Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa: The religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806; with an appendix, containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave tradeCorry, Joseph
History
Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa: The religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806; with an appendix, containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave trade
Corry, Joseph
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Slave trade -- Africa
In minutely examining these hills, great obstacles present themselves to
the observer; the apartments and nurseries which surround the royal
habitation, and the whole internal fabric, are formed of moist brittle
clay, and are so closely connected, that they can only be examined
separately, for having a geometrical dependance upon each other, the
demolition of one pulls down more; patience is therefore exhausted in the
investigation, and it is impossible to proceed without interruption; for
while the soldiers are employed in defending the breach, the labourers are
engaged in barricading the different galleries and passages towards the
royal chamber. In one apartment which I dug out from a hill, I was forcibly
struck with their attachment and allegiance to their sovereigns; and as it
is capacious enough to hold a great number of attendants, of which it has a
constant supply, I had a fair opportunity offered for experiment, I secured
it in a small box; and these faithful creatures never abandoned their
charge; they were continually running about their king and queen, stopping
at every circuit, as if to administer to them, and to receive their
commands.
Upon exposing their different avenues and chambers for a night only, before
the next morning, provided the king and queen are preserved, and their
apartments remain, it will be found that they are all shut up with a thin
covering of clay, and every interstice in the ruins, through which either
cold or wet could communicate, filled up, which is continued with
unremitting industry until the building is restored to its pristine state.
Besides these species, there are also the _marching termites_, of an
encreased size, who make excursions in large bodies, and spread devastation
in their way; but as my means of observation upon them was only accidental,
it will be intruding an imperfect description to notice them at all; but if
we form a conclusion from the immense number of _termites_ which everywhere
abound in Africa, we shall be tempted to believe that their procreation is
endless and unceasing.
When the papers came to hand which contained the substance of these remarks
upon this extraordinary insect, I did not intend to annex them to the
Observations on the Windward Coast of Africa, nor am I without some doubt
as to the propriety of so doing; the observation of the learned
_naturalist_ only can ascertain the economy of the _termite_, or _bug a
bug_, and I have therefore to apologize for obtruding these imperfect and
general remarks.
SECTION III.
_Of the Cameleon_.
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