KOORANKOO, a considerable kingdom of Western Africa. It is bounded on the west by the Bullom, Limba, and Timmance countries; on the north by Limba, Tamisso, and Soolimana; on the east by Kissi, the Niger, and countries little known; and on the south by those countries which border on the coast. These limits include a very extensive tract of country, but the boundary lines are somewhat indefinite; indeed they are continually fluctuating, according to the fortunes of war as it is practised amongst savage tribes of men. For our knowledge of Koorankoo we are indebted to the enterprise of Major Laing, by whom is was visited and has been described. A chain of hills, sixty miles in length, runs in a north-easterly direction throughout the whole of the country. These are for the most part clothed at their base with the camwood tree, which constitutes the staple article of trade. The range is composed of micaceous granite and mica slate, interspersed with veins of quartz and laterite, so strongly impregnated with iron as sensibly to affect the needle at some inches distance. The principal rivers appear to be the Rokelle and the Kamaranka. The source of the former is set down in Major Laing’s map as in latitude 9. 45. north, longitude 9. 55. west, a parallel which lies in the Soolima country. It issues from the foot of a hill, by barometrical measurement 1470 feet above the level of the Atlantic; and after receiving several tributaries, and traversing Koorankoo and. other countries, falls into the sea at Sierra Leone, to which colony it is of great importance. The Rokelle is the only river, says Major Laing, which bears one name from the source to the sea. The rivulets and longer streams which discharge themselves into it are picturesquely beautiful, dashing over rugged granite rocks several hundred feet in elevation. One of the tributaries, called Ba-Jafana, had a bed of about fifteen yards in breadth, though only about three miles from its source, which is in a mountain named Balakonko, where the natives procure the camwood in great abundance. The banks of the river are likewise lined with this wood, which grows to the height of about sixty feet. The Tongolelle, a rapid stream about thirty yards broad, also joins the Rokelle. It takes its rise in a sort of basin, surrounded with thick brushwood, and gives birth to a rich and luxuriant growth of wild canes in its centre, affording a cool retreat to the leopards which infest this part of the country. To such an extent are these rapacious animals dreaded, that Major Laing “observed the sites of several towns now in ruin, the inhabitants of which had been forced to move to the westward to avoid their attacks.” The Kamaranka appears to be a river of the same size and general character as the Rokelle. It has also numerous tributaries. All the rivulets running south through the mountain chain already mentioned collect behind a lofty hill called Botato, and fall into it. About a mile from Nyiniah, one of the largest and best-built towns in Koorankoo, is the source of a fine stream, which joins the Kamaranka. The spring forms a basin ten yards in diameter, embanked with masses of granite, and overhung with lofty trees, clad with a foliage so thick as to bid defiance to the rays even of a vertical sun. Major Laing describes the scenery in this quarter as occasionally very picturesque and beautiful. After crossing a range of hills to the eastward of Nyiniah, there presented itself to the eye of the traveller “an extensive valley, partly cultivated, and partly covered with long natural grass about five feet high, the cultivated part newly u u r n; lines of stately palm trees, as regular as if laid out by art, with here and there a cluster of camwood trees, their deep shade affording a relief to the lighter hue of the smaller herbage; these, with a murmuring rivulet meandering through the centre, exhibited the appearance of a well-cultivated and tastily-arranged garden, rather than a tract amid the wilds of Africa; whilst, in the distance, mountain towered above mountain in all the grandeur and magnificence of nature. There was also seen an extensive plain covered with short, thin grass; and our traveller having crossed a mountain ridge which separates the head streams of the Kamaranka, flowing southward, from those which reach the Rokelle, he ascended a lofty erninencö called Sa Wolle. The summit of this mountain, according to barometrical measurement, was 1900 feet above the level of the sea, and the view from it was grand and extensive in the highest degree. A capacious circle of nearly two degrees in diameter, interrupted only by a hill to the eastward, which rose considerably higher, presented a landscape of the most rich and varied scenery.

Camwood is the staple article of trade, and it is sent down the Rokelle and the Kamaranka to be bartered for various articles, chiefly salt. There is also a considerable advantage derived from the extensive manufacture of cloth. The loom in which this is wove is very narrow. The artisan sits under an open shed, from the roof of which are suspended two frames of equal breadth with the roof, nicely divided with perpendicular strings. ' By a motion of the feet, these are made to cross one another alternately, and at each motion the shuttle is cast through. In this manner of working they exhibit much dexterity, and make good progress. Women are employed in spinning thread, but the sowing and weaving are performed by men.

Major Laing observes, “Koorankoo is the first country [7:12:759]to the eastward of Sierra Leone where the manufacture of cloth is common; but it is generally of a coarse quality. As the traveller advances eastward, he finds the natives improve both in the texture of the cloth and the size of the loom. In Sangara, very large and handsome cloths are manufactured.” The Koorankoos also cultivate a considerable portion of their ground; and in general intelligence and industry they rank above the neighbouring tribes. Each house has its enclosed garden, where are raised cassada, in the cultivation of which they bestow great care; spinach, small onions, and tankana, an herb which, when dried and beaten, answers as a cheap substitute for snuff. In religion they are for the most part pagans, and they exercise unlimited faith in gree-grees (a sort of protecting spirits), for whom they have houses consecrated at the entrances of the towns. The head men are clothed in a long gown, trousers, cap, and sandals, but the women are contented with more scanty habiliments. They are great adepts in the art of dressing hair, and ornament each other’s heads with great skill. Dancing is a favourite amusement; and on the night of a funeral, which always takes place the day after the demise of the individual, they exhibit their skill in this art, brandishing hatchets or spears in both hands. The laws of this people are few and inartificial. Murder is the only crime punishable with death, and even this can be compensated by property.

There is a portion of the Koorankoo country inhabited by the tribe called the Soolimas. They have a territory of their own, which Major Laing describes as picturesque in the extreme, being diversified with hills, extensive vales, and fertile meadows, belted with stripes of wood, and decorated with clumps of trees of the densest foliage. The soil is remarkably fertile, producing chiefly rice, yams, which are planted like potatoes in England, and ground nuts, which are cultivated like our field peas. Bananas, pines, and oranges, are the principal fruits; but the first only are found in any degree of perfection. The Soolimas have numerous herds and flocks, and a diminutive kind of poultry. The elephant, the buffalo, a species of antelope, monkeys, leopards, and wolves, are the wild animals. The principal towns of the Soolimas are all situated in the Koorankoo country. These are Falaba, the capital; Sangonia, a very large town on the borders of Footah Jallou, surrounded with a strong and lofty wall; Semba, a large, populous, and rich town near the southern frontier, situated on a very lofty eminence; Mousaiah and Koonko-doogore, a stage from Semba, in the hills. In all, these places contain a population of about 25,000 souls. Falaba derives its name from the river Fala, on which it stands. It is nearly a mile and a half in length, by a mile in breadth, and closely built compared with the generality of African towns. It was built in 1768 by the Soolima king, as a stronghold to protect him against his enemies theFoolahs; and the site is well chosen as a place of defence, being on a gently-rising eminence in the centre of a large plain. The town is surrounded by a strong stockade of hard wood, and a deep and broad ditch, which renders it quite impregnable according to the military tactics of the Africans. It contains about four thousand circular clay huts, having pyramidal roofs of thatch; and, being neat and clean, they present a very respectable appearance. The palaver or court-house stands in an open space, towards the southern extremity of the town, and is a place of recreation as well as of business. In the centre of the town a large piece of ground is left vacant, for the purposes of exercise, of receiving strangers, and of holding palavers. Formerly the Soolimas chiefly occupied themselves in war, but this is less practised amongst them now than heretofore. In person they are short and muscular, and well adapted to endure privation and fatigue. Their military weapons are the spear, the musket, the sling, and the bow: in the management and use of the two latter they are most expert. Where their predatory habits do not interfere, they seemed to Major Laing both mild and inoffensive in disposition. In their domestic occupations the men and women appear to have changed places. The men attend to the dairy; they also sow and reap; but all the other cares of husbandry devolve upon the female sex. They are masons, plasterers, surgeons, and the like; whilst the men employ themselves in sewing, and not unfrequently in washing clothes. In religion, government, dress, customs, and the like, the Soolimas resemble the Koorankoos, so that these do not require a separate description.