The passage from the Senegal to Goree is made in about twenty-four hours; but the return is generally longer, from the opposition of the winds and currents. It sometimes even takes a month to return this short distance. The island received its name Goree, which means “_Good Road_,” from the Dutch, who obtained it in 1617 by treaty, from Biram, king of Cape Verd. They built a strong fort upon it on a steep mountain to the N. W. and another which commanded the creek, and secured their magazines. The Dutch enjoyed their acquisition till 1663, when it was taken from them by the English, to whom this conquest was the more important, as they had established themselves in the river Gambia: but next year they were expelled from the isle by the Dutch admiral de Ruyter, who attacked them with a powerful squadron. The French took it from the Dutch in 1677, by which time the latter had put it into an excellent state of defence, and mounted the batteries with forty-two pieces of cannon. From that time to the present it has often been contested; and fallen into the possession of the English, French, and Dutch. The English possessed it during the last war. The government of the island when the French retained it, was the same as that of isle St. Louis; and the religion, manners, and customs of the inhabitants of both places are nearly similar. * * * * * CHAP. III. * * * * * FARTHER REMARKS ON GOREE, AND COMMUNICATION FROM IT TO THE SENEGAL. — KINGDOMS ON THE COAST OF GOREE, VIZ. CAYOR, BAOL, SIN, AND SALEM. — CURIOUS PARTICULARS OF A RACE OF NEGROES. — JOURNEY FROM GOREE TO SENEGAL, &c.