19 TRAVELS IN AFRICA.

made use of with propriety, in describing the exploits of a horde of plunderers, whose chief object is invariably the obtaining of slaves, for whom they always find a market, either with the travelling merchants of the country, or the Senegal vessels at Galam.

AVoolli, Tenda,Dentilla, and Bambouk, are the frequent scenes of these unnatural depredations, and in their turn often furnish Almamy with ample means of procuring supplies of arms, ammunition horses, and the different articles of European merchandize in demand in his dominions. To the frequency of these predatory excursions, and the insecure nature of the lives and properties of the inhabitants in consequence, may be attributed, in a great degree, the desertion of many of the frontier towns in those states, and their subsequent occupation by the Bondoo people, who of late years have extended their dominions considerably in these directions.

Bondoo in its turn has often been attacked by its more powerful neighbours, and suffered dreadfully, but an instance of retaliation on the part of those weak states rarely occurs.

Many of the natives of Kayaye, Joloff, and Woolli, have settled in Bondoo, and embraced the Mahomedan faith. Their towns are chiefly on the western frontier, and are preeminent for their extent, riches, and productive cultivation. The