New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-05-19


scent, and a per,ou Of energy and iDIe'nsoDo''
devoted TO the spread Of Christian cNinzS'ion III
the land Of biz p ,r'ors.
The expcditor al which an account Is tere
siyen departed from Liverpool in the month oil
June. 1859, arrived off Sierra Leone ID the iol-
lowing July, aud toward the close OF the same
month anchored "a Lagos, an island OF $1,000
inhabitants in the Blight of Benin. After
friendly reception by the king of Lagos, Mr..
Campbell renamed few weeks on the island,
and then pr,ceedtd by canoes UP the river Ogun
to AbbeOku'a. He vas Hospitality welcomed 10y
the king, who evinrei great interest 10 the pur-
poses of his mis>ioo. The monarch presented a
striking specimen Of the native African OF that
region. He had not a rsg Of clothing above the
loios, bat otherwise bis toilette might have ex'
cited the admiral on of Brummell. His head
was adorned with u splendid velvet cap trimmed
with gold; be wore costly necklace OF coral,
and q double scarf Of the same material; vel
yet cloth was thro@u gracefully about his person,
under which a SOFT OF loOse tr0wsers reached to
tho knees. His household was arranged on q
scale OF even more than pattiarctel liberality. A
hundred wives administered to his domestic
felicity, one Of whom was seated on the
came mat fano,ng him. He tOndled an
infant on bis kuees, and eight or ten Of his
other little children, locking as nearly alike as
crop Of mushrooms, were fr0lickng around him.
On his right sat several very old men dressed in
white robes, who composed the privy council Of
his majesty, wbiIc few slaves, his chief admin
istrative officers we're near at hand. The Kings
person is considered too sacred for the peoples
gaze, and he rs never permitted to leave the
palace except on special occasions, and then be
only goes into tho open space outside the palace
gates one of his wives being III attendance TO
screen his face with large fan.
The native cities in this part Of Africa, as de-
scribed by Mr. Campbell, have no pretensons to
convenient arrangement, and are even destitute
of any thing that eau properly be called streets.
The houses, or compounds, as they are termed,
are scattered without taste or discretion, accord
ing to the iancy of the owner, crooked and
narrow lanes being left between them. These
dwellings are sometime, Of enormous proportions,
accommodating, or rather ncOmmcdiDg, frOm 20
to 200 inmates, especially in those of the wealth
Ter classes which are occupied by over 500 ten
anti. They are built of mud but are 10 sOue
instances psstered and smoothed in such
manner that stranger would not suspect the
material. Sheep and goats are gathered within
the inc.osure at night. la almost every house,
there il large dovccOt in which aIe bred myri-
ads Of common domestic pigeons. The care OF
chickens, ducks, aud other poultry, is a fa7orite
pursuit with the people
Their food consists chiefly Of preparation Of
corn macerdted IN water until it begins to fer
ment. 1t is then crushed between stones, and
tue chat separated by repeated washings. After
this tie milky liquor is boiled in large pots until
it assumes q consistency q little sitter than
cream. and as it Goods becomes as firm es Jelly
The taste at first is rather disagreeable, but
liking usually comes by use. portion oil IL
about tho size OF common roll, wrapped IN
leaves, is sold for five cowries, or about mil.
An adult native consumes from four to eight Of
these little packages at meal, seasoning the
farinaceous mass with potent sauce made by
cooking together palm OIL pepper, locust seed,
\ ocros, ogeri, and several esculent herbs Ground
beans and pepper fried in oil, cooked vans beat
en- with water in a wooden mortar, with certain
other dishes made of corn, or rice, form also
delectabe articles of diet Native beer, brewed
from maize or Guinea corn, is abundant, and
often good. Another paatable beverage ia pre-
pared from the sap which flows from incisions in
the palm tree.
The people are addicted to various branches Of
labor, to display degree of industry rarely sur
passed among civilized nations. The native
blacksiniths work sitting on the ground. Their
bellows is bewn out of block Of wood about
three feet long and six or seven inches deep, in
the form of two cups connected by tube, to
the middle of which another tube Of clay is at
tached, through which the current Of air is pro.
PEELED. The two cavities are each covered with
sack Of Unframed hide, and a stick of wood
about three feet long is fastened to each sack.
little boy having hold of the ends of these
stocks, lifts and depresses them alternately, and
thus secures the action. The fuel is charcoal
made from the hard shell surrounding the kernel
of the palm-nut. The apparatus of the weayers
is very simple. There are two kinds--one used
by the men, producing cloth of only few inches
ia width and another by the women, producing
cloth as wide as that Of English manufacture.
The implements of the farmer consist merely
of the hoe and the blhoOk. The hoe is badly
mounted, with short handles, obligng the operator
to stoop in using it. The soil is prepared by
heeping the surface earth in hills, close together
and in regular parallel lines. Cotton, yams,
corn, casssva, beans, grow at the side OF each