The Youribanies struck the travellers as having less of the characteristic features of the negro, than any other African race which they had seen.  Their lips are less thick, and their noses more inclined to the aquiline shape than negroes in general.  The men are well made, and have an independent carriage.  The women are almost invariably of a more ordinary appearance than the men, owing to their being more exposed to the sun, and to the drudgery they are obliged to undergo, all the labours of the land devolving upon them.  The cotton plant and indigo are cultivated to a considerable extent, and they manufacture the wool of their sheep into good cloth, which is bartered with the people of the coast for rum, tobacco, European cloth, and other articles.  The medium of exchange throughout the interior is the kowry shell, the estimated value of which has been already given.  Slaves, however, form the chief article of commerce with the coast.  A prime slave at Jannah is worth, sterling money, from three to four pounds, according to the value set on the articles of barter.  Domestic slaves are never sold, except for misconduct.  His majesty was much astonished at learning that there are no slaves in England.  Upon the whole, the Youribanies appeared to be a gentle and a kind people, affectionate to their wives and children, and to one another, and under a mild, although a despotic government.

Among the domestic animals of this country, there are horses of a very small breed, but these are scarce.  The horned cattle are also small near the coast, but on approaching the capital, they are seen as large as those in England; many of them have humps on their shoulders, like those of Abyssinia.  They have also sheep, both of the common species, and of the African kind; hogs, muscovy ducks, fowls, pigeons, and a few turkeys.  “The people of Youriba,” says Lander, “are not very delicate in the choice of their food; they eat frogs, monkeys, dogs, cats, rats, mice, and various other kinds of vermin.  A fat dog will always fetch a better price than a goat.  Locusts and black ants, just as they are able to take wing, are a great luxury.  Caterpillars are also held in very high estimation, they are stewed and eaten with yams and tuah. Ants and locusts are fried in butter.”  This statement of Lander, as far as regards the dog, is somewhat at variance with the compliment paid to the Youribanies, for their treatment of that faithful animal.

The hyena and the leopard are said to be very common, and the lion is found in some parts, but monkeys were the only wild animals seen by the travellers.