[Footnote 231:  Sestro river, in the Complete Neptune of the Rev. James Stanier Clarke, chart. 2, is called Sesters, in lat. 5 deg. 30’ N. long. 9 deg. 10’ W. from Greenwich.  The river St Vincent of the text does not appear in that chart, but nearly at the indicated distance to the E.S.E. is one named Sangwin.—­E.]

Soon after coming to anchor on the 15th December, we went up the river in our skiff, carrying with us certain basons, manels, &c. for sale.  We procured that day one hogshead and 100 pounds weight of grains,[232] and two elephants teeth, getting both at an easy rate.  We sold the natives basons, maneilios, and margarits,[233] but basons were most in request, and for most of these we got thirty pounds of grains in exchange for each, and gave for an elephants tooth of thirty pounds weight six basons.  We went again up the river on the 16th, in the morning, taking some of every kind of merchandise along with us in our boat, and shewed them to the negroes, but they made light of every thing, even of the basons, manellios, and margarite which they had bought the day before; yet they would have given us some grains for our basons, but so very little that we did not that day get above 100 pounds weight, through their chief or captain, who would not suffer any one to sell but through his mediation and at his price.  He was so cunning that he would not give above 15 pounds of grains for a bason, and would sometimes offer us a small dishful, whereas we had a basket full for each the day before.  Seeing that we would not accept what he offered, the captain of the negroes went away, and caused all the boats to depart likewise, thinking perhaps that we would have followed and agreed to his terms; but on perceiving his drift, we hauled up our grapnel and went away likewise.  We landed at a small town, to see the manners of the people, and about 60 of them came about us, being at first shy, and seemingly afraid of us; but seeing we did them no harm, they came up in a familiar manner, and took us by the hand.  We then went into their town, which consisted of about twenty small hovels, covered over with large leaves.  All the sides were open, and the floor was raised like a scaffold about a yard high, where they work many ingenious things of the barks of trees, and there also they sleep.  In some of these hovels they work in iron, making very pretty heads for javelins, tools for making their boats, and various other things, the women working as well as the men.

[Footnote 232:  That is grains of paradise, so the Italians called Guinea pepper when they first saw it, not knowing what it was.  We took the name from them, and hence came the name of the Grain Coast—­Astl.  I. 152, a.]

[Footnote 233:  Margarits may possibly have been mock pearl beads; the manels or manellios were bracelets of some kind.—­E.]

While we were among them, several of the women danced and sung after their manner, by way of amusing us, but the sound was by no means agreeable to our ears.  Their song was continually,