Copy 1, Volume 1

An account of the native Africans in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone : to which is added an account of the present state of medicine among them / by Thomas Winterbottom.

  • Thomas Masterman Winterbottom
Date:
1803
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the native Africans in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone : to which is added an account of the present state of medicine among them / by Thomas Winterbottom. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    their time on the water, and live chiefly on fish and rice*; they are remarkable for the robust- ness and fleshiness of their bodies, and also for their great agility. , The Kroos, or Kroomen, are a very industrious people, and frequently engage themselves to Eu- ropean vessels upon the coast, continuing on board several. months, and acting in the capacity of sailors and traders, in both which situations they shew much intelligence and activity. But not- withstanding their utmost exertions none of them become rich. When any person returns home from _ the service of Europeans, he is obliged to make large presents to the old men of the town: when this has been neglected, or when it is suspected that a part of his wealth has been concealed, he is summoned by the old people to the Palaver- house, where a fire being made of green pepper bushes, the culprit is suspended over it with his hands tied behind his back, until nearly suffocated with the smoke; a ceremony which never fails to ~ extort a discovery of his treasure, and a a compliance with all their demands. All these nations have languages peculiar to themselves, most of which are not merely dialects of the same language, but essentially different, though confined in some cases to a small dis- trict. Even the Bulloms of Sierra Leone, and _ those of Sherbro, though constituting one nation, differ in their mode of speaking ; and this diver- * Ichthyophagi, natantes ceu maris animalia. Cc
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