. Dr. Friend supposed that this disease took its rise in Egypt, because Rhazes informs us that a phy- sician of the name of Aaron, who ‘was born at Alexandria, and practised in. the reign of Mo- hammed, about the year 622, had treated of this disease; but its origin is carried farther back by Professor’ Reiske, who says he read ‘the following words in an old Arabic manu- script, in the public library at Leyden. “ This year, in Qne, 572, the birth of Mohammed, the | 133 small pox and measles made their first appearance m Arabia*.” Dr. Mead adds, respecting the small pox, “I really take this disease to be a plague of its own kind, which was originally bred im Africa, and more especially in Ethiopia, as the heat is excessive there ; and thence, like the true plague, was brought into Arabia and Egypt +.” However just these speculations may be, it is certain, that at the present day, the small-pox is so far from being endemial on the western coast of Africa, on the windward part of it at least, that it is always imported thither by Europeans. It is called by the Timmanees oo-burhbo, by the Bul- loms ka-bumbo, by the Soosoos kaka, and by the Mandingos cassimasinghee. It is about twelve years since its last appearance in the river Sierra Leone, or on the Bullom shore. It was very fatal in the higher branches of the river Sierra Leone, in the year 1773, and about seventeen years ago it appeared in the river Sherbro,’ where it proved very fatal, especially to old people. It is upwards of twenty years since this disease shewed itself in the Foola country: the Foolas say it was at that time imported by an Ame- rican vessel, which came to Rocundy, and add, that many of the old people ‘fell a sacrifice to it. Among all the tribes near the coast there is a great similarity in the mode of treating the small pox. From the time of the eruption, \ i * Mead’s Works, + Ibid. ? 134 which is. generally towards the end of the third day, the patient is- not washed until the sup- puration be completed ; for they suppose if cold water were used to wash a person in this disease, it would throw the matter upon the internal parts, and prove fatal. As soon as matter appears in the pustules, it is let out by a sharp pointed stick, the pustule itself is removed, and after being well washed with warm water, the sores are sprinkled with the fine meal of the pigeon pea, called by - the Bulloms see-ti’l. This practice of removing the pustule, however, is not general ; im some parts of the country, they merely let out the matter, and then wash the pustule well with warm water ; and as often as the pustule fills with matter, it is opened and washed. ‘Their hope of preventing the face from being marked, rests upon their washing and emptying the pustules very diligently. The appearance of this disease excites a general alarm: when any one, is seized with it, he is immediately removed to a place built for the purpose in the woods, where no person is allowed to visit him, but such as have had the disorder. A quantity of fine sand is spread upon the ground, oa which are jaid cloths to serve for the patient’s bed. The diet is restricted to milk, thin soups, and Jean meat ; nothing cold is allowed for drink. The chief medicine made use of is an infusion of a plant that tastes like sorrel, called by the Man- dingos santoo, by the Foolas folleree, and by the Soosoos da; hibiscus, tea plant. When the pus- 135 tules are dry, and, begin to desquamate, the patient is washed, and his body anointed with some soft ointment. The practice of inoculation is totally unknown m the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, where, if ever practised, it has been by Europeans alone. The small pox is said to do little mischief in Morocco, “ because of the temperance of the cli- mate, and the abstinence of the people.” They are acquainted with meculation in the interior parts of the country *; but the Moors do not inoculate, “except those who live on the moun- tains, the Brebes and the Shellu of the south (or - aborigines)—— hence it may be concluded that the small-pox was known in Africa before the invasion of the Arabs, and that the mode of com- municating it by insertion must have been more ancient in these countries than Mahometanism ; because, however powerful the ascendant of reli- gion may be, it is very slow in rooting out the prejudices and customs of nations +.” In the Mes dical Observations and Inquiries, vol. i. it is as- serted, upon the testimony of some negroes in America, that imoculation is commonly practised in Africa, so that old people seldom have the disease ; it is added, “ they generally inoculate all their young, as soon as the infection comes into the neighbourhood. In the regimen * Mr. Park informs us that the negroes on the Gambia prac- tise inoculation for the small-pox. ~ + Chemier’s present State of Morocco. 136 under it, they only abstain from all flesh meat, and drink plentifully of water acidulated with the juice of limes, which grow large and plentifully m their country.” Inoculation has been frequently prac- tised to a considerable extent on board of slave vessels, and though no instance has fallen under my observation, it has always proved successful. An ingenious writer observes, that “ the small pox in cold countries is more fatal to blacks * than to whites. In the Boston small pox, of 1752, there died whites in the natural way about one in eleven, but one in eighty by moculation ; blacks in the natural way, one in eight ; by inoculation one in twenty. In hot countries it is more fatal to whites than blacks. In Charles Town, South Ca- rolina, when the small pox prevailed, 1738, it was found, upon a. scrutiny, that in the natural way, of 647 whites died 157, one in four; by inocula- tion of 156 whites, died nine, or one in twenty ; of 1024 blacks in the natural way there died 138, one in seven and half; of 251 blacks, by imocu- lation there died seven, one in thirty-six.” The same author, speaking of the manner in which the North American Indians treat this disease, says, « their principal remedy is sweating in huts warm- ed by heated stones, and thereupon immediate — immersion in cold water. In intlammatory and eruptive epidemical fevers, e. g. small — this practice depopulates them ” * An affecting instance of this is related in Cartwright’s His- tory of Labradore. + Douslas’s Polit. Survey, ii. 398. 137 Notwithstanding THE MEASLEs are said to be of African origin, I could not obtain from the natives any satisfactory account of the disease, because it is difficult to make them comprehend by words alone the object of your enquiry. I was informed by a native in the Rio Pongas, of Portuguese extraction, who spoke remarkably good English, that they have sometimes an eruptive disease ap- pearing among them as an epidemic, which he called fundoo, in Soosoo foondaing. He said, it is preceded by a sensation of cold, followed by heat, and attended with a cough and watery eyes; it is not dangerous, and runs its course in a few days. For the cure, they rub the body all over with the fine flour of rice, which is sometimes mixed with honey. This person’s character for dishonesty induced me to pay little credit to his account ; but I have been assured by a captain of a vessel, a man of probity and good informa- tion, who had been frequently on the coast, that the measles were once brought on board a slave. ship in which he was, by a canoe from Cape Coast, and that one of the men in the canoe was ill of the complaint. ‘The infection spread imme- diately, and several slaves were taken ill, but by separating them from those in health, the disease was speedily checked. It proved to be very mild, and had probably been imported by some vessel trading on the coast. The old Portuguese abovementioned, took no- tice of a disease which he said he had seen, though rarely, and which appears to resemble pemphigus. VOL, II. T 138 He called it fook-salabrass. By the Soosoos and Mandingos, he said, it is called bombérrassoo, and - by the Bulloms baarra. This disease is preceded by slight cold, followed by heat, after which large vesicles appear, resembling those occasioned by a burn or scald. They puncture the vesicle, and when the water is discharged they wash the sore _ with a decoction of the bark of tolinghee or yecre scraped fine. © 139 CHAP. VIII. GENERAL DISEASES. : YAWS F all the diseases which are supposed to have originated in Africa, the only one which can be said with any degree of certainty to be indigenous in that continent is the yaws. It frequently occurs among the slaves in the West India islands and America, by whom it has been imported from Africa into those coun- tries ; it is almost unknown in Europe, for though it has sometimes been imported, it has never spread. _ The yaws is called by the Bulloms bihl, by the Timmanees tirree or catirree, by the Mandingos mansera, and by the Soosoos dokkettee or kota. It is called by the Portuguese on the coast boba, and by the French pianes. This complaint is usually preceded by vio- lent pains of the limbs, which somewhat resemble those of rheumatism, and are particularly severe round the joints; these pains are attended with much languor and debility, and frequently con- tinue several days without any further appearance of disease. These precursory symptoms are suc- ceeded by a degree of pyrexia, sometimes at- 140 tended with rigor, though in other instances the fever is slight and scarcely noticed. | For the most part the patient complains of head-ach, loss of appetite, and pains of the back and loins, which are exacerbated towards even- ing. When these symptoms have continued a few days, they are followed by an eruption of pustules, more or less numerous, which appear in various parts of the body, but especially upon the forehead, face, neck, groin, pudenda, and round the anus. The eruption of these pustules is not completed over the whole body at one time, neither do they shew themselves in any re- gular succession on the different parts ; but while one crop is falling off, another is making its ap- pearance in another place Every fresh erup- tion of pustules is preceded by a slight fe- brile paroxysm. The pustules are filled with an opake whitish fluid ; they are, at their first ap- pearance, not so infeed as the head of a small pin, but gradually grow larger, until they attaim the size of a sixpence, or even of a shilling. When the pustules burst, a thick viscid matter is dis- charged, which forms a foul and dense crust or scab upon the surface. In general, the number and size of the pustules is proportioned to the degree of eruptive fever ; when the febrile symptoms are slight, there are few pustules, but they are mostly of a larger size than when the complaint is more violent and extensive. From the larger kind of pus- _ tules there frequently arise red fungous excres- cences of various magnitudes, from the size of a pea 141 to that of a large mulberry, which fruit, owing to their rough, granulated surfaces, they somewhat resemble. These fungi, though they rise consider- ably above the surface of the skin, have but a small degree of sensibility ; they never suppurate kindly, but gradually discharge a sordid glutinous fluid, which forms an ugly scab round the edges of the excrescence, and covers the upper part of it, when much elevated, with white sloughs. When these eruptions appear upon any part of the body co- vered with hair, the colour of the hair is gradually changed from black to white. It sometimes happens at the commencement of the disease, when the pustules are few, that there is some doubt respecting the nature of the complaint : to determine this, the natives open one of the pustules, and drop upon it a little of the juice of the capsicum ; if it be of the yaw species little or no pain is excited. This disease is communicable in every way in which syphilis can be produced, though it is less frequently contracted py coition ; because, as the complaint can only affect the same person once in his lifetime, and as in Africa it is usually gone through in childhood, of course this mode of pro- pagating it is in a great measure prevented, The disease never spreads by miasmata floating in the air: it can only be communicated by the application of matter from a yaw pustule or sore to a wound in a person who has not previously laboured under the disease. The complaint is sometimes inoculated by means of a large fly, 149 called in the West Indies the yaw fly. When this insect alights upon a running yaw, which the Africans never keep covered, and afterwards settles upon the body of an uninfected person, it intro- _duces the poison, if there happen to be a wound or scratch there, as effectually as the most dex- terous surgeon, Dr. Bancroft says, “ none ever receive this disorder, whose skins are whole ; for which reason the whites are rarely infected; but the backs of the negroes being often raw by whipping, and suffered to remain naked, they scarce ever escape iia: Doctor Mosely, in his elaborate treatise on sugar, asserts, that “ there are several distem- pers of bestial origin,” and is of opinion the “ yaws is one of them.” It is to be regretted that Dr. Mosely has not treated more fully on this disease, as few persons have had greater oppor- tunities of observation, or of turning them to pro- fit. Whether, from what is said above, Dr. Mosely imagines the yaws to have originated in consequence of a “ bestial humour” being intro- duced into the human body, like the matter of the cow pox, or whether he supposes that the disease arose ex concubitu virorum cum simuis, as some old authors have strangely imagined, is not very evident. The doctor has certainly committed a slight error when he says, that the yaws “ breaks out in negroes without any -* Hist. of Guiana. 143 - communication, society, or contact,” and that “the seeds of the yaws descend from those who have ever had it to their latest posterity.” This is so far from being the case in Africa, and it is to be hoped in the West Indies also, that in no instance whatever does the disease arise except from the application of the conta- gious matter of yaws to a person who has not previously been affected with it. Neither is there more reason to suppose that the seeds of this diserder are transmitted to posterity by heredi- tary descent, than that the contagion of the small pox, measles, or any other of the exanthemata, are communicated hereditarily. : The pustules generally appear first upon that part of the body where the contagious matter has been imtroduced, though I cannot, from my own observation, determine, since the disease so rarely happens in Africa to adults, whether primary ulcers shew themselves on the pudenda, when the disease has been contracted by vene- real connection : it is very usual, however, after the system has been infected, for ulcers to appear on those parts, as is frequently seen in children. Buboes rarely or never occur. When there is an ulcer or a slight wound in any part, the pus- tules either appear there first, or are- more copi- ous there than elsewhere ; the surface of the sore or ulcer also changes from an healthy appearance to a foul and sloughy state, the granulations be- come pale and spongy, and the purulent discharge is changed to ichor. 144 The duration of the complaint is very uncer- tain, but it depends in some degree upon the complete eruption of the pustules: this, as has been said, is not completed at once, but may take up several weeks or months ; when no more pus- tules are thrown out, and when those already upon the skin no longer increase in size, the disease 18 supposed to have reached its acme. About this time it happens, on some part of the body or other, that one of the pustules becomes much Jarger than the rest, equalling or surpassing the size of an half crown piece: it assumes the ap- pearance of an ulcer, and instead of being ele- vated above the skin like others, it is considerably depressed ; the surface is foul and sloughy, and pours out an ill conditioned ichor, which spreads very much, by corroding the surrounding sound skin: this is what is called the master or mother yaw. If proper attention be not paid to keep the surface of the ulcer clean by daily washing, the matter becomes very acrid, and when near a bone sometimes atfects it with caries. When the fungous or mulberry-like excres- cences appear upon the soles of the teet, they are prevented from rising by the resistance of the thick hard epidermis, and give so much pain that the person affected is unable to walk. The fungi thus situated are called by the negroes in the West Indies tubba, or crab yaws. They are sometimes so large as to cover a great part of the sole of the foot; at other times, they are not larger than a shilling: they are frequently 145 affected, like corns, by different states of the at- mosphere, especially by rainy weather. The yaw pustules are in general largest upon the face, in the axille, groins, permeeum, and round the anus. The itch or cracraws, as it is called in. Africa, is. sometimes mistaken for the yaws; but in the latter complaint, the ulcers are more elevated than those of the itch; they also appear in the face, and are generally devoid of itchiness. - The learned M. Sauvages has unnecessarily distinguished this disease into two species, the framboesia’ guineensis and framboesia americana, the disease being precisely the same whether it appear in Africa, or the West Indies, &c. Professor Sprengel has, on no better grounds, made a similar division of this disease into “ yaws and pians :” the former, he says, has been described by the Arabians under the title safath. In the middle ages, it was sometimes called variola mag- na,as it seemed to differ from small pox only in being a chronic disease. ‘The pians, he says, has been improperly included with the former under the term framboesia, although it has not been so extensively diffused as the yaws. Prof. Sprengel adds, that it was originally endemic in one dis- trict of the coast of Guinea, the kingdom of San- guin, and that it is not so readily communicated to the whites as the yaws*. -* Rurt Sprengels Handbuch der Pathologie. VOL. I, vy 146 It as been asserted by some authors, that Eus fopeans are not liable to this complaint, but FE have: known several instances of it among them. The following case happened in the person of an European, a slave trader in the Rio Nunez. In the month of July, 1793, whilst in perfect health, he was suddenly seized with severe pains in the joints of his whole body, particularly im those of his arms and knees. The pains were greatly aggravated by external heat, especially at night by the warmth of bed: they were also exasperated by rubbing the affected parts with oil; and other emollient applications. The only relief he could obtain was by plunging his body into cold water, which procured an immediate, though only a temporary remission of pain; so that he was obliged to repeat it four or five times during the night. At the end of a week or ten days, the pains became less. severe, and re- curred less frequently. About this time pustules, which remained always: distinct, broke out over his whole body ; they were not very numerous, but were most troublesome as well as most plen- tiful upon his legs. He then applied to an old woman celebrated for her skill in this disease, and during two months which he continued under her care, he swallowed a great quantity of decoc- tions of herbs, without experiencing the least relief. Being tired with this ill success, he began to use mercury, first in small doses, as an altera- tive, and afterwards on a different plan, so as. 147 to excite a gentle salivation.. This course had no apparent effect upon the disease, but he felt greatly debilitated in consequence of it. During the process, the pustules continued to dry and fall off in one place, and to break out in ano- ther: six weeks or two months usually elapsed between the first appearance of the pustules and their falling off. ‘There were no depressions or discolourations observable in the skin on any part of the body after the desquamation of the pustules, except upon the legs, and in them alone was any degree of pain or trouble excited. When a spot broke out upon the legs, it degenerated mto a troublesome ulcer, which could only be brought to heal by the application of strong escharotics. During all the time of his being affected with this disorder, his joints felt remarkably stiff, with a sensation as if some foreign body were con- tained within the articulation ; or, as if the joints did not move with freedom, through a deficiency of synovia: this was especially felt in the knees. At the time he gave this account, Sept. 23, 1795, the stiffness was so great, that after sitting awhile, he had scarcely sufficient strength to raise himself up and bend his knees. His skin likewise acquired a remarkable and disagreeable increase of sensi- bility, and he still complains of a painful tender- ness of the integuments over his whole body, insomuch that a gentle tap produces as. violent a sensation as a smart blow would have excited formerly. This nits been the case ever since he 148 became affected with the disease. He expe- riences an increaséd quickness of pulse towards evening, and not unfrequently has a degree of fever and restlessness during the early part of the night. Thesé febrile symptoms appear to de- pend upon the degree of debility induced in con- sequence of the disease. His legs are much swoln, and are greatly discoloured, being of a dark brown colour. This change of colour oc- curred during the present disease, after an attack of common remittent fever, attended with profuse night sweats. One evening he complained of an unusual degree of heat and pain in his legs, which he found, on uncovermg them, to be changed, from the calf of the leg to the tees, to nearly the colour of a black man’s skin. He still has a small ulcer upon his leg, which, he thinks, is aremnant of the yaws.. During the course of the disease he had a severe sore throat, but this he did not attribute to the yaws, nor does he think that hoarseness is an attendant symptom. He is of opinion that the natives have no cure for yaws, but that it is effected always by nature *. . ITsaw aman labouring under this disease, toge- * The yaws is not mentioned by authors as a disease which occurs in Egypt, though from the frequent communication of that country with those parts of Africa in which the disease is ende- mial, we might be led to suspect it would be imported. There is reason, however, to suppose that the yaws does actually appear there, though mistaken for the venereal disease; this will appear evident from the following case, extracted from a recent publi- cation, where it is given as an instance of syphilis. ‘* The na- tives, (of Egypt) who are unacquainted with the use of mercury, 149 ther with two of his children, who appeared to be between six and eight years of age. ‘The children had been affected about eight months, but the man only four or five. In the latter, pain of the head, sickness at stomach, and general uneasiness, had preceded the eruption for a day or two. The pustules first appeared upon the outside of one of his thighs ; they were very numerous, and of a small kind, never throwing out fungi. He ex- - perienced severe pains in his joints, which were much aggravated by heat, and relieved by cold. In many parts the pustules were quite dry, and, and indeed of minerals in general, as employed internally, are yet provided, as they say, with efficacious remedies for the vene- real disease. They use flax oil, fresh, as it is expressed from the seed. A Greek, who was in the service of Murad Bey as a mariner, (Galeongz,), and who was known to me in Kahira, had been infected, and on applying to a Frank physician, was told that it would be necessary immediately to use mercurials. "The man was not inclined to confinement or to regimen, and went to 2 Copt at Jizé, who professed to relieve the sick. ‘This man or- dered him to take two coffee-cups of flax oil every morning fast- ing, and directed no regimen, but that of keeping himself warm. ‘The Greek observed none, for he continued freely the use of aqua vite, and even sacrificed to Venus, (for persons who have been once infected, and fully cured, are, it is said, in no fear of re-infection), and was often in the heat of the sun. He had con- tinued this method for two months, when a general eruption took place over his body, but chiefly about the head and glands of the throat. In this condition I saw him. Wis A‘sculapius ordered him to cover the pustules of his face with a kind of red earth, found in some parts of Egypt. They gradually became dry, and came off without leaving any mark. At the end of the third month from the time he had applied to the Copt, and one month after the appearance of the eruption, the man was in perfect health, and the skin had completely recovered its tone and po- lish,” Browne’s ‘Travels in Africa, Egypt, and Syria. 150 where scratched, fell off, leaving the skin quite clear beneath. A kind of fungous excrescence had appeared some time before within one of his nostrils, and had given him much pain, especially at nights, but was gone when I saw him. The alae nasi and cheeks had been covered with the same kind of eruption as that on his body, but the dried pustules had fallen off. He complained at this time of nothing, but of extreme debility, though apparently robust and in good health; the pains in his joints, even in those of his fingers, were also severe. Md The back and sides of one of the children were covered with irregular clusters of pustules, very much resembling those in the shingles, except that the pustules were not so pellucid, nor was the skin inflamed, In this child, as well as in the father, the pustules did not grow large and throw out fungous excrescences, but after continuing stationary for some time, they dried and fell off ; they were very numerous on her face and neck. In the other child, who had been ill about a month longer than the last, the pustules were of a large kind, and were covered with a foul yellow crust. Tn the following instance both kinds of pustules occurred: the person appeared to be about thirty years of age, and had been affected nine manths with this complaint. There were about forty or fifty pustules upon his face, nearly resembling, as to size and appearance, the pustules in the distinct small pox when fully maturated, but with no in- flammation round their base. His arms and 151 body were likewise covered with the same kind of pustules. In some parts of the back there appeared several small, flat, semi-pellucid pus- stules, surrounded and intermixed with those of the usual size: In the axillz there were six or eight irregular crusts or eschars about the size of a shilling, from which the mulberry excres- cences had sprung up, but they were now turned black by the application of hme juice and iron, which had been used to destroy them. The pustules have not any fixed period, within which they dry and fall off. They leave no de- pression of the skin, but occasion a deeper tinge of black, which disappears in time. Several of the dried pustules had fallen off his face; none of _which had reached a larger size than that of a common pea: Many large crusts appeared upon his body, but they were nearly dried up by the astringent applications made use of ; there were none upon his legs, but the vestiges of them were marked by an increased blackness in various places. The crusts or eschars dried up always at the centre, and in a very irregular manner: some of them had this appearance ; Upon his thighs some crusts still remained. The disease first made its appearance in a pustule upon the little toe of the left foot, which has long becn 152 well; from the foot it affected the legs, then the back of the neck, head, face, arms, and body. Almost all the first crop of pustules have fallen off, and have been succeeded by a fresh eruption ; but he remarked that a new pustule never appeared upon the same spot which had already thrown out one. He complained of great weakness and pains im his joints, particularly in those of his arms, shoulders, and knees. ‘The pains were greatly aggravated at nights. In other respects he appeared to enjoy perfect health, and had no sickness previously to. the eruption. ~ This disease has not received that attention from medical practitioners which its importance demands ; for on account of its disgusting appear- ance, and the danger arising from too close a sur- vey, the treatment of it has been chiefly trusted to ignorant people. Hence the description of yaws has been very imperfect, and still remains unsatisfactory. Nosologists have, in consequence of this defective history of the disease, been in- duced to class it: with scrophula, syphilis, ele- phantiasis, &c. diseases to which it bears a very slight and distant analogy. On the contrary, if its stages of eruption, maturation, and desqua- mation be considered, though not strictly agree- ing as to time with other eruptive diseases; and if to this be added that it never affects the same individual twice, we cannot hesitate to place it among the exanthemata. The yaws has likewise been confounded with other complaints. Sydenham supposes the yaws 153 to be the same disease as the lues venerea, and that it was brought into Europe by the Spaniards, who were infected by the negroes purchased’ in Africa ; “ apud quos invaluit mos ille barbarus homines Europzis mercibus permutandi *.” Dr. Hillary + is of opinion that it has been deseribed by Hali Abbas al Magiouschi, or the Magus, as he was surnamed from his learning, under the title-lepra, and in the following words: * Epistola ad Henr. Paman, M. D. The writer of the article Epian, in the Encyclopedie Metho- dique, has likewise classed the yaws and venereal disease as similar complaints. “ Epian. Nom que les naturels de Sainte Domingue donnoient a la verole, qu’on croit avoir été ende- mique dans cette isle, & qui parut pour la premier fois en Europe Pan 1494. Quelques-uns ont cru que c’étoit un caractére de maladie plus grave & plus facheux encore que la verole; mais il est actuellement prouvé, que c’est la meme maladie que les Frangois ont appellé Mal de Naples, et les Italiens Mal Francois, chacun s’empressant de desayouer l’origine d’un mal aussi hon- téux, et accusant ses voisins d’en avoir propagé la contagion.” Tom. vi. p. 2. There is, however, one circumstance, which, if founded on fact, will sufficiently discriminate the yaws from every modification of syphilis, and from the whole class of exanthemata. It is asserted by Bajon’, that the virus of yaws is capable of being commu- nicated to domestic animals; and when it appears among. the fowls, the disease spreads so rapidly, that to check it, those affected with the eomplaint must be immediately killed. Dogs are equally liable to be affected; and:im these animals it assumes very much the appearance of the venereal disease. We know from experiments instituted for the purpose, that the constitution of brutes is unsusceptible of the variolous, morbillous, syphilitic, and some other contagions to which the human subject is liable: + Halleri Bib. Med. Pract. 1 Geschichte von Cayenne. VOL. II. Re 154 # Lepra albedo est quee in exterioribus fit cutis: et aliquando in quibusdam sine aliis est membris: nonnunquam vero in toto fit corpore, interdum ut fit corporis color albus. Quz in membro est, si ex mala fit frigida complexione, heec sunt signa; quum membrum in quo est, album est colore, itidemque ejus pili; & si cutis phlebo- tomo vel certe acie pungitur, sanguis ab eo non ecreditur, sed humiditas alba*.” In this very brief account there is nothing characteristic of this disease, which exhibits peculiarities sufficiently striking to have excited the attention of less accu- rate observers. Dr. Hillary, and some others, are also of opinion, that the yaws is the leprosy des- cribed by Moses; but it is enough to read the description of the two complaints to be convinced of their difference. There is a modification of the venereal disease met with in Scotland which is called sivvens, or sibbens, from a word in the Scoto-Saxon lan- guage, spoken in the Highlands, signifying a wild raspberry; in Gaelic or Erse it is called sou- cruu +t. In some parts it is also called the yaws, from a fancied resemblance to the disease of that name. ‘The sibbens, however, does not, like the yaws, appear only once in the same person, but may occur as often as the venereal disease. “These three complaints are all communicable by similar means; but the sibbens more frequently takes * Theorice, cap. xvi, lib. 8. -¢ Hill’s Cases in Surgery. 155 place after eating or drinking out of the vessel used by an infected person, in which case small ulcerations appear within the mouth and fauces, having precisely the character of venereal ulcers, and very speedily affecting the bones of the palate and nose, afterwards those of the face, and of other parts of the body. There are but two appearances in which site bens and yaws can be said to bear any resem- blance to each other. When the former disease is received into the system otherwise than by the mouth, it appears as a cutaneous complaint, breaking out in a number of small itchy pustules. But the chief characteristic of the sibbens, and that in which it most resembles the yaws, is an eruption of soft spongy excrescences, like raspber- ries, which appear in various parts of the body, especially round the anus: they rise considerably above the surface of the skin, but are more painful than the yaw-pustules. They do not, like the yaws, admit ofa natural cure, but continue to spread in- definitely. Escharotics are insufficient to remove them, but they speedily disappear by the exhibition of mercury. ‘The itch, yaws, and sibbens, have this in common, that they most readily affect the lower classes, or those who pay little attention to cleanliness. The venereal disease and yaws are frequently seen at one time in the same per- son, and according to Schilling *, we have an * Godfr. Wilh. Schilling de Morbo in Europa pene ignoto, quem Americani vocant yaws. 156 imstance of even three specific diseases occurring at the same time, lepra, framboesia, and small pox. The yaws is said to be rendered more mild in its symptoms, and quicker in its progress, by means of inoculation, a practice totally unknown to the natives round Sierra Leone. Mr. Ed. wards * was informed by a black woman wno came from Annamaboo, “ that the natives on the Gold Coast give their children the yaws, (a frightful disorder) by tnoculation ; and she des- cribed the manner of performing the operation to be making an incision in the thigh, and put- ting in some of the infectious matter. I asked her what benefit they expected from this prac- tice? She answered, that by this means their infants-had the disorder slightly, and recovered speedily ; whereas by catching it at a later time of life, the disease, she said, ‘ got into the bone,’ that was her expression.” The natives never attempt to cure this ees until it has nearly reached its height, when the fungi have acquired their full size, and no more pustules appear. One of their remedies is the bark of a tree, called by the Bulloms yuffo: this is boiled in water, and made stronger or weaker, according to the age of the patient. Some of this decoction is mixed with rice, and given for two succeeding mornings: it is then omitted for a week, and again exhibited two mornings to- * History of the West Indies, 157 gether. It proves gently purgative. The ul- cers are likewise washed every second day with a strong decoction of the same bark; and when this is done, the crusts are .carefully removed from the surface of the sore. An infusion of the bark of bullanta is also used to wash the ulcers in yaws. The juice which exudes from the stem of nintee, when cut, is taken internally every morning in the quantity of a glassful; it pos- sesses a degree of astringency, but produces no sensible effects. A decoction of the leaves of this plant is likewise used to wash ‘the ulcers. It has been already said, that one or more of the yaws usually acquires a larger size than the rest, and is called mother yaw, to destroy which recourse is had to more powerful means. ‘Their most frequent application is lime-juice and iron: for this purpose an iron bar is heated red hot, and rubbed with a lime cut in two, the boil- ing juice of which falls immediately upon the sore; this, as may be imagined, produces exces- sive pain. Sometimes the rust of iron is boiled in lime juice, to which is added a quantity of the common black ants, or a certain proportion of Malaguetta pepper; and as in the former instance, the liquor is applied hot to the sore. It acts as an escharotic, and ‘produces a crust upon the surface of the sore which is removed every second day. In general, those who are of a. lax and delicate habit of body are observed to have the yaws more 158 favourably than the robust; hence women and children, provided they be in good health, suffer least from the disease. In children the duration of the yaws is from six to nine months, and in in Africa the disease is thought not less peculiar to childhood than the small pox is in Europe, but with this advantage, that they do not dread any fatal consequences from it. In adults the disease is seldom cured in less than a year, and sometimes takes up two or three; it affects them also more severely than children, and when they are somewhat advanced in age, often proves fatal. It is usual in the West Indies to give me- dicines with a view of producing determination to the skin, and of assisting the expulsion of the morbific matter of the yaws. Agreeably to this theory, the remedies employed are either mercu- rials or antimonials in small doses ; of the former, corrosive sublimate and calomel have been chiefly employed, or the inert combinations of mercury with sulphur. Sulphur, camphor, and guaiacum have been applied with the same intention ; also decoctions of sarsaparilla, and the tepid bath. Perhaps the best and only safe means of con- ducting the disease to its height is, by a nourish- ing diet, by exercise proportioned to the patient’s strength, by comfortable dry lodgings, with such other means as tend to invigorate the system. When the disease appears at a stand, mercury is py in general had recourse to, either taken internally, or applied by inunction to the skin. Dr. Ban- croft recommends mercury -and camphor com- bined, and used so as to excite no sensible evacua- tion, but along with some sudorific to determine its effects tothe skin. Dr. Schilling, in his learned and valuable Treatise de Framboesia, recommends mercury only in the latter period of the disease, when there are deep seated pains of the bones aggravated at night. He tried the solution of corrosive sublimate, as recommended by Van Swieten, in four patients, who had been ill nine months, and who had very large pustules. The season was cold and rainy, which he always found to aggravate the disease, and even to occasion the death of many patients at Surinam. In the above patients the decoct. lignor. was joined with the sub]. solution; and they were made to use the exercise of sawing until fatigued. The me- dicine excited vomiting, After continuing its use for eight days, three of them were salivated, when the mercury was omitted, and the decoction con- tinued alone, by which means they were cured in three weeks. No pain, nor inconvenience were experienced during the salivation, nor afterwards. The fourth patient Fauna not be made to salivate, although he took double the quantity of mercury ; he was, however, cured of his complaint. Dr. Wright, of Jamaica, after informing us that the yaws produce the same dreadful effects on the limbs, nose, and throat as the venereal disease, adds, that they are curable by mercurial altera- 160 tives and diaphoretic decoctions. <“ Of all the "preparations of mercury, he continues, the cor- rosive sublimate appears to me to be the best _ for curing such inveterate disorders, especially when accompanied. with such medicines as pro- mote its natural tendency to the skin. Of this sort is guaiacum and sarsaparilla. I have found the following formula the best : Gum guaiacum, ten drachms. Virginia snake root, three drachms. Pimento, two drachms. Opium, one drachm. Corrosive sublimate, half a drachm. Proof spirits, two pounds. To be mixed and digested for three days, and then strained. Two tea-spoonfuls of this tincture given in half a pint of sarsaparilla decoction twice a day, will, in general, remove every symptom of lues or yaws in four or five weeks.” When mercury has been prematurely used, though it causes the pustules to fall off, and clears the skin, yet it does not cure the disease. A train of disagreeable symptoms sooner or later appear, which often continue to harass the patient during the miserable remnant of his life; this.is called: by the negroes the bone-ach. The unhappy. sufferer is tormented with deep seated pains in. the bones, especially round the joints, which are occasionally aggravated to a violent degree: the periosteum becomes thickened, inflamed, and: painful, and nodes are formed on the bones. When 161 these symptoms have continued for some time, the bones are affected with caries, and even be- come soft, and lose their form. Escharotics are made use of to destroy the mother yaws, and of these the red precipitate is one of the best. A solution of corrosive subli- mate and sal ammoniac in water is a very effec- tual lotion for the purpose; or they may be touched with a solution of a drachm of corrosive sublimate im an ounce of spirit of wine. The fungous excrescences on the soles of the feet, called crab yaws*, often prove very obstinate, and remain a long time after the disease has to- _ tally disappeared in other parts. ‘They are only to be cured by the use of strong caustics. Dr, Moseley recommends for this purpose “ to pare off the top of the yaw, and then lay upon it a diachylon with gum plaister sprinkled with the * Dr. Chisholm mentions a very easy and effectual mode of extirpating those troublesome and obstinate fungi, the tubboes or crab yaws, by means of the juice of the manchineel apple in a state of vapour. For this purpose, “ a hole large enough being dug in the sand, alternate layers of charcoal and manchineel ap- ples are Jaid in it. When the charcoal is well lighted, and a thick smoke arises, the patient is made to place the diseased foot over it; and a piece of thick osnaburgh is laid over all, to prevent the escape of the vapour, At the end of an hour the foot is removed, and the crabs, which before the application of the steam were hard and untractable, are now completely rotten, insomuch that without giving the least pain, they are picked out with a small pointed knife,’ It may not be improper to add here from the same author, that he has repeatedly seen the dangerous effects of the poisonous manchineel removed by sea water, to which the bignonia leucoxylon (the white cedar of the country) is said to be also a certain antidote,” VOL, II, Y 162 corrosive sublimate powdered, the size of the yaw, and let it remain for two or three days. On taking off the plaister, the yaw generally comes out like a plug; if not, it digests out in a day or two, with common dressings, and the part soon gets well*.” On the contrary, Dr. Schilling recommends that equal parts of red pre- cipitate and white vitriol should be sprinkled upon the yaw ; he dissuades from the use of cor- rosive sublimate or arsenic, having seen violent symptoms produced by their application. * Treatise on Tropical Diseases. 163 CHAP. IX. GENERAL DISEASES. HERPES. KRAKRA. MOTTLED APPEARANCE OF SKIN. EFFECTS OF FISH POISON. NOSTALGIA. E ERPES is not unfrequently met with among the Africans, particularly the species called serpigo or ring worm. It changes the skin in black persons to a copper colour. This complaint is called by the Soosoos and Mandingos muntay, and by the Timmanees munta. In order to cure it, they scrape the diseased part with a piece of stick, until the blood flow pretty freely; and then wash it with a decoction of the bruised leaves of a plant called by the Soosoos bangbee, to which is added a little salt and lime juice. ‘This practice is repeated every day until the cure be completed. The flowers of the French guaya trec, when bruised, yield an astringent juice, which is considered as a specific in this com- plaint *. Dr. Wright + informs us, that “ tetters, or ring-worms, are frequent amongst the black peo- ple in Jamaica, and amongst the Spaniards in America very inveterate. I have seen this com- plaint so universal, that the habit was tainted ; the skin looked leprous, and the unhappy patient * Bancroft. | Hillary. + Essays on the Malignant Fever of the West Indies. 164 | had not a moment’s ease from the intolerable itching or painful ulcers.” In the beginning, a poultice of the flowers of the ring-worm bush, French guayava tree, cassia alata, is of service, as are also sulphureous appli- cations; but, in more advanced stages of the disease, mercurials externally, and the decoction of woods taken inwardly, give the sake chance of aucnner yy) Accerding to Piso+ the leaves of the ricmus macerated in water or vinegar, are of great use in herpetic eruptions. Kra-Kra is an Ebo word, corrupted, as I have been informed, from kra-thra, which signifies the itch. Although every nation on the coast dis- tinguishes this disease by a peculiar name, yet the term kra-kra pervades the whole; it has been introduced prebably by Europeans from the West Indies, where Ebo slaves. are held in the highest estimation: hence it is likely their language should predominate, and give origin to many cant phrases in those islands. This disorder is called by Fie Mandingos cat- tee, by the Soosoos cashee, by the Timmanees tobul, and by the Bulloms ee-shok-kil. As they — do not look upon the kra-kras to be infectious, they take no precautions to guard against it, and of course are seldom free from it, especially the children. They imagine that it is produced by * Lond. Med. Journal, vol. viii. + Hist. Natural and Medic. 165 ' eating certain kinds of food, which disagree with them, from idiosyncracy ; hence, some abstain from eating deers flesh, others from eating pump- kins, and some will not make use of the black pepper, uvaria piperita*, which grows sponta- _ neously, and is very commonly used as seasoning to their food. _ They cure the disease by washing with an infu- sion of bullanta, which is frequently not made use of until the pustules have formed large crusts, which might at first view be mistaken for yaws. A decoction of the leaves of bellenda is also used as a lotion in this complaint. Among the Kroos, and those who live about Bassa, a plant which they call neh, achyranthes prostrata, is first dried, and then burnt ; the ashes are mixed with a small quantity of water, and applied to the spots every night ; it generally cures in a week, -or less. A decoction of the leaves of a plant, called by the Timmanees tamba gardenia, or ge- nippa, is sometimes used as a wash for the spots ; it is a slightly acrid bitter. A decoction of the leaves of mamunto, Timma- nee, is occasionally used to wash the spots with twice a day; and for the same purpose the de- coction of a plant called by the ‘Timmanees ton- gamunto. ‘The seeds of a plant called by the Timmanees akunt, contain an oil of rather an acrid nature, which is much extolled in the cure of eruptions of the skin, imtertrigo, and especially in kra-kras. * Seu piper Ethiopicum; Tim. atchill ; Bullgm, neeshor. 166 It may, not be improper to consider, as a cuta- neous disease, that remarkable anomaly of the African complexion, which occurs in the albino, leuceethiops, or white negro. — Professor Blumenbach regards this curious va- riety of the human species as belonging to the class of diseases called cachexia; but as this term in its more comprehensive signification implies a depraved or vitiated state of the fluids and solids of the body, incompatible with good health, it appears improper to refer it to that class; be-. cause, although this peculiarity of appearance in man, and in the lower classes of animals, such as the rabbit, weasel, and several others, be generally accompanied with debility and laxity of fibre, yet it is perfectly consistent with an healthy state of the functions. ‘This singularity always exists previously to birth, and must of course be con- sidered as one of the conditions of the foetal state, which seems likely to elude the scrutiny of our limited senses. ) It is supposed by Professor Sprengel * that the skin of the white negro bears a great resem- blance to that of a person affected with the leprosy, an opinion which the learned author will find difficult to be maintained. It appears more probable that the Albino is the Leuczethiops of Pliny, who might be so far misled as to imagine that such a nation existed in a country so fertile in monsters as Africa. In later times the exist- * Handbuch der Pathologie, iii. 576. ‘++ The same opinion is maintained by Dalin in Oratione Acad. R. Holm. “ In media Africa genus hominum invenitur niveum, 167 ence of the Rimosses or Quimossos, a nation of dwarfs, who are said to inhabit the interior parts of Madagascar, has obtained universal belief, owing perhaps, as in the instance of the Leuce- thiopians, to a solitary “eso having been produced. This appearance of the albino is not confined to a tropical country, being frequently observable im colder regions; though it is much less striking in the white than in the black skin. Instances sometimes occur in Europe of persons who have _ precisely what is termed the negro cast of fea- tures, and the same peculiar appearance of the eye. Professor Blumenbach says, he has seen sixteen individuals, resembling Leuczethiopians, born in various parts of Germany. Several instances of the white negro. have fallen under my observation in Africa. In the colony of Sierra Leone there-is a girl about nine or ten years of age, born in Nova Scotia, who has all the features of a negro, with woolly hair, of a dirty white colour, and whose skin equals in whiteness that of an European, without any thing disagreeable in its appearance or texture. Her eyes are between a red and light hazel cui pili albi contortuplicati, aures longe, palpebrz incumbentes, oculi orbiculati, iride rosea, pupilleque membrana flava, pellu- cida; visus lateralis in utrumque latus simul, melior tamen in tenebris quam in luce ; vite curriculum viginti quinque annorum ; corpus exiguum. Hos loqui & cogitare, terram sui causa creatam, cujus dominium se tandem obtenturos sperare.” Linné Ameenitat. Acad. vol. vi. p. 74. 168 -colour, but not much affected by the light. This may, perhaps not be considered as a proper in- stance, as her parents were both mulattos. At Malacurry, in the Soosoo country, I saw a, girl about the same age as the last mentioned, who was born of black parents; her skin was of an unpleasant dead Ivoking white, and pretty smooth, though beginning to assume a cracked appearance, owing to the action ofthe sun. There was a man of the same colour belonging to this town, but he was then absent. ‘This state of the skin is called by the Soosoos fong-foo, and by the Bulloms and Timmanees péolee. At Dumboya, near Wankapong, in the Soasoo country, I saw a woman, a white negro; her pa- rents, brothers, and sisters were all black. She was married to a black man, and had a black child. Her appearance was extremely disgusting ; her skim was remarkably coarse, and wrinkled, though she was but a young woman; it was very dry and harsh to the touch, and marked with deep furrows, As she was much exposed to the sun; her skin, especially on the back, had somewhat. of a reddish tinge, or cream colour; but in parts less exposed, it was of a dirty white. Large black spots, like freckles, produced by the sun, and of the size of a pea, were thickly scattered over her skm. Her hair was of a dirty yellowish white, but woolly and erisp. Her eyes were of alight bluish colour, very weak, constantly twink- 169 The eye brows and eye lashes were nearly white. I was informed that a boy of a similar appear- ance resided in the neighbourhood. At Wank- apong I saw a young man about eighteen years of age, tall, and well formed, whose father had been a white negro. This young man’s mother, three brothers, and two of his sisters, were black, but one sister was white like himself. His skin, from exposure to the sun, had acquired a slight reddish tinge, and was covered with a great number of black or brown spots, like freckles, some of which were nearly as large as a sixpence. It was much rougher and harsher to the touch than the woman’s, feeling almost like the skin of a lizard. He complained very much of the ac- tion of the sun, which cracked his skin, and some- times occasioned it to bleed, He was also pecu- liarly sensible to the bites of insects. His hair was of a dirty white, and woolly; the iris of the eye was of a reddish brown colour, and his sight very weak. At Bottoe, on the Kroo Coast, I saw another appearance of this kind in a man about twenty- five years of age. His parents were black, and had several black children, but they had two white ones, himself and a sister. ‘The man was very tall, rather robust, but awkward in his gait. His skin was nearly of a cream colour, and freckled from exposure, but so very much un- like that of European sailors, who expose them- VOL, Il. Z 170 selves without shirts to the sun, that the dif ference was very striking at some distance. His eyes were of a reddish colour, and very weak, appearing red round the’ edges of the tarsi, and constantly winking in a strong light. His skin was uncommonly coarse in its texture, and the sebaceous glands were very large and nume- rous. He was married to a black woman, but had no children; his sister, whom I did not see, was married to a black man, and had two black children. A person informed me that he had seen two white negroes in the Mandingo country. In both of them, the iris was of a light blue co- lour ; the eyes were very weak, and unable to support the light of the sun; the hair was woolly, and white.. ‘The skin, when closely examined, appeared to have red patches here and there ; it was of a very coarse texture, rough, and un- pleasant to the touch, The natives consider this as a great diecSomanit gt sind look upon it as a misfortune to their family. None of these people appeared to labour under any imbecility of intellect. A case occurred to me of what may be regarded as an intermediate | step to this disease: it was that of a man, of a mulatto complexion, and much freckled, though born of black parents, who had strong red hair, dis- posed in very small wiry curls over his whole head, Professor Blumenbach mentions an in- stance of a mulatto with red hair, and quotes Von- 171 der Grében *, who saw some mulattoes at Siena Leone with this kind of hair. The pye bald ne- gro lately exhibited at Exeter Change, London, may perhaps be referred to the same head. An ingenious writer considers the Albinos mere- ly as a variety of that dreadful malady called Cre- tinism, which occurs so frequently in the Lower Vallais, a county of Switzerland, and which is cor fined to a district of about thirty miles in length, and eight in breadth. The Cretins are said by this author to be “a set of beings, above indeed the brute species, but in every respect below their own. Some have a sort of voice, but the deaf and dumb are very numerous; and there are multitudes who are even mere animal ma- chines, and devoid of almost every sensation. In point of stature, four feet and a half is the stan- dard they reach in general, and it is seldom ex- ceeded more than a few inches. Their counte- nances are pale, wan, and livid; and, exclusive of other external marks of imbecility, they have the mouth very wide, and the tongue and lips uncom- monly thick and large. Nature seems also to have exhausted with them all her efforts at a very early hour, and old age treads upon the heels of infancy. They die, regularly, young, and there are not any instances of their arriving at the advanced period of human life.”—-—-The same author con- tinues, “‘ amidst its varieties, we find the Dondos, ye * Guineische Reisebeschreibung. 172 or African white negroes ; the Kakerlaks, or Cha-, crelas, of Asia ; and the Blafard, or white Indian, of the Isthmus of Darien ; all of whom have some peculiarities corresponding with those by which the Cretin is distinguished. The Dondos are most common at Kongo, Loango, and Angola, and the Kakerlaks or Chacrelas in the Java islands. The stature of the Dondos*, the Kakerlak, and white Indian, is nearly that of the Cretin of the _ Pays de Vallais, and their whole appearance an- nounces excessive debility and weakness. The weakness of the eye, they are all im some degree subject to;—this is the only circumstance in which any similarity can be traced between the Cretin and the African white negro, for I can by no means agree with this gentleman, that “ deaf- ness in one degree or other is peculiar to them ;” and as little do I believe that “ they all die early ; * Dr. Isert saw at Whidah a milk white negro woman sent by the king of Dahomy to the Danish governor; she was, he says, very ugly, not above four feet high, and appeared to have been -an abortive production. In the Encyclopedie Methodique, Ar- ticle Medecine, tome prem. p. 318, a very just opinion is given respecting the white negro ; it is there said, ‘“‘Feu Mr. le Febure des Hayes,—demontre, ou au moins paroit demontrer, par des faits incontestables dont il s’est assuré par lui meme, que les hommes blancs ou blafards ne sont qu'une varieté de negres ; qu'un albinos nait dune regresse qui aura egalement eu des en- fans du plus beau noir, & qui n’aura connu d’hommes que ceux de sa couleur; que cette variete ne forme nulle part une peuple, n’a, du coté des sens, qu’une delicatesse que l’exercice dissipe, n’a point une stature inferieure a celle des autres negres, & n’est inferieur 4 aucun d’eux par intelligence, la capacité, les qualités du ceeur, Paptitude au travail: il en a vu de fort agés. 173 and they have all the same scanty portion of in- telligence.” When black people receive any considerable injury to their skin from wounds, burns, &c. the cicatrix remains white through life: It is not uncommon to see persons whose skins have un dergone a change from black to. white, the ap- pearance being confined to only a small. part of the body. Sometimes one or both hands and feet are spotted black and white ; sometimes they are entirely white. ‘The Bulloms compare this dis- ease to a caterpillar, variegated black and white, which they call unnah, and hence they name the disease ker’unnah, or spotted worm. ‘Ihis change of colour is not produced by any injury done to the skm. The natives appear igno- rant of the cause of this curious phenomenon : some blame particular kinds of food, as they do in kra-kra, while others more prudently confess their ignorance. Dr. Isert saw a negro whose hands and feet were perfectly white, a change which had succeeded a severe illness*. Dr. Clark, of Dominica, takes notice of this curious appearance, and ascribes it to the eating of poi- sonous fish. ‘ This fish poison, he says, seldom destroys life entirely, except the deadly poison of the yellow billed sprat, as it is called, which kills very speedily ; but these who have eaten of the other kinds of poisonous fish are frequently reduced to the last extremity by the vomiting, * Reise nach Guinea, 175. 174 and life is almost extinguished before stimulants* can take effect.” « A singular effect of fish poison is to remove the epidermiss in patches or spots, about the hands and feet, which continue white in people of colour, and of a pale yellow colour in white people, for life +.” Nosrauera, maladie du pays, or an ardent de- sire to revisit one’s native home, isa disease which affects the natives of Africa as strongly as it does those of Switzerland ; it is even more vio- lent in its effects on the Africans, and often. impels them to dreadful acts of suicide. Some- times it plunges them into a deep and incurable melancholy, which induces the unhappy sufferers to end a miserable existence by a more tedious, though equally certain method, that of dirt eating, the effects of which will be noticed here- after. No reader of sensibility can peruse without emotion Haller’s empassioned regret for the calm retreat of Hasel {; but even Haller’s glowing lan- guage appears cold and lifeless, if compared with the agonizing expressions of distress poured out by the poor African, when, waking from the sleep in which delusive fancy had wafted him back to his friends and much loved home, he finds only the cruel mockery of a dream. This disease has been supposed to be almost peculiar to the natives of mountainous countries; hence the Highlanders * The poisonous effects of fish are best counteracted by the use of capsicum. + Med. Facts, vol. vii. +t Sehnsucht nach dem Vaterlande. 175 of Scotland, as well as the Swiss, have been re- marked to be extremely prone to it. May it not rather be said to prevail most among those people who live in that happy state of simpli- city which nature, as her choicest gift, has be- stowed upon her favourites, and of which too many have been deprived by the baneful effects of luxury ? 176 CHAP. X, GENERAL DISEASES. BITE OF SNAKES, OF SCORPIONS. OF TARANTULAS. NAKES are so very numerous in Africa that they enter dweliing houses, and con- ceal themselves under beds, in pursuit of rats, lizards, cockroaches, &c. Those of the larger kind frequently make great havoc among poultry, -and swallow young chickens, and even fowls of a large size*. Notwithstanding the frequent vi- sits of these reptiles in houses, it is very rare that any fatal accidents happen, as they carefully avoid the sight of the human species +, and never | bite but in self defence. No instance occurred, during my residence in the country, of any one * The snakes have a formidable enemy in a species of ants, not larger than those in England, and from their colour called black ants. These frequently enter houses in such incredible multitudes as to cover the walls and floors, which they never quit unless driven out by fire or boiling water, until they have searched every cranny, and have destroyed every thing which has life, or which can serve them for food. Were they to find a person confined to bed by sickness, he would quickly be destroyed if not immediately removed. When they depart, the house is left perfectly desert : neither snake, rat, lizard, frog, cen- tipes, cockroach, nor spider, the usual guests in an African hut, are to be seen. + Lieut. Paterson gives an instance of a snake pursuing two boys, who, perhaps, had been irritating it—Vpyage to the Cape of Good Hope. 177 having been injured by a snake. Lieutenant Matthews saw a boy on the island of Bananas, who was bitten by a small black snake about four or five feet long, and who died within two hours after having received the wound. Nothing could be observed in the wounded part but two small punctures, without any appearance of mflamma- tion*. The most poisonous species of snakes about Sierra Leone are the following. 1.A snake called by the Bulloms rhea, by the Timmanees rangree, and by the Soosoos cisse; it is about six feet long, the head and tail inclining to red. It is always seen on trees, and never on the ground , its bite is considered as speedily fatal, and is much dreaded. 2. A small, slender, green snake, beautifully variegated with black, whose bite is speedily mortal; it is called by the Timmanees agboog. 3. A snake, called by the Timmanees roff, by the Bulloms rimba, and by the Soosoos tambaloombee, is about two feet long, and of a darkish green colour speckled with black; its bite is fatal. 4. Another snake, whose bite proves fatal, is called by the Bulloms loolio, and by the Timmanees yanketa; it is of a light grey colour, somewhat resembling a piece of dry stick covered with lichen, for which it is sometimes unfortu- nately mistaken, and handled by children. Mr. Matthews speaks of a snake, called by the Timmanees sinyacki-amoofongt, which is of a * Voyage to Sierra Leone, p. 45. + This signifies only “ a bad snake.” VOL. IF, A 178 pale green colour, with black spots ; it is about a foot long, and as thick as a man’s little finger. This snake is said to eject a subtile vapour to the distance of two or three feet, mto the eyes of ani- mals, which occasions extreme pain for eight or ten days, and incurable blindness. Mr. Matthews has seen several people who had suffered from this cause. ‘Thissnake probably resembles that men- tioned by Lieutenant Patterson*, found near the Cape of Good-Hope, called the spoog-slang, or spitting-snake, which he wasinformed would throw its poison to thedistance of several yards, and that people have been blinded in consequence of it. There is a small snake called by the Timmanees lafott, and by the Soosoos and Mandingos fodo- goee, of a brownish colour, and about a foot long. Its bite does not prove mortal, but it excites exces- sive pain, and a smart fever, which contimues se- veral days: | ; The snake, respecting whose strength and vo- racity such wonderful stories have been related, is - found in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone. The skin of one which I saw, measured sixteen feet and a half in length, and appeared to have been about three or four feet in circumference ; and since ] left the colony, a snake of this kind has been killed, which measured twenty feet in length. Mr, Matthews says he knew an instance of one being killed a few hours after it had swallowed a large goat with kid, which was taken out entire, “ the e iravels, pa 165. 179 bones otily being broken as if they had passed through amill.” It is called by the Bulloms pay, by the Timmanees neé-rang, and by the Soosoos tennay. Its bite is not attended with danger. The tennay is probably of the same genus as the aboma* of Surinam. Captain Stedman having shot one of these creatures, found it to measure twenty-two feet + some inches in length, and in cir- cumference to be as thick as a boy twelve years old round the waist. The same respectable author adds, that, when full grown, it is said to be some- times forty feet in length, and to be more than four feet in circumference. “ Its colour is a greenish black on the back, a fine brewnish yel- low on the sides, and a dirty white under the belly, the back and sides being spotted with irregular black rings, with a pure white in the middle. Its head is broad and flat, small in proportion to the. body, with a large mouth, and a double row of teeth: it has two bright prominent eyes; is eovered all over with scales, some about the size of a shilling ; and under the body, near the tail, armed with two strong claws like cock-spurs, to help it in seizing its prey. It is an amphibious animal, that is, it delights in low and marshy places, where it lies curled up like a rope, and con- cealed under moss, rotten timber, and dried leaves, to seize its prey by surprise, which from its im- * Boa constrictor. t Dr. Bancroft mentions one which measured ‘‘ thirty-three feet some inches; and in the largest place, near the middle, was three feet in circumference.” 180 | mense bulk it is not active: enough to pursue. When hungry it will devour any animal that comes within its reach, and is indifferent whether it is a sloth, a wild boar, a stag, or even a tiger, round which having twisted itself by the help of its claws, so that the creature cannot escape, it breaks by its irresistible force every bone in the animal’s body, which it then covers over with a kind of slime or slaver from its mouth, to make it slide, and at last gradually sucks it in till it disap- pears. After this, the aboma cannot shift its situation, on account of the great knob or knot which the swallowed prey occasions in that part of the body where it rests, till it is digested.” ssid], have been informed,” captain Stedman continues, “of negroes being devoured by this animal, and am disposed to credit the account; for should they — chance to come within its reach when hungry, it would as certainly seize them as any other animal,” . The account of this prodigious snake has hi- therto been commonly treated as a fable; but when we have such respectable evidence of its astonishing powers, as is given by the last men- tioned author, we can no longer remain in doubt. It requires indeed a large portion of faith to believe that this creature can swallow a buffalo; but supposing it to be between twenty and forty feet m length, and nearly four feet in circumference, it does not appear incredible to suppose it capable of swallowing a wild boar, particularly if the ex- treme dilatability of the jaws of the snake kind 181 be considered. I saw at Sierra Leone a snake of the smallest kind, not thicker than a man’s little finger, which was killed in attempting to swallow a frog nearly three times its own size. The snake had begun, as usually, by the head, but after many efforts, finding it too large, had endeavoured to reject it; these efforts were counteracted by the frog, which pressed forwards to escape the. pressure of its enemy’s jaws, and in this state they both expired. ‘This great extensi- bility of the jaws of the snake is also mentioned by the same amusing writer, in describing a curious contest which he witnessed between a a large frog and a snake. “ When I first perceived the frog”, says captain Stedman, “ his head and shoulders were already in the jaws of the snake, which last appeared to me about the size of a large kitchen poker, and had its tail twisted round _ a tough limb of the mangrove* ; while the frog, who appeared to be the size of a man’s fist, had laid hold of a twig, with the claws of its hinder legs, as with hands. In this position were they contending, the one for life, the other for his dinner, forming one straight line between the two branches, and thus I beheld them for some time, apparently stationary and without a struggle. Still I was not without hope that the poor frog might extricate himself by his exertions, but the reverse was the case, for the jaws of the snake gra- * For an instance of frogs Eien taking up their ebade i in trees, see Philosophical Transactions, vol. Ixvi. 182 dualiy relaxing, and by their elasticity forming an incredible orifice, the body and forelegs of the frog by little and little disappeared, till finally nothimg more was seen than the hinder feet and claws, which were at last disengaged from the twig, and the poor creature was swallowed whole by suction down the throat of his formidable adversary, whence he was drawn some inches farther down the alimentary canal, and at last. stuck, forming a knob or knot at least six times as thick as the snake, whose jaws and throat imme- diately contracted, and re-assumed their former natural shape. ‘The snake being out of our reach, we could not kill him, as we wished to do, to take a further examination. Thus we left him continu- ing in the same attitude, without moving, and twisted round the branch,” When any person has been bitten by a snake, he immediately applies a tight ligature above the wounded part ; another person applies his mouth to the wound to suck out the poison, but they ima- gine that he must also have a grig-gree to coun- teract its bad effects : all this, it may be supposed, is done by a certain description of people. ‘Fhe wound is then scarified deeply, and is suffered to bleed: afterwards an omtment is applied, which they generally have in readiness. ‘This is composed of the leaves of.a plant called by the Soosoos lak- kasai, and by the ‘Timmanees ness; also of a plant called by the Soosoos santai, by the Timmanees apunto-kelle, and by the Bulloms issumpellen; 183 together with a plant called by the Soosoos tolinghe, by the Bulloms yéker, and by the Tim- manees attar. Equal parts of these leaves are burnt, and the ashes are mixed into an oimtment with palm oil.» ” They also provoke sneezing, which they con- sider as a fayourable symptom ; and to evacuate, as they suppose, the poison more completely, they endeavour to excite vomiting. These appli- cations are all attended with a number of magi- cal ceremonies. The seeds of the musk plant*, hibiscus albe- moschus, yield an oil, which, when taken internally, is esteemed in Guiana a specific for the bites of poisonous snakes; or a cataplasm is applied to the wound, composed of the meal of the seeds of the musk plant, or of the wild ochra, mixed with olive oil. Dr. Bancroft has seen this used with success. The same author says, the general remedy for the bites of poisonous animals is a cataplasm of the pulp of lemons or limes mixed with sea salt, and applied to the wounded part ; this has frequently been found of use when the part had been pre- viously scarified F. . Captain Carver { speaks of salt as an effectual remedy against the bite of a rattle-snake ; “ if ap- * The musky seeds of the hibiscus used formerly to be sent in large quantities from the West Indies to France; for what pur- pose is uncertain, but probably asa perfume. This plant is called by the Bulloms oo-feng-feng, and by the Timmanees ka-feng-fene, They burn the whole plant, mix the ashes with palm oil, and give it internally to those who have been bitten by a snake, + History of Guiana. t ‘Travels in North America, 184 plied immediately to the part, or the wound be washed with brine, a cure,” he observes, ‘‘ might be assured.” Another remedy is mentioned by the same writer, called the rattlesnake plantain, the leaves of which chewed, and apphed immediately to the wound, swallowing also some of the juice, seldom fails of proving effectual. He further adds, ** so convinced are the Indians of the power of this infallible antidote, that for a trifling bribe of spi- rituous liquor they will at any time permit a rattle-snake to drive his fangs into their flesh.” Professor Thunberg informs us, that at the Cape of Good-Hope, the blood of the turtle is greatly cele- brated as an antidote against the bites of snakes, and that it is dried, and carried by every one who travels: “‘ Whenever any one is wounded by a serpent, he takes a couple of pinches of the dried blood internally, and applies a little of it to the wound.” In another part he adds, “the Hotten- tots, when bitten by a serpent, go in search of a toad, with which they rub the wound, and thus effect a perfect cure. They have also the art of extracting the poison, by causing another person to apply his mouth to the wound, and suck it, after scarifying the flesh all round with a knife.” A curious circumstance occurred in the River Camarancas, near Sierra Leone, which may per- haps explain how many of the supposed antidotes and infallible remedies have acquired their reputa- tion. Two snakes of a poisonous kind were ob- served fighting, and one of them having been wounded, went immediately to a plant, from 185 whence it bit part of a leaf and instantly retired. The natives, who witnessed the scene, brought the remaining part of the leaf to Dr. Afzelius. Notwithstanding the great variety of specific remedies so much boasted of against the bites of the most poisonous snakes, it seems probable that the opinion of Celsus is just, who asserts that the bites of different serpents do not require very dif- ferent modes of cure. It is worthy likewise of observation, how nearly the mode of treatment he recommends agrees with that practised by the Africans; in both instances the chief dependance appears to be placed upon tight ligatures, scarifi- cation of the wound, and sucking it by the mouth* or by cupping-glasses. The Africans express the strongest symptoms of terror at the sight of these poisonous snakes, and can scarcely be prevailed upon to touch them even when dead. ‘The “ Psylli, Marsique, & qui Ophiogenes vocantur,” are not to be met with upon the western coast of Africa, and their art, if ever practised there, is now totally forgotten. It is however still practised in some of the interior parts of this continent, and the followime curious account of it is given by a learned and ingenious traveller. < Ican myself youch, that all the black * Si neque qui exsugat, neque cucurbitula, est, sorbere oportet jus anserinum vel vitulinum, & vomere. Celsus, J, v. ¢. 27. For a beautiful description of the sucking of a wound occasion- ed by the sting of a bee, see the Aminta of Tasso, scefia seagnhda, atto primo. VOL, II. - BRB 186 people in the kingdom of Senaar, whether Funge or Nuba, are perfectly armed against the bite of either scorpion or viper. They take the cerastes, (a viper whose bite is mortal) in their hands at all times, put them in their bosoms, and throw them to one another as children do apples or balls, without having irritated them by this usage so much.as to bite. The Arabs have not this secret naturally; but from their infancy they acquire an exemption from the mortal consequences attend- ing the bite of these animals, by chewing a certain root, and washing themselves (it is not anointing) with an infusion of certain plants in water.” He elsewhere continues, “ I have constantly observed, that however lively the viper was before, upon being seized: by any of these barbarians he seemed as if taken with sickness and feebleness, frequently shut his eyes, and never turned his mouth towards the arm of the person that held him.” “ They all knew how to prepare any person by medicines, which were decoctions of herbs and roots.” “I have seen many thus armed for a season do pretty much the same feats as those that possessed the exemption naturally*, 4 ~ * Bruce’s Travels——Dr. Hasselquist (Voyages in the Levant, p. 63.) gives a similar account of the Psylli in Egypt, and speaks of a woman whom he saw handling the most poisonous and dreadful snakes, alive and brisk, with as much unconcern as our ladies ‘do their laces. He adds, the art of fascinating serpents is a secret among the Egyptians. It is known only to certain families, who transmit it to their offspring ; and the person who fascinates serpents, never meddles with other poisonous animals, such as scorpions, lizards, &c. The Psalmist takes notice of this WOT 4 A belief in the reality of this art was generally prevalent among the ancients, but so much _ blended with popular superstitions, some of which are noticed by Pliny, as must have diminished its credibility. There is no doubt, that in many in- stances the handling of these poisonous serpents was attended with some deception ; for either their bite was not effective, or if so, their fangs had been previously extracted. Celsus appears to have been one of those who bestowed no credit upon the art or its protessors, he says, “ Nequehercule scientiam preecipuam habent hi, qui Psylii nominantur ; sed audaciam usu ipso confirmatam. Nam venenum serpentis, ut queedam etiam venatoria venena qui- bus Galli praecipue utuntur, non gustu, sed in vul- nere nocent *. Ideoque colubra ipsa tuto estur : art (Psal, lviii. 4, 5.) when he compares the wicked to the ‘« deaf adder that stoppeth hey ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.” In the Amenit. Acad. it is said, *« Certe D. D. Jacquin, ex India occidentali re- dux, artem excantandi serpentes sese auro redemisse, in literis ad D, Presidem testatur: an hoc fiat masticando aristolochiam an- guicidam ejusdem, vel alia methodo, nobis etiamnum latet, sed speravimus brevi hoc arcanum communicaturum cum publico D. D. Jacquin, quod avide nobiscum omnes curiosi exoptant 8& precibus efflagitant.” xi. 216. According to Mr. Forskal, the Egyptians use for this purposea species of aristolochia. * Cato proceeds upon the same principle when he thus ha- rangues his soldiers : _s ‘Vana specie conterrite leti Ne dubita miles tutgs haurire liquores : Noxia serpentum est admixto sanguine pestis : Morsu virus habent, & fatum in dente minantur: Pocula morte carent, dixit, dubiumque venenum Hausit. Lucani Phars. ix, ver, 162. 188 ictus ejus occidit, &, si stupente ea (quod per quedam medicamenta circulatores faciunt) in os. digitum quis indidit, neque pereussus est, nulla in ejus saliva noxa est. Ergo quisquis, exemplum psylli secutus, id vulnus exsuxerit, & ipse tutus erit, & tutum hominem prestabit. Illud interea ante debebit attendere, ne quod in gingivis, pala- tove, aliave parte oris ulcus habeat.” If this opinion of Celsus be just, that the whole art of handling serpents with impunity consists in a cer- tain degree of confidence to be acquired only by practice, it may explain why the secret has been confined for upwards of two thousand years to a peculiar race of people. We know that in England, rat-catchers handle these animals with- out dread, and ascribe this power to some medi- cine with which they anoint their hands; but their whole secret consists in this, that they never touch a rat until confinement and hunger have abated his fierceness, and even then, only with the greatest gentleness. There are also insects in Africa of a poiso- nous nature, whose bites, though not attended with fatal effects, are productive of excruciating pain. The-scorpion* is called by the Timmanees And in like manner “ Cozzi, viper-catcher to the grand duke of Tuscany, swallowed a drachm of the poison of the viper, without heing incommoded by it, although one or two drops of it were suf- ficient to kill an animal when dropped into a wound.” Lond. Med. Journal, vol. i. * The sting of the black or rock scorpion is said by Lieutenant Patterson to be nearly as poisonous as any of the serpent tribe ; he adds, that a farmer near the Cape of Goad-Hope, who was 189 keoliss, by the Bulloms kelkalum, by the Soosoos and Mandingos boontallee, and by the Foolas yaree. It is a common observation, that children are seldom bitten by this reptile, because it sel- dom quits its concealment until the evening, when they are asleep. The scorpion is found in great numbers, under large stones, &c, where it takes up its abode during the day. The taran- tula, as it is improperly named by the English, aranea avicularia, is called by the Bulloms wook, and by the Timmanees attoppur. The bite of this insect causes more violent pain than the sting of the preceding one, and often produces cold sweats and fainting ; but there is seldom much swelling of the part. The practice of the natives is somewhat inert, and patience seems to be their chief remedy. They usually apply a tight ligature round the limb, and rub the wound with tobacco ashes. Or they sometimes bruise the animal* which has inflicted the wound, burn it, and rub the ashes over - the affected part. The part is sometimes fo- mented with a hot infusion of the leaves of the ananas in water ; or slices of the fruit are applied, and frequently renewed. ee Bites from these poisonous insects very rarely oc- cur here, notw:thstanding their great numbers, because the inhabitants are constantly on their stung by one of these scorpions in the foot, died within a few hours after receiving the injury. The ceutipes, scolopendra morsitans, is very common at Sierra Leone, but I never knew an accident from it, * Nam scorpio ipse sibi pulcherrimum medicamentum est. Celsus, 1. v. c. 27. 190 guard. No person will put on a pair of boots or shoes, which have not been worn for some. time, without first having carefully examined whether a scorp‘on, tarantula, &c. be within. They are fre- quently introduced on board ships in the fire-wood. A black woman, about forty years of age, and very corpulent, was bitten by a tarantula between the forefinger and thumb whilst gathering some sticks. She immediately complained of a most excruciating pain running up the whole imner side of the arm to the shoulder. Her arm felt extremely cold, her whole body was covered with a cold sweat, she ex- perienced great anxiety and oppression at her breast, and frequently fainted, Her pulse was so very small and creeping, as scarcely to he felt at the wrist. She took three grains of pure opium immediately, and her arm was fomented with a decoction of three ounces of camomile flowers in two pounds of water, in which were dissolved three drachms of crude opium. The fomentation was continued near two hours without producing the smaliest abatement of the pain; it appeared, in- deed, rather to increase in violence, The faint- ing fits became more frequent and were of longer contmuance. She complained of universal cold- ness, her hand felt cold to the touch, and seemed to her to have lost-all sensation. The whole arm was affected with very acute pain, especially when touched. ‘The pain was greatly aggravated at intervals, and produced frequent and severe ri- gors, A considerable degree of tightness soon extended over the muscles of the breast, and pro- 191 duced much uneasiness and difficulty in. respira. tion. ‘The fomentations were ordered to be very frequently repeated; she swallowed again three grains of opium, and took a scruple of camphor dissolved in an ounce of water. In about an hour after having taken the draught, she felt the pain rather easier, and it was then entirely con- fined to the arm. ‘The tightness and difficulty of respiration had entirely ceased. Her pulse became fuller, aud beat about seventy strokes in a minute. The skin was also warm, and a general moisture began to break out. Towards evening the pain had almost wholly disappeared, and she could bear her arm to be touched. Next day she had no other complaint than a degree of languor. Very excruciating pain is frequently produced by a wound from the sting-ray, pastii:aca marina. A black man, about fifty years of age, whilst fish- ing, was wounded by a sting-ray upon the ante- rior part of the tibia, about two inches above the malleolus internus. Much blood was discharged from the wound, and he was obliged to be car- ried home. The pain was so exquisite, that he could not continue a moment in one posture ; his pulse beat only sixty times in a minute, and was very small, and intermitted every fourth stroke. A cold clammy sweat covered his whole body. The wound appeared to be pretty smoothly cut, and was about a quarter of aninch in length. From the wound to the foot he had no other sensation than that of extreme coldness. Above the wound, the pain was so very acute along the inner side of 192 the leg to the knee, that he could not bear upon it the slightest pressure. No hardness could be felt in the course of the lymphatics, and over the wound there was only aslight elevation, scarcely percepti- ble, and rather hard. He was affected at intervals with such severe rigors as shook his whole frame. Three grains of pure opium were immediately exhibited. In an hour after having taken the opium, he felt not the least abatement of pain; his pulse still continued slow and intermitting, but was rather fuller. The rigors were as severe as before, and his face was covered with a cold clammy sweat. The part was ordered to be fo- mented, as in the last case, for ten minutes, and then to be covered with a liniment composed of a drachm of opium and the same quantity of camphor dissolved in a little spirit, and then rub- bed up with an ounce of oil: a draught was also given, composed of fifteen grains of camphor, and — forty drops of tincture of opium. After this had been taken, and the fomentations applied the se-- cond time, the pain abated considerably, and the rigors entirely left him. The pulse had now in- _ creased to seventy beats in a minute, and was regu- lar and full. Upon touching the wound, or the inner surface of the leg, he still complained of ex- quisite pain. ‘The fomentations were ordered to be continued, and in about five hours from the acci- dent he was perfectly easy, except when the part was touched, 198 CHAP. XI. GENERAL DISEASES. BURNS AND SCALDS. ULCERS. RECENT WOUNDS. FRACTURES. TN some cases of surns and scarps, the Africans beat up the egg of a fowl, and rub it upon the part, applying over it fine cotton, which is per- mitted to remain until it drop off: in other cases, the part is rubbed with palm oil. Thecold pulp. of the calibash is also applied as a cataplasm, and frequently renewed. Among the Kroos, the vesi- cation is opened and the skin removed ; after which the ashes of the leaves of obiss are applied to the part. at Utcerrs, called by the Bulloms oo-pa, or oo-pil, by the Timmanees kissam, or ka-pil, constitute a very extensive and troublesome class of diseases in Africa. ‘They may be produced by the most trifling causes, as the bite of a muskito, or a slight scratch of the skin, and become often so invete- rate as to resist every mode of treatment. In warm Climates, the body acquires a morbid de- gree of irritability, highly unfavourable to the healing of ulcers, and whieh occasions them to spread rapidly. ‘This is experienced as well by the natives, as by European sailors, who, following VOL, II. CG 194 their example, go without shoes, and are thus ren- dered liable to accidents on the lower extremities, which lay the foundation for mcurable maladies. The applications made use of by the natives are of an astringent quality, and consist principally of barks of trees. Decoctions of these are used as washes: sometimes the bark in a coarse powder 1s sprinkled over the surface of the ulcer; or it is formed into an ointment with palm oil. Some degree of pain is usually excited by these applica- tions, many of which are of a very stimulant and active nature. No bandages are applied, and the patients are allowed to use as much exercise as they are able. At every dressing, which is seldom repeated more than once a day, the surface of the sore is washed perfectly clean. It does not appear to me, from the general success, that any of these applications is possessed of a specific power. I have seen instances where the natives have cured ulcers which had bafiled all the attempts of Europeans ; and I have seen the same success attend the Euro- pean mode of dressing, where the natives had been unsuccessful: I have also seen cases which foiled both modes of cure. As the applications of the natives are of a stimulant nature, sometimes vio- lent in their operation, and used in all cases indis- criminately, without regard to the state of the ulcer, or the health of the patient, it often happens that in writable habits they cause ulcers to spread considerably, and become sloughy; but in cases where there is a want of action in the part, they 195 generally succeed. Sometimes the healing process goes on remarkably well for a few days, after which the sore relapses into its former state, or becomes worse. The sudden amendment above ‘mentioned in the appearance of ulcers, seems not to depend upon any kind of difference in the ap- plication, but rather upon a proper degree of stimulus casually used. Among the various ap- plications to ulcers, the following are in most repute. A decoction of the leaves of bullanta is used as a wash for ulcers when foul and sloughy : it is a powerful astringent, and gives some pain when applied. This tree has been already noticed for its virtues: the pith of the smaller branches is chewed in order to heal scorbutic ulcers of the mouth; it is also used to clean the mouth when foul; in its operation it produces a copious discharge of saliva. In the West Indies the fresh root of the bitter cassada is frequently scraped, and applied to ill-conditioned ulcers, At Sierra Leone the sweet cassada is boiled and beaten un- til it become smooth; it is then applied warm as a poultice; its good eflects appear wholly to result from the heat and moisture communi- cated. 3 The bark of a tree, called by the Bulloms bongiare, and by the Timmanees pongiacananga, may be considered as the most popular remedy for ulcers. It is a strong and rather unpleasant bitter, but has very little astringency. When chewed, or infused in water, it readily yields a beautiful and durable yellow colour, which is used by the natives for dying mats, &c. The powder of 196 this bark is sprinkled upon the ulcer every day, and if the sore be large, it is applied twice a day; but when there appears a disposition to heal, the ap- plication is made but once a day. A decoction of this bark is also used as a wash to the ulcer previ- - ously to the use of the powder. When the powder has been applied two or three days, a crust forms round the edge of the sore, and is pulled off when dry. Bungaroo is a species of vine, so called by the Bulloms and Timmanees, and employed by them to fasten the rafters of their houses. It is cut into small pieces, and boiled in water for a consider- able time. This decoction is used warm, and ap- plied every day to ulcers in which there is much sloughing: when the slough is removed, the sur- face of the ulcer is covered with the fine scrapings of the following. Be ’N-koot, Bullom; tammaree, Soosoo ; mabait, ‘Timmanee ; elate sylvestris. This is a plant of the palm kind, bearing a small red fruit, which the na- tives eat. , The stem of the plant, when deprived of its outer skin, is scraped into a very light, down-like substance, resembling fine wool or cot- ton. It is applied to ulcers after they are washed, with the same view as lint, to absorb the purulent matter: it is remarkably soft, and is laid over the surface of the sore, to the thickness of half an inch; it adheres of itself, without being confined by any bandage. I saw this used by a young man, about twenty years of age, who had been afflicted from childhood with scrophulous complaints. He 197 had, when I saw him, a very extensive ulcer affecting the elbow. It was cellular like an honey- comb, and several sinuses seemed to run _ to- ward the joints. The surface of the sore was clean, but covered with florid, loose, spongy gra- nulations. He had lost the use of both elbow joints, and the diseased arm was much wasted above the elbow. This case appeared to be chiefly left to nature, as no other application was made use of but the scrapings of mabait, which were re- newed every morning: they adhered much closer than lint, and could not be removed until well soaked in a warm decoction of the same wood. This decoction has no sensible qualities. He had followed this plan of treatment about two months, with little apparent benefit. In the same town were two women, who had the scars of scrophulous ulcers, one under the angle of the lower jaw, the other over the sternum. When an ulcer becomes foul, or the flesh begins to rise too high, they sometimes sprinkle it with the rust scraped from a brass pan: this practice they have probably learnt from Europeans. The root of makunt, Timmanee; continghee, Bullom, are boiled in water, and the decoction is employed to wash ulcers. A mixture of lime juice and iron rust, of the consistence of pap, is much recommended for the cure of ulcers, and is repeated every day. ‘The pulp of roasted limes is likewise applied, but excites much pain, and often causes the sore to spread. Dr. Wright, of 198 Jamaica, recommends the pulp of roasted oranges as a poultice, which, he says, corrects the feetor within twenty-four hours, and disposes the ulcer to heal soon: this application must be contimued until the sore be healed*. | A decoction of the bark of léligunt, ‘Tummanee ; pulpellee, Bullom ; connarus Africanus, is used as a wash. The leaves of two plants, called by the Soosoos korass-wurree and tansai, are made into a kind of paste with water, and applied to ulcers. A decoction of the leaves of makoot-a-koot, ‘Timmanee, somewhat acrid to the taste, is used as a wash for ulcers. A decoction of the fruit of baalay, Timmanee, is used in the same manner, though it has no sensible qualities. The bark of mekkamakengee, or “ sweet sub- stance,” reduced to powder, and boiled in palm oil, is used as an application to ulcers. It is ap- plied only every second day, and is washed off by a decoction of the leaves of the same plant. This dressing excites pain, but of no long continu- ance: when chewed it imparts a sweetish acid taste, and after some time leaves a sensation of astringency and acrimony, though not very strong. The bark of tokakelle, Soosoo; messer-a-toke, fowl’s egg, Timmanee, is scraped very fine and mixed with palm oil, to be applied as a dressing. The leaves of the same plant bruised, and infused ~ * Lond. Med. Journal, vol. viii. 199 in water, are much celebrated among the Kroos as a styptic, and particularly recommended in gun shot wounds. The bark of the locust tree, called by the Soosoos nayree, is dried, and reduced to a fine powder, which, mixed with palm oil, is applied warm to obstinate ulcers. Among the Kroos, a leaf of a plant called by them gheang, and by the Vimmanees apell, is frequently applied to ulcers. ‘The young leaves, when just appearing, are dried and powdered, and sprinkled over the sore, after it has been previously washed with a decoction of a plant, called by the Kroos sassara-winghee. ‘The leaves of apell come out in pairs, as it were glued together, and after- wards expand. They are plucked for use before they have separated, from a superstitious fear lest a hole should be made inthe ulcer. ‘These leaves have a rough and astringent taste. “The Timma- nees employ a decoction of the leaves of this plant to wash ulcers, especially those of the toes. The leaves of the amelliky are used by the peo- ple about Bassa, on the Grain Coast, in the cure of ulcers. The young leaves, after being moistened in water, are wrapped in a piece of plantain leaf, and laid upon hot ashes; when thoroughly warm- ed, they are taken cut, and their juice is pressed out upon the sore, which is then covered with a piece of plantain leaf made hot in the fire: the juice is of a brownish colour, of a slightly acid and astringent taste. I saw it effectual in a small, ob- stinate, ill-looking ulcer, which had resisted every other application. A popular remedy somewhat 200 , similar to the above, is used by the poor in some’ parts of Ireland for the cure of scrophulous ulcers. It is composed of the leaves and stalks of wood- sorrel, (oxalis acetosella) and the root. of meadow sweet, (spireea ulmaria). ‘“ The sorrel is prepared by wrapping it in a cabbage leaf and macerating it by its own juices in warm peat ashes. ‘This pulp is applied as a poultice to the ulcer, and left twenty-four hours ; the application of sorrel is four times repeated; then the roots of the meadow sweet, bruised and mixed with the sour-head or efflorescence that appears on butter-milk left in the churn, are used in the same manner till the sore heals, which always speedily happens, often in two or three weeks.” Beddoes on the medical Use and Production of Factitious Airs, p. 47. The plantain leaf, according to Atkins*, “ is an admirable detergent in foul, sanious ulcers, stripped of the inner skin, and applied as you do houseleek in corns.” It is frequently applied py Europeans as a dressing for blisters, which purpose it answers remarkably well. ‘The natives usually spread their poultices upon a plantain leaf. In FRESH wounps, to restrain the hemorrhage, they use the juice expressed from the truit of the unripe plantain, with which they wash the wound. Among the Bulloms, a young banana tree is cut down and well heated over the fire, and the hot juice squeezed upon the wound. The medical virtues of this plant are noticed in the Encyclo- pedia Methodique, where it is said, “ selon Min- * Voyage to Guinea. 201 guet, l’eau du corps ou du troncde la plante, est bonne pour les cours de ventre, pour nettoyer les yeux, Celle des boutons convient pour de- terger les ulcéres. : L’ecorce du fruit vert, reduite en charbons ou pulverisée, guerit les ulceres & les crables ou fentes qui viennent sous la plante des pieds des negres. La banane jouit de la vertu aphrodisiaque.” Tom. III. p. 586. Sometimes they bruise the leaves of the cotton tree, and heat them over the fire, after which the juice is pressed out upon the wound: it has an astringent taste. The flowers of the cotton shrub folded in its leaves, and roasted over the fire, yield a reddish oily liquor, which has been much commended for the cure of old ulcers. The seeds of the cot- ton shrub, are said to intoxicate parrots and. parroquets. No other mode of restraming the flow of blood is practised than by the applica- tion of these and such like astringents. Wounds of the large vessels, above the elbow or knee, are considered as certainly fatal, but when they hap- pen below these parts, it is thought the patient may recover. Theft is punished among the Foolas by dividing the tendo achillis and the surrounding muscles to the bone: when the patient is weak- ened by the loss of blood, they apply to the wound a kind of actual cautery consisting of boiling wax. This is the only case that hascome to my know- ledge in which they use heat to restrain heemor- rhages; but according to some late travellers in Africa, it isnot unfrequently employed. Mr. Lem- VOL. I. * DED 202 priere says, he was informed in Morocco, “ that legs and arms are taken off by a common knife and saw, and that the stump is afterwards dipped in boiling pitch, which is the only mode of stoppmg the hemorrhage with which they are acquainted *. Mr. Brisson, speaking of the Arabs, says, “ to cure the deepest wounds they use nothing but earth.” «‘ They have another expedient to remove pains, but not so efficacious, applying a red hot iron to the part affected.” Mr. Saugnier, speaking of a tribe of Moors called Mongearts, who live in the . neighbourhood of Galam, about nine hundred miles above the mouth of the river Senegal, says, “ flesh wounds are cured with fire ; that is to say, a stab is treated by cauterizing the injured part with the red hot blade of a knife. Turtles oil and tar are then put upon it, the wound is en- veloped with herbs of known efficacy, and ey these means they bring about a speedy cure +.” A decoction of the bark of a large tree, called by the Timmanees keeta, is applied to fresh wounds; and the application is repeated several times a day: when the wound is nearly brought to cica- trize, the wash is omitted, and the bark itself, ‘coarsely powdered, is sprinkled upon the sore. They also use for the same purpose, and in the same manner, the bark of a tree, called by the Timmanees attar{, and by the Bulloms yayker. The bark of an erythrina with scarlet or called * Journey to Morocco. + Voyages to the Coast of Africa by Saugnier and Brisson. + Arbor fructu ovali acidulo, 203 ‘by the Bulloms and 'Timmanees faatee, is reduced to powder and boiled in palm oil; it is then wrapped up in a cloth, and applied warm like a cataplasm to fresh wounds: this is continued until the cure be completed... The bark of leligunt (con- narus Africanus) scraped fine and mixed with palm oil, or sometimes alone, is applied to fresh wounds, to restrain the hemorrhage. - In rractures they have been successful in every mstance which occurred to my notice. They first measure the sound limb with a piece of stick, and applying it to the fractured one, they use such a degree of extension as will bring it to the same length, In compound fractures they are less for- tunate ; they attempt to force back the protruding end of the bone, and where this cannot be done, they immagine the use of the limb to be irreco- verably lost, and attempt to heal the wound in this state. In such cases, if the patient recover, the knee, when the leg is the part injured, is bent, and the leg fastened to the thigh by a kind of bandage which passes round them both, and is . further supported by a sling from the shoulders ; the patient supporting himself by astick. A case was related to me of a celebrated general of the Foolas, who had been wounded in the foot by a poisoned arrow, in consequence of which morti- fication came on, and the bones separated spon- taneously half way up the leg; he now walks by the aid of a stick, having his leg supported in the manner above described. When the limb has been restored to its proper length, they wrap it up 204. in cloth, having pieces of split bamboo applied at the sides by way of splints. ~The Mandingos, &c. rub it with some kind of ointment, and recite over it passages of the Koran; this was the practice employed in the case of an old man who had fractured his thigh by a fall from his horse, and whom my brother saw at Teembo. He was re- covering very fast, and was able to sit up in bed in about a month or six weeks after the accident. In most cases of fractures, they apply a cataplasm, composed of the bark of a tree called by the Bul- loms yum: thisis beaten to a pretty fine powder, and is mixed with cold water to a proper con- sistence, and, applied ever the whole leg. The limb is looked at every three days. Among the Foolas an opinion prevails respect- ing Twins, similar to that respecting seventh sons in England; they imagine them capable of ac- quirmg great medical knowledge, and.that they are peculiarly fitted for the practice of surgery, more especially for the cure of fractures. 205 CHAP. XII. THE DISEASES OF WOMEN, WITH THE SEXUAL PECULIARITIES IN AFRICA. HYSTERIA. CATAMENIA. LABOURS. EXPULSION OF THE PLACENTA. ABORTION. MISCARRIAGE. MILK BREASTS. PENDULOUS BELLIES. SUCKLING. HE diseases to which women are liable upon Tr the coast of Africa are, as may be supposed from their mode of living, much fewer than in Europe. Hysrerra, and the whole train of ner- vous diseases, are totally unknown among them. Atkins observes, “ Whydah slaves are more sub- ject to small pox, and sore eyes ; other parts, to a sleepy distemper ; and to windward, exomphaloses. There are few instances of deformity any where. Even their nobles know nothing of chronical dis- tempers, nor their ladies of the vapours.” Women even appear to enjoy, upon the whole, a greater immunity from sickness than the men, probably owing to their greater temperance and more active life. The caTamenia occur at an early period, but to judge from appearances, probably not before the twelfth year. The quantity is nearly the same as in Europe; but the African are not liable 206 to the same irregularities as European women, The continuance of the discharge is from two to four days. It is so generally thought to be pro- duced by the influence of the moon, that it re- ceives its name from this planet along the whole of the windward coast. The Mandingos call it karro, or the moon; the Soosoos call it kaykay, the moon; and the Timmanee women, at its periodical return, say, the moon has caught them. The discharge itself is called by the Timmanees mateer, blood: the Mandingos call it yelissee, and use the term woollee to express blood, whe- ther venous or arterial. They entertain the erroneous notions respect- ing the noxious qualities of the catamenia, which were so universally prevalent in Europe at the commencement of the foregoing century* ; and they suppose meat would immediately become cor- rupted by being touched by a woman in this state. Upon some parts of the Gold Coast, women under these circumstances are not permitted to touch a man; and at Whydah they dare not at * These idle notions are thus described by the learned De Graaf, “* Si novella vitis eo tangatur in perpetuum leditur, steriles fiunt tacte fruges, moriuntur insita, exuruntur hortorum germina; si mulier pregnans alterius menstrua supergrediatur, aut illis circumlinatur, abortum facit: el autem que uterum non gestat, concipiendi spem adimet ; purgantis spiritus & vapor ab ore specula atque eboris nitorem obscurat; gustatus hic sanguis canes in rabiem agit, homines vero diris cruciatibus affligit, comi- tialem morbum, pilorum effluvium, aliaque elephanticorum vitia infert: idcirco 4 veteribus inter venena relatus, pari malignitate existimatur atque sanguinis elephantici potus.” The same opinions were entertained in the time of Pliny. Hist. Nat. lib. xxviii. cap. 7, &c. 207 such times enter the palace of the king, or tlie house of a great man, under pain of death or per- petual slavery *. To give notice of their bemg in this situation, they usually paint their face with a streak of yellow : this is also practised upon other parts of thiscontinent. Among the Moors called Monselemines, who inhabit Bilidulgerid, when the women paint only one side of their face, they have no communication with the men; a custom that is common to all the Moorish nations, as far as the banks of the Nigert. About El Mina, when the catamenia first appear, the face and body are painted white, to denote that the per- son is marriageable. ‘This is also the practice among the women of Chili: “Si matris sit filia aliqua matura viro, quee tamen non petatur, tunc mater eam sub oculis rubro colore pingit, ubi menses suos semel passa fuerit {.” Thesame peo- ple are said to wear their hair loose in general, but to tie it up at a certain time, viz. “ quando mensibus laborant, atque hoc indicium facit.” In the Mandingo country, a menstruating wo- man is considered as unclean, and capable of de- filing every thing she touches: during this period she resides alone in a small hut, built for the pur- pose, in some secluded spot, where she continues until well; she then washes, and appears in public as usual. If women should happen to go into public in this state, they salute no person, but * Bosman. | + Voyages to Africa by Saugnier and Brisson. + Marcgrave de Brasilez Regione, &c. 208 withdraw their hands, as a signal of being uncléan, They cannot at these times join in the public prayers, nor cook, wash, or indeed do any thing for their husbands. ‘This last custom prevails also among the Bulloms and Tammanees, except where the man is so poor as to have only one wife, in which case his indolence lets him allow her services at all times. Niebuhr makes the same observation, “ Les Mahometanes qui ont les in- commodites de leur sexe, n’osent faire leurs prieres accoutumées, c. a. d. les Hanefites pendant dix jours & les Schafeites pendant quinze par le prin- cipe, qu'il faut etre pur quand on paroit devant ‘Dieu. Les payennes des Indes n’osent toucher personne pendant ce temps, & tant que cette in- firmite dure, elles sont recluses dans un coin ou on leur porte ce qui leur est necessaire.” — Among the Indians of America, this state of seclusion at the monthly period is very strictly observed. In every camp or town, there is an apartment appropriated, to which both single and married women retreat, and there confine them- selves till the catamenia cease: they are afterwards purified in running streams, and then return to their different employments. The men on these occasions most carefully avoid holding any communication with them ; and the Naudowessies’ are so rigid in this observance, that they will not suffer any belonging to them to fetch from these monthly retreats of the females, such things as are necessary, not even fire, though the want of them be attended with the greatest inconvenience. 209 ‘They are further so superstitious as to think, if a pipe stem cracks, which among them is made of wood, that the possessor has either lighted it at one of these polluted fires, or held some converse with a woman during her retirement, which is esteemed by them most disgraceful and wicked*.” The women at Akra, on the Gold Coast, bury the cloth which they have worn during the men- strual period, supposing that when it begins to rot, the woman who wore it will become pregnant: for this purpose old worn out linens (schlaptucher) are sent out, particularly from Holland; from whence also they are brought by the Danes with the same viewf. Their tazowrs are in general very easy, and are trusted solely to nature ; for though some old wo- man commonly presides, the delivery is sometimes conducted without a single attendant, or with- out its being known to any one, until the wo- man makes her appearance at the door of the hut with the child in her arms. Upon the Gold Coast, it is considered as infamous for a woman in labour to cry out. Unfortunate cases, however, occur, where, the powers of nature being ineffec- tual, the woman dies undelivered, her attendants being unacquainted with any means of render- ing her assistance. In such cases they fre- quently suspend the woman by her heels to alter the position of the child, or they put her into a * Carver’s Travels in America. + Roemer Nachricht vonder Kuste Guinea. VOL, I. ‘ : EE 210 variety of postures, rolling her about, and rub- bing the abdomen with their hands smeared with palm cil. This subject is particularly noticed by Dr. Schotte, in a letter to the celebrated professor Stein, “ Depuis mon sejour ici, il yena une ne- gresse de morte dans ses couches, ou plutot sans accoucher : peut etre aurois je pu lui porter de se- cours, si le prejwgé general du pays ne m’en avoit empeché, qui est de ne jamais laisser un homme approcher une femme dans cette condition.— Lorsque l’accouchante a eu des douleurs reiterées, & les sages femmes ne voyent pas paroitre l'enfant, sans s’embarasser de sa situation dont elles n’ont pas la moindre idée, elles prennent une drap plus © long que large, font une tour autour du ventre de Vaccouchante, & une demie douzaine de femmes tirent de chaque bout de drap de toute leur force pour exprimer l’enfant, la negresse, dont je viens de porter, fut tirée de lafacon.” In another letter he continues, “ La facilité d’enfanter des negresses depend selon moi de la bonne conformation des os du bassin : elles sont dans l’etat ordinaire plus re- trecies que chez les femmes blanches; la cause est, je crois, l’usage de l’eau froide, dont elles se lavent les parties a chaque instant, non pas cependant avec cette intention, mais pour prevenir les excori- ations & les chancres produits assez souvent sans aucune virus venerien par la chaleur, le sejour, l’epaissement, & l’acreté de l’humeur qui lubrifie cettes parties*.” Captain Carver mentions the case * Soemmering ueber die korperliche verschiedenheit des negers vom europaer. 211 of an Indian woman, who was delivered in conse- quence of a general convulsion, induced by stop- ping for a short time the mouth and nose, so as to obstruct breathing. This is the only case which Dr. Rush has found recorded of the Indians assist- ing nature in parturition. The effects of sudden terror are sometimes employed among the Cana- | dians, where it is the custom, when a woman is in Jabour, for the young men to surround the cabin privately, and suddenly raise a great shout*. The Africans imagine that male children lie towards the right side, and females towards the left. In difficult cases, they suppose the child is drawn up towards the stomach of the mother. Among the Kroos, when a woman falls in labour, she is re- moved from her own house toa small one built at a little distance, where all the women of the place accompany her, and where she continues to reside until she recovers, which is from two days to a week. These people use the following superstitious mode of hastening delivery. A woman goes to some retired place, where no one can see her, in order to procure a kind of grass, which they call daing, a species of panicum ; this she takes hold of just be- low the panicle, with the view of pulling it, toge- ther with the peduncle, out of the vagina which incloses it. This is to be done with the greatest gentleness, for if the least noise or snap be heard, that grass is thrown away and another is taken. If * Jeffery’s History of the French Dominions in North and South America. 212 this come out without making a noise, it is bruised. and put into a calibash of water, and given the woman to drink: whilst drinking it, she is obliged to stand upright, the empty calibash is taken from her, and carried in a straight line from her lips to between her feet, where it is laid, which is sup- posed to expedite the expulsion of the child. They are generally delivered in a recumbent posture upon a mat Jaid on the ground. When the piacenta is not immediately expel- led after the birth of the child, they tie a string to the end of the funis umbilicalis, and fasten it to the woman’s foot, at the same time obliging her to retain her breath, or to blow strongly into her hand. When this method fails, they apply a tight bandage round the abdomen; sometimes they endeavour to excite vomiting or sneezing, by tickling the fauces, or irritating the nose with a straw. The Soosoos, in order to expel the pla- centa when long retained, make the woman stand upright, and shake her; they also give her very cold water to drink, which they suppose con- stringes the internal parts, and causes the placenta . to separate. After it is expelled, in order to ob- viate the bad effects of the cold water, some warm fowl soup, well seasoned with piper Ethiopicum, is given todrink. Sometimes the fine powder of the bark of tansai is mixed in cold water, and giver the woman to drink. The placenta is called by the rBinhieaineer opoo- roo, and by the Soosoos lagghee. When expelled, they put it into an old pot and bury it; they would 218 shudder at the idea of burning it: were it not to be buried, they suppose the child, when it grew older, would be affected with kra-kras. Among the Mahommedans and Soosoos, the placenta is put into an earthen pot, and well covered with leaves, that no dirt may get to it before it putre- fies: it is then buried, and carefully watched for forty days,* that nothing may disturb the place: at the end of this period the woman, having pre- viously washed herself, is dressed in white, her head is also covered with a white cloth, and going to the place she prays over it ; after which any one may go there, and even dig the pot up if he please. The time that a woman is confined to her house after delivery is various ; in the Mandingo, Soosoo, and Foola countries, it is generally seven days, after which she immediately resumes her ordinary occupations : among the Timmanees and Bulloms, it is from two days to four or six. A Soosoo woman was delivered at Free Town, the child and placenta being. expelled together. After tying + the umbilical cord, and washing the child with warm water, it was laid upon a mat * By the Levitical law a lying-in woman was unclean for forty days, until the end of which period she could not approach the altar, nor enter the temple. Among the Greeks it was held as a defilement to touch a woman in this state. + This is the custom in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, and the adjoining countries. In Guiana, the umbilical cord is di- vided by “a brand of fire,” which cauterises the orifices of the vessels, and renders a ligature unnecessary. Dr. Hasselquist says, the Turks cut the navel string,-and apply to it the actual cautery. 214 loosely covered with a piece of cloth, and no further. applications were made to it. When the funis dropped off, the navel was anointed with the pow- dered bark of a tree called nintee, mixed with palm oil. The woman sat up the second day, and walked out at the end of the week. Immediately after delivery, she washed herself from head to foot with a warm decoction of the leaves of dun- dakky in water, and then anointed herself with oil. The washing with the same decoction, and anointing afterwards with oil, was repeated every morning for the space of a month: during this time she drank of a decoction of, a species of grass called maylie by the Soosoos, with a view to pro- mote the lochial discharge. The infant is not permitted to suck its mother unmediately after birth, but is given to some other woman to be suckled for the first three or four days, or until the mother’s breasts be quite full. The Soosoos do not permit the child to suck until the first week be passed over: they have no ob- jection to allow a child three or ‘four months old to suck a woman lately delivered, because they suppose it strong enough to bear the purgative effects of the milk, which, in their opinion, might prove very dangerous to an infant. In general, however, the first milk is thrown away, and the breast is carefully washed before the child be applied to it, lest it be hurt, as they say, by any of the bad milk. Allowing the breasts to become so much distended before they are emptied, 'toge- 215 ther with the practice of binding them tight with a cloth, is probably the cause of the large and pendulous breasts remarked in the women who have borne children in this country, and not the early age at which they bring forth, as some have imagined. When speaking of their eldest child, they say, “ he made their breasts fall.” Attempts to procure ABORTION are, as may be supposed, much less frequent here than in Europe: in some rare instances, however, it happens that a woman, in order to conceal an illicit connection, makes use of some medicine to restore the men- strual discharge. For this purpose they usually drink a warm infusion of the grass called maylie, or with the same intention, an infusion of a plant called by the Soosoos seng-eng-yay. Dr. Ban- croft says, that female slaves in Guiana, who in- tend to procure abortion, make use of a diet of ochras, “ by which they lubricate the uterine pas- sages, and afterwards expel their contents, usually by the sensitive plant; though in: Barbadoes a vegetable called gulley-koot is commonly used for this purpose.” As the okra possesses only the sen- sible qualities of a mucilaginous plant, it seems im- probable that it can have any such effects upon the body : the natives about Sierra Leone consider it as highly nutritious, and somewhat of a restringent, In the West Indies also it constitutes a principal part of the highly nutritious pepper pot. Arrtifi- cial abortion is one of those crimes which is pe- culiar to a state of civilization, and prevails in pro- 216 portion as luxury extends its destructive empire. It was so frequent during the depraved state of manners which accompanied the decline of the Roman Empire, that Juvenal observes : Jacet aurato vix ulla puerpera lecto Tantum artes hujus, tantum medicamina possunt, Que steriles facit vi. 593. Women who have had one or two MISCARRIAGES are ordered to drink a decoction of a plant called by the Soosoos soongee, boiled with rice: it is very rough and astringent to the taste. When a woman has miscarried two or three times succes- sively among the Soosoos, they are of opinion that she has, at some former period of her life, trod upon the eggs of a species of goatsucker, which they call labbatanyee : to remedy this, the woman is ordered to watch one of these birds, to discover upon what tree or shrub it settles to feed, from using which as a medicine they hope to obtain acure. This is the bird spoken of by Moore, who says, “ there is here a remarkable bird, of about the size of a pigeon, which comes abroad at dusk, and has four wings*.” A similar opinion is noticed by Dapper, who says, the inhabitants of Sierra Leone imagine that if they have trod upon the eggs of a bird called jouwa, all their children will die. ‘This misfortune is remedied by the party avoiding afterwards to eat the flesh of any bird, and calling the next child jouwa, after the name of the bird which caused the spell. * Voyage to the Gambia. 21 The enlargement el MILK BREASTS some- times are of frequent occurrence; and women who have had children are sometimes seen having one breast very large, pendulous, and streaming with milk, while the other is very small, and shrivelled up to nothing. This is owing to the small breast having been sore, and the child in consequence having constantly sucked the sound one. When the breasts become much distended with milk, and hard, the women endeavour to force out the milk by frequent pressure; at the same time they put on a plant called by the Timmanees matchill, and by the Bulloms tabakoi: this is first bruised between two stones, and then mixed with a little water, so as to form a thick paste, which is permitted to dry upon the breast. A warm infusion of a plant called by the Timmanees ok-kunt*, by the Bulloms kunt, and by the Soosoos continghee, ximenioides or monkey apple, is used ‘to foment the breasts. When a woman weans her child, in order to repel the milk, she rubs over her neck and breasts the bark of a tree finely pow- dered and mixed with water, called by the Tim- manees affook: it is of a sweetish acid taste, and has a slight degree of astringency. . Large PENDULOUS BELLIES are sometimes-seen jn women who have borne children : to avoid this, which they look upon as a deformity, it is cus- tomary for them, after lying-in, to wear a kind of wooden hoop or a tight bandage round their waist, * Tn the plural ma-kunt. VOL. Il. FR 218 for two or three weeks after they first come out. Women who have been troubled with exomphalos, generally lose it entirely after the first child, or it becomes much smaller. ‘They suckle their children two years, or until the child can bring the mother a calibash full of water: during this time they avoid all connection with their husbands*, lest the child should be made sick, or as they say, “ lest it spoil the child.” When a child dies upon the Gold Coast, they say, the mother has either had connection with her hus- band, or played the whore, or the child has been bewitched. The same practice and opinions pre- vail among the North American Indians. * Yn the Koran it is orderéd that women shall suckle their chil- dren during two entire years, if they will suck so long. Chap. 2. This practice though in itself bad, has originated from prudential motives ; forthe mother, upon whom devolves the whole care of the children, is afraid of being burthened with a second offspring before the first can in some degree dispense with her continued care. CHAP. XIII. THE DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT OF CHILDREN. TREATMENT AFTER THE BIRTH. LOCKED JAW. ME- THOD OF CARRYING CHILDREN. ERUPTIONS. IN- DISTINCT ARTICULATION. TINEA CAPITIS. WEAK- NESS. WASTING. DIARRHGA. PROTRUSIONS OF THE NAVEL. RICKETS, PROLAPSUS ANI. DIRT EATING. LARGE BELLIES, HE management of children in Africais very simple : their diseases are also few, and of no great importance: immediately after birth, the infant is washed in warm water, or soap and water ; this is continued for a few days, after which cold water only is used. During very hot weather it is usual for the mother to throw a vessel of cold water upon the child’s head two or three times a day, apparently to the satisfaction of the lat- ter. After the morning ablution the child is well greased from head to foot. Soon after a child is born, a few grains of mala- guetta pepper are bruised, and tied up in a cot- ton rag, which is moistened with water, and the juice of it is pressed out into the child’s mouth : _ this is done to evacuate the meconium. In or- der to strengthen a child born at the end of 22.0 seven months, the mother takes every morning a mouthful of cold water, which she spirts upon the inside of the joints of the arms, wrists, knees, and successively, those of the whole body, immediately after which the child is immersed in very cold water. ‘This practice is repeated every morning until they suppose the child strong enough to bear the shock of cold water without any preparation. Dr. Zimmerman has, by copying the ingenious and elegant Buffon, been led into a venial error, when he says, “ the new born children of the ne- groes are so very sensible, that even in their hot climate they are obliged to shut them up in warm rooms for the nine first days, as they are liable to be attacked with trismus from the smallest breath of external air.” This is, however, so far from being the case, that children are very soon after birth exposed without covering, both to the scorch- ing heat of the sun and to the chilling dews of night. Not a single instance of trismus in in- . fants, or even of tetanus in adults, occurred tomy notice in Africa, neither have the natives any knowledge of the complaint. In the West Indies, negro children are very liable to locked jaw soon after birth, which very generally proves fatal. The cause of this complaint is not certainly known ; some assert that it is a consequence of the meconium being retained, and that it may always be prevented by evacuating the bowels soon after birth by a little castor oil. Others have ascribed it to improper treatment of the navel string; others, again, have referred it to the wood smoke 22) with which their small confined huts are filled at nights; but this practice is universal in Africa, where the disease itself is unknown*. It is most common between the fifth and fourteenth days after birth, and it has been supposed that one fourth of the negro children in the West Indies are cut off by it. Until children are able to walk, they are carried upon their mothers backs, having their legs stretched round her waist |; they are supported in this situation by a cloth which passes round their bodies, and is tied upon the mother’s breast, which leaves only their arms at liberty. In this posture children are often carried for several hours, while the mother is engaged in her houshold af fairs. ‘They often fall asleep in this situation, hay- * Dr. Chisholm attributes the trismus nascentium, which, he says, does not happen after the ninth day, to cold and impure air. His friend, Dr. Stewart of Grenada, having observed, “ that the Negro midwives were not very nice in their choice of the instrument with which they cut the umbilical cord, he suspected that the rubiginous particles might produce such irritation as to cause the fatal disease in question. Having this in view, he direct- ed the midwives to dress the part with a folded piece of soft linen, well soaked in spirit of turpentine, instead of the common way. They attended to his directions, and not a single infant has died on the estate since.” From this diversity of opinion among authors, we have reason to suspect that the true cause of this malady is yet unknown. Bajon asserts, that in Cayenne it is found only upon the coast, at a small distance from the sea: at the distance of eight, ten, or twelve miles inland, it never occurs. He further adds, it is found more frequently among those who live upon small hills or eminences directly exposed to the sea air, than among those who live in marshy situations, or are sheltered Py mountains or woods from the sea breeze. + This may perhaps account for their legs being so frequently curved, 2223 ing their naked heads exposed to a scorching sun, without experiencing any bad effects. Upon the Kroo Coast, children are carried behind their mo- thers backs in a kind of small basket. Sometimes they are placed upon a mat, or suffered to roll at liberty upon the ground. Deformed children aare very rarely seen, but when this misfortune hap- pens, it dees not diminish the care and anxiety of the mother: such a monster is unknown in Africa as a mother who would destroy her child because it is deformed. This is reported to be done among the Nerth American Indians, though Dr. Rush says, it is the severity of the Indian man- ners which destroys infants. Negro children are very subject, for the first two or three months, to a papulous eruption very much resembling the rep cum. Owing to the little care which is taken to prevent it, they are seldom free from the Kra-Kras. When children are thought to be long in learning to speak, or when they ARTICULATE INDISTINCTLY, the leaves of a plant called fooruntum brakky are burnt, and the ashes, mixed with palm oil, are rubbed over the lower part of the face and neck. In cases of TINEA capitis, the head is washed with a pretty strong infusion of red pepper in water, or with the country soap, which is very acrid. Children are sometimes affected with swellings of the lower extremities, somewhat resembling ANASARCA, Which soon prove fatal if improperly treated. ‘This complaint is called by the Soosoes 993 kayberree, and by the Bulloms and Tinmanees yefoo ; it is cured by the repeated exhibition of emetics and active purgatives. Tomeriep Gianps of the neck are called by the Soosoos bolay, by the Bulloms bodmboo, and by the Timmanees opoff, but they do not apply of any particular treatment. Children who appear purty, and do not THRIVE WELL, are washed with a variety of vegetable in- fusions, which are generally of an astringent na- ture, and used cold. Among others, the leaves of the cayaba, amaryllis ornata, are infused in cold water, and used every morning for a length of time; in like manner, the fresh leaves of koonto are bruised, and infused in cold water, to wash the child with every mornine.. Among the Kroo people, when a child is sickly, the leaves of ximenioides or monkey apple, which they call prang-fa, are infused in water, and when the child is washed with the decoction, the leaves are also rubbed over its body. The same people, when a child is long before it walks, use the following superstitious method: if a boy, they take four, if a girl, only three of the exuviee or skins of spiders; these they burn, and mixing the ashes with a little palm oil, they rub it well on the in- side of the wrists and ancles. In cases of DiarRHa@a, a weak infusion of the bark of the mangrove tree, rhizophora mangle, is made use of. African children are very subject to prodigious large protrusions of the navel, or EXOMPHALOS,. 224 which are sometimes larger than a man’s fist ; this they look upon as a great deformity and wish to avoid. Atkins imagines it to be “ the effect of bad midwifery, or straining in their infancy to walk.” Jt more probably arises from relaxation of the parts, and from the want of a bandage round the child’s body to support the umbilicus until it has acquired a sufficient degree of firmness. It is a very rare occurrence among the Nova Scotian set- tlers at Free Town, who use moderate pressure upon the part for some months after birth. T have seen only one instance of rickETs among them; this occurred in the child of a white man by a Mulatto woman, but which had been entirely brought up among the natives. ‘The child was about eight years old when I saw her; she had recovered from the disease, but her jomts were much enlarged, and the legs and arms were very crooked. In cases of prouapsus ani, the bark of tansal, is boiled in water, and the decoction given inter- nally ; at the same time, the expressed juice of a plant, called by the Soosoos labba-labby, is applied frequently to the part affected. I have never seen nor heard of an instance of hare-lip among them, but Atkins mentions a case which he saw himself. Herodotus informs us, that among some of the African Nomades, it was the custom, when the child had reached its fourth year, to cauterize the veins on the crown of the head, or temples, with new shorn wool, in order to 225 dry up the pituita. To this mode of practice these people referred their good state of health. Hero- dotus adds, that the Africans enjoy better health than any other people, though he is uncertain whether it be from this cause. When convulsions are produced by the above practice, the same author observes, they are cured by sprinkling the children with goats’ urme*. The actual cautery is not at present used by the Africans, neither does goats’ urine make a part of their materia medica. . That strange propensity, called pint EATING in the West Indies, where it frequently occurs among the slaves, and often proves fatal by inducing chronic complaints, is sometimes met with among the children in Africa. When this pernicious prac- tice has been followed for some time, it induces such a change in the countenance and complexion, as renders the disease at first sight obvious to every one. The colour of the skin changes from a deep black to a dirty light brown, or even approaches to a clay colour. ‘The skin also feels rough, and is cold to the touch. The tunica conjunctiva, or white of the eye, becomes of a dusky yellowish white. The countenance appears dejected, the eye-lids are puffy, and the whole face is bloated. The gums lose their healthy red colour, becoming pale and flaccid, and the inside of the lips and tongue appear almost white ; even the hair under- goes a change of colour, and becomes of a dirty white, like that of the white negro. There is a * Melpom, 187. VOL, II. GG 226 constant uneasy aching pain at the stomach, at- tended with a degree of nausea and loathing of food. ‘The pulse at first isnot much affected, but gradually becomes quicker, and very small ; there is frequently a troublesome palpitation of the heart, and a constant throbbing of the large vessels im the lower part of the neck. The respiration is often oppressed, and is always hurried by the least degree of exercise. The abdominal viscera, par- ticularly the mesenteric glands, being enlarged and hardened, cause the belly to swell; the lower ex- tremities become anasarcous; and frequently to- wards the conclusion of the disease, effusion takes place into the cavities of the abdomen and thorax. These unhappy people are fondest of a white kind of clay, resembling tobacco pipe clay, with which they fill their mouths, and allow it to dis- solve gradually. In the West Indies there are persons who make it into cakes, and privately sell it to slaves having this depraved appetite*. Mr. Edwards in his remarks on the subject, says, “‘ they become dropsical, and complain of a con- * Upon dissection ‘* the stomach is found much enlarged, and thickened in its coats ; the liver sometimes enlarged and schirrous, but always preternaturally white ; the gall bladder sometimes filled with biliary concretions ; the bile never of a healthy appearance, ge- nerally thin and watery, and slightly yellow or green; the mesen- teric glands indurated and schirrous.”"—In the cure “ much benefit has been derived rom weak fermented liquors—acescent cane-liquor has cured many.” ‘* It is, remarkable that negroes, subject to this fichace? have been much benefited by living in alow situation, near marshes, which ‘quickly prove fatal to whites.” Medical and Physical Journal, vol. ii. 172. : QO"7 stant uneasiness i the stomach; for which they find a temporary relief in eating some kind of earth. The French planters call this disease mal d’estomac*, or the stomach evil. The best and only remedy is, kind usage and wholesome animal food ; and perhaps a steel drink may be of some service}.” ‘The natives of Africa endeavour to cure children of this morbid appetite by exciting in them a disgust towards such substances ; they mix them therefore with pepper, or any kind of filth, and oblige the children to lick the mixture off the ground. Sometimes one of the large lizards, with a red head, called by the Bulloms tek, which is generally found upon trees, is dried, powdered, and mixed with the bark ofatree, Of this preparation the patient is obliged to take a dose every morning, mixed with water, until the whole be consumed. Many children at certain times have prodigiously LARGE BELLIES, but I never saw any symptoms of disease attending this appearance. They do not attribute it to worms, nor is any attention paid to it, as it always disappears spontaneously. ** Anasarca Americana Sauvagesii. + History of the West Indies. 229 APPENDIX. N° L. AN ACCOUNT OF CIRCUMCISION, AS IT IS PRACTISED ON THE WINDWARD COAST OF AFRICA. ERODOTUS has been censured for assert- ing that the Egyptians were the first who used circumcision, and that other nations bor- rowed the practice from them*. But in this respect he does not merit blame, as he drew his * The words of Herodotus are, “‘ The Colchians, Egyptians, and Ethiopians, are the only people who have used circumci- sion from the earliest times. The Phenicians and Syrians in Pa- lestine confess that they learnt this custom from the Egyptians ; but the Syrians, who inhabit the rivers Thermodon and Parthenius, and the Macrones, who border upon them, say they lately learned it from the Colchians. These are the only people who use cir- cumcision, and it appears that they do it after the same manner as the Egyptians.” Herodotus appears to be in doubt, whether the custom of circumcising originated with the Egyptians or Ethiopians, but is inclined to think that the latter nation bor- rowed it from the former one, because the Phenicians, who traded with the Greeks, discontinued the practice of circumcision inimitation ofthem. As Herodotus informs us that the Colchians sprung from the Egyptians, and were of a dark colour, and had crisp or curled hair, of course both these nations, as well as the Ethiopians, were real negroes, and, no doubt, received this practice from the same source, 230 information from the Egyptian priests, who, in order to establish the antiquity of their nation, laid claim to the origin of this custom. It is pro- bable, however, that there was no such custom among the Egyptians even in the time of Moses: a negative is fairly deducible from the expression of the “ reproach of Egypt” being taken away from the Israelites, when the practice of circumcision was revived in the wilderness by Joshua. At what period, subsequent to the time of Moses, it was adopted by the Egyptians, we are not informed: but we may conclude, that a custom of this kind would be readily received by a people so much addicted to superstition, and among whom every ceremony had some mystical meaning attached to it. The practice of circumcision, considering the circumstances under which it was introduced, was likely to be rapidly extended. All the children of Abraham, it is to be presumed, were enjoined to follow his example ; and the reverence which, in the patriarchal ages, was paid to the heads of families, would prevent any deviation from cus- toms which they had introduced or sanctioned. The example of a man so greatly respected as Abraham must have had great weight also’ a- mongst his cotemporaries. ‘Their minds must have been impressed by seeing an old man, at the ad- vanced age of ninety-nine years, submit to so pain- ful an operation, and cause it to be performed upon every male in his family: they would be impressed 231 by the religious solemnities which were probably used on the occasion; and they might also be influenced to adopt the practice by superstitious motives. We have a proof in the melancholy history of the people of Schechem, recorded in the thirty-fourth chapter of Genesis, of the facility with which, on much slighter grounds, this innova- tion was received by the inhabitants of a large town. This institution has been by some considered as little better than a species of exorcism. Philo sup- poses it was performed, to guard against a disease called anthrax, which, in the eastern countries, is said to affect those parts when left in their natural state. ‘This anthrax was probably nothing more than an excoriation, arising from acrid matter re- tained behind the glans, a circumstance which occurs more rarely in warm climates, than is com- monly supposed *. Some of the Africans assert, that they use circumcision to prevent their contracting the venereal disease. This idea may be thought to be corroborated by an observation of Dr. Russel, * In Professor Michaelis’s “* Questions proposées 4 une Societé de Savants,” is an observation respecting the utility of circumci- sion in obviating the effects of a natural phimosis, which, though the complaint occur more rarely than is imagined, merits consi- deration. Mr. Niebuhr mentions an instance of a christian at Mosul, where in all probability circumcision would have proved serviceable. He is not of opinion that circumcision is necessary to health in hot climates because “ the Parsis, or disciples of Zoroaster, who are also called Guebres, or adorers of fire, the Pagans of the Indies, and some Caffre nations in Africa, who all live in climates as warm as the Mahometans of Arabia, do not cir- cumcise, and yet enjoy as good health as the Jews, Mahometans, and some Caffre nations who use circumcision.” 232 who says, that “the Christians seemed more lia- ble to slight venereal infection than the Turks, who seldom had a gonorrhcea unattended with more formidable symptoms.” Another reason, according to Philo, for performing this operation, is to increase fecundity ; and he asserts, that those nations who practise it are more fruitful than those who do not. The futility of this argument, however, is very evident, as we are certain that the prepuce can in no wise affect the act of procrea- tion, unless by constriction it should oppose a mechanical obstacle. ! Circumcision, though universally practised by the Mahometan nations, is not mentioned in the Koran. In the Sonna, which like the Mishna or second law of the Jews, is the oral law of the Mo- hammedans, and contains the sayings and actions of Mahomet, which are not related in the Koran, but which being first handed down by tradition, were afterwards committed .to writing, it is said that circumcision is a necessary rite for men; and. for women, honourable. “ Circumcision,” Dr. Rus- sel says, “‘is termed by Mahomet sonna, which, according to the explanation of Reland, does not comprehend things absolutely necessary, but such as though the observance of them be meritorious ; their neglect is not liable to punishment *.” Among the Mahometan nations in Africa, this operation is generally performed about the age of of thirteen. In this they imitate the Arabians, * History of Aleppo. 233 who, after the example of Ishmael, their reputed progenitor, have fixed that age for its perform- ance. Among the Bulloms and Timmanees, the cere- mony takes place at any age, from the first month to the thirteenth or fourteenth year. The manner of performing it among the Bulloms, which I once witnessed, was as follows. Early in the morning the boys were assembled: after squatting down upon the hams, every one of them put a finger upon the edge of a large shallow brass dish, called a neptune, in which were placed an ear of Indian corn, a single kola, a piece of iron, and a sharp- pointed sword, as offerings to Griffee, the evil ge- nius ; at the same time the head man of the village, who presided at the ceremony, made a long prayer, that the boys might all speedily recover, and none of them die, which sometimes happens. When he had prayed, they were led into a cool shady grove, near the town. The operator, who was also a gree- gree-maker, dipping his forefinger* into some wood ashes, made a mark with it upon the prepuce, im- mediately over the corona glandis. He then laid hold of the prepuce with the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, and drawing it forwards as much as possible, with a common gardener’s knife he cut or rather haggled through it at the place where he had made the mark. In this manner eight boys, from five years of age to about twelve or thirteen, were circumcised. The hemorrhage, which was * The Mandingos use the thumb nail for this purpose. VOL. II. HE 234 inconsiderable, was restrained by an infusion of the leaves of a plant called by the Bulloms, from a fancied resemblance, nwee tee kell, or monkey’s ear. It grows close to the ground, and bears a red fruit not unlike a strawberry. Until the cure, which commonly requires two or three weeks, be completed, the boys pass their time while the sun is above the horizon in this shady place. After sunset. they are permitted to leave their confine- ment and return to their own habitations, in which they may remain till near sunrise. In general no other application is made to the wound than the bark of the maylip, finely powdered, and sprinkled over it; sometimes a little ground chalk is used to absorb the moisture. In the Rio Nunez, the boys who undergo this operation are withdrawn from public view for the space of several weeks, during which time they are instructed 1 in various religious ceremonies*. * Among the Jews circumcision is still performed on the eighth day. ‘The instrument used for the purpose is generally a knife of . stone. The child being held by the father or godfather, the operator lays hold of the prepuce and cuts it off, after which he applies his mouth to the part, and sucks the blood, which he spits . into a bowl of wine, and then sprinkles some styptic powder upon the wound. ‘The operation is performed by no particular person ~ or set of people, but the office of operator is considered by them as honourable. This is contrary to the opinion of the Arabians, who look upon the operation as indelicate, and therefore hold the operator in contempt. It is thus described by Niebuhr: ‘* Dans cette operation on tire le prepuce qu’on serre avec une pincette, _Je barbier est quelquefois obligé de souffler avec Ja bouche dans “Yorifice, & il arrive alors que le pauvre enfant ee crainte de dou- leur, laisse echapper quelques gouttes de son eau.’ : 935 Circumcision is also in use among the females upon some parts of the western coast of Afnca, though much less generally than among the men. It isnot practised by the women in the neighbour- hood of Sierra Leone, and, indeed, is scarcely known to them. In the river Sherbré, however, which is inhabited by Bulloms, there is a society of girls called Sandee girls, who, besides being initiated into various mysteries, are instructed to dance in public. Before their admission into this order they are obliged to submit to the operation of circumcision, for which they give no other rea- son than that it is done to prevent those parts be- coming too large by frequent motion. Circumci- sion prevails almost universally among the Foola, Mandingo, and Soosoo women. Several religious ceremonies accompany its performance. ‘The girls are kept in a secluded place for two months, during which time they are not exposed to public view, except on very particular occasions, and even then their faces are concealed by a cloth. The ceremonies which usually accompany this practice, are thus described by a late amusing writer: «« Every year during the dry season, and on the first appearance of a new moon, the girls of each town, who are judged marriageable, are collected together, and, in the night preceding the day on which the ceremony takes place, are conducted by -the women of the village into the inmost recesses of a wood. Griggories or charms are placed at every avenue or path which might lead to the con- secrated spot, to warn and deter the approach of 236 the ignorant or designing, during their confine- ment, which continues one moon and one day. They are seen by no person but the old woman who performed the operation, and who brings them their provisions daily; should she, through sickness, or any other cause, be unable to attend, the person who is substituted in her place calls out with a loud voice as she approaches, leaves the victuals at a certain spot, and retires unseeing or unseen ; for should any person, either through accident or design, break into their retirements, death is the - punishment annexed. It is principally during their confinement in the wood, When the body is subdued by pain, and the mind softened by the gloomy stillness of every thing around them, that they are taught the re- ligious Customs and superstitions of their country 5 for, till that period, they are not thought capable of understanding or practismmg them.—When the time destined for their contmuance in the wood is expired, which is judged sufficient for the healmg of their wounds, they are brought into the town in the night, where they are received by all the women of the village, young and old, quite naked: | in this state, and in a kind of irregular procession, with various instruments of national music, they parade the streets till break of day, and should any man be found even peeping during their peregri- nation, he would immediately suffer death, or pay a slave.—A probation of one moon succeeds their release from the wood, during which they are every day conducted im procession, with music, and 237 their heads and bodies covered, to every principal person’s house in the town, before which they dance and sing till they are presented with some trifling present. At the expiration of the month they are released from further attendance, and immediately given to the men destmed for their husbands*, who give a public entertainment upon the occasion.” The cool of the morning is the time chosen for the performance of the operation, which is done by an old woman, whose peculiar province it is. At Teembo, in the Foola country, they are very strict in enforcing this custom, but in the more remote parts of the kingdom they are much less so ; and it is even said, in some mstances, to be neg- lected until the person be grown old. For what reason it is performed at an advanced age, or whe- ther it be merely to avoid the obloquy which in these countries attaches to those who have not un- dergone this operation is uncertain. There is rea- son to believe it is not practised by any nation to the northward of Sierra Leone, except by those who profess Mahommedanism +. It is difficult to * Matthew’s Voyage to Sierra Leone. + Among the inhabitants of Bambouc it is the custom to cir- ‘eumcise their children, both male and female. ‘This is done, says a French writer, ‘* to give them liberty to marry ; for it would be a great crime fora young man or woman to give themselves up to debauchery before they were circumcised: thus circumcision ap- pears to give them liberty to abandon themselves to pleasure, without remorse, and without incurring the smallest censure. This ceremony is performed once every year: they begin with the boys. Every where else it is a marabou who performs the operation ; but as the natives of Bamboue are wise enough to have 238 say how far this custom extends to the south of Sierra Leone. -Dr. Issert asserts, that it is not the custom among the women at Akra, though universally practised by the men. In the king- dom of Dahomy, Mr. Dalzel informs us, that “a certain operation, peculiar to this country, is like- wise performed upon the women ;” and in a note he adds, “ Prolongatio, videlicet, artificialis labio- rum pudendi, capellz mamillis simillima.” | This no marabous, the honour of exercising the priesthood belongs to the master of the village. « The ceremony begins with the noise of drums and other instru- mentse ‘The master ne the village k kills a bullock, which he buys for the occasion, and all the company partake of it. When the repast is finished, the people make a kind of procession: the musicians walk first, the girls and boys follow, walking two and two ; after them come all the inhabitants of the village, making terrible cries. When they have arrived at the place where the operation is to be perfermed, they divide into two bands, the boys on one side, and the girls on the other. The head of the village then comes forward with a knife in his hand, which he makes use of to remove the prepuces; these are carefully pre- served, and put into a vessel, which the chief buries with great respect. He makes also an incision upon the girls, and buries apart the small portion of which he deprives them. «< After this ceremony, the circumcised have a right to go and seek their victuals any where but at home, during the space of forty days, in which time they wander about the country, with- out being permitted to have any communication with the girls, who wander about in like manner. In order to prevent any communication, some of the mamayambaus, whom the natives Jook upon as sorcerers, rub their bodies with a kind of clay, cover themselves with branches of trees, and run with a whip in their hand after the young girls and boys. When they meet them, they execute their office very rudely, to the great satisfac- tion of the fathers and mothers, who make a point of feasting the mamayambaus well during the whole of the time prescribed to their children to observe continence.” Voyage au Pays de Bambouc. ami 239 operation does not appear to resemble circumci- sion, but probably is analogous to a custom among the Hottentot females, of stretching the nymphe by weights appended to them, or by some other means, to an enormous length, which Linneus has distinguished by the term “ sinus pudoris*.” Among the Mahommedan nations on this part of the coast, the operation consists in removing the nymphe, together with the pra- putium clitoridis, not the clitoris itself, as has been imagined ; this is corroborated by Dr. Schotte, who appears to have examined the subject with great accuracy. In aletter to Professor Stein, speaking of the females of Senegal, among whom the prac- tice of circumcision is observed, he says, “ les Mauresses, non pas les Negresses sont toutes cir- concises d’une fagon, ayant les nymphes & les clitoris coupés pour diminuer les parties molles : jen ai examiné plusieurs en vie, & je n’ai trouvé le moindre vestige si non que des petites cicatrices, & il y en avoit, qui se souviennent de 1l’operation etant enfans+.” Mr. Bruce appears to entertain nearly the same ideas upon this subject: he ob- * Owing to this cause the Hottentots have rather too hastily been supposed to have some peculiarity in those parts. Buffon says, they have ‘ une espece d’excroissance ou de peau dure &: large qui leur croit au dessus de l’os pubis, & qui descend jusq’au milieu des cuisses en forme de tablier,” (Hist. Nat. de ’ Homme) ; but Dr. Sparrman positively asserts, “‘ that the women have no parts uncommon to the rest of their sex.” - > Sommering ueber die korperliche verschiedenheit des ne- gers, &c. 240 serves, that the practice of circumcision, or, as he calls it, excision, is universally followed among the women in Abyssinia and other neighbouring na- tions. ‘“ All the Egyptians,” he says, “ the Ara- bians, and nations to the south of Africa, the Abyssinians, Gallas, Agows, Gafats, and Gongas, make their children undergo this operation, at no fixed time indeed, but always before they are mar- riageable *.” ‘The same author refers the origin of this custom to a certain mal-conformation or re- dundancy of parts among the women of those countries. “ From climate or some other cause,” he continues, “‘ a certain disproportion is found gene- rally to prevail among them,” and, “ they endea- vour to remedy this deformity by the amputation of that redundancy.” In opposition to this opinion, it may be very confidently affirmed, that whatever reason the females on the western coast of Africa, who follow this practice, may have for continuing it, and it is doubtful if there be any but custom immemorially established, there is at least no phy- * A recent traveller, speaking of the practice of excision, says, *« it consists in cutting off the clitoris a little before the period of puberty, or at about the age of eight or nine years.” Thirteen or fourteen young females underwent this operation in a house where he was. ‘“ it was performed by a woman; and some of them complained much of the pain, both at and afterit. They were prevented from locomotion, but permitted to eat meat, The parts were washed every twelve hours with warm water, which profuse suppuration rendered necessary. At the end of eight days the greater part were in a condition to walk, and liberated from their confinement. Three or four of them remained under restraint till the thirteenth day.” Browne’s Travels in Africa. 24) sical cause for it. Moreover, the redundancy or mal-conformation of parts above mentioned, is more rarely met with in these countries than in Europe; and where the custom of circumcision ' is unknown, which is probably over the greater part of the continent, no complaint is made on this head. We are informed by Dr. Russel, that the circumcision of females is not known at Alep- ps. Itis termed there bztre ; and he adds, “ con- sistit in incisione nymphee puellaris.” Mr. Niebuhr says, this operation is performed on most of the females of Oman, at least in the country of Sohar; it is practised also by most of those who inhabit both sides of the Persian gulf and Basra, as well as by the Mahommedan women and Copts in Egypt, and by those of Hab- besch, and of Cambay, near Surat, At Bagdad, . the Arab women circumcise their daughters. The Turkish women do not follow this custom, and as we depart from the frontiers of Arabia, fewer wo- men are found circumcised in the Turkish towns*. Speaking of the utility of the practice, Niebuhr says, “ apparemment que les femmes en retirent lavantage de se laver avec plus de facilité. Un marchand Arabe m’en donna cependant encore une autre raison, savoir, qu’on veut par la empecher Verection du clitoris, nommeé siinbula en Arabe: & cet homme pensoit, que la decence l’exigeoit.” * Mr. Forskal learnt that the circumcision of girls was cus- tomary at Mokha, but not at Sana, nor among the Arab Jews, VOL, Il. II Q42 Mr, Niebuhr further adds, “ that the women who circumcise the girls at Kahira are as publicly known there as midwives are in Europe; and when ‘they are wanted they are called out of the street, a proof that no great ceremony attends it. The time for performing this operation is the tenth years 243 APPENDIX. N° IL. AFRICAN BARK. HE se..enpa* is a tree of considerable mag- nitude, though I do not recollect to have seen it growing ; neither do I know of what nature its wood is, nor to what ceconomical purposes it is applied by the natives. ‘The bark that was sent to me, consisted of pieces as large as the hand, and full half an inch in thickness. On the outside it was very scabrous and unequal, full of deep fis- sures, and covered with large patches of a grey- coloured lichen. The inner surface was of a deeper red, and smoother than the external, but had some- what of a granulated appearance. It was very fri- able, and when broken in a longitudinal direction, exhibited a number of pale small fibres, disposed in strata, and inclosed in a substance of a darker * This is ranked above, page 45, as aspecies of Rondeletia, but perhaps incorrectly. Mr. Afzelius had been informed that the bark used at the Rio Nunez was obtained from a tree similar to one which grows in Sierra Leone, and which he found to be a Rondeletia. In consequence of this information he brought to London a considerable quantity of the bark from Sierra Leone ; but, upon examination and trials, it differed both in taste, colour, and chemical properties, from the Rio Nunez bark, nor was it, when given medicinally, attended with the same beneficial effects. DAA, red colour. These fibres appeared more evidently when the bark was broken transversely, for then a number of whitish poimts were seen, which im a_ strong light had a shining or silvery ap- pearance, being, as it were, set in the red coloured substance. When chewed, the bark felt gritty to the tongue, tinged the saliva with a slight red colour, and imparted a considerable degree of astringency, not unpleasant to the taste, but un- accompanied with the slightest bitterness. This bark is nearly devoid of smell, and pos- sesses scarcely any aroma: it is of a very fixed nature, and does not easily impart its virtues to water. One drachm of it finely powdered was triturated for ten minutes in three ounces of pure water, and afterwards passed through filtermg paper. ‘The filtered liquid did not appear to have taken up much of the colouring principle ; and an ounce measure of it, very accurately weighed, was found to have acquired only two grains of addi- tional weight. To half an ounce of the above infusion, five drops of a filtered solution of sal martis, containing a scruple of the salt dissolved in one ounce of water, were added; the fluid imme- diately changed to a dark blue colour, but still retained a degree of transparency ; at the end of three days it turned to a dirty blackish green, but deposited no sediment. An ounce of the bark in fine powder was infused for four hours in a pint of water, in a heat of 150°, but during the last ten minutes in a boiling QA5 heat. The liquor when filtered appeared of a dusky brown colour ; and an ounce measure of it was found to have acquired three grains more than the same quantity of pure water. Five drops of the martial solution, added to half an ounce of the above infusion, immediately changed it to a deep brown, and afterwards to a dirty blue colour. An ounce of the bark, rather coarsely powdered, was boiled for an hour, in twenty-four ounces of pure water, and filtered while hot. This decoction had acquired a dark red colour, and was beauti- fully transparent when held up to the light. An ounce of it had gained five grains of additional weight. ‘To half an ounce of this decoction were added five drops of the martial solution, when it immediately assumed a deep black colour: at the end of three days it deposited a dark coloured sediment, much more abundant than in any of the former infusions; whilst the clear fluid above re- mained of a dark green colour. Half an ounce of the bark in fine powder was in- fused for twenty-four hours ina pint of cold water, and several times agitated: when filtered, the liquor had only acquired a slight duskiness of co- lour, and very much resembled the infusion made by trituration with cold water. To halfan ounce of this infusion five drops of martial solution were added ; the mixture did not lose its transparency, but assumed rather a darker colour; and at the end of two days deposited a small quantity of a light brownish feecula. One drachm of the fine powder, triturated with half a drachm of mild 246 magnesia, in three-ounces of water, for ten mi- nutes, and afterwards filtered, was found to have gained three grains and a quarter of additional weight in each ounce. ‘The filtered infusion ap- peared, of a transparent orange colour, which by the addition of the martial solution acquired imme- diately a dirty black, void of transparency ; at. the end of three days a dark coloured sediment was deposited, the superincumbent fluid remaining of adusky brown. Half an ounce of spirit of wine, added to an equal quantity of the decoction of this bark, produced no other change than to ren- der the colour a little paler; at the end of a few hours, however, a flocculent sediment was de- posited. One drachm of the fine powder, triturated for ten minutes with half a drachm of mild kali, in three ounces of water, was found, when filtered, to have acquired only one grain im each ounce: the liquor was of avery deep red, but had scarcely any other taste than that of an alcali. Tinctures were made from the bark, by infusing two drachms of coarse powder, for ten days, in an ounce and half of proof spirit : this was repeated with the same quantity of spirit of wine, sweet spirit of vitriol, and sweet spirit of nitre. An ounce of the filtered tincture, made with proof spirit, had taken up three grains ; that with spirit of wine, three grains and a quarter; that with sweet spirit of vitriol, four grains; and that with sweet spirit of nitre, which exhibited the deepest colour, had gained seven grains. The only opportunity I had of using this bark 247 in Africa was in cases of diarrhoea, where opiates and astringents were indicated: it was generally used by me at that time in decoction, in which form it proved very effectual, and was sufficiently grateful to the stomach to render its exhibition easy. The three following cases, which occurred soon after my return to England, afford some proof of its febrifuge power. Jan. 7, 1797, Mr. T. about thirty-three years of age, of rather a fair complexion and full habit of body, was suddenly seized, on the Ath inst. after exposure to cold, with a severe pain over the left orbit of the eye, extending over the side of the head. The pai is ushered in by a febrile pa- roxysm, preceded by slight chillness, and returns every succeeding day at eleven A. M. continuing with unabated violence until three P. M. when a partial sweat breaks out about the neck and breast, which terminates the attack. This day he was obliged to walk a mile from home just before the paroxysm was expected, which has greatly ag- sravated it. He is ordered to go to bed im- mediately, and to take tinct, opii, g“ xxv; and when the paroxysm has subsided, to take a drachm of cort. African. every two hours.—Jan. 8, noon. He did not feel the slightest relief yesterday from the opiate, the ‘pain continued severe until evening, and after its subsidence he was obliged to walk home. During the night he took néarly an ounce of the powdered ‘bark. The paroxysm returned this morning sooner than usual, and is at present extremely severe. He 248 now is to omit the bark, and not to resume its use until the accession be finished. He is desired to take the opiate to-morrow, two hours before the return of the fit is expected, and to continue in bed.—Jan. 9, noon. The exacerbation of yester- day was extremely severe, and continued with una- bating violence until five P. M. when it gra- dually subsided. He has taken an ounce and half of the bark since yesterday evening, and feels at present only a slight pain over one eye. The bark isto be continued. There has been no return of the fit yesterday nor to-day. The remedy was continued a day or two longer, during which time the patient exposed himself to the open air as usual, and has suffered no relapse. Jan. 19, 1797. Mrs. A. aged forty, of a brown complexion, has been for a week past affected every morning, between seven and eight o’clock, with a severe cold fit of ague, followed by in- creased heat, and terminating about five P. M: in a profuse perspiration. She took an emetic last night, which operated well, and was ordered to take an anodyne draught this morning about two hours before the expected return of the paroxysm. Notwithstanding the opiate, the fit returned to- day at the usual time, with no alteration in the symptoms. She is ordered to begin at six in the evening to take two scruples of the African bark, and to repeat it every hour until the time of the next paroxysm.—Jan. 20, noon. She has taken during the night an ounce of the bark, but without preventing the return of the paroxysm: the cold fit QA9 has, however, been much less severe, and of shorter duration than before. The head-ache was very acute, the pain being chiefly fixed over one eye; but it was relieved by an opiate, which excited a copious perspiration. She is now ordered to take one drachm of the bark every hour, and an opiate two hours before the expected exacerbation. Jan. 21, noon. Since last report, eleven doses of bark have been taken, which have agreed perfectly - well with her stomach, and there has been no re- turn of the paroxysm.—April 1, continues per- fectly well. Oct. 1, 1796, Mr. B. a sailor, aged forty, of a dark complexion and robust habit, for a week past has been affected every day, about nine in the morning, with a most excruciating pain on the, left side of the head and face, but felt most se- verely over the left orbit. This pain continues until four in the afternoon, when it is relieved by a partial sweat. He has experienced tempo- rary relief from an opiate taken before the acces- - sion of the fit, when he at the same time con- fined himself to bed; but on exposing himself to the external air, the pain immediately returns with its usual violence. He had no anodyne yesterday, and underwent a very violent pa- roxysm ; he is ordered to take 3ss. of the African bark every two hours, beginning at six P. M. Oct. 2, noon. He has taken 32i. of the bark, without any return of the fit, though he had no opiate, and walked all the morning in the open VOL, II. KK 250 air. He répeated the bark two or three days longer, and continued free from complaint. With the following case I was favoured by the late Dr. Cappe, of York, while he officiated as assistant physician to the Public Dispensary in London. - June 8, 1798. Nicholas White, aged 54, ari Irishman, has been a gentleman’s servant for the greater part of his life. About thirty years ago he had an nitermittent fever, in Ireland, the paroxysms of which returned regularly every evening for about a week. He then employed charms, and the disease left him for a week, but returned again at the end of a fort- night from the first attack; but the type of the fever was changed, the paroxysm returning only every other day, sometimes at noon, sometimes about seven o’clock in the evening. . When he had been ill about five months, he took halfa pint of brandy, in which an ounce of tobacco had been infused for twenty-four hours. This draught made him excessively sick, but the fever continued for three months after, without any abatement. The paroxysms at length, though not less frequent, grew less and less severe for about a fortnight, and the fever left him entirely in the month of October, though he had used no other remedies of any kind. Four years ago he entered the corps of artillery, as a driver of the field pieces. He was on the continent in French Flanders, about two years, 251 and enjoyed perfectly good health while abroad. On his return to England, in Christmas 1795, he was employed as alabourer in the king’s works at Purfleet. | On the 27th of July,1796, about two o’clock P. M. while he was at work, he was seized with a paroxysm of fever. The fever returned daily for a fortnight, being’every day a little ater. The . third fit happened about four P.M. The fever had continued about fortnight, when the period changed, and the paroxysms returned only every other day: they happened at later and later hours, till at length they came on at midnight, and after- wards early in the morning. In March, 1797, the fever assumed the quartan type. For the three last months a paroxysm has happened regularly every fourth day at seven P. M. ‘The whole duration of the paroxysm is now about five hours. When the fever first assumed the quartan period, the.cold fit lasted about two hours and a half, the hot and sweating stage together, about three hours and a half. . He continued to work at Purfleet till October, in the ‘year 1796 ; he then came to London: but in November he left London and went into Essex, where he was employed in very easy service in the house of a gentleman, in whose family he had for- merly been a servant. While he was in Essex he took bark, about two tea spoonfuls, in red wine, three times a day, but it had-no effect on his fever : he employed charms too with as little suc- cess, In May, 1797, he returned to London, and 952 has since that time taken no medicines. He is now employed in standing, at night, in Norfolk- street, Strand, with advertisements of the exhibi- tion of And.oides: but on the nights of the fever he is obliged to stay at home. He believes that none of the other labourers at Purfleet had intermittents at the time he was seized with the fever. He never observed whether the paroxysms, when they returned every day, were alternately more and less severe. , His countenance is now very sallow, his tongue furred, white on the edges, but yellowish in the middle. Jan. 8. He expects the return of his fever to- motrow evening, Jan. 9. f Capiat pulv. ipec. gr. xv. vespere et cras mane calom. gt, lil. Jan. 10. The emetic operated, but the calo- mel did not. His tongue is white but clean. He had a cold fit last night, less severe than usual : it lasted about an hour and a half; and was fol- lowed by a hot fit, which, with the sweating stage, lasted about two hours and a half, being also much less severe than usual. | Capiat cort. Africane Ziss quotidie. Jan. 15. On Friday the 12th he had no cold fit; but he had the hot fit at half past eight P.M. it lasted half an hour ; he sweated also about half anhour. He looks better. Repetatur cortex. Jan. 19. He had no fit on Monday 15th, nor en Thursday 18th. Repr. 253 Jan. 22. He had no fit on Sunday 21st. Capiat cort. Zi quotidie. Jan. 27. He had no fit on the 24th. His com- plexion has gradually improved, and is now nearly natural. RK Cort. cascarill. contus. Zi. Aq font. {biii. coque ad fhii. Adde Tinct. Cascarill. Ziv. M. capiat cochl. ii. vel iii. bis terve quotidie. Feb. 7. He has continued to take the corrobo- rant mixture. He has had no return of fever, nor any uneasy symptoms. Since the 15th of last month he has exposed himself every night to the weather at his post in Norfolk-street. Doctor Clark has exhibited the African bark in the infirmary at Newcastle with complete success in several cases of intermittents, and coin- cides with Doctor Willan and Dr. Cappe in think- ing it a valuable accession to the materia medica. The high price of Peruvian, bark, the uncertainty of obtaining a constant and regular supply of it during the time of war, and the schemes of interested men to enhance its value and lower its quality, render it an object of importance for us to increase the number of substitutes. The BELLENDA appears worthy of being ranked in that class: though the cases adduced in its favour are too few for any strong inferences to be drawn, yet, the recommendation of physicians eminent in their profession, and possessing such a share of public esteem, must excite others to make further trials with this bark, when a sufficient quantity of it is imported on 254 APPENDEX.) NOD, REMARKS SUGGESTED BY THE PERUSAL OF MR. WHITE'S “WORK ON THE REGULAR GRADATION IN MAN. INCE writing the above, I have perused Mr. White’s work on the regular gradation in man, in which, as far as regards the African, he adopts nearly the same sentiments with Professor Soemmering ; but as some of the arguments ad- duced by Mr. White to establish his hypothesis, appear to rest upon too slight, and others upon a false foundation, and as the character of this writer may procure for them a reception to which they are not entitled, I think it right to subjoim a few observations, which a residence of near four years in Africa has enabled me to make. As the chief deviations in the skeleton of the African from that of the European occur in the bony structure of the skull, and as these are given more concisely by Mr. White than by Professor Soemmering, they are here inserted from the work of the former. ‘ I next examined the skuli, and found the frontal and occipital bones narrower in the negro, than in the European; the foramen mag- num of the occipital bone situated more backward, 955 and the occipital bone itself pomting upwards, and forming a more obtuse angle with the spine in the former, than in the latter. The mternal capa- city of the skull was less in the former; and the fore parts of the upper and lower jaw, where they “meet, were considerably more prominent. Inthe negro, the depth of the lower jaw, betwixt the teeth and the chin, was less; and that of the up- per, betwixt the nose and the teeth, was greater : the distance from the back part of the occiput to the meatus auditorius was less, and from thence to the fore teeth was greater. ‘The fore teeth were larger, not placed so perpendicularly in their sockets, and projecting more at their points than in Europeans: the angle of the lower jaw was nearer to a right angle, and the whole apparatus for mastication was stronger. ‘The bones of the nose projected less. The chin, instead of projecting, receded. The meatus auditorius was wider. ‘The bony sockets, which contained the eyes, were more capacious. ‘he bones of the leg and thigh more gibbous: and, by the marks which were left upon the skull, it plainly appeared that the temporal muscles had been much larger. In all these points it differed from the European, and ap- proached to the ape.” Having had no opportunity of examining the skeleton of a negro, I am unable to offer any re- marks upon the above observations. But admit- ting their accuracy, it may be objected, that the result of a few comparative examinations ouglit 256 not to be assumed as a standard ; particularly as we frequently witness the occurrence of great and striking varieties in the bony compages even of Europeans. Mr. White points out the chin of the negro as deserving peculiar attention; this is also noticed by Professor Blumenbach (mentum retractius *.) ‘This receding of the chin appears to be merely relative, and occurs perhaps only where the lips are remarkably protuberant +. We observe a great variety in this respect among Europeans. In some the lower incisors project beyond the upper ones, which renders the chin more prominent; in others, the chin recedes, which gives to the face a remarkable appearance of folly or simplicity. An observation of Mr. White’s, on which he insists strongly, appears not to have been no- ticed by any other writer, viz. that the arm, par- ticularly the fore arm, is longer m the negro than in the European 5 a peculiarity which did not strike me in the living subject. Such varieties occur in England, but we are more apt to notice a remarkably short arm than a long one. Professor Soemmering remarks, that the hands and feet of Negroes, are more flat than those of * De Generis humani Varietate. + This brings to my recollection a solitary instance of the receding chin in a black woman, who served as nurse to the hospital at Free Town, and who was called by a facetious friend of mine, “‘ mother no chin.” As a further proof that this is not a common occurrence, the Bulloms use it as a nickname, and say that sucha person has “ toot kin eeting, i. e. a (short) chin like a baboon. : 257 Europeans, and their fingers and toes longer and smaller, a circumstance noticed by Mr. White ; and that the knees are more distant from each other, or bowed, and the feet bent outwards. The only peculiarities which struck me in the black hand and foot were, the largeness of the latter, the thinness of the hand, and the flexibility of the fingers and toes. With their toes they can grasp a small stick, or even a piece of cord lying upon the ground. It is related of the American In- dians, that they can distinguish persons of dif- ferent nations by the print of the foot. It is easy to distinguish the impression cf an African foot from that of an European, by the great diver- gency of the toes in the former; but the follow- mg pretence to acute discrimination in the natives of Zavilah, a town in Africa, cannot be admitted without a considerable degree of credulity: “ Its inhabitants boast that they can distinguish people by the print of their feet, and can discover whe- ther it be a stranger or an inhabitant, a man or a woman, a robber or a slave.” Edrisius Hartmanni, p. 304. The hands and feet are smaller, and more deli- cately formed, in the Sambo and Mulatto, than in the African, (or genuine Negro.) Mr. White says, “ Negroes sweat much less than Europeans; a drop of sweat being scarcely ever seen upon them.” ‘“ Simize sweat still less, and dogs not at all.” Were appears to be some proof of gradation, but the observation is altugether un- founded. When the African works in a hot sun, rivulets of sweat pour down his body. There is the VOL. IL. BE V / / 258 same free discharge of insensible perspiration i him as in the European, causing his skin to be al- ways cool and moist. The same variety indeed occurs in this respect among black people as among whites. Some perspire so readily, that on the least exertion the drops of sweat appear upon the skin like small pearls ; and it is with a view to restrain the tendency to profuse perspiration, that the practice of anointing with oil is so general an Africa. With regard to the catamenia, Mr. White ob- serves, “ it is the general opinion of physiologists that females menstruate in larger quantities in warm climates than in cold ;’—* This may be true in Europeans, and in Creoles born of Euro- pean parents, but I believe it is much otherwise in Negresses.”—* Dr. Spaarman informs us, that those periods are much less troublesome to the female sex in Africa than in Europe.” This last observation is just, but it is equally applicable to robust healthy women in England, and especi- ally to such as use much exercise in the open air. I am unable to speak with more precision re- specting this excretion in the natives of Africa, but among the settlers at Free Town, my oppor- tunities of observation were very extensive. It may be proper to remark, that these people, who are generally called Nova Scotians, because brought from that country to Sierra Leone, are blacks, who were either carried to America when very young, or were born there of parents who came from Africa. Of course they are sufficiently 259 acquainted with the customs of the white people, and they live nearly in the same way as the lower classes of people in Europe. Among the Nova Scotian women the catamenia have precisely the same appearance as in Europeans, who are equally exposed to the open air; and the same varieties occur with regard to quantity, periods of recur- rence, &c. nor have they experienced any material alteration by change of climate. Mr. White, in consistency with the general law of gradation, for which he contends, observes, that “ apes and baboons menstruate less than Negresses, monkies still less, and sapajous and sagouins not at all.” It has been observed that bitches, and some other animals when in heat, have a discharge from the vagina ; of this kind probably is the discharge said to take place in some speciesofape. Mr. White ‘has not had ocular demonstration of the occur- rence of this phenomenon in apes, though he has adduced, in support of it, the opinion of some eminent men: these, however, appear to have been gratuitously adopted, and may therefore be referred to the class of vulgar errors. The opinion is contradicted by an author of great reputation, who made the circumstance in question a particular object of enquiry for a number of years, and who explains the origin of the prevailing sentiment. Feminis contra non minus proprius sed magis universus & omnibus communis videtur flurus menstruus, ita ut recte Plintum mulierem solum animal menstruale vocasse putem. Novi quidem aliis quoque animantibus femineis et quidem max- 260 ime ex quadrumanorum ordine, passim ab auctori- bus tributum esse ejusmodi fluxum, simiam, v. c. dianam ex caudz apice menstruare dictum esse, &c. At enim vero quoties a viginti inde annis aut in vivariis aut a circumforaneis monstratas femineas simias, papiones &c. mihi videre licuit, de ea re quesivi, et passim quidem unam alte- ramve earum quandoque uterine heemorrhagis obnoxiam esse didici, quam vero in nulla peri- odum servare, asserebant cordatiores custodes qui ipsi €am pro morbosa contra nature ordinem affec- tione habe bant, quorumque plures candide fate- bantur, vulgo eandem pro fluxu menstruo declarari ut plebis admiratio eo major moveatur.” | In speaking of the effects of climate, Dr. Spaar- man, as quoted by Mr. White, observes, that the Africans “ never shewed the least signs of being displeased with the hottest days of summer.” It is not surprising that the temperature of any climate should be more congenial to the natives than to foreigners ; we see instances of this in the southern and northern parts of Europe. Al- though Africans can support labour in the hottest days with the same impunity as reapers in Eng- land in the dog days, yet they seek the shade in preference, and are fond of plunging into water in order to moderate the heat. Upon this subject Mr. White further remarks, “ West India planters . have assured me, and all writers agree, that the’ Negroes im the West Indies suffer more from the cold and moist weather, than from the warm and — dry ;” but this is also almost uniformly the case 261 with Europeans, who have resided for a consider- able time in tropical climates. It is unnecessary to observe, that cold and moisture have invariably been found prejudicial to the human constitution ; and armies have always sutfered much in the field from this cause. ‘The fatal effects of a warm state of the air, when combined with moisture, have been experienced too often by Europeans in hot climates. Even the greatest degrees of natural heat hitherto felt, when accompanied with a dry state of the atmosphere, produce scarcely any other effect upon Europeans thay that of increasing the irritability of the body ; nor has any climate been yet discovered too hot for their constitution. A friend of mine, who resided some years in New South Wales, assured me, that at a time when the - thermometer of Fahrenheit stood at 112° in the shade, he was able to use exercise in the sun with- out much inconvenience, though the parroquets dropped down dead from the excessive heat. Mr. White continues, ‘“ when the blacks are transported into these colder climates, they seem to suffer more than we do from cold. I myself have known instances where Negroes have lost their toes by the frost, in circumstances wherein an European would not have suffered. Consistently with this, we find that the whole genus of simia is impatient of cold; and no orang-outang has ever yet been able to bear the cold of many European winters.’—We find a very great difference in Europeans with respect to their capability of re- sisting the effects of cold; and such of them as 262 have resided long in tropical climates, manifest, on their return to more northern regions, at least an equal degree of susceptibility of cold with blacks. From what I have seen im Africa, it would appear, that the alternation of heat and cold is more indif- ferent to the African than is commonly supposed, as he will sometimes sleep the whole night ex- posed to the open air, with the slightest covering, though drenched with the copious and chilling dews which fall in that country ; while, at other times, he sleeps in a close hut, heated by a large fire, and filled with smoke. The fugitive blacks, who joined the standard of the British army in Ame- rica, supported the cold with as little inconveni- ence as the European soldiers. Many of them are still resident in Nova Scotia, and appear to en- dure the severity of winter as well as the whites. Upwards of twenty African youths, from Sierra Leone, were brought over to this country for edu- cation im 1799, and were placed in the neighbour- hood of London, where many of them now are. It does not appear by any means that they have suffered more from the cold of winter, than Euro- pean youths generally do. On the duration of life, Mr. White abbas <¢ Negroes are shorter lived than Europeans. All > observations confirm the fact, that the children of Negroes are more early and forward in walking than those of Europeans ; likewise that they arrive at maturity sooner. ‘The males are often ripe for marriage at ten, and the females at eight years of age.” He observes, Negroes and Hottentots of 263 fifty are reckoned very oldmen. << In this respect, therefore, gradation is apparent ; for according to Linnzus, the orang-outang lives only twenty-five years.” Whether Negroes be actually more short- lived than Europeans, and in that case, whether intemperance or the rigours of servitude may not be the cause, is uncertain. Among Europeans, it has been remarked, that sailors become sooner old and infirm than any other set of men; and slaves, who are still more exposed to hardships, may become prematurely old from the same cause. - The period of puberty is fixed in both sexes much too early. As far as my own experience goes, there is little difference in this respect be- tween the African and the European. That their children walk early may be attributed to their being permitted to roll about upon the ground unincumbered with clothes. With regard to the sexual parts, the law of gra- dation is certainly broken. Camper says, in the orang-outang, they resemble those of adog; the same author likewise asserts, that the knee of the orang is bent, and unfit for the erect posture. Tyson says, the orang wants the depending scrotum. Mr. White speaks ofthe scrotum being smaller in the Negro than European, but this escaped my notice ; and in twelve Negroes which he examined, four had no frenum przeputti, “ six of them had very trifling ones, which hardly could be called bridles; the remaining two were as per- fect as Europeans.” | It has already been asserted, that the circumci- 264 sion of females is not practised on account of any disproportion in those parts. In Europe we fre- quently find elongations of the nymphe, especially after child bearing. The pendulous breasts of the African females have long been noticed by authors, but they are far from being general. I never saw an instance where women could “ suckle their children upon their backs, by throwing the breasts over their shoulders ;” and it may be affirmed, that such a circumstance would occasion as much astonish- ment on the western coast of Africa as it would in Europe. A practice prevails of binding the breasts with a light bandage when turgid with milk, which must conduce to render them flabby. Even in England, however, the breasts grow to an im- mense size in persons who are disposed to become fat ; and among the lower classes of people, owing to the pernicious practice of suckling children for a great length of time, and to bad nourishment, as many instances of pendulous breasts are to be met with asin Africa, although the mode of dress prevents our noticing it. THE MENTAL FacuLTiEs of the African next pass under the review of Mr. White, who has quoted, in confirmation of the theory of gradation, some passages from Mr. Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. As the same quotations occur in Mr. Imlay’s “ Description of the Western Territory of North America,” and are there accompanied by a complete refutation, I here insert them from that work. 265 Speaking of the Negroes, Mr. Jefferson says : * Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites, in reason -much inferior, as I think one could scarcely be found capable of tracing and comprehending the investigations of Euclid ; and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous. It would be unfair to follow them to Africa for this investi- gation ; we will consider them here* on the same stage of the whites, and where the facts are not apocryphal, on which ajudgment is to be formed.” * Can any position,” says Mr. Imlay, “ be more puerile and inconsistent? ‘ We will consider them on the same stage of the whites, and then a com- parison is not apocryphal.’ Now I beg to know what can be more uncertain and false than esti- mating or comparing the intellect or talents of two descriptions of men; one enslaved, degraded, and fettered in all their-acts of volition, without a vista through which the rays of light and science could be shot to illumine their ignorant minds—the other free, independent, and with the advantage of appropriating the reason and science which have been the result of the study and labours of the philosophers and sensible men for centuries back ? If there have been some solitary instances where Negroes have had the advantages of education, they have shewn that they are in no degree infe- rior to whites, though they have always had in this * Jn America. VOL. JJ. MM 266 country the very great disadvantage of associating only with their ignorant countrymen, which not only prevents that polish so essential to arrest admiration, but which imperceptibly leads to servility from the prevalence of manners.” « Mr. Jefferson’s own arguments invalidate themselves.” ‘“ Homer told us,” he says, “ nearly three thousand. years since, “« Jove fix’d it certain, that whatever day Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away.” * Now it is most certain, that the Negroes in America have not only been enslaved, but that they have existed under the most inhuman and nefarious tyranny, Sede ia the southern states.” The following additional observations of Mr. Jefferson on this subject are taken from Mr. White’s work: “ Many millions of them have been brought to and born in America; most of them indeed have been confined to tillage, to their own homes, and their own society ; yet many of them have been so situated, that they might have availed themselves of the conversation of their masters; many have been brought up to the handicraft arts, and from that circumstance have always been associated with the whites. Some have been liberally educated,” (with more truth it might be said licentiously,) “and all have lived in countries, where the arts and sciences are cultivated to a considerable degree, and have had samples-of the best works from abroad. ‘The 267 Indians *, with no advantages of this kind, will often carve figures on their pipes, not destitute of design and merit. They will crayon out an ani- mal, a plant, or a country, so as to prove the existence of a germ in their minds, which only wants cultivation. They astonish you with strokes of the most sublime oratory, such as prove their reason and sentiment strong, their imagina- tion glowing and elevated ; but never yet could I find, that a black had ever uttered a thought above the level + of a plain narration, never see even an elementary trait of painting and sculpture.” It is astonishing to find such assertions made by a man whose opportunities of information must have been extensive. In Africa, it is very customary for the natives to carve the outside of their cali- bashes, the handles of their spoons and weapons, in a variety of neat fancy patterns, some representing * Dr. Smith, in his learned Essay on the Variety of Complexion in the Human Species, says, p. 81, “ The exaggerated repre- sentations which we sometimes receive of the ingenuity and pro- found wisdom of savages (meaning the Americans) are the fruits of weak and ignorant surprise.” As it is not my wish to depreciate one kind of people in order to elevate another. I shall not give the picture of the North Ame- rican Indian, drawn by Dr. Smith in the above mentioned work, (p. 84.) which does not indicate that degree of intellectual capa- city which Mr. Jefferson attributes to them.—A very different account is also given of them by Dr. Douglas, in his Historical and Political History of the British Settlements in North America, vol. i. p. 153, where he says, speaking of the aboriginal inha- bitants, “‘ New negroes from Guinea generally exceed them much in constitution of body and mind.” + Can a man be eloquent in a language which he imperfectly understands ? 268 human heads and faces, others depicting animals, &c. Among the native African boys, lately brought to England by the Sierra Leone company, are several whose genius for drawing is very re- markable, and whose copies are so accurate, that were it thought proper for them to pursue that- line, not a doubt can be entertained of their rising to considerable eminence. _ Mr. Imlay remarks, that Baron de Tott, epee ing of the ignorance of the Turks, who are also slaves but whites, says, it was with difficulty that. he could make them comprehend the sim- plest proposition in mathematics. Mr. Imlay further observes, “ a black in New England has composed an ephemeris, which I have seen, and which men, conversant in the science of astro- nomy, declare, exhibits marks of acute reason and genius. ‘ Religion has produced a Phillis Wheatly ; but it could not produce a poet,” is another of Mr. Jefferson’s dogmata. Phillis was brought from Africa to America, between seven and eight years of age ; and without any assistance from a school education, and before she was fifteen years old, wrote many of her poems. ‘This in- formation is attested by her then master, John Wheatly, dated Boston, Nov. 14, 1772.” Mr. Imlay, in proof of his assertion, quotes a part of her beautiful Poem on Imagination ; but as it is too long, the following short extract from an Hymn to the Morning, may serve as a Foe aleciig ee het poetical talents: 269 Aurora hail, and all the thousand dies, _ Which deck thy progress through the vaulted skies : The morn awakes, and wide extends her rays, On every leaf the gentle zephyr plays ; Harmonious lays the feather’d race resume, Dart the bright eye, and shake the painted plume. “« As to the whites being more elegantly formed (says Mr. Imlay) as asserted by Mr. Jefferson, I must confess, that it has never appeared so to me.’ On the contrary, I have often observed, in families which have been remarkable for feeding their blacks well, and treating them in other respects with humanity, that their Negroes have been as finely formed as any whites I ever saw.—Indeed, my admiration has often been arrested, in examin ing their proportion, muscular strength, and ath- letic powers.” Mr. Imlay concludes these remarks with a com- pliment to Mr. Jefferson’s candour and goodness of heart,*and adds an extract from his work, which breathes such a spirit of truth, that I cannot re- frain from inserting it. ‘“ The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremit- ting despotism on one part, and degrading sub- missions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it. The parent storms, the child looks on, catches the lmeaments of wrath, puts on the same airs, gives a loose to his worst of passions, and thus nursed, educated, and daily exercised in tyranny, cannot but be stamped with odious pe- euliarities.” After making several moral reflections 270 upon the subject of slavery, Mr. Jefferson finishes with these emphatical words: “ Indeed, I tremble for my country, when I reflect that God is just : that his justice cannot sleep for ever: that, con- sidering numbers, nature, and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange -of situation, is among possible events: that it may become probable by supernatural interference ! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest.” SENSE OF FEELING. The cuticle and rete mucosum are said to be thicker in the African than in the European, from which Mr. White draws this conclusion: “ It isno wonder then, that Negroes have not that lively and delicate sense of touch that the whites have, since both the cuticle and rete mucosum are thicker in them.—lIn brutes, this sense is still duller than in Negroes.” I doubt very much the accuracy of this observation, though I can adduce no direct proof of the contrary. We find in the European that the cuticle is thicker, and more deeply fur- rowed at the finger ends, the very seat of feeling, than it is in the face. The African women have in general easy la- bours, but they do not “ retire to the woods, bring forth alone, and return directly home.” We have had in this country mnumerable instances of unfor- tunate women bringing forth in private, and en- gaging immediately in fatiguing employments, in order to prevent suspicion, and preserve their 271 character in society. Mr. White concludes the paragraph on parturition, with saying, that “ wo- men. of colour have easier parturitions in general, than white Europeans; and that brutes have easier parturitions than the human species.” Having been present at a great number of la- bours among the Nova Scotian blacks at Sierra Leone, I can affirm, that they in every respect resemble those of women in the same situation of life in England ; and the observation may perhaps be extended to the Africans. 1 have met with in- stances in England, where the foetus was expelled with more ease than I ever knew it to be at Sierra Leone. Instances of labour protracted to twenty- four hours and upwards, occurred frequently at Free Town ; and I knew some from the effects of which the patients suffered very severely. In every case, which came under my observation, there was the same relative proportion between the capacity of the pelvis and the head of the child as is found in England. Mr. White next speaks of the piszaszs of black people. I have already said that I never met with an instance of tetanus in Africa. The insensibi- lity of Negroes to pain, noticed by Dr. Mosely, if real, ought perhaps to be referred to that state of depression, and indifference to life, produced by West Indian slavery. No such fact is observable in Africa. Mr. White proceeds to say, “ European women, in hot countries, are very subject to floodings, and to the fluor albus. | Negresses are almost exempt / 979 , from. both these complaints, but are very liable to obstructions of the menses.” These assertions are far too general. Menorrhagia occurs sometimes, though rarely, among the natives; but I have met with several instances of it among the black set- tlers at Free Town. Obstructions of the menses rarely happen among the Africans or settlers, ex- cept as an effect of some tedious illness ; slaves in the West Indies, however, are very liable to them, m consequence of the debility occasioned by bad diet, depressing passions, &c. Fluor albus is a complaint to which we might expect a priori, that the natives of Africa would not be subject ; it depends so much upon a peculiar mode of life, and is so much connected with certain affections of the mind, that it may be regarded as one of the attendants of civilization. It seldom appears among the black women at Free Town, but Ihave met, even. among them, with some cases, as obsti- nate as any I have seen in England. Dr. John Hunter, says, ‘ the cacabay is a negro name for a disease not known among Europeans or their descendants, as far as I could learn.’ This assertion has been already noticed under the head of elephantiasis. The same author likewise mentions dirt-eating, as a disorder which is peculiar to Negroes, and frequently proves fatal tothem. A species of this complaint, however, frequently occurs in England, in chlorosis, ene | m some cases of pregnancy. I do not recollect having ever remarked, or hearing it remarked, that the African’s manner 373 of walking is very different from that of the Euro- pean’s.” Mr. White having thus attempted to prove that material differences exist in the organization and constitution of the human species, concludes by observing, that these differences “ generally mark a regular gradation, from the white European down, through the human species, to the brute creation. From which it appears, that in those particulars wherein mankind excel brutes, the European excels the African.” “It remains yet to notice, that in those particu- lar respects in which the brutes excel mankind, the African excels the European ; these are chiefly the senses of seeing, hearing, and smelling ; the faculty of memory, and the power of mastication.” Mr. White has not favoured us with any in- stances of the superiority of the Africans in the above points, and I am persuaded that his remarks on this subject are perfectly unfounded. Mankind aré so much inclined to pride themselves upon any point in which they may excel their fellow creatures, that there is no doubt, if the African possessed these advantages, that he would be dis- posed to boast of them; but I never heard such a circumstance noticed, either by the Africans ‘themselves, or by Europeans residing in Africa. I observed in them, indeed, a superior quick- ness of discovering game in a forest; but this faculty is acquired by practice; for they by no means equal in this respect the acuteness of those American Indians who live solely upon the chace. VOL. I. NN Qh In England, persons not accustomed to hunting, will walk close to a hare upon her seat, without observing her, but she is instantly discovered by the eye of the sportsman. Mr. Browne, in his travels in Africa, says, that among the Negroes “there are few instances of myopes ; and blindness is very uncommon.” ‘These remarks I believe to be just ; I know no instances of blindness among them, except from accidents, the small-pox, or ex- treme old age. Whether they possess strong eyes or not, I cannot determine. In England, the black eye does not appear to possess the strongest sight. Mr. White’s objections to the Mosaic account of the creation, which are equally weak and futile with those of the infidel writers who have gone before him, are so fully and satisfactorily an- ticipated in Mr. Clarkson’s “ Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species,” (a work containing also much curious and accurate infor- mation respecting Africa and its inhabitants) that it isunnecessary to advert to them here, APPENDIX N° IV. HE following important and valuable remarks of Professor Blumenbach upon Negroes, are taken from “ Voigts Magazin fur das neueste aus der Physik *,” &c. and afford ample testimony to the truth of what has been asserted respecting them. _© In the picture gallery at Pommersfeld, I saw four heads of Negroes by Vandyk+, of which, two in particular had so little of the projecting facial line, that they differed but in a small degree from the European countenance, s* At that time I had met with few opportuni- ties of obtaining any knowledge of the form of the Negro head from nature ; and as it occurred to me that Mr. Camper had asserted, in a lecture delivered at the academy of painting in Amster- dam, that, “ most of the great painters, and espe- cially Rubens, Vandyk, and Jordaens, had. instead of Negroes drawn only black coloured Europeans.” I ascribed the agreeable forms of these Negro faces to this general error. } * Kinige naturhistorische Bemerkungen bey Gelegenihieit einer Scweizerreise. Yom Hrn. Prof. Blumenbach. 4. Bandes 3. Stick. + See Vergeichn. der Schildereyen in der Gallerie des Hoch- graflichen Schénbornischen Schlosses zu Pommersfelden. 276 « A few months afterwards, however, I had an opportunity of convincing myself, that there are real Negroes, whose lineaments agree with those of Europeans, and that the painting at Pommers- feld at least, might be an accurate representation of nature. . « Being about to visit Messrs. Treytorrens in Yverdun, one of whom had resided a long time in St. Domingo, as I entered the court yard of the house, I saw only a woman, standing with her back towards me, whose elegant form attracted my notice. But how much was I surprised, when on accosting her she turned round, to find a Negress, whose physiognomy perfectly corre- sponded with such a form, and, in my mind, completely justified the accuracy of the Negro portraits by Vandyk, which I had seen at Pom- mersfeld. | « Her face was such, that even the nose, and somewhat thicker lips, had nothing peculiar, cer- tainly nothing unpleasant in their appearance ; and had the same features occurred in a white skin, they would have excited very general admi- ration. To this were added, the most sprightly and cheerful vivacity, a sound judgment, and as I afterwards discovered, peculiar knowledge and skillin midwifery. The pretty Negress of Yverdun is widely celebrated as the best midwife in that part of Switzerland. «‘ | heard from her master (who had likewise in his service a Negro of a very elegant form) that she was a Creole from St. Domingo. Her parents 277 were from Congo, but not so black as the Sene- gambia Negroes. “ Since that time I have had an opportunity of seeing and speaking with several Negroes, and have also procured three skulls, and a number of preparations from Negroes, for my collection. All these circumstances, together with what I have learned on the subject from books of travels, have convinced me still more of the truth of the two fol- lowing positions, viz. * 1. Among Negroes, both with regard to co- jour, and still more, with respect to the facial line, as many, if not more varieties, occur, as be- tween the most perfect Negro and the other vari- eties of mankind. *« 2. Negroes with respect to their mental capa- cities and talents, do not appear to be in the least inferior to the other races of mankind. “ The very striking gradation observable in three Negro skulls which I have before me, afford an evident proof of the justness of the first position « The first, which was brought from New York by M. Michaelis, and which I have elsewhere exactly described *, is distinguished by so pro- jecting an upper jaw, that if all Negroes were the same, we might be tempted to think that they sprung from an Adam different from our own. “ The facial line of the third slopes so little, and indeed is so different from the former, and has so little exotic in its appearance, that if I had not (through the goodness of M. Michaelis) dissected \ * QOsteologie, p. 87. 278 the entire head, exactly as it was separated from the fresh subject, I should have hesitated to call it the head of a genuine Negro. ' The second stands midway between the two others; and has in its whole form a great resem- blance to the head of the Abyssinian Abbas Gregorius, of which I have a good plate, done by Heiss, in 1691, after Von Sand, and which shews the near affinity of the Abyssinians with the Ne- groes. It more nearly resembles the plain featured Negroes, according to European ideas of beauty, than those so finely formed as the Negress of Yver- dun, or the innumerable fine negro faces to be met with which differ but little from those of Europeans. « What I have here said respecting the resem- blance of so many Negroes to Europeans, is only a confirmation of afact which has been long known, and which has frequently been remarked by unprejudiced and attentive travellers, a few of whom I shall quote in proof of my assertion. «Thus: Le Maire in his Voyages aux Cap Verd, Senegal, et Gambie, p. 161, says, ‘ al’ex- ception de la noirceur, il y a des Negresses aussi bien faites que nos dames Europeanes.’ * Leguat in his Travels, vol ii. p. 136, observes, *j’ai rencontre a Batavia plusieurs fort jolies Ne- gresses. Un visage tout-a-fait forme a |’Euro- peene.’ «« Mr. Adanson’s description of the Senegambia Negresses has already been noticed. * Ulloa in the Noticias Americanas, vol. ii. 279 p, 92, says, ‘ among the Negroes some have thick protruded lips, a flat nose, deep seated eyes, which are commonly called getudos, and wool instead of hair. Others, whose colour is quite as black as the former, and whose features, especially the mouth, nose, and eyes, are similar to the whites, have long thick hair. « The testimonies, and instances in proof of the second position above mentioned, namely, of the sound judgment, good natural capacity and genius of Negroes, are just as incontrovertible and numerous as those of the first. « ‘Their astonishing memory, their extensive commercial undertakings*, their acuteness in * Barbot relates many curious particulars upon this subject in his excellent Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea, in the 5th vol. of Churchill’s Collection of Voyages. Page 235, itis said, ‘‘ ‘The blacks are for the most part men of sense and wit enough ; of a sharp ready apprehension, and an ex- cellent memory beyond what is easy to imagine ; for though they can neither read nor write, they are always regular in the greatest hurry of business and trade, and seldom in confusion.” A very accurate writer remarks, ‘ it is astonishing with what facility the African brokers reckon up the exchange of European goods for slaves. One of these brokers has perhaps ten slaves to ~ sell, and for each of these he demands ten different articles. He reduces them immediately by the head into bars, coppers, ounces, according to the part of the country in which he resides, and im- mediately strikes the balance.”——‘ On those parts of the coast, which are the greatest markets for slaves, many Africans reside, who act as interpreters to the ships. ‘These, by great industry and perseverance, have made themselves masters of two or three of the languages of the country, and of the language of those Europeans with whom they are most connected in trade.” —“ Several of the African traders or great men, are not unacquainted with letters. This is particularly the case at Bonny and Calibar, where they not only speak the English language with fluency, but write it. These traders send letters repeatedly to the merchants here, 280 trade, particularly with gold dust, in which the most experienced European traders cannot always be sufficiently upon their guard, are circumstances too well known to require repetition. “ The singular facility with-which slaves learn all kinds of a hand-work, is likewise well known. “ The same may be said of their musical ta- Jents *; we have had instances of Negroes who per- formed upon the violin in so masterly a manner, and gained so much money by it, as to be enabled to pay a large sum to purchase their freedom ft. « Of the poetical genius of Negroes we have well known instances in both sexes. “« Mons. Von Haller mentions a Negress who was a poetess. «¢ A specimen of the Latin poems of eh Negro, Francis Williams, an excellent schoolmaster, are contamed in the History of Jamaica. « The Negro, Ignatius Sancho, has lately intro- duced himself to general notice by his interesting letters. stating the situation of the markets, the goods which they would wish to besent out to them the next voyage, the number of slaves which they expect to receive by that time, and such other par- ticulars as might be expected fiom one merchant to another,”— On the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, p. 125. * This is contrary to the opinion of Mr. Bryan Edwards; but it is maintained by others equally eminent. Mr. Clarkson observes, “they play upon a variety of instruments, without any other assistance than their own ingenuity. They have also tunes of their own composition. Some of these have been imported among us, are now in use, and are admired for their sprightliness and ease, though the ungenerous and prejudiced importer has concealed their original.” On the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species. + Hrn. Urlspergers Americanish Ackerwerk Gottes, $. 311. 281 * To the above instances may be added two others, to shew the genius and talents of our black brethren for scientific acquirements. « Tt is well known that the protestant minister James John Eliza Capitein was a Negro, and a learned man, and a good orator. I have his por- trait in an excellent plate by Tanjé, after P. Van Dyk. “ Professor Hollman, when at Wittenberg, con- ferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy upon a Negro who had greatly distinguished himself, and who afterwards went to Berlinas a privy counsellor. (Konigl. Preuss. Hofrath.) [have in my possession two of his dissertations, one of which in particular contains much unexpected and well digested eru- dition, drawn from the best physiological works of thattime. Its title is Diss. Inaug. philosophica de humane Mentis eraSax, s. Sensionis ac Facultatis i Mente humana Absentia, & earum in Corpore nostro organico ac vivo Presentia, quam Pres. 'D. Mart. Goth. Loeschero publice defendit auctor Ant. Guil. Amo Guinea—Afer, Phil. & A. A. L. L. Mag. & J. V. C. Witteberge, 1734, m. Apr. « The title of the other is Disp. Philosophica continens Ideam distinctam eorum que compe- tunt vel Menti vel Corpori nostro vivo & organico, quam Preside M. Ant. Guil. Amo Guinea—Afro d. 29 Maii 1734, defendit Io. Theodos. Meiner Rochliz Misnic. Philos. & J. V. Cultor. “ In an account of the life of-Amo, which on this occasion was printed in the name of the VOL. Il. 00 282 academic council, it is said among other particu- lars respecting his talents: “ Honorem meritis ingenii partum, insigni probitatis, industriz, eru- ditionis, quam publicis privatisque exercitationibus declaravit, laude auxit. Compluribus philoso- phiam domi tradidit, excusissimam veterum, quam novorum, placitis; optima quzequeselegit, selecta enucleate, ac dilucide interpretatus est.” “« The president, at the public defence of the first dissertation, says expressly to Amo in the fol- lowing congratulatory speech: “ Tuum potis- simum eminet ingenium felicissmum+——utpote qui istius felicitatem atque prestantiam, eruditi- onis ac doctrine soliditatem ac elegantiam multis speciminibus hactenus in nostra etiam academia “magno cum applausu omnibus bonis, & in pre- senti dissertatione egregie comprobasti. Reddo tibi illam proprio marte eleganter ac erudite elaboratam, tegram adhuc & plane mmutatam, ut vis ingenii tuieo magis exinde elucescat.”—— “ Boerhaave and De Haen have given the most flattering testimonies of the uncommon progress of several negroes in the practice of medicine, and the science and skill of the midwife of Yverdun are, as has been already said, ane celebrated m pape neighbourhood. “ Finally, the academy of sciences at Paris includes amongst its correspondents a Negro, Monsr. Lislet, in the Isle of France, who excels m the accuracy of his meteorological. observa- tions. « From the instances already adduced, it is to 283 be hoped that my assertion will be justified re- specting the equality of the Negroes to us other children of Adam. | “ On the other hand, I should think many con- siderable provinces of Europe might be named, from which it would be difficult to produce a vir- tuoso, a poet, a philosopher, and correspondent of the Paris Academy.” — INDEX TO THE SECOND VOLUME. es A A ’ Page 5 BOMA snake, described by Capt. Stedman ...........4. eneeneieets reamed Abortion, artificial, seldom attempted in Affrica......scsscsssesecsecsseeeeess 215 Abscess of the liver, a rare OCCUIYENCE ..e.ceseussererececcencees As ecastee nt 120 Africans, their notions of medicine blended with magic............... Aearice 10 = suppose the stomach the chief seat of disease ... s.essseesee veceot Os - not exempt from remittent fever .......- peteasoistess ecemstaniteaee woe 114s - hasten the approach of old age by intemperance ...... Mosslepciinitee 115 - mental faculties of the, noticed ..........cscesceseeeeeeee Baletieteastaceles 264 =————- boys brought to England by the Sierra Leone Company .. ..... 268 Agues, rarely observed among the Bulloms and Timmanees ...........+... 21 — more frequent among the Foolas ........+..0++ Senecio dette Retcteteistetes ib. how treated by the natives ........... Peeceoetauaceeneatcmncrseets ib. Ague cakes, rarely occur among the Africans .0.....secscseseses conseens 22 —— very frequent among resident Europeans.......-+.see0e---00s ib. falsely attributed to the use of the Peruvian bark ........ «23 Amo, a learned Negro, Doctor of Philosophy. .......sesecveseseseeecseseeres 281 Anasarca, occurring in children ..... Shaicit sates cieetnien eittatetsistisiasieit=lesialecise asics 222 Anorexia, or loss of appetite, how treated .........sssececsee euceeseeeeenece 124: PAnits,, blacky incredible. swaimeis,One ede pitese ac Gecve dee tilectsedsesorseccdests .. 176 Aphrodisiacs, in great request among the Mahommedans........4 ..s2s0008 114 Apothecary, the art of the, noticed in Scripture ......seesscesceecseeesoene ene we Apthous, ulcers of the mouth, how treated ............secseeereeenes Scandals . 41 Ardor urinz, in gonorrhoea, how relicved .ccecssececseeesenseesesensessees ven 35 Aristotle, his opinion respecting the tide..........cssecceeseseneeweeeves wean. 11 Arm of the negro not longer than in Europeans .....ceceeseesceeeceeee eves 256 Arsenic used by the Hindoos in elephantiasis, ......ee.csssseesssvercnsrseeee 60 Atkins describes the credulity of a British goverMOr csssreseseesssessereeeee LE INDEX. 5 Page Bark, African, mistaken for a species of rondeletia .......ssssssocrosescreenee D4 efficacious in fevery sore throat, aera ec Gianesiste rsa 247 GASES Off 1S CHCACHH ete qhdens ses Wet od seereese tevesees Hd ov SECs Peruvian, false opinions respecting its USE ..c.s.sesceeeeneoeees eats 23 Belly stck, fever often so termed by the Africans ..........cccevconeeanseoeees 13 PEMCUIOUS, NOW, PKEVENLGG! camscsiean cess cee ssieesnariaeact esas taese en One Blafard, Chacrelas, or white negro, described........cceseseecesevee tester 172 Bleeding from an artery or vein unknown to the Africans ..........s.cee0s . 20 - said to have been practised by the Egyptians 2... .-......eseseeues ib. Blindness, night, occasionally occurs in (Afited fe nace aeuae sane sees 128 - how remedied, according to Pliny .........sesscecscveeesvee ib. Blood, flux of; from wounds, how-restraimed ...cccscesscsces ccoceerencccsese 200 Blumenbach, Professor, his remarks on negroes. Appendix. No.IV. 275 Boys, African, brought over by the Sierra Leone Company .............. . 268 Breasts, m/k, medical treatment Of .....cseecssesene ouenivacnececumeenenae Besces aT pendulous, how occasioned.......cccsseceseceseeees dade voed eedenetenelte 264 Bulloms, their opinion respecting death ...,..-cces sausovceccvonsonesecernece 10 Burns and scalds, applications made to......sesseereee eceeveeswsssseecsososees 193 Cc Cachexia Africana desennedy aiid. Wii gens (outs des thqeeskesmtacia els dune Cains « neelelaek Calculous complaints not frequent on the coast of Africa s..esseeesseerene 3D = ~ more common in the desert .....ecsccsecsencons heevwe inh bys Calypso, the, transport, refitted at Sierra Leone .......00c.0.0 Ses adads poste ho Capitein, J. J. E. a learned negro.......... fenn aistolgita suieleiereleteaiate peddsoeveccee SO Capsicum or red pepper, used in the cure of dysentery....... ssloecvlesepveds 44: Catamenia, curious opinions concerning the .........: ued. WaneWe bet se ebeh st 205 Cattery, actual, employed by the natives of Fezzan ......+s.0..40+- oreveosesmh LO - to restrain haemorrhage from wounds ......... 202 Cephalics, avery numerous class of African remedies ......... saoeees paren? (Chigoes, a frequent complaint in the West Indies .....s+..s