The Missionary Herald Volume 39 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1843 edition. Excerpt: ...commerce. The south side is visited by French, Portuguese, and Spanish vessels; and they regard themselves as somewhat identified with these nations. On both sides, however, vessels of all nations are welcomed, and permitted to trade without restrictions, and on terms of perfect equality. King George's towns are situated twenty-five or thirty miles from the sea eoast; and though vessels sometimes ascend that distance, their articles of commerce are generally brought down in boats or canoes to the towns of King William or King Glass. Mr. Wilson supposes that those who are properly called the Gaboon people do not exceed six thousand. Including their slaves and the bushmen who are living among them, they may amount to twenty-five thousand. Formerly the Gaboon people were surrounded by a single tribe of bushmen, called the Shekani. But within a few years another tribe, called the Bakali, much more numerous and powerful, has penetrated the country of the Shekani, and settled indiscriminately among them. The latter had greatly reduced their strength by selling each other into slavery, and when the Bakali entered their country they had no means of repelling the invasion. The two parties are still somewhat hostile to each other, and have frequent skirmishes. But within a few years they have begun to intermarry, and the probability is that they will ultimately become one people. Both tribes live on friendly terms with the Gaboon people, and intermarriages are common. The latter regard both as inferior to themselves: and though they sometimes lake the daughters of bushmen for wives, they would regard it as a great degradation to have their daughters marry bushmen. The natives of Gaboon act as factors for the Shekani, Bakali, the interior tribes, ...